Ubuntu 15.10 Official Flavours: A Complete Overview

October 2015 brought Ubuntu 15.10 “Wily Werewolf” and with it a refreshed line-up of official flavours. Every flavour shared the same 4.2 kernel, the same archive of over 50,000 packages, and the same nine-month support commitment — but each shipped a distinct desktop environment, default application stack, and target audience. This guide walks through every official flavour so you can pick the one that fits your workflow.

Shared Foundations

All 15.10 flavours inherited these components from the Ubuntu base:

• Linux kernel 4.2 — with improved AMD Radeon and Intel Skylake graphics support.
• systemd — now the default init system, replacing Upstart.
• GCC 5.2 — the default compiler, introducing the new libstdc++ ABI.
• Python 3.4 — shipping as the default Python interpreter, though Python 2.7 remained available.
• LibreOffice 5.0 — included in most flavours (except minimal variants) with the new Breeze-inspired icon theme.

Step-by-Step: Choosing and Installing a Flavour

1. Identify Your Hardware Profile

Determine your available RAM, CPU generation, and GPU vendor:

free -h
lscpu | grep 'Model name'
lspci | grep -i vga

Machines with under 2 GB of RAM should target Lubuntu or Xubuntu. Machines with 4 GB or more can comfortably run any flavour.

2. Download the Correct ISO

Navigate to the official archive mirrors for 15.10 and download the ISO for your chosen flavour. Every image is roughly 1.0–1.6 GB depending on the flavour. Verify the checksum:

sha256sum ubuntu-mate-15.10-desktop-amd64.iso

Compare the output against the SHA256SUMS file published alongside the ISOs.

3. Write to USB

sudo dd if=<flavour>-15.10-desktop-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress
sync

4. Install

Boot from the USB, select Install, and follow the Ubiquity installer. All flavours use the same installer; only the live-session desktop differs.

5. Post-Install Update

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

The Flavours

Kubuntu 15.10

Kubuntu shipped KDE Plasma 5.4 — the most feature-complete Plasma 5 release to date. Highlights included:

• A rewritten audio volume applet with per-application volume control.
• Full-screen application dashboard as an alternative to the Kickoff menu.
• Wayland session available as a tech preview (not default).
• Dolphin file manager with improved search and metadata sidebars.

Kubuntu was the heaviest flavour at idle (~550 MB) but also the most configurable. Users coming from Windows felt immediately at home with the taskbar-centric layout.

Xubuntu 15.10

Xubuntu delivered Xfce 4.12 with light customisation:

• Whisker Menu as the default application launcher.
• Panel layouts that balanced screen real-estate on both 1080p and 768p displays.
• Thunar file manager with custom actions for common tasks (open terminal here, compress, etc.).
• Idle RAM usage around 320 MB.

Xubuntu remained the best middle ground between resource efficiency and desktop polish.

Lubuntu 15.10

Lubuntu kept LXDE as its desktop, pairing the Openbox window manager with the PCManFM file manager. Key traits:

• The lightest official flavour — usable on machines with as little as 512 MB of RAM.
• Minimal default application set: Abiword, Gnumeric, and the lightweight Sylpheed mail client.
• No compositing by default, ensuring smooth performance on integrated graphics.

Lubuntu was the go-to choice for ageing netbooks, thin clients, and virtual machines where every megabyte mattered.

Ubuntu GNOME 15.10

Ubuntu GNOME shipped GNOME 3.16 with selected 3.18 components:

• The new GNOME overlay scrollbars and revamped notification tray.
• GNOME Files (Nautilus) with Google Drive integration out of the box.
• GNOME Software replacing Ubuntu Software Centre.
• Adwaita theme and default GNOME shell extensions (no Unity patches).

This flavour appealed to users who wanted the upstream GNOME experience without compiling anything from source.

Ubuntu MATE 15.10

Ubuntu MATE delivered MATE 1.10 in its second official flavour release:

• Traditional two-panel desktop layout reminiscent of GNOME 2.
• MATE Tweak utility for switching between panel layouts (Eleven, Redmond, Mutiny, Cupertino).
• Compiz as an optional window manager for desktop effects without GNOME Shell.
• RAM usage around 350 MB — competitive with Xubuntu.

Ubuntu MATE carved out a loyal niche among users who preferred the GNOME 2 workflow and wanted active upstream development rather than a frozen fork.

Ubuntu Studio 15.10

Ubuntu Studio targeted audio, video, and graphic production workflows:

• Xfce 4.12 as the desktop (matching Xubuntu’s base) with a dark Studio theme.
• Pre-installed Ardour 4, Audacity, GIMP, Inkscape, Blender, and Kdenlive.
• Low-latency kernel variant (linux-lowlatency) for real-time audio with JACK.
• Ubuntu Studio Controls for configuring JACK, CPU governors, and real-time scheduling.

The ISO was larger (~2.4 GB) because of the bundled creative software, but it saved hours of manual installation.

Ubuntu Kylin 15.10

Ubuntu Kylin was optimised for Chinese-language users:

• UKUI desktop environment with Peony file manager.
• Sogou Pinyin input method pre-configured.
• Integration with Chinese cloud services and calendar holidays.
• Kingsoft WPS Office available from the default repositories.

Kylin was functionally a full Ubuntu desktop with deep localisation work that went far beyond simple translation.

Comparison at a Glance

Common Pitfalls

1. Installing a flavour meta-package on top of another flavour. Running sudo apt install kubuntu-desktop on a Xubuntu system installs hundreds of packages and creates login-screen conflicts. Test in a VM first.
2. Assuming LTS-length support. 15.10 is a nine-month release. Mark July 2016 on your calendar and plan an upgrade to 16.04 LTS well before that date.
3. Skipping the checksum verification. Corrupted ISOs cause phantom installer crashes. Always verify with sha256sum before writing to USB.
4. Using dd with the wrong target device. Triple-check lsblk output. Writing an ISO to your primary drive instead of the USB stick will destroy your existing installation.
5. Forgetting proprietary drivers. After installation, open Additional Drivers (or sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall) to enable NVIDIA or Broadcom firmware that the ISO cannot legally bundle.

Choosing the Right Flavour

If you are unsure, start with Xubuntu for a light, reliable desktop or Ubuntu MATE for a traditional layout with modern underpinnings. Both run well on hardware from 2008 onward and offer enough customisation to feel personal without overwhelming new users. Power users with modern hardware and a taste for eye candy will find Kubuntu or Ubuntu GNOME more rewarding. And if every megabyte matters, Lubuntu remains unmatched.