You should reboot to a boot menu (which is quite hard to read on a HiDPI display). Choose Y Ubuntu (it’s the default option, with Windows Boot Manager below it if you installed alongside Windows) and in a few seconds, you are greeted with a login screen. Enter your password and you’re presented with a prompt about sending information to Canonical. Unlike certain other OSes, Ubuntu cares about your privacy. Any telemetry information is not linked in any way to your machine or identity. It’s easy to opt out of sending anything, but if you want Canonical get some insight into how Ubuntu is used or how it’s breaking, say Yes. You can even view the first report before it’s sent to get a handle on what kind of metrics are divulged.
Next you’re asked if you want to enable Location Services, which allows apps to guess where you are based on your IP address, GPS signal and nearby Wi-Fi/ Bluetooth devices. This was done using the privacyfriendly Mozilla Location Service, but in March it was announced that this service is shutting its doors to non-Mozilla entities, and at the time of writing, it’s unclear how Ubuntu plans to mitigate this. The most likely scenario is that this will reduce to a simple IP-based lookup, but we won’t speculate. If you object to being located, say No, then say hello to your fresh new Ubuntu desktop. A desktop that, but for an installation icon, is indiscernible from the live environment.
The best part of any new Ubuntu release is the fantastic selection of desktop backgrounds.
If you are anything like us, you’ll want to check out the selection of wallpapers. Ubuntu has always shipped with fabulous desktop background offerings, and 24.04 is no different. As usual, some of the graphics are based on the animal (a numbat is a termite-eating marsupial found in Western Australia, if you didn’t know) and some are just nice to look at. Right-click the desktop and choose Change Background to see for yourself. You might also have your own images you want to use here, in which case just select Add Picture from the top. It’s a controversial option, but you might also want to set Bing’s image of the day as your background, in which case you can install the BingWall application from the App Center (sorry fellow Brits – this is how it’s spelled).