Arch-based EndeavourOS gets 22.12 ‘Cassini' release bringing official Pinebook Pro support

The second-most popular Linux distribution, according to DistroWatch, has got a new update today. EndeavourOS 22.12 ‘Cassini’ is here and ready for installation, it includes updated software such as Linux kernel 6.0.12 and brings official support for the Pinebook Pro – a Linux-first laptop from Pine64. For those unaware, EndeavourOS is based on Arch Linux and uses a rolling release model rather than point releases that we get for Ubuntu and Linux Mint.

Development of EndeavourOS began in 2019 following the discontinuation of Antergos – a distro aimed at making Arch easy to install and use. In a statement about Cassini, the EndeavourOS development team wrote:

“It took the development team on a longer journey than expected but we are proud to present you our latest Cassini release, named after the Nasa mission with the Cassini spacecraft carrying the Huygens probe.

Just like the Nasa mission that had its fair share of nail-biting moments, this release had some nail-biting test runs because getting here required a major overhaul in how we build our ISO. The last time we presented such a major overhaul was our ISO-Next release back in August 2021.”

Some of the major package updates in this release include Calamares 3.3.0-alpha3, Firefox 108.0.1-1, Linux kernel 6.0.12.arch1-1, Mesa 22.3.1-1, Xorg-Server 21.1.5-1, nvidia-dkms 525.60.11-1, and Grub 2:2.06.r403.g7259d55ff-1. Apparently, the Calamares installer features a lot of “cleanup work” that could improve the setup process. Another interesting note is that with Cassini, you can choose from different bootloaders to install or not install any at all – the team said this gives users a lot of control from step one.

If you’re already running EndeavourOS, there’s no need to re-install it, apply the available updates and you be upgraded to Cassini. If you want to download and try out EndeavourOS, you can find the ISO on the downloads page along with checksum files to verify your download.

Arch-based EndeavourOS gets 22.12 ‘Cassini' release bringing official Pinebook Pro support