After a solid couple of months of development the Linux 6.8 kernel has been officially released. This kernel is of particular note to Ubuntu users as it’s the version selected to ship in Ubuntu 24.04 LTS – the GA kernel and thereby supported for the duration of the release. Annou … | Continue reading
A new GNOME Shell extension lets you turn any app in to a picture-in-picture window on Ubuntu. You’re probably already familiar with picture-in-picture mode (PiP) through your web browser. The likes of Mozilla Firefox and Chrome let you to “pop-out” video playing on web pages to … | Continue reading
A new version of Zorin OS is available for download. Zorin OS 17.1, which is based on Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS, brings a wealth of improvements to its (nifty) Windows app support, as well as a new Education Edition that “pairs the latest improvements to Zorin OS with educational softwa … | Continue reading
A new IRC client (but don’t call it an IRC client) is being developed by Linux Mint. The Ubuntu-based distro currently includes Hexchat in its default software selection. IRC isn’t as trendy as Discord or Telegram but it a free, open standard that no one-entity controls, is relat … | Continue reading
A new open-source nostalgia project lets you turn back time in web browser aesthetics. Silverfox is a custom theme for Mozilla Firefox ESR that recreates the look of Google Chrome in its early days. We’re talking trapezoid tabs, parallelogram new tab button, pared back speed dial … | Continue reading
Avid users of Varia, a modern download manager for Linux desktops, may want to check out official browser extensions. By installing the official Varia browser extension in Google Chrome/Chromium or Mozilla Firefox you no longer have to copy and paste download links from the brows … | Continue reading
Want to mirror your iPhone screen on your Ubuntu desktop? There’s a free, open-source app you can install from the Ubuntu repos to do it. If you’re looking to mirror your iPhone or iPad to Ubuntu UxPlay is the easy way to do it — and it’s free, open-source software The app is cal … | Continue reading
Next time you stop by Launchpad.net you’ll notice it has a new look. Canonical’s designers have given Launchpad’s landing page a lithe new look that allows text to breathe and is more in-keeping with Canonical’s other websites. It’s the first major redesign to the project hosting … | Continue reading
About a week ago I noticed that the default icon for App Center (the Flutter-based software store-front that replaced Ubuntu Software in 23.10) had changed — and not for the better! At first I assumed it was an intentional change, but a snafu caused by me (I was playing with disp … | Continue reading
Ubuntu developers have decided to stop shipping games in future installs. While Ubuntu 23.10 defaults to a minimal install offering only core software essentials (like a terminal and web browser) users may opt for a “full installation” which preinstalls additional software, inclu … | Continue reading
KDE Plasma 6 has arrived. The first stable release in an all-new series of the phenomenally popular Linux desktop environment is available to download. KDE Plasma 6 improves security, performance, usability, and hardware support Naturally, a major milestone like this one includes … | Continue reading
Do you use Apple AirPods or Beats wireless headphones with Ubuntu (or any Linux distribution using GNOME Shell) and want to be able to check battery levels on your desktop? Well, now you can! The new Airpod Battery Monitor GNOME Shell extension makes it easy to check the battery … | Continue reading
Linux developers have a new toy to play with, Warp. Warp is a closed-source terminal emulator built using the Rust programming language. It offers hardware acceleration, integrated AI, collaborative capabilities, and adopts a “blocks” based approach to commands that help set it a … | Continue reading
A new version of CrossOver is out building out from last month’s release of Wine 9.0. Created by CodeWeavers, a major contributor to Wine’s ongoing development, CrossOver is a commercial version of Wine with extra “goodies” included that make running Windows games and apps on Lin … | Continue reading
A new point release of Ubuntu 22.04 LTS is available to download. Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS is the fourth point release and results in a brand-new installation image (ISO) that integrates all of the security patches, bug fixes, and software updates released since last August’s Ubuntu 22 … | Continue reading
Remember Wunderlist? It was a popular, well-made, cloud-based to-do app/task manager free to use across all major mobile and desktop platforms, including Linux — until Microsoft bought it and eventually shut it down. Well, now it’s back — sort of. The makers of Wunderlist have la … | Continue reading
A new stable version of the Mozilla Firefox web browser is available to download. Mozilla Firefox 123 buffs the browser’s privacy-respecting translation. When translating a web page the browser now also translates text shown in tooltips (i.e. titles) and placeholder text shown in … | Continue reading
Fans of tiling window managers like i3, Sway, and Hyprland will be interested to hear there’s a new option in town called Miracle-WM. Created by Canonical engineer Matthew Kosarek, Miracle-WM is notable for being a Wayland compositor that is based on Mir. For those with long memo … | Continue reading
The open-source IRC client HexChat has announced its final ever release. HexChat 2.16.2 arrives with a small selection of bug fixes and new features for its long-standing fans to enjoy, but also bad news: after almost 12 years of continued development the party is over. “This wil … | Continue reading
Sponsors of elementary OS now have early access to the next major version of the Ubuntu-based desktop Linux operating system. elementary OS 8 is the next major update, following on from this year’s elementary OS 7.x series. It is based on the packages from the Ubuntu 24.04 reposi … | Continue reading
The latest version of the GNOME Network Displays app lets you stream your desktop to a wireless display using the Chromecast and Miracast over Infrastructure (MICE) protocols. Both features had been in development for a while and were long-standing requests from many in the commu … | Continue reading
As part of work on the upcoming Ubuntu 24.04 release Canonical’s engineers have been working on improving the Ubuntu installer — with “provisioning” a key aim. Now the Ubuntu desktop installer uses the same backend technology as Ubuntu Server Canonical would like to bring feature … | Continue reading
Lots of new features, er feature in the latest update to ONLYOFFICE, the open-source productivity suite for Windows, macOS, and Linux. ONLYOFFICE 8.0 introduces RTL support, albeit as an opt-in, beta feature. When enabled it enables RTL text in the UI and support for bidirectiona … | Continue reading
Researchers at Aqua Nautilus say they’ve identified a security issue in the way Ubuntu’s “command not found” feature works, which attackers can exploit to trick users into installing malicious snaps. In a lengthy blog post detailing their investigation, the security outfit conclu … | Continue reading
Mozilla, makers of the Firefox web browser, is the latest tech company to announce layoffs. The non-profit says it is is scaling back development on a number of projects and, as a result, 60 team members (roughly 5% of its workforce) will lose their jobs. Among the project TechCr … | Continue reading
Ubuntu is working on a new Desktop Security Center that aims to make it easier for users to access some of the distro’s underlying security features. An early version of the Flutter-based tool was made available to install from the Canonical Snap Store this week — but before anyo … | Continue reading
If you’re looking for a way to more efficient way copy files on Linux be sure to check out new GTK/libadwaita app Collector. Collector functions as a temporary holding space on which you drag and drop files, paste clipboard contents and web links to images (e.g., Google Images), … | Continue reading
Tab previews are in the works for Mozilla Firefox. In current versions of the browser, hovering your mouse over a non-focused browser tab shows a small tooltip that displays the web page title — and that’s it. While this is handy, especially if you have a ton of open tabs (includ … | Continue reading
A new version of PeaZip, a popular free, open-source archive manager for Windows, macOS, and Linux, is available to download. PeaZip 9.7 is the first release to offer a native build for AArch64/ARM64 Linux systems, allowing anyone to use PeaZip on the Raspberry Pi 4 & 5, the Pine … | Continue reading
Ubuntu Core Desktop will not be released alongside Ubuntu 24.04 LTS in April, as originally hoped. For those thinking “wait, what?!” — last year Canonical announced it was building an all-snap, immutable version of Ubuntu for home users called Ubuntu Core Desktop. Further, it was … | Continue reading
A new version of Musictube, a Qt-based desktop app that lets you stream music from YouTube, is available for download for Windows, macOS and Linux. Musictube 2 is described as a “major overhaul” offering an improved search algorithm that now supports genres in addition to artists … | Continue reading
If you’re an Ubuntu user who uses the Thunderbird e-mail client there are a couple of interesting changes on the way you may wish to know about. Canonical’s Thunderbird snap is now built using upstream source code rather than repacking upstream binaries. A subtle-sounding differe … | Continue reading
Support for accessing Microsoft OneDrive files through Nautilus is planned for GNOME 46, which is due for release next month. GVfs (GNOME virtual filesystem) provides a number of backends that allow SFTP, SMB, HTTP, MTP, WebDAV and other mounts/shares to be accessed through the N … | Continue reading
Bluesky, the much-hyped open-source alternative to X/Twitter, is now open for all — invites code no longer needed! Launched in the spring of last year, Bluesky is a decentralised social network modelled after early Twitter. You sign up, post, follow people, repost, and generally … | Continue reading
Kubuntu 24.04 LTS will not use KDE Plasma 6.0 by default. Kubuntu Council member Rick Timmis shared an overview of a recent meeting at which it was “unanimously agreed” to, among other things, prepare an alpha of KDE Plasma 6 targeting the 24.10 release due October rather than Ap … | Continue reading
Microsoft has announced a temporary reprieve for developers using VS Code to connect to servers, clouds, container, and other devices running Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. As I covered last week, Microsoft pushed out an update to VS Code that bumps its glibc requirement, dropping support for … | Continue reading
Ubuntu developers recently shared word on the Linux kernel version Ubuntu 24.04 LTS will use — and I’ll admit: it’s not the one I guessed! Ubuntu 24.04 is a long-term support release (LTS) and last year’s Linux kernel 6.6 is also a LTS release — ergo, there’s a clear synergy ther … | Continue reading
If you use the Papirus icon theme in Ubuntu you’ll be pleased to hear a new version is available to download. Papirus’s first update in 2024 adds more than 50 new and updated apps icons, and makes a handful of other changes to existing icons, including updating icon names and sym … | Continue reading
Bugged by a Bluetooth device not showing its battery level in Ubuntu? There is a something you can try that may get it to appear. Ubuntu, like most desktop Linux distributions Ubuntu, use Bluez as its Bluetooth stack. This powerful, open-source tech works with a wide range of blu … | Continue reading
Microsoft Visual Studio Code (VS Code) has dropped support for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS — a decision causing issues for scores of developers. VS Code 1.86 (‘January 2024’ update) sees Microsoft bump the minimum build requirements for the text editor’s popular remote dev tools to ≥glibc 2 … | Continue reading
Linux Mint has shared a few tidbits about its next major version, expected in the summer. First up, codename: Linux Mint 22 will be called “Wilma”. All of the Linux Mint 21.x series releases used codenames starting with the letter ‘V’ so a progression to ‘W’ was expected. There a … | Continue reading
A brand new version of free, open-source office suite LibreOffice is ready to download. LibreOffice 24.2 is the follow up to last year’s LibreOffice 7.6 release. A leap because the latest edition is the first to use a calendar-based version number (like Ubuntu’s own): 24 denotes … | Continue reading
Mozilla Firefox 122 has been officially released, with an official Deb package debuting alongside it. Yes: there’s now an official Firefox Deb package for Debian-based distros, including Ubuntu. This gives users a safe, reliable way to get the latest version of their browser shou … | Continue reading
It seems some users aren’t happy that there’s (currently) no way to disable Ubuntu Pro package updates from showing in the Software Updater tool in Ubuntu LTS releases. Last year, Canonical updated update-manager (aka Software Updater) to display a list of Ubuntu Pro package upda … | Continue reading
Linux Mint developers have announced the release of the Linux Mint 21.3 Edge ISO, which is powered by Linux kernel 6.5. The standard Linux Mint 21.3 release that arrived a few weeks back uses the Linux 5.15 LTS kernel by default. That kernel version is solid, stable, and actively … | Continue reading
Just before Christmas I was introduced to a handy script that makes it very easy to install the latest Enlightenment desktop release on Ubuntu 22.04. Emphasis on latest as (I’m sure you already know) you can install the Enlightenment desktop in Ubuntu from the archives, i.e. no P … | Continue reading
Remember the AYANEO mini PC I wrote about last year? You know, the one that looked like a classic Macintosh, ran Windows 11, and was advertised as being Ubuntu-friendly? Well, forget it. —Wait, you already had? Savage, dear reader! Today, AYANEO announced a seriously superior suc … | Continue reading
Canonical may be ramping up its efforts to improve the Ubuntu gaming experience — yasss — but it seems their Steam snap package is causing headaches for Valve. Timothée Besset, a software engineer who works on the Steam client for Valve, took to Mastodon this week to reveal that … | Continue reading