VirtualBox 7.1 Beta: Streamlined UI, Wayland Clipboard Sharing, New Logo
If you plan on trying the new Linux Mint 22 release in a virtual machine, you could double the fun by taking it for a spin in the new VirtualBox 7.1 beta release. Don’t tune out—most VirtualBox updates tend to be fairly minor, but the upcoming release of VirtualBox 7.1 is looking like a major update (and about time, I say). VirtualBox 7.1 brings with it a “modernized look and feel”, giving users a choice of UI mode: Basic streamlines the interface, reducing the amount of options, settings, and details shown; Expert puts all of VirtualBox’s functionality on show, within 
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/virtualbox-7-1-new-ui-wayland-clipboard-apple-silicon-support
Linux Mint 22 Released, This is What’s New
Linux Mint 22 ‘Wilma’ is officially released and available to download. This major update is the first version built on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. As such, Linux Mint 22 inherits a comprehensive set of updates to underlying package, library, tooling, and technology stacks. A new Linux kernel and updated graphics drivers also feature. Plus, Linux Mint 22 ships with a new version of the Cinnamon desktop (with new options), includes a suite of new and updated apps (along with a few downgrades and removals), and notable security changes (no more guest login on) – plus more. In this post, I give
#News #Cinnamon #LinuxMint
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/linux-mint-22-released-based-on-ubuntu-24-04
Radxa X4 is a $60 Intel-Based Raspberry Pi Alternative
Love the idea of tinkering around with a small, single-board computer (SBC) but need something more powerful than most ARM-based offerings provide? If so, the Radxa X4 may be of interest. Powered by a quad-core Intel N100 processor with Intel UHD graphics, the Radxa X4 costs the same as a top-end Raspberry Pi 5 but delivers better overall performance in CPU and GPU tasks — albeit not in power consumption, and it runs hotter under normal load than a Pi. The Intel N100 has 4 cores and 4 threads, a max turbo frequency of 3.40 GHz, 6 MB Intel Smart
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/radxa-x4-cheap-intel-n100-raspberry-pi-alternative
Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha (with COSMIC) Drops on August 8
Course set: the first alpha of Pop_OS 24.04 is scheduled for release on August 8th. So if you’ve been counting the days until you can try the new COSMIC desktop environment first hand… Well, keep counting until then! 😅 Pop!_OS 24.04 will based on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, and inherit much of the foundational improvements Canonical’s engineers and Ubuntu developers have plumped in. On top of that will sit the new COSMIC desktop environment, its new homegrown apps (file manager, terminal, software hub, etc), and all of System76’s other embellishments n’ enablements (including first-tier support for their own laptops and desktops,
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/pop_os-24-04-alpha-with-cosmic-drops-on-august-8
Ebook App FBReader Adds Support for DRM Ebooks
FBReader 2.1 has been released for Windows, macOS, and Linux, with the team behind the eBook reading app calling it “a major update for desktop platforms”. If you’re not familiar with FBReader (the name stands for ‘Favourite Book Reader’) it’s a Qt-based ebook reader with customisation options, an ebook library, and integration with online sources to download ebooks. FBReader was open-source software until 2015, after which it transition to freeware for Windows, macOS, and Linux (closed source, but free), and freemium for Android and iOS (free version limited, paid version available). While older, open-source versions of FBReader are still around,
#News #AppUpdates #Ebooks #Fbreader
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/fbreader-2-1-released-readium-lcp-drm
Tiling Shell Adds Another Way to Tile Windows Quickly
If you’ve tried the Tiling Shell GNOME extension you’ll know how easy it makes it to tile application windows in GNOME Shell, from simple to more complex. The latest update, which began rolling out through the GNOME Extensions website this weekend, adds yet another intuitive way to tile windows as you work. First it provided a slide-in Windows 11-style Snap Assistant on to which you drop windows to tile them accordingly. Next, it added keyboard shortcuts to support tiling windows without using a mouse. Then, more recently, edge-tiling introduced. But Tiling Shell v12 adds another way to tile – one
#News #AppUpdates #GnomeExtensions #TilingShell
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/tiling-shell-adds-another-way-to-tile-windows-quickly
How to Display eBook Thumbnails in Nautilus (Quick Tip)
I recently rediscovered my Amazon Kindle (a geriatric model from 2012, nothing fancy) and figured, as it still works, I’ll use it, and set about downloading a freely available EPUBs of classic (and not-so-classic – I’m a pulpy-kinda guy) literature. They say never judge a book by its cover – but it is useful to be able to distinguish a book by its cover! Thing is: my old Amazon Kindle can’t open EPUB files1, so I have to use the open-source eBook tool Calibre to convert them into either the AZW3 format my antiquated Kindle requires, or the more versatile
#HowTo #Calibre #Ebook #Ebooks #Epub #Kindle
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/how-to-display-ebook-thumbnails-in-nautilus
Showtime: GNOME’s New Video Player is Now on Flathub
Were you excited by news GNOME plans to replace the Totem media player in its core software set with a new, modern, and actively maintained alternative called Showtime? If so, you’ll be pleased to hear that this promising replacement is now available on Flathub. This means you don’t need to set-up the GNOME Nightly repo and. then tussle with endless updates to the app and the underlying runtimes that it relies on. The initial release of Showtime on Flathub is built against the GNOME 46 runtime If you’ve installed any other GTK apps recently you likely already have that installed,
#News #AppsOnFlathub #Gnome #Showtime #Totem
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/showtime-gnome-video-player-flathub
OBS Studio 30.2 Adds NVENC Encoding to Linux, Hybrid MP4 + More
OBS Studio, the open-source leader in cross-platform screen-casting and streaming software, put out a new release this week. OBS Studio 30.2 adds Linux support to the native NVENC encoder, plus Linux shared texture support to the NVENC, QuickSync, and VA-API encoders. And as of this update, PipeWire window/display capture is combined into a single, unified “Screen Capture” source, renamed as “Display Capture (XSHM)” to match other capture sources. OBS Studio 30.2 defaults to using the Hybrid MP4 output format on Windows and Linux. Hybrid MP4 pairs the benefits of fault-tolerant fragmented MP4 with the fast read-access of regular MP4, remaining recoverable
#News #AppUpdates #ObsStudio #Twitch
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/obs-studio-30-2-released
Audacity 3.6 Add Master Effects, New Compressor & Limiter + More
A new version of the open-source, cross-platform audio editor Audacity is available to download, kitted out with some major new features. Audacity 3.6 introduces support for master effects. These adjust the sound of project as a whole (the ‘master mix’ composed of all individual tracks and any realtime effects applied to them) and, usually, done as the final stage of editing prior to export. Brand new Compressor and Limiter effects are included in this update to Audacity, along with a set of handy presets the developers say are applicable to a wide range of use cases. Gain reduction history is
#News #AppUpdates #Audacity #AudioApps
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/audacity-3-6-released-with-master-effects
Blender 4.2 LTS Brings New Render Engine, GPU Compositor + More
Feeling creative? If you are, be sure to check out the new Blender 4.2 LTS release. Blender 4.2 LTS ships with a slew of new features, performance improvements, and general fixes and tune-ups. It’s also backed by two years of ongoing support, allowing users to adopt this series and only receive bug fixes, not ‘breaking changes’. An overhauled EEVEE render engine ships in Blender 4.2 LTS. Rewritten from scratch to improve the performance, stability, and visual quality of viewport rendering, and provide new shadow and global illumination systems, better motion blur and DoF, etc. And a GPU-accelerated compositor is included
#News #AppUpdates #Blender
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/blender-4-2-release-new-features
Ubuntu Fast-Tracks AppArmor Fix for Flatpak Apps Failing to Start in Ubuntu
The recent update to AppArmor to fix issues with 3rd-party apps unable to run on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS due to its security hardening inadvertently prevents a fleet of popular Flatpak apps from running. The Telegram Desktop, KeePassXC, and Steam clients are among Flatpak apps affected, some throwing an apparmor="DENIED" error apparently due to the AppArmor profile for the Bubblewrap sandboxing tool (used by many Linux apps) in the prior update. To be clear: snap, DEB, and binary versions of the software above aren’t affected, only Flatpaks. But good news: Ubuntu’s developers got to work to identify the cause, aided by
#News #Apparmor #Bugs #FlatpakApps #Ubuntu24_04Lts
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/ubuntu-apparmor-fix-for-telegram-flatpak
DevToys, a Swiss-Army Knife of Developer Tools, Now Available on Linux
When Scott suggested I cover a new open-source app for Linux on the basis it’s “like Microsoft PowerToys for developers”, I wasn’t exactly sure what I’d be writing about — when it comes to Windows I’m more familiar with pinball that PowerToys. But after reading the website for DevToys, which describes the tool as a “Swiss Army knife for developers”, things made a lot more sense — it’s basically a grab-bag of handy helpers, an all-in-one, offline-friendly utility. Indeed, DevToys includes some 30 tools in total, each there to “help with daily development tasks”, saving developers time, effort, and the frustration
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/devtoys-developer-tool-now-available-on-linux
Linux Kernel 6.10 Released, This is What’s New
Linux kernel 6.10 has been officially released. The latest version of the Linux kernel adds an array of improvements, including a new memory sealing system call, a speed boost for AES-XTS encryption on Intel and AMD CPUs, and expanding Rust language support within the kernel to RISC-V. Plus, like in all kernel releases, there’s a glut of groundwork to offer “initial support” for upcoming CPUs, GPUs, NPUs, Wi-Fi, and other hardware (that most of us don’t use yet, but require Linux support to be in place for when devices that use them filter out). Announcing the Linux 6.10 release in
#News #Gaming #LinuxKernel #Risc-V
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/linux-kernel-6-10-new-features
Apple Approves First PC Emulator on the App Store
This weekend Apple officially approved the first PC emulator on the App Store, an open-source app called UTM SE, based on QEMU, and entirely free (entirely; no icky IAPs) to download. UTM SE is able to emulate a variety of desktop operating systems and system architectures, including MS-DOS, Windows XP, and (of course) many Linux distributions – all without workarounds, jailbreaks, or side-loading .ipa files through Xcode. Although I should set expectations: don’t expect exceptional performance, even on the latest M4 iPad Pro — I’ll come to why in a bit. As you may have heard, Apple relaxed its restrictions
#News #Apple #Ios #Qemu #UtmSe
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/utm-se-qemu-pc-emulator-apple-app-store
Thunderbird 128 Released With Major Changes
A major update to the open-source e-mail client Thunderbird is now available to download. Thunderbird 128 ‘Nebula’ builds on last year’s stellar Thunderbird 115 release with a flurry of new features, major code improvements, and bug fixes. And like the recent Firefox 128 release this version of Thunderbird is an Extended Support Release (ESR). Like an LTS, ESR status commits to continued updates, bug fixes, and support for several years. Linux distros which rely on ESR builds, like Debian, can update. Support period aside, you’ll find plenty of tangible changes on offer in Thunderbird 128, so preamble done let’s get
#News #AppUpdates #EmailClients #Thunderbird
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/thunderbird-128-released-with-major-changes
Ubuntu’s App Center Updated, Can Now Open/Install DEB Packages
Ubuntu’s Flutter-based App Center can now open and install 3rd-party DEB installers. An App Center update that adds support for ‘side-loading’ DEB packages began rolling out to users on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS in the past few weeks (but as snaps update in the background silently, without any indication or alert, I only just noticed). To be clear: this is about being able to install DEB packages you download from the web (e.g., Google Chrome, Discord, Steam, Vivaldi, Slack, etc) using App Center. It’s not about installing DEBs from the Ubuntu repos, which was already possible. With this update it is
#News #AppCenter #AppUpdates #Ubuntu24_04Lts
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/app-center-update-adds-deb-install-support
GNOME Extensions Website is Getting a Major Redesign (Sneak Peek)
A big overhaul of the GNOME extensions website is in the works. As the recent revamp of Flathub proved, engaging store fronts for software and extensions are not the preserve of big-time tech companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft. Good design is good design. GNOME Extensions are quick and easy way to add new features, behaviours, and visuals changes to GNOME Shell. And the extensions.gnome.org (EGO) website is the go-to place to find and install them. But it’s well overdue a revamp. GNOME Extensions Website Due an Update The current GNOME Extensions website is a functional, no-frills affair. The core
#News #GnomeExtensions
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/gnome-extensions-website-redesign-2024
Zed, a GPU-accelerated IDE Written in Rust, is now available for Linux
Hurrah, the open-source editor Zed is now available for Linux. Zed is a GPL licensed IDE written in Rust by the authors of the (much missed) Atom editor and the creators of Tree-sitter. It offers everything a modern IDE should: Plus, as it’s 2024 so AI was made mandatory in all things, Zed provides integration with Github CoPilot and GPT-4. Use this to generate new code from prompting; refactor code generated by GPT’s archaic ancestor (i.e., a human); ask for advice, tips, etc. Zed is GPU-accelerated (by way of the Vulkan API). Combined with the editor’s Rust underpinnings, this editor
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/zed-editor-linux-released
GNOME 47’s New Font: How to Try it on Ubuntu
News that GNOME’s design team is looking to make Inter the default font in GNOME 47 got me curious about what the typeface might look in action. Why Inter? This clean, open-source sans-serif font is designed specifically for user interfaces. It’s legible and clear at various sizes and resolutions, boasts a broad character set, and supports hundreds of languages. Still, this tentative typography swap is not set in stone: we’re early in the GNOME 47 development cycle, the proposed font change is just that: a proposal. Further testing is needed to ensure Inter is an adequate replacement for Cantarell, GNOME’s
#News #EyeCandy #Fonts #Gnome
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/make-inter-default-font-in-ubuntu
