Kagi is Bringing Orion Web Browser to Linux
Kagi, the company behind a paid, private search engine1 of the same name, has announced it’s bringing its Webkit-based Orion web browser to Linux. In a post on BlueSky, Kagi said: “We’re thrilled to announce that development of the Orion Browser for Linux has officially started!”. Feature-parity with the macOS version is expected by next year (all going well). Orion is said to best Safari, Google Chrome, and Firefox in many areas on macOS: zero-telemetry browser; built-in ad and tracking blocking; lower memory usage; faster page speeds; greater battery efficiency, support for Chrome Extensions and Firefox Add-ons. Whether all of 
#News #Kagi #Orion #WebBrowsers #Webkit
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/03/kag-orion-web-browser-coming-to-linux
Ubuntu 24.04 Update Fixes Several Touchscreen Quirks
An update to the Mutter display manager is primed to begin rolling out to users of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS — with much-needed touchscreen fixes in tow. I don’t know how many of you use Ubuntu desktop on a touch-enabled device—not many, I’d wager. I do have; I have a touchscreen laptop that runs Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and I do prod, poke, and push the screen a bit whilst using Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. While my device is able to fold resemble on, I don’t use it as a tablet since, despite some folks’ assumption, GNOME Shell is not what I’d described
#News #Mutter #Touch #Ubuntu24_04Lts
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/03/ubuntu-24-04-touchscreen-drag-drop-fix
Thunderbird 136 Release Adds New Appearance Controls
Desktop email client Thunderbird announced a move to monthly releases by default earlier this year, allowing new users to benefit from new features, sooner – as the new Thunderbird 136.0 release makes evident! Thunderbird 136.0 sees messages auto-adapt to dark mode (and adds a quick toggle to control this in the header) — no more searing-white e-mail shocks in dark rooms! Also added is a new Appearance setting to control message threading and sorting order globally. This is great if you always want, say, new messages at the bottom in all your configured folders. Some notable fixes include ensuring that addresses
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/03/thunderbird-136-release-adds-new-appearance-controls
Huawei’s New Laptops May Run Linux, not HarmonyOS Next
Is Huawei planning to ship Linux on its upcoming MateBook laptops instead of HarmonyOS NEXT? A fresh leak out of China this week suggests so. Huawei is no stranger to selling laptops with Linux. Various models in its MateBook 13, 14, 15, and MateBook X Pro lines have been sold in both Windows and Linux configurations, with the latter typically exclusive to China and reloaded with Debian-based Deepin. The—somewhat contentious—company has previously said all PCs released in 2025 would run the newer home-grown, closed-source HarmonyOS NEXT (viewed as an effort to wean reliance off of western-led tech companies, solidify control,
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/03/huawei-matebook-laptops-linux-leak
Ubuntu 25.04’s New PDF Viewer App is Now Rolling Out
Earlier this year Ubuntu announced plans to replace document viewer app Evince with Papers, a modern GTK4/libadwaita fork1 of the former, in Ubuntu 25.04—today, the swap was made official. Papers is a fork of Evince that is actively maintained and makes use of newer technologies (GTK4, THIS), that are already present in Ubuntu. Upstream, GNOME 48 (out in March) opts to keep Evince as a core app but GNOME 49 is expected to switch to Papers. Ubuntu feels no reason to wait. Dabbled with daily builds of the Plucky Puffin prior to now? You might have noticed Papers isn’t present
#News #Evince #Gnome #Papers #Ubuntu25_04
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/03/ubuntu-25-04-new-pdf-viewer-app-official
Linux Mint is Redesigning the Cinnamon App Menu
Last year saw the Cinnamon desktop receive a much-needed modern makeover, but it seems the visual revamp effort isn’t over yet. Work is underway on a design update for the Cinnamon app menu (applet). Compared to the current Cinnamon Menu, the proposed redesign sticks to a three pane layout but opts to show more information at-a-glance, put common folders within immediate reach, and both relocate and restyle the session controls. Here’s how the two approaches compare: Nothing you see above is finished, signed-off on, or completed. Linux Mint has not said much on the plans for the menu, i.e., whether
#News #Cinnamon #LinuxMint
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/03/cinnamon-desktop-app-menu-redesign
Skype Hangs Up (For Good) on May 5 – Export Data Before Then!
Skype, one of the best-known video chat/calling apps, is shutting down forever on May 5, Microsoft has announced today. Nothing gold can stay, and neither can VoIP services shorn their cultural zeitgeist it seems. Replacing Skype will be a free version of Microsoft Teams. Active Skype users can log in to the Microsoft Teams app and instantly see their Skype message history, group chats, and contacts without needing to create a(nother) account. Teams will no support ‘telephony’, i.e., Skype’s one remaining USP, after the transition period, meaning you won’t be able to make domestic or international calls to real numbers
#News #Microsoft #Skype
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/02/skype-hangs-up-for-good-on-may-5
Linux App Release Roundup (Feb 2025)
February was a bumper month for Linux app updates, bringing new releases of Mozilla Firefox, LibreOffice, ONLYOFFICE and more — as well as a slew of smaller app updates that didn’t get a full-length article on this blog. Rather than skip over them entirely I thought I’d resurrect my Linux Release Roundup thread1 to provide a monthly (perhaps twice-monthly, if there’s a lot) run-through of some of them. After all, for those of us on fixed-release Linux distribution like Ubuntu may find one of these smaller updates fixes a flaw or fleshes out a feature to make it worth upgrading
#News #Amarok #AppUpdates #Fastfetch #Gthumb #Handbrake #Lrr #Peazip
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/02/linux-app-release-roundup-feb-2025
Mozilla Introducing ‘Terms of Use’ to Firefox
Hot off the back of its recent leadership rejig, Mozilla has announced users of Firefox will soon be subject to a ‘Terms of Use’ policy — a first for the iconic open source web browser. “Although we’ve historically relied on our open source license for Firefox and public commitments to you, we are building in a much different technology landscape today. We want to make these commitments abundantly clear and accessible,” say Mozilla. This official Terms of Use will, Mozilla argues, offers users greater transparency over their “rights and permissions” as they use Firefox to browse the information superhighway1, as
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/02/mozilla-introducing-terms-of-use-to-firefox
App Grid Wizard Puts GNOME Shell Shortcuts into Folders
The application picker (aka app grid) in GNOME Shell is pretty perfect as it comes, showing launchers for installed apps plus the ability to rearrange them using drag and drop and create custom folders to group apps together. Some folks prefer a little more order. I’ve spotlighted a few Ubuntu app grid tweaks over the years, from one that puts app shortcuts in alphabetical order to ones which restores ‘missing’ shortcuts for apps pinned to the Ubuntu Dock. And now a new app grid helper has appeared – one sure to appeal to those with a preference for keeping things
#News #GnomeExtensions
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/02/app-grid-wizard-auto-groups-software-into-folders-in-gnome-shell
Plank Reloaded is a Desktop Dock App for Cinnamon
At one time, Linux dock apps were a plentiful species, with innovative ‘panel painters’ like GNOME Do/Docky to unashamed bling-kings AWN, DockBarX and Cairo Dock. Yet it was the modest Plank which stayed the course and outlived them. Thing is, the Plank dock hasn’t seen any major development for years, and though it still (just about) works, there’s scope for improvement, right? One developer doesn’t just think so: they’ve decided to do something about it. Plank Reloaded: Plank Fork Plank Reloaded is a new fork of the original Plank Linux dock, albeit with a twist: it’s focused on improving compatibility
#News #AppUpdates #Cinnamon #Docks #EyeCandy #Plank
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/02/plank-reloaded-linux-dock-cinnamon
4 New Effects Added to ‘Burn My Windows’ GNOME Extension
A set of four cool new window opening and closing animations got added to gaudy GNOME Shell extension Burn My Windows this weekend. A veritable Linux eye-candy essential, Burn My Windows makes it easy to apply a variety of visual effects to Ubuntu when opening and/or closing app windows, dialogs, and modals. Its sole purpose is to make using Linux a bit more entertaining. Burn My Windows v45 is the latest update. It adds support for the upcoming GNOME 48 release (which will ship in Ubuntu 25.04 this April), fine-tunes effect filtering in Preferences, and improves its Incinerate effect with
#News #BurnMyWindows #EyeCandy #GnomeExtensions
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/02/4-new-visual-effects-added-to-burn-my-windows-gnome-extensions
Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS is Available to Download
The Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS release is now available to download, albeit one week later than initially planned. Serving as the second point release in the current Ubuntu 24.04 LTS series, Ubuntu 24.04.2 compacts the slew of security, bug, and software updates pushed out to the Noble Numbat since the last point release ISO was spun in August 2024. Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS also brings an updated hardware enablement stack (HWE). This is composed of a newer Linux kernel and updated graphics drivers—Linux 6.11 and Mesa 24.2.8 respectively—back-ported from Ubuntu 24.10. Why do point releases exist? Ubuntu LTS versions are supported for a
#News #DistroRelease #PointReleases #Ubuntu24_04Lts
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/02/ubuntu-24-04-2-lts-is-now-available-to-download
Mozilla Announces Leadership Changes in an Effort to ‘Diversify’
Mozilla Corporation’s president, Mark Surman, has announced plans to tackle the ‘major headwinds’ facing the company’s efforts to make money and remain relevant. “Mozilla’s impact and survival depend on us simultaneously strengthening Firefox AND finding new sources of revenue AND manifesting our mission in fresh ways,” says Surman. To do this, Mozilla plans—no groaning—to ‘diversify’ its efforts. It will invest (more) in privacy-respecting advertising, develop open-source AI features1 to retain ‘product relevance’, and go all-out on fundraising initiatives to er, get us all to chip in and pay for it, I guess! A new Mozilla Leadership Council is being launched,
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/02/mozilla-announces-leadership-changes-in-an-effort-to-diversify
Mesa 25.0 Released with Support for Vulkan 1.4 & OpenGL 4.6
A new version of the Mesa graphics library has been released. Mesa 25.0 features Vulkan 1.4 support, which the team bill as the ‘flashiest addition’ in this new development release as it spans Anv (Intel), Asahi (Apple), Lavapipe (software), NVK (NVIDIA), PanVK (Mali), RADV (AMD), and Turnip (Qualcomm). The OpenGL 4.6 API also sees implementation in Mesa 25.0 though the version reported will depend on the hardware driver in use since not all drivers support all features OpenGL 4.6 requires. AMD RDNA4 graphics sees initial support in the RadeonSI Gallium3D (OpenGL) and RADV (Vulkan) drivers is present, the former worked
#News #Amd #GraphicsDrivers #Mesa #Vulkan
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/02/mesa-25-0-vulkan-1-4-amd-rdna4
Power Profiles Daemon 0.30 Preps Support for Linux 6.14
A new version of the Power Profiles Daemon (PPD) was uploaded to the Plucky archives today, and should soon make its way out to Ubuntu 25.04 daily builds —but what’s changed? The power-profiles-daemon is what those of who run Ubuntu (or Linux Mint 22.1, which finally added PPD) interact with when we switch power mode on the fly, be it using a GUI button, setting, or toggle, or the command line. The latest 0.30 release adds a couple of notable changes, though nothing as substantive (to end-users) as the various AMD-targeted tune-ups the previous release delivered. Still, improvements are improvements. Some
#News #Battery&Power #PowerProfiles #Ubuntu25_04
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/02/power-profiles-daemon-0-30-preps-support-for-linux-6-14
Ubuntu LTS Users Could Get Intel GPU Updates More Frequently
This week sees the (belated) release of Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS, the first point release update in the noble series to deliver an updated hardware enablement (HWE) stack. Ubuntu’s HWE backports newer Linux kernel and Mesa GPU drivers to LTS users in an effort to ensure the latest LTS works well with the latest hardware. But it could soon include a lot more. This week, Canonical engineer Shane McKee put forward a proposal to expand Ubuntu HWE updates so they loop in a broader range of graphics driver packages for Intel hardware. —the entire point of the HWE, after all. The
#News #GraphicsDrivers #Hwe #Intel
How to Disable (or Change) Login Sound in Ubuntu 24.10
When you log in to Ubuntu 24.10 an audio clip plays to greet you — a lengthy audio clip that slowly builds to a plinky-plonky crescendo that you—or those around you—may tire of having to sit through! But you can turn Ubuntu’s startup sound off, or swap it for an audio clip more to your tastes. Startup and login sounds were a staple part of Ubuntu during its formative years, but the distro decided to disable them in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS after getting feedback that, actually, they could be a bit annoying. Some 12 years Ubuntu 24.10 added a startup
#HowTo #Customization #Loginsounds #Ubuntu24_10
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/02/disable-or-change-ubuntu-login-sound
Tiling Shell Update Adds Window Suggestions for Screen Edge Snapping
A new version of Tiling Shell, the flexible window snapping assistant for GNOME Shell, is available. Tiling Shell v16.2 now surfaces nifty ‘Window Suggestions’, a feature introduced in last month’s v16.0 release, when using edge tiling. Edge Tiling (as no doubt you well know) is triggered by dragging a window to the sides of the screen. Window Suggestions for Edge Tiling is not enabled by default, so be sure to head to the extension’s Preferences panel to toggle it on (where you can also enable it for the key-drag tiling system method as well, if you like). Elsewhere, the extension
#News #GnomeExtensions #TilingShell
Ubuntu’s Icon Theme Fixing Its Not-So-Obvious ‘Bug’
Ever looked at Ubuntu’s default icon theme Yaru and found yourself thinking: “Eh, some of those icons look too big”? —No, can’t say I had either! But it turns out some of the icons are indeed oversized. The Yaru icon theme in Ubuntu uses 4 different shapes for its app, folder and mimetype (file) icons, with a shape picked based on what works best for the design motif being used. Those shapes are: Of those, the most common icon shape used in Yaru is ‘square’ (with rounded corners, but don’t call it a squircle cos that’s so 2014, y’all). It’s
#News #Design #Icons #Ubuntu25_04 #Yaru
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/02/ubuntus-icon-theme-resized
