Sync Your Gravatar to User Account in Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Do you like the idea of using the same profile picture for your Ubuntu user account as you use on Gravatar? If so, there’s a GNOME Shell extension that syncs your Gravatar profile picture to your GNOME Shell user account. It currently only supports GNOME 46, so if you’re using Ubuntu 24.04 LTS you can try it out. Not familiar with Gravatar? Gravatar is a cross-platform avatar service owned by Automattic, makers of WordPress (but WordPress isn’t required to use it). You sign up with an e-mail address, set a profile image, and supported websites and apps where you use 
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/08/sync-gravatar-gnome-shell-user-account
Mozilla’s New Logo Brings Back the Classic Dino Mascot (Kinda)
A new Mozilla logo appears to be on the way, marking the company’s first major update to its work mark since 2017. And that logo, which incorporates the internet protocol “://”, has grown to become rather synonymous with the company (albeit not as iconic as the red dragon). Now, Mozilla’s new logo is not yet confirmed. But German blogger Sören Hentzschel, an avid watcher of all things Mozilla, recently noticed that a different Mozilla word-mark accompanying the (unchanged) Firefox logo on Mozilla’s ‘Nothing Personal’ webpage: Some digging uncovered a number of recent code commits readying and referencing a refreshed word-mark
#News #Design #Mozilla
How to Install Thunderbird DEB on Ubuntu 24.04 (Not Snap)
Do you want to try the latest Thunderbird 128 release but don’t want to use the snap package available in Ubuntu? Your first thought might be to run sudo apt install thunderbird to install the DEB version of Thunderbird from the Ubuntu 24.04 LTS repos. But like Firefox and Chromium, the Thunderbird DEB package in Ubuntu 24.04 LTS is a transition package. When you install that package it installs the Thunderbird snap (and reinstalls snapd, if that has been removed). So in this guide I’m going to show you how to replace the Thunderbird snap with a DEB version from
#HowTo #Thunderbird
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/08/install-thunderbird-deb-not-snap-in-ubuntu-24-04
Ubuntu 24.10 Includes ‘Warty’ Anniversary Easter Eggs
Ubuntu 24.10 is released in October and will mark the 20th anniversary of Ubuntu. So it’s only fitting that the release offer a few ‘easter eggs’ in honour if its past. And there’s nothing as retro-Ubuntu than the colour brown, right? In a nod to the first ever Ubuntu release, Ubuntu 4.10 ‘Warty Warthog’, Ubuntu 24.10 will include a ‘warty brown’ accent colour1 for users to tinge their systems with. Ubuntu 24.10 includes the GNOME 47 desktop, and among the new features in GNOME 47 is accent colour support. “Er, doesn’t Ubuntu already have that?”, you ask. Yes, it does
#News #Ubuntu24_10 #Warty
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/08/ubuntu-24-10-anniversary-easter-eggs
Proton VPN Browser Extensions Now Available for Free Plan Users
Proton, the company behind a suite of privacy-focused services, has made the Proton VPN Chrome and Firefox extensions available to those with a Proton Free plan. Prior to now, only users who subscribed to a paid Proton VPN tier were able to use its official web extensions for Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome (plus other Chromium-based browsers). The change is big news. We’re excited to announce that Proton VPN’s browser extensions will now be available to everyone with a Proton Free plan. Now that they’re available for free, they make it easier for people worldwide to protect their privacy and
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/08/proton-vpn-browser-extensions-available-to-free-users
First Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Point Release Delayed By 2 Weeks
The first Ubuntu 24.04 point release won’t be released this week, as initially planned. Ubuntu developers had been aiming to release Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS on Thursday, August 19th, but has been delayed due to ‘high-impact upgrade bugs’. As a result, Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS is now due for release on Thursday, August 29th, two weeks later than initially planned. Those already using Ubuntu 24.04 LTS don’t need to be concerned since point releases are just ‘refreshed’ installer images that integrate all of the updates released to 24.04 LTS since its debut back in April. However, the first point-release in a new
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/08/first-ubuntu-24-04-lts-point-release-delayed
Thunderbird 130 Beta Includes a Tray Icon for Linux
The first Thunderbird 130 beta release is out, and when running it on Linux there’s a very obvious new feature: a tray icon! In the Thunderbird 130 beta release notes the ‘what’s new’ section lists “added Linux system tray icon”, and what’s mind-blowing about the addition is that it developers a feature request first filed on the Mozilla bug tracker a staggering 25 years ago! Tray icons are a bit old hat, but they remain useful on systems that don’t handle background apps in an intuitive or familiar manner. Thunderbird for Windows has a system tray icon/applet, but the e-mail
#News #AppUpdates #Beta #Thunderbird
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/08/thunderbird-beta-linux-tray-icon
Fastmail & Mailbox WebDAV/CalDav Fixes Coming to Ubuntu 24.04
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS users experiencing issues setting up Fastmail and mailbox.org providers in GNOME Online Accounts to access cloud files, calendars, and/or contacts will be pleased to hear a fix is inbound. Both aforementioned services support WebDAV, CalDAV, and CardDAV, making it easy for users to access their cloud files, calendar and contact information through others apps and services (like desktop and mobile apps). GNOME 46 features added a generic WebDAV provider to GNOME Online Accounts (GOA), making it possible for users of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS to sign into any WebDAV-supported service through (GOA) to allow desktop apps to fetch/read
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/08/ubuntu-24-04-fastmail-mailbox-webdav-fixes
Canonical Announce Major Ubuntu Kernel Change
Every been miffed when reading about a major new Ubuntu release only to learn it does not include the latest Linux kernel? Well, that’ll soon be a thing of the past. Canonical has announced a major change to its kernel selection process for future Ubuntu releases. An “aggressive kernel version commitment policy” pivot means it will now seek to ship the latest upstream kernel code at the time of a new Ubuntu release. Which is a huge change. It effectively means every new Ubuntu release (the ones that come out in October and April) will include the latest upstream Linux
#News #Development #LinuxKernel #Ubuntu #Ubuntu24_10
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/08/canonical-announce-major-ubuntu-kernel-change
You Can Now Download Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha with COSMIC Desktop
You’ve heard about System76’s new COSMIC desktop environment, you’ve seen screenshots and and WIP video clips of it, but now it’s time to take it for a test flight. The first alpha release of the COMSIC desktop is out, and so is the Pop!_OS 24.04 alpha, which comes pre-loaded with COSMIC making it easy to download an ISO, flash it to a USB, booting it up, and trying COSMIC yourself. Pop!_OS 24.04 is based on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, the latest long-term support release of Ubuntu. And while this new version of Pop!_OS sits atop the same technical underpinnings as Ubuntu
#News #CosmicDe #DistroRelease #Pop!_Os
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/08/you-can-now-download-pop_os-24-04-alpha-with-cosmic-desktop
Firefox 129 Released with New Tab Wallpapers & Reader View Tweaks
Mozilla Firefox 129 is now available download, and comes with a couple of features customisation fans are sure to enjoy. It’s been 4 weeks since Firefox 128 dished out a unified cookie, cache n’ data clearing experience, the ability to translate portions of text on a web page, and introduced a new privacy-respecting ‘alternative to user tracking’ API. Does Firefox 129 improve on all of that? Of course it does — for more details, scroll on! Mozilla Firefox 129: What’s Changed? I’ll kick off with the most eye-catching new feature in Firefox 129: new tab wallpapers! I previewed this feature back in
#News #AppUpdates #Firefox
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/08/firefox-129-released-adds-new-tab-wallpapers
GNOME Now Has an Official Extension for Legacy Tray Icons
As part of every GNOME release (spanning GNOME Shell, Mutter, core apps, etc) is an official set of GNOME Shell extensions. This is non-default package is “a collection of extensions providing additional and optional functionality to GNOME Shell” that are developed and maintained by GNOME developers. Ubuntu, like other Linux distributions that use GNOME Shell, doesn’t seed this pack of desktop bolt-ons in its default install, but do package it and keep it in their repositories. On Ubuntu you run sudo apt install gnome-shell-extensions to get it. Most of these ‘official’ extensions are available to install from the GNOME Extensions website.
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/08/gnome-official-status-icons-extension
Amarok 3.1 Released with Last.FM Tweaks, Qt 6 Prep + More
A new version of Qt-based music player Amarok is available to download. Amarok 3.1 lands three months after Amarok 3.0, which was the first release in nearly 6 years and saw the audio player’s developers complete their port to Qt 5 (which receives further polish here, in 3.1). But with Qt 6 now out work to port Amarok to Qt 6 and KDE Frameworks 6 has been picking up steam. Thought that effort isn’t complete here, in Amarok 3.1, the team say it’s “not that far away” – so that’s great to hear. Amarok 3.1 overhauls its Last.fm integration plugin
#News #Amarok #AppUpdates #MusicPlayers #QtApps
Firefox Nightly Makes Picture-in-Picture Mode MUCH Easier to Use
The latest Firefox Nightly build provides a feature that dramatically improves how its picture-in-picture (PIP) feature works — and I’m totally digging it! In current stable versions of Firefox you pop-out video content from (supported) websites like YouTube and Amazon Prime manually, by clicking a button. Doing this enables you to continue watching content in a small, floating window while you switch tabs, minimise the browser, etc. Picture-in-picture mode also allows you to pause/resume playback, see a progress bar, mute audio, enter full-screen, and even view subtitles — some features are streaming site/service dependant. I find this feature super handy,
#News #AppUpdates #Firefox
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/08/firefox-nightly-makes-picture-in-picture-mode-much-easier-to-use
3 New AI Features Rolling out to Chrome Users on Linux
Google has announced a clutch of new AI-powered features have begun rolling out to users of Chrome on Windows, macOS, and —for once!— Linux. Chrome Vice President Parisa Tabriz unveiled the trio of AI features, all powered by the latest Google Gemini models, on The Keyword blog today. “We’re making it even easier to search what you see with the power of Google Lens, compare products across multiple tabs and rediscover sites from your browser history, whether you’re at home or at work.” As of writing only one of these is present in the Google Chrome 127 release, while the others will
#News #Ai/Ml #Gemini #GoogleChrome
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/08/google-chrome-new-ai-features
JetBrains Wayland Preview Now Available for Testing
JetBrains users wondering when Wayland support might land should check out the latest ‘Early Access Program’ (EAP) builds released earlier this month – Wayland preview, ahoy! At present, all of IntelliJ-based IDEs on Linux run in a Wayland session use XWayland (the X server compatibility mode for software lacking native Wayland support). XWayland works well enough that most people can’t tell the difference. That’s great. Still, in not taking full advantage of the benefits Wayland offers, there’s potential untapped. Which is why the latest JetBrains 2024.2 EAP builds are an exciting update. They make it possible to use IntelliJ IDEA
#News #AppUpdates #DevTools #Jetbrains #Wayland
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/jetbrains-wayland-preview-build
AppImage Fan? Be Sure to Check Out ‘Gear Lever’
AppImages are great: a single runtime containing all of the required dependencies for the app to run, in a double-click binary you can run from anywhere on your system. And therein lies the rub. When I download an AppImage for software like Audacity, Kdenlive, etc., it’s to a folder or my desktop. To run it, I have navigate to the folder and double-click on the binary as unless I manually choose to create a .desktop launcher it won’t appear in any app launcher/menu. Solutions exist, of course. In 2022 I featured a terrific tool to integrate AppImages with Ubuntu easily.
#News #Appimages #AppsOnFlathub #GearLever #Libadwaita
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/gear-lever-appimage-app-for-gnome
How to Enable Hardware Acceleration in Chromium Snap
Last May, Canonical announced that a hardware-accelerated version of the Chromium snap was available for testing on Intel (7th-gen and later) hardware. Hardware acceleration on the modern web is a real boon. VP8, VP9, H.264, and AV1 codecs are in wide use, and modern GPUs (integrated and discrete) have dedicated decoders on them in order to deliver smooth video streaming (Netflix, YouTube, etc), video calls, and cloud gaming (Moonlight, Xbox Cloud Gaming, etc). Obviously, the less your CPU is tasked with, the better your system runs as the GPU stays cooler, you avoid thermal throttling, and battery life increases as
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/07/enable-hardware-acceleration-chromium-snap
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
