Audacity 3.7.2 Released with Ubuntu AppImage Fix + More
Open source audio editor Audacity has issue a new patch release with a sizeable set of bug fixes, including an appreciable one for Ubuntu users using the official Audacity AppImage. Audacity 3.7.2, the second point update in the currently Audacity 3.7.x series that debuted in October of last year, fixes FFmpeg loading in its official AppImage when run on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (and Linux distributions based on it). Audacity’s noise reduction filter regains its “Residue” option thanks to a community contribution, and no longer screws up pasting content from a clip by offsetting the beginning, and now warns when trying 
#News #AppUpdates #Audacity
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/03/audacity-3-7-2-released-with-ubuntu-appimage-fix-more
Ubuntu 25.04 Wallpaper & Mascot Art Unveiled
The default wallpaper set to ship in Ubuntu 25.04 ‘Plucky Puffin’ has been unveiled. Each new Ubuntu release bears its own bespoke desktop background and animal mascot design, the upcoming release of the Plucky Puffin proving no exception. As you’d expect, Ubuntu 25.04’s default wallpaper makes heavy use of the motifs provided by its codename and animal (i.e., it features a puffin). Similarly, the avian animal art once is once again perched atop a purple gradient background1 with polygonal edge detailing: The wallpaper comes in 4 variants: colour (default), light, dimmed, and dark (used in dark mode). Those not liking
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/03/ubuntu-25-04-wallpaper-mascot-art-unveiled
Ubuntu 24.04 Fixes Bluetooth Audio Connection Issues
If you’re an Ubuntu 24.04 LTS user regularly experiencing issues with connecting to audio devices, there’s an important update to the Bluetooth stack rolling out this week. Many users of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS have found paired Bluetooth audio devices (mainly earbuds/phones) fail to connect following suspend or system restart, be it automatically or manually. According to a slew of bug reports, many noble users found trying to manually connect to a previously-paired devices after a restart or suspend would fail — for some, up to 30 attempts would fail to connect or stay connections, requiring the need to remove and
#News #Bluetooth #Bluez #BugFixes #Ubuntu24_04Lts
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/03/ubuntu-2404-bluetooth-connect-fix
KeePassXC Snap App Finally Supports Web Browser Integration
The KeepassXC snap package now “just works” with web browsers, with the latest update adding support for native messaging using secure desktop portals. KeePassXC is a cross-platform, open-source password manager billed as a ‘community-driven port of the Windows application ‘Keepass Password Safe'”. It supports Linux (including CLI), and a snap package has been available since 2017. But until now users who installed the snap to leverage the browser integration (be it auto-fill of usernames and passwords on websites they visit, or saving credentials for new accounts they create) have needed to use a workaround involving an external script. Aside from
#News #Keepass #Keepassxc #PasswordManagement
Dash to Panel GNOME Extension Gets Big Update
A big update to the perennially popular GNOME Shell extension Dash to Panel is rolling out, including new settings to go from Dash to Panel to dock mode! Admittedly, that doesn’t sound like a new feature given that Dash to Panel is based on code from Dash to Dock. Yet, until now, those wanting the unified panel of Dash to Panel with the aesthetic of a dock… Had to make do with an inelegant fudge, or switch extension. No more; when whim and want demands a dynamic dock setup, Dash to Panel’s preferences area can help, making it easier to
#News #Customization #DashToPanel #EyeCandy #GnomeExtensions
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/03/dash-to-panel-gnome-extension-big-update
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
