Refine (Advanced GNOME Settings Apps) Adds More Options
A clutch of new customisation and configuration options were added to Refine, a GTK4/libadwaita app in the vein of GNOME Tweaks (but better), over the weekend. Refine is compelling due to its goal of offering the “convenience to add or remove options without touching a single line of source code” — though for a GUI option to exist it must be hooking into a variable within GNOME, i.e., it can’t magic up a toggle to make it rain glitter! A brief bit of turbulence ensnared those attempting to run the tool on Ubuntu after I covered it in early January 
#News #AppUpdates #Refine #SystemTools
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/01/refine-advanced-gnome-settings-apps-adds-more-options
Linux Kernel 6.13 Brings Big Changes
The first new kernel release of the year has arrived — yes, Linux 6.13 has gone stable. Linux kernel 6.13 adds, as ever, a vast array of improvements, from an updated Raspberry Pi graphics driver promising speed gains, to lazy preemption logic, expanded Rust support and new drivers for a host of hardware, peripherals and digital doohickeys. Plus, as with all new kernel releases there’s ongoing work to support new and upcoming CPUs and GPUs from industry titans Intel and AMD. Linus Torvalds quietly confirmed the Linux 6.13 release in an email to the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML), noting that as
#News #LinuxKernel #RaspberryPi
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/01/linux-kernel-6-13-release-features
Linux Mint 22.1 Released, Here’s Everything New
A major new release of Linux Mint is now available to download. Linux Mint 22.1 is the first update in the Linux Mint 22.x series and, like that version, is built on top of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and uses Linux Kernel 6.8 (though the distro plans to release newer kernel updates more often by opting-in to the Ubuntu HWE). Being based on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS means Linux Mint 22.1 receives on-going updates until July 2029. Though it features few foundational changes, Linux Mint 22.1 brings improvements to what sits on top – a new version of the Cinnamon desktop, Wayland-friendly features, new
#News #DistroRelease #LinuxMint
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/01/linux-mint-22-1-released-heres-everything-new
Ubuntu Patches Major Security Vulnerabilities in Rsync
Doing anything right now? Oh, you’re reading this – appreciated – but once you’re done go and install the pending update to Rsync, pushed out to all supported versions of Ubuntu desktop and server this week. Rsync is a command-line tool preinstalled in all versions and flavours of Ubuntu. It’s used for data-efficient copying and synchronising of files between locations, be it local or remote. You might not (knowingly) use it (it’s not a GUI app) it’s there, on your system. And the fact it’s there is important. This week, security researchers at Google disclosed major vulnerabilities in the Ubuntu
#News #AppUpdates #Canonical #Rsync #Security
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/01/rsync-secuity-bugs-ubuntu-updates
GNOME 48 Expands Core Apps With New Audio Player
When GNOME 48 is released in March it will debut with a brand-new audio player. Per a recent merge request, Decibels graduates from GNOME Incubator to GNOME Core Apps as part of GNOME 48, making the software something GNOME recommends downstream Linux distributions include to give users a fully-featured GNOME experience. You may be familiar with or even using Decibels already. I wrote about the app in late 2023, and it’s been available to install from Flathub for almost as long. For anyone not familiar with it, Decibels is a no-frills audio player designed for the GNOME desktop (but can
#News #AudioApps #Gnome48
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/01/gnome-48-new-audio-player
Flatpak 1.16 Improves USB Access, Wayland Integration & Accessibility
A new stable release of Flatpak is out with a wealth of improvements in tow. Flatpak 1.16.0 is the first stable release in the new 1.16.x series, coming more than two years after the Flatpak 1.14.x cycle began and containing features, fixes, and other work undertaken from the 1.15.x development releases. Such as? Well, the way that Flatpak apps access USB devices is improved in Flatpak 1.16.x thanks to a new input device permission. Developer Georges Basile Stavracas notes that this is “technically still a sandbox hole that should be treated with caution” but enables apps to purposefully limit the scope
#News #AppUpdates #Flatpak #Ppas
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/01/flatpak-1-16-released-new-features
Enlightenment 0.27 Released with Bug Fixes, New Modules
Enlightenment 0.27, released this week, brings a wealth of incremental improvements to users of this unique desktop environment. Though not as well known or widely used as GNOME, Xfce, KDE Plasma, et al, Enlightenment (often abbreviated as just ‘E’) differentiates itself through the use of Enlightenment Foundation Libraries (EFL). An assembly of modules, Enlightenment offers a lightweight window manager, compositor, and desktop shell built using Enlightenment Foundation Libraries (EFL), plus a small set of native EFL-based apps including a file manager, photo viewer, and terminal. Enlightenment’s aesthetics aren’t to everyone’s tastes (it’d be a boring world if it did; most
#News #DesktopEnvironments #Enlightenment
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/01/enlightenment-0-27-released
Tiling Shell’s Newest Feature Speeds Up Window Snapping
Window snapping GNOME extension Tiling Shell —not that you need an introduction to it by now— adds a nifty new feature in its latest update. Tiling Shell v16 introduces Windows Suggestions, a feature the add-on’s author described as being able to “provide intelligent recommendations for other windows to tile, making window management smoother and more intuitive.” Per the GIF below, placing a window in a tile using the tiling system results in on-screen suggestions for other windows to tile in the the remaining gaps. If too many windows are open (so suggestions don’t fit within the available space) it’s scrollable.
#News #GnomeExtensions #TilingShell
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/01/tiling-shell-extension-suggestions-feature
VLC Developers Working on AI-Powered Real-Time Subtitles
Real-time AI subtitling is in the works for VLC, the phenomenally popular open-source media player. VideoLAN, the non-profit in charge of VLC development, demoed automatic subtitle generation in VLC at CES 2025 (where not using AI made you stand out this year), and shared a clip of the feature in action (at their CES booth) on X last week. What’s interesting is that the feature doesn’t use a cloud service, logins, or internet connection. It runs offline with real-time translation support for more than 100 languages; can translate/display two languages at once; can ‘save’ translations to an SRT file. “VLC
#News #Ai/Ml #Vlc
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/01/vlc-demo-ai-real-time-subtitles-for-any-video
Linux Foundation & Google Form New Group to Manage Chromium
Google is teaming up with the Linux Foundation, Microsoft, Meta, and Opera to form a new Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers group. Members of the group, managed by the Linux Foundation, will work together, pool resources, talent, time, and expertise to improve, innovate, and accelerate development of the open-source Chromium codebase. Why the Linux Foundation? Google cites their “long established practices for open governance, prioritizing transparency, inclusivity, and community-driven development.” For its part, Google says it has no intention of reducing its contributions to Chromium (which made up roughly 94 percent of all commits to the codebase in 2024), but will
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/01/supporters-of-chromium-based-browsers-linux-foundation
COSMIC Alpha 5 Brings Media Player App, User Account Editing + More
A big alpha update to System76’s COSMIC desktop environment is out, bringing new apps, more settings, and plenty of performance tuneups and pesky bug fixes. This is the 5th alpha preview of the Rust-based DE since August 2024. Further alphas are planned each month until all of features, capabilities, and options planned for the first ‘epoch’ release are in place, at which point beta testing will follow. Arriving with this alpha is a refreshed ISO of Pop!_OS 24.04 (Alpha), so users who want to check in on the progress being made can do so easily. As with previous COSMIC desktop
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/01/cosmic-desktop-alpha-5-new-media-player
Raspberry Pi 5 with 16GB RAM Announced for $120
Raspberry Pi has today announced the launch of a Raspberry Pi 5 with 16GB RAM. A engorged-memory model had been oft-rumoured since the launch of the raspberry Pi 5 in 2024 – and long-desired by fans of this particular single-board computer (SBC). The launch of the new Raspberry Pi CM5 late last year offers up to 16GB RAM whilst utilising the same underlying chipset as the Pi 5, all but confirming a bumper RAM revision for the full-size board was imminent. Why didn’t they launch a 16GB model right away? It’s only with last year’s minor revision to the Broadcom
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/01/raspberry-pi-5-16gb-ram-announced
Firefox 134 Brings Touch Hold Gestures to Linux, Ecosia Search + More
Mozilla Firefox 134 has landed, making the browser’s first release of the new year. It’s been a month since Firefox 133 delivered time-saving tab overview access, beefed up bounce tracking protection, finessed flaws with Flatpak file opening, and smoothed out issues causing slow DNS lookup/connection timings on 64-bit Linux distributions. Do the changes in Firefox 134 best those? Let’s take a look! Firefox 134: New Features Touch hold gestures on Linux On Linux, Firefox 134 supports touchpad hold gestures. This allows kinetic scrolling to be stopped simply by placing two fingers on the touchpad. If you ever scroll down a lengthy article
#News #AppUpdates #Firefox
Long-Time Ubuntu Contributor Steve Langasek Has Passed Away
Sad news from Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth today: longtime Ubuntu and Debian contributor Steve Langasek has passed away. In a touching post shared to the Ubuntu Discourse, Mark Shuttleworth carries word that “Steve passed away at the dawn of 2025. His time was short but remarkable. He will forever remain an inspiration.” “Judging by the outpouring of feelings this week, he is equally missed and mourned by colleagues and friends across the open source landscape, in particular in Ubuntu and Debian where he was a great mind, mentor and conscience.” As a former Debian and Ubuntu release manager, and a
#Community #News #Canonical
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/01/long-time-ubuntu-contributor-steve-langasek-has-passed-away
Want to Tweak Advanced Settings in GNOME? Try Refine
If you’ve ever played around with customising Ubuntu (or any GNOME Shell-based Linux distribution) you’ll have encountered GNOME Tweaks, an official app giving you GUI access to options, settings, and controls not otherwise exposed in the UI. In recent years, GNOME’s developers have begun migrating settings out of GNOME Tweaks and into the desktop proper — a move which refutes that oft-opined claim that GNOME only removes options, never adds them. But we (as users) can’t expect GNOME to cover and cater to every whim, want and wish. It pulls engineers and developers away from working on arguably more important
#News #Gnome
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/01/refine-advanced-tweak-tool-for-gnome
What Do You Want to See From Ubuntu in 2025?
A new year has started, and who knows what kind of innovations and improvements it holds for for Ubuntu, which remains the world’s most used desktop Linux operating system. We get 2 new releases of Ubuntu each year, one in April and one in October. Plus, new point releases of the latest long-term support release rolling up bug fixes, app updates, and back-porting newer Linux kernels and GPU drivers. So 2025 should be another golden year for Ubuntu, those of us using it, and the Linux and open-source community as a whole. Changes to Ubuntu in 2024 span a wide
#Opinion #Ubuntu25_04
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/01/what-do-you-want-to-see-from-ubuntu-in-2025
10 Cool Changes Ubuntu Received in 2024
As another year transitions from present to past, I want1 to recap the notable new features, changes, updates and innovations Ubuntu saw over the past 12 months. And there was a fair bit: we got a noble new long-term support release in Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, as well as an opulent follow up in Ubuntu 24.10; we saw Canonical ensuring Ubuntu is at the forefront of next-gen tech, and even Snaps started to suck less! ;) For a round up of ten cool things Ubuntu got, did, or announced in 2024, and listed in no particular order, read on — just
#News #BestOf2024 #Ubuntu
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/10-cool-changes-in-ubuntu-2024
Kdenlive is Adding One of Final Cut Pro’s Best Features
Removing backgrounds from video in Kdenlive, the free, open-source video editor for Linux, macOS and Windows, is about to get a whole lot easier. This “modern background removal tool” uses object masks to automatically cut out the subject of a video clip — no green screen required! Real-time background removal features are increasingly common in video conferencing/chat apps like Slack. They allow a user to replace their actual backdrop (like a messy kitchen) with an alternative image or, sometimes, even a video clip. Video editors often have similar needs: they want to ‘cut out’ an object, item, person, or whatever
#News #Ai/Ml #AppUpdates #Kdenlive #QtApps #VideoEditors
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/kdenlive-automatic-object-masking-feature
Orbit is Mozilla’s AI Assistant Add-On for Firefox (Now in Beta)
Orbit by Mozilla is a new AI-powered assistant for the Firefox web browser that makes it easy to summarise web content as you browse, directly from the page you’re on. After all, why read an article to understand what it says when you can read an AI summary rephrasing it instead? ;) Joking aside, Mozilla’s AI assistant Orbit does things a bit differently. The add-on is currently in “beta” and available to install from the Firefox add-ons site. It works on Firefox for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and is described thus: Orbit empowers you to stay informed and efficient by
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/orbit-by-mozilla-ai-assistant-firefox-extension
GNOME’s New Image Viewer is Add Image Editing Features
Loupe (aka Image Viewer) is GNOME’s modern successor to the venerable Eye of GNOME has picked up its first batch of image editing features. The features in question were only recently merged upstream, aren’t finished, and not yet included in a stable build. But they’re an interesting addition that furthers the likelihood that Loupe could become the default image viewer on Ubuntu. At present, Ubuntu continues to use Eye of GNOME as the default tool for opening and browsing image files on desktop, despite Loupe having officially replaced it upstream in the GNOME project as a GNOME Core app. Loupe
#News #Gnome #Gnome48 #ImageEditors #Loupe
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/loupe-image-viewer-adds-crop-features
