Firefox 123 Delivers Better Linux Gamepad Support + More
A new stable version of the Mozilla Firefox web browser is available to download. Mozilla Firefox 123 buffs the browser’s privacy-respecting translation. When translating a web page the browser now also translates text shown in tooltips (i.e. titles) and placeholder text shown in form controls/fields/search boxes. A clutch of address bar settings are now listed in the Settings > Search section. From there, you can choose what kinds of results the address bar ‘suggests’ for queries, you enter, e.g., browsing history, bookmarks, open tabs, shortcuts, and search engines. Linux gamer? You’ll be pleased to hear Firefox 123 adopts evdev for 
#News #AppUpdates #Firefox
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/mozilla-firefox-123-features
Miracle-WM: New Tiling Wayland Compositor Based on Mir
Fans of tiling window managers like i3, Sway, and Hyprland will be interested to hear there’s a new option in town called Miracle-WM. Created by Canonical engineer Matthew Kosarek, Miracle-WM is notable for being a Wayland compositor that is based on Mir. For those with long memories, Mir began life as a replacement for X. It was intended to become the default display server in Ubuntu desktop instead of Wayland. Controversy and acrimony ensued, then Canonical’s plans for Ubuntu changed, and so did the scope and purpose of Mir. Development on Mir continued and the project matured as it focused
#News #Mir #Tiling #Wayland
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/miracle-wm-tiling-wayland-compositor-mir
Leading Open-Source IRC Client Announces Final Release
Open-source, cross-platform IRC client HexChat has announced its final release. HexChat 2.16.2 arrives with a small selection of bug fixes and new features for its long-standing fans to enjoy, rounding out a near 12 years of continued development since starting life as a fork of XChat. “This will be the last release I make of HexChat,” app maintainer TingPing says in a blog post announcement. “The project has largely been unmaintained for years now and nobody else stepped up to do that work.” HexChat’s previous release was back in 2021, accompanied by a call for help to keep development of
#News #AppUpdates #Irc
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/hexchat-irc-client-final-release
GNOME Network Displays Adds Support for MICE, Chromecast
The latest version of the GNOME Network Displays app lets you stream your desktop to a wireless display using the Chromecast and Miracast over Infrastructure (MICE) protocols. Both features had been in development for a while and were long-standing requests from many in the community. To see both land in a recent release of GNOME Network Displays 0.9 is great news, and makes working with wireless displays a lot easier. MICE support has been tested to stream a GNOME desktop to an LG WebOS smart TV through ethernet and Wi-Fi over LAN rather than WiFi Direct. MICE works better with older
#News #AppUpdates #Chromecast #Miracast #Network #WirelessDisplay
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/gnome-network-displays-adds-support-for-mice-chromecast
elementary OS 8 Enters Early Access – Here’s What’s Planned
Sponsors of elementary OS now have early access to the next major version of the Ubuntu-based desktop Linux operating system. elementary OS 8 is the next major update, following on from this year’s elementary OS 7.x series. It is based on the packages from the Ubuntu 24.04 repositories, but as that release isn’t out until April a final release of elementary OS 8 will likely be early summer at the soonest. But as ever with elementary: there is no fixed release date until a release date is ready to be fixed in. With early access builds out, let’s look a
#News #Elementary
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/elementary-os-8-plans-early-access
Ubuntu 24.04 Refreshes the Desktop Installer [First Look]
As part of work on the upcoming Ubuntu 24.04 release Canonical’s engineers have been working on improving the Ubuntu installer — with “provisioning” a key aim. Now the Ubuntu desktop installer uses the same backend technology as Ubuntu Server Canonical would like to bring features coming used in server deployments to regular desktop users. It says it realised its “focus was too much” on the installer, and not on the “broader perspective”. Hence “evolving from installation to provisioning” Doing so is going to streamline their development process and make life easier for OEMs and others installing Ubuntu in managed environments.
#News #Development #Ubuntu24_04Lts
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/ubuntu-24-04-installer-redesign
ONLYOFFICE 8.0 Released with PDF Buffs, Support for RTL
Lots of new features, er feature in the latest update to ONLYOFFICE, the open-source productivity suite for Windows, macOS, and Linux. ONLYOFFICE 8.0 introduces RTL support, albeit as an opt-in, beta feature. When enabled it enables RTL text in the UI and support for bidirectional text input in text documents and presentations — though devs stress it’s partial support with known limitations. Plenty of PDF improvements are provided in this update. This version makes it possible to encrypt regular PDFs with passwords to prevent unauthorised access, and create fillable PDF forms (which can’t encrypted) from editable DOCXF templates. Anyone working with
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/onlyoffice-8-0-released-with-pdf-buffs-support-for-rtl
Ubuntu ‘Command Not Found’ Open to Exploit, Warn Experts
Researchers at Aqua Nautilus say they’ve identified a security issue with the way Ubuntu’s “command not found” feature works that attackers could exploit to trick users into installing malicious snaps. In a lengthy blog post detailing their investigation, the security outfit conclude that “the risk of attackers exploiting the ‘command-not-found’ utility to recommend their own malicious snap packages is a pressing concern”. “The true peril lies in the potential scope of this issue, with attackers capable of mimicking thousands of commands from widely-used packages,” adding “past instances of malicious packages appearing in the Snap Store highlight this issue.” What’s the
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/security-researchers-detail-ubuntu-security-flaw
Mozilla Announces Layoffs, Will Bring ‘Trustworthy’ AI to Firefox
Mozilla, makers of the Firefox web browser, is the latest tech company to announce layoffs. The non-profit says it is is scaling back development on a number of projects and, as a result, 60 team members (roughly 5% of its workforce) will lose their jobs. Among the project TechCrunch says Mozilla has earmarked for cutbacks is the paid-for Online Footprint Scrubber feature announced barely a week ago. Similarly, its VPN, Relay and privacy products and the Mozilla.social Mastodon instance will see reduced investment going forward (users of the latter needn’t panic as the instance isn’t being axed just undergoing what Mozilla
#News #Mozilla
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/mozilla-announces-layoffs-firefox-ai-plans
First Look at Ubuntu’s New ‘Desktop Security Center’
Ubuntu is working on a new Desktop Security Center tool that will make it easier for users to access many of the distro’s underlying security features. An early version of the Flutter-based app was made available to install from the Canonical Snap Store this week — but before anyone gets too excited I must stress it’s very much a WIP! Read on for a bit more detail on what this app is, the features Canonical plans to add, and how to install a preview version to try it out for yourself. Ubuntu Desktop Security Center Ubuntu offers a variety of
#News #Security #Snaps #Ubuntu24_04Lts
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/first-look-at-ubuntus-new-desktop-security-center
Collector is like a Linux Version of DropOver
If you’re looking for a way to more efficiently copy files on Linux, check out Collector. Collector gives you a temporary holding space on which you can drag and drop multiple files, paste clipboard content, and drop web links to images (e.g., Google Images). You can take your time gathering content, and preview and edit your ‘stash’ as you go. When ready you can drag all items out with a single click and drop them elsewhere. You could drop them to a folder on your file system, on to an app (if it supports opening them), or on to a
#Apps #Collector #Office&ProductivityApps
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/collector-app-like-dropover-for-linux
Firefox Devs Working on Tab Hover Previews
Tab previews are in the works for Mozilla Firefox. In current versions of the browser, hovering your mouse over a non-focused browser tab shows a small tooltip that displays the web page title — and that’s it. While this is handy, especially if you have a ton of open tabs (including many from the same site) and are able to read enough of the tab title to distinguish which tab is for which page, you may be more visually-orientated. Enter tab previews. In the latest Firefox 123 beta builds Mozilla devs have added a new flag. When this is enabled
#News #Firefox
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/firefox-devs-working-on-tab-hover-previews
PeaZip 9.7 Archive Tool Now Supports ARM64 Linux
A new version of PeaZip, a popular free, open-source archive manager for Windows, macOS, and Linux, is available to download. PeaZip 9.7 is the first release to offer a native build for AArch64/ARM64 Linux systems, allowing anyone to use PeaZip on the Raspberry Pi 4 & 5, the PineBook Pro, Lenovo X13s Gen 1, and other 64-bit ARM devices. Although an experimental test build and community-based ports of PeaZip for ARM have been around for a while this is the first formal, native, official, etc build — though it’s only provided as a portable build (i.e. not a DEB or
#News #AppUpdates #Peazip
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/peazip-adds-arm64-linux-support
Ubuntu Core Desktop Delayed, Won’t Be Released in April
Ubuntu Core Desktop will not be released alongside Ubuntu 24.04 LTS in April, as originally hoped. For those thinking “wait, what?!” — last year Canonical announced it was building an all-snap, immutable version of Ubuntu for home users called Ubuntu Core Desktop. Further, it was aiming to make the first version available to download in April of this year, alongside the regular Ubuntu 24.04 LTS release. It wasn’t going to be default, more of a formal, public preview release. But those plans have changed: [Ubuntu Core Desktop] won’t be released by 24.04, and unfortunately, I can’t provide a date until
#News #Snaps #Ubuntu24_04Lts #UbuntuCoreDesktop
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/ubuntu-core-desktop-delayed
Desktop YouTube Music App ‘Musictube’ Gets ‘Major Overhaul’
A new version of Musictube, a Qt-based desktop app that lets you stream music from YouTube, is available for download for Windows, macOS and Linux. Musictube 2 is described as a “major overhaul” offering an improved search algorithm that now supports genres in addition to artists, albums and song titles. The user interface has been refreshed, sporting a “more modern, flatter and generally cleaner” look — a look matching the revamped UI Flavio’s local music player app Minitunes received a few months back. Other changes in Musictube 2 include lighter resource usage by only streaming audio when videos are hidden;
#News #AppUpdates #Musictube
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/musictube-2-released-youtube-music-streaming
Thunderbird Snap Planned for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
If you’re an Ubuntu user who uses the Thunderbird e-mail client there are a couple of interesting changes on the way you may wish to know about. Canonical’s Thunderbird snap is now built using upstream source code rather than repacking upstream binaries. A subtle-sounding difference that delivers decent-sounding opportunities. For one, the change should allow the Thunderbird snap to be built for architectures other than AMD64, thereby enabling the Thunderbird snap to (theoretically; it’s not currently) be installed in Ubuntu running on, say, the Raspberry Pi — which is neat. Secondly, by building the Thunderbird snap from source code Canonical
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/thunderbird-snap-in-ubuntu-24-04
GNOME 46 Plans OneDrive File Access in Nautilus
Support for accessing Microsoft OneDrive files through Nautilus is planned for GNOME 46, which is due for release next month. GVfs (GNOME virtual filesystem) provides a number of backends that allow SFTP, SMB, HTTP, MTP, WebDAV and other mounts/shares to be accessed through the Nautilus file manager (i.e. as folders and files you can open, move, edit, etc). That tech already offers a Google Drive backend (which is setup via the Settings > Online Accounts panel). On the way is OneDrive support, thanks to a revived effort utilising the MS Graph API library (and a related task to add the
#News #Onedrive
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/onedrive-support-planned-gvfs-gnome-46
Bluesky is now open to all, invite codes no longer required
Bluesky, the much-hyped open-source alternative to X/Twitter, is now open for all — invites code no longer needed! Launched in the spring of last year, Bluesky is a decentralised social network modelled after early Twitter. You sign up, post, follow people, repost, and generally enjoy seeing content from people you choose in a reverse-chronological feed. And for fans of algorithms, Bluesky has an open marketplace where developers can share custom feeds that users can add, access, and even make their default experience. This focus on giving users choice will, Bluesky CEO Jay Graber says, shortly extend to moderation. Despite being
#News #Bluesky #SocialMedia
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/bluesky-is-now-open-to-all-invite-codes-no-longer-required
Kubuntu 24.04 LTS Won’t Include KDE Plasma 6.0
Kubuntu 24.04 LTS will not use KDE Plasma 6.0 by default. Kubuntu Council member Rick Timmis has shared an overview of a recent meeting at which it was “unanimously agreed” to, among other things, prepare an alpha of KDE Plasma 6 targeting the Kubuntu 24.10 release. Ubuntu Studio lead Erich Eickmeyer refers to the agreement on Discourse, confirming: “The Kubuntu Council voted unanimously to stay on Plasma 5 for the time being.” Noting: “I’m the leader of Ubuntu Studio, which also uses Plasma, and would’ve had something to say about any last-minute (at this point) transitions with a lot of
#News #KdePlasma #KdePlasma6 #Kubuntu
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/kubuntu-24-04-wont-use-kde-plasma-6
Microsoft’s VS Code Drama Gets a (Temporary) Happy Ending
Microsoft has announced a temporary reprieve for developers using VS Code to connect to servers, clouds, container, and other devices running Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. As I covered last week, Microsoft pushed out an update to VS Code that bumps its glibc requirement, dropping support for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (which uses an older version of glibc) in the process. Innocuous though it sounds, that move had a major impact, leaving thousands of developers who use VS Code unable to connect to/work with devices running Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and other Linux distros equipped with glibc 2.27 or lower, including RHEL 7, CentOS
#News #Microsoft #Ubuntu18_04 #Vscode
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/02/vscode-recovery-update-for-ubuntu-18-04
