Zorin OS 17.2 Released with New Appearance Options, Linux Kernel
Zorin OS 17.2 is now available for download, bringing users of the Ubuntu-based Linux distribution a welcome set of improvements and updates. The latest major release in the Zorin OS 17 series, which is based on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, is described by the Zorin team as being the “most capable, customisable, and compatible version yet”. How so? Well, Zorin OS 17.2 adds new options to the Zorin Appearance app. This one-stop personalisation tool now lets users change their cursor theme, and install third-party themes by following a linked guide which, interestingly, deals how to restyle gtk4/libadwaita stylesheets by way of 
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The Best New Features in Ubuntu 24.10
Ubuntu 24.10 ‘Oracular Oriole’ is released on October 13th, and as you’d expect from a new version of Ubuntu, it’s packed with new features. As a short-term release, Ubuntu 24.10 gets 9 months of ongoing updates, security patches, and critical fixes. It’s not long, but Ubuntu 25.04 is released in April of next year (6 months later) and all users on 24.10 can upgrade to 25.04 directly. But enough about releases to come, and more on this one. In this post I run through the best Ubuntu 24.10 features, changes, and enhancements. Keep in mind that everything you read about below
#News #Feature #Gnome47 #Ubuntu24_10
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/ubuntu-24-10-new-features
Open-Source Alternative to Cursor? Void Aims To Be
VS Code is to modern text editors what Chromium is to browsers: a fork magnet. A slew of niche spins have emerged, each putting their own spin on Microsoft’s massively popular original. The latest to join the fray is Void. The Github page for Void describes it as an open-source alternative to Cursor. Cursor is a subscription-based, cross-platform AI-powered text editor (and VS Code fork) that has gained considerable attention. It offers AI-powered code completion, predictive coding, code generation, edit suggestions, and predictive cursor positioning. It’s even said to be popular with developers working on AI at companies like OpenAI
#News #Ai/Ml #TextEditor #Void #VsCode
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/void-editor-open-source-cusor-alternative
Ubuntu 24.10 Fixes Annoying Issue with PWAs in Chromium Snap
Using the Chromium snap app? If you do, and you use Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) there’s a bug fix coming down the pipes that will improve your workflow. Presently, if you install a PWA in the Chromium snap you can open it in a separate, streamlined window using the app shortcut you find in the applications grid. But when you open it it doesn’t get its own dock icon (it just merges into the Chromium one) and it’s not treated as a separate app by the task switcher, which makes it more difficult (but not impossible) to accessing using alt/super
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/chromium-snap-pwa-fixed-in-ubuntu
Linux Kernel 6.11 Released, This is What’s New
Linus Torvalds has announced the release of Linux kernel 6.11, which is the kernel version Ubuntu 24.10 and Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS will offer. Fittingly, this update arrives a few days before the Linux Kernel Maintainer Summit takes place in Vienna, Austria. In his message to the Linux Kernel Mailing List to sign-off on the release Torvalds’ writes: “I’m once again on the road and not in my normal timezone, but it’s Sunday afternoon here in Vienna, and 6.11 is out”, and asks kernel devs to “give the latest release a try” before getting stuck in with the 6.12 merge window,
#News #LinuxKernel
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/linux-kernel-6-11-released-this-is-whats-new
Raspberry Pi Imager Ported to Qt 6, Now Uses AppImages on Linux
You don’t need to own a Raspberry Pi to make use of the Raspberry Pi Imager as this nifty image writer makes flashing ISO, IMG, and similar files to USB drives and SD cards mighty easy. Raspberry Pi Imager 1.9 was released this week and it’s a big update. For one, this open-source and cross-platform image writer now uses Qt 6. This provides a stack of underlying improvements in terms of stability, but also some visual ones as Raspberry Pi say the Qt 6 port provides “a lightly refreshed UI throughout on all platforms.” Also of note, Raspberry Pi Imager
#News #AppUpdates #ImageWriter #RaspberryPi
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/raspberry-pi-imager-official-appimage
Ubuntu 24.10 Fixes a Pesky File Picker Paper-Cut
Ubuntu 24.10 features a clutch of headline-worth changes, but also plenty of less obvious fixes for “paper cuts” – including a decades-long issue with thumbnails in the GTK file picker. Feeling deja-vu? GNOME 44 (shipped in Ubuntu 23.04) included a thumbnail grid in the GTK file picker to make it quicker and easier to select the right files to upload, or open in an app, and so on. A feature long overdue, resolving a “bug” which had been open for 20 years! Only, there is a bit of a problem with how it works — some of you may have
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/ubuntu-24-10-fixes-missing-thumbnails-file-picker
Ubuntu 22.04.5 LTS Released with Linux Kernel 6.8
The fifth and final point release to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS is now available to download. This update was due to be released a couple of weeks ago but was delayed by a delay in getting Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS out the door – something had to give, so the release date of this update slipped. But it’s here now, ready to download. Ubuntu 24.04.5 LTS brings a freshly-spun installer image (ISO) that includes all of the software, security, and stability updates released since the last ISO was made. This cuts down on the number of updates that have to downloaded after
#News #PointReleases #Ubuntu22_04Lts
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/ubuntu-22-04-5-lts-released-with-linux-kernel-6-8
Tiling Shell Adds Option to Show Border Around Focused Window
All keybindings accessible from one place
#News #GnomeExtensions #TilingShell
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/tiling-shell-gnome-extension-window-border-option
Linux Mint Tease ‘Improved’ Default Cinnamon Theme
The Cinnamon desktop environment looks pretty nice on Linux Mint, but if you install it on other distributions it doesn’t look as good — but that’s about to change. In his latest monthly mail-shot, distro lead Clement Lefebvre says the “ugly” default Cinnamon theme, which is maintained for trouble-shooting and testing purpose and is not the theme Linux Mint itself sets as default, will be “much improved” in Cinnamon 5.4. “In our distribution the focus is on Mint-Y. The default Cinnamon theme rarely gets attention from theme artists,” he says. “Ideally, it is the responsibility of the distributions to
#News #Cinnamon #LinuxMint
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/linux-mint-new-default-cinnamon-theme-more
Parallels 20 for Mac Released with Ubuntu 24.04 VM Support
Parallels Desktop 20 has been released for macOS. The virtualisation software introduces a number of buffs for Linux VMs running on macOS. The headline change in Parallels Desktop 20 is support for macOS Sequoia, both as host OS and as a guest — important given that Sequoia is due to be released in the next few weeks. But Parallels Desktop 20 has a lot of improvements for Linux guests too. First up, it now officially supports Ubuntu 24.04 LTS VMs, Fedora 39/40, and a handful of other recent Linux distributions releases. The icons for Ubuntu VMs now use the new
#News #Macos #ParallelsDesktop #VirtualMachines
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/parallels-desktop-for-mac-ubuntu-2404-support
VirtualBox 7.1 Goes Stable with Qt 6 UI, Wayland Clipboard Support + More
VirtualBox 7.1 is now available to download for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Those upgrading from VirtualBox 7.0 or earlier will find a sizeable set of changes on offer, among them what Oracle describe as a “modernized look and feel”. Set your expectations accordingly for while this update to VirtualBox does feature an improved UI, as well as a port to Qt 6, the extent of those changes are more ‘modest refinement’ than ‘major revamp’. Basically, VirtualBox 7.1 now offers two UI modes: Basic (educes the number of options, settings, info, etc shown) and Expert (doesn’t hide anything). Switching between them is easy,
#News #AppUpdates #VirtualMachines #Virtualbox
Wow, the Juno Tab 3 Ubuntu Tablet is Expensive – And I’m Not Sure Why…
Juno Computers have announced their latest Linux tablet, the Juno Tab 3, and it’s available to buy preloaded with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. Which is great. The slate is powered by a low-power Intel N100 processor, boasts a healthy 12 GB RAM, an internal 512 GB M.2 SSD, and comes fronted by a 12.1-inch 2K touch display. Very agreeable. It also comes with a detachable keyboard accessory (in matching colour), enabling owners to turn their tablet into a portable productivity hub. Sounds good — so what’s the catch? The price tag. See, the Juno Tab 3 costs from $699. That feels
#Hardware #News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/juno-tab-3-ubuntu-tablet-is-expensive
Fastfetch is the Perfect Neofetch Replacement
When development on system info tool Neofetch was discontinued1 earlier this year a slew of forks, alternatives, and upstart projects sprung up to fill the void. Yet the Neofetch alternative that’s gained the most traction —anecdotally, at least; I’ve not be creeping around Linux conferences to verify first-hand—is FastFetch (or Fastfetch; not sure on the capitalisation). Fastfetch is similar to Neofetch in that it ‘pretty prints’ information about your OS, pertinent underlying technologies, and system’s hardware specs in a terminal window. But it’s a lot more capable, faster, more featured, supports Wayland (which Neofetch technically didn’t), and (perhaps most importantly)
#News #CliTools #SystemTools
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/fastfetch-is-the-best-neofetch-alternative
KDE Slimbook VI – A Powerful Laptop for KDE Enthusiasts
Looking for a powerful new Linux laptop? The new KDE Slimbook VI may very well appeal. Unveiled at Akademy 2024, KDE’s annual community get-together, the KDE Slimbook VI marks a major refresh from earlier models in the KDE Slimbook line. And this thing ain’t no slouch – a dedicated benchmark page shows how this model compares to the preceding versions (spoiler: better). The 16-inch KDE Slimbook VI is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS CPU with integrated NPU for local AI/ML workloads. Graphics are integrated but are well above the usual iGPU fare, with 12-cores, a high clock speed,
#Hardware #News #Kde #LinuxLaptops #Slimbook
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/kde-slimbook-vi-a-powerful-laptop-for-kde-enthusiasts
Canonical Halts Upgrades to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Due to ‘Critical Bug’
Last week, the first point release of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS arrived and upgrades from Ubuntu 22.04 LTS enabled. Upgrade prompts began to show on desktops and Canonical encouraged folks to upgrade. Only, those upgrades didn’t go work out well for everyone. So much so that Canonical has paused upgrades to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS from Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. Yesterday, the ‘noble’ release was edited out of the meta-release-lts file (which is what Ubuntu systems check to ‘see’ new version) thereby preventing anyone from being able to upgrade to 24.04.1 LTS through officially-supported methods. Canonical says it’s halted upgrades “due to a critical bug
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/canonical-halts-ubuntu-24-04-lts-upgrades-again
Ubuntu 24.10 Default Wallpaper Revealed
The default wallpaper of Ubuntu 24.10 ‘Oracular Oriole’ (and the official release mascot artwork) has been unveiled. A visit to the local temple mystic wasn’t required to predict that an oriole would take centre-stage in the Ubuntu 24.10 wallpaper. Animal mascots are a recurring feature of Ubuntu’s default background since Ubuntu 17.10 ‘Artful Aardvark’. So it is – a geometric oriole bird motif sits ensconced within circles, with moons and other arcane symbols (echoing the ‘oracular’ element) surrounding it: It’ll sound twee and a tad pretentious, but I kind of see the circular aspect as a nod to the community
#News #DefaultWallpaper #Ubuntu24_10
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/ubuntu-2410-default-wallpaper-design
Audacity 3.6.2 Released with Scores of Bug Fixes
The Audacity 3.6 release in July brought some masterful new features with it, plus all-new Compressor and Limiter filters. But not everyone was pleased to lose access to the older version of those, so Audacity’s devs have brought ’em back in a point release update to the currently Audacity 3.6 stable series. Those who prefer (or just more used to) the original Limiter, Compressor and Classic filters can access them in Audacity 3.6.2 from the new “Legacy” effects section. They’re available to use with new and existing Audacity projects. Audacity 3.6.2 also resolves a sizeable set of bugs, with fixes including: Plus plenty more
#News #AppUpdates #Audacity
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/audacity-3-6-2-bug-fix-bonanza
Ubuntu’s New Security Center Readies Stable Release
Ubuntu’s new desktop Security Center app is gearing up for its first stable release, along with a background tool called Prompting Client. I first reported on the creation of Security Center earlier this year and it hasn’t changed a great deal since then. Underlying code has been improved, and the Flutter UI made to look more like Yaru/GTK, but in terms of what it does, not much! The Snap Store description for the app describes it as “Security Center UI for the desktop”, which doesn’t say a great deal about the purpose or why a user might want to install
#News #Canonical #Security #SnapApps
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/ubuntus-new-security-center-readies-stable-release
Power Profiles Daemon 0.22 Released, Will Ship in Ubuntu 24.10
A new version of the Power Profiles Daemon has been released with an array of improvements that help improve power efficiency on Linux desktops, in particular AMD devices. For those unfamiliar with it, power-profiles-daemon is a low-level tool that provides power handling over DBus. Ever used the Power Mode options in the Quick Settings menu in GNOME Shell? Those are made possible using this tool. As power-profiles-daemon is now battery-level aware it’s possible for power drivers, like the Intel and AMD P-State drivers, to adjust power management based on the current battery level value. “In particular both the AMD panel power action now uses a progressive
#News #PowerProfiles #Ubuntu24_10
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/09/power-profiles-daemon-0-22-in-ubuntu-24-10
