Ubuntu Flavors Decide to Drop Flatpak
Flatpak will no longer be available “out-of-the-box” in any of Ubuntu’s official flavors. In a surprise move, Ubuntu flavors have agreed to stop shipping Flatpak, preinstalled Flatpak apps, and any plugins needed to install Flatpak apps through a GUI software tool in the default package across all eight of Ubuntu’s official flavors, starting with the upcoming Ubuntu 23.04 release. Ubuntu says the decision will “improve the out-of-the-box Ubuntu experience for new users” by making it clearer what the “Ubuntu experience” is. Someone using a flavor that uses Flatpak might assume the tech gets the same level of support, bug fixes, 
#Community #News #Flatpak
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/02/ubuntu-flavors-no-flatpak
Linux Kernel 6.2 Released, This is What’s New
A new version of the Linux kernel is available with a collection of important hardware, performance, and security improvements. Announcing the Linux kernel 6.2 release on the Linux kernel developer mailing list (LKML), creator Linus Torvalds urges people to try it out, noting: “Maybe it’s not a sexy LTS release like 6.1 ended up being, but all those regular pedestrian kernels want some test love too.” As you know, the Linux kernel is developed and maintained by a worldwide community of engineers and enthusiasts. While a great number of those who contribute to the Linux kernel do so as part
#News #LinusTorvalds #LinuxKernel
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/02/linux-kernel-6-2-new-features
Get Horizontal OSD for Brightness/Volume Change on Linux Mint
If you find Linux MInt’s on-screen display (OSD) when changing volume and brightness a little boxy there’s a neat extension that changes their look entirely. The “Horizontal OSD” extension for Linux Mint (yes, Linux Mint has extensions too) reformats Cinnamon’s default volume and screen brightness indicators from a vertical box to a horizontal bar. It’s a subtle tweak that I think gives the Cinnamon desktop an extra splash of modernity (GNOME Shell switched its OSD from boxes to bars last year). While the look of the horizontal OSD blends in perfectly with the rest of the Linux Mint’s default look
#HowTo #EyeCandy #LinuxMint
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/02/horizontal-osd-linux-mint-extension
Canonical Announce Availability of Real-Time Ubuntu
Enterprise, industry, and developers with specific needs will be interested to know that Ubuntu’s real-time kernel has entered general availability. Canonical says Real-time Ubuntu is “designed for enterprises in aerospace, automotive, defense, IoT, robotics, and telcos, as well as the public sector and retail”, where access to agile, low-latency computing offered by a real-time kernel is a real-time requirement. Ubuntu’s real-time kernel is based on the Linux 5.15 LTS kernel offered in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, and is available for both x86 and Arm architectures. Canonical note that the Real-time Ubuntu kernel integrates out-of-tree PREEMPT_RT patches to reduce kernel latencies, making
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/02/real-time-ubuntu-kernel-general-availability
Firefox 110 Arrives with WebGL Performance Improvements
I’ll keep this short and sweet: a new version of Mozilla Firefox is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux (heard of that?). Firefox already supports importing bookmarks, history, and passwords from Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Chromium, and Safari but once you have the Firefox 110 update you can also import data from Opera, Opera GX, and Vivaldi too – which is handy. Other changes in Firefox 110 include the ability to clear date, time, and datetime-local input fields using using ctrl + backspace and ctrl + delete on Linux (and Windows) — no, can’t say I’ve ever noticed I couldn’t
#News #AppUpdates #Firefox
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/02/firefox-110-arrives-with-webgl-performance-improvements
Final Version of KDE Plasma 5 Released – This is What’s New
KDE Plasma 5.27 has arrived with some cool changes, the best of which I run through in this post. Notably, this is expected to be the final release in the KDE Plasma 5.x series, with the following stable release set to be KDE Plasma 6.0, due for release towards the end of the year. Naturally, the developers working on this phenomenally popular (not to mention increasingly lightweight) desktop environment chose to end things on a high, so they’ve doubled-down to dish out some final finishing touches in the form of new features, UI tweaks, bug fixes, and performance buffs. Work
#News #Kde #KdePlasma
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/02/kde-plasma-5-27-new-features
Expandable Folder View Returns to Nautilus in Ubuntu 23.04
A new version of the Nautilus file manager is available in the latest daily builds of Ubuntu 23.04 ‘Lunar Lobster’. If you read our sister site omg! linux you’ll already know of one particular change that makes Nautilus 44 an especially exciting update: the return of Expandable Folders in List View option. Accessible from the file manager’s Preferences panel, this opt-in behaviour makes it faster to flit through folders to find a specific file when using list view (this feature doesn’t work in icon view). When enabled you’re able to expand and collapse folders tree view style to maintain a
#News #Gnome44 #LunarLobster #Nautilus #Ubuntu23_04
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/02/nautilus-44-in-ubuntu-23-04
Unicode 15 Emoji Now Supported in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS users can now see a range of newer emoji in their favourite desktop apps, web browsers and command line clients. An updated version of the Noto Color Emoji font rolled out to users this week. This font is regularly updated to include support all of the new emoji adopted by the Unicode Consortium. And while these garishly colourful glyphs are frivolous to some it’s important that Ubuntu LTS users are able to see newer emoji where used, regardless of whether they want to use them themselves. Emoji are often used to carry context or nuance. Only being
#News #Emoji #Ubuntu22_04Lts
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/02/unicode-15-ubuntu-22-04-lts
Canonical Joins Academy Software Foundation as Premier Member
And the winner of the ‘latest member of the Academy Software Foundation’ award goes to …Canonical! Yes, Ubuntu’s big-money backer has announced it is joining the Academy Software Foundation (ASWF), an association setup to promote, advance and advocate the use of open-source software and fibre technologies within the media and entertainment industries. The group, as we reported back 2018, was borne out of the fact that 84% of filmmakers use open source software at various stages of production, most notably in visual effects and animation. A non-profit, the foundation is supported by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/02/canonical-joins-academy-software-foundation
Caffeine Extension Now Supports GNOME Quick Settings
A brand new version of the Caffeine GNOME extension is out with a rich, full-bodied roast of improvements. Older versions of this nifty sleep-inhibitor function as a simple toolbar applet that you click on to enable/disable. But the new version of this deliciously simple tool is integrated into GNOME’s new Quick Settings menu. It adds a new “Caffeine” pod option that, as with other Quick Settings options you click the pod to enable/disable. As before, a coffee mug icon is displayed in the system tray when Caffeine is active. Mouse up to the coffee cup icon and scroll on it
#News #Caffeine #GnomeExtensions
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/02/caffeine-gnome-extension-major-update
Enable This Setting to Move Files Faster in Ubuntu
This post won’t change your life but it might make moving files and folders a little quicker — though, no promises! On Fedora I can drag a file over a folder in Nautilus and, if I don’t let go, the folder I’m hovering over opens right there, where I am, not in an extra window or a new tab. macOS also has a similar feature in its file manager Finder called “spring loaded folders” (and gives users options to control the hover duration to trigger it). Written out in words this feature sounds cumbersome, so here’s a GIF to demonstrate
#HowTo #Nautilus #Tips
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/02/ubuntu-open-folder-on-drag-drop-hover
LibreOffice 7.5 Released with New Icons, PDF Export Options + More
LibreOffice 7.5 is now available to download. This update arrives on schedule, six months after the LibreOffice 7.4 release, which was notable release for doubling-down on the suite’s compatibility with Microsoft Office files. In LibreOffice 7.5 devs further that work, deliver a sizeable set of fixes, and furnish the app with powerful new features. LibreOffice 7.5 is the result of 144 contributors chipping in to do their bit. For a little more detail on what’s new in LibreOffice 7.5, scroll on! LibreOffice 7.5: New Features The most striking first change you’re bound to notice: LibreOffice has new app icons. These
#News #Libreoffice
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/02/libreoffice-7-5-new-features
This GNOME Extension Makes the ‘Activities’ Label More Useful
If you use Ubuntu you use GNOME Shell, and if you use GNOME Shell you’ve probably cocked an eyebrow at the ‘Activities’ label in the top-left corner. It’s very …There. It’s not useless, of course: you click the “Activities” label to enter the “activities” overview — or the ‘workspace switcher’ as I tend to call it. But most of us (empirically speaking; I did a survey and you did take part) tend to enter the workspace switcher/activities overview by tapping the super key. Anyhow, there’s a new GNOME extension out called Replace Activities Label that —deploy your faux shocked faces
#News #EyeCandy #GnomeExtensions #GnomeShell
Linux Mint 21.2 Reveals Codename, Teases Planned Features
Wondering what to expect in Linux Mint 21.2 when it’s released this June? Well, wonder no more. Linux Mint lead Clem Lefebvre has shared a few early details on what we can expect from Linux Mint 21.1 (codename “Victoria” — if you haven’t cottoned on to it yet, each version of Linux Mint gets given a “human” codename because …Well, I’m not really sure why). First up, confirmation of an expected release date: late June. This date is not a surprise and is absolutely in-line with when previous Linux Mint releases emerged. Also, again per tradition, Linux Mint 21.1 will be
#News #Distros #Gthumb #LinuxMint
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/01/linux-mint-21-2-named-victoria
elementary OS 7.0 Released, This is What’s New
This is not a drill, folks: elementary OS 7 ‘Horus’ is now available to download. It may only been a year since elementary OS 6.1, but it feels like we’ve been waiting for ever — and thankfully it’s been worth the wait! elementary OS 7 release rides atop a refreshed Ubuntu 22.04 LTS software stack, and utilises a new(er) Linux kernel (v5.15) to ensure distro works as best it can, everywhere it can. In this post I whizz you through through elementary OS 7’s key changes, offer a few thoughts based on first-hand experience (I got to try the release
#Download #News #Distros #Elementary
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/01/elementary-os-7-0-released
ONLYOFFICE 7.3 Released with SmartArt, Password Protection
A new version of ONLYOFFICE, an open source office suite for Windows, macOS, and Linux, is available. In this post we look at the latest features.
#News #AppUpdates #Onlyoffice
Skype’s Linux App Gains Colour Accents, Realtime AI Voice Translation
Anyone out there still using Skype? Thought not 😉, but Microsoft just dropped a big feature update across Skype’s desktop and web apps that will be of interest to those who have stuck with this icon of voice and video chat scene (we called it VoIP back in my day, get off my lawn, grumble grumble, etc). First up: you can now customise Skype by picking from a small set of pastel hues. Similar accents got added to the Skype mobile apps recently. But because the Skype app doesn’t look native on Linux I find these colour choices, while pleasant,
#News #AppUpdates #Skype
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/01/skype-linux-app-ai-voice-translation
An Extension to Change Battery Indicator Icon in GNOME Shell
Want to change the battery indicator icon in Ubuntu 22.10? Using this GNOME extension you can pick from 3 alternative battery icons, including a circle.
#News #Battery #GnomeExtensions
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/01/change-gnome-shell-battery-icon
Ubuntu Pro is Now Available to Anyone Who Wants It
Canonical has made Ubuntu Pro generally available. Ubuntu Pro allows you to run an Ubuntu LTS release for 10 years with more critical security updates.
#News #Canonical #Livepatch #UbuntuPro
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/01/ubuntu-pro-general-availability
How to Install the Latest Version of Wine on Ubuntu
The new Wine 8.0 release boasts better-than-ever support for running Windows apps on Linux distributions such as Ubuntu. You can install Wine on Ubuntu from the Ubuntu Software app (or using apt at the command line), but the version of Wine available in Ubuntu is (almost always) an older version than that currently available. If you want to install the latest stable version of Wine on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or 22.10 follow the steps below, which I’ve adapted from the instructions available on the WineHQ wiki. Note, to simplify this process I recommend using the command line. It is technically
#HowTo #Wine
