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
New Open Source Terminal App Ghostty is One to Watch
We’re seeing something of a terminal emulator renaissance of late with the humble no-frills console being reimagined, rethought, and rewired to use GPU acceleration, containerised workflows, and (naturally) AI. Ghostty is a new, open-source and cross-platform terminal app created by Mitchell Hashimoto (the co-founder of HashiCorp). He says he “set out to build a terminal emulator that was fast, feature-rich, and had a platform-native GUI while still being cross-platform.” And based on the first release of Ghostty 1.0, which materialised over Christmas like a Dickensian spectre, he’s a fair way to achieving those aims! Having ‘platform-native GUI’ as a USP is
#News #Ghostty #TerminalApps #Zig
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/ghostty-terminal-linux-open-source-release
Want to See Pinned Ubuntu Dock Apps in the Application Grid?
You may have noticed (or not) that if an app is pinned to the Ubuntu Dock you don’t see a shortcut for it in the applications grid. This approach is by design to avoid duplication since the dock is always visible (by default) so those app shortcuts are always in reach – each app shortcut only shows once. Not everyone likes this behaviour, especially if Ubuntu Dock auto-hide is enabled. Naturally, there are 3rd-party GNOME Shell extensions one can install to make sure all apps show in the main applications grid irrespective of whether they’re pinned to Ubuntu Dock (or
#News #GnomeExtensions
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/keep-pinned-apps-in-application-grid-gnome-shell
How to Hide Ubuntu Pro Updates in Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Ubuntu Pro is an optional security feature that Ubuntu LTS users can enrol in to get critical updates for more than 25,000 packages that would otherwise sit unpatched. If you use Ubuntu 24.04 LTS you will have seen Ubuntu Pro security updates in Software Updater (or when running apt commands). And you will have noticed you can’t install those updates without having an Ubuntu Pro subscription. Businesses, or those with fleets of machines to manage, need to pay for an Ubuntu Pro/ESM plan, but Ubuntu Pro is entirely free for home users (on up to 5 computers) so the only
#HowTo #UbuntuPro
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/disable-ubuntu-pro-updates-in-software-updater
OpenShot Video Editor Puts Out an Effortless, Seamless, Etc Update
A new version of OpenShot video editor is out (a video editor which doesn’t have the best reputation for stability hence the nickname OpenShut). OpenShot—though more accurately, ChatGPT or similar—claim “OpenShot 3.3 is here to transform your editing experience! This release is as powerful as it is beautiful Take your video editing to the next level with OpenShot 3.3. Download it now and see the difference”. The headline new feature in OpenShot 3.3 is a new default theme. This, according to GPT/OpenShot, provides a “modern editing experience”. While the new theme looks better, it doesn’t affect a ‘modern editing
#News
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/openshot-3-3-video-editor-release
Bah Hum-bugfix – it’s the Christmas Update to Calibre!
In deep mid-winter nothing beats curling up with a good book, in-front of a roaring fire – the crackle of all the unwanted Christmas tat your nearest and dearest bought you chars, melts, and burns providing a warm aural soundtrack. Thankfully, not everyone’s feeling as seasonably irascible as I am – like the folks behind open-source ebook reader, manager, and converter Calibre. They’ve hand-wrapped a bug-fix update to help tide us over the festive season. Hurrah! As gifts that arrive in late December go, Calibre 7.23 is a modest one: more ‘last-minute box of chocs’ than something you really wanted
#News #AppUpdates #Calibre
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/calibre-christmas-update-bug-fixes
Canonical and Intel Announce New GPU Drivers Preview
Canonical and Intel have announced they’re making it easier for Ubuntu users to get cutting-edge drivers for Intel’s newest discrete GPUs. The effort brings “ray tracing and improved machine learning performance” for Intel Arc B580 and B570 “Battlemage” discrete GPUs to users on Ubuntu 24.10, building on that releases’ preexisting support for Intel Core Ultra Xe2 iGPUs. “For the past decade, Ubuntu has been one of the first distributions to enable the latest Intel architectures. Building upon this strong collaboration, Intel and Canonical are excited to announce the availability of an Ubuntu graphics preview for [24.10]”, they say. Users with
#News #GraphicsDrivers #Intel #Ubuntu24_10
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/ubuntu-intel-battlemage-gpu-driver-preview
Kdenlive Update Adds New Subtitle Tools, Effects + More
A sizeable update to the free, open-source video editor Kdenlive is now available to download. Kdenlive 24.12 arrives stuffed like a seasonal bird with bug fixes, performance tweaks, and usability enhancements. Additionally, the editor’s developers have removed support for Qt5 so that, as of this release, it is entirely Qt6. Subtitling gets a big boost with the arrival of Advanced SubStation Alpha (ASS) subtitle support. The key benefit of these subtitles (I’ll swerve calling them ASS) is greater customisation, including things like text strokes, drop shadows, margins, and even effects like masking. A new Subtitle Manager makes editing, ordering, and
#News #AppUpdates #Kdenlive
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/kdenlive-adds-improved-subtitle-tools-new-effects-more
Mozilla Revenue Jumped in 2023, But Search Deal Cash Fell
Mozilla’s overall revenue saw a sizeable boost in 2023, despite a drop in income from its lucrative search engine deals. According to its latest financial report, Mozilla’s revenue in 2023 hit $653 million (US), up from $593 million in 2022. The cause of the increase? Not any flashy new products, services, or deals – just ol’ fashioned interest and dividends (~$47 million) and returns on its investments (~$24 million). In fact, Mozilla’s income from search engine deals actually fell by $15 million in 2023. Revenue from ads, sponsored links, and its own product subscriptions (like Pocket) also dipped by $9
#News #Mozilla
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/mozilla-financial-report-2023-revenue-increase
VMware Workstation Pro Update Brings Linux Fixes
Broadcom has released updates for VMware Workstation Pro for Windows and Linux, the first to arrive since the software became entirely free to use. Earlier this year, Broadcom made VMware Workstation Pro and its Mac equivalent Fusion Pro free for personal usage, and later for commercial usage. Anyone can download and install VMware’s desktop virtualisation software to use for whatever they want. — Assuming they have the patience to wade through rerouting links, portals, checkboxes, and dense documentation sites to locate the actual download. A blog post from a VMware team member walks through the 11 step (!) process. As
#News #AppUpdates #VirtualMachines #Vmware
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/vmware-workstation-pro-update-linux-fixes
Ubuntu Adds Support for 118 New Emoji
A paint splatter, super-tired face, and a harp are among new emoji users of Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04 LTS will be able to see and type after installing an update to the Noto Color Emoji font. Ubuntu, which has shipped this font by default since 2017, and has packaged and released an updated version containing the 8 new emoji added as part of the Unicode 16.0 standard. Unicode 16.0 went live in September and adds a total of 5185 new characters, including 7 new emoji code points and 1 new emoji sequence (to create the official flag of the Island of Sark).
#News #Emoji #Fonts #Unicode
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/ubuntu-update-support-for-emoji-16-0
Linux Mastodon App Tuba Adds Post Scheduling, Drafts + More
A new version of Tuba, the open-source Mastodon client for Linux desktops, is out – and it’s a whopper! Tuba 0.9.0 delivers a wide array of new features, enhancements, and general finesse touching nearly every aspect of the client’s top-tier Fediverse experience. Chief among the highlights for is the addition of support for scheduled and draft posts. Posts can be scheduled from the composer, and a list of scheduled (not yet shared) posts can be accessed from a new sidebar entry, where scheduled posts and be edited/amended. With no official draft posts API to use, Tuba instead uses scheduled posts
#News #AppUpdates #Mastodon #Tuba
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/linux-mastodon-client-tuba-update-drafts
Xfce 4.20 Released, This is What’s New
Christmas has arrived early for fans of the Xfce desktop environment with the release of a major new version. Two years in development, Xfce 4.20 is the latest stable release of this lightweight desktop environment. A clutch of new features, visual changes, and a sizeable set of foundational prep work furthering its support for Wayland is included. A slate of bug fixes, code cleanups, and performance tweaks also make it in, making Xfce 4.20 a worthwhile upgrade over the Xfce 4.18 release from 2022. Note: some of the changes mentioned below will familiar to those using Xubuntu 24.10. This is because
#News #Xfce
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/xfce-4-20-released-this-is-whats-new
New Version of Mir-Based Tiling Window Manager Miracle-WM Out
A new version of Miracle-wm, a Mir-based tiling window manager, is out. Miracle-wm 0.4 continues to make inroads in fleshing out its support for i3 IPC, vital work needed to make sure popular tools like waybar, nwg-shell, etc work well as well here as they do in Sway, i3, hyprland, et al. Workspace improvements aplenty make it in, also. Workspaces can be assigned names and those names relayed to shell components, while new commands make it easier for users to change workspaces and/or move containers to workspaces. And there’s been a big focus on addressing ‘issues around stability and performance’
#News #Miracle-Wm
Linux Mint 22.1 Beta is Now Available to Download
A beta version of Linux Mint 22.1 “Xia” is now officially available to download, ahead of an anticipated stable release at the end of December. Linux Mint 22.1 is an in-series update to Linux Mint 22, released earlier back in July. It continues to be based on Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS, and is powered by the Linux 6.8 kernel (with new kernel versions coming as part of Ubuntu’s HWE). But there are substantive changes elsewhere, not least to the default Cinnamon desktop environment, underlying package management tools, and burgeoning compatibility with the Wayland display server. For a look at this beta
#News #Cinnamon #DistroRelease #LinuxMint
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/linux-mint-22-1-beta-download
Advanced Weather Companion GNOME Shell Extension
macOS 15.2 is rolling out today (December 11), and my tech feeds are hyped with its highlights. Among the (non-AI) changes I spotted: the option to display weather info in the menu bar – native, built-in, ready to go. Seeing a “news peg” (as they’re called), I figured I’d use that as motivation to get around to writing about Advanced Weather Companion, yet-another GNOME Shell weather extension that shows temperature and current conditions in the top bar. It’s been in my bookmarks for a while but …Well, I’ll come to that. Advanced Weather Companion doesn’t do anything existing weather add-ons
#News #GnomeExtensions #Weather
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/advanced-weather-gnome-shell-extension
Tiling Shell Extension Gains Smart Border Radius Detection
Fresh off of adding support for automatic window snapping, the developers behind GNOME Shell’s most configurable and feature-packed window tiling extension are back with another update. Tiling Shell v15.1 introduces support for smart border radius. This is one a small sounding feature but it has a big impact on the way borders (which are an optional feature) are drawn around focused application windows, either in tiled mode or when free-floating on he desktop: Domenico Ferraro, the chief developer of the extension, explains the impetus: “In GNOME, different windows may have different border radius. Drawing a border around the focused window
#News #GnomeExtensions #TilingShell
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2024/12/tiling-shell-extension-border-radius
