Digital artists, designers and vector illustrators among you may be be interested to know that an updated version of open source graphics app Inkscape is out. Inkscape 1.4.1 builds on the giant set of features last year’s release of Inkscape 1.4 brought with it with a number of w … | Continue reading
Ubuntu users can enjoy a fresh new desktop wallpaper each and every day with this new app, which sources backgrounds from Bing, Wikimedia, and NASA. You're reading Dull Desktop? Install ‘Picture of the Day’ App on Ubuntu, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere w … | Continue reading
A new version of DeaDBeeF music player is out with some cool features, FFMPEG 7 support, and a flurry of bug fixes sure to appease long-time fans of this tool. Admittedly, the popularity of traditional desktop music player apps like this one has dipped considerably since the arri … | Continue reading
Tab grouping is the latest big-ticket feature addition to get added to Mozilla Firefox, which sees a new stable release roll out from today. Last month’s Firefox 136 update delivered long-requested support for vertical tabs, a redesigned sidebar experience giving easy access to e … | Continue reading
Will Ubuntu 25.10 be codenamed the Quizzical Quokka? It’s an adjective + animal moniker Canonical’s marketing team tersely tweeted today—sans context—but as today is April 1 (aka April’s Fools Day, aka the day when companies, teams, and unpaid marketing interns spam the web with … | Continue reading
March was another stellar month for Linux software updates, with big improvements to essential privacy tools like KeePassXC, creative apps such as Shotcut and DigiKam, and many more — updates that didn’t warrant dedicated articles on this blog. Why? Well, sometimes it’s an update … | Continue reading
An iconic desktop weather app from Linux’s past has just blown in — yes, Typhoon is back! Typhoon’s conceit is simple: display current conditions at a location plus a 4 day forecast on a customisable coloured background. Weather data is via Open-Meteo, the open source meteorologi … | Continue reading
A new update to Tiling Shell, an efficient window snapping extension for GNOME Shell, is rolling out this weekend with a few appreciable enhancements in tow. For example, its nifty ‘Windows Suggestions’ feature, which makes it easy to tile your other open windows to remaining spa … | Continue reading
Ubuntu users frustrated by the inability to connect to a new password-protected Wi-Fi network at the login screen will be pleased to know a fix is rolling out. This particular bug affects users of both Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and Ubuntu 24.10. When trying to join a wireless network at t … | Continue reading
The upcoming Ubuntu 25.04 release is set to ship with a plethora of new features, UI improvements and core changes that will be worth upgrading for. In this post, I run through the best new features Ubuntu 25.04 ‘Plucky Puffin’ has to offer. If you don’t plan to test the beta—out … | Continue reading
If you’ve been pining to sample the Plucky Puffin, now’s the time: the Ubuntu 25.04 beta downloads are out! Ubuntu 25.04 beta lands ahead of the planned stable release on Thursday April 17, 2025. As a beta, the purpose is to let folks like you and I muck in to test it out, check … | Continue reading
The Vivaldi web browser is famed for offering a plethora of options, settings and features that cater to all kinds of use-cases and needs — today it added a new one: an integrated VPN. Proton VPN for Vivaldi is exactly what it says it is: Proton VPN in Vivaldi – as in, baked in s … | Continue reading
The new Zorin OS 17.3 release is available to download and it includes a number of major changes – like a new default web browser. Based on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and Linux kernel 6.8, Zorin OS 17.3 offers “new features, strengthens your privacy, and enhances the entire user experience … | Continue reading
If you’re an avid user of GNOME Shell extensions then a) you’re in good company, and b) you’ll likely be familiar with Matt Jakeman’s terrific Extension Manager app, as it makes finding, installing, managing, and syncing GNOME extensions terrifically easy. Well, this week it got … | Continue reading
Linux Kernel 6.14 has arrived, bringing a clutch of changes to make your computer run more efficiently and more securely than before. Interestingly, Linux 6.14 is one the smallest kernel updates in terms of commits (not lines of code) for some time. It is also the kernel version … | Continue reading
Canonical has announced that it now ‘officially supports’ Ubuntu on NVIDIA Jetson, a series of computing modules designed for AI and machine learning applications. The General Availability (GA) of Ubuntu 22.04 LTS for the NVIDIA Jetson Orin brings “optimized performance, out-of-t … | Continue reading
A new version of Miracle-WM, the Mir-based tiling window manager developed by Canonical engineer Matthew Kosarek is out, the first update to be released this year. Miracle-WM 0.5 adds a number of new features, compatibility enhancements, and (at long last) introduces a couple of … | Continue reading
A new version of Calibre, the Swiss-army knife for e-book management is out, and it brings some notable new features for e-bookworms to dig into. Calibre 8.0.1 boasts improved support for Kobo e-readers, with Calibre now equipped to natively edit, view and convert Kobo’s propriet … | Continue reading
Didn’t get around to trying last year’s elementary OS 8.0 release? No bother as elementary OS 8.1 arrived this week, providing an opportune jumping-on point for new users. Based atop the recent Ubuntu 24.04.2 release, elementary OS 8.1 is powered by Linux kernel 6.11, Mesa , etc. … | Continue reading
Aloha, GNOME 48 — a new version of the GNOME desktop environment is out with a swathe of new features, UI buffs, and technical integrations that will have plenty of folks clamouring to upgrade. The latest version of the ever-evolving desktop environment will ship out-of-the-box i … | Continue reading
A big Vivaldi web browser update is rolling out with a set of appreciable improvements long-time users will like, and would-be users may be tempted to try. Vivaldi 7.2 amps up its address bar logic to proffer more relevant results, faster. Search suggestions and search accuracy h … | Continue reading
Good things come to those who wait, and heck knows we’ve been waiting a while for GIMP 3.0 to be released — but rejoice: GIMP 3.0 is now available to download. With four years of development bundled up inside, the list of improvements is significant. GIMP 3.0 is front-loaded with … | Continue reading
A few months back Firefox announced it was finally adding support for Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) after years of ignoring its own user’s requests to do so. If you’re running a recent Firefox Nightly build, you can now flicking the switch on an experimental hidden flag in the abou … | Continue reading
With Ubuntu 25.04 feature freeze now in effect the final licks of polish and paint have begun landing — including an update to Ubuntu’s Yaru theme. The Yaru theme is composed of a modified GTK4/libadwaita stylesheet, GNOME Shell theme, icon pack, and set of system sounds. With vi … | Continue reading
A ‘fresh new look’ is heading to Bodhi Linux, the Ubuntu-based Linux distribution built around the Moksha desktop, a fork of Enlightenment 17. Noting that the look of recent releases has leaned towards the dark side—no, not that one, Darth—the team has decide to give the next rel … | Continue reading
The default wallpaper set to ship in Ubuntu 25.04 ‘Plucky Puffin’ has been unveiled. Each new Ubuntu release bears its own bespoke desktop background and animal mascot design, the upcoming release of the Plucky Puffin proving no exception. As you’d expect, Ubuntu 25.04’s default … | Continue reading
If you’re an Ubuntu 24.04 LTS user regularly experiencing issues with connecting to audio devices, there’s an important update to the Bluetooth stack rolling out this week. Many users of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS have found paired Bluetooth audio devices (mainly earbuds/phones) fail to co … | Continue reading
Open source audio editor Audacity has issue a new patch release with a sizeable set of bug fixes, including an appreciable one for Ubuntu users using the official Audacity AppImage. Audacity 3.7.2, the second point update in the currently Audacity 3.7 series which debuted in Octo … | Continue reading
A big update to the perennially popular GNOME Shell extension Dash to Panel is rolling out, including new settings to go from Dash to Panel to dock mode! Admittedly, that doesn’t sound like a new feature given that Dash to Panel is based on code from Dash to Dock. Yet, until now, … | Continue reading
Kagi, the company behind a paid, private search engine1 of the same name, has announced it’s bringing its Webkit-based Orion web browser to Linux. In a post on BlueSky, Kagi said: “We’re thrilled to announce that development of the Orion Browser for Linux has officially started!” … | Continue reading
An update to the Mutter display manager is primed to begin rolling out to users of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS — with much-needed touchscreen fixes in tow. I don’t know how many of you use Ubuntu desktop on a touch-enabled device—not many, I’d wager. I do have; I have a touchscreen laptop t … | Continue reading
Desktop email client Thunderbird announced a move to monthly releases by default earlier this year, allowing new users to benefit from new features, sooner – as the new Thunderbird 136.0 release makes evident! Thunderbird 136.0 sees messages auto-adapt to dark mode (and adds a qu … | Continue reading
Is Huawei planning to ship Linux on its upcoming MateBook laptops instead of HarmonyOS NEXT? A fresh leak out of China this week suggests so. Huawei is no stranger to selling laptops with Linux. Various models in its MateBook 13, 14, 15, and MateBook X Pro lines have been sold in … | Continue reading
Earlier this year Ubuntu announced plans to replace document viewer app Evince with Papers, a modern GTK4/libadwaita fork1 of the former, in Ubuntu 25.04—today, the swap was made official. Papers is a fork of Evince that is actively maintained and makes use of newer technologies … | Continue reading
The new Mozilla Firefox 136 release delivers a number of notable new features—features Mozilla may be hoping help it re-earn some goodwill from users following last week’s privacy palaver. Last month’s Firefox 135 release rolled out a refreshed tab page to more users, added in-pa … | Continue reading
Last year saw the Cinnamon desktop receive a much-needed modern makeover, but it seems the visual revamp effort isn’t over yet. Work is underway on a design update for the Cinnamon app menu (applet). Compared to the current Cinnamon Menu, the proposed redesign sticks to a three p … | Continue reading
Skype, one of the best-known video chat/calling apps, is shutting down forever on May 5, Microsoft has announced today. Nothing gold can stay, and neither can VoIP services shorn their cultural zeitgeist it seems. Replacing Skype will be a free version of Microsoft Teams. Active … | Continue reading
February proved a bumper month for Linux software updates, seeing big release of productivity suites LibreOffice and ONLYOFFICE and, plus a crop of smaller app updates which didn’t merit a full-length article on this blog. Rather than skip over those updates entirely, I thought I … | Continue reading
Hot off the back of its recent leadership rejig, Mozilla has announced users of Firefox will soon be subject to a ‘Terms of Use’ policy — a first for the iconic open source web browser. “Although we’ve historically relied on our open source license for Firefox and public commitme … | Continue reading
The application picker (aka app grid) in GNOME Shell is pretty perfect as it comes, showing launchers for installed apps plus the ability to rearrange them using drag and drop and create custom folders to group apps together. Some folks prefer a little more order. I’ve spotlighte … | Continue reading
At one time, Linux dock apps were a plentiful species, with innovative ‘panel painters’ like GNOME Do/Docky to unashamed bling-kings AWN, DockBarX and Cairo Dock. Yet it was the modest Plank which stayed the course and outlived them. Thing is, the Plank dock hasn’t seen any major … | Continue reading
The KeepassXC snap package now “just works” with web browsers, with the latest update adding support for native messaging using secure desktop portals. KeePassXC is a cross-platform, open-source password manager billed as a ‘community-driven port of the Windows application ‘Keepa … | Continue reading
A set of four cool new window opening and closing animations got added to gaudy GNOME Shell extension Burn My Windows this weekend. A veritable Linux eye-candy essential, Burn My Windows makes it easy to apply a variety of visual effects to Ubuntu when opening and/or closing app … | Continue reading
A new alpha release of System76’s emergent Rust-based COSMIC Desktop environment is out with a clutch of important improvements, bug fixes, and new features. Although very much a work-in-progress, unfinished, and lacking polish, COSMIC desktop is already in use as a daily driver … | Continue reading
The Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS release is now available to download, albeit week later than originally planned. Serving as the second point release in the current Ubuntu 24.04 LTS series, this release combines the myriad security, bug, and software updates pushed out to the Noble Numbat … | Continue reading
Mozilla Corporation’s president, Mark Surman, today announced plans to tackle what he says are ‘major headwinds’ facing the company’s ability to grow, make money, and remain relevant. “Mozilla’s impact and survival depend on us simultaneously strengthening Firefox AND finding new … | Continue reading
A new version of the Mesa graphics library has been released. Mesa 25.0 features Vulkan 1.4 support, which the team bill as the ‘flashiest addition’ in this new development release as it spans Anv (Intel), Asahi (Apple), Lavapipe (software), NVK (NVIDIA), PanVK (Mali), RADV (AMD) … | Continue reading
A new version of the Power Profiles Daemon (PPD) was uploaded to the Plucky archives today, and should soon make its way out to Ubuntu 25.04 daily builds —but what’s changed? The power-profiles-daemon is what those of who run Ubuntu (or Linux Mint 22.1, which finally added PPD) i … | Continue reading