If you’ve been experiencing issues getting some apps to run or work properly in Ubuntu 24.04 LTS it may be down to the distro using AppArmor to restrict the creation of user namespaces. This change (which I touched on in my article look at what’s new in Ubuntu 24.04 LTS) is there to bolster security. After all, no-one wants icky apps free to do icky things, unchecked. But the change means AppArmor policies are (somewhat expectedly) preventing some apps from running at all, and breaking features in other apps if they rely on components AppArmor isn’t configured to allow. When […]

You're reading App Doesn’t Run in Ubuntu 24.04? This AppArmor Update May Fix It, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Does it seem like I’m a bit obsessed with Tiling Shell, the super-charged window snapping extension for GNOME Shell, which works beautifully on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and above? It might do since this is my 3rd article about the extension in less than a fortnight! But the updates and new features are coming thick and fast; I can’t not cover them. Progress marches ever on! Tiling Shell v10 hit the GNOME Extensions website yesterday (if you have the extension installed already you’ll get the update automatically) and it includes a number of improvements which merit a mention on these pages. […]

You're reading Tiling Shell’s Latest Update Adds Blur Effect & Edge Tiling, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

A new version of SoftMaker FreeOffice has been released. SoftMaker FreeOffice 2024 is a free (as in beer) version of SoftMaker Office 2024, a paid-for cross-platform office suite developed by German software company SoftMaker. The paid version was first released in 1994, and came to Linux in 2003. The 3 core components in FreeOffice, TextMaker, PlanMaker, and Presentations, are also included in SoftMaker Office (and the newer SoftMaker Office NX subscription-based version), but not all features are shared between them. That said, all of the essential functionality one would need in an office suite is included. The ‘missing’ stuff is […]

You're reading SoftMaker FreeOffice 2024 Released, This is What’s New, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

System76’s COSMIC desktop environment (ecosystem?) is shaping up to be something truly out of this world, combining modern design with intuitive navigation, embracing customisation, and taking full advantage of the benefits that being built in Rust brings. But every project needs branding. Fluff to a few, but an important signpost to most. Good branding helps encapsulate and convey the ideals and tone of a project, and lend it a unique identity people can instantly recognise and come to love. Today, COSMIC got its own. Behold: the official COSMIC logo, work mark, slogan, and colours: Explaining the idea behind the branding […]

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A new version of open-source video editor OpenShot is available to download. OpenShot 3.2 is the first update to the app since early last year, and the editor’s chief developer, Jonathan Thomas, describes this release as a “game-changer with new themes, improved features, and enhanced performance”.   Among the change and new features in OpenShot 3.2: A slew of more generalised improvements, ranging from a ‘stable’ undo/redo experience, and UI tweaks to support high-dpi displays, through to a more reliable tracker/object detection effect (a really compelling features) are present. Naturally, lots and lots of bug fixes are included too for all supported […]

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As the Cinnamon 6.2 release indicated, the upcoming Linux Mint 22 release is getting mighty close. But before a stable release can be made, there has to be a beta. Don’t get excited — a Linux Mint 22 Beta isn’t available to download, not yet! But it seems a public beta isn’t too far away. Yesterday, a Linux Mint 22 Cinnamon Edition ISO was added to Linux Mint ISO tracker. This is where internal testing of images takes place, and suggests a public beta release is on the way (though ISOs for the MATE and Xfce editions are yet to […]

You're reading Linux Mint 22 Beta Imminent as ISO Enters Testing, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

A new version of Celluloid, an open-source media player for Linux, has been released. Celluloid (originally called GNOME MPV, albeit many moons ago) is an MPV-based media player able to leverage many of MPV’s ‘powerful playback capabilities’, but wrapped up within a more modern-looking GUI. The latest Celluloid 0.27 releases serves as the the first major update to the app this year. It introduces a small clutch of changes aimed at improving overall performance, usability, and appearance. Of these, the most eye-catching change is this: Celluloid 0.27 gains a new option to use a floating window bar instead of a […]

You're reading Linux Media Player Celluloid Adds Slick New UI Option, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Tiling Shell, the Windows 11-esque window snapping extension I spotlighted last week received an update at the weekend, adding enhancements I feel are worthy of mention. This includes a request to support snapping windows in the active tiling layout using the keyboard only. Because although that slide-in drop-over Snap Assistant widget makes using Tiling Shell intuitive for mouse users (such as myself), there are times when being able to move/tile windows without taking your hands of the keyboard is preferred. And this is now possible in the Tiling Shell v9.1 update. Similar to other tiling window managers/extensions, you move the […]

You're reading Tiling Shell Updated with New Keyboard Shortcuts + More, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Mozilla has big plans for its browser and among the a fleet new features expected to rain down on us this year is greater personalisation of the new tab page. The ability to set a new tab background image is certain to be be the most eye-catching (and most long awaited) customisation change. But a series of smaller, more practical tweaks are in the works too, like being able to see weather info on the new tab page. Obviously visiting a dedicated weather website is a proactive way to find out the latest forecast info and temperature. But having at-a-glance […]

You're reading Firefox’s New Tab Weather Widget: How to Try it Now, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

A new version of ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, a free, open-source, and cross-platform office suite, is now available to download. If you’ve not yet found a reason to try this productivity powerhouse out, this latest update could well change that. Last autumn’s ONLYOFFICE 7.5 release added a new PDF application to the suite. This could open/view PDF files, and handle basic PDF editing, like form filling, highlighting, simple annotations, and scribbling on documents with a pen tool. In ONLYOFFICE 8.1, the PDF app matures into a fully-featured PDF editor, expanding the kinds of annotations and edits which are possible: – Although […]

You're reading ONLYOFFICE 8.1 Released with Enhanced PDF Editor + More, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

A new version of Vivaldi, the power-user’s preferred browser (right?) is out with a symphony—don’t groan—of improvements. While most people use the Vivaldi web browser for browsing the web, and it offers plenty of buffs to improve that experience, it also comes with a variety of built-in tools for productivity, like note taking, todos, a clock/timer, calendar, RSS reader, e-mail client and more. Vivaldi Mail is built-in to the Vivaldi web browser, delivering a capable alternative to a regular desktop e-mail client like Thunderbird.It’s POP3/IMAP friendly, fetches and stores mails from your web account(s) locally, has powerful search and filters, […]

You're reading Vivaldi 6.8 Released with Mail Client Improvements + More, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Fancy rubbing shoulders with the great and the good in the Ubuntu community, learning new things, seeing cool demos, and perhaps getting a bit merry with your fellow geeks? If so, make a date to attend the Ubuntu Summit, which this year is being held in The Hague, the Netherlands, from October 25-27th, at The World Forum convention centre. As always, the Ubuntu Summit is free to attend (though you do need to register). Since returning in 2022, the in-person Ubuntu Summit has helped revive the spirit, camaraderie, and general joie de vivre much beloved of the original Ubuntu Developer […]

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Those of you who own a Framework Laptop 13 —consider me jealous, btw— or are considering buying one in the near future, you may be interested to know that a RISC-V motherboard option is in the works. DeepComputing, the company behind the recently-announced Ubuntu RISC-V laptop, is working with Framework Computer Inc, the company behind the popular, modular, and Linux-friendly Framework laptops, on a RISC-V mainboard. This is a new announcement; the component itself is in early development, and there’s no tentative price tag or pre-order date pencilled in. But we do know the board will be based around the […]

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KDE Plasma 6.1 has been released with a plethora of productivity and performance-minded improvements. Building on the KDE Plasma 6.0 release from earlier in this year, the 6.1 update sees KDE developers deliver “improvements and powerful new features to every part of your desktop”, with promises that future updates will see things ‘get more interesting’. Plasma 6.1 allows users to initiate a remote desktop access straight from the System Settings app1, to which Remote Desktop clients, like KRDC, can connect. RDP features aren’t new to KDE per se, but this new integration makes setting up connections easier. KDE is king —or queen, […]

You're reading KDE Plasma 6.1 Released With… Well, A Fair Bit!, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

If you’re looking forward to the upcoming Linux Mint 22 release you’ll be pleased to hear that the Cinnamon 6.2 desktop environment was “released” this weekend. Quote marks because we’re talking a tarball release rather than “it’s rolling out to all existing users”. Indeed, Cinnamon 6.2 will, as I’m sure you’re aware, ship as the default desktop in Linux Mint 22, which is expected to be released sometime this summer — maybe next month? — and will be first version based on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. From a glance over the Github change-log, Cinnamon 6.2 looks like a modest refinement to […]

You're reading Cinnamon 6.2 Desktop Goes Stable Ahead of Linux Mint 22 Release, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

If you’re looking for a more configurable window tiling experience on Ubuntu, look no further than Tiling Shell, a new GNOME Shell extension to turbo-charge window snapping with a host of interactive features. Ubuntu gained its own ‘enhanced tiling’ capabilities last year, adding the Tiling Assistant GNOME Shell extension to its default desktop install. Out-of-the-box, the distro supports quarter-tiling, horizontal half-tiling, and a tiling prompt which suggests other open apps to snap. This was a much welcome addition to the Ubuntu desktop as it finally answered a long-standing feature request from users of the distro. No surprise; it’s something I […]

You're reading Tiling Shell Brings Advanced Window Snapping to Ubuntu, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

One of the biggest drawback to Ubuntu’s new App Center, the Flutter-based replacement for GNOME’s Software Center, is that it doesn’t let you install DEBs you download from the web. To be clear (since confusion often creeps in) while the Ubuntu App Center does allow you to install DEB software from the Ubuntu repos, it doesn’t (currently) let you ‘side load’ DEB packages yourself – which the myriad of software center incarnations over the years did. App Center will warn users about the risks of 3rd-party DEBs when users go to install them But good news: support for DEB installs […]

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Canonical has announced that it’s collaborating on a RISC-V laptop powered by Ubuntu. The 14-inch DC-ROMA RISC-V Laptop II is made by DeepComputing, a company formed by self-described “RISC-V pioneers” back in 2022, and based in Hong Kong. Their aim: develop and release all kinds of products to help drive development of the RISC-V ecosystem. It’s built around a SpacemiT K1 SoC, which has 8 64-bit RISC-V cores running up to 2.0 GHz. It supports the RVA 22 Profile and 256-bit RVV 1.0 standard for “high performance” & “powerful AI capabilities”. The 14-inch display pushes a FHD resolution at 60hz, […]

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We enjoy a cinematic lineup of epic Linux video players, with the likes of VLC and MPlayer serving as big-name, A-list draws — but ready that popcorn because a potential new star is on the scene. Streaming has become the preferred way to watch video content these days but there’s still a place for a versatile, user-friendly, offline-first media player, even if only for infrequent use, like previewing a clip to be uploaded online for others to stream. Ubuntu ships with Totem (aka Videos) as its default video player by virtue of the fact it’s also the GNOME default video […]

You're reading Meet Showtime, GNOME’s Slick New Video Player, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

“It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me and I’m feeling…“ like I should stop singing and crack on with writing this post to say Mozilla Firefox 127 has been released — because it has! Yes, it’s been a month since Firefox 126 made its way out into the wild, and since Mozilla detailed a range of (rather exciting) improvements it’s got planned for the browser over the coming 12 months. While this latest release doesn’t offer any of those tantalising additions, like vertical tabs, new tab wallpapers, and improved profile management, there is […]

You're reading Mozilla Firefox 127 Released, This is What’s New, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

A new version of Mission Center, the super-slick system monitor for Linux, has been released. I’ve written about this utility a number of times before (here and on OMG! Linux) so if you read this or that blog you—aside from being awesome—may already be familiar with it. And if you’re not? Well, you’re in for a treat. As Linux system monitors go (and there are more than a few) Mission Center is easily one of the best for fans of graphical user-interfaces who want to check their system’s CPU and RAM usage. Mission Center monitors CPU (overall or pre-thread), memory […]

You're reading Linux System Monitor App ‘Mission Center’ is Now Even More Useful, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Linux laptop vendor TUXEDO has confirmed plans to release a Linux ARM laptop based on the Snapdragon X Elite SoC. It recently showcased a prototype of a new ARM notebook at Computex, the annual computer event in Taiwan. Powered by the Snapdragon X Elite and running an ARM port of their Ubuntu-based TUXEDO OS with the KDE Plasma desktop. This is the same chip that’s been in the (tech) news a lot of late as it’s powering Microsoft’s new wave of Copilot+ PCs and laptops running Windows 11 ARM. Like Apple Silicon, the X Elite has CPU, GPU, NPU and […]

You're reading TUXEDO Working on Snapdragon X Elite Linux Laptop, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.