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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, plus an opulent follow up in the form of Ubuntu 24.10, Canonical focused on ensuring Ubuntu stays the forefront of next-gen tech, and even snaps started to suck less! ;) For a round up of 10 cool things Ubuntu got, did, or committed to in 2024—listed in no particular order, lest anyone question my priorities— […]
You're reading 10 Cool Changes Ubuntu Received in 2024, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.
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. Developers are adding a “modern background removal tool” that uses machine learning to create object masks so you can ‘cut out’ an object, person, or item in a video clip. Real-time background removal features are 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. And image editing tools like GIMP and Photoshop have long been […]
Orbit by Mozilla is a new AI-powered assistant for the Firefox web browser that makes summarising web content while you browse as easy as clicking a button. After all, why read an article to understand what it says when you can read an AI summary rephrasing the article instead? ;) Mozilla’s AI assistant Orbit is currently a beta product and available to install from the Firefox add-ons site where the extension, which works on Firefox for Windows, macOS, and Linux, is pitched thus: Orbit empowers you to stay informed and efficient by delivering the information you need in a condensed […]
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 […]
We’re seeing something of a terminal emulator renaissance of late, with developers eager to reimagine, rethink, and rewire the humble console to leverage modern hardware, GPU acceleration, containerised workflows, and (in some cases) AI/LLMs. Ghostty, a new open-source and cross-platform terminal application created by Mitchell Hashimoto (co-founder of HashiCorp) is the latest to join the fray. Hashimoto’s 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.” The first public release materialised over Christmas, rather like a festive Dickensian spook seeking to give us a glimpse into the […]
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 […]
Ubuntu Pro is an optional security feature that Ubuntu LTS users can enable to receive critical updates for an extra 25,000 packages which 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. Ubuntu Pro is free for all users on up to 5 machines, meaning the only ‘cost’ involved is the time it takes to register and setup Ubuntu Pro. Businesses (or home users) with fleets of […]
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—more accurately, ChatGPT or similar—says “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 change in OpenShot 3.3 is the use of a new default theme called Cosmic Dust. This apparently offers a “modern editing experience”. The new theme looks nice, it I’m not sure it […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 the font by default since 2017, is preparing to release an updated version containing the 8 new emoji added as part of the Unicode 16.0 standard. Unicode 16.0 went live in September, introducing a total of 5,185 new characters, including 7 new emoji code points and 1 new emoji sequence to create the official flag of the Island of Sark. The new […]
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 […]
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 serves as the latest stable release of the revered lightweight desktop environment. New features, visual changes, and a sizeable set of foundational prep work furthering support for Wayland are included. Add in a slate of bug fixes, code cleanups, and performance tweaks, and Xfce 4.20 is a solid upgrade over the Xfce 4.18 release from 2022 – not revolutionary, but that’s not really Xfce’s USP: familiarity, reliability, and sticking with what works is. Note: some of the […]
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’ […]
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. As such, it continues to be based on Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS and powered by the Linux 6.8 kernel (although new kernel versions are coming as part of Ubuntu’s HWE, which Mint 22.x now tracks by default). But there are substantive changes elsewhere, not least to the default Cinnamon desktop environment, underlying package management tools, and burgeoning compatibility with the […]
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. It’s yet-another GNOME Shell weather extension to display temperature and current conditions in the top bar. Advanced Weather Companion doesn’t technically do anything existing weather add-ons don’t, it just surfaces information in a slightly different way. If you […]
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 tackling this: “In GNOME, different windows may have different border radius. Drawing a border around […]
RPCS3 is an open-source emulator (and debugger) for the Sony PlayStation 3, making it possible for users to play and debug PlayStation 3 games on non-PS3 hardware, like Intel/AMD desktop PCs and laptops running Windows, macOS, or Linux. Now, RPCS3 is available for the Raspberry Pi 5 too. A major new version of of RPCS3 was released this week adding native ARM64 support for Linux, macOS (Apple Silicon) (although not ready yet) Windows too. As no architecture ‘translation’ tools are involved, gaming performance is better. “How far can we challenge the limits of emulating the console known for being the […]
Raspberry Pi today announced the Raspberry Pi 500, an updated version of its keyboard PC, this one powered by the guts of the Raspberry Pi 5. And it’s also announced a device many won’t have expected: an official monitor! Throughout 2024, Raspberry Pi has announced 20+ new and updated products, ranging from hardware add-ons like a AI accelerator and USB hub, to official branded SD cards and SSDs, to updated devices like the new Compute Module 5 and Pico 2 – plus more! It’s crazy to think there anything left for them to announce. Yet rumour has it the company […]