ConnexionParallels Desktop 20.3 Brings Linux VM Fixes to Mac Users
The fourth major release in the Parallels Desktop 20 series has been released, bringing a stack of fixes for running Windows, macOS and Linux virtual machines on macOS. Yes, I did say macOS. I know; at first blush it seems odd for an Ubuntu blog to cover macOS app updates. But, Parallels is virtualisation software. It lets macOS users run Windows, macOS and Linux distributions as virtual machines so they can …Do whatever it is they need to. Scores of developers rely on Linux virtual machines in their day-to-day work since they aren’t able to run Linux on ‘bare metal’ […]
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The Ubuntu 25.04 release is packed full of fresh features, updated apps and other upgrades that deliver a practical, pleasing out-of-the-box experience. —Perhaps not a perfect one, though. I just installed Ubuntu 25.04 on my “couch potato” laptop and there were a few “things” I had to do to make the experience better — albeit better for me! I didn’t do anything drastic: I didn’t remove Snap, uninstall GNOME Shell, or decamp to a 100% Libre Linux kernel and expunge proprietary drivers. Part post-install tasks and todos, part future-proof plumbing to setup a few things ahead of time so I […]
Do you currently run Ubuntu 24.10 on your computer but want to upgrade to the new Ubuntu 25.04 release to benefit from its (many) changes? As long as you’re full up-to-date and have a working internet connection, you can upgrade to Ubuntu 25.04 directly – no need to do download an ISO, flash it to a USB stick and do a clean install. And upgrading soon is a good idea. Ubuntu 24.10 supports ends in July, and those using it after that date will need to upgrade to Ubuntu 25.04 to continue receiving security updates. Those left cold by the churn of upgrading every […]
Pull the party poppers and unpack the cake as today is Ubuntu release day — and Ubuntu 25.04 ‘Plucky Puffin’ is now available to download. Ubuntu 25.04 is arguably the most polished & performant release to date! The latest short-term release of the world’s best-known desktop Linux operating system, Ubuntu 25.04 receives ongoing support until January 2026 — not long, but Ubuntu 25.10 is out in October, with direct upgrades available from this version. Over the past six months Ubuntu engineers, developers and community contributors have baked plenty of improvements into this release — arguably the most polished & performant […]
Ubuntu 25.04 is out this week and many will be turning to virtual machine to test, trial or tie the release into their development workflows — perfect timing for a new version of VirtualBox, then! Oracle today (April 15) issued the fourth maintenance update in the current VirtualBox 7.1 series. No new features were added but a flurry of bug fixes, stability boosts and integration buffs are present, which users across all supported OSes will benefit from. For Linux users frustrated at flakey wireless network adapter detection in earlier releases, the 7.1.8 update fixes the issue. Similarly, anyone ticked off […]
Drum roll your desks to help build some suspense because the Ubuntu 25.10 codename has been confirmed as …’Questing Quokka’. —Oh wait; I put in the headline so you already knew! As expected, the new Ubuntu codename keeps to convention, following on in alphabetical order—the previous release begins (it’s not out yet) with a ‘P’—and using a cute adjective and animal combo. Now, Canonical had teased the supposed new codename of Ubuntu 25.10 a few weeks back when it tweeted (or whatever the equivalent term is called on X) “Quizzical Quokka”. Except, it did that on April 1, aka April […]
A major new release of Rnote, an open-source app for taking handwritten notes, sketching out ideas and annotating documents and pictures, is out. Rnote 0.12 brings several new features, new customisation and configuration options, user experience buffs, bug fixes, and other lower-level tune-ups. For those unfamiliar with it, Rnote is a digital note-taking app built using GTK4 and Rust. It’s primarily intended to be used with stylus input (so includes pen pressure, stroke styles, button actions, etc) but supports typed text entry, shapes, importing images, etc too. Rnote offers a range of document layouts, from fixed pages to infinite canvases, […]
Indulging your casual creativity (read: making memes, defacing selfies, etc) using open-source tools is made easier with the long-awaited release of Pinta 3.0. Pinta, as long-time Linux users will be aware, is a cross-platform raster graphics tool with a feature set and user-interface partly inspired by popular Windows image editing tool Paint.NET. I previewed the Pinta 3.0 beta back in January and came away impressed. Pinta port to GTK4/libadwaita lends the UI a much-needed modern look – and is more than superficial: usability, performance and stability is bolstered by the toolkit bump. Pinta 3.0 switches to a button-based header bar […]
Finding the exact files you want in the Nemo file manager will soon be easier and faster. Linux Mint is bringing ‘enhanced’ search functionality to the next major version of its GTK-based Nemo file manager (which is likely to see release the same time as Cinnamon 6.5 and ship out-of-the-box in Linux Mint 22.2 in the summer). The new filters allow you search, sift and surface files using regular expressions (often abbreviated to simply ‘regex’) queried against filenames. While regex searching is already included in Nemo it doesn’t work on file names, only file contents. The next version of Nemo adds […]
Hate having to read an article to understand what it’s saying and would rather read what an AI says it (potentially) says instead? Mozilla Firefox has your back. Saltiness aside, the latest nightly builds of Firefox 139 include an experimental web link preview feature which shows (among other things) an AI-generated summary of what that page is purportedly about before you visit it, saving you time, a click, or the need to ‘hear’ a real human voice. Firefox generates its AI summaries locally, on device – great for privacy but not for speed No data about you or the link […]
Open-source video player Celluloid premiered a new release this weekend with user-interface improvements, support for Lua models and more. Celluloid is a popular GTK front-end to MPV, the (incredibly) configurable cross-platform, command-line based media player, and makes many of MPV’s more advanced features a touch easier for users to find, try and benefit from. In Celluloid 0.28 its developers have focused on improving the UI. Player controls see refinement in both regular mode, full-screen mode and if ‘floating’ controls are enabled for windowed mode – fewer buttons are shown by default: As you can see above (and below), the player […]
A new version of Tauon music player is out, gifting fans of the powerful and unique-looking audio app a raft of new features to play with – including some Linux exclusive eye candy! Tauon 8.0 has been fully ported to SDL3, an efficient cross-platform and open-source multimedia library that provides a robust API for interacting with hardware (like audio devices). Tauon mention that the port provides better stability and scope for adding interesting new capabilities. Features-wise, Tauon 8.0 adds an options menu to the stop button so let users define stop behaviour (including an ‘always’ setting, e.g., ‘always stop after […]
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 (sort of) 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 worthwhile enhancements and bug fixes, plus two new features. When opening Inkscape a new splash screen is shown during loading (it can be disabled) to let users (especially those on older/slower devices) know something is happening since they clicked or tapped on Inkscape icon to open it: The welcome dialog which […]
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.
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 arrival of music streaming services like Spotify. They give on-demand (and often free) access to expansive music catalogues. Still, many people (myself included) continue to maintain music libraries filled with MP3s etc. I’d wager most such users have (by now) settled on a preferred music client; for many, that choice is DeaDBeeF. I […]
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 making small changes hat it’s hard to say much1 about. Other times I’m just deathly late to hearing about it (which is why new tips via the contact form are super appreciated – you help me catch the things I miss). For those of us on fixed-release Linux distributions like Ubuntu, even small app updates can […]
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 existing and new features (including online AI chatbots), and flipped the switch on AMD video hardware decoding for Linux users. Firefox 137 is an equally big update, adding tab grouping, an enhanced address bar experience with new features, and a clutch of smaller changes, including HEVC support for Linux For a closer look at the changes, read on. Firefox […]
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 try-hard lolslop)… I’m questioning it. Ubuntu 25.10 could well be a Quizzical Quokka, but it also may not be — and if it isn’t, should it? The ‘Quizzical’ element is a playful if slightly odd adjective to roll with. It means confused, baffled, perplexed – terms that don’t describe a dependable operating system like Ubuntu particularly […]
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. Long long-time OMG! Ubuntu readers may just about recall that Typhoon is a fork of an older app called Stormcloud. Between 2012 and 2013, Stormcloud was one of the best-selling apps on Ubuntu – topping the download chart for 6 consecutive months! Sadly, development on Typhoon dried up not long after it launched, with its dev unable to weather changes to its backend […]
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 spaces in a layout, can now be enabled for use with the Snap Assistant. If turned on, tiling a window to a layout using the slide-in drop-zone widget will let you select open window it faster to fill the remaining spaces with other open apps, like so: In this update, Windows Suggestions can be enabled […]
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 the login screen (GDM) which requires a password, the password input prompt never appears and the connection fails. Why does—soon to be ‘did’—connecting to a wifi network at the Ubuntu login screen fail? Canonical software engineer (and the original bug reporter) Bartosz Woronicz explains: "The log-in screen [in Ubuntu] is implemented […]
Ubuntu 25.04 provides a plethora of new features, foundational changes and user-experience enhancements that are well worth upgrading for. In this post, I run through the best features Ubuntu 25.04 ‘Plucky Puffin’ has to offer. From notification grouping and digital ‘wellbeing’ tools to a more capable OS installer and performance-focused Linux kernel – there’s plenty to love in this newest release. You can look forward to trying all of the changes I spotlight below in April, when Ubuntu 25.04 is released — whether you do a fresh install or upgrade from Ubuntu 24.10. So read on to find out what […]
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 it works with hardware, and report any bugs, breakages, or big issues so they can be looked into, worked on and fixed up in time for the release premiere next month. Ubuntu 25.04 is a short-term release supported for 9 months — Ubuntu LTS releases are […]
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, no need to download an app or configure anything on a system level since you click a button and, bam, it’s there in browser, ready to use when/if you need. Vivaldi isn’t blazing new ground here since other web browsers either include a built-in VPN (like Opera) or […]
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,” according to its developers. For a closer look at those features, privacy changes, and UX enhancements, read on. Zorin OS’s New Default Web Browser Zorin OS 17.3 makes a huge change to its choice of default web browser, hitherto Mozilla Firefox. But no more. The distro cites Mozilla’s “recent policy changes” […]
If you’re an avid user of GNOME Shell extensions then a) you’re in good company, and b) you’ll be familiar with Matt Jakeman’s terrific Extension Manager app since it makes finding, installing and managing GNOME extensions terrifically easy. This week Extension Manager received a small-ish update. I was going to cover the changes in my next Linux Release Roundup at the end of the month, but with GNOME 48 out—cue the “does my favourite extension still work” panic—it feels fitting to let the update stand in a solo spotlight. Especially since Extension Manager‘s Flatpak build now depends on the GNOME […]
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 that will be included in Ubuntu 25.04, released next month. Announcing the promotion to stable on the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML) Linus Torvalds explains why this release has landed a day later than expected “So it’s early Monday morning (well – early for me, I’m not really a morning person), and […]
Canonical has announced that it now ‘officially supports’ Ubuntu on the NVIDIA Jetson Orin series of computing modules, designed for low-power AI and machine learning applications. The General Availability (GA) of Ubuntu 22.04 LTS for the NVIDIA Jetson Orin brings “optimized performance, out-of-the-box compatibility, and an easy pathway to high-performance AI solutions for AI developers everywhere“, say Canonical. Offering Ubuntu certified images for cutting-edge hardware is something Canonical has been ramping up, and doing so for NVIDIA Jetson modules should provide a lure to developers wanting to leverage them for edge AI, robotics and other uses. Our collaboration with NVIDIA […]
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 animations. Yes, animations—remember: Miracle-WM wants to be “a flashy, cozy tiling window manager that absolutely anyone can use, similar to hyprland but with less of a focus on expert users”. Frivolous though they are to some, animations will help realise that goal. Miracle-WM 0.5 changes at-a-glance: On the bug-fixes side: Plus more – see the Miracle-WM GitHub for a comprehensive […]
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 proprietary KEPUB file format to regular EPUB files for reading on non-Kobo devices and apps (like Calibre itself). Additionally, users of Kobo devices can now use Calibre to convert EPUB to KEPUB automatically when sending books across, saving time and hassle of first converting and then sending. I’ll admit, I hadn’t heard of KEPUB before writing […]
Didn’t get around to trying last year’s elementary OS 8.0 release? No bother as elementary OS 8.0.1 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. The kernel uplift may resolve some of the issues folks who’d tried the previous build with Linux kernel 6.8 had experience. Those (important) foundational fittings aside, elementary devs also spent time fixing, fine-tuning and finessing a few rough edges across the many apps, tools, and home-grown technologies the distro ships with, as elementary […]
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. GNOME 48 focuses on improving our daily workflow through a set of conscientious, considered changes The latest version of the ever-evolving desktop environment will ship out-of-the-box in several upcoming Linux distros releases, including Fedora 42 and Ubuntu 25.04, whilst users of rolling release distros may get it sooner. GNOME 48 is the the sort of update users of propriety OSes long for: it’s not screaming for attention […]
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 have been tweaked so that “finding what you need feels seamless”, according to Vivaldi Technologies’ CEO Jon von Tetzchner. Sticking with the speed theme, Vivaldi 7.2 is said to load pages faster—up to 2x as fast for some—thanks to some nifty optimised connection handling work on the backend that reduces latency on domain lookup. […]
GIMP 3.0 has finally arrived after 7 years of development. Discover the best new features including non-destructive editing, a GTK 3 UI, and more.
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 — browser.taskbarTabs.enabled — in the about:config page to enable the feature (which Mozilla is calling Taskbar Tabs). Right now, enabling that flag won’t do anything (on any platform). But the fact the flag has been added ought to mean the feature itself isn’t too far behind. In anticipation, here’s a look at what we might […]
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 visual change and new features in GNOME 48 to account for, the design team working on Yaru have dutifully update the theme to accommodate. Most of the changes are subtle, but Yaru’s oversized icon bug I reported on last month? Fixes to address that issue have—hurrah—made it in. Thus, in 25.04 you might […]
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 release a lighter visual revamp by making a new theme, called Zenithal, default. “Zenithal, developed by Štefan Uram and based on the Ice theme by Simotek, introduces a polished light aesthetic that brings a fresh energy to Moksha. It also marks a first for Bodhi: windows and dialogs with rounded edges,” they say. Bodhi Linux’s […]
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 October of last year, fixes FFmpeg loading in its official AppImage when run on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (and Linux distributions based off of it). Which is welcome. Elsewhere, Audacity’s noise reduction filter regains a “Residue” option thanks to a community contribution, and no longer screws up pasting content copied from a clip by offsetting its […]
The default wallpaper for Ubuntu 25.04 ‘Plucky Puffin’ has been unveiled. Each new Ubuntu release bears a bespoke desktop background and animal mascot, and the upcoming release of the Plucky Puffin proves no exception. Ubuntu 25.04’s default wallpaper makes heavy use of the nautical motifs proffered by its codename animal (a puffin). Avian art is, as per, placed atop a purple gradient background1 with trademark polygonal edge detailing: The “colour” version above is the stock default, but there are 4 variants in total: colour, light, dimmed, and dark (used in dark mode). Users can set any of those as their […]
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. A slew of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS users complained that certain paired Bluetooth audio devices (mainly earbuds/phones) fail to reconnect after a system restart or suspend. Plus, for many noble users reporting bugs, even attempting to manually connect to a previously-paired device following a reboot or suspend fails to connect or stay connected thus requiring the need to remove and re-pair the device to work. —Until the next reboot/suspend. The cause? Based on an […]