ConnexionFirefox 148 released with AI kill switch + more
The Firefox 148 update sees its stable release today, bringing with it a much-request ‘AI kill switch’ to easily disable all AI-powered features within the browser. Mozilla has said future updates to the browser will not re-enable AI features once disabled. Given that Mozilla now measures its success by how much revenue it makes from AI features in its products, Firefox included, that’s a reassuring stance. To disable AI features in Firefox go to Settings > AI Controls. Slide the ‘Block AI Enhancements’ toggle to turn off ChatGPT and other chatbots in the sidebar, AI link previews, the (supposedly) smart […]
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Ubuntu 26.04 LTS ‘Resolute Raccoon’ will use OpenJDK 25 as its default Java version. An expected change as OpenJDK 25 is a long-term support release, as Ubuntu 26.04 is, the bump brings various feature and performance improvements to developers over OpenJDK 21, the default version used in Ubuntu 24.04 LTS through 25.10. On Ubuntu, Java isn’t installed out of the box, but when you install default-jdk or default-jre (directly or indirectly as a dependency needed by other software) those meta-packages point to whichever OpenJDK version Canonical has blessed as current. In Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, that will be OpenJDK 25. Version 25 of OpenJDK, the […]
Ghostty's most-thumbed feature request is finally being answered. Yup, scrollbar support is finally coming in Ghostty 1.3 for Linux and macOS.
The world isn’t short on keyboard-based Linux launchers. Albert, Ulauncher, rofi and GNOME Do (if you’re old enough to remember that one) are among those I’ve written about in the past. Rudra is a new spin on this old staple – albeit without the extensibility dedicated quick launchers provide. What’s different here is that it’s implemented as a GNOME Shell extension, not a standalone app. The developer of Rudra, Nark Agni, describes it as a “lightning-fast, keyboard-centric launcher […] designed for power users”. Though inspired by Mac apps like Alfred and Raycast, it is far less capable than those. To […]
BleachBit 5.1.0 beta is out with a new cookie manager, expert mode to prevent accidental data loss, new browser support, and fixes for Linux users.
KDE Plasma 6.6 release lets you extract text from screenshots, control app volume from the taskbar, save custom themes and fixes the 60Hz animation cap.
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS will split its 600MB linux-firmware package into 17 vendor-specific packages to reduce bandwidth and download sizes of firmware updates.
Download the official Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 'Resolute Raccoon' mascot as an SVG vector file to use in your custom wallpapers and personalised Ubuntu artwork.
Linux Mint 23 will expand its System Administration tool (mintsysadm) with a new Users section, enabling post-install home encryption and more.
Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS is now available to download. This fourth point release brings the Linux 6.17 HWE kernel and Mesa 25.2 graphics stack for better hardware support.
Linux Mint developers are considering ending the distro’s six‑month release cycle, a change that could mean fewer updates and a slower release pace.
CrossOver 26 is out with new Windows app and game compatibility, Wine 11.0 and NYSync support to make running Windows software on Linux even smoother.
Ubuntu 26.04 drops the 'Software & Updates' app, with some settings moving elsewhere as Canonical simplifies the distro's configuration tools.
Cine is a new GTK4/libadwaita video player for Linux using an MPV backend. We take a look at the app as Ubuntu 26.04 prepares to swap Totem for Showtime.
Linux 6.19 brings native Vulkan support to older AMD Radeon GPUs, hardware-accelerated HDR via the DRM Colour Pipeline API and ext4 speed boosts.
SpacemiT and Canonical bring Ubuntu 26.04 LTS to the K3 RISC-V SoC, one of the first RVA23-compliant on sale. Ubuntu 24.04 support expands to the K1.
To help offset the industry-wide RAM price increases, a new version of the Raspberry Pi 4 has been released that uses dual-RAM chips.
The Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS HWE update is now available to install. It brings Linux kernel 6.17, Mesa 25.2.7 and Wayland Protocols 1.45 to the current LTS.
JetBrains confirms native Wayland support for IntelliJ IDEs starting in 2026.1. The move from X11 improves scaling and performance for Linux developers.
LibreOffice 26.2 is here with multi-user Base, better Excel pasting, Markdown support and speed boosts. Coming to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. Download now.
Papers gains new PDF annotation tools, including ink, text boxes and improved form support, now available in GNOME Nightly builds.
Firefox 148 adds a new "AI Controls" panel to granularly disable or entirely block AI features with a kill-switch. Opt out of AI when the update drops in February.
Raspberry Pi announces new price hikes for 2026, blaming the "AI infrastructure roll-out" for rising RAM costs. Pi 4 and Pi 5 models get way more expensive.
January's software updates include VLC 3.0.23, Shotcut 26.1 with GPU decoding, and Vivaldi 7.6. Take a look at the month’s notable Linux app releases.