VirtualBox 7.1 Beta: ‘Modernised’ UI, Wayland Clipboard Sharing + More
If you plan on trying the new Linux Mint 22 release in a virtual machine, why not double-up the fun by taking it for a spin in the VirtualBox 7.1 beta, which slipped out last night. Don’t tune out—most VirtualBox updates are fairly modest, I know. But the upcoming release of VirtualBox 7.1? It’s being billed by Oracle as a ‘major update’ – about time too, I say! VirtualBox 7.1 introduces a “modernized look and feel” that gives users with a choice of UI mode: Basic streamlines the interface, reducing the amount of options, settings, and details shown; Expert puts […] You’re reading VirtualBox 7.1 Beta: ‘Modernised’ UI, Wayland Clipboard Sharing + More, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

Linux Mint 22 Officially Released, This is What’s New
And we’re go – Linux Mint 22 ‘Wilma’ has been officially released and made available to download. This major update is the first to be based on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS This major update is built on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and sees Linux Mint 22 inherit big updates to underlying packages, libraries, tooling, and core technology stacks. There’s also a new Linux kernel, and a fresh set of graphics drivers. Linux Mint 22 ships with a new version of the Cinnamon desktop (featuring new options), a suite of new and improved apps (plus a few downgrades and removals), and makes some […] You’re reading Linux Mint 22 Officially Released, This is What’s New, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

A $60 Intel-Based SBC Cheaper & Faster than a Raspberry Pi 5
Love the idea of tinkering around with a small, single-board computer (SBC) but need something more powerful than most ARM-based offerings provide? If so, the new Radxa X4 from Radxa may be of interest. Powered by an Intel N100 CPU with Intel UHD graphics, the Radxa X4 delivers better performance in CPU and GPU tasks than a Raspberry Pi 5, at a similar price point. It won’t match ARM-based devices in power consumption, and will run a bit hotter under load too. Like the Pi —I’d stop comparing but hey: I picked my narrative hook and I aim to run […] You’re reading A $60 Intel-Based SBC Cheaper & Faster than a Raspberry Pi 5, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

First Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha with COSMIC DE Arrives August 8
Course set: the first alpha of Pop_OS 24.04 is scheduled for release on August 8th. So if you’ve been counting the days until you can try the new COSMIC desktop environment first hand… Well, keep counting until then! 😅 Pop!_OS 24.04 will based on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, and inherit much of the foundational improvements Canonical’s engineers and Ubuntu developers have plumped in. On top of that will sit the new COSMIC desktop environment, its new homegrown apps (file manager, terminal, software hub, etc), and all of System76’s other embellishments n’ enablements (including first-tier support for their own laptops and desktops, […] You’re reading First Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha with COSMIC DE Arrives August 8, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

FBReader (Qt-Based eBook Reader) Now Supports DRM EPUBs
FBReader 2.1 has been released for Windows, macOS, and Linux, with the team behind the eBook reading app calling it “a major update for desktop platforms”. If you’re not familiar with FBReader it’s a Qt-based ebook reader with customisation options, an ebook library, and integration with online sources to download free eBooks. The FB in the name is for FictionBook, the .fb2 ebook format favoured by the app author. FBReader was open-source software until 2015, after which it transition to freeware for Windows, macOS, and Linux (closed source, but free), and freemium for Android and iOS (free version limited, paid […] You’re reading FBReader (Qt-Based eBook Reader) Now Supports DRM EPUBs, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

Tiling Shell GNOME Extension Adds New Way to Tile Windows Quickly
If you’ve tried the Tiling Shell GNOME extension you’ll know how easy it makes it to tile application windows in GNOME Shell, from simple to more complex. The latest update, which began rolling out through the GNOME Extensions website this weekend, adds yet another intuitive way to tile windows as you work. First it provided a slide-in Windows 11-style Snap Assistant on to which you drop windows to tile them accordingly. Next, it added keyboard shortcuts to support tiling windows without using a mouse. More recently, edge-tiling was introduced. And you can activate an on-screen drop-zone by moving a window […] You’re reading Tiling Shell GNOME Extension Adds New Way to Tile Windows Quickly, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

How to Display eBook Thumbnails in Nautilus (Quick Tip)
I recently rediscovered my Amazon Kindle (a geriatric model from 2012, nothing fancy) and figured, as it still works, I’ll use it, and set about downloading freely available1 EPUBs of classic (and not-so-classic – I’m a pulpy-kinda guy) literature. They say never judge a book by its cover – but it is useful to be able to distinguish a book by its cover! Thing is: my old Amazon Kindle can’t open EPUB files2 so I have to use the open-source eBook tool Calibre to convert them into the AZW3 format my ancient Kindle prefers, or the MOBI format which it […] You’re reading How to Display eBook Thumbnails in Nautilus (Quick Tip), a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

GNOME’s New Video Player is Now Available on Flathub
Were you excited by news GNOME plans to replace the Totem media player in its core software set with a new, modern, and actively maintained app called Showtime? If so, you may be just as excited to hear that it’s now available to install from Flathub. This means you no longer need to set-up the GNOME Nightly repo (and then tussle with endless updates to both app and the underlying runtimes it relies on) to try it out. Better yet, the initial release of Showtime on Flathub is built against the GNOME 46 runtime. If you’ve installed any other GTK […] You’re reading GNOME’s New Video Player is Now Available on Flathub, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

OBS Studio 30.2 Adds Linux NVENC Encoding, Hybrid MP4 Support
OBS Studio, the open-source leader in cross-platform screen-casting and streaming software, put out a new release this week. OBS Studio 30.2 adds Linux support to the native NVENC encoder, plus Linux shared texture support to the NVENC, QuickSync, and VA-API encoders. And as of this update, PipeWire window/display capture is combined into a single, unified “Screen Capture” source, renamed as “Display Capture (XSHM)” to match other capture sources. OBS Studio 30.2 defaults to using the Hybrid MP4 output format on Windows and Linux. Hybrid MP4 pairs the benefits of fault-tolerant fragmented MP4 with the fast read-access of regular MP4, remaining recoverable […] You’re reading OBS Studio 30.2 Adds Linux NVENC Encoding, Hybrid MP4 Support, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

Audacity 3.6 Add Master Effects, New Compressor & Limiter + More
A new version of the open-source, cross-platform audio editor Audacity is available to download, kitted out with some major new features. Audacity 3.6 introduces support for master effects. These adjust the sound of project as a whole (the ‘master mix’ composed of all individual tracks and any realtime effects applied to them) and, usually, done as the final stage of editing prior to export. Brand new Compressor and Limiter effects are included in this update to Audacity, along with a set of handy presets the developers say are applicable to a wide range of use cases. Gain reduction history is […] You’re reading Audacity 3.6 Add Master Effects, New Compressor & Limiter + More, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

Blender 4.2 LTS Brings New Render Engine, GPU Compositor + More

Blender 4.2 LTS has landed, delivering a slew of new features and improvements that open-source 3D artists are sure to love.

You’re reading Blender 4.2 LTS Brings New Render Engine, GPU Compositor + More, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Ubuntu Fast-Tracks AppArmor Fix for Flatpak Apps Failing to Start
The recent update to AppArmor to remedy issues with 3rd-party apps being unable to run on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (due to its security hardening) inadvertently prevents a fleet of popular Flatpak apps from running either. The Telegram Desktop, KeePassXC, and Steam clients are among Flatpak apps users have reported issues with, seemingly due to the AppArmor profile tweaks for the Bubblewrap sandboxing tool the prior update introduced. To be clear: snap, DEB, and binary versions of the software above are not affected, only Flatpak packages installed from stores like Flathub. But good news: Ubuntu’s developers got to work to identify […] You’re reading Ubuntu Fast-Tracks AppArmor Fix for Flatpak Apps Failing to Start, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

DevToys (Developer Tools App) is Now Available for Linux
When Scott suggested I cover a new open-source app for Linux on the basis “it’s like Microsoft PowerToys for developers”, I wasn’t exactly sure what I’d be writing about — or why. But after reading the website for DevToys (the app in question) where’s described as a “Swiss Army knife for developers”, things suddenly made more sense. It’s basically a grab-bag of common developer tools baked into a single, offline-friendly utility. DevToys bakes in 30 tools to “help with daily development tasks”, saving programmers, coders, and web builders time and effort as part of their workflow, and perhaps easing the frustration […] You’re reading DevToys (Developer Tools App) is Now Available for Linux, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

Linux Kernel 6.10 Released, This is What’s New
Linux kernel 6.10 has been officially released. The latest version of the Linux kernel adds an array of improvements, including a new memory sealing system call, a speed boost for AES-XTS encryption on Intel and AMD CPUs, and expanded Rust language support within the kernel to RISC-V. Plus, as with all kernel releases, there’s a glut of groundwork to offer “initial support” for upcoming CPUs, GPUs, NPUs, Wi-Fi, and other hardware. This ensures Linux support is in place when these new bits of hardware become available. In an email to the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML), Linus Torvalds announce the […] You’re reading Linux Kernel 6.10 Released, This is What’s New, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

Apple Approves First PC Emulator App for iOS – Can it Run Linux?
This weekend Apple officially approved the first PC emulator on the App Store, an open-source app called UTM SE, based on QEMU, and free to download (no IAP). UTM SE can emulate a variety of desktop operating systems and system architectures, including MS-DOS, Windows XP, and (of course) Linux—all without workarounds, jailbreaks, or side-loading .ipa files via Xcode. Still, I should mention (before anyone reading gets too excited) that the overall performance of running Ubuntu on an iPhone or iPad isn’t great — I’ll explain why this is the case in a moment. As you may have heard, Apple relaxed […] You’re reading Apple Approves First PC Emulator App for iOS – Can it Run Linux?, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …