Ubuntu 23.10 Adds Support for Window Quarter Tiling
Improved window tiling is coming to Ubuntu 23.10. If you’re a regular reader you’ll have expected this. I revealed earlier this year that Ubuntu developers wanted to make the Tiling Assistant GNOME extension part of the default install. Well, now they have. The (renamed) Ubuntu Tiling Assistant extension is rolling out to Ubuntu 23.10 daily builds, and will, barring any unexpected issues, ship out-of-the-box on new installs. So what does this extension provide? Well, in current versions of Ubuntu when you drag a window to either side of your screen you’re able to “snap” it to 50% of the horizontal […] This post, Ubuntu 23.10 Adds Support for Window Quarter Tiling is from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

Intel’s New Open Source Mono Font is Pretty Decent
Between IBM Plex Mono, Hack, Fira Code, and JetBrains Mono I think we Linux users are spoilt for choice when it comes to open-source monospace fonts that look good and work great. Still, there’s always room for more, right? Intel thinks so, hence the release of Intel One Mono. This is an “expressive monospaced font family that’s built with clarity, legibility, and the needs of developers in mind.” Better yet it’s not only free to download and use but free to edit, and free to redistribute. Typography experts at Frere-Jones Type worked alongside Intel’s brand team and marketing company VMLY&R […] This post, Intel’s New Open Source Mono Font is Pretty Decent is from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

Firefox 114 Released with DNS over HTTPS Tweaks, FIDO2 Support
You know the deal: the world spins, a month passes, and a new version of Mozilla Firefox is released for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Firefox 114 arrives on schedule, with a few notable enhancements, a large dose of bug fixes, and additional web features that developers can take advantage of of. The “big ticket” item in this version? A new UI to manage the DNS over HTTPS exception list. While previous versions have supported this privacy-enhancing feature there are new new settings for it in the Privacy & Security panel, including n easy way to add sites to your exception […] This post, Firefox 114 Released with DNS over HTTPS Tweaks, FIDO2 Support is from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

Linux Mint Adds Support for Touchpad Gestures
Longing to use touchpad gestures in Linux Mint to manage windows, workspaces, tiling, and so on? Well, you’re in luck. Gesture support has been added to Cinnamon 5.8, Linux Mint say its latest monthly update. To be fair, they don’t say an awful lot more about it than that, simply explaining: “Cinnamon 5.8 is getting gestures support for window management, workspace management, tiling and media controls. Gestures will be supported on touchpads, touchscreens and tablets.” So how’s this working? Well, it’s already possible to use touchpad gestures on Linux Mint (assuming you have hardware that supports it, of course) thanks […] This post, Linux Mint Adds Support for Touchpad Gestures is from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

Rename Audio Devices in GNOME’s Quick Settings Sound Menu
Want to rename the audio devices that appear in the Quick Settings menu sound switcher? “No,” will be the answer from most people reading this. But I reckon a few of you will be hollering a throaty “hell yeah” my way — so this GNOME extension tip is for you, folks. I showcased an extension that lets you hide audio devices from GNOME’s Quick Settings menu a week back. This one is similar. But instead of hiding audio devices from the sound switcher it allows you to rename them. Like, anything you want. “Sound bar”, “noise emitter”, “cheap speakers”, etc. […] This post, Rename Audio Devices in GNOME’s Quick Settings Sound Menu is from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

New Icons, Symlink Fixes for Flathub Apps Added to Papirus Icon Set
I know that the Papirus icon pack is hugely popular so I figured I’d ferry word that a new version is available for download The June update is largely composed of symlinks to allow Flathub versions of apps already covered by the set match up to their corresponding icons. This includes icons for Adobe Reader, Godot 3, Jellyfin Server, Proton VPN, Puddletag, Waterfox, and ZSNES. A handful of Steam titles, including Dream Logical World and popular emulator RetroArch, get icons; and the icon for VSCodium, a well-regarded “de-Microsoft’d” version of Microsoft’s VSCode editor, has been redesigned to echo the upstream […] This post, New Icons, Symlink Fixes for Flathub Apps Added to Papirus Icon Set is from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

Ubuntu 18.04 General Support Ends, Enable ESM to Stay Protected
As anticipated, support for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS is now over — but don’t panic if you’re still using it, as this is not the end of the road. Ubuntu 18.04 ‘Bionic Beaver’ lives on through Expanded Security Maintenance1, or ESM. This provides users of the distro with a further five years (!) of core security updates from Canonical and Ubuntu developers. ESM isn’t automatic but it is easy to enrol. To benefit, you need to sign up for an Ubuntu Pro subscription — but don’t worry, this is free for regular users on up to 5 devices (more if you’re […] This post, Ubuntu 18.04 General Support Ends, Enable ESM to Stay Protected is from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

All-Snap Ubuntu Desktop Will Be Available Next Year
An all-snap Ubuntu desktop is coming — and sooner than you might think! According to Canonical’s Oliver Grawert, the next long-term support release of Ubuntu will be available to download in 2 versions: a classic, deb-based version (default) and, for the first time, an immutable, snap-based build for enthusiasts to experiment with. You can’t see me right now but I assure you I’m pulling my best faux-shocked face. A snap-based desktop won’t be the default offering, but it will be there for enthusiasts to try Why the snark? Well, let’s face it: an all-snap Ubuntu desktop is something of an […] This post, All-Snap Ubuntu Desktop Will Be Available Next Year is from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

Ubuntu Plans to Switch CUPS Printing Stack to Snap
Ubuntu 23.10 is aiming to ship the CUPS printing stack as a snap package. Canonical’s Till Kamppeter, who is also the project lead for the OpenPrinting Project, says he wants to “…switch Ubuntu 23.10, the Mantic Minotaur, as planned, to use the CUPS Snap as its printing system and the Printer Application Snaps as drivers for non-IPP-driverless printers.” Printers are not my forte; I last owned a printer about a decade ago and even then it hadn’t been used for years — not quite a daisy wheel, but getting there! I recall plenty of printer driver issues on Ubuntu, and […] This post, Ubuntu Plans to Switch CUPS Printing Stack to Snap is from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

Tube Converter Gets New Backend for Improved Stability
A major update to Tube Converter is now available. If you’re not familiar with this GTK4/libadwaita app, it’s a GUI tool that makes it easy to download videos from YouTube (assuming you have permission, etc) and a number of other popular video streaming sites. Tube Converter is powered by the popular yt-dlp engine, providing a sleek, user-friendly front-end to many of that tool’s features. It lets you download multiple videos at a time in a variety of formats, including MP4 and WEBM, and audio-only MP3, FLAC, and WAV. Latest Tube Converter Features There have been a couple of sizeable updates […] This post, Tube Converter Gets New Backend for Improved Stability is from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

Ubuntu Summit 2023 Date & Location Revealed
Join me in hearing an imaginary drum roll as I reveal the date and location of the next Ubuntu Summit. This year, Riga in Latvia will host Ubuntu’s in-person soirée, from November 3rd to November 5th at the The Radisson Blu Latvija Hotel. Interestingly, the Ubuntu Summit 2023 is not the only is FOSS-focused event Latvia’s capital accommodates this year as GNOME’s annual GUADEC event rolls into town during July. Not sure if this is a coincidence or planned . “Ubuntu Summit is an event focused on the Linux and Open Source ecosystem, beyond Ubuntu itself. Representatives of outstanding projects […] This post, Ubuntu Summit 2023 Date & Location Revealed is from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …

Apply Real-Time Effects to Audio on Ubuntu with This App
Many moons ago I covered a neat audio tool called PulseEffects, which made it easy to modify the sound output of any app on a global or per-app basis. As you may infer from the name, PulseEffects was built around and designed for PulseAudio. Most major Linux distributions have switched from PulseAudio to PipeWire for their audio handling. Enter Easy Effects, a successor to PulseEffects that sports a modern GTK4 interface, and an expanded set of features that enable to function as a powerful audio effects processor for PipeWire applications. It offers an equalizer, limiter, and compressor (among others) and […] This post, Apply Real-Time Effects to Audio on Ubuntu with This App is from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission. …