A pair of new icons have been added to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, giving the Resolute Raccoonâs new default apps, a Yaru-y look. A new icon is added for Resources, Ubuntuâs new default system monitor tool. In the Ubuntu 26.04 beta this was using the upstream icon, which didnât look out of place really but wasnât using one a Yaru icon set template shape. Thatâs now fixed. Still identifiably a system monitor, but using a circle gauge motif. On a related note, Resources was also updated in 26.04 daily builds to fix a few errant issues, like icons for snap apps [âŚ]
Whatâs better than using a social network? Not using one, I suppose. Or using one in the nerdiest way you can. Case in point, Skyscraper. Created by developer Cameron Banga, Skyscraper is an open-source terminal client for Bluesky, written in Rust and available on GitHub. It does the core essentials â timeline browsing, posting, replies, reposts, likes and profile viewing. Though aimed at macOS (where itâs available to install via brew), Skyscraper compiled easily on Ubuntu with minimal setup â I show you how to do it, if youâre interested. But before we get that far, letâs answer the big [âŚ]
March 2026 meted out a sizeable set of Linux software releases, including updates to FOSS stalwarts GIMP, digiKam, Krita and Blender. The preceding month also gave us several major new releases, covered on this site in dedicated articles, like Firefox 149 with free built-in VPN, the âbiggest ever releaseâ of OpenShot video editor, GIMP 3.2, Ghostty 1.3, and the Opera GX for Linux launch. A busy month, but those werenât the only app updates of note. Below, I run through other releases made in March. While these didnât get dedicated articles at the time, they offer new features, fixes or [âŚ]
The Rust-based version of sudo shows password feedback by default in Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, upending nearly 40 years of learned (and confusing) behaviour. Broadly, that decision has been well received, but those who want a quick option to temporarily mask their sudo input (no asterisks), just got one. You can now toggle sudo password feedback visibility by pressing the tab key. You can press it at any point during password entry (before you start or mid-way through, it doesnât matter), and rather than asterisk, it shows (no-echo) instead. Hereâs a video of it in action: The lack visible feedback during [âŚ]
Raspberry Pi has announced a fresh round of price rises for its range of popular single-board computers, owing to industry-wide memory costs. Itâs also launched a new version of the Pi 4 with 3GB RAM to sweeten the bad news, albeit somewhat. This is the second price rise announced for Raspberry Pi in recent months. The RRP of many Raspberry Pi boards was bumped in December, adding up to $20 to the cost of Raspberry Pi 5 boards versus the original price. Price increases this time around are far more dramatic. The Raspberry Pi 5 (8 GB) originally sold at [âŚ]
Youâll need at least 6GB of RAM to run Ubuntu 26.04 LTS comfortably, as the upcoming version of the distro raises its recommended minimum memory requirement for the first time since 2019. According to the official specs, âUbuntu Desktop 26.04 LTS requires a 2 GHz dual-core processor or better, a minimum of 6GB RAM and 25 GB of free hard drive space.â CPU and storage requirements are unchanged. Ubuntu last increased its recommended processor requirements with the release of 17.10. Free disk space has been a hard requirement of ~25 GB since 18.04 LTS (the desktop version wonât install on less). [âŚ]
If youâre used to accessing your Google Drive in the Nautilus file manager sidebar, a heads-up that the feature no longer works in GNOME 50, the desktop version Ubuntu 26.04 LTS uses. GNOMEâs Online Accounts integration continues to support linking your Google account to allow supported apps to access your contacts, mail and calendar data. But the toggle to allow access to files, which is what let you remotely mount your Google Drive in the Nautilus sidebar, is gone. Why does GNOME 50 not support Google Drive GNOME developer Emmanuele Bassi has confirmed the feature is âno longer supportedâ on [âŚ]
Ubuntu MATE is looking for new a maintainer, as project lead Martin Wimpress says he no longer has the âpassionâ for the project he once had (nor the time). Wimpress created Ubuntu MATE back in 2014, pairing Ubuntu with the traditional MATE desktop created as fork of the old GNOME 2 codebase (now very much its own thing). Ubuntu MATE was made an official Ubuntu flavour in 2015, and its first official long-term support (LTS) release arrived the following year â but there wonât be an Ubuntu MATE 26.04 LTS release as it did not apply for LTS qualification. A [âŚ]
Ubuntu engineers are debating ways to reduce the number of features present in the signed version of GRUB, the boot loader used on systems with Secure Boot enabled. Canonical engineer Julian Klode proposes dropping support for /boot on btrfs, HFS+, XFS and ZFS filesystems, along side GRUBâs JPEG and PNG image parsers, ahead of Ubuntu 26.10. Apple partition table support, LVM volume handling, all software RAID except RAID 1 and, more controversially, LUKS-encrypted /boot partitions are also on the chopping block. âThe timing here is crucialâ, Klode says, adding that âby performing the changes directly after an LTS, we can keep affected [âŚ]
The beta release of Ubuntu 26.04 LTS is now available to download, a month ahead a planned stable release on 23 April, 2026. Ubuntu 26.04 LTS runs on the latest release candidate of Linux kernel 7.0 (yet to be released), includes the new GNOME 50 desktop release and adds a couple of new default apps, including a new system monitoring utility (Resources). Visual changes introduced include a set of colourful new folder icons, a fully opaque Ubuntu Dock, a new default wallpaper and, albeit a little harder to spit, a new boot spinner animation during system startup. On the backend, [âŚ]
Ubuntuâs App Center software tool makes it easier to manage and update Deb software in its latest update â and nets a few extra options for snaps, too. The changes are part of Canonicalâs aim to make App Center the epicentre (Iâm sorry) for software management on Ubuntu, both Snap and Debian-based packages (might it one day support Flatpak too? Nothing to stop someone contributing the code to find outâŚ). A recent update to App Center in Ubuntu 26.04 adds support for seeing and managing Debian packages installed from the Ubuntu repos, using using PackageKit and Appstream on the backend. [âŚ]
Enabling Ubuntu Pro on Ubuntu is getting easier, with the latest update to the distroâs desktop Security Center app adding a dedicated panel. Currently, you can enrol and manage Ubuntu Pro for long-term support (LTS) versions of Ubuntu via the Software & Updates tool or the command-line. As Ubuntu 26.04 LTS will not include the Software & Updates utility by default (itâs still in the archives, for those who want it), a new graphical way to configure Ubuntu Pro enablement is needed. And the desktop Security Center, introduced in Ubuntu 24.10, is the logical place to put it as Ubuntu [âŚ]
Itâs been nearly 7 years since Pine64 (remember them?) introduced the PineTime (remember that?), a FOSS-friendly smartwatch priced under $30 and aimed at tech tinkerers and open hardware hackers. Now, itâs time for take two. Revealed in a community update recapping its activities at FOSDEM 2026, Pine64 has announced an updated version is on the way, with an AMOLED display, built-in GPS, blood oxygen sensing and a rotating digital crown (with an extra button). Individual components can be powered down independently, something the original couldnât do, which Pine64 says will improve battery life. The new âProâ will use what Pine64 [âŚ]
The Firefox 149 update is now rolling out to users, adding a new split view feature, a free built-in VPN and a welcome Linux-specific change. Split View in Firefox lets you view two web pages side-by-side inside a single browser window, which is a cleaner approach than how you might have been doing this previously, i.e., snapping two separate browser windows against each other. With Split View (versus the old method) all your tabs stay together, thereâs no duplicated window chrome eating up screen space and closing or rearranging the split wonât disturb the rest of your browsing session (no [âŚ]
The redesigned folder icons for Ubuntu 26.04 LTS have been redesigned again, albeit slightly. A big Yaru theme update hit Ubuntu 26.04 LTS last week, delivering a set of colourful new directory icons to development desktops (alongside other theme changes, like consistent radii and bolder text in UI elements and no dock transparency by default). It swapped Yaruâs slate folder icons for squatter, full-colour glyphs that reflect the system accent colour wholly. They also use an engraved treatment for standard XDG directories emblems, like Music, Pictures and Downloads. However, feedback on the new set indicated that the folder colour contrast [âŚ]
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