Linux Mint 22.3 “Zena” is now available for download, bringing with it a redesigned Mint Menu, a pair of new system apps, and an expanded set of search options in the Nemo file manager. This is the fourth and final major update in the Linux Mint 22 series, building on the myriad of changes Linux Mint 22.2 “Zara” delivered last September. Like those, this release is based on Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS and inherits the same foundational goodies. You get Linux 6.14 kernel and Mesa 25.0 out-of-the-box (though a new Ubuntu HWE with Linux 6.17 and Mesa 25.2 will be available to […]
Wine 11.0, the latest stable release of the open-source compatibility layer that allows Windows games and apps to run on Linux and macOS, has been released. The annual release rounds off another year of development effort, with two standout features: ntsync kernel module support for improved performance, and a fully mature WoW64 mode that now handles 16-bit applications (among other changes). All of these changes were available to sample in the bi-weekly Wine development releases. If you kept pace with those builds throughout last year, the majority of what’s new in Wine 11.0 won’t surprise you. For everyone else, let’s […]
Firefox 147 released with XDG directory support ending a 20-year Linux bug, auto Picture-in-Picture, better AMD video performance, and new web standards.
A new hardware enablement (HWE) will roll out to users on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS this month, ahead of the Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS point release due on February 12. Ubuntu’s engineers periodically backport the Linux kernel and graphics drivers included in interim releases to the current long-term support (LTS) version. The next update delivers components from Ubuntu 25.10, released in October 2025. This means the Ubuntu 24.04.4 HWE brings the Linux 6.17 kernel and Mesa 25.2.7, a sizeable leap over the 25.0.x series that was delivered in the 24.04.3 HWE update last August. New versions of Intel VAAPI driver (2.4.1), libva, […]
Canonical's ARM64 Steam Snap brings x86 gaming to Ubuntu ARM systems via FEX emulation. Early testing shows 200+ FPS in Cyberpunk 2077. You can help test it.
Support for Ubuntu 25.04 ‘Plucky Puffin’ officially ends on 15th January 2026 – which is next week, for those of you reading this before the fact. Beyond this date, Ubuntu 25.04 receives no further security updates or bug fixes, no matter how critical they are. At least, not from Canonical. Third-party apps and repos could continue to provide updates for a short while after, but time is ticking. How many people will this affect? While there aren’t stats on how many people use each Ubuntu version, but Ubuntu 25.10 was released last October so it has been out for around […]
In the market for a dumb laptop? No—I don’t mean one of those gobbledygook brands on Amazon powered by weak-sauce Intel Celeron processors forever listed at 90% off pretend RRPs. No, I’m talking about a laptop that… Isn’t a laptop at all. The CrowView Note 15.6 from Elecrow is a portable monitor in the form of a laptop. It has a keyboard, touchpad, speakers, USB ports and an internal battery. If you’ve been around tech a while you’ll recall the NexDock pioneered this concept. There’s no CPU, RAM, HDD/SDD or web cam; you bring the brains by connecting your phone, […]
If you use Flathub on Ubuntu you likely already use (or at least know of) Bazaar, a GTK4/libadwaita frontend that makes it trivial to search, manage and update Flatpak apps from this popular repo. Bazaar gets updated frequently (I’ve covered some updates in my monthly Linux App Release Roundup series). In the past few weeks the app has been update with further improvements, features and design tweaks. Chief among them, a new app icon. I know everyone cares about icons as much as I do, but a well designed icon with a clear metaphor (and, ideally, some colour to keep […]
Dell has announced the return of its XPS laptop line at CES 2026, introducing redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch models, the former of which will be available to buy pre-loaded with Ubuntu later this year. The tech company retired the XPS branding in last January as part of a marketing revamp of its product lines. Inspiron, Latitude, and Precision devices became “Dell,” “Dell Pro,” and “Dell Pro Max” respectively, while XPS models were re-badged “Dell Premium”. But you can’t keep a good brand down for long, and the XPS has returned — with some notable design changes in tow. The company […]
It’s fair to say that 2025 delivered plenty of wins for Ubuntu and the wider Linux ecosystem. Wayland is no longer “on the way”, but settled in and feeling comfortable (for most of us); gaming on Linux is practically mainstream at this point (thanks to Valve); and Ubuntu’s desktop team continued to think big with app/tooling changes, encryption focus, and more. Still, one shouldn’t lose sight of how far things have come already. In a chronically online world, attention is forever fixated on what’s new, what’s next, and (outrage industrial complex) what is the absolute worst. Mindfulness isn’t a meme; […]
Got time for a final blast through smaller Linux app updates to round out 2025? There will be plenty of big new releases to look forward to in 2026, no doubt. But before we race head on in to another year, I wanted to give one last glance back at software updates that landed in December but which, as ever, I didn’t give a full article to… …But didn’t want to leave out either. Clapper 0.10.0 Clapper media player hit 0.10.0 this month, continuing to expand its “enhancer plugin system”. MPRIS, Server, and Discoverer features are now enhancer plugins. A […]
A new version of Shotcut video editor is out, rounding out what’s proven to be a bumper month for Linux video editing enthusiasts thanks to big updates to Flowblade, OpenShot and Kdenlive. The headline feature in Shotcut 25.12 is full 10-bit video support in the CPU pipeline. Until now, editing 10-bit clips in this MLT-based tool involved trade-offs: using GPU effects and filters, or opting for basic CPU filters that lack transitions or compositing. Now, you don’t need to. Most CPU filters, transitions, and other editing/blending options have been updated to to handle 10- and 12-bit sources, though a few remain […]
A new GNOME Shell extension rethinks the app grid (aka the app picker, app drawer, launcher screen – what do you call it?) by making it scroll vertically instead of horizontally. Y’know, the way it did before GNOME 40 changed it. GNOME 40’s switch to horizontal app grid scrolling in 2021 irked a few of its mice-favouring aficionados. Their main gripe? A vertical mouse scroll wheel to move horizontally feels off. The app grid does have clickable buttons (and supports swipe gestures and keyboard arrow keys too). But GNOME Shell is malleable; the way it is out of the box […]
Following on from its beta release in September, the Pinta 3.1 release is now available for download with new features and plenty of fixes. Pinta is, as I’m sure you know, a modest open-source and cross-platform image editor. It began life as a pseudo-clone of Paint.NET (the former being written in Mono, an open-source implementation of Microsoft’s .NET, which the latter was made in). These days, it’s very much its own thing, serving as a simple yet capable raster graphics editor sitting below The GIMP in complexity, but above no-frills Tux Paint type offerings. Pinta 3.1 brings a variety of […]
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