Canonical’s engineers have announced the fourth and final monthly snapshot of Ubuntu 26.04, ahead of next month’s all important beta release. Ubuntu 26.04 Snapshot 4, like all other monthly snapshots, not a blessed build intended for mainstream usage. It’s a “throwaway artifact” that enables the distro’s engineers to fine-tune and hone a new automated build system. Compared to the January release of snapshot 3, there’s more ‘of note’ packed inside of this one, like the Linux 6.19 kernel and more GNOME 50 beta components (Mutter, Files, Settings), though the new Showtime video player is not included – but is coming. […]

You're reading Ubuntu 26.04 Snapshot 4 is now available to download, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Ubuntu 26.04 will show asterisks when you type your sudo password, as Canonical adds a patch to its Rust-based sudo-rs. Here's what changed and why.

You're reading Ubuntu 26.04 ends a 40-year old sudo tradition, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 'Resolute Raccoon' has a new default wallpaper. It keeps the purple gradient but drops the sharp geometric angles. Download a high-res copy.

You're reading Ubuntu 26.04 ‘Resolute Raccoon’ default wallpaper unveiled, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

The forecast is looking Qt for fans of open-source weather app Typhoon, the latest update to which swaps its creaking GTK3 backend for a lithe Qt 6 one. What’s interesting about this change in Typhoon 1.7.x is that it doesn’t impact the UI in any noticeable way. The app still uses a colourful, borderless window with optional transparency, and conveys weather forecast data via stark white text and glyphs. Archisman Panigrahi, Typhoon’s developer, says the Qt port was needed since GTK3 is being deprecated, but that rewriting the app in GTK4 was a non-starter given it ‘does not play well […]

You're reading Typhoon weather app clears up with Qt6 port, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Showtime video player looks set to make it into Ubuntu 26.04 LTS after a package update fixed a dependency issue that was blocking its inclusion. Totem's days are numbered.

You're reading Showtime video player edges closer to Ubuntu debut, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Add animated media controls to your GNOME panel or dock with Dynamic Music Pill, a slick GNOME Shell extension showing album art, waveforms and track info.

You're reading Dynamic Music Pill adds slick media controls to the GNOME panel, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

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 […]

You're reading Firefox 148 released with AI kill switch + more, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

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 […]

You're reading Ubuntu 26.04 LTS will default to OpenJDK 25, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Ghostty's most-thumbed feature request is finally being answered. Yup, scrollbar support is finally coming in Ghostty 1.3 for Linux and macOS.

You're reading Ghostty terminal is finally adding scrollbar support, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

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 […]

You're reading Rudra is a new keyboard-driven launcher for GNOME Shell, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

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.

You're reading BleachBit 5.1.0 Beta adds cookie manager and expert mode, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

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.

You're reading KDE Plasma 6.6 is out – screenshot OCR, refresh rate fix + more, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

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.

You're reading Ubuntu 26.04 splits firmware package to reduce update sizes, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

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.

You're reading Official Ubuntu 26.04 ‘Resolute Raccoon’ mascot revealed, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Linux Mint 23 will expand its System Administration tool (mintsysadm) with a new Users section, enabling post-install home encryption and more.

You're reading Linux Mint is adding post-install home encryption option, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

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.

You're reading Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS released with Linux 6.17 + Mesa 25.2, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

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.

You're reading Linux Mint may make fewer releases a year to ‘uncap ambition’, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

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.

You're reading CrossOver 26 released with Wine 11.0 and NTSync support, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Ubuntu 26.04 drops the 'Software & Updates' app, with some settings moving elsewhere as Canonical simplifies the distro's configuration tools.

You're reading Ubuntu drops the ‘Software & Updates’ tool from new installs, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.