Good things come to those who wait, and for 3D modelling professionals with a preference for open-source software, the wait for the FreeCAD 1.0 release has been a long one – over 22 years! At long last, this free, open-source alternative to expensive engineering software like Autodesk Fusion 360, AutoCAD, SOLIDWORKS etc., has emerged from … [Read more...]

Flatpak is no longer just a promising format whose potential lay in the far future – it’s already the go-to way for developers to package and distribute their software on Linux, including to those of us using Ubuntu. While Ubuntu has no plans to support Flatpak officially, both Flatpaks and Flathub (the main source of Flatpak apps) work … [Read more...]

Here’s something lighthearted for you—unless you’re pedantic about ornithology, in which case you won’t be so chirpy: it seems a Bullfinch found its way into Ubuntu 24.10 ‘Oracular Oriole’. Did someone leave a window open?! If you have upgraded to Ubuntu 24.10 and changed the default wallpaper you will have noticed … [Read more...]

Feeling creative? After you’ve scanned out slew of changes shipping in the new Blender 4.3 release, you’ll find it hard not to! Blender 4.3 is the latest stable release of the phenomenally powerful open-source 3D modelling software. Its creators say the update builds on the Blender 4.2 LTS release earlier this year with … [Read more...]

A sure-fire way to tell that development has moved up a gear: Ubuntu 25.04 daily builds are now available to download. Development formally got underway on Ubuntu 25.04 ‘Plucky Puffin’ last month, with the final stable release of Ubuntu 25.04 arriving on Thursday April 17, 2025. You’re probably wondering what sort of new features … [Read more...]

Linus Torvalds has announced the release of Linux kernel 6.12, and an eclectic assortment of changes contained within make it one of the most biggest kernel releases for a while. In terms of features, I mean. I didn’t sit bean-counting the code byte-by-byte! In his message to the Linux Kernel Mailing List to announce the release Linus … [Read more...]

I’d promise to shut up about the Tiling Shell GNOME Shell extension but I can’t because new features are coming thick and fast — the latest: support for automatic tiling. Yes, this nifty workflow wonder is finally able to automatically tile newly opened windows based on the currently active tiling layout (and as you may sick of me … [Read more...]

A new version of the GTK-based music player Rhythmbox has been released, the first major update in over a year. Rhythmbox 3.4.8 is billed as a ‘minor improvement release’, so there are no shiny new features or (some would say overdue) UI changes to speak of. But there are plenty of bug fixes and smaller quality enhancements worth … [Read more...]

It could be all change for the PDF viewer in the next version of Ubuntu. Ubuntu’s long-time PDF viewer Evince (aka Document Viewer) is comes preinstalled in Ubuntu at present—I can’t recall using a version of Ubuntu that didn’t use it. But next April’s release of Ubuntu 25.04 ‘Plucky Puffin’ may replace Evince … [Read more...]

Framework make the most exciting laptops around —I don’t own one to be able to say they’re good, but the modular components, and upgradeable and repairable ethos is unlike anything else. As news earlier this year that owners would be able to swap their Intel-based mainboard for a RISC-V mainboard underscores. Well, there’s now an … [Read more...]

Back in the spring, VMware did something unexpected: it made its desktop hypervisor software free to download and use on Windows, macOS, and Linux. No trial period, no in-app purchases, no feature limitations; the full version of VMware Workstation Pro (Windows, Linux) and Fusion Pro (macOS) for free. The “catch” was that it was only … [Read more...]

MPRIS is something most of us associate with music apps and movie players, but a new app makes use of this freedesktop standard for something less entertaining: timers. Yes, timers. Timing your pizza in the oven, setting a deadline for a task, dedicating time to a hobby, or obsessively counting down to a date (figurative or romantic), MPRIS Timer … [Read more...]

For a pinch more personalisation of Ubuntu 24.10 check out Auto Accent Colour, a new GNOME Shell extension that changes the system accent colour based on your current desktop wallpaper. Accent colours are a headline feature in GNOME 47, although not new to Ubuntu users since Ubuntu added its own approach to accent colours back in 2022. Now aligned … [Read more...]

Calibre ebook manager, converter, and reader is out with a new update, and it adds an enticing sounding new feature. For a while now Calibre has offered a ‘read aloud’ feature that does exactly what you think it does: a computer voice reads the text of an ePUB book. Calibre 7.2.1 intros a “new tool to create an audio overlay in … [Read more...]

GNOME 47 ‘Denver’ proved a decent update to the GNOME desktop, delivering a hearty dose of new features, UI refinements, and app improvements. As those of you using Ubuntu 24.10 are no-doubt enjoying. But as one release goes out, work on the next begins… GNOME 48: Release Schedule GNOME 48 ‘Bengaluru‘ (named after the host … [Read more...]

Raspberry Pi has unveiled another low-price own-brand product, this time a 4-port USB 3.0 hub compatible with most of its single-board computers. In the past few months we’ve seen the company expand its range of official accessories and add-ons to encompass everything from AI HATs to SD cards and SSDs guaranteed to contain the right tech to … [Read more...]