Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter Issue 829

Ubuntu Weekly News
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Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue 829 for the week of February 25 - March 2, 2024

In this Issue

  • Noble Numbat (to be 24.04) now in Feature Freeze
  • Launchpad’s new homepage
  • Ubuntu Stats
  • Hot in Support
  • Czechia / Slovakia LoCo: InstallFest 2024 in Prague
  • UbuCon Asia 2024 - Calling for sponsors!
  • LoCo Events
  • Call for nominations: Matrix Council
  • Documentation Office Hours
  • FliSoL Barraqnuilla 2024 - Women in. Tech
  • Proposal: Drop the games from Ubuntu Desktop’s full install
  • New requirements for APT repository signing in 24.04
  • GNOME Online Accounts no longer compatible with budgie-/cinnamon-/unity-control-center
  • Looking forward with the LoCos
  • GitHub repository README.md
  • Other Community News
  • Ubuntu Cloud News
  • Canonical News
  • In the Press
  • In the Blogosphere
  • In Other News
  • Featured Audio and Video
  • Meeting Reports
  • Upcoming Meetings and Events
  • Updates and Security for Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04, and 23.10
  • And much more!

General Community News

Noble Numbat (to be 24.04) now in Feature Freeze

Utkarsh Gupta tells us that Ubuntu Noble Numbat (24.04) is now in Feature Freeze. Reminding us what this means, details of the Feature Freeze Exception Process is provided with a link. We’re also told the Debian Import Freeze will start when time_t syncs complete.

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2024-March/001343.html

Launchpad’s new homepage

This post talks about Launchpad’s homepage, which includes some history through to the new look it now has. Details of the Vanilla Framework (with links and screenshots for more details provided) are disclosed that helps make it appear more modern, but also more useful for those using mobile devices. A thank you to Peter Makowski for helping with these changes is given, as well as telling us where we can leave feedback or make feature requests.

https://blog.launchpad.net/general/launchpads-new-homepage

Ubuntu Stats

Bug Stats

  • Open: 143979 (-60)
  • Critical: 321 (-4)
  • Unconfirmed: 72658 (-65)

As always, the Bug Squad needs more help. If you want to get started, please see: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BugSquad

Translations

  • Ukrainian: 88.02% (38126/1530)
  • German: 86.47% (43031/194)
  • French: 82.38% (56066/7370)
  • Spanish: 80.23% (62902/5065)
  • Swedish: 77.87% (70405/1015)

Hot in Support

Ask Ubuntu Top 5 Questions

Ask (and answer!) questions at: https://askubuntu.com/

Ubuntu Forums Top 5 Threads

Find more support at: https://ubuntuforums.org/

LoCo News

Czechia / Slovakia LoCo: InstallFest 2024 in Prague

Michal Kohutek tells us about a ‘cool’ InstallFest being held in Prague soon. Along with details, we’re told it will happen on March 16-17, 2024.

https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/installfest-2024-in-prague/42873

UbuCon North America 2024 Call for Sponsors!

Jason C. Nucciarone reminds us what Ubuntu Conferences are, and with Ubuntu approaching its 20th anniversary, a standalone North American conference will be held. We’re given details and invited to attend, as well as given details of the sponsorship tiers for the event, which includes where we can ask questions about sponsoring or the event itself.

https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/announcing-ubucon-north-america-2024-call-for-sponsors/42902/

UbuCon Asia 2024 - Calling for sponsors!

Youngbin Han provides a link to the official post seeking sponsors for the UbuCon Asia 2024. Youngbin gives many of those details here in this post. We’re reminded what Ubuntu conferences are, what this event is, and that it is held as a non-profit event. Sponsorship details are then provided, as well as links for more details.

https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/ubucon-asia-2024-calling-for-sponsors/42911

LoCo Events

The following LoCo team events are currently scheduled in the next two weeks:

Looking beyond the next two weeks? Visit the respective LoCo Team calendar to browse upcoming events.

Please see:

The Hub

Call for nominations: Matrix Council

Merlijn Sebrechts makes a call for nominations for the Matrix Council. Merlijn’s details include: what is being looked for, what is required of applicants, how to apply, and the elections timeline (applications must be received by March 10, 2024).

https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/call-for-nominations-matrix-council/42739

Documentation Office Hours

Graham Morrison invites us to attend the weekly Documentation Office Hours; with the latest held on March 1, 2024. A video link is provided. We’re given details on how we can check for future events, and given a link to any events we missed.

https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/documentation-office-hours/42771

FliSoL Barraqnuilla 2024 - Women in. Tech

Carlos A. Maestre invites us to FliSoL Barranquilla 2024; the invite is extended for “tech women, empowered women who wish to share their experiences in the use of free and open-source software tools”, showcasing the abilities of women. Details are also provided if you’d like to apply to be a speaker at the event.

https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/flisol-barraqnuilla-2024-women-in-tech/42772

Proposal: Drop the games from Ubuntu Desktop’s full install

Jeremy Bicha makes a proposal to drop games from Ubuntu Desktop’s default install. Along with some history (including for GNOME), we’re told why Jeremy considers this beneficial, before asking the community to ‘weigh in’ on this discussion. This post was closed when Ubuntu noble (24.04) reached Feature Freeze, with thanks given to all who participated in the discussion. Games are dropped as “there is wider support and stronger arguments here for removing them from the default install”.

https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/proposal-drop-the-games-from-ubuntu-desktops-full-install/42776

New requirements for APT repository signing in 24.04

Julian Andres Klode informs us that Ubuntu 24.04 LTS will require repositories to be signed using certain key algorithms. We’re told how this is possible, and told at first warnings will be given, and “once all PPAs have been resigned” the protection will become default. We’re told why these changes are being made (with some history), and then given a FAQ (which includes details on overriding this default if necessary).

https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/new-requirements-for-apt-repository-signing-in-24-04/42854

GNOME Online Accounts no longer compatible with budgie-/cinnamon-/unity-control-center

Jeremy Bicha writes that GNOME Online Accounts have now been ported from GTK3 to GTK4 for GNOME 46, which coincided with the API changes that have broken budgie-control-center, cinnamon-control-center and unity-control-center. Jeremy tells us of discussion about this breakage with the GNOME developers, and then provides an alternative approach. Jeremy apologizes for this late notice.

https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/gnome-online-accounts-no-longer-compatible-with-budgie-cinnamon-unity-control-center/42898

Looking forward with the LoCos

Aaron J. Prisk gives a report of what he and Mauro Gaspari observed and thus recommend for the LoCo program. This report includes Matrix & IRC, LoCo documentation, and LoCo Communications. Aaron thanks those involved in this “incredible work thus far”.

https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/looking-forward-with-the-locos/42900

GitHub repository README.md

Graham Morrison reports on the update of README.md for the GitHub repository used for the Open Documentation Academy, and gives us a list of a “few unresolved points”. The post makes it clear we can make suggestions, and changes, as this is intended to be a community effort.

https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/github-repository-readme-md/42904

Other Community News

KWinFT Becomes Theseus’ Ship

Roman Gilg tells us the “KWinFT Wayland and X11 compositor for the KDE Plasma desktop is now renamed Theseus’ Ship”. We’re told this detail is mostly a teaser to a bigger change though. This change is geared for KDE Plasma 6, with this release now available on GitHub (link provided). For the ‘bigger’ detail , we’ll have to explore the source code on the provided GitHub link (blog with more to come).

https://subdiff.org/blog/2024/kwinft-becomes-theseus-ship

Ubuntu Cloud News

Canonical News

In the Press

Ubuntu 24.04: Same as it ever was, but with 5 big improvements

Jack Wallen writes that Ubuntu 24.04 “feels like the same” OS that we’re familiar with, but if we look deeper its got some “new and improved features”. Jack discusses support, the new installer (that is even easier), new software installer, firmware updater, with more to come too. Jack tells us he tested it a few days and reports it as “rock-solid”.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ubuntu-24-04-same-as-it-ever-was-but-with-5-big-improvements/

For another view on the upcoming release you can read:

Crafting Cutting-Edge AI Assistants with Ubuntu

George Whittaker writes about Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistants, before telling us why Ubuntu is suited for this task. George then writes about some of the requirements for designing, implementing, and testing an AI Assistant.

https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/crafting-cutting-edge-ai-assistants-ubuntu

In the Blogosphere

Open-Source NVIDIA Vulkan Driver “NVK” Lands Improvements For ReBAR

Michael Larabel informs us that the “open-source NVIDIA ‘NVK’ Vulkan driver within Mesa 24.1-dev” has been improved. Michael provides a description of the improvement, and gives some clues as to where it’ll be beneficial, including links and quotes from the changes.

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Mesa-NVK-Vulkan-NVIDIA-ReBAR

Mesa OpenGL Threading Work Sees Much Reduced Memory Footprint For OpenGL Calls

Michael Larabel reports that Marek Olšák has again come up with performance improvements, and gives us details of the latest of these. Along with links to the merge request, we’re told about the changes which will land with Mesa 24.1.

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Mesa-GL-Thread-Lower-Footprint

RADV Driver Lands Vulkan Video AV1 Decode For Mesa 24.1

Michael Larabel writes this time about a Radeon RADV Vulkan driver which will also land with Mesa 24.1. We’re given details, including links to the merge request, and reminded the release is expected Q2.

https://www.phoronix.com/news/RADV-VK_KHR_video_decode_av1

Mesa NVK Vulkan Driver Now Declared Vulkan 1.3 Conformant, Mesa 24.1 To Build By Default

Another update from Michael Larabel tells us this time the Mesa NVK driver is now officially Vulkan 1.3 conformant according to the Khronos Group. Further, its no longer experimental and “will build by default” with Mesa 24.1 and the Linux 6.8 kernel. We’re of course given details & links for more specifics.

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Mesa-NVK-Vulkan-Conformant

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Won’t Support JPEG-XL Out-Of-The-Box

This time Michael Larabel reports that Canonical’s Jeremy Bicha has blogged that Ubuntu 24.04 LTS won’t support JPEG-XL with a default install. We’re given details, along with links for those needing more.

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Ubuntu-24.04-No-JPEG-XL

KDE Releases Plasma 6 for Mobile Devices with Revamped Homescreen

Marius Nestor writes about Plasma Mobile 6 which was released by the KDE Project. We’re given details of what is new and improved, as well as links to the release announcement page.

https://9to5linux.com/kde-releases-plasma-6-for-mobile-devices-with-revamped-homescreen

Armbian 24.2 Adds Xiaomi Mi 10, Orange Pi Zero 3, and ASUS Tinker Edge R Support

The Armbian community releases Armbian 24.2. This release adds more supported devices, improvements and optimizations, and bug fixes. Notable is that “the Armbian build framework received support for the upcoming Ubuntu 24.04 LTS ‘Noble Numbat’ operating system series”.

https://9to5linux.com/armbian-24-2-adds-xiaomi-mi-10-orange-pi-zero-3-and-asus-tinker-edge-r-support

GNOME 46 to Ship with Experimental Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) Support

Marius Nestor reports the variable refresh rate (VRR) support has been merged as part of the GNOME 46 desktop. Though still listed as experimental - those seeking to change the refresh rate on capable monitors may now enable the feature to address “stuttering or tearing and enabling smooth display of the source”.

https://9to5linux.com/gnome-46-to-ship-with-experimental-variable-refresh-rate-vrr-support

In Other News

Critical LibTIFF Vulnerabilities Patched in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Update

This post updates us on LibTIFF security updates being released by Ubuntu for the Ubuntu 22.04 LTS release. We’re given details of the vulnerabilities, the potential implications if left unpatched, and urged to update our systems. Unfortunately no links for more details are provided.

https://bnnbreaking.com/tech/critical-libtiff-vulnerabilities-patched-in-ubuntu-2204-lts-update

Featured Audio and Video

Ubuntu Security Podcast: Episode 220

“The Linux kernel.org CNA has assigned their first CVEs so we revisit this topic to assess the initial impact on Ubuntu and the CVE ecosystem, plus we cover security updates for Roundcube Webmail, less, GNU binutils and the Linux kernel itself.”

https://ubuntusecuritypodcast.org/episode-220/

Ubuntu Portugal Podcast: Episode 288 - Furries e 125 anilhas de cobre

“Esta semana houve mais drama, conflito e tensão entre a comunidade de utilizadores de Snap e ficarão a saber tudo sobre como perder 500 milhões de dólares ou duas imperiais sem tremoços. O Diogo afinal gosta de furries e o Miguel besuntou-se todo em óleo, tudo pelas audiências. Ainda se falou de nabices com Home Assistant, servidores de LanguageTool para n00bs, ex-ministros das finanças que descascam no Tecnofeudalismo, ironias em Bruxelas, uma Academia aberta pela Canonical, plugins para Firefox…e muito mais!”

https://podcastubuntuportugal.org/e288/

Meeting Reports

Upcoming Meetings and Events

  • Developer Membership Board: Mon, March 4, 4pm – 5pm
  • Main Inclusion Requests (MIR) Status: Tue, March 5, 3:30pm – 4:00pm
  • High-Performance Computing Team: Wed, March 6, 16:30 - https://meet.jit.si/Ubuntu-HPC and https://matrix.to/#/#hpc:ubuntu.com
  • Ubuntu Foundations: Thu, March 7, 4pm – 5pm
  • Ubuntu Membership Board: Thu, March 7, 8pm – 9pm
  • Ubuntu Membership Board: Thu, March 7, 10pm – 11pm
  • Matrix Council Meeting: meets once a week, on Thursdays 17:00 UTC.
  • North America Organizing Committee : every Thursday at 17:00 CST. - https://matrix.to/#/#ubucon-na:ubuntu.com

Times shown are UTC unless otherwise specified. For more details and farther dates please visit: https://fridge.ubuntu.com/calendars/

Updates and Security for Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04, and 23.10

Security Updates

Ubuntu 20.04 Updates

End of Standard Support: April 2025

Ubuntu 22.04 Updates

End of Standard Support: April 2027

Ubuntu 23.10 Updates

End of Life: July 2024

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Archive

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Further News

As always you can find more Ubuntu news and announcements at:

Conclusion

Thank you for reading the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter.

See you next week!

Credits

The Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter is brought to you by:

  • Krytarik Raido
  • Bashing-om
  • Chris Guiver
  • Wild Man
  • And many others

Glossary of Terms

Other acronyms can be found at: https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/glossary-uwn/42405

Get Involved

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