FOSS Roundup #7 – M1, Gaming, Docs, and More!
It’s been another exciting week in the Linux landscape, with Linux support arriving for the M1 and gaming on Linux continuing to expand thanks to the Steam Deck. Around Xubuntu, docs are done, and AppImage continues to be supported. As usual, Xfce has a few new releases as well. All this and more in this week’s FOSS Roundup!
The first Asahi Linux alpha release arrives
The first release of Asahi Linux, the first distribution for M1-powered Macs, has been made available. There are still many missing features, but even just getting here is incredible. This team has made so much progress in a very short time. Interestingly, Apple has, at the same time, been quietly enabling features to support booting Linux on the M1 Macs.
Microsoft is working to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to Steam Deck
Working closely with Valve, Microsoft has prepared a beta version of the Microsoft Edge browser that brings the cloud gaming service to Linux and the Steam Deck. A handful of Microsoft-published verified titles are also available on Steam.
The new Xubuntu Documentation is finally ready
After nearly two years, the newly rewritten Xubuntu Documentation is ready to be reviewed, merged, and published. Together with another Xubuntu Team member, I worked with members of the community to document Xubuntu’s user experience more completely. The most painful part of it all was converting to DocBook, our native documentation format. This part is now complete.
It's finally done. 🎉 https://t.co/k7a2bP6sYH https://t.co/jinkuoI6ZV
I'm so tired of working with Docbook. pic.twitter.com/k0rmta101k
— Sean Davis 🦣 @bluesabre@floss.social (@bluesabredavis) March 19, 2022
Supporting AppImage on Xubuntu
While installing Xubuntu 22.04 on my main machine for testing, I found that it could no longer open software distributed with AppImage. This includes .run and .AppImage files that you might find online, like DaVinci Resolve or Cryptomator. The missing piece was the libfuse2 package, which was no longer pulled in as a dependency in 22.04. As of today’s daily ISO, this issue should be resolved for Xubuntu and Ubuntu Studio.
http://changelogs.ubuntu.com/changelogs/pool/universe/x/xubuntu-meta/xubuntu-meta_2.240/changelog
This week’s Xfce releases
libxfce4ui 4.17.5 was released this week, including several bug fixes and enabling Mousepad to use the XfceShortcutsEditor. Sounds like some nice new features are on their way.
Orage 4.16.0, previously unmaintained and archived, has now been ported to GTK 3 and is once again an active Xfce project. The Orage panel plugin has been discontinued, but the standalone calendar application will be supported going forward.
What I’m working on…
With the documentation updates nearly out of the way and bug lists cleaned up, I hope to start working on bug fixes and more testing this week. We’ve also nearly completed voting on the 22.04 Xubuntu Wallpaper contest, with 3 clearly identified winners and three we’re sorting out. Look for more news early this week.
Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this newsletter, consider sending me a tip! I’ve added links to GitHub Sponsors, Ko-Fi, and Patreon to the Donate page on my website.
Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next week with some new and exciting Xfce and Xubuntu updates! Have a great week, and stay safe out there!
FOSS Roundup #6 – Where have all the good bugs gone?
This week's roundup features another Linux vulnerability, Xfce's acceptance into the Google Summer of Code program, and spring cleaning!
The post FOSS Roundup #6 – Where have all the good bugs gone? appeared first on Sean Davis.
FOSS Roundup #6 – Where have all the good bugs gone?
Welcome to the sixth edition of my Weekly FOSS Roundup! I’ve been hard at it this week, cleaning up Xubuntu bugs and hacking on docs. A new Linux vulnerability, “Dirty Pipe,” was announced. And Xfce has been accepted into the 2022 Google Summer of Code program. What a week!
Dirty Pipe Linux Vulnerability Discovered
A new Linux vulnerability that allows attackers to overwrite read-only files, including immutable files and those on read-only Btrfs snapshots. Kernel versions 5.10.102, 5.15.25, and 5.16.11 have already been patched. Update your machines now!
Xfce Accepted into Google Summer of Code 2022
Xfce will again participate in the Google Summer of Code (abbreviated “GSoC”) in 2022. GSoC is a program focused on attracting new contributors to open-source software development through a 12-plus-week mentorship program.
Submissions for the 22.04 Xubuntu Wallpaper Contest are Now Closed
After receiving a fantastic 126 submissions from numerous contributors, the 22.04 Xubuntu Wallpaper Contest is now closed for additional submissions. The Xubuntu Team will begin the voting process, with expected results within the next two weeks.
Submissions for the 22.04 Xubuntu Wallpaper Contest are now closed! We received 126 submissions, and will now begin the voting process. Look forward to news of the winning entries in the near future. In the meantime, you can browse the entries here: https://t.co/HamoGf1sQp
— Xubuntu (@Xubuntu) March 13, 2022
This Week’s Xfce Releases
Xfce Screenshooter 1.9.10 features a handful of fixes and now uses symbolic icons for the interface. This means the application will automatically look better regardless of using a dark or light GTK theme.
Xubuntu Bug Spring Cleaning
I’m unsure what prompted me, but I got into a cleaning mood this week. I started the long and arduous task of cleaning up Xubuntu’s bug reports. After starting with nearly 2,000 bug reports that affect Xubuntu and its related packages, I’ve reduced this list to a (still large) 1,584 bugs! There’s still lots of work and probably a hundred or more bugs that could be cleaned up or de-duplicated.
My first pass is finally done. Down from nearly 2,000 bugs to 1,584! What remains now are bugs that are reported or confirmed for 20.04+. I also didn't touch blueman, onboard, synaptic, or the Mate apps.
Next steps: Triage in 22.04, tag duplicates, and report bugs upstream. pic.twitter.com/omNBENUNan
— Sean Davis 🦣 @bluesabre@floss.social (@bluesabredavis) March 11, 2022
Making Strides with Xubuntu Documentation
I had a really productive week with the Xubuntu Documentation, getting the to-do list down to just two more chapters. I need to go through and clean up some of the formatting and tag usage, but we should be ready to merge this week! The latest documentation has been built here.
Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this newsletter, consider sending me a tip! I’ve added links to GitHub Sponsors, Ko-Fi, and Patreon to the Donate page on my website.
Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next week with some new and exciting Xfce and Xubuntu updates! Have a great week, and stay safe out there!
FOSS Roundup #5 – Time to Test (Ubuntu Flavors)
This week's roundup features the Xubuntu 22.04 wallpaper contest, the Ubuntu Testing Week until March 10, and Linux Mint switching to Blueman.
The post FOSS Roundup #5 – Time to Test (Ubuntu Flavors) appeared first on Sean Davis.
FOSS Roundup #5 – Time to Test (Ubuntu Flavors)
Welcome to the fifth edition of my Weekly FOSS Roundup! We’re halfway through the Ubuntu Testing Week (March 3-10), and it’s time to start getting involved. In other news, the Xubuntu Wallpaper contest is ongoing, and there are some updates around Bluetooth and Xfce. Here’s the latest!
The Xubuntu 22.04 Wallpaper Contest Continues
The Xubuntu 22.04 Wallpaper Contest is progressing smoothly. So far, we’ve already had 77 quality submissions from numerous contributors. Submissions are open through March 12, so it’s not too late to submit your own. Keep your submissions coming!
Ubuntu Testing Week March 3-10
The next LTS release of Ubuntu and its many flavors will be released in less than two months. Feature Freeze is behind us, so there is no better time to get started with testing. Please help make this another dependable release by taking time to test and report any bugs you find.
Linux Mint is Switching to the Blueman Bluetooth Manager
Linux Mint has been using its own Blueberry application to manage Bluetooth devices for several years now. Later this year, it looks like they’ll be switching to Blueman, the same utility found in Xubuntu and several other Linux distributions. Their move will no doubt have a positive impact on any other Blueman-using distros.
This Week’s Xfce Releases
The 0.9.2 release of the Xfce Terminal is a release candidate for the upcoming 1.0.0 release. It includes several improvements and bug fixes. Take it for a test drive to help identify and eliminate the remaining bugs!
Xfdashboard provides a GNOME Shell-like experience for Xfce. The new 0.9.90 release is a release candidate for the upcoming 1.0.0 release. If you’re a fan of GNOME Shell’s behavior but prefer to stick with Xfce, Xfdashboard is worth a look.
The Xfce Diskperf (Disk Performance) plugin displays instant disk and partition performance in the panel. The 2.7.0 release features various usability and feature improvements.
What I’m working on…
This week I spent extra time working on the Xubuntu Documentation updates. Chapters 7, 8, and 9 have been converted to Docbook, leaving only 8 chapters to go. I’ve got a pretty good flow for converting them now; it depends on having a solid, uninterrupted 20-30 minutes to migrate a single chapter.
Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this newsletter, consider sending me a tip! I’ve added links to GitHub Sponsors, Ko-Fi, and Patreon to the Donate page on my website.
Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next week with some new and exciting Xfce and Xubuntu updates! Have a great week, and stay safe out there!
xfce4-terminal 0.9.2 development release
xfce4-terminal 0.9.2 development release
A new xfce4-terminal development release is here, and this time it is special. This version serves also as the release candidate for xfce4-terminal 1.0.0. If you want to help keep xfce4-terminal bug-free, this is the time to test and report any bugs you find!
Changes
For this release I focused on fixing regressions and minor annoyances, so I have no fancy new features to write about in this post. Most improvements are related to accelerator-handling and most fixes related to UI/UX regressions (or accidental changes) that were introduced in the transition to XfceGtkActionEntry. You can see the full list of changes in our wiki.
I want to thank Gael and Theo for bringing a lot of these issues to my attention.
Future plans
If no major bugs are discovered, I will release xfce4-terminal 1.0.0 in a couple of weeks. After that I will focus on my long list of Thunar issues.
FOSS Roundup #4 – The Steamy Update
This week's roundup features the release of the Steam Deck, an immutable Xfce distribution, the Xubuntu 22.04 wallpaper contest, and more!
The post FOSS Roundup #4 – The Steamy Update appeared first on Sean Davis.
FOSS Roundup #4 – The Steamy Update
It’s the fourth edition of my Weekly FOSS Roundup! This week’s hottest news is the Steam Deck, an Arch-based handheld Linux gaming console. If that’s too hot, cool down with the OSTree-based XfIce desktop. Once you’re comfortable, send the Xubuntu team your best wallpaper for a chance to be included in the 22.04 release. Let’s get to it!
Steam Deck Released
Valve’s Steam Deck has finally been released. It runs Steam OS, based on Arch, with a KDE desktop. Hundreds of games are supported via Steam Proton. As more games become verified on the Deck, they’ll be supported on nearly any Linux distribution!
An OSTree-based Xfce desktop has arrived
Based on Fedora, the “XfIce” desktop is an immutable base operating system running Xfce. Immutable Linux distributions have gained popularity quickly, and now Xfce can be used with them.
The Xubuntu 22.04 Wallpaper Contest is Live
For every LTS release, Xubuntu holds a wallpaper contest for the community to submit their finest work for inclusion in the ISO release. The 22.04 contest is live until midnight March 13th (2022-03-13 00:00:00). There have already been 12 submissions! Send us yours!
A new guide for installing Xubuntu on the Raspberry Pi
One of the most popular articles on my website is a guide for installing Xubuntu 19.10 on the Raspberry Pi. This article is obsolete as I’ve published a new, in-depth how-to for the current supported and development releases. Check it out!
What I’m working on…
Last week I rolled out my new website. This week, I did some scans and found that I had a lot of broken links (bad migrations, services going away, the introduction of the Xfce GitLab, and deprecation of the Xfce build bot). Those have now been resolved, so any article you read on my site should take you to the right places. Here’s a relevant and time-appropriate goodie that would have been lost to time if not for archive.org…
Today, I am back to working on the Xubuntu documentation updates. There are only a few completed chapters left and a handful of chapters that we started updating a couple of years ago but stopped due to time conflicts (and, to some extent, probably burnout). That said, with the existing completed content, I may be able to wrap it as early as this week!
Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this newsletter, consider sending me a tip! I’ve added links to GitHub Sponsors, Ko-Fi, and Patreon to the Donate page on my website.
See you next week with some more Linux and Open Source news!
A shortcuts editor for Xfce and a couple of other things
A shortcuts editor for Xfce and a couple of other things
Welcome to another Xfce development update! In this one you will learn about the new Xfce Shortcuts Editor and a couple of upcoming Thunar features.
Shortcuts Editor
As you may know, I'm the maintainer of xfce4-terminal and a developer for Thunar. It just so happens that both of these programs have a ton of shortcuts. Until now, there was no GUI for changing shortcuts. Users had to manually edit the `accels.scm` file which is doable yet cumbersome.
Additionally xfce4-terminal, being a terminal emulator, has the problem of its shorcuts colliding with the shorcuts of terminal applications, rendering them unusable. To fix that issue users needed to once again dive into the `accels.scm` file and change the default shortcuts manually.
That is why I created a new widget called XfceShortcutsEditor in libxfce4ui. Applications that use XfceGtkActionEntries for their accelerators can easily integrate that editor in their UI and enjoy the benefits without any additional complexity.
The XfceShortcutsEditor integrated in Thunar's Preferences dialog.
The XfceShortcutsEditor as a separate dialog for xfce4-terminal.
Thunar improvements
As far as Thunar specific improvements go, I'm happy to announce that the next version of Thunar will have a customizable Statusbar. By right-clicking, users will be able to hide/show information that they (don't) need.
Additionally the folder properties dialog now displays the type of contents of the folder (i.e. the number of files and folders insdie the folder).
xfce4-terminal 0.9.0 development release
Welcome back! Since I became maintainer of xfce4-terminal I've worked on replacing deprecated parts of the codebase, closing old bugs and merging Merge Requests which have been sitting around for a while.
GtkActions
The majority of my time was spent on dealing with the, now deprecated, GtkActions/GtkActionEntries and GtkUiManager which were used for creating the menubar, toolbar, right click context menu and for handling the shortcuts. All of that logic was moved to Xfce's own XfceGtkAction entries which are supported by the Xfce team. As a nice bonus, this transition slightly reduced the size of the codebase. Some deprecated parts remain, like the UI for changing encoding from the menubar but I've decided to transition slowly to make sure that things remain stable.
Sending signals
The most exciting new feature is the ability to send signals to foreground processes. This is done either through the right click menu, or through the `Terminal` entry of the menubar. We have Cyrille Pontivieux to thank for the initial implementation of this, which I simplified and later transitioned to the new menu/shortcut system.
Release notes
You can find the full release notes at the following link: Release Notes