Linux Action News 51

Ubuntu 18.04 is out and we round up the new features, the flavours, and our first takes. The Librem 5 learns a new trick, and Linux apps on Chrome OS looks like a much bigger deal than first suspected.

Plus what's great about GIMP's biggest release in six years, and more.

Sponsored By:

• Digital Ocean: Create an account and apply our promo heresthething to get a $10 credit. Or visit: https://do.co/action Promo Code: heresthething

Links:

• Ubuntu Touch will be an official option on the Librem 5 — While the Librem 5 will ship with Free Software Foundation-endorsed PureOS by default, utilizing GNOME across all devices, Purism will support customers who want to easily install Ubuntu Touch offering great diversity for users around the world.
• Purism feel the icy breath of Intel on their neck — After receiving a courtesy request from Intel’s Director of Software Infrastructure, we have decided to remove this post’s technical contents while we investigate our options.
• Chrome OS moves a step closer to proper Linux — A new Terminal app has been added to the app drawer, and clicking it opens a dialog explaining the feature.
• Linux apps will look seamless in Chrome OS — First native Linux apps in Chrome OS, and they’ve opted for Adapta, a popular Material Design-inspired Gtk theme that can be used on many of your favorite GNU/Linux distributions.
• Huge GIMP Update — GIMP 2.10 is the result of six years of work that originally focused on porting the program to a new image processing engine, GEGL. However the new version ships with far more new features, including new and improved tools, better file formats support, various usability improvements, revamped color management support, a plethora of improvements targeted at digital painters and photographers, metadata editing, and much, much more.
• Ubuntu 18.04 released — Optimised for multi-cloud infrastructure, machine learning, AI and software development
• 18.04 flavours also released — Long-term support (LTS) releases of Xubuntu, Kubuntu, Ubuntu Budgie and the (always magnificent) Ubuntu MATE are available to download.
• Clear focus on cloud and containers — “Multi-cloud operations are the new normal” said Mark Shuttleworth, CEO of Canonical and founder of Ubuntu. “Boot-time and performance-optimised images of Ubuntu 18.04 LTS on every major public cloud make it the fastest and most efficient OS for cloud computing, especially for storage and compute-intensive tasks like machine learning.”
• Ubuntu 18.04 even runs on a Nintendo Switch — I've written a script to build a full Ubuntu Desktop image for the Switch
• TechSNAP Episode 365: The Unfixable Exploit — ShofEL2, a Tegra X1 and Nintendo Switch exploit