UbuntuHandbook

Linux Kernel 6.10 Released with Many New Hardware Support

Last updated: August 8, 2024 — 2 Comments

Linux Kernel 6.10 was finally released a day ago on this Sunday. Linus Torvalds announced on this page:

“So the final week was perhaps not quote as quiet as the preceding ones, which I don’t love – but it also wasn’t noisy enough to warrant an extra rc. And much of the noise this last week was bcachefs again (with netfs a close second), so it was all pretty compartmentalized.

In fact, about a third of the patch for the last week was filesystem-related (there were also some btrfs latency fixes and other noise), which is unusual, but none of it looks particularly scary.”

In News kernel

OBS Studio 30.2 Adds Native NVIDIA NVENC Encoder for Linux, Multitrack Video Streaming

Last updated: July 14, 2024 — Leave a comment

OBS Studio, the popular free open-source live streaming software, announced new major 30.2.0 release a day ago.

The new release has some improvements for Linux support. They include native NVENC encoder interface for NVIDIA GPU hardware accelerated encoding, and NVENC AV1 support. And, Linux shared texture support to the NVENC encoder, QuickSync encoder, as well as VA-API encoder.

OBS Studio 30.2.0 also added multi-track video streaming support, aka Enhanced Broadcasting on Twitch.

To improve the experience for viewers with poor network conditions or those watching on older devices, the streaming service usually creates multiple video qualities of original high-quality source content.

Now, OBS Studio itself can produce multiple video qualities, though, it so far supports only Windows and requires NVIDIA GTX 900, GTX 10, or RTX 20 series GPU or newer or an AMD RX 6000 series GPU or newer. And, it will collect info, such as OBS version and audio/video settings, CPU, GPU, Memory, and OS info and set to the streaming service.

In News network, OBS Studio

Enable Top Panel for Multiple Monitors in Ubuntu 24.04 | 22.04

Last updated: July 28, 2024 — 5 Comments

Have Ubuntu computer connected with multiple monitors? Here’s how to make the top panel show in all displays!

GNOME, the default desktop in Ubuntu, so far only shows the top-panel in the primary display. There is a multi-monitors-add-on extension, allowing to make it work in all displays. However, it’s no longer in development and supports end at GNOME 3.38.

Thankfully, there’s open-source fork of that extension with GNOME from version 42 to 46 support, meaning for Ubuntu 22.04 and Ubuntu 24.04, Debian 12, Fedora Workstation, RHEL 9 , and other Linux with recent GNOME.

In Howtos Gnome

6 Sticky Notes App for Linux Desktop in 2024

Last updated: July 11, 2024 — Leave a comment

Looking for Microsoft Sticky Notes alternative app for Linux Desktop? Here I’m going to introduce some for you.

Sticky Notes is useful to write your sudden idea, to-do lists, and important messages on computer screen. There are quite a few free open-source sticky notes apps for Linux Desktop. And, here are some of them still work in 2024.

In App Review note-taking app, sticky notes

Firefox 128.0 Adds Translation support for Selected Text

Last updated: July 10, 2024 — Leave a comment

Firefox web browser announced new 128.0 release one day ago on Tuesday.

This is a new monthly release that introduces some handy new features. They include context menu option to translate a selection of text. Rather than translate full web page, user can now highlight single or a selection of text, then use right-click and select to translate the text.

In News Firefox, web

How to Easily Setup Home Media Server in Ubuntu 24.04 | 22.04

Last updated: July 10, 2024 — 1 Comment

This simple tutorial shows how to easily turn your Ubuntu or Debian into home media server, so that you can listen to the music, watch photos and videos that are stored in Linux PC remotely using your mobile phones and/or smart TVs.

GNOME, the default desktop in Ubuntu and Fedora Workstation, has built-in option to enable this feature. It uses Rygel home media solution as backend.

It automatically transcode media to a format compatible with the client device. And, client machines that supports DLNA/UPnP, such as Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox, smart TV, Android, iOS, can access them through the local network.
Continue Reading…

In Howtos multimedia, network

How to Install Dolphin Emulator 2409 in Ubuntu 24.04 | 22.04

Last updated: October 12, 2024 — Leave a comment

This tutorial shows how to install the latest dolphin emulator through either Flatpak or PPA repository in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, and Ubuntu 24.04.

It’s been 8 years since the latest major 5.0 release series. The Nintendo video game console emulator finally announced Dolphin 2407, which uses new date-based versioning scheme. 2407 means version released in July of 2024.

According to the announcement, it adopts a rolling release cycle, and will roll out new releases every few months. The development releases will have sub-numbers, for example, Dolphin 2407-144 means dev build with 144 commits after 2407. And, hotfix releases will have the addition of a suffix, so it can be Dolphin 2407a.

In Howtos Dolphin Emulator, game

LocalSend – AirDrop Alternative to Transfer files over Local Network

Last updated: July 5, 2024 — Leave a comment

Looking for an app to transfer files and send messages over local network? LocalSend is good choice that works for most devices.

LocalSend is a free and open source application which promotes itself as alternative to Apple’s AirDrop. It’s a cross-platform app that allows to securely send files and messages over local network without an internet connection.

It works in Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Fire OS. Meaning you can use the file transfer app in most PC and mobile devices. And, the app doesn’t require an internet connection or external servers. It uses REST API for secure communication. All data is sent securely over HTTPS, and the TLS/SSL certificate is generated on the fly on each device.

In App Review network

Linux Mint 22 Beta is Available for Testing

Last updated: July 3, 2024 — Leave a comment

Linux Mint, the popular Linux Distribution, announced version 22 Beta release this Monday!

The new release is based on Ubuntu 24.04, features Cinnamon Desktop 6.2, and supports until 2029.

Thanks to the upstream changes, the release now is powered by Linux Kernel 6.8 with updated drivers and modern hardware support. The default PulseAudio is replaced by the low latency Pipewire sound server. JPEG-XL (.jxl) is supported out-of-the-box with the default Pix image viewer. The boot splash and login screen have better HiDPI support.

In News Linux Mint

Show Spotify Playback Info in Top-bar in Ubuntu 24.04

Last updated: July 2, 2024 — Leave a comment

Spotify users? Here’s an extension that can display the current track information in Ubuntu top-bar.

It’s spotify-tray, a free open-source tool available as GNOME Shell Extension, that can show title, artist, and/or album of current playing song or podcast in top-panel.

The extension is very simple and customizable. You can control:

Where (left, center, or right) to display the playback info in top-bar.
What to display, including track, artist, album, custom text, emoji (via built-in selector).
Display in static mode, or horizontally scrolling marquee.