Issue569


Contents

  1. In this Issue
  2. General Community News
    1. Ubuntu 14.04.6 LTS released
    2. Welcome New Members and Developers
  3. Ubuntu Stats
    1. Bug Stats
    2. Translations
  4. Hot in Support
    1. Ask Ubuntu Top 5 Questions
    2. Ubuntu Forums Top 5 Threads
  5. LoCo News
    1. Canonical at NVIDIA GTC 2019
  6. LoCo Events
  7. The Hub
    1. Multipass snap: Upcoming switch to the core18 base
    2. What the bespoke Wayland extensions API might look like (update 1)
  8. The Planet
    1. Resource Scale for Fractional Scaling support in GNOME Shell 3.32
    2. Launchpad news, February 2019
  9. Canonical News
  10. In the Blogosphere
    1. Linux Kernel 5.0 Released, This is What’s New
    2. GNOME Shell + Mutter 3.31.92 Bring Fractional Scaling, Updated Screen-Casting API
    3. KDE Plasma 5.12.8 LTS Desktop Environment Released with over 70 Improvements
    4. Meet the Official Ubuntu 19.04 ‘Disco Dingo’ Mascot
    5. Canonical Releases New Linux Kernel Security Update for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
    6. Ubuntu Touch OTA-8 Released With Browser Improvements
    7. Ubuntu 19.04 (Disco Dingo) Will Be Powered by Linux Kernel 5.0
    8. LibreOffice 6.2 Office Suite Gets First Point Release with More Than 150 Fixes
    9. Purism Announces Convergence for Its Linux Phones and Laptops
    10. Snap Apps Are More Popular Than You Think [Infographic]
    11. Wayland 1.17 + Weston 6.0 Reach Beta
    12. Ubuntu 14.04.6 LTS Released
    13. KDE Frameworks 5.56 Brings Another Month Worth Of Improvements
  11. Other Articles of Interest
  12. Featured Audio and Video
    1. Ubuntu Security Podcast: Episode 22
  13. Meeting Reports
  14. Upcoming Meetings and Events
  15. Updates and Security for 14.04, 16.04, 18.04, and 18.10
    1. Security Updates
    2. Ubuntu 14.04 Updates
    3. Ubuntu 16.04 Updates
    4. Ubuntu 18.04 Updates
    5. Ubuntu 18.10 Updates
  16. Subscribe
  17. Archive
  18. Further News
  19. Conclusion
  20. Credits
  21. Glossary of Terms
  22. Get Involved
  23. Feedback

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Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue 569 for the week of March 3 - 9, 2019.

In this Issue

  • Ubuntu 14.04.6 LTS released
  • Welcome New Members and Developers
  • Ubuntu Stats
  • Hot in Support
  • Canonical at NVIDIA GTC 2019
  • LoCo Events

  • Multipass snap: Upcoming switch to the core18 base
  • What the bespoke Wayland extensions API might look like (update 1)
  • Resource Scale for Fractional Scaling support in GNOME Shell 3.32
  • Launchpad news, February 2019
  • Canonical News
  • In the Blogosphere
  • Other Articles of Interest
  • Featured Audio and Video
  • Meeting Reports
  • Upcoming Meetings and Events
  • Updates and Security for 14.04, 16.04, 18.04, and 18.10
  • And much more!

General Community News

Ubuntu 14.04.6 LTS released

Łukasz 'sil2100' Zemczak, on behalf of the Ubuntu team, announces the release of  Ubuntu 14.04.6 LTS (Long-Term Support). This is a security-targeted release in response to APT vulnerability (USN-3863-1) and additional high-impact bug fixes are also included. Ubuntu support links are also provided.

Welcome New Members and Developers

wildmanne39, on behalf of the Ubuntu Membership Board, is delighted to announce our newest Ubuntu Member:

Frederik Feichtmeier (Wiki Page: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/FrederikFeichtmeier | Launchpad Page: https://launchpad.net/~frederik-feichtmeier)

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-news-team/2019-March/002837.html

Congratulations to Frederik Feichtmeier!

Ubuntu Stats

Bug Stats

  • Open: 134674 (-237)
  • Critical: 390 (+1)
  • Unconfirmed: 66077 (-81)

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

Translations

  • Ukrainian: 87.57% (33962/2710)
  • German: 85.84% (38686/14)
  • Spanish: 85.22% (40380/1907)
  • French: 80.64% (52886/5850)
  • Bosnian: 79.92% (54846/154)

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

Canonical at NVIDIA GTC 2019

Canonical attends Nvidia’s GTC Conference in San Jose, California March 18 – 21, 2019. Canonical's focus in the event is AI/ML, Kuberneters, and MicroK8s/Kubeflow with an emphasis on support offered in the K8 environment. A chat will be tendered at a hosting proffered at a happy hour Wednesday, March 20 from 7pm to 10pm at the Continental Bar Lounge & Patio.

https://blog.ubuntu.com/2019/03/07/canonical-nvidia-gtc-2019

LoCo Events

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

Looking beyond the next two weeks? Visit the LoCo Team Portal to browse upcoming events around the world: http://loco.ubuntu.com/events/

The Hub

Multipass snap: Upcoming switch to the core18 base

Christopher Townsend (townsend) advises that the Multipass snap will be switching over to core18 base. Currently there are some known glitches and a workaround is given.

https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/upcoming-switch-to-the-core18-base-for-the-multipass-snap/10116

What the bespoke Wayland extensions API might look like (update 1)

Alan Griffiths (alan_g) advises on his update pushes. The API parts are the “MirAL 2.5” inclusive of code to filtering protocol extensions, and adding protocol extensions. Alan also sketches his work in Implementing protocol extensions.

https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/what-the-bespoke-wayland-extensions-api-might-look-like-update-1/10125

The Planet

Resource Scale for Fractional Scaling support in GNOME Shell 3.32

Marco Trevisan tells us that after some years in development, GNOME Shell now has fractional scaling. Reporting that last Friday, Jonas triggered the merge for GNOME 3.32, functional under the Wayland protocol. Example screenshots are provided, and details as to current limitations are explained - especially with legacy applications. It's still considered experimental, but the command needed to get it running is provided. Marco finally thanks the people who helped review and test the code.

https://blog.3v1n0.net/informatica/linux/gnome-shell-fractional-scaling-in-wayland-landed/

Launchpad news, February 2019

Colin Watson gives a brief changelog. Included are notices of a change in the Build farm, code alterations, gpg key fingerprints in rocketfuel-setup, and Core18 base in build.snapcraft.io and Soyuz (package management).

http://blog.launchpad.net/general/launchpad-news-february-2019

Canonical News

In the Blogosphere

Linux Kernel 5.0 Released, This is What’s New

Joey Sneddon reports on the release of Linux Kernel 5.0, with no grand changes but lots of improvements, new additions, and support for newer hardware. Joey details some of these and provides a link to Linus Torvalds' announcement for greater detail. Though the source code is available for  Linux 5.0 and it is possible to install the mainline kernel it is not recommended, but rather await the arrival of the new kernel in the 19.04 final release.

https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/?p=137501

GNOME Shell + Mutter 3.31.92 Bring Fractional Scaling, Updated Screen-Casting API

Michael Larabel reports on the GNOME Shell / Mutter 3.31.92 releases where there is now fractional scaling support as well as performance improvements. Mutter sees version two of the screen-casting API, adds cursor-mode support, and a number of crash fixes. The GNOME Shell update has some fixes for the sub-menus as well as other fixes and cleanup. Michael provides a link to gnome-announce-list for more details.

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=GNOME-Shell-Mutter-3.31.92

KDE Plasma 5.12.8 LTS Desktop Environment Released with over 70 Improvements

Marius Nestor reports on the bugfix update to KDE Plasma 5, versioned 5.12.8. Marius cites many of the changes, fixes, improvements, and feature refinements and new modules. It is recommended to update as soon as the new packages are in the stable software repository. Marius provides a link to the release announcement for more details with the advisory that KDE Plasma 5.12, with six month maintenance updates, will reach end of life in July 2020.

https://news.softpedia.com/news/kde-plasma-5-12-8-lts-desktop-environment-released-with-over-70-improvements-525185.shtml

Meet the Official Ubuntu 19.04 ‘Disco Dingo’ Mascot

Joey Sneddon writes that the official mascot design for Ubuntu 19.04 has been revealed by Canonical. Reminding us what a dingo is, and what the artwork is for, he gives an opinion as to the possible influences into the chosen artwork. Joey remarks, in comparison to older release designs, "I am a fan of this logo" Pictures of the new logo of course are included.

https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2019/03/ubuntu-19-04-mascot-disco-dingo-art

Canonical Releases New Linux Kernel Security Update for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS

Marius Nestor tells us that Canonical have released new patches for Ubuntu, across all supported systems . Marius provides details of CVEs fixed for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, and advises users of Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, 16.04 LTS & 14.04 LTS using the 4.15 (HWE) kernel to upgrade as soon as possible.

https://news.softpedia.com/news/canonical-releases-new-linux-kernel-security-update-for-ubuntu-18-04-lts-525195.shtml

Ubuntu Touch OTA-8 Released With Browser Improvements

Michael Larabel reports that the UBports community have released Ubuntu Touch OTA-8 update. Though primarily a maintenance release, It contains some fixes and other improvements, with the most significant being to the Morph browser. More details are available with the provided link.

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Ubuntu-Touch-OTA-8

Ubuntu 19.04 (Disco Dingo) Will Be Powered by Linux Kernel 5.0

Marius informs us that Canonical have decided to ship the Linux kernel 5.0 with Ubuntu 19.04. Linux kernel 5.0 contains not only new features for x86, but also for ARM which are covered briefly in the article. Marius reminds us Ubuntu 19.04 (and flavors) are scheduled for release 18 April 2019.

https://news.softpedia.com/news/ubuntu-19-04-disco-dingo-will-be-powered-by-linux-kernel-5-0-525202.shtml

LibreOffice 6.2 Office Suite Gets First Point Release with More Than 150 Fixes

Marius Nestor writes of the Document Foundation's first point release for LibreOffice 6.2 Office Suite. With more than one-hundred-and-fifty bugs and issues addressed, still is not deemed as optimized for enterprise class deployments. Those whose priority is stability and reliability are urged to remain on LibreOffice 6.1 series. But for those who already run LibreOffice 6.2 they are urged to update. Links are provided for those that choose to update for a much-improved office experience.

https://news.softpedia.com/news/libreoffice-6-2-office-suite-get-first-point-release-with-more-than-150-fixes-525204.shtml

Purism Announces Convergence for Its Linux Phones and Laptops

Marius Nestor informs us of the arrival of integrated support for linux-phones and laptops that allows a single set of apps, from the same PureOS release. This means one can turn the Librem 5 Linux phone into a computer and as PureOS is Gnome based one can create apps that work on both mobile phones and laptops. The Librem 5 mobile phone is scheduled for release Q3 2019; Marius provides links for more details.

https://news.softpedia.com/news/purism-announces-convergence-for-its-linux-phones-and-laptops-525203.shtml

Joey Sneddon writes that more than three million Snaps are installed each month. Reminding us of what snaps are and the advantages of snaps, Joey provides the range of devices that snaps can be installed on and notes a large number of developers that package using Snappy.  Infographics from Canonical’s original post are provided as is the source link.

https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2019/03/linux-users-install-3-million-snap-apps-every-month

Wayland 1.17 + Weston 6.0 Reach Beta

Michael Larabel reports on the progress to Weston 6.0 and Wayland 1.17 that is expected to debut around the 19th of March. This beta release is after the feature freeze for this cycle, but, brings support for internal server error messages and updates wl_seat protocol in Wayland 1.17. Weston 6.0 has XDG-Shell stable support, Meson transition, FreeRDP 2.0 updates. and IVI shell enhancements.

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Wayland-1.17-Weston-6.0-Beta

Ubuntu 14.04.6 LTS Released

Michael Larabel informs us that Ubuntu 14.04.6 LTS has been released with fixes to the recent APT security vulnerability. Providing details of this unscheduled update, a link is provided to the ubuntu-announce archive.

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Ubuntu-14.04.6-LTS-Released

KDE Frameworks 5.56 Brings Another Month Worth Of Improvements

Michael Larabel reports of this monthly update for the add-on libraries complementing Qt5. The list includes: Baloo, new Breeze icons, mitigation against CVE-2013-0779, KFileMetaData improvements, KRun support improvements to the Kirigami framework, improvements in KTextEditor, added supports in KWayland, updates in Octave support and improved TypeScript/React. More details are in the provided KDE.org link.

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=KDE-Frameworks-5.56-Released

Ubuntu Security Podcast: Episode 22

“This week we cover security updates including Firefox, Thunderbird, OpenSSL and another Ghostscript regression, plus we look at a recent report from Capsule8 comparing Linux hardening features across various distributions and we answer some listener questions.”

https://ubuntusecuritypodcast.org/episode-22/

Meeting Reports

Upcoming Meetings and Events

  • Developer Membership Board: Mon, March 11, 3pm – 4pm
  • Loco Council: Mon, March 11, 8pm – 9pm
  • Security Team: Mon, March 11, 10:30pm – 11:30pm
  • Desktop Team: Tue, March 12, 3:30pm – 4:30pm
  • Kernel Team: Tue, March 12, 5pm – 6pm
  • Ubuntu Women: Tue, March 12, 6pm – 7pm
  • Technical Board: Tue, March 12, 8pm – 9pm
  • Ubuntu Foundations: Thu, March 14, 3pm – 4pm

For more details and farther dates please visit: http://fridge.ubuntu.com/calendars/

Updates and Security for 14.04, 16.04, 18.04, and 18.10

Security Updates

Ubuntu 14.04 Updates

End of Life: April 2019

Ubuntu 16.04 Updates

End of Life: April 2021

Ubuntu 18.04 Updates

End of Life: April 2023

Ubuntu 18.10 Updates

End of Life: July 2019

Subscribe

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Archive

You can always find older Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter issues at: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Archive

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://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/glossary

Get Involved

The Ubuntu community consists of individuals and teams, working on different aspects of the distribution, giving advice and technical support, and helping to promote Ubuntu to a wider audience. No contribution is too small, and anyone can help. It's your chance to get in on all the community fun associated with developing and promoting Ubuntu. More on this at: https://community.ubuntu.com/contribute/

Or get involved with the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter team! We always need summary writers and editors, if you're interested, learn more at: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Join

Feedback

This document is maintained by the Ubuntu Weekly News Team. If you have a story idea or suggestions for the Weekly Newsletter, join the Ubuntu News Team mailing list at https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/Ubuntu-news-team and submit it. Ideas can also be added to the wiki at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Ideas. If you'd like to contribute to a future issue of the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, please feel free to edit the appropriate wiki page. If you have any technical support questions, please check https://community.ubuntu.com/help-information/ for more information on where to get help.

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UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Issue569 (last edited 2019-03-11 18:54:51 by bashing-om)