Issue579


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Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue 579 for the week of May 12 - 18, 2019.

In this Issue

  • Ubuntu Stats
  • Hot in Support
  • LoCo Events

  • A couple of snap updates
  • Plasma 5.15.90 (Plasma 5.16 Beta) Available for Testing
  • Canonical News
  • In the Press
  • In the Blogosphere
  • Other Articles of Interest
  • Featured Audio and Video
  • Meeting Reports
  • Upcoming Meetings and Events
  • Updates and Security for 16.04, 18.04, 18.10, and 19.04
  • And much more!

Ubuntu Stats

Bug Stats

  • Open: 135018 (+4)
  • Critical: 381 (-4)
  • Unconfirmed: 66472 (+41)

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% (33972/2782)
  • German: 85.85% (38658/124)
  • Spanish: 85.26% (40267/3260)
  • French: 80.64% (52888/6067)
  • Bosnian: 79.92% (54870/155)

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 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

A couple of snap updates

Alan Griffiths (alan_g) tells us of his continuing efforts to polish mir-test-tools. Now it's possible for the user to log in and for "Mir to negotiate access to the hardware with logind.". The experiment with egmde-confined-desktop snap is a proof-of-concept. Alan provides directions to install and implement the confined snap with screenshots of results.

https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/a-couple-of-snap-updates/10936

The Planet

Plasma 5.15.90 (Plasma 5.16 Beta) Available for Testing

The Kubuntu Team announces the release and availability of Plasma 5.15.90 for 19.04 and 19.10. The 19.04 update is in the Kubuntu PPA while the updated version is included in 19.10 daily build. Testing is requested, with means provided to give your results. A link is provided to the changelog to review the changes.

https://kubuntu.org/news/plasma-5-15-90-plasma-5-16-beta-available-for-testing/

Canonical News

In the Press

Ubuntu 19.04: The Disco Dingo arrives and will really make your IT dept. happy

Scott Gilbertson gives a glowing report of the changes and added supports in the 19.04 release. Though extolling the desktop experience, emphasis is on developers for support in infrastructure, dev tools, and the Internet of Things. Scott expresses his opinion that "it's becoming a more developer-focused distro."

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/05/ubuntu-19-04-review-the-disco-dingo-aims-its-nose-at-the-cloud-and-developers/

In the Blogosphere

MDS: The Newest Speculative Execution Side-Channel Vulnerability

Michael Larabel reports on the latest disclosure, Microarchitectural Data Sampling (MDS), a speculative execution side channel vulnerability. Michael quotes Microsoft in relating what the affected hardware is and the impact. We are advised of Updated microcode files and that Linux kernel patches are in the offing; all are encouraged to update systems.

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Microarch-Data-Sampling

Canonical Releases Ubuntu Updates to Mitigate New MDS Security Vulnerabilities

Marius Nestor tells us Canonical have released updates for all supported Ubuntu releases to mitigate MDS vulnerabilities. Intel has released new firmware upgrades but new Linux Kernel patches are required too. Covering four CVEs, there is also a Canonical recommendation to disable SMT as it complicates the flaws. New live patches were also released for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS & Ubuntu 14.04 ESM, with version numbers of patched kernels & microcode provided.

https://news.softpedia.com/news/canonical-releases-ubuntu-updates-to-mitigate-new-mds-security-vulnerabilities-526031.shtml

KDE Plasma 5.16 Desktop Environment Enters Beta with Many Enhancements

Marius Nestor writes that the KDE Project have released the beta version of KDE Plasma 5.16 desktop with its revamped notifications system. The final KDE Plasma 5.16 release is expected 11 June 2019, however this time there is a wallpaper contest. A KDE-powered Slimbook One v2 computer is the prize if your wallpaper wins, details are provided, along with many photos.

https://news.softpedia.com/news/kde-plasma-5-16-desktop-environment-enters-beta-with-many-new-features-526064.shtml

Xfdesktop 4.13.4 Released On The Road To Xfce 4.14 Possibly This August

Michael Larabel informs on the release of Xfce's Xfdesktop 4.13.4. Michael notes the restoration of icon placement, improvements in the clipboard as well as other fixes. In the look ahead for the final Xfce 4.14 release in August is an expectation of ports from GTK2 to GTK3, accessing GDBUS, and other changes.

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Xfdesktop-4.13.4-Released

Ubuntu Security Podcast: Episode 31

"This week we cover security fixes for GNOME Shell, FFmpeg, Sudo, Ghostscript and others, and we talk to Joe McManus about malicious Dockerhub images, Git repos being ransomed more."

https://ubuntusecuritypodcast.org/episode-31/

Ubuntu Podcast from the UK LoCo: S12E06 – International Karate+

"This week we have been moving servers, discuss the recently announced Librem One services, bring you some command line love and go over your feedback."

http://ubuntupodcast.org/2019/05/16/s12e06-international-karate/

Meeting Reports

Upcoming Meetings and Events

  • Developer Membership Board: Mon, May 20, 7pm – 8pm
  • Kernel Team: Tue, May 21, 5pm – 6pm
  • Desktop Team: Tue, May 21, 6:30pm – 7:30pm
  • Technical Board: Tue, May 21, 7pm – 8pm
  • Ubuntu Foundations: Thu, May 23, 3pm – 4pm

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

Updates and Security for 16.04, 18.04, 18.10, and 19.04

Security Updates

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

Ubuntu 19.04 Updates

End of Life: January 2020

Subscribe

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

Get Involved

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Feedback

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UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Issue579 (last edited 2019-05-20 18:39:39 by bashing-om)