Another week has flown by, making it time for another round-up of pertinent Linux app releases that didn’t manage to wangle a full post’s worth of waffle on this site.
This week’s crop of curios includes updates to the world’s most popular open-source video player, the world’s most popular open-source audio editor, and the world’s most popular open-source graphics drivers.
VLC 2.2.8
An updated version of the versatile video app VLC has been released. VLC 2.2.8 is primarily a bug fix release, with the only real change worth a mention being a security fix in the AVI demuxer.
It’s the first stable release published since May 2017.
There no longer seems to be a VLC PPA providing the latest stable releases on Ubuntu. But, if you’re impatient to get the update, you can install VLC as a Flatpak app from Flathub on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and above.
QupZilla 2.2.2
QupZilla 2.2.2 squeaked out last week. It’s nothing dramatic, just a minor bug-fix update (and no, it still doesn’t use the browser’s new name of Falkon) but is sure to be welcomed by advocates of this Qt-based web browser nonetheless.
Among the fixes:
- Updated User Agent Strings
- Correctly display site icons
- Clear visited links when clearing history
- Use system network proxy configuration
- Save window size/position
There’s no longer a QupZilla PPA available for Ubuntu, but you can build the app from source.
Pithos 1.4.1
Music streaming fans in the US will be pleased to hear that Pithos, the Pandora radio app for Linux, has been updated.
Among the improvements shipping in Pithos 1.4.1 you’ll find:
- High quality now default setting
- Mark application as DBusActivatable
- Fix for MPRIS issues
- Media key support on GNOME-Shell 3.26+, MATE
You can wait for this build to arrive in the Pithos PPA, or get it right now by installing the app from Flathub, the Flatpak app store.
Audacity 2.2.1
The first point update to Audacity is now out, building on the substantial update the app got back in November.
Audacity 2.2.1 introduces the ability to change the colors of audio waveforms displayed in projects on a per-track basis. The feature could be super useful for anyone working with multiple audio tracks.
Other fixes include renaming the ‘save other’ menu option to ‘export’; solving an issue with Quick Play looks not starting at click position; and making sure auto-scroll works as intended.
A recurring theme in this post, there’s currently no Audacity PPA available with the latest release for Ubuntu users. However you can install the latest release of Audacity as a Flatpak app from Flathub.
Mesa 17.3.0
As you might’ve heard about form our buddies over at Gaming on Linux, the latest Mesa 17.3.0 release is now available for download.
Among the new changes shipping in this update tot the open-source graphics drivers is improved gaming performance, more work on the Vulkan driver, and increased support for OpenGL 4.6.
This release also whitelists a crop of games for GL threading, including Hitman, Sid Meier’s: Civilization Beyond Earth, and Spec Ops: The Line and Outlast.
You can learn more about this release by reading the Mesa 17.3.0 release notes.