As you may be aware from our gasps of panic, the UK is currently cosseted by thick quilting of snow (and my house without any form of functional heating).
But freezing cold conditions are no excuse for me to slack on the content front.
In fact, what better way to warm my frozen digits up than with some finger-flexing keyboard aerobics?
Read on for a choreographed roundup of recent Linux releases, including Ubuntu 16.04.4 LTS, an update to Linux twitter client Corebird, and some distinctly unfishy fixes for a network monitoring must-have…
Ubuntu 16.04.4 LTS
Fans of Linux distros that are both well supported and stable will be mega pleased to hear that the fourth point release of Ubuntu 16.04 LTS is now available to download.
Ubuntu 16.04.4 LTS rolls together all of the bug fixes and security updates issued since last August’s Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS with an updated kernel and graphics stack pulled from the recent release of Ubuntu 17.10.
The end result is an updated ISO image that requires fewer post-install updates.
If you are running Ubuntu 16.04 you do not need to download this ISO. So long as you’ve installed all software updates as they’ve been released you are, for all purposes, running 16.04.4 LTS.
Corebird (Twitter Client) 1.7.4
As someone who runs Linux and lives on Twitter the Corebird twitter client is …Well, it’s my nectar, quite frankly.
This GTK3 desktop Twitter client for Linux is wonderfully featured, simple to use, and integrates nicely with most desktop environments. What few features Corebird does lack is solely the fault of limitations in the official Twitter API (boo) it uses.
Freshly re-feathered, Corebird 1.7.4 is now available to install. It’s a minor update that, among other things, addresses:
- 32-bit Linux users can once again send tweets (!)
- Typo fixes (I can sympathise there!)
- Work around a GTK+ bug increasing the window size when typing DMs
- List statuses page no longer focusesthe delete button
- Compose text view has language selection menu
With Twitter discontinuing support for its official Twitter for Mac desktop app (and the official Windows version adrift of updates) the form and function of Corebird shines like something of a gem.
You can install the latest version of Corebird via Flathub, AUR, or by adding the following PPA to your software sources on Ubuntu 17.10:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps
sudo apt update && sudo apt install corebird
Thanks H.S.
Parole (Video Player) 1.0.0
Are you an Xfce users who relies on the Parole media player for media consumption? If so you will be excited to hear that the app has finally hit the 1.0 series.
Your excitement will sort of need to end there as, despite the significant milestone, Parole 1.0.0 is something of a minor update.
Feature wise the player adds an ‘automatic video output’ option, selecting the ‘best’ video sink available on your system. This should avoid encountering playback errors.
Bugs fixed in the update include a crash when clearing history, using MPRIS2 plugin on a 32-bit install, and incorrect app data validation.
You can find the latest release of Parole on the Xfce Git.
Thanks Dee
Wireshark (network utility) 2.4.5
The Linux network analyzer tool Wireshark has a new released out a shoal of vulnerabilities and bugs snared by the fix net.
Among the crashes fixed Wireshark 2.4.5 are issues affecting the IEEE 802.11 dissector, the UMTS MAC dissector, the DOCSIS dissector and the SIGCOMP dissector.
The update also solves an issue with the pcapng file parser, ensures that AutoScroll works as it should, and work lets you create a Filter Expression Button for a yellow filter.
To install the latest stable release of Wireshark on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and above you need to add the official Wireshark stable PPA to your Software Sources.
To do this open a new Terminal window and run this command:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:wireshark-dev/stable
Next, upgrade or install Wireshark on Ubuntu by running this command:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install wireshark
Finally, launch the app from the Unity Dash or equivalent app menu.