Ubuntu 26.04 LTS: What’s new since 24.04?

Ubuntu 26.04 and 24.04 mascots.If you plan to upgrade to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS ‘Resolute Raccoon’ from Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, you’re going to inherit two years worth of improvements. As an LTS-to-LTS jump, you don’t simply benefit from what’s new in Ubuntu 26.04, but everything else added in the 3 interim releases prior, namely Ubuntu 24.10, 25.04 and 25.10. Ubuntu 26.04 LTS does plenty of things that 24.04 didn’t, but drops several features too It adds up to a mammoth set of changes across the full stack, running right from the lower-level foundations up to the apps and desktop environment that run on top. Plus, […]

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Ubuntu confirms the 26.10 codename, and it sounds strange…

Ubuntu logo with the text Ubuntu News.Ubuntu has announced the codename for Ubuntu 26.10 is… “Stonking Stingray”. As codenames go it’s certainly unique. The distro gives each release a codename: an alliterative pairing of adjective and animal, the latter of which becomes the release mascot. The tradition dates back to the first Ubuntu release in 2004 (dubbed ‘Warty Warthog’). Ubuntu 26.04 LTS was ‘Resolute Raccoon’, making ‘s’ the next letter alphabetically, and ‘Stonking Stingray’ was the distro’s standout choice. But what does it mean? Stonking is a strange choice as (to my knowledge) it’s mainly used here in the UK as an informal term for something […]

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Firefox 150 brings Linux emoji picker, PDF page ordering + more

Firefox logo in front of the number 150.Firefox 150 is released this week with an enhanced Split View features, multi-tab sharing and a clutch of welcome PDF editor improvements. Split View debuted in Firefox 149 last month, letting you easily view two web-pages side-by-side in a single tab (no more juggling windows). In Firefox 150, you can right-click a link on a web page and choose Open Link in Split View to, well, do precisely that. Firefox’s Split View feature now includes an option to Reverse Tabs in the context menu (three dots at the bottom of a focused split). And when creating a new Split View without a […]

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Type with your voice on Linux using this Whisper-based app

Your mouth can (probably) say things quicker than your hands can type, yet voice typing is rarely used as a primary input method on desktop – yet most of us think nothing of using it on mobile. That’s despite speech-to-text being available on desktop OSes for decades, natively and through dedicated apps. It never caught on because it was inaccurate and slow and typically hidden away as an assistive feature. (And because a lot of what you do at a keyboard is navigation and that is less efficient to speak, unless ‘arrow down, arrow down, arrow down’ is some trendy […]

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GIMP 3.2.4 released with fresh set of bug fixes

GIMP Wilber logo in front of a brick texture with the number 3.2 graffitied on itBug fixes arrive in GIMP 3.2.4, the latest maintenance update for the current 3.2.x stable series. Assorted improvements made since GIMP 3.2.2 dropped in March include a variety of layer workflow tweaks, like ensuring certain actions, like ‘Layers to Image Size’ and ‘Resize Layer to Selection’, only work on raster layers (not vector, linked or text layers). A layer naming issue which broke what GIMP devs refer to as “the principle of least surprise” has been resolved. When opening an XCF file as layers within a different project, imported layer names used the XCF file name, not the original layer […]

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Archinstall 4.2 Shifts to Wayland-First Profiles, Leaving X.Org Behind

Archinstall 4.2 Shifts to Wayland-First Profiles, Leaving X.Org Behind

The Arch Linux installer continues evolving alongside the broader Linux desktop ecosystem. With the release of Archinstall 4.2, a notable change has arrived: Wayland is now the default focus for graphical installation profiles, while traditional X.Org-based profiles have been removed or deprioritized.

This move reflects a wider transition happening across Linux, one that is gradually redefining how graphical environments are built and used.

A Turning Point for Archinstall

Archinstall, the official guided installer for Arch Linux, has steadily improved over time to make installation more accessible while still maintaining Arch’s minimalist philosophy.

With version 4.2, the installer now aligns more closely with modern desktop trends by emphasizing Wayland-based environments during setup, instead of offering traditional X.Org configurations as first-class options.

This doesn’t mean X.Org is completely gone from Arch Linux, but it does signal a clear shift in direction.

Why Wayland Is Taking Over

Wayland has been gaining traction for years as the successor to X.Org, offering a more streamlined and secure approach to rendering graphics on Linux.

Compared to X.Org, Wayland is designed to:

  • Reduce complexity in the graphics stack
  • Improve security by isolating applications
  • Deliver smoother rendering and better performance
  • Support modern display technologies like high-DPI and variable refresh rates

As the Linux ecosystem evolves, many distributions and desktop environments are prioritizing Wayland as the default display protocol.

What Changed in Archinstall 4.2

With this release, users installing Arch through Archinstall will notice:

  • Wayland-based desktop environments and compositors are now the primary options
  • X.Org-centric setups are no longer emphasized in guided profiles
  • Installation workflows better reflect modern Linux defaults

This simplifies the installation experience for new users, who no longer need to choose between legacy and modern display systems during setup.

What About X.Org?

While Archinstall is moving forward, X.Org itself is not disappearing overnight.

Many applications and workflows still rely on X11, and compatibility is maintained through XWayland, which allows X11 applications to run within Wayland sessions.

For advanced users, Arch still provides full flexibility:

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