Latest news with #openSUSE
Arabian Post
20-05-2025
- Arabian Post
Ubuntu 25.10 Brings Fresh Terminal and Image Viewer Upgrades
Ubuntu 25.10 will introduce a significant update to its core user experience by replacing the default terminal and image viewer applications with modern alternatives. This development marks a shift towards more streamlined and feature-rich tools, reflecting the broader trend of enhancing Linux desktop usability without sacrificing performance or stability. The new default terminal, known as 'Console,' is set to replace GNOME Terminal, which has been a longstanding staple in the Ubuntu environment. Console offers a sleek and minimalist interface designed to improve usability and responsiveness. Among its key features are GPU acceleration, which provides smoother rendering and better performance, especially on high-resolution displays, and an emphasis on simplicity by reducing clutter and unnecessary UI elements. This change aligns with a growing demand from users for faster and more visually appealing terminal applications that can handle diverse workflows efficiently. Complementing the terminal update, the existing image viewer, Eye of GNOME , will be supplanted by 'Pix,' an image viewer developed by the Linux Mint team. Pix is celebrated for its faster loading times, enhanced support for various image formats, and a more intuitive interface that simplifies navigation and editing. It incorporates basic image editing tools such as cropping and rotation, which were notably absent in eog, thereby providing users with more functionality out of the box without needing additional software. This switch aims to improve everyday image handling tasks for Ubuntu users, particularly those who prefer lightweight applications without compromising essential features. These replacements are part of Ubuntu's ongoing effort to refine its software stack as it approaches the 25.10 release, planned for late October this year. Ubuntu developers have emphasised that the changes are driven by both user feedback and the desire to keep up with evolving software trends in the open-source ecosystem. The move also signals a willingness to incorporate applications developed by other Linux communities, fostering greater collaboration across distributions. See also openSUSE Drops Deepin Desktop Amid Ongoing Security Concerns Canonical, Ubuntu's parent company, has underscored the importance of maintaining a balance between innovation and stability. While new software like Console and Pix offer improvements, they also undergo extensive testing to ensure compatibility with the broader Ubuntu desktop environment. Early builds of Ubuntu 25.10 have already shown promising performance gains, with users reporting a more responsive terminal experience and a quicker, more versatile image viewer. The adoption of Console and Pix reflects a broader shift within the Linux desktop world, where traditional applications face increasing competition from newer projects focusing on user experience and performance. This trend is partly influenced by the rise of high-DPI displays and the growing popularity of tiling window managers, which demand terminals that can efficiently manage multiple sessions and deliver sharp visuals. Similarly, image viewers now often need to balance lightweight operation with support for various modern formats and basic editing, features that Pix addresses. Ubuntu 25.10 also continues to update other system components, including a newer Linux kernel and refreshed GNOME desktop environment. These updates improve hardware compatibility, security, and user interface consistency. However, the terminal and image viewer changes stand out for their direct impact on daily user interaction, highlighting Canonical's focus on practical enhancements. Ubuntu's decision to integrate Pix, created by a different distribution, demonstrates the increasingly collaborative nature of open source software development. Linux Mint's Pix has gained recognition for its efficiency and ease of use, prompting Canonical to evaluate it as a superior replacement to eog. This cross-pollination signals a growing recognition that user-centric improvements can transcend distribution boundaries, ultimately benefiting the broader Linux community. See also Manjaro 25.0 'Zetar' Launch Enhances Linux Desktop Experience User response to the new terminal and image viewer has been largely positive during beta testing phases. The Console terminal's clean design and responsiveness have been praised for reducing distractions while maintaining essential features like tabs and profiles. Pix's support for more image formats and built-in editing tools has been welcomed by users who previously needed to rely on external applications for minor adjustments. These updates are expected to be particularly appealing to Ubuntu's growing base of desktop users who rely on the operating system for development, creative work, and daily productivity. The streamlined terminal can enhance coding and system administration tasks, while the improved image viewer supports graphic tasks without the overhead of larger photo editing suites.
Arabian Post
12-05-2025
- Arabian Post
openSUSE Drops Deepin Desktop Amid Ongoing Security Concerns
The openSUSE project has officially removed the Deepin Desktop Environment from its Tumbleweed rolling release and the upcoming Leap 16.0, citing unresolved security vulnerabilities and a lack of effective cooperation from Deepin's upstream developers. The decision follows the discovery of a critical privilege escalation flaw in the `dde-api-proxy` component, which acts as a D-Bus proxy between Deepin applications and system services. This vulnerability, assigned CVE-2025-23222, allows unprivileged local users to execute administrative operations without proper authentication. The flaw stems from the proxy's design, which forwards D-Bus messages from any user to backend services as if they originated from the root user, effectively bypassing standard security checks. The SUSE Security Team reported the issue to Deepin's security contacts in December 2024. Initial attempts to communicate were met with silence, and although Deepin eventually acknowledged the problem and released a patch in January 2025, the fix was deemed inadequate. The patch introduced a new Polkit authorization check but relied on deprecated methods vulnerable to race conditions, leaving the system susceptible to similar exploits. Further investigation revealed that the `deepin-feature-enable` package, introduced in April 2021, violated openSUSE's packaging policies by installing unverified components through a license agreement bypass. This discovery prompted a comprehensive review of DDE's integration with openSUSE, uncovering a pattern of persistent security issues dating back to 2017. Notable concerns included improper handling of D-Bus and Polkit features in components like `deepin-api`, `deepin-daemon`, and `deepin-file-manager`, leading to disabled functionalities and broken features within the desktop environment. The openSUSE community had previously attempted to mitigate these issues by disabling D-Bus and Polkit features by default, resulting in limited functionality such as non-operational lock screens, inability to manage users and networks through the control center, and broken system sounds. Users who chose to enable these features were warned of potential security risks. The removal of DDE from openSUSE highlights broader concerns about the security culture within the Deepin project. Past incidents, such as the inclusion of the CNZZ analytics tracker in the Deepin App Store in 2018, have raised questions about data privacy and the project's transparency. Although Deepin removed the tracker following public backlash, lingering doubts remain about the project's commitment to user security and privacy.
