News

Linux Mint Dropping Blueberry Bluetooth Configuration Tool

For the longest time, Linux Mint depended on Blueberry for its Bluetooth background service. With the release of Linux Mint 21, that all changes, as the developers have opted to migrate to Blueman.

One of the primary reasons for this change is that the latest version of gnome-bluetooth (the Bluetooth back end for Blueberry) introduced a few changes that broke compatibility with Blueberry. Unfortunately, the Blueberry developer has no desire to see his work used outside of Gnome. Because of this, Blueberry will have trouble with non-Gnome desktops going forward, which is one of the reasons why the Linux Mint team decided to go a different route.

Another reason for this change is the Blueman tool works better with Bluetooth audio headsets and can connect to a much wider range of devices.

The Linux Mint developers are currently in the process of integrating Blueman with the desktop OS and hope to have it ready for the full release of version 21. Currently, there is no official release date set for Linux Mint 21, but (if history is any guide) it should be sometime this summer (2022).

To read more about this upcoming change, and other interesting bits about the new release, check out this issue of the Linux Mint Monthly Newsletter (https://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=4285).

Fedora 36 Beta Now Has a Release Date

It's official, Fedora 36 now has two different release dates. If things go as planned, the beta of the distribution will become available on March 15, 2022. If there's a delay, Fedora 36 will be released on March 22, 2022. Once the public beta testing is complete, the official release will be April 19, 2022, or, if there's a delay, April 26, 2022.

As for new features, the most notable will be the addition of Gnome 42, which improves both user interface and functionality. The changes to Gnome 42 include a system-wide dark theme preference, wallpapers for both dark and light themes, updates to the folder icon theme, even more support for the libadwaita library, an improved System Settings application (thanks to GTK4), a new default text editor (shifting from gedit to Gnome Text Editor), and an improved screenshot tool and native screen recording.

Other additions to Fedora 36 include the 5.17 kernel, Java 17, Golang 1.18, Noto typefaces as the default, GCC 12.0, glibc 2.35, and PHP 8.1. In addition, the default Wayland session now uses the proprietary NVIDIA driver, and the RPM database has been moved from /var/ to /usr.

To see all of the changes being made to Fedora 36, check out the ChangeSet on the Fedora Wiki (https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/36/ChangeSet).

AV Linux MX-21 Released for All Your Audio/Video Production Needs

Code-named "Consciousness," the latest release of AV Linux has been completely rebuilt, from the ground up, which makes it the first iteration that wasn't a respin of a previous release. Based on Debian 11, AV Linux MX-21 was built with the same tools used to build MX Linux and antiX.

Because this new release is a complete rebuild, there is no way to upgrade from previous releases to MX-21. In other words, you'll have to do a fresh install to gain the benefits of AV Linux MX-21.

What are those benefits? First off, AV Linux MX-21 ships with kernel 5.15 and a brand new Mesa graphics stack. The one caveat to those two changes: AV Linux no longer supports 32-bit architecture. The kernel version in MX-21 is Liquorix, which is a high-performance kernel geared for streaming and ultra-low latency.

You'll also find a new Yabridge GUI, YADbridge, that makes managing Windows Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plugins much easier. VST is an audio plugin interface that integrates software synthesizers and effects into a digital audio workstation (DAW). There are also new versions of all the regular audio/visual tools that are installed by default, as well as a new AV Linux Assistant tool.

AV Linux MX-21 uses the Xfce 4.16 desktop environment that has been customized with a new theme, first-run splash screen, 4K wallpapers, gradient wallpaper generator, and the GDebi package installer has been replaced by a custom Thunar Action.

Download the ISO of AV Linux MX-21 now (https://www.bandshed.net/avlinux/).