--- title: Ubuntu Desktop weekly update – 16th March 2018 description: We’ve had a busy few weeks, and so this email is a roll up of what’s been going on in Desktopland.  Last week we had a team sprint in Budapest where we got to work side by side with our teammates and colleagues across Canonical.  Feature Freeze has now passed and we’re working on fixing […] url: https://canonical.com/blog/desktop-newsletter-16th-march-2018?format=md --- 1. [Blog](https://canonical.com/blog) 2. Article --- [Will Cooke](https://canonical.com/blog/author/willcooke "More about Will Cooke") 16 March 2018 # Ubuntu Desktop weekly update – 16th March 2018 [16.04](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/16-04) [18.04](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/18-04) [Bionic Beaver](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/bionic-beaver) [GNOME](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/gnome) [Ubuntu Desktop](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/ubuntu-desktop) --- Share the article We’ve had a busy few weeks, and so this email is a roll up of what’s been going on in Desktopland.  Last week we had a team sprint in Budapest where we got to work side by side with our teammates and colleagues across Canonical.  Feature Freeze has now passed and we’re working on fixing as many bugs as we can.  We still have some additional features to land, and so we will be requesting Feature Freeze Exceptions for those.  Meanwhile, here’s a recap of what’s been going on: ## GNOME * We’ve proposed a branch upstream to add support for synaptics as well as libinput to Mutter. + + Related to this, libinput 1.10 was uploaded to Bionic * We’ve landed a raft of fixes for jittery touchpads upstream: + + + + * We’ve landed a [fix](https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-clocks/+bug/1749937) for GNOME Clocks crashing in to Bionic * We’ve updated Mutter and GNOME Shell in Bionic. Due to some holidays upstream we missed Feature Freeze, and so got an exception to [land](https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/mutter/+bug/1751070) this one. * We’ve proposed some branches [upstream](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/nautilus/merge_requests/98) to integrate recently used files into Nautilus and GNOME Shell for distros that are not running Tracker * We’ve had some [fixes](https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=794012) merged upstream for GNOME Online Accounts * We’ve got a PR [upstream](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-shell/merge_requests/1) for helping to protect against broken third party extensions which could prevent a user logging in to their session. * We’ve [agreed](https://community.ubuntu.com/t/call-for-participation-an-ubuntu-default-theme-lead-by-the-community/1545/643) with the Community Theme team that we won’t ship it by default in 18.04, but that we will make it easily installable for people who want to test it, and will move over to it in the 18.10 cycle. ## General * 16.04.4 LTS point release was released, rolling up a number of updates, security fixes and a new kernel and graphics stacks.  Softpedia covered the point releases [here](http://news.softpedia.com/news/ubuntu-16-04-4-lts-xenial-xerus-officially-released-here-s-what-s-new-520018.shtml). * The Ubuntu GeoIP service (used, for example, by the installer to guess where you are in the world) now supports HTTPS, and so we’ve [ported](https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubuntu-geoip/+bug/1617535) some services over to use it. * Packages have been updated to allow Telepathy to be dropped from main. * The changes for the minimal desktop install have [landed](https://bazaar.launchpad.net/~ubuntu-installer/ubiquity/trunk/revision/6588) in the installer. ## Snaps * Support for themes in snap applications is moving ahead and you can read more about the current state [here](https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/supporting-desktop-themes-via-the-content-interface/4122). ## Updates * Chromium + 64.0.3282.167 published to {artful,xenial,trusty}-{security,updates}. + Updated stable to 65.0.3325.146 (in bionic, built in PPA for trusty, xenial and artful and awaiting testing) + Pushed 65.0.3325.146 snap to candidate channel and issued [call for testing](https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/call-for-testing-chromium-65-0-3325-146/4390) * Libreoffice + Promoted 6.0.1 snap to the stable channel. + Published 6.0.2 (RC) snap to the candidate channel, and issued [call for testing](https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/call-for-testing-libreoffice-6-0-2/4185) + Backports for CVE-2018-6871 published to xenial and trusty ## In the news The Ubuntu Podcast has an interview with Will Cooke in [this week’s episode](http://ubuntupodcast.org/2018/03/15/s11e02-a-tale-of-two-cities/), talking about 18.04 LTS. ## Sign up for our newsletter Get the latest Canonical news and updates in your inbox. Work email: \*I agree to receive information about Canonical's products and services. By submitting this form, I confirm that I have read and agree to [Canonical's Privacy Policy](https://canonical.com/legal/dataprivacy). Sign up ## Share on --- ## Related posts [### Arduino® VENTUNO™ Q is available for pre-order with Ubuntu pre-installed](https://canonical.com/blog/arduino-ventuno-q-is-available-for-pre-order-with-ubuntu-pre-installed) London, UK – August 25, 2026 – Following our initial collaboration announcement in March 2026, Canonical and Arduino (a subsidiary of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.) are excited... [Canonical](https://canonical.com/blog/author/canonical) 25 August 2026 [### AI with AMD ROCm on Ubuntu: your questions answered](https://canonical.com/blog/amd-rocm-on-ubuntu) AMD ROCm is now available in Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. Learn what how to make the best of it, and find out what this will mean in the coming years for development in Ubuntu. [Kevin Cazabon](https://canonical.com/blog/author/kcazabon) 3 June 2026 [### Canonical releases Ubuntu 26.04 LTS Resolute Raccoon](https://canonical.com/blog/canonical-releases-ubuntu-26-04-lts-resolute-raccoon) The 11th long-term supported release of Ubuntu delivers deep silicon optimization and state-of-the-art security for enterprise workloads. [Canonical](https://canonical.com/blog/author/canonical) 23 April 2026 [### How to manage Ubuntu fleets using on-premises Active Directory and ADSys](https://canonical.com/blog/manage-ubuntu-fleets-active-directory) The “hybrid fleet” is today’s reality: organizations diversify operating systems while Microsoft Active Directory (AD) remains the dominant identity “source of truth.” IT... [Massimiliano Gori](https://canonical.com/blog/author/massigori) 31 March 2026