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1825 Monetary Lane Suite #104 Carrollton, TX
Do a presentation at NTLUG.
What is the Linux Installation Project?
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- [$] 25 years of Buildroot
Buildroot maintainer Peter Korsgaardgave a presentation about the long history of the build tool for embeddedLinux systems at the 2026 EmbeddedLinux Conference Europe. In it, he covered more than just the past 25years, looking at the current status of the project as well as what toexpect in Buildroot's future. It was an interesting view inside this long-running project thathas been a mainstay of the embedded-Linux world throughout almost all ofthis century.
- Announcing XRAID: declustered parity RAID for zoned XFS
Christoph Hellwig has announced theinitial public release of XRAID—declustered parity RAID that is integratedinto XFS.
The two primary aims of XRAID are to support parity RAID on zoned deviceslike SMR hard drives, and to provide a fast RAID implementation withoutinherent data integrity problems. XRAID, just like zoned XFS also workson conventional hard drives and SSDs. Optimizing for SSD performance hasnot been a focus, but even without that, writes are up to 20 times fasterthan mdraid. [...]
Work on XRAID has been ongoing for a year and a half, and while we aren'tanywhere near ready for an upstream submission, we are interested infeedback and testing from a wider audience now. The currentimplementation supports zero to 2 parities. We did experiments with theSnapRAID parity library to support 3 and more parities, and while thatis not included in the current version, support for more parities isplanned and the code is prepared for it.
The xfsprogs branch includes mkfs support and a new "xraid" utility formanaging devices and inspecting an XRAID file-systems. We have alsoextended Zonar (The zoned file-system visualisation tool) to show howeach logical zone maps onto physical zones on devices.
Hellwig gave a presentation atFOSSY in August on this topic; video of the talk does not seem to be availableyet, but his slides areavailable.
- Security updates for Friday
Security updates have been issued by AlmaLinux (.NET 10.0, .NET 8.0, .NET 9.0, firefox, gcc, grafana, grafana-pcp, gstreamer1, gstreamer1-plugins-base, java-1.8.0-openjdk, kernel, kernel-rt, libimobiledevice, mingw-libpng, nginx:1.24, nodejs:22, nodejs:24, perl-CGI, perl-DBI, qt5-qtbase, tigervnc, vim, and xorg-x11-server), Debian (apache2, c-ares, linux-6.12, node-shell-quote, nova, parted, postgresql-17, python-django, sympa, and tomcat10), Fedora (cockpit, erlang-ssl_verify_fun, httpd, ignition, jackson-bom, jackson-core, jackson-databind, jackson-modules-base, libvirt, mod_http2, mongo-c-driver, poppler, prometheus, pylint, python-discovery, python-loguru, python-PyMuPDF, rabbitmq-server, rust-crypto-bigint, rust-ctutils, rust-elliptic-curve, rust-num-bigint, rust-num-bigint0.4, rust-num-modular, rust-num-modular0.6, rust-num-prime, rust-routinator, rust-zmij, strongswan, xen, xorg-x11-server, and zvbi), Mageia (amule, peazip, and python-pytest), Red Hat (buildah, fence-agents, go-fdo-server, grafana, grafana-pcp, oci-seccomp-bpf-hook, osbuild-composer, podman, and rhc), SUSE (ansible-core, apr-util, aspell, brotli, cadvisor, civetweb, distribution-registry, elemental, elemental-register,, elemental-operator, elemental-system-agent, elemental- toolkit, ffmpeg, firefox, gimp, git-annex, go1.26, go1.27, golang-github-prometheus-prometheus, google-cloud-sap-agent, google-guest-agent, google-osconfig-agent, goose, gosec, graphicsmagick, haproxy, hauler, hawk-apiserver, hawk2, hcloud-cli, jhead, jsoup, kernel, librsvg, libXtst, libxtst, nodejs24, nvidia-open-driver-G07-signed, nvidia-open-driver-g07-signed, open-iscsi, perl-XS-Parse-Keyword, perl-xs-parse-keyword, python-asyncssh, python-Brotli, python-django, python-joserfc, python-M2Crypto, python-Pillow, python-pillow, python313-setuptools, rsyslog, speex, tiff, trivy, udisks2, vsftpd, xen, and xorg-x11-server), and Ubuntu (apache2, charybdis, debian-lan-config, glibc, golang-github-seccomp-libseccomp-golang, hiredis, httpie, imapfilter, lhasa, libjgraphx-java, libjwt, libsolv, linux-fips, linux-hwe-6.8, linux-hwe-7.0, linux-nvidia-tegra, minissdpd, ncmpc, nfdump, node-tough-cookie, openconnect, pillow, pngquant, python-gevent, radicale, ruby-openid, sa-exim, signing-party, sudo, tigervnc, and x11vnc).
- Glasswing overwhelms maintainers with underwhelming findings (VulnCheck)
Patrick Garrity of VulnCheck has written a blogpost that looks at vulnerabilities found by Anthropic's Project Glasswing since itlaunched on April 7, and finds it wanting:
Of the 37,966 findings Anthropic reports, only 7,349 (19.4%) have been madepublic. Just 217 of those have been marked fixed. The more glaring number isthat 4.4% (1,654) of the project's findings have already been marked asduplicates, 7.5x more duplicates than fixes. On top of that, 419 findings havebeen withdrawn. It seems odd that the ledger now claims a 94.2% true positiverate, up from 90.8% at launch, when more findings have been withdrawn or markedas duplicates than fixed, likely a feedback loop missing to the triage rateslisted as "True Positives".
[...] AI is a valuable tool for finding vulnerabilities, and I'm notdiscounting that. But seven months in, the evidence still doesn't match thelaunch narrative. The CVEs are a sliver of this year's total, almost none arebeing exploited, fixes have stalled while duplicates and withdrawals pile up,and the triage burden is shifting onto the open source maintainers Glasswingpromised to help. The receipts keep coming in. They still don't reconcile.
- Introducing Polo: a Wayland MATE compositor
Kerem Söke has announcedthe 1.0release of Polo, aWayland compositor for the MATE DesktopEnvironment:
The idea is to keep MATE behaving as closely as possible to how it does onX11, rather than changing the desktop to fit a different compositor. [...]
Window management, metacity, workspaces, tiling, XWayland, clipboard andclipman support, multiple monitors, display scaling, hotplugging, screenshots,screen sharing, and session management are all working.
I've also added desktop effects: fade, zoom, zap, spin, squeemize, magiclamp, desktop cube, expo, and wobbly windows.
Söke is looking for people to test Polo, particularly on multi-monitorsetups, and report back with problems.
- [$] C++26 contract confusion
TheInternational Organization for Standardization (ISO) has blessed seven C++language revisions since 1998.The language is mostly developed by ISO'sWorking Group 21, whichconsiders proposed additions and amendments, integrates them into a document,and then presents that document to the main ISO body to be voted on as astandard. On October 23, for the first time ever, ISO declined to ratify a documentpresented by Working Group 21, leaving the future of the C++26 standard indoubt. The decision was driven by controversy around a proposed new "contracts"feature that would add pre- and post-conditions to function signatures.
- Stenberg: 30 years of Internet transfers with curl
Daniel Stenberg reflectson the 30th anniversary of the curl project. libcurl runs in an estimated thirty billion installations today. It is a rough estimate since the majority of all libcurl users never tell us they use it, but we need to find it mentioned in their credit screens, open source license windows or their manuals. A super popular app might use libcurl today and not tomorrow, or vice versa, which can make the numbers shift by several billions overnight. In reality of course, once the pulse raise has calmed down and your ego is content, these numbers do not matter. In our corner of the world, things don't change notably when we go from a thousand installs to billions. We still work with similar people, in similar ways, with similar challenges.
- Security updates for Thursday
Security updates have been issued by Debian (aodh, apache2, dnspython, firefox-esr, mutt, octavia, spip, thunderbird, and watcher), Fedora (epiphany, firefox, freerdp, java-25-openjdk, java-latest-openjdk, libsoup3, perl-HTTP-Parser-XS, perl-libnet, php-getid3, pipx, python-crate-ingredients, python-pillow, python-robotframework, python3.9, rsync, rubygem-nokogiri, tpm2-tss, udns, and xorg-x11-server-Xwayland), Gentoo (curl, ImageMagick, libheif, and PCRE2), Mageia (nginx and python-django), Oracle (go-toolset:rhel8, libimobiledevice, nodejs:22, util-linux, and vim), Red Hat (.NET 10.0, .NET 8.0, .NET 9.0, cockpit, freerdp, gdb, go-fdo-client, grafana-pcp, ignition, kernel, kernel-rt, krb5, openssh, openssl, osbuild-composer, rpm, rsync, and webkit2gtk3), Slackware (git, httpd, and tigervnc), SUSE (aliyun-cli, alloy, apache-parent, aqute-bnd, google-gson, logback, maven, maven-artifact-transfer, maven-parent, maven-resolver, methanol, osgi-service- subsystem, slf4j, xmvn, bcel, benchdnn, containerd, distribution, dpdk, efivar, elemental, elemental-register, elemental-system-agent, elemental-toolkit, firefox, kernel, liblldpctl4, libonnxruntime1, openssl-1_0_0, openssl-1_1, openvpn, pcre2, perl-Net-DNS, perl-Plack, perl-Starman, psqlODBC, python-M2Crypto, python-Pillow, python-Twisted, python-urllib3_1, python313-djangorestframework, python313-fpdf2, python313-langgraph-sdk, python313-nltk, rust-keylime, skopeo, traefik, zchunk, and zvbi), and Ubuntu (asyncpg, awl, btrbk, davical, dotnet8, dotnet10, dotnet11, libfcgi, linux-raspi, logback, mysql-8.0, mysql-8.4, mysql-9.7, network-manager-ssh, node-babel, php-pecl-http, prosody-modules, rkhunter, ruby-actionpack-page-caching, ruby-jwt, ruby-kramdown, shiro, snmptt, and yodl).
- [$] LWN.net Weekly Edition for November 12, 2026
Inside this week's LWN.net Weekly Edition: Front: Synaptics patent claims; Git LLM policy; Hibernation and lockdown; User namespaces; glibc tunables. Briefs: *sshole; Amutable foundations; Asahi Linux 7.3; OpenIndiana 2026.10; Firefox 160; Quotes; ... Announcements: Newsletters, conferences, security updates, patches, and more.

- IBM Talks Up Their New Ability For Handling ARM64 Guest VMs on s390 Hardware
One of the biggest surprises this year was IBM collaborating with Arm for "dual architecture" hardware. In addition to the IBM s390 hardware side, this "dual architecture" support for running ARM64 instructions on s390 also requires Linux KVM virtualization support with patches we've seen the past number of months and initial code merged for Linux 7.40
- Ubuntu Pro users get early access to AI-written security fixes
Canonical is giving Ubuntu Pro subscribers early access to AI-generated patches for known security flaws, available through a new opt-in archive called Edge. To get fixes out faster to customers and users, the company has built a multi-agent system called Surge to backport fixes for vulnerabilities in software package. Surge is not being used to patch kernel vulnerabilities those see faster0
- Automating openSUSE Tumbleweed Bare-Metal Installs with Agama and Wayland TTY1 V.2
When deploying openSUSE Tumbleweed on bare-metal hardware using the Agama installer, certain GPU and HDMI monitor combinations can stall at the SDDM login screen after the first reboot. Below is one practical method which brings you to text login with screen resolution 1920x1080 and automatically starts KDE Plasma 6.8.2 upon login into system.
- Norways Dropbox Rival Jottacloud is making a Linux app
Norwegian Dropbox rival Jottacloud is finally working on a desktop app for Linux. Jottacloud, run by Jotta Group AS, has been around since 2008, offering file and photo backup, syncing and sharing via official Windows, Apple and Android apps. What it hasnt had, until now, is a proper desktop app on Linux (it does offer a CLI to create automatic backups of folders, but the terminal-based tool0

- GTA 6's Upcoming Launch Celebrated by Wendy's, YouTube, the City of Miami, and 20% of America's Workforce
Fast food restaurant Wendy's drew an image of their redheaded mascot in the style of GTA, posting it on social media with the message "Our ride-or-dies are gonna love what we have in the works," and the date 11/19/26. That's how widespread the hype has become for Thursday's release of Grand Theft Auto VI.The BBC reports that fictional brands from the game are now actually appearing on billboards across Miami, the city that inspired the game's "Vice City" setting. And GamingBible.com reports Rockstar Games has announced Grand Theft Auto VI: The Festival, "a real-life music festival to be held in Miami, Florida... on November 21, 2026. Featuring two stages, the festival will be headlined by some incredible artists that, to state the obvious, feature on the game's soundtrack...." YouTube said pre-launch videos about the game have already racked up a whopping 40 billion views (with 900 billion views for videos about all GTA games). And now YouTube is partnering with Rockstar Games to offer several special features on launch day:Fans can drop themselves directly into Vice City using the GTAVI: Visit Vice City Shorts Effect. The feature includes multiple iconic backgrounds, making it easy for creators and fans to build their own launch-week videos... Listeners can find the official GTAVI soundtrack (featuring Morgan Wallen's "Last Thing You Need") and the complete GTA series anthology playlist directly on the YouTube Music homepage throughout launch week... Starting November 19 at 12 AM ET, fans worldwide can tune in to youtube.com/youtube for a 24 hour stream packed with live gameplay, creator podcasts, and original content featuring top creators... [On launch day] fans can jump straight into the global broadcast by clicking the custom GTAVI-themed YouTube logo (Yoodle) on the YouTube homepage At one one study suggests nearly one in a five U.S. workers plan to skip work on Thursday, writesthe New York Post:Roughly 18% of workers plan to take Thursday off to park themselves on the couch and wreak havoc across the revamped Vice City, according to data from BambooHR, which analyzed information from 3.4 million US-based employees... Half of the joystick jockeys planning to take off will simply call in sick instead of requesting time off, BambooHR reported. The hordes of workers playing hooky could cost the US economy $1 billion in lost productivity, International Business News reported. Forbes reports the game has $1.18 billion in pre-orders from 12 million buyers, according to market research firm Sensor Tower, puting it ahead of Grand Theft Auto V, which had 7 million pre-orders. The BBC points out that "Already, both PlayStation and Xbox, the two platforms the game is initially releasing on, have said the game has become the most pre-ordered title in their digital stores' history. This may be partly down to its huge size (212GB), meaning many are pre-ordering to "pre-load" the game, ready to play it immediately at launch rather than waiting to download it. But that's a problem for other games, reports GamingBible.com:With most current-gen consoles having somewhere between 512 GB and 1 TB of free storage before expansion upgrades, it means if you're a gamer with lots of games installed, you're going to have to make some sacrifices and delete any older games you're not currently playing. As reported by Push Square, it seems that Electronic Arts is also getting the message, as it allegedly is showing messages inside games asking players not to uninstall in anticipation of the GTA VI launch. GamingBible.com notes one final concern for hardcore gamers. "Rockstar Games recently confirmed the game targets 30fps, even on high-end consoles like the PlayStation Pro. While it probably won't affect the game's total sales, many gamers are appalled."
 
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- Huawei Set To Challenge Tesla Powerwall with New, 20 kW Home Battery
"Huawei believes its new Luterra S2 is more than just a home backup battery," reports Electrek:This high-tech Huawei home battery pack hopes to hold back Tesla's latest Powerwall with silicon carbide technology, AI-powered energy management baked in, and enough modular storage to keep even large homes bright and warm when the rest of the block goes dark... The Chinese tech firm is calling it an "all-in-one residential energy system" that combines a hybrid inverter, modular battery storage, and AI-powered energy management in a single, simple, and stackable package that's available in single-phase versions that put out between 3 and 10 kW and three-phase versions that can push up to 20 kW. The Luterra S2 is the first system of its kind to use Huawei's proprietary full-silicon carbide (SiC) architecture, which promises improved efficiency, power density, and ease of use. It's so easy, in fact, that Huawei claims it can be installed and commissioned in just minutes. Huawei's basic Luterra S2 configuration starts with "just" 5 kWh of battery energy storage and 3 kW of output. That's enough to keep essential household appliances, lighting, and electronics running during a power outage, but you'll want to keep going if you're preparing for more than a day or two without power. If that sounds like you, Luterra's got you covered. The modular system can be expanded with modular 7 kWh LFP battery packs and can keep scaling up to a massive 336 kWh of total storage across interconnected systems, with inverter output peaking at an impressive 60 kW using three 20 kW units in parallel. Keeping all that power cool and quiet is a Huawei-developed passive cooling system that does without external fans, keeping operating noise levels below a claimed 29 dB (about the same as my Mac mini).
 
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- Bill Gates Has Earned Billions Investing in Climate-Polluting Landfills, Reports ProPublica
Environmental activist Bill Gates has "quietly accumulated a $29 billion stake in America's No. 2 landfill operator, Republic Services," reports ProPublica, in a new 5,000-word investigation. But inspectors from America's Environmental Protection Agency "have repeatedly found methane — a highly potent greenhouse gas — escaping from Republic landfills at levels above federal limits. Republic has lobbied against regulations that could make the waste industry cleaner, including by keeping organic garbage out of landfills in the first place." While Gates has invested at least $2 billion in green companies, he's "put more than double that amount into a very dirty, old-school industry," their article argues. And Gates has increased his stake in Republic "to 38% of the company, a position worth $29 billion."While fossil fuels get most of the attention, scientists increasingly see landfills as a crucial climate issue. They're responsible for as much as a fifth of the country's emissions of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas, studies show. Republic alone generates as much climate pollution as 3 million gasoline-burning cars each year, according to its own reports.... [Gates] has failed to make Republic live up to his own climate principles, a ProPublica investigation has found. Federal inspectors have repeatedly found methane escaping from Republic landfills at levels above federal limits. The company has refrained from adopting the ambitious emissions-reduction goal embraced by its main competitor... "It seems very likely that Bill Gates has the power to influence Republic's behavior to make it more climate-friendly, even if that costs the company profits," said Ann Lipton, a legal scholar who studies corporate governance at the University of Colorado, Boulder... Gates didn't respond to repeated requests to discuss his landfill investments, and ProPublica couldn't find any public comments he's made about them. But the bet has proven wildly lucrative. Since November 1999, when he emerged as the owner of 5% of Republic's shares — "It's 'Garbage In' for Gates," the New York Post headline read — the company's stock price has soared thirtyfold. And Gates has personally received $2.6 billion in dividends, a ProPublica analysis of securities filings shows... A rare clue to why Gates made his foray into landfills can be found in an interview he gave to Fortune [in 1999]... To fund his plan to give away virtually his entire fortune, he said he'd given his personal money manager, Michael Larson, a simple remit: Sell Microsoft shares, buy safe, boring assets... After that initial investment, Larson progressively increased Gates' stake in Republic over the years that followed. [On behalf of the Gates Foundation] Larson would also acquire a small chunk of Republic's main competitor, Waste Management. Methane emissions weren't a major focus of climate activism until years laterThe gas can trap 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide in the near term, and it's responsible for one-third of the global warming we experience today, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. But it also breaks down much more quickly, turning into CO2 and water vapor in about a decade — which means that cutting methane emissions now would reduce that warming within our lifetimes. This is especially urgent, scientists say, as the climate approaches tipping points that could doom rainforests, coral reefs and ice sheets.
 
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- Rust Leaves Top 10 in TIOBE Index, Making Room for Go
"In November's edition of the TIOBE Index, Rust has dropped out of Top 10," writes I-Programmer, noting that Rust ceded the #10 position to Go. "At the same time, another Google-originated language, Dart, has entered the top 20 ousting Julia after only one month."TIOBE explains Dart's popularity is mainly being driven by Flutter, Google's framework for building cross-platform mobile applications. In fact, Flutter has become one of the major technologies for cross-platform mobile app development. The Dart language itself is not particularly unique, although it incorporates many modern programming language features. Its success is largely driven by the strength of the Flutter ecosystem and the convenience of developing applications for multiple platforms using a single codebase... [In November's ranking] Visual Basic has also lost two places, making room for R and SQL in the Top 10. Further down the ranking, Assembly has re-entered the Top 20. So TIOBE ranks the top 10 languages in November as Python, C, Java, C++, C#, JavaScript, R, SQL, Visual Basic, and Go. But I-Programmer points out that "At the top of the table, Java is back in the top 3, after over three years in 4th position," pushing C++ down to #4. Are some changes more significant than others?If you think of the ratings as shares of a pie divided into 100 pieces, there is one huge slice — Python, accounting for a over a fifth of the pie, then comes C with a slice slightly less than half of Python's. Java and C++ then have smaller slices... and C#'s share is around half of their average size. Over half the pie has now been shared between just five languages... — Next 5 (#6-10): 10.17% (JavaScript, R, SQL, Visual Basic, Go) — Next 10 (#11-20): 11.12% (Rust, PHP, Fortran, Scratch, Perl, MATLAB, Assembly, Swift, Delphi, Dart) — Next 30 (#21-50): 12.81% — Final 50 (#51-100): 12.93% [So in this month's chart...] Java has overtaken C++, but as you can see from this month's Top 10 chart they are in lock step and the difference between them is insignificant. More obvious is that Python is way ahead of all the competition and that C has an edge over Java and C++. For more discussion of this see TIOBE — Two To Rule Them All in which Mike James argued that this: confirms the standard model of programming - code is written in Python and C and everything else is just noise. Back in July we reported Rust Enters TIOBE Top 10. After four months in #10 Rust is now back at #11, which is still three places above its position, 14, a year ago. Given the way these rankings operate it only takes a very small month-on-month change for a language to lose its position and even, as has happened here it can gain in terms of its percentage ranking while still moving down. So Rust with 1.63% in November is now in #11 when it had been in #10 with 1.44%.
 
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- How Will AI Affect Open Source Development?
This week the Linux Foundation's Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) announced it would broaden its AI security resources, including a new guide to finding and fixing vulnerabilities using AI, "from preparing and sandboxing AI to validating, fixing, and preventing issues." The guide "stresses that AI-generated patches should never be trusted without automated tests and human review. An online course (LFD126) is planned for the coming months." OpenSSF also released the State of AI Impact on Software Security and Cybersecurity 2026 report (supported by OpenSSF, ActiveState and the Linux Foundation AI & Data Foundation). And it turns out the 2026 report "found a growing gap between the pace of AI-driven software development and organizations' ability to secure the code being produced." 58% of surveyed teams ship code faster than security reviews can keep up, while 60% say AI coding assistants have increased the number of external packages in their codebases. This data underscores the importance of trusted, reliable guidance as AI deployment continues to grow. Meanwhile the Linux Foundation announced at this week's Web Summit that it was releasing a new study on "how commercial open source companies generate revenue, convert users into customers and build their businesses," emphasizing the question's new relevance in the age of AI. "AI now writes code almost for free, and that raises a hard question for the whole software industry: if code costs next to nothing, where does the value of software lie?"Commercial open source [COSS] companies have been answering that question for more than 30 years. They have built large businesses on code they give away, which makes them a good guide to how software will make money in the age of AI... Seventy-two percent of respondents report a net positive impact from AI, against 8% negative. So far, the gains show up mostly inside companies. Internal productivity is the most cited benefit (73%), ahead of market expansion (46%) and new monetization opportunities (39%). AI roles are the only hiring category growing on net. COSS strategy is mostly unchanged by AI. But when companies do adapt, they are nearly twice as likely to open more of their core product rather than become more closed. When asked what sets them apart, 57% of companies name brand recognition and trust, well ahead of enterprise features, integrations and community size. They turn that trust into revenue through support and services (63%), managed cloud (49%) and open core (43%). Most combine these: 65% run two or more revenue models. Companies stack models as they grow, rather than switching between them: managed cloud rises from 35% of companies below $5 million ARR to 66% above $20 million. Venture-backed companies lean toward open core (53% vs. 38% for others). The report draws on a survey of 225 commercial open source founders and enterprise leaders (published by Linux Foundation Research in partnership with Serena, and with sponsorship from AWS, Red Hat, Futurewei and the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. And when it comes to open source, "over half of founders point to brand recognition and community trust as their greatest asset," said Chris Aniszczyk, CTO of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. So"The findings from this year's report prove that AI isn't a threat to commercial open source software — it's an accelerating tailwind. With 72% of companies viewing AI as a net positive primarily driving internal productivity, the ecosystem is leaning further into collaboration." The Linux Foundation's announcement includes an interesting perspective from Matthieu Lavergne, partner at the venture capital company Serena. "Open source won the developer. Next, it will win the agent. The 225 founders we surveyed mostly see AI as a productivity gain today, but that's only the start: agents are set to become open source's largest users, and they choose what is open, proven and trusted. The founders who build and price for these new users will define the infrastructure of the AI era."
 
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- Italy Fines Meta €805m Over Accessing Android Users' Photos with Facebook App
The Associated Press reports:Italy announced an €805 million ($887 million) fine against Meta on Saturday for using photos and videos from Android users' galleries on Facebook without specific consent or adequate disclosure...Investigators found that the feature was enabled by default and that Facebook requested gallery access through a single permission covering multiple app functions with different purposes. The authority gave Meta 60 days to disable the feature and seek separate consent for its use. Italy has about 20 million Android users, notes the BBC, and this fine "is among the largest an Italian authority has ever imposed on a tech giant."The charge is related to a feature which suggests photos and videos from a user's phone gallery as ideas for posts... According to the Italian regulator, a preceding [authorization] notice did not make clear that this would also allow Facebook to generate suggestions based on photos in their gallery. The regulator said it took into account "the high number of people affected" and the fact it is "still ongoing for those who have not updated the app and for those who have already given their consent to the system". It also cited "Meta's lack of co-operation". "A Meta spokesperson told the BBC that it planned to appeal..."
 
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- Did Alice Huang's Megaspeed Bypass America's Controls on Exporting Nvidia Chip to China?
In three years "Megaspeed International" went from from inactive Chinese gaming subsidiary "to one of Asia's biggest buyers of cutting-edge semiconductors from the US," reports CNN. "It is incredibly hard to look at this and not see a Chinese state-sponsored network for bypassing US export control networks," trade data investigator William George told CNN. As Nvidia's Jensen Huang had an affair with Megaspeed executive Alice Huang, "Megaspeed quietly instilled billions of dollars of Nvidia chips in data centers across Southeast Asia," CNN writes, noting scrutiny of the company from the Singapore government and US officials "concerned that the company was passing those chips on to unauthorized Chinese buyers..."In 2022, the US began restricting sales of semiconductors to China, including Nvidia's most advanced. While the controls were meant to curb China's tech industry, they also spawned opportunities for intermediaries willing to help circumvent them. US officials believe Megaspeed may be one of those... [T]rade records show Megaspeed has purchased more than $4 billion in chips and equipment from Nvidia... Based on indictments and investigative reports, research institute Epoch AI estimates that anywhere between 290,000 to 1.6 million advanced US semiconductors were sent to China in violation of export controls last year... Singapore also initiated investigations into Megaspeed and its controllers, including Alice Huang, for potential false declarations relating to the company's server purchases and their final destinations. In a statement, Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs said there was insufficient evidence that Huang had committed any related offenses, but she had been barred from re-entering the country after providing inaccurate information "to downplay her role" at Megaspeed. The other investigations are ongoing. The exact scale of Chinese chip smuggling is impossible to quantify. However, its existence has become something of an open secret in the industry, as well as an indication that US efforts to keep adversaries from securing high-stakes technology still have fundamental flaws. A May report from the short seller Culper Research claimed that despite tightening trade restrictions, Chinese end-users still account for about 20% of Nvidia chip sales via illegal diversion and intermediaries in Southeast Asia. CNN reminds readers that Jensen Huang accompanied US President Trump to events with Chinese leader Xi Jinping twice this year, and also lobbied for the US to relax controls on Chinese chip imports. "The US government ultimately approved several buyers for less-advanced Nvidia chips, known as H200, while collecting a quarter of the revenue." "However, blacklisted companies have continued to obtain sensitive semiconductors as well," they add. And the Taiwanese government is even seeking to criminalize unauthorized exports of advanced AI chips to China, "as prosecutors there charged nine people in a scheme to sneak Nvidia chips into China through Japan, Indonesia and Hong Kong."
 
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- 50th Anniversary of 'Star Wars' Celebrated with iMax 70mm Re-Release, Special Events, New Movie
"Lucasfilm and Disney have restored the original Star Wars (1977) and will release the film in multiple formats, including Imax 70mm [starting February 19], as part of the franchise's 50th anniversary celebrations," reports Deadline. The original film will also be displayed in its original 16:9 format on the center of Cosm's 12K+ LED Dome, in a special presentation developed with Disney, Lucasfilm, ILM, and MakeMake. They're calling it a "Shared Reality production" where "the surrounding visual environments dynamically evolve to immerse the audience in iconic Star Wars locations and moments." Deadline reports more 50th anniversary celebrationsIn addition to the Imax 70mm screenings, the film will also be presented in Digital Imax, Digital Cinema, 70mm, 35mm, and 4DX. On May 4th, 2027, Lucasfilm will release a new behind-the-scenes documentary, The Hero Awakens, from filmmaker R.J. Cutler on Disney+. Star Wars events already on the calendar for 2027 include Shawn Levy's [movie] Star Wars: Starfighter, which will be released May 28. There's also a new poster paying homage to the original 1977 film, reports the Disney news site Mickey Visit, plus a newly orchestrated score by John Williams that they assume "will be used on all the projects that debut this year."On April 2-3, [Disney] will debut the new "Star Wars in Concert: The Skywalker Saga" at the Hollywood Bowl. The show will be hosted by Anthony Daniels, known for his role as C-3PO. Special performances of John Williams' iconic film scores will feature scenes and music from all nine Skywalker Saga films. The concert is a sweeping celebration of the stories, themes, and music that have inspired audiences around the world for five decades... They also teased that new and legacy licensees — including Hasbro, the LEGO Group, adidas, Mars, Aston Martin, Steinway, Hajime Sorayama presented by Complex, and more — will introduce 50th-anniversary collections... In the opening of the press release, Disney mentioned that as part of the announcements there will be "reimagined Disney Parks and Cruise Line offerings." The article adds that the April's Star Wars Celebration at the Los Angeles Convention Center has already sold out. There's more Star Wars news, writes long-time Slashdot reader schwit1A light saber used by Darth Vader in the "Star Wars" movies The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi sold Thursday for nearly $5 million in an auction. The light saber, which was used in the climactic duel in Cloud City in which Vader tells Luke Skywalker "I am your father" sold for $4.875 million at the Ultimate Star Wars Auction held by Heritage Auctions. The sale marks a world auction record for any "Star Wars" collectible, according to the auction house. The previous record was Heritage's $3,750,000 sale of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber and severed hand effects rig on July 15, 2026. And they're still auctioning more Star Wars memorabilia...
 
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- Bitcoin Plummets 24% in 46 Days as Crypto Falls on Rising Inflation
October 3: $84,680Today: $64,108 Bitcoin dropped 24.2% in 46 days. And it "fell more than 4% on Friday to $68,500," reports Fortune, "wiping out gains built over the past three months and casting doubt on whether its bear market was ever really over."The asset also faces weaker investor appetite, according to crypto analytics provider CryptoQuant. The firm's demand indicator recorded its weakest reading since December 2023, while Bitcoin exchange-traded funds became net sellers again. The recent downturn has also extended to other parts of the crypto market. That includes Tether's USDT, the largest cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar, whose total value shrank by $7.7 billion over the past two months, according to CryptoQuant, a sign that less cash is available in crypto markets. This time around, inflation has been the main culprit. Tuesday's Consumer Price Index report showed prices rose 0.4% in October, more than economists expected. Even stripping out food and energy, inflation ran hotter than forecast. Traders now overwhelmingly expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by a quarter percentage point in December, with some betting on an even bigger increase. "Because these are non-yielding assets, and we expect inflation to rise... people are chucking stuff like gold and Bitcoin to find... government bonds that are going up, providing you [with] income," Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at financial technology company IG Group, told Fortune... Heavy borrowing and spending on AI have created what 21Shares calls an "AI black hole," drawing money toward the sector and away from assets like Bitcoin and gold. But Bitcoin remains "joined at the hip" with tech stocks, according to Beauchamp. That leaves it in an awkward position: It faces competition for investment dollars when enthusiasm for AI runs high, yet can get dragged down when that enthusiasm fades. Fast Company points out Bitcoin "remains down more than 20% since the beginning of 2026."[Nvidia] has seen its shares lose more than 27% of their value over the past month. The tech sell-off seems to have dragged down the crypto markets, too, as the two sectors are, on some levels, intermingled... On top of that, outflows from Bitcoin funds may also be contributing to the slide. More than $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions were closed in recent days, which may have added to declining demand, affecting BTC prices.
 
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- America Officially Loses Its Measles-elimination Status After Continued Spread of the Disease
Reuters reports:The Pan American Health Organization has revoked the United States' measles-elimination status, ending a 26-year run after determining the country failed to halt continuous transmission of the highly contagious virus for more than a year, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday... The reported decision by the Americas branch of the World Health Organization comes as the US battles the highest number of measles cases it has seen in more than three decades. Some 7,500 people in the US have been infected with measles and 13 have died since 2025. That period coincides with falling immunization rates and rising vaccine hesitancy under US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has for years spread doubts, without scientific evidence, about the safety of measles vaccines...Canada, Spain and the UK recently lost measles-elimination status after review by WHO experts.... "It is a fully preventable disease. It is unconscionable that we have this amount of measles," said Noel Brewer, a public health professor at the University of North Carolina... William Moss, an epidemiology professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said loss of measles elimination was a hit to the United States' reputation as a public health powerhouse... For the average American, he added, it means that the United States will continue to have large outbreaks, putting people at risk of disease, hospitalization and death.
 
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- From DHCP to SZTP – The Trust Revolution
By Juha Holkkola, FusionLayer Group The Dawn of Effortless Connectivity In the transformative years of the late 1990s, a quiet revolution took place, fundamentally altering how we connect to networks. The introduction of DHCP answered a crucial question, Where are you on the network?!, by automating IP address assignment. This innovation eradicated the manual configuration [0]
The post From DHCP to SZTP – The Trust Revolution appeared first on Linux.com.

- IBM Talks Up Their New Ability For Handling ARM64 Guest VMs on s390 Hardware
One of the biggest surprises this year was IBM collaborating with Arm for "dual architecture" hardware. In addition to the IBM s390 hardware side, this "dual architecture" support for running ARM64 instructions on s390 also requires Linux KVM virtualization support with patches we've seen the past number of months and initial code merged for Linux 7.4...
- AMD ARG "AMD Root Guest" Linux Patches Coming In 2027
A new feature of EPYC 9006 "Venice" server processors that isn't yet brought up in the public Linux software support is AMD Root Guest (ARG). The initial patches are expected in Q1'2027 for further enhancing the AMD SEV-SNP confidential computing experience...
- Red Hat Working To Improve Memory Tiering For QEMU VMs To Save RAM
Red Hat engineers are working through a few possible approaches to enhance memory tiering for QEMU-based virtual machines to help in conserving memory. Ultimately they are after leveraging NVMe SSDs in more scenarios for QEMU VMs to save on RAM usage given today's sky high memory pricing...

- Creating a self-booting ZIP archive
Linux initramfs supports unpacking CPIO, a stupid, simple, standardized format. In the discussion on whether to support TAR instead, much emphasize has been put on the fact that CPIO is standardized and less fragmented. Luckily, Linux (the kernel) includes its own tool to produce the specific variant of the standard that it happens to implement. The standard CPIO tool is possibly the most cursed archiver under the SUN. In the old DOS/WinDOS world, ZIP was probably the most widespread and well-known archive format, being displaced to some extent by the rise of RAR during the 2000s. Because of the design of the format, ZIP lends itself to all kinds of polyglot trickery. Way back when, self extracting ZIP archives where a thing, EXE/ZIP polyglots that can be run and unpack themselves, which is useful if you dont have an archiver installed. I dont think I need to explain where I am going with this. ↫ David Oberhollenzer This is lovingly cursed.
- MenuetOS keeps steadily improving
MenuetOS, the operating system written in x86-64 assembly, has seen a few new releases since we last looked at it, delivering some welcome improvements. Secure network connections are now faster, theres a TrueType font demo, and, of course, the usual bugfixes and smaller improvements. The game Wizord EXL100 has been ported, and a few drivers have been improved as well. You can get the latest releases from the downloads page.
- ReactOS makes strides in SMP, 64bit, and more
The ReactOS project organised two hackfests this year, and the work done during those in-person sessions, combined with the ongoing regular progress, has led to some pretty significant breakthroughs and progress. More NT6+ syscalls have been added, ReactOS supports floppy disks now, NTFS support has been vastly improved, and much more. Theres also a new USB3/4 stack, which is now merged and offers basic support for these versions of USB. One of the biggest additions is a new kernel shim engine which gives ReactOS the ability to work around buggy drivers and implement quirks, moreso than even Windows itself can. For instance, thanks to this new shim, XP-era NVIDIA drivers can run on NT6 ReactOS. The ongoing efforts to implement SMP are yielding results too: ReactOS can now run with SMP for days on end while doing tasks in the background, which is quite promising. The team is showing off Steam and the game Among Us running on ReactOS, which is definitely impressive.
- Polo: a new Wayland compositor for MATE
MATE is probably the last X11-only holdout among the major desktop environments, but thats about to change if Kerem Söke has anything to say about it. Polo is a port of Marcos behavior and window management policies to Wayland, built on libweston and written in Vala and C. Its a window manager, compositor, and session authority for the MATE Wayland desktop. It takes over, step by step, what Marco, mate-session-manager and the compositor-facing parts of mate-settings-daemon do on X11. ↫ Polos GitHub page Söke is looking for testers with this very first Polo 1.0.0 release cute name, too which is available on its GitHub page.
- IBM to offer access to a dual-processor quantum system in 2027
Ars Technica published a short write-up about changes to IBMs quantum computing plans. The changes greatly expand the scope of its next-generation Nighthawk general-use processors by adding a version with over 500 programmable qubits. At the same time, it’s stepping back a bit on its plan to link multiple Nighthawk processors together, dropping the intended number of linked systems from nine to two. The total number of qubits planned for next year will remain the same; how the company is getting there, however, will be different. Meanwhile, the company is touting the performance boost achieved via a major change that was made in the generation of Nighthawk processors released in September: hardware-based qubit resets. ↫ John Timmer at Ars Technica Im convinced quantum computing will eventually have a big impact in the areas its characteristics are presumed to be well-suited for. Also, it just looks and sounds incredibly cool, even if as the technology currently stands its not particularly useful yet.
- Im not descending into madness because mount and unmount icons make no sense
There are many problems in this world some big, some small, some so minute nobody ought to put them to paper at all. The problem Im going to highlight here is even smaller than that. This literally the actual literally does not matter and absolutely nobody should care about it, let alone put any work into changing it or addressing it some other way. I want to talk about the iconography GNOMEs Disks utility uses to symbolise mount! and unmount!. No, Im not descending into madness. GNOMEs Disks utility uses the play! symbol on the mount button, and the stop! symbol on the unmount button. Inexplicably, considering the state of the world in general and the rapidly deteriorating quality of software specifically, this bothers me. Out in the real world, built on decades of consistent use, these symbols have gained clearly defined meanings, and mounting and unmounting disks definitely isnt one of them. In fact, the meaning of these symbols isnt mere convention; theyre defined in a variety of international standards for symbols for use in software and on equipment, such as ISO/IEC 18035 (which you need to buy to read; my copy fell of a truck): ISO/IEC 18035:2002 defines a consistent set of icons and related functions that are represented by multimedia applications on a computer screen and that users interact with to control such applications. It describes controls applying to such functions as: Play, Pause, Stop, Rewind, Scan forward, Scan backward, Replay backward, Loop, Go to beginning, Go to previous, Go to next, Go to end, Set volume and Mute. ↫ ISO/IEC 18035:2003 Theyre also part of ISO 7000/IEC 60417, a much larger, more encompassing standard that also contains things like the various symbols used on laundry machines, tumble dryers, in cars, and so on. The symbols themselves are much older than the standards, of course, with many of them dating back to the 1960s and possibly even 1950s. The point remains, though: the play and stop symbols have clearly defined meanings, and I dont think they are at all a good fit for mount and unmount. The function of the play! symbol according to ISO/IEC 18035: To enable the user to start the presentation of dynamic media, except where the task requires automatic playing of that media. ↫ ISO/IEC 18035:2003 And of the stop! symbol: To enable the user to stop the presentation of dynamic media. ↫ ISO/IEC 18035:2003 Neither of these descriptions match what mounting and unmounting mean or do. Mounting a drive or partition doesnt present any media at all; it merely makes the drive or partition in question accessible. Unmounting also doesnt eject anything; it merely makes the drive or partition inaccessible. I would argue that play and pause act upon contents of a drive or volume, and not upon the drive or volume itself. As it stands right now, you play! a drive! to play! a video stored on said drive. Madness. I already know what youre thinking, and yes, I agree that the Disks utility is a tool aimed at more advanced use cases and users, and most normal, average users will never even know it exists, let alone open it at all. Very few people get to see these symbols, and those that do already know full well what mounting and unmounting mean, reducing the importance of said symbols considerably. But now its time for the big surprise, the twist in the story that turns this entire thing on its head. Files, GNOMEs file manager, uses an entirely different symbol for unmounting! Instead of the stop! symbol, Files uses the eject! symbol. You may think this is a more accurate visual representation of what unmounting means, but I strongly disagree. Lets turn to ISO/IEC 18035:2003 once again: To enable the user to eject the current physical media from the appropriate drive. ↫ ISO/IEC 18035:2003 Unmounting doesnt eject anything! If you unmount a USB stick, the stick doesnt get fired out of the USB port. If you unmount a volume, it doesnt get removed from the SSD. Hell, if you unmount a CD-ROM, it doesnt even eject it! Ejecting a CD-ROM opening the drives tray or spitting the CD-ROM out of a slot-loader is an entirely different act! Are we really ejecting! a CD-ROM twice? Are we mounting! a CD-ROM when we merely close the tray? No! Madness! The real underlying problem here is, of course, that mounting and unmounting are deeply weird and confusing concepts, bordering on the esoteric, that simply do not have physical equivalents to fall back on. Using symbols and iconography designed in the 1960s explicitly for playing music or stopping a video or ejecting a cassette tape are not a good fit for something as difficult to explain to most people as mounting and unmounting. Its like putting an eject symbol on a cars door handle or a play symbol on a soap dispenser. Should GNOME developers waste any time or resources to address this? No, of course not, that would be stupid. Nobody should care about this but me. I should suffer in silence, every time I need to mount or unmount something, forced to look for an eject or stop symbol in whatever user interface I happen to be using. Every time, I should die a little inside. Please, dont be like me and waste precious resources thinking about this. Im not descending into madness. I just want mount and unmount symbols that make sense. Im not descending into madness.
- Haiku gets multifinger touchpad taps
Were almost halfway through November, but we hadnt seen Haikus monthly activity report for October yet. Its here now, and theres quite a few good things in here, like support for two and three-finger tap gestures on touchpads for right and middle-click, a new driver that adds Universal Flash Storage support, and even some build fixes for Haikus SPARC port as well as some fixes on the RISC-V side. Of course, thats just a selection, as theres the usual long list of smaller changes, bugfixes, and improvements as well.
- Microsoft releases .NET 11
Today, we’re excited to announce the release of .NET 11! This year’s release makes building modern applications faster, more productive, and has improvements across C# 15, ASP.NET Core, .NET MAUI, and Windows development. With hundreds of runtime optimizations, more responsive SDK tooling, and less overhead in everyday commands, you can spend less time waiting and more time creating. Build richer web and cross-platform applications, take advantage of new C# language features, and explore AI-powered development with improved tools and agentic capabilities. ↫ .NET Team Im not going to pretend to care about .NET, but I know many of you have to care on a professional level, because .NET is remarkably popular in places where the spotlights dont often shine.
- What if any process could handle SIGKILL?
An interesting question, and a detailed technical rundown of how to make this happen, which involved building a custom Linux kernel, of course. I really, really enjoy the conclusion. And you know? It turned out fine. Nothing exploded on my system. As I could predict, because this was otherwise impossible, nobody did it. The signal system was setup in such a way that you would most likely realize something you were doing was wrong, and not try it. To pull back further, it is interesting to notice how the rules we all take for granted are just set somewhere in code. They were written by someone, at some point. If there is code restricting you from doing something, someone wrote it. Either they did not think anyone would want to do that thing, or they specifically prevented you from doing it. Those rules are written somewhere, and you can take it in your paws to go sniff around the code, pull out the relevant parts, and hack around the things that bother you. For fun, learning, or convenience. Snoop around. Sniff code. Put your paws in it. Hack shit. ↫ lux at VulpineCitrus Even if theres no real reason to do, even if its just to satiate an odd and possibly slightly morbid sense of curiosity, fuck with code.
- OpenIndiana Hipster 2026.10 released
OpenIndiana is a rolling-release illumos distribution, but they do release snapshots twice a year to serve as a base for installations, which they call Hipster. The projects just released OpenIndiana Hipster 2026.10, and it brings a number of welcome changes. First, theres UEFI framebuffer support on the live image, which is automatically configured when loading up the image. Second, Firefox and Thunderbird versions have been bumped to 159.0, and a whole slew of development tools have been updated to newer versions as well. This snapshot also brings QEMU 11.1.2 and VirtualBox 7.2.22, and a number of new applications have been added as well. In addition, SPARC build support has been improved to enable new and updated packages for Suns dead ISA as well. You can download a fresh image, or update an existing installation through IPS.

- EU OS: A Bold Step Toward Digital Sovereignty for Europe
Image A new initiative, called "EU OS," has been launched to develop a Linux-based operating system tailored specifically for the public sector organizations of the European Union (EU). This community-driven project aims to address the EU's unique needs and challenges, focusing on fostering digital sovereignty, reducing dependency on external vendors, and building a secure, self-sufficient digital ecosystem. What Is EU OS? EU OS is not an entirely novel operating system. Instead, it builds upon a Linux foundation derived from Fedora, with the KDE Plasma desktop environment. It draws inspiration from previous efforts such as France's GendBuntu and Munich's LiMux, which aimed to provide Linux-based systems for public sector use. The goal remains the same: to create a standardized Linux distribution that can be adapted to different regional, national, and sector-specific needs within the EU.
Rather than reinventing the wheel, EU OS focuses on standardization, offering a solid Linux foundation that can be customized according to the unique requirements of various organizations. This approach makes EU OS a practical choice for the public sector, ensuring broad compatibility and ease of implementation across diverse environments. The Vision Behind EU OS The guiding principle of EU OS is the concept of "public money – public code," ensuring that taxpayer money is used transparently and effectively. By adopting an open-source model, EU OS eliminates licensing fees, which not only lowers costs but also reduces the dependency on a select group of software vendors. This provides the EU’s public sector organizations with greater flexibility and control over their IT infrastructure, free from the constraints of vendor lock-in.
Additionally, EU OS offers flexibility in terms of software migration and hardware upgrades. Organizations can adapt to new technologies and manage their IT evolution at a manageable cost, both in terms of finances and time.
However, there are some concerns about the choice of Fedora as the base for EU OS. While Fedora is a solid and reliable distribution, it is backed by the United States-based Red Hat. Some argue that using European-backed projects such as openSUSE or KDE's upcoming distribution might have aligned better with the EU's goal of strengthening digital sovereignty. Conclusion EU OS marks a significant step towards Europe's digital independence by providing a robust, standardized Linux distribution for the public sector. By reducing reliance on proprietary software and vendors, it paves the way for a more flexible, cost-effective, and secure digital ecosystem. While the choice of Fedora as the base for the project has raised some questions, the overall vision of EU OS offers a promising future for Europe's public sector in the digital age.
Source: It's FOSS European Union
- Linus Torvalds Acknowledges Missed Release of Linux 6.14 Due to Oversight
Linus Torvalds Acknowledges Missed Release of Linux 6.14 Due to Oversight
Linux kernel lead developer Linus Torvalds has admitted to forgetting to release version 6.14, attributing the oversight to his own lapse in memory. Torvalds is known for releasing new Linux kernel candidates and final versions on Sunday afternoons, typically accompanied by a post detailing the release. If he is unavailable due to travel or other commitments, he usually informs the community ahead of time, so users don’t worry if there’s a delay.
In his post on March 16, Torvalds gave no indication that the release might be delayed, instead stating, “I expect to release the final 6.14 next weekend unless something very surprising happens.” However, Sunday, March 23rd passed without any announcement.
On March 24th, Torvalds wrote in a follow-up message, “I’d love to have some good excuse for why I didn’t do the 6.14 release yesterday on my regular Sunday afternoon schedule,” adding, “But no. It’s just pure incompetence.” He further explained that while he had been clearing up unrelated tasks, he simply forgot to finalize the release. “D'oh,” he joked.
Despite this minor delay, Torvalds’ track record of successfully managing the Linux kernel’s development process over the years remains strong. A single day’s delay is not critical, especially since most Linux users don't urgently need the very latest version.
The new 6.14 release introduces several important features, including enhanced support for writing drivers in Rust—an ongoing topic of discussion among developers—support for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile chip, a fix for the GhostWrite vulnerability in certain RISC-V processors from Alibaba’s T-Head Semiconductor, and a completed NTSYNC driver update that improves the WINE emulator’s ability to run Windows applications, particularly games, on Linux.
Although the 6.14 release went smoothly aside from the delay, Torvalds expressed that version 6.15 may present more challenges due to the volume of pending pull requests. “Judging by my pending pile of pull requests, 6.15 will be much busier,” he noted.
You can download the latest kernel here. Linus Torvalds kernel
- AerynOS 2025.03 Alpha Released with GNOME 48, Mesa 25, and Linux Kernel 6.13.8
Image AerynOS 2025.03 has officially been released, introducing a variety of exciting features for Linux users. The release includes the highly anticipated GNOME 48 desktop environment, which comes with significant improvements like HDR support, dynamic triple buffering, and a Wayland color management protocol. Other updates include a battery charge limiting feature and a Wellbeing option aimed at improving user experience.
This release, while still in alpha, incorporates Linux kernel 6.13.8 and the updated Mesa 25.0.2 graphics stack, alongside tools like LLVM 19.1.7 and Vulkan SDK 1.4.309.0. Additionally, the Moss package manager now integrates os-info to generate more detailed OS metadata via a JSON file.
Future plans for AerynOS include automated package updates, easier rollback management, improved disk handling with Rust, and fractional scaling enabled by default. The installer has also been revamped to support full disk wipes and dynamic partitioning.
Although still considered an alpha release, AerynOS 2025.03 can be downloaded and tested right now from its official website.
Source: 9to5Linux AerynOS
- Xojo 2025r1: Big Updates for Developers with Linux ARM Support, Web Drag and Drop, and Direct App Store Publishing
Image Xojo has just rolled out its latest release, Xojo 2025 Release 1, and it’s packed with features that developers have been eagerly waiting for. This major update introduces support for running Xojo on Linux ARM, including Raspberry Pi, brings drag-and-drop functionality to the Web framework, and simplifies app deployment with the ability to directly submit apps to the macOS and iOS App Stores.
Here’s a quick overview of what’s new in Xojo 2025r1: 1. Linux ARM IDE Support Xojo 2025r1 now allows developers to run the Xojo IDE on Linux ARM devices, including popular platforms like Raspberry Pi. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities for developers who want to create apps for ARM-based devices without the usual complexity. Whether you’re building for a Raspberry Pi or other ARM devices, this update makes it easier than ever to get started. 2. Web Drag and Drop One of the standout features in this release is the addition of drag-and-drop support for web applications. Now, developers can easily drag and drop visual controls in their web projects, making it simpler to create interactive, user-friendly web applications. Plus, the WebListBox has been enhanced with support for editable cells, checkboxes, and row reordering via dragging. No JavaScript required! 3. Direct App Store Publishing Xojo has also streamlined the process of publishing apps. With this update, developers can now directly submit macOS and iOS apps to App Store Connect right from the Xojo IDE. This eliminates the need for multiple steps and makes it much easier to get apps into the App Store, saving valuable time during the development process. 4. New Desktop and Mobile Features This release isn’t just about web and Linux updates. Xojo 2025r1 brings some great improvements for desktop and mobile apps as well. On the desktop side, all projects now include a default window menu for macOS apps. On the mobile side, Xojo has introduced new features for Android and iOS, including support for ColorGroup and Dark Mode on Android, and a new MobileColorPicker for iOS to simplify color selection. 5. Performance and IDE Enhancements Xojo’s IDE has also been improved in several key areas. There’s now an option to hide toolbar captions, and the toolbar has been made smaller on Windows. The IDE on Windows and Linux now features modern Bootstrap icons, and the Documentation window toolbar is more compact. In the code editor, developers can now quickly navigate to variable declarations with a simple Cmd/Ctrl + Double-click. Plus, performance for complex container layouts in the Layout Editor has been enhanced. What Does This Mean for Developers? Xojo 2025r1 brings significant improvements across all the platforms that Xojo supports, from desktop and mobile to web and Linux. The added Linux ARM support opens up new opportunities for Raspberry Pi and ARM-based device development, while the drag-and-drop functionality for web projects will make it easier to create modern, interactive web apps. The ability to publish directly to the App Store is a game-changer for macOS and iOS developers, reducing the friction of app distribution. How to Get Started Xojo is free for learning and development, as well as for building apps for Linux and Raspberry Pi. If you’re ready to dive into cross-platform development, paid licenses start at $99 for a single-platform desktop license, and $399 for cross-platform desktop, mobile, or web development. For professional developers who need additional resources and support, Xojo Pro and Pro Plus licenses start at $799. You can also find special pricing for educators and students.
Download Xojo 2025r1 today at xojo.com. Final Thoughts With each new release, Xojo continues to make cross-platform development more accessible and efficient. The 2025r1 release is no exception, delivering key updates that simplify the development process and open up new possibilities for developers working on a variety of platforms. Whether you’re a Raspberry Pi enthusiast or a mobile app developer, Xojo 2025r1 has something for you. Xojo ARM
- New 'Mirrored' Network Mode Introduced in Windows Subsystem for Linux
Microsoft's Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) continues to evolve with the release of WSL 2 version 0.0.2. This update introduces a set of opt-in preview features designed to enhance performance and compatibility.
Key additions include "Automatic memory reclaim" which dynamically optimizes WSL's memory footprint, and "Sparse VHD" to shrink the size of the virtual hard disk file. These improvements aim to streamline resource usage.
Additionally, a new "mirrored networking mode" brings expanded networking capabilities like IPv6 and multicast support. Microsoft claims this will improve VPN and LAN connectivity from both the Windows host and Linux guest.
Complementing this is a new "DNS Tunneling" feature that changes how DNS queries are resolved to avoid compatibility issues with certain network setups. According to Microsoft, this should reduce problems connecting to the internet or local network resources within WSL.
Advanced firewall configuration options are also now available through Hyper-V integration. The new "autoProxy" feature ensures WSL seamlessly utilizes the Windows system proxy configuration.
Microsoft states these features are currently rolling out to Windows Insiders running Windows 11 22H2 Build 22621.2359 or later. They remain opt-in previews to allow testing before final integration into WSL.
By expanding WSL 2 with compelling new capabilities in areas like resource efficiency, networking, and security, Microsoft aims to make Linux on Windows more performant and compatible. This evolutionary approach based on user feedback highlights Microsoft's commitment to WSL as a key part of the Windows ecosystem. Windows
- Linux Threat Report: Earth Lusca Deploys Novel SprySOCKS Backdoor in Attacks on Government Entities
The threat actor Earth Lusca, linked to Chinese state-sponsored hacking groups, has been observed utilizing a new Linux backdoor dubbed SprySOCKS to target government organizations globally.
As initially reported in January 2022 by Trend Micro, Earth Lusca has been active since at least 2021 conducting cyber espionage campaigns against public and private sector targets in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. Their tactics include spear-phishing and watering hole attacks to gain initial access. Some of Earth Lusca's activities overlap with another Chinese threat cluster known as RedHotel.
In new research, Trend Micro reveals Earth Lusca remains highly active, even expanding operations in the first half of 2023. Primary victims are government departments focused on foreign affairs, technology, and telecommunications. Attacks concentrate in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and the Balkans regions.
After breaching internet-facing systems by exploiting flaws in Fortinet, GitLab, Microsoft Exchange, Telerik UI, and Zimbra software, Earth Lusca uses web shells and Cobalt Strike to move laterally. Their goal is exfiltrating documents and credentials, while also installing additional backdoors like ShadowPad and Winnti for long-term spying.
The Command and Control server delivering Cobalt Strike was also found hosting SprySOCKS - an advanced backdoor not previously publicly reported. With roots in the Windows malware Trochilus, SprySOCKS contains reconnaissance, remote shell, proxy, and file operation capabilities. It communicates over TCP mimicking patterns used by a Windows trojan called RedLeaves, itself built on Trochilus.
At least two SprySOCKS versions have been identified, indicating ongoing development. This novel Linux backdoor deployed by Earth Lusca highlights the increasing sophistication of Chinese state-sponsored threats. Robust patching, access controls, monitoring for unusual activities, and other proactive defenses remain essential to counter this advanced malware.
The Trend Micro researchers emphasize that organizations must minimize attack surfaces, regularly update systems, and ensure robust security hygiene to interrupt the tactics, techniques, and procedures of relentless threat groups like Earth Lusca. Security
- Linux Kernel Faces Reduction in Long-Term Support Due to Maintenance Challenges
The Linux kernel is undergoing major changes that will shape its future development and adoption, according to Jonathan Corbet, Linux kernel developer and executive editor of Linux Weekly News. Speaking at the Open Source Summit Europe, Corbet provided an update on the latest Linux kernel developments and a glimpse of what's to come.
A major change on the horizon is a reduction in long-term support (LTS) for kernel versions from six years to just two years. Corbet explained that maintaining old kernel branches indefinitely is unsustainable and most users have migrated to newer versions, so there's little point in continuing six years of support. While some may grumble about shortened support lifecycles, the reality is that constantly backporting fixes to ancient kernels strains maintainers.
This maintainer burnout poses a serious threat, as Corbet highlighted. Maintaining Linux is largely a volunteer effort, with only about 200 of the 2,000+ developers paid for their contributions. The endless demands on maintainers' time from fuzz testing, fixing minor bugs, and reviewing contributions takes a toll. Prominent maintainers have warned they need help to avoid collapse. Companies relying on Linux must realize giving back financially is in their interest to sustain this vital ecosystem.
The Linux kernel is also wading into waters new with the introduction of Rust code. While Rust solves many problems, it also introduces new complexities around language integration, evolving standards, and maintainer expertise. Corbet believes Rust will pass the point of no return when core features depend on it, which may occur soon with additions like Apple M1 GPU drivers. Despite skepticism in some corners, Rust's benefits likely outweigh any transition costs.
On the distro front, Red Hat's decision to restrict RHEL cloning sparked community backlash. While business considerations were at play, Corbet noted technical factors too. Using older kernels with backported fixes, as RHEL does, risks creating divergent, vendor-specific branches. The Android model of tracking mainline kernel dev more closely has shown security benefits. Ultimately, Linux works best when aligned with the broader community.
In closing, Corbet recalled the saying "Linux is free like a puppy is free." Using open source seems easy at first, but sustaining it long-term requires significant care and feeding. As Linux is incorporated into more critical systems, that maintenance becomes ever more crucial. The kernel changes ahead are aimed at keeping Linux healthy and vibrant for the next generation of users, businesses, and developers. kernel
- Linux Celebrates 32 Years with the Release of 6.6-rc2 Version
Today marks the 32nd anniversary of Linus Torvalds introducing the inaugural Linux 0.01 kernel version, and celebrating this milestone, Torvalds has launched the Linux 6.6-rc2. Among the noteworthy updates are the inclusion of a feature catering to the ASUS ROG Flow X16 tablet's mode handling and the renaming of the new GenPD subsystem to pmdomain.
The Linux 6.6 edition is progressing well, brimming with exciting new features that promise to enhance user experience. Early benchmarks are indicating promising results, especially on high-core-count servers, pointing to a potentially robust and efficient update in the Linux series.
Here is what Linus Torvalds had to say in today's announcement: Another week, another -rc.I think the most notable thing about 6.6-rc2 is simply that it'sexactly 32 years to the day since the 0.01 release. And that's a roundnumber if you are a computer person.Because other than the random date, I don't see anything that reallystands out here. We've got random fixes all over, and none of it looksparticularly strange. The genpd -> pmdomain rename shows up in thediffstat, but there's no actual code changes involved (make sure touse "git diff -M" to see them as zero-line renames).And other than that, things look very normal. Sure, the architecturefixes happen to be mostly parisc this week, which isn't exactly theusual pattern, but it's also not exactly a huge amount of changes.Most of the (small) changes here are in drivers, with some tracingfixes and just random things. The shortlog below is short enough toscroll through and get a taste of what's been going on. Linus Torvalds
- Introducing Bavarder: A User-Friendly Linux Desktop App for Quick ChatGPT Interaction
Want to interact with ChatGPT from your Linux desktop without using a web browser?
Bavarder, a new app, allows you to do just that.
Developed with Python and GTK4/libadwaita, Bavarder offers a simple concept: pose a question to ChatGPT, receive a response, and promptly copy the answer (or your inquiry) to the clipboard for pasting elsewhere.
With an incredibly user-friendly interface, you won't require AI expertise (or a novice blogger) to comprehend it. Type your question in the top box, click the blue send button, and wait for a generated response to appear at the bottom. You can edit or modify your message and repeat the process as needed.
During our evaluation, Bavarder employed BAI Chat, a GPT-3.5/ChatGPT API-based chatbot that's free and doesn't require signups or API keys. Future app versions will incorporate support for alternative backends, such as ChatGPT 4 and Hugging Chat, and allow users to input an API key to utilize ChatGPT3.
At present, there's no option to regenerate a response (though you can resend the same question for a potentially different answer). Due to the lack of a "conversation" view, tracking a dialogue or following up on answers can be challenging — but Bavarder excels for rapid-fire questions.
As with any AI, standard disclaimers apply. Responses might seem plausible but could contain inaccurate or false information. Additionally, it's relatively easy to lead these models into irrational loops, like convincing them that 2 + 2 equals 106 — so stay alert!
Overall, Bavarder is an attractive app with a well-defined purpose. If you enjoy ChatGPT and similar technologies, it's worth exploring. ChatGPT AI
- LibreOffice 7.5.3 Released: Third Maintenance Update Brings 119 Bug Fixes to Popular Open-Source Office Suite
Today, The Document Foundation unveiled the release and widespread availability of LibreOffice 7.5.3, which serves as the third maintenance update to the current LibreOffice 7.5 open-source and complimentary office suite series.
Approximately five weeks after the launch of LibreOffice 7.5.2, LibreOffice 7.5.3 arrives with a new set of bug fixes for those who have successfully updated their GNU/Linux system to the LibreOffice 7.5 series.
LibreOffice 7.5.3 addresses a total of 119 bugs identified by users or uncovered by LibreOffice developers. For a more comprehensive understanding of these bug fixes, consult the RC1 and RC2 changelogs.
You can download LibreOffice 7.5.3 directly from the LibreOffice website or from SourceForge as binary installers for DEB or RPM-based GNU/Linux distributions. A source tarball is also accessible for individuals who prefer to compile the software from sources or for system integrators.
All users operating the LibreOffice 7.5 office suite series should promptly update their installations to the new point release, which will soon appear in the stable software repositories of your GNU/Linux distributions.
In early February 2023, LibreOffice 7.5 debuted as a substantial upgrade to the widely-used open-source office suite, introducing numerous features and improvements. These enhancements encompass major upgrades to dark mode support, new application and MIME-type icons, a refined Single Toolbar UI, enhanced PDF Export, and more.
Seven maintenance updates will support LibreOffice 7.5 until November 30th, 2023. The next point release, LibreOffice 7.5.4, is scheduled for early June and will include additional bug fixes.
The Document Foundation once again emphasizes that the LibreOffice office suite's "Community" edition is maintained by volunteers and members of the Open Source community. For enterprise implementations, they suggest using the LibreOffice Enterprise family of applications from ecosystem partners. LibreOffice
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