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What is the Linux Installation Project?
Real companies using Linux!
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- Debian Trixie DSA-6347-1 bird2 Important Denial of Service Advisory
Multiple security vulnerabilities were discovered in the BIRD internet routing daemon, which could result in denial of service. For the stable distribution (trixie), this problem has been fixed in version 2.17.5-0+deb13u1. We recommend that you upgrade your bird2 packages.
- Debian libgd-perl Important Arbitrary Command Execution CVE-2026-11526
A flaw was discovered in libgd-perl, a Perl module wrapper for libgd, which may result in the execution of arbitrary shell commands or file overwrite when processing specially crafted file names. For the stable distribution (trixie), this problem has been fixed in version 2.78-1+deb13u1.
- [$] Development statistics for the 7.1 kernel
Linus Torvalds releasedthe 7.1 kernel as expected on June 14. This development cyclebrought in a lot of new features — and a lot of new developers as well.The time has come for our traditional look at where the changes in 7.1 camefrom, with a digression into how our community may be changing in general.
- Stenberg: curl summer of bliss
Daniel Stenberg has announcedthat curl will not be accepting vulnerability reports from July 1through August 3, unless the submitter has a paid supportcontract. He is calling it the "curl summer of bliss".
As previously mentioned, we have been under a huge pressurefor the last four months or so. Now we need some rest. We do notexpect this deluge to be over.
[...] If you and your Open Source projects also want to participatein the summer of bliss 2026: just do it and let us know! I would ofcourse encourage you to do so. To take care of yourself as a toppriority.
The project's issue and pull-request trackers on GitHub will remainopen. The planned release date for curl 8.22.0 has been pushed backtwo weeks to September 2, 2026.
- Security updates for Monday
Security updates have been issued by AlmaLinux (.NET 9.0), Debian (apache2, chromium, jpeg-xl, librabbitmq, and openssl), Fedora (apptainer, bind9-next, chezmoi, chromium, collectd, composer, dnsdist, gh, python-django5, python-python-multipart, varnish, varnish-modules, vmod-querystring, vmod-uuid, weasyprint, and xorg-x11-server-Xwayland), Mageia (cups, expat, libpng, libssh, memcached, nghttp2, openimageio, packages, proftpd, and radare2), Oracle (.NET 10.0, .NET 8.0, .NET 9.0, and firefox), Red Hat (postfix and valkey), and SUSE (afl, alloy, ansible-core, apache-pdfbox, chromedriver, chromium, cpp-httplib-devel, dpkg, elemental-operator, elemental-toolkit, enc, erlang, ffmpeg-7, firewalld, git-bug, golang-github-prometheus-prometheus, grafana, GraphicsMagick, graphite2, kernel, kernel-devel, lcms2, ldns, libsoup, libyang, libzypp, logback, mariadb, NetworkManager, openssh, openvswitch, perl-GD, perl-XML-LibXML, polkit, postgresql-jdbc, postgresql18, python, python-django, python-M2Crypto-doc, python-Pygments, python-pygments, python-requests, python313-Django6, qemu, rpcbind, samba, strongswan, tmux, uriparser, and xdg-dbus-proxy).
- Hundreds of AUR packages compromised
Hundreds of orphaned packages hosted by the Arch User Repository (AUR) havebeen compromised by an attacker who has added a malicious npmpackage (atomic-lockfile) that can exfiltrate sensitivedata. The project is currently workingon cleaning up the mess. There is a list of affected packagesand post (possibly NSFW domain) by"sodiboo" with additional information. Arch Linux users (or users ofArch-based distributions) that use AUR packages may wish to see if theyhave installed any of the compromised updates.
- Security updates for Friday
Security updates have been issued by AlmaLinux (.NET 10.0, .NET 8.0, .NET 9.0, bind, expat, httpd:2.4, kernel, kernel-rt, mod_http2, openssl, poppler, redis, redis:7, samba, and unbound), Debian (ironic, kernel-wedge, libinput, linux-base, and neutron), Fedora (kernel, openssl, vaultwarden, and vaultwarden-web), Mageia (erlang-hex_core, erlang-rebar3, gnupg2, and sqlite3), Red Hat (buildah, podman, and skopeo), SUSE (flannel, gdk-pixbuf-loader-libheif, gnutls, google-cloud-sap-agent, grafana, graphite2, hplip, libIex-3_4-33, libzypp, nginx, openssh, perl-DBI, perl-Git-Repository, perl-Protocol-HTTP2, python-Pygments, python-simpleeval, python311-Django4, rclone, roundcubemail, strongswan, tomcat10, tomcat11, unbound, and webkit2gtk3), and Ubuntu (apache2, dotnet8, dotnet9, dotnet10, gst-plugins-base1.0, ironic, linux-azure-5.15, linux-azure-fips, lwip, mistral, and ubuntu-kylin-software-center).
- Homebrew 6.0.0 released
Version6.0.0 of the Homebrewpackage-management system has been released. Notable changes in thisrelease include the introduction of tap trust to improvesupply-chain security, improvements in sandboxing on Linux, a numberof performance tweaks, and many other changes.
See the changelogfor a full list. LWN covered Homebrew inNovember 2025.
- [$] Automatic mTHP creation in 7.2
The Linux kernel has long tried to use huge pages as a way to improveperformance, sometimes with more success than others. The size of hugepages has traditionally been imposed by the hardware, which typically onlyoffers a couple of relatively large options. In more recent times, though,the use of multi-size transparent huge pages (mTHPs), with more flexiblesizing implemented in software, has been growing. If all goes well, the7.2 development cycle will include the addition of a new feature,contributed by Nico Pache, to make the use of mTHPs even more transparent.
- Security updates for Thursday
Security updates have been issued by AlmaLinux (.NET 10.0, .NET 8.0, .NET 9.0, podman, poppler, and postgresql-jdbc), Debian (chromium, jackson-core, libdbi-perl, and libinput), Fedora (httpd, rust, and xmlstarlet), Mageia (openssh, postfix, and roundcubemail), Oracle (frr, kernel, libyang, n, postgresql-jdbc, and unbound), Red Hat (.NET 10.0, .NET 8.0, .NET 9.0, redis, and redis:7), SUSE (agama-web-ui, cockpit, cosign, glibc, google-cloud-sap-agent, google-osconfig-agent, kanidm, kernel, kubernetes, kubernetes1.23, kubernetes1.24, kubernetes1.25, kubernetes1.27, kubernetes1.28, libpodofo-devel, libyang, NetworkManager-libreswan, openCryptoki, python311-pypdf, rclone, steampipe, wicked, and xen), and Ubuntu (exim4, libcrypt-saltedhash-perl, libhttp-daemon-perl, samba, and uriparser).
- [$] LWN.net Weekly Edition for June 11, 2026
Inside this week's LWN.net Weekly Edition:
Front: Suspicious AI activity in Fedora; fork() + exec(); splice() + vmsplice(); BPF loop verification; fanotify; trusted publishing. Briefs: CA age bill; Bundler cooldowns; insecure code completion; Asahi and macOS 27 beta; Buildroot 2026.05; Ubuntu MATE; rsync 3.4.4; Quotes; ... Announcements: Newsletters, conferences, security updates, patches, and more.
- Larson: Are insecure code completions a vulnerability?
Seth Larson, the Python Software Foundation's securitydeveloper-in-residence, has writtenabout the difficulty in classifying insecure code completion inthe PyCharm IDE usingits FullLine code completion plugin. Larson discovered that the plugin,which uses a local "deep learning module" to offer code completions,suggests code that would lead to severe vulnerabilities. He was unsurewhether it warranted a CVE or not, however:
I reported this behavior to JetBrains for "Full Line Code Completion" v253.29346.142and clearly their support staff weren't certain whether this defectwas a security vulnerability or not either. When I asked topublish a blog post about this behavior after they confirmedthis report wasn't a "direct security vulnerability" (whichI agree with) but then was asked not to publicize my report and referred toPyCharm's Coordinated Disclosure Policyso... which is it? Security vulnerability or not?
I ended up waiting the 90 days anyway and I didn't hear back withany substantive update from the development team. I double-checkedagain today using "Full Line Code Completion" v261.24374.152 and thebehavior is identical, suggesting the same insecure code for bothcontexts.
This isn't meant to be a specific dig at PyCharm or JetBrains, Ihave no-doubt that examples like this exist in every code generationmodel available.
- [$] AI agent runs amok in Fedora and elsewhere
Agentic AI systems can be used to do a variety of thingsautonomously on behalf of a human user: open or manage bugs, generatecode, submit pull-requests, and (apparently) even complain aboutrejection. In May, a Fedora developer discovered that an allegedlyrogue agent had been pestering the project in a number of ways:reassigning bugs, fabricating unhelpful replies to bugs, and evenpersuading maintainers to merge questionable code into the Anacondainstaller. It also submitted a number of pull requests (PRs),some accepted, to several upstream projects. The Fedora accountassociated with the agent has had its group privileges revoked and themesses have been mopped up, but the motive behind the agent's actions is stilla mystery.
- Buildroot 2026.05 released
Version2026.05 of the Buildroot toolhas been released. Buildroot simplifies and automates the process ofbuilding embedded Linux systems using cross-compilation. Notablechanges in this release include support for Arm Neoverse cores,addition of XFS rootfs generation, as well as many package updates andbug fixes. See the CHANGESfile for the full list.
- Security updates for Wednesday
Security updates have been issued by AlmaLinux (poppler), Debian (dnsmasq, mistral, okular, openssl, poppler, and strongswan), Fedora (exim, firefox, pcs, putty, and xorg-x11-server), Mageia (freeciv, golang-x-net, jq, libssh, libxmp, libxpm, minetest, ruby-net-ssh, tor, and wireshark), SUSE (389-ds, ack, agama-web-ui, amazon-ssm-agent, avahi, dpkg, elemental-register, elemental-system-agent, elemental-toolkit, ggml-devel-9500, go1.25, go1.26, kernel, kubernetes1.23, kubernetes1.24, kubernetes1.26, libsoup, mariadb, netty, netty-tcnative, NetworkManager, nginx, perl-CryptX, perl-XML-LibXML, podofo, polkit, python-Django, python-requests, samba, strongswan, vim, and xen), and Ubuntu (cyborg, gdk-pixbuf, golang-golang-x-net-dev, nginx, node-lodash, openssl, openssl, openssl1.0, qemu, tomcat9, tomcat10, and vim).
- FreeBSD Receives Funding To Launch AI-Assisted Vulnerability Discovery
The FreeBSD Project announced today the launch of an AI-Assisted Vulnerability Discovery Project with grant funding provided by the Linux Foundation backed Alpha-Omega project. Alpha-Mega has sponsors including Microsoft, AWS, Google, Anthrophic, OpenAI, and others who will now be helping with FreeBSD uncovering new vulnerabilities by leveraging AI...
- EasyOS version 7.4 released
Version 7.4 is a "milestone" release, consolidating EasyOS as supporting "legacy" software architectures, including Xlibre xorg server and gtk2-ng
- GPD BOX mini PC features Intel Panther Lake and Arc B390 graphics
GPD has launched an Indiegogo campaign for the GPD BOX, a compact mini PC based on Intel’s upcoming Core Ultra Series 3 “Panther Lake” processors. The system is available with either a Core Ultra X7 358H or Core Ultra 7 356H processor, up to 64GB of LPDDR5x-8533 memory, dual M.2 storage, dual 2.5GbE, USB4 v2.0, […]
- 9to5Linux Weekly Roundup: June 14th, 2026
The 296th installment of the 9to5Linux Weekly Roundup is here for the week ending June 14th, 2026, keeping you updated on the most important developments in the Linux world.
- LILYGO T-Echo Lite Kit pairs nRF52840 with LoRa and 1.22-inch e-paper display
LILYGO has added the T-Echo Lite Kit to its product lineup, a compact LoRa development device based on the Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 microcontroller and an SX1262 LoRa transceiver. The kit includes a 1.22-inch e-paper display, a 5 × 4 keyboard shield, audio hardware, a vibration motor, and optional GNSS and IMU features. The nRF52840 provides […]
- Revised AVX-512 xor_gen() Implementation For Linux RAID Yielding More Performance Gains
A few days back I wrote about Google's Eric Biggers spearheading an AVX-512 implementation of xor_gen() as the Linux kernel function used for generating and validating parity blocks such as for RAID5/RAID6. That initial implementation was yielding up to 41% better performance while a new implementation has now been posted for scoring some additional victories...
- The US Government Is Letting a Key Data Center Regulation Expire
The Federal Data Center Enhancement Act (FDCEA) is set to expire in September without an apparent replacement, potentially ending requirements for federal agencies to report on data-center efficiency, resilience, energy and water use, and contractor sustainability. Wired reports: Despite the public backlash, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the government agency that sets guidance for how agencies implement policies in line with the president's agenda, is not providing any plans for how federal agencies should manage the sunset or continue to implement reporting beyond the timeline of the law. This, current and former workers at OMB and the General Services Administration (GSA) say, signals that the Trump administration is set to take an even more hands-off approach to data center oversight and regulation. A replacement for the requirements laid out in FDCEA would, in other administrations, have been in the works for months ahead of its expiration. An employee with the GSA, the agency that oversees the government's IT services and helps to implement the FDCEA, says that the lack of any sort of plan is highly uncommon. The employee spoke to WIRED on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. "Never in the history of data center policies has a policy expired without another one having been painstakingly worked on for three years behind the scenes," says the GSA employee. "The technology has changed so much it's not about getting everything right, it's about doing the best they can and updating to a new policy. They claim they're going to make sure private companies pay their fare share, but they haven't explained how they'll do that." [...] There has been a burst of data-center-related legislation introduced in Congress this year, from bills that mandate environmental reviews of data centers to bills designed to protect local moratoriums. However, it appears that none of these bills are designed to address the requirements in FDCEA, nor do they specifically address federally run or leased data centers. [...] A search of reginfo.gov, the OMB website that contains reports on the president's Unified Agenda, also turns up nothing for the FDCEA. "By letting this expire, OMB is going to enter into this new age of prioritizing rapid AI development over any sort of centralized control or rigorous standards," says the anonymous GSA employee who spoke to Wired. "In the absence of a new policy from OMB, [GSA] has no directive or measurable standards with which to point agencies towards managing data centers efficiently."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- FBI Issues Urgent Kali365 Security Warning For Teams, Outlook, OneDrive Users
alternative_right shares a report from The Hill: The FBI released an urgent security warning to the public about a fast-acting scam targeting Microsoft 365 users on Teams, Outlook and OneDrive. The agency warned that the hacking platform Kali365 seeks out OAuth device codes, allowing scammers to sneak past multi-factor authentication codes, and without the need for a password, to access Microsoft accounts. Scammers will send a phishing email impersonating a trusted document-sharing service with a device code and instructions on how to verify, according to the FBI. "Kali365 lowers the barrier of entry, providing less-technical attackers access to AI-generated phishing lures, automated campaign templates, real-time targeted individual/entity tracking dashboards, and OAuth token capture capabilities," the FBI stated. The platform is sold to scammers with a $250 per month subscription. The FBI, which first detected Kali365 in April, described the hacking platform as an "emerging Phishing-as-a-Service platform." Hackers with limited skills can access advanced phishing tools through the platform, according to NordPass.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Google Chrome's Next Update Will Mark the End of Popular Ad Blockers
Google is removing Chrome's last remaining workarounds for Manifest V2 extensions, effectively ending support for legacy ad blockers such as the original uBlock Origin. 9to5Google reports: CyberNews points out a Chromium commit that removes support for the "kExtensionManifestV2Disabled" flag, which is referred to as "dead code" seeing as Chrome no longer supports Manifest V2 extensions. This removal acts as the final stop for many Manifest V2-based ad blocker extensions that were still in use today -- the flag was effectively a loophole to continue using these extensions. A Googler on the commit explains: "MV2 extensions are no longer allowed in any supported version of Chrome, and we are removing support for them and the associated functionality. We won't be able to provide / maintain this functionality indefinitely due to the complexity and tech debt, as well as the security risks it entails (we've actually found a number of bugs that are specific to MV2 lately). Of course, other browsers can continue supporting these if they so desire." This will also impact other Chromium-based browsers, though the comment notes that "other browsers can continue supporting these if they so desire." Neowin points out that Microsoft Edge and Opera are likely to follow suit. Chrome 150, set to be released later this month, will remove this flag, while other leftover bits of Manifest V2 will be removed in the v151 release.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Users Cry Foul After AMD Stripped Memory Crypto From Its Consumer CPUs
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A decade ago, AMD added a protection to its high-end CPUs to protect them against cold boot attacks and other types of physical exploits that siphon sensitive data out of the connected memory chips. Short for Transparent Secure Memory Encryption, TSME encrypts the entire contents stored in memory, making the data useless to physical attackers. Over time, AMD added TSME to lower-end processors, including the consumer version of its Ryzen chips, a CPU that costs less than the Pro version. Over the years, users of these lower-end chips have gotten used to the added security. Recently and without warning or notice, this lower-end line of AMD chips suddenly dropped the protection, and did so in a way that was impossible to detect on Windows machines and required a fair amount of technical work when using Linux. AMD has yet to say why TSME worked on these CPUs, or even to confirm the change. AMD declined to answer questions sent by email other than to say TSME "is a security feature only applied to PRO CPUs as part of AMD PRO Technologies." The statement is the first known time the chipmaker has explicitly made this restriction public. [...] There's no indication that AMD ever advertised or marketed TSME as being available in consumer CPUs. AMD has long said that a related memory protection, Secure Memory Encryption (SME), is available only in the Pro and Epyc CPU tiers. SME is OS-managed. It uses a single key and allows the OS to selectively encrypt individual memory pages. TSME is firmware-managed. It encrypts all RAM with no OS involvement. When active, it provides protection against physical attacks, including cold boot exploits, DRAM interface snooping, and memory module removal. It activates silently when enabled in the BIOS, making it the more practically useful of the two protections. Ben Kilpatrick, a self-described "privacy-conscious Linux hobbyist," discovered that TSME had stopped working on his consumer Ryzen processor despite remaining enabled in the BIOS. He spent months investigating, persuaded MSI engineers to test multiple CPUs, motherboards, and firmware versions, and filed a public AMD bug report that traced the change to newer AGESA firmware apparently disabling TSME on consumer chips while retaining it on Pro and EPYC models. "AMD engineers' comments, such as those mentioned above, and the years of TSME working just fine in the lower-cost tier processors, have understandably conditioned Kilpatrick and other users to reasonably regard it as an expected part of the chip package," reports Ars Technica. "AMD quietly removing it and providing no acknowledgment or explanation strikes these users as something of a betrayal." Joe Fitzgerald, an expert in silicon-level security, said in an interview: "They could have not realized they did it leading to their cagey responses, or they could have done it intentionally and tried to get away with it, leading to the same cagey responses. But I really feel like an explanation should be in order, even if it was 'TSME was never supposed to be supported. We did ship some firmwares that erroneously enabled it, but you shouldn't use them since we can't guarantee it'll work properly.'"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Trump's 'Made In the USA' Phone Is Just a Reskinned HTC U24 Pro
Longtime Slashdot reader necro81 writes: The heavily promoted, $499 T1 "Trump Phone" was originally said to be "Made in the USA" and ship in September 2025. Later, that was downgraded to "Assembled in the USA." Given the Trump Organization's lack of engineering or supply chain expertise, many assumed the "T1" would just be a private-label phone made by someone else. After a number of delays, the first phones are finally shipping. iFixit has performed a teardown and concluded that the T1 is a just gold-painted 2024 HTC U24 Pro -- a device from a Taiwanese company, probably using mainland China design and supply chains. In collaboration with NBC News, the iFixit team examined both phones using CT scans, side-by-side teardowns, and even reassembled a working T1 using a U24 Pro main board. As for "assembled in the USA," that may be true, in the same sense that your phone's repairman can "assemble" a phone from a handful of subassemblies sourced from someone else. Or it may have been assembled in Guangdong, China like the other U24 Pros. iFixit sums it up: "What you have is not an 'American-Proud Design,' but a phone designed in China, made in China, with the vast majority of parts sourced from China. I'm failing to find any stirring of American pride within me. I've certainly felt it before, so I can confirm that it is absent at this time." Quinn Nelson of Snazzy Labs on YouTube also published a comprehensive video of his experience ordering, unboxing, and tearing down the phone. "From pre-order emails landing in Gmail spam thanks to botched DMARC records, to paying for the $47.45 Trump Mobile 47 Plan over the phone, the entire buying experience was a disaster worthy of its own review," writes Nelson.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Britain Unveils Sweeping Ban On Social Media For Under-16s
Longtime Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from NBC News: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced a sweeping ban on social media use for those under 16, joining other countries around the world seeking to protect children online. "It's a big step for our country," Starmer said in a recorded video message released Monday. "Social media is making our children unhappy and unsafe, and as a parent, as much as a Prime Minister, I just can't let that go on anymore," he added. The ban will include social platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, while there is no intention for messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal to be included, the government said in a release. [...] Starmer's government called Monday's announcement a "landmark" move, saying the new measures would be brought to Parliament before Christmas, with protections expected to come into force next spring. Beyond the blanket social media ban, the restrictions will also include blocks on functions such as livestreaming and stranger communication with children for under-16s, it added. "It's not an easy thing to do. I'll be honest about that," Starmer said. "We haven't rushed into it. We've looked carefully at the evidence, and we'll have to adapt our approach as technology changes, learn from other countries which are taking similar steps." He went on to say that it will face resistance from some of the most powerful companies in the world. "But we will take them on, and we will win, because the need for action could not be any clearer."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Fox Is Buying Roku For $22 Billion
Fox is buying Roku for $22 billion, combining Fox's sports, news, entertainment, Tubi, and Fox One offerings with a streaming platform that reaches about 100 million people. The companies say the merger would create the "third-largest player in US television by share of viewing," while Fox insists Roku will remain open to competing apps after the deal closes. CNN reports: Fox has dabbled in streaming over the past few years -- finally launching its Fox One competitor last August -- but has lacked a serious streaming business with the ability to compete in a space dominated by YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+ and Peacock. With CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery receiving initial US regulatory approval to combine with Paramount, Fox's purchase of Roku became more urgent. [...] The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027 with the companies forecasting $400 million in savings. "This is a defining moment for Fox, and a natural extension of the deliberate and focused strategy we have been executing for nearly a decade," said Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch. "Today, we take the next step: bringing together the most valuable live content portfolio in video consumption with the preeminent streaming platform through which America watches it." Murdoch said Roku will continue to offer competing apps. "It's essential that Roku remain open and partner-friendly business. We don't see that changing at all."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Google CEO Largely Avoids Discussing AI In Stanford Commencement Speech
BrianFagioli writes: Google CEO Sundar Pichai delivered Stanford University's 2026 commencement address, but despite leading one of the companies at the center of the AI boom, he spent very little time discussing artificial intelligence. Instead, the speech focused on optimism, working on hard things, and following your interests. The omission is notable given how many graduates are entering a job market being reshaped by AI. While Pichai briefly referenced a "rewiring of technology," he largely avoided discussing AI's impact on careers, automation, or the future of work. Was the Google CEO intentionally steering clear of a controversial topic, or was he simply trying to deliver a timeless commencement speech rather than a technology-focused one? Hyping AI during a commencement speech has been a surefire way to get boos -- unless you're Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak, who reminded college graduates that they already posses "AI" of their own: "actual intelligence." You can read Pichai's commencement speech here. "If you're not from here, California is advertised as being really lush and green. But when I looked out the window, it was more... brown," said Pichai during his speech. "I guess I said this out loud, I'm not sure why. My host, Mrs. Jane Earl, gently corrected me. 'We prefer to call it golden,' she said.And that's exactly what I mean by choosing optimism. It's about reframing for the positive: Where I saw brown, she saw golden. This slight change of perspective had a huge ripple effect on how I thought about the world around me."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Swiss Voters Reject Proposal To Cap Population At 10 Million
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Voters in Switzerland have rejected an unprecedented far-right proposal to cap the country's population at 10 million in a divisive referendum dubbed "the Swiss Brexit." Some 54.79% of voters were against the proposal by the Swiss People's party (SVP) and 45.21% were in favor. Turnout was 58.86%. A different outcome would have obliged the Swiss government to limit the population, currently 9.1 million, to 10 million by 2050, enacting tough restrictions on family reunification, residency permits and asylum if the number had reached 9.5 million before that date. Under the proposals, if the threshold of 10 million people was exceeded before 2050, the Swiss government would have been obliged to withdraw from the country's free movement agreement with the EU -- ending its access to the bloc's single market. The SVP, which has the most seats in parliament, has for years fueled anti-immigrant sentiment, especially concerning workers from neighboring EU countries. The party had insisted that a so-called "sustainability initiative" was needed to address the increase in population, which it argued was putting pressure on Swiss infrastructure, housing, social programs, natural resources and way of life. "Voters were worried about negative consequences for Switzerland's relationship with the EU and for the labour market," said Urs Bieri, from the polling firm GFS Bern. "People are also worried about things like having enough care and health workers. Also, there's a feeling that in the current international environment it's not sensible for a small country to do this."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Are Many College Students Losing the Ability to Read?
Futurism reports:in a new essay for The Chronicle Higher Education, university-level literature and writing instructor Tyler Jagt recalls how not a single one of his students could get through an assigned 20-page article, something that he had read "without complaint" as an undergraduate a decade ago. One student confessed that the reason they didn't finish was that they kept losing track of what the paper was about. And there's no doubt that they're not alone. Jagt cites the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress reading assessment results released last year. It showed that 12th grade reading scores were at the lowest level since the assessment began in 1992. Nearly a third of those 12th graders scored below the assessment's "basic" level in reading, meaning they likely "cannot draw general conclusions based on concepts presented explicitly in a text." Younger children aren't better off: a recent report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that 70 percent of fourth graders, or around two million kids, can't read at a proficient level. "What I am seeing in my classroom is no longer a hunch," Jagt writes. "There is a measurable, generational collapse in sustained reading and writing, and the academy is responding to it with improvisation and exhaustion rather than the structural overhaul it requires...." Jagt cites an MIT study that found users who used ChatGPT during cognitive tasks like writing essays showed lower brain activity in areas associated with creativity compared to students who only used a traditional Google Search or didn't lookup information at all. An astonishing 83 percent of the AI users couldn't quote a single line from the essays they had just written, and capstoning the alarm, the brain activity in the AI users didn't return to normal when they were later asked to write without AI... On our pernicious pocket devices, Jagt touted a 2017 study that found that simply having a smartphone physically nearby — even if it's face down or turned off — reduced available cognitive capacity and impaired cognitive functioning. "So when a student tells me they 'kept losing track' of a 20-page article, I have to acknowledge that they may be describing a measurable neurological condition," Jagt wrote. "The neural pathways that support sustained attention are built by use, and they atrophy without it. Your body is a use-it-or-lose-it system, and the brain is no exception." Sunday an "Ask Reddit" question went viral — drawing over 11,000 upvotes — for its question to any teachers reading Reddit. "Is the 'Gen Alpha can't read (write, or do math ext)' crisis real? If so how bad is it?" Some responses... "The run of the mill non-honors kids have gotten really bad," posted one high school teacher. "Very low tolerance for working hard, very short attention span, very short stamina for active listening... It's the group that is the most worrying because a decade ago, I'd estimate that maybe 10-20% of kids at a school are like this, and now it's probably 40-50% of each graduating class... Then there's of course the bottom 10-20% kids (excluding the special ed/severe/moderate learning disability kids). This is what the viral videos are about and it's not an exaggeration. They can't read, write, or do very basic math like multiplication or division as a 17 year old.""This is the first year the MAJORITY of my class cheated on their first essays...." posted one high school English teacher. "It was also the first year a kid yelled 'We don't care about your fucking books, Miss!' while I was in front of the class presenting books they might be interested in for their book reviews... Almost all of them cheated on the book review they had to write."Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader schwit1 for sharing the article.
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- IT Workers Are Now Struggling to Find Work, as 'Picky' Companies Demand AI Skills
"Battered by years of mass layoffs, California tech workers were hoping the job market would rebound this year," reports the Los Angeles Times. "But things are getting worse."The class divide is widening in Silicon Valley as a tiny group of employees is landing unprecedented packages for AI skills, while many others struggle to find work. The have-nots are doing everything that used to guarantee great jobs — refreshing resumes, optimizing LinkedIn profiles and doing interviews — but companies are much more picky these days. The tech jobless are rethinking their lives. Some are taking pay cuts, others are leaving tech. Some are going back to study or launch startups. Some have retired.... Since 2022, more than 815,500 tech workers have been laid off, according to Layoffs.fyi, a website that tracks job cuts. The tsunami of pink slips surged in 2023, when companies that had gone on hiring sprees during the COVID-19 pandemic began to cut back. From January to April, U.S. tech employers announced 85,411 job cuts this year, up 33% from the same period last year, according to global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The Public Policy Institute of California estimates that the number of information jobs — which includes jobs in hard-hit Hollywood as well as tech — tumbled 17% between the middle of 2022 and this February. The San Francisco Bay Area has been hardest hit, the institute said in a recent report, with the number of jobs declining by 0.4%, compared with 7.5% growth over a similar time span before COVID-19 slammed into the U.S. economy. Tech layoffs are also spilling over into other industries. Automaker General Motors laid off roughly 600 workers in its information technology department, and Walmart is reportedly laying off or relocating roughly 1,000 workers in its technology and products teams. Recruiters say companies have become much more selective, requiring AI skills, combining different positions and interviewing more people for each job. "You're seeing elongated hiring cycles," said Robert Lucido, senior director of strategic advisory at Magnit, a California company that helps tech giants and other businesses manage contractors, freelancers and other contingent workers. "There's more opportunity to fill the need that they truly want." Paul Flaharty, district president at staffing firm Robert Half in Los Angeles, said companies are laying off workers, but also creating new roles tied to AI initiatives. "For individuals that are displaced, it's really important that they find ways to upskill themselves so that they can make themselves as attractive as possible for these new jobs that are being created," he said. Kira Martins was already taking on more work in a small team at Snap — the parent company of disappearing messaging app Snapchat — when she was laid off in April. The company said the layoffs were to cut costs as it focuses on profitability, noting how employees are using AI to "reduce repetitive work, increase velocity, and better support our community, partners, and advertisers...." Martins, a 36-year-old Los Angeles resident, views AI as a tool and is optimistic about finding her next role. People still need to decide how to use AI and check the work it generates, she said. "In tech, you want to be a first adopter, because if you don't move quickly, it's very easy to become irrelevant," she said. "Everyone's kind of hopping on the AI train." A former Google worker (laid off more than a year ago) says he's still job hunting, according to the article, and "he's learned it's not enough to just apply in this competitive market. Workers really need to network and leverage their connections to get seen by hiring managers and stand out." But when 64-year-old product manager Bruce Bowers lost his job at Oracle — along with thousands of others — he just started his retirement early.
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- US-Iran Peace Agreement Prompts Stock Rally, Leaves Some Investors Skeptical and Questions on Speed of Resuming Oil Production
"Asian stocks rallied Monday while oil prices tumbled," reports CNBC, "after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a peace deal aimed at ending nearly four months of conflict..."The strongest reaction was seen in energy markets. U.S. crude oil futures for July delivery were down 4.77% to $80.83 per barrel by 8:27 p.m. ET. Brent futures, the international benchmark, for August delivery traded about 4% lower to $83.77 per barrel. Asian equities surged. South Korea's Kospi jumped 5.1%, Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 3.6%, and the broader Topix advanced 2.6%... The U.S. dollar index weakened 0.32% to 99.483, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 5 basis points to 4.423%, suggesting that investors were dialing back inflation concerns on easing energy prices. "The most immediate implication is a repricing of the inflation risk premium that markets have been carrying since the Strait closed," said Billy Leung, investment strategist at Global X ETFs... Besides safe-haven Treasurys, gold also rose. "Gold is the interesting outlier here," Leung said. "In a clean risk-on trade, gold should be selling off as the geopolitical premium unwinds, but it is holding bid around $4,300, which tells you the market is not fully trusting the deal yet." Spot gold prices were up almost 2% at $4,302.19 per ounce. That skepticism reflects lingering uncertainty around the agreement, which remains unsigned and subject to implementation risks. [Josh Gilbert, lead Asia Pacific analyst at trading platform eToro] cautioned that "the deal isn't actually signed until June 19th, the details are still thin, and this conflict has shown more than once that headlines can turn on a dime." Analysts at Commonwealth Bank of Australia also stressed that the oil outlook hinges on how quickly shipping and production can normalize. Vivek Dhar, head of commodities and sustainability research at CBA, expects Brent to fall to around $80 a barrel by year-end, assuming the Strait remains open and exports recover. However, he warned that damage to refining infrastructure, the presence of sea mines and uncertainty over tanker traffic could slow the return to normal operations. Even so, he said markets are likely to take comfort from the prospect that oil flows need only recover to around 60%-70% of pre-war levels to restore expectations of a global supply surplus. For investors, the biggest implication will likely be what cheaper energy means for inflation and central banks. Lower oil prices ease pressure on households and businesses while reducing the risk of a broader inflation resurgence just as major central banks enter a busy week of policy meetings. UPDATE: "A US official is rejecting Iran's assertion that it will receive billions of dollars in frozen funds before a planned 60-day negotiating period begins following Friday's signing of an agreement," reports CNN: The pushback came after Iran's deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said the next phase of talks would depend on Washington first fulfilling several obligations, including releasing Iranian funds frozen abroad.The differing accounts underscore a significant gap between how the United States and Iran are describing what must happen before the next round of negotiations can move forward.
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- Workers Spend As Much Time 'Botsitting' AI As Producing Useful Work, Survey Finds
"As the use of artificial intelligence spreads across companies worldwide, it is relieving workers of tedious old chores but creating new ones," reports the Los Angeles Times. "Most people don't realize the amount of time that they're spending working on the tools to get the time savings that they're professing," said Paul Leonardi, Duca Family professor of technology management at UC Santa Barbara."Leonardi is one of the co-authors of the new study published by the Work AI Institute, whose contributors include academics from Stanford University and UC Berkeley. The institute is sponsored by AI company Glean... The research surveyed 6,000 digital workers across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia between December and January. The report found that we are in a phase of significant personal productivity gains, but few companies are translating these gains into revenue and business growth. While 75% of individuals reported a boost in productivity, only 13% of the organizations say they have seen significant business gains as a result of AI adoption, the survey found... The reason the boost in productivity sometimes leads to waste, Leonardi said, is the time people spend correcting the bot's work and gathering the right files, documentation, and tacit knowledge required for it to produce high-quality output. "It's pretty striking the amount of time and effort people are spending," Leonardi said. Most employees now spend over six hours a week of their workday babysitting their work chatbots, the survey said. There is a "thick, mostly invisible layer of human labor holding the whole thing together," the report said. The survey found that for every hour a worker spends getting useful output from AI, they spend roughly another hour making it usable. Of the total time workers spend interacting with AI each week, 37% goes to botsitting, 36% to actually using the tool to produce work. Part of the reason so much time disappears into botsitting is how often the tools fall short: Workers report that more than a third of AI sessions fail outright, requiring a full restart or substantial rework. Paradoxically, as more workers hand over bigger parts of their jobs to AI, they are offloading personal judgment and responsibilities to the bots. The survey found 41% of workers say they sometimes deliver AI-generated work they couldn't explain if asked... "I think what's happening with a lot of these Gen AI tools right now is we're essentially expecting individual contributors to act as managers," Leonardi said. "They're just managing these AI tools, AI agents, and we're expecting that they'll be able to produce way more, but we're not taking into account all of the work that actually goes into managing." This problem isn't likely to go away.
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- Microsoft Updates Six Windows Apps. 'Photos' Gets Watermarks for Copilot Images (Off by Default)
Microsoft dropped "massive" updates for six stock Windows apps, reports the "Microsoft enthusiast" site Neowin. Here's some of their more interesting highlights for Clock, Media Player, Calculator, Voice Recorder, Photos, and Paint: The Photos app (version 2026.11060.2004.0): AI watermarking — "AI-generated or edited images can now carry a visible Copilot watermark. You choose Never, Always, or Ask Every Time in Settings, with a confirmation when saving. The watermarking is off by default in settings."Calculator (version 11.2605.9.0): More accurate square-root results. "Fixed rare cases where a calculation that should equal zero (like sqrt(2.25) — 1.5) returned a tiny leftover value instead...." Reliable launch after upgrading. "Fixed an issue where upgrading from much older versions could leave outdated settings that stopped the app from opening..."The Clock app (version 11.2605.9.0): "Timers keep counting after they hit zero — When a timer runs out, it now keeps counting up (for example, -00:27:31) so you can see how far past the time you've gone..." "Correct sun and moon icons during midnight sun — Fixed an icon that wrongly showed a moon during all-day daylight in polar regions... " "No more double announcements — Screen readers no longer read the timer value twice."Media Player (version 11.2605.14.0). "Playlists need a name — You can no longer accidentally save a playlist with a blank name."
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- UK Scientists See Little Evidence for Claims Smartphones Are Rewiring Kids' Brains
UK's Members of Parliament (MP) were "looking for proof that smartphones and social media are rotting children's brains," writes The Register — but they got "a less satisfying answer from neuroscientists on Wednesday: nobody can really prove it." Appearing before the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee this week, three researchers spent much of the session explaining that concern and evidence are not quite the same thing. Asked what evidence exists on the impact of digital devices on infants and young children, Professor Denis Mareschal, director of the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck, replied: "There is very little, if any, causal research in the early years. Almost everything is correlational." MPs kept coming back to the question — and the experts kept coming back to the same answer. When questioned about social media's impact on adolescents, Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore of the University of Cambridge was equally cautious. "What evidence do we have of the impact of digital devices or social media on the adolescent brain?" she asked. "Almost nothing. There are a few small studies, but they haven't been replicated, and they're purely correlational...." MPs also wanted to know whether neuroscience could settle one of the liveliest arguments in the debate: how old a child should be before they're allowed onto social media. "What neuroscience can't do is pinpoint a precise age," Blakemore said. "The individual differences in brain development are vast...." If there was a takeaway from the hearing, it was that concern about digital childhood is running well ahead of the evidence needed to settle the argument.
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- Security: Why Linux Is Better Than Windows Or Mac OS
Linux is a free and open source operating system that was released in 1991 developed and released by Linus Torvalds. Since its release it has reached a user base that is greatly widespread worldwide. Linux users swear by the reliability and freedom that this operating system offers, especially when compared to its counterparts, windows and [0]
- Essential Software That Are Not Available On Linux OS
An operating system is essentially the most important component in a computer. It manages the different hardware and software components of a computer in the most effective way. There are different types of operating system and everything comes with their own set of programs and software. You cannot expect a Linux program to have all [0]
- Things You Never Knew About Your Operating System
The advent of computers has brought about a revolution in our daily life. From computers that were so huge to fit in a room, we have come a very long way to desktops and even palmtops. These machines have become our virtual lockers, and a life without these network machines have become unimaginable. Sending mails, [0]
- How To Fully Optimize Your Operating System
Computers and systems are tricky and complicated. If you lack a thorough knowledge or even basic knowledge of computers, you will often find yourself in a bind. You must understand that something as complicated as a computer requires constant care and constant cleaning up of junk files. Unless you put in the time to configure [0]
- The Top Problems With Major Operating Systems
There is no such system which does not give you any problems. Even if the system and the operating system of your system is easy to understand, there will be some times when certain problems will arise. Most of these problems are easy to handle and easy to get rid of. But you must be [0]
- 8 Benefits Of Linux OS
Linux is a small and a fast-growing operating system. However, we can’t term it as software yet. As discussed in the article about what can a Linux OS do Linux is a kernel. Now, kernels are used for software and programs. These kernels are used by the computer and can be used with various third-party software [0]
- Things Linux OS Can Do That Other OS Cant
What Is Linux OS? Linux, similar to U-bix is an operating system which can be used for various computers, hand held devices, embedded devices, etc. The reason why Linux operated system is preferred by many, is because it is easy to use and re-use. Linux based operating system is technically not an Operating System. Operating [0]
- Packagekit Interview
Packagekit aims to make the management of applications in the Linux and GNU systems. The main objective to remove the pains it takes to create a system. Along with this in an interview, Richard Hughes, the developer of Packagekit said that he aims to make the Linux systems just as powerful as the Windows or [0]
- What’s New in Ubuntu?
What Is Ubuntu? Ubuntu is open source software. It is useful for Linux based computers. The software is marketed by the Canonical Ltd., Ubuntu community. Ubuntu was first released in late October in 2004. The Ubuntu program uses Java, Python, C, C++ and C# programming languages. What Is New? The version 17.04 is now available here [0]
- Ext3 Reiserfs Xfs In Windows With Regards To Colinux
The problem with Windows is that there are various limitations to the computer and there is only so much you can do with it. You can access the Ext3 Reiserfs Xfs by using the coLinux tool. Download the tool from the official site or from the sourceforge site. Edit the connection to “TAP Win32 Adapter [0]
- Zinnia: a modular 64-bit UNIX-like kernel written in Rust
Its been a while since weve had a new operating system project written in Rust, so lets look at Zinnia. The kernel is written in (almost) 100% Rust and attempts to avoid unsafe code where possible. It implements a big range of POSIX APIs in system calls, but also exposes common extensions found in Linux and BSDs, like epoll and timerfd. This allows it to run a somewhat modern desktop using Wayland and X11 sessions. Most drivers are implemented as modules. These are Rust ELF dylibs which get loaded and linked during boot from an initrd, similar to Linux systems. Zinnia can boot from any UEFI based system thanks to the Limine bootloader. ↫ Zinnia OS website At least Weston and Xfce can run on Zinnia, even on real hardware, which is quite an achievement. The project was started in 2024 as a learning endeavour, but quickly grew out of control, as these projects are wont to do. The codes open source.
- Haiku enables AVX512 support
Were a little deep into June already, but its only now that Haiku published its monthly progress report for May. Theres a bunch of fixes for drag-and-drop behaviour in Tracker, AVX512 support can now be enabled thanks to changes to the kernel’s FPU handling, some low-level changes were made for the Rust and Zig compilers, and further improvements were made to the boot process on the Raspberry Pi 5 (although a lot more work is needed on that front). Theres still no sixth beta since a few more blockers remain, but dont let that stop you from installing Haiku its stable enough as it is, sixth beta or no.
- Tribblix Milestone 40 for x86 released
Tribblix, the Illumos distribution focused on giving you a classic UNIX-style experience, has been updated with the release of Milestone 40. This version has some major component updates. Perl in now 5.42 instead of 5.34, and the default Python is now 3.13. The GCC suite is now version 14.2.0, go is version 1.26, Xfce has been updated to version 4.18, node is v22, with v24 added and v20 removed. ↫ Tribblix M40 release notes Theres a more detailed changelog, as well as the downloads page to get started. If youre already running Tribblix, you can update in-place, of course.
- Your EPUB is fine. Kobo disagrees. Blame Adobe.!
An infuriating story about something most of us dont really stop to think about: e-books and the rendering engines companies and software use to display them. It’s the year 2026. Thanks to the horrendous RMSDK which Kobo decided to use as their backbone for all book rendering (probably for DRM reasons), a single line of perfectly valid CSS turns a perfectly valid EPUB file into a “corrupted file” on Kobo and just drops the whole book. No clear error message, no fallback. Just a massive fail. ↫ André Klein The level of obnoxiousness goes even deeper: Kobo devices ship with a better, actually maintained renderer for e-books as well, but in order to have a book use it, the book file in question needs to have a specific file extension. Remember that e-book files are just packaged websites; theres no reason to do any of this nonsense with two rendering engines, one of which is shit and frozen in time. I have never had to do anything related to creating an e-book I just put books on my own Kobo and read them and even I am getting annoyed just reading this.
- Windows 1.0 and the WinAPI, 40 years later
How far can you get, application development-wise, by using only the original APIs from Windows 1.0, and only whatever came included by default with Windows 1.0? I finally decided to write an application for the very first version of Windows and see how different the modern WinAPI really is from its earliest versions. Windows 1.0 came out back in the mid-1980s the era of 16-bit processors, MS-DOS, and cooperative multitasking. At first glance, you might think it has almost nothing in common with modern Windows, but when you look specifically at the application API, that’s where things get interesting. I wanted to see how far it would be possible to go using only the capabilities of the first version of Windows. I didn’t want to just make a minimal example with a window and a menu, but a small, complete application with graphics, keyboard input, timers, and constant redrawing. For this experiment, I chose Xonix a simple yet surprisingly addictive game. ↫ Stanislav Safronov It turns out that surprisingly, despite the 40 years and massive changes since Windows 1.0, theres still a lot that feels recognisable. Its also remarkable that the code Safronov ended up with ran on every version of Windows from 1.0 to 10, but sine its a 16 bit application it no longer works on Windows 11. It also had a hiccup on Windows 95, but he suspects thats an issue in the 16 bit subsystem in Windows 95, and not in his code. The codes available on GitHub.
- Running DOS on the Behringer DDX3216 with a DIY BIOS from scratch
In 1994 I got my first computer: an Intel i486 DX2-66 with 4 MB RAM and a 512MB harddisk. The software was IBMs OS/2 and Microsofts Windows 3.11. In the next four years I was upgrading this machine every few months with more RAM (up to 16MB), a CD-ROM-drive and a soundblaster card. So I learned upgrading this machine, installing new software and finally learned how to program new software using BASIC. But I never got in touch with the boot-process or the details of MS-DOS. In 2026, 32 years later, I learned from some screenshots of the DDX3216, that Behringer used a real 386 processor within this machine. Immediately, some of my neurons fired in my head and I pondered if I could boot software and even a full operating system on this device. My goal was to learn how an x86-system is booting, how DOS takes over and what is necessary to get into the shell. ↫ Christian Nöding So this introduction is a bit cryptic if youre not aware of what a DDX3216 is I sure had no idea. The Behringer DDX3216 is a digital mixing console for use in music studios, and I think its about 25 years old or so. Apparently its built around a 386, and as Nöding details in this article, that means it can be made to run DOS. It also happens to have a small black and white LCD, so theres a place to route output to, as well. Furthermore, once you open it up, youll find things like a BIOS chip, PCMCIA slot, a floppy controller, serial/parallel port controller, and more. Sure sounds like a PC to me. After talking to companies and individuals who might have a BIOS compatible with the AMD 386 SoC used in the device bore no fruit, Nöding decided to develop his own BIOS, which involves getting all the devices, interfaces, and even the display to work properly as well. The next step was getting DOS to work, and after MS-DOS 6.22 refused to work, FreeDOS did the trick and booted just fine. Theres still a ton more possible things that can be done here, but this is already quite amazing.
- Swift at Apple: migrating the TrueType hinting interpreter
TrueType is a widely used vector font standard for rendering text in web pages, PDFs, operating systems, and applications. Familiar fonts like Helvetica, Garamond, and Monaco are all built on TrueType outlines. The format specifies a hinting interpreter intended to help outlines rasterize faithfully on low-resolution displays. Modern high-resolution displays enable beautiful typography from outlines alone, but TrueType fonts that need hinting to render legibly remain in use and we continue to support them. Font parsers process data from untrusted sources, making the TrueType hinting interpreter a security-critical attack surface. To make the format more resilient on Apple platforms, we rewrote its hinting interpreter from C to memory-safe Swift for the Fall 2025 releases. In addition to memory safety, we also improved performance: on average, our Swift interpreter runs 13% faster than the C interpreter it replaced. ↫ Scott Perry This article provides a deep dive into how, exactly they did that.
- Kyvos is the easiest, cheapest, and possibly fastest way to run AmigaOS 4 and MorphOS
If you want to try out a modern Amiga operating system, your choices are severely constrained. Both MorphOS and AmigaOS 4 need PowerPC hardware, and at the moment, theres little to no modern hardware available for purchase to run these operating systems on. The only AmigaOS 4 hardware you can buy is either incredibly outdated, incredibly expensive, or both, and while MorphOS does run on readily available Apple PowerPC machines, those, too, are getting quite long in the tooth and performance simply isnt keeping up. Until the Mirari becomes available with the project steadily progressing, I have high hopes the reality for people wanting to try out AmigaOS or MorphOS is going to be expensive, at best. Or is it? QEMU exists, and QEMU can emulate various PowerPC systems just fine. Shouldnt it be possible to run these two unique operating systems in a virtual environment on your modern PC, thereby making it trivial for those of us interested in the world of Amiga to dip our toes into the water without having to spend inordinate sums for outdated hardware? It turns out that yes, this is entirely possible, and as I highlighted almost a year ago, George Sokianos has made this process effectively foolproof by developing a custom GUI frontend for QEMU specifically designed to make it incredibly easy to set up and run AmigaOS 4 and MorphOS in QEMU virtual machines. Were almost a year since that first version, and in that time, Sokianos has updated the tool, called Kyvos, to version 2. It costs a mere €9, and works on Linux (x86 and ARM), Windows (x86 and ARM) and macOS (x86 and ARM). You also get an incredibly detailed manual with step-by-step instructions for every supported operating system and specific emulated machine, which includes instructions for the convoluted AmigaOS 4 installation process, as well as a bunch of other information and helpful tips. In addition, the manual includes links to where you can buy AmigaOS 4 be sure to use these specific links to buy AmigaOS 4, because Sokianos gets a commission for sales through these links. AmigaOS 4 costs like €30, so its not a big investment. MorphOS can be downloaded for free, but after 30 minutes of use, the operating system will slow down and cripple itself, unless you pay for and register your copy for €79. I own a copy for my 17C PowerBook G4 1.25Ghz, but I think copies are tied to hardware, so I havent tried registering it with my key yet. The MorphOS registration tool does not accept virtual machines, so you cant use it to buy a copy for a virtual machine. Kyvos graphical user interface mimics the UI of other virtual machine software like VirtualBox, and it will check to make sure you have all the correct dependencies and requirements installed. The guided setup processes for MorphOS and AmigaOS 4 virtual machines will tell you exactly which operating system ISOs and files you need and makes sure you have them, before setting up the QEMU virtual machines with the optimal settings. Once created, start the virtual machine, and theyll boot from the installation media. Follow the included manual as you install the operating systems, including some post-install help, and youll end up with fully working, network-capable virtual machines running MorphOS and AmigaOS 4. Both installation and setup procedures worked without any issues on my machine, and within like half an our I had to two fully working copies of MorphOS and AmigaOS 4 running on my Linux desktop gaming PC (I exempted myself from the Windows 11 incentive for this one, since my Linux gaming PC is by far the most powerful computer I own). Networking and sound works AmigaOS 4 requires some post-install steps for those, listed in the Kyvos manual and I could browse the web right away with the included web browsers. The online update tool for AmigaOS 4 also works perfectly, allowing me to upgrade to the latest version of the operating system and various included components. Im anything but a MorphOS or AmigaOS 4 expert, so I cant confidently say much about performance compared to best real compatible hardware out there, but at least for MorphOS I can say it runs considerably faster in this virtual machine than it does on my old 17C PowerBook G4 1.25Ghz. I feel like AmigaOS 4 runs a bit smoother than MorphOS does, as with the latter I experienced the occasional hiccup and stutter which were absent on AmigaOS 4. Still, both are entirely usable and a pleasure to use. With how limited the hardware selection for these two operating systems is, using QEMU through Kyvos is by far the easiest and most straightforward way to dip your toes into the waters of the modern Amiga operating systems. For a total of around €40, youll be running AmigaOS 4 in a very capable and straightforward way, and if and when MorphOS allows registration for virtual machines (they really should), an additional €79 will give you a fully working installation of that unique operating system, too. Kyvos is a complete no-brainer for anyone reading OSNews.
- Web browsers on video game consoles
Video game consoles have a long history with web browsers. From the advent of the World Wide Web, consoles have been trying to get online. Browsers on video game consoles were initially very much an attempt to provide a cheap gateway to the web for a casual audience lacking technical expertise, though as time progressed they’ve become a greater and more integrated part of systems. This article takes a look at browsers on video game consoles in detail, though only covers official web browsers. Many consoles have browsers installable via custom firmware and homebrew, but they’re beyond the scope of this post, as are non-web systems such as Satellaview and online services that didn’t provide a browser, such as XBAND, Sega Meganet, and Sega Channel. ↫ Declan Chidlow The article starts off with the Philips CD-I, which has always been a fascinating product for technology fans in The Netherlands because thats where Philips is from. Memory that far back is untrustworthy, but I can definitely remember being inundated with commercials, advertising, magazine articles, and newspaper reports about the CD-I, all throughout its rather troubled life. Yet, I dont remember anything about it being capable of browsing a rudimentary web. Of course, were talking 1995 here, a time when I didnt even have internet at home yet, although I did use the web at a friends place at that time. We didnt get internet at home until I think 1997 or 1998, followed by the move to broadband cable internet just a year later, since our small rural town happened to be one of the first places to get broadband. Good times. Did anyone ever actually use browsers on consoles, though? I mean, using them always felt incredibly clunky, and by the time they were capable enough to really do anything we all had laptops and later smartphones anyway. I certainly dont remember anyone using them for anything but a gimmick, but perhaps my sample size was far too small and not diverse enough.
- MacOS 27 drops Intel support, will be last release with Rosetta 2
With the announcement of an upcoming new macOS release also come the usual changes in which Macs will still be supported. MacOS 27 Golden Gate is an important release in this regard, as it will be the first release of Apples desktop operating system that will be entirely ARM-only, dropping support for all Intel Macs. Its important to note that Apple will provide three more years of security updates for the final Intel release of macOS, so Intel users wont be dropped like a brick immediately. Still, the Intel Mac Pro was still being sold all the way up until mid-2023, and Id be royally pissed off if my expensive 2023 Intel Mac went out of support a mere six years after purchase. They werent cheap machines, and while you can argue everybody knew the writing was on the wall for the Intel Mac Pro in 2023, it still feels way too short of a supported lifespan for such an expensive, high-end piece of equipment. It didnt sell many units, Im sure, but still. In addition, MacOS 27 will be the last release to include the Rosetta 2 translation layer that allows Intel binaries to run on ARM macOS. I have no idea how many important applications are still Intel-only, but I have a feeling that number is going to be relatively small, and will become even smaller as the first macOS release without Rosetta 2 support nears release. On top op of that, Im sure enterprising users will find a way to transplant Rosetta 2 onto unsupported macOS releases, and if all else fails, theres always virtual machines.
- Once again, Apple blatantly lies about the EUs DMA
Apple recently announced its next crack at integrating AI! into its operating systems, this time opting to simply whitelabel Googles Gemini AI! tools instead of developing its own LLM technology. Called Siri AI!, Apple also stated its not coming to the EU, and the company stated thats because the EUs basic consumer protection legislation would give other AI! tools unprecedented access! to user data on users devices. The company made a big stink about this in the press. As anyone with basic pattern recognition skills already knew, this was a blatant, baldfaced lie. What really happened is that Apple asked the EU for an 18-month long exemption from the EUs consumer protection and privacy legislation during which it would not have to comply with any legal privacy and interoperability requirements just so it could roll out Siri AI! before anyone else could offer a competing product for Apple users. Obviously, the EU wasnt going to grant such an exemption. The decision not to roll out Siri AI in the EU is Apples and Apples only,! spokesperson Thomas Regnier told reporters in Brussels, saying there was nothing in the Digital Markets Act to stop the company from introducing new products in the EU. Apple was simply unable to develop interoperability solutions that meet essential EU privacy and security standards,! Regnier said. Instead of trying to find a suitable compliance solution, Apple simply made a request to the European Commission to be exempted from their interoperability obligations under the DMA and this for at least 18 months. Thats not an option,! Regnier said. ↫ Inti Landauro and Foo Yun Chee at Reuters So whats really going on here is that Apple wants to offer a set of whitelabeled Google Gemini tools on iOS and macOS in the EU, but because Apple is classified as a gatekeeper, it is legally obligated to offer interoperability options for competing AI! tools. These options in turn need to adhere to the EUs strict privacy regulations, so that competing AI! tools can offer the same level of privacy that Apples own whitelabeled Google Gemini tools claim to offer. Apple didnt want to offer these privacy-respecting interoperability options as required by law, so instead of following the law in the countries it wants to operate in, Apple asked to be placed above the law for at least 18 months, basically giving Siri AI! a massive head-start over possible competitors so that it could entrench itself in the userbase. The EU saw right through Apples nonsense, and now called them out on their bullshit. Perhaps Apple has gotten so used to openly bribing Trump that they forgot other parts of the world dont work that way. Whenever Apple and its PR attack dogs say anything about the EU, you can be assured they are lying. They have proven time and time again to basically never speak a single word of truth when it comes to its dealings in the EU. Its almost pathological at this point, and what makes it doubly interesting is that Apple will not launch Siri AI! in China either, for the very same regulatory reasons yet all China got was a single footnote in a press release. I wonder why.
- Google Chrome is killing all uBlock Origin bypasses, Microsoft Edge, Opera to follow
For a while now the transition away from Manifest V2 (MV2) to MV3 has been on-going and it looks like it is entering its final phase of deprecation, at least, in the case of Google Chrome. A recent discussion thread in the w3c WebExtensions Community Group GitHub repo has highlighted how the latest and upcoming versions of the most popular browser are expected to be its final releases with support for MV2 extensions. ↫ Sayan Sen at Neowin You shouldnt be using Chrome anyway.
- A raycasting first-person shooter written in COBOL
On a related note, what about a raycasting first-person shooter written in0 COBOL? Can you think of a better programming language than COBOL to implement an FPS from scratch? I know I cant, so buckle up and enjoy what can only be described as an out-of-body experience for COBOL enthusiasts as I set out to make a Wolfenstein3D-like raycasting based FPS game (and potentially go a bit further than that, hopefully its not a DOOMed attempt). ↫ icitry on YouTube I dont link to YouTube videos very often, but theres always the exception that proves the rule. The COBOL codes available on GitHub. What a mad man.
- Catlantean 3D: making graphics like its 1993
My goal was to build a complete, shippable first-person shooter using techniques that were common in the early 90s, while allowing myself the luxury of using a modern compiler and a platform abstraction layer. ↫ Marko Stanic It looks amazing already, and it isnt even done. Stanic goes into great detail explaining how he created the various assets for the game, and its a joy to read through his creative process and problem-solving routines. The games called Catlantean 3D, and is expected to ship somewhere early 2027.
- Microsoft makes Windows printing easier with Windows Ready Print
Microsoft has detailed that Windows 11 is going to switch away from dedicated printer drivers to its Windows Ready Print system. This should make it a lot easier and less cumbersome to get printers running on Windows 11. At the core of Windows Ready Print is a transition away from legacy, third party drive-based workflows toward modern, standards-based printing with IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) using the Windows inbox IPP printer driver.` Starting in July 2026, new printer installations will default to Windows Ready Print where supported, enabling a simpler and more reliable setup experience. This change reduces the need for traditional driver management and lays the foundation for a more scalable and predictable print experience. ↫ elliesekine at the Windows Tech Community Printers still play a huge role in our lives whether we like it or not and their terrible user experience is basically a meme a this point. Making at least one aspect of printing easier, less cumbersome, and more streamlined is incredibly welcome, and Im glad Microsoft is taking the Windows printing ecosystem along for the ride on this one. My own personal experience with printing on Linux and now on Windows 11 (as promised, Ive been using nothing but Windows 11 since 26 May!) has been mostly effortless already. Our cheap networked printer/scanner/combo thing from HP just works! on both Linux and Windows 11, since Windows downloads HPs drivers and application automatically when detecting the printer on the network. Still, not having to use HPs driver would be a nice bonus. Coincidentally, I also managed to get the printer component of our HP combo thing working on0 HP-UX 11i v1. Despite being more than two decades newer, our HP printer works perfectly with a printer definition file included in HP-UX, giving me full printing from CDE and the rest of HP-UX. Its entirely useless and cost me an evening of my life, but seeing the test page and other documents from HP-UX come out of our printer, over the network, put a big smile on my face.
- German court rules Google is liable for whatever Googles AI! generates
Its just a ruling from a lower court, but it sets the stage for how European courts are going to deal with the question of who is liable for whatever slop AI! generates. The Regional Court of Munich hit Google with a temporary injunction barring the company from spreading false claims about two Munich-based publishers through its AI-generated search overviews (case no. 26 O 869/26). The court classified Google as a direct infringer because the AI overview! is its own content, not just a list of search results. Googles AI overviews had falsely tied two publishing companies to scams, subscription traps, and shady business practices for certain search queries. According to the court, the AI mixed up information about other, genuinely sketchy companies with the plaintiffs and drew connections that didnt appear in any of the linked sources. The publishers sent Google a cease-and-desist letter, but Google didnt respond appropriately. ↫ Matthias Bastian at The Decoder Google tried to argue it doesnt carry any responsibility or liability for whatever slop its AI! generate, but the German court does not agree. According to the court, AI! overviews are not the same as regular search results, because they rewrite findings and just make shit up, thereby making claims that are nowhere to be found in any search results (or in reality in general). Furthermore, the court states that Google develops the AI!, it runs it, it offers it to users, and Google alone controls its output, and as such, Google is liable for whatever their AI! produces. Google also tried to argue that users know not to trust anything an AI! produces, which is hilarious considering how hard Google is pushing these tools, but the courts state that the ability of users to do further research does not absolve Google of liability. In addition, the court made it very clear that free speech protections absolutely do not apply, because the AI! expressions are coming from an algorithm, not a person, and are above all an expression of Googles business activities!. In other words, if an AI! tool generates false accusations and misleading statements, the creator of said AI! is liable. With this ruling in hand, countless other people have a stronger case to make whenever Google or any other company tries to absolve itself from liability from slop just because a pachinko machine generated it. Excellent news, and the only fair outcome.
- Canonical Launches ARM Laptop Certification Program to Boost Ubuntu’s Next Generation of Mobile Computing
by George Whittaker
Canonical is expanding its hardware certification efforts with a new focus on ARM-powered laptops, a move that reflects the growing momentum behind ARM architecture in the personal computing market. As ARM processors become increasingly common in laptops thanks to their impressive balance of performance, battery life, and efficiency, Canonical aims to ensure that Ubuntu users receive a seamless experience on this emerging class of hardware.
The initiative represents another step in Ubuntu’s long-standing effort to provide reliable Linux support across a wide range of devices while strengthening relationships with hardware manufacturers.
Why ARM Laptops Matter More Than Ever
For years, x86 processors from Intel and AMD dominated the laptop market. However, the landscape has changed significantly as ARM-based systems have become more powerful and capable.
Modern ARM laptops offer several advantages:
Longer battery life Lower power consumption Reduced heat output Always-on connectivity capabilities Competitive performance for everyday workloads
As manufacturers increasingly invest in ARM hardware, Linux distributions face growing pressure to ensure compatibility matches what users expect from traditional x86 systems. Canonical has already spent years supporting ARM across cloud, server, IoT, and embedded environments, making laptops a natural next step.
What the Certification Program Does
The new certification effort builds upon Canonical’s existing Ubuntu Certified Hardware program, which validates systems through extensive testing covering both hardware and operating system functionality. Certified devices undergo comprehensive verification to ensure Ubuntu operates correctly across critical components and daily workflows.
Testing typically includes:
Wireless networking Audio functionality Graphics performance Bluetooth support USB device compatibility Power management Suspend and resume behavior Firmware integration Security features such as TPM support
The goal is to eliminate the uncertainty that Linux users sometimes face when purchasing new hardware.
Creating a Better Ubuntu Experience on ARM
Historically, Linux support on ARM laptops has varied significantly between devices. Some systems work exceptionally well, while others require manual configuration, custom kernels, or vendor-specific patches.
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- Btrfs Snapshot Deletion Gets Faster as Developers Tackle One of the Filesystem’s Biggest Pain Points
by George Whittaker
The Btrfs filesystem continues to receive significant performance tuning, and one of the latest areas of focus is snapshot deletion performance. While Btrfs snapshots have long been praised for their speed, flexibility, and efficient use of storage, deleting large numbers of snapshots has historically been one of the filesystem’s most resource-intensive operations.
Recent kernel development efforts are helping address that problem by improving metadata handling, reducing lock contention, and streamlining internal cleanup processes. The result is faster snapshot removal and less disruption on systems that rely heavily on snapshots for backups, rollbacks, and system recovery.
Why Snapshot Deletion Has Been Challenging
Btrfs is a copy-on-write (CoW) filesystem that stores data and metadata in a highly interconnected structure. This design enables many advanced features, including:
Instant snapshots Subvolumes Checksumming Compression Efficient data sharing between snapshots
However, the same architecture that makes snapshots so efficient to create can make them more complex to remove. When a snapshot is deleted, Btrfs must determine which blocks are still referenced by other snapshots and which can be safely reclaimed. On systems with many snapshots, this process can generate significant metadata activity.
Recent Performance Improvements
Developers have been working to reduce overhead associated with Btrfs metadata operations, which directly impacts snapshot cleanup performance.
Recent kernel updates include:
Reduced lock contention during extent tree operations More efficient extent buffer traversal Improved handling of internal filesystem structures Reduced contention during metadata searches General transaction and cleanup optimizations
These changes help the filesystem spend less time waiting on internal locks and more time performing actual cleanup work.
Less Impact During Cleanup Operations
One common complaint among Btrfs users has been elevated I/O activity during large snapshot deletion jobs.
On systems that maintain dozens, or even hundreds, of snapshots, cleanup operations could temporarily increase:
Disk activity CPU usage I/O wait times Metadata processing workloads
Recent improvements are designed to make these operations less disruptive by reducing bottlenecks inside the filesystem's metadata management code.
For users running backup servers, NAS appliances, or snapshot-heavy desktop systems, these optimizations can improve overall responsiveness while cleanup tasks run in the background.
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- How Digital Software Is Powering Innovation in Modern Product Design
by Will Jones
By enabling digitized production design, this digital software is freeing up businesses and individuals across numerous industries to work smarter, not harder.
To design a new product or tool is often a lengthy, labor-intensive process. Even the most successful and streamlined physical design process is intensive and iterative by nature; it is the process of taking something that begins as little more than an idea and turning it into reality. Inherently, that is going to take a great deal of translation, as well as trial and error. When working with real-world, physical elements, this also makes for a costly endeavor, as each new trial effort may prove essential to the long-term success of the design, but still has adverse financial effects. Dassault Systèmes offers CAD software to help businesses stay on top of advancements in their industries.
Before digital design software became widely adopted, engineers and designers often relied heavily on hand-drawn technical sketches and manual drafting methods during product development. Revising a design could require redrawing entire sections of a project, making the process both time-consuming and resource-intensive. Modern digital design systems have significantly changed these workflows by allowing teams to make rapid adjustments, automate calculations, and store detailed design information within a single platform. This shift has contributed to the broader adoption of digital tools across industries seeking more streamlined development processes.
Fortunately, though, in this new world of ever-advancing technological tools, the design process doesn’t have to be fraught with issues and obstacles anymore, thanks to systems such as CAD software. This new software is now enabling businesses to design smarter, faster, and more accurately by digitizing product development processes and improving collaboration across engineering and manufacturing teams.
Digital Design as the Foundation of Innovation
Digital software allows engineers to create precise digital models that can then serve as the foundation for product development. Compare this to the physical alternative, which has long been a well-thought-out sketch of the product in question. Even the most comprehensive of sketches is only going to be dealing with two dimensions, and is likely to leave room for confusion or error based on the interpretation of the subjective rendering.
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- GNOME Files Supercharges Search with Faster Results, Smarter Filters, and Better File Discovery
by George Whittaker
The GNOME project continues refining one of its most frequently used applications: GNOME Files (formerly known as Nautilus). Recent development efforts have focused heavily on improving the file manager’s search capabilities, making it easier to locate documents, media files, and folders across increasingly large storage volumes.
For many Linux users, file search has become one of the most important daily workflows. As personal data collections grow and SSDs make local storage faster than ever, GNOME developers are investing in tools that help users find information more quickly and efficiently. GNOME Files already relies on indexing technologies such as Tracker (now GNOME LocalSearch) to deliver fast results, and recent improvements are building on that foundation.
A Redesigned Search Experience
One of the most noticeable improvements is a redesigned search interface that makes searching feel more integrated into the overall file management experience.
Recent GNOME development previews introduced:
A cleaner search popover Inline result previews Improved keyboard navigation Faster access to search filters Better visibility of search options within the file manager interface
These refinements reduce the number of clicks required to narrow down results and help users locate files without leaving their current workflow.
Smarter Filtering Options
Search filters have become increasingly important as users store larger collections of documents, images, videos, and audio files.
GNOME Files has been expanding its filtering capabilities, allowing users to narrow searches more effectively based on:
File type Media category Search location Recent activity Indexed metadata
Earlier updates expanded support for additional audio and video file formats, making it easier to locate multimedia content directly from the search interface. This is particularly useful for users managing large media libraries.
Improved Search Performance
Fast search results are just as important as accurate ones.
GNOME Files continues leveraging the GNOME indexing framework to provide near-instant search results while minimizing system overhead. The file manager works closely with the LocalSearch indexing service to locate files quickly without repeatedly scanning entire drives.
This approach provides several benefits:
Faster file discovery Reduced CPU usage during searches Better scalability on large storage volumes More responsive user experience
For desktop users who frequently work with thousands of files, these performance gains can significantly improve productivity.
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- NixOS 26.05 ‘Yarara’ Released with Systemd Initrd by Default and Major Infrastructure Updates
by George Whittaker
The NixOS project has officially released NixOS 26.05, codenamed “Yarara,” continuing the distribution’s unique approach to Linux system management through declarative configuration, atomic upgrades, and reproducible deployments. The release introduces several important platform-level changes, modernized infrastructure components, and continued refinement of the Nix ecosystem.
As one of the most distinctive Linux distributions available today, NixOS continues attracting developers, DevOps engineers, and advanced Linux users who value predictable system behavior and highly reproducible environments.
What Makes NixOS Different?
Unlike traditional Linux distributions that install packages directly into shared system locations, NixOS is built around the Nix package manager, which stores software in isolated, versioned paths and generates complete system configurations declaratively.
This architecture provides several advantages:
Atomic system upgrades Reliable rollback capabilities Reproducible environments Easier infrastructure automation Reduced dependency conflicts
These features have helped NixOS gain popularity among developers managing complex systems and cloud infrastructure.
Systemd-Based Initrd Becomes the Default
One of the most significant changes in NixOS 26.05 is the move to a systemd-based Stage 1 initrd by default. The older scripted implementation is now deprecated and scheduled for removal in NixOS 26.11.
The initrd (initial RAM disk) is responsible for preparing the system during early boot before the main operating system loads.
According to the release notes:
Systemd now handles Stage 1 initialization by default The previous scripted implementation remains temporarily available Users can still revert using boot.initrd.systemd.enable = false Long-term migration toward the systemd-based approach is encouraged
This change is expected to improve consistency and simplify maintenance across modern NixOS deployments.
Continuing the Twice-Yearly Release Cycle
NixOS continues its established release cadence of publishing stable versions twice per year—typically around May and November. The 26.05 “Yarara” release follows the previous 25.11 “Xantusia” release and continues the project's steady development rhythm.
The 26.05 development cycle involved extensive staging, package testing, and release management work coordinated through the NixOS community.
Large-Scale Package and Infrastructure Updates
Like previous NixOS releases, 26.05 includes a massive collection of package updates across the software ecosystem.
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- GNOME 51 Development Officially Begins as ‘A Coruña’ Cycle Gets Underway
by George Whittaker
The GNOME Project has officially opened the development cycle for GNOME 51, the next major release of one of Linux’s most widely used desktop environments. Following the recent launch of GNOME 50 “Tokyo,” developers are already shifting focus toward the next chapter of the desktop’s evolution, which will carry the codename “A Coruña.”
While it’s still very early in the process, the release schedule is now taking shape, giving Linux users and developers an early look at what to expect over the coming months.
GNOME 51 “A Coruña” Is Now in Development
The new release is named A Coruña, after the Spanish city that will host GUADEC 2026, the annual GNOME Users and Developers European Conference. The event serves as one of the most important gatherings for GNOME contributors, where future desktop plans, technologies, and development priorities are discussed.
As soon as GNOME 50 was finalized, development work for GNOME 51 officially began, continuing GNOME’s well-established six-month release cadence.
Release Schedule Already Published
The GNOME team has outlined the preliminary roadmap for the GNOME 51 cycle.
Current milestone dates include:
GNOME 51 Alpha: June 27, 2026 GNOME 51 Beta: August 1, 2026 GNOME 51 Release Candidate (RC): August 29, 2026 GNOME 51 Final Release: September 16, 2026
These milestones provide time for:
Feature integration Public testing Bug fixing Performance optimization Final stabilization before release
As always, dates may shift slightly depending on development progress.
Still Too Early for Major Feature Announcements
Because the development cycle has only just started, GNOME developers have not yet revealed a finalized feature list. Most major design discussions and merge requests are still in their early stages.
However, several areas are already attracting attention.
Wayland Improvements Are Likely a Major Focus
One of the biggest transitions in recent GNOME history happened with GNOME 50, which completed the project’s move away from X11 by removing remaining X.Org support from the desktop environment.
Because GNOME is now fully committed to Wayland, many observers expect GNOME 51 to focus heavily on:
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- Alpine Linux Experiments with Systemd Compatibility While Keeping Its Lightweight Identity
by George Whittaker
Alpine Linux, one of the most recognizable non-systemd Linux distributions, is reportedly experimenting with an optional systemd compatibility layer, a move that has sparked intense discussion across the Linux community.
For years, Alpine has stood apart from mainstream Linux distributions by avoiding both glibc and systemd, instead relying on:
musl libc BusyBox OpenRC as its init system
Now, growing software compatibility pressures, especially around desktop applications, containers, and enterprise tooling, appear to be pushing Alpine developers to explore new approaches.
Why Alpine Linux Avoided Systemd for So Long
Alpine Linux built its reputation around simplicity, security, and minimalism. Unlike many mainstream distributions, Alpine intentionally avoided systemd in favor of the lighter and more modular OpenRC init system.
This design philosophy made Alpine extremely popular for:
Containers and Docker images Embedded systems Lightweight virtual machines Security-focused deployments
Its tiny footprint and reduced dependency chain became major advantages in cloud and container environments.
The Compatibility Problem Is Growing
Despite Alpine’s popularity, avoiding systemd has increasingly created compatibility challenges.
Many modern Linux applications now assume the presence of:
libsystemd systemd APIs glibc-specific behaviors
This has become particularly problematic for:
Desktop software Proprietary enterprise applications Monitoring agents Certain gaming and multimedia tools AI and container orchestration software
Historically, Alpine users often relied on:
Compatibility layers like gcompat Flatpak containers Docker workarounds Manually patched packages
The growing complexity of those workarounds appears to be one reason compatibility discussions are intensifying.
What the Experimental Compatibility Layer Actually Means
Importantly, Alpine Linux is not replacing OpenRC with systemd.
Instead, the project appears to be exploring:
Optional compatibility packages libsystemd support Improved API compatibility for software expecting systemd components
Experimental efforts already exist in the broader ecosystem. For example, unofficial projects have packaged portions of systemd, particularly libsystemd, for Alpine systems specifically to satisfy software dependencies without running full systemd services.
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- Debian Experiments with AI-Assisted Bug Triage as Open-Source Projects Face Growing Report Overload
by George Whittaker
The Debian project has begun exploring AI-assisted bug triage workflows, joining a broader movement across the open-source world to manage the rapidly increasing volume of software bug reports and vulnerability submissions.
While Debian developers are approaching the idea cautiously, the effort reflects a growing reality for large open-source projects: modern software ecosystems are producing more bugs, duplicate reports, and security findings than human maintainers can efficiently process alone.
The discussion arrives during a period of intense debate within Linux and open-source communities about how artificial intelligence should be integrated into software development and maintenance.
Why Debian Is Looking at AI-Assisted Triage
Debian is one of the largest and most complex Linux distributions in existence, maintaining tens of thousands of software packages across multiple architectures and release branches. Managing bug reports at that scale has always been challenging.
Now, AI-assisted vulnerability scanning and automated testing tools are dramatically increasing report volumes across open-source projects. Maintainers are increasingly facing:
Duplicate vulnerability reports Low-quality automated submissions Massive triage backlogs Security mailing list overload Increasing maintainer burnout
AI-assisted bug triage systems are being explored as a way to help organize, prioritize, and categorize incoming reports before human maintainers review them.
What AI-Assisted Bug Triage Actually Means
Importantly, Debian is not handing software maintenance over to AI systems.
Instead, AI-assisted triage generally focuses on repetitive administrative tasks such as:
Detecting duplicate bug reports Categorizing issues by severity Routing bugs to appropriate maintainers Summarizing lengthy reports Identifying missing reproduction details Prioritizing security-related submissions
The goal is to reduce the amount of manual sorting work maintainers must perform before actual debugging begins.
The Open-Source Community Is Divided
Debian’s experiments come during an ongoing debate about AI’s role in open-source development.
Some maintainers view AI-assisted tooling as necessary because software complexity has outpaced human review capacity. Others worry about:
Low-quality AI-generated reports Maintainer overload False positives Loss of contributor accountability “Drive-by” AI contributions with little human understanding
The Debian community itself has spent months discussing how AI-assisted contributions should be handled, but no final project-wide policy has yet been adopted.
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- BudsLink Brings Advanced Earbud Controls to Linux Desktops
by George Whittaker
Linux users have long faced a frustrating limitation with wireless earbuds: basic Bluetooth audio usually works, but advanced features often remain locked behind proprietary mobile apps. A new open-source project called BudsLink is trying to change that.
Designed specifically for Linux desktops, BudsLink adds support for battery monitoring, Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) controls, ambient sound modes, gesture customization, and other premium earbud features that are typically unavailable outside Android or iOS ecosystems.
For Linux users who rely on devices like AirPods, Sony earbuds, Samsung Galaxy Buds, or Nothing earbuds, this is a significant quality-of-life improvement.
What Is BudsLink?
BudsLink is an independent open-source application that communicates directly with supported Bluetooth earbuds using Linux Bluetooth protocols such as L2CAP and RFCOMM sockets. Instead of treating earbuds as simple audio devices, the application exposes many of the advanced controls usually hidden behind vendor apps.
The project currently supports multiple device families, including:
Apple AirPods and Beats Sony audio wearables Samsung Galaxy Buds Nothing and CMF earbuds
The application is available through Flatpak and can run across multiple Linux distributions.
Features Linux Users Normally Don’t Get
Traditionally, Linux Bluetooth support has focused mainly on audio playback and microphone functionality. BudsLink goes much further by exposing premium earbud features directly within Linux.
Current capabilities include:
Monitoring earbud battery levels Viewing charging case battery status Switching between ANC and ambient sound modes Conversation awareness support on compatible devices Automatic volume reduction during conversations In-ear detection for automatic pause/resume Gesture and stem control configuration Customizable icons and appearance settings
For many Linux users, these are features they’ve never had access to outside mobile apps.
Closing a Long-Standing Linux Gap
Bluetooth earbuds have become increasingly dependent on proprietary ecosystems. Features like adaptive audio, transparency modes, or touch controls often require vendor-specific mobile applications that are unavailable on Linux.
That has created a frustrating situation where:
The earbuds technically work on Linux But users lose many of the features they paid for
BudsLink aims to bridge that gap by reverse-engineering communication protocols and exposing those controls natively on Linux desktops.
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- Ubuntu 26.10 Development Officially Begins as ‘Stonking Stingray’ Takes Shape
by George Whittaker
Canonical has officially kicked off development planning for Ubuntu 26.10, the next interim release of the popular Linux distribution. Codenamed “Stonking Stingray,” the release is scheduled to arrive on October 15, 2026, continuing Ubuntu’s predictable six-month development cycle.
Although Ubuntu 26.10 is still in the early planning stages, the release roadmap already offers hints about what users can expect from the next generation of Ubuntu.
A New Interim Release After Ubuntu 26.04 LTS
Ubuntu 26.10 follows the recently released Ubuntu 26.04 LTS “Resolute Raccoon”, which introduced major platform changes including Linux 7.0, GNOME 50, Wayland-only sessions, and expanded TPM-backed security features.
Unlike the LTS release, Ubuntu 26.10 will be a short-term support release, receiving updates for nine months instead of the five years offered by LTS editions.
These interim releases are typically used to introduce newer technologies and prepare the groundwork for future long-term Ubuntu versions.
The “Stonking Stingray” Codename
Canonical confirmed that Ubuntu 26.10 will carry the codename “Stonking Stingray.”
As with previous Ubuntu releases, the codename follows the project’s long-running naming convention using:
An adjective An animal beginning with the same letter
The playful naming tradition remains one of Ubuntu’s most recognizable characteristics.
Development Schedule Already Published
Canonical has already published the preliminary roadmap for Ubuntu 26.10 development. Major milestones currently include:
Feature Freeze: August 20, 2026 Beta Release: September 24, 2026 Kernel Freeze: October 1, 2026 Final Release: October 15, 2026
The toolchain upload process reportedly began in late April, officially opening the development cycle.
Expected Technologies in Ubuntu 26.10
While Canonical has not yet finalized the complete feature set, several components are widely expected based on current development schedules.
GNOME 51
Ubuntu 26.10 is likely to ship with GNOME 51, which is expected to be released roughly one month before Ubuntu 26.10 itself.
This would continue Ubuntu’s strategy of tracking recent GNOME desktop releases in interim versions.
Linux Kernel 7.2 or 7.3
Reports suggest Ubuntu 26.10 may include either:
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