|
1825 Monetary Lane Suite #104 Carrollton, TX
Do a presentation at NTLUG.
What is the Linux Installation Project?
Real companies using Linux!
Not just for business anymore.
Providing ready to run platforms on Linux
|
Show Descriptions... (Show All)
(Two Column)
- [$] Restartable sequences, TCMalloc, and Hyrum's Law
Hyrum's Law states that anyobservable behavior of a system will eventually be depended upon bysomebody. The kernel community is currently contending with a cleardemonstration of that principle. The recent work to address some restartable-sequencesperformance problems in the 6.19 release maintained the documented APIin all respects, but that was not enough; Google's TCMalloclibrary, as it turns out, violates the documented API, prevents other codefrom using restartable features, and breaks with 6.19. But the kernel'sno-regressions rule is forcing developers to find a way to accommodateTCMalloc's behavior.
- GCC 16.1 released
Version16.1 of the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) has beenreleased.
The C++ frontend now defaults to the GNU C++20 dialect and the correspondingparts of the standard library are no longer experimental. SeveralC++26 features receive experimental support, including Reflection(-freflection), Contracts, expansion statements and std::simd.
Other changes include the introduction of an experimental compilerfrontend for the Algol68 language,ability to output GCC diagnostics in HTML form, and more.
- Seven new stable kernels for Thursday
Greg Kroah-Hartman has released the 7.0.3, 6.18.26, 6.12.85, 6.6.137, 6.1.170, 5.15.204, and 5.10.254 stable kernels. The 7.0.3 and6.18.26 kernels only contain fixes needed for Xen users; the others,though, have backported fixes for the recently disclosed AEAD socket vulnerability. Kroah-Hartman advisesthat all users of the other kernel series must upgrade.
- Security updates for Thursday
Security updates have been issued by AlmaLinux (buildah, firefox, gdk-pixbuf2, giflib, grafana, java-1.8.0-openjdk, java-21-openjdk, LibRaw, OpenEXR, PackageKit, pcs, python3.11, python3.12, python3.9, sudo, tigervnc, vim, xorg-x11-server, xorg-x11-server-Xwayland, yggdrasil, and yggdrasil-worker-package-manager), Debian (calibre, firefox-esr, and openjdk-17), Fedora (asterisk, binaryen, buildah, dokuwiki, lemonldap-ng, libexif, libgcrypt, miniupnpd, openvpn, podman, python3.9, rust-rpm-sequoia, skopeo, and xdg-dbus-proxy), Red Hat (buildah, gdk-pixbuf2, and nodejs:20), SUSE (dnsdist, libheif, openCryptoki, polkit, sed, and xen), and Ubuntu (linux-bluefield, python-marshmallow, and roundcube).
- [$] LWN.net Weekly Edition for April 30, 2026
Inside this week's LWN.net Weekly Edition:
Front: Famfs; Python packaging council; Zig concurrency; pages and folios; Strawberry music manager; 7.1 merge window. Briefs: GnuPG 2.5.19; Copy Fail; Plasma security; Fedora 44; Ubuntu 26.04; Niri 26.04; pip 26.1; RIP Seth Nickell; RIP Tomáš Kalibera; Quotes; ... Announcements: Newsletters, conferences, security updates, patches, and more.
- A security bug in AEAD sockets
Security analysis firm Xint has disclosed a security bug in the Linux kernelthat allows for arbitrary 4-byte writes to the page cache, and which has beenpresent since 2017.The vulnerability hasbeen fixed in mainline kernels. A proof-of-concept script demonstrates how to use the flaw to corrupt a setuidbinary, which works onmultiple distributions, by requesting an AEAD-encrypted socket from user spaceand splicing a particular payload into it.A supplemental blogpost gives more details about the discovery and remediation.
A core primitive underlying this bug is splice(): it transfers data between filedescriptors and pipes without copying, passing page cache pages by reference.When a user splices a file into a pipe and then into an AF_ALG socket, thesocket's input scatterlist holds direct references to the kernel's cached pagesof that file. The pages are not duplicated; the scatterlist entries point at thesame physical pages that back every read(), mmap(), andexecve() of that file.
- [$] Python packaging council approved
The Python packaging world now has a formalgovernance council, of the form described in PEP 772 ("PackagingCouncil governance process"), which was approvedby the steering council on April 16. It has been over a yearsince the PEP was first proposed in February 2025 and it has undergonelengthy discussions in multiple postings to the Python discussion forum. Thepackaging council will have "broad authority over packaging standards,tools, and implementations"; it will consist of five members who willbe elected in a vote that is likely to come in June—after PyCon US 2026 is held mid-May.
- Security review of Plasma Login Manager (SUSE Security Team Blog)
SUSE's Security Team has published a detailedblog post on their recent review of the PlasmaLogin Manager version 6.6.2,which was forked from the SDDM displaymanager.
While most of the code remains thesame, the new upstream added a privilegedD-Bus helper calledplasmaloginauthhelper, which suffers from defense-in-depthsecurity issues.
[...] Based on the high severity of the defense-in-depth issuesshown in this report, our assessment is that there is effectively noseparation between root and the plasmalogin service user account.
At this time there is no bugfix available by upstream, but asecurity fix is planned for the next Plasma release on May 12. We havenot been involved in upstream's bugfix process so far and have noknowledge about the approach that will be taken to address the issuesfrom this report.
- Security updates for Wednesday
Security updates have been issued by AlmaLinux (firefox, gdk-pixbuf2, java-17-openjdk, libxml2, python3, python3.11, python3.12, sudo, and webkit2gtk3), Debian (dnsdist, node-tar, pdns, pdns-recursor, and policykit-1), Fedora (chromium, edk2, and vim), Oracle (firefox, gdk-pixbuf2, go-toolset:rhel8, libpng12, LibRaw, libxml2, python, python3, python3.11, python3.12, python3.12-wheel, vim, webkit2gtk3, xorg-x11-server, xorg-x11-server-Xwayland, yggdrasil, and yggdrasil-worker-package-manager), Red Hat (container-tools:rhel8, delve, git-lfs, go-rpm-macros, grafana, grafana-pcp, osbuild-composer, and rhc), SUSE (bouncycastle, clamav, container-suseconnect, dovecot22, erlang, firefox, fontforge, freerdp2, ghostscript, giflib, gnome-remote-desktop, go1.25, go1.26, google-guest-agent, haproxy, ignition, ImageMagick, kernel, libcap, libpng16, libraw, librsvg, mariadb, openexr, pocketbase, protobuf, python-Pillow, python-requests, qemu, rust1.94, sudo, tomcat, tomcat10, tomcat11, webkit2gtk3, and xen), and Ubuntu (dotnet10, dovecot, linux-nvidia-lowlatency, node-follow-redirects, openssh, packagekit, python-cryptography, python-tornado, ruby-rack-session, ujson, and wheel).
- Remembering Seth Nickell
LWN has received the sad news that Seth Nickell passed away, onApril 16, from his father, Eric Nickell:
Many of you knew Seth from his work in the GNOME Usability Project, but hisroots in that community trace back to his high school years. As a father ofa high school junior, I remember being terrified when he flashed the harddrive of a computer he purchased for himself with this weird "Linux" thing.And I was a bit awed by the college application essay he wrote about opensource and Linus Torvalds.
It was his interest in packet radio that drew him into working withthe Linux AX.25 HOWTOas a high schooler, and from there to his focus on making the Linuxdesktop work for everyone.
The family plans to share news of a memorial at a later time. Hewill be deeply missed.
- Firefox maker torches Google for building Prompt API into browser
Mozilla fears wiring an AI API into Chrome will make the web less openMozilla has reiterated its opposition to Google's decision to build AI plumbing into its Chrome browser, though rather belatedly now that the technology, known as the Prompt API, is already being tested in Chrome and Microsoft Edge.…
- CachyOS Linux Performance Leading Over Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, Fedora Workstation 44
It's not too entirely surprising given the aggressive stance that the CachyOS Linux distribution has taken on out-of-the-box performance, but for those curious, it continues largely leading over the newly-released Ubuntu 26.04 LTS and Fedora Workstation 44 distributions for the leading performance on modern hardware.
- Geniatech AIM-M-K and AIM-B2 integrate Ara240 for local AI inference
Geniatech has shared information about the AIM-M-K and AIM-B2 AI accelerator modules based on the NXP Ara240 NPU. Both designs target edge inference workloads, offering up to 40 TOPS of INT8 performance for applications such as computer vision, transformer models, and generative AI. The AIM-M-K adopts a standard M.2 2280 (M-key) form factor and connects […]
- Musk Concludes Testimony At OpenAI Trial
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: Elon Musk wrapped up his testimony on Thursday as the trial in his lawsuit against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman continued into its fourth day. OpenAI's attorney, William Savitt, cross-examined Musk in the morning. He asked Musk about the capped nature of Microsoft's investments in OpenAI, his involvement in negotiations about the company's structure, and whether he knew about the OpenAI nonprofit's recent initiatives. "I don't know what's going on at OpenAI," Musk testified. Savitt also asked Musk about his competing artificial intelligence startup, xAI. While not the main focus of the case, Musk said it is "partly" true that xAI used some of OpenAI's models to train its own models, a process known as distilling. Musk also suggested that xAI has used OpenAI's technology to help build the company. Musk sued OpenAI, Altman, and Greg Brockman, the company's president, in 2024, alleging that they went back on their commitments to keep the artificial intelligence company a nonprofit and to follow its charitable mission. He claims that the roughly $38 million he donated to seed OpenAI, a company he co-founded, was used for unauthorized commercial purposes. Once Musk wrapped up his testimony after roughly two hours of questioning on Thursday, his attorneys called Jared Birchall, who manages Musk's billions at his family office, as their next witness. Birchall testified about his knowledge of Musk's specific donations to OpenAI. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers oversaw the proceedings from federal court in Oakland, California. The trial will resume on Monday. Recap:Elon Musk Says OpenAI Betrayed Him, Clashes With Company's Attorney (Day Three) Musk Testifies OpenAI Was Created As Nonprofit To Counter Google (Day Two) Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Head To Court (Day One)
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- US Senators Ban Themselves From Prediction Markets Trading
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a rule banning senators from trading on prediction markets effective immediately. CNBC reports: The move came amid rising concern about insider trading on prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, and about event contracts that can involve death or violence. On April 22, Kalshi said it had suspended and fined one U.S. Senate candidate and two candidates for the House of Representatives for political insider trading on their own campaigns. Earlier on Thursday, a group of Democratic members of Congress called on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to issue a rule "that prevents insider trading and corruption in the market and prohibits event contracts on the outcome of elections, war and military actions in the U.S. or abroad, sports, and government actions without a valid economic hedging interest." Kalshi and Polymarket both praised the Senate's action. "I applaud the Senate for passing this resolution to ban Senators and their offices from trading on prediction markets," Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour wrote in a post on X. "Kalshi already proactively blocks members of congress and enforces against insider trading. This is a great step to increase trust in our markets by making it an industry standard," Mansour said. "Now, let's pass this in the House!" Polymarket, in its own post on X, said, "We're in full support of this. Our Rulebook & Terms of Service already prohibit such conduct, but codifying this into law is a step forward for the industry. Happy to help move this forward however we can."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- New Linux 'Copy Fail' Vulnerability Enables Root Access On Major Distros
A newly disclosed Linux kernel flaw dubbed "Copy Fail" can let a local, unprivileged attacker gain root access on major Linux distributions, with researchers claiming the bug affects kernels shipped since 2017. "The POC exploit works out of the box today, but a future version that can escape from containers like Docker is promised soon," writes Slashdot reader tylerni7. "Technical details are available here." Slashdot reader BrianFagioli shares a report from NERDS.xyz: A newly disclosed Linux kernel vulnerability called Copy Fail (CVE-2026-31431) allows an unprivileged user to gain root access using a tiny 732-byte script, and it works with unsettling consistency across major distributions. Unlike older exploits that relied on race conditions or fragile timing, this one is a straight-line logic flaw in the kernel's crypto subsystem. It abuses AF_ALG sockets and splice to overwrite a few bytes in the page cache of a target file, such as /usr/bin/su. Because the kernel executes from the page cache, not directly from disk, the attacker can inject code into a setuid binary in memory and immediately escalate privileges. What makes this especially concerning is how quiet it is. The file on disk remains unchanged, so standard integrity checks see nothing wrong, while the in-memory version has already been tampered with. The same primitive can also cross container boundaries since the page cache is shared, raising the stakes for multi-tenant environments and Kubernetes nodes. The underlying issue traces back to an in-place optimization added years ago, now being rolled back as part of the fix. Until patched kernels are widely deployed, this is one of those bugs that feels less like a theoretical risk and more like a practical, reliable path to full system compromise.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- In Real-World Test, an AI Model Did Better Than ER Doctors At Diagnosing Patients
A new study from Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess found that an OpenAI reasoning model outperformed experienced ER doctors at diagnosing and managing patient cases using messy, real-world emergency department records. Researchers say the results don't support replacing doctors, but they do suggest AI could meaningfully reshape clinical workflows if tested carefully in prospective trials. NPR reports: The researchers ran a series of experiments on the AI model to test its clinical acumen -- including actual cases like the lupus patient who'd been previously treated at the emergency department at Beth Israel in Boston. The team graded how well the AI model could provide an accurate diagnosis at three moments in time, from the triage stage in the ER, up to being admitted into the hospital. Overall, AI outperformed two experienced physicians -- and did so with only the electronic health records and the limited information that had been available to the physicians at the time. "This is the big conclusion for me -- it works with the messy real-world data of the emergency department, " said Dr. Adam Rodman, a clinical researcher at Beth Israel and one of the study authors. "It works for making diagnoses in the real world." Other parts of the study focused on case reports published in the New England Journal of Medicine and clinical vignettes to suss out whether the AI model could meet well-established "benchmarks" and game out thorny diagnostic questions. "The model outperformed our very large physician baseline," said Raj Manrai, assistant professor of Biomedical Informatics at Harvard Medical School who was also part of the study. The authors emphasize the AI relied on text alone, while in real life, clinicians need to attend to many other inputs like images, sounds and nonverbal cues when diagnosing and treating a patient. The findings have been published Thursday in the journal Science.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- French Prosecutors Link 15-Year-Old To Mega-Breach At State's Secure Document Agency
French prosecutors say police detained a 15-year-old suspected of using the alias "breach3d" in connection with a cyberattack on France Titres (ANTS), the state agency that handles passports, ID cards, and other secure documents. The breach allegedly involved 12 million to 18 million lines of data offered for sale online, potentially affecting up to a third of France's population if the records are unique. The Register reports: It formally opened (PDF) a judicial investigation on April 29, covering alleged fraudulent access to a state-run automated data processing system and the extraction of data from it. Each offense carries a potential prison sentence of seven years and a maximum ~$350,000 fine. Public Prosecutor Laure Beccuau has requested that the minor, whose pronouns, like their name, were also not specified, be formally charged and placed under judicial supervision. [...] France's approach to punishing minors via its legal system is typically geared toward re-education and rehabilitation rather than prison time. While those aged between 13 and 16 can face time in juvenile detention, it is often used as a last resort measure. The maximum sentences and fines for the charges the 15-year-old in this case faces are upper limits imposed on adult offenders, and would likely be lowered substantially in cases involving a minor, like this one.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- World's Largest Digital Human Rights Conference Suddenly 'Postponed'
RightsCon, one of the world's largest digital human rights conferences, was suddenly postponed by Zambia's government just days before it was scheduled to begin in Lusaka. Officials cited unresolved speaker clearances and "thematic issues," while Access Now said it had not yet received formal communication and was seeking an urgent meeting with the government. 404 Media reports: Minister of Technology and Science Felix Mutati first announced the postponement on April 28, saying that Zambia needed more time to ensure the conference "fully [aligns] with national procedures, diplomatic protocols, and the broader objective of fostering a balanced and consensus-driven platform for dialogue." "In particular, certain invited speakers and participants remain subject to pending administrative and security clearances, which have not yet been concluded," he added, according to the Lusaka Times. [...] On a popular listserv for academics, many of whom are attending RightsCon, a board member of Access Now wrote "I am told I can leak that RightsCon has been canceled. Message from [Access Now] following shortly" in a thread about what attendees were planning on doing. And in an email, AccessNow wrote: "It is with heavy hearts that we share: RightsCon will not proceed in Zambia or online. We understand this news is deeply upsetting for our community and while we know everyone has questions, our goal right now is to notify you of the event's status because many of you have imminent travel plans. We do not recommend registered participants travel to Lusaka for RightsCon. Over the last 48 hours we have experienced an overwhelming surge of support from civil society, government representatives, sponsors, and our community as a whole. For this, we wholeheartedly thank you. We'll communicate more information soon."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Microsoft Open-Sources 'Earliest DOS Source Code Discovered To Date'
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Several times in the last couple of decades, Microsoft has released source code for the original MS-DOS operating system that kicked off its decades-long dominance of consumer PCs. This week, the company has reached further back than ever, releasing "the earliest DOS source code discovered to date" along with other documentation and notes from its developer. Today's source release is so old that it predates the MS-DOS branding, and it includes "sources to the 86-DOS 1.00 kernel, several development snapshots of the PC-DOS 1.00 kernel, and some well-known utilities such as CHKDSK," write Microsoft's Stacey Haffner and Scott Hanselman in their co-authored post about the release. [...] This source code is old enough that it hadn't been stored digitally. "A dedicated team of historians and preservationists led by Yufeng Gao and Rich Cini," calling itself the "DOS Disassembly Group," painstakingly transcribed and scanned in code from paper printouts provided by Paterson. This process was made even more difficult because modern OCR software struggled with the quality of the decades-old printout.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Convicted Former Harvard Scientist Rebuilds Brain Computer Lab In China
Reuters reports that Charles Lieber, the former Harvard scientist convicted of lying to U.S. authorities about payments and ties to China, is now leading China's state-funded i-BRAIN lab in Shenzhen, where he has access to advanced nanofabrication tools and primate research facilities for brain-computer interface work. From the report: Charles Lieber, 67, is among the world's leading researchers in brain-computer interfaces. The technology has shown promise in treating conditions such as ALS and restoring movement in paralyzed patients. But it also has potential military applications: Scientists at China's People's Liberation Army have investigated brain interfaces as a way to engineer super soldiers by boosting mental agility and situational awareness, according to the U.S. Defense Department. Lieber was found guilty by a jury and convicted in December 2021 of making false statements to federal investigators about his ties to a Chinese state program to recruit overseas talent, and tax offenses related to payments he received from a Chinese university. He served two days in prison and six months under house arrest, and was fined $50,000 and ordered to pay $33,600 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. During the case, his defense said he was suffering from an incurable lymphoma, which was in remission, and he was fighting for his life. Three years after he was sentenced, Reuters has learned that Lieber is now overseeing China's state-funded i-BRAIN, or the Institute for Brain Research, Advanced Interfaces and Neurotechnologies, with access to dedicated nanofabrication equipment and primate research infrastructure unavailable to him at Harvard. The lab is an arm of the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation, or SMART. "I arrived on April 28, 2025 with a dream and not much more, maybe a couple bags of clothes," Lieber said of his move to China at a Shenzhen government conference in December. "Personally, my own goals are to make Shenzhen a world leader." SMART last year appointed Lieber as an investigator, according to a post on i-BRAIN's website dated May 1, 2025. That news was covered by some media outlets. The same day, i-BRAIN said Lieber had also been appointed its founding director -- an announcement that went unreported at the time. This story is the most comprehensive account of Lieber's activities since he moved to China. Reuters is reporting for the first time that his lab has access to dedicated primate research facilities and chip-making equipment; that it sits within a sprawling ecosystem of state-backed institutions bankrolled by billions of dollars in government funding; and that it is housed within an institution that is luring top scientific talent back from the United States.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Most Swiss Back Initiative To Cap Population At 10 Million
A new poll shows a slim majority of Swiss voters now support a June 14 referendum to cap the country's population at 10 million by 2050. Under the proposal backed by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), "the permanent resident population must not exceed 10 million before 2050, and Switzerland should abandon its freedom of movement agreement with the EU," reports Reuters. From the report: Switzerland's population is now more than 9 million, with official data showing foreign nationals accounted for more than 27% by 2024. The survey, conducted on April 22 and 23 and published in newspaper Tages-Anzeiger, showed 52% of 16,176 respondents in favor of the proposal or leaning that way, while 46% took the opposite view. The rest gave no opinion. A previous poll from early March had shown 45% backing the initiative and 47% against it, the newspaper said, flagging the latest result as unusual in that Swiss referendum proposals generally lose support as the voting day comes closer. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- OpenAI Codex System Prompt Includes Explicit Directive To 'Never Talk About Goblins'
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The system prompt for OpenAI's Codex CLI contains a perplexing and repeated warning for the most recent GPT model to "never talk about goblins, gremlins, raccoons, trolls, ogres, pigeons, or other animals or creatures unless it is absolutely and unambiguously relevant to the user's query." The explicit operational warning was made public last week as part of the latest open source code for Codex CLI that OpenAI posted on GitHub. The prohibition is repeated twice in a 3,500-plus word set of "base instructions" for the recently released GPT-5.5, alongside more anodyne reminders not to "use emojis or em dashes unless explicitly instructed" and to "never use destructive commands like 'git reset --hard' or 'git checkout --' unless the user has clearly asked for that operation." Separate system prompt instructions for earlier models contained in the same JSON file do not contain the specific prohibition against mentioning goblins and other creatures, suggesting OpenAI is fighting a new problem that has popped up in its latest model release. Anecdotal evidence on social media shows some users complaining about GPT's penchant for focusing on goblins in completely unrelated conversations in recent days. Update: OpenAI has published a blog post explaining "where the goblins came from." In short, a training signal meant to encourage its "Nerdy" personality accidentally rewarded creature-heavy metaphors, causing words like "goblins" and "gremlins" to spread beyond that personality into broader model behavior. OpenAI says it has since retired the Nerdy personality, removed the goblin-friendly reward signal, and filtered creature-word examples from training data to keep the quirk from resurfacing in inappropriate contexts.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Govern your bots carefully or chaos could ensue
Stop the sprawl!
With the average Global Fortune 500 enterprise expected to run more than 150,000 AI agents by 2028, up from fewer than 15 today, there’s plenty of room for chaos. Analyst firm Gartner says that, without proper governance, those agents will multiply and run amok.…
- Firefox maker torches Google for building Prompt API into browser
Mozilla fears wiring an AI API into Chrome will make the web less open
Updated Mozilla has reiterated its opposition to Google's decision to build AI plumbing into its Chrome browser, though rather belatedly now that the technology, known as the Prompt API, is already being tested in Chrome and Microsoft Edge.…
- Bot her emails: most modern phishing campaigns are AI-enabled
KnowBe4 says 86% of phishing it tracked used AI, and inboxes are only the start
Give a man a phishing kit and he might get lucky a couple of times; teach an AI to phish and it'll change the landscape, if KnowBe4's latest phishing trends report is accurate.…
- Phone users know when to hold ’em, delay upgrades amid inflation
Analyst says handsets now stay in pockets for 4.2 years on average
Remember the early days of the smartphone revolution when, even after six months, your phone felt outdated? Not anymore. Smartphone replacement cycles are getting longer as discretionary household budgets come under pressure from inflation, with demand for new devices expected to fall for the rest of this year.…
- Google's fix for critical Gemini CLI bug might break your CI/CD pipelines
This CVSS 10.0 RCE vuln has been patched, automatically for some, so better check those workflows
If you use Gemini CLI, watch out: Google has patched a CVSS 10.0 vulnerability in its command-line AI tool and is warning anyone running it in headless mode, or through GitHub Actions, to review their workflows.…
- 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]
- Email is crazy
Email is like those creaking old Terminators from the ’70s which continue to function without complaining. Designed for a world that doesn’t exist anymore, it has optional encryption, no built-in auth, three⁺ retrofitted security layers bolted on top, an unstandardized filtering layer and many more quirks. Yet billions of emails arrive correctly every single day. Email is not elegant but nonetheless it is Lindy. In the new age of agentic AI, we can only expect it to metamorphose into another dimension. ↫ Saurabh Sam! Khawase The fact that email is as complicated as it is bad enough, but having it be so dominantly controlled by only a few large gatekeepers like Google and Microsoft surely isnt helping either. I feel like email is no longer really a technology individuals can actively partake in at every level; it feels much more like WhatsApp or iMessage or whatever in that we just get to send messages, and thats it. Running your own mail sever isnt only a complex endeavour, its also a continuous cat-and-mouse game with companies like Google and Microsoft to ensure you dont end up on some shitlist and your emails stop arriving. I settled on Fastmail as my email service, and it works quite well. Still, I would love to be able to just run my own email server, or have some of my far more capable friends run one for a small group of us, but its such a daunting and unpleasant effort few people seem to have the stomach and perseverance for it.
- The day I logged 1 in every 2000 public IPv4: visualizing the AI scraper DDoS
What if you run a few online services for you and your friends, like a small git instance and a grocery list service, but you get absolutely hammered by AI! scrapers? I cannot impress upon you, reader, that this is not only an attack that is coordinated, it is an attack that is distributed. I run a small set of services, basically only for me and my friends. I am not a hyperscaler, I am not a tech company, I am not even a small platform. I have a git forge where I put the shit I make, and a couple other services where me and my friends backup our files or write our grocery lists. I am not fucking Meta and I cannot scale the fuck up just because OpenAI or Anthropic or Meta or whoever is training a model that weeks wants to suck all the content out of my VPS ONCE MORE until it’s dry. ↫ lux at VulpineCitrus So how much traffic did the author of this piece, lux, get from AI! scraping bots? Within a time period of 24 hours, they were hammered by 2040670 unique IP addresses, 98% of which were IPv4 addresses, which means that 1 out of every 2000 publicly available IPv4 addresses were involved in the scraping. Together, they performed over 5 million requests. And just to reiterate: they were scraping a few very small, friends-only services run by some random person. This is absolutely insane. If, at this point in time, with everything that we know about just how deeply unethical every single aspect of AI! is, youre still using and promoting it, what is wrong with you? If youre so addicted to your AI! girlfriends unending stream of useless, forgettable sycophantic slop, despite being aware of the damage youre doing to those around you, theres something seriously wrong with you, and you desperately need professional help. You dont need any of this. The world doesnt need any of this. Nobody likes the slop AI! regurgitates, and nobody likes you for enabling it. Get help.
- Earliest 86-DOS and PC-DOS code released as open source
Microsoft is continuing its efforts to release early versions of DOS as open source, and today weve got a special one. We’re stoked today to showcase some newly available source code materials that provide an even earlier look into the development of PC-DOS 1.00, the first release of DOS for the IBM PC. A dedicated team of historians and preservationists led by Yufeng Gao and Rich Cini has worked to locate, scan, and transcribe the stack of DOS-era source listings from Tim Paterson, the author of DOS. The listings include sources to the 86-DOS 1.00 kernel, several development snapshots of the PC-DOS 1.00 kernel, and some well-known utilities such as CHKDSK. Not only were these assembler listings, but there were also listings of the assembler itself! This work offers rare insight into how MS-DOS/PC-DOS came to be, and how operating system development was done at the time, not as it was later reconstructed. ↫ Stacey Haffner and Scott Hanselman Its wild that the source code had to be transcribed from paper, including notes and changes. You can find more information about the process on Gao’s website and Cini’s website.
- Apple gives up on Vision Pro, disbands Vision Pro team
When Apple unveiled the Vision Pro, almost three (!) years ago, I concluded: If there’s one company that can convince people to spend $3500 to strap an isolating dystopian glowing robot mask onto their faces it’s Apple, but I still have a hard time believing this is what people want. ↫ Thom Holwerda at OSNews (quoting myself is weird) MacRumors Juli Clover, today: Apple has all but given up on the Vision Pro after the M5 model failed to revitalize interest in the device, MacRumors has learned. Apple updated the Vision Pro with a faster M5 chip and a more comfortable band in October 2025, but there were no other hardware changes, and consumers still werent interested. Apple has apparently stopped work on the Vision Pro and the Vision Pro team has been redistributed to other teams within Apple. Some former Vision Pro team members are working on Siri, which is not a surprise as Vision Pro chief Mike Rockwell has been leading the Siri team since March 2025. ↫ Juli Clover at MacRumors VR what the Vision Pro is, whether Apples marketing likes to say it or not has proven to be good for exactly two things: games and porn. The Vision Pro has neither. It was destined to be a flop from the start, as nobody wants to strap an uncomfortable computer to their face that does less than all of the other computers they already have, and what it does do, it does worse. I do wonder if this makes the Vision Pro the most expensive flop in human history. Has any company ever spent more on a product that failed this spectacularly?
- Apple wants to kill your Time Capsule, but they run NetBSD so they cant
It seems like Apple is finally going to remove support for AFP from macOS, twelve years after first moving from AFP to SMB for its default network file-sharing technology. This change shouldnt impact most people, as its highly unlikely youre using AFP for anything in 2026. Still, there is one small group of people to whom this change has an actual impact: owners of Apples Time Capsule devices. Time Capsules only support AFP and SMB1, and with SMB1 being removed from macOS ages ago, and now AFP being on the chopping block as well, macOS 27 would render your Time Capsule more or less unusable. Its important to note that the last Time Capsule sold by Apple, the fifth generation, was released in 2013, and the product line as a whole was discontinued in 2018. If you bought a Time Capsule in the twilight years of the lines availability, I think you have a genuine reason to be perturbed by Apple cutting you off from your product if you upgrade to macOS 27, but at least you have the option of keeping an older version of macOS around so you can keep interacting with your time Capsule. It still feels like a bit of a shitty move though, as those fifth generation models came with up to 3TB of storage, which can still serve as a solid NAS solution. Thank your lucky stars, then, that open source can, as usual, come to the rescue when proprietary software vendors do what they always do and screw over their customers. Did you know every generation of Time Capsule actually runs NetBSD, and that its trivially easy to add support for Samba 4 and SMB3 authentication to your Time Capsule, thereby extending its life expectancy considerably? TimeCapsuleSMB does exactly that. If the setup completes successfully, your Time Capsule will run its own Samba 4 server, advertise itself over Bonjour (show up automatically in the Network! folder on macOS), and accept authenticated SMB3 connections from macOS. You should then be able to open Finder, choose Connect to Server, and use a normal SMB URL instead of relying on Apple’s legacy stack. You should also be able to use the disk for Time Machine backups. ↫ TimeCapsuleSMB Its compatible with both NetBSD 4 and NetBSD 6-based Time Capsules, although youll need to run a single SMB activation command every time a NetBSD 4-based Time Capsule reboots. This will also disable any AFP and SMB1 support, but that is kind of moot since those are exactly the technologies that dont and wont work anymore once macOS 27 is released. The installation is also entirely reversible if, for whatever reason, you want to undo the addition of Samba 4. This whole saga is such an excellent example of why open source software protects users rights, by design.
- Dillo 3.3.0 released
Dillo is an amazing web browser for those of us who want their web browsing experience to be calmer and less flashing. Dillo also happens to be a very UNIX-y browser, and their latest release, 3.3.0, underlines that. A new dilloc program is now available to control Dillo from the command line or from a script. It searches for Dillo by the PID in the DILLO_PID environment variable or for a unique Dillo process if not set. ↫ Dillo 3.3.0 release notes You can use this program to control your Dillo instance, with basic commands like reloading the current URL, opening a new URL, and so on, but also things like dumping the current pages contents. I have a feeling more commands and features will be added in future releases, but for now, even the current set of commands can be helpful for scripting purposes. Im sure some of you who live and die in the terminal are already thinking of all the possibilities here. You can now also add page actions to the right-click context menu, so you can do things like reload a page with a Chrome curl impersonator to avoid certain JavaScript walls. This, too, is of course extensible. Dillo 3.3.0 also brings experimental support for building the browser with FLTK 1.4, and implemented a fix specifically to make OAuth work properly.
- Ubuntu is going to integrate AI!, but Canonical remains vague about the how and why
Ubuntu, being one of the more commercial Linux distributions, was always going to jump on the AI! bandwagon, and Jon Seager, Canonicals VP Engineering, published a blog post with more details. Throughout 2026 we’ll be working on enabling access to frontier AI for Ubuntu users in a way that is deliberate, secure, and aligned with our open source values. By focusing on the combination of education for our engineers, our existing knowledge of building resilient systems and our strengthening silicon partnerships, we will deliver efficient local inference, powerful accessibility features, and a context-aware OS that makes Ubuntu meaningfully more capable for the people who rely on it Ubuntu is not becoming an AI product, but it can become stronger with thoughtful AI integration. ↫ Jon Seager at Ubuntu Discourse The problem with this entire post is that, much like all other corporate communications about AI!, its all deceptively vague, open-ended, and weasely. Adjectives like focused!, principled!, thoughtful!, and tasteful! dont really mean anything, and leave everything open for basically every type of slop AI! feature under the sun. Their claims about open weights and open source models are also weakened by words like favour! and where possible!, again leaving the door wide open for basically any shady AI! companys models and features to find their way into your default Ubuntu installation. Theres also very little in terms of concrete plans and proposed features, leaving Ubuntu users in the dark about what, exactly, is going to be added to their operating system of choice during the remainder of the year. Theres mentions of improved text-to-speech/speech-to-text and text regurgitators, but thats about it. None of it feels particularly inspired or ground-breaking, and the veneer of open source, ethical model creation, and so on, is particularly thin this time around, even for Canonical. I dont really feel like I know a lot more about Canonicals AI! intentions for Ubuntu after reading this post than I did before, other than Ubuntu users might be able to generate text in their email client or whatever later this year. Is that really something anybody wants?
- If 64bit Windows 11 contains a copy of 32bit explorer.exe, could you run it as its shell?
Raymond Chen published a blog post about how a crappy uninstaller on Windows caused a mysterious spike in the number of Explorer (Windows graphical shell) crashes. It turns out the buggy uninstaller caused repeated crashes in the 32bit version of Explorer on 64bit systems, and hold on a minute. The how many bits on the what now? The 32-bit version of Explorer exists for backward compatibility with 32-bit programs. This is not the copy of Explorer that is handling your taskbar or desktop or File Explorer windows. So if the 32-bit Explorer is running on a 64-bit system, it’s because some other program is using it to do some dirty work. ↫ Raymond Chen at The Old New Thing So I had no idea that 64bit Windows included a copy of the 32bit Explorer for backwards compatibility. It obviously makes sense, but I just never stopped to think about it. This made me wonder though if you could go nuts and do something really dumb: could you somehow trick 64bit Windows into running this 32bit copy of Explorer as its shell? Youd be running 32bit Explorer on 64bit Windows using the 32bit WoW64 binaries where you just pulled the 32bit Explorer binary from, which seems like a really nonsensical thing to do. Since theres no longer any 32bit builds of Windows 11, you also cant just copy over the 32bit Explorer from a 32bit Windows 11 build and achieve the same goal that way, so youd really have to go digging around in WoW64 to get 32bit versions. I guess the answer to this question depends on just how complete this copy of 32bit Explorer really is, and if Windows has any defenses or triggers in place to prevent someone from doing something this uselessly stupid. Of course, theres no practical reason to do any of this and it makes very little sense, but it might be a fun hacking project. Most likely the Windows experts among you are wondering what kind of utterly deranged new designer drug Im on, but I was always told that sometimes, the dumbest questions can lead to the most interesting answers, so here we are.
- 8087 emulation on 8086 systems
Not too long ago I had a need and an opportunity to re-acquaint myself with the mechanism used for software emulation of the 8087 FPU on 8086/8088 machines. ↫ Michal Necasek Look, when a Michal Necasek article starts out like this, you know youre in for a learnin ol time. The 8087 was a floating-point coprocessor for the 8086 and 8088 processors, since back in those early days, processors did not include an integrated floating-point unit. It wouldnt be until the release of the 486DX, in 1989, that Intel would integrate an FPU inside the processor itself, negating the need for a separate chip and socket. Interestingly enough, Intel also released a cut-down version of the 486 with the FPU removed, the 486SX, for which an optional external FPU did exist.
- How hard is it to open a file?
Sebastian Wick has a great explanation of why opening files programmatically is a lot more complex and fraught with dangers than you might think it is. This issue was relevant for Wick as he is one of the lead developers of Flatpak, for which a number of security issues have recently been discovered, and it just so happens that many of these issues dealt with this very topic. The biggest security issue found was a complete sandbox escape, originating from the fact that flatpak run, the command-line tool to start a Flatpak application, accepted path strings, since flatpak run is assumed to be run by a trusted user. The problem lay in a D-Bus service sandboxed applications could use to create subsandboxes, and this service was built around, you guessed it, flatpak run. The issues in question, including this complete sandbox escape, have been addressed and fixed, but they highlight exactly the dangers that can come from opening files. This subsandboxing approach in Flatpak is built on assumptions from fifteen years ago, and times have changed since then. If youre a programmer who deals with opening files, you might want to take a look at your own code to see if similar issues exist.
- Canonical Unveils Ubuntu AI Strategy: Local Models, User Control, and Smarter Workflows
by George Whittaker
Canonical has officially revealed its long-anticipated plans to bring artificial intelligence features into Ubuntu, marking a significant shift for one of the world’s most widely used Linux distributions. Rather than rushing into the AI wave, Canonical is taking a measured, privacy-focused approach, one that aims to enhance the operating system without compromising its open-source values.
The rollout is expected to take place gradually throughout 2026, with early features likely appearing in upcoming Ubuntu releases.
A Gradual, Thoughtful AI Rollout
Canonical isn’t positioning Ubuntu as an “AI-first” operating system. Instead, the company is introducing AI in stages, focusing on practical improvements rather than hype-driven features.
The plan follows a two-phase model:
Implicit AI features: Enhancements running quietly in the background Explicit AI features: User-facing tools and workflows powered by AI
This approach allows Ubuntu to evolve naturally, improving existing functionality before introducing more advanced capabilities.
Local AI First, Not the Cloud
One of the most important aspects of Canonical’s strategy is its emphasis on local AI processing, also known as on-device inference.
Instead of sending data to remote servers, Ubuntu will aim to:
Run AI models directly on the user’s hardware Reduce reliance on cloud services Improve privacy and performance
Canonical has made it clear that local inference will be the default, with cloud-based options available only when explicitly chosen by the user.
This aligns closely with the privacy expectations of Linux users, who often prefer greater control over their data.
What AI Features Could Look Like
Canonical has outlined several potential use cases for AI inside Ubuntu. These include:
Accessibility Improvements
AI will enhance tools like:
Speech-to-text Text-to-speech Assistive technologies
These features aim to make Ubuntu more inclusive and easier to use for a wider range of users.
Smarter System Assistance
Future AI features may help users:
Troubleshoot system issues Interpret logs and error messages Automate repetitive tasks
This could significantly lower the learning curve for new Linux users.
Agent-Based Automation
Canonical is also exploring “agentic” AI workflows, where AI can take actions on behalf of the user.
Examples include:
Go to Full Article
- Thunderbird 150 Lands on Linux: Smarter Encryption, Better Tools, and a Polished Experience
by George Whittaker
Mozilla has officially rolled out Thunderbird 150.0, the latest version of its open-source email client, bringing a mix of security-focused enhancements, usability upgrades, and workflow improvements for Linux and other platforms. Released in April 2026, this update continues Thunderbird’s steady evolution as a powerful desktop email solution.
For Linux users, Thunderbird 150 delivers meaningful updates that improve both everyday usability and advanced email handling, especially for encrypted communication.
Stronger Support for Encrypted Email
One of the standout improvements in Thunderbird 150 is how it handles encrypted messages.
Users can now:
Search inside encrypted emails (OpenPGP and S/MIME) Generate “unobtrusive” OpenPGP signatures that appear cleaner to recipients
These changes make encrypted communication far more practical, especially for users who rely on secure email for work or privacy-sensitive tasks.
New Productivity and Workflow Features
Thunderbird 150 introduces several small but impactful workflow improvements:
A new Account Hub opens automatically on first launch, simplifying setup Recent Destinations in settings can now be sorted alphabetically Address book entries can be copied as vCard files A new custom accent color option allows interface personalization
These updates make Thunderbird easier to configure and more flexible to use daily.
Improved Built-In PDF Viewer
Thunderbird’s integrated PDF viewer gets a useful upgrade: users can now reorder pages directly within the viewer.
This is particularly helpful for:
Managing attachments without external tools Editing documents quickly before sending Streamlining email-based workflows
Combined with ongoing security fixes, the PDF viewer becomes both more capable and safer.
Calendar and Interface Enhancements
Several improvements focus on usability and accessibility:
Calendar views now support touchscreen scrolling Fixed issues with calendar layouts and navigation Better screen reader support and accessibility fixes General UI refinements across the application
These changes contribute to a smoother, more consistent user experience across devices.
Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements
Thunderbird 150 also resolves a wide range of issues, including:
Go to Full Article
- Linux Kernel 6.19 Reaches End of Life: Time to Move Forward
by George Whittaker
The Linux kernel continues its fast-paced release cycle, and with that comes an important milestone: Linux kernel 6.19 has officially reached end of life (EOL). For users and distributions still running this branch, it’s now time to upgrade to a newer kernel version.
This isn’t unexpected, Linux 6.19 was never intended to be a long-term release, but it does serve as a reminder of how quickly non-LTS kernel branches move through their lifecycle.
Official End of Support
The final update in the 6.19 series, Linux 6.19.14, has been released and marked as the last maintenance version. Kernel maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman confirmed that no further updates will follow, stating that the branch is now officially end-of-life.
On kernel.org, the 6.19 series is now listed as EOL, meaning it will no longer receive bug fixes or security patches.
Why 6.19 Had a Short Lifespan
Unlike some kernel releases, Linux 6.19 was not a long-term support (LTS) version. Short-lived kernel branches are typically supported for only a few months before being replaced by newer releases.
Linux follows a rapid development model:
New major versions are released frequently Short-term branches receive limited updates Only selected kernels are designated as LTS for extended support
Because of this, 6.19 was always meant to be a stepping stone rather than a long-term foundation.
What Users Should Do Now
With 6.19 no longer maintained, continuing to use it poses risks, especially in environments where security and stability matter.
Recommended upgrade paths include:
Upgrade to Linux 7.0
The most direct path forward is the Linux 7.0 kernel series, which succeeds 6.19 and introduces new hardware support and ongoing fixes.
This is a good option for:
Desktop users Rolling-release distributions Users who want the latest featuresSwitch to an LTS Kernel
For production systems, servers, or long-term stability, moving to an LTS kernel is often the better choice.
Current LTS options include:
Linux 6.18 LTS (supported until 2028) Linux 6.12 LTS (supported until 2028) Linux 6.6 LTS (supported until 2027)
These versions receive ongoing security updates and are better suited for stable environments.
Why EOL Matters
When a kernel reaches end of life:
Go to Full Article
- Archinstall 4.2 Shifts to Wayland-First Profiles, Leaving X.Org Behind
by George Whittaker
The Arch Linux installer continues evolving alongside the broader Linux desktop ecosystem. With the release of Archinstall 4.2, a notable change has arrived: Wayland is now the default focus for graphical installation profiles, while traditional X.Org-based profiles have been removed or deprioritized.
This move reflects a wider transition happening across Linux, one that is gradually redefining how graphical environments are built and used.
A Turning Point for Archinstall
Archinstall, the official guided installer for Arch Linux, has steadily improved over time to make installation more accessible while still maintaining Arch’s minimalist philosophy.
With version 4.2, the installer now aligns more closely with modern desktop trends by emphasizing Wayland-based environments during setup, instead of offering traditional X.Org configurations as first-class options.
This doesn’t mean X.Org is completely gone from Arch Linux, but it does signal a clear shift in direction.
Why Wayland Is Taking Over
Wayland has been gaining traction for years as the successor to X.Org, offering a more streamlined and secure approach to rendering graphics on Linux.
Compared to X.Org, Wayland is designed to:
Reduce complexity in the graphics stack Improve security by isolating applications Deliver smoother rendering and better performance Support modern display technologies like high-DPI and variable refresh rates
As the Linux ecosystem evolves, many distributions and desktop environments are prioritizing Wayland as the default display protocol.
What Changed in Archinstall 4.2
With this release, users installing Arch through Archinstall will notice:
Wayland-based desktop environments and compositors are now the primary options X.Org-centric setups are no longer emphasized in guided profiles Installation workflows better reflect modern Linux defaults
This simplifies the installation experience for new users, who no longer need to choose between legacy and modern display systems during setup.
What About X.Org?
While Archinstall is moving forward, X.Org itself is not disappearing overnight.
Many applications and workflows still rely on X11, and compatibility is maintained through XWayland, which allows X11 applications to run within Wayland sessions.
For advanced users, Arch still provides full flexibility:
Go to Full Article
- OpenClaw in 2026: What It Is, Who’s Using It, and Whether Your Business Should Adopt It
by George Whittaker
“probably the single most important release of software, probably ever.”
— Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA
Wow! That’s a bold statement from one of the most influential figures in modern computing.
But is it true? Some people think so. Others think it’s hype. Most are somewhere in between, aware of OpenClaw, but not entirely sure what to make of it. Are people actually using it? Yes. Who’s using it? More than you might expect. Is it experimental, or is it already changing how work gets done? That depends on how it’s being applied. Is it more relevant for businesses or consumers right now? That’s one of the most important, and most misunderstood, questions.
This article breaks that down clearly: what OpenClaw is, how it works, who is using it today, and where it actually creates value.
What makes OpenClaw different isn’t just the technology, it’s where it fits. Most of the AI tools people are familiar with still require a human to take the next step. They assist, but they don’t execute. OpenClaw changes that dynamic by connecting decision-making directly to action. Once you understand that shift, the rest of the discussion, who’s using it, how it’s being deployed, and where it creates value, starts to make a lot more sense.
Top 10 Questions About OpenClaw
What is OpenClaw?
OpenClaw is an open-source AI agent framework that enables large language models like Claude, GPT, and Gemini to execute real-world tasks across software systems, including APIs, files, and workflows.
What does OpenClaw actually do?
OpenClaw functions as an execution layer that allows AI systems to take actions, such as sending emails, updating CRM records, or running scripts, instead of only generating responses.
Do you need to be a developer to use OpenClaw?
No, but technical familiarity helps. Non-developers can use prebuilt workflows, while developers can customize and scale implementations more effectively.
Is OpenClaw more suited for business or consumer use?
OpenClaw is currently more suited for business and technical use cases where structured workflows exist. Consumer use is emerging but remains secondary.
How is OpenClaw different from ChatGPT or Claude?
ChatGPT and Claude generate outputs, while OpenClaw enables those outputs to trigger actions across connected systems.
Who created OpenClaw?
Go to Full Article
- Linux Kernel Developers Adopt New Fuzzing Tools
by George Whittaker
The Linux kernel development community is stepping up its security game once again. Developers, led by key maintainers like Greg Kroah-Hartman, are actively adopting new fuzzing tools to uncover bugs earlier and improve overall kernel reliability.
This move reflects a broader shift toward automated testing and AI-assisted development, as the kernel continues to grow in complexity and scale.
What Is Fuzzing and Why It Matters
Fuzzing is a software testing technique that feeds random or unexpected inputs into a program to trigger crashes or uncover vulnerabilities.
In the Linux kernel, fuzzing has become one of the most effective ways to detect:
Memory corruption bugs Race conditions Privilege escalation flaws Edge-case failures in subsystems
Modern fuzzers like Syzkaller have already discovered thousands of kernel bugs over the years, making them a cornerstone of Linux security testing.
New Tools Enter the Scene
Recently, kernel maintainers have begun experimenting with new fuzzing frameworks and tooling, including a project internally referred to as “clanker”, which has already been used to identify multiple issues across different kernel subsystems.
Early testing has uncovered bugs in areas such as:
SMB/KSMBD networking code USB and HID subsystems Filesystems like F2FS Wireless and device drivers
The speed at which these issues were discovered suggests that these new tools are significantly improving bug detection efficiency.
AI and Smarter Fuzzing Techniques
One of the most interesting developments is the growing role of AI and machine learning in fuzzing.
New research projects like KernelGPT use large language models to:
Automatically generate system call sequences Improve test coverage Discover previously hidden execution paths
These techniques can enhance traditional fuzzers by making them smarter about how they explore the kernel’s behavior.
Other advancements include:
Better crash analysis and deduplication tools (like ECHO) Configuration-aware fuzzing to explore deeper kernel states Feedback-driven fuzzing loops for improved coverage
Together, these innovations help developers focus on the most meaningful bugs rather than sifting through duplicate reports.
Why This Shift Is Happening Now
The Linux kernel is one of the most complex software projects in existence. With millions of lines of code and contributions from thousands of developers, manually catching every bug is nearly impossible.
Go to Full Article
- GNOME 50 Reaches Arch Linux: A Leaner, Wayland-Only Future Arrives
by George Whittaker
Arch Linux users are among the first to experience the latest GNOME desktop, as GNOME 50 has begun rolling out through Arch’s repositories. Thanks to Arch’s rolling-release model, new upstream software like GNOME arrives quickly, giving users early access to the newest features and architectural changes.
With GNOME 50, that includes one of the most significant shifts in the desktop’s history.
A Major GNOME Milestone
GNOME 50, officially released in March 2026 under the codename “Tokyo,” represents six months of development and refinement from the GNOME community.
Unlike some previous versions, this release focuses less on dramatic redesigns and more on strengthening the foundation of the desktop, improving performance, modernizing graphics handling, and simplifying long-standing complexities.
For Arch Linux users, that translates into a more streamlined and future-ready desktop environment.
Goodbye X11, Hello Wayland-Only Desktop
The headline change in GNOME 50 is the complete removal of X11 support from GNOME Shell and its window manager, Mutter.
After years of gradual transition:
X11 sessions were first deprecated Then disabled by default And now fully removed in GNOME 50
This means GNOME now runs exclusively on Wayland, with legacy X11 applications handled through XWayland compatibility layers.
The result is a simpler, more modern graphics stack that reduces maintenance overhead and improves long-term performance and security.
Improved Graphics and Display Handling
GNOME 50 brings several key improvements to display and graphics performance:
Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) enabled by default Better fractional scaling support Improved compatibility with NVIDIA drivers Enhanced HDR and color management
These changes aim to deliver smoother animations, more responsive desktops, and better support for modern displays.
For gamers and users with high-refresh monitors, these upgrades are especially noticeable.
Performance and Responsiveness Gains
Beyond graphics, GNOME 50 includes multiple performance optimizations:
Faster file handling in the Files (Nautilus) app Improved thumbnail generation Reduced stuttering in animations Better resource usage across the desktop
These refinements make the desktop feel more responsive, particularly on systems with demanding workloads or multiple monitors.
New Parental Controls and Accessibility Features
GNOME 50 also expands its focus on usability and accessibility.
Go to Full Article
- MX Linux Pushes Back Against Age Verification: A Stand for Privacy and Open Source Principles
by George Whittaker
The MX Linux project has taken a firm stance in a growing controversy across the Linux ecosystem: mandatory age-verification requirements at the operating system level. In a recent update, the team made it clear, they have no intention of implementing such measures, citing concerns over privacy, practicality, and the core philosophy of open-source software.
As governments begin introducing laws that could require operating systems to collect user age data, MX Linux is joining a group of projects resisting the shift.
What Sparked the Debate?
The discussion around age verification stems from new legislation, particularly in regions like the United States and Brazil, that aims to protect minors online. These laws may require operating systems to:
Collect user age or date of birth during setup Provide age-related data to applications Enable content filtering based on age categories
At the same time, underlying Linux components such as systemd have already begun exploring technical changes, including storing birthdate fields in user records to support such requirements.
MX Linux Says “No” to Age Verification
In response, the MX Linux team has clearly rejected the idea of integrating age verification into their distribution. Their reasoning is rooted in several key concerns:
User privacy: Collecting age data introduces sensitive personal information into systems that traditionally avoid such tracking Feasibility: Implementing consistent, secure age verification across a decentralized OS ecosystem is highly complex Philosophy: Open-source operating systems are not designed to act as data collectors or gatekeepers
The developers emphasized that they do not want to burden users with intrusive requirements and instead encouraged concerned individuals to direct their efforts toward policymakers rather than Linux projects.
A Broader Resistance in the Linux Community
MX Linux is not alone. The Linux world is divided on how, or whether, to respond to these regulations.
Some projects are exploring compliance, while others are pushing back entirely. In fact, age verification laws have sparked:
Strong debate among developers and maintainers Concerns about enforceability on open-source platforms New projects explicitly created to resist such requirements
In some extreme cases, distributions have even restricted access in certain regions to avoid legal complications.
Why This Matters
At its core, this issue goes beyond a single feature, it raises fundamental questions about what an operating system should be.
Linux has long stood for:
Go to Full Article
- LibreOffice Drives Europe’s Open Source Shift: A Growing Push for Digital Sovereignty
by George Whittaker
LibreOffice is increasingly at the center of Europe’s push toward open-source adoption and digital independence. Backed by The Document Foundation, the widely used office suite is playing a key role in helping governments, institutions, and organizations reduce reliance on proprietary software while strengthening control over their digital infrastructure.
Across the European Union, this shift is no longer experimental, it’s becoming policy.
A Broader Movement Toward Open Source
Europe has been steadily moving toward open-source technologies for years, but recent developments show clear acceleration. Governments and public institutions are actively transitioning away from proprietary platforms, often citing concerns about vendor lock-in, cost, and data control.
According to recent industry data, European organizations are adopting open source faster than their U.S. counterparts, with vendor lock-in concerns cited as a major driver.
LibreOffice sits at the center of this trend as a mature, fully open-source alternative to traditional office suites.
LibreOffice as a Strategic Tool
LibreOffice isn’t just another productivity application, it has become a strategic component in Europe’s digital policy framework.
The software:
Is fully open source and community-driven Supports open standards like OpenDocument Format (ODF) Allows governments to avoid dependency on specific vendors Enables long-term control over data and infrastructure
These characteristics align closely with the European Union’s broader strategy to promote interoperability and transparency through open standards.
Government Adoption Across Europe
LibreOffice adoption is already happening at scale across multiple countries and sectors.
Examples include:
Germany (Schleswig-Holstein): transitioning tens of thousands of government systems to Linux and LibreOffice Denmark: replacing Microsoft Office in public institutions as part of a broader digital sovereignty initiative France and Italy: deploying LibreOffice across ministries and defense organizations Spain and local governments: adopting LibreOffice to standardize workflows and reduce costs
In some cases, migrations involve hundreds of thousands of systems, demonstrating that open-source office software is viable at national scale.
Go to Full Article
- From Linux to Blockchain: The Infrastructure Behind Modern Financial Systems
by George Whittaker
The modern internet is built on open systems. From the Linux kernel powering servers worldwide to the protocols that govern data exchange, much of today’s digital infrastructure is rooted in transparency, collaboration, and decentralization. These same principles are now influencing a new frontier: financial systems built on blockchain technology.
For developers and system architects familiar with Linux and open-source ecosystems, the rise of cryptocurrency is not just a financial trend, it is an extension of ideas that have been evolving for decades.
Open-Source Foundations and Financial Innovation
Linux has long demonstrated the power of decentralized development. Instead of relying on a single authority, it thrives through distributed contributions, peer review, and community-driven improvement.
Blockchain technology follows a similar model. Networks like Bitcoin operate on open protocols, where consensus is achieved through distributed nodes rather than centralized control. Every transaction is verified, recorded, and made transparent through cryptographic mechanisms.
For those who have spent years working within Linux environments, this architecture feels familiar. It reflects a shift away from trust-based systems toward verification-based systems.
Understanding the Stack: Nodes, Protocols, and Interfaces
At a technical level, cryptocurrency systems are composed of multiple layers. Full nodes maintain the blockchain, validating transactions and ensuring network integrity. Lightweight clients provide access to users without requiring full data replication. On top of this, exchanges and platforms act as interfaces that connect users to the underlying network.
For developers, interacting with these systems often involves APIs, command-line tools, and automation scripts, tools that are already integral to Linux workflows. Managing wallets, verifying transactions, and monitoring network activity can all be integrated into existing development environments.
Go to Full Article
|
