This week's Linux and FOSS news:

LINUX NEWS

Linux kernel 6.15 reaches EOL, upgrading to 6.16 is recommended:
https://9to5linux.com/linux-kernel-6-15-reaches-end-of-life-its-time-to-upgrade-to-linux-kernel-6-16

KDE Plasma 6.5 will include "KISS" (a new initial system setup wizard, allowing initial user creation for OEM installs, selecting keyboard layout and time zone), scrollable panels, faster thumbnail generation, other improvements:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/KDE-KISS-Initial-Setup-Wizard

Tails 6.19 released with update Tor Browser, Tor client and Thunderbird:
https://alternativeto.net/news/2025/8/tails-6-19-updates-tor-browser-and-tor-client-with-key-fixes/

Ubuntu 25.04 gets AMD SEV-SNP host support:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/AMD-SEV-SNP-Host-Ubuntu-25.04

Ubuntu 25.10 new wallpaper, mascot artwork revealed:
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/08/ubuntu-25-10-wallpaper-mascot-artwork

LibreELEC 12.2 released with Kodi 21.2 "Omega", improved Raspberry Pi support, other fixes and improvements:
https://betanews.com/2025/08/17/libreelec-12-2-arrives-with-kodi-21-2-omega-and-better-raspberry-pi-support/

Chromium received HDR video playback support on Wayland:
https://news.itsfoss.com/chromium-native-hdr-support-wayland/

Systemd 259 will have higher system requirements, including Linux kernel >= 5.10, glibc >= 2.34, python >= 3.9.0, etc.:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/systemd-259-Requirements

Phosh 0.49.0 released with option to eclude days without events in upcoming-events, phrosh portal used when possible, option to start pomodoro timer on shell unlock, etc.:
https://phosh.mobi/releases/rel-0.49.0/

(FOSS news in comments)

This week's Linux and FOSS news:

LINUX NEWS

Debian 13 will include initial RISC-V support, with limited board support for now:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Debian-13-RISC-V-Ready

GNOME introduces Foundry, a development tool which extract's Builder's functionality into a library and CLI tool:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/GNOME-Builder-Foundry-2025

KDE Plasma 6.5 will be able to send notications about low printer ink level, will include Pointer Warp support for Wayland:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Plasma-6.5-Low-Printer-Ink

OBS Studio Snap app rebased on Core24 instead of Core22, built for official OBS Project PPA instead of unofficial, unmaintained OBS Studio Portable, better Intel GPU support:
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/07/obs-studio-snap-update-core24-plugins

KaOS 2025.07 available with Qt5-based KDE Frameworks removed from default install, Plasma 6.4, updated packages, Phonon uses MPV as default backend instead of VLC:
https://betanews.com/2025/07/24/kaos-linux-gets-a-modern-makeover-and-a-big-under-the-hood-upgrade/

Fedora considers reducing the scope that BIOS systems can hold up a release:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Fedora-Non-UEFI-BIOS-Scope

New migration tool Operese available, for migrating files and settings from Windows 10 to a Kubuntu installation:
https://betanews.com/2025/07/22/saying-no-to-windows-11-just-got-easier-operese-automatically-transfers-your-windows-10-files-and-settings-to-linux/
(It's a pretty cool concept overall, but I think giving KDE Plasma for Linux newcomers isn't really the best idea, because the tons of customization options, and occasional bugs here and there might scare away some Windows users. I would rather give them Zorin OS with their customized version of GNOME, or Linux Mint / LMDE with Cinnamon. (No, I'm not a KDE hater, I think it's a great option for those who want to fully customize their desktop experience, or the PewDiePie type of guys who already adopted the mindset of tweaking around, playing around with the options, not wanting to go back to Windows when encountering a bug, but it's not for every newcomer.))

Wayback 0.1 released as a first preview release:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Wayback-0.1-Released

(FOSS news in comments)

One of the dumbest design decisions of #GTK is to have "warp scrolling" the default primary mouse button behavior.

Previously, if you middle-clicked the scrollbar, it would jump to that position within the buffer. Primary click moved up/down by page. GTK 3 reversed this for no reason.

There are some limited scenarios where jump scrolling is desired, but you should never break a standard UX convention without a tremendous benefit. There wasn't one.

This week's Linux and FOSS news:

LINUX NEWS

Debian 13 final freeze set for 27 July, official release for 9 August:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Debian-13.0-Release-Date-Aug-9

KDE Plasma 6.4.3 released with improved automatic screen scale calculator on Wayland, accessibility improvements, bug fixes:
https://9to5linux.com/kde-plasma-6-4-3-improves-the-automatic-screen-scale-calculator-on-wayland

KDE Plasma 6.5 will include rounded bottom corners for windows:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/KDE-Rounded-Bottom-Corners
(Rounded corners are everywhere. You can't escape them lol)

Plasma Bigscreen sees active development again, thanks to Plasma Mobile contributor Espi:
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/07/plasma-bigscreen-revival-kde-tv

Clear Linux OS shutting down due to financial issues of Intel:
https://community.clearlinux.org/t/all-good-things-come-to-an-end-shutting-down-clear-linux-os/10716
("Rest assured that Intel remains deeply invested in the Linux ecosystem, actively supporting and contributing to various open-source projects and Linux distributions to enable and optimize for Intel hardware." Shutting down Clear Linux OS isn't the only thing affecting Linux though. See next linked article.)

Intel WMI Slim Bootloader "SBL" firmware update driver for Linux being orphaned due to departures:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Intel-SLM-Driver-Orphaned

Linux Mint monthly report: Linux Mint 22.2 planned with HWE kernel, fingerprint authentication, theme updates, accent color support, improved libAdwaita compatibility, improved Wayland support; LMDE 7 planned with Debian 13 base, OEM support; blog comment moderation made more strict to eliminate politics:
https://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=4860

Hyprland 0.50 released with new render scheduling, legacy renderer dropped, explicit sync support always used by default, "no screenshare" option to black out any window during screen-sharing:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Hyprland-0.50-Released

Slackware turns 32:
https://ostechnix.com/celebrating-slackware-linux-32nd-anniversary/

(more Linux and FOSS news in comments)

Since migrating between storage devices is my new hobby, apparently, I now moved my /home directory back onto my SSDs in RAID1. The four HDDs in RAID10 are now my games drive. Nice and fast again. All devices are 1 TB.

What's cool about RAID10 is that it can be converted to RAID0 in-place. So when I out of game space and I don't care about keeping the install directories safe (mods, etc.), I can just double my capacity. Neat!

I’m lining up episodes of The IT Guy Show covering X11 and Wayland — their quirks, legacy, and the future of the Linux desktop.

If you’ve worked with either (or both!), or just have strong real-world opinions on the state of display servers in Linux, I’d love to have you on.

Reach out or if you want, nominate someone awesome!

This week's Linux and FOSS news:

LINUX NEWS

Ubuntu 24.10 will reach EOL on July 10, upgrading to 25.04 is recommended:
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/06/ubuntu-24-10-oracular-oriole-eol-july-2025

Ubuntu 25.10 (shipping GNOME 49) will remove GNOME X11 session:
https://9to5linux.com/ubuntu-25-10-questing-quokka-to-remove-the-gnome-on-xorg-x11-session

Linux Mint 20 reached EOL, upgrading to 22 is recommended:
https://news.itsfoss.com/linux-mint-20-eol/

Linux Mint 22.2 adds out-of-the-box fingerprint authentication support with Fingwit app:
https://9to5linux.com/linux-mint-22-2-will-feature-fingerprint-authentication-with-fingwit-app

Nitrux drops the Plasma-based NX desktop for Hyprland, due to the discontinuation of Plasma LTS released:
https://9to5linux.com/nitrux-linux-drops-its-kde-plasma-based-nx-desktop-for-hyprland
(It's a bit weird choice that they ditched a full DE for a standalone compositor, which is tiling in fact, and requires editing some config files manually, not sure if DE users want that.)

Kali Linux 2025.2 released with revamped Kali Menu, GNOME 48, KDE Plasma 8.3, 13 new tools (including Azurehound, binwalk3, bloodhound-ce-python etc.):
https://9to5linux.com/kali-linux-2025-2-released-with-revamped-kali-menu-13-new-hacking-tools

GNOME 49 Alpha 0 available with preparations for disabling X11 by default:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/GNOME-49-Alpha-0-Packages

Sway 1.11 released with explicit sync support, support for the ext-image-copy-capture-v1 and ext-image-capture-source-v1 protocols for improved screen capture, support for the alpha-modifier-v1 protocol for setting an alpha multiplier for a surface, etc.:
https://9to5linux.com/sway-1-11-tiling-wayland-compositor-adds-support-for-explicit-synchronization

(More Linux and FOSS news in comments)

#LinuxGaming is about to change in a "Bazaar" way! @jorge

#Bazzite #Linux #DesktopLinux #videogames #emulation #flatpak

https://gardinerbryant.com/linux-software-management-is-about-to-change-with-bazaar

Oh my goodness! You can enable login and logout sounds in KDE Plasma!

The Oxygen sound theme has such a nice jingle, too. It reminds me of the good old days. I'm keeping that.

You can enable it in Settings → Apps & Windows → Notifications → Login → Play a sound (See screenshot)

You can set a custom sound file, but a file from your current sound theme should already be default if there is one.

New to Linux? Need something familiar? Check out Mission Center. It's basically Windows Task Manager for Linux.

Available as `mission-center` on Arch Linux or as Flatpak for any other distro.

I re-tested Fedora KDE and openSUSE Tumbleweed and I can't believe that Mint ist still the *only* distro that gets this right:

- User installs Linux
- User wants to install NVIDIA driver, Discord or Wine
Not available in package manager
- User learns about extra repositories¹
- User is forced to use the terminal to customise and learn about package sources²

¹ This shouldn't even be a problem in the first place.
² This is simply unacceptable user experience.

Ich habe eine #Signal.gruppe über #Linux für Einsteigergruppe auf deutsch erstellt!

Das Ziel ist, ohne Sprachbarriere ausschließlich bei Linux zu helfen und darüber auszutauschen.

Fortgeschrittene gerne auch dazukommen, um Wissen zu teilen!

https://signal.group/#CjQKIAfNxX_nHF556_okGVVcZByjWHizhV2TgfCAg3z_-Up1EhDGaWLNaeljElwEcXdejYqK

As a KDE Plasma user, I was always jealous of some of the nicer GNOME apps.

Recently I realised that I don't need to be. I can run GNOME apps on KDE Plasma just fine! Sure, they look a little different, but they work just as they would on GNOME.

Do you mix apps from different desktops?

(If no option applies to you, please comment instead)

Fajna akcja #EndOf10 #Koniec10

"Wsparcie dla Windows 10 kończy się 14 października 2025 roku.

Microsoft chce, aby kupić nowy komputer.

Ale co by było, gdyby móc ponownie uczynić swój obecny komputer szybkim i bezpiecznym?

Jeśli komputer był zakupiony po 2010 roku, najprawdopodobniej nie ma powodu, by go wyrzucać. Wystarczy zainstalować aktualny system operacyjny GNU/Linux, aby korzystać z niego przez wiele lat.

Instalacja systemu operacyjnego może wydawać się trudna, ale nie musisz robić tego samodzielnie! Przy odrobinie szczęścia, w Twojej okolicy są ludzie gotowi do pomocy!"

https://endof10.org

Można rejestrować kolektyw naprawczy, miejsca i wydarzenia związane z instalacją Linuksa. Informacje tutaj -> https://endof10.org/contribute/

Sam zarejestruję moją wiejską mikro naprawialnię.

Mejkerspejsy, hakerspejsy, co wy na to?

Dzięki @tomek za info :)

This week's Linux and FOSS news:

LINUX NEWS

GNOME 48 RC available with dynamic triple buffering, Wayland color management protocol, support for centering new windows by default, NVIDIA improvements, updates for Nautilus and Settings etc.:
https://9to5linux.com/gnome-48-rc-adds-dynamic-triple-buffering-wayland-color-management-protocol

KDE Plasma 6.4 will include color code recognition for KRunner to display the color with textual representation, Disks & Devices widget will automatically check newly-connected disks for file system errors and offer corrections, fixes for keyboard navigation issues, Spectacle redesign etc.:
https://alternativeto.net/news/2025/3/kde-team-unveils-new-features-and-enhancements-planned-for-upcoming-kde-plasma-6-4-release/

KDE Gear 24.12.3 released with improvements for Dolphin, Konsole, Tokodon, Kasts, Konqueror, Itinerary, PlasmaTube, Kate, Kdenlive, AudioTube, NeoChat, Okular etc.:
https://9to5linux.com/kde-gear-24-12-3-improves-dolphin-konsole-tokodon-itinerary-kasts-and-more

PipeWire 1.4 released with RISC-V support, MIDI2 support, JACK Control API etc.:
https://9to5linux.com/pipewire-1-4-is-out-with-risc-v-support-midi2-support-jack-control-api-and-more

Wine 10.3 released with Wayland clipboard support, initial Vulkan video decoding, Compiler-RT included in ARM builds, improved Winelib C++ compatibility etc.:
https://alternativeto.net/news/2025/3/wine-10-3-maintenance-update-adds-wayland-clipboard-support-vulkan-video-decoding-and-more/

Ubuntu 25.04 will include Papers instead of Evince for PDF reader:
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/03/ubuntu-25-04-new-pdf-viewer-app-official

Tails 6.13 released with enhanced Wi-Fi troubleshooting, updated Tor client and Tor Browser, ability to detect partitioning errors when Tails is started for the first time, bug fixes:
https://alternativeto.net/news/2025/3/tails-6-13-released-with-enhanced-wi-fi-troubleshooting-and-key-software-updates/

Ubuntu Touch (UBports) 20.04 OTA-8 released with VoLTE support for Volla phone users, support for WPA3-protected Wi-Fi networks, bug fixes, security updates:
https://9to5linux.com/ubuntu-touch-ota-8-released-with-volte-support-for-volla-phone-users

(FOSS news in comment)

https://www.europesays.com/1863827/ System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 6 Desktop Environment #DesktopLinux #Environment #LinuxBenchmarking #LinuxHardwareBenchmarks #LinuxHardwareReviews #LinuxHowTo #LinuxPerformance #LinuxServerBenchmarks #OpenSourceGraphics #Phoronix #PhoronixTestSuite #UbuntuBenchmarks #UbuntuHardware

Here's a typical Linux problem: Sometimes applications don't open and you're getting zero feedback as to why. Arguably, launching it from a terminal will solve the mystery in most cases, but I still consider this a suboptimal user experience. Especially for beginners.

Can you confirm this?
Is this a problem across all distributions?
What can we do about this?