Linux

Linux kernel 6.18 brings expanded architecture support, BPF updates, new namespace file-handle features, and wide-ranging hardware enablement across CPUs, GPUs, and sensors.

Linus Torvalds has just announced the official release of the new Linux kernel 6.18.

“So I’ll have to admit that I’d have been happier with slightly less bugfixing noise in this last week of the release, but while there’s a few more fixes than I would hope for, there was nothing that made me feel like this needs more time to cook. So 6.18 is tagged and pushed out.”

The media subsystem updates were sent out this morning for the now-open Linux 6.19 merge window. There are some new Rockchip drivers and other media drivers that are new for Linux 6.19.

The first new Rockchip driver is the VICAP RKCIF driver. This driver has been in the works for a while and going through a number of rounds of review for supporting the Rockchip Camera Interface "CIF". This is used by the Rockchip PX30 Video Input Processor (VIP), Digital Video Port (DVP), and RK3568 Video Capture (VICAP) unit. This driver takes care of mainline support for this Rockchip Camera Interface and hardware-wise for Linux 6.19 is focused on the PX30, RK3568 VICAP DVP, and RK3568 VICAP MIPI interface.

TL:DW It's a 54:20 video of Fake Linus interviewing with Linus Torvalds. It goes over Linus's views on hardware choice, questions about Linux and several community questions.

The video is long, but it's a good listen.

The good news is that Intel tonight posted a pull request for open-source Gaudi 3 accelerator support for the mainline Linux kernel! The bad news is that it's coming quite late in the product cycle, much later than the former excellent Habana Labs open-source track record, and their hopes of squeezing this code into the Linux 6.19 kernel may be dashed.

Going back to even the pre-Intel acquisition days, the Habana Labs accelerator driver had a good open-source track record. Initially it started off a bit rough until they had open-sourced their user-space bits and ultimately their compiler and other user-space software. But after that they were excellent open-source stewards friendly with the mainline kernel and punctually enabling new hardware support, helping craft the Linux kernel accelerator "accel" subsystem under the Direct Rendering Manager area, etc.

So. I've received this old HP Pavililon pc

• Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-5500U CPU @ 2.40GHz 2.39 GHz
• RAM: 8,00 GB
• HD: 932 GB HDD HGST HTS541010A9E680
• Graphic: NVIDIA GeForce 940M (2 GB), Intel(R) HD Graphics 5500 (128 MB)
• Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160
• Synaptics SMBus TouchPad

I've updated and skin to the bone win 10 (fk 11). I'll still keep some space for the old Granpa10 for some software but i'll give a good chunk of space to a linux distro for my daily use.

My favorite one are Fedora and Linux Mint (I'm a noob, i know). I've already installed Fedora on older pc with mixed results (everything works great except the wifi antenna), also i'm not a huge fan of the slider interface, i want some windows10-like dark interface and a decent support for all my hardware and the mid nvidia graphic.

I would like a smooth installation if possible. So, what you suggest?

Six months after the previous 25.05 “Warbler” release, the new stable version, NixOS 25.05 “Xantusia,” is officially here. Targeted at advanced users and developers, NixOS bets on an immutable design and an atomic update model, emphasizing reproducibility and reliability with the Nix package manager.

Nixpkgs adds 7,002 new packages and updates 25,252 existing entries. A cleanup effort removed 6,338 outdated packages to keep the repository manageable and secure. On the NixOS side, the release introduces 107 new modules, adds 1,778 configuration options, and removes older, unused components.

The desktop stack is updated to GNOME 49. This version ends X11 session availability, includes a new video player and document viewer, and ships a redesigned calendar application. Other applications across the GNOME suite receive updates as part of the regular upstream cycle.

While not strictly "linux" related - here is a interview/desktop build for the real linus, done by the fake one

Landlock: What Is It?

Landlock is a Linux API that lets applications explicitly declare which resources they are allowed to access. Its philosophy is similar to OpenBSD’s unveil() and (less so) pledge(): programs can make a contract with the kernel stating, “I only need these files or resources — deny me everything else if I’m compromised.”

It provides a simple, developer-friendly way to add defense-in-depth to applications. Compared to traditional Linux security mechanisms, Landlock is vastly easier to understand and integrate.

This post is meant to be an accessible introduction, and hopefully persuade you to give Landlock a try.

With the upcoming Linux 6.19 kernel cycle there are yet more Rust kernel bindings being introduced and other additions to make it possible to write more Linux kernel drivers within the Rust programming language. Among the new Rust additions expected for Linux 6.19 are making it possible to write Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) bus drivers in Rust.

Queued in the past two weeks to the driver-core.git's driver-core-next Git branch are the patches enabling the Rust I2C bindings as well as sample drivers. Thus with the Linux 6.19 merge window expected to open as soon as tonight, Rust I2C drivers will become a possibility once the driver-core code gets submitted and merged.

KaOS, a rolling KDE-centric Linux distribution that uses the Pacman package manager and bets on the XFS file system, has released its November 2025 installation image, marking the first step toward adopting the Limine bootloader, now offered as an optional choice for UEFI installations via Calamares.

The release ships Plasma 6.5.3, KDE Gear 25.08.3, and Frameworks 6.20, all built on Qt 6.10.1. Plasma 6.5 adds automatic light–dark theme switching, pinned clipboard items for frequently reused text, an updated Wi-Fi and networking module showing nearby wireless networks, and improved KRunner fuzzy search.

The system base includes a wide set of version bumps: Boost 1.89.0, ICU 77.1, OpenCV 4.12, Poppler 25.11, GStreamer 1.26.8, PipeWire 1.4.9, CMake 4.2, OpenSSH 10.2, Bash 5.3, Protobuf 33.1, and Mesa 25.2.7.

Im a total child in terms oft Linux distros. Since im sick of Microsoft i decided to switch my gaming completely to Linux (Xbox to Tower with bazzite, switch to steamdeck). Im quite happy that i installed the distro by my self and found the place where i was able to change the keyboard layout. Because i want to play in my livingroom form the couch i got a bluetooth keyboard. The mouse i already have connected perfectly the keyboard didnt. I tried finding a solution online but soon realised that i have to learn to read the Linux lingo.

Can please someone teach me or point me in the right direction were i can learn the basics. Treat me like i know nothing about distros (because i dont) and PC (because i barely do).

This is also to try the Linux community. Show me what you got.

The Armbian team released Armbian 25.11 today as a major update to this Debian/Ubuntu-based distribution and build framework for ARM devices that enhances performance, security, and hardware compatibility.

Coming three months after the Armbian 25.8 release, Armbian 25.11 adds support for new ARM boards and chips, including Radxa ROCK 4D, Radxa CM4 IO, Radxa E54C, NanoPi R76S, NanoPi M5, ArmSoM Forge1, Banana Pi M5 Pro, NineTripod X3568 v4, ODROID-M1S, XpressReal T3, and Mekotronics R58-HD.

Armbian 25.11 also adds support for Linux kernel 6.17, support for building images based on Ubuntu 25.10, as well as the upcoming Ubuntu 26.04 LTS and Debian 14 “Forky”, SATA overlay support for Orange Pi 5, a user-friendly tool for interacting with Qualcomm devices, and a Wi-Fi injection patch for Linux 6.12 kernels.

With the Linux Vendor Firmware Service serving more than 135 million downloads for Linux users updating their system and device firmware, LVFS has been working to get more hardware vendors to contribute either engineering resources or directly contributing annual dues as sponsors. Framework Computer is now the first one to have executed an agreement under these new sponsorship efforts.

Red Hat in employing lead developer Richard Hughes has contributed the most to LVFS/Fwupd's success, the Linux Foundation has also hosted the project since it has shifted into their umbrella, AMD's Mario Limonciello is among the significant contributors, and now Framework Computer is a new sponsor to the project.

Archinstall, a guided, user-friendly TUI installer for Arch Linux with a menu-driven setup that provides a semi-automated alternative to the traditional manual Arch installation process, has just rolled out version 3.0.14.

The update includes multiple snapshot-related fixes. Snapper-GRUB integration has been corrected to ensure snapshot entries are properly generated, and f-string handling in the snapshot debug installation has been fixed to avoid runtime errors during debugging.

Bootloader logic receives notable updates. A new dialog now allows the EFI bootloader to be installed to a removable location, improving support for systems that depend on EFI removable media.

Ubuntu’s roadmap for the upcoming Ubuntu 26.04 LTS “Resolute Raccoon” (scheduled for release on April 23, 2026) has been published, revealing some interesting details.

The release will ship with GNOME 50, which is scheduled to appear a month earlier on March 18. Two new default applications will be introduced: Showtime, replacing Totem as the video player, and Resources, replacing the current system monitor. Both are designed to provide a more modern and consistent GNOME-native experience.

Wayland remains the default graphics session, and this cycle targets smoother performance and better reliability on a wider range of Nvidia hardware.

Three months after its previous 25.08 release, Niri, a Wayland compositor known for its scrollable-tiling layout, where windows are arranged in columns on an infinite strip, rolls out a new 25.11 version, bringing many improvements.

The headline feature is the new Alt-Tab switcher, developed through multiple design iterations. It shows large live previews, fades long window titles, and properly masks windows blocked from screencasts.

Because Niri users often work with many terminal windows, the switcher operates on windows rather than applications, and it uses a debounce delay so that transient focus changes don’t pollute the recent-windows list. It can also scope switching to the current workspace or monitor.

Over a month after its previous August update, and after topping DistroWatch’s rankings, the Arch-based performance-focused CachyOS has released its seventh refreshed ISO snapshot for the year, powered by Linux kernel 6.17.

The ISO and installer now ship with Orca and espeak-ng, providing screen-reading capability throughout the installation process. Under the hood, the team has enabled the mkinitcpio systemd hook on supported configurations.

For compatibility reasons, however, the hook is automatically disabled when users select ZFS or Bcachefs as the root filesystem. Bcachefs users now receive bcachefs-dkms, replacing the stock kernel module to provide better filesystem integration.

Eight months after the previous Mercury Neo release, the Arch-based EndeavourOS rolls out its long-awaited Ganymede ISO refresh, introducing the first major update to the live environment and offline installer in quite some time. The developers say the long gap between releases isn’t a sign of trouble, and that the project is doing just fine.

“We still love what we do over here, but we all have chosen to let our lives and loved ones come first over the project. That certainly doesn’t mean we will let you down by letting the community hang there and our releases left to deteriorate. No, we are still active within the community, and our released ISO does receive the necessary updates regularly for the online installer to run smoothly over time.”

The new Ganymede release now brings the ISO back in sync with the current Arch base and includes KDE Plasma 6.5.3, Calamares 25.11, Firefox 145, Linux kernel 6.17, Mesa 25.2, xorg-server 21.1.20, and NVIDIA-utils 580.105.

One of the most significant changes is a complete overhaul of NVIDIA support. The ISO now automatically detects whether a GPU requires the proprietary nvidia driver or the open nvidia-open variant and loads the correct modules in both the live session and the installed system.

The oldest of the open source Linux desktops is planning its final steps away from X11, while an even older Unix desktop is getting freshened up.

The team behind the KDE Plasma desktop announced it is going all-in on a Wayland future. The Plasma version 6.8, "which we expect will be sometime in early 2027," will completely drop X11 support.

You don't need to worry just yet. Plasma 6.5 appeared less than a month ago, and it's currently at version 6.5.3. That means there are the entire 6.6 and 6.7 release sequences to get through, which will probably take most of 2026 and some of 2027.

Finally making the transition from Windows to a Linux. I'm pretty sure it's been asked several times but which Linux OS would you recommend a beginner to use? I've seen Ubuntu and Mint as a good start. Not looking to do much. Game here and there (not too worried about Linux compatibility), streaming, editing videos. If I break any rules. I'm sorry.

Ten months after the previous 4.7 “Endurance” release, the Solus team announced the immediate availability of Solus 4.8, codenamed “Opportunity,” which delivers a wide range of system updates, desktop improvements, and infrastructure changes across all editions, along with a completely redesigned website.

With this release, the team finally completed its long-running Usr-Merge transition. With the new epoch, the project moved to the Polaris package repository, enabling the removal of compatibility symlinks and unblocking major upgrades such as systemd 257.10. The update also allowed the distribution to drop Python 2 entirely after migrating all tooling to Python 3.

For Solus 4.8, the Plymouth boot splash system is now enabled by default. Earlier concerns about performance no longer apply, and its inclusion provides a cleaner interface for offline updates through GNOME Software and Discover. Offline updates download packages in advance and install them at boot, reducing the chance of breakage during active sessions.

For those Linux desktop users in the US needing another reason to be thankful this Thanksgiving, a huge and long-awaited accomplishment is ready for merging to the kernel: the Color Pipeline API that is important for HDR is ready for merging! As of last night the code is queued in DRM-Misc-Next for this years-in-the-making effort.

AMD, Igalia, Valve, and other stakeholders have long been working on the Color Pipeline API for advanced color management. Much of the focus has been on the AMDGPU driver and the hardware capabilities of recent AMD Radeon GPUs, since after all, much of the Valve-aligned and Valve-funded work has been focused on the needs of the Steam Deck and now Steam Machine too.

We’re nearing the holiday season, and what better way to kick it off than by releasing new Solus ISOs? This release is called Opportunity, for all the new opportunities that are open to us. A lot has happened since we released Solus 4.7 at the beginning of this year, so let’s go over the changes.

General Epoch jump In October, we made the jump to a new epoch, the final chapter of our “Usr-Merge” saga. With the new epoch, we started using a new package repository, named Polaris, after the North Star. This unlocked our ability to remove “Usr-Merge” compatibility symbolic links from packages, update our systemd package, and more.

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well.

I was a wee bit tired of staring at default folders in my home folder for the Games, Build, and Books locations, so I ended up making my own icons for each by using outlines of different already-existing icons from applications. Feedback is greatly appreciated.

In case any of you just so happen to use the Qogir icon theme, and that you have these folders in your home folder, the SVGs are available here if you are interested.

Please note that I threw these files together using the scalable version of the folder icon, and that I don't have any dedicated 32, 48, 96 etc versions of these files. On top of that, I only have the folder versions of these icons, not symbolic. SVGs are difficult (due to my lack of experience), and so I had to cheat by targeting each individual colour, rather than making an outline and then messing with transparency like the rest of the icon set. Needless to say, if anyone has good inkscape tips, please let me know!

OC by @OutwateredFish@lemmy.ca