The big new, and it’s good, is coming from France. The government’s digital agency DINUM is moving its workstations from Windows to Linux, with every French ministry required to submit a plan by Autumn 2026 to reduce dependence on non-European software.

Another major update, and not a pleasant one, is coming from the United States. A federal bill is now being discussed that proposes OS-level age verification. Until now, this was limited to a handful of states, but this could expand it nationwide.

Two very different directions. Both worth paying attention to.

Here are other highlights of this edition of FOSS Weekly:

• A new Linux kernel release.
• France replacing Windows with Linux.
• Microsoft locking out open source developers.
• And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes!
• This edition of FOSS Weekly is supported by Aiven.

📰 Linux and Open Source News

VeraCrypt, WireGuard, and Windscribe all had their Windows Hardware Program developer accounts suspended, cutting off their ability to ship signed driver updates for Windows.

Two related kernel AI stories this week. First, Linux has shipped an official AI coding assistants policy where AI help is allowed, but every patch needs a human accountable for it. Second, Greg Kroah-Hartman has been running what looks like an AI-assisted fuzzer on the kernel in a branch he calls "clanker."

A Valve contractor has put together a fix for the VRAM mismanagement problem that's been hitting Linux gamers on AMD GPUs with 8GB or less.

A bug report filed in 2005 asking for per-screen virtual desktops in KDE has finally been addressed. The feature lets each monitor show a different virtual desktop independently rather than all switching together.

Linux 7.0 landed this week with a wide spread of improvements. Intel gets Nova Lake audio and better Arc GPU temperature reporting. AMD gets early Zen 6 performance profiling support and GPU groundwork for future hardware.

🧠 What We’re Thinking About

Session has lost all its paid developers and is running on volunteers. Donations are keeping the infrastructure alive until July 8, but development is effectively frozen unless they reach their $1 million donation goal.

🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials, and Learnings

Not everyone is a command line fan, but if you do spend some time in the terminal, these tips and shortcuts will save you plenty of time and make you more efficient.

And if you are absolutely new to Linux, it helps to start with the basics first. Not commands, but the kind of foundational things that make your early terminal experience far less confusing.

Moving from basics to everyday usability, we now have a beginner-friendly guide to taking screenshots in Linux Mint. It covers the built-in GUI tool, keyboard shortcuts, and even how to set up custom delayed screenshots.

Once you get comfortable with the essentials, you might start exploring distributions more deeply. But not all rolling release distros are made equal. Arch gives you everything and expects you to handle it. Manjaro smooths the edges. Void is independent and leans stable. Gentoo compiles everything. Which one would you go for?

And somewhere along that journey, you’ll inevitably hit the classic fork in the road: Vim or nano. Nano works exactly like you'd expect a text editor to work, with controls visible on screen. Vim, on the other hand, runs on modes, muscle memory, and a learning curve that takes real commitment.

📚 Linux eBook bundle (ending this week)

No Starch Press needs no introduction. They have published some of the best books on Linux. And they are running an ebook bundle deal on Humble Bundle.

I highly recommend checking it out and getting the bundle.

Plus, part of your purchase supports Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

👷 AI, Homelab and Hardware Corner

At some point every homelab stops being manageable by memory alone. Our roundup of dashboard tools is the answer to that.

✨ Apps and Projects Highlights

Yantr is a self-hosted app store for your homelab that runs as a single Docker container on top of whatever OS you're already using.

📽️ Videos for You

Fedora 44 got delayed, but you can check out what's new!

💡 Quick Handy Tip

Firefox has a native color picker called Eyedropper that helps you know the exact hex color code of a specific color on a webpage. It is available inside Menu -> More Tools -> Eyedropper.

You can also right-click on an empty place in the toolbar and select "Customize Toolbar..."

Here, drag and drop the "Developer" tool to the toolbar. Now, you can access the Eyedropper from this button as well.

🎋 Fun in the FOSSverse

A new fun quiz where you have to guess the fake distros that do not exist.

Oops, let me hide my pile of trash. 🫠

🗓️ Tech Trivia: On April 16, 1959, John McCarthy gave the first public presentation of LISP at MIT. The list-processing language he built from scratch became the foundation of artificial intelligence programming and introduced concepts like garbage collection still used today.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 From the Community: One of our regular FOSSers has posted about Hardware Freedom Day 2026; are you celebrating?

Linus Torvalds created two of the most widely used tools in modern computing: the Linux kernel and Git.

Git, of course, is a version control system primarily used by programmers.

But Theena makes a strong case that Git and plain text are the best tools a writer can use. Not just for backup but for building a writing practice that is truly their own..

At its core, the argument is about breaking free from platform dependency, long-term preservation, and treating your body of work as something worth designing around rather than just storing somewhere convenient.

Here are other highlights of this edition of FOSS Weekly:

• sudo tips and tweaks.
• Apt's new version has useful features.
• Opera GX arriving as a gaming browser for Linux.
• A Linux driver proposal to catch malicious USB devices.
• And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes!

📰 Linux and Open Source News

Not open source software but Opera GX, the gaming-focused Chromium browser that's been on Windows and macOS for years, has finally landed on Linux. Sourav took the early access build for a spin and tested the features it's known for, like GX Control for capping RAM and CPU usage while gaming and GX Cleaner for cleaning up junk data.

The Linux kernel is finally dropping i486 support, queued for Linux 7.1. The first patch removes the relevant Kconfig build options, with a fuller cleanup covering 80 files and over 14,000 lines of legacy code still to follow.

Proton has launched two new things: Proton Workspace, a bundled suite of all their services aimed at businesses looking for a privacy-first alternative to Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, and Proton Meet, an end-to-end encrypted video conferencing tool using the open source MLS protocol.

A proposal has been submitted to the Linux kernel mailing list for a new HID driver called hid-omg-detect that passively monitors USB keyboard-like devices for suspicious behavior.

Another proposal, but for Fedora was recently struck down. It looked to move per-user environment variable management from shell RC files into systemd.

Remember the glass UI from the Windows 7 era? KDE is considering bringing back the older classic Oxygen and Air themes. These themes will be optional, of course.

Anthropic, the company behind Claude AI, has donated $1.5 million to Apache Software Foundation. The donation aims to secure the open source stack AI tools depend on.

🧠 What We’re Thinking About

Firefox has been losing ground for a decade, and Mozilla is trying something new. A built-in VPN and a growing set of AI features. Roland's piece looks at whether either of those things is likely to actually work.

Puter, the open source browser-based desktop OS, has added ONLYOFFICE to its app marketplace, giving it a full office suite covering documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and PDF editing.

🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials, and Learnings

Not many people know that sudo command's behavior can be tweaked as well. Here are a few sudo tweaks.

Tennis is a Zig-written terminal tool that renders CSV files as clean, color-coded tables with solid borders and auto-detected themes.

APT package manager's latest version 3.2 has a rollback feature. Sourav briefly tested it.

📚 Linux eBook bundle (don't miss)

No Starch Press needs no introduction. They have published some of the best books on Linux. And they are running an ebook bundle deal on Humble Bundle.

I highly recommend checking it out and getting the bundle.

Plus, part of your purchase supports Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

👷 AI, Homelab and Hardware Corner

The Linux kernel dropped i486 support and added GD-ROM driver support for the Sega Dreamcast in the same breath.

✨ Apps and Projects Highlights

Hideout is a minimal GTK4/Adwaita desktop app for file encryption and decryption, powered by GnuPG.

📽️ Videos for You

Here are some Linux terminal tricks to save you time.

💡 Quick Handy Tip

You can copy a file in Nautilus by pressing Ctrl+C, then press Ctrl+M to paste it as a symbolic link instead of an actual copy. This is a handy way to create a symlink without ever needing to open a terminal!

🎋 Fun in the FOSSverse

In this members-only crossword, you will have to name systemd's ctl commands.

An appropriate meme on the OS-level age verification topic.

🗓️ Tech Trivia: On April 8, 1991, a small team at Sun Microsystems quietly relocated to work in secret on a project codenamed "Oak", a programming language that would eventually be renamed Java and go on to become one of the most widely used languages in the world, powering everything from Android apps to enterprise software.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 From the Community: A FOSSer is wondering if anyone has ever jailbroken a Kindle for KOReader use.

In the previous newsletter, I discussed how various distros are handling the age verification laws. At the end of the article, I speculated that we would see a few existing or new distros coming up with "no age verification" as their unique feature.

Guess what? We have a new distro called Ageless Linux which is created specifically to refuse compliance with OS-level age verification laws.

But it's more than just a distro; the project also maintains a tracker of where various distros and organizations stand on age verification and a $12 RISC-V hardware project aimed at putting non-compliant devices in the hands of schoolchildren. I am glad that it exists.

Here are other highlights of this edition of FOSS Weekly:

• Things you can do Linux but not on Windows
• Chrome on ARM Linux (aka Raspberry Pi).
• A new web browser for Linux users.
• GNOME 50 and Fedora Ashahi releases
• And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes!

📰 Linux and Open Source News

GNOME 50 is here and X11 is not. Wayland is all the way in this new release. Upcoming distros like Ubuntu 26.04 and Fedora 44 will have it. Rolling distros like Arch should also get it soon.

Google has officially announced Chrome for ARM64 Linux, with a release targeted for Q2 2026. That means Raspberry Pi users, Snapdragon laptop owners, and anyone else running ARM hardware will get the Chrome experience on Linux.

Although, not open source, Kagi's Orion browser has made it to Linux as a public beta, and it's genuinely interesting because it's one of the browsers on the platform not built on Chromium or Firefox's engine. It is based on WebKit and works okayish on GNOME.

A significant chunk of the Manjaro team has gone public with the "Manjaro 2.0 Manifesto," signed by 19 members, calling for the project to separate from its parent company and restructure as a nonprofit.

Fedora Asahi Remix 43 arrives with Mac Pro support. In case you did not know, Asahi is the project bring Linux to Apple's Silicon processors.

AI companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta etc have put $12.5M into Open Source Security, managed by Linux Foundation. This is funny in a way. They are putting together a fund to fix the problem their AI tools created in the first place.

🧠 What We’re Thinking About

Google wants every Android developer to register using their real identity before their apps will install on certified devices, but not everyone's on board.

🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials, and Learnings

A clean beginner's guide to Markdown covering the core syntax: headings, text formatting, links, images, lists, and block quotes. It comes with a downloadable cheat sheet and a few recommendations for online editors if you want to try it without installing anything.

Windows users have been conditioned to ask, "But can Linux do X?" This piece by Roland flips it around and asks what Linux can do that Windows can't. The answers range from practical (live sessions, moving installs between machines, reviving old hardware) to genuinely impressive (swapping kernels, choosing filesystems, replacing every layer of your stack).

📚 eBook bundle on AI

Inside this 20+ eBook library, you’ll gain expert insights from practical lessons like Learn Python Programming, 4E and the LLM Engineer's Handbook. These massively efficient tools save you time and effort so you can prioritize other important tasks and systems.

Your purchase supports the World Central Kitchen organization.

👷 AI, Homelab and Hardware Corner

If your Raspberry Pi homelab is freezing up under load, the default 200 MB swap is probably the first thing worth looking at.

✨ Apps and Projects Highlights

If your GNOME top panel has turned into a wall of icons, Veil is worth a look. It's a shell extension that lets you hide panel items behind a toggle arrow.

📽️ Videos for You

You could move away from Google today if you wanted to, and DuckDuckGo is one of the good ones to consider.

💡 Quick Handy Tip

In Nautilus file manager, you can press CTRL+F to start a search in the current directory and CTRL+SHIFT+F to search across the other system folders. To go even further, you can add new search locations via the Search settings.

And, if you use the shortcut CTRL+ALT+O after selecting a file or folder, you can go to it's location in the file manager. Do note that this works in the Search and Recent pages of the file manager.

🎋 Fun in the FOSSverse

Do you know the brain behind Debian? This Ian Murdock quiz will test your knowledge.

🤣 Meme of the Week: We must protect it at all costs!

🗓️ Tech Trivia: On March 17, 1988, Apple sued Microsoft for copyright infringement over the look and feel of the Windows GUI. Apple's argument was that Windows borrowed too heavily from the Macintosh interface it had debuted in 1984. The case dragged on for years before a judge ruled that Apple had only limited rights to the design elements in question.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 From the Community: One of our regular Pro FOSSers is having an issue with CUPS on antiX Linux; can you help?

If rumors and Reuters are to be believed, SUSE Linux us up for sale again. Again because it has changed owners several times in the past. IBM bought Red Hat Linux for $34 billion 6 years ago. It would be interesting to see who grabs SUSE. I hope it's not Microsoft.

By the way, not seeing new articles from It's FOSS in your feed reader? That's because there is an ongoing issue with the RSS feed as I am migrating to FeedPress. Please bear it with me.

Here are other highlights of this edition of FOSS Weekly:

• EA slowly moving towards Linux.
• Firefox's redesign has been leaked.
• Linux Mint keyboard shortcut video.
• MidnightBSD saying no to age verification.
• And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes!

📰 Linux and Open Source News

EA is hiring an anti-cheat engineer to bring Javelin to ARM64, and tucked into the job listing is a mention of exploring Linux and Proton support in the future. After ditching Linux for Apex Legends in 2024, it's a surprising turn. But I wouldn't hold my breath on this.

Firefox's Proton UI has been around since 2021 and honestly looks it. Leaked internal mockups show Mozilla is working on something called "Nova," a significant visual overhaul. Tabs, the address bar, and the toolbar are merged into a single floating strip; rounded corners are everywhere; flat grays are out in favor of gradients, and the private window gets a full dark-purple makeover.

MidnightBSD has updated its license to bar residents of Brazil and California from using the project, with Colorado, Illinois, and New York on the list if their respective pending age verification bills pass.

🧠 What We’re Thinking About

The age verification laws spreading across US states are making distro maintainers uncomfortable, and responses are all over the place. Ubuntu and Fedora are working on minimal local APIs to tick the compliance box without doing anything too invasive. MidnightBSD is outright banning people from using it (as mentioned above).

🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials, and Learnings

Wordcloud is a Python tool that turns any list of words into a visual word cloud image, right from the terminal. You can feed it a text file, tweak the resolution, swap the font, change the background color, or use a mask image to shape the output around a custom silhouette.

Some practical privacy tips that don't require a computer science degree or a paranoia spiral. Our article covers the basics well, from securing your email and browser to picking better cloud storage and messaging apps.

Ever wanted a desktop that looks like it belongs on r/unixporn? We have an i3 customization guide that covers a lot, from basic keybindings and color schemes to transparent status bars and per-workspace app assignments.

GSConnect is the GNOME-friendly way to link your Android phone and Linux machine, built on top of KDE Connect. Once paired, you can transfer files, share the clipboard, get phone notifications on your desktop, and use your phone as a remote mouse.

👷 AI, Homelab and Hardware Corner

Prefer your local AI neatly containerized? This guide shows how to get Ollama running in Docker.

✨ Apps and Projects Highlights

FRANK OS is a full desktop operating system, complete with a Start menu, overlapping windows, Alt+Tab switching, and a ZX Spectrum emulator, running on an RP2350 microcontroller.

Foot is a minimal Wayland-native terminal emulator that focuses on speed and simplicity. A hidden gem worth exploring.

Keith Curtis spent a week building what he calls "Cursor for LibreOffice," an AI extension that lives in a sidebar and actually edits your documents.

📽️ Videos for You

Sharing some of the essential keyboard shortcuts for Linux Mint, this time in video format.

💡 Quick Handy Tip

On GNOME, first install Tiling Shell. Then, when you right-click on the titlebar of a window, you get various tiling options. Do keep in mind that not all apps will support this.

🎋 Fun in the FOSSverse

Match Linux apps with their functions in this puzzle. And yes, fresh new puzzles are coming soon 😄

🤣 Meme of the Week: Winslop doesn't know what consent means.

🗓️ Tech Trivia: On March 9, 1955, a program called "Director" was demonstrated on MIT's Whirlwind computer—automatically managing system resources while user code ran. It's considered one of the earliest rudimentary operating systems ever created.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 From the Community: Can you help one of our regular FOSSers decide whether to keep Secure Boot enabled or not?

U.S. states keep passing age-verification laws that sound reasonable until you read the fine print. Colorado, for example, wants operating systems to broadcast age data to every app you install, and California has already passed a similar bill.

As governments push age checks deeper into apps and operating systems, what once sounded like a safety measure is starting to feel a lot like surveillance.

And it’s not just happening in the U.S. Reports suggest Brazil is also moving toward similar regulations. While this model may fit ecosystems like Apple and Microsoft, where operating systems are tightly tied to online accounts, the Linux world works very differently. Yet developers from projects like Fedora and Ubuntu are already discussing how such requirements might affect Linux.

We’ll be keeping close eye on how this evolves. Stay tuned.

Here are other highlights of this edition of FOSS Weekly:

• Longer support for certain Linux kernels.
• systemd troubleshooting tools
• Xfce customization.
• Microsoft hates Microslop.
• LibreOffice quick tip.
• A new consortium to unify the Arm software ecosystem.
• And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes!

📰 Linux and Open Source News

The web's most popular UI library has outgrown Meta's ownership. React is now part of the Linux Foundation with neutral governance and eight platinum members on board. Technical decisions are independent from the board, of course.

Arm software got too complex for any one company to handle alone. CoreCollective just launched to fix that fragmentation problem. Free membership for anyone building on Arm. AMD, Google, Microsoft and Red Hat are already in.

LTS kernel support windows just got extended after being cut to two years back in 2023. Linux 6.6 and 6.12 now get four-years of support instead. Greg Kroah-Hartman updated the schedule after discussions with companies and maintainers.

AI's RAM appetite just killed another hardware project. Orange Pi and Manjaro spent two years building a Linux gaming handheld, cleared regulatory approvals, and got everything ready to ship. Now it's sitting on ice because DDR5 chip prices are absurd.

Motorola just partnered with the GrapheneOS Foundation, and it was announced at MWC 2026. The two plan to collaborate on research, software improvements, and new security features in the coming months. If you did not know already, Graphene is an Android distribution that ditches Google's data collection layer entirely and has long been the go-to for anyone serious about privacy.

And a funny thing happened this week when Microsoft locked down its Discord server because people kept on calling it Microslop.

🧠 What We’re Thinking About

Few Linux distributions attract as much criticism as Ubuntu. From Snap complaints to Canonical decisions, the internet seems to have a long list of reasons to dislike it. But Ubuntu may not deserve nearly as much hate as it gets.

🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials, and Learnings

When stuff breaks on Linux, systemd already knows what happened. Systemctl shows which services crashed, journalctl has the error messages, and systemd-analyze tells you what's hogging boot time. Coredumpctl keeps snapshots of apps that died completely.

Got an old PC or Raspberry Pi collecting dust? Batocera, Lakka, and RetroPie turn them into plug-and-play retro consoles via USB or SD card.

A quick tip if you love to use LibreOffice. If a document has way too many images and you have to save multiple or all images from it, save it as an HTML document in a new folder. You'll get all the images from the document. Pretty neat 😄

By the way, we are working on a "Linux Mint Starter Pack" series for beginners. I'll share with you when it is done. In the mean time, you can get familiar with the Linux command line.

👷 AI, Homelab and Hardware Corner

Tired of feeding your photos to Google's AI? PhotoPrism runs locally on Docker, handles face recognition and tagging on your hardware.

✨ Apps and Projects Highlights

A Czech-based dev built a data center sim where you rack servers and run cables. No native Linux support but works with some FPS issues

📽️ Videos for You

Xfce can be customized to look (more) beautiful. This video shows how:

💡 Quick Handy Tip

Brave browser allows you to set a shortcut to copy the URL of the current tab. For this, go to Brave Settings -> System -> Shortcuts. Here, search for Copy URL and add a keybind to it.

In the screenshot above, CTRL+SHIFT+C is added as the shortcut. This overwrites the default inspect function, which it was mapped to earlier. So tread with caution and try to add a non-conflicting shortcut.

If your browser does not support this, you can use CTRL+L to access the address bar and then CTRL+C to copy the URL of the current tab.

📚 Don't Miss! Linux eBook bundle

Humble Bundle has brought back the "Linux for Seasoned Admins" ebook bundle offer (partner link). From the classic Linux Pocket Guide and my favorite, Efficient Linux at the Command Line, the bundle also has ebooks on Docker, Ansible, Kubernetes and other devops aspects of Linux.

And your purchase also supports the Code for America initiative.

🎋 Fun in the FOSSverse

Can you beat this crossword and become the Daemon Hunter?

🤣 Meme of the Week: The pain is real. 🥲

🗓️ Tech Trivia: On March 1, 1960, the first LISP Programmer's Manual was released by John McCarthy's group at MIT. McCarthy had built a recursive, symbolic language that would go on to become the foundation of AI programming and outlast nearly every other high-level language of its era.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 From the Community: FOSSers are talking about the upcoming secure boot changes, and how it might affect those on Linux.

I know not everyone wants to hear about AI all the time. But at this point, it’s impossible to ignore what’s happening.

It has been just a year since Anthropic launched Claude Code and the impact has been staggering.

In recent months, engineers at Anthropic reportedly stopped writing code manually for large parts of their workflow. Instead, they’ve been shipping feature after feature with AI-assisted development. The velocity is unlike anything we’ve seen before.

And the market noticed. Claude’s latest model release this month reportedly wiped out trillions of dollars from IT stocks globally within a single week.

Then came another shock.

A week later, Anthropic published a blog post claiming its AI can now modernize legacy COBOL codebases. IBM’s stock dropped 16% in a single day. Why? Because IBM still generates significant revenue maintaining mainframe systems that power banks, airlines, and critical financial infrastructure.

And don’t assume this only affects programmers. This shift touches all of us.

A recent research paper showed that tools like Claude and ChatGPT can de-anonymize your anonymous online identity with surprising ease.

The barrier to uncovering digital identities is collapsing. AI isn’t just changing how code is written. It’s changing privacy, security, and the economics of entire industries.

But here’s the important part.

Every major computing shift felt destabilizing at first; from assembly to high-level languages, from physical servers to the cloud. We’re witnessing the beginning of a new era. And we’re still early.

Here's the highlight of this edition of FOSS Weekly:

• Red Hat open-sourcing a tool.
• Some dock options for your system.
• Lightweight OpenClaw alternatives.
• New KDE Plasma release with many upgrades.
• And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes!

Humble Bundle has brought back the "Linux for Seasoned Admins" ebook bundle offer (partner link). From the classic Linux Pocket Guide and my favorite, Efficient Linux at the Command Line, the bundle also has ebooks on Docker, Ansible, Kubernetes and other devops aspects of Linux.

And your purchase also supports the Code for America initiative.

📰 Linux and Open Source News

Here's a summary of the news this week.

Red Hat has open-sourced a digital sovereignty assessment tool under the Apache 2.0 license. It asks 21 questions across 7 domains and scores organizations on a four-level maturity scale.

KDE Plasma 6.6 just landed with some practical upgrades. Spectacle now does OCR so you can pull text straight from screenshots, there's a new setup wizard for fresh installs, and WiFi QR code scanning works if you've got a camera.

Colorado's pushing a bill that would force operating system makers to ask users their age at setup, then share that info with every app they install. The bill never explains how age gets verified. Anyone could just lie.

Independent web browser Ladybird just ported 25,000 lines of its JavaScript engine from C++ to Rust in two weeks using Claude Code and Codex AI. The code passed 52,000+ tests with zero failures.

Australia's cyber agency recently open-sourced Azul, a malware analysis platform for incident responders. It stores samples indefinitely, automates reverse engineering with reusable plugins, and clusters patterns across malware families.

ONLYOFFICE's latest desktop editor release brings improvements to its PDF editing capabilities among other things.

🧠 What We’re Thinking About

App stores work great until you need real package control. This opinion piece by Roland argues Linux needs a modern Synaptic replacement for power users, but built with the Wayland security model in mind instead of running everything as root.

🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials, and Learnings

Our comprehensive guide to keyboard shortcuts in Linux Mint covers everything from basics like Super for the start menu and Ctrl+Alt+T for the terminal to workspace management, window tiling, screenshots, and session control.

Looking to replace your Linux desktop's default dock? We covered seven options ranging from lightweight Plank to the heavily customizable Latte and the old-school Cairo. Also includes a window manager-friendly pick like Tint2.

Linux distros are switching to Wayland by default, but legacy apps still need Xorg, so knowing which display server you're running matters when troubleshooting. A quick terminal command reveals whether you're on Wayland or X11.

echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE

👷 AI, Homelab and Hardware Corner

OpenClaw's memory hunger kills it on Raspberry Pi and cheap SBCs. Here are some projects that remedy it by building an AI agent architecture for constrained hardware.

✨ Apps and Projects Highlights

To-do apps usually mine your data for ads. Super Productivity doesn't collect anything, just asks for notification access. It also offers Jira sync, Pomodoro timers, and time tracking.

📽️ Videos for You

In the llatest video, I share how I clean up systemd logs on my Linux systems, both desktop and servers.

💡 Quick Handy Tip

In Linux Mint (Cinnamon desktop), you can right-click the title of a window and enable "Always on Top" and "Always on Visible Workspace". This ensures that the currently open window stays on your current workspace, and will be above every other app window.

You will also find this on other modern desktop environments like KDE Plasma and GNOME as well.

🎋 Fun in the FOSSverse

Can you correctly guess these legendary open source projects?

🤣 Meme of the Week: Oh, how the times change. From Arch Linux to Debian.

🗓️ Tech Trivia: On February 25, 1959, MIT and the U.S. Air Force debuted APT (Automatically Programmed Tool) (I know you thought about the Linux one). It was the world’s first "English-like" programming language for machinery, effectively birthing Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM).

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 From the Community: The Apache Software Foundation is looking for people to present at Community Over Code 2026 in Glasgow. Are you up for it?

If that's not your cup of tea, why not talk with a fellow FOSSer about their kernel panic issue.

Canonical announce Ubuntu Pro for WSL, bringing extended security coverage to users running Linux on Windows. As on desktop, it's free for personal use.

You're reading Ubuntu Pro is Now Available on Windows (For WSL, Obvs), a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

It's Halloween so time to talk spooky stuff 👻

If solving Linux mysteries sounds thrilling, SadServers will be your new haunted playground. I came across this online platform that gives you real, misconfigured servers to fix and real-world inspired situations to deal with. This is perfect for sharpening your troubleshooting skills, specially in the Halloween season 🎃

What LeetCode? I Found This Platform to Practice Linux Troubleshooting Skills

Move over theory and practice your Linux and DevOps skills by solving various challenges on this innovative platform. A good way to prepare for job interviews.

It's FOSS NewsAbhishek Prakash

💬 Let's see what else you get in this edition:

• A new KDE Plasma and Fedora 43 release.
• An Austrian ministry kicking out Microsoft.
• Ubuntu 25.10 users encountering another bug.
• App that gives you Pomodoro with task management.
• And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes!
• This edition of FOSS Weekly is supported by Proton Mail.

Ghosts aren’t the only ones watching 👀 — Big Tech is too. Protect your inbox from creepy trackers and invisible eyes with Proton Mail, the privacy-first, end-to-end encrypted email trusted by millions. Make the switch today and exorcize your inbox demons. 🕸️💌

Switch to Proton Mail

📰 Linux and Open Source News

• KDE Plasma 6.5 has been released with some neat upgrades.
• Ubuntu Unity maintainers have sounded the alarm for their survival.
• Canonical Academy is here to make you an Ubuntu-certified Linux user.
• Google Safe Browsing has managed to flag Immich URLs as dangerous.
• Ubuntu 25.10 briefly introduced a bug that broke the automatic upgrade system.
• Fedora 43 is finally out after a brief delay. It packs in many useful refinements.

Fedora 43 is Out with Wayland-Only Desktop, GNOME 49, and Linux 6.17

RPM 6.0 security upgrades, X11 removal from Workstation, and many other changes.

It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

🧠 What We’re Thinking About

Austria's BMWET has moved away from Microsoft in a well-organized migration to Nextcloud.

Good News! Austrian Ministry Kicks Out Microsoft in Favor of Nextcloud

The BMWET migrates 1,200 employees to sovereign cloud in just four months.

It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials, and Learnings

Ghostty is loaded with functionality; join me as I explore some of them.

Forks happen when freedom matters more than control.

Community Strikes Back: 12 Open Source Projects Born from Resistance

From BSL license changes to abandoned codebases, see how the open source community struck back with powerful forks and fresh alternatives.

It's FOSSPulkit Chandak

Don't forget to utilize templates feature in LibreOffice and save some time.

Comparing two of the best open source but mainstream password managers.

Bitwarden vs. Proton Pass: What’s The Best Password Manager?

What is your favorite open-source password manager?

It's FOSSAnkush Das

👷 AI, Homelab and Hardware Corner

Discover what’s next for tinkerers in the post-Qualcomm world.

Arduino Alternative Microcontroller Boards for Your DIY Projects in the Post-Qualcomm Era

If Arduino being acquired puts a bad taste in your mouth, or even if you just want to explore what the alternatives offer, this article is for you.

It's FOSSPulkit Chandak

TerraMaster has launched two flagship-class hybrid NAS devices that pack a punch.

🛍️ Deals You Should Not Miss

The 16-book library also includes just-released editions of The Official Raspberry Pi Handbook 2026, Book of Making 2026, and much more! Whether you’re just getting into coding or want to deepen your knowledge about something more specific, this pay-what-you-want bundle has everything you need. And you support Raspberry Pi Foundation North America with your purchase!

Humble Tech Book Bundle: All Things Raspberry Pi by Raspberry Pi Press

Learn the ins and outs of computer coding with this library from Raspberry Pi! Pay what you want and support the charity of your choice!

Humble Bundle

✨ Project Highlights

An in-depth look at a super cool Pomodoro app for Linux.

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity

Pomodoro combined with task management and website blocking. This is an excellent tool for productivity seekers but there are some quirks worth noticing.

It's FOSSRoland Taylor

📽️ Videos I Am Creating for You

Giving a dark, menacing but fun Halloween makeover to my Arch Linux system.

💡 Quick Handy Tip

In GNOME desktop, you can use the ArcMenu extension for a heavily customizable panel app menu. For instance, you can get 20+ menu layouts by going to Menu → Menu Layout → Pick a layout of your choice.

🎋 Fun in the FOSSverse

We have got a spooky crossword this time around. Can you identify all the FOSS ghosts?

Ghosts of Open Source [Halloween Special Crossword]

A spooky crossword challenge for true FOSS enthusiasts!

It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash

Actually, there is a whole bunch of Halloween themed puzzles and quizzes for you to enjoy 😄🎃

• Cyber boogeymen crossword
• Spooky Linux Commands Quiz
• Linux Halloween Quest
• Pick up the Pieces of Halloween Tux

🤣 Meme of the Week: Yeah, my Windows partition feels left out.

🗓️ Tech Trivia: On October 30, 2000, the last Multics system was shut down at the Canadian Department of National Defence in Halifax. Multics was a groundbreaking time-sharing operating system that inspired Unix and introduced ideas like hierarchical file systems, dynamic linking, and security rings that shaped modern computing.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 From the Community: Pro FOSSer Neville has shared a fascinating take on arithmetic.

Arithmetic and our Sharing Culture

We al learn to do division “If there are 6 cakes and 3 children, how many cakes does each child get” Division is about sharing But it does not always work “It there are 2 sharks and 8 people in a pool, how many people does each shark get?” Division can not answer that question. Because that example is not about sharing , it is about competition Whether division works depends on what are called the “Rules of Engagement” We all learnt to multiply “If 10 children each bring 2 apples, how m…

It's FOSS Communitynevj

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Enjoy FOSS 😄

Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) version 7 is available now. For people who like Debian more than Ubuntu and Linux Mint's Cinnamon more than anything, this is the perfect choice.

LMDE 7 “Gigi” Released: Linux Mint’s Debian-Based Alternative Gets Major Upgrade

A stable Debian base meets a polished Linux Mint desktop experience.

It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

Sometimes I wonder if LMDE should be the default choice for Linux Mint. Am I the only one who thinks this?

💬 Let's see what you get in this edition:

• Me pitching Proton Mail against Gmail.
• A new LMDE release based on Debian 13.
• DIY kindle alternatives.
• And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes!
• This edition of FOSS Weekly is supported by PrepperDisk.

PrepperDisk gives you a fully offline, private copy of the world’s most useful open-source knowledge—so your access doesn’t depend on big platforms, networks, or gatekeepers.

Built on Raspberry Pi, it bundles projects like Wikipedia, maps, and survival manuals with tools we’ve built and open-sourced ourselves. It’s a way to safeguard information freedom: your own secure, personal archive of open knowledge, ready anywhere—even without the internet.

Explore PrepperDisk

📰 Linux and Open Source News

• NordVPN has made the GUI code for its Linux app open source.
• Valkey 9.0 release adds multi-database clusters and now supports 1 billion requests per second
• The beloved open source game SuperTuxKart gets many refinements in the latest release.
• ONLYOFFICE Docs 9.1 is here with PDF redaction and editor upgrades.
• LMDE 7 "Gigi" has arrived with a Debian 13 base and many improvements.

LMDE 7 “Gigi” Released: Linux Mint’s Debian-Based Alternative Gets Major Upgrade

A stable Debian base meets a polished Linux Mint desktop experience.

It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

🧠 What We’re Thinking About

Proton Mail is a better choice than Gmail. That's what I think. And I discovered a ProtonMail feature that works better than Gmail.

That One (of the several) Feature ProtonMail Does Better Than Gmail

The newsletters can be a mess to manage. ProtonMail gives you better features than Gmail to manage your newsletter subscriptions.

It's FOSS NewsAbhishek

GNOME all the way

I thought of sharing some neat tips and tweaks that relate to various components of the GNOME desktop environment. Basically, they let you discover some lesser known features and customization. Perhaps you'll discover your next favorite trick here.

• Enhance the functionality of the Nautilus file manager with these tips.
• Learn to get more out of the search feature in the file manager.
• Why restrict yourself with file manager? Explore the full potential of the activity search in GNOME.
• Let's take it further and customize the top panel in GNOME to get applet indicator and more such features.
• For a long time, I relied on GNOME Tweaks until I discovered Just Perfection. GNOME customization was never the same.
• Here are a few tips to save time by combining the terminal and the file manager on your GNOME system.

🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials, and Learnings

• Learn the difference between PipeWire and PulseAudio.
• Explore comic book readers on Linux for .cbr files.
• Unravel the mystery of loop devices in Linux.

👷 AI, Homelab and Hardware Corner

For AI enthusiasts, here is a way to go from zero keys to full AI integration in one step. The Puter.js library allows integrating mainstream AI in your web projects without needing their API keys.

I Used This Open Source Library to Integrate OpenAI, Claude, Gemini to Websites Without API Keys

This underrated open source JavaScript library lets you integrate popular commercial LLMs without needing their paid API. You can test it out within minutes on your Linux system with this tutorial.

It's FOSSBhuwan Mishra

Also, if you are fed up with Amazon's Kindle, then you can build your own eBook reader.

Looking for Open Source Kindle Alternatives? Build it Yourself

There are no easy options. You have to take the matter in your hand, quite literally.

It's FOSSPulkit Chandak

The FSF is going all in with the Librephone project.

🛍️ Deal Alert: Raspberry Pi eBook Bundle

Learn the ins and outs of coding your favorite retro games and build one of your own with Code the Classics Volume II. Give your tech-savvy kids a head start in computer coding with Unplugged Tots.

The 16-book library also includes just-released editions of The Official Raspberry Pi Handbook 2026, Book of Making 2026, and much more! Whether you’re just getting into coding or want to deepen your knowledge about something more specific, this pay-what-you-want bundle has everything you need. And you support Raspberry Pi Foundation North America with your purchase!

Humble Tech Book Bundle: All Things Raspberry Pi by Raspberry Pi Press

Learn the ins and outs of computer coding with this library from Raspberry Pi! Pay what you want and support the charity of your choice!

Humble Bundle

✨ Project Highlights

NebiOS is a beautiful approach to how an Ubuntu-based distro with a custom desktop environment can be built.

NebiOS is an Ubuntu-based Distro With a Brand New DE Written for Wayland from Ground Up

Exploring a new Ubuntu-based distro. By the way, it’s been some time since we had a new distro based on Ubuntu.

It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

COSMIC is shaping up well, we tested it to see how it performs.

I Tested Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS Beta: A Few Hits and Misses But Mostly on the Right Track

COSMIC has come a long way, but is it enough?

It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

📽️ Videos I Am Creating for You

The terminal makeover video is nearly at 100K views. With so many people enhancing the looks of their terminal, I thought you might want to give it a try, too.

💡 Quick Handy Tip

Too much GNOME in this newsletter? Let's switch to KDE.

If you are using desktop widgets in KDE Plasma and don't know how to add the system monitor sensor to it, then do this. Open the System Monitor app and right-click on any telemetry you want to add. Then select "Add chart as Desktop Widget".

That's it. The selected chart will be added to your desktop. You can change its appearance by going to Edit mode later.

🎋 Fun in the FOSSverse

This crossword-style challenge mixes up popular Linux text editors. From timeless command-line classics to sleek modern tools. Sharpen your brain, embrace your inner geek, and see how many you can decode!

The Scrambled Linux Editors Crossword

Think you know your Linux text editors? From Vim to Nano, these jumbled names will challenge even seasoned coders. Try to unscramble them and see how many you can get right!

It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash

🤣 Meme of the Week: Probably not true anymore but still funny.

🗓️ Tech Trivia: On October 20, 2004, Ubuntu 4.10 "Warty Warthog" was released! Backed by Mark Shuttleworth’s Canonical, Ubuntu aimed to make Linux simple and human-friendly, its name loosely translates to "humanity." Two decades later, it’s dominating the Linux desktop space.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 From the Community: Long-time FOSSer Cliff is looking for help with a Realtek Wi-Fi issue on his MX Linux system. Can you help?

MX Linux Realtek Wi-fi Issues

I have MX Linux KDE, most recent update. It runs on kernel 6.1.0-40. I am using a mini pc with a Realtek 8852BE network card. I had always had wired internet for that machine, but now I have to be happy with wifi. The problem, unlike any of my other OSs, is that it sees each wifi channel as having a 0 signal strength and fails to activate wlan0. I went around for hours with Claude AI to solve it and it was unable to resolve the issue. It finally suggested just going to MX Tools, Package Install…

It's FOSS Communitycliffsloane

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Opt for It's FOSS Plus membership and support us 🙏

Enjoy FOSS 😄

In the previous newsletter, I asked what kind of advice someone looking to switch from Windows to Linux would have. I got so many responses that I am still replying to all the suggestions.

I am also working on the 'Windows to Linux migration' page. Hopefully, we will have that up by next week.

Hope to see more people coming to Linux as Windows 10 support has ended now.

💬 Let's see what you get in this edition:

• Mastering alias command.
• A bug that broke Flatpaks on Ubuntu 25.10.
• Controversy over Framework supporting Hyprland project.
• New Flatpak software center.
• Open source game development arriving on iPhone.
• And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes!

📰 Linux and Open Source News

• Xogot is now available on Apple iPhone for open source game development.
• The German state of Schleswig-Holstein has completed a massive transition to open source email systems.
• Ubuntu 25.10 has been released as the second and final interim release of Ubuntu for 2025, with a bug briefly breaking flatpak installations on it.
• Zorin OS 18 is also available now, looking prettier than ever.

Framework has found itself in a controversy over its recent endorsements of Hyprland project.

Framework is Accused of Supporting the Far-right, Apparently for Sponsoring the Hyprland Project

The announcement has generated quite some buzz but for all the wrong reasons.

It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

🧠 What We’re Thinking About

Telegram banned our community group without reasons. It's a deja vu moment, as Facebook was also banning links to Linux websites some months ago.

Telegram, Please Learn Who’s a Threat and Who’s Not

Our Telegram community got deleted without an explanation.

It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

Proprietary ecosystems are great at keeping creative people locked in, but you can break free with the power of FOSS.

5 Signs Your Proprietary Workflow Is Stifling Your Creativity (And What You Can Do About It)

If these signs feel familiar, your creativity may be stifled by proprietary constraints.

It's FOSS NewsTheena Kumaragurunathan

🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials, and Learnings

• You can greatly improve your efficiency in the Linux terminal by using aliases.
• Ubuntu/GNOME customization tips.
• Our beginner's guide to the Nano text editor will teach you the basics without overwhelming you.
• Understanding software update management in Linux Mint.

Getting Started With Manjaro

This is a collection of tutorials that are useful for new Manjaro users.

It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash

👷 AI, Homelab and Hardware Corner

We have a Pironman alternative for you that saves your wallet and desk space.

The Affordable Pironman Alternative Mini PC Case for Raspberry Pi 5

We have a new option in tower cases for Raspberry Pi 5. This one has a lower price tag but does that make it worth a purchase?

It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash

Ubo Pod is an open source AI assistant that works for you, not for your data. It is based on Raspberry Pi.

Bhuwan tried them all but llama.cpp finally nailed the local LLM experience.

I have been using Keychron mechanical keyboard for two years now. I recently came across their upcoming product that has ceramic mechanical keyboards. Interesting materials choice, right?

🎫 Event Alert: First Ever UbuCon in India

The Ubuntu India LoCo is hosting the first ever UbuCon event in India, and we are the official media partners for it!

India’s First UbuCon Set to Unite Ubuntu Community in Bengaluru This November

India gets its first UbuCon!

It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

Proprietary ecosystems are great at keeping creative people locked in, but

✨ Project Highlights

Bazaar is getting all the hype right now; it is a neat app store for GNOME that focuses on providing applications and add-ons from Flatpak remotes, particularly Flathub.

GitHub - kolunmi/bazaar: New App Store for GNOME

New App Store for GNOME. Contribute to kolunmi/bazaar development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHubkolunmi

A new, open source personal finance application.

John Schneiderman’s - DRN

An application to manage your personal finances using a budget.

DRNJohn Schneiderman

📽️ Videos I Am Creating for You

Your Linux Mint setup deserves a stunning makeover!

💡 Quick Handy Tip

In KDE Plasma, open settings and go into Colors & Themes → Window Decorations → Configure Titlebar.

Here, add the "On all desktops" and "Keep above other windows" options to the title bar by dragging and dropping. Click on "Apply" to confirm the changes.

Now, you can use:

• The On all desktops button to pin an app to all your desktops.
• The Keep above other windows button to keep a selected window always on top.

🎋 Fun in the FOSSverse

Can memory match terminal shortcuts with their actions?

Memory Match Terminal Shortcuts With Their Actions

An enjoyable way to test your memory by matching the Linux terminal shortcuts with their respective actions.

It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash

🤣 Meme of the Week: Windows 10 will be missed by many, but there are much better Linux choices to replace it with.

🗓️ Tech Trivia: On October 16, 1959, Control Data Corporation introduced the CDC 1604, one of the first fully transistorized computers. It was designed by Seymour Cray, who later became known as the father of supercomputing. The CDC 1604 was among the fastest machines of its time and was used for scientific research, weapons control, and commercial data processing.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 From the Community: Windows 10 has reached end of life, and our FOSSers are discussing the event.

Windows 10 reaches EOL tomorrow!

Hi everybody, it’s that time again, that happens approx. every 10 or so years: A Windows version is reaching its end of life. I was doing some research and asked Brave Search about it. And the facts said that Windows 10 has 47% of overall Windows market share, which is roughly 35% of the overall share. Let’s just hope that they will do the right thing and switch to Linux. I wanted to know: what are others opinions on this? Do you know somebody who migrated from Windows?

It's FOSS CommunityGeorge1

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Enjoy FOSS 😄

Microsoft is all set to kill existing methods to set up a local account on fresh Windows 11 installs. I am not really surprised. This is Microsoft being Microsoft.

Microsoft Kills Windows 11 Local Account Setup Just as Windows 10 Reaches End of Life

Local account workarounds removed just before Windows 10 goes dark.

It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

And this comes just days before Windows 10 support is scheduled to end. And that is a pivotal moment for us desktop Linux users. I have seen an influx of people migrating to Linux when Windows XP and 7 support ended. Some of those went back to Windows with newer systems, whereas some became lifelong Linux users.

We are reorganizing and also creating new guides to make the Windows 10 to Linux migration smooth for new users. Please provide your suggestions on what difficulties a new user may face when they switch to Linux and what kind of questions that might have about switching to Linux. Let's work to a broader Linux userbase 💪

💬 Let's see what you get in this edition:

• A new openSUSE Leap release.
• Codes of Conduct being called a disaster.
• Linus being unhappy with some Rust code.
• And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes!

📰 Linux and Open Source News

• Linus Torvalds recently called out Rust format checking.
• openSUSE Leap 16 is here with major modernization work.
• The FSF has turned 40 and has launched the LibrePhone initiative.
• Amazon launches the 'Linux-based' Vega OS for its Fire TV devices.
• Wikidata has launched an open source vector database for use with AI.

By the way, Ubuntu 25.10 will be releasing today. Do check out the new features it is getting.

Ubuntu 25.10: Release Date and New Features in Questing Quokka

Take a look at the new features and changes you’ll see in the upcoming Ubuntu 25.10 release.

It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

🧠 What We’re Thinking About

Open Source legend, Eric S. Raymond, says Codes of Conduct are a disaster.

The Man Who Started Open Source Initiative Advocates for Abolishing Codes of Conduct

Between Anarchy and Bureaucracy: The Code of Conduct Debate Ignited by Eric Raymond.

It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

You can balance cost and effort if you go the FOSS way as a creative.

Beyond Free: The Value Proposition of Open Source for Creatives

FOSS is free as in cost, but not free as in effort. The loss of convenience is real, especially at the start. But for creatives who are willing to invest, the long-term rewards—flexibility, control, and a workflow built to last—are more than worth the price.

It's FOSS NewsTheena Kumaragurunathan

🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials, and Learnings

• Obsidian + Git = simple version control for ideas.
• Learn the pros and cons of using Btrfs on a Linux system.
• Skip the syntax and focus on writing with WYSIWYG Markdown editors for Linux.

Speaking of Obsidian and Markdown editors, the popular open source notes software Joplin can be made more effective with these tips.

Mastering Joplin Notes: Tips and Tweaks

Joplin is an awesome open source note taking application. Here’s how you can make the best of it.

It's FOSSSreenath

👷 AI, Homelab and Hardware Corner

IBM has launched Granite 4.0, their hybrid AI model that beats rivals twice its size.

IBM Unveils Granite 4.0 Hybrid Model That Competes with Rivals Twice Its Size

These models sure pack a punch.

It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

✨ Project Highlights

telekasten.nvim is a Neovim Lua plugin that lets you manage a markdown-based zettelkasten/wiki + journal inside Neovim.

GitHub - nvim-telekasten/telekasten.nvim: A Neovim (lua) plugin for working with a markdown zettelkasten / wiki and mixing it with a journal, based on telescope.nvim

A Neovim (lua) plugin for working with a markdown zettelkasten / wiki and mixing it with a journal, based on telescope.nvim - nvim-telekasten/telekasten.nvim

GitHubnvim-telekasten

📽️ Videos I Am Creating for You

I don't usually do rant videos but this is a first. An argument against 'sudo apt update' and 'sudo apt upgrade'. Is it time to unify these two into a single command? Please take this opinion video lightly even if you disagree (and you have every right to disagree and express your opinion).

💡 Quick Handy Tip

In the GNOME Files app (Nautilus), you can left-click and drag to select multiple items. To add more items to your selection, hold the CTRL key while dragging; this lets you include additional files lower in the list without losing your previous selection.

🎋 Fun in the FOSSverse

Take this personality quiz to find out what kind of terminal user you are.

What Type of Terminal User Are You? [Personality Quiz]

Find out which terminal persona you are because your Linux habits say more about you than your horoscope ever could.

It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash

🤣 Meme of the Week: Linux, the savior of old hardware and those wronged by Microsoft and Apple.

🗓️ Tech Trivia: On October 06, 1942, Chester Carlson patented electrophotography, a way to make dry copies of text and images on paper without using ink or chemicals. A few years later, the Haloid Company licensed his patent, renamed the process xerography, and eventually became Xerox, turning document copying into a global industry.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 From the Community: FOSSers are talking about the planned Android sideloading policy change from Google. Got any insights to add?

About Android Sideloading Apps Policy Changes

I’ve been reading and seeing videos about some Google policy changes that would affect side-loading of apps on Android in the next few years. Doesn’t sound like it’s going to be a positive change for developers or Free and Open Source projects like F-Droid. I’m wondering what others think of the situation and if they’ve come across any interesting work-arounds to keep side-loaded apps on their phones.

It's FOSS CommunityLaura_Michaels

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Opt for It's FOSS Plus membership and support us 🙏

Enjoy FOSS 😄

Last month, Austria's armed forces ditched Microsoft Office for LibreOffice. This is surely positive news, but it also makes us think about something crucial. The move to switch to open source is often driven by monetary benefits. Since these organizations often save a hefty amount, should they not contribute some part of their savings back to the open source project they are relying on? What do you think?

Austria’s Armed Forces Gets Rid of Microsoft Office (Mostly) for LibreOffice

The Austrian military prioritizes independence over convenience.

It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

💬 Let's see what you get in this edition:

• ZimaOS adding a paid tier.
• A new Linux kernel release.
• GUI apps in terminal.
• Fedora floating a proposal on AI.
• Revamped Proton Mail mobile apps.
• And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes!

📰 Linux and Open Source News

• Calibre eBook reader has introduced its first AI feature.
• Kali Linux 2025.3 is a packed release with many new tools.
• The mobile apps for Proton Mail have received a major revamp.
• Austria's armed forces have moved away from Microsoft Office.
• Linux 6.17 has landed with many performance and reliability buffs.
• Homelab focused ZimaOS 1.5 adds a paid tier while keeping the core features untouched.
• The Fedora Project is looking for feedback on its policy for AI-assisted contributions.

Fedora 43 is due soon. Here are the new features arriving with it:

Fedora 43 Release Date and New Features

A close look at the new features coming in Fedora 43.

It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

🧠 What We’re Thinking About

FOSS is an important consideration for creatives in 2025.

From Disillusionment to Freedom: Why Creatives Need FOSS Now More Than Ever

More than ever, creative professionals need to exert control over their digital footprint. Big tech will not give us control—we have to take it. Free and Open Source (FOSS) software gives us a path forward. The path isn’t easy, but I argue nothing worthwhile is.

It's FOSS NewsTheena Kumaragurunathan

Ruby's ecosystem is under threat from corporations.

🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials, and Learnings

Explore terminal shortcuts to enhance your efficiency. I have shared it in the past too but it's worth a reshare.

Speaking of enhancing efficiency, here are a few tips Linux users can use to be more productive.

I understand that not everyone is a keyboard shortcut maestro, so here are a few tips to master the finger swipe gesture in GNOME desktop environment.

👷 AI, Homelab and Hardware Corner

These 3D-printed cases for the Raspberry Pi will not disappoint.

13 Amazingly Innovative 3D Printed Cases for Raspberry Pi I Came Across

So what if I don’t have a 3D printer to print these cases. I can at least appreciate the creativity.

It's FOSSAbhishek Kumar

Raspberry Pi has quietly launched the 500+, a blingy, faster version of the original 500 model.

WebScreen is a crowdfunded secondary display for gamers and creators.

The Raspberry Pi can be used for retro gaming, you know. The other Abhishek shows it with his latest work.

✨ Project Highlights

I recently discovered Sync-in, an open source platform that facilitates file sharing, sync, and collaboration.

Sync-in

The secure, open-source platform for file storage, sharing, collaboration, and syncing. - Sync-in

GitHub

Another interesting tool I discovered is term.everything which allows you to run 'any' GUI app in the terminal. I am still exploring it and will be doing a full review soon.

GitHub - mmulet/term.everything: Run any GUI app in the terminal❗

Run any GUI app in the terminal❗. Contribute to mmulet/term.everything development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHubmmulet

🛍️ Deal worth a look

This ebook bundle from No Starch is a curated collection of titles to help you explore embedded electronics with Raspberry Pi and Arduino. Plus, your purchase supports the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Humble Tech Book Bundle: Electronics for the Curious by No Starch

Pay what you want to deepen your knowledge of video games and technology with our latest Tech Book Bundle: Electronics for the Curious.

Humble Bundle

📽️ Videos I Am Creating for You

Zorin OS 18 is coming up with new features specially planned for new Linux users who are migrating from Windows 10. I discuss those features in the latest video.

💡 Quick Handy Tip

In Firefox, you can forget about one site, by erasing its browsing history, download history, cookies, login, etc. First, go to Menu → History → Manage History.

Here, locate the website you want to forget about (one of those spicy ones, perhaps?), right-click on the website, and then select "Forget About This Site..." When asked, click on "Clear data" to clear any data related to that website.

Following this method means that the website will be gone forever from your history, unless you visit it again.

🎋 Fun in the FOSSverse

Seeing Halloween is close, are you in the mood to hunt a Daemon in our latest crossword?

Daemon Hunter: Crossword Edition

Background processes, foreground fun! Can you summon all the daemons and solve this Linux crossword?

It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash

🤣 Meme of the Week: One of the worst crimes in the world of Linux.

🗓️ Tech Trivia: On October 2, 1955, the ENIAC, the world’s first general-purpose electronic computer, was retired. Built by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, it could perform 5,000 operations per second.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 From the Community: Pro FOSSer Neville asked a really important question in the forum a few days ago, and the replies on that so far have been wonderful.

Why do people come to this forum? Feedback please

Lets see if we can find out what aspects of this forum are most appreciated by our members. I will start it off. What I mostly appreciate from this forum is some mental challenge helping to solve computing issues inspiration… the flow of new ideas Can each of you attempt to summarize what you see as important or rewarding in our forum.?

It's FOSS Communitynevj

Fellow Pro FOSSer Xander started a thread, asking for ideas to make the most unusable desktop environment.

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Share the articles in Linux Subreddits and community forums.

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Opt for It's FOSS Plus membership and support us 🙏

Enjoy FOSS 😄

There were two smartphone launches recently, both with hardware kill switches. One is the Murena-powered HIROH Phone, and the other is the Furi Labs FLX1s. FLX1s uses a Debian based operating system.

Now, these are not necessarily for everyone, and they sure are not cheap. I mean, they might not be as expensive as iPhones or Samsung Galaxy S series, but they are surely in the mid-range.

These are more suited for journalists and activists who have to protect sensitive data and hence the kill switch. That doesn't mean a privacy aware regular Joe (or Jane) cannot opt for them. It's just that lack of some mainstream features could cause frustration. What do you think?

💬 Let's see what you get in this edition:

• Apt receiving a much-needed upgrade.
• Lots happening in the open source space.
• An early look at LMDE 7 and Zorin OS 18.
• And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes!

📰 Linux and Open Source News

• OBS Studio 32.0 introduces a new plugin manager.
• Apt is finally getting support for a history command.
• The eBPF Foundation has awarded $100K in research grants.
• Git 3.0 might make Rust mandatory, though this is not yet final.
• LMDE 7 beta is here with a Debian 13 base and lots of new bits.
• Zorin OS 18 beta is here with a fresh design and many new features.
• A new proposal has been floated to make Linux multi-kernel friendly.

New Proposal Looks to Make Linux Multi-Kernel Friendly

If approved, Linux could one day run multiple kernels simultaneously.

It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

🧠 What We’re Thinking About

A coalition of open source organizations has called out predatory practices.

Open Source Infrastructure is Breaking Down Due to Corporate Freeloading

An unprecedented threat looms over open source.

It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

If you are around South Korea, then you should definitely attend this year's Open Source Summit Korea!

🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials, and Learnings

• Learn how to make the best out of Polybar in Xfce.
• If you have ever wondered what an immutable distro is, then we have got you covered.
• These distros and tools offer Hyprland preconfigured.

Hyprland Made Easy: Preconfigured Beautiful Distros

Here are the projects that lower the entry barrier by providing a preconfigured Hyprland option.

It's FOSSSourav Rudra

👷 AI, Homelab and Hardware Corner

Cool down your Raspberry Pi in style with these mini PC cases.

Raspberry Pi 5 Tower Cases to Give it Desktop Gaming Rig Look

Pi 5 is a remarkable device and it deserves an awesome case. Transform your Raspberry Pi 5 into a miniature desktop tower PC with these cases.

It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash

Also explore some must know Ollama commands to manage local AI models.

✨ Project Highlight

Net Commander is a new project from Elelab that brings network troubleshooting, Wi-Fi surveys, SSH jumping, CIDR calculations, and more into VS Code.

The author had reached out to us, but we haven't tested the plugin extensively yet.

GitHub - elelabdev/net-commander: Net Commander supercharges Visual Studio Code for Network Engineers, DevOps Engineers and Solution Architects streamlining everyday workflows and accelerating data-driven root-cause analysis.

Net Commander supercharges Visual Studio Code for Network Engineers, DevOps Engineers and Solution Architects streamlining everyday workflows and accelerating data-driven root-cause analysis. - ele…

GitHubelelabdev

📽️ Videos I Am Creating for You

Explore DuckDuckGo's lesser known features in our latest video.

💡 Quick Handy Tip

In GNOME's Nautilus file manager, you can drag and drop a tab from one window to another Nautilus window, just like browsers. Or, drag it out to open it as a new window.

See below to learn how. 👇

🎋 Fun in the FOSSverse

🧩 Quiz Time: Open source is full of forks; can you match the projects with their community-based forks/alternatives?

Community Strikes Back [Puzzle]

Forked it!

It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash

🤣 Meme of the Week: The contempt is real, people. ☠️

🗓️ Tech Trivia: On September 22, 1986, a U.S. federal judge ruled that computer code could be copyrighted, giving software the same legal protections as books and other written works.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 From the Community: One of our regular FOSSers has a question about terminals. Can you help?

Terminal: What app do you to see a .log file through pagination and with colors?

Hello Friends In a Terminal: What app do you to see a .log file through pagination and with colors? I did do a quick research in the web and I found https://lnav.org/ (not tested yet) But just being curious if you have your own recommendation. It to be used with https://logback.qos.ch where is used the following Logger Levels: trace,debug,info,warn,error If I use Visual Studio Code for long files (20MB-50MB) it consumes ram as a wolf, it even worst for many .log files opened at the same tim…

It's FOSS CommunityManuel_Jordan

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