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When I think of a useful system monitoring tool on Linux, I either think of System Monitor, the default one on GNOME or the sleek newcomer, Mission Center. I first checked it out almost two years ago when I took an early build for a short spin.

Since then, it has evolved into something that rivals GNOME's default system monitoring tool. For a quick recap, Mission Center is a Rust-based system monitor that allows users to monitor critical system metrics like CPU, memory, disk, network, and GPU.

We are now in 2025, and a stable release is finally here. So, let's check it out! 😃

Mission Center 1.0: What to Expect?

Kicking things off with the rewritten data collection engine, which is now called Magpie, that powers Mission Center, helping it gather important system metrics, such as CPU usage, memory stats, disk performance, and network activity.

Then there's the redesigned Apps page, which now shows more information than before, including a new network usage column that needs additional configuration. The screenshot you see below is the app details page open for Vivaldi, where there was a dedicated "Network" resource usage metric that was blank.

For setting up per-process network usage on Mission Center, you will have to configure Nethogs. I didn't have it configured, and hence I didn't get any network usage stats for the app.

When done properly, a new "Network" column should show up in the Apps page.

That's not all; the developers have also worked on lowering the overall CPU and memory usage of Mission Center, making it more efficient than before. I remember people complaining about the app using too many resources. Hopefully, it's better now.

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Next up is the implementation of smooth graph updates in the Performance page of Mission Center, similar to what System Monitor does. It is a year-old request that has become a reality.

Another newly added feature is support for all GPUs supported by NVTOP, including the ones found on Raspberry Pi SBCs. This significantly expands the variety of graphical hardware Mission Center can monitor, providing users with detailed GPU metrics.

There's also support for reading SMART data from both SATA and NVMe devices, allowing anyone to monitor the health and status of their storage drives easily.

I checked the status of the 512 GB NVMe drive on my laptop, and it worked mostly fine, but Mission Center couldn't display the SMART Test status. Oh, and by the way, you can now eject removable storage devices like USB drives and optical disks directly from the app.

Other Changes and Improvements

Wrapping this up with some other notable changes that include:

Many updated translations.Fix for older Intel GPU usage stats.Removal of CPU core count from the sidebar.Memory leak fix that occurred on some OS/hardware combinations.Improved efficiency in running the AppImage, Flatpak, and Snap builds.

You can refer to the release notes for learning more about this release.

Get Mission Center 1.0

The easiest way to get Mission Center is via Flathub. If you want alternative package downloads like AppImage or access to the source code, then you can visit the project's GitLab repository.

Mission Center 1.0 (Flathub)

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Shared by Lance Albertson, director of OSUOSL, the future of the Open Source Lab is in jeopardy. A funding deficit that has persisted over the past few years has now escalated due to recent changes in university funding, potentially dealing a massive blow to the initiative.

If you didn't know, the Oregon State University Open Source Lab (OSUOSL) is a non-profit organization under Oregon State University that provides hosting, infrastructure, and development support to numerous major open source projects.

A Funding Deficit: What's Going On?

Original pic courtesy of OSUOSL, edited by me.

Currently, they are lacking a sizable $250,000 in funds, which would be used for paying the staff ($150k), the students who work there ($65k), and other organization/infra-related expenses ($35k).

They’ve already approached their largest corporate sponsor to get extra support, but the proposal is still under review. Sadly, Lance shares that even if the plan is approved, it might not be enough to close the funding gap.

If this gap isn't filled soon, Open Source Lab may be forced to shut down later this year, affecting major open source projects like Gentoo, Fedora, Debian, phpBB, OpenID, Buildroot, and Drupal. The closure would disrupt critical infrastructure that these projects depend on, halting essential services such as hosting, continuous integration, and version control.

Additionally, smaller open source projects, many of which rely on the lab's affordable and reliable hosting, could be left without a dependable infrastructure, making it difficult for them to maintain their operations.

Can You Help? 🧐

If you can, consider directly donating to the OSUOSL from their donation page. If you can't, then spread the word as wide and far as possible, and if you are an organization that can support the initiative, drop a mail at [email protected].

Lance has until May 14 to provide university leadership with an update on the funding situation.

OSUOSL Donation Page

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Redis is known for being a fast and efficient in-memory data store often used for caching, session storage, and real-time data processing. Popular services like GitHub, Snapchat, Netflix, and Pokémon Go use it to manage real-time data, handle caching, improve performance, and ensure quick responses for user interactions.

Last year, they had moved away from open source, opting for a dual-license system with RSALv2 and SSPLv1, which are source-available licenses that don't conform to the Open Source Initiative's (OSI) definition of open source.

A recent announcement now sees Redis return to open source licensing with their Redis Open Source product.

Redis Open Source: What to Expect?

Rebranding Redis Community Edition, the developers of Redis have released Redis Open Source under AGPLv3, an OSI-approved license, alongside the existing versions with source-available licenses.

This was part of the Redis 8 release, which introduced over 30 performance improvements, faster commands, and new data structures.

Announcing the update, Rowan Trollope, CEO of Redis, reflected on the past by stating that:

After I joined the company, and a year of evaluating alternatives, in March 2024, we decided to move Redis to the SSPL license. This achieved our goal—AWS and Google now maintain their own fork—but the change hurt our relationship with the Redis community. SSPL is not truly open source because the Open Source Initiative clarified it lacks the requisites to be an OSI-approved license.

That last bit about the community being hurt cannot be overstated. Redis' move away from open source caused some massive backlash, with many developers, contributors, and open source advocates distancing themselves from Redis after their switch to SSPL.

Hopefully, by adopting an OSI-approved license, Redis can begin the process of rebuilding trust within the open source community and restoring its reputation among developers.

💬 Are you open to giving Redis another chance, or have you moved on for good?

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KDE Plasma is a nice desktop environment for people who prefer a traditional desktop layout with a taskbar at the bottom and a Start menu-style application launcher. It's also highly customizable, allowing users to tweak nearly every aspect of the interface.

In contrast to other desktop environments, KDE offers a long-term support release (LTS) of Plasma, where bug fixes and security updates are provided for an extended period, with no new major changes being introduced.

However, that is no longer the case now.

What's Happening: Shared by Nate Graham, a prominent contributor within the KDE community, KDE has decided to stop working on LTS releases of Plasma, shifting its focus on extending support for the bug-fix and feature releases instead.

The reasoning behind this move is multi-faceted, with factors such as inconsistent expectations from the community, developers' reluctance to work on older versions, and the lack of consistency in LTS support for Frameworks and Gear apps.

Nate also mentioned that many users of LTS Linux distributions were reporting issues they faced with KDE software to them, when in reality, they should have been reporting them to the developers of the LTS distros.

What to Expect: Shifting their focus, KDE will now offer an additional bug-fix release, extending the bug-fix support period, and will reduce Plasma feature releases to two per year instead of three.

If you didn't know, a bug-fix release comes with smaller updates focused on fixing bugs, addressing security vulnerabilities, and improving the overall stability. Whereas, a feature release introduces new features, improvements, and changes for Plasma.

The KDE developers are also hoping to sync the two feature releases with biannual Linux distro releases like Kubuntu and Fedora.

In the end, I believe this move will provide Plasma users with a better Linux desktop experience, thanks to the extended bug-fix period, which will enhance the stability of each release.

Via: Phoronix

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Formed in 1945 after the second World War, the United Nations (UN) is an international organization tasked with promoting peace, security, and cooperation among countries.

While recent events might make you question if they are effective at what they do, it is good to have a forum where the world's nations can come together to deliberate and vote on critical issues.

Interestingly, CryptPad has now become the preferred platform for collecting form submissions, at least for one of their recent initiatives.

UN Adopts CryptPad: What to Expect?

As part of the UN Open Source Principles initiative, the UN has invited other organizations to support and officially endorse these principles. To collect responses, they are using CryptPad instead of Google Forms.

This initiative aims to promote the adoption of open source technologies within the UN, while encouraging collaboration, ensuring transparency, and safeguarding user data.

If you don't know about CryptPad, it is a privacy-focused, open source online collaboration office suite that encrypts all of its content, doesn't log IP addresses, and supports a wide range of collaborative documents and tools for people to use.

While this happened back in late March, we thought it would be a good idea to let people know that a well-known global governing body like the UN was slowly moving towards integrating open source tech into their organization.

So far, the UN seems to be moving in the correct direction with their UN Open Source Principles initiative, ditching the user data hungry Google Form, and opting for a much more secure and privacy-focused CryptPad.

They’ve already secured the endorsement of sixteen organizations, including notable names like The Document Foundation, Open Source Initiative, Eclipse Foundation, ZenDiS, The Linux Foundation, and The GNOME Foundation.

I sincerely hope the UN continues its push away from proprietary Big Tech solutions in favor of more open, privacy-respecting alternatives, integrating more of their workflow with such tools.

Via: FOSS Force

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The Swiss-based Proton Mail (partner link) is one of the few privacy-focused encrypted email providers around that doesn't sell user data for profit or advertising purposes. Some countries have sought to ban it, with some successfully doing so.

Sadly, another country has joined the "Governments Allergic to Encrypted Email" list, with a court order in India now seeking a complete ban on Proton Mail.

What's happening: Acting on a petition filed by M Moser Design Associates, Justice M Nagaprasanna of Karnataka High Court has directed the Indian government to block Proton Mail.

The petitioner, M Moser Design Associates India Pvt Ltd, claimed that several of their female employees received multiple emails through Proton Mail containing objectionable content and AI-generated deepfakes of them.

This is not the first time Proton Mail has faced a ban in India. Last year, the Tamil Nadu police sought to ban the mail service after it was used to send bomb threats to schools in the state.

What to Expect: At the time of writing, Proton Mail was still working for me, which isn’t surprising. Big bureaucratic moves like this usually take time to roll out in India.

If you ask me, this move looks completely absurd.

Yes, I understand that many people were adversely affected due to someone or a group of people holding a grudge, but this doesn't mean you completely ban an email service used by many others.

Would they have done the same if it were Gmail? Outlook?, I don't think so. Plus, a bad actor like that will most likely pivot to some other email service to carry out their malicious attacks, so what is the point of a ban like that in the first place?

Also, I don't think Proton will be banned. It's not going to happen.

But, anyway, it is what it is. If someone attempts to stop the ban from happening, that would be a good thing. Otherwise, people will just use a VPN to get around this impending ban. 🙃

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Usually, when I open a PDF file on my Linux system, I use the default document viewer — Evince, GNOME’s evergreen document viewing app. It’s my go-to because it just works. No weird bugs or unexpected crashes, it gets the job done reliably and without fuss.

However, lately, it has started to feel old. Don't get me wrong, it still works well, but the interface and overall experience feel a little out of date.

That's when I came across GNOME's new document reader app, Papers, which is now the default document viewer on Ubuntu 25.04. It immediately stood out to me because of its clean, modern design, all while staying close to what Evince offered.

I tested it over the past few weeks to see if it was any good.

What's So Special About Papers?

As a fork of Evince, Papers employs newer GTK4, libadwaita and Rust components for an adaptive, GNOME-friendly design while maintaining core functionality like PDF viewing, annotations, and printing.

Some key features include:

**A modern user interface.****Support for many document formats.**Document printing directly from the app.

Day-to-Day Usage

My day-to-day sometimes consists of going through press releases distributed as PDFs, where, when required, I use annotation tools to highlight specific parts in these documents to keep track of important information.

With Papers, I could annotate text with a note, highlight it, add a squiggly line to it, strikethrough it, and underline it easily by selecting the text and right-clicking. There were some color options for the highlighter too.

📋Do keep in mind that if you annotate using Papers, it will ask you to save a new copy of the document before you close the app.

For going through a large document, the sidebar on Papers comes in really handy, with the search function working flawlessly with little loading time and two filtering options to search by whole words and letter case.

It also features a three-ribbon menu, which has the toggle for Night Mode (separate from dark mode), which blacks out the page background and images in a document, with the text being shown in white.

There are two buttons at the bottom to access the outline and annotations of the document too.

Another neat thing about Papers is the handy Document Properties dialog that can be accessed from the three-dot menu. It shows useful information like the document's creation date, author, file format, and the fonts used.

Even using the zoom controls at the bottom-right of the app feels intuitive, with the zoom in/out transition feeling very natural to use.

How it Compares to Evince

Evince on the left, Papers on the right.

For starters, the overall layout of the interface on Papers feels familiar yet better laid out than Evince. In that, you will find that some interface elements are placed too close together, not scaling well when shrinking the app window.

Similarly, the three-dot menu on Papers is clearly the better one, with its aptly worded menu items and their corresponding keyboard shortcuts being shown right alongside them.

And don't even get me started on the animations on Papers. They are very smooth, especially when toggling the sidebar or changing the zoom levels.

Though, Papers is missing the Bookmarks feature, and it doesn't show the recently opened files on app launch on its home screen like Evince does. These are some basic user experience niceties that I am confident the GNOME developers will add eventually.

Closing Thoughts

I’ve already set Papers as the default document viewer on my daily driver Fedora laptop. It feels like a more responsive, modernized Evince, with the subtle design refresh fitting perfectly with the GNOME desktop environment.

It’s probably just a matter of time before Fedora makes it the default, and there’s talk that Debian 13 ‘Trixie’ might do the same when it is released later this year, sometime in August.

💬 Have you used Papers? Did you like it better than Evince?

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There aren't many rolling release distros that are designed for penetration testing, ethical hacking, and digital forensics.

Kali Linux caters to this niche by being a purpose-built distro with a wide arsenal of security tools, allowing cybersecurity professionals and enthusiasts to perform penetration testing.

The people behind it recently shared an important development that affects all Kali Linux users.

What's Happening: The Kali Linux team has lost access to their previous repository signing key, which was used to verify the authenticity of packages during updates. As a result, in the coming days, running apt update is going to fail for all Kali Linux users out there.

They have already generated a new key, which has most likely gone through extensive testing and validation so that users don't have a bad experience when migrating.

How to Fix: Mending this impending issue is easy; you just have to add the new signing key to your Kali Linux keyring.

You can either run this in the terminal:

sudo wget https://archive.kali.org/archive-keyring.gpg -O /usr/share/keyrings/kali-archive-keyring.gpg

Or, this, if you prefer curl:

sudo curl https://archive.kali.org/archive-keyring.gpg -o /usr/share/keyrings/kali-archive-keyring.gpg

The video below shows the wget method. 👇

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After you are done, you should verify that the updated keyring contains both the old signing key: ED444FF07D8D0BF6 and the new signing key: ED65462EC8D5E4C5. The old one is around because it was never compromised, and it is there to make sure there is no breakage with packages signed with it.

Lastly, run sudo apt update to see if it throws any errors.

Alternatively, you can download the 2025.1c image or the weekly Kali Linux images (2025-W17 and later) to get the new signing key. These images are identical to the previous releases, but with this new change.

Kali Linux

If you want to verify whether the new key is legit, then you can visit the Ubuntu OpenPGP Keyserver.

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SpacemiT are makers of high-performance computing chips based on the RISC-V architecture, with a focus on catering to applications in artificial intelligence, edge computing, and cloud infrastructure.

Recently, they quietly launched a new RISC-V small-board computer (SBC) that aims to deliver some decent AI performance for various edge compute applications.

Let's dive in. 😃

📝 Muse Pi Pro: Key Specifications

Source: SpacemiT

Powered by an SpacemiT M1 SoC, the Muse Pi Pro packs in 8 RISC-V cores running at 1.8 GHz, with an Imagination IMG BXE-2-32 handling graphical tasks and a 2.0 TOPS (INT8) AI accelerator handling AI/ML-focused tasks.

These are paired with either 8 or 16 GB of LPDDR4X RAM running at 2400 MHz, along with onboard eMMC storage options of 64 or 128 GB. The most typical use cases for the Muse Pi Pro include image/object detection, IoT solutions for smart devices/sensors, and industrial automation.

Officially, it supports Linux-based operating systems like Bianbu Desktop, Ubuntu, OpenKylin, Fedora, and Deepin, with Bianbu being the recommended option.

As for the various ports and interfaces, they include:

Video: 1x HDM 1.4.Power: 5/9/12V DC, 3A.Audio: 1x 3.5 mm audio jack.USB: 1x USB 2.0 Type-C (power & data), 4x USB 3.0 Type-A.Networking: 1x Gigabit Ethernet port, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.2.Storage: 1x microSD slot (UHS-II), M.2 M-Key 2230 port for NVMe SSDs.PCle: M.2 M-Key socket (PCIe 2.1 x2), Full-size mPCIe socket (PCIe 2.1 x1).**Interfaces:**40-pin GPIO, 4-lane MIPI-CSI, 2-lane MIPI-CSI, 2-lane MIPI-DSI.

🛒 Getting the Muse Pi Pro

Currently, many sources point to the Muse Pi Pro being available on AliExpress for ~$122, but I couldn't find a working link, and the search results on the website showed me nothing.

If you want one, then you can keep an eye on the official website for getting your hands on the Muse Pi Pro.

Muse Pi Pro

Via: CNX Software

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If you are new around here, then it's important to know that Arch Linux is a lightweight, flexible, rolling release Linux distribution that is known for its simplistic yet power-user-centric approach that has impressed many.

Whereas Windows Subsystem for Linux, or WSL, is a compatibility layer that allows users to run a fully-fledged Linux environment inside a Windows machine without the need for a virtual machine.

A few months ago, we were the first to report that an official Arch Linux image would be coming to WSL, and as expected, it's now officially here!

Arch Linux on WSL is Looking Good

Windows users now officially have the right to say “I use Arch, btw” thanks to WSL now featuring an official image of Arch Linux. This marks a notable accomplishment for Robin Candau and the other Arch contributors who worked on setting it all up.

I took the image for a quick run on a Windows 11 machine, running commands like pacman -Syu and Fastfetch. Everything went very smoothly, without any hiccups, providing me with a clean experience right from the get-go.

While I'm not an Arch user myself, it's great to see this being offered. If you ask me, it's a nice way to introduce Arch Linux to new users in an easy, approachable manner.

Those eager to try this out should keep in mind that support for the official Arch Linux WSL image will be provided on a best-effort, low-priority basis. So, if you encounter any issues, don't expect immediate resolutions.

Want to Try it Out?

If you don't have WSL installed on your Windows computer, install it by running the following command in PowerShell:

wsl --install --no-distribution

Reboot your computer after the installation is done and run this command to get a list of WSL images:

wsl -list --online

Finding Arch Linux on WSL is not that hard.

Now, use this command to get Arch Linux installed:

wsl --install archlinux

Wait a bit for the installation to finish and then run the following command to boot into Arch Linux:

wsl -d archlinux

Before you start using Arch Linux on WSL, be sure to run the pacman -Syu command to update the system with all the latest packages. If you need help using WSL, then you can refer to our essential WSL commands list:

Basic WSL Commands You Should KnowYou can manage the WSL distros effectively using these commands.It's FOSSSreenath

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If you are a Proton Pass user, then you already know that it is one of the best open source password managers around, being readily available for most popular platforms. Since its launch back in 2023, Proton Pass has gained notable market share in the space thanks to its secure, easy-to-use nature.

Earlier this month, Proton had laid out their roadmap for spring, mentioning that many major upgrades were coming to their product lineup.

So, join us as we look at one such upgrade that has just arrived for Proton Pass.

Proton Pass File Attachments: What to Expect?

In a bid to make keeping track of essential files easy, Proton Pass now supports file attachments for its entries, allowing a user to upload multiple attachments in a single Proton Pass entry with a total file size limit of 100 MB. It can handle file types such as documents, photos, and videos.

Proton says that keeping track of essential documents is easier when they are accessible from one secure location. They introduced this so that users can have quick, easy access to their most important files.

If you use the Proton Pass Web App or one of the desktop applications, then it is quite straightforward to add file attachments. Create a new entry by clicking on "Create Item", select the entry type, and enter the relevant details.

Adding file attachments to Proton Pass entries is easy!

Now, go down to the "Attachments" section and start uploading the necessary files. It works the same for existing Proton Pass entries too.

The Chrome browser extension for Proton Pass also works similarly, where, when creating a new entry or updating an existing one, you have the option to add file attachments to those.

For those wondering, the file attachment feature works not only for password entries, but also for other entries such as Alias, Card, Note, and Identity.

Unfortunately, this feature is only available on the paid plans of Proton Pass. For more information on this, you can refer to the official support page.

📥 Get Proton Pass

If you keep your Proton Pass app or browser extension updated, then you already have this file attachment feature. If you don't have, then I suggest you perform an upgrade.

For new users, Proton Pass is available for desktop via web, native applications, and browser extensions. Similarly, for mobile users, the official Proton Pass app is also available.

You can sign up for a new account (partner link) to get started.

Proton Pass (partner link)

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QEMU has significantly updated its ISC (Instruction set architectures) with many important updates.

This specific update focuses more on boosting the functionality for the next-generation emulation specifically for RISC-V, x86 and ARM64 ISAs.

📋If you are new to ISAs, arm.com states: "An Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) is the language that software uses to talk to computer hardware, defining the commands a processor can understand and execute".

QEMU 10.0: What's New?

For starters, RISC-V adopters will be happy to know the added support for newer chips and more feature enablements.

QEMU will be adding support for the Tenstorrent Ascalon CPU and RV64 Xiangshan Nanhu CPU.

In addition to that, if you are into AMD SoCs, the developers are also adding support for the Microblaze V generic board, and as it is designed to be highly modular with a configurable architecture suitable for embedded systems applications. It will be favorable for the developers to leverage the open-source RISC-V software ecosystem for easily.

Key additions include support for the RISC-V IOMMU system device, which allows for hardware-accelerated I/O operations with better security isolation. The release also introduces the svukte ISA extension and adds support for the ssstateen extension, expanding QEMU's capabilities for modern RISC-V implementations.

Enhancements in performance are evident through lower overhead for RISC-V vector unit-stride load and store operations, leading to greater efficiency in vector processing. Meanwhile, security receives an upgrade with the addition of SHA algorithm support and refined Pointer Masking functionality, now aligned with the Zjpm v1.0 standard.

The release also introduces support for the RISC-V Counter delegation ISA extension and ensures compatibility with both Smdbltrp and Ssdbltrp extensions. Additionally, the IOMMU page table cache has been enhanced with a new translation tag to boost performance.

There are some additional changes that include:

It adds support for emulating new CPU model ClearwaterForest for x86 ISA.This update adds emulation support for ARM's FEAT_AFP, FEAT_RPRES, and FEAT_XS CPU features, improving compatibility.This update enhances s390x by enabling PCI devices to bypass IOMMU for better performance and refining CPU emulation with support for PPNO and MCV instructions.This update for HPPA adds support for Diva GSP PCI board emulation, Astro LLMIO, and up to 256 GB RAM for 64-bit guests.

The changelog has more technical information if you are up for a longer read.

Get QEMU 10.0

Since it has already been released, you find the latest version on the official download page to get the latest version.

🚧I don't recommend this on systems that are meant for general/production use. If you go ahead, make sure to test things well and know what you are doing.QEMU 10.0

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If you use AI-based search engines, then you most likely know about Perplexity, the AI-powered search engine designed to provide factual, source-backed answers to its users.

They have been making waves in the AI space alongside the other established outfits like OpenAI, Anthropic, etc., with their upcoming AI-powered web browser, Comet, set to be the next big launch.

It is expected to be a Chromium-based web browser with capabilities like agentic search, hybrid AI processing (local+cloud), support for multiple large language models (LLMs), and more.

Sadly, as is too common with these AI-infused products, there is something Orwellian about the Comet that was revealed recently.

Perplexity Comet: A User Data Collection Tool?

In a podcast with TBPN (timestamp is 43:19), the CEO of Perplexity, Aravind Srinivas, mentioned that one of the reasons why they wanted to build a web browser was to collect data on everything users do outside of Perplexity to better understand them.

He further added that the prompts many people enter into their search engine are mostly surrounding work-related tasks and not all that personal.

If they have access to what people are buying, which hotels they are staying at, which restaurants they are eating at, and what things they are looking up online. It tells them more about the person's habits and preferences.

What do they want with all that personally identifiable information (PII), you ask?

Serve advertisements, of course. 🙃

Aravind puts it this way:

We plan to use all the context to build a better user profile, and, maybe you know, through our Discover feed we could show some ads there.

Do you see the big implications for privacy if sensitive user data, like the kind collected through a web browser, isn’t handled properly, right?

Aravind is banking on the idea that Perplexity users won’t mind the invasive tracking, as it would lead to more relevant ads being served to them.

Anyhow, I'm still unsure how all of this will play out in the end. Comet's launch has faced some roadblocks, causing delays, but Aravind mentions they’re now aiming for a mid-May release.

Via: TechCrunch

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At least in the U.S. and Canada, that is.

This was brought to my attention thanks to a Reddit post where a user (presumably a resident of Canada), had posted how Lenovo was shipping laptops with Fedora and Ubuntu at a cheaper price compared to their Windows-equipped counterparts.

Others then chimed in, saying that Lenovo has been doing this since at least 2020 and that the big price difference shows how ridiculous Windows' pricing is.

Cutting the Windows Tax

When I dug in further, I found out that the US and Canadian websites for Lenovo offered U.S. $140 and CAD $211 off on the same ThinkPad X1 Carbon model when choosing any one of the Linux-based alternatives.

US pricing on left, Canadian pricing on right.

Interestingly, while the difference in pricing is noticeable, your mileage may vary if you are looking for such laptops on the official website. Not all models from their laptop lineup, like ThinkPad, Yoga, Legion, LOQ, etc., feature an option to get Linux pre-installed during the checkout process.

Luckily, there is an easy way to filter through the numerous laptops. Just go to the laptops section (U.S.) on the Lenovo website and turn on the "Operating System" filter under the Filter by specs sidebar menu.

Yes, it's as simple as that. You can do the same for the various official online regional storefronts that Lenovo runs to see whether Linux-based operating systems are being offered on their laptops in your country.

Closing Thoughts

It is good to see that Lenovo is offering Linux in its laptops. In fact, there is another big-name laptop manufacturer, Dell, who also does something similar with its Ubuntu-certified laptops, but both have the same constraint of having limited options for buyers.

Also, as far as I know, Dell doesn't reduce the pricing if you choose Linux instead of Windows. Correct me if I am wrong in the comments.

Nonetheless, I think these manufacturers could do a better job in marketing these Linux-based alternative operating systems to general consumers, showing them how they can save big when opting for these instead of the pricey and bloated Windows.

Otherwise, we might have to start observing Windows Refund Day again.

💬 Your take on this? Would mainstream users benefit from having Linux pre-installed on their laptops?

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📜Must-Know Bits 👇— Is powerful, yet tiny. Fits on a palm.— Packs in some decent hardware for various applications.— Upgraded hardware from ZimaBoard version 1 at the same price.— Early Bird units are selling out fast, grab yours before they are out.

ZimaBoard is a compact, low-cost single-board server that makes owning a homelab super easy, giving tinkerers, hobbyists, and DIY enthusiasts a solid foundation for crafting a highly customizable computing solution that can be deployed on a wide range of applications.

Now, the same folks behind the ZimaBoard have floated plans for its successor, the ZimaBoard 2, which looks to build on the success of its predecessor, offering up to 3x CPU performance, more RAM, and additional capabilities.

Let's get into it. 😀

📝 ZimaBoard 2: Key Specifications

At its heart is the Intel N150 processor, a quad-core chip that reaches speeds of up to 3.6 GHz, with up to 16 GB of LPDDR5x RAM running at 4800 MHz and up to 64 GB of eMMC storage forming the core of the system.

Thanks to the x86 processor, the ZimaBoard 2 can run fully-fledged Linux distributions like Debian, but the recommended operating system for it is ZimaOS, which is based on the Linux-powered CasaOS.

The ZimaBoard 2 can carry out resource-intensive tasks.

It can be deployed for applications like local AI experimentation powered by external GPUs, smart home security with AI-powered surveillance, ultra-fast and secure networking as a router with OpenWrt, and even as a private 4K media streaming server.

The possibilities are many! 🤯

ZimaBoard 2's exploded view and ports.

As for the other key specifications of the ZimaBoard 2, they include the following:

TDP: 10 WPower: 12V DC, 5APCle: 1x PCIe 3.0 x4USB: 2x USB 3.1 Type AVideo: 1x Mini DisplayPort 1.4 capable of 4k @ 60Hz.Networking: 2x 2.5 GbE Ethernet ports.Interfaces: 1x 4-pin CPU fan connector, 1x LPC, 1x front panel.Virtualization: Intel AES-NI, Intel VT-x, and Intel VT-d.Storage: Up to 64 eMMC and 2x SATA ports that support 36 TB of disk space between them.

We have our hands on the early prototype. Read what we think of the ZimaBoard 2 in the review.

Initial Impressions of the ZimaBoard 2 Homelab DeviceApart from the silver exterior, I have nothing to complain about in ZimaBoard 2 even if it is a prototype at this stage.It's FOSS NewsAbhishek

🛒 Getting the ZimaBoard 2

You will have to wait a bit before you get your hands on the ZimaBoard 2, as the crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter is still underway, with over 600 backers already onboard.

The Early Bird variants of the ZimaBoard 2.

There are two Early Bird variants: one is the ZimaBoard 2 832 with 8 GB of RAM and 32 GB of eMMC storage offered at ~$169 excl shipping, and the ZimaBoard 2 1664 with 16 GB of RAM and 64 GB of eMMC storage offered at ~$239 excl shipping.

The latter of which is already sold out. 😮

ZimaBoard 2 (Kickstarter)

If you can wait, then you can opt for the slightly pricier production variants of the ZimaBoard 2 832 and 1664. There are also three additional kits focused on NAS and smart home use cases. These are expected to ship globally sometime in August 2025.

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I am a fan of Zima devices. From ZimaBoard to ZimaCube, these devices lower the barrier of owning a homelab.

The first ZimaBoard was released four years ago after a successful crowdfunding campaign. Four years later, we have a newer version of the same ZimaBoard with better hardware specifications.

I'll be sharing my initial impressions of the newly announced ZimaBoard 2.

At this point, I would suggest reading my review of ZimaBoard version 1 as I'll be comparing the devices and its features.

ZimaBoard Turned My Dream of Owning a Homelab into RealityGet control of your data by hosting open source software easily with this plug and play homelab device.It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash

Build & Design

The unit keeps its passive cooling design—no fans or vents—ensuring silent operation, which is perfect for home labs or media setups.

The color and casing have changed slightly. ZimaBoard 2 is encased in a cast aluminum enclosure and it surely makes it a bit heavier than before. Personally, I liked the golden-brown looks of the older ZimaBoard.

Take a look at the two ZimaBoards side by side. Which one do you think looks better?

ZimaBoard 2 is in silver colored aluminum casing

Another thing that has changed here is the height of device. The previous version was taller and thus had taller radiator fins. Since it's a passive cooling device, taller radiator fins would be better for keeping the device cooler. I did notice that ZimaBoard 2 heats up a little more than version 1, but it's not alarming.

The ports are mostly in the same place as the original, making it easy to swap out if you're upgrading your existing ZimaBoard to version 2.0.

Let's talk about the hardware changes.

ZimaBoard 1 vs ZimaBoard 2 Specification Comparison

Here's the side-by-side specification comparison of ZimaBoard 2 and 1.

FeatureZimaBoard 2.0ZimaBoard 1.0ProcessorIntel Processor N150 4 Cores 6M Cache Up to 3.60 GHzIntel Celeron Processor N3450 4 Cores 2M Cache Up to 2.20 GHzMemory8GB LPDDR5x 4800MHz8GB LPDDR4x 2400MHzeMMC32GB32GBLAN2 x 2.5GbE LAN Ports - Intel chip2 x 1GbE LAN Ports - Realtek chipHDD/SSD2x SATA 3.0 6Gb/s Ports with power input2x SATA 3.0 6Gb/s Ports with power inputUSB2 x USB 3.12 x USB 3.0PCIe1x PCIe 3.0 x41x PCIe 2.0 x4Display1x Mini-DisplayPort 1.2 4K@60Hz1x Mini-DisplayPort 1.2 4K@60HzOn-Board Interfaces1x CPU fan 4-pin connector, 1x LPC, 1x Front panel1x CPU fan 4-pin connector, 1x LPC, 1x Front panelGraphics FrequencyFrequency Up to 1G MHzFrequency Up to 0.7G MHzGraphics ExpansionSupports Intel Quick Sync VideoSupports Intel Quick Sync VideoVirtualizationIntel AES, VT-x, VT-dIntel AES, VT-x, VT-dCoolingFanless/Active CoolingFanlessCPUTDP6 W6 WSize140mm * 81.4mm * 31mm138.7 x 81.4 x 34.9mmPower12v 3A power supply12v 3A power supply

There is also a 16GB RAM version, ZimaBoard 2 1664. I would suggest this model as 8GB RAM feels to be on the lower side of the spectrum and the device may start struggling if you use multiple services running in containers.

Experiencing ZimaBoard 2

📋IceWhale sent me the early prototype of ZimaBoard 2. This is not a finished product. The experience I share is based on the prototype, and the issues I encountered here should be improved in the final product arriving in August 2025.

ZimaBoard 2's intelligent packaging

I really want to talk about it. This is a small thing but shows the innovative minds of the Zima team.

ZimaBoard 2.0 comes in a cardboard packaged that looks to be made of recycled material. Plus points for that.Still

However, the ingenious thing is that you can cut half of it and use it as a stand or dock for your ZimaBoard along with two SATA SSDs. It's specifically designed that way.

ZimaOS is the way forward

It's not just the hardware that's changed between the two boards. ZimaBoard 2 will feature ZimaOS instead of CasaOS.

ZimaOS was introduced with ZimaCube. With it, IceWhale has evolved CasaOS Stillinto a dedicated, customized operating system for its devices.

ZimaOS makes it easier to deal with storage and update the installed updates. With ZimaClient, you can access your Zima device from outside home network without additional effort.

A little incontinence here is that ZimaClient is only available for Windows and macOS. It is not available for Linux or smartphones yet.

Since it is a prototype device, ZimaOS is still focused on ZimaCube device. Even though I was using it with ZimaBoard, it would mention ZimaCube everywhere, even for accessing it in the browser through ziacube.local

I was told that this will be fixed before the final launch.

ZimaBoard branding will be added to ZimaOS before the final release

Installing a new service is just a matter of a few clicks. Underneath, a new Docker container is created for the service.

Some services may require a little configuration changes but nothing that a self-hoster, even a beginner, cannot handle.

Quick performance assessment

From NAS to Home server to a router, ZimaBoard can be used in many ways. However, I tested it primarily as a media server.

For this, I used Jellyfin, my favorite media server.

I streamed a 4K movie in Jellyfin with hardware acceleration enabled. Both versions have Intel Quick Sync video but somehow, version 2.0 streamed the media more efficiently. There were no lags when I skipped ahead. The playback was quite smooth.

Like the previous one, ZimaBoard 2 doesn't consume too much power. When it's idle, the power consumption is under 4W. It increases if you start using various services but still remains around 6-8W.

I kept it plugged in uninterrupted but idle for 3 days. The temperature and power consumption remain almost constant and well within limits.

However, if I connect multiple SATA SSDs and engage the PCIe slot, I am sure the power consumption will increase but it is still a good device to keep plugged in for prolong usage.

A deserving upgrade

One of the main complaints in the previous ZimaBoard was the use of Intel Celeron N3450 processor. It was already an old processor when ZimaBoard was announced in 2021.

Zima has learned the lesson and has included the latest Intel N150 processor. This is the processor of choice for Intel NUC and many other mini PCs too.

ZimaBoard was a success for IceWhale, but if we look at it in 2025, a 10-year-old processor would be a hard sell. And I think that's why IceWhale is refreshing its lineup with more modern hardware with ZimaBoard 2.

It's good to see the same price tag for the new version for the 8GB edition, which is a rarity these days. Are you listening, Apple, Samsung?

Although if you back their crowdfunding campaign, you get an early bird discount even on the new 16 GB version,

Is it pricey? Isn't a used computer better? With the success of the first ZimaBoard and then ZimaCube, Zima knows that there is a market for out-of-the-box, plug and play homelab device and they are catering to this demand.

The introduction of ZimaOS makes it an even easier choice. More on that in the detailed video of the final ZimaBoard 2. Stay subscribed for updates.

ZimaBoard 2 on Kickstarter

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You have just installed Ubuntu 25.04 and are wondering what to do next? Fret not, this interim release packs some interesting features and under-the-hood improvements to enhance your Linux desktop experience.

Whether you're a new or regular Ubuntu user, you will benefit from my suggestions to fine-tune the system.

1. Perform a System Update

Even if you just installed a fresh upgrade, it is always recommended to perform an update.

The update will refresh the software package (or repo) list and also apply the latest patches available. With a new version, there can be launch bugs which are immediately fixed, and if you update the system, you may not get the chance to encounter the known bugs.

2. Add Your Favorite Apps to the Dock

The dock on Ubuntu acts as a convenient application launcher located on the left side of the screen by default, allowing quick access to the currently running apps and your most used/favorite applications.

It's highly customizable, so you can choose to change its position, auto-hide it, tweak the icon size, and manage what apps are shown on it. And adding new applications to it is easy. Just bring up the application drawer using the Show Apps button or the Super key on your keyboard, right-click on an app, and select "Pin to Dock".

You can drag/drop apps to change their positioning on the dock. It is also possible to remove existing apps by right-clicking on one and selecting "Unpin".

3. Change Background & Accent Color

This might sound like an obvious one, but changing the background/wallpaper and accent color is the most straightforward way of personalizing your Ubuntu 25.04 installation.

I usually go for an accent color that complements the wallpaper. 🎨

To do that, simply right-click on the desktop, go into "Change Background…" and decide on the wallpaper and color combo you want. You can also change the interface mode between light and dark and add new wallpapers by using the "Add Picture…" button.

This suggestion is just a basic one. There are plenty of additional ways you can customize Ubuntu.

15 Simple Tips to Customize Ubuntu GNOMESome basic and interesting GNOME customization tips for enriching your experience and getting more out of your Ubuntu desktop.It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash

4. Take Care of Your Wellbeing

Thanks to the inclusion of GNOME 48, Ubuntu now has a new Wellbeing feature that works similar to Android's Digital Wellbeing, but with a focus on desktop users.

You can use this to keep tabs on your screen usage times and set reminders for movement and eyesight care for those long working hours and/or binge-watching sessions on your computer.

No, my computer was not running 24 hours for three days. 😆

To take advantage of this feature, you can go into Settings and look for the "Wellbeing" page. Here, you can set daily screen limits, eyesight reminders, movement reminders, and choose whether to switch the screen to grayscale when the screen time limit is reached and whether a sound is played when a wellness break ends.

5. Use Your Monitor's HDR Capabilities

If you own a monitor with HDR functionality, then you can take advantage of the newly introduced HDR support that works with displays of the BT.2100 standard. With this, you get perks like improved brightness, deeper contrast, and a wider color gamut for more vibrant visuals.

To enable this, you will first need to connect a compatible monitor. Then, inside Settings, go into the "Displays" page. If everything went well, then you will be shown the "HDR" and "HDR Brightness" options.

6. Show Battery Stats in Panel

If you are a laptop user who is always on the go and cannot risk your device's battery dying out, then enabling the on-screen display for battery percentage is a must-have for quick battery charge level checks.

To enable this, go into Settings, then under the Power page, go to the "General" page and enable the "Show Battery Percentage" option.

That is not the only way you can spice up the top panel. There are some nice customizations that you can add:

Customizing GNOME’s Top Panel: Here’s How to do that!Bored with the plain-old GNOME top panel? Spice things up with these customization tips!It's FOSSSreenath

7. Disable Automatic Screen Blank

By default, Ubuntu automatically makes the screen go blank when the computer is left idle for 5 minutes. This bothers me, and I am sure there are others who like that behavior, but I often have to leave my desk for many minutes at a time, and I don't mind the screen being active if I am away.

Similar to the previous suggestion, go into the Power settings, but instead of General, go into "Power Saving" and uncheck the "Automatic Screen Blank" option. You can also tweak the delay time before the screen goes dark if you prefer this behavior.

📋This is not a good idea for shared spaces like offices, cafés, or a family home with nosy people around.

8. Hide the Home Folder

This is yet another thing on a default Ubuntu installation that I get rid of on first boot. It is the Home folder that shows up on the desktop, taking up all that real estate and blocking a clear view of the wallpaper.

Okay, I am biased on this one, but you get it, right? 😅

Thankfully, getting rid of it is effortless. Right-click on the desktop and go into "Desktop Icons Settings". Here, disable the "Show Home Folder" option.

9. Install GNOME Extensions

Ubuntu ships with GNOME as its default desktop environment, and while the vanilla (stock) experience combined with the various Ubuntu tweaks is good, you can drastically expand functionality if you install GNOME extensions via Extension Manager.

After installing it, you can go into the "Browse" tab and look for extensions by using the search bar and the handy filters. The screenshot above shows extensions like Apps Menu, Blur my Shell, Places Status Indicator, Tiling Shell, and Weather O' Clock.

You can go through some of our best GNOME extension picks if you want to learn more.

21 Best GNOME Extensions to Enhance Your ExperienceYou can enhance the capacity of your GNOME desktop with extensions. Here, we list the best GNOME shell extensions to save you the trouble of finding them on your own.It's FOSSPhillip Prado

10. Exclude Emojis/Characters from Search

When you perform a search using GNOME Search, it shows you the relevant applications, files, and folders your search term might match with, but it also shows emojis and characters, making the results page more cluttered.

I don't really see the point of having emojis/characters in the search results.

Luckily, you can change this. Go into Settings, then in the "Search" page, disable the entry for "Characters". Doing so will ensure that no results from GNOME Characters are shown in the search page.

Suggested Read 📖

7 Tips to Get More Out of GNOME Search in LinuxYou are missing out on lots of built-in search features in the GNOME desktop environment. Learn something new.It's FOSSSreenath

11. Install New Software from App Center

With a focus on Snaps, the App Center on Ubuntu 25.04 is a great place for sourcing popular applications, both offered by first-party (app developers) and third-party (via Snapcrafters or the community) publishers.

You can get access to it by searching for "App Center" and opening it. Here, you will find a helpful search bar, useful app categories, and a "Manage" page for managing app updates.

Just be careful with the applications you download. The ones with a green tick mark are the ones that have been verified.

12. Install Media Codecs

Ubuntu doesn't install codecs for media files like MP3, MPEG4, and AVI by default due to copyright restrictions in various countries.

You can install these media codecs as an individual using the Ubuntu Restricted Extra package. It installs media codecs and Microsoft True Type Fonts on your Ubuntu system.

You can install it by using this command:

sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras

If you see the EULA or the license screen, remember to use the tab key to select between the options and then hit enter to confirm your choice.

13. Minimize to Click

By default, clicking an application icon in the Ubuntu launcher opens the app, but clicking it again does not minimize the window. If you prefer the icon to also function as a minimize button, you can change this behavior.

Use this command in the terminal to enable minimize on click in Ubuntu:

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock click-action 'minimize'

Hungry for More?

With this article, I showed you how I'd prepare an Ubuntu installation to serve as my daily driver. But there is still much more you can do with Ubuntu to tailor it to your taste and preferences.

You could take advantage of handy keyboard shortcuts, customize the desktop environment, and even install cool-looking themes. Being such a popular operating system, Ubuntu can be riced to the teeth with very little effort.

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The latest version of Kubuntu has officially arrived and is ready to nestle into your machine like a penguin in fresh snow. While it is not a long-term support (LTS) release, it has plenty to offer for people who are looking to use the most recent applications and packages the Linux ecosystem has to offer.

With a short support period of only 9 months, this release might contain system-breaking bugs and is not recommended for new users who don't know their way around such interim releases.

With that in mind, let’s jump into what this release has to offer.

🆕 Kubuntu 25.04: What’s New?

Powered by Linux kernel 6.14, this release of Kubuntu has been worked on by the developers diligently, with it featuring KDE Plasma 6.3.4 as the desktop environment. Interestingly, the developers have chosen to default to the Wayland session of Plasma, with an option to switch back to X11 on the login screen.

Kubuntu 25.04 also comes with Qt 6.8.3 and KDE Frameworks 6.12.0. For older apps that still need Qt5 support, Qt 5.15.15 and Frameworks 5.116.0 are around in Kubuntu's archive.

As for the pre-installed applications, the Snap for Firefox 137 is being provided as the default web browser, and LibreOffice 25.2 is included as the office suite with the full Kubuntu installation.

Development Toolchain Upgrades

There are various toolchain updates with the release that include:

Golang updated to version 1.24.Binutils updated to version 2.44.LLVM now defaults to version 20.Python refreshed to version 3.13.3.Glibc library updated to version 2.41.Rust toolchain defaults to version 1.84.Inclusion of a snapshot of the upcoming GCC 15.OpenJDK 24 GA and OpenJDK 25 are now available.

Take a look at the official release notes to see everything that's new with this release.

📥 Download Kubuntu 25.04

You can find the latest ISO on the official website, which has direct download links and alternative download methods via Torrent and download mirrors.

Kubuntu 25.04

💬 Let me know what you think of the new Kubuntu release.

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Online document editors have been a great innovation, opening the path for real-time collaboration, easy version control, and allowing remote workers to operate from anywhere in the world with an active internet connection.

While proprietary offerings from Big Tech like Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and Apple Pages dominate the space, there are many open source options that offer the same levels of functionality. They are even betterwhen it comes to data privacy, customization, and self-hosting.

One such option is Docs, which is a self-hosted document editor that is part of La Suite Numérique, an initiative by the French government aimed at providing sovereign digital tools to public institutions and organizations.

Docs: Overview ⭐

The offspring of a collaboration between the French DINUM and the German ZenDiS, Docs is an open source document editor that can be used for document preparation, note-taking, and wiki management.

Its technology stack involves the Django REST Framework, Next.js, Yjs, and BlockNote.js, offering end users a modern document editing experience that doesn't feel clunky or dated.

Docs has the following highlights:

Real-time collaborationMany formatting toolsWorks offline

Initial Impressions 👨‍💻

I logged into the live demo for Docs using the provided credentials via the ProConnect login service. Post-login, I was brought into the "All docs" page, where there were already quite a few test documents by other people who were testing Docs.

I created a new document by using the "New doc" button and filled it up with the tale of a sleepy cat named Eepy and took the editor for a test run.

From the left sidebar, I could search for documents or return to the home page, and from the three buttons on top, I could quickly share the document via email or link, download the document in a specific format, pin the document to the sidebar, and access the version history for it.

For editing the contents, a handy toolbar shows up when text is selected. It provides editing tools for changing the text to heading, adding a list, adding a quote, changing the text to bold/italic/underline, changing the indentation, adding a web URL, and quick access to the AI assistant on-board.

The AI assistant has support for multiple languages and can be used to rephrase, summarize, beautify, and emojify a piece of text within a few clicks. And, if you want to rearrange a document, you can do so easily by dragging and dropping the required block to the position you want.

There is also the ability to add blocks like headings, lists, paragraphs, code, page breaks, quotes, tables, audio, video, and files for having great creative control over a document. Plus, all of these blocks are moveable, so you don't need to worry if you place one in the wrong place.

Concluding this, I can say that Docs is reliable and intuitive enough that most people can get started using it right away, making it a superb choice for teams seeking a privacy-focused document collaboration platform.

📥 Get Docs

The login method for the Docs live demo.

You can take the live demo for a run by entering the following credentials after you click on the big blue button that says ProConnect:

Email: [email protected] Password: I'd<3ToTestDocsDocs (demo)

If you would like to self-host or go through the source code, then you can visit the project's GitHub repo.

Suggested Read 📖

Taking Knowledge in My Own Hands By Self Hosting Wikipedia and Arch WikiDoomsday or not, knowledge should be preserved.It's FOSSAbhishek Kumar

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If you didn't know, Xubuntu is a lightweight, stable, and easy-to-use Linux distribution based on Ubuntu that has been designed to be as efficient and minimal as possible.

While it is offered as a long-term support release (LTS), there is always an interim release that follows months after the previous LTS release, continuing the cycle every six months.

We will be taking a look at one such release that has been introduced recently.

📋Xubuntu 25.04 will be supported for nine months until January 2026.

🆕 Xubuntu 25.04: What’s New?

A neat Fastfetch output.

As an interim release based on Ubuntu 25.04, the Xfce-flavored Xubuntu 25.04 shares many changes with that release while catering to a user base that prefers a no-nonsense desktop experience.

Some highlights of this release include:

Xfce UpgradesLinux kernel 6.14Updated Applications

Xfce Upgrades

We begin with the inclusion of Xfce 4.20, which introduces many new changes, such as experimental Wayland support, Xfce panel's border width being fully configurable, support for multiple power profiles, and an improved Thunar file manager.

The latter of which comes loaded with many memory leak fixes and new interface bits like new toolbar buttons, support for client-side decorations, symbolic icons in the side pane, and better drag/drop behavior.

The included themes also see upgrades, with the elementary-xfce theme now being a GPLv3 licensed icon theme with a new HiDPI variant and Greybird seeing a version bump to 3.23.3.

Linux kernel 6.14

Following what Ubuntu does, Xubuntu 25.04 ships with the latest available kernel at freeze date, which was Linux kernel 6.14 in this case. It brings about performance gains for AMD, Intel, and RISC-V, alongside a bunch of storage improvements and support for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite series of SoCs.

Our coverage of Linux kernel 6.14 is a good read if you are interested in learning more.

Linux Kernel 6.14 Arrives With Performance Gains for AMD, Intel, and RISC-VThe second major Linux kernel release of 2025 has arrived!It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

Updated Applications

The various updated apps on Xubuntu 25.04.

The application suite has also received upgrades, with additions like Firefox 136.0.2 (Snap), GIMP 3.0.2, LibreOffice 25.2.2, PipeWire 1.2.7, Snapd 2.67.1, Thunderbird 128.8.1 (Snap), and Blueman 2.4.4.

Similarly, the onboard GNOME and MATE applications have also received attention with the inclusion of Mines 1:48.0-1, Sudoku 1:48.0-2, Disk Usage Analyzer 48.0-1, and Fonts 48.0-1 for the GNOME apps. In the case of the MATE apps, there is now Atril 1.26.2, Engrampa 1.26.2, and Calculator 1.26.0 (mate-calc).

🛠️ Other Improvements

That's not all. This release has some additional improvements that you should know about:

Support for OpenVPN, enabling secure internet access.The various Xubuntu repositories and PPAs have been updated.Fix for a bug that caused Xubuntu Minimal not to have Firefox included.

This release has a few known issues, like poor performance in virtual machines configured via VMware and VirtualBox, the network icon being duplicated on the live session, and the GRUB menu not showing up in dual-boot setups.

You can learn more about those and the other changes by going through the release notes.

📥 Download Xubuntu 25.04

This Xubuntu release is available on the official website and the Ubuntu image repository. Go for the latest release if you want Xubuntu 25.04, and if you want a more stable experience, then the latest LTS release is the one for you.

Xubuntu 25.04

Existing users can upgrade to this release by following these steps:

Open "Software Updater"Update any available package updates.Then click on the upgrade banner at the top of the window and follow the on-screen prompts.

The official documentation has additional information if you have any doubts.

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Known for its user-friendliness, Ubuntu is a Debian-based Linux distribution offered by Canonical that is a popular choice for both beginners and advanced users. What makes it so good is its neat user interface, regular updates, and strong security, making Ubuntu the preferred choice for people/organizations looking for a Linux-powered operating system.

Around this time last year, we were introduced to the Ubuntu 24.04 LTS release, which delivered many upgrades, backed by a long support period (5-10 years) to provide one of the most stable Ubuntu experiences currently on offer.

There was also an interim release in the following months, back in October 2024, but official support for that will end in July. Luckily, for users of such releases, a new interim release, Ubuntu 25.04, has been introduced.

Before we proceed, do note that we have already covered the features of Ubuntu 25.04. However, this particular article will give you a quick rundown of the new changes.

Ubuntu 25.04 Features and Release Date: Here’s What You Need to KnowHere are the best Ubuntu 25.04 features.It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

⭐ Ubuntu 25.04: What's New?

Join over 56,000 Linux Users on YouTube

Code-named "Plucky Puffin" after a colorful seabird, Ubuntu 25.04 is powered by the recently released Linux kernel 6.14 as a non-LTS release with a support period of just 9 months, until January 2026.

It comes loaded with GNOME 48, which includes many improvements like notification grouping for reducing clutter, improved Flatpak handling, and on-screen notifications when headphones are connected.

In addition to all that, there is the new Wellbeing feature that can be used to set screen time limits, movement reminders, and eyesight reminders. If you ask me, this is a great step toward further improving the user experience.

Likewise, laptop users can now set a battery charge limit via Settings to prevent excessive wear on the battery. This is powered by UPower, which allows setting the charge start and end thresholds via D-Bus, applying the settings automatically at startup.

As is typically the case with new Ubuntu releases, there are new wallpapers that complement this release, with images from the mascot, digital/abstract, and photography categories being included.

These were selected via the customary wallpaper competition that ran a few months ago.

The theming also sees some changes, with notable visual improvements like new app icons, fixes for design inconsistencies, and better integration with GNOME's accent color system.

The applications and tooling also see upgrades with Binutils 2.44, Systemd 257.4, LibreOffice 25.2.2, Thunderbird 128.0, VLC 3.0.21 and GIMP 3.0 being included.

🛠️ Other Changes & Improvements

Moving on from the highlights, here are a few miscellaneous changes:

Papers as the default document viewer app.NVIDIA Dynamic Boost is now enabled by default.Improved Opensc smart card handling on Firefox Snap.Better support for ARM hardware on the generic ARM64 ISO.New Ubuntu WSL image for Microsoft's new tar-based architecture.

The official release notes will give you a more detailed outlook of the changes.

📥 Download Ubuntu 25.04

You can find the desktop image for Ubuntu 25.04 on the official website and alternative images on the releases page.

Ubuntu 25.04

If you are the user of a long-term support (LTS) release, then we suggest sticking to that for getting the most stable experience Ubuntu has to offer. Still, if you are eager to experiment or want to upgrade from the older Ubuntu 24.10 release, then you can refer to our Ubuntu upgrade guide.

How to Upgrade to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Right NowUbuntu 24.04 LTS ‘Noble Numbat’ is here. If you are using Ubuntu 23.10, here’s how you can upgrade to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS right away.It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash

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Ubisoft is a well-known video game publisher that has been in the news these days for their slip-ups and the bifurcation of their most popular titles like Assassin's Creed, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, and Far Cry into a separate subsidiary.

Many in the video gaming industry have been wondering whether Ubisoft knows what they are doing or are just winging it on a daily basis. But that's a topic we won't go into.

However, we will go into their latest move that took me by surprise.

Ubisoft Open Sources Chroma: What to Expect?

Chroma overlay on Hogwarts Legacy.

Chroma is a tool that simulates color vision deficiencies, also known as color blindness. It helps game developers create a more accessible gaming experience for gamers who are affected by this vision impairment.

Open sourced under the Apache 2.0 License, Chroma works by adding a filter over the game window, letting developers simulate how the game would appear to players with different types of color blindness. This gives the developers pointers on how they can better tweak the visuals to suit these players.

Chroma supports filters for Protanopia, Deuteranopia, and Tritanopia, with useful features like support for multiple monitors, being game engine agnostic, and having an intuitive user interface.

On the occasion, David Tisserand, Director of Accessibility at Ubisoft, added that:

Over the past few years, Chroma has proven to be a highly efficient tool for us at Ubisoft. It has allowed us to assess the accessibility of our games for colorblind players much faster and more comprehensively than ever before.

Because we believe accessibility is a journey, not a race, we're thrilled to share Chroma with the entire industry. We invite everyone to benefit from it, provide feedback, and contribute to its future development.

Closing Thoughts

It's not every day one hears Ubisoft and open source being mentioned in the same sentence—so when I saw it, I had to pause and read the announcement a second time. 😆

I tested the Chroma .exe on a Windows desktop, pairing it with Hogwarts Legacy, and the tool worked as intended (at least I think it did). I was able to apply the Deuteranopia filter without any issues, as shown above.

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Manjaro is undoubtedly one of the most user-friendly, Arch-based Linux distributions around. With its rolling release model, Manjaro caters to a wide range of users, delivering a reliable yet bleeding-edge experience.

Its developers have recently introduced a fresh ISO release that gives new users an up-to-date system right away, eliminating the need to manually download and install updates after installation.

Interestingly, it comes the same week when we have two big releases in the form of Fedora 42 and Ubuntu 25.04.

🆕 Manjaro 25.0 Zetar: What's New?

This release of Manjaro comes packed with many improvements that are mostly focused on the foundational aspects of the distro.

Some key highlights include:

Linux Kernel 6.12Updated Desktop EnvironmentsManjaro Summit Public Alpha

Linux Kernel 6.12

Taking advantage of Linux kernel 6.12, Manjaro 25.0 now enables Intel Xe2 and Battlemage GPU by default, with better support for laptops manufactured by ASUS, Lenovo, and Dell.

Similarly, there is the PREEMPT_RT implementation, which should result in better response times and faster performance for users of the X86, ARM64, and RISC-V CPU architectures.

We have talked more about this kernel release in our coverage of it.

Linux Kernel 6.14 Arrives With Performance Gains for AMD, Intel, and RISC-VThe second major Linux kernel release of 2025 has arrived!It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra

Newer Desktop Environments

From left to right: Manjaro 25.0 Xfce, GNOME, and KDE Plasma.

For Manjaro Xfce, there is now Xfce 4.20, which brings about refinements like an upgraded Thunar file manager that allows users to set a custom background and foreground text color for files, supports multiple power profiles, and has improved panel customization.

In the case of Manjaro GNOME, we get the latest GNOME 48, which introduces a new Wellbeing feature, stacked notifications, battery charge limiting for laptops, better flatpak handling, support for dynamic triple buffering, and initial HDR support.

As for Manjaro KDE Plasma, the April bugfix release, KDE Plasma 6.3.4 is included, which features improvements like overhauled fractional scaling, better UI element snapping, more accurate colors when using Night Light, and an improved System Monitor.

Manjaro Summit Public Alpha

While this is not part of the Manjaro 25.0 Zetar release, the announcement for this went out just before the new release announcement went out. So, Manjaro Summit is the new name for Manjaro Immutable, which has been released as a public alpha for testing purposes.

The developers call it a "semi-immutable" distro with an atomic update system that downloads and deploys entire disk images during updates, making the root filesystem read-only while selectively migrating parts of the system.

This enables easy rollbacks in case of issues and is said to offer greater protection against user/software error while also providing some limited protection against malware.

📥 Get Manjaro 25.0 Zetar

For existing users, they can run the following command to get the upgrade:

sudo pacman -Syu

For fresh installations, desktop images for the various editions of Manjaro 25.0 can be downloaded from the official website. If you prefer the minimal image, then click on "More" and toggle the switch to "Minimal" to get the ISO via Torrent or Direct Download.

Manjaro 25.0 Zetar (desktop)

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Fedora is an almost bleeding-edge Linux distribution with an enthusiastic open source community behind it. While its association with Red Hat, and by extension, IBM, doesn't sit well with some, the distro has always been popular among desktop Linux users.

Almost six months after its earlier release, the Fedora developers have brought out the Fedora 42 release that's packed with many new upgrades.

Let's dive in without further ado. 😄

1. Anaconda is now Native Wayland

The Anaconda installer on Fedora 42 Workstation.

Starting Fedora 42, the default system installer, Anaconda, has gone Wayland-only, no longer supporting X11 sessions. It ships with improvements like better keyboard control, using GPT as the default partition table on all supported CPU architectures, and support for RDP, which replaces the earlier VNC implementation.

For disk partitioning, Anaconda now comes equipped with a new web user interface (Web UI) that simplifies the installation process with a guided partitioning feature, offering an automated experience where the user decides what kind of Fedora installation they want (e.g., single/dual-boot).

It is paired with a new "reinstall Fedora" option, which acts as a fallback if things go wrong during installation. This new installation experience has been made the default one for Fedora 42 and later.

2. KDE Plasma Edition

The KDE Plasma variant of Fedora is not a Spin anymore. Instead, it has been promoted to Edition, joining other flagship Fedora offerings like Workstation, CoreOS, IoT, and Server.

While this was confirmed as an alternative official edition for Workstation users, Fedora 42 is the first official release for it as an Edition. Currently, it comes packaged with KDE Plasma 6.3.4, KDE Frameworks 6.12.0, and a suite of KDE apps.

With this, Fedora now has the perfect alternative for Windows 10 users looking for a switch before the impending end of support arrives on October 14, 2025.

3. Fedora COSMIC Spin

We knew this was coming, and it's finally here! Fedora COSMIC is a new Spin that provides a Rust-based desktop environment developed by System76, the makers of Pop!_OS.

Users who opt for this can expect the latest build of COSMIC, the COSMIC app suite, hybrid per-workspace window/tiling management, window stacking, and a wide range of customization options.

While this might not be as polished as the flagship Fedora offerings, it is still a good choice for those who like experimenting and trying new things.

4. Desktop Environment Upgrades

From left to right: Fedora 42 LXQt Spin, Workstation, and Xfce Spin.

The desktop environments also see some changes, with the Fedora LXQt Spin now coming equipped with LXQt 2.1.0 that introduces a new lxqt-wayland-session component, enabling support for seven Wayland sessions: Labwc, KWin, Wayfire, Hyprland, Sway, River and Niri.

For Workstation, there is now GNOME 48, which introduces new features like Wellbeing, Wayland Color Management, HDR support, Nautilus 48 as the file manager, better NVIDIA GPU support, and more.

Lastly, for the Fedora Xfce Spin, there is Xfce 4.20, which has brought about improvements like a better Xfce panel, refined power management, experimental Wayland support, and an upgraded Thunar file manager.

5. Core Tool Refinements

DNF5, the default package manager, now automatically removes any expired/obsolete keys during software installation or upgrades.

Similarly, Fedora 42 introduces RPM copy-on write, which leverages Btrfs' reflink capabilities to reduce I/O and CPU overhead during package decompression. Though, it is not enabled by default.

6. Linux Kernel 6.14

Powering all that is Linux kernel 6.14, acting as a powerful foundation with newly added support for AMD Ryzen AI NPU6, AMD RDNA 4 graphics, Ultra-High Bit Rate (UHBR) mode via DisplayPort for Intel Panther Lake (and later) CPUs, and loads of storage improvements.

You can check out our coverage to learn more.

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📥 Get Fedora 42

🚧You should back up any of your data and update your system's existing packages before flipping the switch to Fedora 42.SPONSORED

****Backup your PC in real time with pCloud.****pCloud will automatically save the folders you chose to the cloud. Any change you make will be applied to your pCloud account and your device.

Learn more about PC backup feature

Existing Fedora Workstation and KDE Plasma users can go into their respective software center apps Software/Discover and look for a banner or notification to get started with the upgrade process.

Users of other Fedora desktop builds will have to perform the upgrade using DNF. To get started, upgrade any existing packages on your system by running the following command and rebooting:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Next, download the required packages for Fedora 42:

sudo dnf system-upgrade download --releasever=42

Then, use the following command to launch the upgrade process, which will immediately reboot your computer:

sudo dnf system-upgrade reboot

Given that everything goes well, then your computer will reboot once again, taking you into Fedora 42. If you have any doubts, then you can refer to the official upgrade guide.

We also have a tutorial that shows the steps for upgrading Fedora version. It remains the same for newer versions, too.

How to Upgrade From Fedora 39 to Fedora 40This tutorial shows you how to upgrade the Fedora version to a new major release.It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash

For fresh installations, you will find Fedora 42 ISOs for various CPU architectures on the official website. There are separate images for Workstation, KDE Plasma and the various Spins.

Fedora 42

You can refer to the official release notes and the changelog for learning more about this Fedora release.

💬 This release offers many nice things; I will be upgrading to it soon. What about you?

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When I hear the term, "Arch Linux", my mind immediately moves towards how it is a great Linux distribution for power users, which also gives them the right to say, "I use Arch, btw".

Don't let that scare you off, though. There are plenty of user-friendly Arch-based distros that give you a bleeding-edge experience while also granting you the right to say the most holy words.

Sadly, there is some bad news for one of those offerings. 😥

What's Happening: Announcing the development, Erik Dubois, project lead of ArcoLinux shared that after 8 years of development, the ArcoLinux project will be wrapping up operations, discontinuing any ISOs, apps, tools, scripts, and related infrastructure.

The reasoning behind this move, as shared by Erik, is his advancing age and him realizing that he doesn't have the same level of mental focus or stamina he used to have before. He has found himself making small mistakes, the kind that can negatively affect a major undertaking like this.

Erik also reflected on what the future holds for him, saying that:

I don’t have big plans. I want to slow down, enjoy life, and maybe tinker with Linux just for fun again — without the pressure of running a large project.

The code, the videos, the documentation — they’ll remain online for others to learn from, fork, or remix. I truly hope others will take inspiration from it. Just as I was inspired by the community years ago.

What to Expect: The transition period has already begun since the announcement went live, with Erik and the ArcoLinux team providing transition packages for users to migrate their existing ArcoLinux installations to Arch Linux.

Come July 1, 2025, the transition period will end, marking a stop to all development, including the deactivation of the ArcoLinux social media handles. The Telegram and Discord communities will stay a bit longer but will close up eventually.

If you are an existing user, then the YouTube playlist put together by Erik is a must-watch for converting the three editions: ARCONET, ARCOPRO, and ARCOPLASMA.

📋Arch Wiki is no-doubt an unparallel documentation. However, Erik's relentless but lone effort in creating magnitudes of video tutorials on almost every aspect of Arco Linux is surely commendable 🫡

Lastly, I would like to mention that it is always sad to see a Linux distribution project shut down. But I fully agree with Erik's reasoning behind the move. We only get a limited number of years in this thing called life, and people like him who have worked hard for so long deserve to have a dignified departure.

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