Steam On Linux Dives Down To 3.05% For September
Steam on Linux use in March hit an all-time high of around 5.33% marketshare. Since then it pulled back to around 4% while for September 2026 the Steam Survey results are now in and it’s clocking in just above 3%… ⌘ Read more
Some Networking Fixes Being Diverted To Linux 7.4, AI/LLM Activity Still Increasing
With the vast array of wired and wireless networking drivers within the Linux kernel and range of protocols and other networking features, it’s a big expanse of code for AI/LLM agents to analyze and critique. The Linux networking developers have acknowledged being “complete overwhelmed” by the AI/LLM-driven patch activity and bug reports as well as battling against AI slop patches. Even though Linux 7.3 stable won’t be out f … ⌘ Read more
AMD RMPOPT Optimization Queued Ahead Of Linux 7.4
In addition to the very nice AMDGPU IOMMU optimization for iGPUs set to debut in the Linux 7.4 kernel, over on the AMD EPYC server side for servers running SEV-SNP virtual machines is a separate, nice optimization also expected for this next kernel version… ⌘ Read more
Google Unveils Gemini 4 Argon, Retaking Benchmark Lead Over OpenAI and Anthropic
Google has unveiled Gemini 4 Argon, a new frontier AI model that it says leads or ties rivals on 13 of 18 disclosed benchmarks. The model is initially being released only to trusted cyber defenders and select pre-release testers, with broader availability planned later. VentureBeat reports: Google is not claiming th … ⌘ Read more
Linux 7.4 To Support The NPU On AMD Ryzen AI Max 400 Series “Gorgon Halo”
While the AMD Ryzen AI 400 series “Gorgon Halo” systems are nearing the marketplace, the NPU support for Linux was seemingly overlooked until now. But at least the simple enablement patch looks like it will arrive for the upcoming Linux 7.4 kernel… ⌘ Read more
Archinstall 4.5 For Arch Linux Brings AArch64 Improvements, RT Kernel Options
Ahead of the October ISO refresh of the Arch Linux media, Archinstall 4.5 released today as the newest update to this convenient, text-based Arch Linux installer… ⌘ Read more
AMD Boosting AI/LLM Performance For Radeon iGPUs As Much As 18~23% With Linux 7.4
If you have an AMD Ryzen laptop/desktop and looking to leverage AI/LLM capabilities with the integrated graphics, Linux 7.4 is going to be a real treat especially for lower-end hardware. AMD’s new PerfOpt feature being introduced in Linux 7.4 is set to provide some solid gains as shown in these benchmarks today across different AMD Ryzen/Radeon hardware. ⌘ Read more
SteamOS 0.4.2 Beta for Steam Frame brings streaming improvements
Valve just put out SteamOS 0.4.2 Beta for Steam Frame, quickly fixing up more issues to hopefully give the early adopters a nicer streaming experience.
Read the full article on GamingOnLinux. ⌘ Read more
El Nino Bursts Through Temperature Record Months Before Peak
The current El Nino has already surpassed the highest Pacific temperature anomaly recorded in the modern era, reaching 3.05C above the 1991-2020 average months before its expected peak. The commonly used ONI measure is also on the verge of breaking the 2015 record. Forecasts cited by The Guardian suggest the event could reach about 4.0C later this year. F … ⌘ Read more
Large Folios Able To Deliver Big Performance Gains For FUSE With Linux 7.4
Following the FUSE improvements in Linux 7.3 for file-systems in user-space, it looks like the upcoming Linux 7.4 kernel will be ready to enable the large folios feature… ⌘ Read more
Flatpak 1.18.4 Released With Important Security Fixes
Flatpak 1.18.4 is out today with a number of high profile security fixes for this app sandboxing and distribution tech… ⌘ Read more
AMD PerfOpt To Deliver New Performance Optimization For AMD iGPUs With Linux 7.4
Those using AMD integrated graphics on Linux such as the beefy Ryzen AI Max+ Strix Halo and Gorgon Halo hardware will be able to enjoy even better performance with the upcoming Linux 7.4 kernel… ⌘ Read more
Linux 7.4 To Introduce The Steal Governor For Helping Virtualized Workloads
Now queued up for introduction in the Linux 7.4 merge window later in October is the steal governor driver for preferred CPUs and steal-driven vCPU backoff for today’s virtualized world… ⌘ Read more
Intel Delivers A Significant Memory Hotplugging Performance Optimization For Linux
Adding to the features expected to land for Linux 7.4 is a significant performance optimization for the memory hotplugging speed for adding additional RAM. In particular, the memory hotplugging being most applicable for cases like expanding the amount of memory for VMs or in today’s CXL world for adding additional system memory… ⌘ Read more
Improved GPU Reset Coming For Raspberry Pi Boards With Linux 7.4
In addition to this week’s DRM-Misc-Next pull request introducing some new HDMI 2.0 helpers for the DRM drivers, the pull request also introduced improved GPU reset support for the Broadcom V3D GPU with the VC4 kernel driver… ⌘ Read more
Agog to be the 4,960th 🐲 on BackerKit for Deathbringer TTRPG by Professor DM. 🤘
MM Change Slated For Linux 7.4 Yields +22904539.81% In One Metric, More Modest Wins In Others
Queued this week into the slab/for-next Git branch ahead of next month’s Linux 7.4 merge window is a memory management change for refilling pre-filled sheaves from the barn. In some cases this yields wild improvements to specific synthetic benchmarks… ⌘ Read more
SteamOS 0.4.1 Beta for Steam Frame fixes some nuisance bugs
Valve released an opt-in Beta update with SteamOS 0.4.1 for Steam Frame, bringing some new features and fixing up a bunch of nuisances.
Read the full article on GamingOnLinux. ⌘ Read more
AMD Sends Out New Linux Patches Further Enhancing HDMI 2.1 Reliability
Linux 7.4 is going to be the big kernel release where the AMD graphics driver will finally expose HDMI 2.1 by default and comes with features including HDMI FreeSync, VRR, and ALLM. Ahead of that milestone there have been various other last minute tweaks and improvements to its HDMI 2.1 support. Sent out on Thursday was the latest round of AMDGPU DC patches that includes a few more patches for improving the HDMI 2.1 reliability… ⌘ Read more
Samba 4.25 Released With Experimental SMB3 Persistent Handles
Samba 4.25 is out as the newest stable release for this open-source software enabling file and print services sharing between Linux servers and Windows systems… ⌘ Read more
Faugus Launcher 2.4.0 adds a backup system, new game overviews and more customization
Faugus Launcher is easily becoming one of the absolute coolest looking ways to manage games from different launchers on SteamOS / Linux.
Read the full article on [GamingOnLinux](https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/09/faugus-launcher-2-4-0-adds-a-backup-system-new-game-o … ⌘ Read more
“slab_tiny” Boot Option Proposed For Tiny Linux Systems With Very Limited RAM
In 2022 the SLOB allocator was deprecated and removed with Linux 6.4 a year later. SLOB was popular with embedded systems with minimal amounts of RAM, so as a result the CONFIG_SLUB_TINY Kconfig option was then added for configuring the slab allocator for a minimal memory footprint for systems with 16MB of RAM or less. The CONFIG_SLUB_TINY is now on the chopping block with a proposed rework to the allocator code for making the “ … ⌘ Read more
Linux 7.4 DRM Infrastructure Better Supporting HDMI 2.0 With New Helpers
Sent out today was the latest weekly pull of drm-misc-next changes of feature material to queue in DRM-Next for Linux 7.4. Most notable in this week’s pull request are a number of patches for enhancing the HDMI 2.0 handling in the DRM core infrastructure and display helpers… ⌘ Read more
Google Opens Preorders for Its $899 Gemini-Enhanced ‘Googlebook’ Laptops
Monday Google opened preorders for its “Googlebook” laptops, pricing them at $899. A Google’s blog post added that “At launch, you can choose between Intel Core Ultra Series 3 and Snapdragon X Elite processors” (paired with NPUs to power AI features).
“Devices will hit shelves on October 4 in the U.S. and on October 5 in Canada, the … ⌘ Read more
Nebula Matrix Network Driver Queued Ahead Of Linux 7.4
NBL is a new Ethernet networking driver destined to premiere in the upcoming Linux 6.4 kernel for supporting Nebula Matrix NICs… ⌘ Read more
Patches Posted With Aim To Mainline Linux Kernel Support For The Amazon Kindle 4
Amazon released the Kindle 4 back in 2011 with a 6-inch E-ink display, 2GB internal storage, and running a modified version of Linux. In the years since the Amazon Kindle 4 has been jail-broken and there are some customized Linux distributions with a patched kernel to run on the Kindle 4. Now in 2026 there are patches on the Linux kernel mailing list looking to mainline support for that fifteen year old e-reader device… ⌘ Read more
Vulkan 1.4.363 Released With New VK_INTEL_device_info Extension
Vulkan 1.4.363 is out as the latest routine update to the Vulkan API specification and also introduces a new Intel vendor extension… ⌘ Read more
Simple Optimization For Linux 7.4 Can Open Files For Reading ~39% Faster
More than two years in the making, Linux 7.4 is poised to introduce a patch that amounts to a rather simple optimization to avoid unnecessary/duplicative work that can net some nice gains when opening files for reading… ⌘ Read more
Intel Xe Driver For Linux 7.4 Adds vRAM Health Check, Degraded Memory Handling
Sent out this week were more Intel Xe kernel graphics driver changes targeting the upcoming Linux 7.4 kernel cycle. The theme this week was around dealing with video memory health and also being able to better deal with hardware degraded video RAM… ⌘ Read more
Google’s “Painful To Maintain” Binder C Linux Driver Being Removed In Favor Of Rust
Google’s Binder driver written in the C programming language has long been part of the mainline kernel as the inter-process communication (IPC) mechanism used on Android. The past few years the Binder driver was rewritten in Rust as one of the first “real” drivers in the Rust programming language. The Rust Binder driver was upstreamed in Linux 6.18 and now for the upcoming Linux 7.4 kernel cycle, the old Binder C-based driver is se … ⌘ Read more
Linux Kernel Build Times Ready To Be Significantly Reduced With Latest Patches
The past few weeks we have eagerly been following a Linux kernel patch series after AI found some major bottlenecks in the Linux kernel build code. With AI helping to address these bottlenecks, Linux kernel build times are substantially reduced. These optimizations might be ready in time for Linux 7.4 for reducing incremental kernel build times as much as around 70%. This week the latest iteration of these patches were posted by Arm engi … ⌘ Read more
AMD Sends In More HDMI FRL Updates For Linux 7.4, Fixes For Upcoming Hardware
Linux 7.4 is set to be a very exciting holiday gift for AMD Radeon graphics customers. As covered last week on Phoronix, with this next kernel AMD Is enabling HDMI 2.1 support by default now that FreeSync, VRR, and ALLM support is included too. This week another round of AMDGPU kernel graphics driver updates were sent out ahead of the Linux 7.4 merge window in October… ⌘ Read more
Jemalloc 5.4 Released With Portability Improvements, Code Cleanups
Earlier this year Meta announced a renewed investment into the jemalloc memory allocator that’s been popular for server and HPC use among various desktop use-cases too. After stagnating a bit in recent years, Jemalloc has been off to seeing new developments since Meta’s announcement and out today is Jemalloc 5.4 as the latest step forward… ⌘ Read more
Ubuntu 26.10 Snapshot 4 ISOs Published
The fourth monthly-ish snapshot of Ubuntu 26.10 “Stonking Stingray” is now available for testing and comes ahead of next week’s Ubuntu 26.10 beta milestone… ⌘ Read more
Linux’s Yogafan Driver Prepares Support For Newer Lenovo Laptops
Introduced back in Linux 7.1 was the Yogafan HWMON driver for supporting fan speed monitoring across various Lenovo Yoga, Legion, Flex, Slim, and IdeaPad laptops. An initial set of Lenovo laptops was initially supported by this driver while succeeding kernel versions have continued building out the support… ⌘ Read more
OptiScaler Client 1.0.7 brings major improvements for FSR 4 and improved recommended game configs
OptiScaler Client continues maturing as one of the easiest ways to upgrade all the different upscalers across various different games.
Read the full article on [GamingOnLinux](https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/09/optiscaler-client-1-0-7-bring … ⌘ Read more
Linux 7.4 Slated To Land The AVX-512 Optimized xor_gen For A Big Performance Win
Over the past few months there have been patches floating around for an AVX-512 optimized xor_gen() for the Linux kernel for that functuon used by the Linux software RAID code. It’s been shhowing very nice performance gains with this function being used for generating and validating parity blocks such as for RAID5 and RAID6. The upcoming Linux 7.4 cycle is slated to merge this nice enhancement for benefiting AMD Zen 4 and new … ⌘ Read more
AMD P-State Driver For Linux 7.4 Will Tune For Zen 6 Client CPUs
Linux 7.4 looks like it will be a very exciting kernel update for AMD customers. On the AMD Radeon graphics side HDMI 2.1 is being enabled by default with the AMDGPU driver with the HDMI FreeSync, VRR, and ALLM features in tow. On the AMD Ryzen client CPU side, there will be Zen 6 tuning with the AMD P-State CPU frequency scaling driver… ⌘ Read more
Linux 7.4 Could End Up Seeing Kernel Builds ~36% Faster, Incremental Builds ~70% Faster
Earlier this month I wrote about a patch series posted to the Linux kernel mailing list that addressed a lot of “hideous code” to make Linux kernel builds faster. A number of single-threaded bottlenecks were tracked down and fixed within the Linux kernel thanks to the assistance of AI. A second revision of those patches hit the mailing list this morning and there is hope they could be upstreamed for Linux 7.4… ⌘ Read more
Zstd Improvement For Linux 7.4 To Avoid Redundant Initialization
In addition to Usama Arif’s recent Linux patches for addressing a major inefficiency within the Linux kernel’s Zstd compression code, he also has a separate patch series destined for Linux 7.4 to further enhance the Zstd compression/decompression performance by avoiding redundant initialization… ⌘ Read more
BFS File-System Being Removed For Linux 7.4
The latest upstream file-system to be removed from the mainline Linux kernel is… BFS… ⌘ Read more
Scientists Create a New Form of Ice At 2,357 Degrees Celsius
Longtime Slashdot reader fahrbot-bot shares a report from ScienceAlert: Scientists have now demonstrated one of the weirdest forms of ice yet – under preposterous pressures up to 2.3 million atmospheres, and tremendous temperatures up to 2,630 kelvins (2,357 degrees Celsius, or 4,274 degrees Fahrenheit). […] In their new experiments, a team led by … ⌘ Read more
GTK 4.24 Released With Better Fractional Scaling, More Precise GDK Frame-Clock
GTK 4.24 released on Friday as the newest stable feature release to the GTK4 toolkit. It’s quite a nice update to GTK4 for pairing with next week’s GNOME 51 desktop release… ⌘ Read more
Little Mercury May Be Shrinking Faster Than Scientists Expected
A new study suggests Mercury may have shrunk about 30% more than scientists previously thought, losing as much as 14 miles in diameter as its interior cooled and contracted over billions of years. “That’s significant for a planet barely 3,000 miles (4,900 kilometers) across,” reports the Associated Press. From the report: Mercury’s rough surface … ⌘ Read more
Proton Experimental updated with fixes for STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT, EA App, Borderlands 4
Valve released a small update for Proton Experimental - the compatibility layer to run Windows games on SteamOS / Linux for September 11th.
Read the full article on [GamingOnLinux](https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/09/proton-experimental-updated-with-fixes-for-steins- … ⌘ Read more
New Cache Aware Scheduling Fixes Out For Testing
Since being merged back during the Linux 7.2 cycle, the Cache Aware Scheduling code continues seeing more fixes as users test out this scheduling enhancement on different processors and system configurations… ⌘ Read more
Patches Ready For AMDGPU HDMI 2.1 Enabled By Default With Linux 7.4 With FreeSync, VRR & ALLM
Linux 7.4 is now set to reach the elusive milestone of HDMI 2.1 support for the AMDGPU kernel graphics driver. After the HDMI Forum previously rejected HDMI 2.1 for the AMDGPU open-source driver implementation going back years, earlier this year something changed – widely speculated to be with Valve’s involvement – that HDMI 2.1 patches began appearing for the AMDGPU driver. With the upcoming Linux 7.4 cycle, the b … ⌘ Read more
I recently installed Quake on my laptop (via vkQuake), and have really been enjoying playing it again.
When I was at University, we had a lab full of shiny new Windows NT 4.0 workstations that we immediately installed it on, and spent many a late evening fragging each other.
But tonight, when I defeated Chthon for the first time, it occurred to me that I had never actually played the single player mode all the way though (not even the first episode). So now I’m 2 missions into Episode 2 with plans to finish it over the next week or so. #LifeGoals
The Apple Watch Gets Its Siri AI Upgrade
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: Apple has unveiled the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 today during itsSeptember hardware event. The new models retain the signature designs of their predecessors but add a faster S11 chip, new health and fitness features, and the watchOS 27 software update announced atWWDC last June. Both the Series 12 and Ultra 4 run on the upgraded S11 c … ⌘ Read more
Intel BFF Driver Slated For Linux 7.4 Introduction
Last month I covered Intel posting a new driver named “BFF” for the Linux kernel. This BFF driver is for a new hardware feature debuting with next-gen Diamond Rapids processors for better dealing with aging CPU silicon where some bits may become stuck over time… ⌘ Read more