Improved Performance & Resource Usage For XFS Checksumming With Linux 7.4
Among the many VFS pull requests merged as the initial material for the in-development Linux 7.4, the VFS IOmap pull introduced lazy bounce buffering for checksummed reads. This improvement is benefiting checksumming on XFS with improved performance and lower resource usage… ⌘ Read more
Linux Foundation Estimates 25% Of New Pull Requests To Be Low-Quality AI Slop
The Linux Foundation published a new study today around the impact of generative AI on open-source software development. One key takeaway is that ~25% of new open-source software pull requests amount to AI slop… ⌘ Read more
Linux Coredumps Via Sockets Can Be Much Smaller Now With Sparse Support
Added to the Linux kernel last year was Coredump support via Unix domain sockets as an alternative to the pipe-based Coredumps. With code now merged for Linux 7.4, the core dumps via sockets has the potential of being much smaller thanks to sparse support. In extreme cases they can be 1% of the size without sparse support… ⌘ Read more
BFS Removed With Linux 7.4 As Old UnixWare File-System
Linus Torvalds began honoring pull requests overnight of new code entering the Linux 7.4 kernel – as well as removing old code. BFS is the latest obsolete file-system removed from the mainline kernel… ⌘ Read more
Omarchy 4.5 Expanding To AArch64 World With Snapdragon X & NVIDIA N1X Laptops
The Omarchy Linux distribution to date has been centered on x86_64 support for this Arch Linux distribution. Released today was Omarchy 4.5-RC1 and with this new version there is initial AArch64 support centered around Snapdragon X and NVIDIA N1X laptop support… ⌘ Read more
Linux 7.4 Adding New Emulation Function For Some Old CPUs That May Soon Be Phased Out
Linux 7.4 is seeing a new emulation function added for cmpxchg() for compare and exchange. This is being done so that two-byte cmpxchg() can be used in common Linux kernel code that is already natively supported on newer CPU architectures. The pull request notes though that these old CPU architectures might no longer be supported by the Linux kernel moving ahead… ⌘ Read more
17k Lines Of New Rust Kernel Code Heading Into Linux 7.4
Miguel Ojeda sent out his pull request of the new Rust kernel code slated for introduction in Linux 7.4. It’s a big one this round due to updating the Zerocopy vendored library plus updating other Rust crates for the kernel… ⌘ Read more
GE-Proton 11-11 released to fix more issues with Windows games on SteamOS / Linux
As is tradition, a new release of GE-Proton came with issues and so another hotfix is out with GE-Proton 11-11.
Read the full article on GamingOnLinux. ⌘ Read more
Linux 7.4 Sunsetting Old EDAC Drivers Due To “AI Generated Fixes Frenzy”
In addition to introducing the new Intel BFF driver, the Error Detection And Correction “EDAC” kernel subsystem is sunsetting a number of old hardware drivers due to increased noise to AI/LLM-generated bug fixes for these likely unused or minimally used drivers… ⌘ Read more
Btrfs Brings More Performance Improvements For Linux 7.4
With Linux 7.3 there are some nice Btrfs performance improvements to enjoy while the in-development Linux 7.4 kernel is set to bring some additional performance optimizations for this copy-on-write file-system… ⌘ Read more
Linus Torvalds’ AI Code Improved: Huge Performance Wins With Reworked Code
Last week I wrote about Linus Torvalds leveraging AI to come up with a hefty Linux kernel improvement using Claude Code. The code is for reading from the page cache without folio references to help workloads of small reads from a single file across many CPU threads. Meta engineer Kiryl Shutsemau has taken that code and reworked it and showing extremely promising performance results… ⌘ Read more
Linux In 2026 Continues Improving Support For Benefiting Old Atari & Amiga Hardware
The Motorola 68000 “m68k” CPU support continues being maintained in the mainline Linux kernel and continuing to see new hardware support for these vintage systems from the likes of Commodore Amiga, Atari, and early Apple Macintosh models… ⌘ Read more
Canonical’s Multipass 1.17 Adds Direct Support For Non-Ubuntu Linux Distros
Canonical’s Multipass software is used for orchestrating Ubuntu virtual instances with a single command to launch Ubuntu VMs across Windows, macOS, and Linux. Multipass 1.17 was released today and they are now offering direct support for enabling non-Ubuntu Linux distributions as well… ⌘ Read more
GNU Linux-libre 7.3-gnu Removes More Firmware Blobs
GNU Linux-libre 7.3 is now available following yesterday’s Linux 7.3 release. The GNU Linux-libre downstream continues stripping out driver/hardware support where dependent upon firmware blobs or other proprietary elements deemed out of line with free software ideals… ⌘ Read more
BeamFS Sent Out As Newest File-System Proposal For Linux
There is yet-another-Linux-file-system attempt… An initial request for comments (RFC) patch series was sent out this morning for BeamFS. The proposed BeamFS is a Reed-Solomon protected file-system… ⌘ Read more
TAINT_FORCED_BIND Sent In For Linux 7.4 To Deal With Major Fuzzing Attack
Among the early pull requests sent out in advance of the Linux 7.4 kernel merge window opening were the driver core updates. Standing out here is the new TAINT_FORCED_BIND for dealing with the recent major fuzzing “attack” by AI agents/bots testing impractical driver/hardware combinations… ⌘ Read more
Linux kernel 7.3 is out with some nice improvements for gaming
Linux kernel 7.3 has officially been released, bringing with it plenty of improvements for Linux gaming.
Read the full article on GamingOnLinux. ⌘ Read more
Linux 7.3 Released With Faster I/O Performance, AMD Zen 6 Preparations & More
The Linux 7.3 kernel is out today for an on-time release of this next stable kernel version… ⌘ Read more
It Turns Out Intel TDX Doesn’t Need So Much Cache Flushing
Intel Trust Domain Extensions (TDX) for confidential computing with VMs has assumed the need to perform cache flushing when transitioning memory between KeyIDs used by the total memory encryption (MKTME) for unique AES encryption keys. But it’s turned out to be unneeded and the Linux kernel is working now to reduce the excessive cache flushing… ⌘ Read more
Linux 7.4 Features Very Exciting With Radeon HDMI 2.1 By Default, AMD PerfOpt, Apple M4
The Linux 7.3 kernel is expected to be released as stable later today and with that version there are many exciting changes and improvements. However, the Linux 7.4 kernel merge window will then open up and there are even more exciting changes expected to be merged for this follow-on kernel cycle. Here is a preview of some of the many exciting feature changes expected for Linux 7.4… ⌘ Read more
Omarchy Gets The Web Browser Launching Faster By Avoiding XDG Overhead
Omarchy 4.0.5 released this weeekend as the newest version of this Arch Linux based distribution built around the Hyprland desktop. Omarchy 4.0.5 pulls in the latest Linux 7.2 stable kernel with BORE scheduler, updates against the Qt 6.12 toolkit, and a variety of smaller improvements… ⌘ Read more
Linux Maintainers Can Now Submit AI-Generated Code Without Declaring It
Linux maintainers “have ruled that people no longer have to declare their LLM usage,” reports XDA Developers, “as Torvalds himself calls a ban on AI ‘utterly stupid.’”
The first part of this story comes via a message sent to the Linux mailing list. It announces one of the major changes decided during the Maintainers Summit on Octo … ⌘ Read more
There appears to be a rush a disgruntled Linux users switching to NetBSD:
https://mastodon.sdf.org/@netbsd/117451701775023949
They even got a ton of new donations (which, funnily, broke their little progress bar):
https://cannot.understand.computer/kunev/p/1791449917.947134
So… donations for @netbsd@netbsd over the last few years look like this:
2020 - $46k 2021 - $52k 2022 - $44k 2023 - $60k 2024 - $40k 2025 - $79kAnd in 2026 $120k so far!
And why is all that? Because of this:
Do not commit tainted code to the repository.
If you commit code that was not written by yourself, double check that the license on that code permits import into the NetBSD source repository, and permits free distribution. Check with the author(s) of the code, make sure that they were the sole author of the code and verify with them that they did not copy any other code.
Code generated by a large language model or similar technology, such as GitHub/Microsoft’s Copilot, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, or Facebook/Meta’s Code Llama, is presumed to be tainted code, and must not be committed without prior written approval by core.
https://www.netbsd.org/developers/commit-guidelines.html
This official guideline is much more “tame” and “diplomatic” than the overall “vibe” (sic) on the Fediverse: NetBSD basically says no to AI as much as possible.
And, apparently, this attracts lots of users and donors. Maybe there’s still some hope after all?
Linux Lands Fix for Rare, Varying SMP Boot Hangs Affecting Kernels Since 2024
Among the flurry of last minute patch activity ahead of tomorrow’s presumed Linux 7.3 stable kernel release is a fix for addressing some rare hangs at boot time. The reports varied but ultimately tracked down to a kernel change made two years ago… ⌘ Read more
Linux 7.3 Lands Last-Minute Fixes For Samsung 990 PRO & 990 EVO Plus SSDs
Ahead of the Linux 7.3 stable kernel expected to be released tomorrow, last minute workarounds were merged for the Samsung 990 PRO and Samsung 990 EVO Plus NVMe solid state drives… ⌘ Read more
Ubuntu Touch 24.04-2.1 Brings New Hardware Support & Important Security Fix
Ubuntu Touch 24.04-2.1 was released on Friday as the latest update to this community-maintained tablet/smartphone Ubuntu Linux platform. Ubuntu Touch 24.04-1.5 was also released as a maintenance update for the prior series… ⌘ Read more
Valve fix Zero Company crashing on Steam Machine with the latest major game update
Zero Company recently had a major upgrade, with it crashing on Steam Machine and probably other SteamOS / Linux systems - which Valve have solved.
Read the full article on [GamingOnLinux](https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/10/valve-fix-zero-company-crashing-on-steam-machin … ⌘ Read more
Wine 11.20 brings more improvements for ARM64EC, XML validation and CDROMs
The Wine 11.20 development release is out now bringing another set of improvements for running Windows apps / games on SteamOS / Linux.
Read the full article on GamingOnLinux. ⌘ Read more
Wine 11.20 Released With CD-ROM Support Change
Wine 11.20 is out today as the newest bi-weekly development release of this software for enjoying Windows games and apps on Linux. We are quickly approaching the point where this development work will culminate into the Wine 12.0 stable release in early 2027… ⌘ Read more
Steam For Linux Finally Goes 64-Bit
Valve has released a new Steam Client beta that finally moves the Linux client to 64-bit architecture, while also placing it inside a containerized Steam Runtime environment. However, Linux users still need 32-bit libraries and graphics drivers for compatibility, meaning fully 64-bit-only systems remain unsupported. VideoCardz.com reports: Valve’s updated requirements explicitly state that 64-bit-only … ⌘ Read more
GNOME OS Preview Announced In Road Toward A Stable Release
The GNOME OS Linux distribution to date has just been in GNOME OS Nightly form for tracking the latest nightly packages of GNOME in their current development form. GNOME OS Preview was announced today as their trek toward a stable GNOME OS in using the latest GNOME stable releases rather than nightly form… ⌘ Read more
The Best Features Of Linux 7.3: Performance Improvements, Lots From Valve
The Linux 7.3 kernel is slated to be officially released on Sunday, 18 October, barring any last minute issues from coming about. With that said, here’s a reminder about some of the most exciting features to look forward to in this next kernel version… ⌘ Read more
After 23 Years, Longtime Linux Developer To “Step Back For A While”
Longtime Linux kernel engineer Darrick Wong who stepped down as the XFS file-system maintainer in 2023 is now taking a step back from his other Linux kernel development roles after working on the kernel the past 23 years… ⌘ Read more
Intel Xeon 6980P Granite Rapids Performance On Linux Over The Past Year
It’s been nearly one year since receiving the Gigabyte R284-A92-AAL1 2U Granite Rapids server platform for continuing my testing of the flagship Xeon 6980P processors. Curious how the Xeon 6980P 2P performance has evolved on Linux since then, I ran some benchmarks on the newly-released Ubuntu Server 26.10 against the tests carried out last year on Ubuntu 25.10 with the same hardware. ⌘ Read more
Fedora 46 Looking At Moving To RPM v6 Package Format
The RPM v4 packaging format has been used by Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora and its derivatives for more than two decades. With next year’s Fedora 46 release, Fedora Linux may finally transition to the modern RPM v6 packaging format… ⌘ Read more
Linux 7.4 To Enable Intel Instruction Timeout For Fending Off TDX VM DoS Attacks
Linux 7.4 is enabling support for a new Intel CPU feature for providing safety against possible denial of service attacks using Trust Domain Extensions “TDX” VMs. The new feature is Intel Instruction Timeout and previously in-development known as Notify VM Exit… ⌘ Read more
Linux 7.3 Squeezes Even More Performance Out Of The AMD Threadripper PRO 9995WX
With the Linux 7.3 kernel due out for release on Sunday, I’ve continued running more benchmarks recently of this forthcoming kernel version and it looks great. In my Linux 7.3 testing of the Git state it’s been looking great in testing on a variety of hardware shown across multiple systems. Recently I decided to try out this new kernel code on the 96-core AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9995WX workstation… ⌘ Read more
Here’s the Top Steam Releases of September, 2026 along with compatibility ratings
Valve released an overview of the Top Steam Releases of September, 2026 - here’s what’s been popular and what SteamOS / Linux compatibility to expect.
Read the full article on [GamingOnLinux](https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/10/heres-the-top-steam-releases-of-september-2026-along-with-co … ⌘ Read more
Proton Experimental for October 15 has fixes for ARC Raiders, C&C Red Alert, Counterstike and The Aftermath
Valve launched the latest update for Proton Experimental to fix up more issues found with Windows games running on SteamOS / Linux.
Read the full article on [GamingOnLinux](https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/10/proton-experime … ⌘ Read more
Steam Beta for October 15 brings a 64bit Linux client, Achievement Sets and more
Another big new Steam Beta release for all platforms has arrived - bringing with it a 64bit Linux client, and a fancy Achievement Sets system.
Read the full article on [GamingOnLinux](https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/10/steam-beta-for-october-15-brings-a-64bit-linux-client-achi … ⌘ Read more
Ubuntu 26.10 Released
prisoninmate shares a report from 9to5Linux: Ubuntu 26.10 (Stonking Stingray) has been released today, and it is now available for download for those eager to update their Ubuntu systems to a newer release. Powered by the upcoming Linux 7.3 kernel series, Ubuntu 26.10 ships with the latest GNOME 51 desktop environment, TPM-backed full disk encryption (FDE) support on computers without a hardware root of trust, updated Settings to s … ⌘ Read more
Today’s Steam Beta Makes The Linux Client A 64-bit App
Valve just dropped a new Steam client beta and it’s a big one for Linux gamers… ⌘ Read more
Intel Nova Lake S & Nova Lake P To Support SR-IOV With Xe Graphics
A patch has been posted to the Linux kernel mailing list by an Intel engineer confirming that Nova Lake S and Nova Lake P processors with integrated graphics will support SR-IOV in conjunction with the Xe kernel graphics driver… ⌘ Read more
LPDDR5 5467 vs. 6400 vs. 7467 MT/s Memory Performance Benchmarks For Laptops
With the recently reviewed Star Labs StarFighter Ultra Linux laptop its BIOS allows for configurable memory speeds unlike many other laptop vendor BIOS implementations these days. Star Labs also made the default design decision to run the LPDDR5-7467 rated memory at LPDDR5-6400 speeds in the name of a balanced user experience for power/performance. So I was curious to run some benchmarks quantifying that power and performance impact of LP … ⌘ Read more
Claude Code / AI Shows Potential For Reverse-Engineering Hardware For Linux Support
AI/LLMs like Claude Code are beginning to prove capable of helping to reverse engineer hardware for Linux support, especially when it comes to the tedious reverse engineering tasks… ⌘ Read more
Ubuntu 26.10 (Stonking Stingray) released
Ubuntu 26.10 (Stonking Stingray) released, as the latest upgrade to the popular Linux distribution.
Read the full article on GamingOnLinux. ⌘ Read more
Ubuntu 26.10 Released With Linux 7.3 + GNOME 51, Rust Coreutils Migration Complete
Ubuntu 26.10 “Stonking Stingray” is now officially available as the newest six-month non-LTS update to Ubuntu Linux… ⌘ Read more
Huawei Proposes Enabling CPU Boost By Default For ACPI CPPC Linux Driver
For those using the generic ACPI Collaborative Processor Performance Control (CPPC) CPUFreq driver such as on a number of ARM64 Linux server platforms, if the CPUs support a “boost” mode it’s disabled by default. But a patch from Huawei is now looking to enable CPU boost mode by default on Linux… ⌘ Read more
Microsoft Releases Microsoft Defender For The Linux Desktop
Microsoft’s newest software release for Linux is… Microsoft Defender for the Linux desktop. Microsoft Defender has been ported to Linux to “secure Linux desktops” with Microsoft acknowledging that “more developers begin to use Linux desktops” and thus bringing their security application and threat-protection product to Linux desktops to complement their prior ill-used Linux server support… ⌘ Read more
Bazzite Linux continues growing - now with over 100K Weekly Active Devices
Bazzite Linux continues to be a popular choice for a SteamOS-like on handhelds, TV PCs and for desktops too with a new milestone hit.
Read the full article on GamingOnLinux. ⌘ Read more