Uber’s Deal Blitz To Stop a Robotaxi Monopoly
Uber is aggressively partnering with multiple robotaxi companies to avoid a future dominated by Waymo or Tesla. The ride-hailing giant has struck deals with at least a dozen autonomous vehicle players in recent years. Just last week, it announced a $1.25 billion partnership with Rivian, with plans to deploy up to 50,000 driverless vehicles over the next decade. Business Insider report … ⌘ Read more
Electron’s Investment Into Good Wayland Support
For years Electron apps were notorious for continuing to depend upon X11/XWayland and not jive well with the modern Wayland experience on modern Linux desktops. But for the past several months, Wayland has been well supported out-of-the-box on upstream Electron. An Electron blog post this week outlined the technical work done for achieving good Wayland support… ⌘ Read more
Firefox Announces Built-In VPN and Other New Features - and Introduces Its New Mascot
A free built-in VPN is coming to Firefox on Tuesday, Mozilla announced this week:
Free VPNs can sometimes mean sketchy arrangements that end up compromising your privacy, but ours is built from our data principles and commitment to be the world’s most trusted browser. It routes your browser traffic throug … ⌘ Read more
KDE Plasma 6.7’s KWin Lands Support For 3D LUTs To Help With Modern GPUs
In addition to releasing Plasma 6.6.3 this week, KDE developers remain quite busy working on new features for the Plasma 6.7 desktop while also already queuing some changes for the next Plasma 6.6.4 point release… ⌘ Read more
Vulkan 1.4.347 Debuts With Three New Extensions
Vulkan 1.4.347 made its debut overnight as the latest routine update to this high performance graphics and compute API. Beyond the usual maintenance churn over the past week, Vulkan 1.4.347 brings three new extensions… ⌘ Read more
Vulkan 1.4.347 Debuts With Three New Extensions
Vulkan 1.4.347 made its debut overnight as the latest routine update to this high performance graphics and compute API. Beyond the usual maintenance churn over the past week, Vulkan 1.4.347 brings three new extensions… ⌘ Read more
Blender 5.1 Delivers Some Nice Gains For CPU Rendering Performance On Linux
With this week’s release of Blender 5.1 I have begun benchmarking it on different CPUs and GPUs. In this article is an initial look at the positive impact Blender 5.1 is having on CPU-based rendering performance on Linux. ⌘ Read more
Btrfs Performance From Linux 6.12 To Linux 7.0 Shows Regressions
Last week I provided a look at the EXT4 and XFS performance from Linux 6.12 LTS through Linux 7.0 in its current development form. As mentioned in that article and as requested by many Phoronix readers, benchmarks have since wrapped up looking at how the Btrfs copy-on-write file-system performance has evolved since that late 2024 period and all major Linux kernel releases past that Long Term Support version. ⌘ Read more
Ubuntu’s Snap Affected By Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Last week it was security issues with AppArmor to worry about on Ubuntu Linux while this week a “high” rated vulnerability for Ubuntu’s Snap daemon has been revealed… ⌘ Read more
Linux MGLRU Improvements Net A 30% Increase For MongoDB, More Than 100% On HDDs
It’s been a while since having any improvements to talk about for the MGLRU multi-gen LRU functionality for the Linux kernel to optimize page reclamation and help with system performance especially when enduring memory pressure. But this week a Tencent engineer posted some very promising patches for further enhancing this kernel feature… ⌘ Read more
System76 New Thelio Mira Linux Desktop Running Strong - Powered By AMD Ryzen 9000 Series
Last week we provided a first look at the new and completely-redesigned System76 Thelio Mira desktop chassis. Today System76 is formally announcing the availability of their new Thelio Mira Linux desktop. ⌘ Read more
‘Pokemon Go’ Players Unknowingly Trained Delivery Robots With 30 Billion Images
More than 30 billion images captured by Pokemon Go players have helped train a visual mapping system developed by Niantic. The technology is now being used to guide delivery robots from Coco Robotics through city streets where GPS often struggles. Popular Science reports: This week, Niantic Spatial, part of the tea … ⌘ Read more
Fedora Workstation 44 Beta Benchmarks On The AMD Ryzen AI Max Framework Desktop
Since last week’s Fedora 44 Beta release I have been testing out this upcoming Fedora Linux version on a few systems in the lab, most notably with the Framework Desktop powered by the powerful AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 “Strix Halo”. Fedora Workstation 44 Beta has been looking nice and running stable albeit in some instances seeing lower performance at this point than Fedora Workstation 43 but overall in good shape. ⌘ Read more
RADV Driver Lands Another Optimization: “Missing In RADV For A Very Long Time”
A four year old optimization idea for the RADV driver was scratched off the TODO list last week for next quarter’s Mesa 26.1 release… ⌘ Read more
AMD Preps More Graphics Driver Code For Linux 7.1
Last week yet more AMDGPU kernel graphics driver updates were submitted to DRM-Next ahead of the Linux 7.1 merge window happening in April… ⌘ Read more
New Study Raises Concerns About AI Chatbots Fueling Delusional Thinking
“Emerging evidence indicates that agential AI might validate or amplify delusional or grandiose content, particularly in users already vulnerable to psychosis,” writes Dr Hamilton Morrin, a psychiatrist and researcher at King’s College in London, in a paper published last week in the Lancet Psychiatry. Morrin and a colleague had already … ⌘ Read more
Hangs & Performance Regression On Large Systems Fixed For Linux 7.0-rc4
This week’s “sched/urgent” pull request was sent out today of scheduler updates for the ongoing Linux 7.0 cycle. Notable this week are fixing some hangs as well as a possible performance regression on large systems… ⌘ Read more
System76 CEO Sees ‘Real Possibility’ Colorado’s Age-Verification Bill Excludes Open-Source
Last week System76 CEO Carl Richell criticized age-verification laws for operating systems — but he now sees a “real possibility” Colorado’s law might exclude open-source.
Phoronix reports that the System76 CEO met with the state Senator who co-authored Colorado’s bill, and then posted on X.com t … ⌘ Read more
AI’s Productivity Boost? Just 16 Minutes Per Week, Claims Study
“A new study suggests the productivity boost from AI may be far smaller than executives claim,” writes Slashdot reader BrianFagioli:
According to research cited in Foxit’s State of Document Intelligence report, while 89% of executives and 79% of end users say AI tools make them feel more productive, the actual time savings shrink dramatically once peo … ⌘ Read more
Trying Out Snapdragon X Elite With The Acer Swift 14 AI Laptop On Ubuntu 26.04
This week I tried out the current Ubuntu 26.04 development state on the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite with the Acer Swift 14 AI laptop I have been using for my X Elite benchmarks over the past year. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a smooth experience with new issues encountered for this Windows On ARM laptop… ⌘ Read more
Trying Out Snapdragon X Elite With The Acer Swift 14 AI Laptop On Ubuntu 26.04
This week I tried out the current Ubuntu 26.04 development state on the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite with the Acer Swift 14 AI laptop I have been using for my X Elite benchmarks over the past year. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a smooth experience with new issues encountered for this Windows On ARM laptop… ⌘ Read more
Linux 7.1 Will Bring Power Estimate Reporting For AMD Ryzen AI NPUs
This week’s round of drm-misc-next patches bring a few improvements to the AMDXDNA accelerator driver used for supporting the Ryzen AI NPUs. Plus some new panel additions and various other minor Direct Rendering Manager driver changes… ⌘ Read more
Google Now Using AutoFDO To Enhance Android’s Linux Kernel Performance
Google’s Android LLVM toolchain team shared publicly this week that they have begun making use of AutoFDO for automatic feedback directed optimizations of their Linux kernel build used by Android… ⌘ Read more
Qatar Helium Shutdown Puts Chip Supply Chain On a Two-Week Clock
Iranian drone strikes shut down a major helium facility in Qatar, removing about 30% of global helium supply and raising concerns for the semiconductor industry, which relies on the gas for chip fabrication. “QatarEnergy declared force majeure on existing contracts on March 4, freeing it from supply obligations to customers,” reports Tom’s Hardwar … ⌘ Read more
NVIDIA 595.44.03 Linux Driver Released With VK_KHR_device_address_commands
Less than a week after their prior NVIDIA Vulkan beta driver in the R595 driver series, today NVIDIA released another new Vulkan beta driver for Linux and Windows systems… ⌘ Read more
Live Nation Execs Brag About ‘Robbing’ Ticket Buyers In Slack DMs
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Pitchfork: Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Justice and Live Nation reached a settlement in the DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit against the concert giant. During the trial, which lasted only a week, representatives for Live Nation had moved to exclude a collection of Slack direct messages from 2022 between … ⌘ Read more
Intel Xe Driver In Linux 7.1 Preps For Intel Nova Lake P, Introduces VM_BIND DECOMPRESS
Sent out this week were more Intel Xe driver feature patches to DRM-Next for queuing ahead of next month’s Linux 7.1 merge window… ⌘ Read more
Third power failure in two weeks. Every time a different apartment loses power at the same time as mine. I hope the power company is able to find the cause.
systemd 260-rc3 Released With AI Agents Documentation Added
The first release candidate of systemd 260 arrived in late February with the new mstack feature, dropping System V service scripts support, and other changes. A week after that systemd 260-rc2 released with a few more changes and now another week later is systemd 260-rc3… ⌘ Read more
Strait of Hormuz Closure Triggers Work From Home, 4-Day Weeks In Asia
Asian governments are implementing emergency measures like four-day workweeks and work-from-home mandates to cope with a fuel shortage triggered by the Iran conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. “Asia is particularly dependent on oil exports from the Middle East; Japan and South Korea respectively source 90% and 70% of their … ⌘ Read more
Igalia Developing Moonforge As New Linux Distribution
Linux consulting firm Igalia announced this week Moonforge, a new in-house Linux distribution by them based on Yocto and OpenEmbedded… ⌘ Read more
Microsoft’s ‘Xbox Mode’ Is Coming To Every Windows 11 PC
In April, Microsoft will be rolling out a full-screen “Xbox mode” to all Windows 11 PCs, including laptops, desktops, and tablets. The move follows last week’s confirmation of its next-generation Xbox console, known internally as Project Helix, which will be capable of running both Xbox titles and PC games. The Verge reports: Technically, you’ve been able to try t … ⌘ Read more
Valve Faces Second, Class-Action Lawsuit Over Loot Boxes
Valve is facing a new consumer class-action lawsuit two weeks after New York sued the video game company for “letting children and adults illegally gamble” with loot boxes. The new lawsuit is similar, alleging that loot boxes in games like Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2 are “carefully engineered to extract money from consumers, including children, t … ⌘ Read more
Linux’s KVM Virtualization Preparing For Intel Advanced Performance Extensions (APX)
Intel’s Advanced Performance Extensions (APX) debuting with Nova Lake and Diamond Rapids is ready with Linux 6.16+ and recent open-source compilers. One piece of the support puzzle still coming together though that will be especially important for Xeon Diamond Rapids is the KVM virtualization support. New patches there were posted this week… ⌘ Read more
A 1,300-Pound NASA Spacecraft To Re-Enter Earth’s Atmosphere
Van Allen Probe A, a 1,300-pound (600 kg) NASA satellite launched in 2012 to study Earth’s radiation belts, is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere this week. While most of it is expected to burn up during descent, “some components may survive,” reports the BBC. “The space agency said there is a one in 4,200 chance of being harmed by a piece of the p … ⌘ Read more
Many International Game Developers Plan To Skip GDC In US
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: This week, tens of thousands of game developers and producers will once again gather in San Francisco, as they have since 1988, for the weeklong Game Developers Conference. But this year’s show will be missing many international developers who say they no longer feel comfortable traveling to the United St … ⌘ Read more
There’s Hope That At Least Colorado’s Age Attestation Bill Could Exclude Open-Source
Last week was a statement by System76 regarding recent age verification laws in California and Colorado among other US states that could have a profound impact on Linux distributions and other open-source software. The Colorado legislation is especially pressing to System76 considering that is where they are based. Fortunately, they aren’t taking this lightly and there is some hope that at least in Colorado open-source software … ⌘ Read more
How AI Assistants Are Moving the Security Goalposts
An anonymous reader quotes a report from KrebsOnSecurity: AI-based assistants or “agents” – autonomous programs that have access to the user’s computer, files, online services and can automate virtually any task – are growing in popularity with developers and IT workers. But as so many eyebrow-raising headlines over the past few weeks have shown, these powerful and assert … ⌘ Read more
NVIDIA Releases New R595-Derived Vulkan Developer Beta For Linux With New Features
Last week NVIDIA released the 595.45.04 Linux driver beta as their first release in the R595 series for Linux and it’s running very well in initial testing. Today as part of their Vulkan developer beta program, they have released the NVIDIA 595.44.02 driver that brings some new Vulkan API features… ⌘ Read more
NVIDIA 595 Linux Driver Running Well In Early Benchmarks
Last week NVIDIA released the 595.45.04 beta Linux driver as their first public build in the R595 release branch. The NVIDIA R595 Linux driver is bringing a number of Vulkan driver improvements, HDR enhancements, DRI3 v1.2 support, and a variety of other improvements. Benchmarking the NVIDIA 595.45.04 Linux driver the past few days on GeForce RTX 50 “Blackwell” have been showing some nice incremental performance improvements over the current NVIDIA 590 driver sta … ⌘ Read more
NVIDIA 595 Linux Driver Running Well In Early Benchmarks
Last week NVIDIA released the 595.45.04 beta Linux driver as their first public build in the R595 release branch. The NVIDIA R595 Linux driver is bringing a number of Vulkan driver improvements, HDR enhancements, DRI3 v1.2 support, and a variety of other improvements. Benchmarking the NVIDIA 595.45.04 Linux driver the past few days on GeForce RTX 50 “Blackwell” have been showing some nice incremental performance improvements over the current NVIDIA 590 driver sta … ⌘ Read more
New Rust Driver Aims To Improve Upstream Linux On Synology NAS Devices
A set of patches posted to the Linux kernel mailing list last week introduce a new driver for enhancing the upstream/mainline Linux kernel support for Synology network attached storage (NAS) devices. This new driver is Synology Microp and is making use of the Linux kernel’s modern Rust programming language support… ⌘ Read more
EFF, Ubuntu and Other Distros Discuss How to Respond to Age-Verification Laws
System76 isn’t the only one criticizing new age-verification laws. The blog 9to5Linux published an “informal” look at other discussions in various Linux communities.
Earlier this week, Ubuntu developer Aaron Rainbolt proposed on the Ubuntu mailing list an optional D-Bus interface (org.freedesktop.AgeVerification1) that … ⌘ Read more
Experimental Intel Nova Lake P Device Bits Merged For Mesa 26.1
Merged this week for Mesa 26.1 are the initial Nova Lake P “NVL-P” device bits for Intel’s ANV Vulkan and Iris Gallium3D drivers. But this support isn’t yet exposed by default and not yet ready for end-users with more driver changes still to be published… ⌘ Read more
Notable Intel & AMD CPU Changes Merged For Linux 7.0-rc3
This week’s batch of “x86/urgent” patches that were merged overnight for Linux 7.0 contain some fixes and other adjustments worth highlighting for both AMD and Intel… ⌘ Read more
LLM-Driven Large Code Rewrites With Relicensing Are The Latest AI Concern
The newest open-source concern around AI that is seeing a lot of interest this weekend is when large language models / AI code generators may rewrite large parts of a codebase and then the “developers” claiming an alternative license incompatible with the original source license. This became a real concern this week with a popular Python project experiencing an AI-driven code rewrite and now published under an alternative license that … ⌘ Read more
KDE Plasma Saw A Lot Of Bug/Crash Fixing & UI Polishing This Week
Nate Graham and John Veness are out today with the newest issue of This Week in Plasma. Notable for KDE Plasma 6.6.x~6.7 development this week were a lot of bug fixing – including multiple crash fixes – and some UI polishing too… ⌘ Read more
GTK 4.22 Released With Improved SVG Support, Reduced Motion Option
Ahead of the GNOME 50 desktop release coming up in less than two weeks, GTK 4.22 is out today as the newest stable version of the GTK4 toolkit… ⌘ Read more
Python ‘Chardet’ Package Replaced With LLM-Generated Clone, Re-Licensed
Ancient Slashdot reader ewhac writes: The maintainers of the Python package `chardet`, which attempts to automatically detect the character encoding of a string, announced the release of version 7 this week, claiming a speedup factor of 43x over version 6. In the release notes, the maintainers claim that version 7 is, “a ground … ⌘ Read more
Linux 7.0 Slab Fix On The Way For A “Severe Performance Regression”
Sent out today was this week’s batch of Slab allocator fixes for the Linux 7.0 development kernel. Making this pull notable is fixing a “severe performance regression” with a ~64% performance drop having been noted in late February… ⌘ Read more