Best of Linux — October 2025
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Fireship·27wApple and Google won’t like this...
The Free Software Foundation announced the Libriophone project, led by Rob Savois, aiming to create a fully open-source smartphone by replacing all proprietary firmware, drivers, and binary blobs with free software alternatives. Unlike existing solutions like LineageOS that still contain proprietary code, this initiative seeks complete software freedom through reverse engineering. The project faces significant challenges including the massive technical undertaking of replacing closed-source components, limited historical adoption of similar efforts like Replicant, and the dominant Apple-Google duopoly that controls mobile ecosystems.
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ThePrimeTime·28w2025 The Year Of The Linux Desktop
Microsoft is removing workarounds for creating local accounts in Windows 11, forcing users to sign in with Microsoft accounts. Combined with ads in the start menu and privacy concerns around Copilot, developers are increasingly frustrated with Windows. Meanwhile, Apple's recent UI quality has declined. Linux distributions like Omachi with Hyperland offer smooth, customizable developer experiences that rival or exceed macOS, making 2025 potentially the year developers seriously consider switching to Linux.
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David Heinemeier Hansson·27w
A petabyte worth of Omarchy in a month
Omarchy, a new Linux distribution built around the Hyprland tiling window manager, reached 150,000 installs and delivered a petabyte of ISOs within months of launch. The distribution's rapid growth is attributed to timing—Microsoft ending Windows 10 support for older hardware and Apple discontinuing Intel Mac updates—combined with Linux's improved user experience, web apps reducing dependency on native software, and the customization freedom that Linux provides. Performance benchmarks show competitive results against high-end hardware at a fraction of the cost.
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omg! ubuntu!·26w
Zorin OS 18 Broke Download Records on Windows 10 EOL Day
Zorin OS 18 achieved over 100,000 downloads in just two days following its launch on October 14, 2025, coinciding with Windows 10's end of support. Over 72% of downloads came from Windows users seeking alternatives to avoid hardware upgrade requirements for Windows 11 or paying for extended Windows 10 support. The Ubuntu-based distribution includes features specifically designed for Windows migrants, such as expanded Windows application compatibility, OneDrive integration, and web app tools. If even a small fraction of Windows 10's 40% global market share switches to Linux, it could significantly boost Linux adoption and the open source community.
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Lobsters·26wA Word on Omarchy
A critical technical review of Omarchy, a pre-configured Arch Linux distribution created by David Heinemeier Hansson. The analysis reveals significant security vulnerabilities including a non-functional firewall by default, weak password policies, and poorly written bash scripts lacking proper error handling. The review examines missing essential features like RAID support, swap configuration, and proper laptop power management, while highlighting the gap between marketing claims of being a production-ready system and the actual implementation quality.
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Hacker News·28w
Free Software hasn't won
Free and open source software has succeeded in developer tools and operating systems, but failed to penetrate most consumer hardware and appliances. Modern devices contain 10-15 processors running closed firmware, from keyboards to storage drives, leaving users dependent on manufacturers for security updates and repairs. This creates e-waste through forced obsolescence, enables vendor lock-in through cloud dependencies, and prevents users from modifying devices they own. The author argues developers must publish firmware sources, use copyleft licenses like GPL, demand open documentation, and support political movements for right to repair and device freedom.
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Ghostty 1.2 Adds Quick Terminal Support on Linux
Ghostty 1.2.0 brings significant improvements for Linux users after 6 months of development. The terminal emulator underwent a complete GTK rewrite for better integration, added quick terminal support on Wayland using wlr-layer-shell protocol, and introduced a command palette for keyboard-driven actions. Linux-specific features include a new app icon, titlebar tabs configuration, DBus/systemd activation for faster startup, on-screen keyboard support, and global keybindings via XDG portals. Additional updates include background image support, custom cursor shaders, FreeBSD support, and improved shell integration for SSH compatibility.
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SuperTuxKart 1.5 Released with Improved Graphics + More
SuperTuxKart 1.5 arrives after 3 years of development as the final 1.x release before version 2.0. Key improvements include enhanced graphics with better Level of Detail settings and shadow mapping, frame rates up to 1000fps, 200% supersampling support, and a new benchmarking mode for testing performance. The release adds 3 new soccer fields, 3 egg hunt tracks, improved UI with favorite marking and search functionality, granular audio controls, and numerous bug fixes. Available for Windows, macOS, Android, and Linux.
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Planet Haskell·28w
Programming in the Sun: A Year with the Daylight Computer
A developer shares their year-long experience using the Daylight DC-1 tablet with a Live Paper display for programming outdoors in sunlight. The setup uses Termux, Neovim, and tmux with a Bluetooth keyboard, offering a paperlike coding experience with better refresh rates than traditional E-Ink. The author compares it to the Boox Tab Ultra E-Ink tablet, finding the Daylight better for typing and drawing due to faster refresh rates, while the Boox excels at reading with its higher PPI and better nighttime viewing. The post explores the tradeoffs between different display technologies for developer workflows and outdoor productivity.
- 11Lobsters·29w
A Mac-like experience on Linux
A detailed comparison of desktop environments for Mac users switching to Linux. The author argues that KDE Plasma, not GNOME, provides a more Mac-like experience with its dock-style panel, system tray, desktop icons, window management buttons, and extensive customization options. GNOME prioritizes minimal distraction over Mac-style workflows, lacking key features like a persistent dock, global menu, and desktop file management. For users leaving macOS for reasons other than seeking simplicity, Plasma offers familiar UI patterns and functionality while maintaining first-party support for customization.
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Zorin OS 18 Released with New Look, New Apps + More
Zorin OS 18 has been released, based on Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS with Linux kernel 6.14 and GNOME Shell 46. The update features a redesigned desktop with a floating rounded panel, preinstalled Tiling Shell extension for advanced window management, new theme colors, and a Web Apps tool for creating desktop apps from websites. It includes Brave as the default browser, expanded Windows compatibility suggestions, and support until April 2029. The Pro version adds three new desktop layouts and additional preinstalled software including Deskflow, Warp, and Valot.
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Why /dev/null Is an ACID Compliant Database
A humorous technical exploration demonstrating how /dev/null technically satisfies all ACID database properties: atomicity (writes are all-or-nothing), consistency (always remains empty), isolation (concurrent writes never conflict), and durability (maintains its empty state after crashes). The satirical piece highlights database concepts through an absurd but technically accurate lens, noting the only limitation is 0 bytes of storage.
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It's Foss·26w
Ghostty Terminal: Never Understood the Hype Until I tried it
Ghostty is a GPU-accelerated terminal emulator with standout features including simple configuration through key-value pairs, trigger sequence shortcuts similar to Vim, performable keybindings that adapt based on context, built-in image protocol support, ligature rendering for code readability, extensive built-in themes with automatic dark/light mode switching, and native UI integration using GTK4 on Linux. It supports tabs, splits, and a searchable tab overview for managing multiple terminal sessions. While borrowing concepts from Kitty, Ghostty distinguishes itself with excellent defaults that work out-of-the-box, comprehensive documentation, and platform-native implementations.
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AnduinOS·27w
Announcing AnduinOS 1.4
AnduinOS 1.4 has been released, upgrading the base system from Ubuntu 25.04 to 25.10, with Gnome 49 and kernel 6.17. Key changes include dropping X11 support in favor of Wayland-only, switching to Firefox ESR, replacing the default terminal with ptyxis, and adding Romanian language support. The OS branding now identifies as 'anduinos' instead of 'ubuntu', requiring patches to maintain PPA compatibility. Direct upgrades from 1.3 to 1.4 are not yet supported, but a migration script is planned before January 2026 while version 1.3 remains under maintenance.
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Phoronix·29w
Linus Torvalds Vents Over "Completely Crazy Rust Format Checking"
Linus Torvalds criticized Rust's automated formatting tool (rustfmt) for making poor decisions about code organization in the Linux kernel. He specifically objected to the tool's heuristics for formatting 'use' statements, arguing that its compressed format makes future maintenance and conflict resolution harder. Torvalds prefers multi-line formatting that allows clean, single-line additions of new imports, and questions whether the Rust style guide's 'small items' rule is appropriate for independent use directives.
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Collections·28wUbuntu 25.10: Key Features and Upgrades Announced
Ubuntu 25.10 'Questing Quokka' introduces major architectural changes including mandatory Wayland sessions, Rust-based core utilities replacing GNU tools, and sudo-rs replacing traditional sudo. The release features GNOME 49, TPM-backed full disk encryption, Network Time Security in Chrony, and A/B booting for Raspberry Pi. Running on Linux kernel 6.17 with updated toolchains (OpenJDK 25, Python 3.14 RC3, Golang 1.25, GCC 15, Rust 1.85), it emphasizes memory safety and security improvements. Support extends until July 2026 with an upgrade path to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS.
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YouTube·25w
I Can't Believe How Good Linux Is Now.. (Omarchy Linux)
A hands-on review of Omarchy Linux, a preconfigured Arch Linux distribution with Hyperland window manager. The author explores the out-of-the-box experience, customization options, and daily driver potential. While praising the smooth performance, polished UI, and extensive preconfiguration (screen recording, theming, key bindings), they encounter dealbreaker issues with DaVinci Resolve's drag-and-drop functionality due to Wayland limitations. Gaming works well, but video editing workflow remains problematic. The distribution excels at providing a ready-to-use tiling window manager setup without extensive manual configuration.
- 19ThePrimeTime·26w
omarchy is great
DHH discusses his journey from 22 years on macOS to creating Omakub (later Omakase), a Linux distribution built on Arch and Hyperland. He explains how frustrations with Apple's policies and the discovery of tiling window managers led him to build a developer-focused desktop environment that prioritizes aesthetics, performance, and customization. The conversation covers the philosophy of balancing ease of onboarding with depth of learning, the importance of tooling that developers enjoy using, and how Linux desktop environments have evolved to compete with commercial alternatives through projects like Hyperland.
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Cloudflare·25w
So long, and thanks for all the fish: how to escape the Linux networking stack
Cloudflare engineers developed a custom service called SLATFATF ("fish") to handle IP packet forwarding using their soft-unicast addressing system, which shares IP addresses across machines. The team encountered fundamental conflicts between Linux's socket subsystem and Netfilter's conntrack module when attempting to use both packet rewriting and bound sockets simultaneously. After exploring solutions including Netlink interfaces, TCP_REPAIR, and TCP Fast Open with cookieless connections, they discovered that Linux's "early demux" optimization bypassed custom routing rules. Despite successfully implementing workarounds, they ultimately chose to terminate TCP connections rather than forward raw IP packets due to better observability and minimal performance impact.
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The New Stack·25w
Why Sudo-rs Brings Modern Memory Safety to Ubuntu 26.04
Ubuntu 26.04 will include sudo-rs, a Rust-based rewrite of the sudo command, alongside the traditional C implementation. The project aims to improve memory safety and maintainability while reducing codebase complexity. Developed through the Prossimo initiative and now maintained by the Trifecta Tech Foundation, sudo-rs collaborates closely with the original sudo maintainer Todd Miller. The rewrite focuses on supporting common use cases rather than replicating every legacy feature, with Canonical funding Ubuntu-specific compatibility work. The project has already been tested in Ubuntu 25.10 and is available as an option in several other distributions.
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Dracut in Ubuntu 25.10: What it is and Why it Matters (or Doesn’t)
Ubuntu 25.10 replaces initramfs-tools with Dracut for generating the initramfs boot image. Dracut is a modular, hardware-detection-based system that supports modern technologies like TPM2 and FIDO2, offering slightly faster boot times and better maintainability. The change only affects fresh installs, not upgrades, and remains invisible to most users. While technically significant for the distribution's infrastructure, it requires no action from typical users unless they've customized initramfs hooks.
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Phosh 0.50 Released, GNOME App Aims To Help You Learn Assembly
Phosh 0.50 has been released alongside GNOME 49, bringing updates to the Wayland compositor designed for mobile devices. Additionally, a new GNOME application has been introduced to help developers learn assembly language programming.
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Valve Developer Contributes Open-Source Driver Fixes For 12 Year Old Hawaii GPUs
Valve's open-source Linux graphics team has contributed driver fixes for AMD's 12-year-old Hawaii GPU architecture. This continues their work on improving Linux GPU driver support for legacy hardware that original vendors no longer maintain, alongside recent achievements like enabling NVIDIA DLSS on the open-source NVK driver.
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The Register·27w
Framework flame war erupts over Linux controversy
Framework, the upgradeable laptop maker, faces community backlash over its sponsorship of Hyprland (a Wayland compositor) and promotion of Omarchy, both associated with politically controversial figures. A Debian developer called for boycott, criticizing Framework's "big tent" approach to open source sponsorships. The controversy sparked over 1,500 forum replies debating whether companies should vet projects for community conduct beyond technical merit. Framework defended its apolitical stance on sponsorships but later clarified it had researched Hyprland's past moderation issues and found improvements, while announcing plans to involve the community more in future sponsorship decisions.
