Ubuntu Server 26.04 LTS Will Now Automatically Install HWE/OEM Kernel Packages

([Ubuntu] 23 April 11:23 AM EDT Better Out-Of-Box Experience)

Ubuntu LTS releases on the desktop have automatically installed OEM vendor kernels where needed and hardware enablement "HWE" kernels in later point releases by default. This provides a better out-of-the-box experience for Ubuntu desktop users and one less chore post-install if desiring a newer/better kernel. With Ubuntu Server 26.04 LTS, the server installer is finally doing the same.

Exploring The Workloads Where The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Makes A Lot Of Sense

([Processors] 23 April 11:30 AM EDT 34 Comments)

With this week's launch of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition I've found some of the commentary quite surprising among those arguing it's really not a competitive or interesting product. While the cost may be hard to justify at $899 USD compared to the existing Ryzen 9000 series products or Intel's new Core Plus CPUs, particularly for developers, technical computing, etc the performance of the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 is quite interesting. I've had much enjoyment benchmarking the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 for technical use-cases. In this article is a complementary look to my launch day AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 review to better condense the 300+ benchmarks I've run to date on this flagship processor.

System76 Thelio Major Workstation Updated For Better Thermals, More Performance

([Hardware] 23 April 10:49 AM EDT System76 Thelio Major)

Following the recently-launched Thelio Mira redesign, System76 today announced the new Thelio Major workstation with improved thermals and more performance.

Ubuntu 26.04 Allows "sudo apt install rocm" But It's Months Out-Of-Date

([Radeon] 23 April 09:28 AM EDT sudo apt install rocm)

Canonical announced last year that in collaboration with AMD they would be bringing the ROCm software libraries into the Ubuntu archive for Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. The plan has been to ship AMD ROCm AI/ML and HPC libraries in the Ubuntu archive so it would be as easy as sudo apt install rocm for getting started with AMD's open-source GPU compute stack. With today being the Ubuntu 26.04 LTS release day, I decided to revisit the topic.

OpenBLAS 0.3.33 Released With Automatic "BIGNUMA" For More Than 256 CPU Cores

([Programming] 23 April 08:23 AM EDT OpenBLAS 0.3.33)

OpenBLAS 0.3.33 is out today as the latest update to this vendor-neutral, optimized Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms "BLAS" library.

Many USB Improvements & New Hardware Merged For Linux 7.1

([Hardware] 23 April 06:28 AM EDT Linux 7.1 USB)

Ready to go ahead of the Linux 7.1 merge window closing at week's end are numerous new USB device support additions and other USB subsystem enhancements.

Linux 7.1 Lands The Apple SMC Power Driver For Reporting Battery Metrics On MacBooks

([Apple] 23 April 06:12 AM EDT Apple SMC Power Driver)

The Linux Multi-Function Device "MFD" subsystem changes were merged this week for Linux 7.1 ahead of the merge window closing on Sunday.

FreeRDP 3.25 Adds Experimental AV1 Support

([Desktop] 23 April 05:56 AM EDT FreeRDP 3.25)

FreeRDP as a leading open-source implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) has introduced experimental AV1 codec support.

Linux 7.1 Adds Support For 12 New SoCs, Other ARM & RISC-V Hardware

([Hardware] 22 April 08:22 PM EDT Linux 7.1 SoCs)

All of the SoC updates were recently merged for the ongoing Linux 7.1 kernel cycle. Most of the activity as usual is on the Arm side but also with some RISC-V additions too for the Linux 7.1 kernel.

Intel Ends Open Ecosystem Community/Evangelism, Archives Other Open-Source Projects

([Intel] 22 April 04:28 PM EDT Intel GitHub Projects Archived)

Over the past number of months there has been a steady flow of Intel open-source projects archived on GitHub amid the corporate restructuring at the company and realigning of their open-source focus. This week another batch of Intel open-source projects were formally archived.

Ubuntu Rust Coreutils Audit Revealed 113 Issues, Ubuntu 26.10 Aims For "100% Rust Coreutils"

([Ubuntu] 22 April 12:21 PM EDT Ubuntu Rust Coreutils)

Ahead of tomorrow's Ubuntu 26.04 LTS release, Canonical published a blog post today outlining the state of Rust Coreutils for its premiere in this long-term support (LTS) version. Canonical also commissioned a security audit recently of Rust Coreutils that turned up 44 CVEs and 113 issues in total.

GCC 16 Compiler Nearly Ready For Release With Zen 6, AVX10.2, APX & Algol 68

([GNU] 22 April 11:53 AM EDT GCC 16.1)

GCC 16.1 as the first stable version of the GCC 16 compiler is nearly ready for its official debut as this year's major feature release for this open-source compiler.

FreeBSD Working On Intel FRED Support, Laptop Improvements Continue

([BSD] 22 April 11:30 AM EDT FreeBSD Q1-2026)

FreeBSD is out today with their Q1-2026 status report to outline the many different development initiatives their open-source developers have participated in over the past quarter. There is a lot of hardware enablement efforts ongoing as well as continuing to make a more compelling desktop experience and also improving GUI and management options for FreeBSD systems.

KMSCON Continues Improving For VT Terminal Emulator In User-Space

([Free Software] 22 April 10:26 AM EDT KMSCON 9.3.4)

KMSCON 9.3.4 is out today for this virtual terminal (VT) emulator in user-space that runs atop the Linux DRM/KMS APIs for those wanting to enjoy a CONFIG_VT=n Linux kernel experience.

Many Great Networking Improvements Arrive In Linux 7.1

([Linux Networking] 22 April 10:11 AM EDT Linux 7.1 Networking)

Merged recently to Linux Git were the big set of networking changes for the Linux 7.1 kernel.

Ubuntu Looks Toward More Snap-Based Devpacks Moving Forward

([Ubuntu] 22 April 09:50 AM EDT Developer Packs)

Canonical is out with a new blog post today outlining toolchain changes to Ubuntu Linux from Ubuntu 24.04 LTS to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS due for release tomorrow. While those changes over the past two years aren't too news worthy if you have been following the interim Ubuntu releases, what's interesting is their road ahead on the Ubuntu toolchain front for developers.