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FossBase: Open Tech Tips
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You Can Now Disable All AI Features in Zed

Zed developers have finally added a way to easily disable all AI functionality if so desired.
There is now a "disable_ai" global setting that can be enabled to turn off all AI features -- beginning in today's preview build and expected to be in a stable release next week.


Source
Firefox 141 can now organize your tabs into groups using AI, and more

You can now partially automate the organization of multiple tabs in tab groups with AI support. A local AI model (which doesn’t send any information to the cloud and thus preserves privacy) can automatically group similar tabs and suggest suitable names for the tab group. Mozilla will be gradually rolling out this feature over the next few weeks.
Furthermore, if you use the vertical tabs layout introduced in Firefox 136, you can now create more space for even more tabs by minimizing the toolbar at the bottom of the sidebar.


Mozilla plans to release the next versions—including Firefox 142 and Firefox ESR 140.2, ESR 128.14, and ESR 115.27—on August 19th, 2025. Firefox ESR 128 will receive its last update in August, as will Firefox ESR 115 (subject to Mozilla’s pending decision).

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Proton launches privacy-respecting encrypted AI assistant Lumo

Lumo is based on open-source large language models (LLMs) and utilizes Proton's open-source encryption scheme. Proton also released the tool's complete source code, so it's fully transparent to the community.

Lumo's default setting is not to search online, delete all chats upon closing, and not store conversations on the server-side.

"Other AI companies keep a record of all your conversations on their servers, leaving this information vulnerable to data leaks or exploitation for profit," reads the announcement.

"Lumo doesn't keep any logs of your conversations server side, and any chats you save can only be decrypted on your device."

Lumo's interface resembles those of mainstream LLM services, while the tool supports file uploads with full encryption support.


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Figma’s AI app building tool is now available for everyone

Figma Make, the prompt-to-app coding tool that Figma introduced earlier this year, is now available for all users. Similar to AI coding tools like Google’s Gemini Code Assist and Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot, Figma Make allows users to build working prototypes and apps using natural language denoscriptions, instead of needing to have innate coding skills.

While Figma initially launched it in beta for “Full Seat” users — the subnoscription tier required to unlock all of Figma’s design products — Figma Make can now be accessed by all Figma users, with limitations in place depending on the user’s subnoscription plan. The ability to publish designs created by Figma Make, which is currently still in beta, will be restricted to users with Full Seat access. Users on View, Collab, Dev, and free Starter Seat plans will be limited to experimenting with Figma Make in their personal drafts.


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The Debian Wiki is set to get a revamp as the project transitions to MediaWiki, leaving behind the aging MoinMoin platform.

Members of the Debian project have launched an ambitious new initiative: to rebuild the Debian Wiki from the ground up using a whole new solution—MediaWiki, a modern, free, and open-source platform for collaboration and documentation that’s widely used across today’s web.

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Euphonica is a new, visually striking Music Player Daemon (MPD) frontend for Linux, built with Rust, GTK4, and libadwaita. It emphasizes a modern, album art-focused UI with animated flourishes and efficient background blur powered by libblur’s stack blur. Key features include a responsive interface, MPD password storage in the login keyring, and efficient command processing. It supports browsing by album, artist, and folder, with planned genre-based browsing and advanced querying. Designed for Beets-tagged libraries, it fetches accurate metadata and supports MPRIS integration. Currently in early development, it’s only tested on Arch Linux and requires building from source, with AUR and Flathub releases planned.

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Picture Desktop Widget for GNOME Shell

A GNOME Shell extension that creates a desktop widget which displays a random image that switch after a given time by choosing a picture in a given folder. The widget can be resized, moved and the corner radius can be changed. The timeout for a new image is also customizable.

GitHub | Gnome Extensions
Introducing Proton Authenticator – secure 2FA, your way

Proton Authenticator is a new, free, open-source 2FA app launched by Proton, available on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux. It generates time-based one-time passwords (TOTPs) for secure logins, offering end-to-end encrypted backups and cross-device sync without ads or tracking. Users can import 2FA codes from apps like Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator, and it works offline. Built for privacy, it doesn’t require a Proton account, though syncing needs one. Ideal for anyone seeking a secure, transparent 2FA solution.

Source | Download
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Pano Scrobbler Released 4.x bringing support to Linux and Windows

Rewritten in Compose Multiplatform, now supports Android, Windows, Linux.
New: Material 3 UI, persistent notification (Android 14+), QR login for
last.fm/libre.fm on TV, network import/export, Audile music recognition.
Scrobbling: Apple Music, Spotify, and more with artist/album data from iTunes/Spotify APIs.
Improvements: Regex scrobble blocking, pending scrobble timestamps, GitHub auto-updates (desktop), UI tweaks.
Removed: In-app mic scrobble, native Maloja, TV editing, Android 6 support.
Fixes: Scrobble edits, UI bugs, segfaults, duplicate scrobbles.

Source | GitHub
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Type Sloppy, Find Apps Fast: GNOME Fuzzy Search Extension

A new Fuzzy Application Search extension for GNOME Shell lets you find apps even with typos, unlike GNOME's default precise search. It supports GNOME 48 and 49 (Ubuntu 25.10) and uses a ranking system similar to TextMate/Sublime Text. Ideal for inattentive typists or those with dyslexia, it’s available on the GNOME Extensions hub. This fills a gap since GNOME Shell lacks native fuzzy matching, a feature requested since 2016.

Source | Gnome Extensions
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Firefox 142 Drops: AI-Powered Previews, Tab Groups, and Smarter Tracking Protection!

Firefox 142 is out with fresh features! US users can now curate New Tab stories by topics like Sports or Food, follow favorites, and block unwanted ones. Link Previews are stable—right-click a link for a thumbnail, denoscription, and AI-generated key points (needs 3GB+ RAM, rolling out in USA, Canada, UK, Australia). Extensions can use local AI models via the wllama API. Tab Groups keep one active tab visible when collapsed, and Enhanced Tracking Protection adds flexible exception lists to avoid breaking websites.
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Windows Update Woes: SSDs at Risk!

Microsoft’s Windows 11 24H2 update (KB5063878) is reportedly causing SSD failures during large file transfers (>50GB), especially on drives over 60% full. Phison-based SSDs seem most affected, but others like SanDisk and Corsair are also hit. Microsoft is investigating, and a hotfix is expected. For now, back up data and avoid heavy write operations. Considering Linux? It might be time!🐧
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Newsflash is a program designed to complement an already existing web-based RSS reader account.

It combines all the advantages of web based services like syncing across all your devices with everything you expect from a modern desktop program: Desktop notifications, fast search and filtering, tagging, handy keyboard shortcuts and having access to all your articles for as long as you like.


Credits: Omansh Krishn
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Spotify's New Mix Feature: DJ Your Playlists Like a Pro!

Spotify is beta-testing "Mix," a tool for Premium users to customize track transitions in playlists. Go automatic with seamless blending or tweak manually—adjust volume, EQ, effects, and more using waveforms and beats for that perfect flow.
- Collaborate on mixed playlists with friends.
- Presets like "Auto," "Fade," or "Rise" for quick setups.
- Toggle on/off anytime.

Available now for select users (update your app!); full rollout TBD.
Digg Returns with a Fresh App!

Digg’s iOS and Android apps are back, reviving the classic social news platform. Submit links, comment, and vote with “digg” (upvote) or “bury” (downvote) to shape your feed. It’s invite-only for now, led by co-founder Kevin Rose and Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian, with profiles, communities, and leaderboards for top posts. Aiming to reclaim its spot as the internet’s homepage!
The Browser You Should Avoid Using On Your Android Phone

Pre-installed browsers like Google Chrome on Android devices may pose privacy risks due to extensive data collection, including browsing history, payment details, and contact lists, which can be used for targeted advertising and may be vulnerable to exploits, even in Incognito mode.

Recommended alternatives include privacy-focused browsers such as Brave, DuckDuckGo, Firefox, IronFox or Tor, which block trackers and minimize data collection.
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Happy 34th Birthday to Linux!

From Linus Torvalds' legendary 1991 announcement to powering billions of devices worldwide – servers, supercomputers, smartphones, and even space missions – you've revolutionized open-source computing. Here's to endless kernels, penguins, and community magic! Long live the Tux!
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openSUSE Unveils New Website!

openSUSE’s revamped website is live, showcasing a modern design for its Linux distros, Tumbleweed and Leap. While visually appealing, it has gaps—some sections feel incomplete, and navigation could use polish. The community-driven project continues to evolve, with feedback welcomed to refine the experience.
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Windows 11 Update: Resume Android Apps on Your PC!

Microsoft is testing a new feature in Windows 11 that lets you seamlessly resume Android apps from your phone directly on your PC. Spotify is the first app to support this, with a taskbar alert for easy launch and continuation.
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Elon Musk Sues Apple & OpenAI for Antitrust Violations!

xAI and X Corp. have filed a lawsuit accusing Apple and OpenAI's partnership of killing competition in AI. Claims include forcing ChatGPT as the default on iPhones via Apple Intelligence, deprioritizing rivals like Grok and X in the App Store, and giving OpenAI unfair access to billions of user data prompts.

This could shake up AI and smartphone antitrust battles!