Linux Driver Support Ready For Intel Panther Lake's NPU 5
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Intel-NPU-5-Panther-Lake-Linux

https://redd.it/1o2yo2e
@r_linux

How to approach stability and security in Linux?

Hello lovely internet people. I am wondering how to approach security and stability under Linux.

Before you come on me with - this is just common question many times answered before, i have read many related topics and discovered very little substance beyond "just trust the cause bro" and "you will be fine bro"

Little bit of background: I used debian and ubuntu back in days when they still used Gnome 2 as DE (dualbooting for like three years), and later ubuntu when they used unity (only linux for like two years not touching other os). Now after some break from linux - seeing the direction windows is heading (i prefer if it was me not microsoft having control over my own computer) i consider to switch to linux fully (but once i do i want to make it the proper solution, not just a side hobby). I can get from a company Thinkpad t14 gen 2 or 3 (intel version) - preferably gen 3, and i want to put linux on it and eventually, if it worked as expected, making it possibly my daily driver. So i dont need the newest drivers etc... as those laptop have been around for some time, therefore i dont need rolling releases i think.

But i do have some questions beforehand:

1) For stability, as mentioned i want reasonable stable a secure environment. From my understanding those thinkpads are "linux certified" and therefore compatibility should not be a big problem. I am thinking that something debian based seems like the answer. From what i tried from modern distros, i liked the linux mint environment the best - seems pretty intuitive, supports native webapps (which i would take advantage of), supports all most used formats (deb packages, snaps, flatpaks).

Is there anything i should worry about or take some precautions (before things go wrong) while using linux mint, or any suggestions? What about using applets, gnome extensions, or any extensions in general - is there something to be concerned in terms of stability and security?

Another thing concerning stability, which distro would be considered most stable, and preferably having good battery life - because i was being told by the people using those thinkpads gen 3, that the battery life is pretty abysmal even on windows 11. I would be just fine with 4 hours with light use, some power saving mode - only lightly browsing, emails, occasionally opening pdfs, documents. Most of the time laptop being plugged into dock station, but when i need little bit battery, to have the option.

2) For security. How is security in linux being dealt with? From my understanding, The first thing one should do after installing linux mint is to turn on firewall. So it is not turned on by default, which seems wild to me. So firewall it is, what about virus protection, sandboxing etc...? Is there a security protocol other than "security trough obscurity"? From my understanding flatpak (and snaps perhaps) should sandbox the application running, is this correct?

And related topic- i have read that modern DE (namely gnome and kde) are moving from x11 to wayland - which is not the case with mint, and x11 is potential security issue as any app can essentially run as keylogger and listen to other apps. Is this true even for flatpaks if they are supposed to be sandboxed?

Another thing is, people say "just dont open pdfs and imgs in your email" - well that is not always plausible. I am getting many emails from potential clients with their offers and their problems, and it is harder and harder to tell apart legitimate client from some scams. Yes of course reasonable people dont click on "you won and iphone, please sent your passport info - your microsoft tech support", but some emails are way more sophisticated even with (seemingly) legitimate email addresses from actual clients. - this one is not linux specific question i guess, but i would appreciate any tips and tricks.

So please teach me your ways, but if i may ask, just dont come with "dont click on things" or "statistically the weakest link is the human user" etc... because while these are all

good advices, it is not very helpful, there is a reason why companies spend millions on security, why cyber security is a big business and while linux is currently not as affected as windows, this can change very quickly and it is better to be prepared, than getting caught with pants down. So what to expect, what can be done on my side both in terms of software and habits to mitigate any potential security and stability concerns. I am not shy of using terminal, noscripts etc... when setting things up, but once set up i prefer to be able just using computer as normal person as much as possible.

Sorry if the text is a bit messy, or too much, or bad english. I am open to any advices, tips,, suggestions - being it specific distros, software, habit routine etc...

https://redd.it/1o31g1g
@r_linux

CLI tool that translates plain English into Linux commands
https://redd.it/1o33jbk
@r_linux

WinApps and WinBoat question

Hi, recently I’ve been seeing a lot of news about those two apps to run Windows applications but after reading a little bit about them (WinBoat uses Winapps) they are basically a mix of virtual machines with docking and Remote Dekstop Protocols, so how is all of that better than just using a VM with the option of sharing files with the host machine?

https://redd.it/1o31hd9
@r_linux

Memory usage on Linux and Windows 11

So, I am new to Linux, and wanted to see how much memory each system use, with nothing opened but the Task Manager on Windows 11 and System Monitor on CachyOS

I am using 764.4 MB of memory on CachyOS and 7.5 GB of memory on Windows 11

The difference is staggering.

My Windows 11 is super optimized by the way, I have been applying personal tweaks for many years learning how to improve latency, turning off unnecessary background processes and telemetry. Super stable too, I can vouch for my system, I have no critical errors in Event Log, etc. Just super optimized for gaming and max performance in other benchmarks.

My CachyOS has zero optimization by me, just fresh install and update through Konsole

Pretty insane how it's nearly 10x less memory used on CachyOS, this explains why running Linux on older laptops produces much greater performance. In my case running Windows 10 on 4th gen i7 gets sluggish after a while, and I did not understand which part of the OS impacted that slow down, now I understand.

While on CachyOS same system that is 2 cores by the way runs like a 4 core would on Windows, considering I know Windows feel so well.

Very interesting stuff,and it looks like to me there is a lot of background tasks for Windows, whether they are doing something positive or not, they are using a ton of ram even with no browser open.

https://redd.it/1o33moq
@r_linux

The Grid-Based Window Manager
https://redd.it/1o38pwj
@r_linux

I did it I moved to Linux full time.

I mostly use a PC for gaming and making 3d files to print on a 3d printer. With windows dropping support for W10 I think it was time to fully jump ship. I've tried it in the past Ubuntu, pop, and mint I believe on spare PCs. I never truly fully committed to the change until now. Just got done installing and wiping the old os drive so past the point of return. I decided on zorin os. Any pointers would be nice for a new Linux user. I do have to set up my other hard rives to become usable.

https://redd.it/1o39t3s
@r_linux

Flatpak setup?

Just wondering what's the difference between these two:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

in the url itself that is, there's a minor different "dl"



https://redd.it/1o3gkx2
@r_linux

A odd mousepad that I would like to know the origins
https://redd.it/1o3in9b
@r_linux

Plan 9: Remote Control
https://www.reddit.com/r/plan9/comments/1o02rfa/plan_9_remote_control/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

https://redd.it/1o3ivlo
@r_linux

Why has the Linux Desktop market share decreased in India by nearly 10% on StatCounter?
https://redd.it/1o3myol
@r_linux

As promised I currently am at the holy place
https://redd.it/1o3ro5u
@r_linux

Can SliTaz run on 32mb of ram on idle?

This is because I am looking for an OS for my luckfox lyra with my PicoCalc setup, and it has 128mb of ram, and I am aiming for the OS I use, to use no more than a quarter of my ram. It's known to be more of a lightweight distro, so I decided to post here, to see if any more experienced people have an answer to this.

https://redd.it/1o3ugu6
@r_linux

Would a Grandmother be comfortable on your recommended distro?

To this day I still see people saying "I recommend Arch to all new users" or something to that degree. When we're skilled at something, then most aspects of it seem easy. And it actually becomes more difficult for us to understand how a new user thinks.

That is why I like to ask myself "Would a typical Grandmother be comfortable on my recommended distro." It is a bit of a stereotypical question, as I'm sure there exists grandmothers who use Arch, but stereotypes are helpful in giving us a picture of a large group of people.
In this case, it is a picture of someone who knows nothing about computers and just wants something to browse the internet.

This question can also be used for software development. Developers can ask "would a grandmother be able to use my program? If not, how can I fix it?"

Now if you already know the person then you can maybe recommend a more technical distro. But if you barely know anything about them, or they don't seem to understand computers well, then think of a grandmother.
Besides, distro hopping is a thing for a reason. People can advance to other distros once they are comfortable with linux itself.

I recommend Linux Mint to most new people.

https://redd.it/1o4091g
@r_linux

Red Hat will begin to integrate even further into IBM. About to get into enshittification?

IBM has announced that, starting in early 2026, RedHat back-office teams will become part of IBM, reducing RedHat's independence.

Among the teams that will move to IBM are: Legal, HR, Finance and Accounting

Following the recent waves of layoffs at RedHat, it appears that this decision is due to a cost-saving measure on the part of IBM, continuing with its plans from some time ago to save up to $3.5 billion through, among other things, job cuts.

For the time being, the engineering, product, sales, and marketing personnel departments will remain as they are.

We have already seen worrying measures from IBM at RedHat. From dismissing a Fedora project manager (Ben Cotton) to restricting free access to the RHEL source code (only for customers and partners; Alma, for example, has since had to rely on "the new" CentOS), and a few months ago, removing permission to use RHEL in production for small projects with a developer licence.

Do you think RedHat is heading for enshittification? Will it affect RHEL, CentOS or Fedora?

https://redd.it/1o40uvk
@r_linux

Thinking About Switching

So after numerous moves from Microsoft that's made me lose trust, (many of which I'm sure users here who've switched are aware), I've decided to use Batocera-Linux. The reason for this choice is that I do alot of emulation and it makes sense to have a distro that supports this out of the box, plus they now have a built-in desktop for it. With that being said, I wanted to know if there's anything I should prepare beforehand such as files or any useful tidbits of information before I make the switch. I"ll probably run it off a usb stick as a trial just in case there's any catastrophic issues and if all's well I'll run it off my ssd.

Anyway, is there anything I should consider before switching over? I already know the compatibility for devices and other numerous things are lower than Windows, but there are probably numerous things about LInux that you don't find out until you're actually in there. So I guess what I'm trying to say is there any deal-breaker changes or things about Linux that changes user's mind I should know about before I start making any preparations to switch over? If there's any questions you need to ask me to assess I"m happy to answer. Thanks in advance for any info!

https://redd.it/1o44uqt
@r_linux

[Update on the project that I have been working on] LinuxPlay a big ol refresh since my post 8 months ago

Ultra‑low‑latency desktop streaming over UDP using FFmpeg, with a Qt GUI for both **Host** and **Client**. Includes:

* **Codecs:** H.264 / H.265 (HEVC) / AV1 via NVENC, QSV, AMF, VAAPI, or CPU.
* **Transport:** MPEG‑TS over UDP for video/audio; TCP for handshake; UDP for control & clipboard; TCP for drag‑and‑drop upload.
* **Multi‑monitor:** Stream one or all monitors.
* **Clipboard & drag‑drop:** Bi‑directional clipboard, and client→host file upload.
* **WAN ready (optional):** WireGuard helpers for tunnelling over the internet.
* **Link aware:** Auto **Wi‑Fi / LAN** detection with network‑tuned buffers.
* **Resilience:** 5 s **PING** / 10 s **PONG** heartbeat; host auto‑stops streams if the client drops and returns to *Waiting for connection*.

[GitHub Repo](https://github.com/Techlm77/LinuxPlay)

https://redd.it/1o4acx2
@r_linux

As someone who wants to move from Windows to Linux, is there a guide on how to make the process?

As the noscript says, I want to move to Linux, but I barely know anything about it. I've used windows for more than 20 years and I'd like to know how to make the process. I have no idea about distros or how to make windows programs run on it.

Does anyone know about a guide I could follow, or have any tips on how to get started?

https://redd.it/1o4cz3t
@r_linux

Did anyone notice that HDR is now available in Google Chrome?

Hey everyone, I noticed that after a recent Google Chrome update, HDR is now showing on YouTube and works perfectly. I’m using Fedora 42 with KDE Plasma 6. Has anyone else noticed this? Have you been able to use it with Netflix or other streaming platforms that support HDR?

https://redd.it/1o4eva7
@r_linux

Switching from Window to linux

hey guys my laptop is 9 yrs old and i use windows, but ofcourse now since window 10 support will be end soon and my laptop cant run window 11, so i have decided to finally switch to linux, my laptop still works fine without any problem, i just wanna know does switching to linux gonna increase the perfomance by a bit, and i usually use my laptop for coding purposes, so any tips or suggestions, which version of linux i should use,

https://redd.it/1o4gisz
@r_linux