Mouse Tiler - for KDE Plasma (Probably the fastest manual tiler available)
https://redd.it/1pulj4o
@r_linux

Libxml2 Narrowly Avoids Becoming Unmaintained
https://hackaday.com/2025/12/23/libxml2-narrowly-avoids-becoming-unmaintained/

https://redd.it/1pumo3i
@r_linux

KVM Guest VMs Using Intel AMX Can Cause The Linux Host To Kernel Panic
https://www.phoronix.com/news/KVM-Guests-AMX-Host-Panic

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

The device that controls my insulin pump uses the Linux kernel. It also violates the GPL.

I just need to vent about this here, and maybe talking about it here will get some change.

I am type 1 diabetic and depend on insulin to survive, since 2021 I've been using Insulet's OmniPod Dash pump just because using needles got annoying. It uses a device called the "PDM" to control it, and I have some spare ones (had to get replacements after certain ones had issues, had a replacement after a battery recall, all of that) and about two years ago I got into custom ROM development for old phones, and I decided to take a look into one of my spare Dash PDMs, and I realized something

They run Android. Which uses the Linux kernel. Running uname -r, I was able to see it was 3.18.19, which is very ancient and kinda surprising for a medical device, but whatever, I then decided to contact Insulet to get the kernel source code for it, being GPLv2 licensed, they're obligated to provide it. I tried at several emails, no response. The PDM hardware is a rebranded Chinese phone, a Nuu A1+, so I decided to try to go to Nuu to see if they could provide it. They gave me a simple one line response: "Thank you for contacting NUU Support. I am sorry but we wouldn't be able to at this time.". I replied again saying they're obligated to, it's GPLv2 licensed, and got the response "Again, would not be able to send that to you at this time. I can reach to our engineers but I would not hear anything back from them about that until mid next week.", I agreed, then a week later got the email "Unfortunately, it can not be sent.". That was nearly two years ago, and despite multiple attempts, I haven't managed to get any further response from Nuu or Insulet.

This honestly disgusts me. GPL violations are already bad on their own, but on a medical device? That me, and thousands of people rely on to stay alive? It's absolutely inexcusable behaviour. It takes 30 seconds to just create a .tar.gz file with the kernel source, host it somewhere, and send it to me, but for some reason, Insulet and their ODM Nuu have a hard refusal for it. Being on kernel 3.18 too, something that's been EOL for over 8 years, and on top of that it's also Android Marshmallow, EOL for 7 years, and it communicates to the actual pump itself over Bluetooth, everything about this device is a massive security hole and the fact they're refusing to share the kernel source makes it even sketchier. What is so bad about this kernel source that Insulet cannot provide it at any cost?

Also, kinda unrelated to the kernel source, but this thing also has no AVB or any form of partition verification at all. As if the 8 years of missing security patches weren't bad enough, anyone with access to your PDM, a MicroUSB cable, and a copy of mtkclient can flash whatever the hell they want on it. On another subreddit I've shown me rooting the PDM, it's ridiculous that a 21 billion dollar company can't put security measures in their device that $50 phones have.

Please, if anyone is able, spread awareness about Insulet and their GPL violations. It's absolutely disgusting that I'm still fighting for this nearly 2 years after my initial contact attempt and still haven't gotten anywhere. Honestly, I am completely out of ideas for what to do.

EDIT: A lot of people are saying I'm out of luck since the ODM (Nuu) is a Chinese company, I don't believe this is true. I believe Insulet also has access to the kernel source, as they made a ton of modifications to the software, and in a hardware revision that happened \~2022 (i have enough pdms to know this), there was a modification made that caused the boot.img from the original Nuu A1+ to stop working on a PDM, indicating Insulet made some sort of bootloader and kernel modification. Insulet is American.

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

Why is make so widely used?

I think it's safe to say that this build system is pretty slow. But what significance does it play in the linux community? Why haven't people moved on to meson or ninja?

Clearly the compile times are so much faster that it built a 10MB library in 3 seconds while make takes around 30 seconds. That's not much but when it comes to the big projects meson and ninja are much faster

So why is make not being replaced by ninja or meson

https://redd.it/1puopq2
@r_linux

eilmeldung, a TUI RSS Reader
https://redd.it/1puvhfn
@r_linux

SuperTux Development Summary 2025 (v0.7 release soon!)
https://www.supertux.org/news/2025/12/24/christmas-newsletter

https://redd.it/1pv09pk
@r_linux

Merry christmas from me and the girlfriend. (Including our little tux family)
https://redd.it/1pv2ea6
@r_linux

reddit remove post if it contain noscript dot sh
https://redd.it/1pv3vkr
@r_linux

Snapdragon X Elite performance regression on Linux

Snapdragon X Elite Laptop Performance On Linux Ends 2025 Disappointing - Phoronix https://share.google/IQyuFoXb3caN0QRPR

Seems Qualcomm is not putting much emphasis on Linux. Keeping my Linux computing on x86.


https://redd.it/1puzic8
@r_linux

How is Linux free?

I've been diving into the world of open source, and I'm fascinated by how massive it is. But one thing still feels like a "black box" to me: the economics behind it.

Most distros are free (as in free beer), yet we have giant entities like the Linux Foundation and Red Hat making serious moves. I'm curious about the specific revenue streams that keep this engine running.

Specifically:

- Besides corporate memberships and donations, how does the Linux Foundation justify its massive budget?

- How do individual developers or smaller distros survive without charging for the OS itself? Is it purely "pro-bono," or are there hidden B2B models I'm missing?

- How has the shift to cloud and SaaS changed the way Linux "makes money" compared to the old days of boxed software?

I'd love to hear some nuanced perspectives on how the money flows in a world where the core product is technically $0. Thanks!

https://redd.it/1pv6bma
@r_linux

Trying to leave Windows on old PC but can't

Hello

My mom had an old Dell Optiplex 755 that is being bogged down by windows 10 and can't even watch YouTube on it.

I tried installing Linux Mint xfce, Zorin OS, Lubuntu but for reason no other OS than windows 10 can find legacy drivers to run the 1366x768 monitor and results in a squished image.

I tried a bunch of commands with custom display resolutions but they don't work and the PC is not usable like that due to distortion.

Are there any specific distros that work with a 2007, old, low end PC with legacy display drivers?

After some mashups on dual boot I am installing windows 10 again but I'm willing to give it another go.

Thanks!

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

Audio settings

Does any of these apps adjust settings on hardware level: alsamixer, pavucontrol or easy effects? I mean if i change volumes, does it affect dual booted windows volumes? I think that if i leave easy effects enabled and reboot to windows my mic is bugged.

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

Finally, SuperTux 0.7 Released!
https://youtu.be/PczyNWV8gI0

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

Postmarket OS or Droidian?

As of now i posses a Reeder S24 1TB edition with 8 Gb of RAM. I don't to do anything with Google, i've already switched my mail to Proton and i run Nobara OS on my Laptop but i am a complete noob when it cones to the Terminal. I just want to give mobile Linux a try but i am unable to think of which of the ones i should go with.

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

I wrote an ARM64 program that looks like hex gibberish but reveals a Christmas tree in the ASCII column when you memory dump it in LLDB.
https://skushagra.com/posts/2025-12-25-aarch64-christmas/

https://redd.it/1pvi0ab
@r_linux

Phoenix: a Modern X Server Written From Scratch in Zig
https://git.dec05eba.com/phoenix/about/

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

23-Year-Old Radeon GPUs get a fix from the open-source Linux driver
https://videocardz.com/newz/23-year-old-radeon-gpus-get-a-fix-from-the-open-source-linux-driver

https://redd.it/1pvl3tg
@r_linux