KDE Plasma 6.5.5 is now available as the January 2026 bugfix release, delivering fixes across Wayland, KWin, Discover, and core desktop components.
https://x.com/linuxiac/status/2011088973175623967?s=20

https://redd.it/1qcfjdy
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Mouse Tiler v2.0.0 update available! (Probably the fastest manual tiler available)
https://redd.it/1qcfyql
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Auto-CPUFreq 3.0 Released To Help You Extend Laptop Battery Life On Linux
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Auto-CPUFreq-3.0

https://redd.it/1qcfx46
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Alloy ecosystem

Alloy — A collection of applications built in Rust, specifically designed for Hyprland. It supports multiple distributions including Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and Arch. The ecosystem is primarily developed and tested on Arch Linux and its derivatives (such as CachyOS or Artix), ensuring the best possible performance on those platforms.

The ecosystem consists of:

• Spark — A system interface built with Quickshell, designed to provide a smooth and delightful user experience.

• Index — A lightweight, fast, and efficient file browser featuring unique functionalities and customizable keybindings.

• Core — A system monitoring tool with an intuitive and clean interface. It simplifies resource management and allows for easy power profile switching.

• Pulse — A high-performance music and media player that covers all your audio needs. It features seamless transitions, low resource usage, and support for playlists and audiobooks.

• Fuse — An All-In-One (AIO) settings application. It handles appearance management, including color presets, custom hex codes, and integration with Matugen/Pywal. It also manages Bluetooth, WiFi/Ethernet, and more.

• Installer — A straightforward noscript that automates the installation process. It offers full flexibility: you can install the entire ecosystem, just the interface (Spark), or selected individual applications.

I am working on that project, Please provide your opinions or ideas. Would you like if I made a GitHub repo for that?

https://redd.it/1qcm51u
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Intel's Fantastic New Open-Source Demonstrator For AMX-BF16: Over 4x The Performance At 69% The Power
https://www.phoronix.com/review/intel-oidn-amx-fp16

https://redd.it/1qcnhzj
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Linux distro designed to look like Windows hits 2 million downloads since the end of Windows 10 support
https://www.pcguide.com/news/linux-distro-designed-to-look-like-windows-hits-2-million-downloads-since-the-end-of-windows-10-support/

https://redd.it/1qcoc1j
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CtrlAssist v0.4.0: Controller Assist for gaming on Linux
https://github.com/ruffsl/CtrlAssist/releases/tag/v0.4.0

https://redd.it/1qcobu5
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New powerful Linux malware detected targeting critical systems
https://cybernews.com/security/voidlink-highly-customizable-linux-malware-targeting-cloud/

https://redd.it/1qcuejc
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Anyone check out PC World's Linux podcast DualBoot Diaries?
https://www.pcworld.com/article/2888221/check-out-pcworlds-new-linux-podcast.html

https://redd.it/1qcydhm
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GNOME Mutter 50 Alpha Released With X11 Backend Removed
https://www.phoronix.com/news/GNOME-Mutter-Shell-50-Alpha

https://redd.it/1qd09uz
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Updating from Windows 10 to 11 has taken me 10x the time than to install Arch. And I am not even done yet. Now I actually believe that 2026 is the year of the Linux desktop.

I have been a linux advocate since I was 13 but I still need windows for a few pieces of software for work. In the past few weeks I have been running into more and more problems with newer pieces of software. Combined with the security implications of win 10 I decided to update. And let me tell you, anybody that says that linux is complicated has never had to delve into the windows update process as deep as I have today.

My first instalation of arch linux including installing hyprland, all the software I use, setting up some keyboard shortcuts and some basic graphical stuff has taken me about an hour. Today I have spent almost 12 hours trying to update my windows 10 computer to windows 11 and I have yet to get over 71% in the instalation before I get an error. It is always a different error and I always get a few percent further before it crashes and gives me another rabbit hole to go down thru. If this is the experience maintaining a Windows PC then I can with clear conscience say that linux is more user friendly and stable (even on a rolling release like Arch) than Windows.

How is a normal user supposed to navigate random forums trying to find solutions for everchanging errors and once he manages to find a solution another error 5% down the line crashes his hopes and dreams of actually being able to control his computer.

2026 Is the year of the Linux desktop. I usually do not say souch definitive statements and try to look at computing in context of use. There has been an instance where I actually recomended someone a Mac despite the plethora of moral problems I have with them. But the current state of the PC world made me a believer. Windows is a rotting corpse being kept alive by a sacrifice of the souls of a thousand tech support workers every day.

Ps. Dont worry I will spend another day striping win 11 of every single spy feature I can find. I need it to run like four pieces of software and nothing else. I will gut it to the core and leave only the bones I need to do my work.

What are your update horror stories? Both windows and Linux.

https://redd.it/1qd2nx6
@r_linux

GRUB 2.14 released
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2026-01/msg00029.html

https://redd.it/1qd2292
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TOMT Hacky OS That Used Layered Bootable Containers to Boot Into Different Distros

Tip Of My Terminal: An image of a tree diagram with different distros as leaves popped into my head and I can't find it, and it's bothering me. It was basically a way to layer containers kinda interactively during boot in order to end up in different distros. Kinda sounds like what bootc does, but I don't feel this is it, it was WAAAY hackier. The memory is very blurry, details might be entirely wrong :P

^(please help it's becoming an intrusive thought haha)

https://redd.it/1qd7nu9
@r_linux

Is there a good GUI for FFMpeg?

Been searching but can’t really find much info. Would like to have a tool where I don’t have to use the terminal to convert. Preferably with a batch convert option? Or an option to convert multiple files in a directory?

https://redd.it/1qdaqoi
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Opera GX announces linux support
https://redd.it/1qdaznu
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Dylan Araps (Neofetch, KISS Linux) has updated his blog and github after years of silence.

After several years of silence, Dylan Araps has updated his personal site and GitHub profile.

He has posted a brief update on his blog regarding his time away from the internet and his current transition into farming. He also briefly mentioned a small new project called WILD, more closely related to his farming than old code projects. There is also a code related project called DPP with a recent update(Dylan's Pre Processor). It does not appear that he will resume development on old projects, or remain excessively active, it seems these are low stress projects.

Links:

Blog:[https://dylan.gr](https://dylan.gr)
Project:https://wild.gr
GitHub:[https://github.com/dylanaraps](https://github.com/dylanaraps)
Dylan's hacker news post: **https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46611964**

https://redd.it/1qdbb0m
@r_linux

Does anyone know why this is happening?
https://redd.it/1qdkvm9
@r_linux

How to easily install and run a full Debian system on the OpenWrt One
https://www.collabora.com/news-and-blog/news-and-events/openwrt-one-meets-debian.html

https://redd.it/1qdpzvc
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Kdenlive 25.12.1 released
https://kdenlive.org/news/releases/25.12.1/

https://redd.it/1qdqckq
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Linux on Surface Pro 5

I am getting a good deal for a Microsoft Surface Pro 5 and I am quite interested in daily driving it since I am a college student, however I do not want to use Windows on it.

How good is the support on Linux for this device?

Which distros would have good out of the box support for it? I was thinking linux mint but I saw that it is kinda meh for touchscreens and that is really important for how I plan on using it.

As of now I am inclined for PopOS but I am open to all kinds of suggestions for distros or ways to make the device work properly.

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

Windows-style Start Menu for Linux

I've created (in GTK via Python file) a Windows-like start menu for Linux, which supports fly-out submenus for a single-click way to launch things using shell noscripts.



It uses a folder you define as the "menu structure" and displays exactly what that folder contains but can launch any of the noscripts in a single click. I find it much simpler and cleaner than setting up 'Desktop' files for each thing I want to launch.



I'm not sure how to make this an official "Linux App", but it really should be, imo!



https://github.com/Clay-Ferguson/start-menu

https://redd.it/1qdvs7x
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