FOSS Weekly #26.45: Fedora 45, Immutable Ubuntu, Mint New Feature, Dual Boot Without USB and More Linux Stuff

Fedora 45 arrived about two weeks late, but it’s packed. You get Linux 7.2, GNOME 51, and Plasma 6.7, plus kmscon replacing the old text console and a QR code that now leads to a page for kernel panics.

Could Ubuntu go immutable? Canonical has restarted Ubuntu Core Desktop, a snap-based system that stays locked down, and a dedicated team is now working on it. Both it and a proposed LTS firmware package are still early.

Ubuntu and many other distros turned hibernation off by default years ago, partly because it was slow. Linux Mint is bringing it back, with a few useful tweaks..

KDE Linux will load the ntsync kernel module by default. It gives Wine and Proton a closer match to Windows sync primitives, which can substantially boost performance.

A ministry merger ended Denmark’s Collabora pilot before its evaluation, Collabora says. It adds that the result shouldn’t count against the suite, and it says the first phase worked well.

France’s National Assembly has backed a tax of 5.5 euro cents per gigabyte delivered to French internet subscribers. VideoLAN, the nonprofit behind VLC, says it could cost over €1 million a year.

Nitrux is warning users that nitrux.org is an unaffiliated, AI-generated site using its name and logo.

Serious about using Ubuntu Linux on servers? Mastering Ubuntu Server book has now been updated for Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. The new version is available on Amazon.

This bestseller book is written by Jay LaCroix, of LearnLinuxTV and Ken VanDine, Staff Engineer at Ubuntu. From the Linux fundamentals to Ansible, MicroK8s and even Local AI with Lemonade, the book covers it all.

Mastering Ubuntu Server

🧠 What We’re Thinking About

There are two trends I am noticing. More European countries are opting for open source software in public institutions.

Latest in this list is the news that schools in six German states can now sign up for a Nextcloud-based cloud run by IONOS in German data centers. The four-year contract is open to other states later, and schools aren’t required to join.

Schools in Six German States Can Now Opt For Nextcloud

IONOS has been picked as a contractor, and the service would run inside data centers in Germany.

It's FOSSSourav Rudra

The next trend is to use AI for creating open source alternatives to mainstream software as a service platforms like Adobe and Microsoft. Take the example of Puter’s new everything repo that offers more than 50 open source web apps, under MIT, that you can use in the browser or self-host.

One Open-Source Repo to Replace Adobe, Microsoft, and Salesforce

This "Everything" project from Puter aims to rebuild every major SaaS product from scratch, free and open source.

It's FOSSPulkit Chandak

🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials, and Learnings

You don’t need a full VPN app for occasional use on Linux. Vivaldi with Proton VPN, Firefox’s built-in VPN, and Opera all offer free browser-only options.

Here's How You Can Use VPNs for FREE on Linux

Need a VPN once in a while but don't want to pay for a yearly plan? Here are free VPN options that work on Linux, either in the browser or system-wide.

It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash

The mv command has an interesting new option that lets you swap two files or directories. No need for the usual 3 steps with temp file in between.

Here's a collection of projects that let you run Linux directly on Apple Silicon Macs. My pick would be Fedora Asahi Remix, which works best, with nearly everything functional on M1 and M2 machines, while M3 support is still new.

👷 Homelab and Hardware Corner

You can give every container in your homelab its own name instead of an IP and port by using Tailscale Services.

I Got Tired of Remembering Ports for 30 Docker Apps in My Homelab. Here's How I Fixed it

Stop bookmarking IP:ports. Tailscale Services gives every Docker container in your homelab its own HTTPS name on your tailnet, without a reverse proxy or a sidecar per container.

It's FOSSCommunity

In other news, Raspberry Pi has yet again raised prices, this time on its 16GB Raspberry Pi 5, which goes up $80 to $385. The 16GB Compute Module 5 also sees a $40 hike.

✨ Apps and Projects Highlights

Remember Wubi? Libertix brings that idea back, letting you install Linux Mint or Zorin from inside Windows without a USB drive.

This Tool Lets You Install Linux Without a USB Key, Straight From Windows

Wubi reimagined? Here's a new open source project that lets you dual boot Linux from Windows without needing any USB or DVD.

It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash

📽️ Videos for You

Kitty is awesome. Here is a video that shows the tweaks to make it even more awesome.

💡 Quick Handy Tip

The "Hide tabs and sidebar" option on Firefox merges the top tab bar into a slim vertical ribbon along your screen's edge. Hiding the top tabs frees up valuable vertical space, expanding your main view while keeping any open tabs reachable via a quick hover.

To turn it on, right-click the top toolbar, pick "Customize Toolbar," and drop the Sidebar button onto your bar. Click the new icon, right-click inside the sidebar, choose "Customize Sidebar," and enable the "Hide tabs and sidebar" option to collapse everything instantly.

🎋 Fun in the FOSSverse

Our Shortform Showdown puzzle will have you identify a series of short forms or abbreviations for commonly used Linux tools, commands, and concepts.

Shortform Showdown

Can you guess the full form of these abbreviations?

It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash

GRUB is King.

📆 Trivia Bit: In 1952, CBS used UNIVAC to forecast the presidential race. Its early call gave Eisenhower 438 electoral votes to Adlai Stevenson’s 93, but the team held it back because the result looked implausible. Eisenhower ultimately won 442 to 89.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 From the Community: The thread by Pro FOSSer Ernest about who uses AI and what one understands about it is still going strong. Do you have anything to add to the conversation?