LinuxWebLog.com

prisoninmate shares a report from 9to5Linux: Dubbed Questing Quokka, Ubuntu 25.10 is powered by the latest and greatest Linux 6.17 kernel series for top-notch hardware support and ships with the latest GNOME 49 desktop environment, defaulting to a Wayland-only session for the Ubuntu Desktop flavor, meaning there's no other session to choose from the login screen. Ubuntu Desktop also ships with two new apps, namely GNOME's Loupe instead of Eye of GNOME as the default image viewer, as well as Ptyxis instead of GNOME Terminal as the default terminal emulator. Also, there's a new update notification that will be shown with options to open Software Updater or install updates directly.' Other highlights of Ubuntu 25.10 include sudo-rs as the default implementation of sudo, Dracut as the default initramfs-tools, Chrony as the default NTP (Network Time Protocol) client, Rust Coreutils as the default implementation of GNU Core Utilities, and TPM-backed FDE (Full Disk Encryption) recovery key management. Moreover, Ubuntu 25.10 adds NVIDIA Dynamic Boost support and enables suspend-resume support in the proprietary NVIDIA graphics driver to prevent corruption and freezes when waking an NVIDIA desktop. For Intel users, Ubuntu 25.10 introduces support for new Intel integrated and discrete GPUs. Ubuntu 25.10 is available for download here.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

prisoninmate shares a report from 9to5Linux: Dubbed Questing Quokka, Ubuntu 25.10 is powered by the latest and greatest Linux 6.17 kernel series for top-notch hardware support and ships with the latest GNOME 49 desktop environment, defaulting to a Wayland-only session for the Ubuntu Desktop flavor, meaning there's no other session to choose from the login screen. Ubuntu Desktop also ships with two new apps, namely GNOME's Loupe instead of Eye of GNOME as the default image viewer, as well as Ptyxis instead of GNOME Terminal as the default terminal emulator. Also, there's a new update notification that will be shown with options to open Software Updater or install updates directly.' Other highlights of Ubuntu 25.10 include sudo-rs as the default implementation of sudo, Dracut as the default initramfs-tools, Chrony as the default NTP (Network Time Protocol) client, Rust Coreutils as the default implementation of GNU Core Utilities, and TPM-backed FDE (Full Disk Encryption) recovery key management. Moreover, Ubuntu 25.10 adds NVIDIA Dynamic Boost support and enables suspend-resume support in the proprietary NVIDIA graphics driver to prevent corruption and freezes when waking an NVIDIA desktop. For Intel users, Ubuntu 25.10 introduces support for new Intel integrated and discrete GPUs. Ubuntu 25.10 is available for download here.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

YouTube has launched a "second chance" program allowing some creators previously banned for COVID-19 or election misinformation to apply for new channels, as long as their violations were tied to policies that have since been deprecated. Bans for copyright or severe misconduct still remain permanent. The Verge reports: Under political pressure, the company had said last month that it was going to set up this pilot program for "a subset of creators" and "channels terminated for policies that have been deprecated." [...] The new pilot program kicks off today and will roll out to "eligible creators" over the "next several weeks," YouTube says. "We'll consider several factors when evaluating requests for new channels, like whether the creator committed particularly severe or persistent violations of our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service, or whether the creator's on- or off-platform activity harmed or may continue to harm the YouTube community." The pilot won't be available if you were banned for copyright infringement or for violating YouTube's Creator Responsibility policies, the company says. If you deleted your YouTube channel or Google account, you won't be able to request a new channel "at this time." And YouTube notes that if your channel has been banned, you won't be eligible to apply for a new one until one year after it was terminated. "We know many terminated creators deserve a second chance -- YouTube has evolved and changed over the past 20 years, and we've had our share of second chances to get things right with our community too," YouTube says. "Our goal is to roll this out to creators who are eligible to apply over the coming months, and we appreciate the patience as we ramp up, carefully review requests, and learn as we go."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Apple yesterday announced a plan to comply with a Texas age verification law and warned that changes required by the law will reduce privacy for app users. "Beginning January 1, 2026, a new state law in Texas -- SB2420 -- introduces age assurance requirements for app marketplaces and developers," Apple said yesterday in a post for developers. "While we share the goal of strengthening kids' online safety, we are concerned that SB2420 impacts the privacy of users by requiring the collection of sensitive, personally identifiable information to download any app, even if a user simply wants to check the weather or sports scores." The Texas App Store Accountability Act requires app stores to verify users' ages and imposes restrictions on those under 18. Apple said that developers will have "to adopt new capabilities and modify behavior within their apps to meet their obligations under the law." Apple's post noted that similar laws will take effect later in 2026 in Utah and Louisiana. Google also recently announced plans for complying with the three state laws and said the new requirements reduce user privacy. "While we have user privacy and trust concerns with these new verification laws, Google Play is designing APIs, systems, and tools to help you meet your obligations," Google told developers in an undated post. The Utah law is scheduled to take effect May 7, 2026, while the Louisiana law will take effect July 1, 2026. The Texas, Utah, and Louisiana "laws impose significant new requirements on many apps that may need to provide age appropriate experiences to users in these states," Google said. "These requirements include ingesting users' age ranges and parental approval status for significant changes from app stores and notifying app stores of significant changes."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Intel's Lead Engineer For Linux Performance Monitoring Is Leaving The Company  Phoronix

An anonymous reader shares a report: Over the years, Intel has established itself as a paragon of the open source community, but that could soon change under the x86 giant's new leadership. Speaking to press and analysts at Intel's Tech Tour in Arizona last week, Kevork Kechichian, who now leads Intel's datacenter biz, believes it's time to rethink what Chipzilla contributes to the open source community. "We have probably the largest footprint on open source out there from an infrastructure standpoint," he said during his opening keynote. "We need to find a balance where we use that as an advantage to Intel and not let everyone else take it and run with it." In other words, the company needs to ensure that its competitors don't benefit more from Intel's open source contributions than it does. Speaking with El Reg during a press event in Arizona last week, Kechichian emphasized that the company has no intention of abandoning the open source community. "Our intention is never to leave open source," he said. "There are lots of people benefiting from the huge investment that Intel put in there." "We're just going to figure out how we can get more out of that [Intel's open source contributions] versus everyone else using our investments," he added.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Doug Whitney carries a genetic mutation that guaranteed he would develop Alzheimer's disease in his late forties or early fifties. His mother and nine of her thirteen siblings died from the disease. His oldest brother died at 45. The mutation has decimated his family for generations. Whitney is now 76 and remains cognitively healthy. The New York Times has a fascinating long read on Whitney and things happening around him. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have studied Whitney for 14 years. They extract his cerebrospinal fluid and conduct brain scans during his periodic visits from Washington State. His brain contains heavy amyloid deposits but almost no tau tangles in regions associated with dementia. Tau accumulation correlates directly with cognitive decline. Whitney accumulated tau only in his left occipital lobe, an area that does not play a major role in Alzheimer's. Researchers identified several possibly protective factors in Whitney's biology. His immune system produces a lower inflammatory response than other mutation carriers. He has unusually high levels of heat shock proteins, which prevent proteins from misfolding. Scientists believe his decade working in Navy engine rooms at temperatures reaching 110 degrees may have driven this accumulation. He also carries three gene variants his afflicted relatives lack. His son Brian inherited the mutation and remains asymptomatic at 43. Brian received anti-amyloid drugs in clinical trials. Researchers published their findings on Whitney in Nature Medicine. They described the study as a call for other scientists to help solve the case.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Dave W. Plummer, the Microsoft developer who created Task Manager and helped build Windows Product Activation, has revealed the origins of Windows XP's most notorious product key. The alphanumeric string FCKGW-RHQQ2-YXRKT-8TG6W-2B7Q8 was not cracked through clever hacking but leaked as a legitimate volume licensing key five weeks before XP's October 2001 release. A warez group distributed the key alongside special corporate installation media. Windows Product Activation generated hardware IDs from system components and sent them to Microsoft for validation. The leaked volume licensing key bypassed this entirely. The system recognized it as corporate licensing and skipped phone-home activation. Users could install XP without activation prompts or 30-day timers. Microsoft later blacklisted the key.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

4 things Microsoft needs to prioritize on Windows if they want to stop bleeding users to Linux  XDA

4 things Microsoft needs to prioritize on Windows if they want to stop bleeding users to Linux  XDA

4 things Microsoft needs to prioritize on Windows if they want to stop bleeding users to Linux  XDA

4 things Microsoft needs to prioritize on Windows if they want to stop bleeding users to Linux  XDA

4 things Microsoft needs to prioritize on Windows if they want to stop bleeding users to Linux  XDA

4 things Microsoft needs to prioritize on Windows if they want to stop bleeding users to Linux  XDA

4 things Microsoft needs to prioritize on Windows if they want to stop bleeding users to Linux  XDA

4 things Microsoft needs to prioritize on Windows if they want to stop bleeding users to Linux  XDA

Linux Driver Support Ready For Intel Panther Lake's NPU 5  Phoronix

8 free Linux apps that make tricky tasks surprisingly easy - no command line required  ZDNET

The Internet Archive must block access to books in its Open Library project for Belgian users after negotiations with publishers failed. A Brussels Business Court issued a site-blocking order in July targeting several shadow libraries and the Internet Archive. A Belgian government department paused the order for the U.S. nonprofit and urged both parties to negotiate. The talks over recent weeks were unsuccessful. The Department for Combating Infringements of Copyright concluded last week that the Internet Archive hosts the contested books and has the ability to render them inaccessible. Publishers must supply a list of books to be blocked. The nonprofit then has 20 calendar days to implement the measures and prevent future digital lending of those works in Belgium. The order includes a one-time penalty of $578,000 for non-compliance and remains in place until July 16 next year. The Internet Archive operates Open Library by purchasing physical copies and digitizing them to lend out one at a time. Publishers previously won a U.S. federal court case against the project.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by the National Retail Federation challenging a New York state law that requires retailers to tell customers when their personal data are used to set prices, known as surveillance pricing. From a report: U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said the world's largest retail trade group did not plausibly allege that New York's Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act violated its members' free speech rights under the Constitution's First Amendment. The first-in-the-nation law required retailers to disclose in capital letters when prices were set by algorithms using personal data, or face possible civil fines of $1,000 per violation. Governor Kathy Hochul said charging different prices depending on what people were willing to pay was "opaque," and prevented comparison-shopping.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.