Linux News and Articles

SteamOS 3.8.25 beta expands controller and handheld support

SteamOS continues Valve's push to expand the OS beyond the Steam Deck, improving support for third-party handhelds and adding compatibility with new controller hardware. The update also brings a newer Linux kernel and a range of fixes for HDMI, Wi-Fi, audio, and sleep.

By Ivan Franco, August 11, 2026, 12:24 PM

Gaming Software

Modders are trying to bring Game Pass and Xbox games to Mac and Linux

Game Pass could come to MacBooks and Steam Decks

By Daniel Sims, August 11, 2026, 10:15 AM

Download of the Week Software

VMware Workstation Pro 26H1 brings architectural upgrades and expanded OS support

VMware Workstation Pro 26H1 is the latest version of the go-to desktop hypervisor for developers and power users. Now fully free for commercial and personal use, it runs Windows, Linux, and BSD virtual machines side-by-side on a single PC – no rebooting, no repartitioning.

By Julio Franco, August 4, 2026, 11:10 AM

Gaming Software

Valve publicly releases Lepton and FEX compatibility tools to power Steam Frame gaming

The Steam Frame is actually coming soon, and so is Android Steam support

By Alfonso Maruccia, August 3, 2026, 3:09 PM

Software Tech Culture

Linux just cracked 10% desktop usage in North America, but no one's sure why

Bot activity and AI agents could explain the spike

By Skye Jacobs, August 3, 2026, 1:28 PM 17 comments

Gaming Software

A Meta developer's Linux patch could boost Steam Deck frame rates by up to 32%

The gains are concentrated in 1% low frame rates, with overall FPS improving by a smaller 4.1%

By Alfonso Maruccia, August 2, 2026, 7:29 AM

Download of the Week Software

Tails 7.10 improves shutdown reliability, upgrades Tor Browser

Tails has introduced a safer shutdown process to help prevent data loss. It's also replacing GNOME Videos with the more secure Celluloid media player, updating Tor Browser, and refreshing firmware packages for improved graphics and Wi-Fi hardware support.

By Ivan Franco, July 23, 2026, 6:24 PM

Download of the Week Software

Rufus improves Windows installs, adds RISC-V and UEFI:NTFS fixes

Rufus is a free utility for creating bootable USB drives from ISOs. Version 4.15 brings RISC-V 64 support to UEFI:NTFS, improves unattended Windows installations, and fixes Snapdragon X Arm64 boot crashes, and more.

By Ivan Franco, July 20, 2026, 10:48 AM

Gaming Software

Steam Machine benchmarks show SteamOS and Windows 11 within a few frames of each other in most games

Multi-core benchmarks are Valve's only significant weakness

By Daniel Sims, July 16, 2026, 7:47 AM 20 comments

AI Software

Linus Torvalds tells AI critics to fork Linux or walk away

Linux is not an anti-AI project, says its creator

By Rob Thubron, July 16, 2026, 5:19 AM 24 comments

Industry AI

IBM's stock just had its worst day since 1968

IBM warns clients are skipping mainframes to stockpile AI chips and memory instead

By Alfonso Maruccia, July 15, 2026, 12:38 PM

Hardware

AMD Zen 6 leak reveals third core type, corroborating rumored Sony handheld SoC codenamed Canis

Linux patch reveals AMD Zen 6 "Low Power core type"

By Daniel Sims, July 1, 2026, 8:33 AM 16 comments

Software Gaming

SteamOS 3.8.10 is Valve's biggest step yet toward taking on Windows

SteamOS 3.8.10 is one of Valve's most significant OS updates yet, squarely aimed at hardware beyond the Steam Deck. The update adds support for the Steam Machine and third-party handhelds including the Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and MSI Claw. Radeon gaming desktops can already run SteamOS via the recovery image – Nvidia support is still in the works.

By Julio Franco, June 24, 2026, 9:53 AM

Software Gaming

Valve is working with Intel, AMD, and Nvidia to make SteamOS run on any PC hardware

Don't like the overpriced Steam Machine? Just build your own and put SteamOS in it

Forward-looking: Valve's Steam Machine signals the company's willingness to push Steam beyond software and into a proper hardware platform. But hardware is only half the story. Alongside gaming devices, Valve has been quietly laying the groundwork for something potentially more significant: a version of SteamOS that runs on just about any PC you care to throw at it.

Full story By Alfonso Maruccia, June 23, 2026, 5:33 PM 26 comments

Hardware Electronics

This handheld x86 mini-computer is heading to Kickstarter with swappable accessories and 4G LTE

The open-source CG Deck runs Windows or Linux and swaps between a keyboard, gamepad, trackball, and 4K camera

By Alfonso Maruccia, June 17, 2026, 12:10 PM

Tech Culture Mobile

Commodore's Callback 8020 is a $499 flip phone that blocks social media and browsers

The Sailfish OS powered handset runs 99% of Android apps, but social, Gmail, and web browsing are off limits

By Rob Thubron, June 16, 2026, 12:53 PM 12 comments

Download of the Week Software

elementary OS 8.1 focuses on polish, security, and a smoother Linux desktop

elementary OS is a polished Linux distribution built on Ubuntu LTS that emphasizes thoughtful design, simplicity, and a distraction-free desktop experience. Version 8.1 makes the Wayland-based Secure Session the default, improving security, touchpad gestures, and display handling. The update also introduces multitasking enhancements, refinements to the software store, improved hardware compatibility, and more.

By Ivan Franco, June 8, 2026, 9:12 AM

Software The Web

Brave is charging $60 for a version of its browser that removes the features you probably never wanted

Brave Origin strips out AI, crypto, and ads

By Alfonso Maruccia, June 5, 2026, 1:04 PM 28 comments

Software AI

Linus Torvalds is fed up with AI-generated bug reports bloating the Linux kernel

Torvalds is fine with vibe coding, but only when it helps rather than hinders

By Kishalaya Kundu, May 26, 2026, 7:02 AM 26 comments

Electronics Tech Culture

Flipper One is a next-gen Flipper Zero with a Linux brain and serious hardware upgrades

Making personal computing (and white-hat hacking) personal again

By Alfonso Maruccia, May 22, 2026, 10:37 AM

Download of the Week Software

Discord improves Linux support with Steam Deck and distro-friendly upgrades

Discord is now more Linux friendly than ever before, having rolled out major improvements for the OS, including official packages for Fedora and Arch distros. A new self-updater brings Linux closer to the Windows experience, and better support for the Steam Deck. The update also adds hardware video acceleration for AMD, Intel, and Nvidia GPUs.

By Ivan Franco, May 18, 2026, 10:28 AM

Security Software

Newly disclosed "Dirty Frag" vulnerability left Linux exposed for nearly a decade

Another massive support headache for the Linux world

Facepalm: The open-source community is once again facing a major security incident tied to an "unprecedented" vulnerability. The new flaw could give attackers a reliable way to escalate user privileges, and no patch is available yet. Fortunately, the mitigation process is relatively straightforward. Still, kernel developers are already growing frustrated with the seemingly endless stream of critical bugs.

Full story By Alfonso Maruccia, May 11, 2026, 11:17 AM 15 comments

Download of the Week Software

Bazzite 44 brings kernel, desktop, and security updates

Bazzite 44 is a big one. Built on Fedora 44, this gaming-focused Linux distro lands with KDE Plasma 6.6 and Gnome 50, the OGC kernel 6.19, and Mesa 26.0.5 for better GPU support across Vulkan and OpenGL titles. The release also strengthens security with signed ISOs and updates bundled tools.

By Ivan Franco, May 4, 2026, 2:45 PM

Software Security

"Copy Fail" is a rare Linux bug that can turn an unprivileged user into a root admin in seconds

Affects virtually every Linux distro released in the past nine years, and working exploits were on GitHub within 24 hours

Facepalm: Security researchers recently unveiled "Copy Fail," a bug that could potentially bring the entire Linux ecosystem to a screeching halt. The flaw can be reliably exploited across all Linux-based systems, both on local machines and in cloud environments. Vendors are now scrambling to patch the issue.

Full story By Alfonso Maruccia, May 1, 2026, 1:24 PM 20 comments

AI Software

Ubuntu is adding AI features, and it's on a collision course with its own user base

Users are asking for a kill switch already

By Alfonso Maruccia, May 1, 2026, 4:12 AM 19 comments