In the past two years, the federal government has unlawfully consolidated data exposing our private information. This consolidation has been chaotic but generally came in three rolling waves: It started with DOGE, moved to agency-to-agency data sharing with ICE, and then attempted data-driven purges of state voter rolls: Resisting the Menace of Federal Data Consolidation https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/10/resisting-menace-federal-data-consolidation
When our IBM Model M gave up the ghost more than a decade ago, re replaced it by a brand new Model M, made by the same folks that made them for IBM back in the '80s. To be authentic, we ordered the one without the "Windows key": Long live the mechanical keyboard | TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/09/long-live-the-mechanical-keyboard/
Every alarm, boarding pass and calendar invite on your phone depends on a text file that holds every clock rule a government has ever announced. A UCLA lecturer named Paul Eggert keeps that file current in his spare time, and at least four billion Android phones and iPhones read it: 11 of 23 Core Open Source Projects Run on 1 or 2 People https://linuxstans.com/11-of-23-core-open-source-projects-run-on-1-or-2-people/
There are two themes about RFK Jr. that have hopefully broken through all the noise. The first is that Kennedy is a miserable communicator, in a way that is totally purposeful. He talks out of both sides of his mouth all the time. The second is that the public generally understands that Kennedy is a problem and doesn’t like what he’s doing : Americans Uncertain On RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Stance, Very Certain That They Hate Him https://www.techdirt.com/2026/10/09/polling-americans-uncertain-on-rfk-jr-s-vaccine-stance-very-certain-that-they-hate-him/
Google should go deGoogle itself: Google wants more people to move away from passwords to passkeys https://betanews.com/article/google-wants-more-people-to-move-away-from-passwords-to-passkeys/
The world according to Nate and John: This Week in Plasma: Finishing Touches on 6.8 https://blogs.kde.org/2026/10/10/this-week-in-plasma-finishing-touches-on-6.8/
The final release of the Debian 14 “Forky” operating system is expected in mid-2027: Debian 14 "Forky" Artwork Proposals Are Now Open for Submission - 9to5Linux https://9to5linux.com/debian-14-forky-artwork-proposals-are-now-open-for-submission
An open-source event has just been updated on FOSS Force's Calendar of Open Source Events! EncryptFest 2026 https://fossforce.com/event/encryptfest-2026/
You can already use a connected game controller to move around the Android UI to some degree, but not necessarily the entire UI, and that is reportedly what this new development is about: Android is getting a mouse feature through game controllers https://www.androidheadlines.com/2026/10/android-is-getting-a-mouse-feature-through-game-controllers.html
Earlier this year it was noted that Intel was providing Rosaic Labs with access to its Atom technology with RTL code. There have also been rather mysterious x86 additions not from Intel or AMD (or Zhaoxin / Hygon) that may pertain to Rosaic Labs. News today is that Rosaic recently hired a long-time, Linux x86 developer Hans Peter Anvin: Secretive Rosaic Labs Hires Legendary Linux x86 Developer - Phoronix https://www.phoronix.com/news/H-Peter-Anvin-Rosaic-Labs
Last week some networking fixes began to be held off until Linux 7.4 due to getting late in the Linux 7.3 cycle and still seeing a lot of patch activity: Linux Networking Diverts 50+ Fixes To Next Kernel, Still Bombarded With AI Fueled Churn - Phoronix https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-7.3-rc7-Networking
The initiative follows a May announcement in which Solus explained that its package repository had developed licensing ambiguities during several infrastructure migrations over the project’s history: Solus Works to Remove Licensing Barriers to aerynOS Collaboration https://linuxiac.com/solus-works-to-remove-licensing-barriers-to-aerynos-collaboration/
When they opened, in 1996, I was here. University time. When they celebrated their 30th anniversary, a month ago, I was there...
Time to start considering EuroOffice, Collabora, or LibreOffice online: Got a Microsoft 365 subscription? Your storage is about to shrink - ZDNET https://www.zdnet.com/tech/microsoft-365-subscription-storage-limits/
We published this on Wednesday, in case you missed it: Lightwell Finds and Fixes 400+ Previously Unknown Java Vulnerabilities as Clearinghouse Goes GA - FOSS Force https://fossforce.com/2026/10/lightwell-finds-and-fixes-400-previously-unknown-java-vulnerabilities-as-clearinghouse-goes-ga/
The new version of the Deb-based distro features the LXDE desktop, is a 9.4 GB live ISO image containing a large number of productivity, office, internet and multimedia applications. It also includes the Calamares system installer for easy installation to a hard disk: Distribution Release - ZEPHIX 9 (DistroWatch.com News) https://distrowatch.com/?newsid=12976
This release fixes a bug that made the “Frames and Outlines Contrast” theme setting not take effect in certain apps: KDE Releases KDE Frameworks 6.31 with Various Improvements and Bug Fixes - 9to5Linux https://9to5linux.com/kde-releases-kde-frameworks-6-31-with-various-improvements-and-bug-fixes
Woodpecker CI is a lightweight, self-hosted CI/CD platform that works with popular Git services such as GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, and Forgejo: Woodpecker CI 3.19 Adds Server-Enforced Agent Labels https://linuxiac.com/woodpecker-ci-3-19-adds-server-enforced-agent-labels/
The Linux creator calls vibe coding 'a wonderful way to find joy in programming,' but not for running Linux development. (Finding bugs is OK.): ‘I use AI to do the things that I’m bad at’: Linus Torvalds on why it works for him - ZDNET https://www.zdnet.com/tech/linus-torvalds-ai-coding-programming/