GNOME 46, Linux 6.8, KDE Security Warning, Fedora 40 Beta & more Linux news

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SHOW NOTES ►► thisweekinlinux.com/257
On this episode of TWIL, we've got a brand new kernel to talk about with Linux 6.8. GNOME 46 has been released bringing a ton of desktop related goodies. Fedora and openSUSE have released some betas for us all to try out and test. Red Hat announced a new driver project for NVIDIA support on Linux. All of this and more on this episode of This Week in Linux, Your Source for Linux GNews!
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:37 Linux 6.8 Released
03:08 GNOME 46 Released
06:49 Fedora 40 Beta Released
10:21 Sponsored by Kolide
11:44 openSUSE Leap Beta & Tumbleweed Updates
13:37 Nova: Rust-based Linux driver for NVIDIA GPUs
15:32 KDE Issues Warning After Theme Wipes User Data
18:45 Inkscape switching to GTK4
20:37 Canonical Extends Ubuntu LTS Support To 12 Years
22:15 Samba 4.20.0 Released
22:56 Outro
SHOW NOTES ►► thisweekinlinux.com/257
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Thanks For Watching!
#Linux #TechNews #Podcast

[@Sunrise-d819i2]

Remote desktop being installed by default as always been a security issue and makes zero sense why it's installed by default as a common home user has no need for it.

[@Batwam0]

I assume that you’d need to open some ports for this to be exposed to the internet so default would only work on the local network?

[@Sunrise-d819i2]

@@Batwam0 what if your local network gets hacked by ISP router tools. It is quite common with bad management of ISP's. It's just safer not to have remote desktop tools removed if it's your personal pc that you can just walk up to use. Just for home users that have only one pc, it makes sense. I play PVP games and that makes you target if you piss off the wrong person aka cheaters within games like what happened to league a couple of weeks ago with a RCE exploit, your personal pc should have the strongest foundation of security. Sadly, most anti-cheats is kernel level.

[@michael_tunnell]

Is it installed fully by default? I didnt look deep into this but it seemed like they just had support for it by default. I can definitely see why having remote access setup by default wouldnt be ideal.

[@JTCPingas]

Experimental VRR support in GNOME 46 is the most exciting feature for me.

[@that_leaflet]

After hearing people hype it up so much, I ended up disappointed. The most noticeable thing for me was the fact that videos I play bring down my monitor's refresh rate to 60, so my cursor feels much more stuttery. Didn't notice any changes in games.

[@flavioluis8218]

@@that_leaflet you won't notice changes in games if you still have vsync turned on try running games without VRR and Vsync off. It should be stuttery in many of them. Turning Vsync on fixes the issue but introduces some input delay. Now turn VRR on and Vsync off, see if it is better.

[@vanillabeans32087]

Currently using Fedora 39 and am so excited for 40 so I can start using KDE 6. Very pleased with my switch to Linux (few lingering limitations) and my need for Windows has pretty much been eliminated thanks to it and FOSS. This is fantastic, a real possible turning point in software. An exciting time to be around.

[@Bob-of-Zoid]

So glad to see Inkscape growing so well! I hope it kicks Adobe Illustrator's ass soon!

[@justinmillertech]

Appreciate the open source updates!

[@michael_tunnell]

Wow! Thank you so much!

[@RedSaint83]

Releasing Samba 4.20.0 weeks before April 20th seems like a crime.

[@MegaManNeo]

Only works in countries that use the MM-DD format. Here in Germany for instance, it'd be still 20.04, so no difference other than sounding like an Ubuntu release.

[@Batwam0]

According to google, M-D-Y (month, day, year) is almost exclusive to the United States. It is also the main way of writing dates in Belize and Micronesia

[@NameUserOf]

@@Batwam0 It almost feels unnatural. I can understand y-m-d or d-m-y but m-d-y makes no sense to me. Who on Earth thought this a good idea?

[@ismatovsanjarbek]

I've been using fedora 40 for a couple of days and everything is working fine(kde spin)

[@bono0643]

Yeah... Kde plasma can be destroyed by themes.... I've experienced it, unfortunately.... Full of bugs, but despite these kde still my way to go DE all the time.

[@mrbladestone]

Michael, you really drove the point home with the 'Kurb' abbreviation hahaha

[@ProcuraRt]

CVE-2024-3094 next update pls

[@__Brandon__]

Crazy how much of core infrastructure is being maintained by like 1 guy

[@PremiumGerman]

​@@__Brandon__That statement is pretty false actually in that context. This has to do with systemd and dynamic linking. Xz is otherwise just a compression tool. Vanilla openssh isn't even affected by this because it isn't linked to liblzma.

[@__Brandon__]

@@PremiumGerman you have 2 people working on a project and one of them went on hiatus. The other guy being in charge of core infrastructure, the xz library, pulls off a supply chain attack which impacts downstream. There's also plenty of other projects downstream that are maintained by like 1 to 3 people as well as projects like systemd which is maintained by hundreds. It's not even xz being maintained by 1 to 2 people that's surprising. It's that the majority of core programs and libraries are maintained by 1 person. We could do better that's all I'm saying. Plenty of people have the skills to review the code. They use the code, but they don't review it. If everyone whose qualified reviewed 1 random library I bet we'd find quite a lot of interesting things

[@michael_tunnell]

This news came out after this episode was recorded 🤷‍♂️

[@ismatovsanjarbek]

after 6.8.2 kernel, finally my realtek rtl8821ce is working correctly again!!! I don't have to install with dkms manually(it was broken after 5.9)

[@guilherme5094]

Thanks again Michael👍!

[@Mempler]

Nautilus has gotten so much better. it's insane. I forgot how good it can feel to actually see what's being copied/moved/whatever. The spinner really has numbed me down

[@MegaManNeo]

Improvements are always welcome, especially after the Pling/KDE Store thing happened, followed by the XZ lib security risk which luckily has been fixed.

[@georgefalana1612]

May I point out to you Michael, that a store is a place where you keep things and a shop is where you buy things. So your suggestion of a name change would be incorrect.

[@michael_tunnell]

The most common usage of the term store as a noun is for a retail establishment, aka a Shop, which is why the term Storage is used most often for a place to keep things. So while you are correct that the term means that, I am also correct in saying what I said. English is a silly language with tons of words that have multitudes of meanings

[@Alexander-ix2jp]

Does Gnome 46 finally ship with Ubuntu's triple buffering vsync patches in order to fix the troublesome desktop animation performance?

[@Cenot4ph]

as if that's the biggest issue with Gnome, how about the general lacking feature set compared to KDE. Nearly everything except Wayland implementation is inferior at this point.

[@jorge86rodriguez]

I am very curious about how well fedora 40 kde is going to do with wayland, hope everything is fine so I can jump into it.

[@__Brandon__]

Wayland is very good now and days. So far the only issues I have run into is when something is lacking an integration. For example programs can't spy on other windows which breaks screenshot functionality. Solutions exist, but you have to set it up. I imagine Fedora can set it up so it should be pretty good

[@michael_tunnell]

for the most part Wayland has been good for me with Plasma 6 & Fedora 40 but there are a few hiccups overall. Nothing huge but some stuff are problematic for my usecase unfortunately. The lack of Xorg option at all may push me towards another distro if I run into any workflow breakers. I hit one workflow breaker already but I think I found a fix for it so we will see. Overall the experience is very good and the gaming has been solid too so I am fine with it 99% so far

[@eps-nx8zg]

kde6 was just crashing every single time I played a game, and it would fail to recover my apps, it just full on died constantly.

[@__Brandon__]

@@eps-nx8zg how did you install your DE and do you use Nvidia

[@Shabbir-A.]

I converted my Dell Chromebook to Ubuntu Linux. audio sound stops working after 2 minutes of video or audio play. Is there an easy fix for that?

[@ww4102]

You might need a distro designed for chromebooks, or a special kernel. Better ask elsewhere

[@basilcat3111]

Does the sound stop beeping and then start screeching? If so, try this solution: sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/sof.conf Then add: options snd_sof sof_debug=1 Then save using Ctrl+X and confirm. Press enter to exit, then reboot. Then your problem should be fixed. Worked for me and many people. Also, @ww4102 Gallium Os was designed for Chromebooks but is now deprecated.

[@jamesvandamme7786]

I had a bad time getting audio to work on my Chromebook Pixel with GalliumOS (now deceased) and Kubuntu, but Linux Mint cinnamon works like ringin' a bell ... usually. Once in a great while there's no audio when I boot, remedied by a reboot. I always listen for the startup sound.

[@walter_lesaulnier]

I'm glad I never used global themes- I like to mix and match parts of different themes. NO theming component should ever be able to run code- it is insanity to allow it. Especially when theming stuff is usually community based.

[@louisfifteen]

Did you hear about the backdoor threat recently dicovered in Linux?

[@michael_tunnell]

Yes, that came out on Friday and this episode was recorded on Thursday so 🤷‍♂️

[@louisfifteen]

@@michael_tunnell Sorry Michael, didn't mean to blame you in any way. I know you made the video b4 this new.

[@michael_tunnell]

I didn’t take it that way, just the timing of that news was unfortunate for me to include it so it’s kind of funny because that happens more than I’d like lol

[@louisfifteen]

@@michael_tunnell Yeah it's very unfortunate that it happens too often these days. I caught the news on Brodie Robertsons channel, but I'm not sure I understand the whole thing, so I'd appreciate if you would make a video on the topic and explain how dangerous it is.

[@angusmacgyver]

@@louisfifteenYou need to care about it only if you have an ssh server. And then only if you have vulnerable version of xz.

[@Bob-of-Zoid]

Last night I decided to nuke my OS (Arch EndeavourOS) because of the Zx thing and to have a fresh go with Plasma 6 (so not reusing my /home/USER folder), but the installer threw up a warning that it couldn't continue.😮🤬😢 Now I'm watching this on my trusty little SONY VIAO laptop while looking for the solution, and Michael sounds like hes talking through a cardboard tube!😁 Well, they got the monitor right, as the fonts are always crisp on this thing. Thank goodness I don't do Windows, and should be up and running again in a few hours.🥳

[@esra_erimez]

You forgot to mention a backdoor was discovered in OpenSSH

[@michael_tunnell]

I didn’t forget, this was recorded on Thursday and that news came out on Friday. 🤷‍♂️

[@kptamc]

Linux kernel 6.8 has some serious regressions. Bummer that System76 picked it up.

[@michael_tunnell]

what regressions are you referring to?

[@RonnieRedd]

I use Debian BTW

[@johanb.7869]

I a Debian based😊

[@balsalmalberto8086]

Hello, I'm a Debian.

[@ADeeSHUPA]

​@@balsalmalberto8086 ないす نَيس

[@JarppaGuru]

oh 6.8 allready . geeks are like update!!!!. no need if last "number" works remember XZ (last number worked) no need hunt versions i remember 5 was shock. bcoz funny numbering is 7 soon or are we going after 6.9 to 6.10 LOL. good we have windows. its not matter what linux server use xD

[@matiasm.3124]

This video should be released like two weeks ago 😂 . But thsnks

[@michael_tunnell]

I was at a conference and then sick the next week, that’s how it goes sometimes 😆

[@dan79600]

Fedora 40 dropping the Plasma X11 session is great unless you have an Nvidia laptop. Wayland doesn't support using the Nvidia dGPU as the "primary GPU". It only support hybrid mode and that sucks if you want a smooth and responsive desktop experience. I will have to switch to another distro sadly.

[@michael_tunnell]

I’m not sure it’s great even if you have AMD but yea with Nvidia it’s a problem for most

[@dan79600]

@@michael_tunnell i would bet the vast majority of people using the X11 fallback option on Fedora KDE are Nvidia users. It’s baffling why the Fedora SIG would remove the option for those users when they know Wayland doesn’t work properly. Uses will be forced to leave and they won’t be around to report bugs anymore.

[@michael_tunnell]

There is a hard choice about "when do we go Wayland?" because this question is a guarantee that it has to happen at some point but when. Wayland is ready for the majority of users but not even close for everyone. So there is a very hard question to discuss, "do we keep X11 around for bug reports that we cant fix because X11 is being deprecated anyway or do we just go Wayland and focus only on bug fixes for the display server that we all have to move to at some point anyway?" I dont think the choice is all that easy to just keep X11 because people finding bugs through X11 and NVidia are not likely to be addressed moving forward since X11 is going to be deprecated pretty soon. NVidia on Wayland isnt completely unusable so maybe for those that do it then they can submit bug reports that will be much more valuable. Its a very hard decisions for sure and one that I am glad isnt on me to decide. :D

[@dan79600]

@@michael_tunnell I’m not sure I agree. AMD GPUs are probably more popular among existing Linux users (I have one in my desktop) but Nvidia owns something like 90% of the GPU market. That’s a lot of people who will have a horrible first experience with distributions like Fedora - and first impressions stick with people forever. it would be nice if there was an actual roadmap to Wayland that says we need X and Y in place before we can do Z instead of random decisions motivated by weird dogmatic ideas. Nvidia/ NVK support and accessibility need to be on the roadmap. Wayland isn’t unavoidable like death and taxes. It’s just software. It’s made by people and people can make choices.

[@michael_tunnell]

I was referring to the current market in Linux but yes I agree that this decision removes Fedora from being a good choice for beginners as a huge percentage of them will have nvidia. However, I can confidently say that Wayland is unavoidable. Wayland is being created as a replacement for X11 by the Xorg team, then only question is when, not if. X11 has already been set to be discontinuing development in the next couple of years and are currently officially in maintenance mode already. Wayland is happening and at some point there will not be a choice in the matter. I’m not saying this is a good thing btw, just that this is the current path set by the Xorg project. As for a list, while not exhaustive, this is a good resource arewewaylandyet.com/

[@jhonyortiz5]

A theme should never be able to run code unless it comes with extensions. And then it should be made clear that the theme ALSO downloads an extension. But the themes itself really shouldn't run code at all. A warning alone isn't enough. EVERYONE uses themes when using kde. A very small minority use the default kde theme.

[@Cenot4ph]

gnome.. even this new version fails to impress vs. KDE's feature set. Krunner is superior, dolphin is superior, settings are superior, multi monitor task management and alt-tab is superior. If gnome wants to stay relevant they really got to do more

[@michael_tunnell]

I agree that KDE Plasma is ultimately better, that’s why it’s my daily driver DE but GNOME is the default DE for most of the main distros so that’s why they get away with offering so much less. The biggest mystery is why is it the default for so much. 🤷‍♂️

[@Cenot4ph]

@@michael_tunnell yea it's an interesting question, perhaps they're good with marketing their DE to distro's.

[@crossbowbeat]

I don't like your sweet and corny demeanor in general and the word 'goodies' in particular. The rest is great. Thank you.