Category: Foss Arabia

Ubuntu is set to expand support for AMD’s data-centre GPUs after Canonical confirmed that it is working with the chipmaker to deliver a streamlined, fully integrated version of the ROCm software stack in upcoming releases of the operating system. The decision marks one of the most significant efforts yet to improve deployment of AMD accelerators across enterprise servers, cloud environments, and developer workstations as demand for AI workloads continues to rise.Canonical said the partnership would give Ubuntu users a more

The Tor Project has marked a significant milestone in its multi-year effort to reengineer its core software by advancing Arti, the Rust-based implementation of the anonymity network, with the launch of version 1.8.0. The update introduces enhanced circuit isolation to reduce fingerprinting risks and new tools designed to streamline the migration of critical onion service keys from the legacy C codebase — part of a broader shift aimed at addressing long-standing security and maintenance challenges inherent in Tor’s original C

The tech company behind Ubuntu is winding down its long-standing public wiki sites by August 2026 and launching a completely rebuilt wiki to address mounting concerns over content quality, security and usability.The existing public wikis — at wiki. ubuntu. com and help. ubuntu. com/community — have served the global Ubuntu community for more than two decades. But in a post titled “A new Ubuntu wiki, Part 1: Announcement,” the team at Canonical laid bare several structural issues that prompted

The grip of Chromium on the global browser ecosystem has grown so wide that many users now assume every modern browser is built on Google’s open-source architecture. That perception has taken root partly because major names such as Microsoft Edge, Opera, Brave, Vivaldi and Arc all rely on Chromium’s Blink rendering engine, creating a sense that browsing itself has become synonymous with Google-aligned foundations. The dominance is substantial, but it is not absolute. A parallel lineage continues to exist through

Smartwatch pioneer Pebble has returned under the stewardship of its original founder, with both software and hardware released as openly available to developers and tinkerers. The relaunch is driven by Eric Migicovsky and his new venture Core Devices, aimed at reviving the once-beloved e-paper wristwear in a more transparent, sustainable form.Migicovsky confirmed that the entire software stack behind modern Pebble devices — including the smartwatch OS, mobile companion apps for Android and iOS, developer tools and backend for the app

Google has released the variable-font typeface Google Sans Flex under an open-source licence, making the typeface used across many Google products available for free download and use in any project. The font is now hosted on Google Fonts and licensed under the SIL Open Font License, removing the proprietary restrictions that previously kept it exclusive to Google’s internal design ecosystem.Google Sans Flex is described by its creators as the “next generation” of the company’s brand typeface, built to combine versatility

Self-hosting — running and maintaining software on privately controlled servers instead of relying on cloud providers — is drawing growing interest among developers and organisations, with Linux users often leading the shift. What began as a niche practice among privacy-conscious hobbyists is evolving into a broader movement driven by demand for data control, cost efficiencies and long-term stability.At the heart of this trend lies a grounding in open-source software. Users deploy well-supported tools on Linux platforms — from file synchronisation,

Collabora Office has rolled out a brand-new desktop office suite compatible with Windows, macOS and Linux, offering a unified user experience across both online and offline environments. The suite inherits the user interface of Collabora Online — known for its clean, tabbed layout and streamlined tools — while retaining the powerful document compatibility and core engine of LibreOffice. The earlier enterprise-grade LibreOffice-based package has been rebranded as Collabora Office Classic.Collabora Office delivers word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and vector graphics editing

Microsoft has officially opened the source code of the original Zork trilogy—Zork I, Zork II and Zork III—making the foundational text-adventure games freely available under the MIT licence. The company’s Open Source Programs Office, working alongside its Xbox and Activision divisions, announced that the historic repositories now include source code, build notes, comments and documentation intended to support study, teaching and development. The release does not grant rights to trademarks, commercial packaging or marketing materials, which remain protected.The games were

Canonical has taken significant steps to address the needs of security-conscious organisations by introducing new features in both its Kubernetes distribution and Ubuntu Long Term Support offerings. The company's latest enhancements focus on improving compliance and security, which are crucial for industries requiring stringent safeguards.The addition of FIPS 140-3 validation to Canonical's Kubernetes distribution marks a major update in the company's commitment to security. FIPS 140-3 is a critical certification for cryptographic modules, particularly in environments where security

AMD has secured a pivotal role in the U. S. government's ambitions to bolster artificial intelligence and scientific research, with the announcement of its involvement in powering the next-generation supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The new system, named Discovery, will become one of the most advanced computational platforms in the world, supporting groundbreaking research in various scientific fields and accelerating the development of AI capabilities in the U. S.The Discovery supercomputer is part of the U. S. Department

IBM has committed to enhancing AI-powered search and retrieval capabilities by becoming a premier member of the OpenSearch Software Foundation. The tech giant’s involvement marks a significant step forward in its mission to improve open-source search technology and enrich data-driven decision-making for businesses across industries.This collaboration aligns with IBM's broader strategy to integrate artificial intelligence more deeply into enterprise systems. OpenSearch, an open-source search and analytics suite, was originally derived from Elasticsearch and Apache Lucene, focusing on providing powerful

Ubuntu, the popular open-source operating system, has announced a significant extension to its long-term support offerings, with a new 15-year commitment aimed at bolstering enterprise adoption. The initiative will provide extended support for key versions of the operating system, including Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, which will receive five additional years of updates and maintenance. This bold move is designed to reassure businesses that depend on Ubuntu for critical infrastructure and software services, ensuring long-term stability and security.The decision comes at

Ente, a popular cybersecurity tool, has successfully completed a rigorous audit sponsored by CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. The audit, carried out by five experts from the German cybersecurity firm Cure53, took place over the span of two weeks and focused on evaluating the platform’s security framework and vulnerability to cyber threats.CERN, one of the largest and most advanced scientific research organisations in the world, has been a long-term user of Ente’s services, particularly for protecting sensitive data

The shift towards subscription-based streaming and the rise in unauthorised distribution is exposing fundamental flaws in how consumers acquire digital media. Many users believe they “own” films, music or books that they purchase online, but industry analysts say what they actually hold is a license to access content under strict terms and conditions. One expert writes: “Most of us don’t control the files, formats, keys and servers. We rent access dressed up as possession.”Streaming platforms such as Netflix, Spotify and

The Czech-based registry operator CZ. NIC has launched its new second-generation router, the Turris Omnia NG, which incorporates swappable Wi-Fi and cellular modules alongside a lifetime automatic update policy, signalling a push towards longer-term home network hardware.At its core the Turris Omnia NG runs a quad-core ARMv8 64-bit processor clocked at 2.2 GHz and features a passively-cooled design to deliver silent operation under heavy load. The device supports Wi-Fi 7, with the 6 GHz band rated at up to 11,530

A significant security breach involving the open-source extension registry Open VSX Registry and maintained by Eclipse Foundation has exposed a vulnerability in the software-supply-chain ecosystem. Developer tokens that grant publish permissions were unintentionally made public, enabling threat actors to upload malicious extensions and target developers using the platform.Security researchers from Wiz flagged more than 550 exposed secrets within public repositories, among which tokens belonging to Open VSX accounts were identified. The leaked tokens permitted unauthorised actors to publish or

The Linux distribution Pop!_OS 24.04 Long-Term Support Beta from System76 introduces a ground-up rewrite of its desktop environment and enhanced hardware support, while still leaving some features unfinished and cautioning users about its beta status.Built on the foundation of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Pop!_OS 24.04 adopts the new Rust-based COSMIC desktop environment, moving away from the GNOME-derived shell used in previous releases. System76 describes the transition as a bid to provide a modern, memory-safe, and highly customizable desktop experience. Key elements of

A new entrant to the Linux desktop space, the distro known as NebiOS, has been unveiled by Turkish developer Sarp Mateson under the umbrella of his company NebiSoft. Built on the foundation of Ubuntu and tailored for Wayland graphics instead of the older X11 system, NebiOS marks a distinct shift in how independent desktop Linux distributions are conceived and delivered.Mateson’s project began as a personal experiment in 2023 and has since evolved into a fully fledged operating system with its

The Free Software Foundation has unveiled an ambitious new project aimed at transforming mobile computing. Named the "Librephone," this initiative goes far beyond typical Android modifications, focusing instead on creating a fully open-source, privacy-respecting mobile ecosystem. It seeks to address growing concerns over data privacy and surveillance, marking a pivotal moment in the ongoing debate about control in the mobile space.At the heart of the Librephone project is the drive to liberate mobile technology from the proprietary systems that

ONLYOFFICE Docs 9.1 has been launched, bringing with it a significant overhaul aimed at boosting both productivity and collaboration. Among its notable additions is a new set of PDF redaction tools, enabling users to efficiently remove sensitive content from documents, as well as various editor upgrades that promise to streamline workflows.The introduction of PDF redaction tools addresses growing concerns around privacy and data security, allowing users to permanently delete text and images from PDF files. This update is especially crucial

A public beta of Zorin OS 18 has been launched, offering a reimagined interface and a suite of tools aimed at easing the migration from Windows as support for Windows 10 ends on 14 October 2025. The developers position this release as a compelling alternative for PCs that don’t qualify for Windows 11, while businesses, schools and individual users explore paths away from Microsoft’s ecosystem.The new beta introduces a floating, rounded taskbar style and a lighter theme across system apps

NordVPN has released the full source code for its Linux graphical user interface and reversed its earlier decision to discontinue its Meshnet feature—moves that mark a shift in strategy toward openness and community engagement.The VPN provider published the GUI code under an open-source licence and made it available on GitHub, complete with build instructions. At the same time, it announced that Meshnet, once slated for shutdown on 1 December 2025, will remain active and supported, with plans to open-source it

Organisers have confirmed that Bengaluru will host India’s inaugural UbuCon conference on 15–16 November at the Indian Institute of Science. The event is expected to bring together developers, contributors and Ubuntu enthusiasts from across the country to engage on topics spanning cloud, IoT, documentation and AI.The Ubuntu India LoCo group leads the organisation, emphasising the grassroots, volunteer-driven nature of UbuCon events. Unlike many conferences dominated by corporate agendas, UbuCon is conceived as a community platform for knowledge sharing, collaboration and