Category: Foss Arabia

Privacy-conscious map users now have an innovative choice with CoMaps, a newly launched open‑source navigation app that operates fully offline and doesn’t track users. Forked from Organic Maps just last month on 1 June 2025, CoMaps is designed for hikers, cyclists, drivers and public‑transport commuters worldwide.CoMaps distinguishes itself with a firm stance on data sovereignty. Under an Apache 2 licence, the community‑developed app ensures no personal location data is gathered or sent to third parties. Its core navigation and map‑downloading functions—including

Lyon’s municipal government has begun phasing out Microsoft Office, Windows and SQL in favour of open-source alternatives, marking one of Europe’s most significant moves away from US proprietary software. The third‑largest city in France, which employs around 10,000 public servants and serves over a million residents, will adopt OnlyOffice for productivity tasks, Linux as the operating system and PostgreSQL for database management.City officials emphasised that this decision aligns with efforts to reduce dependence on American technology, extend hardware lifespan and

Google has transferred ownership of its Agent2Agent protocol—including its specification, developer SDKs and tooling—to the Linux Foundation, ushering in a new era of open, vendor-neutral collaboration on AI agent interoperability. Announced on 23 June at the Open Source Summit North America, the move positions more than 100 organisations, including AWS, Cisco, Microsoft, Salesforce, SAP and ServiceNow, to jointly steward and evolve the protocol under a neutral governance framework.A2A, first introduced by Google in April 2025, establishes an open standard

Claudia, a newly released open‑source graphical user interface for Anthropic’s Claude Code, brings a visually intuitive layer to the traditionally command‑line driven tool. Developed by YC‑backed Asterisk, this desktop application enables developers to manage projects, run interactive AI agents, and track progress—all through a local, privacy‑focused interface.The interface addresses growing frustrations among developers using Claude Code’s text‑only environment. Asterisk’s design employs Tauri for cross‑platform deployment, along with React, Rust, and Tailwind CSS for responsiveness on macOS, Linux and Windows. Its

Kubuntu 25.10 will no longer install the Plasma X11 session by default, making Wayland the standard graphical environment for new users. Enthusiasts who require Xorg compatibility can still opt in manually, but the change marks a significant milestone in Kubuntu’s long‑planned migration away from legacy display protocols.New installations of Kubuntu 25.10—scheduled for general release on 9 October 2025—will boot into KDE Plasma under Wayland, mirroring Ubuntu’s broader shift away from Xorg. The ISO no longer includes the X11 session, reflecting

Void, a Y Combinator‑backed, open‑source AI code editor, has entered beta testing, promising developers full control over their code and data while delivering advanced AI capabilities. Launched this month, it positions itself as a credible contender to proprietary rivals like Cursor and GitHub Copilot. Developers can now choose whether to host models locally via tools like Ollama and LM Studio, or connect directly to APIs for Claude, GPT, Gemini and others, bypassing third‑party data pipelines entirely.Built as a fork of

ByteDance has unveiled “Dolphin”, an OCR model released under an MIT licence designed to revolutionise document processing by combining layout analysis and parsing in a unified workflow. This new tool is poised to enhance accuracy and adaptability across complex document types, marking a major advancement in optical character recognition.Dolphin operates by first analysing the document layout—identifying paragraphs, tables, figures and formulas—and then parsing each section in parallel, a method experts describe as “analyze‑then‑parse”. The model architecture aligns with Donut, a

A high‑performance tool named Kingfisher, developed by MongoDB, now enables developers and security teams to detect and validate active secrets—such as API keys and credentials—in codebases in real time. Its release addresses shortcomings in existing scanners by verifying through live checks against cloud services.Kingfisher began as a personal project in July 2024 by MongoDB security engineer Mick Grove, who was dissatisfied with current open‑source secret scanners. Internal testing confirmed that by April 2025 it had become a core part of

Murena has introduced Murena Find, a privacy-first search engine embedded in its latest /e/OS 3.0 update, delivering an ad‑free, no‑tracking search experience powered by Qwant. Designed to launch without user configuration, the engine ensures searches remain private while maintaining quality results.As part of /e/OS 3.0, Murena Find is one of several significant upgrades aimed at fortifying users’ privacy. Alongside enhancements such as weekly privacy reports, end‑to‑end encrypted vaults, SMS device‑locator tools and tablet‑mode support, it marks a major milestone in the company’s

RetroArch has emerged as the pre‑eminent solution for classic gaming on Linux, offering enthusiasts a polished interface and extensive emulator support. This open‑source frontend consolidates numerous “cores” — modular emulators encapsulating consoles such as NES, SNES, PlayStation, GameCube and more — under a single, unified environment.Linux users benefit from seamless installation via Snap, Flatpak or official repositories, enabling easy access to stable versions across x86‑64 and ARM architectures. The front‑end integrates advanced capabilities: multi‑pass GPU shaders for authentic retro visuals,

EdgeCortix has launched its SAKURA‑II M.2 AI accelerator for the Raspberry Pi 5 and other Arm‑based platforms, enabling high‑performance, energy‑efficient execution of generative AI at the device edge. With 60 TOPS and 30 TFLOPS performance within an 8–10 W power envelope, the SAKURA‑II module supports advanced models including Llama 2, Stable Diffusion, Vision Transformers and VLMs on compact, affordable hardware.Dr Sakyasingha Dasgupta, EdgeCortix founder and CEO, highlighted that the integration "opens the door for innovators and enterprises around the world to build smarter,

Apple has unveiled a breakthrough open‑source framework, Containerization, during its WWDC 2025 keynote, enabling developers to create, run and manage Linux containers directly on macOS. The Container CLI, a companion command‑line tool, operates each container as a lightweight virtual machine, bypassing the need for third‑party platforms like Docker. This marks a strategic shift in Apple’s support for cross‑platform workflows, particularly for developers working on server‑side and cloud‑native applications.Containers have become central to modern software engineering by packaging applications with all

Northern German state Schleswig‑Holstein has initiated a sweeping migration from Microsoft’s proprietary ecosystem—including Windows, Office 365, SharePoint, Exchange, and Active Directory—to open-source platforms like Linux, LibreOffice, Nextcloud, Open‑Xchange, and Thunderbird. The policy will affect some 30,000 public-sector desktops and aims to bolster digital security, cut licensing costs and strengthen data sovereignty amid escalating concerns over foreign influence.Dirk Schrödter, Minister for Digitalisation, underscored the move as critical to ensuring citizen data remains under local control and to stand as “digitally sovereign IT workplaces”—a

Canonical will cease all Bazaar code hosting on its Launchpad platform in two stages, culminating on 1 September 2025. The legacy version control system, once the backbone of many Ubuntu-related projects, will see its web interface retired soon, followed by full removal of backend functionality. Users of Bazaar, including developers relying on Ubuntu Engineering, must migrate to Git or other supported systems ahead of the deadline to preserve continuity.Bazaar, created by Martin Pool and sponsored by Canonical, never matched Git in popularity.

Kali GPT demonstrates a new frontier in cybersecurity, embedding an AI‑powered assistant directly into Kali Linux to streamline penetration testing for professionals and learners. Leveraging GPT‑4 architecture, the tool generates payloads, explains complex tools such as Metasploit and Nmap, and recommends relevant exploits—all within the terminal. For expert practitioners, the assistant accelerates assessments; for novices, it serves as an interactive mentor by translating technical concepts into clear guidance .Advanced educational institutions are rapidly integrating Kali GPT into curricula, citing its capacity to present

The Open Infrastructure Foundation has officially integrated into the Linux Foundation, marking a significant consolidation in the open source infrastructure domain. This strategic move aims to enhance collaboration, streamline resources, and address the evolving demands of modern data centers and cloud-native technologies.The merger, unanimously approved by both organizations' boards, positions OpenInfra as a directed fund within the Linux Foundation, akin to the operational models of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation and the PyTorch Foundation. This structure allows OpenInfra

Murena has unveiled /e/OS 3.0, the latest iteration of its open-source, privacy-centric mobile operating system. This update introduces a suite of features aimed at bolstering user privacy and providing enhanced parental controls, positioning /e/OS as a compelling alternative for those seeking to minimize reliance on mainstream tech ecosystems.A notable addition is the integration of Murena Find, a search engine powered by Qwant. Operating in a default "no tracking" mode, it ensures that user search activities remain private, aligning with /e/OS's

Bruno, the open-source API client has been announced as a Platinum Sponsor for IndiaFOSS 2025, the upcoming edition of the Free and Open Source Software conference organised by the FOSS United community. The event is scheduled to take place from 20 to 21 September 2025 at the NIMHANS Convention Centre in Bengaluru.Bruno's sponsorship underscores its growing prominence within the developer community. Designed as a lightweight, Git-friendly alternative to Postman, Bruno emphasises offline functionality and data privacy. It stores API collections

The World Bank has launched its first open-source software tool, the Metadata Editor, marking a significant step in its commitment to data transparency and open science. This web-based application is designed to assist data curators in documenting various types of data, including statistical indicators, survey microdata, geographic datasets, documents, images, videos, and scripts, in compliance with international metadata standards. By releasing this tool under the MIT License, supplemented with the World Bank's specific legal provisions, the institution aims to facilitate

A schism within the Organic Maps community has led to the creation of CoMaps, a forked project driven by governance and trust concerns. The decision to diverge from Organic Maps, an open-source navigation app, reflects deeper tensions about project management, decision-making transparency, and community engagement, issues that have become increasingly relevant in open-source ecosystems worldwide.Organic Maps has gained a loyal following for its offline map capabilities, privacy focus, and open data approach, positioning itself as a strong alternative to proprietary

A fully operational computer system that runs entirely within a web browser is reshaping the way users interact with technology, removing the need for traditional hardware or software installations. This breakthrough in cloud computing and browser technology delivers a complete operating system environment accessible from virtually any device with internet connectivity, opening new possibilities for both individual users and organisations.The web-based operating system offers a comprehensive suite of applications and utilities, replicating many of the functions found on conventional desktops.

Rhino Linux has unveiled its inaugural UBXI desktop environment, now integrated with the latest KDE 6 framework, marking a significant step in its development trajectory. The new release aims to blend the sleek aesthetics and functionality of KDE 6 with the customisable, user-friendly approach that Rhino Linux advocates. This launch represents a notable entry into the evolving landscape of Linux distributions focused on desktop experience innovation.The UBXI desktop, tailored specifically for Rhino Linux, embraces KDE 6’s advanced features while streamlining

Canonical’s Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, known as Focal Fossa, will reach the end of its standard five-year support period on 31 May 2025. This transition affects millions of users across enterprise, cloud, and personal environments, who must now decide between upgrading to a newer release or subscribing to extended support to maintain security compliance.Ubuntu LTS releases are designed to provide five years of free security updates and maintenance for packages in the 'Main' repository. After this period, systems no longer

Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Rocky Linux are accelerating efforts to support the RISC-V architecture, signalling a significant shift in the enterprise Linux landscape. This development reflects the growing momentum behind RISC-V, an open-source instruction set architecture that is reshaping hardware innovation amid challenges in traditional chip supply chains and rising demand for customisable, energy-efficient computing.Red Hat, a subsidiary of IBM and a dominant force in the enterprise Linux market, has publicly confirmed its roadmap for incorporating RISC-V support into