LastOSLinux is Linux Mint-based distribution with the goal of being a user-friendly alternative to Windows. It is designed for current Windows users wishing to migrate to Linux, with a Windows-like user interface and tools. The distribution uses the Cinnamon desktop and it also includes the WINE software which is able to run some Windows applications on Linux.
Version:next-20251211 (linux-next)
Released:2025-12-11
Inside this week's LWN.net Weekly Edition:
- Front: Rust in CPython; Python frozendict; Bazzite; IETF post-quantum disagreement; Distrobox; 6.19 merge window; Leaving the TAB.
- Briefs: Let's Encrypt retrospective; PKI infrastructure; Rust in kernel to stay; CNA series; Alpine 3.23.0; cmocka 2.0; Firefox 146; 2024 Free Software Awards; Quotes; ...
- Announcements: Newsletters, conferences, security updates, patches, and more.
The Amnesic Incognito Live System (Tails) is a Debian-based live DVD/USB with the goal of providing complete Internet anonymity for the user. The product ships with several Internet applications, including web browser, IRC client, mail client and instant messenger, all pre-configured with security in mind and with all traffic anonymised. To achieve this, Incognito uses the Tor network to make Internet traffic very hard to trace.
Let's Encrypt has published
a retrospective that covers the decade since it published its first
publicly trusted certificate in September 2015:
In March 2016, we issued our one millionth certificate. Just two years
later, in September 2018, we were issuing a million certificates every
day. In 2020 we reached a billion total certificates issued and as of
late 2025 we're frequently issuing ten million certificates per
day. We're now on track to reach a billion active sites, probably
sometime in the coming year.
Greg Kroah-Hartman is writing
a series of blog posts about Linux becoming a Certificate
Numbering Authority (CNA):
It's been almost 2 full years since Linux became a CNA (Certificate
Numbering Authority) which meant that we (i.e. the kernel.org
community) are now responsible for issuing all CVEs for the Linux
kernel. During this time, we've become one of the largest creators of
CVEs by quantity, going from nothing to number 3 in 2024 to number 1
in 2025. Naturally, this has caused some questions about how we are
both doing all of this work, and how people can keep track of it.
So far, Kroah-Hartman has published the introductory post, as well
as a detailed
post about kernel version numbers that is well worth reading.
Linux containers have made it reasonably easy to develop, distribute, and
deploy server applications along with all the distribution dependencies that they
need. For example, anyone can deploy and run a Debian-based PostgreSQL container
on a Fedora Linux host. Distrobox is a project that is designed to
bring the cross-distribution compatibility to the desktop and allow users to
mix-and-match Linux distributions without fussing with dual-booting, virtual
machines, or multiple computers. It is an ideal way to install
additional software on image-based systems, such as Fedora's Atomic Desktops
or Bazzite, and also
provides a convenient way to move a development environment or
favorite applications to a new system.
Security updates have been issued by AlmaLinux (abrt and kernel), Debian (libpng1.6, libsoup2.4, pdns-recursor, webkit2gtk, and wordpress), Fedora (imhex, libwebsockets, lunasvg, python3-docs, and python3.14), Mageia (python3 and webkit2), Red Hat (abrt, firefox, mysql8.4, and postgresql:15), Slackware (mozilla), SUSE (gegl, gnutls, go1.24, go1.25, libpng16-16, openssh, postgresql13, python-Jinja2, and sssd), and Ubuntu (fonttools and netty).
postmarketOS is an Alpine-based Linux distribution for mobile devices and desktop computers. The project offers several mobile interfaces - including GNOME Mobile, Phosh, Plasma Mobile and Simple X Mobile (Sxmo). The distribution also offers a range of popular desktop environments, window managers and Wayland compositors for x86_64 and AArch64 computers, such as COSMIC, GNOME, KDE Plasma and Sway. The project aims to provide long-term support for a range of mobile devices, key among them the Librem 5 and the PinePhone, though others, traditionally Android devices, are also supported.
The topic of the Rust experiment was just discussed at the annual
Maintainers Summit. The consensus among the assembled developers is that
Rust in the kernel is no longer experimental — it is now a core part of the
kernel and is here to stay. So the "experimental" tag will be coming off.
Congratulations are in order for all of the Rust for Linux team.
(Stay tuned for details in our Maintainers Summit coverage.)
Version:next-20251210 (linux-next)
Released:2025-12-10
Madrid_Linux, or MAX for short, is an GNU/Linux distribution created by the Council of Education of Madrid, Spain. It is a live operating system based on Ubuntu. Besides the ability to boot the operating system on any computer, the distribution includes a graphical installer with an option to resize FAT or NTFS partition and create space for installing MAX on a hard disk.
The Free Software Foundation has
announced
the recipients of its 2024 (even though 2025 is almost over) Free Software
Awards. Andy Wingo won the award for the advancement of free software, Alx
Sa is the outstanding new free-software contributor, and Govdirectory takes
the award for projects of social benefit.
AerynOS is an independently-developed, rolling-release Linux distribution designed for general desktop use. Its main features include the GNOME desktop, a custom package manager called "moss", atomic updates with rollback options, a package build system called "boulder", and smart boot management with complex EFI configuration through a utility called "blsforme".
CentOS as a group is a community of open source contributors and users which started in 2003 and has been sponsored by Red Hat since 2014. CentOS Linux versions up to CentOS Linux 8 are 100% compatible rebuilds of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, in full compliance with Red Hat's redistribution requirements. In 2020 it was announced CentOS Linux is being discontinued and replaced with CentOS Stream, a developer-focused distribution which acts as a middle-stream between Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Whonix is an operating system focused on anonymity, privacy and security. It is based on the Tor anonymity network, Debian GNU/Linux and security by isolation. Whonix consists of two parts: One solely runs Tor and acts as a gateway, which is called Whonix-Gateway. The other, which is called Whonix-Workstation, is on a completely isolated network. Only connections through Tor are possible. With Whonix, you can use applications and run servers anonymously over the Internet. DNS leaks are impossible, and even malware with root privileges cannot find out the user's real IP.
One of the things that has historically stood between Linux and the
fabled "year of the Linux desktop" is its lack of support for video
games. Many users who would have happily abandoned Windows have,
reluctantly, stayed for the video games or had to deal with dual
booting. In the past few years, though, Linux support for
games—including those that only have Windows versions—has
improved dramatically, if one is willing to put the pieces
together. Bazzite, an image-based
Fedora derivative, is a project that aims to let users play games and
use the Linux desktop with almost no assembly required.
Version
146.0 of the Firefox web browser has been released. One feature of
particular interest to Linux users is that Firefox now natively
supports fractional scaled displays on Wayland. Firefox Labs has also
been made available to all users even if they opt out of telemetry or
participating in studies. "This means more experimental features
are now available to more people."
This release also adds support for Module-Lattice-Based
Key-Encapsulation Mechanism (ML-KEM) for WebRTC. ML-KEM is
"believed to be secure against attackers with large quantum
computers". See the release notes for all changes.
Security updates have been issued by AlmaLinux (kernel, kernel-rt, and webkit2gtk3), Fedora (abrt and mingw-libpng), Mageia (apache and libpng), Oracle (abrt, go-toolset:rhel8, kernel, sssd, and webkit2gtk3), Red Hat (kernel and kernel-rt), SUSE (gimp, gnutls, kubevirt, virt-api-container, virt-controller-container, virt-exportproxy-container, virt-exportserver-container, virt-handler-container, virt-launcher-container, virt-libguestfs-t, and postgresql13), and Ubuntu (gnupg2, python-apt, radare2, and webkit2gtk).
Univention Corporate Server is an enterprise-class distribution based on Debian. It features an integrated management system for central administration of servers, Microsoft Active Directory-compatible domain services, and functions for parallel operation of virtualised server and desktop operating systems. UCS offers such features as a single sign-on portal and an app centre. One key component of UCS is the Identity and Access Management (IAM) utility which acts as a central solution for managing identities, roles, and groups. The integrated portal with Single Sign-On and self-service functions provides access to all IT services and applications and can work across blended Linux, Windows, and macOS networks.
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