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The judge in the Vizio GPL-compliance lawsuit has ruled, in a summary judgment, that the GNU General Public License, version 2, does not require the provision of signing keys needed to install modified software on a device.

Read as a whole, the Agreements require Vizio to make the source code available in such a manner that the source code can be readily obtained and modified by Plaintiff or other third parties. While source code is defined to include "the scripts used to control compilation and installation," this does not mean that Vizio must allow users to reinstall the software, modified or otherwise, back onto its smart TVs in a manner that preserves all features of the original program and/or ensures the smart TVs continue to function properly. Rather, in the context of the Agreements, the disputed language means that Vizio must provide the source code in a manner that allows the source code to be obtained and revised by Plaintiff or others for use in other applications.

As the Software Freedom Conservancy, the plaintiff in the case, has pointed out, the judge has ruled against a claim that was never actually made.

SFC has never held the position, nor do we today hold the position, that any version of the GPL (even including GPLv3!) require "that the device continues to function properly" after a user installs their modified version of the copyleft components.

Linus Torvalds, meanwhile, has posted his own take on the ruling that has, as one might imagine, sparked an extended discussion as well.

KDE neon is a Ubuntu-based Linux distribution and live DVD featuring the latest KDE Plasma desktop and other KDE community software. Besides the installable DVD image, the project provides a rapidly-evolving software repository with all the latest KDE software. Two editions of the product are available - a "User" edition, designed for those interested in checking out the latest KDE software as it gets released, and a "Developer's" edition, created as a platform for testing cutting-edge KDE applications.

Once again there is a brand-new release under the tree from the Ruby programming-language project: Ruby 4.0 has been released with many new features and improvements. Notable changes include the experimental Ruby Box feature for in-process isolation of classes and modules, a new just-in-time compiler called ZJIT, and improvements to Ruby's parallel-execution mechanism (Ractor). There are a number of language changes as well. See the documentation for Ruby 4.0 for more.

Security updates have been issued by Fedora (httpd, retroarch, and roundcubemail), Oracle (container-tools:rhel8, grafana, httpd, kernel, python3.12, python39:3.9, thunderbird, and uek-kernel), and SUSE (cheat, go-sendxmpp, and kernel).

ALT Linux was founded in 2001 by a merge of two large Russian free software projects. By the year 2008 it became a large organization developing and deploying free software, writing documentation and technical literature, supporting users, and developing custom products. ALT Linux produces different types of distributions for various purposes. There are desktop distributions for home and office computers and for corporate servers, universal distributions that include a wide variety of development tools and documentation, certified products, distributions specialized for educational institutions, and distributions for low-powered computers. ALT Linux has its own development infrastructure and repository called Sisyphus, which provides the base for all the different editions of ALT Linux.

GuideOS is a beginner-friendly German Linux distribution based on Debian's "Stable" branch. It is created in collaboration with LinuxGuides.de, a German-language project offering comprehensive documentation, courses and support for Linux and open-source software. GuideOS deploys the user-friendly Cinnamon desktop, develops a well-designed Welcome screen, and provides a collection of popular software applications, all localised into German.

Voyager Live is an Xubuntu-based distribution and live DVD showcasing the Xfce desktop environment. Its features include the Avant Window Navigator or AWN (a dock-like navigation bar), Conky (a program which displays useful information on the desktop), and over 300 photographs and animations that can be used as desktop backgrounds. The project also develops several other editions of Voyager Live - a "GE" edition with GNOME Shell, a "GS" variant for Gamers, and a separately-maintained flavour based on Debian's "stable" branch.

Inside this week's LWN.net Weekly Edition:

• Front: 2025 retrospective; Dirk and Linus talk; successful open-source documentation projects; verifier-state pruning in BPF; Linux 32-bit timeline; BPF state visualizer; systemd v259.
• Briefs: linux-next maintainer; 2025 TAB; Git in Debian; Elementary OS 8.1; Qubes OS 4.3.0; GDB 17.1; Incus 6.20; systemd v259; Quotes; ...
• Announcements: Newsletters, conferences, security updates, patches, and more.

OmegaLinux is an Lubuntu-based distribution featuring the lightweight LXDE desktop, suitable for installation on older computers. The developers attempt to reduce Lubuntu's size and footprint by removing all Qt libraries and dependent software, office suites and snap packages, while using lighter alternatives wherever possible.

AUSTRUMI (Austrum Latvijas Linukss) is a bootable live Linux distribution based on Slackware Linux. It requires limited system resources and can run on any Intel-compatible system with a CD-ROM installed. The entire operating system and all of the applications run from RAM, making AUSTRUMI a fast system and allowing the boot medium to be removed after the operating system starts.

Another year has reached its conclusion. That can only mean one thing: the time has come to take a look back at the predictions we made in January and evaluate just how badly they turned out. Much to our surprise, not all of our predictions were entirely accurate. It has been a wild year in the Linux community and beyond, to say the least.

DragonOS is a Lubuntu-based desktop distribution which is focused on software defined radio (SDR). The distribution provides a pre-installed suite of the most powerful and accessible open source SDR software. DragonOS has verified support for a range of inexpensive and powerful SDR hardware, including RTL-SDR, HackRF One, LimeSDR, BladeRF, and others.

The systemd v259 release was announced on December 17, just three months after v258. It is a more modest release but still includes a number of important changes such as a new option for the run0 command (an alternative to sudo), ability to mount user home directories from the host in virtual machines, as well as under-the-hood changes with dlopen() for library linking, the ability to compile systemd with musl libc, and more.

extrox is a spin of MX Linux by a member of the MX Linux development team, featuring custom art and theme, careful application selection, various user-friendly improvements, and an audio filter (developed in-house) for enhanced sound quality in music playback and streaming. The distribution uses the Xfce desktop with the Compiz compositing window manager.

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.

Security updates have been issued by AlmaLinux (container-tools:rhel8, grafana, opentelemetry-collector, and thunderbird), Red Hat (kernel), and SUSE (cheat, libsoup, mariadb, mozjs52, python310, python315, qemu, rsync, and zk).

AlterOS is a Russian, general-purpose Linux distribution based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It is developed by ALMI PARTNER, a Russian software development company, and available for personal and professional workstations and servers. Some of the features of AlterOS include optimisation of the Linux kernel and the core libraries for modern hardware, the Cinnamon desktop environment, and pre-installed certificates from the Russian Ministry of Digital Development to ensure integration with government systems and compliance with cybersecurity requirements.

Parrot (formerly Parrot Security OS) is a Debian-based, security-oriented distribution featuring a collection of utilities designed for penetration testing, computer forensics, reverse engineering, hacking, privacy, anonymity and cryptography. The product, developed by Frozenbox, comes with MATE as the default desktop environment.

Vipnix LiveCD is a portable Linux distribution built on the legacy of Gentoo Linux, Funtoo and Macaroni OS. It combines Gentoo's source-based optimization, Funtoo's innovative tools and Macaroni OS's modern, container-friendly approach. Vipnix integrates the lightweight LXQt desktop environment and the educational XLibre X11 server into a live operating system designed for enthusiasts, professionals and system recovery tasks. It is developed by Vipnix, a Brazilian IT solutions company specialising in customised infrastructure, cybersecurity, data protection and biotechnology.

Gnoppix AI Linux is a Debian-based distribution which can be run from a USB thumb drive or from a local drive. It is pre-loaded with essential Artificial Intelligence (AI) frameworks, libraries and development tools. It uses several popular desktop environments, including GNOME, KDE Plasma and Xfce. The project is an attempt to revive a Knoppix-based live distribution with the GNOME desktop that was first launched back in 2005.