GNU/Linux Leftovers

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Sep 28, 2025

• Liliputing ☛ Lilbits: A laptop with a 192 Wh battery, Ubuntu Touch, and Amazon readies Vega OS for Fire TVs

  Most modern laptops have 100 Wh or lower capacity batteries. And there’s a pretty good reason for that – not only are bigger batteries heavier, which would make laptops less portable. But you can’t take mobile devices with larger batteries on an airplane without special approval, which would also make a laptop with a larger battery less portable in a different way.

  But that hasn’t stopped Avenir Telecom from capitalizing on the fact that the company has the rights to sell products under the Energizer name by introducing an Energizer-branded notebook with a massive 192 Wh battery.

• Google Prepares Faster Linux Apps on Android with GPU Support

  Google is working on a big improvement for its Linux Terminal app on Android. The update will let graphical Linux apps run faster by using the device’s GPU instead of relying only on the CPU. Right now, Linux apps with graphical interfaces are slow and drain the battery quickly because they use CPU-based rendering.

• XDA ☛ 5 tools that make my Mac feel more like Linux [Ed: Could just use the real thing; it does not cost anything]

• HowTo Geek ☛ 3 Neat Linux Apps to Try This Weekend (September 26 - 28)

  Just installed Linux on an old PC and want to know how to you can make the most of it? Or maybe you want to do more in the terminal? I've gathered some free and open source software for Linux that's worth an install this weekend.

  With these recommendations, I try to include a mix of informational, practical, and entertaining applications. I install them and check that they're actively maintained by app developers. You don't want to be surprised by broken, outdated software, and all of these I've tested to at least make sure their core functionality is working.

• XDA ☛ After Windows, I want Raycast to come to Linux next

  I've talked about Raycast a few times already here on XDA. Since I discovered this app on my Mac Mini, it's been an absolutely game-changer, saving me time and frustrations with many of the tasks I need on a daily basis. Raycast was exclusive to macOS for a long time, but recently, a beta for Windows launched, and much like my colleague Adam Conway, I love it there too.

  But maybe I'm greedy, and now that I'd much rather use Linux than Windows 11, I can't help but ask for even more. Now that Raycast for Windows is starting to get ready for launch, I want it to come to Linux next.

• Instructionals/Technical

  • Attempt to run Pycharm on Cosmic DE Beta1 as second DE for Arch GNU/Linux KDE Plasma 6.4.5

     Setup Cosmic as second DE for KDE Plasma , reboot select COSMIC from drop-down SDDM menu 

• Games

  • It's FOSS ☛ Meet WebScreen: A Hackable Secondary Display for Gamers and Creators

    A customizable, open source monitor for delivering notifications, stats, and reminders.

• Desktop Environments (DE)/Window Managers (WM)

  • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

    • Akademy Presentation on Design System Progress

      Hi again!

      If you would like to review my latest presentation at Akademy 2025 in Berlin on Design System progress, please check here:
      

      In this presentation, I go over the progress we have made so far in building foundational elements of the design system we would like to apply to Plasma.