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LinuxGizmos.com

Wireless-Tag previews IDO Claw ARM platform with OpenClaw pre-installed

Kickstarter recently featured the IDO Claw campaign, a compact ARM-based system from Wireless-Tag designed for local OpenClaw deployment. The fanless platform combines the Rockchip RK3576 processor with LPDDR5 memory, onboard storage, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and hardware video acceleration for always-on AI and edge workloads.

AGL combines Xen, Zephyr, and Linux containers in new SDV platform

Automotive Grade Linux (AGL) has announced the initial availability of its open source SoDeV reference platform for software-defined vehicles (SDVs), along with the addition of five new project members. The platform combines the AGL Unified Code Base (UCB) with Linux containers, VirtIO, Xen, Zephyr RTOS, and additional Linux Foundation technologies for automotive software development.

Milk-V Jupiter2 brings SpacemiT K3 RISC-V platform to Pico-ITX form factor

Milk-V has introduced the Jupiter2, a compact RISC-V single-board computer based on the SpacemiT Key Stone K3 processor. Similar to the recently announced Sipeed K3 Pico-ITX platform, the board combines eight X100 RISC-V CPU cores with an eight-core A100 AI subsystem rated for up to 60 TOPS, LPDDR5 memory, and high-speed networking interfaces including 10GbE SFP+.

9to5Linux

PipeWire 1.6.5 Brings Extra Security Checks and Hardening Fixes to Pulse Server

Coming three weeks after PipeWire 1.6.4, the PipeWire 1.6.5 release is here to add a whole bunch of extra security checks and hardening fixes to the pipewire-pulse server, improve renegotiation in audioconvert when the graph rate changes and the resampler is disabled, and fix a crash in ALSA when logging.

KDE Receives Over €1M from Sovereign Tech Fund for Software Development

The Sovereign Tech Agency is well known for funding open source projects through its Sovereign Tech Fund program, and it provided over €24.6 million EUR in funding to support more than 60 open source projects globally, including big names like Python Software Foundation, FreeBSD, Eclipse Foundation, OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF), and Drupal.

KDE Plasma 6.6.5 Is Out Now to Improve Performance for NVIDIA GPU Users

KDE Plasma 6.6.5 is mostly a bugfix release, improving performance for NVIDIA GPU users who experience issues introduced by the NVIDIA 595 graphics driver, and improving the login and lock screen experience by addressing a Plasma Login Manager crash when connecting and disconnecting multiple monitors and a startup failure when using certain graphics hardware.

LibreOffice 25.8.7 Announced as the Last Update in the LibreOffice 25.8 Series

Coming two months after LibreOffice 25.8.6, the LibreOffice 25.8.7 release is packed with more fixes to address various bugs, crashes, and other annoyances reported by users in an attempt to improve the overall stability and reliability of this popular open-source, free, and cross-platform office suite.

Fwupd 2.1.3 Linux Firmware Updater Adds Support for SHIFT6mq and SHIFTphone 8

Fwupd 2.1.3 is here about two weeks after fwupd 2.1.2 with support for SHIFT6mq and SHIFTphone 8 modular smartphones, support for Redfish bearer token authentication, support for several XMC SPI chips, and support for parsing JCat files in libfwupd without using libjcat.

GStreamer 1.28.3 Adds NXP i.MX 8M Plus Hardware-Accelerated H.265 Encoding

Coming about a month after GStreamer 1.28.2, the GStreamer 1.28.3 release introduces hardware-accelerated H.265 encoding support for NXP i.MX 8M Plus SoCs to the webrtcsink element, a leaky mode to the dataqueue-based elements, and fallback-source and enable-dummy properties to the fallbacksrc element.

Internet Society

How RightsCon Is an Unexpected Stress Test for the Multistakeholder Model of Internet Governance

The cancellation of RightsCon 2026 is a stark reminder that when opportunities for civic engagement are neutralized, so are stakeholders’ voices. In this case, civil society was denied the ability to meet in person in Lusaka last week to share ideas and opportunities for how to address some of the most urgent digital challenges of our time.

From Coverage to Meaningful Connectivity: How Kenya Is Leading Africa’s Internet Future

It’s not enough just to get everyone online—people need to be able to take full advantage of their access. That’s why, in Africa, where the connectivity discussion has traditionally focused on coverage, there’s a recent shift toward making access growth meaningful.

Tor Project blog

Defending the public's right to know

Internet freedom has declined for 15 consecutive years. Beyond surveillance, the erosion of privacy and anonymity, and information manipulation, governments are targeting specific sites and services, or attacking infrastructure itself, causing shutdowns and deliberate disruptions for internet users. But how do we know when the internet is censored and how?

news

Zorin OS 18.1 Boosts Windows App Support by 40%, Improves Window Tiling

posted by Marius Nestor on Apr 15, 2026,
updated Apr 18, 2026

Zorin OS 18.1 comes six months after Zorin OS 18 with an up-to-date base from the Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS (Noble Numbat) operating system, featuring the Linux 6.17 HWE (Hardware Enablement) kernel and Mesa 25.2 graphics stack, as well as the latest LibreOffice 26.2 office suite.

This release bumps the suggested alternatives for Windows apps by more than 40 percent to a total of 240 applications. This is one of Zorin OS’s niche features, recommending users tailored alternatives to sideloading their Windows executables.

Read on

Update (by Roy)

Distro Watch ☛ Distribution Release: Zorin OS 18.1

The Zorin project has published an update to Zorin OS. The latest version of the distribution, Zorin OS 18.1, introduces improved Windows application detection which allows for easy access to native Linux alternatives, the distribution provides tiling window improvements, and updates for the desktop panel. [...]
Zorin Group ☛ Zorin OS 18.1 Is Released

We’re thrilled to launch Zorin OS 18.1, just six months after the release of Zorin OS 18 and over 3.3 million downloads later.

It adds polish, new features, and better hardware support to our record-breaking version of Zorin OS. That means you’ll get an even better computing experience, whether you’re an existing Zorin OS user or you’re starting to make the switch from Windows.

A couple more:

OSTechNix ☛ Zorin OS 18.1 Released with Kernel 6.17, a New Lite Edition and Improved Hardware Support

The Zorin team released Zorin OS 18.1, the first "point release" that builds on the foundation of Zorin OS 18. This update arrives only six months after the initial launch of version 18. Since then, people have downloaded this version over 3.3 million times.

The new Zorin OS 18.1 version adds more polish and makes your computer feel faster and easier to use.
Windows Central ☛ Zorin OS 18.1 adds guided migrations, stronger app compatibility and wider hardware support, making switching from Windows far more practical for millions [clone]

Zorin OS just shipped 18.1, an update aimed squarely at people who want to leave Windows without losing the apps they rely on. The release expands hardware support, adds fingerprint reader compatibility for older machines, and — crucially — now recommends native Linux alternatives and install paths when it detects Windows apps. For anyone weighing a switch from Windows 11 or an aging Windows 10 PC, this is the first distro update that treats migration as a guided, user‑facing process rather than a technical project.

Tux Machines