PCLinuxOS Magazine ☛ ICYMI: Linux 7.1 Kernel Phasing Out i486 CPU Support

A patch queued into one of the development branches ahead of the upcoming Linux 7.1 merge window is set to finally begin the process of phasing out and ultimately removing Intel 486 CPU support from the Linux kernel, according to an article from Phoronix. Anyone still using an i486 CPU with an upstream Linux kernel would be incredibly rare and no known Linux distribution vendors are still shipping with i486 CPU support, but in case you are, you can continue to be running one of the existing Linux LTS kernel versions. Linus Torvalds recently commented that he's feeling like it's time for letting the Linux kernel go of its long-present i486 CPU support as there's "zero real reason" to keep it around and waste upstream Linux kernel development efforts.

PCLinuxOS Magazine ☛ Tip Top Tips: Using DNF Package Manager With Openbox

Tip Top Tips is a semi-monthly column in The PCLinuxOS Magazine. Periodically, we will feature – and possibly even expand upon – one tip from the PCLinuxOS forum. The magazine will not accept independent tip submissions specifically intended for inclusion in the Tip Top Tips column. Rather, if you have a tip, share it in the PCLinuxOS forum’s “Tips & Tricks” section. Occasionally, we may run a “tip” posted elsewhere in the PCLinuxOS forum. Either way, share your tip in the forum, and it just may be selected for publication in The PCLinuxOS Magazine.

PCLinuxOS Magazine ☛ Wiki Pick: Disk Space Checking

The easiest way to check your system's disk space is by using the df (disk free) command in a terminal window.

The df utility shall write the amount of available space and file slots for file systems on which the invoking user has appropriate read access. File systems shall be specified by the file operands; when none are specified, information shall be written for all file systems.

PCLinuxOS Magazine ☛ GIMP Tutorial: Making Custom Brushes

On one of the magazine covers last fall, I had an autumn scene where the leaves were on the ground, and there was a sidewalk in the picture. I made a couple of custom brushes for that. (No matter how much someone sweeps or rakes, there are always still leaves on the sidewalk!)

PCLinuxOS Magazine ☛ Two New PDF Scripts (With GUI) To Put In Your Toolbox

As you might imagine, I deal with PDF files … like … ALL THE TIME. As such, I have just about every command line tool that I think might be helpful for working with PDFs installed on my computer. But, even with those tools installed, it’s easy for me to forget about them, and to reach for a tool that has a GUI.

Why, you might ask? Well, primarily because every time I use one of the command line tools, I’m scrambling around like a chicken trying to get his/her fair share of scratch grains, as I try to remember the command line options for each tool to get what I’m after. After a while, it becomes tiring, which makes reaching for a GUI tool all that more tempting.

That main GUI tool I usually reach for is Master PDF Editor. The best way to think of Master PDF Editor is as a word processor whose default output is PDF files. Plus, it also allows you to edit most PDF files to replace images or text, and then output those changes back to a PDF file. Don’t get me wrong … it’s a mighty powerful program that excels at its job. But sometimes, it’s overkill, and sometimes too slow.

PCLinuxOS Magazine ☛ PCLinuxOS Screenshot Showcase

PCLinuxOS Magazine ☛ Recent Improvements to DNF Package Manager

DNF Package Manager (the GUI front end to DNF5) was introduced in PCLinuxOS approximately nine months ago. I wrote an overview of this homegrown application for the October 2025 issue of our magazine; it covers basic usage as well as background information on the reasons why the PCLinuxOS development team switched to DNF. In this month's article, I will discuss improvements to DNF Package Manager since its initial release. The current version is 1.14-3, which was released in mid-April 2026.

PCLinuxOS Magazine ☛ From The Chief Editor's Desk...

I've been interested in manned spaceflight since I was a kid. I watched Gemini flights, and then every single Apollo mission. In fact, the entire history of manned spaceflight fits into my lifetime. Back in July, 1969, I was eight years old, less than a month away from my ninth birthday. Apollo 11 didn't just send men to the moon. They actually walked on the moon.