Slashdot reader unixbhaskar shared this report from Phoronix: Larry Finger who has contributed to the Linux kernel since 2005 and has seen more than 1,500 kernel patches upstreamed into the mainline Linux kernel has sadly passed away. His wife shared the news of Larry Finger's passing this weekend on the linux-wireless mailing list in a brief statement. Reactions are being shared around the internet. LWN writes: The LWN Kernel Source Database shows that Finger contributed to 94 releases in the (Git era) kernel history, starting with 2.6.16 — 1,464 commits in total. He will be missed... In part to his contributions, the Linux wireless hardware support has come a long way over the past two decades. Larry was a frequent contributor to the Linux Wireless and Linux Kernel mailing lists. (Here's a 2006 discussion he had about Git with Linus Torvalds.) Larry also answered 54 Linux questions on Quora, and in 2005 wrote three articles for Linux Journal. And Larry's GitHub profile shows 122 contributions to open source projects just in 2024. In Reddit's Linux forum, one commenter wrote, "He was 84 years old and was still writing code. What a legend. May he rest in peace."

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"A good portion of my home directory got deleted," complained a bug report for systemd filed last week. It requested an update to a flag for the systemd-tmpfiles tool which cleans up files and directories: "a huge warning next to --purge. This option is dangerous, so it should be made clear that it's dangerous." The Register explains: As long as five years ago, systemd-tmpfiles had moved on past managing only temporary files — as its name might suggest to the unwary. Now it manages all sorts of files created on the fly ... such as things like users' home directories. If you invoke the systemd-tmpfiles --purge command without specifying that very important config file which tells it which files to handle, version 256 will merrily purge your entire home directory. The bug report first drew a cool response from systemd developer Luca Boccassi of Microsoft: So an option that is literally documented as saying "all files and directories created by a tmpfiles.d/ entry will be deleted", that you knew nothing about, sounded like a "good idea"? Did you even go and look what tmpfiles.d entries you had beforehand? Maybe don't just run random commands that you know nothing about, while ignoring what the documentation tells you? Just a thought eh But the report then triggered "much discussion," reports Phoronix. Some excerpts: Lennart Poettering: "I think we should fail --purge if no config file is specified on the command line. I see no world where an invocation without one would make sense, and it would have caught the problem here." Red Hat open source developer Zbigniew JÄ(TM)drzejewski-Szmek: "We need to rethink how --purge works. The principle of not ever destroying user data is paramount. There can be commands which do remove user data, but they need to be minimized and guarded." Systemd contributor Betonhaus: "Having a function that declares irreplaceable files — such as the contents of a home directory — to be temporary files that can be easily purged, is at best poor user interfacing design and at worst a severe design flaw." But in the end, Phoronix writes, systemd-tmpfiles behavior "is now improved upon." "Merged Wednesday was this patch that now makes systemd-tmpfiles accept a configuration file when running purge. That way the user must knowingly supply the configuration file(s) to which files they would ultimately like removed. The documentation has also been improved upon to make the behavior more clear." Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader slack_justyb for sharing the news.

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In 2016, Phoronix remembered how the early days of Linux kernel mode-setting (KMS) had brought hopes for improved error messages. And one long-awaited feature was errors messages for "Direct Rendering Manager" (or DRM) drivers — something analgous to the "Blue Screen of Death" Windows gives for critical errors. Now Linux 6.10 is introducing a new DRM panic handler infrastructure enabling messages when a panic occurs, Phoronix reports today. "This is especially important for those building a kernel without VT/FBCON support where otherwise viewing the kernel panic message isn't otherwise easily available." With Linux 6.10 the initial DRM Panic code has landed as well as wiring up the DRM/KMS driver support for the SimpleDRM, MGAG200, IMX, and AST drivers. There is work underway on extending DRM Panic support to other drivers that we'll likely see over the coming kernel cycles for more widespread support... On Linux 6.10+ with platforms having the DRM Panic driver support, this "Blue Screen of Death" functionality can be tested via a route such as echo c > /proc/sysrq-trigger. The article links to a picture shared on Mastodon by Red Hat engineer Javier Martinez Canillas of the error message being generated on a BeaglePlay single board computer. Phoronix also points out that some operating systems have even considered QR codes for kernel error messages...

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ZDNet published a new article this week with their own tips for new Linux users. It begins by arguing that switching to the Linux desktop "is easier than you think" and "you'll find help everywhere". (And also that "You won't want for apps.") That doesn't mean it has everything. For example, there is no version of Adobe Photoshop. There is GIMP (which is just as powerful as Photoshop) but for those of you accustomed to Adobe's de facto standard, you're out of luck. The worst-case scenario is you have to learn a new piece of software to meet your graphic needs. At the same time, you might have to turn to proprietary software. For open-source purists, that's a no-go. But for those who just need to get things done, you'll find a mixture of open-source and proprietary software will give you everything you need to be productive and entertained. Their article also recommends new users should "weed out Arch-based distributions," while warning that "Linux is more secure, but..." The truth is, any time you have a computer connected to a network, it's vulnerable and it doesn't matter what operating system you use. To that end, it's crucial that you keep your operating system (and the installed applications) up to date. Fortunately, most Linux operating systems make this very easy... You're probably used to the slow trickle of updates and improvements found in the likes of Windows or MacOS. On Linux, you can count on that process being considerably faster. This is especially important with updates. When a vulnerability is found in an application that affects Linux, it is fixed far faster than it would be on competing platforms. The reason for this is that most Linux software is created and maintained by developers who don't have to answer to boards or committees or have a painfully slow bug resolution process. It might be announced that a vulnerability has been discovered in an application and the fix is officially released the next day. I've seen that very thing happen more times than I can count. But it's not just about vulnerabilities. Developers add new features to software all the time and even listen to users. You could contact a developer of an open-source application with an idea and find it implemented in the next update. Linux is always evolving and it does so much faster than other operating systems. And there's one final caveat. "Not all hardware will work (but most will)." I'll say this (and I stand by it): Ubuntu Linux probably has the best hardware detection and support of any operating system on the market. But that doesn't mean it works with everything. Certain peripherals you own could have trouble working with Linux. Two of the more problematic pieces of hardware are scanners and wireless chips. When I find a piece of hardware that isn't supported, here's one thing I've often done: I try a different Linux distribution... (Fedora often ships with a newer kernel than Ubuntu Linux, and therefore supports more modern hardware.) Keep in mind that most Linux distributions are offered as Live images, which means you can test-drive them without making any changes to your hard drive. This is a great way to tell if a distribution will support all the hardware you need to use. Agree? Disagree? Share your reactions in the comments... And what advice would you give to a first-time Linux user?

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Slashdot reader BrianFagioli shares his report from BetaNews: The PC community is abuzz with Qualcomm's recent announcement of its Snapdragon X Elite SoC, a powerhouse chipset that promises to revolutionize the performance and energy efficiency of laptops and tablets. While Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs are set to feature this advanced processor, Linux enthusiasts have reasons to celebrate as well. You see, TUXEDO Computers is bringing this cutting-edge technology to the Linux world with its upcoming ARM notebook, positioning it as a strong competitor to Windows 11 Copilot+ devices. In a recent update, TUXEDO Computers revealed its ambitious project of developing an ARM notebook powered by the Snapdragon X Elite SoC from Qualcomm. This announcement has generated significant excitement, as it presents a viable alternative to traditional x86 notebooks, offering comparable performance with lower energy consumption, directly challenging the dominance of Windows 11 Copilot+... Benchmarks suggest that the Snapdragon X Elite can not only rival but potentially surpass Apple's M2 SoCs, boasting higher energy efficiency. TUXEDO's preliminary tests confirm these impressive claims, setting the stage for a fierce competition with Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs. "We recently presented a prototype of the ARM notebook we are working on at the Computex computer trade fair in Taiwan," according to TUXEDO's announcement. "On the software side, a port of TUXEDO OS with KDE Plasma to the ARM platform is our goal for this project running internally under the working title Drako... "It is quite conceivable that an ARM notebook from TUXEDO will be under your Christmas tree in 2024... If you have subscribed to our newsletter, you will be the first to know."

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