All of the memory management "MM" related patches have now been merged for the ongoing Linux 7.0 merge window...

The XFS file-system has some interesting new feature work and performance tuning with the Linux 7.0 kernel that will be used by the likes of Fedora 44 and Ubuntu 26.04 LTS this spring...

Not in time for the current Linux 7.0 cycle but posted for another round of review is Intel's latest work around Cache Aware Scheduling for enhancing the performance of modern CPUs with multiple cache domains. This is the first set of updates to Cache Aware Scheduling for the new year and succeed the v2 patches from early December. This work not only benefits modern Intel CPUs but our testing has shown can also provide some very nice gains too for AMD EPYC processors...

Sent out and already merged today for the Linux 7.0 kernel are the EXT4 file-system updates...

Xubuntu is a community-developed operating system based on Ubuntu. It comes with Xfce, which is a stable, light and configurable desktop environment.

Ubuntu Unity is a flavour of Ubuntu featuring the Unity desktop environment (the default desktop environment developed and used by Ubuntu from 2010 to 2017). Unity debuted in the netbook edition of Ubuntu 10.10; it was initially designed to make more efficient use of space given the limited screen size of netbooks, including a vertical application switcher called "the launcher" and a space-saving horizontal multipurpose top menu bar. Ubuntu switched from Unity to GNOME in 2017, but the desktop was resurrected again as an unofficial "Ubuntu Unity Remix" in 2020. It became an official flavour of Ubuntu during the development cycle of Ubuntu 22.10 in 2022.

After being an Epic Exclusive, the action-adventure Blades of Fire from MercurySteam and 505 Games is arriving on Steam on May 14th.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

An official variant of Ubuntu, Ubuntu Studio is a Linux-based operating system for creative individuals in the areas of audio production, video production, graphics design, photography and desktop publishing. It makes professional audio accessible on Linux; it uses the JACK sound server and a kernel built with a low-latency patch. Up until version 20.10 Ubuntu Studio shipped with the Xfce desktop environment, but this was replaced by KDE Plasma in October 2020.

Ubuntu MATE is a desktop Linux distribution which aims to bring the simplicity and elegance of the Ubuntu operating system through a classic, traditional desktop environment - the MATE desktop. MATE is the continuation of the GNOME 2 desktop environment which was used as Ubuntu's default desktop until 10.10 (when it was replaced by Unity). The project began its life as an Ubuntu "remix", but starting with version 15.04, it was formally accepted as an official member of the Ubuntu family of Linux distributions.

Ubuntu Kylin is an official Ubuntu flavour whose primary goal is to create a variant of Ubuntu optimised for Chinese users (using the Simplified Chinese writing system), although it also supports other languages. The default desktop is called UKUI (Universal Kylin User Interface) which is based on MATE desktop and is developed with the Qt toolkit. UKUI strives to adhere to the friendly-and-simple design concept. The distribution also includes more than 20 applications developed in-house, including Kylin Assistant, Kylin Video, Kylin Screenshots and Software Center.

Ubuntu Cinnamon is an official flavour of the Ubuntu distribution featuring the Cinnamon desktop. The project strives to offer modern tools while providing a user-friendly desktop which will feel familiar for users coming from other operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows.

Ubuntu Budgie (previously budgie-remix) is an Ubuntu-based distribution featuring the Budgie desktop, originally developed by the Solus project. Written from scratch and integrating tightly with the GNOME stack, Budgie focuses on simplicity and elegance, while also offering useful features, such as the Raven notification and customisation centre.

Merged today to Mesa 26.1-devel is unifying of the AMD video decode implementation between the RadeonSI Gallium3D and RADV Vulkan drivers...

GOG has more goodies available for fans of DRM-free gaming with the release of more Total War games, and The Long Dark has returned as well.

Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

In addition to all of the exciting Intel and AMD x86_64 enhancements that have been landing this week so far for the Linux 7.0 kernel, the aging SPARC, Alpha, and Motorola 680x0 "m68k" CPU ports have also seen some patches for this new kernel...

Lubuntu is a variant of Ubuntu that uses the LXQt desktop environment. (Versions prior to 18.10 shipped with the LXDE desktop.) It includes essential applications and services for daily use, including office suite, PDF reader, image editor and multimedia players. A distribution available for both 32-bit and 64-bit computers, Lubuntu is intended to be user-friendly, lightweight and energy efficient.

Kubuntu is a free, user-friendly Linux distribution based on KDE's desktop software and on the Ubuntu operating system. It has a biannual release cycle. Besides providing an up-to-date version of the KDE desktop at the time of the release, the project also releases updated KDE packages throughout the lifetime of each release.

Edubuntu is a partner project of Ubuntu, a distribution suitable for classroom use. The aim is that an educator with limited technical knowledge and skill will be able to set up a computer lab, or establish an on-line learning environment, in an hour or less, and then administer that environment without having to become a fully-fledged Linux geek.

Ubuntu is a complete desktop Linux operating system, freely available with both community and professional support. The Ubuntu community is built on the ideas enshrined in the Ubuntu Manifesto: that software should be available free of charge, that software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities, and that people should have the freedom to customise and alter their software in whatever way they see fit. "Ubuntu" is an ancient African word, meaning "humanity to others". The Ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world.

Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS is now available to download. This is the fourth point release in the Ubuntu 24.04 LTS ‘Noble Numbat’ series since it launched in April 2024. The new installer image (ISO) contains all of the security, bug and software updates released since the Ubuntu 24.04.3 release last August. More notably, Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS ships with a new hardware enablement stack (HWE) offering Linux kernel 6.17 and Mesa 25.2.8, both back-ported from Ubuntu 25.10 and available to install on existing Ubuntu 24.04 systems – no fresh install required. Updated Wayland Protocols are also included in the Ubuntu 24.04.4 HWE […]

You're reading Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS released with Linux 6.17 + Mesa 25.2, a blog post from OMG! Ubuntu. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Earlier this month I posted benchmarks of the Loongson 3B6000 for this 12-core / 24-thread LoongArch Chinese CPU with DDR4 ECC memory. Those initial benchmarks were done with Debian LoongArch64 while since then I've shifted over to using Arch Linux on LoongArch.

Canonical released Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS today as the newest point release to the Noble Numbat...

The Linux 7.0 networking pull request showcases two extremes and the diversity and robustness of the open-source kernel ecosystem. Linux 7.0 is laying the groundwork for WiFi 8 Ultra-High Reliability (UHR) support while this kernel version is also bidding farewell to the last Ethernet driver for use over parallel printer ports...

The Linux kernel's workqueue for async task handling within a dedicated kernel thread is seeing some useful improvements with Linux 7.0...