Latest Linux and open source news from around the web

UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook Sponsored · View on Amazon → Docker Deep Dive Sponsored · View on Amazon →
Phoronix

GNU Linux-Libre 6.19 Deals With More Firmware Blobs In Intel Xe, IWLWIFI & NVIDIA Nova

Building off yesterday's Linux 6.19 release is now the GNU Linux-libre 6.19-gnu downstream release that strips out support for open-source drivers dependent upon binary-only microcode/firmware and other elements deemed against free software standards, removing the ability to load non-open-source kernel modules, and similar restrictions in the name of software freedom...

Phoronix

Linux 7.0 Officially Concluding The Rust Experiment

While Linux 7.0 is the next kernel version solely over Linus Torvalds' numbering preference, there is a notable symbolic change that was sent in overnight for this new kernel merge window: formally concluding the "Rust experiment" with upstream kernel developers now in acceptance that Rust for the Linux kernel is here to stay...

9to5Linux

9to5Linux Weekly Roundup: February 8th, 2026

9to5Linux Weekly Roundup for February 8th, 2026, brings news about Linux kernel 6.19, LibreOffice 26.2, Firefox AI kill switch in Nightly and Beta, KDE Linux beta approaches, COSMIC 1.0.5, KDE Gear 25.12.2, Krita 6 enters public beta testing, Ardour 9.0, Calibre 9.2, and more.

LWN.net

The 6.19 kernel has been released

Linus has released the 6.19 kernel. "No big surprises anywhere last week, so 6.19 is out as expected - just as the US prepares to come to a complete standstill later today watching the latest batch of televised commercials." The most significant changes in 6.19 include initial support for Intel's linear address-space separation feature, support for Arm Memory system resource Partitioning And Monitoring, the listns() system call, a reworked restartable-sequences implementation, support for large block sizes in the ext4 filesystem, some networking changes for improved memory safety, the live update orchestrator, and much more. See the LWN merge-window summaries (part 1, part 2) and the KernelNewbies 6.19 page for details.

Foss Force

Why OOXML Is Not a Standard Format for Office Documents

So you think Wordโ€™s DOCX format is fine because it carries an ISO standard label? Think again. LibreOffice coโ€‘founder Italo Vignoli explains why Microsoftโ€™s OOXML has never been, and likely never will be, a true standard. The post Why OOXML Is Not a Standard Format for Office Documents appeared first on FOSS Force.