Open-source News

AMDGPU Linux 6.3 Addition To Help With Optimized Buffer Placement

Phoronix - Sun, 01/22/2023 - 01:00
On Friday AMD sent out another round of feature patches for new kernel graphics driver material they have readied in advance of the Linux 6.3 kernel cycle...

NVIDIA Contributes linux_dmabuf v4 Feedback Support To XWayland

Phoronix - Sat, 01/21/2023 - 22:00
NVIDIA engineer Austin Shafer has contributed linux_dmabuf v4 feedback protocol support for upstream XWayland. This is working towards allowing scan-out modifiers that a compositor advertises to be delivered to X11 applications under (X)Wayland...

IBM Looks To Squeeze Support For Future Power "Dense Math" CPUs Into GCC 13

Phoronix - Sat, 01/21/2023 - 19:41
Back in November IBM engineers sent out compiler patches for "future" CPUs and notably added new dense math instructions. At the time they noted the new target "may or may not be present" in future IBM Power processors but now they are hoping to get these "future" patches squeeze into the GCC 13 compiler...

DualShock 4 Controller Support Being Dropped From HID-Sony In Favor Of New Driver

Phoronix - Sat, 01/21/2023 - 19:17
With the Linux 6.2 kernel Sony DualShock 4 controller support was added to the "hid-playstation" driver as the newer open-source driver maintained by Sony and started out originally in supporting the PlayStation 5 DualSense controllers. The DualShock 4 controller was long supported by the "hid-sony" driver while now in the Linux 6.3 kernel that support will be removed...

More Improvements Come To KDE Plasma Wayland, KF6 Development Enters Next Phase

Phoronix - Sat, 01/21/2023 - 19:05
KDE developers have had a busy start to 2023 with preparing Plasma 5.27 for release as the final feature version in the Plasma 5 series. Work on Plasma 6.0 and KDE Frameworks 6 continues heating up...

Reflecting on my first Linux conference

opensource.com - Sat, 01/21/2023 - 16:00
Reflecting on my first Linux conference skuchere Sat, 01/21/2023 - 03:00

I was left in awe when I first became aware of Linux and other open source software in 2007. Could it be that there is software that people lovingly contribute to, update, and document, and it remains free? I attended the Ohio Linux Fest in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2008 (now called Open Libre Fest) and was absolutely astounded.

I was not only an attendee of the conference, but I also volunteered to help ensure it ran smoothly. I had the job of signaling the speakers, so they knew when they were running close to the end of their window of time. It was a unique experience, as I was not only a spectator but also worked behind the scenes.

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The insight I gained into the world of open source software was invaluable, and it got me hooked on the world of free software. I got to listen to various speakers talk about their projects. They were all unique projects, yet also very forward-thinking in their ideas and fantastic in their application.

Getting involved with open source

My favorite topic was Gcompris, an application designed to teach children how to use a computer running the Linux OS. The graphics were bold, colorful, and clearly intended to get children (hey, and adults, too) involved in the UI. There was also a very inspirational speaker who spoke about the future of Linux and how it would advance to make all software free to share, modify, and improve. Fourteen years later, and I think Linux is well on its way to its promise of free everything!

Another thing I noticed at the conference was the diverse groups of people in attendance, all there to learn about Linux. The convention guests were a genial group, whether you knew everything about Linux or nothing at all. This community needs every sort of skill set, and everyone was accepted regardless of previous Linux experience.

What was your first technical conference? Which ones are you planning on attending in the coming year?

Attending (and working) my first Linux conference was an eye-opening experience in the world of open source.

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OpenZFS 2.1.8 Released With Linux 6.1~6.2 Compatibility Updates, Bug Fixes

Phoronix - Sat, 01/21/2023 - 07:24
While the much anticipated OpenZFS 3.0 hasn't yet materialized as it was originally hoped for in 2022, OpenZFS 2.x continues on maturing nicely with fixes and other updates to this open-source ZFS file-system implementation currently supported on FreeBSD and Linux systems...

Wine 8.0-rc5 Released With Just Nine Bugs Fixed

Phoronix - Sat, 01/21/2023 - 02:45
Work on Wine 8.0 is winding down and it looks like the stable release could be out next week or otherwise very soon...

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