{"id":8582,"date":"2026-10-01T06:06:54","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T13:06:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=8582"},"modified":"2026-10-01T06:06:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T13:06:54","slug":"foss-weekly-26-40-nixos-is-european-choice-firefox-nova-and-features-free-terminal-course-homelab-improvements-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=8582","title":{"rendered":"FOSS Weekly #26.40: NixOS is European Choice, Firefox Nova and Features, Free Terminal Course, Homelab Improvements and More"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"FOSS<\/figure>\n

Canonical is moving Ubuntu’s kernel update cycle from four weeks to two<\/a>, with the expected result being a kernel release landing every week due to cycle overlap. They did this because AI-assisted vulnerability hunting is causing CVEs to land faster than the old timeline could respond to.<\/p>\n

They have also enabled upgrades from Ubuntu 24.04 LTS to Ubuntu 26.04.1<\/a>. And the delayed beta release of Ubuntu 26.10 should arrive today.<\/p>\n

AlmaLinux now has software certification<\/a>, which means publishers can list products and users can confirm what runs on their hardware, with everything going into a public catalog with a free read-only API facilitating bulk data export.<\/p>\n

GhostBSD’s lead developer is building a new desktop called Mocka<\/a> to eventually replace MATE. It is built from scratch with no shared code from the MATE project, and the name comes from a typo. <\/p>\n

postmarketOS is now Nura<\/a>. The rename has been in the works since March 2025, drew over 300 community submissions, and went through a trademark review and a vote before it was finalized. On the same note, F-Droid has a major revamp<\/a>. In case you did not know, F-Droid is the FOSS alternative to Google Play Store.<\/p>\n

openSUSE is consolidating its distro lineup. Leap Micro, the separate immutable flavor for container and edge workloads, is going away, and Leap 16.1 absorbs its functionality<\/a> via an optional installer mode.<\/p>\n

This edition of FOSS Weekly is supported by <\/strong>Dawarich<\/strong><\/a>, an open source alternative to Google Timeline.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Dawarich is a private alternative to Google Timeline.<\/span><\/p>\n

Google killed browser Timeline and is limiting data retention. You can import your entire location history into Dawarich in minutes. It is private and encrypted. No ads. No data selling.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is open source and can also be self-hosted. Or, you can opt for their encrypted service.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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\ud83e\udde0 What We\u2019re Thinking About<\/h2>\n

The Netherlands is building a NixOS-powered work environment<\/a> after watching Microsoft cut off ICC access in 2025. Though it turns out France’s digital agency had beat them to it<\/a>, already running their own version of NixOS on internal workstations.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc27 Tuxdle is rising<\/h2>\n

Last week I shared my weekend project, Tuxdle<\/a>. It’s a word game where you have to guess the Linux term within six attempts. The game has gained good popularity. We are getting more than 500 plays every day. A good number for a game that is less than a week old.<\/p>\n

I have made some enhancements to the game. You can see your stats and you can also see stats on the day’s puzzle. That tells you how many people played the game and how many people actually solved it. Streak badges have also been added. <\/p>\n

Want more fun and challenges? On Linux Handbook, we have created a fun Capture the Flag game<\/a>. You have 10 levels to solve. When you solve a level, the next level gets unlocked. The challenges run in custom docker containers. Everything on your system really. No sign up is needed.<\/p>\n

\ud83e\uddee Linux Tips, Tutorials, and Learnings<\/h2>\n

I am also enhancing the user experience on the It’s FOSS website. One of the first things I did was organize the series\/courses in a proper format.<\/p>\n

If you visit the terminal course<\/a> or bash scripting course<\/a>, you will see the chapters in the series in the left sidebar. This will give you easier navigation.<\/p>\n

There are many Linux distros that don’t provide a dock by default, and if you want one, there’s no dearth of options: Latte for KDE users, Cairo for old-school animations, and Dash to Dock for GNOME users; there’s something for every taste and desktop setup<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You’ve seen “upstream<\/em>” and “downstream<\/em>” in patch notes, bug trackers, and forum replies without it ever being fully explained. We have already tackled what the terms actually mean<\/a>, both for the kernel and for applications, and why it matters when you’re deciding where to file a bug report.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc77 AI, Homelab and Hardware Corner<\/h2>\n

One of the biggest annoyances of homelab is accessing services by using IP address and port number. I fixed this by giving a custom domain name to every service I run<\/a>. I used AdGuard as DNS and Nginx Proxy Manager for reverse proxy. And the end result is that I can use Jellyfin by typing jellyfin.internal instead of typing 192.168.0.23:8097.<\/p>\n

Most SBC projects end with your drawer filling up with HATs for different use cases. Vicharak’s Axon-Lite tries a different approach<\/a> where it offers swappable interface modules for voice, vision, sensing, and AI data.<\/p>\n

\u2728 Apps and Projects Highlights<\/h2>\n

Firefox’s Nova redesign is finally here<\/a>, and it looks good! There’s also a neat toggle for anyone who doesn’t prefer it’s pill-shapedness.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfd\ufe0f Videos for You<\/h2>\n

And here’s 21 useful Firefox features<\/a> to give you a reminder why this browser keeps coming back, even after the wrong turns it has taken these past few years.<\/p>\n

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Subscribe to It’s FOSS YouTube Channel<\/a><\/div>\n

\ud83d\udca1 Quick Handy Tip<\/h2>\n
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