{"id":8749,"date":"2026-10-15T05:58:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T12:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=8749"},"modified":"2026-10-15T05:58:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T12:58:00","slug":"foss-weekly-26-42-ai-in-kernel-ubuntu-26-10-firefox-business-mint-release-changes-and-more-linux-stuff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=8749","title":{"rendered":"FOSS Weekly #26.42: AI in Kernel, Ubuntu 26.10 Firefox Business, Mint Release Changes and More Linux Stuff"},"content":{"rendered":"
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AI’s role in kernel work is looking more apparent now. Linus Torvalds’ use of Claude Code<\/a> has tripled read speeds for concurrent file access, while Sasha Levin proposed an agents directory<\/a> to house AI skills for kernel work.<\/p>\n

And that’s just the way AI is progressing, for good or bad. Last week’s most popular news was an open source project that used AI to reverse engineer Adobe’s Photoshop<\/a> and other tools. Now the same project has used AI to ‘clone’ Microsoft Office.<\/p>\n

These days, 9 out of 10 new open source software I come across is created with AI assistance. My inbox is flodded with new software review requests. One glance and I can ‘feel’ that both software and the coverage request email used AI.<\/p>\n

So, like Linus Torvalds, I have made my peace with it. Until now, I was trying not to recommend open source tools that were openly developed with help of Claude or other AI tools. I don’t see the point of it anymore now. If an open source software is good and I feel that readers would find it useful, I will feature it regardless. You can then decide on your own if you want to use it or not.<\/p>\n

And this is also the time to get moving towards local AI. Where AI and models live in your system locally instead of a cloud. Sure, it won’t match the performance of Claude and other frontier models, but some smaller tasks can still be achieved with local AI. Ubuntu’s AI-based voice input tool Myna is a proof of that.<\/p>\n

Do subscribe to the Local AI Weekly newsletter<\/a> if you want to stay updated and use the AI on your system in true open source spirit.<\/p>\n

This edition of FOSS Weekly is supported by PrivacyNotes<\/a>, an open source, zero knowledge note management app.<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udcf0 Linux news that matters<\/h2>\n

Ubuntu 26.10<\/a> is going to be released today. While we wait for Ubuntu 26.10 ISOs to appear, the next interim release already has a codename, “Tenacious T-Rex<\/a>,” marking the first time Ubuntu has ever used a dinosaur-themed mascot. <\/p>\n

ONLYOFFICE Docs 10.0<\/a> brings AI assistance to every editor for text summarization and formula drafting, while adding collaboration features, spreadsheet speed improvements, and modular apps for forms and file management.<\/p>\n

Strata is a new keyboard-first file manager<\/a> for Omarchy and Arch that just hit 1.0, offering column view browsing, vi-key navigation, and a clever feature that remembers each folder\u2019s sort order and icon size.<\/p>\n

LibreOffice has come to the rescue after Microsoft’s discontinuation of Publisher for 365 users. Using the Document Liberation Project\u2019s reverse-engineered library, users can now open PUB files<\/a> and migrate them to open standard formats.<\/p>\n

Mozilla is targeting the commercial market with Firefox Enterprise<\/a>, a product that would let organizations manage Firefox installations across employee devices through a self-hosted console.<\/p>\n

Linux Mint has moved to an annual release cycle<\/a>, with the next one, Linux Mint 27 “Adrien<\/em>” arriving on Christmas. There won’t be a Mint 23.x<\/p>\n

The CachyOS team recently announced that Framework is increasing its support<\/a> for the project, going from $250 per month to $850, taking the total figure up to $10,200 a year.<\/p>\n

Open source boot firmware LibreBoot has a new release supporting<\/a> more hardware now.<\/p>\n

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

Six open source vendors have launched Open Productivity Software<\/a> to expand openDesk from government use into the enterprise market.<\/p>\n

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

My Computer is a Shell extension<\/a> that restores the unified “Computer<\/em>” view that GNOME dropped from Files (Nautilus<\/em>) in the GNOME 47 release. It displays drives, network locations, and removable media in one place rather than them being scattered across the sidebar.<\/p>\n

Arch users run pacman -Syu<\/code> for updates because it prevents dependency mismatches<\/a> when the local package database is stale. Running just -S<\/code> on an outdated system can leave you with incompatible package versions.<\/p>\n

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

Pebble completed the full open source release of software, hardware schematics, and mobile apps in 2025<\/a>, paving the way for its resurrection. Now the Pebble Round 2<\/a> smartwatch has entered production and begun shipping to preorders.<\/p>\n

Zima, brand behind ZimaOS, ZimaBoard, and ZimaCube, is organizing a self-hosting event on Reddit<\/a> where you can win homelab gadgets and AdGuard and PhotoPrism licenses just by sharing your self-hosting story. If you already self-host, why not try your luck? Or, at least explore how other people are self-hosting.<\/p>\n

Self-hosting Day Event by Zima<\/a><\/div>\n

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

BentoPDF<\/a> is a privacy-first, open source PDF toolkit that processes files locally in your browser instead of uploading to servers.<\/p>\n

A new open source GIS tool<\/a> is here; it lets you chat with an AI Assistant about map data and geographic workflows.<\/p>\n

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

For people who are working extensively with git, this terminal-based git client<\/a> is worth a try.<\/p>\n

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