Untitled Linux Show 184: PoPOS Broke PoPOS – Episode Summary

Release Date: January 6, 2025

The Untitled Linux Show 184: PoPOS Broke PoPOS, hosted by TWiT’s Rob and featuring co-hosts Ken, Jeff, and Jonathan, serves as a comprehensive Year in Review for the Linux ecosystem in 2024. The episode delves into significant developments, assesses predictions made for the past year, and outlines expectations for 2025. Below is a detailed summary capturing the key discussions, insights, and conclusions from the episode.

1. Introduction and Year in Review

Rob kicks off the episode by welcoming listeners to the new year and introducing the Year in Review segment. The hosts discuss revisiting their 2024 predictions, grading their accuracy, and reflecting on major Linux-related news from the past year.

2. Steam Survey and Linux Market Share

Rob presents insights from the Steam Survey, highlighting a notable increase in Linux's market share among gamers:

• Linux Market Share Growth: In 2024, Linux surpassed the 2% mark in the Steam Survey, peaking at 2.29% in December (04:00).

  "I predict Linux on Steam survey, that for sure Linux will hit 2.5%. That's the easy one. But my stars, my shooting for the stars, where I'm gambling on is I think there's a chance they'll get that 3%."
  — Rob 05:11

• Factors Driving Growth: Valve’s Steam Deck and SteamOS contributed significantly to this increase, with SteamOS accounting for 36.47% of Linux gamers. Additionally, 73.6% of Linux users prefer AMD CPUs, indicating strong support for AMD within the Linux gaming community.

• Distribution Popularity: The top Linux distributions on Steam include SteamOS, Arch, Flatpak, Ubuntu, and Linux Mint, with Fedora not making the top 10 likely due to its frequent version changes.

3. SteamOS and Linux Gaming Updates

Jeff discusses Linus from Linus Tech Tips' attempt to run SteamOS on a PC, emphasizing the challenges and current limitations:

• SteamOS on PC: Linus successfully installed SteamOS on an AMD-powered PC but faced compatibility issues with Nvidia GPUs and other drivers, indicating that SteamOS is still in a pre-alpha state for desktop use (10:18).

• Future of SteamOS: Valve anticipates releasing SteamOS as a general-purpose distribution, although current stability and hardware support remain concerns.

4. Xorg and Kernel Commit Review

The hosts analyze the state of the Xorg server and Linux kernel development:

• Xorg Activity: Michael Larabel noted a spike in Xorg commits in 2024, primarily driven by ongoing development of X Wayland support and security fixes. However, with only 35 active contributors—a decrease from previous years—there are concerns about the sustainability of Xorg's development (24:13).

• Linux Kernel Commits: In 2024, kernel commits reached a decade low at 75,314, though the total lines of code added and removed remained consistent with the past decade. This decline is attributed to the maturation of the kernel, with fewer low-hanging enhancements left (27:13).

• Sustainability Concerns: The aging of current maintainers and the impact of US sanctions restricting contributions from certain countries pose potential threats to the kernel's future development.

5. Proxmox as a VMware Alternative

Rob introduces Proxmox as a rising contender to VMware in enterprise environments:

• Proxmox Data Center Manager: The alpha release of Proxmox Data Center Manager aims to facilitate the management of multiple Proxmox clusters, akin to VMware's VCenter. Key features include VM migration across clusters, centralized monitoring, and improved administrative controls (37:36).

• Market Positioning: With VMware ESXi undergoing significant changes under Broadcom’s ownership—such as ending perpetual licensing and discontinuing free ESXi for hobbyists—Proxmox stands out as a viable replacement for both educational institutions and enterprise data centers.

6. Debian 13 (Trixie) Updates

Jonathan provides an overview of Debian 13's progress:

• Installer Enhancements: The alpha release of the Debian Trixie installer introduces support for the latest Linux 6.12 LTS kernel, RISC5.64 architecture, and improvements in automatic partitioning and user creation screens (48:08).

• Design and Theming: The new Ceratopsian theme by Elise Cooper is featured in the installer, enhancing the visual experience with a fresh look across wallpapers and login screens.

• Architecture Support Changes: Debian 13 drops support for the RML and i386 architectures, focusing on modern hardware and simplifying the distribution's maintenance.

7. KDE Plasma Updates

Jeff covers the latest developments in KDE Plasma:

• KDE Plasma 6.2.5 Release: This final update for the 6.2 series focuses on bug fixes, including crashes in system settings, display issues in X11 sessions, and improvements in screen recording tools like Spectacle and Obs Studio (52:00).

• Preparation for 6.3: The update sets the stage for the upcoming KDE Plasma 6.3 release, scheduled for February 11th, promising enhanced features and stability.

• Community Feedback: While some users report minor bugs, overall reception to KDE Plasma 6 has been positive, with improvements addressing previous growing pains.

8. Predictions for 2025

The hosts share their forecasts for the upcoming year, reflecting on the accuracy of their 2024 predictions:

• Linux Market Share on Steam: Rob confidently predicts Linux will reach 2.5% on the Steam Survey, with a bold guess of momentarily hitting 3% (87:50).

• Proxmox Advancements: Anticipation surrounds the final release of Proxmox Data Center Manager, potentially solidifying Proxmox's role in enterprise data centers by 2025 (88:11).

• KDE Plasma Developments: Expectation of significant enhancements in KDE Plasma 6.3, with continued improvements and feature additions (93:49).

• Linux Kernel Evolution: Predictions include the end-of-life for Linux Kernel version 5.4, the introduction of kernel 7.0 as an LTS release, and ongoing challenges in maintaining kernel development momentum (76:46).

• Software and Hardware Integration: Forecasts suggest the integration of HDR support in browsers like Firefox and continued advancements in AMD’s HIP and ROCm as CUDA alternatives, albeit with gradual progress (91:20).

• Open Source Project Dynamics: Concerns about forks gaining traction due to cultural and geopolitical factors, potentially leading to a fractured Linux kernel development landscape (84:47).

9. Command Line Tips

The episode concludes with practical command line tips for Linux users:

• Refine as a GNOME Tweaks Replacement: Ken introduces Refine, a new tool available on Flathub, aiming to replace GNOME Tweaks with enhanced features for customizing GNOME settings (102:31).

• basename Command: Jeff explains the basename command, useful for extracting the filename from a full path, which is particularly handy in scripting and automation (112:34).

• loginctl Usage: Rob demonstrates how to use loginctl to check whether a session is running X11 or Wayland, providing detailed information about active sessions (104:36; 115:45).

Conclusion

The Untitled Linux Show 184: PoPOS Broke PoPOS offers an in-depth analysis of the Linux landscape in 2024, celebrating milestones like Linux's growth in the gaming sector and scrutinizing areas needing attention, such as kernel development sustainability. The hosts provide thoughtful predictions for 2025, emphasizing the importance of community involvement and technological advancements. Practical tips round out the episode, equipping listeners with tools to enhance their Linux experience.

Notable Quotes:

"I predict Linux on Steam survey, that for sure Linux will hit 2.5%. That's the easy one. But my stars, my shooting for the stars, where I'm gambling on is I think there's a chance they'll get that 3%."
— Rob 05:11

"They didn't really back off from what he was saying. It's kind of on pause a little bit and then, you know, with everything Windows 11 is doing not making people happy and the state of Linux in general is so much easier than it was."
— Jeff 15:55

"The Wayland Color Management protocol is finally close to landing, and once that happens, then I predict that you're going to see browsers begin to support it."
— Rob 80:36

This summary provides an overview of the key discussions and insights from Untitled Linux Show 184: PoPOS Broke PoPOS. For a more detailed exploration, listening to the full episode is recommended.