Untitled Linux Show 217: Could You Export That to an Epub?

Aired: August 24, 2025
Host: Jonathan Bennett
Panelists: Rob Campbell, Ken Starks, Jeff Geerling
Podcast: All TWiT.tv Shows (Audio)

Episode Overview

This episode of the Untitled Linux Show brings together the usual panel — Jonathan, Rob, Ken, and Jeff — to dive into the latest developments in the Linux ecosystem. The theme of the week revolves around significant software updates, Linux on Apple Silicon, security theater (anime catgirls in the kernel!), AI and LibreOffice, e-book management, cutting-edge distributions, and desktop tooling. As always, the tone is informative, lighthearted, and peppered with practical insights and banter.

Key Discussion Topics

1. Apple Silicon Support in the Linux Kernel

[02:54–08:05]

• Asahi Linux’s Resilience and Kernel Progress:
  The panel discusses key members (Hector Martin, Asahi Lina) leaving the Asahi Linux project, but emphasizes how development has continued at pace.
  • "It appears the project has been able to continue on without them." (Rob, 03:16)
  • Recent Device Tree (DT) patches for the Apple M1/M2 SoCs almost made the 6.17 kernel but will feature in 6.18.
• Improvements:
  • Modern Macs can reboot under mainline Linux.
  • SMC (System Management Controller) nodes introduced, critical for Power GPIO, Wi-Fi, and more.
  • Support for lid events, power buttons, sensor monitoring, real-time clock, and USB 3.
• Community Change:
  PR efforts by key developers have shifted, but “quiet progress” continues as longtime contributors step up.
  • "Those two were the limelight... It's good to know we still have people on the team working, maybe a little quieter these days." (Rob, 07:20)

2. Anime Catgirls in the Kernel – What’s Up With LKML’s Web Security?

[09:51–16:41]

• Anubis Web Firewall:
  Jonathan explains the now-infamous “anime catgirl” anti-bot art you encounter accessing LKML and open-source sites, caused by Anubis, a JavaScript-based anti-AI-scraping defense.
  • "It literally costs nothing to break Anubis for every one of these websites... it is completely useless." (Jonathan, 14:07)
  • Tavis Ormandy’s experiment showed that determined scrapers can breeze through the SHA256-based challenge, while old hardware is slowed down.
• Takeaway:
  The Anubis system is labeled as “security theater” rather than serious protection, but does create barriers for some legitimate uses.

3. OpenSUSE Welcome Window Overhaul

[17:54–21:45]

• Phasing Out Legacy Components:
  OpenSUSE is transitioning from its legacy Qt5-based welcome greeter to desktop-specific solutions — Gnome Tour for GNOME and Plasma Welcome for KDE — helping retire Qt5 and streamline desktop experiences.
  • "It's gonna use GNOME’s [tour]...but it's going to be customized for OpenSUSE." (Ken, 21:13)

4. Kdenlive and Shotcut Video Editor Updates

[24:12–30:50]

• Kdenlive 25.0:
  Focused on stability, polish, and bug fixes (300+ commits, 15+ crashes fixed).
  • “Not going to be like ‘Whoa, look what they added’—this is smoothing the rough edges on the interface...” (Jeff, 24:33)
  • Audio mixer redesign, titler improvements, better SVG/image support, timeline/monitor fixes, improved STT (Speech To Text) features.
  • Upcoming sprint in Berlin; call for community contributions.
  • Under-the-hood work toward 10-bit/HDR editing and GPU acceleration hinted for future releases. (Jonathan, 28:36)
• Honorable Mention:
  Shotcut and other Linux editors (OpenShot, Flowblade, Avidemux) also received quick recognition.

5. LibreOffice 25.8: Speed, Features, and AI

[32:36–39:47]

• Performance Leap:
  Faster app startup and file handling; 30% faster opening Writer/Calc files; improved MS Office format handling.
• Feature Improvements:
  PDF 2.0 export with AES-256, improved spellcheck, accessibility, new spreadsheet functions.
• New AI Extension:
  An official extension allows Stable Diffusion-based image generation directly inside Writer and Impress, powered by AI Horde.
  • "The biggest thing coming to LibreOffice that Jonathan is going to love is AI." (Rob, 35:47, playfully teasing)
• Dropping Legacy Support:
  Windows 32-bit and Win 7/8/8.1 support are being retired.

6. Chrome Gets Wayland HDR

[43:56–44:47]

• Color Management V1 Protocol:
  Chrome now has landed support for Wayland HDR; set to roll out in Chrome 141 (late September). This brings Chrome in line with Firefox in delivering HDR videos on Linux platforms.

7. Calibre 8.9 and ePub Management

[44:55–49:59]

• New Features:
  More streamlined news/download workflow, better annotation handling, Tolino firmware support, improved speech model handling.
  • "I am amazed at the new features Kovid comes up with based on requests from all of us users." (Ken, 45:55)
• User Use Cases:
  Discussion on e-ink readers, the evolution of Kobo/Nook/Kindle, and color e-ink for comics and PDFs.

8. CachyOS: Performance-Focused Linux

[51:11–89:44]

• Spotlight on Performance:
  Now the #1 performer post-Clear Linux, CachyOS is designed for modern CPUs (x86-64-v3+), rolling release, based on Arch, with many desktop choices.
  • "They're like, okay, you gotta be this high to ride, you know?" (Jeff, 56:24)
• Installation Experience (Part 2):
  Jeff details his hands-on installation story, troubleshooting Ventoy, Secure Boot, BitLocker, RST (rapid storage tech), and partitioning for dual-boot.
  • "If I had used a USB with only CachyOS on it… it probably would be a different story." (Jeff, 82:28)
  • Key tip: Windows/Linux dual-boot often requires tweaking BIOS settings related to storage modes (RST vs. AHCI).

Additional Notable Segments

FFmpeg 8.0 “Huffman” Released

[75:05–79:37]

• Major new features: Whisper speech-to-text filter, Vulkan-based compute acceleration, security improvements (default TLS peer verification), and modernization of project infrastructure.
• Panel discusses potential for automatic, speaker-attributed podcast transcripts if/when FFmpeg supports speaker recognition.
  • "Can you use this to get a transcript where it tells you which speaker is which?" (Jonathan, 77:54)

Desktop Tips and Command Line Tricks

• GNOME Extensions Management (Rob, [92:34–96:06]):
  How to search for, install, and manage GNOME Shell extensions via browser integration or the GNOME Extensions app.
  • "Vanilla GNOME is a little bit useless — you really need extensions to fit your need." (Rob, 92:34)
• WirePlumber Audio Controls (Ken, [96:23–101:16]):
  Using wpctl to script volume and mute/unmute (great hack for boot scripts or recovery).
• Monitor Wake-up Trick (Jeff, [101:35–105:21]):
  For NVIDIA/KDE/OLED users, a method to revive a sleeping monitor without rebooting via Ctrl+Alt+F hotkeys.

Practical Terminal Life Hacks

• Keeping Color Output with Piped Commands (Jonathan & Hive Mind, [105:42–110:44]):
  Explains use of the unbuffer tool from the Expect package to preserve ANSI color codes through pipes (e.g., ls --color=auto | grep)
  • "Every command works a little bit differently... with the ls command, you want to explicitly call out the --color=auto." (Jonathan, 105:55)

Notable Quotes & Banter

• On Anime Catgirls Security:
  “It's fascinating. It's sort of an art project more than it is real security. I call it security theater.” — Jonathan (15:12)
• On LibreOffice's New AI Image Gen Feature:
  “The biggest thing coming to LibreOffice that Jonathan is going to love is AI.” — Rob (35:47, playfully teasing)
  • “Oh yay.” — Jonathan (35:47)
• On Chromes’s HDR Support Finally Landing:
  “Chrome is finally catching up to Firefox. I’ve been enjoying it in Firefox for a while now… You’ll be able to get your HDR fix.” — Jonathan (44:13)
• On Cutting Out Old Windows Support:
  “It's probably time to leave it in the past though. Install Linux on that old box.” — Jonathan (37:48)
• On CachyOS Hardware Requirements:
  “They're like, okay, you gotta be this high to ride, you know?” — Jeff (56:24)
• On Linux Dual-boot Drama:
  “So both operating systems work depending on this type of drive communication...” — Jeff (89:44)
• On FFMPEG Whisper Models’ Size:
  “Tiny is 75 megabits on one… the largest 2.9 gigabytes.” — Ken (79:22)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Apple Silicon Kernel Update: [02:54–08:05]
• Anime Catgirls Web Security: [09:51–16:41]
• OpenSUSE Welcome Phasing: [17:54–21:45]
• Kdenlive & Video Editors: [24:12–31:45]
• LibreOffice & AI Extension: [32:36–41:44]
• Wayland HDR in Chrome: [43:56–44:47]
• Ebook Management (Calibre): [44:55–49:59]
• CachyOS Deep Dive & Install: [51:11–89:44]
• FFmpeg 8.0 & Whisper Filter: [75:05–79:37]
• GNOME Extensions Tip: [92:34–96:06]
• WirePlumber Audio Scripting: [96:23–101:16]
• Monitor Wake Fix: [101:35–105:21]
• Keeping Colors with unbuffer: [105:42–110:44]

Conclusion & Community Plugs

Panelists wrap up with their personal plugs, favorite resources, and a nod to supporting the show and the greater TWiT community. Jeff closes with the ever-relevant system admin poem, “Did you restart it or clear your cache and cookies? Did you really, though?” (Jeff, 113:25), a wry nod to universal troubleshooting wisdom.

For more info and show links, check out the show notes or visit TWiT.tv.