Untitled Linux Show 223: Doing What Windows Never Could

Released: October 6, 2025
Host: Jonathan (with Jeff and Ken)

Episode Overview

This week’s Untitled Linux Show dives deep into new hardware, dramatic kernel changes, heated debates in the Linux ecosystem, and open source project updates. The hosts discuss the state of Linux as it evolves in ways Windows never could, highlight notable rants and decisions from Linus Torvalds, report on file system changes, developer verification on Android, and much more—all with characteristic humor and real-world experience.

Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Raspberry Pi 500+ Hands-on and Trixie OS Upgrade

Timestamps: 07:09–10:44, 102:04–105:10

• Overview: Jonathan reviews his new Raspberry Pi 500+, including compiling meshtasticd from source and upgrading to the new Trixie-based Raspberry Pi OS (Debian 13).
• Positives: Solid build, 16GB RAM, responsive performance, and smooth NVMe storage.
• Critiques: Wishes for a model without pre-installed NVMe and easier access to the M.2 slot.
• Quote:

  “I wish there was an option to have it ship with no NVMe so you could bring your own storage and they could knock a good $35 off the price.” —Jonathan (09:52)

• Tip: The latest Pi firmware includes the Raspberry Pi Imager—hold Shift while booting to reflash the OS directly, making upgrades painless with new models (102:55).

2. Debian’s Steady Rise & Ubuntu’s Challenge

Timestamps: 11:37–13:33

• Discussion: Debian’s willingness to include non-free firmware weakens Ubuntu’s unique value. Mint’s release of Debian Edition (LMDE) is a hedge against Ubuntu tightening control.
• Ease of Use: Ubuntu and Fedora are still recommended for Linux newcomers due to accessible documentation.
• Quote:

  “Now that [Debian] allow the non-free, you took a big chunk of what made Ubuntu special.” —Jeff (12:47)

3. Linus Torvalds’ Rants: Rust Format Checking & RISC-V Endianness

Timestamps: 17:45–29:46

Rust Format Checking

• Linus critiques the code/style of some Rust kernel submissions, calling out poor formatting.
• Quote:

  “What kind of broken editor are you using… Edlin?”
  “Yes, please make the explanations readable and not just a random jumble of words.”
  (Jeff quoting Linus, 17:35-18:17)

RISC-V Big Endian Support

• Linus is vehemently against adding Big Endian support to RISC-V, calling it unnecessary and “insanity.”
• Notable Quotes:

  “Oh Christ, is somebody seriously working on BE support in 2025? …That sounds just stupid.”
  “We are NOT preemptively supporting Big Endian on RISC-V. The documented reasoning for that craziness is too stupid for words.”
  (Jeff quoting Linus, 21:45-22:55)

4. Google Android Dev Verification “Walk-back”

Timestamps: 31:06–38:13

• Initial Concerns: Google requiring all Android devs to be verified, echoing Apple’s walled approach—fearful for indie/open-source developers.
• Clarification: Google now promises a free registration tier for developers sideloading their own APKs, though the process may still affect F-Droid and similar projects.
• Security Goal: Intended to tie APKs to real individuals to more quickly stop malware publishers.
• Humor:

  “Good for Google for not going completely evil. They’ve just gone a little bit evil on this one.” —Jonathan (34:07)
  “Diet evil.” —Jeff (34:15)

5. Alpine Linux Adopts /usr Merge

Timestamps: 38:44–46:21

• Announcement: Alpine moves toward user-merged file system layout (/bin, /sbin, /lib → /usr/bin, etc.).
• Rationale: Simplifies packaging and aligns with wider Linux trends (Ubuntu also doing it).
• Historical Insight: The /bin vs /sbin split was originally due to small disk sizes.
• Quote:

  “It’s literally just because on the machines that they first started doing UNIX on, the disks were not very big.” —Jonathan (42:04)

6. Kernel File Systems: bcachefs Moves Out-of-Tree

Timestamps: 47:45–59:19

• News: bcachefs, a next-gen Linux file system, is removed from the mainline kernel pending further stabilization—it’s now maintained as a DKMS module.
• Upgrading: Most users will get packages from their distro, but early adopters need to manage modules manually.
• Practical Advice: Always have an old kernel ready to boot if you experiment with new/out-of-tree file systems.
• Quote:

  "Time will tell if BCashFS is going to be the next big thing, or it'll be left to the historical archives." —Jeff (54:29)

7. NDAs and NVIDIA’s Open Source Collaboration

Timestamps: 62:41–70:21

• Story: Red Hat and NVIDIA are working under NDA to bring better support for the new Blackwell GPUs in NVK drivers, facilitating open-source code but protecting confidential implementation details.
• Process: Red Hat’s code is reviewed to ensure no NDA-protected details leak.
• General Principle:

  “If you're in one of these situations, go get your own business lawyer and do what they tell you … none of us are lawyers.” —Jonathan (70:21)

8. AI in Open Source Contribution: Curl’s Lessons

Timestamps: 72:34–79:26

• Problem: Open source projects are flooded with low-quality, AI-generated bug reports.
• Success Story: Security researcher Joshua Rogers used AI scanning tools, responsibly filtered false positives, and submitted a huge patch set to Curl—leading to dozens of real bugfixes.
• Takeaway:

  “So this is what AI can do when wielded by a competent human? …Yes, absolutely.” —(Mastodon thread, 75:10)

• Advice: AI is helpful when used as a junior dev—still needs careful, senior review.

9. Systemd Update: Dropping Old Kernels and Features

Timestamps: 81:12–90:50

• Release: Systemd 258 arrives, dropping CGroup v1 and bumping minimum required kernel to 5.4 (5.7+ recommended); further deprecations (SysV init scripts, iptables support, etc.) coming in 259.
• Impact: Old hardware and legacy scripts increasingly left behind.
• Quote:

  “It kind of won the standards war. That's what we got now. Unless somebody makes something better.” —Jeff (87:52)

10. Wine 10.16: NTSync and 16-bit App Support

Timestamps: 91:41–96:51

• Milestone: Wine adds NTSync, a Windows NT kernel synchronization primitive, enabling better compatibility and performance for Windows programs—including some that don’t even run on modern Windows.
• Bonus: 16-bit apps now run in Wine’s 64-bit Wow64 mode—a feat not even possible on Windows 11.
• Quote:

  “It's 64 bit wine... doing what Windows never could.” —Jonathan (93:33)

11. Linux Foundation's Newton: Open GPU-Accelerated Physics for Robotics

Timestamps: 98:20–100:18

• Launch: Newton is released as a fully open, community-governed project for high-fidelity robotic simulation, now governed by the Linux Foundation.
• Purpose: Aims to replace Warp SIM with extensibility and neutrality.

Notable Quotes & Humorous Moments

• On Android dev verification: “Good for Google for not going completely evil. They've just gone a little bit evil on this one.” —Jonathan (34:07)
• On endianness wars:

  “It’s kind of like driving on… which side of the road you drive on. If that's kind of what the standard is, it doesn't really matter as long as everybody's doing it the same…” —Jeff (29:46)

• On systemd:

  “I have trouble being too mad at systemd because almost everything in it works really well. The only part… that I really hate is when it takes over DNS just drives me nuts.” —Jonathan (85:06)

• On AI as “Junior Developer”:

  “His take on it is it's like I've got to be the senior developer and it [AI] is the very junior developer and I get to hold its hand as we're doing things. But if you treat it like that you can get good results of it out of it.” —Jonathan (79:26)

• Closing limerick:

  "There was an end user named John
  whose desktop wouldn't respond.
  He called, made a fuss
  send it in a rush,
  and they turned it off and back on." —Jeff (119:41)

Command Line Tips & Closing Segments

Raspberry Pi Imager “secret”: Hold Shift while booting (Pi 5 or later) to access the built-in OS re-imaging tool.
Immich self-hosted photo/video management:
 - Open source, mobile-first, uses Docker. Reaches v2.0 stable.
PipeWire/WirePlumber:
 - Use wpctl set-log-level to enable granular debugging/tracing for individual devices or client apps.
 - Demonstration shown for targeting specific client IDs for log-level changes.

Final Thoughts & Where to Find More

• Check out Hackaday for Jonathan’s security columns and episodes of FLOSS Weekly.
• For further dives on the topics above, see discussions and source articles linked in the show notes of the episode.

Summary

A packed episode, showing Linux’s unique capabilities and community—hardware hacking, file system drama, kernel arguments, privacy debates, and the practical nitty-gritty of using and managing Linux today. Only Linux could bring such a wide array of innovations, quirks, and personalities together, all with more than a dash of fun.

Recommended for Linux users, open-source project followers, developers, and anyone curious about the future of freely hackable computing!