Untitled Linux Show 228: "Smooth Before, Smooth After"

Date: November 9, 2025
Hosts: Jonathan Bennett, Jeff Massey, Ken McDonald
Podcast: All TWiT.tv Shows (Audio)

Overview

This episode of the Untitled Linux Show, hosted by Jonathan Bennett with guests Jeff Massey and Ken McDonald, thoroughly covers the latest happenings in the Linux and open source world. The discussion ranges from package managers (like Flatpak), developments in KDE and Fedora, hardware reviews, bizarre security incidents, and the cultural tensions caused by AI-driven translation in open source projects. The show concludes with practical command-line tips and a Poetry Corner.

Major Topics & Key Discussion Points

1. Flatpak Development Restarted

[05:22]

• Background: Flatpak had been stagnant for about six months due to maintainers stepping back. Red Hat’s Sebastian Wick took leadership and the review process was reorganized.
• Updates in Flatpak 1.17 pre-release:
  • Improved documentation and app definitions
  • Enhanced Open Container Initiative support
  • Updated permissions model
  • Work underway on new systemd APPD service for authentication
  • Desktop integration efforts ongoing
• Quote:
  “Development has restarted. The project has reorganized and streamlined its review process, resulting in Flatpak 1.17 pre-release.” — Ken McDonald [05:22]
• Discussion: The gang speculates on the shift in package popularity (Snap, AppImage, Flatpak) and the impact of company investments in open source.

2. KDE Plasma 6.5 and Upcoming 6.6

[09:44]

• KDE 6.5 Bug Fixes & Stability:
  • Reduced memory usage by unloading unnecessary wallpaper images (over 100MB saved on 4K screens)
  • Improved drag & drop between XWayland and Native Wayland windows
  • UI freezes on Bluetooth toggle mitigated
  • Dr. Konqi crash reporting now supports non-KDE apps
  • Polishing and interface improvements
• Release Timeline:
  • KDE 6.5.3: November 18, 6.5.4: December 9, 6.5.5: January 13, 6.6 (alpha): February 17 [13:55]
• Quote:
  “6.6 has reduced memory usage by over 100MB by unloading wallpaper images which are not needed anymore... For tiled wallpapers, there's a new plugin.” — Jeff Massey [09:44]
• User Experience: Overall transition seen as "smooth before, smooth after."
• Multi-monitor improvements discussed, especially options to tie virtual desktops to the primary screen.

3. Peculiar Security Stories

[16:35]

• OpenOffice "Ransomware" -- Not So Fast:
  • Akira ransomware group claimed to have breached Apache OpenOffice.
  • Apache denies breach; likely confusion or attack elsewhere (e.g., a company with docs about OpenOffice).
  • Raises questions about lack of paid maintainers for OpenOffice.
• CVE Number Confusion:
  • Two CVEs with nearly identical numbers conflated; one is a serious Android bug, the other a less severe Bluetooth race condition in the Linux kernel.
  • Quote:
    “Pay attention to those details and make sure you don’t have an off-by-one error in your numbering… it’s a bad deal to misunderstand what’s going on.” — Jonathan Bennett [23:44]
• SUSE’s Approach:
  • SUSE now "won't fix" some kernel CVEs due to the overwhelming number of CVEs assigned (every bug = CVE).
  • Quote:
    “Every bug gets a CVE in the Linux kernel...this is the OpenSUSE guy saying, ‘that's nuts, we're not doing it.’” — Jonathan Bennett [24:58]

4. Open Document Format (ODF) 1.4

[31:20]

• ODF 1.4 is finalized; awaiting final proclamation from OASIS.
• Supported by LibreOffice, OpenOffice, Calligra, and even some proprietary suites.
• Quote:
  “ODF 1.4 safeguards digital sovereignty by removing a single company’s control over documents and returning it to the community.” — Ken McDonald [31:20]
• LibreOffice, OpenOffice, and others rapidly adopting 1.4’s new features.
• Discussion on Microsoft’s “open” docx format—open in name, not in spirit.
• General user advice for document format defaults.

5. AMD Zen 5 RDSEED Bug & Performance Benchmarks

[37:37]

• Zen 5 RDSEED Bug:
  • Certain versions of the RDSEED instruction unpredictably return zero, impacting distributions like CachyOS with aggressive compile flags.
  • Awaiting AMD microcode fix; devs may temporarily switch to safer RDSEED instructions.
  • Quote:
    “If you have a Zen 5 processor, then CachyOS will build the operating system assuming Zen 5 capabilities... Most distributions do not compile for a family of CPUs…” — Jeff Massey [37:45]
• Performance Shootout:
  • Phoronix benchmark: CachyOS outperforms Fedora and Ubuntu by 7–10%, attributed to more aggressive compile-time optimization.
  • Fedora Tumbleweed benchmarking requested.

6. Fedora 43 Released

[47:46]

• Fresh release with updated Python, OpenJDK, and major under-the-hood upgrades.
• Some reported hiccups on KDE-based upgrades; workaround requires explicit KDE X11 package install.
• User feedback: Mixed, with success for most but notable upgrade issues for some.

7. Turris Omnia NG Router: "Ultimate Open Source Router"

[51:06]

• Quad-core ARMv8, WiFi 7, M.2-based expandability, up to 10Gbps networking.
• Modular wireless: upgradable radio via M.2, color IPS display, passive cooling, Turris OS (OpenWRT-based).
• Supports LXC containers, automatic updates, user-driven Linux instantiation on-device.
• Quote:
  “You may be interested in the Turris Omnia NG router…security, performance, and modularity.” — Ken McDonald [51:48]
• High price is only barrier for small business adoption.

8. AI Translation Fiasco: Mozilla’s Sumo Group Disbands

[57:48]

• Sumo (Support Mozilla Organization): Longtime Japanese translation group for Mozilla/Firefox.
• AI-powered SumoBot auto-translated and overwrote 300+ community-approved Japanese knowledge articles within 3 days, skipping human review.
• Leaders quit, demand removal of their translations from all datasets.
• Wide backlash, especially as AI failed at ‘transcreation’ (adapting meanings while respecting culture and tone).
• Quote:
  “It overrode existing localizations, effectively erasing community approved work, and it automatically approved machine translated content for all archived articles within 72 hours…” — Jeff Massey [57:48]
• Broader worries about eradicating volunteer/contributor work in favor of hasty, inaccurate AI content in open source.
• Discussion on the impossibility of removing one contributor’s work from all AI training datasets.

9. GNOME Drops X11 Backend

[69:36]

• Big news: GNOME officially removes support for running as an X11 backend, moving 100% to Wayland.
• XWayland remains available for legacy app compatibility.
• Concerns and curiosities discussed: what happens with X11 apps (like xeyes), and KDE’s likely plans to follow suit by 2026.
• Quote:
  “GNOME has merged a pull request to drop the X11 backend. It’s gone. No more X11 GNOME.” — Jonathan Bennett [69:36]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On KDE Update Experience:
  “Smooth before, smooth after.” — Jeff Massey [15:00]

• On OpenOffice Ransom:
  “So you’re going to release my open source software again?” — Jeff Massey [19:26]

• On the Fedora Karma:
  “You need to buy another machine so you have someplace to put Fedora.” — Jonathan Bennett [49:59]

• Poetry Corner:
  “Long ago, your capacity mattered. Storing dozens of floppies on platters. Your 20 megs ample space, now that's far from the case. My sledgehammer, your cylinders shattered.” — Jeff Massey [96:33]

Highlights: Tips & Tricks

Bash Declare Command

[78:57]

• Tips on declaring variables, indexed arrays, associative arrays, functions, and tracing functions in bash using declare.
• Use declare -A for indexed arrays, declare -F for functions, declare -i for integers, and declare -g for global variables.

btrfs Check

[90:48]

• How to properly check btrfs filesystem integrity, with warnings on repair flags, safe usage, and documentation pointers.

Amplitude Soundboard

[93:24]

• Recommendation for "Amplitude Soundboard" app (appimage), emphasizing easy integration with Linux audio systems (PipeWire/ALSA) for custom sound hotkeys.

Timeline of Noteworthy Segments

| Timestamp | Topic | |:-------------:|-------------------------------------------------------------| | 05:22 | Flatpak Development Gets Rebooted | | 09:44 | KDE Plasma 6.5–6.6 News & Features | | 16:35 | Weird Security Stories: OpenOffice "Hack", CVE Mix-up | | 31:20 | ODF 1.4 Release & Document Sovereignty | | 37:45 | AMD Zen 5 RDSEED Bug & Linux Performance Benchmarks | | 47:46 | Fedora 43 Rolls Out – User Experiences | | 51:06 | Turris Omnia NG Router Review | | 57:48 | Mozilla Sumo Japanese Group Disbanded over AI Translations | | 69:36 | GNOME Officially Drops X11 Backend | | 78:57 | Command Line Tips: Bash declare | | 90:48 | Filesystem Tip: btrfs check | | 93:24 | Amplitude Soundboard (Fun/Utility App) | | 96:33 | Poetry Corner |

Tone & Closing Thoughts

The episode’s mood is lively, geeky, and occasionally irreverent, with plenty of friendly ribbing. The trio approaches Linux news with technical expertise and real-world perspective, dissecting both the human and technological impacts of change. The show closes with tips, a light poem, and appreciation for the FLOSS community—along with reminders to check out related Hackaday columns and to join the Club TWiT Discord for deeper language/translation discussion.

For further details, show notes, and deep dives, visit TWiT.tv or check the articles referenced throughout the discussion.