Untitled Linux Show 236: “Still Waking Up”

Date: January 4, 2026
Host: Jonathan
Co-hosts: Rob, Ken

Episode Overview

Episode 236 of the Untitled Linux Show launches into 2026 with a spirited roundtable. The hosts return from a holiday break, joking about collective post-holiday sluggishness, and quickly warm up to dissect recent open source topics. Key focuses this week include:

• Updates and usage stories for GNUCash (open source accounting)
• Continued Steam survey growth for Linux
• Analysis and implications of the Software Freedom Conservancy vs. Vizio GPL lawsuit
• QEMU’s latest release and virtualization news
• CassiaOS’s upcoming server edition
• The “PaperMoon” initiative: Standardizing Linux for space
• New innovations in the X server space (Project Phoenix)
• Asahi Linux’s M3/M4/M5 progress for Apple Silicon
• OpenSUSE’s Merlin package manager and command line tips

Humor, technical know-how, and a healthy dose of open source passion define the episode’s tone.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. GNUCash 5.14 Update and Adoption

• Segment Start: 01:32
  Ken highlights GNUCash’s new release. Noted improvements:
  • Support for US Bonds, updates to the Finance::Quote module
  • New postponement features in scheduled transactions
  • Removal of Bulgarian Lev as Bulgaria transitions to the Euro
  • Auto-clearing enhancements & performance boosts
  • Improved XML backend and memory leak fixes
  • Dependency bump to GNU C Library 2.68

User Story:
Jonathan shares how he recommended GNUCash to an accountant client instead of a “Docker-on-a-webserver” solution:

“Sometimes we just need a bookkeeping system to build a punch...and it doesn’t make sense for me to pay for a whole year’s worth of QuickBooks Online. It’s like, well, let me show you GNUCash...” [04:45]

Rob chimes in:

“An accountant likes it—must be pretty good.” [05:59]

Ken remarks on daily practicality, investing 30 minutes every day reconciling accounts, sparking jokes about microtransactions at the local store.

2. Steam Linux Survey Numbers: A Milestone

• Segment Start: 07:28
  Rob covers the climbing adoption rate for Linux in Steam’s hardware survey, noting December’s 3.19%—up from October’s historic 3.05%.

“We’re inching our way closer to that 5%… that magic 5% number where all the developers just start making everything for Linux.” [08:01]

Distribution Breakdown:

• Arch Linux: 0.3%
• Linux Mint: 0.2%
• Ubuntu: 0.1%, surprisingly less than Mint

Discussion on Ubuntu Snap installs, the complexity of identifying which distributions truly account for certain installs, and speculations on why Mint—a less gaming-focused distro—is rising in popularity.

3. GPL Court Case: Software Freedom Conservancy vs. Vizio

• Segment Start: 18:24
  Jonathan summarizes the ongoing lawsuit and provides historical context regarding tivoization, TiVo's notorious hardware lockdown that inspired changes in GPLv3 but not v2. The lawsuit’s core is about whether the GPLv2 compels companies like Vizio to also provide installation scripts and hardware unlocking tools—not just source code.

"Linus [Torvalds] took to social media...and basically said, I wish the SFC would stop this because the thing that they’re arguing for, basically everybody knows the GPLv2 does not..." [24:10]

Ken:

“Basically it just requires that the software they included on their system, that they provide a copy of the source code, it doesn’t specify what format, though.” [25:32]

The team notes the ambiguity of legal interpretations, the evolving nature of software licenses, and implications for hardware warranties.

4. QEMU 10.2 Released: Performance & Features

• Segment Start: 27:45
  Ken reviews the new features in QEMU 10.2:
• Live update support for VMs (new CPR exec migration mode)
• Performance improvements via IO_uring
• 9PFS shared file system support for FreeBSD
• Expanded replay protected memory emulation
• Architecture-specific fixes (ARM, HPPA, PowerPC, RISC-V, etc.)

Jonathan points out how critical QEMU has become, especially for developers working on unusual architectures.

“People doing development for some of these odd architectures, they do a lot of that development through QEMU.” [29:28]

5. CassiaOS: A Rolling-Release Server?

• Segment Start: 30:37
  Rob reports on CashyOS’s 2025 recap and their 2026 ambitions:
• Launching a “server edition” with hardened configs, tuned packages, and advanced compiler optimizations (PGO & autoFDO)
• Speculation about the sustainability and risks of rolling-release servers

“For desktop, I love having latest and greatest and my desktop crashes, it’s not a big deal. But generally for server, you want something…stable with minimal changes.” [32:17]

Hosts debate rolling distros on critical infrastructure, potential niches (e.g., game servers), and ponder the future impact.

6. PaperMoon: Linux Standardization for Space

• Segment Start: 39:53
  Jonathan shares the formation of PaperMoon—a community initiative from the DroneCode Foundation, supported by the Linux Foundation’s ELISA group, to develop a standard Linux platform/toolkit optimized for space hardware.

“Linux is quickly becoming the standard for space. But there’s no sort of unified approach to this...what can we do? Can we make a standard Linux core?” [40:19]

Technical tidbits: Microchip’s new radiation-tolerant RISC-V SoC (MPSoC) mentioned as part of the space Linux discussion.

Ken wonders:

“How many different versions of Linux…have been used for various space programs?” [42:39]

7. Phoenix: “Raising” a New X Server

• Segment Start: 43:39
  Ken introduces Phoenix, a Zig language X11 server aimed at creating a modern, secure, and minimal codebase for X11, avoiding old Xorg code, and focusing on only features needed by modern apps.

• Security emphasis: app isolation, explicit permissions for sensitive capabilities

• Not production-ready but promising as a proof of concept

“Phoenix aims to show that the X11 protocol itself is not inherently obsolete and can be implemented in a simpler, safer, and more modern way.” [44:11]

8. KDE Weekly Update Seeks New Contributors

• Segment Start: 47:48
  Rob reports on KDE developer Nate Graham stepping back from his “This Week in Plasma” series, citing time constraints and life changes.

“This is your invitation to rethink that as an opportunity has just opened up. Helping with KDE Weekly isn’t just code. It’s telling stories and stewardship.” [48:12]

Jonathan empathizes, citing similar reasons for moving on from his own security blog:

“My children are getting older and they do not like me being cloistered in the office all day and then all night.” [50:27]

9. Asahi Linux: Apple Silicon Progress

• Segment Start: 52:34
  Jonathan details Sven Peter’s Chaos Communication Congress update:
• M1 & M2: Stable and robust Asahi Linux support
• M3: Actively in progress, but significant co-processor and GPU reverse-engineering challenges remain (“runs Doom”; progress is real!)
• M4 & M5: Tooling currently broken, making porting much harder

“You can run Doom on Asahi on an Apple M3…that’s always a harbinger for good things.” [55:04]

Warns listeners not to buy an M5 Mac thinking they can run Linux soon.

10. Command Line Tips

a. OpenSUSE’s Merlin GUI Package Manager

• Segment Start: 59:30
  Ken demos Merlin (MYRLYN), a new GUI package manager replacing most Yast functions for OpenSUSE, resembling Synaptic, with Fedora support in beta.

b. SnapScope Security Website

• Segment Start: 65:44
  Rob introduces SnapScope (snapscope.popey.com), a site scanning Snap packages for CVEs, helping users assess vulnerability exposure before installing snaps.

c. SQLite3 Bash Scripting

• Segment Start: 68:34
  Jonathan recommends SQLite3 for personal data tracking and lightweight data crunching, showing how it can be driven both interactively and from Bash scripts.

“If you need to be able to track something over time, if you need to be able to mess with the database from your Bash scripts, you can do it.” [70:34]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jonathan (on post-holiday energy):
  “I feel like we were all kind of in a coma in that week between Christmas and New Year's. It's the closest thing to a golden week that we have here in the Western world.” [01:05]

• Rob (on Linux’s gradual ascent):
  “We're inching our way closer to that 5%…that magic 5% number where all the developers just start making everything for Linux.” [08:01]

• Ken (on account management in GNUCash):
  “It's not how much, it's how many transactions there are.” [07:03]

• Jonathan (on tivoization and the GPL):
  “Legal documents, particularly software licenses, they don't compile. They don't compile down to a precise meaning. It is all based on the way a judge rules on it.” [24:56]

• Jonathan (on Linux in space):
  “It's true—in some cases literally on your toaster.” [42:24]

• Ken (on Synaptic/Merlin resemblance):
  “For those of y’ all coming from a Debian based system, you may rec—it may look similar to the Synaptic package manager.” [63:31]

Timestamps of Important Segments

• 01:32 — GNUCash 5.14 update and real user experience
• 07:28 — Steam hardware survey: Linux gains
• 18:24 — SFC vs. Vizio GPL lawsuit breakdown
• 27:45 — QEMU 10.2: Key features
• 30:37 — CassiaOS: Server edition plans
• 39:53 — PaperMoon: Standardizing Linux for space
• 43:39 — Phoenix: New X server in Zig
• 47:48 — KDE This Week in Plasma: Call for contributors
• 52:34 — Asahi Linux: Apple M1–M5 progress
• 59:30 — OpenSUSE Merlin package manager demo
• 65:44 — SnapScope: Snap vulnerability assessment
• 68:34 — SQLite3 CLI and Bash scripting tips
• 73:33 — Hosts’ plugs and episode close

Closing Plugs & Goodbyes

• Rob: Connect on robertpcampbell.com, where you can find his social links and a “Buy Me A Coffee” page. Jokes about needing eye drops, possibly as a result of too much screen time during the show.
• Ken: Shares links: Jack Wallen’s 2026 resolutions and Saurav Rudra’s favorite workflow apps of 2025—calls out Calibre as a favorite.
• Jonathan: Directs listeners to the Meshtastic project and Hackaday’s Floss Weekly. Reflects on shifting focus away from weekly security blog posts due to family and workload.

Summary Tone: Geeky, humorous, friendly, with sharp, practical technical focus and community spirit.

This summary captures the episode’s deep dives into open source accounting, Linux gaming stats, complex licensing battles, virtualization, distro innovation, and the ever-surprising breadth of Linux’s application—from everyday bookkeeping to lunar missions. Ideal for listeners who want a clear, content-rich overview before listening or catching up on the latest in Linux news and culture.