Untitled Linux Show 241: A Very Hot Sandwich
Date: February 8, 2026
Hosts: Jonathan, Ken McDonald
Podcast: All TWiT.tv Shows (Audio)
Overview
This episode of the Untitled Linux Show dives into a packed set of open source, Linux, and tech topics, with a special focus on recent major updates in open source software, the rising cost of RAM (especially as it affects Raspberry Pi enthusiasts), community challenges within Debian, the impact of AI on open source contributions, and notable releases like Ardour 9 and Shotcut 26.1. The episode sees Jonathan and Ken McDonald volleying in-depth technical discussions, personal insights, and some classic Linux humor, while skipping the usual three-parter format due to Rob and Jeff’s absence.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. LibreOffice 26.2: Major Update Breakdown
[02:06–08:09]
- Performance & Responsiveness: Drastic performance improvement, especially for handling large documents.
- Security: New password-based ODF "wholesome" encryption using AES-GCM and Argon 2 ID.
- Macro Management: New macro manager dialog, improved BASIC code completion.
- Spreadsheet Improvements: Calc gains faster hidden column scrolling, better Excel (BIF12) clipboard format support, and over 2,000 community commits (notably from Collabora Productivity).
- Database Upgrades: Base (database module) becomes fully multi-user.
- Presentation Tweaks: Simpler hyperlink insertion and screenshot copy-paste.
- Distribution Note: Updates roll out slowly across major distros (e.g., Fedora).
- Quote:
"I don't even know if I have LibreOffice installed which is... ah, look, LibreOffice it is on there. Let's see what version it is. Help. And about 25 I'm living in the past." — Jonathan [04:44]
2. The Price of Memory: Raspberry Pi’s AI-Driven Price Hikes
[08:09–14:40]
- Big Price Increases: 16GB Raspberry Pi 5 model now $205; combined with Argon One laptop shell, a full Pi laptop rises to $600.
- Price Justification: RAM crunch due to AI demand; expected to abate when AI trends calm down.
- Hardware Innovations: Introduction of Pi 4 boards with dual RAM chips—potential cooling and upgrade implications (aka “the very hot sandwich”).
- Long-Term Vision: Dual RAM experience could enable higher capacity Pis in the future.
- Hardware Ecosystem Realities: Pi used to be “dollar computer for the masses,” now creeping into mid-range laptop territory.
- Quotes:
"These things are getting to be quite expensive, like $200 in some cases for a Raspberry PI, which is quite the departure from the doll computer it started out to be." — Jonathan [09:37]
"Are we making a very hot sandwich here?" — Jonathan [13:52, referencing thermals of dual-sided RAM boards]
3. GIMP 3.2 & Krita 6: Major Open Source Graphic Software Leaps
[19:52–26:43]
- GIMP:
- GIMP 3.2 to focus on stability, non-destructive editing (catching up to proprietary tools), accelerated image ops, color pipeline & text tool overhaul.
- Presentation at FOSDEM 2026 discussed upcoming feature roadmap.
- Non-destructive editing expected to be a "game changer."
- Krita 6:
- Ships with Qt6 (but retains old code for Android/Chrome OS support).
- Gains HDR/color management, improved vector/text handling, and better file format support.
- Introduction of a Python plugin API, boosting extensibility.
- Quotes:
"That's going to be a big change for GIMP and it is going to elevate it to the next level of being able to do things." — Jonathan [22:12]
"Digital art is not something that I'm good at at all... but it's cool to see Krita and GIMP, both of them together, continuing to push the envelope." — Jonathan [25:52]
4. GNU Coreutils 9.10: The Unseen Linux Backbone
[27:55–32:43]
- Fixes & Regressions: Addresses copy/move bugs with sparse files, improves hyperlinks formatting, multi-character support for 'paste' command, and more.
- Ongoing Improvement: Original Coreutils still receives fixes and features, not just Rust/C alternatives.
- Quote:
"Believe it or not, it's not done software. Every once in a while we talk about a program that's like, it's pretty much done. These are not, not quite." — Jonathan [31:10]
5. The State of GNU: The 70% Solution?
[32:53–33:30]
- Brief mention that the original GNU OS is reportedly “about 70% complete” decades on, reflecting on the longevity and pace of certain OSS projects.
6. Toyota’s Surprise: An Open Source Flutter/Dart Game Engine
[33:31–38:25]
- Why a Car Company Needs a Game Engine:
- Toyota Connected NA is developing "Fluorite," a console-grade engine in Flutter/Dart (used in their in-car dashboards).
- Could be for infotainment games or simulation/training.
- Technical Perks: Hot reload, fast dev cycles.
- Tangents: Trademark joke about “Dart” (as in Dodge) vs Google’s Dart language.
- Quote:
"I was trying to think, it's like what is Toyota doing here? Why does Toyota need a game engine?... I think it's great. I love having additional open source video game engines." — Jonathan [36:29]
Community & Ecosystem Updates
Debian Community Challenges: Inactivity and AI Scraping
[40:24–48:17]
- Inactivity ("MIA"):
- Current challenge with developers fading out quietly.
- Proposal for periodic automated email checks for potentially inactive developers.
- Quote:
"Debian has a structural challenge that's easy to overlook precisely because we are a volunteer project..." — Andreas T., Debian Project Leader (quoted by Ken McDonald) [41:41]
- AI and LLM Scraping:
- Heavy AI scraper traffic forces CI infrastructure to require login and add firewall filtering, to preserve bandwidth and service integrity.
Commentary
- Reflection on how project maintenance naturally ebbs and flows, but critical projects like Debian may need more formal gating and communication mechanisms.
- "It's just a fact of life. People just need to work harder to communicate better." — Jonathan [46:06]
AI’s Chaotic Impact on Open Source Contributions
[47:24–58:29]
- Bug Bounties & Hallucination Spam:
- Libcurl kills bug bounties after being drowned in ChatGPT-generated bogus issues.
- AI-generated pull requests (“vibe coding”) cause TLDRAW to deny PRs from outsiders by default.
- Open Source Model Under Stress:
- The “bazaar” model is creaking as AI-driven low-quality nonsense threatens maintainers’ time and sanity.
- Quote:
"Are we going to see the pendulum swing back and open source projects are going to become more cathedral-like because AI has made the bazaar far too chaotic?... I'm seeing a movement in that direction." — Jonathan [56:58]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On the Pi Price Hikes:
"Man, it's a hard time to be a Raspberry Pi enthusiast. It's kind of a hard time to be a computer enthusiast actually. Goodness." — Jonathan [14:37] -
On Non-Destructive Editing in GIMP:
"That's one of those sorts of features that really lets you get in and sort of nail the effect that you want." — Jonathan [22:12] -
On Old Open Source: "The fact that this automated system only kicks in after six months... that's a long time... if you're talking about security vulnerabilities, even six weeks is a long time." — Jonathan [46:06]
-
On AI Contributions: "The incentives were messed up... it was so easy for someone to write one of these bogus, use an LLM, and write one of these bogus things. It didn't cost anyone anything to do that, but the possibility that they were going to get paid for it was so tempting, the incentives were upside down." — Jonathan [53:44]
Timestamps for Important Segments
- [02:06] LibreOffice 26.2 feature discussion
- [08:09] Raspberry Pi memory price hikes and “hot sandwich” dual RAM innovations
- [19:53] GIMP 3.2 and Kreat 6 open source creative tool updates
- [27:55] Coreutils 9.10 fixes and ongoing utility relevance
- [32:53] GNU’s slow road to “completion”
- [33:31] Toyota’s surprising open source game engine
- [40:24] Debian’s “missing in action” devs and LLM scraper problems
- [47:24] The spammy impact of AI (“vibe coding,” bug bounties ruined)
- [58:59] Ardour 9 and Shotcut 26.1 – major audio/video production releases
- [69:43] Command line tips: systemd-analyze (Ken), gpio-get (Jonathan)
Reviews: Ardour 9 & Shotcut 26.1
[58:59–68:17]
- Ardour 9:
- Adds piano roll windows, region-based FX, improved MIDI/automation, cue editing for live looping, and multi-touch GUI support.
- Anticipated to become a full “looper” for live performance.
- Shotcut 26.1:
- Gains hardware video decoding (except Nvidia on Linux), aimed at tackling timeline lag.
- May pull Kdenlive users away if performance proves strong.
- Quotes:
“If you are like me, an audio mixer nerd, Ardour 9 looks really cool and I'm going to have to go play with it.” — Jonathan [65:26]
Tips & Tricks
Command Line Tool: systemd-analyze
[69:43–74:01]
- View system boot times, unit service exposure/security, architecture support, TPM status, etc.
- Quote:
"There's a bunch of different things you can do with systemd analyze. I sat down while you were talking and played with just a few of them and reminded myself that there's way more here than I remembered." — Jonathan [73:29]
Command Line Tool: gpio-get
[74:01–82:35]
- For querying GPIO line status on Linux devices (works on Raspberry Pi or modern laptops with kernel support).
- Supports setting pull-up/down/unchanged bias, returns pin states—handy for scripting.
- Discussed quirks with argument flags and hardware support.
- Installation via
libgpiod-utilspackage. - Quote:
"Raspberry Pi was one of the—it was the gateway drug, let's say, for a lot of us to get to play with real hardware and GPIOs." — Jonathan [74:01]
Additional Notes
- Fun Exchange:
"Digital art is not something that I'm good at at all. I'm not even good at making art on pen and paper... but it's cool to see Krita and Gimp both... continuing to push the envelope." — Jonathan [25:52] - Linux Humor:
"It's Hurd. H U R D and H E R D. That's the one that's a doubly recursive acronym." — Jonathan [83:08]
Conclusion & Sign-Off
[82:35–end]
- Listeners are encouraged to check the show notes for links and further reading, including a piece on the perennial GNU/Linux naming debate and fun recursive acronyms.
- Find Jonathan on Hackaday’s FOSS Weekly, and hear a thank you to everyone participating and listening—live or on download.
For full technical details, community discussions, and to see what’s next, tune in for the next Untitled Linux Show episode!