FOSS Weekly #26.02: Level Up in 2026, Liquorix Kernel, Open Source Apps from Web Browser and More

A new year brings new resolutions. If you’ve already broken yours, don’t worry; I have a few more to suggest. And if you’ve been using Linux for a while and started wondering, “What next?”, this list will help you find your next challenge.

5 Linux Resolutions to Level Up Your Skills in 2026Actually, these are mostly based on my New Year resolutions, and not all of these will be applicable to you, but you will surely find one or two to add to your new year resolution as a desktop Linux user.

That is for people who are no longer at the beginning stage. But if you are still starting with Linux, please use these resources to improve your skills:

Happy Linux-ing in 2026 😄

Here’s the highlight of this edition of FOSS Weekly:

• Ubuntu 25.04 reaching EOL.
• A new open source game engine.
• GNOME and Firefox receiving an interesting proposal.
• And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes!

📰 Linux and Open Source News

Here’s a summary of the news this week.

Chinese gaming company SUD has made COCOS 4 fully open source under the MIT license. They have separated the engine from the editor too and have no particular monetization plans.

Nitrux 5.1 ships kernel 6.18 LTS with CachyOS patches and adds Cinderward firewall GUI, Wirecloak VPN client, and power management tools.

Two proposals have been put forward to disable middle-click paste by default on GNOME and Firefox. The reasoning behind it is said to be too many accidental misclicks. Keep in mind that this is not final yet.

Ubuntu 25.04 “Plucky Puffin” reaches EOL on January 15. Upgrade to 25.10 now unless you enjoy living dangerously without security patches.

Bazaar’s new release added a new icon, permission warnings, and Flathub login support. You can finally sync bookmarks and filter verified apps. Solid update for Flatpak users.

🧠 What We’re Thinking About

HP’s flavor of Unix has been sunset. Makes me wonder if Linux popularity killed UNIX.

The last supported version of HP-UX is no more: Remember when HP made its own CPUs and Unix? We wonder if it does

🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials, and Learnings

procs is a good one to have by your side for handling processes.

procs: Rust Alternative to ps Command in LinuxHandle the processes better by using the Rust-based procs tool instead of the classic ps command in Linux.

GitHub Desktop on Ubuntu feels unofficial but solid.

Liquorix kernel makes Linux faster and smoother but not for everyone.

What Is Liquorix Kernel? Should You Use It?In this jargon buster, we explain what is Liquorix kernel, why it is popular among Linux gamers and if there are any real benefits of using it on your regular Linux desktop.

👷 AI, Homelab and Hardware Corner

Khadas has revealed three new devices that could be a good fit for your homelab setup.

Khadas updates it modular mini PC ecosystem with new CPU, graphics dock, and display (plus a tablet… maybe) – LiliputingKhadas updates it modular mini PC ecosystem with new CPU, graphics dock, and display (plus a tablet… maybe)

✨ Apps and Projects Highlights

Sometimes your browser is all you need for open source productivity. Roland shares various open source apps he uses from a web browser.

13 Open-Source Apps I Use from a Web Browser (And You Can Too)You don’t always need to install an open source software on your desktop or self host in your homelab. I use some of my favorites from the comfort of a web browser.

If you love browsing Wikipedia, you’ll love this nifty Wikipedia app on your Linux desktop.

I Thought This Wikipedia App for Linux was Pointless (I Was Wrong)I don’t need to tell you that this application is for the people who enjoy the free and open knowledge provided by Wikipedia.

📽️ Videos for You

The first video of 2026 is about things you can try as an intermediate Linux user.

💡 Quick Handy Tip

You can easily disable the small content thumbnails (previews) that appear on parent folder icons for a cleaner, more consistent look in the KDE Plasma Dolphin file manager.

Go to Menu → Configure → Configure Dolphin.

In the Interface tab, navigate to the Previews section and disable the Folders checkbox. You can immediately see the difference before and after the change.

🎋 Fun in the FOSSverse

✨ We have upgraded our search feature with more relevant search results. Hit the search icon on the top right on the website to explore it.

This Linux Terminal Emulators crossword will take you through the various options.

Linux Terminal Emulators: CrosswordLet’s explore some Linux terminal emulators with this crossword.

🤣 Meme of the Week: Linux is a useful buff for older hardware!

🗓️ Tech Trivia: On January 5, 1962, the first written reference to Simula appeared, documenting an early programming language by Ole-Johan Dahl and Kristen Nygaard that introduced the idea of objects and helped lay the groundwork for modern object-oriented programming.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 From the Community: A collaborative thread has appeared on the forum with two of our regular FOSSers Neville and László, putting out a tutorial on how to use the CLI to backup or copy a Linux system.

Using the CLI to backup or copy a Linux systemThis is a joint post by @kovacslt and @nevj and Using the CLI to backup or copy a Linux system There are several programs commonly used to backup and restore the root filesystem of a Linux installation. A number of them ( borg, systemback, timeshift) use rsync ‘under the hood’ . However it is possible to use rsync directly , as a CLI command. It is also possible to use tar. Some users prefer CLI , because it gives them full control over the backup and restore processes. There are other pos…

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Enjoy FOSS 😄