Linux Weekly Daily Wednesday – Details, episodes & analysis

Huawei joins the Linux PC race, Orange Pi 6 hands-on, retro Pentium builds, and the OmniOne pocket PC revives the keyboard!

SUPPORT

Patreon ► https://www.patreon.com/lwdw

TipJar ► https://streamlabs.com/linwdw/tip

SOCIAL

Venn ► https://mast.interfacinglinux.com/@Venn

Jill ► https://mast.linuxgamecast.com/@Jill_linuxgirl

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro

02:30 Quote-toots for Mastodon

04:14 Valve announces a new Steam Machine

06:63 Handheld retro Pentium PC

11:14 OmniOne mini PC with built-in keyboard

16:52 Huawei is getting into the Linux PC business

20:27 Hands-on with the 12-core Ornage Pi 6

This week we look at Amarok’s massive 3.3 update, Creative’s modular Sound Blaster reboot, Linux running in a web browser through WebAssembly, and the endlessly expandable Intel-powered LattePanda IOTA project board.

SUPPORT

Patreon ► https://www.patreon.com/lwdw

TipJar ► https://streamlabs.com/linwdw/tip

SOCIAL

Venn ► https://mast.interfacinglinux.com/@Venn

Jill ► https://mast.linuxgamecast.com/@Jill_linuxgirl

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro

07:30 Amarok goes QT6 and drops Phonon

11:56 Sound Blaster Re:Imagine runs Linux

18:57 Linux Kernel WASM booting in the browser

22:50 Thoughts on the x86 Panda IOTA SBC

Pop!_OS 24.04 is out with the rust-powered COSMIC desktop! Building a Steam Machine with the Ryzen 9 HX370, securing Snaps with Snapscope, and a DIY cyberdeck with an ultrawide monitor.

Come say hi in Discord!

https://discord.gg/uQVckr5gEZ⁠

Video and extended podcast:

https://www.patreon.com/lwdw

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

12:59 Pop!_OS 24.04

19:21 Steam hOS: Homebrew Steam Machine II

28:27 Checking Snap security

32:42 Cyberdeck Pi goes ultra and WIDE

Story links:

COSMIC POP

https://blog.system76.com/post/pop-os-letter-from-our-founder

Homebrew Steam Machine

https://interfacinglinux.com/2025/12/15/steam-hos-picking-the-os-for-my-diy-steam-machine/

Popey Snapscope

https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/12/snapscope-snap-security-vulnerability-checker

Ultrawide Pi

https://www.typeframe.net/

Firefox 146 scales in fractions, AMD revives an old chipset, Ubuntu is shipping ROCm, and a beefy ARM board for Framework 13" laptops.

Bonus show plus Video: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/lwdw⁠

Come say hi in Discord! ⁠https://discord.gg/uQVckr5gEZ⁠⁠

Topic links

AMI & Canonical: https://canonical.com/blog/ubuntu-boot-in-uefi-announcement

AMD Chipsets: https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-reportedly-postpones-b650-chipset-discontinuation-amid-ddr5-price-spike

Firefox 146 scaling: https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/12/firefox-146-release-linux-fractional-scaling-support

ARM Framework :

https://metacomputing.io/blogs/news/metacomputing-showcases-its-first-arm-ai-pc-at-the-cix-ecosystem-conference

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

10:23 Ubuntu and AMI partnership

12:55 ROCm ships with Ubuntu

16:41 AMD revives B650 chipset

22:19 Firefox fractional scaling

26:43 Framework ARM laptop

This week we talk about KDE wanting to push Plasma 6.8 into Wayland only territory. We also look at the rough edges that will probably still poke users and how long X11 might hang on before it finally gets kicked out. Venn checked out the ZimaBlade 7700 DIY NAS kit with its swappable RAM and actual PCIe slot. There is a quick bit on Linux Kernel 6.18 and its updates for gaming storage and hardware. And for dessert the 1 GB Raspberry Pi 5 shows up as the cheaper option right as RAM prices decide to climb again.

Live recordings plus Video: https://www.patreon.com/lwdw

Come say hi in Discord! https://discord.gg/uQVckr5gEZ⁠

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

03:38 Linus visits Linus Tech Tips

07:55 Exploding PC power supply adventure

18:18 KDE is going full-Wayland

26:51 ZimaBlade 7700 DIY NAS

33:24 Linux kernel 6.18

39:07 New 1GB RasPi 5 and price increases

Show Links

• KDE Wayland announcement:
  https://blogs.kde.org/2025/11/26/going-all-in-on-a-wayland-future/

• ZimaBlade 7700 DIY NAS kit:
  https://interfacinglinux.com/2025/12/01/zimablade-7700-diy-nas-kit/

• Linux Kernel 6.18 overview:
  https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/11/linux-kernel-6-18-new-features

• 1 GB Raspberry Pi 5 announcement:
  https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/1gb-raspberry-pi-5-now-available-at-45-and-memory-driven-price-rises/

After almost a decade we finally have a dedicated Patreon and Discord! LibrePods bring full AirPod functionality to Linux, Ubuntu puts an extra L in long term support, and a slick open-source one handed keyboard that anyone can use.

LWDW is completely listener funded. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lwdw

Discord: https://discord.gg/uQVckr5gEZ

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:06 A turkey wedding

03:17 Sunsetting Linux Game Cast

08:37 Updates for LWDW: Discord and Patreon

14:24 Open-source one-handed keyboard with trackball

18:42 LibrePods: AirPod support for Linux and Android

23:50 Ubuntu LTS support hits 15 years!

31:02 Shameless plug for the LWDW Patreon and Discord

32:11 Game night with the TM2 Crew: Come play!

TOPICS

One-Handed Keyboard

https://blog.adafruit.com/2025/11/17/making-a-one-handed-keyboard-and-releasing-it-as-open-source-2/

LibrePods

https://github.com/kavishdevar/librepods

Ubuntu LTS 15yr edition

https://ubuntu.com/blog/canonical-expands-total-coverage-for-ubuntu-lts-releases-to-15-years-with-legacy-add-on

This week we're checking out Brow6el, a Sixel-capable terminal browser that brings full graphics and mouse support to the command line. We also highlight keyRGB, a bloat-free GUI that brings RGB control to WootBooks, Clevo, and System76 Linux laptops. For hardware enthusiasts, Box64 now supports Steam and Proton on the LoongArch architecture, and the new Armbian Imager simplifies the setup for "NotRaspberryPi" single-board computers.

Get a bonus hour of LWDW plus video by supporting LWDW on a Patreon.

LWDW Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lwdw

Links Mentioned:

• Brow6el: Codeberg | Hackaday Review

• keyRGB: GitHub

• Box64/Loongarch: Box86 Blog

• Armbian Imager: Interfacing Linux

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro

06:08 Warranty void-o-tron 9000

08:24 Brow6el terminal browser

16:32 Key RGB for Wootware laptops

23:59 Box64 Windows emulation on Loongarch CPUs

28:09 Upgrading your NotRaspberryPi™ with Armbian Imager

Bose is walking back its SoundTouch shutdown by opening APIs and removing cloud dependencies, keeping the hardware alive for the used market. Kagi’s Orion browser is bringing a fast, WebKit-based alternative to Linux, while Linus Torvalds is embracing "vibe coding" by using Gemini to build the visualizer for his new AudioNoise guitar project. Finally, leaked retail listings for the Steam Machine suggest a $1,000 price tag, likely driven by the ongoing flash memory shortage.

Get a bonus hour of LWDW plus video by supporting LWDW on a Patreon and come say Hi! In our Discord. 

LWDW Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/lwdw⁠

LWDW Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/uQVckr5gEZ⁠

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:23 Orange Pi 6 Plus vs GPUs

05:00 BOSE open-sources SoundTouch speakers

09:33 Kagi browser looking for Linux testers

14:25 Linus uses AI for Audio Noise

19:16 About those $1000 Steam Machines

Links Mentioned:

Bose SoundTouch End-of-Life Update https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/bose-made-the-consumer-friendly-move-to-open-source-its-soundtouch-speakers-163459024.html https://www.bose.com/soundtouch-end-of-life

Orion Browser for Linux https://help.kagi.com/orion/misc/linux-status.html https://orionbrowser.com/

Linus Torvalds’ AudioNoise https://linuxiac.com/linus-torvalds-shares-audionoise-a-personal-experiment-in-audio-dsp/ https://github.com/torvalds/AudioNoise

Steam Machine Pricing Leaks https://www.reddit.com/r/steammachine/comments/1q87sdw/leaked_steam_machine_price/ https://www.techradar.com/gaming/consoles-pc/the-latest-rumored-steam-machine-prices-arent-anywhere-near-as-bad-as-i-thought-but-im-still-fearing-the-worst

Opera GX is finally headed to Linux, Valve is fixing its AI disclosure rules, someone patched Wine to make Adobe Creative Cloud installers actually work, and there is a cursed Windows 8 tile interface for Wayland that you should definitely install on your friend’s PC.

Get a bonus hour of LWDW plus a video version of the podcast by supporting LWDW on a Patreon.

LWDW Patreon:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/lwdw⁠⁠

LWDW Discord: ⁠⁠https://discord.gg/uQVckr5gEZ⁠

Interfacing Linux: https://interfacinglinux.com/

Show Links:

• Opera GX on Linux

• Valve AI Disclosure Update

• Adobe CC on Wine (Reddit) | GitHub Fix

• Windows 8 Desktop for Linux

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro

06:31 Nvidia DLSS on ARM

10:30 Opera GX headed to Linux

16:11 Steam updates AI policy

20:31 Adobe Creative Cloud on Linux

30:11 Windows 8 on Wayland

Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month! Linux Kernel 6.19 makes older AMD GPUs go brr, a writer at The Verge can't figure out how to Linux, and the RasPi 4 Model B gets a dual RAM setup.

Get a bonus hour of LWDW plus a video version of the podcast by supporting LWDW on a Patreon.

Patreon:⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/lwdw⁠⁠⁠

Discord: ⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/uQVckr5gEZ⁠⁠

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:39 Cooking goth hedgehog

04:58 All Steam Decks sold out

06:21 Discord I.D. face scan requirements

16:19 Linux kernel 6.19

24:39 Verge writer can't Linux

35:44 Raspberry Pi 4 updated

TOPICS

Discord Age Check

https://discord.com/press-releases/discord-launches-teen-by-default-settings-globally

Linux Kernel 6.19

https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2026/02/linux-6-19-kernel-features-amd-performance

Returning to Linux

https://www.theverge.com/report/875077/linux-was-a-mistake

New RasPi 4 Model B

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Raspberry-Pi-relaunching-Raspberry-Pi-4-Model-B-with-new-version.1220501.0.html