Destination Linux

In Episode 469 of Destination Linux, hosts Jill and Zeb are joined by guest co-host Craig from Sandfly Security to unpack a massive week of Linux, hardware, and cybersecurity news while Ryan recovers from surgery.

The hardware segment kicks off with a look at Computex 2026, where AMD delighted budget-conscious builders by extending AM5 socket support through 2029 and launching two affordable new X3D processors. Meanwhile, Nvidia shook up the landscape by unveiling the RTX Spark Superchip—a power-efficient Arm CPU/GPU hybrid aimed at turning desktops into agentic AI environments, with Linux kernel compliance already on the horizon.

In security and development news, the panel dives into a sophisticated supply chain attack that backdoored dozens of popular packages under Red Hat's official NPM channel using a credential-stealing worm named Miasma. Craig shares vital strategies for handling software supply chain risks, advising developers to age their packages and stick to building inside containers or remote hosts. The team also discusses the community backlash surrounding GitHub Copilot’s shift to a usage-based "AI Credit" system, which has reportedly caused estimated costs to skyrocket by up to 1000% for some users.

Finally, the show wraps up with updates on the upcoming Linux 7.1 stable kernel release, a warm welcome to the EFF's powerhouse new Executive Director, Nicole Ozer, and a celebration of Phoronix's 22nd anniversary.

00:00:00 Welcome to Destination Linux

00:01:45 Community Feedback

00:03:18 Sponsored by Sandfly Security

00:05:17 Computex Hardware Announcements

00:16:32 NPM Supply Chain Attack on Red Hat

00:26:22 GitHub AI Pricing Shock

00:33:57 Wave of AI-assisted Linux Privilege Escalation Exploits

00:38:47 Linux 7.1-rc6 Released

00:42:40 EFF Gets New Leadership

00:51:12 Phoronix Anniversary Celebration

00:53:26 Closing Thoughts

References

Show Support & Sponsors

Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/destinationlinux

Destination Linux Patreon: https://patreon.com/destinationlinux

Destination Linux Merchandise Store: https://shop.deviantairwaves.com/

Sandfly Security Agentless Linux EDR: https://deviantairwaves.com/sandfly

AMD & Nvidia @ Computex 2026

Tom's Hardware - AMD Confirms AM5 Support Through 2029: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/amd-confirms-am5-support-through-2029-zen-4-and-5-platform-will-likely-see-two-more-generations-at-least

Tom's Hardware - AMD Launches Budget-Friendly Ryzen X3D CPUs: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/amd-brings-back-ryzen-7-5800x3d-launches-ryzen-7-7700x3d-to-combat-rising-component-prices-eight-core-x3d-cpus-arrive-under-usd350-for-am4-or-am5-ddr4-or-ddr5

Tom's Hardware - Nvidia Unveils RTX Spark Superchip: https://www.tomshardware.com/laptops/nvidia-unveils-rtx-spark-superchip-at-computex-2026-new-platform-promises-to-turn-windows-into-an-agentic-ai-os-with-arm-cpu-blackwell-gpu-and-128gb-unified-memory

Security & AI Industry News

Ars Technica - Red Hat NPM Packages Compromised via Miasma Malware: https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/06/dozens-of-red-hat-packages-backdoored-through-its-offical-npm-chan

Ars Technica - GitHub Copilot Users React to Usage-Based Pricing: https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/06/ai-costs-how-much-github-copilot-users-react-to-new-usage-based-pricing-system/

Zeb’s Shell Topics

Phoronix - Linux 7.1-rc6 Kernel Released: https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-7.1-rc6-Released

Electronic Frontier Foundation - Welcome New EFF Executive Director Nicole Ozer: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/05/welcome-new-eff-executive-director-nicole-ozer

Phoronix - Phoronix Celebrates 22nd Birthday: https://www.phoronix.com/news/Phoronix-22-Birthday-This-Week

Special Guest: Craig Rowland.

Welcome to Destination Linux Episode 468! For the first time in years, we are tossing out the rulebook and recording completely live, raw, and uncut on a Saturday alongside our amazing Patron crew. Stepping on deck as a special guest host this week is Mathieu, the creator of Lutris Gaming!

The Tech Horizon: Nvidia's N1X & Microsoft's ARM Future

Ryan steers the ship into turbulent hardware waters. Microsoft and Nvidia are teasing a "New Era of PC," heavily rumored to be Nvidia's aggressive entrance into the consumer CPU space with the N1X, a high-performance, ARM-based System-on-Chip (SoC). Packed with 20 CPU cores and a Blackwell-based graphics architecture boasting 6,144 CUDA cores, this unified memory monster could completely shift the landscape for local AI developers, PyTorch modeling, and video editors. We discuss what this unified architecture means for power-hungry x86 designs from Intel and AMD, and whether Microsoft's WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) is the secret bridge to passing local GPU stacks through to developers.

Jill's Treasure Hunt: The "No Man's Sky" Teal Build & LACT

Jill unveils her latest hardware masterpiece: a gorgeous, Mini-ITX computer build decked out in a vibrant teal theme dedicated to No Man's Sky (complete with Tux and Steam logos!). She breaks down the financial savvy of buying duplicate parts in 2025 before the massive 2026 hardware price spikes, demonstrating how she saved nearly 50% on components like DDR4 RAM and NVMe SSDs.

More importantly, Jill walks us through how she solved a massive headache plaguing Linux gamers running Unreal Engine 4 and 5 titles on AMD Radeon GPUs: aggressive overheating and sudden shutdowns. The savior? LACT (Linux GPU Configuration and Monitoring Tool). She details how implementing custom fan curves using this open-source application completely tamed her RX 6600, keeping things whisper-quiet and cool.

Open Source Contributor Drama & Legal Wins

Mathieu highlights a creeping, dystopian trend in open-source development: projects like the Dillo browser asking contributors to record webcam videos of themselves coding to provide "proof of humanity" against AI slop contributions. We dive into why these Captcha-like hurdles ultimately hurt real human developers more than they deter automated agents. Mathieu also addresses the shocking, corporate-style layoffs at the Wikimedia Foundation, where MediaWiki lead developer Brooke Vibber and the entire Community Tech team, largely composed of union organizers,were suddenly let go, prompting potential strikes from Wikipedia editors.

On a brighter note, Zeb delivers a massive victory for digital privacy: both California and Colorado have officially revised their Digital Age Verification laws to completely exempt open-source operating systems, ensuring Linux distributions won't face impossible legal compliance hurdles and we hear from our Patrons!

Support the Show & Network:

Destination Linux Patreon: https://patreon.com/destinationlinux

Deviant AirWaves Shop: https://shop.deviantairwaves.com/

Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/destinationlinux

Sandfly Security Sponsor: deviantairwaves.com/sandfly

Jill's Topic - GPU Tuning & Retro Pink Build:

LACT Source GitHub: https://github.com/ilya-zlobintsev/LACT

LACT on Flathub: https://flathub.org/en/apps/io.github.ilya_zlobintsev.LACT

Jill's Classic Pink Podcasting Rig (EP 344): https://youtu.be/h1XTs1ed3MY?si=tqWIx7x4Y0vSdgCt

Nvidia N1X & Microsoft Rumors:

Windows Central "New Era of PC" Analysis: https://www.windowscentral.com/hardware/surface/a-new-era-of-pc-microsoft-and-nvidia-tease-major-announcement-experts-predict-to-be-the-fabled-n1x-chip

Dell Computex XPS Leak via VideoCardz: https://videocardz.com/newz/dell-confirms-xps-laptop-with-nvidia-n1x-at-computex

Mathieu's Open Source Updates:

Dillo Browser Human Proof Lab: https://dillo-browser.org/lab/human-proof/

Wikimedia Mailing List Firing Announcement: https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/thread/TRCM57VX5TNE5JACRSIN3XFVDBUWTOVM/

Medium Article on Wikipedia's Corporate Turn: https://medium.com/@jakeorlowitz/wikipedia-is-doing-the-capitalist-thing-56a393232943

Zeb's News Flash:

Phoronix Linux 7.1-rc5 Release Overview: https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-7.1-rc5-Released

TechSpot Streaming Tax Report: https://www.techspot.com/news/112504-canada-imposing-15-tax-global-streaming-services-support.html

It's FOSS Age Verification Exemptions: https://itsfoss.com/news/age-verification-open-source-exemptions/

How-To Geek GNOME Prism Feature: https://www.howtogeek.com/this-super-minimalist-gnome-theme-is-changing-how-i-use-linux/

GNOME Prism GitHub Repository: https://github.com/zachfeldman/gnome-prism

This week, Jill captains the ship with her faithful copilots Ryan and Zeb, alongside special guest host Máirín “Mo” Duffy, an AI and design expert direct from Red Hat! We kick things off with community feedback exploring the challenges and workflows of implementing open-source software in the non-profit and NGO sector.

Then, we dive into a major funding announcement as the German Sovereign Tech Fund invests over 1 million Euros into KDE to level up its structural reliability, security, and digital sovereignty. Next, with Mo in the house, we get the exclusive inside scoop and recap from the Red Hat Summit, highlighting RHEL developments, Fedora Hummingbird, Podman Desktop sandboxes, OpenKaiden, and how NASA is using OpenShift Virtualization for deep space mission operations.

Finally, we wrap up by tackling the chilling reality of how data centers and massive AI interconnect requests are placing an unprecedented strain on the US power grid and drinking water infrastructures.

Special Announcement

On Saturday, May 30th at 1:30 PM Eastern, we are recording live! Anyone in our audience can watch the stream via the live links pinned in our Discord or Matrix chats. Stick around for the exclusive Patron Segment at the end of the recording for our Sudoer, Root, and Linux Kernel tier members to jump on mic, ask questions, and share projects. Root and Linux Kernel members can also hang out afterward for the official post-recording Patron Hangout!

*Timestamps: *

00:00:00 Welcome to Destination Linux

00:01:33 Patron Event Announcement

00:03:44 Community Feedback

00:16:07 Sponsored by Sandfly Security

00:18:11 Thanks to Our Supporters

00:22:58 KDE Funding Boost

00:28:17 Red Hat Summit Recap

00:55:50 Linux Kernel AI Report Chaos

01:01:00 AI Power and Water Concerns

01:18:38 Closing Thoughts

*Links Mentioned In the Show: *

Become a Patron: https://patreon.com/destinationlinux

The Destination Linux Store: https://shop.deviantairwaves.com/

Buy Me A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/destinationlinux

Contact & PO Box Info: https://deviantairwaves.com/contact/

KDE Sovereign Tech Fund Announcement: https://9to5linux.com/kde-receives-over-e1m-from-sovereign-tech-fund-for-software-development

RHEL Spotlight Recap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mABwS4AHqWI

Red Hat Desktop Products: https://www.redhat.com/en/products/desktop

OpenKaiden AI Project: https://openkaiden.ai/

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory & Red Hat: https://www.youtube.com/live/6K8eqQ4ymvk?si=-B_6k6l6N-9-wv4C&t=1216

NASA OpenShift Press Release: https://www.redhat.com/en/about/press-releases/nasa-jet-propulsion-laboratory-advances-deep-space-mission-operations-red-hat-openshift-virtualization

Red Hat TV: https://tv.redhat.com

Linux Kernel Bug Guideline Changes: https://linuxiac.com/linus-torvalds-merges-new-linux-kernel-security-bug-guidelines/

AI Power Grid Strain Report: https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/08/the-biggest-u-s-power-grid-is-under-strain-from-ai-and-no-one-is-happy/

Data Center Water Usage Investigation: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/data-center-used-30-million-gallons-of-water-without-initially-paying/

Welcome to Episode 466 of Destination Linux! After a week away dealing with the literal "ghosts in the machines," Ryan returns to join Jill and Zeb, proving you can't keep a good host down.

We kick off the show with an important community feedback segment addressing a "Puzzled Parent" who wants to keep their kids safe online using open-source tools. The team breaks down excellent FOSS solutions for the Linux desktop, router-level blocking (like Pi-hole and NextDNS), and open-source mobile tools for /e/OS like NetGuard and TimeLimit.

Next, Ryan takes us on his personal journey from Server Purgatory to Paradise. He walks through setting up a low-power, budget-friendly HP Prodesk mini-server from eBay, detailing his troubleshooting nightmare with an unbaked Ubuntu install, his redemption using Fedora, and how he deployed a modern stack using Podman, Cockpit, Tailscale, and Filebrowser.

In hardware news, Jill delivers some bittersweet "end of an era" updates as the classic AMD K5 processor family and the Intel 486 are officially deprecated and removed from the upcoming Linux Kernel. We discuss why 30-year-old museum-grade hardware is being phased out due to maintenance burdens and share the best retro-distributions to keep your vintage rigs alive.

Finally, Zeb brings us up to speed on the "Dirty Frag" local privilege escalation vulnerability and how the latest Linux kernel stable releases fully mitigate it. We wrap up the show by celebrating the 30th birthday of Tux the Penguin, sharing the hilarious origin story of how a zoo animal bite in 1993 led to Larry Ewing designing the ultimate mascot in GIMP.

Show Timestamps:

00:00:00 Welcome to Destination Linux

00:02:03 Patron Event Announcement

00:05:33 Community Feedback

00:18:19 Sponsored by Sandfly Security

00:23:08 Linux Drops Support for the AMD K5

00:34:44 Building the DL Server

00:47:32 Dirty Frag Fix Released

00:54:11 Tux Turns Thirty

01:00:42 Software Pick: DisMail

01:01:42 Closing Thoughts

Show Note References

Patreon Support : patreon.com/destinationlinux

Sandfly Security : deviantairwaves.com/sandfly

Linux Kernel Deprecates AMD K5 (Phoronix) : shorturl.at/T7J7y

Filebrowser Open Source File Manager : filebrowser.org/index.html

Tailscale Mesh VPN : tailscale.com/

Podman Container Engine : podman.io/

Cockpit Project Server Management : cockpit-project.org/running

Linux Kernel 7.0.6 & Dirty Frag Mitigation (Phoronix) : phoronix.com/news/Linux-7.0.6-Released

Tux the Penguin Mascot Turns 30 (XDA) : phoronix.com/news/Linux-7.0.6-Released

Destination Linux Official Store : shop.deviantairwaves.com/

Welcome to Episode 465 of Destination Linux! This week, the dynamic duo of Jill and Zeb handle the shell while our third co-host (the one with the 'R' name) enjoys a work trip to the West coast.

We kick things off with a major community update: Destination Linux is moving to a monthly Saturday recording schedule to better include our global audience! We detail upcoming Patron Segments and Hangouts, plus a new initiative where our supporters get to vote on which Open Source projects we donate to.

In the news, we celebrate a massive win for Linux gaming: HDMI 2.1 support is officially landing in the amdgpu driver thanks to a collaboration between AMD and Valve. We discuss what this means for 4K/120Hz gaming on your living room TV and why it was blocked for so long.

Zeb brings the "Shell" topics, covering Rocket League’s move to Easy Anti-Cheat (and why they chose to keep Linux supported when others didn't), the latest Steam Market Share numbers, and the "RAMpocalypse"—the component shortage currently acting as a speed bump for Valve's hardware ambitions.

Time Stamps

00:00:00 Welcome to Destination Linux
00:01:13 Exciting Events for Patrons
00:08:05 Sponsored by Sandfly Security
00:10:36 HDMI 2.1 Support for AMD GPUs
00:22:49 Rocket League Anti-Cheat
00:28:21 Steam Linux Market Share Update
00:31:10 The RAMpocalypse and Linux Gaming
00:45:38 Closing Thoughts

Show Note References

Patreon Support : patreon.com/destinationlinux

Sandfly Security : deviantairwaves.com/sandfly

Steam Machine HDMI 2.1 News (XDA) : xda-developers.com/steam-machine-will-likely-get-full-hdmi-2-1-support-after-all/

HDMI 2.1 Support on Linux (TweakTown) : tweaktown.com/news/111415/hdmi-2-1-support-coming-to-linux-and-valves-steam-machine-courtesy-of-amd/index.html

Rocket League Anti-Cheat Update (GamingOnLinux) : gamingonlinux.com/2026/04/rocket-league-adds-easy-anti-cheat-with-steam-deck-linux-still-supported/

Steam Linux Market Share April 2026 (Phoronix) : phoronix.com/news/Steam-April-2026-Survey

The RAMpocalypse & SteamOS (Ars Technica) : arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/05/the-rampocalypse-has-bought-microsoft-valuable-time-in-the-fight-against-steamos/

Destination Linux Official Store : shop.deviantairwaves.com/