Windows broke Linux dual boots, Google coerces reviewers, GNOME 47 beta: Linux & Open Source News

Summary

In this Linux and open-source news show, the host discusses recent issues caused by a Microsoft update that broke Linux dual boots, Google's unethical influencer marketing tactics, and the release of the Gnome 47 beta. Sponsored by ProtonMail, the video also covers NVIDIA's new stable Linux drivers, performance benchmarks comparing Linux and Windows gaming, and updates to Wine and KDE's telemetry tool. The host wraps up with a mention of Tuxedo Computers, a Linux-focused hardware company.

Takeaways

• 😀 The video is set in a new apartment and studio, with the host acknowledging the sound might be echoey and promising to fix it.
• 😡 Microsoft has caused issues with Linux and Windows dual boots by pushing an untested update, making Linux systems unbootable for some users.
• 👎 Linux distributions are partly at fault for not updating Grub to support secure boot properly, which contributed to the dual boot issues.
• 📦 The video is sponsored by ProtonMail, an end-to-end encrypted email service focused on privacy and security.
• 🛠️ Microsoft's patch was meant to fix a severe flaw related to Grub2 and secure boot, but it ended up affecting dual boot systems incorrectly.
• 🚫 Google was caught enforcing agreements on influencers to only speak positively about their products in exchange for review units.
• 🚀 NVIDIA has released stable drivers for Linux, version 5.560, which transition to open-source modules and offer performance comparable to proprietary ones.
• 🎨 GNOME 47 beta has been released with many new features, including hardware-accelerated screen recording and improved support for drawing tablets and styluses.
• 📊 KDE has published results from their user feedback telemetry tool, showing that Wayland adoption is around 45% among KDE users, with some surprising reliance on older technologies.
• 🕹️ Linux gaming performance has caught up or even surpassed Windows in some cases, as shown by recent benchmark tests comparing the two operating systems.
• 💻 Tuxedo Computers, a sponsor mentioned in the video, specializes in laptops and desktops that run Linux out of the box, with customization options and contributions to the Linux community.

Q & A

What issue did Microsoft's update cause for Linux and Windows dual boot systems?

Microsoft's update broke dual boots on many systems, making Linux unbootable. The patch was meant to fix a flaw related to Grub two that allowed potential attackers to bypass secure boot, but it incorrectly applied to all dual boot systems, causing a security policy violation message.

What is the role of SBOM in secure boot?

SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) is used in secure boot to declare which versions of components in the secure boot chain are patched for the latest vulnerabilities and to indicate which parts are no longer secure as they haven't been patched.

Why is Microsoft also blaming Linux distributions for the dual boot issue?

Microsoft claims that Linux distributions are also at fault because they should have shipped updated versions of Grub that support secure boot and signed those versions to prevent the issue from happening.

What is the recommended solution for users affected by the dual boot issue?

The recommended solutions are to either disable secure boot or uninstall the latest Windows security update, although the update may reinstall itself later.

What controversy did Google face regarding their influencer marketing strategy for their Pixel phones?

Google was caught coercing influencers to only say good things about their Pixel phones and not feature them alongside competing phones or show preference for other brands, in order to continue receiving review units.

How did Google respond to the controversy over their influencer marketing strategy?

Google acknowledged that their language missed the mark and clarified that the Team Pixel program, which was affected, is meant for content creators, not press or tech reviewers.

What are the new features in the NVIDIA stable drivers for Linux version 5.560?

The new features include hardware-accelerated screen sharing through Pipewire, variable refresh rate support for Volta architecture GPUs, and fixes for issues with DVI outputs going to HDMI monitors and freezes in the Plasma shell under Wayland.

What improvements can users expect in GNOME 47 beta?

GNOME 47 beta introduces hardware-accelerated screen recording support, binding actions to drawing tablet buttons and styluses, pressure range support for styluses, color management protocol for HDR support, better handling of secondary GPU failures, and various other enhancements and bug fixes.

What did KDE learn from their voluntary user feedback telemetry tool?

KDE learned that Wayland adoption is around 45% among their users, but increases to about 80% when excluding KDE 5 users. They also discovered that a significant number of users still rely on older displays and OpenGL2, influencing their development decisions.

What is the significance of the gaming performance comparison between Linux and Windows?

The comparison shows that in some cases, Linux has caught up to or even surpassed Windows in terms of game performance, indicating that Linux is becoming a more viable option for gaming.

What update did Wine receive in version 9.16?

Wine 9.16 introduced the first implementation of the Windows driver store, which stores third-party drivers in a secure location and ensures only validated drivers are installed, potentially improving compatibility with Wine.

Why does the script mention Tuxedo Computers?

Tuxedo Computers is the sponsor of the video script. They make laptops, desktops, and small form factor computers that run Linux out of the box and contribute to the Linux community by providing patches to improve compatibility.

Outlines

00:00

😕 Microsoft's Update Breaks Linux Dual Boots

The script discusses an issue caused by a recent Microsoft update that has broken dual boot systems with Windows and Linux. The update was intended to fix a security flaw in Grub two but ended up rendering Linux systems unbootable for those with secure boot enabled. While Microsoft claims the update should not have affected Linux dual boots, the mishap has left users with the options of disabling secure boot or uninstalling the Windows update. The video also touches on the responsibility of Linux distributions for not updating Grub to support secure boot properly.

05:02

📱 Google's Influencer Marketing Controversy

The script reveals that Google was found to be pressuring influencers to only speak positively about their products, specifically the latest Pixel phone, as a condition for continued access to review units. This practice has raised ethical concerns as it undermines the credibility of reviews. Google acknowledged the issue, stating that their language was inappropriate and that the Pixel program was not intended for press or tech reviewers but for content creators. However, this has cast doubt on the authenticity of Pixel reviews, as it is unclear if other reviewers have similar agreements with Google.

10:04

🚀 NVIDIA's Stable Linux Drivers and Gnome 47 Beta

The script covers the release of NVIDIA's stable Linux drivers, version 5.56, which transition to open-source modules for supported GPUs. These drivers are said to perform as well as proprietary ones and come with numerous fixes, including improvements to Wayland and XWayland support, screen sharing, and variable refresh rate support for older GPUs. Additionally, the Gnome 47 beta is highlighted, featuring hardware-accelerated screen recording, drawing tablet support, color management for HDR, and various other enhancements. The script also mentions updates to the Epiphany web browser and the potential release date for the final stable version of Gnome 47.

15:04

🕹️ Linux Gaming Performance and KDE Telemetry Insights

The script reports on Linux's competitive gaming performance, with benchmarks showing that Linux sometimes outperforms Windows, even for non-native games running on Proton. It also discusses the KDE project's telemetry tool, which has provided insights into user preferences and hardware usage, influencing development decisions. However, the telemetry project has not been entirely successful, as it did not always provide the necessary data for decision-making, leading to plans for a revamp. Lastly, the script mentions an update to Wine, the compatibility layer for running Windows applications on Linux, which includes the implementation of the Windows driver store and fixes for various programs.

💻 Tuxedo Computers and Linux Support

The script concludes with a sponsorship message for Tuxedo Computers, a company specializing in Linux-ready laptops, desktops, and small form factor computers. Tuxedo Computers is noted for contributing to the Linux community by providing patches to ensure optimal performance of their devices on the Linux platform. The script encourages viewers to consider Tuxedo Computers for new Linux systems and to support a company that actively contributes to Linux development.

Keywords

💡Linux

Linux is an open-source operating system that is widely used in various computing environments, from embedded systems to servers. In the video, Linux is a central theme as it discusses issues related to its dual boot with Windows, updates affecting its functionality, and its performance in gaming, indicating the video's focus on the Linux ecosystem and its community.

💡Dual Boot

Dual boot refers to the practice of installing and running two operating systems on a single computer, allowing the user to choose which OS to boot into. The video script mentions issues arising from a Windows update that affected Linux and Windows dual boot systems, making Linux unbootable for some users.

💡Secure Boot

Secure Boot is a security standard designed to ensure that a device boots using only software that is trusted by the manufacturer. The script discusses a flaw in Secure Boot that was patched, but the patch inadvertently affected dual-boot systems, causing security policy violations and boot issues.

💡Grub2

Grub2 is the GRand Unified Bootloader version 2, which is widely used for booting Linux systems. The video mentions a severe flaw related to Grub2 that was patched, but the patch process led to issues for dual-boot systems with Secure Boot enabled.

💡Influencer

An influencer is an individual who has the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of their authority or influence in a particular area. The script describes an instance where Google allegedly coerced influencers into promoting their products positively in exchange for continued access to review units.

💡ProtonMail

ProtonMail is an end-to-end encrypted email service that focuses on privacy and security. The video features ProtonMail as a sponsor, highlighting its features and the benefits of using an encrypted email service for privacy-conscious users.

💡NVIDIA Drivers

NVIDIA Drivers are software that allows the operating system to communicate with NVIDIA graphics hardware. The video script mentions the release of new stable NVIDIA drivers for Linux, which transition to open-source modules and bring performance improvements and new features to Linux users with NVIDIA GPUs.

💡Wayland

Wayland is a protocol for a compositor to talk to its clients, providing a framework for a window system in Linux. The script discusses improvements to the NVIDIA drivers that enhance the user experience on Wayland, including fixes for freezes and better multi-monitor support.

💡GNOME

GNOME is a free and open-source desktop environment for Unix-like operating systems. The script mentions the release of GNOME 47 beta, detailing new features and improvements such as hardware-accelerated screen recording, color management for HDR support, and enhancements to the Epiphany web browser.

💡Telemetry

Telemetry in computing refers to the process of collecting and transmitting measurements at a distance. The video script discusses the results from KDE's Telemetry tool, which gathers user feedback and data to inform development decisions, and the challenges faced in utilizing this data effectively.

💡Wine

Wine is a compatibility layer that allows computer programs developed for Windows to run on Unix-like operating systems. The script mentions an update to Wine that includes the implementation of the Windows driver store, which could improve compatibility and stability for running Windows applications on Linux.

Highlights

Introduction of the Linux and open source news show in a new apartment and studio with potential sound issues.

Microsoft's update causing issues with Linux and Windows dual boots, making Linux systems unbootable.

Linux distributions at fault for not updating Grub to support secure boot properly.

Google caught pressuring influencers to only speak positively about their products to continue receiving review units.

Promotion of ProtonMail for its end-to-end encryption and focus on privacy and security.

NVIDIA's new stable drivers for Linux, version 5.560, offering open-source modules for supported GPUs.

GNOME 47 beta release with new features like hardware-accelerated screen recording and improved support for drawing tablets.

KDE's telemetry tool insights, revealing user preferences and system configurations.

Linux gaming performance comparison with Windows, showing competitive or superior frame rates in some cases.

Wine 9.16 update introducing the Windows driver store for better application compatibility.

Tuxedo Computers' promotion, highlighting their Linux-ready laptops and desktops with custom options.

Discussion on the impact of major Windows 11 updates on different user subsets and the potential reasons behind the bugs.

The controversy around Google's influencer agreement and its implications on the trustworthiness of product reviews.

Details on the improvements and fixes in the new NVIDIA drivers, enhancing the Linux user experience.

GNOME 47's advancements in color management, calendar functionality, and support for screen readers.

KDE's decision-making process influenced by user feedback data and the limitations of their telemetry tool.

The significance of the Windows driver store implementation in Wine, potentially improving the setup process for programs.

Transcripts

hey everyone and welcome back to your

Linux and open source news show this is

the first one in the new apartment and

the new studio so the sound might be a

bit echoey still don't worry I'll fix it

as soon as I can so this week we've got

Microsoft breaking a whole bunch of

Linux and windows dual boots by pushing

a virtually untested update to Windows I

guess that's what happened and also

Linux dis Ros are a bit at fault as well

we also have Google caught red-handed

coercing influencers to say good things

about their products if they want to

keep receiving review units and no

that's not as common as you'd think and

also we've got the gnome 47 beta and a

lot of other things including the segue

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proton mail this is what I use to manage

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for personal important documents and I

can only recommend them all right so you

can thank Microsoft for this one as they

pushed a patch that they apparently had

been working on for a while which broke

dual boots on a lot of people's

computers making their Linux systems

unbootable the patch was supposed to fix

a pretty severe flaw related to Grub two

that L potential attackers bypass secure

boot that's a flaw that was uncovered in

2022 but only received a patch yesterday

and in doing that patch users who dual

booted windows and Linux and who had

secure boot turned on received a nice

little message along the lines of

security policy violation or some

something went seriously wrong the gist

of the issue seems to be linked to sbat

or secure boot Advanced targeting a way

to declare which version of components

that are part of the secure boot chain

are patched for the latest discovered

vulnerabilities and also a way to say

this part is not secure anymore it's not

been patched so yeah secure boot not

okay right now what Microsoft did is

push a Windows update that told that

secure boot chain to not trust any

version of grub under a a certain level

because these versions were actually

vulnerable and could be used to bypass

secure Boot and to compromise Windows

now Microsoft said that this update

should not have applied to Linux and

windows dual boots but they messed up

and they did apply it to all of these

systems which is what caused the issue

but the affected Linux dis Ros are also

at fault here because they should have

shipped updated versions of grub at

least if they said they wanted to

support secure Boot and they wanted to

sign those versions of grub for secure

boot it seems like people running aun

22404 or Debian 12 were affected by this

issue Microsoft didn't really respond to

anyone affected yet as far as I could

see so the best option right now is to

disable the annoyance that is secure

boot or to uninstall the latest Windows

security update although this will

likely reinstall itself sooner or later

and I'm sure some people will say that

Microsoft intentionally borked the dual

boots because they're evil and they want

to kill Linux but the truth is they're

just probably incompetent virtually

every major Windows 11 update broke

something for one subset of users or

another it's just very easy to check

there's been an article written about

every single one of these updates

because there's been a major bug with

every single one of them whether that's

due to Microsoft firing their testing

team a while back and never replacing

them or because they're just bad at

their job or because Windows is such an

old Legacy spaghetti code unmaintainable

mess that it's impossible to do anything

without breaking something else I don't

know what sure is now Microsoft's

actions are starting to affect other

systems which is really bad but also

some Linux dis Ros really should revamp

how they sign packages for secure Boot

and update their stuff Google was caught

red hander trying to coer influencers to

say good things about their latest pixel

phone if they wanted to keep receiving

phones to review these influencers would

still receive any form of pixel device

if they agreed to never feature a pixel

phone alongside any competing phone or

if they agreed to never show preference

for anything other than the Google pixel

basically you either had to lie about

your own feelings and not really have a

comparative review or you just did not

have a pixel review on the same day as

other creators and it's not an

interpretation that I'm making here it

is clearly labeled in text that was a

question you had to answer to get into

the program which said if it appears

other brands are being preferred over

the pixel we will need to seize the

relationship between the brand and the

Creator Google even acknowledged there's

a problem here they said their language

missed the mark and they also said that

the team pixel program which is the one

affected is not meant for press or Tech

reviewers but for specific content

creators but that's just pure

gaslighting everyone knows a content

creator that gets a free pixel will make

a video review about it even if it's

just an instagrammer using the pixel to

take their next set of pictures they

will still say some things about the

phone also some independent reviewers

and Tech journalists were grouped into

that team pixel program for their review

units compared to other influencers like

MKBHD who is not in that program and if

you think this is normal practice that

in influencers or YouTubers or press

when they receive a review unit they are

basically muzzled that's not the case at

all even when IED the steam deck from

valve as a prototype not even the real

final version I never even got a signed

agreement on what I could talk about

basically no one really does that if you

only say bad things about review units

from a certain company of course they're

going to stop sending you product but

there's never a written contract saying

that if you say something bad once or

you prefer something else then you never

get review units anymore this is way out

of line and now it makes basically every

pixel review completely untrustworthy

because you don't know if Google has the

same agreement with any other reviewer

no matter what they say so even if the

review is genuinely very positive and

the phone is excellent you cannot really

trust that review anymore so pretty bad

marketing here Google Now the new NVIDIA

drivers are now finally available in

stable form for Linux version 5 560 is

the version that transitions to the

open- source Nvidia modules for

supported GPU so RTX and above all

benchmarks point to the fact that these

modules perform just as well as the

proprietary ones on the same card so

it's just a matter of Licensing for now

for most users nothing really changes

well that's not entirely true these

drivers also bring a bunch of fixes

notably to freezes in the plasma shell

under Wayland they also fix some issues

with DVI outputs going to HDMI monitors

multim monitor setups should be better

supported under whand as well X whand

support received a lot of fixes as well

notably for running games and there are

plenty of quality of life improvements

and added support for various things

notably enabling Hardware accelerated

screen sharing through pipewire even if

you have multiple clients for example

you could be sharing your screen with

Hardware acceleration and also recording

it with Hardware acceleration through

nvac prev Volta architecture gpus also

gain variable refresh rate support with

these drivers which is nice because

these cards are starting to get pretty

old these days and they're still getting

updates so that's cool anyway mandatory

update if you have an Nvidia GPU on

Linux this probably will improve your

Wayland experience if that's what you're

looking for and even if you have an

older GPU you still gain a few features

and don't worry Nvidia will

automatically detect the GPU you have

and select the proprietary drivers or

the new open modules if your GPU

supports them now gnome 47 got its beta

this week a month before the final

stable version you can expect a lot of

changes this time with Hardware

accelerated screen recording support for

binding actions to the buttons of

drawing tablets and their styluses

you've got support for pressure ranges

for styluses there's also the first

steps for the color management protocol

for HDR support there's the ability to

better handled secondary GPU failures

accent colors on our thing and the

calendar can import IC files with drag

and drop the console now supports screen

readers again Microsoft 365 support in

the online accounts now works pretty

well there's a new optional extension in

the official gome extensions package

that brings back the system tray the

epiphany web browser received a lot of

changes as well like Auto feeling fields

in web pages a privacy report importing

passwords from csvs bookmark sorting

bookmark search and a lot more and there

are also plenty of background changes in

the settings because you do need to

revamp the settings with every desktop

version that's a law in the Linux world

there's also updates to the various

portals there's remote desktop support

under whand that has been improved and

plenty of bug fixes gnome 47 is going to

be a very interesting update much bigger

than gnome 45 or 46 everywhere and

obviously you can expect a dedicated

video on the channel about this specific

thing I think it's going to release in

mid-september so you can expect the

video around that time KD published a

few results from the data they collected

through their voluntary user feedback SL

Telemetry tool this thing was introduced

with plasma 5.8 it was always opt in and

it let users choose which level of data

they wanted to share and now we have a

few conclusions for example whand

adoption is a measly 45% for The

Ensemble of KD users but if you filter

out KD5 users then you are at about 80%

whand use for plasma 6 X11 users of

plasma seem to mostly rely on AMD gpus

but Nvidia still holds a big share

whereas on Wayland Nvidia share is much

lower they also noticed a while back

that more people than they thought still

used 800 by 600 or 640x 480 displays

notably for virtual machines they also

use that data had to make decisions When

developing stuff for KDE for example a

while back someone claimed that no one

still relied on open GL2 and so they

could make a change in their codebase to

drop this older version but when they

checked the data they noticed 5% of

their user base still relied on open GL2

and had no access to something newer so

they decided to not go through with that

specific change ultimately though it

looks like that Telemetry project didn't

really work out apparently a lot of

decisions that they had to make simply

did not have the data to decide one way

or another or if they had the data there

was just way too little of it to be of

any real use at some point they wanted

to add more stuff that users could opt

in to share but the issue was once users

have set the level of data they're

willing to share you can't really

sneakily add anything to what they

agreed to so you need an extra new data

collection step for the users to choose

or you need to warn the user and the

current implementation simply doesn't

allow for that in the end they did

gather a bunch of user feedback but it

doesn't look like this thing really

serves its purpose in most cases it

doesn't provide the data they need to

actually take a decision so they're

going to propose a revamp of that system

at Academy to see how they could handle

uh managing all of this and really

having some actionable stuff that they

can look at and let's finish this with

the gaming news it looks like Linux now

caught up to or even surpassed windows

in terms of games performance Jason

evangelo who you probably know of Linux

for everyone or he worked at Thunderbird

now he's back to writing at fors and he

wrote a nice comparison Benchmark run on

the latest framework 13 with the ryzen 7

7840 U and its integrated Graphics in

his tests Windows took a small win on

Total War Warhammer 3 and Forza Horizon

5 but Linux represented by Fedora 40 got

better fps than Microsoft's operating

system in Shadow of the Tomb Raider

which is a native Linux game but also in

cyberpunk 2077 which is not native and

runs with proton and that performance

Gap got even bigger when you enable FSR

now whether it's windows or Linux

getting the better average and minimum

FPS the differences are relatively small

between the two which is an achievement

in itself and both systems managed to

get decent frame rates that made the

games playable which is pretty

interesting and of course it's only a

very small subset of games and it's

running them at their worst on

relatively underpowered hardware for

gaming maybe the numbers are very

different when you're looking at a

full-blown desktop gaming PC with a

powerful CPU a dedicated GPU maybe then

Windows Takes the Cake but it's still

interesting to see that in some cases

even for games never developed for Linux

at all you're still beating windows I

don't know why but it's fun and we also

have an interesting update to Wi this

week version 9.16 which brings the first

implementation of the Windows driver

store this is something from the Windows

Vista era and it basically just stores

third party drivers in a secure location

only the drivers from that store can be

installed on the system meaning that

when you attempt to install new drivers

these are checked first to see if

they're validated and then they're

copied to the driver store before the

install presumably this should help fix

a bunch of programs that need to install

driers during their setup process and

make them basically work with wine the

wine whan driver also got some updates

and 25 bugs were fixed overall including

for Anarchy online foxit pdf reader

paint shop Pro X7 and more and for once

this looks like a major change made to

run programs better not just games but

applications which is nice because in my

testing I found that wine really

requires a lot of elbow grease to even

get a in install a window to display if

you even can get that what you can get

though is this message from our sponsor

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[Music]