Welcome to Week 14 of Linuxiac’s 2026 Weekly Roundup, your source for Linux and open-source news. Below are the key Linux and FOSS highlights from March 23 to April 5.
Linux Distributions
This week brought five updates in the Linux world, and I’ve covered each one in the articles below.
- Arch Linux April 2026 ISO Ships With Kernel 6.19 and Systemd 260
- AerynOS March 2026 Update Brings GNOME 50, KDE 6.6.3, and Linux 6.18
- Netrunner 26 “Twilight” released with Debian 13, Plasma 6, and Linux 6.16
- Arch-Based Omarchy 3.5 Brings Full Intel Panther Lake Support
- Arch-Based Artix Linux 2026.04 Released With XLibre as Default X Server
Software Updates
In addition, here is a summary of the latest open-source software updates featured this week.
- OpenSSH 10.3 Brings Agent Forwarding Updates And Improvements
- GNOME 49.5 Improves Stability With Fixes in Shell, Nautilus, and Mutter
- Archinstall 4.0 Introduces New Textual TUI for Arch Linux Installer
- OpenVPN 2.7.1 Introduces Username-Only Authentication Option
- Ventoy 1.1.11 Improves Windows UEFI Booting
- Fastfetch 2.61 System Information Tool Drops Windows 7 and 8 Support
- Pidgin 3.0 Messaging Client Moves from Experimental Build to Alpha
- Wine 11.6 Brings Android Driver Work, Game Mod Fixes
- Komodo 2.0 Build and Deploy Tool Adds Docker Swarm Support
- Rspamd 4.0 Spam Filtering System Released With checkv3 Protocol
- JetStream 3 Debuts as a Major Browser Benchmark Update
- Pangolin 1.17 Tunneled Reverse Proxy Adds Multiple Roles per User
Must-Reads You Can’t Miss
The Linux and FOSS community also saw several notable developments this week. Key highlights include:
- Linux Continues to Make History, Hitting 5% Usage on Steam
- Debian Project Leader Addresses New Age Verification Laws
- Zorin OS Says No to Mandatory Age Verification in Linux
- Parrot Linux Takes Stand Against Age Verification
- Arch Linux Makes nft the Default Backend for iptables
- Gentoo GNU/Hurd Port Is Real, Despite the April 1 Joke
- Ubuntu MATE Founder Martin Wimpress Steps Back After 12 Years
- Ubuntu 26.04 LTS Raises Desktop Minimum RAM Requirement
- ONLYOFFICE Accuses Euro-Office of License Violations After Launch
- The Document Foundation Calls on Europe to Break Free from Proprietary Software
That’s all for this week. If you missed our previous wrap-up from Week 13 of 2026 (Mar 23 – 29), you can catch up here, where you’ll find Kali Linux 2026.1, KaOS 2026.03, GIMP 3.2.2, Firefox 149, NVIDIA 595.58, Fish Shell 4.6, Krita 6.0, Qt 6.11, Canonical Plans Controversial GRUB Changes for Ubuntu 26.10 Secure Boot, MX Linux Takes Clear Stance Against Age Verification, and many more.
Be sure to keep an eye on Linuxiac for the latest updates from the Linux and open-source world.
Have a great week ahead!
Mr. Borisov,
Thank you once again for your well-organized and up-to-date website. All the Linux news is current and in one place.
I wish you a happy Easter also.