Merry Christmas, dear readers! Itโs that magical time of year when we pause to reflect on the past and celebrate the moments that made this year special.
As a media covering the latest from the Linux and FOSS ecosystem, weโve kept you updated with the most important developments in this vibrant field. Now, as 2024 comes to a close, letโs take a moment to look back at the highlights that defined this year.
2024 in Review: Key Moments in Linux and FOSS
This year has brought plenty of exciting developments in the Linux and open-source worldโmost of them overwhelmingly positive. Of course, not everything has been sunshine and rainbowsโthere have also been some challenges. I’ve covered both the highs and the lows below. Here they are.
The Year of Wayland
2024 was another year in which “Linux on the desktop” didn’t happen (what a surprise), but it was the year of Wayland! Thatโs rightโno more talk about preparing for the switch or waiting for it to happen. The change is here, now.
In 2024, major Linux distributions like Ubuntu and Fedora and desktop environments such as KDE Plasma and GNOME made Wayland the default display protocol. Xorg, while still available as an optional fallback, has taken a backseat.
For software projects that havenโt fully transitioned yet, efforts are underway to deliver at least initial Wayland support, with full compatibility promised in upcoming releases. Wayland has officially matured into a robust and reliable project, capable of delivering a seamless experience for both desktop users and gamers alike. This isnโt some far-off dreamโitโs the reality of today.
While Xorg served us well for over two decades, itโs clear its time has passed. In 2024, Wayland became the new standard, marking the start of a new era for the Linux desktop. This is the path forward, and itโs here to stay for years to come.
COSMIC Is Coming
COSMIC! If there’s anything poised to revolutionize the Linux desktop experience, this is it. Weโre not just talking about another desktop environment tweaking an existing foundation. No, this is a brand-new beast built from the ground up by System76 engineers, with the potential to disrupt the status quo long dominated by KDE Plasma and GNOME.
While still in its Alpha 4 phase, COSMIC is on track for its first stable release by the end of Q1 2025.
2024 also brought another major milestone for Linux desktops: the release of Plasma 6. This update delivered many impressive features and refinements, further cementing its place in the Linux ecosystem.
Other desktop environments also saw updates this year, with Xfce 4.20, Cinnamon 6.4, and LXQt 2.1 introducing incremental improvements to their existing frameworks. However, these updates were more evolutionary than revolutionary.
And then thereโs GNOME. Let me be honestโI’ve been waiting for things to return to normal for years. For too long, users like me have grappled with extension incompatibilities and the occasional head-scratching decisions from developers about how we should interact with our desktop environments. In 2024, we saw the releases of GNOME 46 and GNOME 47. Actually, anyway… COSMIC is coming!
Linux XZ Utils Backdoor
The March attempt to inject malicious code into the Linux SSH implementation could easily be considered one of the most significant efforts to compromise Linux in its historyโand you wouldn’t be wrong to think so.
In short, a threat actor named Jia Tan (who remained undetected to this day) tried to inject a malicious code capable of bypassing sshd authentication, enabling it to gain comprehensive remote control over the entire system.
Fortunately, the endeavorโevidently the result of years of work by its evil minds creators, given its complexity and meticulous deploymentโwas stopped before it could succeed. Credit goes to an open-source developer for catching it in time.
Still think FOSS isnโt the most secure and reliable way to protect your systems? Imagine the outcome if the target hadnโt been Linux but a closed-source operating system.
Linux Crosses 4% Market Share Worldwide
It’s been an absolute pleasure to cover this topic throughout 2024. After nearly 30 years, Linux finally hit the 3% mark for usability among desktop operating systems (it’s been the undisputed leader in the server world for ages). And now, in just a single year, itโs climbed another percentage point to 4%.
So, are we inching closer to the long-dreamed “Year of Linux on the Desktop”? Not reallyโnor do I think we ever will. Honestly, I hope that “year” never comes. Why? Thatโs a whole other discussion for another time. Still, the growing popularity of Linux in the desktop space is undeniably a reason to celebrate.
The Winamp Revival Fiasco
Winamp has never been an open-source project, but it is a striking example of how exploiting the open-source philosophy purely for financial purposes can lead to complete failure.
The idea of reviving the once-legendary media player was genuinely exciting. However, the execution was so flawed and poorly managed that it might even be laughable if it werenโt so disappointing.
The takeaway? Open source is one of the most beautiful and powerful innovations in the tech world, but approaching it the wrong way is a surefire recipe that guarantees a safe place in the League of Oblivion.
Sovereign Tech Agency – A Great Open Source’s Friend
This year, a previously not-so-well-known name has been making waves in the open-source community: Sovereign Tech Agency. It’s a funding pot supported financially by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and hosted by the German Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation.
After investing an impressive โฌ1 million in the GNOME project as a work commission in 2023, the agency extended significant support to several other key open-source projects in 2024 to help advance their development. Among the recipients were Arch Linux (โฌ562K), Samba (โฌ688K), FreeBSD (โฌ686K), FFmpeg (โฌ157K), and GStreamer (โฌ203K), to name a few.
In one way or another, we all benefit as end-users from the progress these funds make possible. So, thank you to the Sovereign Tech Agency for their commitment to open-source innovation. Hereโs hoping that 2025 brings more great news about funding for other impactful open-source projects.
Gaming on Linux: From Dream to Reality
If someone had said 20 years ago that nearly every game title would one day run seamlessly on Linux, they wouldnโt have been called a dreamerโtheyโd have been called just a madman. But as wise people have said – the only sure thing is a change.
Today, I tackle challenging liberation missions against villains, ride dragons, take off at 200 mph down virtual runways, and crush entire armies of monstersโall on my Linux machine. And I do it with frame rates from my GPU that even Windows gamers would envy. A huge part of this transformation is thanks to Valve and their incredible open-source project, Proton.
So, gaming on Linux isnโt news anymoreโitโs just everyday life. Itโs no surprise that in 2024, Linux gamers made up 2% of all users on the Steam platform, with that number only expected to grow. Is Linux a stable platform for gaming enthusiasts? One word: absolutely! I prove it to myself every single day.
KDE and GNOME: From DE to Distro
Weโre all used to thinking of KDE and GNOME as desktop environments integrated into various Linux distributions. But in 2024, we got some surprising newsโthese leading desktop environments might be taking things a step further by launching their own Linux distributions.
I have to admit, it sounds incredibly exciting. With KDE, this initiative is directly backed by the project itself, which gives it a solid foundation and raises expectations for a successful outcome. On the other hand, GNOMEโs effort is driven by an individual developer, which leaves room for questions about how it will ultimately shape up.
Either way, 2025 will bring us the answers. As always, Iโll keep you updated on any new developments. Stay tuned.
VMware Workstation Pro Go Free
Virtualization is a must-have for any Linux enthusiast and a sacred tool for distro hoppers, offering the chance to explore another new distribution easily.
Right off the bat, VMware has never been my go-to virtualization tool. Iโve always stuck with KVM. But thatโs just my personal preference. I know plenty of people have been dedicated VMware users for years. In general, it can be said that most Linux desktop users fall into two camps: VirtualBox and VMware.
Historically, VMware offered Linux users the free VMware Workstation Player, which lacked many of the advanced features found in the Pro versionโsome of which were incredibly useful. But thatโs changed.
In an unexpected but well-received move, Broadcom announced that VMware Workstation Pro (available for both Linux and Windows) and Fusion Pro (for macOS) are now free for commercial, educational, and personal use. This means Linux users can now access an enterprise-grade virtualization solution without any restrictions. So, hereโs to happy virtualizing!
Pacman 7 & DNF 5
Package managers form the backbone of every Linux distro (ok, so modern immutable ones are a separate topic). Regardless of your preferred distribution, the Linux ecosystem largely gravitates around three major package managers: APT, DNF, and Pacman. In 2024, two of these received significant updates.
First, there’s the release of Pacman 7, now available to all Arch Linux users and its derivatives. Then there’s DNF 5, which debuted with the October release of Fedora 41.
Both updates bring many improvements, but DNF 5, in particular, introduces long-awaited enhancements that users eagerly anticipate. That’s why mentioning them as one of the big events of 2024 is more than a must.
Redis No Longer Open Source
In 2024, we saw several events that stirred up significant controversy. One of the most notable was Redis’s decision to change its licensing policy, effectively removing itself from open-source software.
However, this wasnโt the first time something like this happened. Just a year earlier, HashiCorpโlater acquired by IBMโmade a similar move with Terraform, a widely used tool in the DevOps field for provisioning infrastructure as code (IaC).
The open-source community responded quickly in both cases, introducing free alternatives to fill the gap. OpenTofu emerged as a replacement for Terraform, while Valkey stepped in for Redis.
Whether these licensing shifts were the right move remains to be seen, but early signs suggest challenges. Some Linux distributions have already begun offering Valkey as a default option in their releases, replacing Redisโa development Redis likely didnโt anticipate or desire.
Flathub Takes Center Stage in the Linux Ecosystem
A few years ago, there was still debate over which distro-agnostic formatโFlatpak or Snapโwould come out on top. Today, thereโs no question: Flatpak has emerged as the Linux communityโs preferred choice, while Snap has largely remained confined to Ubuntu.
In 2024, Flathub, the primary repository for Flatpak applications, hit some incredible milestones. By summer, it had surpassed 2 billion app downloads. To further enhance its service, Flathub introduced several improvements, such as build validations and highlighting high-quality apps.
Looking ahead to 2025, Flatpakโs dominance as the leading distro-agnostic software distribution format seems all but guaranteed. Itโs clear that this is the direction the Linux ecosystem (sorry, Ubuntu) is heading.
Top Linux Distro Releases of 2024
I left that part for last. Honestly, it deserves a whole separate article. However, I will try to synthesize things very briefly.
On the desktop side, itโs no surprise that Linux Mint 22 “Wilma” takes the spotlight as the most exciting release this year. Fedora 41 also stands out as one of the best desktop offerings. And for those who love a polished aesthetic, the new elementaryOS 8 is worth checking out.
When it comes to general-purpose distributions that work equally well for desktops and servers, openSUSE Leap 15.6 is the standout choice. It’s reliable and versatile, making it a solid pick for any setup.
The usual stars shine bright for server-focused distributions: Rocky Linux 9.5 and AlmaLinux 9.5 continue to deliver the stability and security you need for smooth server operations.
And what about Ubuntu 24.04 LTS? Well, letโs just say it hasnโt been smooth sailing. Since it came out, the distro has been plagued with some issues and broken upgrade paths.
All of this, peppered with the endlessly popping up in the terminal reminders of how good it is to join Canonical’s Pro support program + the distribution’s strong ties to Snap, leading to some very questionable replacements of major packages with their Snap alternates, comes a bit too much for me.
Regarding rolling-release distributions in 2024, Arch Linux still wears the crown, with Tumbleweed standing as another strong contender in this niche. Among the derivatives, I highly recommend EndeavourOS, while Manjaro has made some controversial decisions recently, so I wouldnโt recommend it right now.
And hereโs a tip Iโll never stop sharing: if you havenโt tried Void Linux yet, do yourself a favor and give it a go. I promise itโs worth it!
Conclusion
In conclusion, 2024 was an incredible year for the open-source community. Even more exciting, 2025 is shaping up to be even better, with highly anticipated releases like the first stable version of the COSMIC desktop environment, Debian 13, RHEL 10, etc.
As always, weโll be here to bring you the latest news and updates from the world of Linux and FOSS.
Are there any events that you think were significant for FOSS in 2024? I can’t wait for you to share them in the comments below. Wishing you all a joyful and love-filled Christmas!
