Help me choose a Linux Distro


Recommended Posts

Hey all,

I'm need a little help picking a new Linux distro for me to migrate to. The problem I'm up against is that my knowledge of the advantages of various distros is quite low. I'm not a complete Linux newbie, but my knowledge with Linux distros is limited basically to only what I've ever needed to know (i.e. Ubuntu), so I could use some expert opinions on which way to go next.

Firstly...

Some Background

I've been a Linux user for some time. My university taught it's CS students primarily using RHEL, and have had a Linux distro installed in some form or another (either on a partition or in Virtualbox) since 2006. Originally, I went for Fedora simply because it was based on Red Hat. But I abandoned Fedora in 2006 when twice it managed to do... something to my partition tables and wipe out both Fedora and Windows XP irrecoverably. Between then and mid-2008, I went Windows only simply because I could go to the labs at the university if I needed to do any Unix-based work.

When my dissertation rolled around in 2008, I decided that I needed a copy of Linux installed to do some of my Unix work at home, since it was very laborious travelling to and from the university to do 30 minutes of work, only to return home to do 3 hours of development in Windows. This time around, I went for Ubuntu, since it was all the rage at the time. From 2008 to the end of 2010, I used Ubuntu inside Virtualbox to do my development, and it was an arrangement that worked well, however I often found myself spending more time in the virtual machine than I did in Windows, so at the start of the year I got hold of a hard drive and installed Ubuntu 10.10 on it. I have been a happy Ubuntu user ever since.

Reason for Changing Distro

I've been warily watching Canonical's work on Unity for a while, and there are two things that I disliked about Ubuntu and it's direction. Firstly, I disliked their take on Gnome. I like the black theme they had going on, but the massive unnecessary integration of things like evolution, Ubuntu One and the like annoyed me. But things weren't all lost, since I could just remove the panels, and did so. This massive integration of services I didn't need felt very... Vista-like, and I ended up spending most of my Ubuntu setup taking out various service panels and pre-installed stuff that I didn't need. Again, this wasn't a big deal.

The two major thumbs down for Ubuntu for me has been...

  1. Unity. I don't like it, at all. I know you can turn it off, but the whole of Gnome 3 looks like ass to me, and so I'm not interested in the direction that the Ubuntu GUI is headed.
  2. Old Software. I mean Jesus, Firefox 4 has been out since mid-March, and it didn't appear for Ubuntu until 11.04, and it's still not available through the 10.10 repositories. Same applies to the Eclipse IDE. Eclipse 3.6 has been available since mid-2010, and it still isn't available in Ubuntu 10.10.

The kicker however came today. I decided that I was going to upgrade to 11.04, since I knew I didn't need to use unity, and I wanted access to newer software via the Software Centre, instead of manually installing everything (no big deal, but Software Centre is still easier). After spending no less than 8 hours running through the damn upgrade process, I rebooted my PC only to find that Ubuntu will not boot. I have tried everything that everyone else on the Internet has suggested, and I just cannot get it to load. It's looking more and more likely that I'm going to have to reinstall from scratch.

That being the case, combined with the fact that I'm not particularly interested in staying with Ubuntu, gives me the opportunity to switch distros.

What I need

I mainly use Linux as a general purpose OS. I do some basic word processing, some spreadsheets, some games, and so on, but mainly I do programming, usually using Eclipse. I have little interest in spending weeks and months tweaking it to suit my needs, and preferably I'd rather not build everything from source, so an equivalent to Ubuntu's "Software Centre" would be a plus but not entirely necessary if it has enough advantages for me to use it.

Primarily though as long as it...

  1. Runs an office suite
  2. Lets me use Eclipse
  3. Lets me browse the web

... I'm open to any suggestion, I'd even be happy to go stick with Ubuntu if it really is the best distro for my needs. Mainly though I'm looking for a list of pros for each distro so that I can pick the best one for me, since I do spend most of my time in it. If you can, please give a reason WHY you're suggesting it. Blank suggestions of distros won't help me, since I can reel off a list of distros already.

Hopefully this can be a stimulating conversation comparing Linux distro's, please please please don't turn this into a flame war.

Regards, and many thanks in advance,

-- Majesticmerc :cat:

p.s. TL;DR: I need suggestions (with reasons) for my next Linux distro to install

p.p.s. Apologies for the wall of text!

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/994118-help-me-choose-a-linux-distro/
Share on other sites

Arch Linux

- You won't find any more bleeding edge distro

- You have to customize it yourselft, there's no bloat

- Very easy to set up, there's like five files you have to edit

- No Unity

- GNOME 3 already in stable

- Rolling-release, every upgrade is totally painless.

  • Like 1

Personally, chuck it all and go BSD ;) But since you want to stay with Linux..

Well, if you like how Ubuntu does things, how about switching desktop environments, or try the minimal installation and skipping GNOME entirely? (Or one of it's derivatives, Kubuntu and such.) Or, if you like how the system works and you dislike the 6 month thing, could always go with Debian Sid.. don't let the "unstable" scare you off, it's actually rather good. I hear Mint is pretty nice as well, although haven't tried a recent build.

As far as Linux goes though, I'm a big fan of Arch. Very up to date, stability isn't typically an issue as new updates are tested first and then pushed to the general repository once deemed stable.. no waiting for months possibly for new packages. Rolling updates, install it once and that's it... let Pacman handle the updates as you see fit and never worry about a full blown dist-upgrade again. I love the BSD style way it does things, very fast and lean. Build it from the ground up to your exact specifications, this is totally opposite from Ubuntu's "everything and the kitchen sink" approach. Very easy to configure as far as *Nix derivatives go, the core of the system is handled in one single file. I also prefer how they handle source code as well versus the Debian style, but that's just personal preference. First time through you might want to have a copy of the wiki handy to follow along with as there's not much hand-holding. It's also very "pure" to the source with pretty much no third party meddling, you get it as the authors intended.

If you want BSD, go for FreeBSD. Arch is the best Linux distro I've used, but FreeBSD is the best OS I've used. You just need to read much more than on Arch.

Second that, and probably one of the reasons I prefer Arch for Linux is just that a lot of it is done in a similar method. Not a fan of the typical Linux Sys V init system for example, it has a Ports work-alike (huge plus), etc etc. BSD has some significant differences from Linux too though, so not something you'll want to jump into blindly.. it is a different operating system and all, not just "the same but different" as you get with various flavors of Linux. Personally, I'd start with Arch (or one of the other quality distros) and start from there. Give that virtual machine a good workout.

I myself was in the same boat as you having used ubuntu since version 8. Unity has royally messed that distribution up. I used archlinux on and off for awile before I switched to ubuntu, and have went back to it. I currently run openbox as a wm, and tint2 as a panel, and only have the stuff I needed/wanted installed, no more of that bloated crap ubuntu wants to instll with everything. gtk themes still work, and arch has one of the best forums ive ever had the pleasure of reading. I migrated every pc in my house from ubuntu to arch saturday, took about 6 hours for them all, and I have super fast systems that do the same thing I used to do on ubuntu, faster. I doubt ill ever switch again. (unless arch forces you to use gnome 3 or gnome 2 with unity :p)

Frankly, if there's enough goodness in BSD, I'd be happy to join that bandwagon too :).

In truth if you want the goodness of BSD (ports), then Gentoo Linux (portage) is the best option. It's definitely the most bare bones and developer orientated distro. Although a tool chain build installation is not for the faint of heart :D But if you want absolute control over how the software on your system is optimised, and what is installed, then Gentoo is perfect.

I've been warily watching Canonical's work on Unity for a while, and there are two things that I disliked about Ubuntu and it's direction. Firstly, I disliked their take on Gnome. I like the black theme they had going on, but the massive unnecessary integration of things like evolution, Ubuntu One and the like annoyed me. But things weren't all lost, since I could just remove the panels, and did so. This massive integration of services I didn't need felt very... Vista-like, and I ended up spending most of my Ubuntu setup taking out various service panels and pre-installed stuff that I didn't need. Again, this wasn't a big deal.

I feel the exact same way as you. I'm not really liking the way Ubuntu is heading so on the weekend I started to use Debian 6 and I love it. It's a bit stricter in the way it does things but that's also a good thing, so I suggest maybe giving Debian a try.

He said he wasn't looking for Fedora, he already had a bad experience with it.

5 years ago :laugh:

I had bad experiences with pretty much every distro back then.

Anyway I am really loving linux mint debian right now. It is based on debian testing so its fairly up to date (still doesn't have firefox 4 though). If you want rolling release definitely go for arch or something debian based. I didn't suggest debian before because even testing can still have some out of date packages and it looks like the op wants more bleeding edge.

Opensuse is a good compromise between rolling release and normal releases. It comes with many repos you can enable to get the latest firefox/gnome/kde ect...

With arch you get a really fast, customizable distro with very up to date software, and an excellent package manager. But it takes a while to setup and requires reading lots of guides :) (its not really that difficult though, and its fun!)

Fedora is very good with keeping up to date packages, but I have some pet peeves with it. Namely the atrocious font rendering (even with freetype-freeworld) and even with the rpm fusion repo its not as good for multimedia as other distros.

Dont bother with Fedora and OpenSuse, you will eventually get frustrated for the same reason that you mentioned.

- plethora of softwares that you don't need

- numerous services that are of no use

As far as Ubuntu goes, I too have the same feeling. Though Unity looks cool, but it still is pain in the ass. I won't tell you to go there. One thing that you may do is, take up a LTS of Ubuntu and use it.

And if you are interested in Debian based distro, Mint is definately worth trying.

But above all my suggestion would be Arch. Its one most suited for you. It is up-to-date, it is light, lets you customize what you want to install, lets you choose in the very beginning which services you want to run etc.

Just to follow up on this topic, I followed the advice of the many and decided to go with Arch....

THANK YOU! This was exactly what I was looking for in Linux. I've got myself a tidy little XFCE setup going. I've had some minor issues getting set up (mostly through me not reading instructions properly), but overall it's a fantastic distro, although you do need patience to set it up. But when you do it's a very slick OS, and stable to boot as well. The documentation as well is some of the best I've seen for Linux too, Ubuntu included. It's current, easy to follow, and full of examples and "This is why you need to do this..." details.

As you may have noticed, I'm very happy with Arch, and can't imagine ever having to go back. :D :bounce:

I'm sure Arch is a great distro. I hear so much good about it, I'm sure I'll one day give it a go.

I wasn't happy with 11.04. I use Ubuntu Studio, and, even though that re-spin doesn't use Unity, it just wouldn't boot on my computer. I just went back to 10.10. I'm hoping that 11.10, which is a Long Term Support release, or whatever LTS means, will sort out the glitches.

I guess I could well use Arch or some other distro. It's just that Ubuntu Studio has a real-time kernel. I know it's probably easy to get any distro to use a real-time kernel, but I don't know how to do it. Too lazy to investigate at the moment, but I should do! lol

Reason for Changing Distro

I've been warily watching Canonical's work on Unity for a while, and there are two things that I disliked about Ubuntu and it's direction. Firstly, I disliked their take on Gnome. I like the black theme they had going on, but the massive unnecessary integration of things like evolution, Ubuntu One and the like annoyed me. But things weren't all lost, since I could just remove the panels, and did so. This massive integration of services I didn't need felt very... Vista-like, and I ended up spending most of my Ubuntu setup taking out various service panels and pre-installed stuff that I didn't need. Again, this wasn't a big deal.

The two major thumbs down for Ubuntu for me has been...

  1. Unity. I don't like it, at all. I know you can turn it off, but the whole of Gnome 3 looks like ass to me, and so I'm not interested in the direction that the Ubuntu GUI is headed.
  2. Old Software. I mean Jesus, Firefox 4 has been out since mid-March, and it didn't appear for Ubuntu until 11.04, and it's still not available through the 10.10 repositories. Same applies to the Eclipse IDE. Eclipse 3.6 has been available since mid-2010, and it still isn't available in Ubuntu 10.10.

The kicker however came today. I decided that I was going to upgrade to 11.04, since I knew I didn't need to use unity, and I wanted access to newer software via the Software Centre, instead of manually installing everything (no big deal, but Software Centre is still easier). After spending no less than 8 hours running through the damn upgrade process, I rebooted my PC only to find that Ubuntu will not boot. I have tried everything that everyone else on the Internet has suggested, and I just cannot get it to load. It's looking more and more likely that I'm going to have to reinstall from scratch.

That being the case, combined with the fact that I'm not particularly interested in staying with Ubuntu, gives me the opportunity to switch distros.

Ack! That's yet another complaint I've seen from an unhappy Ubuntu user in the past few weeks. Unity must be Ubuntu's unlucky charm, or something. Just wondering if this will make Ubuntu lose market share.

Personally, I've tried Unity on my only Ubuntu computer, and I've had second thoughts about it, even considering downgrading to 10.10 or throwing out the OS. It's buggy, awkward, and copies features from both Windows and Mac OS X in its taskbar. If I were you, since you're so attached to Linux I would try installing GNOME on it, or change distros.

However, it wouldn't hurt to try Windows 7, if you haven't already. You mentioned using XP prior to Linux, but I think your opinion of Windows would change if you used the newest version. But if you're not willing, openSUSE is probably your best bet for another Linux distro. ;)

Ack! That's yet another complaint I've seen from an unhappy Ubuntu user in the past few weeks. Unity must be Ubuntu's unlucky charm, or something. Just wondering if this will make Ubuntu lose market share.

It's still new, but from what I've seen, It's not bad. Like anything new, it will take time to get used to, just like Gnome 3. For those not ready for such a change, you can always select Gnome 2 as default desktop on 11.04 when you login. Or failing that, continue with 10.10.

Personally, I've tried Unity on my only Ubuntu computer, and I've had second thoughts about it, even considering downgrading to 10.10 or throwing out the OS. It's buggy, awkward

There are a few bugs, but they will get ironed out over time. Just like there are in every new OS release.

and copies features from both Windows and Mac OS X in its taskbar.

It's nothing like Windows or OS X. The same goes for Gnome 3. They are both completely new paradigms.

However, it wouldn't hurt to try Windows 7, if you haven't already. You mentioned using XP prior to Linux, but I think your opinion of Windows would change if you used the newest version.

He wants a Linux distro, not Windows. Please stay on topic.

Ack! That's yet another complaint I've seen from an unhappy Ubuntu user in the past few weeks. Unity must be Ubuntu's unlucky charm, or something. Just wondering if this will make Ubuntu lose market share.

Personally, I've tried Unity on my only Ubuntu computer, and I've had second thoughts about it, even considering downgrading to 10.10 or throwing out the OS. It's buggy, awkward, and copies features from both Windows and Mac OS X in its taskbar. If I were you, since you're so attached to Linux I would try installing GNOME on it, or change distros.

However, it wouldn't hurt to try Windows 7, if you haven't already. You mentioned using XP prior to Linux, but I think your opinion of Windows would change if you used the newest version. But if you're not willing, openSUSE is probably your best bet for another Linux distro. ;)

XFCE is actually quite adaptable from what I can see, so if I want a gnome-based desktop I think I can pretty much modify XFCE to my tastes. And for what it's worth, I dual-boot with Windows 7 (one HDD for Windows, one HDD for Linux), but I tend to do as much stuff in Linux as I do in Windows, so I can't pick on over the other :).

It's still new, but from what I've seen, It's not bad. Like anything new, it will take time to get used to, just like Gnome 3. For those not ready for such a change, you can always select Gnome 2 as default desktop on 11.04 when you login. Or failing that, continue with 10.10.

I notice how you blindly praise Unity yet in all of your screenshots of your Ubuntu computer on these forums you show a customized version of Ubuntu that doesn't use Unity. Looks like you dislike it too, eh? Don't be ashamed, join the thousands of others who do. ;)

There are a few bugs, but they will get ironed out over time. Just like there are in every new OS release.

Isn't that what was said about 11.04 in the beta release as well? I remember getting the beta, and even if you look on Ubuntu.com there was an error log showing all of the current errors with Ubuntu 11.04, and at the bottom it said that these bugs will be ironed out before the beta release. Yet, I have 11.04 and Unity still crashes at times, windows are slower to move around, and now the Ubuntu Software Center has become buggy and almost unusable (I actually had to restart my computer during one period of use). Now, you could argue that this is just my encounter with 11.04, but there are so many more frustrated Ubuntu users out there who agree. How can you argue with that? :huh:

It's nothing like Windows or OS X. The same goes for Gnome 3. They are both completely new paradigms.

Oh really? You tell me.

Read these:

http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/26/ubuntu-11-04-unity-keyboard-shortcuts-have-a-distinct-windows-7/

http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/28/ubuntu-11-04-natty-narwhal-brings-new-unity-ui-controversy-to/

From Engadget on Ubuntu 11.04:

It's got integrated search, a combination launcher and taskbar, and app menus that have been moved to the top of the screen ? la OS X -- basically it's harvested the best ideas from Apple and Microsoft and splashed a pretty coat of aubergine paint on it.

Oh, and these pictures may help:

500x_unity-launcher-places.jpg

2mflogg.jpg

rate-itunes-from-dock.png

The Ubuntu "Launcher" looks more like a love child between the Superbar and Dock. :p

He wants a Linux distro, not Windows. Please stay on topic.

He wants an OS that works, and while I suggested openSUSE after that context that you quoted me on, I'm not sure if he hasn't been able to try the newest Windows version after leaving XP. He might find himself liking 7, but would never know if he does not try.

I left Ubuntu and went to Debian. I am quite pleased with the move too. Debian has proven to be very stable with fewer bugs than other distros I've tried, and runs twice as fast on the same hardware, even when compared to Ubuntu 11.04 with the classic Gnome desktop. I don't know what they did in 11.04, but it is SLOW! Unity just feels way too dumbed down. I kept trying to tweak certain settings and add stuff to the panels for information and I felt locked in, so I left and I am thoroughly enjoying Debian 6.0.1. There's a netinstall CD that will do 32 and 64 bit both, you just pick which one when you boot from the disc.

The IRC channels for Debian are much more helpful as well. Ubuntu just seemed like to much of a clusterf**k, Debian's devs in the IRC channels are for the most part very professional and very helpful with the one issue I did have. Another good thing is that about everything ran perfectly fine out of the box. All I had to do was go snag debian-multimedia so I could watch DVDs.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Well I really think the repasting helped if your higher clocks have returned, maybe the next thing to look at is if there is a problem with your case airflow? I guess this because your 3080 has returned to optimal state, but is still staying too warm, which might suggest it was thermal throttling before you repasted, of which the only logical conclusion could be outside factors.
    • Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, Flip 8, Z Fold Wide: Everything you need to know by Hamid Ganji Galaxy Z Fold 7 - Image via Samsung The next generation of Samsung foldables is set to be unveiled next month at the second Unpacked event of the year. Samsung’s 2026 foldables are not expected to offer significant upgrades over their predecessors, with the Korean firm instead focusing on design refinements and conventional upgrades such as faster processors and better cameras. However, Samsung is reportedly planning to unveil an all-new passport-style foldable this year to rival Apple’s first foldable iPhone, which is expected to debut this September. Here’s a roundup of everything we know about Samsung’s upcoming foldable devices ahead of their official debut. When can we expect Samsung’s new foldables? The Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 series were unveiled in July, and Samsung is expected to maintain this timeframe in 2026. Based on previous reports from Korean sources, Samsung will hold its Unpacked event on July 22 in London, UK, to pull back the curtain on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series. The devices are also expected to hit the shelves a few weeks after launch. However, Samsung has yet to announce an official date. A new naming scheme? One of the most interesting changes we might see this year is a new naming scheme for Samsung’s latest foldables. SamMobile reported that since Samsung is expected to unveil three foldables this year, it has adopted a new naming strategy to simplify product identification for customers. Accordingly, the standard Galaxy Z Fold 8 will reportedly be called the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and will serve as the direct successor to last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 7. The “Ultra” suffix suggests the phone could feature higher-end specifications, such as additional rear camera modules. Samsung’s new passport-style foldable is expected to carry the Galaxy Z Fold 8 name without any suffix. This model is reportedly equipped with two rear cameras. No major changes are expected for the Flip model. Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Z Flip 8 anticipated specs Rumors over the past few months suggest Samsung is preparing several upgrades for its upcoming foldables, although the devices may continue to rely on larger batteries and faster charging speeds rather than dramatic design changes. The primary focus this year is expected to be the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and its wide-screen design. Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra official CAD renders - Image via AndroidHeadlines Here are the anticipated specifications for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra based on previous leaks: 6.5-inch outer display and 8-inch inner display, 120Hz refresh rate, and 2,600 nits peak brightness Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, paired with 12GB or 16GB of RAM and 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage 4.1mm thickness when unfolded and a weight of 210g 200MP main camera, 50MP ultrawide camera, 10MP or 12MP telephoto camera, 10MP cover camera, and 10MP selfie camera 5,000mAh battery with 45W wired charging Android 17 and One UI 9 As for the Galaxy Z Flip 8, the device is not expected to be a major departure from its predecessor, although it could become slightly slimmer. Expected specifications include: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 or Exynos 2600 processor 12GB of RAM with 256GB and 512GB storage options 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X inner dispaly and 4.1-inch Super AMOLED outer dispaly 50MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide camera, and 10MP selfie camera 4,300mAh battery with 25W wired charging Android 17 and One UI 9 Samsung’s foldables are also expected to launch with Gemini Intelligence, Google’s AI suite for automating tasks in Android ecosystem. Moreover, given current memory and component costs, some Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Z Flip 8 variants could see a price hike. Galaxy Z Fold 8 adopts a wide-screen design The centerpiece of the upcoming Unpacked event could be the Galaxy Z Fold 8, previously rumored as the Galaxy Z Fold Wide. This model adopts a passport-style form factor and is expected to compete directly with Apple’s iPhone Fold. Galaxy Z Fold 8 official CAD renders - Image via AndroidHeadlines Here’s what to expect: 7.6-inch primary OLED display and 5.4-inch cover display, 120Hz refresh rate, 2,600 nits peak brightness, and 4:3 aspect ratio Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, 12GB or 16GB of RAM, and 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB storage options 4,800mAh battery with 45W wired charging 50MP main camera, 50MP ultrawide camera, and 10MP selfie camera Android 17 and One UI 9 The three new foldable phones are unlikely to be the only devices unveiled at Samsung’s Unpacked event. The company is also expected to introduce the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and the Galaxy Watch 9 series.
    • Thanks
    • 7 Days: Killing uBlock Origin bypasses, Euro Office faces fire, and will AI replace you? by Aditya Tiwari 7 Days is a weekly roundup of picks of what's been happening in the world of technology - written with a dash of humor, a hint of exasperation, and an endless supply of (black) coffee. This week's highlights include WWDC 2026 announcements, updates on child safety, and Meta's use of data from outside businesses to optimize your feed. Let's get started. You can check out the recent issues of the 7 Days weekly roundup. Killing uBlock Origin bypasses The hottest news of the week was about Google Chrome effectively ending most uBlock Origin workarounds (a free, open-source ad blocker extension) by permanently dropping MV2 extensions and their bypasses. Chrome is transitioning towards newer MV3 extensions. A recent discussion thread highlighted how the latest and upcoming versions of the most popular browser are expected to be its final releases with support for MV2 extensions. Genuinely European? Euro-Office faces fire The recently launched cloud-based office suite, Euro-Office, is facing criticism at home. The LibreOffice developer wrote an open letter criticizing Euro-Office for its marketing claim that it's the "first open-source office suite developed in Europe," since the honor has belonged to OpenOffice since 2001. The Document Foundation has called out Euro-Office, arguing that it can't consider "itself genuinely European" as long as it keeps pushing Microsoft defaults on users, adding that "it has to speak ODF as its mother tongue." Will AI replace you? Image: Tara Winstead via Pexels Microsoft's AI boss, Mustafa Suleyman, said in an interview earlier this year that AI would replace office workers within 12 to 18 months. Joining the ranks of top executives who have softened their stance on AI replacing humans, Suleyman recently walked back his earlier remarks and now says that AI will automate tasks, not replace entire white-collar jobs. He defended his earlier comments by arguing that they referred only to individual actions people perform at their desks. Louis Rossmann wants to sue Samsung Image: Louis Rossmann Tech repair entrepreneur and right-to-repair activist Louis Rossmann contacted Samsung support over a failed 4TB Samsung 990 Pro NVMe SSD. After back-and-forth communication, Samsung offered a $330 refund instead of a replacement, but Rossmann found that the SSD was readily available for new buyers at a higher price. He has issued a formal 60-day notice and intends to file a suit in Texas small claims court, as Samsung's actions reflect a failure to honor its warranty obligations. Samsung reached out to Neowin to clarify its updated stance that customers in such situations will receive a refund equal to the product's current market price. Child safety or mass surveillance? Image: Jonathan Borba via Pexels Signal accused the UK government of using child safety and device-level explicit content ban as a cover for mass surveillance. Calling the plan "dystopian," Signal warned that it violates everyone's fundamental right to privacy. The messaging platform believes that the government should keep children "safe" and "protected," but it should do so through social services and education. Fears of social media regulation Image via DepositPhotos.com More governments across the globe are tightening their grip on social media and bringing stricter regulations in the name of child safety. Bluesky COO, Rose Wang, warned that social media regulations could destroy competition from small startups and that heavy regulatory compliance costs favor deep-pocketed tech giants while locking out new entrants. Our Features Image: Pexels Our coffee-powered team publishes a platter of editorials, opinion posts, and guides. Here's what they got for the week: UK **** blockers are a looming privacy disaster, we must be able to see the source code This week in software news Image: Proton Catch up on some of the latest software news updates that arrived throughout the week: Dark clouds over PC makers: Building on our report from last month, Dell officially acknowledged that its own remediation software was causing BSOD issues and unexpected system restarts. HP is also facing equally frustrating issues involving recent Windows Secure Boot updates on Windows 11. Controversial icon: Spotify finally removed the disco ball icon from its app and replaced it with the familiar flat green logo after weeks of mixed reactions online. While some people don't like the new design, the retro, three-dimensional look has generated a following of its own. Even other brands are coming up with their versions of the disco logo. NVIDIA fixes stuff: A new hotfix driver 610.52 fixes various issues related to monitors and displays, noting that G-SYNC-related frame pacing troubles should now be resolved on Ada Lovelace GPUs. The feedback thread also points out that the hotfix patches a BSOD issue. FIFA World Cup tracker: Opera is redesigning its Android browser with a built-in football tracker for the upcoming World Cup in the US. The new homepage is now "more immersive" with easier access to common browser features. Command line for Proton: The Swiss technology company has launched a command line version of the Proton Drive, which you can use to manage your encrypted files directly from a terminal across all major platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. This week in hardware news Image: Thermaltake Catch up on some of the latest software news updates that arrived throughout the week: Intel and AMD PCs in one case: Thermaltake's CAPO X dual-system chassis brings you the best of both worlds by supporting two microATX (mATX) motherboards and up to two 360 mm AIO liquid coolers. If you want ideas, maybe you can use one as your main PC and another as an AI agent. Google Tensor production: While TSMC will remain the lead producer, the search giant is reportedly in talks with Samsung to hand over part of the production of its next-generation Tensor AI chips. The upcoming TPUs are reportedly codenamed “Icefish” and will be produced using Samsung's 2-nanometer process technology. Lethal fake phone chargers: UK-based consumer rights organization Which? has warned that "potentially lethal knock-off chargers" are still being sold on online marketplaces, including Amazon and eBay, despite the dangers of such chargers having been exposed. This week in Google News Image: Google Catch up on some of the latest Google news updates that arrived throughout the week: Sliding into DMs: You might remember that YouTube had a direct messaging feature back in the day. It's now rolling out a revamped direct messaging inbox that lets you share Shorts, videos, and live streams and have conversations about them. New in NotebookLM: The AI-powered note-taking app got some new agentic capabilities and more advanced reasoning, thanks to support for Gemini 3.5 and Antigravity. NotebookLM can now generate outputs in more formats, making it easier to start new projects with less information. This week in Apple News Image: Apple Catch up on some of the latest Apple news updates that arrived throughout the week: WWDC 2026: This week was all about Apple's annual developer conference, where the iPhone-maker finally unveiled an upgraded Siri AI and a platter of new Apple Intelligence features. Siri AI now has a cross-platform app, which is supported on select models of iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro. What's different about WWDC: I wrote a detailed feature this week discussing how Apple changed the WWDC keynote this year, blurring the lines between its operating systems. Apple didn't have dedicated segments for its operating systems this year and didn't even publish the official press releases. Liquid Glass slider (finally): It's that time of the year when Apple previews fresh updates for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, and other platforms. A new transparency slider for Liquid Glass is coming to iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate. Is your device supported?: If you're wondering whether your Apple device supports the new developer beta builds, you can check the respective compatibility lists for iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, and watchOS 27. Siri AI not coming to Europe: Yes, that's true due to complications related to the Digital Markets Act (DMA). While Apple penned a blog post to tell its side of the story, a European Commission spokesperson told Neowin that the DMA does not prohibit Apple from launching its services in the EU; the company is simply required to comply with the law. New child safety features: Apple announced a trove of new safety features for kids, including a simpler setup experience for parents, Ask to Browse, Time Allowances, and a redesigned Screen Time UI. Parents can now visit a new website to find answers to common questions around child safety features. More cloud power: Apple's Private Cloud Compute cloud infrastructure will now run beyond its own data centers for the first time. It's working with Google and NVIDIA to run new Apple Intelligence workloads on Google Cloud systems powered by NVIDIA GPUs. This week in Meta news Catch up on the latest Meta news updates that arrived throughout the week: Data from outside: Meta is rolling out a new update globally to personalize your AI responses and primary feeds using data from outside businesses. It already targets ads based on shopping activity, but the latest development enables it to personalize other "parts of your experience." There is a toggle in the Settings to disable activity from other businesses; however, it won't prevent companies from sending your data to Meta. Level playing field: The European Commission has ordered the social media giant to restore access to WhatsApp for third-party AI chatbots, including ChatGPT and Copilot. Meta previously blocked rival AI chatbots from operating on WhatsApp, prompting the Commission to launch an antitrust investigation. Spying on users: On the flip side, WhatsApp accused the Israeli cyber-intelligence firm, NSO Group, of deploying a fresh wave of targeted "spear phishing" attacks against its users, which were thwarted by WhatsApp's security teams. Reorder profile grid: Adding some customization for the profile grid feature, Instagram now lets you rearrange posts in your profile without deleting and reuploading content. Go to your profile and long-press any thumbnail to find the "Reorder grid" option. This week in AI news Catch up on the latest artificial intelligence news updates that arrived throughout the week: Claude RAM hogger: Windows users are getting infuriated by Claude Desktop's hidden 1.8GB Hyper-V VM bug, which spins up if you use Claude Cowork or agent mode even once. It shows a Vmmem process in Task Manager, indicating 0% CPU usage but 1.8GB of RAM usage. Claude Fable 5: The new state-of-the-art AI model from Anthropic beats OpenAI's ChatGPT-5.5 in multiple AI benchmarks. Claude Fable 5 sits above the Opus models and outperforms most other generally available models across knowledge work, vision, scientific research, and more. However, the model was abruptly suspended after receiving an export control directive from the US government. Stack Overflow for AI agents: The popular Q&A platform has launched Stack Overflow for Agents in beta, which AI agents can use to share, find, and reuse coding knowledge. It explained that AI agents operate in isolation, creating an Ephemeral Intelligence Gap, and valuable tokens are wasted on something another agent has already solved. Upgrading Codex: OpenAI is buying a company called Ona, which makes secure cloud execution and orchestration technology for developers. The ChatGPT-maker aims to make Codex agents run for days without being tied to a local machine or an active session. It also announced a new developer mode in Chrome. This week in open-source news Catch up on some of the latest open-source and Linux updates that arrived throughout the week: Linux 7.1 rc7: Linux Torvalds dropped an optimized rc7 with crucial fixes for AMD and laptop hardware. He said that a stable version of Linux 7.1 could arrive next week, adding that the latest RC is not small, but smaller than recent releases. Alpine Linux 3.24: The latest Alpine Linux release added support for COSMIC Desktop, Linux 6.18, IPv6 installer support, automatic serial console configuration for headless setups, and major package updates and removals. This week in Microsoft News Microsoft had to shut down more than 70 GitHub repos after they were compromised by malware, Teams is getting a controversial tracking feature that users may hate, and the company explained why the new update makes PowerToys faster. You can check out Taras's freshly baked Microsoft Weekly roundup to catch up on all the interesting stories this week. This week in gaming The latest issue of Pulasthi's Weekend PC Game Deals curates several exciting games on sale this week. On the Epic Games Store, the new titles on display for grabs include Warhammer 40K Speed Freeks and The Ouroboros King. NVIDIA GeForce NOW's summer sale lowered the prices of both the Performance and Ultimate membership options for a limited time period. Meanwhile, the Xbox Free Play Days brought Undead Labs' post-apocalyptic title State of Decay 2, as well as two Team17-published titles. That said, here are some more stories from the gaming world: Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen expansion to bring snowy region, new updates also coming Playground drops 30 minutes of Fable gameplay, shows off life sim and morality system Playground Games confirms Forza Horizon 6 save wipe bug Doom: The Dark Ages Revelations expansion gives the Slayer a brutal Chain Spear State of Decay 3 is out in 2027, reveals Plague Nests with new co-op gameplay trailer From the review corner This week, Taras got his hands on the DuRoBo Krono portable e-ink reader, which comes with a $279 price tag. It's a smartphone-sized device with a rotating dial, sitting somewhere between premium and cheap in terms of build quality. Speaking of the pros, the physical controls are cool, the smart dial is useful, the battery life is good, and Android 15 has no-nonsense software. On the flip side, the device lacks software customization, the built-in AI needs improvement, the smart dial is a bit wobbly, and there is no ambient light sensor. EA Sports UFC 6 EA Sports UFC 6 does a better job at onboarding new players than most fighting games, according to Pulasthi's detailed review. The game comes with rewarding combat systems, top-notch animation, impressive impact physics, and visible damage on fighters. However, the menus lag a lot, grappling isn't very fun, and the flow state feels a little misplaced. More price drops! We got you covered with some hot tech deals all week. For some reason, if you missed out on a great discount, here is a summary of some recent deals that are still alive: GIGABYTE Radeon RX 9070 XT Gaming OC ICE 16G - $649.99 (13% off) 1TB Samsung T7 Portable SSD - $189.98 (31% off) AirPods Pro 3 - $179 ($50 off) Edifier R1280Ts Powered Bookshelf Speakers - $129.99 (24% off) To view all of our recent deals, click here. So, these were some of the biggest tech news and other updates from this week. There will be more issues of our 7 Days series in the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned. You can also support Neowin by registering for a free member account or subscribing to extra member benefits, along with an ad-free tier option. Have a great weekend!
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      rolfus earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Leroy Jethro Gibbs earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Conversation Starter
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • One Month Later
      AndreaB earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      agatameier earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      505
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      197
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      141
    4. 4
      ATLien_0
      89
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      80
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!