New Webkit browser for Linux, NVK becomes default, KDE splits X11 code: Linux & Open Source News @TheLinuxEXP

New Webkit browser for Linux, NVK becomes default, KDE splits X11 code: Linux & Open Source News @TheLinuxEXP

Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:42 Sponsor: TuxCare
02:08 New Webkit based browser coming to Linux
04:44 KDE splits Kwin X11 codebase away
06:45 Mesa replaces Nouveau with NVK
09:27 Nova driver submitted for kernel 6.15
11:17 France rejects encryption backdoor law
13:02 Xbox handheld might be bad news for Linux gaming
15:50 Valve talks Steam Deck and Steam year in review
18:37 Sponsor: Tuxedo Computers
19:34 Support the channel

Links:

New Webkit based browser coming to Linux
omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/03/kag-orion-web-browser-coming-to-linux

KDE splits Kwin X11 codebase away
phoronix.com/news/KWin-Wayland-X11-Split

Mesa replaces Nouveau with NVK
collabora.com/news-and-blog/news-and-events/goodbye-nouveau-gl-hello-zink.html

Nova driver submitted for kernel 6.15
phoronix.com/news/NOVA-Driver-For-Linux-6.15

France rejects encryption backdoor law
techradar.com/computing/cyber-security/france-rejects-controversial-encryption-backdoor-provision

Xbox handheld might be bad news for Linux gaming
windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/xbox-hardware-report-project-keenan-next-gen-xbox-2027

Valve talks Steam Deck and Steam year in review
steamcommunity.com/groups/steamworks/announcements/detail/751641001553035272

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$GNOME vs KDE Plasma in 2024: which one is better for Linux beginners? Go to https://ground.news/TLE to to know where your news is coming from. Subscribe through my link for 40% off unlimited access this month. Grab a brand new laptop or desktop running Linux: https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en# 👏 SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: Get access to: - a Daily Linux News show - a weekly patroncast for more personal thoughts - polls on the next topics I cover, - your name in the credits YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheLinuxEXP/join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thelinuxexperiment Or, you can donate whatever you want: https://paypal.me/thelinuxexp Liberapay: https://liberapay.com/TheLinuxExperiment/ 👕 GET TLE MERCH Support the channel AND get cool new gear: https://the-linux-experiment.creator-spring.com/ 🎙️ LINUX AND OPEN SOURCE NEWS PODCAST: Listen to the latest Linux and open source news, with more in depth coverage, and ad-free! https://podcast.thelinuxexp.com 🏆 FOLLOW ME ELSEWHERE: Website: https://thelinuxexp.com Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/web/@thelinuxEXP Pixelfed: https://pixelfed.social/TLENick PeerTube: https://tilvids.com/c/thelinuxexperiment_channel/videos Discord: https://discord.gg/mdnHftjkja #linux #gnome #kdeplasma #linuxdesktop #linuxdistro Timecodes: 00:00 Intro 00:55 Sponsor: Ground News 02:34 Design Principles 04:40 Customization 07:21 Modern feature support 10:41 App Ecosystem 12:01 Stability and Bugs 14:07 What should you pick? 16:14 Sponsor: Tuxedo Computers 17:06 Support the channel KDE goes for simple by default, powerful when needed, as in: the default layout of your desktop is very simple, and apps tend to only show the most used features, but when you dig a bit deeper, you have a ton of features. GNOME, on the other hand, goes for super accessible and simple, meaning they make conscious choices to not include a lot of options and to not clutter the interface. From these design principles, you can easily infer what the views of each desktop are, in terms of customization: KDE can be turned into anything, GNOME is, on the surface, a lot more rigid. Just in terms of looks, KDE lets you apply themes for everything, out of the box. Change the icons, the look of the buttons, the colors of every part of every window, the accent color of your desktop, the shape of your titlebars, the entire layout of the desktop can be tweaked. You can turn KDE into a macOS clone, into a GNOME clone, into a full blown Windows replica, or create your entirely new way of working with your computer. GNOME doesnt give you options by default to change the layout or the look. You need a third party app to handle this. GNOME doesnt have accent colors yet, theyll get them in their next release, GNOME 47, which at the time Im recording this, is 2 and half months away. BUT with the GNOME Tweaks app, and the Extension Manager app, you get a LOT of possibilities. In the end, if you like to tweak, change things, customize the visuals and just completely morph your desktop, chances are KDE is what you want. it might take a while to land on something you like, but in the end, it just has more options, and these mechanisms are officially supported** But what about support for more modern features, and future proofing? Lets be honest, KDE has an edge over GNOME. HDR is officially supported on KDE, GNOME only has an experimental command line to toggle HDR, and right now, its not fully baked. Both desktops are also waiting on a fully defined color management protocol for Wayland, so none of them have full support, but KDE is more advanced for now. Same goes for variable refresh rate, KDE has it by default, built in and stable, GNOME only has experimental support for it right now. On the fractional scaling front, Plasma supports it better than GNOME as well: Plasma has it natively, in the settings, where GNOME still considers their implementation experimental. In the end, the current state of things is that KDE has the lead on these features, and is going to be a better choice right now if you want to take full advantage of recent hardware. Now, on the topic of applications, GNOME has the upper hand. GNOME, by making a very clear and defined platform for developers, ensured that a lot of people developed apps using their guidelines. The end result is that virtually everytime you see a new app pop up, its designed to integrate with GNOME. Now, as per stability and bugs, this will really depend on the distribution you use, how well they package these desktops for you, and even your hardware. KDE often has the image of being buggier than GNOME. KDE, since it has a lot more features, also has a lot more potential compatibility problems between these features, that can introduce bugs. Chances are GNOME will be more stable for more people, because it has a lot less options, and thus a lot less chances of having an untested edge case that breaks everything.$

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