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* Key Takeaways: * Google has quietly started rolling out a feature that lets some users change their @gmail.com address while preserving emails and connected services. * Linked services such as Google Drive and YouTube can remain attached to the account after the address change. * The feature is in a gradual roll-out;
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• Linux momentum will accelerate in 2026 thanks to desktop growth, cloud demand, and enterprise adoption. • Rust’s rising role in the Linux kernel will improve safety and attract new contributors. • Security and supply-chain tooling (SBOMs, eBPF) will be a major competitive advantage for Linux platforms. • Legacy components like X11/X.
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* Key Takeaways: * KDE says the Plasma desktop’s move to Wayland “nears completion” after major 2025 work. * Plasma 6.8 is planned to drop X11 session support (keeping XWayland) as part of a Wayland-only push toward 2027. * 2025 improvements included HDR/color fixes, new Wayland protocols, better tablet support, overlay
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* Key Takeaways: * Google is rolling out a way for users to change @gmail.com addresses while preserving emails and Google services. * The old address becomes an alias and will continue to receive mail; users can sign in with either address. * Limits include one change every 12 months, up to three
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• Blender 5.0 released Nov 2025; Phoronix re-tested Blender 3.0 through 5.0 for CPU render performance. • Tests ran on a 96‑core AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9995WX under Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with Linux 6.18. • Overall CPU rendering performance was largely flat across releases; different scenes favored
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• Key Takeaways: * Linux developer Antheas Kapenekakis has proposed a new runtime standby ABI for the Linux kernel to enable Windows-style "Modern Standby" behavior. * The patch series moves ACPI DSM calls from suspend completion to a transition function and exposes /sys/power/standby for userspace control. * The change lets
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* Key Takeaways: * Google Keep reminders now sync into Google Tasks, making notes actionable across Gmail, Docs, and the Tasks sidebar. * Setting a reminder in Keep pushes the item into the Tasks ecosystem; checking it off in Tasks marks the Keep reminder Done. * Limitations: reminders land in My Tasks only and
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Key Takeaways: * Rust moved from experiment to mainstream in the Linux kernel, but it also produced the kernel's first Rust CVE this year. * Linus Torvalds actively shaped decisions: rejecting low-quality patches, enforcing formatting changes, and influencing Rust policy. * Meta adopted the Steam Deck–designed scheduler on its hyperscaler
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* Canonical accelerated migration to Rust system components (sudo-rs, Rust Coreutils) across Ubuntu 25.10. * Rust transitions uncovered performance regressions, unattended-upgrade breakage, and two sudo-rs vulnerabilities. * Canonical advanced ARM64 desktop ISOs, x86_64-v3 builds, Multipass open sourcing, and Java investment. * Ubuntu 26.04 LTS remains the focal point; Canonical exceeded $300M
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* Key Takeaways: * QNX now offers a Self-Hosted Developer Desktop running QNX 8.0 with an Xfce session on Wayland. * Toolchains include GCC and LLVM/Clang, plus Python and common build utilities for on-device development. * Distributed as a QEMU virtual machine (tested on Ubuntu); Raspberry Pi native image exploration is planned.
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* Key takeaways: * Google is rolling out the ability for Gmail users to change their @gmail.com address without losing data or services. * Old addresses remain active and continue to receive mail; saved content (emails, photos, messages) is preserved. * The feature is limited to accounts that end in @gmail.com and
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* Key Takeaways: * iOS 26.3 will enable easier data transfer between iPhone and Android through an Apple–Google collaboration. * EU users gain third‑party smartwatch notifications (e.g., Garmin Fenix 8), new NFC components and faster peer‑to‑peer Wi‑Fi due to the DMA. * Apple plans a late January–