If you ask me, Microsoft has been one of the biggest driving forces behind Linux adoption in recent years. The way they've been handling Windows, with its forced updates, aggressive telemetry, and questionable AI features, has sent more people to Linux than any marketing campaign ever could.
And they are at it again with a new AI feature that could be tricked into installing malware on your system.
Isn't This Too Much?
Microsoft is rolling out a new experimental feature called "Copilot Actions" to Windows Insiders. They pitch it as an AI agent that handles tasks you describe to it. Organize vacation photos, sort your Downloads folder, extract info from PDFs, that sort of thing.
It is currently available in Windows 11 Insider builds (version 26220.7262) as part of Copilot Labs and is off by default, requiring admin access to set it up.
But here's the catch. Copilot Actions isn't just suggesting what to do. It runs in a separate environment called "Agent Workspace" with its unique user account, clicking through apps and working on your files.
In a support document (linked above), Microsoft admits that features like Copilot Actions introduce "novel security risks." They warn about cross-prompt injection (XPIA), where malicious content in documents or UI elements can override the AI's instructions.
The result? "Unintended actions like data exfiltration or malware installation."
Yeah, you read that right. Microsoft is shipping a feature that could be tricked into installing malware on your system.
Microsoft's own warning hits hard: "We recommend that you only enable this feature if you understand the security implications."
When you try to enable these experimental features, Windows shows you a warning dialog that you have to acknowledge. 👇
Even with these warnings, the level of access Copilot Actions demands is concerning. When you enable the feature, it gets read and write access to your Documents, Downloads, Desktop, Pictures, Videos, and Music folders.
Windows Latest notes that, unlike Windows Sandbox, which runs in complete isolation and gets wiped clean when you close it, Copilot Actions operates in "Agent Workspace" with persistent user accounts that keep access to these folders across sessions. Also keep in mind that the feature can also access any apps installed for all users on a system.
Microsoft says they are implementing safeguards. All actions are logged, users must approve data access requests, the feature operates in isolated workspaces, and the system uses audit logs to track activity.
But you are still giving an AI system that can "hallucinate and produce unexpected outputs" (Microsoft's words, not mine) full access to your personal files.
Closing Thoughts
There is a pattern here. Microsoft seems obsessed with shoving AI into every corner of Windows, whether users want it or not, whether it's ready or not, while simultaneously playing around with the data of its users.
This is why Linux keeps gaining traction. No AI experiments that could install malware, and no fighting against features you never asked for. Plus, the most likely way you will nuke your installation is if you deliberately run something like rm -rf yourself, not because Copilot got confused by a malicious PDF.
Mastodon is a decentralized social network built on the ActivityPub protocol. Unlike Big Tech platforms, it operates as a federated network where users can choose or host their own servers.
The key advantage is that no single entity controls your data or content. We already have an active presence on the instance owned and operated by the Mastodon non-profit, so you can follow us there if you have not already.
Now let’s move on to the topic at hand.
What's Happening: Eugen Rochko is stepping down as CEO after nearly ten years, transferring the trademark and other assets to the Mastodon non‑profit. He first announced the transition plan just two weeks into 2025, and after a series of quiet behind-the-scenes preparations, the change is now complete.
Eugen goes on to explain his thinking behind the move:
There are too many examples of founder egos sabotaging thriving communities, and while I’d like to think myself an exception, I understand why people would prefer better guardrails.
But it would be uncouth for me to pretend that there isn’t some self-interest involved. Being in charge of a social media project is, turns out, quite the stressful endeavour, and I don’t have the right personality for it.
He further elaborates on how the role has taken a toll on him, particularly the public visibility that comes with leading a social platform. Constant scrutiny, comparisons to tech billionaires, and the emotional weight of community expectations contributed to mounting stress.
Over time, it was clear that continuing in such a prominent and demanding position was no longer healthy for him.
What to Expect: According to TechCrunch, Mastodon is setting up a new Belgian AISBL (international non-profit association) to replace its former German gGmbH, which lost non-profit status last year.
The Belgian structure offers more governance flexibility and international recognition. Meanwhile, a US-based 501(c)(3) non-profit currently holds the trademark and assets until the Belgian entity is established.
Felix Hlatky is the new Executive Director, and the board includes Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, Karien Bezuidenhout, and Esra'a Al Shafei. Other members include Renaud Chaput as the Technical Director, Andy Piper as the Head of Communications, and Philip Schröpel as the Strategy & Product Advisor.
Funding was secured from Jeff Atwood (€2.2 million), Biz Stone, AltStore (€260,000), GCC (€65,000), and Craigslist founder Craig Newmark. It is also worth noting that Eugen received €1 million in recognition of his years of service at a salary below market rates.
And all of this makes sense. He built something bigger than himself and is now ensuring it remains that way. By handing control to a non-profit, he protects Mastodon’s values and frees himself to focus on building rather than managing all the noise that comes with the job.
Your favorite apps run on code maintained by exhausted volunteers. The databases powering your company? Built by developers working double shifts. Those JavaScript frameworks everyone depends on? Often shepherded by a single person, unpaid, drowning in demands.
A new report reveals just how bad things have gotten. Sentry funded this research through their Open Source Pledge initiative. Miranda Heath, a psychologist and PhD student at The University of Edinburgh, conducted the study.
She reviewed academic literature, analyzed 57 community materials, and talked to seven OSS developers directly. Some had burned out. Others managed to avoid it. Some walked away entirely.
Before we dive in, you have to know there is one major limitation with this report. Most analyzed materials came from white male developers. Miranda notes that marginalized groups likely experience additional burnout factors the research missed.
Firstly, you have to understand that burnout isn't just being tired. It has three distinct characteristics that feed off each other.
The motivational component hits first. Developers lose the ability to push through tasks. What once felt manageable becomes impossible to start. They avoid work entirely.
Then comes the affective breakdown. Emotional regulation fails. Developers become easily frustrated, irritated, and overwhelmed. They snap at users. They withdraw from communities.
The cognitive shift follows. People mentally distance themselves from their work. They express negativity and cynicism towards it. Dark humor becomes a coping mechanism. "Fix it, fork it, f*ck off" becomes the phrase of choice.
The numbers are brutal. A 2023 survey found 73% out of 26,348 developers experienced burnout at some point.Another survey showed 60% of OSS maintainers considered leaving entirely.
Burnout is a predictor of quitting. When developers burn out, they walk away.
Burnout is Slow Death
Miranda found six interconnected factors driving maintainers to the edge.
Difficulty Getting Paid: Sixty percent of OSS maintainers receive no payment whatsoever (according to the Tidelift survey). They work full-time jobs, then maintain critical infrastructure for free. The double shift wrecks their mental and physical health and steals time from friends/family. Loneliness follows.
Crushing Workload: Popular package maintainers drown in requests. They are often solo. Finding quality contributors is nearly impossible. Email overload alone can trigger burnout.
Maintenance Feels Unrewarding: Developers love creating. They hate the repetitive, mind-numbing maintenance work. It takes time away from what they actually enjoy (coding). There is no creativity, no learning, just repetitive work.
Toxic Community Behavior: Users demand features like customers. They shame maintainers publicly when bugs appear. Good work goes unrecognized. Mistakes get amplified. The entitlement exhausts them.
Toxicity exists between developers too. The majority of OSS collaboration happens remotely. No face-to-face contact. No conflict resolution training. No formal support structures or governance unless teams build them.
This makes team toxicity both more likely and harder to fix, and the isolation aspect only makes everything worse.
Hyper-responsibility: Developers feel crushing obligation to their communities. They can't say no, and stepping back feels like betrayal. The guilt compounds the stress.
Pressure to Prove Oneself: Developers need portfolios for jobs. They constantly prove themselves to the community and potential employers. The performance pressure never stops. Fear of losing reputation keeps them working past healthy limits.
GitHub makes it worse. Achievements, badges, contribution graphs. It gamifies the work. Developers feel compelled to maintain streaks and numbers. The metrics become the measure of worth.
These factors reinforce each other. No pay for OSS means working a full-time job on top of it. The double shift means longer hours. Longer hours kill patience. Less patience breeds toxicity. Toxicity drives contributors away. Fewer contributors means more work.
What Needs to Change
The report offers four clear recommendations.
Pay OSS developers reliably. Not donations or tips. Predictable income through decentralized funding that preserves maintainer autonomy. Foster recognition and respect too.
Community leaders must encourage better behavior, and platforms like GitHub should educate users about the humans behind the code.
Grow the community through better education and mentorship programs. Make it easier for newcomers to contribute quality work. Financial support helps here too.
And finally, advocate for maintainers. OSS powers critical infrastructure. Burnout puts that at risk. Advocacy bodies need to make governments aware. That awareness can bring funding and real solutions.
And, I will be honest, this hits close to home. I fully understand what's happening. Burnout literally robs you of any motivation or energy to do the things you love. It doesn't just slow you down. It kills the joy entirely.
The fix isn't complicated. Treat maintainers like the humans they are, not free infrastructure. Companies profiting from open source need to contribute financially (at the very least).
Employers should give developers dedicated time for OSS work. Users must remember there is a person on the other end of that issue thread. Fellow developers need to call out toxicity when they see it.
Burnout prevention starts with basic human decency.
RustDesk has positioned itself as a compelling open source alternative to proprietary remote desktop solutions like TeamViewer and AnyDesk. Built with Rust and licensed under AGPL 3.0, it offers cross-platform support across Linux, Android, Windows, macOS, and iOS.
The project has now announced a major update for Linux users. RustDesk's latest nightly build introduces support for multiple monitors with different scaling factors on Wayland sessions, specifically targeting KDE and GNOME desktop environments.
RustDesk Levels Up
This update addresses a well-known issue across the Linux desktop space, where users running multiple monitors with different resolutions and scaling levels, such as a 4K display at 200% scaling alongside a standard 1080p monitor, often struggled with proper display handling.
The most common problem was pointer misalignment. Users would click in one location, but the input would register elsewhere on the remote machine. This made multi-monitor setups with mixed scaling practically unusable for remote work.
The developers claim that their implementation now makes them the only remote desktop solution with this capability on Wayland.
This puts RustDesk ahead of its commercial rivals. TeamViewer, AnyDesk, and Splashtop have been relatively slow to address Wayland-specific challenges, particularly around complex multi-monitor configurations.
Get RustDesk
This improvement is currently available in RustDesk's nightly builds on GitHub. These pre-release versions get updated daily with the latest code and features for early testing.
Once testing completes, the multi-scaled display support will roll out to the stable version available on the official website.
We tested RustDesk back in 2024 and found it impressive even then. This latest update only solidifies its position as a serious TeamViewer alternative.
I rely heavily on GNOME extensions for my daily workflow. From Dash to Dock for quick app launching to Tiling Shell to effortlessly manage app windows while working. These basically turn the vanilla GNOME experience into something that truly fits my needs.
While browsing through the latest This Week in GNOME post, I stumbled upon something interesting. A developer announced Veil, describing it as a cleaner and more modern way than Hide Items to manage applets in the GNOME panel.
It sounded promising. So I decided to take it for a spin and see what it brings to the table.
Veil: Overview ⭐
Veil comes from Dagim G. Astatkie, a software professional based out of Ethiopia. This extension addresses a common frustration among GNOME users. If you are a power user, then your top panel can quickly fill up with system indicators and status icons.
It gets messy fast, and Veil gives you control over what stays visible and what gets hidden away.
It offers many handy features, like auto-hide items on timer, slick animations when showing or hiding items, and the ability to selectively choose which panel icons stay visible.
Initial Impressions 👨💻
I installed it using Extension Manager on a Ubuntu 25.10 system, and I found it straightforward from start to finish. First, I enabled a few other extensions to properly test how Veil handles multiple panel items. Once that was done, everything clicked into place.
A single click on the sharp-looking arrow at the top right of the panel did the trick. My network stats indicator disappeared. The Tiling Shell layout switcher vanished. System Monitor went away too. A clean top panel, just like that.
Veil's General and Panel Items page.
If I wanted to tweak things further, I could easily do so by heading into the "General" tab of the extension settings. There I got to play around with options like save state, default visibility, changing the arrow icon to something else for open and close actions, configuring auto-hide timing, and deciding which items stay visible at all times.
This level of freedom should be enough for most people who want a clean top panel and some peace of mind.
📥 Get Veil
If you already have GNOME extensions set up on your system, installation is straightforward. Visit the extensions website or open Extension Manager and search for "Veil" by author "JD".
If you haven't configured extensions yet, our complete guide on GNOME shell extensions will walk you through the entire setup process. The source code for Veil lives on GitHub for those interested in contributing or building from source.
Snap Inc., the company behind Snapchat, has open-sourced Valdi, a cross-platform mobile UI framework. The social media company typically keeps its technology in-house, but this marks a surprising move into open source territory.
While there was no dedicated announcement for this on their news portal, The New Stack were the first ones to report this; I am assuming they received a press release for this.
Anyhow, let's dive into this interesting development.
Valdi is Now Open Source
Valdi is now available on GitHub under the MIT license. The framework has powered Snapchat's production features for eight years, and, with the accompanying license in place, developers can use, modify, and distribute the code freely, and there are no restrictions on commercial use.
Valdi compiles TypeScript code directly into native views for Android, iOS, and macOS. It does not use web views or JavaScript bridges. The framework claims 2x faster time-to-first-render and uses 1/4 the memory compared to competitors. These benchmarks were shared during Valdi's initial beta phase, when Snapchat first announced Valdi in August 2025 on Hacker News.
Back then, the company sought beta testers and required NDAs for private repository access. The initial beta lasted three months before the public release, and Snapchat seems to have used this window to refine documentation and developer tooling.
The current repository includes instant hot reload, full VSCode debugging support, and automatic view recycling. It also features a C++ layout engine and FlexBox layout system support, and developers can embed Valdi components in existing native apps.
You can visit Valdi's GitHub repository for access to the source code and the documentation. There is also a Discord server for community support and developer discussions.
Developer reception has been mixed. Reddit netizens are questioning Valdi's advantages over React Native. One of them, SamsungProgrammer, asked:
Why would people choose this over React Native?
To which another redditor, idkhowtocallmyacc, responded with skepticism. They pointed out that React Native's new architecture has also eliminated JavaScript bridges, potentially negating Valdi's main selling point.
And that does make sense, to be honest. Ending that comment thread, a redditor called balder1993, responded by saying that:
Some people might have a thing for rewriting their whole app a few years later when the bugs start getting in the way.
Only time will tell if Valdi can escape Snapchat's shadow and find a broader developer audience.
If you’re like me, you probably grew up with the classic Linux command-line tools such as ls, cat, du. These commands have carried me through countless scripts and late-night debugging sessions.
Here's the thing. While these tools do their job, they can be plain looking and difficult to use for certain tasks.
Take the du command for example. It shows the disk usage on the system but use it without any option, and it is a mess.
Terminals today support color, Unicode icons, live previews, all things our old favorites weren’t designed for. And the Rust revolution has quietly reshaped the command-line landscape. So there is a wave of Rust-based CLI tools that don’t just replicate the traditional ones; they modernize them. They’re fast, (claim to be) memory-safe, polished, and often come with thoughtful UX touches that make daily terminal work noticeably smoother.
I’ve been tinkering with these tools lately, and I thought it’d be fun to share a list of my favorites.
🚧
If you are a sysadmin, managing servers, you should not rely on alternatives. You might not get these fancy new tools on every system and installing them on every Linux server you log in is not feasible. The alternative tools are good when you are using a personal computer and have full control over the development environment.
exa: Alternative to ls
If there’s one tool that convinced me Rust CLI apps were worth exploring, it’s exa. It feels familiar but adds what the original ls has always lacked: sensible colors, icons, and Git awareness.
Highlights:
Beautiful color themes
Git integration
Optional tree view
Clearer permissions formatting
Installation:
cargo install exa
Usage:
exa -al --git
You can instantly see which files are new, which are modified, and which are pure chaos.
bat: Alternative to cat
cat is great for quick checks, but reading config files or code in raw plain text gets tedious. bat fixes that with syntax highlighting, Git integration, and line numbers, automatic paging, without losing cat compatibility.
Installation:
cargo install bat
Example Usage:
bat ~/.bashrc
It’s basically cat with a glow-up ✨. When I first used it, I found myself opening random config files just to admire the colors.
dust: Alternative to du
du always dumps a mountain of numbers on your screen. dust turns that into a compact, visual representation of disk usage that you can parse at a glance.
It’s instantly more readable than the old command. The output is clean, easy to parse, and shows relative sizes visually. I swear my hard drive has never looked this friendly. 😎
Install dust:
cargo install du-dust
Usage:
dust
fd: Alternative to find
Remember spending 10 minutes crafting the perfect find command? Yeah… me too. fd makes this easier. It has simple syntax, ignores hidden files by default and it is super-fast.
Install fd:
cargo install fd-find
Example:
fd main.rs
fd fossnews
Its speed and simplicity make find feel outdated. After switching, you’ll rarely look back.
ripgrep (rg): Alternative to grep
Rust-based ripgrep has become a must-have for developers. It’s dramatically faster and gives clear, highlighted search results.
Install ripgrep:
cargo install ripgrep
Example usage:
rg TODO src/
It respects your .gitignore and outputs results with color highlighting. I use it every day for searching TODOs, bug reports.
duf: Alternative to df
df is useful, but let’s be honest: the output looks like something printed from a 90s dot-matrix printer😆. duf fixes that. It takes the same disk-usage information and turns it into a clean, colorful, structured table you can actually understand at a glance.
duf gives you a clean dashboard with grouped filesystems, readable sizes, clear partition labels, and a quick view of what’s healthy vs. what’s nearly full.
Installation:
sudo apt install duf
Usage:
duf
procs: Alternative to ps
While ps aux works, it can feel visually overwhelming. procs gives you a more structured, color-coded view of your system processes, letting you quickly see what’s running without the need to launch a full TUI tool like htop.
It’s like a personal dashboard for your processes. I use it every day to keep tabs on what’s running without feeling buried in a wall of text.
Installation:
cargo install procs
Usage:
procs
tldr: Alternative to man
tldr makes navigating manual pages painless by offering clear examples, highlighting essential flags, and keeping things short (no scrolling forever).
Installation:
cargo install tldr
Usage:
tldr tar
Honestly, I wish this existed when I was learning Linux, it's a lifesaver for newbies and veterans alike.
broot: Alternative to tree
If you’ve ever used tree, you know it can quickly becomes overwhelming in large directories. broot upgrades the concept: it lets you navigate directories interactively, collapse or expand folders on the fly, and search as you go.
Installation:
cargo install broot
Usage:
broot
I’ve ditched my old ls -R habit entirely, broot makes exploring directories feel interactive and satisfying, turning a messy filesystem into something you can actually enjoy navigating.
zoxide: Alternative to cd
How many times have you typed cd ../../../../some/long/path? Too many, right? z (or zoxide) solves that by tracking your most visited directories and letting you jump to them with a single command, saving your fingers and making navigation effortless.
Installation:
cargo install zoxide
You also need to initialize it in your shell:
# Bash
eval "$(zoxide init bash)"
# Zsh
eval "$(zoxide init zsh)"
# Fish
zoxide init fish | source
Usage:
z code
It keeps track of your frequently used directories and lets you jump to them instantly.
lsd: Alternative to ls
If you’re tired of the plain, monochrome output of ls, lsd is here to make your directory listings not just readable, but enjoyable. With built-in icons and vibrant colors, it instantly helps you distinguish between files, directories, and executables at a glance.
Installation:
cargo install lsd
You can run it just like a normal ls command:
lsd -la
lsd organizes information clearly and highlights key file attributes, making navigation faster and more intuitive.
bottom: Alternative to top
The classic top command shows system usage, but let’s face it, it can feel like you’re looking at a terminal snapshot from 1995 😆. bottom (or btm) brings a modern, clean, and highly visual experience to monitoring your system. It provides:
Color-coded CPU, memory, and disk usage
Real-time graphs directly in the terminal
An organized layout that’s easy to read and navigate
Installation:
cargo install bottom
You can launch it simply with:
btm
Once you start using bottom, it’s hard to go back. Watching CPU spikes, memory usage, and disk activity while compiling Rust projects feels strangely satisfying. It’s both functional and fun, giving you the insights you need without the clutter of older tools.
hyperfine: Alternative to time and other benchmarking commands
Ever wondered which of your commands is truly the fastest? Stop guessing and start measuring with hyperfine. This Rust-based benchmarking tool makes it effortless to compare commands side by side.
hyperfine runs each command multiple times, calculates averages, and gives you a clear, color-coded comparison of execution times. Beyond simple comparisons, it also supports warm-up runs, statistical analysis, and custom command setups, making it a powerful addition to any developer’s toolkit.
Installation:
cargo install hyperfine
Usage example:
hyperfine "exa -al" "ls -al"
Watching exa obliterate ls in mere milliseconds is oddly satisfying⚡. If you love optimization, efficiency, and a little nerdy satisfaction, hyperfine is your new best friend.
xplr: Alternative to nnn
Now, I don't know if I can call nnn a classic Linux tool but I liked xplr so much that I decided to include it here.
xplr takes the idea of a terminal file explorer to the next level. If you loved broot, xplr will blow your mind with these features:
Navigate directories using arrow keys or Vim-style bindings
Preview files directly inside the terminal
Launch commands on files without leaving the app
Fully customizable layouts and keybindings for power users
Installation:
cargo install xplr
Usage:
xplr
Wrapping Up
Switching to new commands might feel like extra effort at first, but Rust-based CLI tools are often more than just a trend, they’re fast, modern, and designed to make your workflow enjoyable.
They handle colors, syntax highlighting, and Git integration right out of the box.
They save keystrokes, reduce frustration, and make complex tasks simpler.
They make your terminal feel alive and engaging.
On top of that, using them makes you look extra cool in front of fellow Linux nerds. Trust me, it’s a subtle flex 💪
Start small, maybe install exa and bat first, and gradually expand your toolkit. Soon, your terminal will feel futuristic, your workflow smoother, and your projects easier to manage.
Ankush Das
Sourav Rudra
