LinuxInsider

Keeping a production database running smoothly often requires maintenance that can disrupt dependent applications. PostgreSQL 19 aims to reduce those interruptions while giving developers more flexibility in managing data. The upcoming release introduces improvements to routine database maintenance, table repacking, and logical replication.

The future of a widely used PostgreSQL backup and recovery tool became uncertain after its sole corporate funding source disappeared, leaving its lead maintainer to support the project without financial backing for a year. A group of companies, including open-source database developer and support firm Percona, has since stepped in to sponsor pgBackRest, creating a vendor-neutral funding arrangement intended to support its continued development.

One perk of being a technology analyst is getting samples of the latest devices to evaluate. A few weeks ago, Samsung sent me its latest premium foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra. After putting it through its paces for several weeks, something occurred to me: given I’ve been a staunch iPhone user for two decades, the learning curve on Android was more challenging than I cared to admit.

AlmaLinux 10.2, "Lavender Lion," demonstrates how far the enterprise Linux distribution has moved beyond its origins as a one-for-one rebuild of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). The release maintains binary compatibility with RHEL while restoring support for older hardware and adding capabilities not available in RHEL 10. Those differences provide a clearer view of what AlmaLinux can do now that it is no longer committed to strictly reproducing RHEL.

The Quntis Light Bar Glow brings comfortable illumination to my workspace without adding screen glare, an upgrade I didn't know my home office needed. I thought the multi-directional ceiling light shining onto my U-shaped, three-computer workstation was an ideal arrangement. The Quntis light bar convinced me that bright overhead lighting is not always the best choice for either ambiance or productivity.

The aging MakuluLinux LinDoz distro has evolved into AI-OS, which its developer calls a first-of-its-kind intelligent Linux desktop. MakuluLinux developer Jacque Montague Raymer released the innovative AI-OS on July 29, built around a highly configurable Cinnamon desktop and a Linux Mint Debian (LMDE) variant base.

A new vendor-neutral nonprofit organization aims to give the MySQL community a stronger voice in the future development of the popular open-source database. Since acquiring MySQL from Sun Microsystems in 2010, Oracle has overseen development while offering both community and commercial editions. Oracle still owns MySQL, its trademarks, and the underlying code.

Security teams have long prioritized high-severity vulnerabilities while often postponing fixes for lower-severity issues. That approach may soon become more dangerous. Today's vulnerability management practices were built for a pre-AI world. According to TuxCare CEO Igor Seletskiy, AI models are beginning to identify chains involving multiple low- and medium-severity vulnerabilities that human researchers would rarely connect. Individually, these flaws might not warrant urgent action.

The Linux Foundation (LF) has announced two open-source initiatives designed to strengthen trust in enterprise AI. One extends the Domain Name System (DNS) to provide verified identities for AI agents, while the other provides an open framework for assessing AI systems against emerging global standards. The first initiative, Agent Name Service (ANS), builds on existing DNS infrastructure to provide trusted identity, verification, and discovery for AI agents operating across the internet.

Roughly 20 years into the reign of mobile computing devices, those of us who keep apace of such things are probably used to the pageantry of product announcements. The grandiloquence of the painstaking choreography makes an incredulous observer roll their eyes. But Flipper is one of those rare tech companies that can make announcements that instantly generate unalloyed excitement.