A discussion that started with GNU/Linux vs Linux
expanded into sudo vs doas, X11 vs Wayland, and how
system design choices age over time.

I already had notes on dwm, st, and X11 usage, and
this thread was the motivation to turn them into a
short, standalone document about the trade-offs
around scope, ecosystem complexity, and sustainability.

Original thread:
https://swiss.social/@LukePhilipps/115973122695310819

Document:
https://git.sr.ht/~r1w1s1/code-notes/blob/main/notes/Understanding_Wayland_X11_and_Minimalism.txt

Blog:
https://4c6e.xyz/

#Unix #Linux #BSD #Wayland #X11 #SystemDesign #Minimalism

A discussion that started with GNU/Linux vs Linux
expanded into sudo vs doas, X11 vs Wayland, and how
system design choices age over time.

I already had notes on dwm, st, and X11 usage, and
this thread was the motivation to turn them into a
short, standalone document about the trade-offs
around scope, ecosystem complexity, and sustainability.

Original thread:
https://swiss.social/@LukePhilipps/115973122695310819

Document:
https://git.sr.ht/~r1w1s1/code-notes/blob/main/notes/Understanding_Wayland_X11_and_Minimalism.txt

Blog:
https://4c6e.xyz/

#Unix #Linux #BSD #Wayland #X11 #SystemDesign #Minimalism

https://www.phoronix.com/news/X.Org-Library-Updates-Jan-2026

#xorg #x11 #opensource

💪 X.Org Server May Create A New Selective Git Branch With Hopes Of A New Release This Year - Phoronix

｢ A proposal has been laid out for a new X.Org Server "main" Git branch to house their development going forward and cleaning up the development lapses over the past few years. Ultimately the hope is for having a new cleaned-up X.Org Server and XWayland Git branch for shipping new releases in 2026 ｣

https://www.phoronix.com/news/X.Org-Server-Main-Repo

#xorg #x11 #opensource

RE: https://mastodon.bsd.cafe/@grahamperrin/115936315972605814

@evgandr the packages are not in FreeBSD, they are in the ports collection.

With regard to an organisation such as X11Libre, this is probably a very important distinction.

Also, please see my recent first impressions.

#FreeBSD #X11Libre #XLibre #X11 #Xorg

⚡ GNOME Mutter 50 Alpha Released With X11 Backend Removed - Phoronix

｢ The merge "completely drops the whole X11 back-end" with the Wayland session support proving to be in robust shape especially with its state in GNOME 49. XWayland support remains on GNOME for running X11 apps/games but it's all exclusively about the Wayland session moving forward ｣

https://www.phoronix.com/news/GNOME-Mutter-Shell-50-Alpha

#gnome #x11 #wayland #opensource

There’s a lot of misinformation going around claiming #GNOME is removing middle-click paste entirely — that’s not accurate.

GNOME (and #Firefox) developers are proposing changes to disable middle-click paste by default in future releases because it’s considered an old #X11-specific behavior that can be accidentally triggered.

Crucially:
— This proposal is about changing the default setting, not removing the functionality itself.
— The ability to paste with the middle mouse button isn’t being deleted; the default will just be off for new users.
— Users who want middle-click paste should still be able to re-enable it in settings (for example via GNOME Tweaks or a GSettings key).

So the narrative that the feature is gone for good is wrong — it’s simply being turned off by default, not deleted.

https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/07/gnome_middle_click_paste/

I have to say, I think it's great that #Fedora is dropping the #X11 session entirely, but I'm also happy that on my main laptop I'm on a distro that takes it slower. Just yesterday I did a teamviewer session with a friend and teamviewer informed that their #wayland support is experimental and indeed it didn't work. Starting an #X11 session fixed it.

There’s a lot of misinformation going around claiming #GNOME is removing middle-click paste entirely — that’s not accurate.

GNOME (and #Firefox) developers are proposing changes to disable middle-click paste by default in future releases because it’s considered an old #X11-specific behavior that can be accidentally triggered.

Crucially:
— This proposal is about changing the default setting, not removing the functionality itself.
— The ability to paste with the middle mouse button isn’t being deleted; the default will just be off for new users.
— Users who want middle-click paste should still be able to re-enable it in settings (for example via GNOME Tweaks or a GSettings key).

So the narrative that the feature is gone for good is wrong — it’s simply being turned off by default, not deleted.

https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/07/gnome_middle_click_paste/

If you're using #Firefox (yes, I still do - despite their recent AI shenanigans, they are still a much better option for privacy than Chrome IMHO), you can use its local translation model to translate any highlighted text - just add a hotkey for the following command:

firefox "about:translations#src=detect&trg=en&text=$(wl-paste --primary | jq -sRr @uri)"

(if you're still on Xorg, replace wl-paste --primary with xclip -o)

#linux #wayland #x11 #xorg

🦾 Phoenix Emerges as a Modern X Server Written From Scratch in Zig // Linuxiac

｢ it is not yet another fork of the Xorg codebase and does not reuse its legacy code. Instead, according to devs, Phoenix aims to show that the X11 protocol itself is not inherently obsolete and can be implemented in a simpler, safer, and more modern way ｣

https://linuxiac.com/phoenix-emerges-as-a-modern-x-server-written-from-scratch-in-zig/

#x11 #zig #xorg #opensource

Added 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝟭 - 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗥𝗼𝗰𝗸 [UPDATE 1 - Stable as Rock] to 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗕𝗦𝗗 𝟭𝟰.𝟯 𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗣𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝟮𝟱 [FreeBSD 14.3 on FrankenPad T25] article.

https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2025/06/26/freebsd-14-3-on-frankenpad-t25/

#verblog #freebsd #x11 #desktop #laptop #uptime #suspend #resume

The Input Stack on Linux – An End-To-End Architecture Overview

https://venam.net/blog/unix/2025/11/27/input_devices_linux.html

Patrick Louis writes: ""Let’s explore and deobfuscate the input stack on #Linux. Our aim is to understand its components and what each does. Input handling can be divided into two parts, separated by a common layer:

#Kernel-level handling: It deals with what happens in the kernel and how events are exposed to user-space
[…]
Exposed layer (middle)
[…]
User-space handling:
[…]
The Widgets, #XServer, #X11 window managers, and #Wayland compositors, which rely on everything else

We’ll try to make sense of all this, one thing at a time, with a logical and coherent approach.""

#LinuxKernel #evdev

Added 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝟭 - 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗥𝗼𝗰𝗸 [UPDATE 1 - Stable as Rock] to 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗕𝗦𝗗 𝟭𝟰.𝟯 𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗣𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝟮𝟱 [FreeBSD 14.3 on FrankenPad T25] article.

https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2025/06/26/freebsd-14-3-on-frankenpad-t25/

#verblog #freebsd #x11 #desktop #laptop #uptime #suspend #resume

#Plasma is going all #Wayland

After nearly three decades of KDE desktop environments running on #X11, the future KDE Plasma 6.8 release (due early 2027) will be Wayland-exclusive.

Read the FAQ below to find out what this means for you and the future of KDE:

https://blogs.kde.org/2025/11/26/going-all-in-on-a-wayland-future/