This week in our forums…
Key Stats
In the past week, our Linux forums had the following activity and key statistics:
- Total New Posts: 259
- Total New Topics: 30
Top Members
- @hydn: 41 posts, 115 likes received
- @tkn: 31 posts, 98 likes received
- @ericmarceau: 31 posts, 74 likes received
- @ugnvs: 23 posts, 69 likes received
- @Nosugrof: 17 posts, 43 likes received
- @Jymm: 8 posts, 28 likes received
- @toadie: 9 posts, 28 likes received
- @ricmarques: 6 posts, 22 likes received
- @astrogenealogist: 6 posts, 21 likes received
- @pavlos: 12 posts, 20 likes received
Interesting Topics
-
In Linux Support, @Nosugrof shared a long-running issue in External USB drive unmounts or powers down randomly. The thread walks through diagnostics like SMART, dmesg, UAS quirks, autosuspend, and cooling tests. @benowe1717 requested logs and SMART output, @hydn highlighted a USB bus disconnect pattern rather than a sleep event, and @ericmarceau plus @ugnvs offered BIOS power settings, GRUB quirks, and powered hub checks. The discussion narrowed the suspects to cable, port, bridge, or power instability on the host.
-
@RokeJulianLockhart started a discussion in MATE Desktop about access issues on Canonical’s forums in Perhaps, don’t recommend the Ubuntu Discourse instance for MATE refugees. Members compared results across browsers, with @ricmarques noting Firefox worked when Chromium-based browsers did not, and @tkn observing that privacy-oriented setups were being blocked. The thread connected symptoms to the Canonical DDOS fallout and possible anti-bot fingerprinting impacts.
-
In General Discussions, @Jymm asked whether to keep or remove unattended updates in Unattended upgrades. The group split: @ugnvs and @tkn prefer manual control on desktops, while @ricmarques appreciates the safety net. @ericmarceau outlined a visual-review approach via Synaptic to control changes and avoid breaking UI workflows.
-
A “solved” Linux Support thread worth bookmarking: Bootable USB Key - Partition Table Format?. @ericmarceau asked if an “ancient” BIOS could boot GPT. @tkn summarized that MBR is still the most compatible choice for legacy BIOS, citing practical references, and @lah7 mentioned hybrid MBR/GPT as possible. @hydn suggested [Ventoy] for handling BIOS/UEFI dual-booting cleanly.
-
In General Discussions, members compared practical fstab tweaks in What’s in your /etc/fstab that you added yourself?. @tkn shared zram and a convenience mount, @hydn recommended noatime and tmpfs for /tmp, and a sub-thread between @ericmarceau, @tkn, and @hydn explored why atime is rarely useful now compared to the write amplification costs.
-
@ugnvs posted a fun programming challenge in General Discussions with Quine puzzle for programmers. @tkn produced a Bash-flavored solution using $BASH_COMMAND, and the thread turned into a short tour of quines, constraints, and verification.
-
In Linux Support, @astrogenealogist asked how to enable GPU-accelerated face recognition in DigiKam in DigiKam facial recognition configuration with AMD GPU. @Norm24 spotted an older kernel and recommended installing the HWE 6.17 series, then suggested trying the distro-packaged .deb for dependency alignment. The OP confirmed that the updated kernel plus the repo build resolved the issue.
-
New member @Ronald_Bell ran into a MacBook with neither ethernet nor Wi-Fi showing up in Linux Support No ethernet or wifi. @pavlos and @ericmarceau walked through live ISO testing, inxi diagnostics, and Driver Manager steps, focusing on Broadcom paths and confirming that the macOS reinstall proved hardware health.
-
@krish flagged an uptick in anti-bot blocks against hardened browsers in General Discussions with Cloudflare started to block privacy-oriented browsers. @hydn explained how fingerprint-reliant detection can backfire on privacy-preserving setups and why site operators often tune these thresholds amid surges in automated traffic.
-
In General Discussions, @Borislave80 shared a positive experience with Wayland on Ubuntu 26.04 in The best distro for gaming is Ubuntu 26.04!. The key win was clean multitasking on dual displays without the game freezing when focus changes. @pavlos chimed in on version naming, and the thread captures a real-world improvement for gamers who juggle windows while playing.
Activity by the @staff Group
-
Security tooling for quick fleet triage: @hydn released a read-only checker for the new “Dirty Frag” issues and supporting modules in Dirty Frag (CVE-2026-43284 / CVE-2026-43500) check script. It reports OK, MITIGATED, and other states for at-a-glance status across systems.
-
To improve clarity and safety in member submissions, the team published Showcase category guidelines: What to include when sharing your project. The guide clarifies expectations around source links, licenses, unsigned binaries, screenshots, and responsible disclosure.
-
In Showcase, @toadie continued iterating a Go-based TLS cert monitoring tool in [Go] cert-checker, adding a help flag, better flag error handling, UI testing, and a new dark mode variant. The fast feedback loop from members led to tangible UX gains in just a couple of posts.
Best Reply or Topic of the Week
- Best Reply: @tkn’s concise, well-sourced answer in Bootable USB Key - Partition Table Format? clearly lays out why legacy MBR remains the most reliable choice for older BIOS machines, includes references, and sets realistic expectations about GPT on legacy systems. It is a model of practical, actionable guidance.
Thanks for reading. See you again next week! 
—
Important: Avoid replying to this topic. Instead, reply to the topics linked within. Or, if you have questions or comments related to this weekly summary, please post them in the site-help or Our Community forum category.