Lilbits: Windows, Linux, and Intel news

This week Microsoft released Windows Insider Preview Build 21343 which introduces new icons for File Explorer and brings improvements for the Windows Sandbox and Microsoft Defender Application Guard.

It turns out there are also a few features Microsoft didn’t mention – including an option to restart currently running apps after you sign out and sign back in again. This feature could eventually make its way to Windows 10 stable in the future.

But Windows isn’t the only operating system picking up new features. Developers of the GNOME desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems released version 40 this week. Ubuntu maker Canonical has partnered with Nextcloud and Collabora to make it easy for users to set up their own self-hosted Google Docs alternative using a Raspberry Pi. And there’s a new open source Vulkan graphics driver in development for select ARM-based processors.

Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.

• Microsoft experimenting with adding [Restart apps after signing in] option to its power menu [@WithinRafael]
  This wasn’t disclosed in the Windows Insider Preview Build 21343 announcement, but it seems Microsoft is experimenting with a “Restart apps after signing in” option that will let you pick up where you left off after signing out and in again.
• Introducing GNOME 40 [GNOME]
  GNOME 40 desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems released with a new numbering scheme (previous release was 3.38), an updated UI with a horizontal layout, redesigned weather app, and other app and settings updates.
• PanVk: An Open Source Vulkan driver for Arm Mali Midgard and Bifrost GPUs [Collabora]
  Panvk is a new open source Vulcan graphics driver for ARM chips with Mali “Midgard” and “Bifrost” GPUs. Available now in early preview, it grew out of Collabora’s work on Panfrost, which used reverse engineering to create a Gallium driver for those GPUs.
• Initial Linux boot on the Quartz64 single-board computer [@thepine64]
  Pine64’s upcoming Quartz64 is a single-board computer with a Rockchip RX3566 processor. A pilot production run of the board is coming in April, but it’s developer-only hardware for now since the software is still not finished. But now it can boot Linux.
• Canonical, Collabora, Nextcloud deliver work-from-home solution to Raspberry Pi and enterprise ARM users [Ubuntu]
  Now you can set up your own self-hosted Google Docs alternative for editing office documents in a web browser using a Raspberry Pi, Ubuntu, Nextcloud, and Collabora Online, a cloud-based version of LibreOffice.
• Intel Unleashed, Gelsinger on Intel, IDM 2.0 [Stratechery]
  This week Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger talked about the company’s plans for the next few years. The change that could have the biggest long-term impact? Intel will make chips for other companies, including x86, ARM, and RISC-V processors, GPUs, and more.
• Playdate screen mirroring demo [@playdate]
  The upcoming Playdate handheld game console (the one with a crank) will let you mirror your screen to a PC, Mac, or Linux computer for streaming or recording gameplay.

Here’s a fun little new thing we made. Plug in your Playdate, launch this app, and it will mirror your Playdate screen to your PC/Mac/Linux in real-time. Perfect for streamers, YouTubers, and better accessibility. Input from the PC can pass through to the Playdate also! pic.twitter.com/OE8q1X0txC

— Playdate (@playdate) March 24, 2021

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