Now that 2024 is coming to an end, I feel it was a promising year for Linux and open source, with exciting updates, and interesting developments to look out for in 2025.
But, what were the most significant stories of 2024?
Whether you have had a busy year or just missed the updates, I shall make sure that you get a quick recap of everything important that happened this year.
Let's go!
1. Blue or Black Error Screens for Linux
Yes, starting with Linux kernel 6.10, you will notice a blue screen pop up informing when a kernel panic error occurs.
Of course, unlike Microsoft's Windows, it is not something you will get to see every day. But, it was made to make the error descriptive, which is a good thing.
Initially, it was planned to be implemented as a blue screen. But, of course, you can choose to tweak it to a black screen or in any other form.
Sourav Rudra
2. Neofetch is No More
Neofetch is one of the most favorite terminal tools to display system information.
Unfortunately, the project's GitHub repo was archived earlier this year. While you can still install it and use it on your system, it is always a good idea to install tools that are actively maintained.
You can refer to our list of Neofetch alternatives to replace it with.
Abhishek Prakash
3. Proton Acquires Standard Notes
Proton is aiming to offer a privacy-focused suite as an alternative to replace Google's range of services.
Hence, it is no surprise that they started to offer new products like Proton Drive, Proton VPN, and more over the years. To take that further, Proton also acquired open source products like Standard Notes, which is an incredibly popular end-to-end encrypted note-taking app.
Sourav Rudra
Currently, you can purchase a subscription separately for its premium features. But, we could expect a bundled subscription by Proton where you also get it as part of all other tools.
4. Fedora 41 Boots Out X11 Session
While Wayland default is becoming a popular option, Fedora 41 entirely removed X11 support from its ISO images.
With decisions like this, you can tell that X11 session support is going away for many distributions in the near future.
Of course, there are still issues with Wayland. But, soon, I think they will be ironed out with wider adoption by distributions.
5. Brave vs Firefox
Mozilla's Firefox is a good web browser for many privacy-focused users. It may not be the best, but it is a nice option over proprietary ones.
However, Mozilla Firefox made some claims about Brave in their comparison blog post, and, the folks at Brave were not happy about it. So, they pointed out that the comparisons made are a part of propaganda. So, there is a little scene about it that you can read here:
Sourav Rudra
Considering this is not something Brave did first, I think Firefox should focus on self-improvement than taking a shot at another fellow open source product next.
6. German State Ditches Microsoft for Open Source Software
The state of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany has renewed their de-Microsoft efforts by announcing that they will be switching the state administration's approximately 30,000 employee's PCs to open-source solutions and moving towards “digitally sovereign IT workplaces”.
Sourav Rudra
The switch from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice was one of the things that happened. However, they also planned to switch the operating systems to Linux.
Hopefully, by now (or next year) they proceed doing that as well. More government bodies are embracing open source, and that is an excellent thing!
7. Geopolitics Reaches The Linux Project
The Linux kernel project exists because of the contributions by developers across the world, irrespective of country/religion. However, the project could not escape geopolitics affect their decision-making.
A US sanction encouraged the administrators to boot out kernel maintainers based out of Russia. They mentioned that they could re-consider them only if they have enough proof that they are not associated with government activities (which is, of course, tough to prove if you are considered a spy already). You can read more about it here:
Ankush Das
8. Godot Engine Got Forked!
The Godot engine project received a lot of flack for quick decisions made by some moderators because of some disagreements on inclusivity on social media and its Discord server.
Sourav Rudra
They could have handled it better, yes. But, of course, we are humans, and the freedom of open source gives you the opportunity to fork a project if you do not like it how it's going. So, a "Redot Engine" fork came into existence, which has already released one stable release at the time of writing this.
Wrapping Up
Plenty of things happened in 2024 😲
Some other stuff that caught our reader's attention includes:
Ankush Das
And, not to forget, AI terminal apps like Warp debuted on Linux as well:
Sourav Rudra
💬 For you, what was the biggest shocker (happy/sad) in 2024? Let us know in the comments below.
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