Compiled by Larry Cafiero
Marcus Nestor at 9 to 5 Linux reported on Thursday that Debian 14 “Forky” artwork proposals are now open for submission, with the final release of Debian 14 operating system expected in mid-2027.
“This is the moment for aspiring artists and designers who want to display their work in front of millions of Debian users to submit their best artwork for the upcoming Debian 14 (codename Forky – continuing the “Toy Story” naming) operating system series, due for release in mid-2027,” the article says.
According to the article, “submissions are open until November 26th, 2026, but your artwork needs to meet some specifications, such as using an image format that can be later modified using free and open-source software, and adding a license that lets the Debian Project distribute your artwork within Debian.”
The artwork will not only be used for Debian Forky’s wallpaper, the article says, but also in various parts of the operating system, such as the boot screen, Debian Installer, login screen, CD/DVD labels, Debian Project’s website, and even stickers for laptops.
“The artwork is a key part of a Debian release because it’s usually the first thing new users see when installing or booting Debian, and it’s also the first thing that appears when Debian users share their screens or connect to an external device while giving talks around the world,” the article says.
Budgie, Cosmic updates for aerynOS
Bobby Borisov from Linuxiac reported on Friday that aerynOS will make Budgie 10.10.3 widely available on its distro, as well as announcing an update of Cosmic to 1.10
“Just days after its previous October update, aerynOS has rolled out another substantial refresh to its Unstable Stream. The headline change is Budgie 10.10.3 arriving in the distribution’s regular package repositories, alongside Cosmic Desktop 1.10, KDE Gear 26.08.2, and Linux kernel 7.2.9,” the article states.
What makes this noteworthy is that “Budgie 10.10.3 represents the desktop’s transition to a fully Wayland-based environment,” the article says. “Instead of relying on its previous X11 architecture, it now uses the lightweight labwc Wayland compositor with a configuration bridge that allows Budgie to manage the compositor’s settings.”
The aerynOS update upgrades COSMIC Desktop from 1.9 to 1.10. The new version includes bug fixes, improvements to drawing tablet support, and enhancements to GPU acceleration.
“KDE users also receive KDE Gear 26.08.2, the latest maintenance update for the 26.08 application series. Meanwhile, Gnome 51 gets several smaller application updates and packaging adjustments, including the addition of the Sushi file previewer to aerynOS’s recommended GNOME package set.
Gnome 52 scheduled for March 2027
Marcus Nestor on 9 to 5 Linux reported on Tuesday that Gnome 52 desktop environment is scheduled for release on St. Patrick’s day of next year.
The alpha of Gnome 52 alpha is expected on Jan. 9, 2027, with the beta scheduled to be released on Jan. 30. The release candidate for Gnome 52 is scheduled for Feb. 27.
The desktop enviroment is code-named “Terengganu” from the city where the Gnome Asia Summit 2026, “the annual Gnome conference in Asia, which will take place later this month, in Terengganu Digital 1303, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, from October 31st to November 2nd, 2026.”
Meanwhile, “let’s take a look at the release schedule for GNOME 52, as the alpha release is planned for January 9th, 2027, while the beta milestone is expected later that month, on January 30th, and, finally, the Release Candidate (RC) milestone is currently scheduled for February 27th, 2027,” the article said.
Ubuntu 26.10 gets GnuPG replacement
Sourav Rudra on It’s FOSS reported on Monday that Ubuntu 26.10 will have a Rust-based GnuPG replacement, with the Rust-based OpenPGP tool lands in Stonking Stingray’s main archive, with sq and sqv available alongside gpg and gpgv.
“You already know that Canonical has been selectively replacing Ubuntu’s C-based system components with Rust-written equivalents that don’t compromise in terms of functionality, most of the time,” the article says.
“Now it looks like the distro’s OpenPGP implementation is next, with Sequoia PGP coming preinstalled in Ubuntu 26.10,” the article continues. “Canonical wants it to eventually replace GnuPG as the default toolchain, though that switch has not happened yet.”
What is Sequoia PGP? Glad you asked.
Sequoia PGP was started in 2017 by former GnuPG developers who chose to build a new OpenPGP implementation in Rust.
“Sequoia PGP is designed as a library that other software can use directly, rather than a standalone command-line tool,” the article says. “sq
But there’s a caveat. “The release notes for Ubuntu 26.10 and a recent announcement clearly mention that Sequoia PGP becoming Ubuntu’s default OpenPGP toolchain is a future goal, not something that’s already the default experience,” the article said.
And that’s all for today. Don’t forget: Distro of the Week appears Wednesday – and it’s always a good one on hand – and Bits and Bobs will return with news over the week next Saturday.