System76 Unveils Its "Launch" Keyboard

System76 loves to push every envelope possible. They've created one of the finest desktop computers on the market, have an outstanding lineup of laptops, and their servers are all top-notch. Soon, users will also be able to purchase an open source keyboard called Launch.

The Launch keyboard is a highly customizable piece of hardware with firmware based on QMK. The keyboard even includes a space bar that's been split into two keys so that you can customize one of them to serve a different purpose. Speaking of keys, the Launch is lit with RGB lights that can also be customized.

The Launch is milled out of a single piece of aluminum and features a high-speed USB hub, easy key swapping, personalized application shortcuts, tenkeyless (TKL) layout (for a smaller footprint), a choice between Jade and Royal switches (for either a muted or obvious click), and an included magnetic foot to give the keyboard a 15 percent incline (for those who need more ergonomics).

The Launch is 100 percent open source and is compatible with Linux, macOS, and Windows. Linux users will be able to update the firmware from within Pop!_OS. You can pre-order your Launch now (https://system76.com/accessories/launch_1/configure) from System76, starting at $285.00.

CloudLinux Launches TuxCare

CloudLinux recently unleashed AlmaLinux and has made good on its promise to offer enterprise-level support for the CentOS replacement. This new service, called TuxCare (https://tuxcare.com/), is an expansion of the CloudLinux KernelCare and Extended Lifecycle Support service brands and makes it easy for businesses to purchase support packages for their Linux deployments. TuxCare will cover support, maintenance, and security for enterprise Linux systems.

TuxCare rolls in what CloudLinux used to call KernelCare, which offers live patching for critical components (from the kernel to shared libraries and all across the Linux stack).

TuxCare's Linux Support Services will include regular patches and updates that will be delivered for every enterprise Linux component. Also included will be 24/7 incident support (even with operating systems that have reached EOL).

Jim Jackson, president and chief revenue officer of CloudLinux, said of TuxCare, "Building out a larger brand to house our rapidly expanding set of services makes it easier for our customers and prospects to see everything we provide in one place." Jackson continued, "Under the new TuxCare umbrella customers can review and select everything they need from our cohesive collection of services to take care of their Linux infrastructure."

In the future, CloudLinux plans on including databases and virtualization stack live patching into the service.

For TuxCare pricing, check out the official price/feature matrix (https://tuxcare.com/pricing/).

AlmaLinux Releases 8.4

To stay in step with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8.4, the AlmaLinux OS Foundation has officially released AlmaLinux 8.4. This enterprise-grade 1:1 binary replacement for RHEL is the second stable release of AlmaLinux. The biggest feature added to the latest release is support for Secure Boot.

Other features found in the latest release include support for OpenSCAP, the release of a devel repo (which includes extra packages and build dependencies that are not included in the upstream distribution), a few new module streams (such as Python 3.9, SWIG-4.0, Subversion 1.14, Redis 6, PostgreSQL 13, and MariaDB 10.5), and updates to compilers (such as GCC Toolset 10, LLVM Toolset 11.0.0, Rust Toolset 1.49.0, and Go Toolset 1.15.7).

Another change is that the PowerTools repo has been disabled by default (to match upstream distribution) and moved to a separate configuration file (almalinux-powertools.repo).

Jack Aboutbouls, community manager of AlmaLinux, said about AlmaLinux 8.4., "Our community, partners and sponsors all worked together, at warp speed no less, to provide the very latest, best and stable community-driven, governed and free open source alternative to the former incarnation of CentOS." Aboutbouls continued, "The open source world was nervously watching the past few months wondering how feasible this new reality would be, and for us to produce something suitable for real-world, actively running workloads so quickly and efficiently is truly a testament to our provenance, the power of community, and the open source model."