Tech News Roundup — July 6, 2026 (PM)
The biggest hardware story this edition is the wave of drivers preparing for Linux 7.3 — Intel’s i915 graphics is nearly real-time-capable, Pioneer DJ’s pro DJM-S11 mixer gets kernel support, and Uniwill laptops pick up a feature set. Ubuntu is also pushing ARM64 hard enough that Canonical is calling it “truly a first-class architecture” rather than a second-tier port. Elsewhere, Microsoft Teams is finally giving admins a single toggle to kill Copilot in meetings, Euro Truck Simulator 2 is about to let you drive coaches instead of trailers, and Pplware brings its usual mix of quirky mobile/regulation stories from Europe and beyond.
Linux & Open Source
The Linux 7.3 merge window is shaping up to be a busy one for driver work. Three Phoronix picks span the new submissions: Intel’s i915 kernel DRM graphics driver is “nearly ready to work well” with the PREEMPT_RT real-time patches once the out-of-tree RT adjustments are aligned, Pioneer DJ’s professional DJM-S11 mixer is on the supported-hardware list, and Uniwill laptop driver work is bringing a “number of features” for 7.3. None of these are headline-grabbing on their own, but the pattern is the same: niche hardware keeps landing in mainline faster than ever.
Canonical is making a deliberate push to position ARM64 as a first-class Ubuntu architecture, not a port of last resort. Foundations Engineering Manager Ravi Kant Sharma laid out the current state of ARM64 work — the takeaway is that the build, packaging, and validation pipelines are now robust enough that the team is comfortable promising parity with x86_64 for core use cases.
Microsoft
Teams is finally making it easier for meeting organisers to turn Copilot, Facilitator, and Intelligent Recap off — three AI features that have been lighting up Teams meetings for the better part of a year. The rollout starts in early July 2026 for Targeted Release tenants and reaches General Availability by end of July, applying to desktop, web, and mobile. The catch: only licensed organisers get the toggle, so ordinary attendees still see the AI features even when the organiser has disabled them.
Gaming
Euro Truck Simulator 2’s teased “Project Coaches” DLC is getting closer, and a new gameplay video shows drivable coach buses from Scania, Volvo, and MAN set to the soundtrack of SCS Software’s 2007 Bus Driver. The DLC has an Overwhelmingly Positive Steam standing riding behind it, but the community’s reaction is split — many players are pointing out that rigid-chassis trucks have been missing from both Euro and American Truck Simulator since launch, and a coaches-first release order feels like a strange priority. Pricing hasn’t been announced, and SCS emphasises everything is “still a work in progress.”
A lighter item from Windows Central: with the FIFA World Cup underway, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has been spotted publicly playing Xbox, and the piece argues he should become an official brand ambassador for Microsoft. It’s an opinion piece, not a confirmed deal.
Hardware
Pplware has a full review of the Xiaomi 17T Pro, framing it as Xiaomi continuing to push the 17-series line forward with more performance and a clear focus on photography and battery life. The piece walks through the hardware specifications and day-to-day use; the headline takeaway is that the 17T Pro is shaping up as a strong all-rounder in the upper-mid tier.
In Brief
- Google Maps gets Gemini-powered trip planning. Google is rolling out Gemini AI features inside Maps aimed at helping users plan summer trips with smarter itinerary suggestions. [Pplware]
- EU phases out single-use hotel toiletries. From 2030, the small shampoo, shower gel, and soap bottles in EU hotels will disappear under a wider packaging-and-waste regulation. [Pplware]
- US wants a quality seal Europe already has. A short Pplware note on US regulators studying a consumer-product quality mark similar to the CE mark already used in the EU. [Pplware]
- Drones emerge as the FBI’s main adversary at the 2026 World Cup. Drone seizures in the US have doubled in under two weeks as authorities tighten airspace around stadiums and World Cup-linked events. [Pplware]
- Anti-IPTV crackdown blocks 500,000 legitimate sites by mistake. Spain’s aggressive anti-piracy measures have produced a wave of over-blocking that caught half a million unrelated sites in the net. [Pplware]
- Russia’s “Day of Conception” holiday, a regional response to falling birth rates. A Pplware explainer on the Russian regional holiday that gives couples the day off specifically to try to conceive, and how it sits alongside other population-policy measures. [Pplware]
- A “Waze for public bathrooms” app. Pplware highlights a new app that maps nearby public restrooms — useful for travellers in cities where asking for directions isn’t straightforward. [Pplware]
- The Earth is the only place where the Moon can fully cover the Sun, and that won’t last forever. A Pplware science piece on why total solar eclipses are unique to Earth and how they will eventually end as the Moon slowly drifts away. [Pplware]
Roundup compiled from the TTRSS Tech feed. 16 articles from 3 sources (Pplware, Phoronix, Windows Central) clustered into 12 stories.