New Roll Out just landed. This week: Why Inkscape still matters amid AI-made Photoshop and Illustrator clones. Plus: • SVG-first design and open standards • Quality and long-term maintenance • The ecosystem behind Inkscape Read:

Have no fear; the clones are here - The Roll Out

My thoughts on why Inkscape's SVG-first design, community-built ecosystem, and long-term value remain relevant in the face of AI-generated Photoshop and Illustrator clones.

rolandixor.pro

It's bug #BugFixFriday y'all! This week’s #HelpWanted #Inkscape issue is a small but important improvement for the Object Properties Dialog: X, Y, Width and Height accept values, but there’s no way to choose their units. We need us a unit selector! gitlab.com/inkscape/ink...

Once again, it's #BugFixFriday! Our #HelpWanted #Inkscape issue is about batch export. Currently, multiple export entries using the same format share format options, which defeats the purpose of having them exist separately. We need each entry to keep its own settings. gitlab.com/inkscape/ink...

It's #BugFixFriday! This week’s #HelpWanted #Inkscape issue: options for fading objects when entering groups. We need someone to implement new UI controls so users can choose how, or whether, other objects fade while working inside a group or layer. Want to help? Hop in: gitlab.com/inkscape/ink...

It's #BugFixFriday again! This week’s #HelpWanted #Inkscape issue: The Eraser Tool has a ghost dropdown menu 👻 * Start fresh with the window maximized * Select Eraser * Empty overflow menu appears Expected: only when controls overflow. gitlab.com/inkscape/ink...

It’s #BugFixFriday! This week’s #Inkscape #HelpWanted issue: “Clip to page” isn’t reapplied when reopening a saved file. To reproduce: - Enable “Clip to page” - Save - Close - Reopen Objects outside the page are visible again. Issue: gitlab.com/inkscape/ink...

It’s #BugFixFriday! This week’s issue: “Clip to page” isn’t reapplied when reopening a saved file. To reproduce: - Enable “Clip to page” - Save - Close - Reopen Objects outside the page are visible again. Issue: gitlab.com/inkscape/... Video: youtu.be/um_GdA3zvNY #Inkscape #HelpWanted

[Document Properties] The "Clip to page" option isn't applied on file load. (#6411) · Issues · Inkscape / inkscape · GitLab

Steps to reproduce: open Inkscape Create some objects on the canvas....

gitlab.com

New Roll Out just landed. This week: Why creating without an immediate purpose can strengthen the skills you rely on when purpose eventually arrives. Plus: • Creativity as practice • Avatar’s doodled beginnings • Being aimless with intention Read:

Creating for the fun of it: Aimless with intention - The Roll Out

Why creating without an immediate purpose can strengthen your creative skills, rekindle joy in the work, and leave room for purpose to find you.

rolandixor.pro

New Roll Out just landed. This week: I’m reflecting on my first three months as Inkscape’s Bug Administrator. Plus: • My role behind the scenes • What the milestone chart doesn’t show • Fixes I’m excited about Read: rolandixor.pro/blog/... #Inkscape

If you're C++ developer with graphics or C++ experience and you'd like to make a difference in a great #opensource project, #Inkscape could really use your help in pushing the work forward for 1.5. Want to get involved? Check out the milestone list at:

Inkscape 1.5 · Inkscape · GitLab

Inkscape - Draw freely Get started: https://inkscape.org For reporting issues, please visit https://gitlab.com/inkscape/inbox/-/issues

gitlab.com

This week, I had the pleasure of creating the latest Inkscape update while Martin recovers. It covers recent improvements, Bug Accelerator progress, community extensions, and ways you can help support Inkscape.

Inkscape Developer fell Ill but the Community came to the Rescue 🥰️

This week's update is by Roland Taylor, and special intro animation by Chris Rodgers. Special shout out to TeruTeruBozu for help. I love you guys! This is what community is about ❤️❤️❤️ I have been recovering from my appendix exploding. Dangerous, but caught early and treated well. I am recovering.

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Software doesn’t only cost money. New Roll Out just landed. This week: how users, developers, and distributors pay software’s hidden price: attention. Plus: • Attention debt • GNOME Calendar vs Linux Mint Read:

The Unseen Price of Software: Attention - The Roll Out

Software runs on more than money and time. This article explores attention as a hidden cost shared by users, developers, and distributors.

rolandixor.pro

New Roll Out just landed. This week: why open-source not owing obedience to profit can make it stronger. Plus: • Principle over profit • The product isn’t the recipe • Openness as preservation Read:

Open-Source Owes Us Nothing, And That's Good

Open-source doesn’t owe obedience to profit, investors, or market pressure, and that freedom is what lets it serve principle, preservation, and users.

rolandixor.pro

New Roll Out just landed. This week: why the human touch still matters in an AI-shaped world. In this one: - Why real voices still matter - Why imitation isn’t experience - Why your creative voice counts Read:

Why the human touch is timeless, even now

Why the human touch still matters in an AI-shaped world, and why lived experience, purpose, and real human perspective can’t be replaced.

rolandixor.pro

New Roll Out just landed. This week: why open-source power still needs a usable path. Plus: - Form as function - UX friction - Think like a user Read:

Why form equals function

Why form equals function in open-source software, and how better UI, UX, defaults, documentation, and reduced friction help users get things done.

rolandixor.pro

New Roll Out just landed. This week: what happens when open-source takes itself seriously and starts raising the floor. Plus: - Better UX - Stronger platforms - Flathub and modern app delivery Read:

What happens when open-source takes itself seriously?

Open-source is raising its standards through better UX, governance, platform libraries, packaging, and app distribution, turning scattered tools into a serious ecosystem.

rolandixor.pro

New Roll Out just landed. This week: why AI-found Linux bugs aren’t proof Linux is falling apart. Plus: • Local privilege escalation • Social engineering • Open-source security Read:

Linux Isn’t Falling Apart Because AI Found Some Bugs - The Roll Out

AI-assisted Linux vulnerability research has sparked panic, but local privilege escalation bugs, open-source transparency, and better patching show why Linux isn’t falling apart.

rolandixor.pro

New Roll Out just landed. This week: Ubuntu’s AI plans become a test for open-source values. Plus: • Ubuntu as AI testing ground • Local-first AI questions • Developer appreciation Read:

AI, Ubuntu, and how open-source responds to a shifting future - The Roll Out

Ubuntu’s AI plans could test whether open-source can embrace AI without sacrificing user choice, ethics, privacy, and community trust.

rolandixor.pro

New Roll Out just landed. This week: why the current office suite conflicts are not a doom sign, and how this moment could still leave the space stronger. Plus: • LibreOffice, TDF, and Collabora • ONLYOFFICE and Euro-Office • Why fragmentation can sharpen projects Read:

This is NOT the end of the open-source office suite - The Roll Out

A grounded look at the current open-source office suite conflicts, why they are not a reason to panic, and how this disruption could lead to stronger projects.

rolandixor.pro

New Roll Out just landed. This week: why open standards only matter when your work survives the trip between apps. Plus: • LibreOffice vs ONLYOFFICE • SVG interoperability • What the web gets right Read:

Open on paper is not enough. This week’s post looks at what makes open standards meaningful in practice, from office files to SVG and the web. If software cannot support everything in a file, it should preserve what it cannot yet edit instead of stripping it away.

Open on paper is not enough. This edition looks at what makes open standards meaningful in practice, from office files to SVG and the web. If software can't support everything in a file, it should preserve what it cannot yet edit instead of stripping it away.

rolandixor.pro

New Roll Out just landed. This week: let’s challenge the myth that open-source software is uniquely hard to learn and how often familiarity gets mistaken for quality. Plus: • Familiarity isn’t quality • Selective grace • Willingness is the barrier Read:

The Myth of the Learning Curve - The Roll Out

Check the end of the post for curated links to my latest open-source work. “This software has too much of a learning curve.” Every so often, I hear a popular mantra being repeated by fellow creators, professionals, and pretty much

rolandixor.pro

New Roll Out just landed. This week: an egg in every basket, build resilience by keeping multiple routes open. Plus: - Digital sovereignty - Basket map exercise - It’s FOSS: Why Ubuntu gets so much hate, and a modern Synaptic-style package manager. Read:

An egg in every basket - The Roll Out

Put an egg in every basket. A Roll Out on building resilience through choice, keeping multiple tools and income lanes open without losing focus.

rolandixor.pro

New Roll Out just landed. This week: clear the cache in your own mind and dump the beliefs holding you back. Plus: • Treat self-doubt like stale data • Test one “I can’t” belief this week • You can learn the language, build the dream, stay you Read:

Reflections on Personal Growth: Clearing the Cache in Your Mind - The Roll Out

Clear the cache in your own mind and let go of limiting beliefs holding you back. A short Roll Out note on mindset, learning new skills, building big dreams, and growing without becoming someone else.

rolandixor.pro

50GB for an “update” is normal now. New Roll Out just landed. This week: the bloat tax, and how to build lean software again. Plus: • Performance budgets • Lean software mindset • Ghostty vs Kitty Read:

The Bloat Tax: Big Downloads for a Thin Experience - The Roll Out

Big downloads and constant updates are now normal, but software doesn’t have to be bloated. Let’s break down the bloat tax, and what it looks like to build leaner software again.

rolandixor.pro

New Roll Out just landed. This week: The myth of “missing support” and who really decides what runs. Plus: • Multiplayer has worked on Linux for decades • Anti-cheat is often a vendor choice • Reframing Frameworks (DEV) Read: rolandixor.pro/blog/... #Linux #open-source #anticheat #css #gaming

The Manufactured Myth of Linux Support - The Roll Out

A look at why “Linux doesn’t support XYZ” is usually the wrong framing. Multiplayer, anti-cheat, and creative apps aren’t blocked by Linux capabilities so much as vendor decisions.

rolandixor.pro

If your workflow can be switched off overnight, you don’t really own it. New Roll Out just landed. This week: why open software is more than a philosophy, and how ownership keeps your tools usable when platforms shift. Read: rolandixor.pro/blog/post/th...

Open Software is More Than a Philosophy - The Roll Out

When we think “open-source”, we often think “a belief system, a preference, or a vibe”. I see it differently. Open software is a powerful force of technological resilience. You can inspect it, tweak i...

rolandixor.pro

The Social Side of Software Trust New Roll Out is live. We learn what software to “trust” the same way we learn how to fit in: watch what gets praised, mocked, and treated as normal, until popularity feels like proof. rolandixor.pro/blog/post/th...

The Social Side of Software Trust - The Roll Out

Software trust is often learned through social pressure, not evidence. How a viral open-source “failure” narrative spreads, and why Linux is being re-evaluated.

rolandixor.pro

New Roll Out is live. This edition: Four creative guardrails to keep “creative freedom” real: Survive, Choose, Modify, Redistribute. 🔗 rolandixor.pro/test-... #TheRollOut #OpenStandards #CreativeTools

Does Creative Freedom Need Guardrails? - The Roll Out

A short framework for keeping creative freedom honest: survivability, choice, modification, and redistribution, so your work stays portable and free to ship.

rolandixor.pro

I Built a Professional Creative Stack Without Subscriptions — a new Roll Out is live. A practical look at my Linux-based creative workflow using open tools for real client work. 🔗 rolandixor.pro/blog/post/th...

I Built a Professional Creative Stack Without Subscriptions - The Roll Out (Deep Dive)

A behind-the-scenes look at my professional creative stack on Linux: the open-source tools I use for design, photo, video, audio, writing, and office work, and how open standards keep the whole workfl...

rolandixor.pro

New Roll Out just landed. This edition: productivity as agency, and how growth becomes sustainable. Plus: one small change tip, a Linux Experiment mention, and my latest It’s FOSS article on 9 distros to watch in 2026.

The Roll Out #8

A year-end Roll Out reflection on productivity as an expression of agency, with lessons on dedication, determination, and building systems that make growth real and sustainable in 2026.

rolandixor.pro