March 2025 Digest: GNOME 48, Finnix 250, and NVIDIA G-Assist

In this issue, we’re diving into the biggest updates in development, technology, and—yes—gaming. March has been packed with news in the gaming world, including updates to popular games and hardware that takes the gaming experience to the next level.

Here's a look at the releases, trends, and tools shaping the tech world—whether you're a developer, tech enthusiast, or avid gamer.

GNOME 48 Bengaluru Desktop Environment Release

The GNOME team has unveiled GNOME 48, the next major update to one of the most popular desktop environments in the Linux world. The release is codenamed "Bengaluru," a tribute to the Indian host city of the GNOME Asia Summit 2024.

The new release continues the trend of simplifying the interface, making it more responsive, and improving the user experience, while also introducing several noteworthy technical innovations:

• With HDR support, you can now output HDR content to compatible monitors. This feature can be enabled in the Display Preferences.
• Triple buffering provides smoother rendering and animation by adding an additional screen buffer.
• New windows now automatically open in the center of the screen, and positioning in multi-monitor configurations is more accurate.
• The Epiphany browser has improved history, bookmarks, password autofill, the ability to import from other browsers, and a reload button in new tabs.
• A new Digital Wellbeing section helps you track your time on the computer, reminds you to take breaks, and even turns the screen to black and white when you exceed your limit.
• With user confirmation, Global keyboard shortcuts now work even when the application is not in focus.
• Input fields now support function keys such as copy, paste, cut, undo, redo, and search.
• In the file manager, directory loading is five times faster, and thumbnail scrolling is 10 times faster.
• The GTK library accelerates the creation and resizing of interface elements, improving application responsiveness.
• The GJS JavaScript engine reduces CPU load and memory consumption during typical operations.
• The Orca screen reader has improved keyboard handling in Wayland environments.
• GNOME now supports xdg portals, enabling the use of global hotkeys and the connection of USB devices (via Flatpak 1.16).

GNOME 48 continues its commitment to minimalism and stability, while emphasizing usability and extensibility—an area that has been sorely lacking for customization enthusiasts.

VPS from is*hosting is Now Available in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia!

is*hosting continues to expand its global presence, and you can now deploy VPS servers in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. This is the perfect choice for projects requiring low latency in the region, stable connectivity, and reliable infrastructure.

All servers run on modern platforms with 24/7 support and flexible pricing. Now, all that’s left is to choose the location that works best for you!

Azure Developer CLI: March Update with a Focus on AI

In March 2025, Microsoft introduced an update to the Azure Developer CLI (azd), a tool designed to help developers deploy cloud applications quickly and conveniently. Version 1.13.0 brings several new features, with a particular focus on with AI services and infrastructure automation.

Here's what to look out for:

• Now azd supports the deployment and customization of applications using Azure AI Studio, Azure AI Search, Azure AI Services, and Azure AI Foundry.
• New official templates from Microsoft are available, including ones for applications using Azure OpenAI, chat interfaces, and image generation, making it faster to get started with generic AI scripts.
• You can now deploy projects directly from Dev Containers or GitHub Codespaces without manually configuring the environment.
• The update also includes compatibility improvements with Terraform infrastructure, refinements to auto-generate Bicep configurations, and simplified cloud authentication.

Finnix Linux—25 Years of Stability for System Administrators

Finnix Linux, a minimalist distribution designed specifically for system administrators, celebrated its 25th anniversary in March. Launched in 2000, Finnix has stayed true to its core principles: compact, fast, and ideal for running from any media.

The new version of the Finnix 250 system live distribution marks the anniversary with a unique version number (the previous release was number 126) and offers several updates:

• Linux kernel 6.12 (based on Debian 6.12.17-1) is up-to-date and stable.
• SSH agent improvements provide each user with a more reliable automatic session.
• The util-linux-extra package has been added to extend the system toolkit.
•  ReiserFS utilities have been removed as support for this filesystem has been dropped from the Linux kernel.
• Optimized initramfs now loads only the necessary build media, not "everything."
• Improved htop is especially useful for monitoring systems with many cores.
• Updated Debian packages and minor bugs fixes.

Finnix is an excellent choice for disaster recovery, troubleshooting, or quick server setups. If you're looking for a reliable environment for such operations, check out is*hosting's VPS or dedicated servers. With flexible configurations and fast ISO downloads, they provide exactly what an admin needs.

Minecraft Got Brighter with the Vibrant Visuals Update

If you thought Minecraft had already reached its visual peak, Mojang has a surprise for you. As part of the March Update, the developers released Vibrant Visuals, a package of graphical improvements available to all players for free.

The update introduces more realistic lighting, volumetric shadows, detailed clouds, water and fog effects, and enhanced depth and atmosphere even on familiar biomes.

However, Vibrant Visuals is just the beginning of a long-term plan to elevate Minecraft's visuals. So, expect even more exciting visual updates in the future.

While the update doesn't change gameplay, it certainly transforms the look and feel of the game—especially if you're playing on a server with friends and want to immerse yourself in the most atmospheric environment possible. If you're already planning to upgrade your server to the new visuals, here's a great guide to help you choose and customize a server for Minecraft.

80% of Developers Create Games for the PC

According to the GDC 2025 report, 80% of developers continue to rely on the PC as the primary platform for releasing their games. This is no surprise—the PC remains the most flexible space for launching, testing, and scaling game projects, from indie to AAA.

Mobile game development is also growing, with 28-29% of developers already working on iOS and Android projects, up from 23-24% a year ago. This rise is driven by teams from Brazil, Asia, and the Middle East, where mobile gaming is particularly popular.

52% of developers are already using generative AI tools in their daily work, extending beyond just code assistants. Interestingly, older developers are using AI more frequently than younger ones.

If you’re building your own AI system or testing a game prototype with generative logic, dedicated GPU servers are a great option. They can handle models, workloads, and production builds without stalling at critical moments.

The icing on the cake: 16% of developers are now building games for the web—the highest since 2015. This marks a resurgence of interest in HTML5 and WebAssembly.

Unity and Unreal Engine lead the pack, each with 32% of users. Additionally, 13% of developers are working with their own engines, highlighting the demand for custom and specialized solutions. Despite the Unity Runtime Fee scandal, Unity's share has remained steady, showing that the ecosystem and developer skills continue to outweigh the risks.

NVIDIA G-Assist is the New AI-Teammate in Gaming

At GTC 2025, NVIDIA introduced G-Assist, an experimental AI assistant that plays alongside you in real time. The idea is to offer gamers and streamers an intelligent assistant that doesn't just describe what's happening in the game but actively analyzes it while you play.

What G-Assist already does:

• Automatically detects your system and game to set optimal graphics settings.
• Provides personalized tuning tips for DLSS, rendering, and other performance settings.
• Recommends enhancements to reduce lag and increase FPS.
• Works through the NVIDIA App interface, offering easy navigation and one-click recommendations.

In the GTC demo, G-Assist also understood voice requests (like, "How do I beat this boss?") and provided advice based on the gameplay, enabled by the Overlay Viewer and real-time contextual analysis.

G-Assist can answer questions about your PC hardware or NVIDIA software on your GeForce RTX GPU and even control some peripherals and software applications.

Although still experimental, the potential for G-Assist is clear: it removes the barrier between technical settings and gameplay, especially for those who want to optimize their gaming experience without manually adjusting dozens of settings.

Have a great month, and we’ll see you for the next is*hosting digest!