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Links 3/5/2021: New in OpenBSD 6.9 and Audacity Acquired By Muse Group



  • GNU/Linux

    • Linux Weekly Roundup – Fedora 34, elementary OS 6 Beta and More

      We had some huge Linux distribution updates again this week following the trends from last week. Some major release candidates of popular distributions also landed. A quite handful of applications received their minor bug fix update as well. Overall it is an eventful week and let’s take a look in brief at those.

    • 9to5Linux Weekly Roundup: May 2nd, 2021

      This week has been very interesting with the release of the Fedora Linux 34 operating system, GNOME 40’s landing in Solus’ repositories, another major Plasma Mobile update, as well as the arrival of the Budgie 10.5.3 desktop environment.

      On top of that, there were new releases of the GNU Linux-libre kernel, MusE digital audio workstation, KaOS Linux distribution, as well as news about GNOME’s GUADEC 2021 conference and the upcoming Ubuntu 21.10 (Impish Indri) release. You can enjoy these and much more in the 9to5Linux Weekly Roundup for May 2nd, 2021.

    • Run Linux on Refurbished Mini PCs – Motherboard – Part 3

      If you need a fast computer but don’t have much to spend, consider picking up an off-lease refurbished system. These PCs are a few years old and have seen some use, but they are often heavily discounted and offer a lot of bang for your buck.

      A motherboard is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in general-purpose computers and other expandable systems. It holds and allows communication between many of the crucial electronic components of a system, such as the central processing unit (CPU) and memory, and provides connectors for other peripherals.

      There’s a number of factors you’ll need to bear in mind when selecting a refurbished mini PC. For such a small chassis, you’d expect to see some lack of connectivity or compromises due to its size.

    • Audiocasts/Shows

    • Kernel Space

      • Linux 5.13 Networking Includes BPF Improvements, Optimizations, WWAN + MANA

        Last week the big set of networking subsystem updates were submitted and merged for the ongoing Linux 5.13 merge window.

        The networking updates this cycle were another hearty mix of new network adapter support, optimizations for performance and reliability, continuing to extend the capabilities of (e)BPF, and more.

      • Intel's Linux Vulkan Driver Adds Fragment Shading Rate Support

        Intel's open-source "ANV" Vulkan Linux driver has finally merged support for the KHR_fragment_shading_rate extension.

        Introduced last October with Vulkan 1.2.158 was this fragment shading rate extension for changing the rate at which certain fragments are shaded. The fragment shading rate with this extension can be manipulated on a per-draw, per-primitive, or per-region manner. Use of this fragment shading rate extension can be used by Vulkan-powered games for shading higher levels of detail in a scene compared to others or rather less important areas at a lower quality shading in select areas of the scene.

      • Microsoft Prepping Linux For Running As 64-bit ARM Hyper-V Guest

        While Microsoft's Hyper-V virtualization hypervisor and their Azure cloud has largely been x86_64 focused, with the Linux 5.13 kernel they are moving further for supporting Linux as a ARM64 Hyper-V guest.

        Microsoft's Hyper-V changes that were merged last week for the Linux 5.13 kernel include VMBus enhancements and other work, but arguably most notable are new patches for "running Linux as Arm64 Hyper-V guest."

      • A Gentle Introduction to eBPF

        In this article, we will review what eBPF is, what it does, and how it works. Then, we will explain how to execute an eBPF program and provide an example of eBPF in action. Finally, we will conclude with recommendations for next steps. eBPF lets programmers execute custom bytecode within the kernel without having to change the kernel or load kernel modules. Exciting? Maybe not yet.

    • Applications

      • Meet Enve: An Open Source 2D Animation Software

        Enve is a cross-platform application that allows you to create vector animations and raster animations. You can even use audio and video files for creating your animation.

        Enve is open-source software using GPL 3 license. It is available for Linux, macOS and Windows.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • Learn Different Networking Options in VirtualBox

        Setting up networking is quite a difficult task in VirtualBox compared to other operations. Configuring networking can be done in a few clicks but understanding what are different network modes available and you have to choose a model that satisfies your needs.

      • Russell Coker: DNS, Lots of IPs, and Postal

        I decided to start work on repeating the tests for my 2006 OSDC paper on Benchmarking Mail Relays [1] and discover how the last 15 years of hardware developments have changed things. There have been software changes in that time too, but nothing that compares with going from single core 32bit systems with less than 1G of RAM and 60G IDE disks to multi-core 64bit systems with 128G of RAM and SSDs. As an aside the hardware I used in 2006 wasn’t cutting edge and the hardware I’m using now isn’t either. In both cases it’s systems I bought second hand for under $1000. Pedants can think of this as comparing 2004 and 2018 hardware.

      • How To Install Skype on Linux Mint 20 [Ed: This lets Microsoft spy on conversations; viable Free software alternatives do exist]

        In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Skype on Linux Mint 20. For those of you who didn’t know, Skype is the most popular communication application in the world that allows you to make free online audio and video calls. You can also use Skype for instant messaging text, audio, video, and images. One of the great features of Skype is its conference call feature.

        This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of Skype video conferencing and chatting application on a Linux Mint 20 (Ulyana).

      • Fix library paths for ROX-Filer running in container

        Continuing to track down the wallpaper problem, I see also some icons are not rendering properly. Comparing XenialPup and Racy, the former renders wallpaper and icons perfectly. Very odd, but then I discovered that in Racy, when right-clicked on an image file and chose to run Viewnior (image viewer), it did not run. Yet, launching "# viewnior <name of image>" in terminal, it did work. Connecting the dots, I realised that the problem occurs if the distro-in-container has different paths to shared library files than the host distro. Racy is ancient and still has many library files in /usr/X11R7/lib. Rox is not seeing those. Other applications are seeing them, just not rox. Hmmm...

      • How to Install Apache Nifi in Ubuntu Linux

        Apache NIFI is an open-source scalable tool to manage transformation, data routing, and system mediation logic. To put it in layman’s terms nifi simply automates the flow of data between two or more systems.

        It is cross-platform and written in Java that supports 180+ plugins that allow you to interact with different kinds of systems. In this article, we will take a look at how to set up Nifi on Ubuntu 20.04 and Ubuntu 18.04.

      • How to Set Custom Screen Resolution in Ubuntu Wayland & Xorg | UbuntuHandbook

        Since Ubuntu 21.04 uses Wayland as default display server, the previous method using xrandr does not longer work for adding custom screen resolution.

        So this tutorial is going to show you another way to add your favorite screen resolution if it’s not available in Display settings.

        In the case, I’ve the default 1920X1080 (16:9) resolution. However, I prefer 1600X900 (16:9) a little more which is not available in settings.

      • How To Install and Configure Gradle on Linux Distributions

        Gradle is one of the best open-source automation build tools that are available for Linux systems. The Gradle build tool is used for faster, efficient, and organized software development and production. Gradle can compile source code, convert packages into binary code, make library functions, run the autotest, and many more to automate the software production. If you’re a programmer or involved in the software industry, the Gradle automation tool can be a handy application to automate your works.

      • Configure WireGuard VPNs with NetworkManager - Fedora Magazine



        Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are used extensively. Nowadays there are different solutions available which allow users access to any kind of resource while maintaining their confidentiality and privacy.

        Lately, one of the most commonly used VPN protocols is WireGuard because of its simplicity, speed and the security it offers. WireGuard’s implementation started in the Linux kernel but currently it is available in other platforms such as iOS and Android among others.

        WireGuard uses UDP as its transport protocol and it bases the communication between peers upon Critokey Routing (CKR). Each peer, either server or client, has a pair of keys (public and private) and there is a link between public keys and allowed IPs to communicate with. For further information about WireGuard please visit its page.

        This article describes how to set up WireGuard between two peers: PeerA and PeerB. Both nodes are running Fedora Linux and both are using NetworkManager for a persistent configuration.

      • 5 tips for deciding which Linux tasks and workloads to automate | Enable Sysadmin

        If you've been automating your internal processes, building CI/CD pipelines, and writing Ansible code for a few years, then it can be hard to remember a time before automation had taken over your everyday workflow. Deciding on what to automate can be daunting for a beginner: There are programming languages to learn, tools to familiarize yourself with, and terms like "idempotency" to add to your vocabulary. How can you decide on where to even begin with automation? In this article, I walk you through five tips that have guided my decisions when it comes to building new automation.

    • Games

      • Grand strategy game Secret Government has left Early Access with Linux support

        Secret Government, a grand strategy game about being the leader of a secret organization that changes the course of history is officially out now. It released earlier in April, with the 1.0 build for Linux arriving a little later on April 30.

      • Infinitrap : Rehamstered goes free for Linux on the Snap store

        Free Game Monday returns! Ready for a new adventure? Well, you can now grab Infinitrap : Rehamstered for Linux absolutely free if you go to the Snap store. A very overlooked game that hasn't seen much players or press.

      • Top New Games You Can Play With Proton Since Apr. 2021

        nd May here we are! Here is our usual monthly update! Boiling Steam looks at the latest data dumps from ProtonDB to give you a quick list of new games that work (pretty much?)

      • satryn is a free twin-stick infinite shooter that deserves to be played | GamingOnLinux

        Free Game Monday! How about checking out satryn, a completely free infinite twin-stick shooter and it's absolutely awesome once you get a few levels in.

        The developer doesn't really give it much of an introduction on their store page so allow me: satryn is crazy. Much like other classic small-arena shooters it starts off slow, gradually introducing you to more varied enemy types. Some wander around, some fire at you, some constantly spawn new enemies and so on - it gets seriously action packed and becomes completely over the top eventually. You also need to try and collect little blue friends floating around too, and they increase your score multiplier.

      • Beyond a Steel Sky gets a big upgrade with newer Vulkan support

        Quite a lot came with this new version include Cloud Saves on Steam, Moving from Unreal Engine 4.24 to 4.26, NPCs should no longer block you in the Aspiration Gala, an issue with Alonso "rolling his eyes into his head in snarky / possessed ways" was solved, snappier loading times, much better gamepad support and so on. A big maintenance release to improve the adventure game. Oh, saves actually have timestamps now too which is useful.

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

        • New Video: Perspective in Krita part 2. Building a house from scratch in 2021!

          We’ve got a new video in our channel! Ramon shares his technique on creating a house using Krita’s perspective tools...

        • Daniel Vrátil: Taking a break

          It took me a while to realize that the problem was that I was putting pressure on myself to contribute even though I did not feel like it. It turned from hobby and passion into a duty, and that’s wrong.

          I think the main frustration comes from the feeling that I cannot innovate - I’m bound by various restrictions - libraries and languages I can use, APIs I must preserve/conform to, legacy behavior to not break anything for existing users… This has been taking away the fun. I have enough of this in my dayjob, thank you. So….

          I decided to take a break from KDE PIM for a while. I’m sure I’ll be back at some point. But right now I feel like I gave it all I could and it’s still not where I’d like it to be and it’s no longer fun for me. What makes me very happy is the number of new contributors that have appeared over the past year or so.

      • GNOME Desktop/GTK

        • GNOME 40 Looks Even Better with a Bit of Blur

          I dig GNOME 40 and its rejigged layout, and while its horizontal app switcher and use of border radius isn’t to everyone’s tastes —sharp intake of understatement breath— it certainly pleases mine!

          But do you know what would make me love the GNOME 40 UI even more?

          Okay, yes: proper Dash to Dock support — but other than that?

          A bit more blur.

          And whaddya know: there’s a GNOME Shell extension that offers it!

    • Distributions

      • BSD

        • OpenBSD 6.9 packages using IPFS

          The benefits is to play with IPFS to understand how it works with a real world use case. Instead of using mirrors to distributes packages, my server is providing the packages and everyone downloading it can also participate into providing data to other IPFS client, this can be seen as a dynamic Bittorrent CDN (Content Delivery Network), instead of making a torrent per file, it's automatic. You certainly wouldn't download each packages as separate torrents files, nor you would download all the packages in a single torrent.

          This could reduce the need for mirrors and potentially make faster packages access to people who are far from a mirrors if many people close to that person use IPFS and downloaded the data. This is a great technology that can only be beneficial once it reach a critical mass of adopters.

        • OPENBSD 6.9 [at talospace]

          With this release, your BSD choices on OpenPOWER just got more solid between this and the mature FreeBSD port. Again, the real shame is why there's still no support for OpenPOWER in NetBSD.

      • IBM/Red Hat/Fedora

        • CentOS alternative AlmaLinux gets commercial support

          For many years, CentOS Linux was beloved by Linux-savvy system administrators because they could use it and get all the goodness of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) without paying for support, unless they really, really needed help. Now CloudLinux is recreating the same model to support its RHEL clone, AlmaLinux.

          [...]

          CloudLinux is offering multi-tiered support for the AlmaLinux OS. This includes regular patches and updates for Linux kernel and core packages, patch delivery service-level agreements (SLA)s, and 24/7 incident support.

          The AlmaLinux community already offers some of these elements, such as Linux kernel and core package patches and updates. But, for businesses, there's a critical difference between relying upon the kindness of a community and a solid support contract.

          Besides the usual business Linux support services, CloudLinux will also offer a premium support tier for enterprises that require enhanced services. For example, if you need hands-on support for your AlmaLinux datacenter, it will be available. In addition, if you want to build commercial products and services based on AlmaLinux, CloudLinux can be there to help you.

        • Why is F34 the Most Popular Fedora Linux in Years?
        • Why I support systemd's plan to take over the world

          Over the years, I have read many articles and posts about how systemd is trying to replace everything and take over everything in Linux. I agree; it is taking over pretty much everything.

          But not really "everything-everything." Just "everything" in that middle ground of services that lies between the kernel and things like the GNU core utilities, graphical user interface desktops, and user applications.

          Examining Linux's structure is a way to explore this. The following figure shows the three basic software layers found in the operating system. The bottom is the Linux kernel; the middle layer consists of services that may perform startup tasks, such as launching various other services like Network Time Protocol (NTP), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Domain Name System (DNS), secure shell (SSH), device management, login services, gettys, Network Manager, journal and log management, logical volume management, printing, kernel module management, local and remote filesystems, sound and video, display management, swap space, system statistics collection, and much more. There are also tens of thousands of new and powerful applications at the top layer.

        • OKRs vs. KPIs: What's the difference?

          Like the OKR, the KPI has been around for a while. It's a common method of measuring corporate performance – and like OKRs, KPIs can be defined at organizational, team, and individual levels. So how do the terms relate? Are they interchangeable? If not, why not?

          Most folks agree that the two concepts and their usage are distinct. (As with many business and technology principles, not everyone agrees on how the terms should be defined or applied, particularly when it comes to KPIs.)

          "While there are similarities, OKRs and KPIs are not interchangeable," says Jon Knisley, principal, automation and process excellence at FortressIQ. "KPIs provide a measurable assessment of performance. They are descriptive and tend to look backward. OKRs are also measurable and timeboxed, but since they tend to be more aspirational, OKRs provide a more strategic view of what's ahead."

        • Red Hat Software Collections 3.7 and Red Hat Developer Toolset 10.1 beta versions now available

          The latest versions of Red Hat Software Collections and Red Hat Developer Toolset are available now in beta. Software Collections 3.7 delivers the latest stable versions of many popular open source runtime languages, web servers, and databases natively to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux platform. These components are supported for up to five years, supporting a more consistent, efficient, and reliable developer experience.

          [...]

          Also new in Software Collections 3.7 is Developer Toolset 10.1, which features GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) 10.2.1, a new update of the popular free software compiler collection. GCC is a curated collection of compilers, toolchains, debuggers, and other critical development tools. Additional updates in Developer Toolset 10.1 center on delivering new updates of C/C++ and Fortran debugging and performance tools.

        • Instant replay: Debugging C and C++ programs with rr - Red Hat Developer

          The common theme in many time-travel movies is to go back in time to find out what went wrong and fix it. Developers also have that desire to go back in time and find why the code broke and fix it. But, often, that crucial step where everything went wrong happened long ago, and the information is no longer available.

          The rr project lets programmers examine the entire life of a C or C++ program run, and replay code execution to see what action in the past caused “things to go horribly wrong.” rr is packaged with Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL) in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), and with Fedora 31, 32, 33, and 34.

          rr records trace information about the execution of an application. This information allows you to repeatedly replay a particular recording of a failure and examine it in the GNU Debugger (GDB) to better investigate the cause. In addition to replaying the trace, rr lets you run the program in reverse, in essence allowing you “rewind the tape” to see what happened earlier in the execution of the program.

          The techniques that rr provides for recording the reproducer for further examination can be a useful addition to traditional core dumps and backtraces, which give a snapshot of an issue at a particular moment. The rr recording can provide a way for developers to further investigate intermittent problems where only some application runs fail.

          Let’s see how to set up rr and use it in an example to better illustrate its utility.

        • Comparison of Fedora 34 and Ubuntu 21.04

          Two great operating systems released April 2021, they are, Ubuntu Hirsute Hippo and Fedora 34. This article helps you comparing between both from the basics, technologies, and conveniences they offer to us. You will see here their interesting stuffs among the others like GNOME 40, Anaconda & Ubiquity, Spins & Flavors, as well as Wayland and Active Directory. This includes where to download & how to install them to your computer.

      • Debian Family

        • AIO-CM4-101 “All-in-One Pi” is a Raspberry Pi CM4 based 10.1-inch industrial PC

          We’ve previously written about Chipsee CM4-70 Industrial Pi 7-inch Panel PC based on Raspberry Pi CM4 module that is offered either as an embedded model to be integrated into the customer enclosure or as a fully integrated panel ready to be mounted into a wall or machine.

          The company has now launched another model with AIO-CM4-101 “All-in-One Pi” industrial PC offering a 10-inch touchscreen display that can be mounted by using 75x75mm VESA holes, for example on a display stand.

      • Canonical/Ubuntu Family

        • File Sharing Between Linux Mint and Android Becomes Easier With Warpinator

          Last year, Linux Mint introduced the file-sharing tool ‘Warpinator’ to make it easier to transfer files between Linux PCs connected to the same network.

          In case you haven’t used Warpinator before, it is also one of the things that you should know after installing Linux Mint.

          Now, it looks like it is also possible to transfer files between your Linux Mint PC and your Android device using Warpinator.

        • Ubuntu 21.10 “Impish Indri” Development Begins, Daily Builds Available Now

          I was slightly disappointed at the lack of enough new features in the recent release of Ubuntu 21.04. However, Canonical is set to change that with the upcoming release of Ubuntu 21.10 ‘Impish Indri‘.

          It is slated to have a variety of new features, including the recently released Gnome 40/41, GCC 11, and more usage of the Flutter toolkit.

        • Linux Mint 18.x Series Is No Longer Supported. Time for an Upgrade!

          Linux Mint 18.x are no longer officially supported and will not receive any security updates from this month onwards.

          It was originally based on Ubuntu 16.04, which reached the end of life as well. If you are using Ubuntu 16.04, you can explore what you need to do.

          Even though you have a paid option to opt for extended security updates for Ubuntu, there is nothing that you can do for Linux Mint if you want to continue using it for your business or workplace.

        • Ubuntu Blog: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS transitions to Extended Security Maintenance (ESM)

          Ubuntu 16.04 LTS ‘Xenial Xerus’ transitions into the extended security maintenance (ESM) support phase at the end of April 2021 from its standard, five-year maintenance window for Ubuntu long term support (LTS) releases. Xenial Xerus is still supported until April 2024 with Extended Security Maintenance (ESM) through Ubuntu Advantage for Infrastructure, and on the public cloud with Ubuntu Pro for AWS, Azure and Google Cloud. ESM is also available to personal users on up to three machines and Ubuntu members on 50 machines. Ubuntu 16.04 is a Common Criteria certified operating system, providing access to FIPS 140-2 certified cryptographic modules with a solid history of timely security fixes.

          Ubuntu long term support (LTS) releases provide a stable, enterprise platform for development and production, with five years of guaranteed public maintenance available. Once the public Standard Security Maintenance window comes to a close, Ubuntu LTS releases have an additional three to five years of support (depending upon the release) through ESM, in addition to providing a built-in upgrade in-place path to the next LTS release.

    • Devices/Embedded

    • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

      • Taisei, a free and open source fan game based on Touhou Project has a new update out

        A little bullet hell / shoot 'em up for your Monday morning wake up call? Taisei, a free and open source fan game based on the Touhou Project has a fresh release.

        It's not a game series I'm personally familiar with, so I had to do a fair bit of research on this one to get some basics. As it turns out, it's incredibly popular. It's spawned a number of fan games, like the popular commercial title Touhou Luna Nights. Taisei is free though, open source and cross-platform and looks quite high-quality too. If you love a challenge and bullet hell, this could be your next game.

      • Free Audio Editor Audacity Has Been Acquired By Muse Group

        The company that already owns the music notation software MuseScore and the Ultimate Guitar community has announced its acquisition of Audacity, the popular free audio editing software.

        Muse Group is now the owner of Audacity, but the famous free/libre audio editor will stay free/libre. Audacity is listed as a projects on the company’s website, but the official Audacity website makes no mention of the change.

        Ultimate Guitar was founded in 1998 by Eugeny Naidenov. Naidenov acquired MuseScore in 2017 and he will continue on with the company in the role of Muse Group chairman.

      • Education

      • Programming/Development

        • AMD Zen 3 Scheduler Model Finally Added To LLVM/Clang - Phoronix

          While last minute AMD Zen 3 "znver3" improvements managed to make it for GCC 11 that was recently released, the recent debut of LLVM 12.0 wasn't so lucky on the Zen 3 support front. There was the very basic enablement that landed in LLVM 12 but now the more complete support isn't expected until LLVM 13 this autumn.

          The initial "-march=znver3" support made it into LLVM 12 but the Zen 3 tuned scheduler model hadn't landed even though the initial scheduler model updates were posted for review in January. It was only this weekend that the Zen 3 scheduler model has now landed within LLVM Git for LLVM 13.0 that will debut as stable in September~October or slightly before that if making a LLVM 12.0.1 release with it back-ported.

        • New features in OpenMP 5.0 and 5.1

          OpenMP is an API consisting of compiler directives and library routines for high-level parallelism in C and C++, as well as Fortran. Version 5.1 of OpenMP was released in November 2020 and version 5.0 was released in November 2018. This article discusses the new features from OpenMP 5.0 which are implemented in GCC 11, and some new OpenMP 5.1 features.

        • DevOps vs Software Engineer: What's the Difference?

          Software Engineers rule the IT planet. But during this era of DevOps, DevOps Engineers have also quickly emerged as the backbone of the IT industry.

          Some of these DevOps Engineers are here in the industry with a fresh start while others have evolved from being Software Engineers themselves.

          The roles and responsibilities of DevOps and Software Development overlaps in many areas, so it is easier to get confused between the two.

          I'll explain the difference between DevOps and Software Engineer. Before you look into these roles with an industrial point of view, it is essential to learn these areas of expertise individually.

        • Learn the Lisp programming language in 2021

          People who love thinking about the design of programming languages often love Lisp because of how its syntax and data share the same structure: Lisp code is essentially a list of lists, and its name is an acronym for LISt Processing. People who love thinking about the aesthetics of programming languages often hate Lisp because of its frequent use of parentheses for scoping; in fact, it's a common joke that Lisp stands for Lots of Irritating Superfluous Parentheses.

          Whether you love or hate its design philosophies, Lisp is an interesting glimpse at the past and, thanks to Clojure and Guile, into the future. You might be surprised how much Lisp code there is lurking within big codebases in any given industry, so it's a good idea to have at least a passing familiarity with the language.

  • Leftovers

    • Health/Nutrition

    • Integrity/Availability

    • Defence/Aggression

    • Environment

      • Biden’s Climate Proposals: Tiptoeing Across the Starting Line

        This was a welcome change from life under the previous president, who had rejected all action on climate, even the toothless Paris emissions pledges (known to bureaucrats everywhere as “Nationally Determined Contributions,” or NDCs). Yet there are at least three things wrong with Biden’s climate vision: a 50 percent emissions reduction by 2030 is too slow; the “net zero emissions by 2050” goal is no more than a euphemism for continued burning of fossil fuels; and the president has not articulated any strategy or mechanism for achieving even these overly modest goals. In other words, there’s no plan in the Biden plan.

        The only strategy, it seems, is to infuse the U.S. economy with trillions of dollars of funds for energy and other infrastructure, then hand the keys over to the corporate sector and wait for them to figure out how to wean the economy off of fossil fuels.

      • America, China, and the Climate Dinosaur

        With the exception of fossil fuel beneficiaries, most of the leaders of the world are taking climate change, if not seriously, at least under advisement. They observe the effects of higher temperatures, increasing destructive forest fires, rising sea water levels, thunderstorms, and more difficulties in raising food and catching fish.

        The€ UN Panel on Climate Change€ informed the world leaders in 2018 that things are going from bad to worse. Some weather and climate extremes mirror temperatures in the range of 1.50€ Celsius above the pre-industrial age temperature (1850-1900).

      • Energy

      • Wildlife/Nature

        • Opinion | Hey Conservationists! Got Hope?

          Hope is often touted as an important ingredient in conservation success. Our research found that it’s vital — but only if it’s combined with another key element.

    • Finance

    • AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

    • Censorship/Free Speech

      • The chilling effect versus attempts to fix things

        One of the weird patterns I keep seeing in management is that some of the folks with those jobs care more about what people say than what they do. They want everything to look happy and shiny and nice, even when things are broken and need help. They don't want you complaining about something, *especially* not in some venue where other managers might see it.

      • The Honest Troubleshooting Code of Conduct

        Yesterday, I wrote a little about what happens when companies have a pervasive culture of shutting down attempts to talk about things that aren't seen as completely positive. I mentioned there was more to the story, and this is part two.

      • Italian rapper Fedez accuses state TV of censorship attempt

        Fedez alleged that the TV executive asked him to omit the names of politicians he planned to criticise during his performance at Saturday's concert, which was aired by Rai 3.

    • Freedom of Information/Freedom of the Press

      • Truth Assange face mask on World Press Freedom Day
      • Can Afghanistan’s Free Press Survive?

        Half were women working for Enikass Radio and TV, an independent news and entertainment station in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, which has been a repeated target of one of the many militant groups that operate in Afghanistan.

        The victims join a long list of media worker killings; the AJSC counts at least 74 between 2013 and 2020.

        The increase in violence and threats is having its intended effect. Dozens have left journalism and, in some cases, the country. The rest face a gut-wrenching decision: Self-censor or be the next victim.

      • Myanmar Journalists ‘Living in Fear’ as Junta Curbs Freedoms

        Not long after enjoying their first taste of freedom, Myanmar’s journalists say they are barely able to function, as the soldiers who toppled the country’s democratically elected government three months ago have moved to choke off the flow of information through intimidation, arrests, and violence.

        In interviews with Radio Free Asia, or RFA, multiple reporters, editors, and photographers — speaking from hiding and on condition of anonymity to protect their safety — say the junta that deposed Aung San Suu Kyi and her government on Feb. 1 has made it dangerous and difficult to gather news about the biggest story of their lives.

    • Civil Rights/Policing

    • Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

      • Liberals and NDP Block Debate On Updated Charter of Rights and Freedoms Review of Bill C-10

        The Liberal government was the one that established requirements for Charter statements to “ensure the rights and freedoms of Canadians are respected throughout the law-making process.” While the Liberals argue that the statements are not updated, given their emphasis on Charter compliance, it is discouraging to see its Members of Parliament – supported by the NDP – move to stop debate on the critical issue of freedom of expression and the Charter at committee.

    • Monopolies

      • When Amazon raises wages, nearby firms follow suit

        These correlations suggest that labour markets are not working as they should. In a competitive market determined by supply and demand, wages would be governed by the marginal productivity of labour, or the additional output generated by an additional worker. Any deviation from this market wage, by Amazon or any other employer, would not affect the wages of anyone else. The fact that other firms respond to the wage policies of Amazon and Walmart suggests that these big employers have monopsony power that allows them to set local wages.

      • Compulsory Licensing Patent Law Series [Ed: An alternative to compulsory licensing is royalty free, but monopolists don't like thinking along those lies. They'd say the sky might fall.]

        A patent owner has the right to exclude others from practicing its hard-earned patent. Typically, this exclusion covers actions such as making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the patented invention. In many jurisdictions, the patent owner has a legal obligation to work its invention in exchange for this exclusive monopoly. However, under certain circumstances, a patent owner may be obligated to grant a compulsory license (e.g., a non-exclusive license) to allow a third party to work the patent without the patent owner’s consent, in exchange for good and valuable consideration.

      • Trade secrets in the wild (Part 2): The reporting problem [Ed: DTSA and similar are a form of monopoly that make human memory, thinking etc. a 'crime'. Too many issues there...]

        Trade secrets are secret. While innovation policies have happily expanded and harmonised the protection of trade secrets (e.g. in 2016, the American DTSA and the EU Directive), actual evidence of trade secrets, in an era of evidence-based policy, is scant. This disjunction between the structures of harmonization and paucity of evidence means that governments are left developing trade secret policy with limited insights into what is happening in practice. Still not convinced? Read on.

        The first rule of the Trade Secret Club is: Do Not Talk about the Trade Secret Club. Companies are often reluctant to discuss their secrets with researchers or policymakers for fear of compromising their protection, lest they lose control over the secret. This causes a long-term, persistent problem in economic policymaking, as governments seek to protect that which is not readily cognizable.

        This state of affairs reminds this blogger of the ‘I-know-it-when-I-see-it’ approach, which involves a lot of hand-waving and suggestions of a precision that is otherwise lacking. ‘Trust me’ on my trade secrets is not a good enough argument from policy stakeholders.

        But the picture is more muddled: even if trade secret theft/misappropriation occurs, firms may not want to compound the damage by reporting the loss. The immediate fall out from dealing with such breaches includes mitigation, investigation and legal costs. However, the more insidious damage comes from the potential for long-term strategic loss of compromised IP and reputational damage. Moreover, acknowledging the mere existence of a trade secret can convey valuable information to competitors about a company’s activities.

        [...]

        Trade secrecy can also be used to limit transparency. For instance, trade secrecy has been used as a reason to prevent criminal defendants from assessing algorithms that directly impact their sentencing (per an MIT Technology Review article). Under-reporting can exacerbate these unintended consequences, as the few reports that do come through may not represent the whole picture.

        The consequence of all of the foregoing is that, despite policymaking operating largely in an evidence vacuum, trade secrets disputes are growing, and rather quickly. If American litigation trends are anything to go by, trade secrets litigation increased at 14% annually from 2002-2012, and 1,400 cases in federal courts were filed in 2019, and efforts to further expand trade secrecy protection continue. Will this turn out to be all sound and fury, or is it just the tip of the trade secret iceberg?

      • Patents

        • Thierry Breton and Clément Beaune to pay Luxembourg a working visit

          Thierry Breton will later be received at the palace by Grand Duke Henri.

          Breton will also participate in the inauguration of the headquarters of the European Joint Undertaking for High Performance Computing (EuroHPC) .

        • In 2020, the EU Patent Office Rejected an Apple Invention relating to Under-Display Optical Fingerprint Technology - Patently Apple

          One of Apple's April patent applications that was filed in Europe titled "Under-Display Optical Fingerprint Sensor with Narrow Field-of-View (NFV) Collimator and a Thin-Film Transistor (TFT)-based Organic Imager" was definitely different read. In it, we read that the EU Patent Office in Germany rejected Apple's patent...

        • Videoconferencing At the EPO - Springboard Into a Digital Age? [Ed: "Springboard" and violation of the EPC aren't the same thing. Using COVID as an excuse to crush the law is not acceptable and many law firms are not tolerating either. The Office wants to bulldoze the law.]

          The question of which communication channels people trust more in the case of inconsistent messages was investigated in a number of studies conducted by the Iranian-American psychologist Albert Mehrabian. His formula, repeatedly replicated, according to which 7% of people trust the spoken word, 38% trust vocal expression and 55% trust body language, demonstrates the importance of non-verbal communication channels that are often lost in virtual settings. (1)

          The Enlarged Board of Appeal of the EPO will soon decide on an interesting question: may oral proceedings before the EPO in principle be conducted by videoconference, even against the will of the parties?

        • The Life Sciences Law Review - Chapter Russia [Ed: Regarding "Aspects of the life sciences industry related to intellectual property (IP) are codified in the Russian Civil Code," they're not property. If you mean patents, say patents, not misnomers.]

          The Russian life sciTLR-Accred-White-22021.jpgences framework is primarily shaped by the Federal Law of 12 April 2010 No. 61-FZ on turnover of medicines (the Pharmaceutical Law) and the Federal Law of 21 November 2011 No. 323-FZ on the principles of healthcare of citizens in the Russian Federation (the Healthcare Law). The Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (MoH) is the primary regulatory body and its subsidiary, the Federal Service for Surveillance in Healthcare (Roszdravnadzor), is the enforcement authority. From 1 January 2021, the registration of medicines is governed by the Eurasian legislation, namely under the Eurasian Economic Commission Council Decision of 3 November 2016, ‘On rules of registration and examination of drugs for medical use’ (the Eurasian Rules). More detailed aspects of life sciences regulation are provided in the by-laws of the government and the MoH (including the good practices). Aspects of the life sciences industry related to intellectual property (IP) are codified in the Russian Civil Code.

      • Copyrights

        • Relying on a Torrent Site for Vaccination Advice Is a Terrible Idea

          Torrent site MagnetDL is warning its users against taking Covid vaccines, pointing them to a copy of the controversial 'Plandemic' documentary. While we're not medical experts, we know that taking health advice from a torrent site is not a great idea. In fact, it can be quite dangerous.



Recent Techrights' Posts

Comparing U.E.F.I. to B.I.O.S. (Bloat and Insecurity to K.I.S.S.)
By Sami Tikkanen
New 'Slides' From Stallman Support (stallmansupport.org) Site
"In celebration of RMS's birthday, we've been playing a bit. We extracted some quotes from the various articles, comments, letters, writings, etc. and put them in the form of a slideshow in the home page."
Thailand: GNU/Linux Up to 6% of Desktops/Laptops, According to statCounter
Desktop Operating System Market Share Thailand
António Campinos is Still 'The Fucking President' (in His Own Words) After a Fake 'Election' in 2022 (He Bribed All the Voters to Keep His Seat)
António Campinos and the Administrative Council, whose delegates he clearly bribed with EPO budget in exchange for votes
Adrian von Bidder, homeworking & Debian unexplained deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
 
Sainsbury's: It Takes Us Up to Two Days to Respond to Customers Upon Escalation (and Sometimes Even More Than Two Days)
It not only does groceries but also many other things, even banking
People Don't Just Kill Themselves (Same for Other Animals)
And recent reports about Boeing whistleblower John Barnett
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 18, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, March 18, 2024
Suicide Cluster Cover-up tactics & Debian exposed
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 19/03/2024: A Society That Lost Focus and Abandoning Social Control Media
Links for the day
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE: Plagiarism & Child labour in YH4F
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Linux Foundation Boasting About Being Connected to Bill Gates
Examples of boasting about the association
Alexandre Oliva's Article on Monstering Cults
"I'm told an earlier draft version of this post got published elsewhere. Please consider this IMHO improved version instead."
[Meme] 'Russian' Elections in Munich (Bavaria, Germany)
fake elections
Sainsbury's to Techrights: Yes, Our Web Site Broke Down, But We Cannot Say Which Part or Why
Windows TCO?
Plagiarism: Axel Beckert (ETH Zurich) & Debian Developer list hacking
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 18/03/2024: Putin Cements Power
Links for the day
Flashback 2003: Debian has always had a toxic culture
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Sainsbury’s Epic Downtime Seems to be Microsoft's Fault and Might Even Constitute a Data Breach (Legal Liability)
one of Britain's largest groceries (and beyond) chains
[Meme] You Know You're Winning the Argument When...
EPO management starts cursing at everybody (which is what's happening)
Catspaw With Attitude
The posts "they" complain about merely point out the facts about this harassment and doxing
'Clown Computing' Businesses Are Waning and the Same Will Happen to 'G.A.I.' Businesses (the 'Hey Hi' Fame)
decrease in "HEY HI" (AI) hype
Free Software Needs Watchdogs, Too
Gentle lapdogs prevent self-regulation and transparency
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE analogous to identity fraud
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 18/03/2024: LLM Inference and Can We Survive Technology?
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 17, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, March 17, 2024
Links 17/03/2024: Microsoft Windows Shoves Ads Into Third-Party Software, More Countries Explore TikTok Ban
Links for the day
Molly Russell suicide & Debian Frans Pop, Lucy Wayland, social media deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Our Plans for Spring
Later this year we turn 18 and a few months from now our IRC community turns 16
Open Invention Network (OIN) Fails to Explain If Linux is Safe From Microsoft's Software Patent Royalties (Charges)
Keith Bergelt has not replied to queries on this very important matter
RedHat.com, Brought to You by Microsoft Staff
This is totally normal, right?
USPTO Corruption: People Who Don't Use Microsoft Will Be Penalised ~$400 for Each Patent Filing
Not joking!
The Hobbyists of Mozilla, Where the CEO is a Bigger Liability Than All Liabilities Combined
the hobbyist in chief earns much more than colleagues, to say the least; the number quadrupled in a matter of years
Jim Zemlin Says Linux Foundation Should Combat Fraud Together With the Gates Foundation. Maybe They Should Start With Jim's Wife.
There's a class action lawsuit for securities fraud
Not About Linux at All!
nobody bothers with the site anymore; it's marketing, and now even Linux
Links 17/03/2024: Abuses Against Human Rights, Tesla Settlement (and Crash)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 16, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, March 16, 2024
Under Taliban, GNU/Linux Share Nearly Doubled in Afghanistan, Windows Sank From About 90% to 68.5%
Suffice to say, we're not meaning to imply Taliban is "good"
Debian aggression: woman asked about her profession
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 17/03/2024: Winter Can't Hurt Us Anymore and Playstation Plus
Links for the day