Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 23/7/2021: Firewalld 1.0, Librem 5 File Transfer, Stockfish GPL Enforcement



  • GNU/Linux

    • Audiocasts/Shows

      • Podcast #638 - Steam Deck Announcement - Amazon MMO Bricking GPUs? - Gaming on Linux and MORE!

        An Amazon MMO game might be contributing to high end GPU failures, the Steam Deck is on deck tonight and it looks pretty good all around. Linux and ARM seem like they will get Nvidia RTX and DLSS soon. Will GLOFLO end up with Intel or not? Patch Tuesday for all (well, Windows and Linux anyway). Plus more! Enjoy.

        Thank you to our existing Patreon members! This show cannot go on without your continued support, please consider helping our efforts. It most definitely helps keep us all going and the bills paid. Thanks!

      • Steam Deck Proof Of Linux Rise And Windows Decline

        Recently, Valve announced their upcoming handheld gaming device, the Steam Deck, which is really a portable PC that will run Arch Linux. You can even plug in a monitor to the Steam Deck. Many see the Steam Deck as a threat to Nintendo, but I see the Steam Deck as a serious threat to Windows 11 adoption.

      • Timetrace: Track Your Work Day With Ease

        With so many people still working it home it can be important to track your working day so today we're looking at timetrace which aims to make this incredibly simple.

      • UYPP: Cameron Nagle’s Starting Small Podcast

        The System76 Unleash Your Potential Program selected six winners this year to receive a System76 computer to help them pursue their next project. This week we spoke with UYPP winner Cameron Nagle about the Starting Small Podcast, in which he hosts, records, and edits interviews with CEOs from all walks of life.

    • Kernel Space

      • Linux Plumbers Conference: Open Printing Microconference Accepted into 2021 Linux Plumbers Conference

        We are pleased to announce that the Open Printing Microconference has been accepted into the 2021 Linux Plumbers Conference. Over the years OpenPrinting has been actively working on improving and modernizing the way we print in Linux. We have been working on multiple areas of printing and scanning. Especially driverless print and scan technologies have helped the world do away with a lot of hassles involved in deciding on the correct driver to use and to install the same. Users can now just plug in their printer and do what they need.

        Based on the discussions that we had last year, we have been able to achieve the following:

        – Significant progress in deciding on the structure of PAPPL – framework/library for developing Printer Applications as a replacement of Printer Drivers.

      • Linux kernel bug 'Sequoia' allows attackers to gain root-level privileges

        Red Hat has released a patch for a local privilege escalation (LPE) vulnerability that impacts all Linux kernel versions released since 2014 and could allow unprivileged attackers to gain root-level privileges on vulnerable devices.

      • Patch Roundup: Windows, Linux, Oracle, Juniper

        A patch is forthcoming for a privilege escalation vulnerability in the Windows operating system that can allow hackers to gain a foothold. Meanwhile, Linux OS users also need to adopt system upgrades to fix a flaw, and Oracle and Juniper have announced product patches.

      • 8 must-have tools for developers on Linux

        Many developers use Linux as their platform. This choice is becoming even more widespread as enterprises continue to grow dependent on Linux and open-source software, tools, frameworks, and languages.

        Developers new to the Linux platform may not know what is needed to get started. You may even think that gathering all the necessary tools is an exercise in futility. It’s not. Cobbling together the tools you need is easier than you think.

      • Graphics Stack

        • Adam Jackson: threads and libxcb: problems now we have two



          If you want to write an X application, you need to use some library that speaks the X11 protocol. For a long time this meant libX11, often called xlib, which - like most things about X - is a fantastic bit of engineering that is very much a product of its time with some confusing baroque bits. Overall it does a very nice job of hiding the icky details of the protocol from the application developer.

          One of the details it hides has to do with how resource IDs are allocated in X. A resource ID (an XID, in the jargon) is a 32 29-bit integer that names a resource - window, colormap, what have you. Those 29 bits are split up netmask/hostmask style, where the top 8 or so uniquely identify the client, and the rest identify the resource belonging to that client. When you create a window in X, what you really tell the server is "I want a window that's initially this size, this background color (etc.) and from now on when I say (my client id + 17) I mean that window." This is great for performance because it means resource allocation is assumed to succeed and you don't have to wait for a reply from the server.

          Key to all this is that in xlib the XID is the return value from the call that issues the resource creation request. Internally the request gets queued into the protocol's write buffer, but the client can march ahead and issue the next few commands as if creation had succeeded - because it probably did, and if it didn't you're probably going to crash anyway.

    • Applications

      • Firewalld 1.0 Released With Big Improvements

        Firewalld was started by Red Hat a decade ago for managing Linux firewall functionality with Netfilter. Ten and a half years after the first release, Firewalld 1.0 was released this afternoon.

        Firewalld 1.0 comes with breaking changes including dropping of Python 2 support, other dependency changes, support for intra-zone forwarding by default, NAT rules being moved to iNet family, the default target now being similar to reject, deprecating the older IPTables back-end, and more.

      • MinIO liberates your storage from rebalancing

        MinIO posted a blog entry a few days ago where the bragged about adding capacity without a need to re-balance.

      • What are the Best Linux Built-in Tools for Backup and Recovery? - Online Free Press release news distribution - TopWireNews.com

        Note that all Linux distros are not equivalent. Accordingly, a portion of these tools probably won’t be incorporated with your Linux establishment as a matter of course. A significant number of them are highlighted in the absolute most well-known distros, nonetheless, including ALT Linux, Debian, Fedora, Red Hat, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Ubuntu, and that’s just the beginning. Additionally, the vast majority of these tools can be utilized in conjunction with other outsider software arrangements, including various present-day Linux record recovery and backup tools.

      • parallel @ Savannah: GNU Parallel 20210722 ('Blue Unity') released

        GNU Parallel 20210722 ('Blue Unity') has been released. It is available for download at: lbry://@GnuParallel:4 Please help spreading GNU Parallel by making a testimonial video like Juan Sierra Pons: http://www.elsotanillo.net/wp-content/uploads/GnuParallel_JuanSierraPons.mp4 It does not have to be as detailed as Juan's. It is perfectly fine if you just say your name, and what field you are using GNU Parallel for.

      • Announcing Istio 1.9.7

        This release note describes what’s different between Istio 1.9.6 and Istio 1.9.7.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • Install the latest version of the Docker engine to avoid vulnerabilities

        Ubuntu is a great Linux for numerous purposes. For the desktop, for servers, for production, for operations, for development and for deploying Docker containers. But there's one thing you must know about Ubuntu. Although it's a rock-solid, incredibly user-friendly operating system, the available software isn't always the latest-greatest. You might even find, in some instances, that software is a few releases behind. Why? Because the developers want to ensure your experience is always the best it can be.

      • Vim setup 2021

        Feeling inspired by watching togglebit's Rust/Vim setup and having some spare time due to my summer vacation I started re-investigating my Vim setup. For my setup I was looking for the following features/areas to improve:

      • How to View and Analyze Logs on Linux With journalctl

        Log messages are important for auditing and maintaining a healthy Linux system. Every Linux computer stores log messages for different services or jobs. This guide will explore how to read and analyze log messages using journalctl, a command-line tool for reading log messages written by journald.

      • How to install Jetbrains Rider 2021 on a Chromebook

        Today we are looking at how to install Jetbrains Rider 2021 on a Chromebook. Please follow the video/audio guide as a tutorial where we explain the process step by step and use the commands below.

      • How to install Sublime Text on Linux Lite 5.4

        In this video, we are looking at how to install Sublime Text on Linux Lite 5.4.

      • Install FreeRadius & web GUI daloRADIUS on Ubuntu 20.04 server -

        Learn the commands to install and configure daloRADIUS a GUI web interface for FreeRADIUS on Ubuntu 20.04 or 18.04 LTS server.

        FreeRADIUS server is an open-source product and widely used RADIUS server in the world and, in addition to EAP, also supports the RADIUS protocol stands for “Remote Authentication DIAL In User Service”. FreeRADIUS implementation provides users a central authentication system for servers and desktops.

    • Games

      • A chat with Joshua Strobl of the Solus Linux distribution

        With Solus seeming to go from strength to strength along with a recent big release, it was time to sit down and have a chat with one of the team about the Linux distribution.

      • Godot Showcase - The Garden Path developer talks about his experience

        Welcome to another developer interview following the introduction of the Godot Showcase page! This week, we are interviewing Louis Durrant about his game The Garden Path.

      • Steam Audio SDK 4.0 Released With Big Improvements - Phoronix

        Valve has just released Steam Audio SDK 4.0 as a big feature update to this cross-platform audio SDK that can work with Unity, Unreal Engine, and other game engines

        Steam Audio remains focused on providing immersive sound for games with a particular emphasis on VR for this 3D sound API. With Steam Audio SDK 4.0 there is pathing support so Steam Audio can simulate and bake propagation paths from moving sources to moving listeners, such as for modeling how sound travels through corridors and other environments. Steam Audio also adds hybrid reverb support for realistic handling of large reverbant spaces and other environments.

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

    • Distributions

      • Arch Family

        • Steam Big Picture will look like Steam Deck...eventually

          Nevertheless, Valve is clearly back on the development train with the Steam Deck coming down the tracks. The last public release of SteamOS was back in 2019 (if you can even believe it was kept alive that long) and SteamOS 3.0 will accompany the Steam Deck with this new UI and a whole new Arch Linux base underneath.

        • What Steam Deck Means for Chromebooks and Borealis

          Today, Valve made a huge announcement. The company announced Steam Deck, a portable game console powered by Linux and a Windows game compatibility program called Proton. Imagine a Nintendo Switch that can play over 50,000 PC games from the popular Steam library. That is the Steam Deck in a nutshell. It features an AMD processor with integrated graphics that have “enough performance to run the latest AAA games”, 16 GB RAM, up to 512 GB NVMe SSD storage, a microSD card slot for storage expansion, and a unique controller layout including two mouse touchpads. There’s a lot in this small little package! Prices start at $US 399.00 and it’ll be shipping this December.

        • Steam Deck Has M.2 Slot, Valve Inviting Partners

          As soon as the Steam Deck was announced last week, we emailed Valve’s press team to try and get additional information on the specifications and internals. That email went unanswered. Of course, the correct way to get information out of Valve, which is an unapproachable behemoth, is to just email CEO Gabe Newell himself.

          A user emailed Gabe Newell to ask whether M.2 slots would be on the Steam Deck. The answer was a simple “yes.” Valve later updated its Steam Deck page to clarify this information:

          “All models use socketed 2230 M.2 modules (not intended for end-user replacement).”

          The “not intended” part is just the usual for product disassembly: You’ll have to take things apart, so the company stops recommending that. It does sound like we’ll be able to drop-in our own 2230 drives, though, so that’ll help buyers of the 64GB eMMC models. We’ll document all of this in our tear-down once we get the device. We’re on the backorder list for January, but if you get yours in December, let us know and we’ll either buy it off of you plus some extra or ask to borrow it.

          Confusingly, this contradicts the email Valve conducted with IGN previously -- although it’s not the first error from Valve in that interview. IGN asked if the storage is upgradeable, and Valve said “the internal storage is not,” then plugged the SD card slot. Maybe they meant it is “not*” with an asterisk for “it is, but you shouldn’t do it.”

          Separately, Newell has expressed interest in building-out the handheld Steam Decks as a wider ecosystem with partner involvement, like from Gigabyte, ASUS, or similar. Given that Steam itself isn’t that special -- it’s just a retailer, and certainly other large retailers have died overnight with a market shift -- and so Valve needs something unique to help cement its position. If only it got into game development, maybe one day it could make games and sell them on its own store. Just an idea.

      • Canonical/Ubuntu Family

        • How to Upgrade PHP Version to PHP 8.0 on Ubuntu

          Upgrade PHP version to PHP 8.0 on Ubuntu. You can upgrade your current PHP version to the latest release PHP 8.0 on your Ubuntu.

          This upgrade is tested on virtual machine instance running Ubuntu 20.04 OS on Google Cloud Compute Engine. So the steps mentioned in this guide works on any cloud servers like AWS, DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr or any VPS or Dedicated servers running Ubuntu OS.

          Here is a brief guide to show you how to install and upgrade to PHP 8.0 on Ubuntu LTS with Apache and PHP8.0-fpm with Nginx.

        • Design and Web team summary – 16 July 2021

          The web team at Canonical run two-week iterations building and maintaining all of Canonical websites and product web interfaces. Here are some of the highlights of our completed work from this iteration.

    • Devices/Embedded

      • It's Linux – But On An ESP32

        GNU/Linux is an open-source marvel that has over the past three decades given us an almost infinitely versatile and powerful UNIX-like operating system. But even it has its limitations, particularly at the lower end of the hardware scale where less fully-featured processors often lack the prerequisites such as a memory management unit. Thus [JuiceRV]’s feat of booting a Linux kernel on an ESP32 microcontroller seems impossible, what’s happening?

        The ESP’s dual 32-bit Xtensa cores are no slouch in the processing power department, but without that MMU it’s not an obvious Linux candidate platform. The solution to this problem comes in the form of an emulated RISC-V virtual machine which provides just enough grunt for a Linux 5.0.0 kernel to boot.

      • Modules and dev kits expand upon Qualcomm QCS8250

        Thundercomm’s “TurboX C865 SOM” and dev kit and eInfochips’ “EIC-QCS8250-210” Mini-ITX run Android 10 on Qualcomm’s QCS8250, an IoT variant of the Snapdragon 865. We also look at the new QCS4290 and Wi-Fi 6E ready QCS6490 SoCs.

        Last week, we reported on Thundercomm’s TurboX CM2290 and C2290 SOMs, which run Android or Linux on Qualcomm’s quad -A53 QCS2290 and 4G-equipped QCM2290 IoT SoCs. Qualcomm announced the QCS2290 and QCM2290 last month along with several other embedded IoT SoCs intended to showcase Qualcomm’s WiFi 6 and/or 5G modems. Here we look at Thundercomm’s TurboX C865 SOM and dev kit and eInfochips’ EIC-QCS8250-210 board, which are built around the octa-core Qualcomm QCS8250, an embedded oriented variant of the Snapdragon 865. First, we will take a quick look at the QCS8250, as well as two other SoCs in Qualcomm’s IoT roll-out: the QCS4290/QCM4290 and QCS6490/QCM6490.

        [...]

        The Android 10 driven board has a 12V/5A power supply and battery header. Accessories include an HD-ready, DSI-driven touchscreen, a camera sensor card, and daughter cards for separate HDMI input and output.

      • Open Hardware/Modding

        • Librem 5 File Transfer

          Need to access your phone files, use a USB flash drive, USB cable, or transfer over WiFi.

          The post Librem 5 File Transfer appeared first on Purism.

    • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

      • What Is Open Source Software and What Does OSS Mean?

        There were multiple people who are credited with catapulting the concept of open source software to the crowds. Notably, Richard Stallman, an MIT student who strongly advocated for open source development, launched GNU in 1983.

        In a nutshell, GNU is a huge collection of free to use software that can be modified by anyone. Through the use of GNU, one of the most popular operating systems in the world, Linux, was born.

        Stallman was also the founder of the Free Software Movement (FSF). Naturally, the FSF became a social movement that promoted open collaboration among developers and also encouraged them to create free software under the GNU General Public License.

      • Cinema 4D vs Blender: The Differences in 2021
      • Web Browsers

        • Mozilla

          • This Week in Glean: Firefox Telemetry is to Glean as C++ is to Rust
          • This Week in Glean: Firefox Telemetry is to Glean as C++ is to Rust

            I had this goofy idea that, like Rust, the Glean SDKs (and Ecosystem) aim to bring safety and higher-level thought to their domain. This is in comparison to how, like C++, Firefox Telemetry is built out of flexible primitives that assume you very much know what you’re doing and cannot (will not?) provide any clues in its design as to how to do things properly.

            I have these goofy thoughts a lot. I’m a goofy guy. But the more I thought about it, the more the comparison seemed apt.

            In Glean wherever we can we intentionally forbid behaviour we cannot guarantee is safe (e.g. we forbid non-commutative operations in FOG IPC, we forbid decrementing counters). And in situations where we need to permit perhaps-unsafe data practices, we do it in tightly-scoped areas that are identified as unsafe (e.g. if a timing_distribution uses accumulate_raw_samples_nanos you know to look at its data with more skepticism).

          • Performance Sheriff Newsletter (June 2021)

            In June there were 119 alerts generated, resulting in 22 regression bugs being filed on average 3.7 days after the regressing change landed.

      • FSF

        • Licensing/Legal

          • Stockfish Contributors Sue ChessBase for GPL Violations

            A legal reckoning is brewing in the world of open source chess engines. Stockfish, a GPL-licensed chess engine widely recognized as one of the strongest in the world, has filed a lawsuit against ChessBase. The German-based company makes and sells chess software that relies heavily on the Stockfish engine, maintains a prominent chess news site, and runs a chess server for online games.

            [...]

            “This chess engine is a Stockfish derivative, with a few lines of code modification (engine name, authors list and a few parameters), and a new set of NNUE net weights considered proprietary,” current Stockfish maintainer Joost VandeVondele said. “ChessBase’s communication on Fat Fritz 2, claiming originality where there is none, has shocked our community. Furthermore, the engine Fat Fritz 2 fails to convince on independent rating lists, casting doubt on the usefulness of those modifications. Indeed, we feel that customers buying Fat Fritz 2 get very little added value for money. Claims to the contrary appear misleading.”

    • Standards/Consortia

      • Thinking About Glue

        In Glue: the Dark Matter of Software, Marcel Weiher asks why there’s so much code. Why is Microsoft Office 400 million lines of code? Why are we always running into the truth of Alan Kay’s statement that “Software seems ‘large’ and ‘complicated’ for what it does”?

  • Leftovers

    • Health/Nutrition

      • Newspaper headlines: 'Free cheers' and the 'price of freedom'

        "Freedom - but at what price?" is how the Daily Express describes Boris Johnson's plan to make people prove they have been double vaccinated against coronavirus before they can enter nightclubs in England. The Daily Mail calls it the "PM's panic on the dancefloor" and says the proposal took club bosses completely by surprise, turning so-called "Freedom Day" into an "absolute shambles". The Independent website adds that as recently as last week, the government had asked the hospitality sector to help it develop a voluntary scheme. The i says vaccine passports are also likely to be needed for entry into concerts and major sporting events in future.

    • Integrity/Availability

      • Proprietary

        • Pseudo-Open Source

        • Security

          • CISA warns of disguised malware on hacked Pulse Secure devices

            The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has published a new alert warning of 13 malware samples related to exploited Pulse Secure devices. The samples flew under the radar of antivirus detection products.

          • CISA warns of stealthy malware found on hacked Pulse Secure devices

            The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released an alert today about more than a dozen malware samples found on exploited Pulse Secure devices that are largely undetected by antivirus products.

          • Encryption as a cybersecurity first principle.

            I’ve been with The Cyberwire now for well over a year. When we started this CSO Perspectives series of essays and podcasts, I wasn’t sure what it was going to be about. But four topics in, I decided that instead of covering random cybersecurity issues that happened to present themselves, I would get back to basics and organize around my favorite pet peeve topic: First Principles. After all, I had been writing and speaking about the idea for several years, but not in any consistent way.

          • China Accuses US Of Cyberattacks; Says It Had No Role In Microsoft Hack [Ed: NPR takes bribes from both Bill Gates and Microsoft (compromised news source that takes bribes from criminals in exchange for bias and reputation laundering) and then becomes racism booster]
          • Privacy/Surveillance

            • 'Hotel Rwanda' activist's daughter targeted by spyware: report

              The daughter of detained "Hotel Rwanda" hero and outspoken government critic Paul Rusesabagina lashed out Tuesday after a media probe found she had been spied on using the Israeli malware Pegasus.

              The NSO Group's phone spyware was used by governments to monitor journalists, lawyers and politicians in a number of countries, according to an investigation by The Washington Post, The Guardian, Le Monde and other outlets, based on a leaked list of 50,000 phone numbers.

            • Checking for Pegasus [Ed: A lot of this can be avoided by no longer carrying around a mobile phone, which is maliciously spying on users irrespective of what runs on it]

              Whilst the possibility of being targeted cannot be disregarded, I had to check my iPhone if it is infected. Luckily, Amnesty International Security Lab, one of the organizations responsible for the expose, published their forensics tool on Github, along with the list of indicators that they have collected. The tool, Mobile Verification Toolkit, and the Pegasus STIX file, are open-source and free.

              Essentially, you need (1) Mobile Verification Toolkit (MVT), which runs best on Linux or MacOS, (2) a copy of your encrypted backup done either by using another tool you install on Linux, libimobiledevice, or from your MacOS, and of course, the (3) STIX file.

              I secured my iPhone backup first. Whilst doing the backup, I started installing the toolkit on a Raspberry Pi and downloading the STIX file. When the backup was done, I realized that all 61GB of it won’t fit the Raspberry Pi storage, so I shifted to the Ubuntu Linux laptop running 20.04 with the latest patches. For some reason, the toolkit’s dependencies (the libraries) were having some issues (which I found a bit weird), so I decided to build all of them directly from source. After doing a couple of “autogen.sh, make and make install”, the mvt was installed and functioning perfectly. Now I’m ready.

            • Macron was spied not with Pegasus but with UAE’s DarkMatter software

              The french president Emmanuel Macron he was not spied on by the software Pegasus nor by the Moroccan intelligence services, as reported this Thursday by several Spanish and international newspapers. To spy on Macron another software called DarkMatter, manufactured by a United Arab Emirates company, Edge Group, and purchased by the French DGSE (Directorate General for External Security), which has DarkMatter but not from Pegasus, owned by the Israeli NSO Group.

              The French DGSE has close ties with companies in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which host a large part of their servers in neighboring Qatar for security reasons and Islamic terrorism. The French opted in their day to buy DarkMatter, instead of his rival Pegasus.

            • Key Modi rival Rahul Gandhi among potential Indian targets of NSO client

              The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s most prominent political rival, the opposition figure Rahul Gandhi, was twice selected as a potential surveillance target in leaked phone number data, making him one of dozens of Indian politicians, journalists, activists and government critics whose numbers were identified as possible targets for the Israeli company’s government clients.

    • Environment

    • Finance

    • Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

      • In the '80s, satellite comms showed promise – soon it'll be a viable means to punt internet services at anyone anywhere ● The Register

        In 1980, a thing called Usenet was established. It was a bulletin board based on Unix technology, which was becoming more and more popular at the time, and used UUCP – the Unix-to-Unix Copy Program – to transfer articles from system to system. But it was realised that Usenet traffic was highly asymmetric: for every kilobyte you uploaded there were probably several megabytes of inbound data from everyone else. Connectivity was either dial-up (measures in kilobits, not megabits, per second) or contemporary wide-area, fixed-link tech such as X.25 (tens of kbit/s at most). Simple answer: use satellite for the downstream service as the bandwidth was better... but nobody actually wanted it, so it never became a thing.

    • Monopolies

      • Patents

        • Mehler Achler and WSL merge to strengthen patent offering [Ed: "WSL" as an attack on society not just in the context of Microsoft]

          A clear focus on patent disputes unites the two patent attorney firms, WSL and Mehler Achler. This includes opposition proceedings before the European Patent Office and nullity actions at the Federal Patent Court. The team also work alongside litigators in infringement cases at civil courts. Now, their similarities have brought them together to create one entity.

          Together with Preu Bohlig, Mehler Achler advised filter manufacturer Brita in its dispute against Aqua Filters. The team also advises its clients, which include regional corporates such as Schott AG andinternational companies such as China National Petroleum, on filing proceedings and prosecution.

        • Top European patent prosecution firms of 2020 [Ed: Litigation firms that make chaos in Europe and support crime/corruption in the EPO (because the in-house Mafia enables them)]

          In 2020 Grünecker, Hoffmann Eitle, Dehns, Marks and Clerk and Vossius and Partner were the numbers 1 to 5 of a list based on the number of issued B1 patents where these firms were listed as the address for service on the EPO register. Company inhouse departments are included in the chart; Siemens has the highest ranking with number 18.

          The list, which was compiled by European patent attorney Richard Gillespie of Inventorship.eu, confirms Munich is still at the centre of patent prosecution activities. Both Grünecker, Hoffmann Eitle and Vossius and Partner have their roots and a strong presence in the city. London is runner up with six firms in the top ten: Dehns (3), Marks and Clerk (4), HGF (6), Mewburn Ellis (8), Carpmaels and Ransford (9) and D Young & Co (10) have their origin in the UK capital. Boehmert & Boehmert (7) has its roots in Berlin.

        • Software Patents

          • $3,000 for IP Edge subsidiary, Invincible IP, prior art

            On July 21, 2021, Unified Patents added a new PATROLL contest, with a $3,000 cash prize, seeking prior art on at least claim 1 of U.S. Patent 9,635,134. The patent is owned by Invincible IP, LLC, an NPE and subsidiary of IP Edge. The '134 patent generally relates to a method for managing resources in a cloud computing environment. It has been asserted against NetApp, DigitalOcean, Alibaba, Nutanix, and Citrix Systems.



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The biblical story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 has software parallels
Half a Year After Brian Fagioli Got Kicked Out of BetaNews for Slop He's Still Doing LLM Slop and Slop Images Targeting 'Linux' (Plagiarising Original Works)
If the Web gets polluted or flooded by slopfarms such as these, and Slashdot then sends traffic so these slopfarms (Slashdot probably doesn't do this intentionally), then real writers with real knowledge of GNU/Linux will lose the spark for publishing
In Many Cases and in Many Different Ways, Technology Became Less Durable and Less Reliable Over Time
The "modern" things are more complex. And complexity is a foe or reliability and repair-ability.
Microsoft's LinkedIn is Losing Money, Traffic, and Hope; Now It Wants to Sell Its Users' Lifeblood (and Data)
Let this be a reminder of what social control media really is about
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, October 19, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, October 19, 2025
Campaign of FUD Against Framework Laptops and GNU/Linux (Using Microsoft's Attack on Linux, 'Secure Boot')
Ritual Defamation Cult has turned its attention over to Framework
Microsoft Lunduke: Freedom of Speech Means Spreading What I Have to Say and Banning People I Disagree With
4Chan is one he aims for and he is siccing 4Chan trolls at people he doesn't like
Liberation From 'The Feed'
They rank things based on the editor's choice/ideology (he or she knows the sponsors, hence the masters)
Microsoft's Killing of Vista 10 Seems to Have Resulted in More Articles About GNU/Linux (But Also FUD)
We not only saw a rise in traffic, we also saw a remarkable rise in the number of articles
Today (a Day Before Richard Stallman Talk at TUM) There's a Patent Propaganda Event at TUM
Perhaps an opportunity for Dr. Stallman to rebut this "invention to patent" nonsense/fantasy (conflating monopolies with innovation)
OpenSource or "Open Source" as a Brand is Dying, Let's Get Back to Talking About Software Freedom
Those of us who actually want to reform the industry and put users in control of their systems/devices will recognise that "Open Source" was selling a lie or got-co-opted by liars
19 Years in Numbers: Techrights' Anniversary Countdown and Retrospective
In 2019 we began improving our workflows and, accordingly/predictably, we became a lot more productive
Slop Turns People Off (LLMs Lack Intelligence, They're Just Plagiarism Powerhouses That Fail to Deliver Any Real, Measurable Value)
"More" (or "MOAR") isn't always better
IBM Red Hat Has Re-calibrated or Adjusted to Bubble Economics, False Promises, and Slop/Plagiarism
This won't end well
Fake Numbers, Fake Claims, Fake Economy, and Media Grifters That Prop Up Fraud
Grifters like The Register MS won't be looked upon kindly after the bubble implodes
For Some, the GNU Web Site is Not Accessible This Week
They seem to have gone into some kind of lock-down mode
Richard Stallman Back at the "Rudolf-Diesel" Hörsal "MW 2001" in About 40 Hours
He spoke there before; there's a very high seating capacity there
Symptoms of Upcoming Microsoft Layoffs in XBox
A crashing franchise
Psychiatrist confession: Germanwings crash & Debian toxic culture recognized before suicides
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 19/10/2025: Scentjacking 101, Slop Hype Boosters, and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Slopwatch: The Serial Slopper, LinuxSecurity, and Google News
Let's hope slopfarms die as soon as possible
Links 19/10/2025: Cambodia Scam Centres, Slop Hurting Wikipedia Traffic
Links for the day
As Economies Crumble Free as in Beer Will Matter, Not Just Free as in Freedom/Libre (Libertad)
French regions choosing to embrace Software Freedom
25 Years Ago, an Explanation of How Reducing Free Software to 'Apps' Would Interfere With Freedom Goals
there's nothing unreasonable about it
A List of 63 Known Gemini Clients (Software to Browse Geminispace Content With Gemini Protocol)
Not counting browser plugins for Web browsers
Gemini Links 19/10/2025: "Firma Odin Is Transforming" and Bot Attacks While "AFK"
Links for the day
US Government: 6.1% of Site Visitors Use GNU/Linux
GNU/Linux has a considerable share and it is growing
LLM Slop Could Not Rise to Prominence Without Media Complicity and Artificial Hype
Inane garbage disguised as "journalism"
Why the FSF No Longer Recommends Debian, as Explained by Richard Stallman This Month
some weeks ago
All the Latest Half Dozen Articles by Mehedi Hasan (UbuntuPIT) Only Admit at the End That He's Using LLM Slop
Disclosure is OK, but the practice of using slop is not
The 'Modern' Web of Fake Security and Easy Censorship of Whole Domains
Each year it gets worse
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 18, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, October 18, 2025