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Links 13/2/2022: Intel Thread Director and RISC-V



  • GNU/Linux

    • Audiocasts/Shows

    • Kernel Space

      • Intel Thread Director Is Headed To Linux For A Major Boost In Alder Lake Performance | HotHardware

        Hetereogeneous computing is nothing new, of course, but typically it has been one type of CPU core and one type of GPU, along with media processing blocks and other small functional units -- at least on desktop and notebooks systems. Intel's Alder Lake CPUs are the first x86-64 processors to embrace a hybrid paradigm with two separate CPU architectures on the same die.

        These two separate CPU architectures have different strengths and capabilities. The Golden Cove "performance cores" (or P-cores) feature Intel's latest high-performance desktop CPU architecture, and they are blisteringly fast. Meanwhile, the Gracemont "efficiency cores" (or E-cores) are so small that four of them, along with 2MB of shared L2 cache, can nearly fit in the same space as a single Golden Cove core. They're slower than the Golden Cove cores, but also much more efficient, at least in theory.

      • How and why Linaro builds, boots and tests over a million Linux kernels per year

        In the past year, Linaro has addressed an increase in Linux kernel release candidates whilst also detecting and reporting more than double the amount of regressions, compared to the previous year.

        Linaro’s Linux Kernel Functional Testing (LKFT) has dealt with these Release Candidates (RC’s) within a 48hour SLA (Service Level Agreement). This is no small feat given we have been able to build, boot and test more than a million kernels. These numbers are even more impressive when you take into account that LKFT has achieved all this without extra staffing.

    • Applications

      • 26 open source creative apps to try in 2022 | Opensource.com

        The server and mobile industries know open source well. But open source isn't just about the technology. First and foremost, open source is about sharing, and if there's one thing people love to share more than anything, it's self-expression in the form of art. Whether you consider yourself an artist or not, you can foster your own creativity with open source applications, and possibly end up with something you're proud to share with others. Here are 26 applications in seven different artistic categories to help you act on your every inspiration.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • How To Install and Use Nu Shell on Linux

        In this guide, we will illustrate how to install and use Nu shell on Linux.

        Introduction

        Nu shell is a new Linux shell, it aims at simplifying command outputs with pipe. It comes with interesting built-in commands, is fast and easy to use. The focus of Nu shell is Pipe-lining which enables terminal users to own the terminal, commanding it to produce the output as needed.

      • How To Fix No Sound in Ubuntu And Linux Mint

        In this guide, we will show you how to fix the problem of ubuntu/mint no sound after the installation with some methods.

      • Install Microsoft Fonts on Debian 11 Bullseye - LinuxCapable

        Most Linux Distributions use open-source fonts to substitute Microsoft’s iconic typefaces like Arial, Courier New, and Times. Red Hat created the Liberation family to replace these similar-looking but different sizes — all you have to do is select your preferred font when editing documents so that they’ll be readable without any disruptions!

        For users who want to install Microsoft fonts and want to use them in LibreOffice, the following tutorial will teach you how to install Microsoft fonts on Debian 11 Bullseye.

      • Install Apache Maven on Debian 11 Bullseye - LinuxCapable

        Apache Maven is an open-source tool that allows the building automation of your java projects. It can also be used for projects in C#, Ruby, etc. Its most popular usage would likely involve Java development! The maven project comes from the Apache Software Foundation, where they were previously part of the Jakarta Project before moving on their own.

      • Install GPU-Viewer on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS - LinuxCapable

        The GPU-Viewer is a free, open-source project to create an easy-to-use interface for glxinfo, vulkaninfo, and clinfo. The program will be developed using Python 3 with GTK3 to display all the important details extracted from these programs on one page alongside other useful tools like grep or AWK.

        In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install the latest GPU-Viewer on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish.

      • Install UNRAR on AlmaLinux 8 - LinuxCapable

        UNRAR is widely known and used amongst Windows users. RAR files are much smaller archives and compress better than ZIP for most files by compressing files “together,” saving more space. UNRAR does not come pre-installed natively on AlmaLinux and is not featured in its repositories.

        The following tutorial will show you how to install UNRAR on Almalinux 8 Workstation or Server with RPM FUSION, along with the most commonly used commands.

      • Install GParted on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS - LinuxCapable

        GParted is a free and easy-to-use GTK -based graphical user interface tool for all your partition needs. With one click, you can create new disk partitions or adjust the size of already existing ones–Gparted will even resize partitioned files without losing any information! You also have access options like moving around hard drives as well checking basic info such as free space usage.

        In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install GParted on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish.

      • Install Budgie Desktop Environment on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS - LinuxCapable

        Ubuntu Budgie is a desktop environment that is free and open-source that uses GNOME technologies such as GTK (> 3.x) and is developed by the Solus project, which also contributes to its design through contributors from numerous communities, including Arch Linux; Manjaro; openSUSE Tumbleweed – among others.

        For users seeking an alternative to GNOME that is lightweight and sleek with a simple UI instead of focusing on eye candy, then Budgie is worth checking out.

        In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Budgie Desktop Environment on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish.

      • MySQL: Allow user to create database

        After installing MySQL on your Linux system, you can create one or more users and grant them permissions to do things like create databases, access table data, etc.

        It is not recommended to use the root account, but rather create a new account and grant privileges as needed. In this tutorial, you will see how to allow a user to create a MySQL database on Linux.

      • MySQL: Allow empty password

        If you have installed MySQL on your Linux system and need to have one or more users with an empty password, it is possible to either create new users with empty passwords or reset an existing user’s password to being empty.

        This obviously goes against all conventional security practices, but it may be more convenient in testing scenarios or other unique situations. Whatever your use case may be, we will assume you know what you are doing and have taken into consideration the obvious security risk of having a MySQL user with an empty password.

        It is even possible to configure the root account to have an empty password. In this tutorial, we will take you through the step by step instructions to allow an empty password in MySQL.

      • MySQL: Allow all hosts

        If you wish to access your MySQL server remotely, it will be necessary to configure one or more users to allow access from remote hosts. If you do not know all the IP addresses of the connecting hosts, then you can simply allow connections from all hosts.

        In this tutorial, we will take you through the step by step instructions of allowing remote connections to a MySQL server on a Linux system from all hosts. These instructions should work independently of whichever Linux distro you are using.

      • MySQL: Allow root remote access

        The purpose of this tutorial is to show how to access MySQL remotely with the root account. Conventional security practice is to disable remote access for the root account, but it is very simple to turn on that access in a Linux system.

        Read on and follow through the step by step instructions to allow root remote access in your MySQL server.

    • Devices/Embedded

    • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

      • Kernighan

        • Could Unix Happen Today? Brian Kernighan Looks Back … and Forward – The New Stack

          As beloved Unix pioneer Brian Kernighan approaches his 80th birthday, he made a special appearance at this year’s Linux Conference Australia. At the traditional January event — held virtually for the second year in a row — Kernighan reminisced on the 1970s and “The early days of Unix at Bell Labs,” always careful to acknowledge the contributions of others, and of those developers who’d preceded him.

          Kernighan also used the occasion to reflect on the lessons to be learned from the history of the Unix operating system, from the C programming language, and even from Microsoft’s foray into Unix — ultimately asking the poignant question of whether a Unix-like phenomenon could ever happen again.

          And finally, Kernighan also looked to the future, and expressed a sincere hope that the talk might “perhaps teach us something about how software development can be done effectively, and perhaps how to manage people and processes to make them as productive as possible.”

      • Web Browsers

        • 10 Open Source Lightweight Web Browsers for Linux

          There are plenty of web browsers available for Linux. A lot of them are based on Chromium but we also have a list of browsers that are not based on Chromium.

          You are here: Home / List / 10 Open Source Lightweight Web Browsers for Linux 10 Open Source Lightweight Web Browsers for Linux Last updated February 13, 2022 By Marco Carmona Leave a Comment

          There are plenty of web browsers available for Linux. A lot of them are based on Chromium but we also have a list of browsers that are not based on Chromium.

          Recently, a reader asked for a lightweight web browsers recommendation and hence I took the responsibility of doing some quick experimentation. Here’s what I found.

        • Before I go: When it comes to complaining about web browsers

          I’m not planning on leaving the industry (yet), but before I go I’d like to offer up what I know when it comes to complaining about web browsers.

          I have logged hundreds of hours complaining about browsers on Twitter, on podcasts, and on this blog. I have logged thousands more hours trying to keep up with browsers and I frequently interact with people who write specs and make browsers. I have not been 100% successful in my efforts to get a <rupert> element as my legacy but I have learned a lot about giving feedback to web browsers.

        • New browser extension makes learning Luxembourgish easier

          The basic concept is that you install the free plugin (available for Chrome), and as you browse English websites the plugin will sneakily and automagically translate a few words into Luxembourgish. The idea is that it will help you expand your vocabulary as you learn new words by context. If you don't understand a word, just hover over it with your cursor and a translation will appear.

      • SaaS/Back End/Databases

        • A Hairy PostgreSQL Incident

          No obligation; just checking in to see what my availability is. Quickly thinking it over – I didn’t have any plans tonight, nothing in particular on my agenda. Why not? If I can help then someone else on the team won’t have to, and I don’t have anything better to do tonight.

        • The world of PostgreSQL wire compatibility

          A wire protocol is the format for interactions between a database server and its clients. It encompasses authentication, sending queries, receiving responses, and so on. It is a description of the exact bytes sent and received by servers and clients. It does NOT encompass the actual query language itself, let alone database semantics.

      • Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra

        • LibreOffice de and fr translation fix

          Just before releasing 3.4, forum member esmourguit sent me updates for the Français (French) langpack PET. I was puzzled that he included .mo files for LibreOffice, as they should have already been there.

      • Programming/Development

        • Top 10 web [cracking] techniques of 2021

          The research quality this year was frankly exceptional - it's the strongest year I've seen since getting involved back in 2015. This has led to fierce competition for the top 10, and numerous high-standard research papers missing out. I usually name a few of my favourite runners up but this year there's so many it would be unfair - instead I recommend anyone with time explores the full nomination list. Massive thanks to everyone who contributed to this wave of research!

          One particular theme dominated this year. In both the nominations and the final top ten, we saw heavy focus on HTTP Request Smuggling, and attacks on parser inconsistency in general. As systems get more complex and more connected, these threats bloom. It'll be interesting to see where the parser battleground shifts when HTTP/1.1 use eventually starts to dwindle in a few decade's time.

  • Leftovers

    • Hardware

      • Allwinner T113-S3 dual-core Cortex-A7 SoC features 128MB DDR3, targets automotive and industrial applications - CNX Software

        Allwinner T113-S3 is a dual-core Cortex-A7 processor with 128MB DDR3 on-chip memory that is designed for smart control and HMI applications in the automotive and industrial sectors.

        At first glance, the new processor looks quite similar to Allwinner S3, but with twice the number of cores. However there’s more to it, as a a HiFi4 DSP has been added for smart audio applications, the H.264 encoder is gone replaced by an MPJEG encoder, and the company claims support for “industrial level working temperature”, plus a 10-year life cycle. among other differences.

      • Sticker Brings The Heat | Hackaday

        [Carl] is always looking at making heater plates for PCB reflow and other applications. In his latest video, he shows how he is using thin flexible PCBs with adhesive backs as stickers that get hot. You can find gerber files and design files on GitHub.

        You might think that this is a pretty simple thing to do with a flex PCB, but it turns out while the PCB might be flexible, the traces aren’t and so the typical long traces you see in a heater won’t allow the sticker to bend, which is a problem if you want to wrap it around, say, a coffee mug.

      • Spin Some Spudgers From Secondhand Silverware | Hackaday

        Even though it’s not the right tool for the job, we’ve all used a flat head screwdriver for other purposes. Admit it — you’ve pried open a thing or two with that one in the toolbox that’s all dirty and dinged up anyway. But oftentimes, screwdrivers just aren’t thin enough. What you need is a spudger, which for some reason, seem to only come in plastic. Blame our disposable times.

    • Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

    • Integrity/Availability

      • Proprietary

        • How to back up your Gmail

          One note: if you’re backing up a company account, you may find that your company has disabled Takeout. There are third-party apps that say they can back up your Gmail, but you should check your company’s policies before you try them out.

        • Security

          • Week in review: Malware targeting Linux-based OSes, Log4j exploitation risk [Ed: Still going at it...]


          • Privacy/Surveillance

            • Senators Say CIA Secretly Collected Data in ‘Warrantless Backdoor Searches of Americans’

              The CIA has a secret repository of information collected about Americans as part of the agency’s foreign surveillance programs, two Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee alleged on Thursday. The lawmakers said the agency hid from Congress and the public what amounts to “warrantless backdoor searches of Americans.”

              Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) wrote to CIA Director Bill Burns and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines in April 2021, calling for details about the program to be declassified. The CIA, they claimed, has “secretly conducted its own bulk program … entirely outside the statutory framework that Congress and the public believe govern this collection.” The program does operate under the authority of Executive Order 12333, which has governed intelligence community activity since 1981, the senators said.

            • Blockade at Canada-U.S. bridge enters seventh day as demonstrators dig in

              A tense standoff appeared to be dissolving peacefully before noon and some truckers moved vehicles used in the blockade, but by nightfall the crowd swelled, NBC affiliate WDIV of Detroit reported.

              Hundreds more protesters arrived to bolster crowed in Windsor on Saturday and settled into a face-off with police about two blocks away, waving flags and yelling. While there were no visible physical confrontations, the crowd still controlled the road to the bridge late Saturday.

              The protest continued despite a judge's order Friday for the protesters to leave and an announcement from Windsor police that they had “commenced enforcement" against blockading demonstrators on the bridge linking Windsor and Detroit.

            • On The Money: Border blockade hits US economy

              Blockades at major U.S.-Canada border crossings caused by truckers protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates could worsen the existing car shortage that has driven up prices to record levels.

              The skyrocketing cost of cars and trucks — which has played a major role in fueling the nation’s 40-year-high inflation rate — was just beginning to level off before truckers blocked the Ambassador Bridge and with it the most efficient way to transport auto parts between Canada and the U.S.

            • Privacy Preserving Attribution for Advertising

              Attribution is how advertisers know if their advertising campaigns are working. Attribution generates metrics that allow advertisers to understand how their advertising campaigns are performing. Related measurement techniques also help publishers understand how they are helping advertisers. Though attribution is crucial to advertising, current attribution practices have terrible privacy properties.

              For the last few months we have been working with a team from Meta (formerly Facebook) on a new proposal that aims to enable conversion measurement – or attribution – for advertising called Interoperable Private Attribution, or IPA.

            • Microsoft to bring LinkedIn profiles to Team chats

              "The feature is expected to roll out in March 2022 and will be generally available to all global users across Microsoft Teams web and desktop versions," the company said in a statement.

            • European publishers file complaint against Google's advertising tech

              The European Publishers Council is accusing Google of anticompetitive digital advertising practices, according to a complaint filed Friday with the European Commission.

              The council is calling on the commission, which is already investigating Google’s advertising technology, to take action against the search giant to “break the stranglehold that Google has over us all.”

    • Defence/Aggression

    • Environment

    • Finance

    • AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

    • Censorship/Free Speech

      • Twitch policy update bans sex and hard drugs from usernames

        Under the new policy, which takes effect March 1st, Twitch will remove reported usernames that include “references to sexual acts, arousal, fluids, or genitalia” and references to hard drugs. Alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana are excluded from that list, however. After the deadline, the company says it will suspend users if their usernames are “hateful, harassing, violent or typically representative of malicious behavior.”

    • Civil Rights/Policing

    • Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

    • Monopolies

      • Trademarks

        • Mexico’s cultural appropriation ban is off to a messy start

          While sales are slow for Méndez and others in her community, Indigenous patterns have exploded in popularity elsewhere: major companies like Zara, Anthropologie, Carolina Herrera, and Mango have incorporated similar designs into their clothing under the pretext of inspiration. Fashion houses have profited without acknowledging the origin of the designs or compensating communities.

      • Copyrights

        • Pirated Oscar Screeners Have Become a Rare Breed

          Twenty years ago, screener copies of all Oscar-nominated films leaked online before the official awards ceremony. Today, screeners have become a rare breed. This isn't only the result of increased anti-piracy protection. In fact, the shift to shorter release windows and streaming premieres likely had a much bigger impact.



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