Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 15/08/2022: Big Changes in Nautilus and FreeBSD 13.0 EOL



  • GNU/Linux

    • 9to5Linux9to5Linux Weekly Roundup: August 14th, 2022

      Since it’s the holiday season and all that, this week has been a bit slow in Linux news and releases. We only saw the launch of a minor EndeavourOS release, the release of Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS as yet another minor update, and new Kali Linux and KDE Frameworks releases.

      On top of that, System76 revealed an updated Galago Pro Linux laptop with 12th Gen Intel CPUs, Linus Torvalds kicked off the development cycle of Linux kernel 6.0 and announced the first Release Candidate for public testing, and I show you how to upgrade from Ubuntu 20.04 LTS to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

    • Server

      • Kubernetes BlogKubernetes: Meet Our Contributors - APAC (China region)

        Welcome back to the third edition of the "Meet Our Contributors" blog post series for APAC.

        This post features four outstanding contributors from China, who have played diverse leadership and community roles in the upstream Kubernetes project.

        So, without further ado, let's get straight to the article.

    • Kernel Space

      • 9to5LinuxLinus Torvalds Announces First Linux Kernel 6.0 Release Candidate - 9to5Linux

        Linus Torvalds kicked off the development cycle of the upcoming Linux 6.0 kernel series and announced today the availability of the first Release Candidate (RC) milestone for public testing.

        Two weeks have passed since the release of Linux kernel 5.19, which is also the last kernel release in the Linux 5.x series, and the opening of the merge window for Linux kernel 6.0.

        Now, the merge window for Linux 6.0 is now officially closed and the first Release Candidate (RC) milestone is ready for testers and bleeding-edge users who want an early taste of what’s about to be included in the final release, which is expected in early October 2022.

      • WCCF TechIntel Xeon Platinum 8380 “Ice Lake” CPU Shows Great Improvement In Linux 6.0
    • Applications

      • Linux Links9 Best Free Linux Screen Capture Tools (Updated 2022) - LinuxLinks

        The phrase “A picture is worth a thousand words” refers to the idea that a solitary still image can provide as much information as a large amount of descriptive text. Essentially, pictures convey information more effectively and efficiently than words can.

        A screenshot is an image captured by a computer to record the output of a visual device. Screen capture software enable screenshots to be taken on a computer. This type of software has a wide range of uses. As an image can illustrate the operation of computer software so well, screenshots play a crucial role in software development and documentation. Alternatively, if you have a technical problem with your computer, a screenshot allows a technical support department to understand the problems you are facing. Writing computer-related articles, documentation and tutorials is nigh on impossible without a good tool for creating screenshots.

        Linux has a good selection of versatile open source screenshot programs, both graphical and console based.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • LinuxTechiHow to Install VirtualBox on RHEL 9 Step-by-Step
      • Red Hat OfficialWhat's your favorite way to edit remote files?

        As a systems administrator, you probably spend the better part of your day on somebody else's computer, even when you're at your own computer. Editing files on a remote machine is one of a sysadmin's most common tasks, and there are a lot of different ways to complete that task on Linux.

      • markaicode by MarkHow to Install Golang Compiler on Fedora 36 Linux

        Google developed Golang, an open-source programming language. It is statically typed and generates generated machine code binaries, thus go is a compiled language. This is popular among developers since it eliminates the requirement to compile the source code in order to produce an executable file. When it comes to grammar, developers who use Google’s Go language believe it’s the C for the twenty-first century.

        The following article will show you how to install and set up Golang on Fedora 36 Linux using the command line terminal and the default repository version from Fedora 36’s appstream.

      • Linux HintMariaDB Basic Tutorial

        Data is the most important part of any type of application. The necessary data for the application is required to store permanently. The database server is used to store the application data permanently. MariaDB is one of the popular database servers that is called the branch of a MySQL server. The different features of MariaDB, the way of installing MariaDB in Ubuntu, creating databases and tables, and performing various types of database-related common tasks are all explained in this tutorial in detail.

      • How to install SaltStack on Fedora 36 – NextGenTips

        In this guide, we will walk you through the installation of SaltStack on Fedora 36.

        SaltStack is a Python-based, open-source for event-driven It automation, remote task execution, and configuration management. Salt was designed to be highly modular and easily extensible, to make it easy to mold to diverse IT enterprise use cases.

        Salt is capable of maintaining remote nodes in defined states that is it can ensure specific packages are installed and that specific services are running. Salt can query and execute commands either on individual nodes or by using arbitrary selection criteria.

      • markaicode by MarkHow to€ Install & Configure Redis 7 on Rocky Linux 9 | Mark Ai Code

        Redis is an in-memory data structure store that may be used as a distributed, in-memory key-value database, cache, and message broker, with the option of configurable durability. Strings, lists, maps, sets, sorted sets, HyperLogLogs, bitmaps, streams, and spatial indices are among the abstract data structures supported by Redis.

      • uni TorontoMy uncertainty over whether an URL format is actually legal

        I was recently dealing with a program that runs in a configuration that sometimes misbehaves when you ask it to create and display a link to a relative URL like '/'. My vague memory suggested an alternative version of the URL that might make the program leave it alone, one with a schema but no host, so I tried 'https:/' and it worked. Then I tried to find out if this is actually a proper legal URL format, as opposed to one that browsers just make work, and now I'm confused and uncertain.

        The first relatively definite thing that I learned is that file URLs don't need all of those slashes; a URL of 'file:/tmp' is perfectly valid and is interpreted the way you'd expect. This is suggestive but not definite, since the "file" URL scheme is a pretty peculiar thing.

        An absolute URL can leave out the scheme; '//mozilla.org/' is a valid URL that means 'the root of mozilla.org in whichever of HTTP and HTTPS you're currently using' (cf). Wikipedia's section on the syntax of URLs claims that the authority section is optional. The Whatwg specification's section on URL writing requires anything starting with 'http:' and 'https:' to be written with the host (because scheme relative special URL strings require a host). This also matches the MDN description. I think this means that my 'https:/path' trick is not technically legal, even if it works in many browsers.

      • Dan Langillelogcheck – egrep: trailing backslash (\)

        When updating to FreeBSD 13.1, I started getting these messages from sysutils/logcheck:

        egrep: trailing backslash (\)

        This post will document how I tracked down the problem. It is occurring on several hosts.

      • DebugPointHow to Install Flatpak Apps in Ubuntu and Other Linux

        Flatpak is the new way of distributing apps across the Linux universe, irrespective of the distribution. This cross-distro application distribution and deployment framework enable developers to Flatpak setup for apps for all major distributions.

        The major hurdles in any Linux app distribution are dependencies, and Flatpak covers that. Flatpak builds bundles the dependencies for the respective apps, and end-users need not worry about it.

        With the growing trends, many app developers are now providing the Flatpak builds along with traditional packages, e.g. *.deb, etc. With a quick setup for your distributions, you can be ready to explore the world of Flatpak apps. All the major Flatpak apps are available on flathub.org. You can search and just click a button, you can install the Flatpak apps. Here’s how to set it up for Ubuntu and other Linux distributions.

      • ID RootHow To Install MySQL on Rocky Linux 9 - idroot

        In this tutorial, we will show you how to install MySQL on Rocky Linux 9. For those of you who didn’t know, MySQL is an open-source, cross-platform, and one of the most widely used Relational Database Management Systems (RDMS) and distributed by the Oracle Corporation. MySQL has been in production use for over 20 years and is considered one of the most secure and reliable database systems.

        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 MySQL 8 on Rocky Linux. 9.

      • CitizixHow to set up Kubernetes Cluster on Ubuntu 22.04 with kubeadm and CRI-O

        Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration system for automating software deployment, scaling, and management. Google originally designed Kubernetes, but the Cloud Native Computing Foundation now maintains the project. It groups containers that make up an application into logical units for easy management and discovery.

        Kubeadm is a tool used to build Kubernetes (K8s) clusters. Kubeadm performs the actions necessary to get a minimum viable cluster up and running quickly.

        In this guide we will learn how to use kubeadm to set up a kubernetes cluster in Ubuntu 22.04.

      • markaicode by MarkHow to Install cURL on Linux Mint 21 LTS

        cURL is a software tool that allows you to transport data between two computers utilizing a number of protocols, including HTTP, FTP, and even email. cURL is frequently used for web development activities such as website testing and obtaining files from a remote server. However, it has considerably more capabilities. With a little imagination, cURL can be used to automate a wide range of activities, making it a very handy tool for both developers and system administrators.

        cURL’s capacity to execute instructions on a remote machine is one of its most powerful capabilities. This may be used to execute scripts or programs on another machine, which is incredibly handy for automating jobs or executing complicated operations that would be impossible to conduct manually. For example, you might use cURL to automatically download and install updates on a remote server, saving you the time and effort of manually signing in and completing the updates.

        cURL may, of course, be used for more routine activities, such as moving data between two systems. This is useful if you need to rapidly transmit a file from one system to another without having to set up a full-fledged file transfer protocol like FTP. Furthermore, cURL may be used to download whole websites, which can aid in the creation of offline backups or mirror sites.

        Overall, cURL is an extremely flexible tool that may save you a significant amount of time and effort when working with data across many platforms. CURL is worth understanding whether you want to automate operations or transfer data.

        In this guide, you will learn how to install the newest version of the cURL package using the command line interface and a well-known LaunchPAD PPA that supplies the current version for the Linux Mint 21 LTS release series.

      • Red HatHow OpenShift Serverless Logic evolved to improve workflows | Red Hat Developer

        Serverless is an advanced cloud deployment model that aims to run business services on demand, enabling enterprises to save infrastructure costs tremendously. The benefit of serverless is an application designed and developed as abstract functions regardless of programming languages. This article describes how the serverless and function models have evolved since they were unleashed upon the world with AWS Lambda and what to look forward to with Red Hat OpenShift serverless logic.

      • UNIX CopHow to install GIT on Ubuntu 22.04

        In this post for newbies, you will learn how to install GIT on Ubuntu 22.04 Simple? Yes, but for those who just want to give Linux a try, it could be quite useful.

      • Linux CapableHow to Install Git on Linux Mint 21 LTS

        The most popular of all version control systems is Git. Developed in 2005 by Linus Torvalds, it was created for developers working on the Linux operating system kernel but has since been adopted as an extensively used tool amongst collaborative efforts and often has hundreds of people contributing to these projects with commits happening at any given time making tracking contributions difficult without using something like Google Docs or Dropbox which while useful still doesn’t provide quite what you need when managing changes interactively throughout your local environment.

        The following tutorial will teach how to install Git on Linux Mint 21 LTS release series with three different methods using the command line terminal and basic Git commands of everyday use.

      • Linux CapableHow to Install Redis on Rocky Linux 9

        Redis is an open-source database frequently used as a cache or message broker. Unlike other databases, Redis stores data in memory, making it significantly faster. In addition, Redis supports a wide range of data structures, including strings, hashes, lists, sets, sorted sets, bitmaps, and streams. This makes Redis an incredibly versatile tool that can be used for various purposes. Redis also provides high availability with its Sentinel software logic, which automatically partitions data across multiple servers, ensuring no single point of failure exists. As a result, Redis is a robust and reliable database that is well-suited for various applications.

        In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Redis on Rocky Linux 9 workstation or server using the terminal command line with two methods: appstream or Remi Redis pm, along with basic setup instructions to get you started using the command line terminal.

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • GNOME Desktop/GTK

        • OMG Ubuntu7 Big Changes Coming to Nautilus in GNOME 43 - OMG! Ubuntu!

          GNOME 43 is creeping up on us and amongst the bevy of brilliant benefits it brings is a brand new version of (arguably) the most famous open source file manager of them all: Nautilus.

          Now, I’ve had a bit too much coffee (which is to blame for the barrage of words beginning with ‘B’ in this blog post), and, having gone on hands-on with what’s in store, I’m feeling pumped. So here I am, bashing out a few Gutenberg blocks’ worth of brazen brio in honour of the Nautilus 43 beta.

          So read on for a quick run through of seven (why? 4 + 3 = 7) user-facing changes coming in Nautilus as part of September’s GNOME 43 release (and likely included as part of Ubuntu 22.10 this October).

          [...]

          Nautilus 43 now ‘hides’ the sidebar when the window is resized beyond a set point. The sidebar remains accessible as a pop-over sheet bound to a button that only shows in this mode. Then, resize window wide enough for the sidebar to fit, and et voila: it’s back!

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

    • BSD

      • DragonFly BSD DigestIn Other BSDs for 2022/08/13
      • HackThe MGR Window System

        Note well that this is mostly of historic interest. I haven't done any work on MGR for many years. MGR itself has gone into oblivion for most uses, largely being replaced by the much more feature filled X Window System. I have kept this around because people seem to link to it.

      • Undeadlysftp-server(8) gains support for home-directory request

        Add support to the sftp-server for the home-directory extension defined in draft-ietf-secsh-filexfer-extensions-00.

      • FreeBSDFreeBSD 13.0 end-of-life

        Dear FreeBSD community,

        On August 31, 2022, FreeBSD 13.0 will reach end-of-life and will no longer be supported by the FreeBSD Security Team. Users of FreeBSD 13.0 are strongly encouraged to upgrade to a newer release as soon as possible.

      • Ada development on FreeBSD 13.1

        The Ada support has been removed from FreeBSD 13.1 ports because it was deprecated. Indeed, the gcc6-aux port was deprecated and expired on 2022-02-28. There is no indication about a replacement solution and using Ada for FreeBSD is a challenge but this is still possible. This article records a number of steps and commands that helped me setup a new Ada compiler based on GCC 12 on a fresh FreeBSD 13.1 installation.

        Warning: this is full of hacks and I don't pretend to provide any complete detailed and completely reproducible steps for getting a new Ada compiler.

        Before proceeding, make sure you have gmake installed because the BSD make uses an old Makefile syntax and is not able to handle GNU specific Makefiles.

    • Fedora Family / IBM

      • Enterprisers ProjectEdge computing: 4 pillars for CIOs and IT leaders | The Enterprisers Project

        If it seems like the IT industry has been talking about edge computing for years now, well, that’s because it has – and the same goes for IoT. But in practice, most organizations are just now translating that talk into action.

        More and more CIOs and other IT leaders are now taking the reins on developing an edge strategy. In Red Hat’s Global Tech Outlook 2022, 61% of IT leaders reported that they are planning to run IoT, edge, or both technologies in the next 12 months. When combined as a single category, the two outpace AI/ML (53 percent) as the top area for emerging IT workloads this year.

        For many organizations, edge computing is a natural expansion of their maturing cloud strategy and architecture – especially (but certainly not limited to) hybrid cloud environments.

        “Edge computing complements what cloud computing does for a company’s compute plans – the two work together,” says Rob Howell, managing enterprise network architect, Capgemini Americas.

    • Devices/Embedded

      • Linux GizmosMove-X Cicerone LoRa/GNSS board is compatible with Arduino MKR form factor

        The Move-X Cicerone is a new low-power board that puts together the Move-X MAMWLE LoRa module and the u-blox MAX-M10S GNSS module. The Move-X Cicerone also integrates a Li-Po charging circuit for portability.

        The Move-X MAMWLE is a low power radio module based on the STM32WL which is an ARM M4 32-bit RISC core with an operating frequency of 48MHz, 128K of Flash memory and 64K RAM. This module can operate in the band of 868 MHz and 915MHz. There is also a LoRaWAN radio (Semtech SX1261/2) integrated in the same chip.

      • Linux GizmosLattePanda 3 Delta SBC combines 11th Gen Celeron and ATmega32U4 MCU

        DFRobot launched the LattePanda 3 Delta SBC a couple days ago. This latest version comes with a 11th Gen N5105 quad-core processor and Microchip’s ATMEGA32U4 as a coprocessor. The device offers 8GB of RAM, triple displays, one GbE LAN port, Wi-Fi/BLE support and access to many other peripherals.

        The LattePanda 3 Delta features Intel’s 11th generation N5105 processor (4C/4T) which has a base frequency of 2.0GHz and a maximum frequency of 2.9GHz. The SBC also accommodates an Arduino compatible ATmega32U4-MU with access to GPIOs via pin headers.

    • Open Hardware/Modding

      • HackadayHackaday Prize 2022: Solar-Harvesting ESP32 Camera Is Waterproof, Repeatable

        [alberto nunez] shows off his sleek build of a solar-harvesting ESP32 camera – waterproof, somewhat energy-efficient, and able to be built by more-or-less anyone. For that, he’s chosen fairly jellybean components – an ESP32-CAM module with a matching protoboard, a small solar cell, a LiFePO4 battery, and a waterproofed GoPro shell that all of these parts neatly fit into.

      • HackadayStarlink Ground Stations Successfully Hacked

        Belgian security researcher [Lennert Wouters] has gotten his own code running on the Starlink “Dishy McFlatface” satellite terminals, and you can too! The hack in question is a “modchip” with an RP2040 and a MOSFET that crowbars the power rails, browning out the main CPU exactly when it’s verifying the firmware’s validity and bypassing that protection entirely. [Lennert] had previously figured out how to dump the Starlink firmware straight from the eMMC, and with the ability to upload it back, the circle of pwnership is closed. This was a talk at DEFCON, and you can check out the slides here. (PDF)

      • SparkFun ElectronicsGNSS Functionality for MicroMod

        Hello and welcome, everyone! We are back, yet again, with new products that expand our exciting MicroMod, Qwiic, and Artemis ecosystems. We start the week off with two new GNSS/GPS Function Boards for MicroMod! These boards feature a ZED-F9P and NEO-M9N, respectively, offering two levels of accuracy at respectable price expectations.

    • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • Web Browsers

      • Mozilla

        • AI from Above — The Internet Health Report 2022

          An aerial picture can tell a thousand stories. But who gets to tell them? From above the clouds, our world is surveilled and datafied. Those who control the data, control the narratives. We explore the spatial legacy of apartheid in South Africa’s townships, and hear from people around the world who are reclaiming power over their own maps.

          [...]

          IRL is an original podcast from Mozilla, the non-profit behind Firefox. In Season 6, host Bridget Todd shares stories of people who make AI more trustworthy in real life. This season doubles as Mozilla’s 2022 Internet Health Report. Go to the report for show notes, transcripts, and more.

    • Standards/Consortia

      • OpenSource.comHow ODT files are structured

        Word processing files used to be closed, proprietary formats. In some older word processors, the document file was essentially a memory dump from the word processor. While this made for faster loading of the document into the word processor, it also made the document file format an opaque mess.

        Around 2005, the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) group defined an open format for office documents of all types, the Open Document Format for Office Applications (ODF). You may also see ODF referred to as simply "OpenDocument Format" because it is an open standard based on the OpenOffice.org's XML file specification. ODF includes several file types, including ODT for OpenDocument Text documents. There's a lot to explore in an ODT file, and it starts with a zip file.

      • OpenSource.comTry Asciidoc instead of Markdown

        I'm a happy user of the XML-based Docbook markup language. To me, it's a precise, explicit, and detailed system that allows me to have contextual and domain-specific metadata in what I write. Best of all, though, it can be transformed (that's what XML users call it when XML is converted into another format) into nearly any format, including HTML, EPUB, FO for PDF, plain text, and more. With great power comes a lot of typing, though, and sometimes Docbook feels like it's surplus to requirements. Luckily, there's Asciidoc, a system of writing plain text with the same markup-less feel of Markdown, but that transforms to Docbook to take advantage of its precision and flexibility.

      • Daniel StenbergQUIC and HTTP/3 with wolfSSL | daniel.haxx.se

        Back in the summer of 2020 I blogged about QUIC support coming in wolfSSL. That work never actually took off, primarily I believe because the team kept busy with other projects and tasks that had more customer focus and interest and yeah, there was not really any noticeable customer demand for QUIC with wolfSSL.

        Time passed.

        On July 21 2022, Stefan Eissing submitted his work on introducing a QUIC API and after reviews and updates, it was merged into the wolfSSL master branch on August 9th.

        The QUIC API is planned to appear “for real” in a coming wolfSSL release version. Until then, we can play with what is available in git.

        Let me be clear here: the good people at wolfSSL has not decided to write a full QUIC implementation, because that would be insane when there already exist so many good existing alternatives being made. This is just a set of new functions to allow wolfSSL to be used as TLS component when a QUIC stack is created.

        Having QUIC support in wolfSSL is just one (but important) step along the way as it makes it possible to use wolfSSL to build a QUIC implementation but there are some more steps needed to turn this baby into full HTTP/3.

  • Leftovers

    • Education

    • Hardware

      • HackadayThis Snake Has Legs

        [Allen Pan] loves snakes. He loves them so much that he’s decided to play god, throwing away millions of years of evolution — just to give snakes back the legs they’ve “lost”.

      • HackadayMac Mini Mini

        The Mac Mini has been roughly the same size and shape for 12 years, as the current design was released in June 2010. However, despite being the same general form factor, the internals has shrunk over the years. [Snazzy Labs] took advantage of this to make a miniaturized Mac Mini.

      • HackadayA Simple Streaming Radio Receiver

        For those interested in a career in broadcast radio there aren’t many routes into the business. Student radio, pirate radio, and hospital radio usually feature somewhere near the start of any DJ’s resumé. Hospital radio stations often don’t have a transmission license and have historically relied on wired systems, but since those can’t reach everywhere they are now more likely to look to the Internet. [AllanGallop] has created the Mini Web Radio for the hospital station in the British city of Milton Keynes, a compact battery-powered single station streaming radio receiver that can pick up those tunes anywhere with a wireless network connection.

    • Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

      • Counter PunchThe Privilege of Free Health Care: a View From Nicaragua

        We’re settling in to our daughter Orla’s sixth night in the hospital. Visiting hours are over and only ten of the beds in our 32-bed pediatric ward are occupied tonight, down from 20 a few nights ago. The patients – mostly young teens in our room – are tucked in under mosquito nets. Their carers – mainly grandmas, aunts and moms – are slouched in chairs or curled around their patients on the beds. A few of us stretch out on unoccupied beds to get some rest before the nurse turns on the lights for the next regular blood pressure and temp check.

        Our 14 year-old was admitted to the pediatric ward with dengue fever on July 19th, Revolution Day in Nicaragua. Poor Orla sobbed in disappointment that she wouldn’t be able to celebrate the holiday. After two days of fever, I had taken her to the emergency room in our local Ciudad Sandino Primary Hospital where the blood work they ordered indicated dengue and showed that her platelet count was low enough to be of concern. “She’ll be staying here with us,” the doctor announced. Since then, either my husband Paul or I have been with her in the hospital, tasked with making sure she’s kept hydrated and informed of her progress via blood test results each day.

      • TruthOutEPA Proposal to Limit PFAS in Drinking Water May Boost Grassroots Efforts
    • Proprietary

    • Security

      • Trail Of BitsThe road to the apprenticeship | Trail of Bits Blog

        Finding talent is hard, especially in the blockchain security industry. The space is new, so you won’t find engineers with decades of experience with smart contracts. Training is difficult, as the technology evolves constantly, and online content quickly becomes outdated. There are also a lot of misconceptions about blockchain technology that make security engineers hesitant to enter the space. As a result, the pool of people who are able to both master blockchain technology and grasp the mindset of a security engineer is fairly small.

        We have now been working on blockchain projects for more than half a decade, and we have always struggled to find qualified applicants. Last year, to alleviate this problem, we created an intensive apprenticeship program to give apprentices the equivalent of two years’ experience in only three months. The program has been a huge success, and we have offered full-time positions to all of our apprentices!

        Read on for more information about the program and the apprentices we’ve hired so far, as well as pointers for future applicants.

      • HackadayWhat’s That Scope Trace Saying? UPD And Wireshark

        [Matt Keeter], like many of us, has a lot of network-connected devices and€ an oscilloscope. He decided he wanted to look into what was on the network. While most of us might reach for Wireshark, he started at the PCB level. In particular, he had — or, rather, had someone — solder an active differential probe soldered into an Ethernet switch. The scope attached is a Textronix, but it didn’t have the analyzer to read network data. However, he was able to capture 190+ MB of data and wrote a simple parser to analyze the network data pulled from the switch.

      • Site36Millions of US accounts affected: Telecom group conceals information about hacked personal data

        Almost half of all T-Mobile customers in the USA were victims of a huge data breach. Deutsche Telekom, as the parent company, has been violating its self-imposed obligations to data protection ever since.

      • Privacy/Surveillance

        • ReasonConcerned About Abortion Surveillance and Law Enforcement? Time To Treat Encryption Seriously

          If you're concerned about police and prosecutors in your state tracking abortions in a post-Dobbs world, developments in a case getting national attention should encourage you to learn whether end-to-end encryption is available in the communication tools you use.

          A Nebraska mom, Jessica Burgess, and her then-teenage daughter, Celeste Burgess, have been charged with several crimes for coordinating and executing a plan in April to purchase medication to induce an abortion at home and illegally dispose of the stillborn fetus.

          Media coverage suggested that this case is an example of how abortion law enforcement might look after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in the June Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health decision. But to be very clear here, this abortion both preceded the decision and also took place when the daughter was 28 weeks pregnant, running counter to Nebraska's existing abortion laws, which bans them after 22 weeks unless medically necessary to protect the mother's life. The Dobbs decision had no bearing on what happened here.

    • Defence/Aggression

      • Counter PunchA Military Rich in Dollars, Poor in People

        Mind you, it’s not that the military doesn’t have the resources for recruitment drives. Nearly every political figure in Washington, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, invariably agrees on endlessly adding to the Pentagon’s already staggering budget. In fact, it’s nearly the only thing they seem capable of agreeing on. After all, Congress has already taken nearly a year to pass a social-spending package roughly half the size of this year’s defense budget, even though that bill would mitigate the costs of health care for so many Americans and invest in clean energy for years to come. (Forget about more money for early childhood education.)

        Nor is the Pentagon shy about spending from its bloated wallet to woo new recruits. It’s even cold-calling possible candidates and offering enlistment bonuses of up to $50,000.

      • TruthOutPolice Lied to Get the Warrant to Search Breonna Taylor’s Home
      • Common DreamsOpinion | No Excuse for NPR's Distorted History of US Invasion of Afghanistan

        In the first part of a series of reports on Afghanistan,€ NPR€ host Steve Inskeep (Morning Edition,€ 8/5/22) interviewed current Afghan Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid. In introducing Yaqoob on air, Inskeep referenced Yaqoob's father, the former head of the Taliban, Mullah Muhammad Omar: "He was the leader who refused to turn over Osama bin Laden in 2001, a refusal that led to the U.S. attack."

      • Site36Sea rescue off Libya: Flight bans by Tripolis violate international law

        The Scientific Services of the German Bundestag consider it against two international conventions that Libya prohibits a private rescue organisation from flying over high seas. The Berlin government agrees, but does not change the problem. Therefore, the International Civil Aviation Organisation cannot intervene either.

    • Environment

      • GreenpeaceFrom climate denial to greenwashing

        One of the jobs of the government is to sort out the real climate actions from the greenwashing, to hold industry to account. And of course, one of the jobs of the government is to not engage in greenwashing themselves. The problem with some of the actions of the current government is that rather than holding business to account for its greenwashing, on some vital climate issues the government is actually a proponent of greenwashing.

      • BBCClimate activists fill golf holes with cement after water ban exemption

        The exemption of golf greens has sparked controversy as 100 French villages are short of drinking water.

      • ABCFrench climate activists fill golf course holes with cement, protesting against water ban exemption amid drought

        Despite nationwide water restrictions, and more than 100 French villages suffering drinking water shortages, golf courses can stay green due to a national framework agreement signed between the French Golf Federation and the Ministry of Ecological Transition in 2019.

      • Counter PunchThe Arctic is Warming Nearly Four Times Faster Than the Rest of the World

        A new study shows that the Arctic has warmed nearly four times faster than the rest of the world over the past 43 years. This means the Arctic is on average around 3℃ warmer than it was in 1980.

        This is alarming, because the Arctic contains sensitive and delicately balanced climate components that, if pushed too hard, will respond with global consequences.

    • Finance

      • Counter PunchWatch Out for Big Corporations and Dangerous Politicians Breaking Our Established Norms

        In our country, voluntarily recognized fundamental norms have been breaking down. The chief impetus for this collapse is the ascending supremacy of commercial power over civic values. The surrender of the latter to the former in sector after sector has spelled the decline of our country as measured by its own promise and pretensions. Compared to seventy years ago, there are almost no commercial-free zones anymore. Almost everything is for sale – or should be in the minds of dogmatic free market fundamentalists and its apologists like Milton Friedman and his disciples.

        Let’s be specific. When I was a schoolboy in the nineteen forties, the top CEOs of the Fortune 300 largest companies kept their pay at about 12 times the salary of the average worker in their business. If any CEO had sought to increase that ratio to 50 or 300 times, he would be roundly condemned from the pulpits to the boards of directors, to civic and charitable groups. In those days, CEOs also did not want to arouse the anger of their industrial labor unions or encourage workers to demand more pay in response.

    • AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

      • Common DreamsHouse Democrats Request 'Damage Assessment' Following Recovery of Classified Docs

        Democratic Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Adam Schiff on Saturday asked federal intelligence officials to immediately review the top secret documents that FBI agents retrieved during last week's search of former President Donald Trump's resort in Florida and to provide a classified briefing on their findings as soon as possible.

        "Former President Trump's conduct has potentially put our national security at grave risk," Maloney (N.Y.), chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Schiff (Calif.), chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, wrote in a letter to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.

      • Common DreamsViolent Threats Against FBI Soar as Trump Lies About Mar-a-Lago Search

        The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into an "unprecedented" number of threats against its staff and facilities in the wake of last week's search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago palace, including some against the pair of agents identified in an unredacted version of the warrant that was leaked before the court officially unsealed redacted records, CNN reported Saturday, citing an unnamed law enforcement source.

        The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security on Friday issued a joint intelligence bulletin warning that violent threats against federal law enforcement, judicial, and government personnel and property "are occurring primarily online and across multiple platforms, including social media sites, web forums, video sharing platforms, and image boards."

      • ScheerpostLaw and Disorder

        "Law and Disorder," a new original cartoon by the inimitable Mr. Fish, anticipates the survival of Donald Trump as a political power player.

      • TruthOutJudge Restores Coal Lease Moratorium on Public Lands That Was Undone Under Trump
      • Counter PunchRemembering Fidel

        True, we would reply, revolutions do need masses of people who, amid hardship and oppression, have visions of decent lives and can come together. But revolutions are not spontaneous. There is a place for leaders, someone like Fidel Castro. Just as with Jose Martí, Cuba’s great leader in an earlier era, Fidel Castro communicated goals and hope and offered strategic insight and plans. So it’s OK.

        Some reflections on this anniversary date make the point. In her article appearing August 13 on cubadebate.org, Daily Sánchez Lemus claims that, “Fidel is a country, is this people, who see in him the architect of their highest dreams.” She asks, “How can we explain what it meant [for him] to be close to the humblest people, to feel them, interpret them and share the same fate?”.

      • Counter PunchCrime, Race and Ilhan Omar

        I would contend that there already was a division on police. The main reason Omar didn’t do as well as her past two victories was voter turnout. The heinous murder of George Floyd/at-home voting propelled her in 2020 and the anti-Trump progressive wave galvanized her supporters in 2018.

        The corporate media has practically been shouting Let’s Go Brandon! in an attempt to make Biden as interesting as Trump to no avail. But for once they did not blame Brandon for something and this was for Omar’s decline. But if we take their forecast that Biden is tanking the Democrats seriously at all we must conclude that he did indeed hurt the turnout in the primary, which in turn hurt Omar.

      • Counter Punch“Sometimes You Have to Go Above the Law.” Really?

        In a panel discussion, I questioned the co-producer Claudia Bluemhuber, about the ending. To me, the concept of a benevolent “rogue” cop was misguided. When I think of rogue policemen, I think of Derek Chauvin, guilty of the death of George Floyd as a typical rogue cop. The job of a policeman is to have people respect the law, not to go above it. When I hear “rogue” cop, I think the worst, not someone being benevolent in the mold of Morgan Freeman.

        Ms. Bluemhuber’s response to my question was about individual conscience. She insisted that individual conscience should be the final determinant of one’s actions, adding that Freeman did say that he was willing to accept whatever consequences arose from letting the two drive away. Bluemhuber implied that she preferred individual conscience to the rule of law.

      • Common DreamsOpinion | In Ukraine, Nuclear Catastrophe Looms

        The United Nations' top nuclear official this week warned about the "very alarming"€ military activity surrounding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility just across the Dnipro River from the southern city of Nikopol. Russian forces seized control of the site—the largest nuclear plant in Europe—in March and are accused of using it as a shield and a base to launch rocket attacks.

      • Counter PunchUkraine is a Wake-Up Call for Europe

        Losers: We do not yet know who will win this war (or if anyone will win it, apart from the arms industry). But we do know who will lose the most: the Ukrainian and European people. Parts of Ukraine are in ruins, millions of people have been displaced, and the euro has fallen; these are signs of defeat. In the seven decades since the destruction caused by World War II, Europe had risen again. Led by high-profile politicians and supported by the United States in its anti-communist crusade, Western Europe managed to establish itself as a region of peace and development (even if, alas, at the expense of colonial and neocolonial violence and appropriation). All it took to put the peace and development at risk was one ghost war: fought in Europe, but not led by Europe, and not even in the interest of Europeans.

        Energy transition: Carbon dioxide (CO2), which is responsible for global warming, remains in the atmosphere for many thousands of years. It is estimated that 40 percent of the CO2 emitted by humans since 1850 remains in the atmosphere, according to a Deutsche Welle report that cited the 2020 international Global Carbon Budget study. So, although China is the largest emitter of CO2 today, the fact is that, if we look at the CO2 emissions data for 1750 to 2019 (from Deutsche Welle’s analysis of Our World in Data figures), Europe was responsible for 32.6 percent of emissions, the U.S. for 25.5 percent, China for 13.7 percent, Africa for 2.8 percent, and South America for 2.6 percent of the total emissions during that period. Given the cumulative emissions debt that Europe has rung up over the course of 269 years, the story of its recent credit toward balancing the global carbon budget by leading the fight for renewable energy in recent decades is a qualified success—it is the least they can do. We may be critical of an energy transition that is underpinned by the ecology of the (mostly European) rich, but at least it was heading in the right direction. The war in Ukraine and the fossil fuel energy crisis it triggered were enough to make all projects related to this energy transition evaporate. Coal has returned from exile, and oil and nuclear energy are being rehabilitated. Why is perpetuating the war more important than advancing the energy transition? What democratic majority has decided to follow in that direction?

      • ScheerpostPatrick Lawrence: All Disquiet on the Eastern Front
      • Counter PunchUnworthy Victims?

        The reasons for this were quite plain in early coverage of the pain and loss being inflicted on the Ukrainian people: they are Europeans and, as such, are seen as ‘worthy’ victims whose stories are worth telling. Others are not so lucky, even when in the crosshairs of allied nations Western governments should have more influence over than a rival like Russia.

        One recent example, is an ongoing story in the Middle East that both demonstrates a bias in terms of coverage between the global north and south and shows how the war in Ukraine is having geopolitical ripple effects, creating further tragedies far from its shores.

      • TruthOutThe Contest to Replace Boris Johnson Is a Choice Between Austerity and Bigotry
      • Common DreamsOpinion | Failure of IRA to Extend Child Tax Credit a Tremendous Missed Opportunity

        Congress' passage of a reconciliation bill this week marks a tremendous missed opportunity to support families with children and continue one of the most effective programs of the pandemic: the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC).

      • Misinformation/Disinformation

        • New York TimesOn TikTok, Election Misinformation Thrives Ahead of Midterms

          Ahead of the midterm elections this fall, TikTok is shaping up to be a primary incubator of baseless and misleading information, in many ways as problematic as Facebook and Twitter, say researchers who track online falsehoods. The same qualities that allow TikTok to fuel viral dance fads — the platform’s enormous reach, the short length of its videos, its powerful but poorly understood recommendation algorithm — can also make inaccurate claims difficult to contain.

        • Telex (Hungary)Old-fashioned government media is being gobbled up by Facebook propaganda
        • Counter PunchThe Fall Of A Great American Newspaper ... and Democracy

          It’s a local story that mirrors the decline of daily newspapers nationwide and, along with it, American democracy. As I’ve long lectured to journalism students and anyone who would listen, it’s no coincidence that our democracy and journalism paralleled each other’s descent into the void, into these desperate times.

          You simply can’t have the former without the latter.

        • Common DreamsOpinion | Will US Democracy Survive the Right-Wing's Fake News Industry?

          Can a nation survive as a democratic republic without an honest and trusted news ecosystem? Is it an actual fact that truthful and reliable news—combined with the kind of cultural trust people have in both government and each other as the result of a shared reality—are both historic and necessary preconditions for a democracy to work at all?

    • Censorship/Free Speech

      • Counter PunchNovelist Rushdie Gravely Injured by Likely Non-Reading Zealot Seeking Salvation and Bounty

        The attacker, Hadi Matar, 24, arrested at the scene, is a California-born child of Lebanese immigrant parents whose address is Fairlawn, NJ. He has been charged with attempted murder and assault and, after pleading not guilty, is being held without bail in Chautauqua County, NY according to the local district attorney.

        The Khomeini fatwah, which offered a reward for the killing, for blasphemy, of Rushdie on account of his book The Satanic Verses. was later disavowed by the Iranian government as it sought more acceptance in the international arena, but many experts on Islamic law noted that a fatwah can normally only be lifted by the one who issues it, and Khomeini, for better or worse, at that point was dead and gone. (A $3.8-million reward is still being offered for his death by a private Iranian organization.)

      • The Atlantic All Because Salman Rushdie Wrote a Book

        Salman Rushdie has had a price on his head for 33 years. He is a writer who has lived with the fear of being killed for his words. Whatever other opinion one might have about Rushdie and his skills as a novelist or his public persona, this much is true: He has understood what it means to be targeted and hated—burned in effigy—forced to hide and, even in recent years, to continue to look over his shoulder. All because he wrote a book.

        And so it came as a shock, but maybe not as a surprise, that Rushdie was attacked this morning onstage, in Chautauqua, New York, of all places. He was about to speak to an audience at the Chautauqua Institution, a cottage community that was founded in the late 19th century as a place for religious learning, and that has since become an oasis of education and discussion every summer. That it was here that Rushdie was struck repeatedly with a knife is a terrible irony.

      • EngadgetFEC says Google can let political campaigns dodge Gmail's spam filters

        The Federal Elections Commission has rubber stamped a proposal from Google that could make it easier for political campaigns to skirt email spam filters. Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve a Gmail pilot, agreeing with Google that the program wouldn't run afoul of election rules, as The Washington Post reports.

        In June, Google asked the FEC to review a plan that would enable emails from "authorized candidate committees, political party committees and leadership political action committees registered with the FEC" to bypass spam filters — as long as they don't break Gmail rules on illegal content, malware and phishing. The FEC opened the proposal for comment and, as The Verge notes, almost all of the feedback from the public was negative. The Democratic National Committee, for one, claimed the program would benefit Republicans and subject Gmail users to “abusive fundraising tactics.”

      • Hong Kong Free PressHong Kong film dropped from festival after censors object to Umbrella Movement scene lasting under a second - Hong Kong Free Press HKFP

        The organisers of a film festival have cancelled the upcoming screening of an award-winning short movie after censors demanded the removal of a scene depicting a protest site during the 2014 Umbrella Movement.

      • Wales UKJK Rowling receives death threat on Twitter after voicing support for Salman Rushdie

        She took to the social media platform once again on Saturday afternoon, this time tagging Twitter's support account. She had taken a screenshot of a reply to her initial post about Rushdie from a user, which read: "Don't worry you are next."

        The screenshot also shared a previous post from the same person who hailed Matar for the attack on Rushdie. Incensed by the threat, Rowling wrote to Twitter: "Any chance of some support?”

      • NDTVAuthor JK Rowling Receives Death Threat Over Tweet On Salman Rushdie

        Warner Bros. Discovery, the media conglomerate which owns Warner Bros, the studio behind the "Harry Potter" film franchise, in a statement to Deadline condemned the threats against Rowling.

        "Warner Bros. Discovery strongly condemns the threats made against JK Rowling. We stand with her and all the authors, storytellers and creators who bravely express their creativity and opinions. WBD believes in freedom of expression, peaceful discourse and supporting those who offer their views in the public arena.

      • Hindustan TimesHarry Potter author JK Rowling told 'you are next' over her tweet on Rushdie attack

        Rowling later shared a screenshot of Twitter's feedback after she reported the user, which stated that there were “no violations of the Twitter rules” in the comment.

      • JK Rowling says 'police are involved' after receiving death threat for Salman Rushdie tweet

        But her outrage did not stop there. She returned to the social media platform after getting a reply from Twitter which said the death threat had "no violations of the Twitter rules in the content you reported".

        Tagging the Twitter support account again, Rowling said: "These are your guidelines, right? Violence: You may not threaten violence against an individual or a group of people. We also prohibit the glorification of violence... Terrorism/violent extremism: You may not threaten or promote terrorism..."

    • Civil Rights/Policing

      • Internet Freedom FoundationIndia @ 75 | Digital Rights Ka Amrit Mahotsav?

        This year we celebrate 75 years of independence and with these celebrations come numerous assessments of the status of civil, political, and economic rights in the country. These assessments allow us to gauge how much we have been able to accomplish and how far we still have to go to fully achieve the ideals enshrined in our Constitution. As an organisation launched on August 15, we seek to ensure that technology respects the fundamental rights of Indian citizens and thus, on the 75th anniversary of Indian independence, we want to provide you with a brief assessment of the status of your digital rights and freedoms.

        As we move towards the increasing use of technology for governance, we are becoming aware of the harms, such as bias and exclusion, that accompany these measures. For example, linking welfare schemes to Aadhaar and its biometric verification system has caused mass exclusions, and has even led to starvation deaths. Thus, it becomes imperative to ensure that social justice is the cornerstone on which we build our digital governance initiatives. The use of surveillance technology like CCTVs and facial recognition by law enforcement authorities coupled with the introduction of the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022 also raises concerns related to 360€° profiling and state sponsored mass surveillance. At this juncture, we believe that it is our responsibility to highlight these trends and raise awareness around these issues which may not affect you today but will surely affect all of us eventually.

      • TruthOutVideo Game and Tech Workers Are Putting Unions at Play in Their Industries
    • Monopolies

      • Copyrights

        • Torrent Freak'Pirate' Spider-Man Remastered Steam Keys Sell Out in Sanctioned Russia

          Spider-Man Remastered launched last Friday to decent reviews but gamers in Russia face problems buying from Steam. A local online store managed to get some Steam activation keys but sold out, despite selling them for close to the most expensive price in the world. Right now, Russians can either wait for new stock or take advantage of the game being cracked on day one.

        • Torrent FreakAnti-Piracy Group Continued to Send DMCA Notices on Behalf of Indicted Copyright Swindlers

          In addition to offering piracy insights, MUSO also helps copyright holders to take down infringing content from search engines and other online platforms. In most cases, the company represents legitimate rightsholders, but it also sends notices that appear to come from copyright swindlers, who were recently indicted by the US government.


* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.



Recent Techrights' Posts

With 9 Mentions of Azure In Its Latest Blog Post, Canonical is Again Promoting Microsoft and Intel Vendor Lock-in, Surveillance, Back Doors, Considerable Power Waste, and Defects That Cannot be Fixed
Microsoft did not even have to buy Canonical (for Canonical to act like it happened)
Links 28/03/2024: GAFAM Replacing Full-Time Workers With Interns Now
Links for the day
Consent & Debian's illegitimate constitution
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
The Time Our Server Host Died in a Car Accident
If Debian has internal problems, then they need to be illuminated and then tackled, at the very least in order to ensure we do not end up with "Deadian"
China's New 'IT' Rules Are a Massive Headache for Microsoft
On the issue of China we're neutral except when it comes to human rights issues
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 27, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, March 27, 2024
WeMakeFedora.org: harassment decision, victory for volunteers and Fedora Foundations
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 27/03/2024: Terrorism Grows in Africa, Unemployment in Finland Rose Sharply in a Year, Chinese Aggression Escalates
Links for the day
Links 27/03/2024: Ericsson and Tencent Layoffs
Links for the day
Amid Online Reports of XBox Sales Collapsing, Mass Layoffs in More Teams, and Windows Making Things Worse (Admission of Losses, Rumours About XBox Canceled as a Hardware Unit)...
Windows has loads of issues, also as a gaming platform
Links 27/03/2024: BBC Resorts to CG Cruft, Akamai Blocking Blunders in Piracy Shield
Links for the day
Android Approaches 90% of the Operating Systems Market in Chad (Windows Down From 99.5% 15 Years Ago to Just 2.5% Right Now)
Windows is down to about 2% on the Web-connected client side as measured by statCounter
Sainsbury's: Let Them Eat Yoghurts (and Microsoft Downtimes When They Need Proper Food)
a social control media 'scandal' this week
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 26, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Windows/Client at Microsoft Falling Sharply (Well Over 10% Decline Every Quarter), So For His Next Trick the Ponzi in Chief Merges Units, Spices Everything Up With "AI"
Hiding the steep decline of Windows/Client at Microsoft?
Free technology in housing and construction
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
We Need Open Standards With Free Software Implementations, Not "Interoperability" Alone
Sadly we're confronting misguided managers and a bunch of clowns trying to herd us all - sometimes without consent - into "clown computing"
Microsoft's Collapse in the Web Server Space Continued This Month
Microsoft is the "2%", just like Windows in some countries
Links 26/03/2024: Inflation Problems, Strikes in Finland
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/03/2024: Losing Children, Carbon Tax Discussed
Links for the day
Mark Shuttleworth resigns from Debian: volunteer suicide and Albania questions unanswered, mass resignations continue
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 26/03/2024: 6,000 Layoffs at Dell, Microsoft “XBox is in Real Trouble as a Hardware Manufacturer”
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/03/2024: Microsofters Still Trying to 'Extend' Gemini Protocol
Links for the day
Look What IBM's Red Hat is Turning CentOS Into
For 17 years our site ran on CentOS. Thankfully we're done with that...
The Julian Paul Assange Verdict: The High Court Has Granted Assange Leave to Appeal Extradition to the United States, Decision Adjourned to May 20th Pending Assurances
The decision is out
The Microsoft and Apple Antitrust Issues Have Some But Not Many Commonalities
gist of the comparison to Microsoft
ZDNet, Sponsored by Microsoft for Paid-for Propaganda (in 'Article' Clothing), Has Added Pop-Up or Overlay to All Pages, Saying "813 Partners Will Store and Access Information on Your Device"
Avoiding ZDNet may become imperative given what it has turned into
Julian Assange Verdict 3 Hours Away
Their decision is due to be published at 1030 GMT
People Who Cover Suicide Aren't Suicidal
Assange didn't just "deteriorate". This deterioration was involuntary and very much imposed upon him.
Overworking Kills
The body usually (but not always) knows best
Former Red Hat Chief (CEO), Who Decided to Leave the Company Earlier This Month, Talks About "Cloud Company Red Hat" to CNBC
shows a lack of foresight and dependence on buzzwords
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 25, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, March 25, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Discord Does Not Make Money, It's Spying on People and Selling Data/Control (38% is Allegedly Controlled by the Communist Party of China)
a considerable share exists
In At Least Two Nations Windows is Now Measured at 2% "Market Share" (Microsoft Really Does Not Want People to Notice That)
Ignore the mindless "AI"-washing
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Still Has Hundreds of Thousands of Simultaneously-Online Unique Users
The scale of IRC