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Links 26/12/2022: 'Linux Phone Apps' Needs Help



  • GNU/Linux

    • 9to5Linux9to5Linux Weekly Roundup: December 25th, 2022 (Christmas Edition)

      Since it’s the holidays, this week only saw a few releases and Linux news. The EndeavourOS and Manjaro Linux folks were kind enough to drop a big release of their Arch Linux-based distros, the privacy-focused Tails OS adopted Wayland, and a new Darktable release brought many goodies for photographers.

      On top of that, Linus Torvalds played Santa and put out for the public testing the first Release Candidate of the upcoming Linux 6.2 kernel series. Below, you can enjoy these and much more in 9to5Linux’s Linux weekly roundup for December 25th, 2022.

    • Audiocasts/Shows

    • Applications

      • Linux LinksExcellent Utilities: Zellij – terminal workspace with batteries included

        This series highlights best-of-breed utilities. We cover a wide range of utilities including tools that boost your productivity, help you manage your workflow, and lots more besides.

        Zellij is billed as “a workspace aimed at developers, ops-oriented people and anyone who loves the terminal”.

        In our Excellent Utilities series we try not to include similar software. Our personal favorite terminal multiplexer is tmux, although opinion is divided even among our merry group of open source enthusiasts. We also highly recommend Tmuxinator and Byobu.

      • Medevel10 Open Source Docker Visual Managers

        Docker is a platform for developing, shipping, and running applications, it allows developers to separate their applications' infrastructure, so they can deliver software in records time.

        Beyond that, it also allows developers to deploy, run and update multiple containers on one server.

        Dockers runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS. And it is the favorite app shipping method for many developers to deploy deliver their apps to the end-users.

        However, Docker management is command-line tools, which is not easy for many users. Therefore, in this article, we offer you a collection of Docker Desktop management apps that makes Docker management easier.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • How To Disable Directory Listing From the Command Line in Linux

        When you create a directory and add files to it, any user who has access to your system and knows how to use the ls command may simply list the files in that directory and see what you have added to it.

        You can stop this from happening by taking away the read (r) permission from the directory. This way, you won’t be able to list the directory’s files, but you will still be able to read and write to them.

        If you are working on a web server and you want to prohibit people from accessing certain directories, it makes sense to set this permission to prevent users and bots from crawling the directory content.

        In this article, you will learn how to disable the directory content listing from the command line in Linux.

      • LinuxTutoHow to Install Roundcube on Ubuntu 22.04 - LinuxTuto

        Roundcube is a free open-source web-based multilingual IMAP email client written in PHP. It provides the full functionality you expect from an email client, including MIME support, address book, folder manipulation, message searching, and spell checking.

        This tutorial is going to show you how to install Roundcube webmail on Ubuntu 22.04 with Nginx web server and MySQL database server.

      • Vincent BernatManaging infrastructure with Terraform, CDKTF, and NixOS

        A few years ago, I downsized my personal infrastructure. Until 2018, there were a dozen containers running on a single Hetzner server.1 I migrated my emails to Fastmail and my DNS zones to Gandi. It left me with only my blog to self-host. As of today, my low-scale infrastructure is composed of 4 virtual machines running NixOS on Hetzner Cloud and Vultr, a handful of DNS zones on Gandi and Route 53, and a couple of Cloudfront distributions. It is managed by CDK for Terraform (CDKTF), while NixOS deployments are handled by NixOps.

      • OSTechNixFind WiFi Password Of Connected Networks In Linux - OSTechNix

        As you may already know, when you connect to a wireless network for the first time, the WiFi password is saved in your Linux machine. So you don't need to enter the password of your wireless network every time. In the subsequent times, the available WiFi network will be automatically connected. Over the time, you might have forgotten the WiFi password. One day you want to add a new device to the same WiFi network, but you don't remember the password. What are you going to do? No worries! I know a few ways to find WiFi password of connected networks in Linux.

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

        In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Composer on Rocky Linux 9. For those of you who didn’t know, A composer is a command-line tool that is used to manage dependencies in PHP projects. It allows you to declare the libraries your project depends on and it will automatically manage (install/update) them for you. It functions as some sort of project manager that helps the programmer manage dependencies that will be used on a project-to-project basis.

        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 the Composer on Rocky Linux. 9.

      • ELinuxHow to prevent spamming in a cPanel server | Linux Webhosting blog
      • TecAdminHow to Check Open (Listening) Ports in Linux - TecAdmin

        In Linux, a port is a logical connection point for transmitting data between a client and a server. To ensure the security and functionality of a system, it is important to know which ports are open and listening for incoming connections. Ports are identified by a number, ranging from 0 to 65535.

      • AddictiveTipsHow to try out Ubuntu 23.04 early

        If you wish to try out Ubuntu 23.04 Lunar Lobster before its stable release in April 2023, you can. Each day, Ubuntu generates a “daily image” for 23.04. These images come with updates, fixes, and feature updates.

        In this guide, we’ll show you how you can download, and install Ubuntu 23.04 Lunar Lobster to try it out early. However, be warned, this version of Ubuntu is highly unstable. Only download and install it if you are an expert, or if you’re confident you have your data backed up.

      • AddictiveTipsHow to install Linux Mint 21.1

        Linux Mint 21.1 is out, and with it comes a brand new version of the Cinnamon desktop, updated drivers, and much more. This guide will show you how you can get Linux Mint 21.1 working on your PC.

    • Games

      • SportskeedaCan you play Valorant on Steam Deck?

        That said, some players may wonder about the hero shooter's compatibility with the Steam Deck. The popular hand-held device has already garnered a massive fan base with its portability and high software flexibility. It runs on SteamOS, a Linux-based system created by Valve for the device.

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

    • LinuxiacBest 7 Linux Distro Releases for Desktop in 2022: Our Ranking

      2022 is at its very end. This is usually a time to reflect on the year that has passed. As an online media covering everything significant in the Linux world and the Open Source software, we presented you with the Linux releases that stood out above the others in the desktop niche in 2022.

      We will consider factors such as predictability, user-friendliness, reliability, and software support. But first, let me go into detail about the criteria we used to determine our final ranking.

    • New Releases

      • New release of Haiku OS

        From How-To Geek I learn that Haiku OS R1/beta4 -- the open-source continuation of BeOS -- has been released.

        Be Inc created BeOS in the mid-1990s as a super-modern operating system, but it failed to catch on. Over 20 years later, the open-source Haiku OS project is picking up where it left off, and there’s a new beta release available.

        The Haiku project has been developing an open-source continuation of BeOS for years, based partially on some BeOS code, but much of it has been built from scratch. Haiku R1 Beta 4 is now available, as the first major release in a year and a half. It might be the most significant upgrade yet, as it makes Haiku much more viable as a typical desktop operating system.

    • Arch Family

      • It's FOSSManjaro Linux 22.0 Releases Featuring Xfce 4.18 and Linux Kernel 6.1

        Manjaro Linux is a rolling release distro based on Arch Linux that focuses on providing a user-friendly and accessible experience.

        Since the release of 'Ruah' in June, Manjaro's development has continued and has paved the way for the latest release, which is called 'Sikaris'.

        This is one of the last distro releases (among the popular options) for 2022; let's see what it offers.

    • Red Hat / IBM

      • Red Hat OfficialWhat sysadmins want to know about OpenShift and Kubernetes in 2022 | Enable Sysadmin

        The Enable Sysadmin community continues to answer key questions about OpenShift and Kubernetes.

      • Enterprisers ProjectHybrid cloud in 2023: 5 predictions from IT leaders

        Hybrid cloud is a technical and architectural strategy, to be sure. But the term also reflects a philosophical shift and the modern reality for CIOs: Delivering strategic business value requires much more agility and flexibility in your technology stack than ever.

        That principle will be on full display in 2023 as more and more organizations and their IT leaders lean into that reality – and recognize how and why a hybrid cloud strategy enables that agility and flexibility. One-environment-fits-all approaches to running workloads typically don’t.

        [...]

        As Haff notes, hybrid cloud is widely applicable across various industries. Expect those different sectors to gain a ton of momentum in 2023 in terms of identifying the tangible value of the hybrid cloud architecture – and the hybrid-edge pairing – for their specific industries.

        That might be most apparent in the telecommunications space, where Ian Hood, chief strategist for global industries, Red Hat, expects to see accelerating deployment of hybrid edge application clouds – both to pursue their own business goals and to better support their enterprise customers’ cloud and edge strategies.

      • Enterprisers Project11 resources for advancing your edge computing journey in 2023 | The Enterprisers Project

        Taking your business to the edge requires careful planning. Is edge the right answer for your business problem? How will you address security concerns? As organizations increasingly adopt edge computing, related career opportunities are taking off. Check out this year's top articles from our community of experts if you're planning an edge strategy in 2023.

      • Red HatManage OpenShift Streams for Apache Kafka with AKHQ | Red Hat Developer

        At Red Hat, we are often asked what consoles and graphical user interfaces (GUIs) can be used with our Kafka products, Red Hat AMQ Streams and Red Hat OpenShift Streams for Apache Kafka. Because our products are fully based on the upstream Apache Kafka project, most available consoles and GUIs designed to work with Kafka also work with our Kafka products. This article illustrates the ease of integration through a look at AKHQ, an open source GUI for Apache Kafka.

        [...]

        At a high level, Apache Kafka's architecture is quite simple. It's based on a few concepts such as brokers, topics, partitions, producers, and consumers. However—as with any system—when you deploy, operate, manage, and monitor a production Kafka cluster, things can quickly become complex. To use and manage Kafka clusters in both development and production environments, there are numerous tools on the market, both commercial and open source. These tools range from scripts, GUIs, and powerful command-line interfaces (CLIs) to full monitoring, management, and governance platforms. Each type of tool offers value in specific parts of the software development cycle.

        This article shows how to connect AKHQ to a Kafka instance in Red Hat OpenShift Streams for Apache Kafka, a managed cloud service. Using our no-cost, 48-hour trial of OpenShift Streams, you can follow along with the steps. By the end of the article, you will be able to use AKHQ to manage your Kafka instance.

    • Devices/Embedded

      • CNX SoftwareGeniatech DS-3566 digital signage board is powered by a Rockchip RK3566 SoC

        Geniatech provides Debian10 and Android 11 operating systems for the board and claims to provide resources and technical datasheets for custom development. Besides digital signage, the Rockchip RK3566 board can also be used for touch-enabled HMIs, conference room monitors, cash registers, self-service terminals, automotive infotainment solutions, and so on.

        Geniatech did not provide pricing information for the DS-3566 SBC. More details may be found on the product page.

    • Open Hardware/Modding

      • Join EPAM at CES to learn more about Automotive Grade Linux | EPAM

        The automotive industry is rapidly transitioning to software-defined vehicle (SDV) platforms using open-sourced solutions such as automotive grade Linux and Android automotive OS to give a smart-phone like user experience. It’s an interesting opportunity for automotive OEMs to open new revenue streams after the initial vehicle purchase through app stores and subscriptions.

      • PurismPurism and Linux 5.19 to 6.1 - Purism

        I know you missed our kernel reports lately but even if you can’t believe it, we haven’t forgotten about them. I just took a break for a few weeks but now the desperate wait is over: Following up on our report for Linux 5.18.

        Summary of the progress on mainline support for the Librem 5 phone and its development kit during the 5.19, 6.0 and 6.1 development cycles. This summary is only about code flowing upstream – a never ending stream of changes.

        [...]

        Have a look at our Linux tree to see what is currently being worked on and tested or help if you feel like joining the fun. The ‘debian/README.source’ document describes our workflow.

    • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • Programming/Development

      • The New StackC++ 23 Standard Won’t Have a Key Parallelism Feature - The New Stack

        The next version of the C++ standard coming up next year won’t have a key feature that makes it easier to write code for execution in parallel computing environments.

        The C++ 2023 standard won’t have an asynchronous algorithm feature called senders and receivers, which will allow for simultaneous execution of code on a system with multiple chips such as CPUs and GPUs.

        “The goal there is maybe to try to get it into the working draft next year — the [C++ 26] working draft — so once it’s there, then people will take it a lot more seriously,” said Nevin Liber, a computer scientist at the Argonne National Laboratory’s Advanced Leadership Facility, and a C++ committee member, during a break-out session at last month’s Supercomputing 2022 conference in Dallas.

      • CNX SoftwareAchronix Speedster7t AC7t1500 FPGA is now available for high-bandwidth applications - CNX Software

        Achronix Semiconductor has recently announced the general availability of the Speedster7t AC7t1500 FPGA designed for networking, storage, and compute (AI/ML) acceleration applications.

        The 7nm Speedster7t FPGA family offers PCIe Gen5 ports and GDRR6 and DDR5/DDR4 memory interfaces, delivers up to 400 Gbps on the Ethernet ports, and includes a 2D network on chip (2D NoC) that can handle 20 Tbps of total bandwidth.

      • Perl / Raku

        • PerlAutomatic Art | lichtkind [blogs.perl.org]

          As always you can install it from CPAN and you will need WxPerl even if I should probably switch to Prima. The usage is a simplified version of the Harmonograph and well documented o let me just present the basic idea: we have just a row of cellular automata - like described by Stephen Wolfram in "A new kind of science". These are simplest possible function, that take their state (integer between 0 and M [default 1]) and the states of their neighbouring cells (N) as input and produce a new state in the next round. The interaction of functionally independent cells can result in surprising complexity. And that is what fascinated Stephen and that is what we employ here to draw images.

          To get maximal result you can set the number for M and the size of the neighbourhood. (Even size do not include the cell itself). You can defined the starting values and if the cell build a ring (first and last are connected). Another option are the action rules, which are also described in the book. These determine if the is even allowed to change its value this round. This adds another layer complexity on top.

        • PerlI am jumping my Web pages from 2007 to 2022(now). | kido_mitsuru [blogs.perl.org]

          Hi Everyone, especially Web-Casting Programmers !!

          Naturally I encountered various problems. When I moved from an old computer platform Compaq-Evo with Fedora Core 7 (2007 Red Hat LINUX) to a newer Ubuntu and Rocky 9.1 (2022) as Web-Casting, Web codes encounters various errors and weird displays on the screen. I have to fix all the problems one by one. O.K. let me start one question. Will you help me if you have similar experience. In my case this is a big jump from 2007 -> to 2022.

          Here is my first question . HELP me !

          When I tested PERL script at Rocky 9.1, I needed to have the command "perl" in front of excitable script filename.

        • DEV CommunityElizabeth Mattijsen: The 2022 Raku Advent Blog
      • Python

        • TecAdminHow to Connect MongoDB Database in Python - TecAdmin

          MongoDB is a popular NoSQL database that is widely used for storing and manipulating large amounts of data. It is known for its flexibility, scalability, and performance, making it a great choice for a variety of applications.

          In this article, we will look at how to connect to a MongoDB database in Python using the `pymongo` library, which is a MongoDB driver for Python. We will also cover some basic operations such as inserting data, querying the database, and updating documents.

        • OSNoteProgramming with Python Programming Language - OSNote

          Python is an increasingly popular programming language that offers a high degree of flexibility and power. It’s become a staple language for software developers, data scientists, machine learning experts, and more. But what makes Python such an appealing choice when it comes to developing software?

          In this article, we’ll take a look at why Python programming language is the right choice when it comes to learning to program.

      • Java

        • Red HatWhere to learn about Java from Red Hat | Red Hat Developer

          You've found a great place for Java programming 101 content. In this article, we've gathered the highest-performing articles from the past year on this topic on Red Hat Developer. This article introduces you to all things related to Java, from its essential business benefits to the most modern frameworks and tools.

      • Rust

  • Leftovers

    • Science

      • The Wall Street JournalU.S. Steel Looks to Forge High-Tech Future at Mills Both New and Old

        A cutting-edge U.S. Steel mill in Arkansas is using AI tools in production, but implementing that tech know-how in century-old plants hasn’t been easy

        [...]

        At a U.S. Steel Corp. mill on the Mississippi River, an automated crane lifts and lowers 1,000-degree hot steel coils into open squares, using a machine-learning algorithm to calculate the optimal spot for each coil to quickly cool down before it is shipped off.

        This automated steel-coil yard, laid out like a giant chess board, is one of many advanced-technology operations at Big River Steel, a six-year-old plant in Osceola, Ark., that was built with the goal of harnessing cutting-edge tech to save energy, time and money.

        When U.S. Steel took full ownership of Big River last year, it also gained the plant’s artificial intelligence know-how and was a signal of the 120-year-old manufacturing giant’s commitment to advancing technology in its mills. But implementing the type of technology in use at Big River in the steelmaker’s other mills, some of which are over 100 years old, has proven a difficult task, according to the company’s chief information officer.

      • ReutersHow daredevil drones find nearly extinct plants hiding in cliffs | Reuters

        Ben Nyberg stood on a knife-edge ridge along Hawaii’s Na Pali Coast, his eyes scouring the leafy recesses of the neighboring red-rock ridges. It was quiet, if not for a faint buzzing of a drone flying among flocks of curious white-tailed tropicbirds.

        Nyberg steered the drone closer toward the opposing ridge, scanning the iPad in his hands, which acted as a viewfinder. Then, he saw it: Wilkesia hobdyi.

      • Empirical Optimization with Divergent Fixed Point Algorithm – When All Else Fails - Machine Learning Techniques

        Entitled “Empirical Optimization with Divergent Fixed Point Algorithm – When All Else Fails”, the full version in PDF format is accessible in the “Free Books and Articles” section, here. Also discussed in details with Python code in my book “Synthetic Data”, available here.

        While the technique discussed here is a last resort solution when all else fails, it is actually more powerful than it seems at first glance. First, it also works in standard cases with “nice” functions. However, there are better methods when the function behaves nicely, taking advantage of the differentiability of the function in question, such as the Newton algorithm (itself a fixed-point iteration). It can be generalized to higher dimensions, though I focus on univariate functions here.

    • Hardware

      • [Old] Advance brings quantum computing one step closer to implementation | The University of Tokyo

        Quantum computers are powerful computational devices that rely on quantum mechanics, or the science of how particles like electrons and atoms interact with the world around them. These devices could potentially be used to solve certain kinds of computational problems in a much shorter amount of time. Scientists have long hoped that quantum computing could be the next great advance in computing; however, existing limitations have prevented the technology from hitting its true potential. For these computers to work, the basic unit of information integral to their operation, known as quantum bits, or qubits, need to be stable and fast.

        Qubits are represented both by simple binary quantum states and by various physical implementations. One promising candidate is a trapped electron that levitates in a vacuum. However, controlling the quantum states, especially the vibrational motions, of trapped electrons can be difficult.

    • Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

    • Linux Foundation

    • Security

      • Bruce SchneierLastPass Breach

        Last August, LastPass reported a security breach, saying that no customer information—or passwords—were compromised. Turns out the full story is worse...

      • LastPass: Hackers Stole Customer Vault Data In Cloud Storage Breach - Slashdot

        This follows a previous update issued last month when the company's CEO, Karim Toubba, only said that the threat actor gained access to "certain elements" of customer information. Today, Toubba added that the cloud storage service is used by LastPass to store archived backups of production data. The attacker gained access to Lastpass' cloud storage using "cloud storage access key and dual storage container decryption keys" stolen from its developer environment.

      • Bleeping ComputerLastpass: Hackers stole customer vault data in cloud storage breach

        LastPass revealed today that attackers stole customer vault data after breaching its cloud storage earlier this year using information stolen during an August 2022 incident.

        This follows a previous update issued last month when the company's CEO, Karim Toubba, only said that the threat actor gained access to "certain elements" of customer information.

        Today, Toubba added that the cloud storage service is used by LastPass to store archived backups of production data.

        The attacker gained access to Lastpass' cloud storage using "cloud storage access key and dual storage container decryption keys" stolen from its developer environment.

      • Notice of Recent Security Incident - The LastPass Blog [Ed: Notice the timing (date) of this face-saving nonsense)]

        The threat actor may attempt to use brute force to guess your master password and decrypt the copies of vault data they took. Because of the hashing and encryption methods we use to protect our customers, it would be extremely difficult to attempt to brute force guess master passwords for those customers who follow our password best practices. We routinely test the latest password cracking technologies against our algorithms to keep pace with and improve upon our cryptographic controls.

      • Wladimir PalantWhat’s in a PR statement: LastPass breach explained | Almost Secure

        Right before the holiday season, LastPass published an update on their breach. As people have speculated, this timing was likely not coincidental but rather intentional to keep the news coverage low. Security professionals weren’t amused, this holiday season became a very busy time for them. LastPass likely could have prevented this if they were more concerned about keeping their users secure than about saving their face.

        Their statement is also full of omissions, half-truths and outright lies. As I know that not everyone can see through all of it, I thought that I would pick out a bunch of sentences from this statement and give some context that LastPass didn’t want to mention.

      • LWNSecurity updates for Monday [LWN.net]

        Security updates have been issued by Debian (kernel, libksba, and mbedtls), Fedora (containerd, curl, firefox, kernel, mod_auth_openidc, and xorg-x11-server), and Mageia (chromium-browser-stable).

      • Information Security Media Group, CorporationLinux Critical Kernel-level Bug Affects SMB Servers [Ed: It's not severity 10. It was a mistake.]

        A critical Linux kernel vulnerability exposed the server message block protocol to remote hacking with highest privileges.

      • LinuxSecurityHow Physical Security Blends With Cybersecurity | LinuxSecurity.com

        Did you know that during 2022, businesses will have experienced an average of 130 cybersecurity attacks? Cybersecurity is an essential investment for any business looking to maintain GDPR compliance and the trust of its clients and stakeholders.

        But, your physical security strategy is essential to your cybersecurity health.

        Want to find out why? Keep reading as we discuss the main methods of blending cyber and physical security, the critical role that open-source intelligence (OSINT) plays in facilitating the convergence of physical security and cybersecurity, and why a cyber-physical security approach is essential in the modern climate.

    • Finance

      • Coin DeskHow AI-Powered Trading Bots Are Reshaping Crypto Trading

        Algorithms are being unleashed on the crypto markets.

        [...]

        Algorithmic trading is used across most capital markets. According to a 2020 report from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 78% of market trades were performed by “trading centers [that] depend on automated systems and algorithms.” Other commentators peg the volume of stock trades coming from bots at 60% to 70%.

        Institutional traders rent or create their own bots that activate when the market hits certain conditions. These algorithms constantly search markets for the right trade setups, such as finding oversold stocks or trading a breakout. When they find the right conditions bots run scripts that determine the position size, execute the trade, employ stop-losses and exit automatically.

        The bots are not perfect because they are created using past data, but the latest artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology are already being employed – making them faster and more efficient than ever. Further, bots take the emotion out of trading (helping to stymie some of the emotional burden of investing in volatile markets).

  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal

      • Changes

        Me, my place, the things I do. Plans, the thoughts, those nightmares too. Friends, the days, the one who's boo. Games, my dreams, what was true.

    • Technical

      • Internet/Gemini

        • Creepy Website Similarity

          This is a write-up about an experiment from a few months ago, in how to find websites that are similar to each other. Website similarity is useful for many things, including discovering new websites to crawl, as well as suggesting similar websites in the Marginalia Search random exploration mode.


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



Recent Techrights' Posts

Security and blobs, by Alex Oliva (GNU Linux-Libre)
Reprinted with permission from Alex Oliva
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We have so much in common
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SUEPO Munich has just issued a statement to staff
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They cite SneakerSO
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It predates Microsoft and Apple
In Greenland, Firefox's Gecko and KHTML (KDE, But Bastardised by Apple) Bigger Than Chrome
Are those Danes recognising the risk of monoculture?
IBM Layoffs Definitely Still Happening
Contrary to what some apologists try to say
 
Probably IBM's Worst Day in Wall Street in Well Over a Decade
They try to blame some Anthropic slop, but that's just a distraction from IBM having nothing to offer
The Monday After the 9PM-on-Friday Prepared Puff Pieces-Under-Embargo Microsoft Strategy for XBox Collapse
There are more layoffs ahead at Microsoft's XBox
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let's hope that by the end of the year the whole bubble fully implodes
IBM Common Stock Crashes Hard (Almost $100 Below the Levels of February's Beginning)
Another Kyndryl?
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Links for the day
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Links for the day
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the IBM Titanic
Trusting the Evil Maids
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Aaron Swartz did not start Reddit
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Let's hope they carry on like this
Coders and Thinkers
I used to be a hyper-productive coder; these days I do more thinking and writing
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Benj Edwards, a so-called 'Senior' so-called 'AI' so-called 'Reporter'
Quitting Reddit (Social Control Media Controlled by Conde Nast)
There is a new post in Reddit
There is No Such Thing as "AI Skills", "AI Competency", "AI Fluency" Etc.
Slop does not give anybody an advantage
Links 23/02/2026: "What Boston Will Cost Me" and Women as Hostages
Links for the day
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it looks like the total count (tally) of users increased a lot lately
Microsoft Tricked the Media Into Lying About Microsoft Layoffs in January. Now It Does the Same (in February).
Microsoft has got the media by the wallet (or balls)
Free Software Projects Become Slow Due to Slop
It does not improve efficiency or productivity, it reduces both
EPO Strike Has Begun (or Resumed)
The EPO status quo is untenable
Links 23/02/2026: US Surrenders to Climate Change (to Benefit Oil Companies and Slop), UK Court of Appeal to Hear Mazur
Links for the day
GAFAM Jobs No Longer Lucrative
Those days are long gone
Germans Recognise the Contagion is Digital, Not Racial
How to dismantle or neutralise those weapons? Turn them off
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It's hardly surprising that some of the loudest opponents of Software Freedom and its luminaries also disregard or bend facts
Dr. Andy Farnell Explains Why the Slop Industry is Like Trespassers and Thieves
interesting new article about robots.txt files
The Demise of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and Profession Based Around Bullying With SLAPPs and Empty Threats
For press to survive and thrive in the UK we need the hired gun to be submerged
Gemini Links 23/02/2026: Imperfect Journal, Evil, and "Progress Goes Boing!"
Links for the day
“Power is a Thing of Perception. They Don't Need to be Able to Kill You. They Just Need You to Think They are Able to Kill You” ― Julian Assange
When leadership becomes corrupt enough to lose a sense of authority its days are numbered; it'll be replaced
IBM Has Already Admitted 2026 Mass Layoffs (in 4Q Earnings Call)
We showed this earlier this month, but some people bring that up again
Reasons to Go on Strike in the European Patent Office (EPO)
If you live in Europe and don't work for the EPO, you can still help
First speech of Chanellor Hitler, Andreas Tille & Debian denounce Branden Robinson
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, February 22, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, February 22, 2026
More and More Projects Quit Microsoft GitHub This Year, XBox Will See the Same
Microsoft GitHub's embrace of slop as "strategic" gives us a clue of what'll happen to XBox very soon
Google "Intelligence": Despite Slam-Dunk or "Smoking Gun" Proof, Drug Abuse in EPO Leadership is "Unverified Allegations"
Google's slop (so-called 'AI') lacks intelligence
8,000 Pages/Articles Per Year
We're eager to maintain a good production/publication pace and illuminate the sinister attempts to interfere with Freedom of the Press in the UK
Don't Use the Future Tense to Discuss the Slop Bubble
Wall Street does not react to reality; it reacts to panic, which is related to expectations
Gemini Links 22/02/2026: Okonomiyaki and Midcrunch Crisis
Links for the day
The Broken Window Industry and Its Ongoing Desires to Make Technology Less Dependable
Reliable computing is becoming harder to find
Freedom Means Accepting He or She Who is Different
In the Debian community we're sadly seeing some authoritarian overreach this month
New XBox CEO Typecast in Social Control Media
Microsoft apologists will fall back on (or shuffle between) the "racist" and "sexist" angle
Sites Without JavaScript Deserve Your Visits
We're not arguing that the Web should be as simple or barebones like Gemini Protocol/GemText
EPO Strikes Are Already Working
Campinos is already going "into hiding"
Microsoft Windows Falls to Another New All-Time Low in Guatemala, It is a Bottomless Pit
Maybe users come to realise that Windows means back doors and those doors are open to a regime that ought not be trusted
"XBox" Will Become Slop After Mass Layoffs
When all else fails, "AI it"
Links 22/02/2026: Hardware Price Hikes Across the Board, "Microsoft Issues Statement on Potential Layoffs"
Links for the day
Microsoft "Layoffs Incoming"
This transition isn't about promoting games; it's about canning the console
Links 22/02/2026: "Bloat of Modern Fitness Apps" and Wikipedia Deprecates Archive.today
Links for the day
Our IRC 5-Year Anniversary (for Self-Hosted) is Fast Approaching
A week from now it's March already
Gemini Links 22/02/2026: Dream Job Gone and Slop in Taskwarrior
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, February 21, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, February 21, 2026
GNU/Linux Grew a Lot in Nicaragua
We've not noticed until today
Techrights Has Over 1,000 Good Articles 'in the Tank'
Drafts, notes, and lengthy documents
New Article Challenges Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for Choosing the Wrong SLAPP Cases to Investigate
The one point we can agree on is that SRA does not know how to correctly select the worst culprits/offenders
The Brand 'Watsonx' is a Terrible Name for IBM 'Hey Hi' (Chatbots) Because Watson Agreed With Adolf Hitler
Almost a century has passed and IBM still believes that selling "intelligence", chatbots in particular, should be done under the name "Watson"
Why IBM is Still Scary and Dangerous
Keep a distance from "Big Blue" Bully
Measuring the Growth of Our Mission and Community
Something between experiment and prototype
Richard Stallman in the United States - Part III - Georgia Tech Did a Fine Job Upholding Free Speech Principles
The real problem was social control media (toxic)
Debian's Master is Deleting Criticism of SystemD and Other Things (On-Topic and Published by Debian Developers), Resorts to the Excuse Messages Are "Too Long"
Censorship serves nobody except the masters that control this censorship
Digg's Latest Incarnation Already Failed, It's Infested With LLM Slop
Many submissions go to slopfarms and some get summarised by slop
Gemini Links 21/02/2026: Veganism and DeskPi RackMate T0
Links for the day
On The Web, XBox Already a Dying Breed
Down to about 0.05% on large machines, based on statCounter [...] Microsoft will never publicly admit or say how many billions it lost on the XBox
2026 a Year of 'Top-Down' Microsoft Layoffs (Management First)
Stay tuned for what comes next
Your "Likes" Aren't Yours and They're Mostly "Worthless Clicks"
Social hermits are not popular, irrespective of how many "Facebook friends" or "likes" they get
Waggener Edstrom/Frank Shaw Lied, There Are Definitely Microsoft Layoffs
Microsoft never issued a formal statement, it made allusions by proxy
Microsoft-Controlled Media With Embargo and Press Operatives
This won't be the last example of media manipulation for narrative control or face-saving "damage control"
Slop Hype Makes Our Core Technology Less Reliable and Far Less Resilient (We Pay for the Catastrophe That Follows)
Only slop-free projects can be trusted
Going for 1,000 (Days of Uptime)
universal records are vastly better
Firefox is No-Go in China, Not Even 1% "Market Share" Anymore
Given Mozilla's utterly rubbish marketing these days (politics over technical aspects), set aside the cheerleading for slop, there's hardly a chance of Mozilla Firefox reaching or exceeding 10% again
EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part III - It's in His Eyes
Workers are free to draw their own conclusions
Links 21/02/2026: Tensions Over Iran and Illegal Cheeto Tariffs, Presidential Approval Sags
Links for the day
Links 21/02/2026: "Moving Away From Cloudflare", Many Layoffs or Shutdowns in Games (Including XBox/Microsoft)
Links for the day
GNU Linux-libre is a Grown-Up Today
"before that, every distro that wanted to respect its users' freedom had to remove itself all of the binary blobs that were distributed as part of the kernel Linux's so-called sources"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, February 20, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, February 20, 2026
Gemini Links 21/02/2026: "The Evil of Action" and Slop Bots Causing Great Harm Online (Not Just the Web)
Links for the day