Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 14/04/2023: Libreboot 20230413 and Kirigami Addons 0.8.0



  • GNU/Linux

    • Unicorn MediaWhat Does Linux Have in Common With ‘The Barrel of Rock’?

      Much like Linux had trouble gaining users back in the day because the general public didn't know about it, independent online radio stations like The Barrel of Rock are having trouble finding an audience because potential listeners can't wade through tens of thousands of music radio stations to find them.

      [...]

      Although that situation has changed a lot for those of us who already use Linux, it still hasn’t changed in a way that’s meaningful for those who’ve never used anything other than Windows or Mac. Sure, you can easily order machines from outfits that specialize in Linux-based computers, such as System76, Tuxedo, and Purism, but they’re targeted at those who already know and use Linux. And while it’s true that most mainline computer makers, such as Dell and HP, offer several lines of computers with Linux preinstalled, you pretty much have to know what you’re looking for to find them.

      Even more importantly, you’re absolutely not going to walk into Best Buy or any other consumer-focused electronics store and find any computers with Linux preinstalled, meaning you’re still not going to learn that there’s an easy-to-use Windows alternative.

      Operators of independent online radio stations say that they are finding themselves in a similar situation in their quest to attract listeners, because potential listeners can’t find them. This is a problem because radio stations have to have listeners to survive, but even with the best programing possible, they’re not going to be able to attract listeners if potential listeners can’t find them for that first listen.

    • Server

      • EIN PresswireAdaptive Computing Announces Release of Moab HPC Suite 10.0.0 [Ed: Only GNU/Linux is supported]

        Adaptive Computing announced the release of Moab 10.0.0, an update that includes scores of enhancements and fixes. TORQUE 7 is now also available. Moab 10.0.0 fully supports the following operating systems:

        Red Hat 7 Red Hat 8 SUSE 12 SUSE 15 Ubuntu 18.04 Ubuntu 20.04 Ubuntu 22.04

      • Business Wire AlmaLinux to be Used by CERN and Fermilab in Groundbreaking Physics Experiments

        The AlmaLinux OS Foundation, the nonprofit that stewards the community-owned and governed open-source CentOS alternative AlmaLinux, has announced that CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, located near Geneva, Switzerland, and Fermilab, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, based in Illinois in the United States, will offer AlmaLinux as one of the standard Linux distributions for experiments at their facilities.

      • TSplus Releases Server Monitoring 5.4 With Linux Server Monitoring

        TSplus is excited to announce the release of the 5.4 version of Server Monitoring, their monitoring and reporting tool for Remote Desktop Services (RDS) infrastructures. It now offers the ability to monitor Linux servers.

    • Audiocasts/Shows

      • Jupiter BroadcastingLinux Action News 288

        A classic gadget gets a Linux-powered new lease on life, the next project getting Rusty, great news for Btrfs users, and more.

      • The BSD Now PodcastBSDNow 502: Ping from Hell

        5 Key reasons for a OpenZFS Performance Audit, The Ping from Hell, OpenBGPD 7.9 released, Setting the clock ahead to see what breaks, and more

      • OMG UbuntuUbuntu 23.04: What’s New? [Video]

        The Ubuntu 23.04 release is out on April 20 and to help hype its arrival I put together a video to show off the most striking changes.

    • Applications

      • LibreBootLibreboot – Libreboot 20230413 released!
      • Linux LinksEssential Utilities: Reclaiming Disk Space (GUI Tools)

        Linux offers an unsurpassed breadth of open source small utilities that perform functions ranging from the mundane to the wonderful. These tools help make Linux a compelling operating system. This series of articles identifies indispensable open source utilities which make using Linux that bit more special.

        Whatever the size of the hard disk, our disks always fill up over time; it seems data expands to fill any void. This is partly because we experiment with lots of distributions and software. But hard disks do seem to fill up by themselves. Whether you use SSDs or mechanical hard disk drives, you cannot afford to be rash with storage. When a hard disk is full, it can be very time consuming to sort out and remove offending files and directories.

        Linux distributions come supplied with utilities to explore disk usage. For example, du is a popular tool used to estimate file space usage; space being used under a particular directory or files on a file system.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • Make Use OfHow to Use deb-get: An APT-Like Package Manager for DEB Packages

        One of the joys of using Debian and Ubuntu-based distros is the Advanced Package Tool (APT) which helps you to quickly search for packages online, then install, update, or remove them with a single command.

        Another way of installing packages is using DEB files. You can find these on random sites across the internet, and to update them you need to re-download and install the newest version.

        deb-get is a tool that aims to replicate APT functionality. You can use it to search dedicated DEB repositories and install, update, and remove software—just like APT.

      • AddictiveTipsSetting up a Linux firewall with iptables

        To set up the Firewall with iptables on your Linux system, you need to install it first. Open up a terminal window and follow the installation instructions below for your Linux OS. Iptables is installable on both Linux desktops and servers, and if you prefer a generic Linux download of iptables, you can visit the official website. Once the installation is complete, you can proceed to set up your Firewall with iptables.

      • How to Install Opera Browser on Debian 12/11/10 Linux


        Opera was developed by the Norwegian software company and is a well-stabled browser. It was first released in 1995, and since then it has been a preferable choice for many users. Although many users shifted to Google Chrome, there was a time when Opera was the first choice of everyone because of its interface, tabs-based browsing, and other unique features.

        But Opera never stopped adding new & innovative features to its browser. Features like Opera Turbo, a built-in ad blocker, and a free VPN service to enhance user privacy and protection are a few which still make it worth trying. Albeit it is based on Chromium but its looks and feels are completely different from other Chromium-based browsers such as Edge, Brave, and Google Chrome



      • Top Tips for Optimizing Kali Linux After Installation - Hack Ware News

        With deb-get, you can install and manage DEB files downloaded from third-party sources, using a familiar APT-like syntax.

      • TecMint11 Cron Command Examples in Linux [Schedule Cron Jobs]

        In this article, we are going to review and see how we can schedule and run Linux tasks in the background automatically at regular intervals using the Crontab command. Dealing with a frequent job

      • TecMintHow to Use Wget Command in Linux with Examples

        In this article, we will review the wget utility which retrieves files from World Wide Web (WWW) using widely used protocols like HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and FTPS. Wget is a free command-line utility and

      • TecMintHow to Add or Remove Linux User From Group

        Linux is by default a multi-user system (meaning many users can connect to it simultaneously and work), thus Linux user management is one of the fundamental tasks of a system administrator, which includes everything

      • KritaKrita: New Animation Tutorials by Twinimation Studios

        Twinimation Studios' Adria has prepared three new commercial animation courses, each one teaching you a distinct style, in Krita. Read on for the details!

        Do you love Rubberhose, Golden Age, and Limited Animation? Good News! You can now learn all three of these classic animation styles in this full course utilizing the animation program Krita!

        This course will begin with a history lesson to explain the notable elements of these 3 animation styles, including character designs, environment, color usage, music incorporation and much more. We will also look at numerous film examples from these eras to show how the learned elements have already been utilized.

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

        • MauiKitMaui Report 22

          Today, we bring you a quick report on the Maui Project’s progress after our previous 2.2.2 release; here you will find some detailed information on the new features, bug fixes, and improvements that have been made to the Maui set of apps and frameworks.

        • Carl SchwanKirigami Addons 0.8.0

          My second release of the day: Kirigami Addons 0.8.0. This release contains a few new components.

          AbstractMaximizeComponent

          This is part of the org.kde.kirigamiaddons.labs.components module and is a popup that covers the entire window to show some items. This is already used in NeoChat and Tokodon to magnify image and videos.

          Thanks James Graham for developing the initial version and upstreaming it to Kirigami-addons.

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

    • Slackware Family

      • GoogleSlackware: More ways we’re making Chrome faster

        Speed is a critical factor in determining your experience while browsing the Web. The faster the browser, the more enjoyable your browsing experience will be. With the latest release of Chrome, we went deep under the hood of Chrome’s engine to look for every opportunity to increase the speed and efficiency, from improved caching to better memory management.

    • Fedora Family / IBM

      • CentOSCPE Quarterly Update Q1 2023

        This is a summary of the work done by the CPE Team. Each quarter CPE Team together with CentOS and Fedora community representatives chooses the initiatives that will be worked on, in this quarter.

    • Canonical/Ubuntu Family

      • NeowinUbuntu Livepatch for HWE Linux kernels coming soon

        Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, has announced that Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernels will receive updates via the Livepatch service, just like Long-Term Release (LTS) kernels. The first kernel to gain support will be Linux 6.2 which will ship with Ubuntu 23.04 Lunar Lobster next week before being made available as an HWE kernel in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS in July.

        For those not familiar with Livepatch, it’s a service available to customers with an Ubuntu Pro subscription. If you don’t have a subscription it can be enabled on five of your personal machines. With this enabled, you are able to get the latest kernel updates installed on your computer without having to reboot. Linux kernel updates are one of the very few packages that typically require a restart in Ubuntu but with Livepatch there’s no need to restart.

        With HWE kernels, users of the more stable Ubuntu LTS releases get support for the newest hardware. New HWE kernels typically arrive around the time of Ubuntu point releases following the launch of an interim Ubuntu release, such as 23.04. If you decide to enable Livepatch as a result of this news, there’s another major benefit.

      • UbuntuUbuntu Blog: Livepatch has a new 13-month sliding support window – What does it mean for you?

        Livepatch is a valuable tool for fixing critical and high security kernel Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures, CVEs, at run-time, without the need for an immediate system reboot. However, it should not be used as a replacement for regular maintenance windows and rebooting. A good enterprise policy should include both livepatching and regular reboots to ensure the system remains stable and secure.

        This is because some system CVEs, such as firmware or device driver updates, will still require a system reboot. Additionally, Livepatch does not include kernel updates for non-security bug fixes, lower-priority security fixes, and performance improvements.

        Furthermore, there may be instances where critical kernel CVEs cannot be addressed through livepatching and will require a standard system update. Last but not the least, It is important to recognise that Livepatch is not a viable solution for upgrading to the next kernel release. To do so, a traditional system update is required which entails a reboot.

        For all these reasons, Canonical has always strongly recommended its customers to follow good enterprise policies for regular maintenance windows, and to use Livepatch to bridge the gap until their next scheduled maintenance window.

        Sliding support window

        In order to ensure that our customers adhere to the industry’s best-practices and that livepatch does not hinder their maintenance schedules, Canonical has decided to introduce a sliding support window of 13 months for every version revision of the GA kernels of all its Ubuntu LTS releases. This change is scheduled to take effect on April 20, 2023, coinciding with the release of Ubuntu 23.04, also known as Lunar Lobster.

      • UbuntuUbuntu Blog: Canonical Livepatch gets even better – Now supporting Hardware Enablement Kernels

        You have been telling us how much you love Livepatch’s ability to fix your kernel’s high and critical vulnerabilities at run-time, and how it significantly reduces your unplanned reboots. And many of you have requested that we make it available on Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernels, alongside the Long-Term Release (LTS) kernels we already support.

        We’ve listened to your feedback and are pleased to announce that Livepatch will now be available on HWE kernels. This will debut with the release of kernel version 6.2, which will initially accompany Ubuntu’s interim release of 23.04 Lunar Lobster, in April 2023. Thereafter, it will be made accessible as an HWE kernel for the 22.04 LTS release, Jammy Jellyfish, starting July 2023.

        This change means that you’ll be able to keep your kernel updated and secure with Livepatch, regardless of which kernel you choose to run with your Ubuntu LTS release.

        What are Ubuntu LTS releases?

        Ubuntu is known for LTS releases which come every two years and are designed to provide a stable and secure operating system. They are supported for up to 10 years with an Ubuntu Pro subscription and this makes them ideal for enterprises and production environments.

    • Devices/Embedded

      • Linux GizmosUP Squared Pro 7000 SBC starts at $249.00

        The UP Squared Pro 7000 series from AAEON is an embedded platform built around the Intel Core/Atom/N-Series processors. These devices come with up 32GB LPDDR5 Memory, 64GB eMMC, dual 2.5 GbE and multiple expansion interfaces.

    • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • GNU Projects

      • GNUa2ps @ Savannah: a2ps 4.15.4 released [stable]


         This is a minor update to GNU a2ps, an Any to PostScript filter.  Of course
        it processes plain text files, but also pretty prints quite a few popular
        languages.
        See https://gnu.org/s/a2ps for more information.
        This release is a minor bug-fix release. Most importantly, it now works
        correctly with libpaper version 1 (although version 2 is recommended!).
        Here are the compressed sources and a GPG detached signature:
        https://ftpmirror.gnu.org/a2ps/a2ps-4.15.4.tar.gz
        https://ftpmirror.gnu.org/a2ps/a2ps-4.15.4.tar.gz.sig
        Use a mirror for higher download bandwidth:
        https://www.gnu.org/order/ftp.html
        Here are the SHA1 and SHA256 checksums:
        c612f64ca4cc319fb0d5e7f734283c6e0dcfbb4d a2ps-4.15.4.tar.gz
        SgY/hLqJ2GvhSmcEyjX9EwCDtXLxN2tDmht5tnsgbdc a2ps-4.15.4.tar.gz
        The SHA256 checksum is base64 encoded, instead of the
        hexadecimal encoding that most checksum tools default to.
        Use a .sig file to verify that the corresponding file (without the
        .sig suffix) is intact. First, be sure to download both the .sig file
        and the corresponding tarball. Then, run a command like this:
        gpg --verify a2ps-4.15.4.tar.gz.sig
        The signature should match the fingerprint of the following key:
        pub rsa2048 2013-12-11 [SC]
        2409 3F01 6FFE 8602 EF44 9BB8 4C8E F3DA 3FD3 7230
        uid Reuben Thomas <rrt@sc3d.org>
        uid keybase.io/rrt <rrt@keybase.io>
        If that command fails because you don't have the required public key,
        or that public key has expired, try the following commands to retrieve
        or refresh it, and then rerun the 'gpg --verify' command.
        gpg --locate-external-key rrt@sc3d.org
        gpg --recv-keys 4C8EF3DA3FD37230
        wget -q -O- 'https://savannah.gnu.org/project/release-gpgkeys.php?group=a2ps&download=1' | gpg --import -
        As a last resort to find the key, you can try the official GNU
        keyring:
        wget -q https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gnu-keyring.gpg
        gpg --keyring gnu-keyring.gpg --verify a2ps-4.15.4.tar.gz.sig
        This release was bootstrapped with the following tools:
        Autoconf 2.71
        Automake 1.16.5
        Gnulib v0.1-5892-g83006fa8c9
        NEWS
        * Noteworthy changes in release 4.15.4 (2023-04-13) [stable]
        * Bug fixes:
        - Fix to read configured paper size correctly with libpaper 1.x.
        * Documentation:
        - Various minor documentation improvements.
        * Build system:
        - Fix tests when building with libpaper 1.x.
        - Require gperf for bootstrapping, and use it correctly in build system.
        - Require a new-enough version of texinfo.


  • Leftovers

  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal

      • April 13: Spring

        Spring's here. A week ago it only threatened. Red- bud blossoms are pink and tasty on the branch, dogwood flowers in woods, violets in grass, trout- lilly leaves by the creek. Mayapples poked from damp leaf litter, wind gusted.

        Robins nest, everything's up now: spring onions & ramps, backyard horseradish, garlic mustard, field plantain, yaller dock. Vines climb snags, sun burns skin, first daughter sleeps in her bike chariot on the way home from the library & playing with Bugz's dogs.

      • ‘Experts’ vs people's lived experiences

        i think it's important to make a distinction between two general categories of experts.

        Firstly, there are experts in fields such as climatology and mathematics, fields where the ‘objects of study’ don't directly or necessarily involve people. Those of us who don't have significant relevant training in these fields should respect the many years of training and experience these people have, and start from a working assumption that they're more likely to be correct than not.

        On the other hand, there are experts on topics such as queerness and gender. Such people are not necessarily _inherently_ more correct than individuals who have direct lived experiences of those topics.

      • The intimacy of my mother tongue

        I was in training session on racism yesterday, and it was in English. Not my choice. As much as I thrive in Montreal's feminist and antiracist spaces, I've known for a while that I rarely feel at ease in such a space. Too many people who elevate themselves as judges of what's the right thing to say.

        Certainly, French speakers do that too. Probably a bit less: we value deliberation quite a bit more, and self-expression quite a bit less (I don't mean bullshit less, but bullshit is less sleepy (*ronflant*), more dynamic). As a result, we don't take every assertion to be encapsulating a person's moral essence.

    • Politics

      • slowing down

        I'm approaching 2 years of sobriety which I'm thankful for and proud that I was able to make that decision without being forced into it. That said, addictions are everywhere so although I haven't used drugs (I'll make my one exception for caffeine) I can see the media, consumerist, and productivity type addictions trying to step up. I'm glad I can recognize it and so as I approach an anniversary of sobriety I've been mindful that there's more to sobriety than not using.

    • Technical

      • The importance of the browser

        I have been working from home for over three years now and, turns out, now I have less chances to use Internet on my phone -unless it is connected to my WiFi at home-.

        After many months using about a 10% of my monthly allowance, when my mobile phone provider was raising prices (again), I downsized to reduce the bill.


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



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