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Links 24/04/2023: Shotwell 0.32.0 and Linux 6.3 Released



  • GNU/Linux

    • Server

      • Kubernetes BlogKubernetes 1.27: Server Side Field Validation and OpenAPI V3 move to GA

        Before Kubernetes v1.8 (!), typos, mis-indentations or minor errors in YAMLs could have catastrophic consequences (e.g. a typo like forgetting the trailing s in replica: 1000 could cause an outage, because the value would be ignored and missing, forcing a reset of replicas back to 1). This was solved back then by fetching the OpenAPI v2 in kubectl and using it to verify that fields were correct and present before applying. Unfortunately, at that time, Custom Resource Definitions didn’t exist, and the code was written under that assumption. When CRDs were later introduced, the lack of flexibility in the validation code forced some hard decisions in the way CRDs exposed their schema, leaving us in a cycle of bad validation causing bad OpenAPI and vice-versa. With the new OpenAPI v3 and Server Field Validation being GA in 1.27, we’ve now solved both of these problems.

        Server Side Field Validation offers resource validation on create, update and patch requests to the apiserver and was added to Kubernetes in v1.25, beta in v1.26 and is now GA in v1.27. It provides all the functionality of kubectl validate on the server side.

        OpenAPI is a standard, language agnostic interface for discovering the set of operations and types that a Kubernetes cluster supports. OpenAPI V3 is the latest standard of the OpenAPI and is an improvement upon OpenAPI V2 which has been supported since Kubernetes 1.5. OpenAPI V3 support was added in Kubernetes in v1.23, moved to beta in v1.24 and is now GA in v1.27.

    • Kernel Space

      • 9to5LinuxLinux Kernel 6.3 Officially Released, This Is What’s New

        Highlights of Linux kernel 6.3 include a new DRM accelerated driver for Intel VPU (Versatile Processing Unit) that supports VPU IP 2.7 integrated into 14th Generation Intel “Meteor Lake” client CPUs, Rust code support for x86_64 user-mode Linux, AES-SHA2-based encryption for the NFS file system, and support for AMD’s “automatic IBRS” feature.

        Also new in the Linux 6.3 kernel is support for the “ZBB” bit-manipulation extension for RISC-V kernels, support for kernel address-space layout randomization and relocation for the LoongArch architecture, full support for BPF trampolines on RISC-V and IMB Z (s390x) systems, support for Hyper-V extended hypercalls for KVM (x86), and support for ARM SME (Scalable Matrix Extension) 2 instructions.

      • The Register UK Linux 6.3 debuts after 'nice, controlled release cycle'
        Linux 6.3 has arrived after a push that project boss Linus Torvalds characterized as "a nice, controlled release cycle" that required the seven release candidates he prefers and was supported by helpful developer behavior.

        "It happens," he added, but also didn't rule out "something nasty couldn't have been lurking all these weeks." Torvalds therefore urged real-world testing to make sure this release really is ready for prime-time consumption.

        Holidays and travel are often the cause of delays to kernel releases. Easter didn't slow development this time around.

      • CNX Software Linux 6.3 release – Notable changes, Arm, RISC-V and MIPS architectures

        Linux 6.2 was released about two months ago with faster mitigation of the Retbleed speculative execution attack on x86-64 and ARM processors, the Runtime Verification (RV) tool, optional power savings with improved RCU locking (mainly for Android and Chrome OS), and faster file and directory creation with exFAT, and many other changes.

      • Linux mailing listsLinux 6.3
        It's been a calm release this time around, and the last week was
        really no different. So here we are, right on schedule, with the 6.3
        release out and ready for your enjoyment.
        
        

        That doesn't mean that something nasty couldn't have been lurking all these weeks, of course, but let's just take things at face value and hope it all means that everything is fine, and it really was a nice controlled release cycle. It happens.

        This also obviously means the merge window for 6.4 will open tomorrow. I already have two dozen pull requests waiting for me to start doing my pulls, and I appreciate it. I expect I'll have even more when I wake up tomorrow.

        But in the meantime, let's enjoy (and test) the 6.3 release. As always, the shortlog below is just this last week's worth of fixes, which is a pretty random collection. Some misc VM fixes stand out, but that sounds scarier than it is - they stand out mainly because everything else is small, and it's unusual to see the mm/ subdirectory in the diffstat. But it's all pretty small, and a fair chunk of it is for things like kmsan, not "normal" VM code. Although there's still some fallout from the conversion to the maple tree and vma iterator. Let's hope we're all done with that pain.

        Anyway - I think we're in good shape, but please do try to prove me wrong: testing in the real world is where it's at.

        Linus
      • GNU Linux-libre 6.3-gnu

        Cleaned up new drivers for ath12k, aw88395, and peb2466, and new devicetree files for aarch64 qcom devices. Adjusted for changes amdgpu, xhci-rcar, qcom-q6v5-pas; for undeprecation of sp8870, av7110, and Budget dvb cards; for the upstream removal of mga, r128, tm6000, cpia2, and r8188eu; for reformatting of documentation files; for drivers moved into accelerator/; for wording changes in build scripts; for separate precompiled BPF files. Ported the fix for the deblobbed i915 driver.

      • DebugPointLinux Kernel 6.3 Arrives with Intel VPU Driver, More Rust Updates

        Following the Linux Kernel 6.3 RC1 release a month back, Linus Torvalds announced the release of Linux Kernel 6.3, which is immediately available for download. Feature-wise, it's a moderate release and brings the usual CPU, GPU, networking and security fixes. Overall nothing critical stands out during the RC phase, and it's evident from Linus's note.

        That being said, let's give you the key highlights of this release.

    • Applications

      • 9to5LinuxShotwell 0.32.0 Image Viewer Adds Support for JPEG-XL, AVIF, and WebP Images

        Shotwell 0.32.0 is here to introduce support for new image formats, including AVIF, WebP, JPEG-XL, CR3, as well as more variants of HEIF/HVEC. It also introduces the ability to manually tag people in images, and the devs note the fact that automatic detection and recognition of people can now be enabled during compile time.

        The graphical user interface has been updated as well in this release to add support for HiDPI displays for the image viewer, support for multiple accounts for publishing services, and simpler handling of hierarchical tags.

      • Jens Georg: Shotwell 0.32.0

        Hello everyone, as “teased” over on discourse, April 22nd saw the release of Shotwell’s new stable version, 0.32.0.

        New features include:

        • More image formats: AVIF, CR3, HEIF/HVEC, JPEG XL & WebP
        • Some initial geographical data handling (The map display will likely return in 33)
        • Multiple libraries and settings that are isolated from each other
        • Support of more than one account for publishing services
        • Manual tagging of persons
        • Automatic detection and recognition of persons can be enabled during compile time
        • HiDPI support for the image viewer
        • Simpler handling of hierarchical tags

        The new version should pop up on flathub soon, and if you were subscribing to the GNOME nightly version, I would also recommend to switch to the flathub version, the GNOME nightly version will start to become quite unstable soonish.

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

    • Reviews

      • Distro WatchQubes OS 4.1.2

        Paranoia, as a general rule, is not a good thing. Yet, somehow, when it comes to Linux, the word takes on a shade of meaning that seems less, well, paranoid - more about security and privacy than tin hats and radio waves from the ether.

        In this, it's not so much about looking under the bed to see if some nefarious government agency is spying on us. Rather, we want to keep our systems safe from the prying algorithms of corporate capitalism; stop the avalanche of spam that overwhelms so many others; and protect ourselves from the chance that some hacker with time on her hands would get a giggle from taking over our machine.

        Hence, the varied and assorted Linux distros and apps designed to safeguard privacy and security, be it the Tor Browser or Qubes OS. The latter project describes itself as a "Free and open-source, security-oriented operating system for single-user desktop computing."

        Which, after a week or so of playing with Qubes, I can say, "Damn right it is!"

        It takes a lot for a distro to impress me, and I'm hardly Qube's target audience - a freelance writer whose Internet privacy was compromised years ago with my first AOL e-mail address. But the distro both fascinated and transfixed me, and one bit of progress in making it work made me want to move to the next bit, and then the next and the next. I don't know that I'd ever use Qubes as my daily driver, but I'm glad it's there if I do need it for that purpose.

        The caveat here - and it's a big one: Qubes is not for the faint of heart. It's complicated and demanding, and it needs to be run in just such a way or you won't be able to use it effectively. This is not because, like some interesting projects (EasyOS comes to mind), that it's a work in progress. It isn't. Qubes is just that hard-wired and focused on security. How many other distros require user permission to get a USB mouse to work?

    • Fedora Family / IBM

      • LinuxiacThe New Flathub is Here: Discover a World of Apps with Ease
        Flathub is a software distribution platform for Linux that provides an extensive collection of Flatpak applications – containerized, distro-agnostic software packages that run on various Linux distributions.

        In recent years, it has gained popularity among Linux users as a one-stop shop for discovering, installing, and updating Flatpak apps. Flathub offers 2,000 apps from over 1,500 collaborators, averaging 700,000 downloads daily from different categories, including productivity, gaming, education, and multimedia.

    • Canonical/Ubuntu Family

      • OMG Ubuntu10 Things To Do After Installing Ubuntu 23.04

        Well, then I installed Ubuntu 23.04 on my old Lenovo laptop (tangent: it was running 22.04 LTS and I didn’t have the patience to upgrade it to Ubuntu 22.10, and then upgrade to Ubuntu 23.04 – I know, I’m lazy).

        Turns out, there are still a few post-install tweaks I like to make — a few are specific to this release (well, GNOME 44 more so; I did them after installing Fedora 38 too).

        I share my “to dos” below but be sure to drop your pertinent post-installation procedures down in le commentz section — there might be some nifty tricks I’ve missed!

    • Devices/Embedded

      • CNX SoftwareMakeblock Ultimate 2.0 review – A multi-function 10-in-1 educational robot kit

        Makeblock Ultimate 2.0 is an educational robot kit that can be used to easily create up to 10 different types of robots. An Arduino-compatible Mega 2560 MCU board serves as the main controller and there are over 550 mechanical parts and electronic modules. The robot can drive up to 4 encoder and stepping motors, control up to 10 servo motors to work simultaneously, and can also be connected to Arduino and Raspberry Pi boards for more complex projects.

      • ArduinoThis basketball sculpture sinks shots for socialites

        If you aren't part of that world, you may be making the mistake of thinking that art galleries are full of boring paintings for stuffy socialites. In reality, there are all kinds of different art galleries and some of them have some pretty interesting pieces.

      • Raspberry PiThis tiny arcade cabinet is the same size as a Coke can

        I’ve cobbled a quick overview of the build here, but if you’d like to make one, follow Gizmo’s detailed Instructables post.

    • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • Programming/Development

      • André StaltzParametric Progress

        This may seem efficient, because you are doing more work in one go, but it’s not. It’s actually the opposite. It is more efficient to fix only one thing per git commit. Choose one aspect, or one “parameter”, and change only that. Then, see what happens, learn about the effects of your change, and then move on to the next parameter. Thus “Parametric Progress”.

        The diagram below illustrates how this may seem counter-intuitive. If you change many things at once (left side in the diagram), it may seem like you are taking shortcuts, and thus arriving at the goal faster. And Parametric Progress (right side) may seem like making detours.

      • University of TorontoThe two types of C programmers (a provocative thesis)

        Back in the days, C was somewhere between your best option or your only real option for doing certain sorts of programming. If you were writing a Unix program, for example, for quite a while C was your only real choice (then later you could consider C++). The people who came to C often found some of its virtues to be attractive, but they weren't necessarily strongly committed to it; they'd picked C as an expedient choice.

        Meanwhile, there are people who looked at C and felt (and often still feel) that it was very much the language for them (out of those available at the time). They feel strongly drawn to C's virtues, often explicitly in contrast to other languages, and today they may still program in C out of choice. If and when they switch languages they often pick languages that are as close to the virtues of C (as each person sees them) as possible.

      • Matt RickardBuilding a Kernel From Scratch

        Why would you want to build a custom Linux kernel (well, a rootfs, kernel, and a bootloader)? There are two reasons: [...]

      • DeveverMemoirs from the old web: server-side image maps

        There were two kinds of image map technology; of those who used image maps, most probably only remember the newer client-side image maps. However, there was also an older image map technology which is now almost forgotten, in the form of server-side image maps.

        Client-side image maps. The newer client-side image maps allowed arbitrary polygons to be defined over an image. This had the advantage that browsers could tab through the various polygons to be activated for accessibility purposes, and didn't require server-side processing. It was fairly common to see client-side image maps being used for navigation purposes, over a single image with a number of different page titles written on it. It was also fairly common for it to be used in conjunction with framesets, using the target attribute on an area element.

      • Olaf AldersAutocorrecting my Git Commands

        I'm going to show you a couple of handy tricks that I use to help Git "Do What I mean".

  • Leftovers

    • TwinCities Pioneer PressSkywatch: Honey, I shrunk the universe

      In the history of my column, I’ve bombarded you with many numbers about the sizes and distances of the stars and planets in our night sky. The numbers can get so enormous that it’s impossible to truly grasp their enormousness. I still struggle with these figures and have been into amateur astronomy my entire life.

    • André StaltzBack to the Web

      I used to blog a lot more. There are a lot of reasons for that, perhaps the biggest one is the standards I hold myself to. Ever since my articles started getting viral and being mentioned in the news, writing on my blog is not a light activity anymore. I want to change that.

      We are currently witnessing the most fragmented environment for social networks since the dawn of Twitter and Facebook. The two reasons are: Twitter is in decay, and decentralized alternatives are alive and thriving. This is good and bad. Good because, hey, we’re finally decentralizing this space! Bad because it’s unclear (at least that’s how I’ve been feeling) where to publish your content.

    • International Business TimesPopular Italian destination may fine tourists over €£200 for taking selfies

      A fine of €£242 has been implemented across two Instagram-famous photography spots within the popular Italian town, which are now marked as red zones or "no waiting" areas, according to The Independent.

      Thanks to its adorable houses - beautiful in both shape and colour, glamorous boutiques, and restaurants with some of the most stunning decors, Portofino has become a very popular destination among Instagram enthusiasts. The crowd flow tends to get out of control as people get busy looking for the "perfect shot."

    • ChrisEarly Adventures in Spaced Repetition
    • AxiosWhy we love voice notes

      The voicemail might be dead, but the quick little audio note is thriving.

      Why it matters: People can increasingly drop quippy or professional self-recorded files on apps for work, dating and other personal comms, which many senders and recipients feel builds better connections.

    • AxiosBed Bath & Beyond files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, will liquidate

      Bed Bath & Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday and said it plans to liquidate, adding that it will reverse course if it finds a last-minute buyer.

      Why it matters: Bed Bath & Beyond has been in distress for years, having failed to reinvent itself in the digital age despite efforts to declutter its stores and remake its coupon strategy.

  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal

      • Muppet Monologue

        In my quest to get a job in Canada, I decided to enroll for a short 3 month program online, which should get me a very smart certificate once completed. The first course of six was completed where I was pleasantly surprised with the content of the course, it's delivery, and how much fun it was to take part in. Very keen for the remaining 5 courses and also very keen to land a job soon. It has been a year since my last paycheck, and have since applied for over 200-300 jobs that resulted in 2 callbacks only. Absolutely terrible stats for a person from Africa with a PhD in Chemistry and 5 years work experience. Can't help but think that my mental health has taken a knock from this whole situation?

      • No bards

        Remember Croaker in the Black Company books? I loved that aspect. But not everything that I like can be translated into a role-playing game, I fear.

        A while ago I listend to an Actual Play podcast about Band of Blades. I always wondered about the chronicler role. In that Actual Play, it seemed very underdeveloped – as if the player didn't have enough time to actually think up cool stuff. Or as if some absolute minimum was good enough for some promised reward.

      • Wave Function Collapse

        I've been silently undergoing a transformation over the last month.

        These come in waves - one day I wake up and look back and realize that I hate what I am doing, and I can't even imagine how I liked it in the first place. Not to mention I don't understand it. And these days I don't have to deal with it at all, so I wind up loafing around, depressed, until I emerge - as a different person.

        This has happened several times since my initial COVID-induced brainfog.

      • Overengineering my life

        I've always been a year-oriented person. I measure my life in years, rather than in moments or milestones, because I believe that years are a perfect measurement unit. Years make it easier for me to think and reflect about the way my life is shaking out.

        I haven't felt quite right since 2020. 2020 was an important year of my life, and it had its special moments, but it was also the beginning of the end of the magic inside me: the Spirit of 2019. I often find myself recalling 2019 and feeling nostalgic about the things that made it special. I wish I could feel the same way again, but now things feel dull and boring.

        [..]

        However, all I managed to achieve was to fall into a loop of toxicity, negativity, and obsession. I restricted myself from doing too many things, most of them without any real reason whatsoever, to the point of them being absurd and even harmful to myself. The more I think about avoiding them at all costs, the more I fall into a bad mood, and cause myself more harm. I feel like I can't escape this loop. It only gets stronger, as I add more things into the list and feel more strongly about them.

        In terms of productivity, I reached a point in which I can't get myself to do anything anymore. I'm risking my school and job, because I simply have no energy nor motivation to do anything. I can't get myself started on anything, and I've mostly stopped pursuing most of my projects and goals. I left everything unfinished, and I'm always in a state of disarray.

      • Gardening (sort of)

        I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve opened up a text editor to write something that I wanted to post here — some thought that I just feel like I absolutely need to get out into the world — and I completely lost steam after a paragraph or two. Or the times that I filled a document with my opinions and though, “you know, I ought to research this before writing about it”, and then abandoning the whole thing because I managed to make it homework. I guess I’m glad to have spared the world some of my half-baked opinions, at least.

    • Earth Day

      • Happy Earth Day!

        Happy Earth Day, to those who celebrate! I was able to spend some time outside, but now I'm dealing with allergy symptons. Not a big deal, just annoying. I got a chance to visit the wilderness park, hike on some of the trails, and play my guitar under a big oak tree.

        As I was playing, there were a couple of people that walked under the tree. It turned out that one of those people was my friend, Malia, who I haven't seen for awhile and never seen in that context. It was nice that our paths crossed today. I felt connected.

        I wish I could have spent more time outdoors and participate in some of the Earth Day events around town, but allergies prevented that from happening. In lieu of going outside, I decided to use the tree planting simulator on SDF's minecraft server.

    • Technical

      • Linux Audio Woes

        Ahh, my old friend. Welcome back.

        So before we blame linux, this is my fault. I created this problem for myself. This gemlog will be my documentation on how I actually went about resolving this!

        [...]

        So yeah. A rats nest. The ACTUAL problem was buried in that list. My PC speakers were setup to my DAC. Which meant they weren't connected to my audio interface. So the speakers I bought specifically to help me mix my music became glorified PC speakers, total overkill. Now on serious mixing days I'd swap the cables out but I got lazy and stopped doing that, just mixing using my headphones. Enough was enough so I removed the redundant DAC from the setup, leaning on the audio interface to by my primary audio I/O device.

        But Wine didn't like that.

        Now, this isn't my first issue using my interface for things other than with my DAW. I wanted to use my actual XLR vocal microphone as my mic during meetings at work and this was not as smooth as I had hoped. I ended up having to remap the device leading to some just extra frustrations... I can post that setup later if people are interested. I'll probably do it for my own posterity since I've forgotten exactly what I've done.

      • Internet/Gemini

        • try, try again

          I'm giving gemini another shot despite almost certainly being pointless in terms of interactions with others. I'm simply going to accept that, and find value in the writing process, in creating posts in an orderly fashion, in possibly authoring some verbiage that somehow leads another back from whence we've come.

        • Introducing... Galaxy Chat

          For the past few days I've been working on an experimental chat program built entirely in Gemini.

          I'll keep this introductory post brief, because the SourceHut project home page has plenty of info, and will be updated more than this gemlog post.


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



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Meeting (Webchat) With Maria Arranz Gomez, Florian Grundies, Jürgen Janda and Konstantinos Kortsaris Confronts EPO Management About Breaking Promises and Crushing Workers
The lack of consistent messages suggests plans other than what's advertised and the lack of consultation (secrecy) likewise
Links 01/08/2025: "The Great British Firewall" and U.S. Army Sponsors Palantir
Links for the day
For Second Day in a Row, Top Story in The Register MS is "Microsoft Says"
The editor in chief exercises control over everybody else
LLMs as Attack Method Against Free Software and Programming
DDoS in "hey hi" (slop) clothing
Stability and Reliability, Backward Compatibility
I don't fancy relying on social control media as "sources"
What "the News" Looks Like in 2025
The "says" (or "sez") phenomenon
History Will Be Distorted, Sometimes Intentionally, Under the Guise of Intelligence (Manipulated/Curated Slop)
Militarised misinformation or military-grade chaff is a national security threat, even domestically
Financial Engineering Companies: A Company Worth 4 Trillion Dollars Would Not Borrow 100+ Billion Dollars at Interest Rates Like Today's
Many headlines perpetuate the lie Microsoft had just 2 waves of layoffs
Microsoft is Googlebombing "Linux" While Paying Former News Sites to Publish SPAM
How much lower will IDG sink?
Google as a 'Bullshit Generator' Disguised as Intelligence
It'll probably cause Google to get sued a lot, both by individuals and companies
As Expected, Google in the UK Now Experiments With Slop Instead of Web Search
At this point more people ought to stop and think: Does Google's search engine deserve trust?
The Data You Don't Give Away is Your Advantage
stop sharing data that does not need to be shared
Being Obedient or Doing the Right Thing
The world always changes for the better because of people who think "Outside the Box", not the cogs
Gemini Links 01/08/2025: Happy Hacking Keyboards and New Gemini Arrivals
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 31, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, July 31, 2025