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Links 10/05/2023: WordPress Turns 20 and GCC 12.3 Released



  • GNU/Linux

    • Desktop/Laptop

      • University of TorontoCuring my home desktop from locking up in the cold (so far)

        I've had a long running mystery where my home desktop would lock up if it got cold, where as time developed it seemed that getting too cold was down not much below 68 F (which is hardly cold, at least for Canadians). Back in December of last year I had the idea of 'replacing' the case front panel with just a stand-alone ATX chassis power switch. I hesitated for a bit, but the situation was getting more irritating this past winter and stand-alone ATX chassis power switches are not expensive items. Finally at one point I carried through with this plan (possibly when I had to open up the case after forgetting a critical step in software disk shuffling). Somewhat to my surprise, this relatively simple change seems to have fixed all of the problems.

      • Jake BauerComputers as Workspaces

        As Gauer mentions, this idea might seem a bit extravagant and wasteful, considering that there are many who can hardly afford one computer, let alone several. He mentions that relatively powerful computers are quite inexpensive these days, especially on the second-hand market, but I’d also like to add that a separate physical computer might not even be necessary. If you are strapped for cash or simply don’t want another thing in your life, a separate user account with a different set of programs installed and a different look and feel on the same physical computer might also work.

      • DebugPointTop 5 Best Linux Distributions for Laptops [2023 Edition]

        Over the past few years, the mainstream Linux distributions significantly improved all its components, making it a compelling choice for new or old laptops. Thanks to their customizability, low resource requirements, and vast community support, they have become a go-to choice for many laptop users.

        However, with so many Linux distributions available, choosing the right one can be daunting. In this article, we will explore the top Linux distributions optimized for laptops.

    • Server

      • LinuxSecurityWhy Cloud Linux Is Beneficial for E-Commerce Stores

        Cloud-based Linux solutions offer the inherent security and stability of Linux, along with the well-known flexibility of cloud computing. This article will explore why using Linux in the cloud is beneficial for e-commerce stores, along with some potential challenges you may encounter, to equip you with the knowledge you need to make an informed decision.

      • NetcraftNetcraft among the UK's 100 fastest growing technology companies

        According to a list compiled by E2E and published in partnership with the Independent newspaper, Netcraft is amongst the 100 fastest growing technology companies in the UK.

        The E2E Tech 100 showcases companies that are excelling, experiencing consistent growth, and creating an impact not just in their own sector, but also on a nationwide or global scale.

        Netcraft appear in the Tech 100 table, based on independent research and data analysis by Experian.

    • Benchmarks

      • Maira Canal: Rotating Planes on VKMS

        In my last blog post, I described a bit of my previous work on the rustgem project, and after that, as I had finished the VGEM features, I sent a RFC to the mailing list. Although I still need to work on some rustgem feedback, I started to explore more of the KMS (Kernel Mode Setting) and its properties.

        I talked to my mentor Melissa Wen, one of the VKMS maintainers, and she proposed implementing plane rotation capabilities to VKMS. The VKMS (Virtual Kernel Mode Setting) is a software-only KMS driver that is quite useful for testing and running X (or similar compositors) on headless machines. It sounded like a great idea, as I would like to explore a bit more of the KMS side of things.

        What is Plane Rotation?

        In order to have an image on a display, we need to go through the whole Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) Display Pipeline. The pipeline has a couple of different objects, such as framebuffers, planes, and CRTCs, and the relationship between them can be quite complicated. If you are interested in the KMS Display Pipeline, I recommend reading the great KMS documentation. But here we are focused in only one of those abstractions, the plane.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • ID RootHow To Install PostgreSQL on Fedora 38

        In this tutorial, we will show you how to install PostgreSQL on Fedora 38. Are you looking for a powerful open-source relational database management system that can handle large amounts of data with ease? Look no further than PostgreSQL!

      • Own HowToBash script to read user's input

        In this tutorial, you will learn how to read the users input on bash script and then do something with the input.

        To read users input in bash we need to use the read command as shown in the example below

        In this script we are using echo command to

      • [Old] FiatjafHow IPFS is broken

        If you have run an IPFS client you’ll notice how much it clogs your computer. Or maybe you don’t, if you are very rich and have a really powerful computer, but still, it’s not something suitable to be run on the entire world, and on web pages, and servers, and mobile devices. I imagine there may be a lot of unoptimized code and technical debt responsible for these and other problems, but the DHT is certainly the biggest part of it. IPFS can open up to 1000 connections by default and suck up all your bandwidth – and that’s just for exchanging keys with other DHT peers.

        Even if you’re in the “client” mode and limit your connections you’ll still get overwhelmed by connections that do stuff I don’t understand – and it makes no sense to run an IPFS node as a client, that defeats the entire purpose of making every person host files they have and content-addressability in general, centralizes the network and brings back the dichotomy client/server that IPFS was created to replace.

      • TuMFatigSelf-Hosted Bookmarks using DAV and httpd on OpenBSD

        I’ve long time used NextCloud and the floccus iOS App and Firefox plugin to store, manage and use my bookmarks. In reality, I don’t use the NC interface. I only use floccus ; and it works really well.

        In my journey to quit NextCloud, the only acceptable option to keep using floccus was getting a DAV self-hosted share. But, AFAIK, httpd(8) does not provide a DAV feature (yet?).

        I already use Baikal to self-host my calendars and addressbooks and it’s working great. So here’s a quick’n’dirty way to provide DAV using OpenBSD’s httpd(8) and sabre/dav.

      • WikiMediaAround the world: How Wikipedia became a multi-datacenter deployment

        Our in-house Content Delivery Network (CDN) is deployed in multiple geographic locations. This lowers response time by reducing the distance that data must travel, through (inter)national cables and other networking infrastructure from your ISP and Internet backbones. Each caching data center that makes up our CDN, contains cache servers that remember previous responses to speed up delivery. Requests that have no matching cache entry yet, must be forwarded to a backend server in the application data center.

        If these backend servers are also deployed in multiple geographies, we lower the latency for requests that are missing from the cache, or that are uncachable. Operating multiple application data centers also reduces organizational risk from catastrophic damage or connectivity loss to a single data center. To achieve this redundancy, each application data center must contain all hardware, databases, and services required to handle the full worldwide volume of our backend traffic.

      • Cap5 B VSSH quick and easy login setup

        If you have the need for more complex SSH configuration settings it would be better to put those in your .ssh/config . This keeps your alias list clean and readable. You can simply move (part of) those parameters to said file.

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • Content Management Systems (CMS)

      • WordPressWP Briefing: Episode 55: Happy Anniversary, WordPress!

        Join WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy in the 55th episode of the WordPress Briefing as she looks back at the 20 years of WordPress and how the open source community made WordPress what it is today.

    • GNU Projects

      • GCCGCC 12.3 Released
        The GNU Compiler Collection version 12.3 has been released.
        
        

        GCC 12.3 is the first bug-fix release from the GCC 12 branch containing important fixes for regressions and serious bugs in GCC 12.2 with more than 127 bugs fixed since the previous release.

        This release is available from the WWW servers listed here:

        https://sourceware.org/pub/gcc/releases/gcc-12.3.0/ https://gcc.gnu.org/mirrors.html

        Please do not contact me directly regarding questions or comments about this release. Instead, use the resources available from http://gcc.gnu.org.

        As always, a vast number of people contributed to this GCC release -- far too many to thank them individually!
    • Programming/Development

      • RlangPledging My Time VI: scraping and analysis of race results in R

        I’ve posted in the past about analysing race results in R (most recently here). I ran the 2023 MK Marathon and wanted to have a look at the finishing times.

      • RlangswephR v0.3.1

        This morning swephR version 0.3.1 made it unto CRAN and is now propagating to the mirrors.
        The goal of swephR is to provide an R interface to the Swiss Ephemeris (SE), a high precision ephemeris based upon the DE431 ephemeris from NASA’s JPL.

      • RlangColor vision deficiency emulation fixed in colorspace 2.1-0

        The color vision deficiency emulation provided by R package colorspace was inaccurate for some highly-saturated colors due to a bug that was fixed in version 2.1-0. The (typically small) differences are illustrated for a range of palettes.

      • QtNew graphics integration in Qt WebEngine 6.6 and even 6.5

        With the 6.5.1 release, there will be one new change our users might notice. Qt WebEngine has previously forced the Qt Quick SceneGraph to use the OpenGL backend on Windows and macOS, even though the Qt defaults were using D3D11 and Metal respectively. With Qt 6.5.1 Qt WebEngine will now run with the Metal and D3D11 default QSG backends.

        This has been a long time coming. Chrome has always preferred using ANGLE on Windows. Where Qt did offer ANGLE in Qt5 but defaulted to WGL (Windows OpenGL), since Qt6 the ANGLE backend has been removed from Qt Gui, and WebEngine required Chromium to run in WGL mode. This has caused many issues, due to buggy Windows OpenGL drivers, and due to not using the same backend as Chrome itself.

      • CloudbookletMojo: New programming language for AI
        If you're already working with Python and looking to boost your AI projects, Mojo is definitely worth exploring read this article and try Mojo immediately.

      • TecAdminMastering Environment Variables in Java: A Comprehensive Guide

        Environment variables are a fundamental aspect of software development, offering a flexible and powerful way to configure applications. By understanding how to work with environment variables in Java, you can create efficient, scalable, and robust programs.

      • LibreBootExperimental Nvidia GPU support on Dell Latitude E6400 variants, plus E6400 XFR support now confirmed

        Dell Latitude E6400 with Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics was added, and included in the recent Libreboot 20230423 release. Today, experimental support is now available for variants with GPU: Nvidia Quadro NVS 160M. The Dell Latitude 6400 XFR (rugged variant) was also tested today (Intel graphics) and confirmed working in Libreboot 20230423.

        The Nvidia variants are not supported in Libreboot 20230423. Support is available in an experimental branch of Libreboot. 6400 XFR testing+photo provided, courtesy Mark Cornick (mcornick on Libreboot IRC).

  • Leftovers

    • RTERTÉ Concert Orchestra Explores the History of Soul

      Enjoy soul classics made famous by€ Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles, All Green, Jackie Wilson, Curtis Mayfield, Bessie Smith and more.

    • James GThe Peace Lily

      I mentioned casually in passing that I have houseplants. My peace lily has been troublesome; my other plants have grown and thrived. A friend mentioned in passing that peace lilies can be difficult plants to grow and thrive. The wisdom shared by my friend -- the sort of serendipitious remark that stands out in your mind -- provided me with a semblance of relief. It was not I who was the problem (Taylor Swift's Anti-Hero is now singing softly in my mind), with my forgetfulness interfering with watering schedules.

    • uni StanfordRethinking Globalization through the Eyes of Artists: Exploring Economic Relocalization

      Deep Transformation Network – Artists and Creatives Group, hosted by Christina Conklin and Michele Guieu Tuesday, May 16, 2023. 12:00 pm€  to 1:15 pm PST – Online THE LINK TO THE EVENT IS HERE.

    • Helsinki TimesDigital Skills Week encouraging Finns to transition to digital services

      Each and every Finn should know at least how to use e-mail, manage their own affairs in digital services, use passwords and identify themselves in services. This is reflected in the digital skills recommendations published by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. The recommendations have been published as part of the programme of the Digital Skills Week that begins today. The topic of the week is Digital Courage. Digital courage is needed in order to transition to primarily providing digital services.

    • uni StanfordWhat’s Next for Earth: Economic Relocalization Exhibition

      Online Exhibition opened March 13, 2023 Featured Artists Jodie Atherton (US), Christina Conklin (US), Alison Lee Cousland (Australia), Yvonne C Espinoza (US), Ries Faison (US), Diane Farris (US), Deborah Kennedy (US), Michele Guieu (US), Rosalind Lowry (Ireland), Peggy Rose (US), Susan Smith (US), Kim Tanzer (US), Marcela Villasenor (US), Karen Viola (US).

    • Savannah Chrisley: I don’t know if ‘I actually want kids’ after parents went to jail

      The 25-year-old “Chrisley Knows Best” star was granted guardianship of her niece and younger brother after her parents reported to prison for tax evasion and bank fraud.

    • YLEEnglish-language dominance at Aalto University breaches Finnish law, justice office says

      The Deputy Chancellor of Justice noted that only about five percent masters-level economics courses at Aalto University are taught in Finnish.

    • CS MonitorA scholar who finds the good in ‘bad’ English

      In her book, “Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English," Valerie Fridland argues that many maligned verbal tics play useful roles.

    • uni Stanford‘Nonanswers’: What are you doing this summer?

      Erin Ye reflects on productivity culture and the importance of taking it easy in this fourth installment of her column "Nonanswers."

  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Technical

      • Internet/Gemini

        • Intro to AI

          Classes started up again recently and I'm taking the last university course I'll ever have to take. There's not a ton of offerings during spring/summer, but I saw an intro to AI course was being offered and I figured it would be a fun one to end things on.

          It's pretty chill, even despite the condensed schedule that spring and summer classes at my school take on. I think that's owing to it being a senior-level course (which I find tend to treat students more like adults) and the smallish class size which lets the lectures be very discussion focused. And the fact that it's the only class I have to focus on doesn't hurt at all.

        • Gemini's Killer App

          To perhaps get bogged down in the technical details, I think Gemini owes a lot of this to its thoughtful design. Specifically here by not having allegories for CSS or Javascript. All that's left at that point is the text. There are no design or interactivity knobs to tune to make up for poor writing.

          But I believe it's bigger than that. Gemini's design eschews extensibility, and a lack of styling options or a client-side programming language are just 2 examples of this larger choice.

      • Programming

        • Newcommer - Or, trying to rethink my new life

          I learnt about smolweb circa 2020 and lost all contact with it. Now after a chat with some friends at a Ruby irc, I discovered Gemini and fell in love. After a while I found here. So nice to meet you all :)

        • A new-post script

          Now I'm feeling a little motivated to evict python from this script, because there's some friction in doing this task partly in bash and partly in python.

          Python isn't the greatest scripting language for one-liners, and using the -c switch isn't really useful any more beyond that. So for now this script (1) creates a tempfile, (2) dumps mostly hard-coded python into it (from a bash HEREDOC), (3) executes it, (4) captures the return code, (5) unconditionally removes the tempfile, and (6) exits the script if the return code was unsatisfactory. That's...not great.

        • Programming language learning

          But I haven't written any zig in around 4 months, and never did it daily for any sustained period. So going through ziglings is supposed to refresh my memory and get my skills back up. With recent advancements in the tooling and standard library (in particular package management and TLS) I'm interested in starting to use it for small web applications.

          What I really noticed about going through ziglings is that I'm *flying* through this. I got through 50 in a day, and spent maybe 20 minutes today getting through another 20. That's probably partly because I have some experience here already, but I know that the structure of this project (over 100 tasks) would push me towards prioritizing speed regardless. I barely read the comments (some of them are quite long), and I'm mostly kind of banging on it until the build is green. This is what concerns me.


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



Recent Techrights' Posts

Hardly Seeing Slopfarms Today, Even in Google News
Google's adventures with slop increased its debt significantly
 
SLAPP Censorship - Part 30 Out of 200: The Time We Reported Abuse to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and It Was Escalated to Its Cybercrime Unit
he started trolling and harassing me for criticising his employers' monopolistic and users-hostile agenda
'Modern' Cars Not a Rosy Industry
The current "modern" cars already have a shelf life similar to that of many toothpastes
Wrongthink Detector and Filter in "Think About the Children" Clothing
It is not about "age verification", it's a Trojan horse for social control
IBM Facilities Now Deemed Legitimate (Military) Target, Along With GAFAM Bases
Does IBM have any defences in place to protect against "downtime by explosions"?
What Happens When Some Large News Sites Turn to Slop and Spew Out Nonsense
LLM slop makes such grotesque mistakes abundant
Links 01/04/2026: Quantum Hype (Turing and Google), "US Fuel Prices Surge Past $4 a Gallon"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/04/2026: "Sacred Week of Cycling" and Zenity for Scripts
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Losing Debian: Sruthi Chandran election flop
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
French judgment: parasitisme by FSFE & Matthias Kirschner (CO23.002709)
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Microsoft Uses April Fools to 'Joke' About Inserting "Age Verification" (Surveillance) Into Linux
MinceR says the "lkml [message/page] one is April Fools or at least they're trying to pass it off as April Fools [however] the [GitHub] one was archived on the 8th and yesterday, so that probably isn't..."
IBM "Headcount Reductions" by Early Retirement and Death
The tragedy at IBM started 33 years ago on the first of April
Red Hat: Latin-1 character set under threat from Bishop Michael Martin, North Carolina
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 01/04/2026: Microsoft GitHub Now Pushing Ads Into People's Code/Commits, Earth Overshoot Day Draws Nearer
Links for the day
What IBM and EPO Workers Have in Common: European Media Not Covering Very Major News (Press Became Dysfunctional)
Are IBM operatives working to scuttle the process of investigative journalism?
Free Speech in the United Kingdom When "Chilling Effect" is Increasingly Prevalent
If politicians cannot even use a term like "parasitic behaviour", then where do we as a society end up?
Oracle Lays Off Because of Debt and Commercial Issues, Not Slop
Like Scam Altman, Larry Ellison hangs around Cheeto King because he could use some bailouts in the form of government contracts or phony money with an incredible name like "Stargate"
The Real Reason Many Sites and Forums Shun Microsoft Lunduke
When forums say that they banned Microsoft Lunduke or don't want him mentioned it's probably because they are familiar with the "stench" that follows him around
Gemini Links 01/04/2026: Hallucinations, Stitching, and Type Systems
Links for the day
Lots of Layoffs at IBM, "Media Blackout" About Mass Layoffs at IBM's HashiCorp and Confluent Last Month
IBM is a dying company circling down the drain while manipulating or paying the media to pretend everything is fine
Microsoft Under Investigation by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for Abusive Tactics
What's noteworthy is that this is "set to begin in May"
Sounds Like Red Hat (IBM) Layoffs in Slop Clothing
This is an IBM policy. They try to justify staff cuts.
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 31, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, March 31, 2026
In Time for April Fools (and Easter), 30,000 Oracle 'Pink Slips' While People Are Asleep
Oracle probably has no choice but to fire a ton of people
SLAPP Censorship - Part 29 Out of 200: Violent Language Won't Go Away When You Use It in Your Site, Blog, and Social Control Media
abuse began in 2012 because I had politely and accurately criticised Red Hat
Gemini Links 31/03/2026: Five Years on Gemini (Rob's Gemini Capsule), OFFLIFIRSOCH 2026, and More
Links for the day
Slopfarms Persist, But Google Seems to Have Delisted Many
We are still checking
Links 31/03/2026: More Energy Shortages Noted, Taylor Swift Faces Trademark Infringement Suit
Links for the day
Chaff, Slop and Spam Help Distract From Parallel Crises at IBM
IBM seems very eager to undermine discussion about what goes on inside
Lacking Business Model, Bluesky Has Become Slop and Gravitates Towards Plagiarism, Bots
LLM slop/plagiarism under the guise of "Artificial Intelligence" (AI)
IBM-Spawned Lexmark Sold, Then Came Mass Layoffs, Now the CEO Who Did This is Leaving
IBM is really not a magnet for talent at this point
Not April Fools But April First: Red Hat Staff Becoming "IBM"
claims of mass layoffs set to kick off at IBM some time soon
Gemini Links 31/03/2026: Antenna Packed Up, AuraGem and AuraSearch Maintenance
Links for the day
Links 31/03/2026: More Social Control Media Bans, BBC Now Run by GAFAM (US) Executive
Links for the day
'Broligarchs' Don't Want Science, They Want Entertainers to Entertain Them (and Make Them Richer)
Of course this will result in things getting worse in the sciences and everyone who relies on the sciences
When Republics Turn From Democratic Governments Into Imperialistic Dictatorships
What goes on in the US would require talking about politics
Companies That Have Nothing Except Buzzwords and Promises Will Perish
Dishonest media will perish along with the companies it is covering up for
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to be Grilled in Two Weeks' Time by the British Government for "Recent Regulatory Failures"
we escalated to our politicians
GNU/Linux Will Thrive as Long as It's Modular, Not Monolithic
To IBM, it's all about money. Nothing else matters.
EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part X - People Are Leaving
"I was happy to be at the EPO in the beginning, but since I realized it's all a big mafia"
IBM's 33 Years as a "Financial Engineering" (Accounting Tricks) Company
In relation to Red Hat, this "financial engineering" involves culling many workers and trying to replace them with slop
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 30, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, March 30, 2026
Links 31/03/2026: Rising Costs, Cyberattacks, Novo Patent Expiry
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/03/2026: American Spring, Distributed Systems Simulator, and Calculus for Electronics
Links for the day
SUEPO Central Made a Strike (or Striking) Success
Europe has more than enough qualified patent officials
IBM Layoffs and Their Expected Scope in April 2026
Such layoffs impact not only IBM "proper"
SLAPP Censorship - Part 28 Out of 200: Facing Consequences for Impersonation and Worse
It's not "funny". It is moreover libellous.
Links 30/03/2026: South Korea Next to Curb Social Control Media Addiction and Manipulation, Notorious Patents in the US Challenged
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/03/2026: Going Back to Wrist Watches and Why LLMs in Programming Suck
Links for the day
Did IBM Pay thestreet.com for Puff Pieces? (Like It Did With Forbes)
If so, there is no disclosure
Wikipedia - Funded by Slop-pushing Companies and 'Broligarchs' - Gave Benefit of the Doubt to Slop, Then Regretted It
Wikipedia sucks. Without slop it'll suck a little less.
Payoffs of Lifelong Commitments
"The Lifelong Activist"
Links 30/03/2026: "We Can’t Income-Tax Ultra-Elites"; "The Pirate Bay’s Oldest Torrent Turned 22"
Links for the day
Today, Europe's Second-Largest Institution (EPO) Goes on Strike That Can Last Until 2027. Nobody in the Media Covers This!
"We stand with the protesters"
When the Cost (or Time) of Maintenance Exceeds the Value
In recent years it seems like more people learn to remove things from their lives, not add more things
Passage of Wealth Upwards, Blaming the Victims
Tim Sweeney's net worth is 5.1 billion USD according to Forbes
More Media Needs to Tell the Public Slop is a Giant Bubble, It Should Stop Taking "Sponsorship" Money to Inflate This Bubble
If enough of (what's left of) the media changes its tune and quits being a parrot of GAFAM, then we can debate slop like grown-ups
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 29, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, March 29, 2026
Trying to Hide One's Abuses by Imposing Silence on Critics ("My Profile Was Private")
With enough daylight, sooner or later everyone knows you are a vampire
Fedora Badges System Shows the Demise of Fedora Under IBM
IBM isn't good at keeping what it buys
IBM is Sunsetting Red Hat, It Only Uses the Brand and the Shell
IBM buys or spins off companies as containers for "toxic assets" and debt
Cisco Systems is a Still Weak Spot With Bug Doors
nothing to offer except storytelling
EPO Strike Begins Today and It's the Longest One Yet (Can Last a Year)
Where's the media?
Gemini Links 30/03/2026: Approaching April and Arvelie Calendar
Links for the day