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Links 25/08/2023: The Internet of Things Podcast Comes to an End



  • GNU/Linux

    • Server

      • Stéphane Graber: Stable Linux mainline builds [Ed: Canonical too pays the price for getting greedy]

        For the past year or so, I’ve increasingly been using mainline Linux kernels on my various servers and eventually laptop and desktop machines too.

        That was transitioning from Ubuntu’s generic kernel which I feel has sadly decreased in quality over time. The Ubuntu kernel includes a lot of backported fixes and occasionally, those backports go bad, resulting in missing commits, introducing bugs and regressions. Unfortunately the way the Ubuntu kernel is built, tested and published comes with a lot of delays, making fixing such regressions often take weeks if not months (depending on whether security updates show up in between).

        So I started taking the latest stable bugfix release of the mainline kernel, generate a configuration that’s very close to an Ubuntu generic kernel, cherry-pick a few small changes that aren’t upstream yet and then build that and push it to my machines.

    • Kernel Space

      • XDA On this day in 1991, Linus Torvalds announced he was working on what would become Linux
        Linux is one of the most popular operating systems besides Windows and MacOS. Its high focus on security, customizability, and portability, together with low hardware usage, make it highly versatile for casual users and developers alike.

        Linux wasn’t always a large ecosystem comprising hundreds of distributions. In fact, the OS was originally created by a 21-year-old Linus Benedict Torvalds as a kernel that mimicked Unix, and on August 25, 1991, he publicly announced his plans to create a free operating system. Little did he know that 32 years down the line, this hobby project of his would end up becoming one of the most successful innovations to grace the tech industry.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • It's FOSSHow to Turn Off KDE Wallet?

        Don't like KDE Wallet popping up every now and then? Here's how to disable it.

      • HowTo GeekHow to Use the chmod Command on Linux

        Control who can access files, search directories, and run scripts using the Linux's chmod command. This command modifies Linux file permissions, which look complicated at first glance but are actually pretty simple once you know how they work.

      • HowTo GeekHow to Mount and Unmount Storage Devices from the Linux Terminal

        File systems in Linux and Unix-like operating systems like macOS can be mounted, unmounted, and remounted using the terminal. This is a powerful and versatile tool---here's everything you need to know.

      • HowTo GeekHow to Use the Linux top Command (and Understand Its Output)

        The top command has been around since 1984, and there are many variants of it. For this article, we're running Ubuntu 18.04 with all patches applied, and version 3.3.12 of top. As of Ubuntu 23.04, very little has changed. We also cross-referenced everything on two other test computers, one running Fedora and the other Manjaro.

        The default top display crams as much information as possible in the terminal window. Information is a prerequisite to administration, so this is a good thing. One of the traits of a good system administrator is the ability to identify emerging problems and deal with them before they affect service. top gives you a dashboard of many different system metrics that help you do just that.

        The display is best described as functional, rather than intuitive, and abbreviations abound. When you first encounter top, it feels cramped, cryptic, and off-putting. With a few keypresses, though, you can tune the contents and format of the display according to what's important to you.

      • HowTo GeekHow to Delete Files and Directories in the Linux Terminal

        The rm and rmdir commands delete files and directories on Linux, macOS, and other Unix-like operating systems. They're similar to the del and deltree commands in Windows and DOS. These commands are very powerful and have quite a few options.

        It is important to note that files and directories deleted using rm and rmdir do not get moved to the Trash. They are immediately removed from your computer. If you accidentally delete files using these commands, the only way you'll be able to restore them is from a backup.

      • HowTo GeekHow to List Linux Services With systemctl

        Your Linux computer relies on a lot of background tasks called services or daemons. On systemd-based distributions you have built-in commands that let you see which services are running, disabled, or failed.

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • DebugPoint20 Best Icon Themes for Ubuntu and Other Linux

        Your desktop environment isn't just a workspace; it's a canvas waiting to be painted with your personal style. Choosing the perfect icon theme is one of the most impactful ways to make your Linux desktop truly yours. Icons are the visual language of your computer, and selecting the right theme can transform your experience from ordinary to extraordinary.

        This article presents the 20 best icon themes that resonate with your aesthetic sensibilities. You can pair these with any GTK or KDE Plasma themes for the best experience.

      • GNOME Desktop/GTK

        • HowTo GeekHere's What's New in GNOME 45

          The GNOME desktop environment is the default desktop for many Linux distributions, including Ubuntu and Fedora. Even distributions that have a different default desktop still have a version available with GNOME as its desktop. That’s not that surprising, GNOME is almost as old as Linux, and it has spread far and wide during its 24-year life.

          GNOME 45 is the latest version, and it's due to hit the streets on September 20th, 2023. All the GNOME versions since the iconoclastic GNOME 40 have boasted improvements in performance and appearance alike, and tighter integration to GTK4. This release carries on that tradition.

          It should be noted that we’re previewing the beta release here, not the finished article. Some things might change between the time of writing and the release date, although that’s unlikely. The release that comes after this beta is the release candidate, which acts as a sort of trial run for the final release itself.

          The content should be pretty much firmed up by now, and the developers will know what has and hasn’t made the cut. For something to be bumped out at this stage would require a serious defect to be discovered during testing that couldn’t be fixed without introducing further risk.

        • GNOMEChristian Hergert: Flamegraphs for Sysprof

          A long requested feature for Sysprof (and most profiler tools in general) is support for visualizing data as FlameGraphs. They are essentially a different view on the same callgraph data we already generate. So yesterday afternoon I spent a bit of time prototyping them to sneak into GNOME 45.

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • Linux Links15 Best Free and Open Source Python Microframeworks

      This article examines the best Python microframeworks. Micro means the framework is small, with little or no tools and libraries. Microframeworks are designed with extensibility in mind. They provide an essential set of features and rely on extensions to do the rest. Microframeworks have the advantage of making no or fewer decisions for you, making it easy to start development.

      When it comes to web development, there are a wide range of Python microframeworks to choose from. The choice actually helps you find the right tool for the job. Here’s our pick of the finest open source microframeworks captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart.

    • Linux Links12 Best Free and Open Source Linux Business Intelligence Software

      Linux and business intelligence are a good match in part because Linux has powerful toolkits for interacting with other systems, with open source databases (such as MySQL) to act as the data source.

      This article highlights the best business intelligence software that runs under Linux. Although there is not a wide range available, all of the applications featured below are useful for any business which wants to access, format and deliver information to their staff, their customers, and their commercial partners.

      Here’s our verdict on the 12 business intelligence software captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart.

    • Linux LinksBest Free and Open Source Alternatives to Google Groups

      What if you are looking to move away from Google and embark on a new world of online freedom, where you are not constantly tracked, monetised and attached to Google’s ecosystem.

      In this series we explore how you can migrate from Google without missing out on anything. We recommend open source solutions.

      Google Groups is a service that provides discussion groups for people sharing common interests.

      We recommend the best free and open source alternatives to Google Groups.

    • MedevelMass File Renamer: Batch Rename Large Number of Files with Ease

      Mass File Renamer is a powerful and user-friendly desktop application that is designed to make file renaming easier and more efficient. With its intuitive interface and advanced features, this app provides a comprehensive solution for users who need to rename multiple files quickly and easily.

    • MedevelFileMasta: The Open-source Desktop Federated Search Engine Is Abandoned

      FileMasta is a federated search application that allows you to discover a wide variety of files being shared online. Whether you're looking for video, music, books, software, games, subtitles, or anything else, FileMasta has you covered.

    • MedevelXODA: A Free Self-hosted Document Management System

      XODA is a simple yet powerful system for organizing documents using AJAX. It was designed with the KISS principle (Keep It Simple and Stupid) in mind, which means that it is easy to use and understand.

    • MedevelTagSpaces: is a Free Offline Document Manager For Daily Users

      TagSpaces is a comprehensive, versatile, and user-friendly application designed to help users organize and manage their local files with ease. This open-source software is free to use, and it doesn't involve any vendor lock-in.

    • MedevelYaCy: Free Self-hosted Privacy-First Decentralized Search Engine

      Distributed Peer-to-Peer Web Search Engine and Intranet Search Appliance

    • La Quadature Du NetIs Meta's arrival on the fediverse good news?

      The fediverse (a blend made from “federation” and “universe”) is a group of social media consisting of a multitude of platforms and software, each of them communicating with the others using a common protocol. Mastodon is one of the software applications used to offer an instance on the fediverse1More information on the fediverse on fediverse.party.. Last June, Meta announced its arrival on the fediverse, with the launch of a Twitter challenger called Threads, which will eventually be able to interoperate with other instances of the fediverse. For several years now, La Quadrature du Net has been calling for mandatory interoperability for these major social networks. So, is the interoperability of a service from Meta good news? Certainly not.

    • As Gov’t Agencies Turn to K8s, Cost Control is Critical

      Cloud-fueled technology change is happening at the federal level—but it is not without challenges, including K8s.

    • SaaS/Back End/Databases

      • SQLite Release 3.43.0 On 2023-08-24

        Add support for Contentless-Delete FTS5 Indexes. This is a variety of FTS5 full-text search index that omits storing the content that is being indexed while also allowing records to be deleted.

    • Programming/Development

      • QtQt for Android Automotive 6.5.2 is released

        The latest patch release for Android Automotive 6.5.2 is just released. This release is based on Qt LTS 6.5.2 with 290 bug fixes, security updates, and other improvements to the top of the Qt 6.5.1 release.

      • KDABOptimizing and Sharing Shader Structures

        When writing large graphics applications in Vulkan or OpenGL, there’s many data structures that need to be passed from the CPU to the GPU and vice versa. There are subtle differences in alignment, padding and so on between C++ and GLSL to keep track of as well.

    • Standards/Consortia

      • Nolan LawsonUse web components for what they’re good at

        Dave Rupert recently made a bit of a stir with his post “If Web Components are so great, why am I not using them?”. I’ve been working with web components for a few years now, so I thought I’d weigh in on this.

  • Leftovers

    • WhichUKWhat time should I get to the airport?

      With strike threats, cancellations and delays, many passengers think they should arrive at the terminal extra early, but airports tell us that’s not necessary

    • TediumThe New Chart Game

      The recent emergence of an out-of-nowhere chart-topper offers a great opportunity to talk about the music industry’s new favorite trick for gaming the Hot 100.

    • Ruben SchadeFinding myself in a video rendering studio

      Today was fun. Having set up shop in the office, my manager informed me that we were to have a meeting at a rendering studio. They were in need of burst capacity, and we’d delivered compute in this space before for clients in the US.

      Their office was spectacular. You know that cliché image of a creative space with unpainted concrete walls, polished wooden floors, plants, and art hanging everywhere? It was even more than that.

  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal/Opinions

      • Probably gonna quit sugar

        Howdy! It's been a while. I'd order mocktail margarita but it would defeat the point of my post. ...Although it's just virtual drinking right? Fine, I'll pretend to not be a hypocrite and order one.

        I've realized that I'm somewhat bored of sugar and I think these days the packaged snacks they sell is crap. It's just SUGAR without any care for actual quality. I like desserts where there's thought over flavors involved but I find that most packaged sweets dump sugar in their product out of fear customers might not find it tasty. Companies...the problem isn't less sugar! It's just that your formula tastes like trash.

        There are some sugary products I tolerate though because the product isn't just for "sugar overload" but it has its own flavor. I think good strawberry shortcake is a good example. Buttercream frosting paired with cake and paired with something fruity is just *chef's kiss*. I can't explain it but basically it's obvious they didn't just dump sugar for the sake of it, as the cake is good in it's own right. Maybe I should try out more tea cakes haha.


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



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