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Links 08/09/2023: CircuitPython 8.2.5 and PowerDNS Authoritative Server 4.8.2



  • GNU/Linux

    • Applications

      • Linux Links9 Best Free and Open Source Linux Usenet Tools

        Unlike web forums, Usenet does not have a central server or a dedicated administrator. Instead, Usenet is distributed among a conglomeration of servers that store and pass messages to each other. There are several different types of newsreaders. Some newsreaders are intended primarily for discussions, others are better suited for downloading files. Newsreaders that help users to adhere to the netiquette are evaluated by the Good Netkeeping Seal of Approval (GNKSA). There are also tools which are dedicated for downloading files only.

        The ratings chart below summarizes our verdict. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • idroot

        • ID RootHow To Install OpenCV on Debian 12

          In this tutorial, we will show you how to install OpenCV on Debian 12. For those of you who didn’t know, In the world of digital content and SEO optimization, the role of image processing cannot be underestimated.

        • ID RootHow To Install Webmin on AlmaLinux 9

          In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Webmin on AlmaLinux 9. For those of you who didn’t know, Webmin is a powerful web-based system administration tool that provides a user-friendly interface for managing Linux servers.

      • howtoforge

      • Net2How to Install Google Chrome on Ubuntu 22.04

        Google Chrome is a popular web browser that is available for many different devices, including Ubuntu 22.04. In this tutorial, we will cover three methods for installing Google Chrome on Ubuntu 22.04: using a Debian package, using Gui and using the Google repository.

      • Own HowToHow to fix " Failed to execute default terminal emulator" on Debian 12

        I was using Debian 12 today, and I had the terminal window open installing some stuff on my machine. Once I closed the terminal,

      • RoseHostingHow to Install Elgg on Debian 11

        Elgg is a free and open-source social networking engine that is easy to install and set up...

      • Ubuntu HandbookHow to Make File Chooser Dialog default to Current Working Directory

        This simple tutorial shows how to replace ‘Recent Used‘ with current working directory as default in GTK file chooser in Ubuntu.

      • RlangMastering Data Visualization in R: How to Plot a Subset of Data

        Data visualization is a powerful tool for gaining insights from your data. In R, you have a plethora of libraries and functions at your disposal to create stunning and informative plots. One common task is to plot a subset of your data, which allows you to focus on specific aspects or trends within your dataset. In this blog post, we’ll explore various techniques to plot subsets of data in R, and I’ll explain each step in simple terms. Don’t worry if you’re new to R – by the end of this post, you’ll be equipped to create customized plots with ease!

        Before we start, make sure you have R and RStudio installed on your computer. If not, you can download them from R’s official website and RStudio’s website.

      • University of Toronto(Unix) Directory traversal and symbolic links

        If and when you set out to traverse through a Unix directory hierarchy, whether to inventory it or to find something, you have a decision to make. I can put this decision in technical terms, about whether you use stat() or lstat() when identifying subdirectories in your current directory, or put it non-technically, about whether or not you follow symbolic links that happen to point to directories. As you might guess, there are two possible answers here and neither is unambiguously wrong (or right). Which answer programs choose depends on their objectives and their assumptions about their environment.

      • TecMintLFCS #6: How to Assemble Partitions as RAID Devices and Create System Backups

        The Linux Foundation launched the LFCS (Linux Foundation Certified Sysadmin) certification, a shiny chance for system administrators everywhere to demonstrate, through a performance-based exam, that they are capable of performing overall operational support on Linux systems: system support, first-level diagnosing and monitoring, plus issue escalation, when required, to other support teams.

        The series will be titled Preparation for the LFCS (Linux Foundation Certified Sysadmin) Parts 1 through 33 and cover the following topics:

      • OSTechNixHow To Configure SSH Key-based Authentication In Linux

        This guide provides an overview of different SSH authentication methods, with a particular focus on SSH key-based authentication. Additionally, this guide will walk you through the steps on how to configure SSH key-based authentication in Linux and Unix-like operating systems.

      • OSTechNixHow To Enable Bucklespring Keyboard Sound In Linux

        Have you ever used any good old IBM keyboards? Especially, the IBM Model-M space saver bucklespring keyboards are heavy and loud. If you are a fan of bucklespring keyboards, then Bucklespring utility is a great way to enjoy the sound of these keyboards even if you don't own one. In this brief tutorial, we will see how to enable Bucklespring keyboard sound in Linux.

      • How to Remove Inserted Horizontal Line in LibreOffice Writer

        Are you get frustrated when horizontal lines are inserted and you face trouble removing them in LibreOffice Writer? These lines can disrupt the flow and appearance of your document. But don't worry, there are ways to remove them and improve your experience with LibreOffice. This article will guide you through the steps to remove these lines and give you back control over your document's formatting.

    • Games

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • DaemonFC (Ryan Farmer)IBM Gaslighting: “The New Linux Technologies Work Fine. It’s Just You!” Wayland is Not Robust.

        I like to say Wayland is “Negative work.” not only because it just replaces X11 with inferior beta software-quality interfaces, sometimes missing entirely, where everyone has to rewrite the same function from scratch, but because it requires work that doesn’t involve actually improving the desktop and window management for the users.

        A lot of work has been poured into get KDE to do things it already did on X11, and with code that is new and unstable, and incomplete.

        “Negative work” was also a direct quote from IBM.

      • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

        • LinuxiacKDE Plasma 6 Roadmap Unveiled: When Can You Expect It
          The KDE Plasma desktop environment has long been a favorite among countless Linux enthusiasts and open-source advocates, known for its stunning visuals, customizability, and user-friendly design.

          The current stable release, KDE Plasma 5.27 LTS, is the last in the 5.x series and will receive bugfixes only, but no new features.

          In this light, in recent months, all developer efforts have been focused on the upcoming Plasma 6 release, which is expected to be a turning point in the evolution of this beloved desktop environment.

        • OMG! LinuxDevs Announce KDE Plasma 6 Release Date

          Development on KDE Plasma 6 kicked off (heh) earlier this year. The desktop side is now built using Qt 6 technologies. This unlock support for new features, capabilities (including enhancements to ‘convergence’ implementations), and further future-proofing.

          Earlier this KDE developers met up in Berlin, Germany to work on the next-generation of the KDE Plasma desktop. A number of interesting details came out of that sprint, including a decision to adopt a slower release cadence.

          Sadly a release date wasn’t part of that info dump, so it’s great to finally have one. Something to jot down in our calendars to look forward to.

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

    • BSD

      • FreeBSDMeet The Summer 2023 University of Waterloo Co-Op Student: Naman Sood

        The Foundation has continued our successful partnership with the University of Waterloo Co-Op Program. Since 2017 we’ve had 15 interns, some having returned for more than one internship. We’ve also had two interns become full-fledged committers, and many continue to contribute. We sat down with this year’s Summer Co-Op Student to learn more about them and why they chose to work with FreeBSD.

    • Debian Family

      • UbuntuUbuntu at DebConf 2023 | Ubuntu

        It is safe to say that there would be no Ubuntu without Debian. Canonical is a long time supporter of Debian, and a Gold sponsor of DebConf this year. On top of the sponsorship, many Ubuntu developers and Canonical engineers are going to speak at DebConf.

        Till Kamppeter will show us The New Architecture for Printing and Scanning on Debian in a dedicated talk. He is also going to share his experience of running events and inspiring more contributors with his session Opportunity Open Source conference in the IIT Mandi, India: Motivating people to be a part of us!

      • The Register UK Linux on the Arm-based Thinkpad X13S: It's getting there
        The latest release of Armbian helps with the non-trivial problem of installing and running an arbitrary Linux distro on Arm computers.

        The Lenovo Thinkpad X13S Generation 1 which we reviewed back in March is the first mainstream Arm-powered laptop that the Reg FOSS Desk has got to evaluate. There are other Arm-based laptops out there, such as Pine64's Pinebook Pro and various Arm-powered ChromeBooks, but the X13S is closer to an ordinary X86-based laptop: it has a decent spec, with 16GB of RAM, a 256GB NVMe SSD – plus PC-industry-standard UEFI firmware, which is still relatively unusual on consumer Arm computers. Better still, you can disable Secure Boot, which many Arm-powered devices don't allow. A decade ago, this was a critical problem with the original Microsoft Surface RT: Windows RT was a flop, and the firmware wouldn't let you run anything else.

    • Canonical/Ubuntu Family

      • It's FOSSUbuntu 23.10 to Feature Experimental TPM-backed Full Disk Encryption

        Ubuntu 23.10 daily builds keep getting exciting new additions!

        Earlier we had covered the major PPA changes, and the new Flutter-based store (which also landed with the latest daily builds).

        Now, we have yet another major change that is set to enhance the security of Ubuntu systems; by changing how users handle the encrypting of their disks (if enabled).

        The initial support for the feature is set to arrive with Ubuntu 23.10 and will be improved in future Ubuntu releases.

      • UbuntuManage FIPS-enabled Linux machines at scale with Landscape 23.03

        You or your organisation are tasked with hardening your workstations and servers, where do you begin? Installing Ubuntu and applying all the security patches is a good place to start, but what else is needed? The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a cybersecurity agency established in 1988, has published a series of security requirements for cryptographic modules since 1993. Instead of approaching hardening from a blank slate, anyone can benefit from NIST’s ongoing work in under 5 minutes, and have the strongest cryptography and hardening posture, when using Ubuntu.

        Presented by Canonical’s VP of Public Sector, Chris Huffman, and Product Managers Rajan Patel, Ijlal Loutfi, and Henry Coggill. The webinar covers baselines, standards, and guidelines as they pertain to implementing FIPS with maximum security.

    • Devices/Embedded

    • Open Hardware/Modding

      • Herman ÕunapuuThe IKEA-powered homelab on a wall

        There are some improvements that I might implement to a revision of this board. The USB cables connecting the external SSD-s seem to be just small enough to be routable behind the pegboard. Other cables that are visible can probably be hidden on the other side as well, giving the setup a much cleaner look.

      • ArduinoThis bionic hand responds to motion control

        This is the newest iteration of a project that Cogley first started a few years ago. It is robotic hand meant to mimic a human hand as much as possible. Human fingers do not contain muscles. Instead, muscles in the forearms and palms pull on tendons to move the fingers. Cogley’s bionic hand works in a similar manner by using servo motors in the forearm to pull on cables that actuate the fingers. An Arduino UNO Rev3 moves the servos according to commands from a PC, but Cogley needed a way to streamline those commands.

      • PurismPureOS on Liberty Phone and Librem 5

        With the Librem 5 just hitting€ shipping parity€ and Purism holding stock for new purchases, it was time for an updated review of the tremendous progress our team has made with PureOS for the Librem 5 and Liberty Phone with Made in USA Electronics.€  Here we will talk about the good, bad, and lasting effects of PureOS on the Liberty Phone and Librem 5.

        Both the Librem 5 and Liberty Phone were a giant gamble that paid off in a big way. Prior to the Librem 5, nearly every new phone produced used the software stack from Android or iOS, both of which are fundamentally flawed around data protection and proper transparent fully released source code. Instead of using this problematic base and adopting apps that monetize your data, or where the source code is not released, or worse… both of those. We chose the much harder but proper path and built an Operating System, PureOS, using only free software thereby avoiding data collection entirely, advancing fully free software, and bonus we invented true convergence within PureOS which is a non-Android Linux OS. With PureOS, you get a full Linux Desktop on everything from servers to phones. We don’t collect user data nor provide avenues to easily incorporate ads into our ecosystem. Resulting in a pure experience free of nagging apps and unalterable defaults. The Librem 5 and Liberty Phone running PureOS do not spy on you, giving you peace of mind that you are fully protected from the hardware all the way to the apps.

        On the Liberty phone and Librem 5 the Linux kernel is kept up to date by Purism and its many investments in upstream, it needs a shrinking number of alterations from the main branch because of these advancements. This keeps kernel features up to date and makes it easy to port alternative OSs to the Librem 5 or Liberty Phone. Congratulations are in order for our Linux kernel team.

      • HackadayHow Small Can The ESP32 Get?

        At its core, the ESP32 chip is not much more than an integrated circuit, a huge mass of transistors sealed inside an epoxy resin package with some leads. Of course, most of us won’t buy discrete ESP32 chips with no support circuitry since it’s typically easier and often not that much more expensive to get them paired with development boards of some type for easy access to things like USB and GPIO. But these tiny chips need little in the way of support to get up and running as [Paul] demonstrates with this tiny ESP32 board.

    • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • PowerDNSPowerDNS Authoritative Server 4.8.2

      In Authoritative Server 4.8, the LMDB backend gains a new Lightning Stream-compatible schema, which requires a data migration (this is automatic, and there is no migration back to the old schema). LMDB backend users should pay extra attention to the Upgrade Notes.

    • Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra

      • DaemonFC (Ryan Farmer)Quoting Wikipedia to Explain Why You Should Not Use Microsoft Office 365.

        Microsoft 365 is banned for use in classrooms in at least one German state, which has deemed it too insecure to even use at all.

        Also, this is the stuff that survived Microsoft’s PR firm “pruning” things from Wikipedia.

        None of this things can happen to you if you use LibreOffice, and store your documents on your own computer.

        Also, LibreOffice never goes into “read-only” mode if you stop paying a monthly fee. There is no fee.

    • Education

      • Carl SchwanFreedom Not Fear 2023

        Last weekend, I went to Freedom Not Fear 2023 in Brussels. Fnf is an unconference for and by European digital activists. It covers various topics, from the latest terrible European law (Chat Control) to discussing how to get more involved in our democracies.

        I usually attend more technical conferences, and it was refreshing to participate in a conference where ethical and political discussions around digital rights were a central topic. It was an occasion to meet people from different backgrounds, from a Dutch politician (and self-proclaimed student for life), to a member of various organizations (e.g. Edri, NlNet, epicenter.works, Chatons, …) and journalists from Netzpolitik.

      • Carl SvenssonThe Wachowskis and the Hacker as a progressive archetype

        To serve the positive connotation, hacker culture needs to be fairly broadly defined. It usually encompasses various in-group markers and qualities that the bad hackers lack - most often a set of morally pure values with a countercultural, often progressive twist. Early real world political markers of hacker culture were distrust of the (deep) state, safeguarding personal privacy, free speech advocacy and an opposition to predatory capitalism - a heritage from the counterculture prevalent at the time and place of its birth, the US in the late 1960:s. This has since been echoed in many a hacker tract, factual as well as fictional. WarGames (1983) pits a mischievous boy next door against the hubris and excess of the military-industrial complex. Sneakers (1992) features a group of aging hippies doing battle with foreign as well as domestic political actors, and The Lone Gunmen (2001, originally from The X-Files) are at constant odds with both megacorps and US intelligence agencies.

        Through the increased ubiquity of networked computers and the gradual reframing of hackers from criminals to freedom fighters, the connotation of the word hacker itself has gone from largely negative to largely positive. In the word hack's capacity of describing a clever solution to a problem, it's even trickled outside the realm of technology and blessed us with life hacks in general and specific ones like kitchen hacks in particular. Hence, new words must be constructed: bad hackers are now instead cyber terrorists or cyber criminals.

    • Licensing / Legal

      • The Drone GirlDrone remote ID rules apply as of September 16. Are you ready?

        As of September 16, 2023, the drone remote ID rules start applying to drone pilots, too. The final rule for remote ID is a requirement from the Federal Aviation Administration mandating that drones must provide identification and location information, which can then be read by other parties. Consider a sort of electronic licensing plate system for drones, with a built-in layer of location information.

        The FAA’s drone remote ID rules technically went into effect in September 2022, but the FAA actually gave a year for drone pilots to make sure their aircraft actually is equipped with Remote ID. That point comes on September 16, 2023 at exactly 12:01 a.m. — which isn’t far away.

        At that point, all drone pilots required to register their UAS (which is most drone operators flying outdoors with drones that weigh 250 grams or more) must operate their aircraft in accordance with the final rule on remote ID.

      • TechdirtSouth Dakota Looks Like It Might Be The Next State Asked To Explain Its Stupid Vanity Plate Laws To A Federal Court

        Governments are weird. Maybe “weird” isn’t the right word. The more accurate word may be “opportunistic.” When it comes to speech they don’t like, they move into this mode. If they think they can silence it, they will try to. And they’ll do this while still pretending the speech they’re trying to control is nothing more than their own.

    • Programming/Development

      • RlangAdding a website next to your Shiny server

        I have been off from the blog lately due to a big load of personal projects. Just lately I got a few days off and found time to work on my personal website, to be ready soon. That made me get more into Nginx configuration, where I consider myself a total rookie. However, I was mainly adding a few domains that are intended for different purposes. That is incredibly easy to do using Nginx even with minimal knowledge, and that's what I want to show here.

        Basically I want to have my shiny apps under one domain, and some other sites under different domains, but using only one server. I also decided to add my own customized 404 error page. There are different ways to accomplish that, here are just a couple of them. I hope they can be of use.



Recent Techrights' Posts

Layoffs in Twitter, Facebook, and Microsoft's LinkedIn
There are silent layoffs at Microsoft this month
We Don't Depend on Google and Don't Care for Google
We have our own site search and we don't depend on Google to bring visits/visitors to us
Facebook Layoffs Due to Enormous Debt, Nothing to Do With "Hey Hi" Slop
The lies about "hey hi" in relation to layoffs will only contribute to further public resentment towards: 1) the media and 2) all the slop.
Universities Became Bad Places for Work
What happened to academia?
 
Links 15/03/2026: Slop "Bubble Driving Interest in Chip Alternatives" and Wildlife Erosion Reported
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 14, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, March 14, 2026
Change of Address at the Hired Guns, Address Removed
Companies tend to alter their 'shell structure' in anticipation of major action
The Good IBM Managers Have Flown Away, All That's Left is the Book-Cooking Loyalists
IBM is just cheating the SEC and shareholders. This seems to be the only thing IBM's management is nowadays good at.
Microsofters' SLAPP Censorship - Part 12 Out of 200: Months Ahead of Serial Strangler From Microsoft Who Helped Double the Lawsuits (Funded by Third Parties) as 'Revenge' for Exposing Crimes
In 2024 I sat down and wrote about what had been done to me and to my wife
Crime Comes in Many Forms
apparently the SRA is OK with stranglers of women in America bullying the media in the UK
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once readers realise they read slop they immediately lose interest
Links 14/03/2026: Adoption of Slop Has Killed BuzzFeed, Russia Sees "Economic Gain From Iran War"
Links for the day
Patriotism is Conditional, If It's Unconditional, Then It's Like a Cult
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Links for the day
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Reporting New and Suppressed Information is What Journalism is All About
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The Limits of Speech and the Rationale of Limitations
it seems to be part of an international trend
Over at Tux Machines...
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IRC Proceedings: Friday, March 13, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, March 13, 2026
Gemini Links 14/03/2026: Goodness, AD534 Multiplier Module, and Extroverts Online
Links for the day
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Don't ask "the media"
Microsofters' SLAPP Censorship - Part 11 Out of 200: Cannot Censor His Spouse, Accusations Are Repeated Today
He already has a history of threatening to sue gay people in America; he cannot take criticism too well
Price of Storage, Price of Energy... What Next?
EPO workers are going on strike because their salaries don't keep up with price increases and tech companies without connections in "the channel" face long delays, low availability, and high prices (no "bulk" purchases), which further solidifies monopolies.
Don't Forget Red Hat's RTO (Return-to-office) Layoffs
How many people still remember that Red Hat did the same thing?
Reminder: Microsoft silent Layoffs by RTO (Commute Time and Lack of Comfort/Work Satisfaction) Already in Effect This Year
It's difficult to measure how many employees have already "left on their own" due to the RTO policy
Founder of IBM Ventures Has Just Quit IBM
Some people leave IBM and many people 'leave' IBM
Signs of Impeding Mass Layoffs - Not Just Quiet Layoffs - at Microsoft
Beneath the surface there are waves of layoffs and even entire teams are let go
Career Science and Academia as Corporate Propaganda 'on Tap'
article about surveillance
Veteran GNU/Linux Journalist Jack Wallen Tries Geminispace and Likes It
It'll turn 7 some time soon
Scheduled Maintenance Tonight
There will be similar work early next week
"Alternative to Microsoft Office" Must Use Free/Open Standards/Formats for Real Sovereignty
It would make sense for the EU to invest in its own workers and its own software projects, more so now that there are hostile countries both to the east and to the west
IBM Has No Clue How to Integrate Companies Like Red Hat
IBM is failing to respect this company's culture
Fake Articles From Sites With "Linux" in Their Name/Domain Name
we can at least hope that linuxteck.com made a decision to quit slop
Links 13/03/2026: New US Weapons for Taiwan, Pakistan Air Strikes Hit Kabul
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/03/2026: Exhaustion and Smartphone Addiction
Links for the day
Friday the 13th & Debian Developers afraid to nominate in DPL elections
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 13/03/2026: Chatbot "Pentagon Contract" (Bailout) and Secret Service Ditches Slop Pusher
Links for the day
When Everybody Has a Right/Access to An Attorney/Lawyer (But Some Get Funding From Malicious American Corporations to Spend a Million Dollars on Many Lawyers and Several Barristers)
And send about 75 KG of legal papers to the residence of the "opponent"
European Qualifying Examination (EQE) Being Reduced to Pieces of Papers One Can Buy, Patent System Rapidly Losing Its Legitimacy
Welcome to the "new Europe"
Priorities in 2026
2026 is an interesting year
Willis Towers Watson (WTW) Producing More Propaganda for EPO "Cocaine Communication Managers"
The Local Staff Committee The Hague (LSCTH) has this new paper about Willis Towers Watson (WTW) and its annual EPO-sponsored propaganda, pretending all is well when things are clearly dire
Head of Microsoft Office and Microsoft 360 is Leaving Microsoft Amid Problems and Mass Layoffs
Microsoft is like a "legacy" company
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, March 12, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, March 12, 2026
Gemini Links 13/03/2026: "Someone to Take Over Antenna" and Random Seed/RNG
Links for the day