[08:30] schestowitz[TR2]A critical bug in libwayland update causes Plasma Desktop freeze at login on Debian Sid/Trixie. The root cause is identified, and the temporary solution is released!
[08:40] schestowitz[TR2][08:40] schestowitz[TR2]This year, we used the Galne videoconferencing server for our remote track. Previously, we used BigBlueButton. The reason for this change is a bit complicated. BigBlueButton has a dependency on MongoDB, and in 2018, new MongoDB versions started using a nonfree license. In 2020, we noticed that an upcoming BigBlueButton version had picked up a new nonfree MongoDB version, and we began a dialogue [08:40] schestowitz[TR2] with the BigBlueButton developers. We helped investigate some options for moving away from MongoDB. We also tested and promoted FerretDB, a free MongoDB-compatible database. Last year, BigBlueButton finalized a technical plan for moving off MongoDB and announced their plan to do so, which will hopefully happen within the next year. Once they do officially move off MongoDB, we will celebrate their work as the program has grown to me [08:40] schestowitz[TR2] an a lot for the free software community these last few years during and after the pandemic. While we had been using a BigBlueButton version with a free, pre-2018 MongoDB for the past few years, it was no longer officially supported by BigBlueButton. For our major annual event, we wanted to use and recommend a videoconferencing server with a supported and fully free upstream. We found that with Galne.
[08:40] schestowitz[TR2]So, what is different about Galne? BigBlueButton and Galne both have real-time video- and audio-conferencing as a core feature. On the one hand, BigBlueButton has some features that Galne doesn't, for example, a shared whiteboard on which users can write and draw. While we have enjoyed these features, we didn't need them for the LibrePlanet 2024 workshops and presentations.
[08:40] schestowitz[TR2]
[08:41] schestowitz[TR2][08:41] schestowitz[TR2]Q: What does your role entail?
[08:41] schestowitz[TR2]A: I tend to take the first pass at evaluating how a user is going to interact with something. Like for example the first user experience. When I look at the screen, of course I want to make sure its attractive. But I ask things like will the user understand what they need to do in this screen? Is it intuitive?
[08:41] schestowitz[TR2]
[09:25] schestowitz[TR2][09:25] schestowitz[TR2]As of our writing, we've been unable to ascertain just how much access to the Windows kernel source code Microsoft granted to CrowdStrike engineers. (For another thing, the root cause of the problem appears to have been an error in a configuration file.) But this being the free software movement, we could guarantee that all security engineers and all stakeholders could have equal a [09:25] schestowitz[TR2] ccess to the source code, proving the old adage that "with enough eyes, all bugs are shallow." There is no good reason to withhold code from the public, especially code so integral to the daily functioning of so many public institutions and businesses.
[09:25] schestowitz[TR2]In a cunning PR spin, it appears that Microsoft has started blaming the incident on third-party firms' access to kernel source and documentation. Translated out of Redmond-ese, the point they are trying to make amounts to "if only we'd been allowed to be more secretive, this wouldn't have happened!" Anyone with so much as a basic understanding of software development can see that [09:25] schestowitz[TR2] this argument doesn't hold water, just as anyone with a basic understanding of rhetoric can appreciate the irony that the same company that develops Copilot is whinging about the need to keep code secret from others. At this very minute, Copilot is ingesting free software on Microsoft's proprietary platform, GitHub, with little respect for each program's license.
[09:25] schestowitz[TR2]
[09:41] schestowitz[TR2][09:41] schestowitz[TR2]That makes them prime marks for chatbot-peddling AI pitchmen. Your boss would love to fire you and replace you with a chatbot. Chatbots don't unionize, they don't backtalk about stupid orders, and they don't experience any inconvenient moral injury when ordered to enshittify the product: [...]
[09:41] schestowitz[TR2]
[09:54] schestowitz[TR2][09:54] schestowitz[TR2]Linux Mint 22 is a long term support release which will be supported until 2029. It comes with updated software and brings refinements and many new features to make your desktop even more comfortable to use.
[09:54] schestowitz[TR2]
[09:54] schestowitz[TR2][09:54] schestowitz[TR2]The wait is finally over! Linux Mint, one of the best desktop distributions known for its user-friendly interface and stability, has just unveiled its latest version, Linux Mint 22 Wilma. This release is a long-term support (LTS) edition, ensuring updates and security patches until 2029.
[09:54] schestowitz[TR2]Now, without further ado, lets review all the key improvements and new features that make Wilma a notable upgrade for all Mint users.
[09:54] schestowitz[TR2]