Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 17/1/2021: EasyOS on Raspberry Pi and GNU libsigsegv 2.13



  • GNU/Linux

    • Server

      • Considering Preparedness

        In short it is necessary to update your IT Disaster Recovery Plan if you are relying on resources physically based in the United States, I think. Nobody is quite sure what exactly is coming down the pike.

    • Audiocasts/Shows

      • TWIL 134: WINE 6.0, Flatpak 1.10, Fedora Kinoite, Slimbook Titan, AlmaLinux, JingOS

        On this episode of This Week in Linux, we’ve got an update for you about a CentOS alternative from CloudLinux called AlmaLinux. The company Slimbook announced a new Laptop called the Slimbook Titan and it is a very interesting piece of hardware with AMD Ryzen 7 & RTX 3070. We’ve also got releases from some big open source projects like WINE 6.0 and Flatpak 1.10. We’ve also got some interesting distro news from Fedora and a new OS called JingOS which has a very iPad-like design. In App News, we’ll talk about Mozilla’s VPN Now Available for Linux and we’ll end the show with a big Humble Bundle Bonanza. All that and much more on Your Weekly Source for Linux GNews!

      • GNU World Order 389

        Hardware review of the Devastator 3 keyboard and mouse, and all about **tmux** , plus an obligatory mention of **usbmuxd**.

    • Kernel Space

    • Applications

      • VPN Providers with Custom Clients for Linux

        Virtual Private Networking providers and company are more than you can shake a stick at these days. While there's always installable client software for Windows, Android and usually MacOS and whatever the mobile version is called not all are offering desktop clients for Linux distributions. Even if they do it's usually non-GUI, you know, with the excuse that Linux nerds love and want the power of the command line, with stripped-down functionality, or even a browser extension only which might work on a Chromebook but not on any other OS if you actually want to channel your entire traffic. And no, a proxy is not a replacement for a proper VPN.

        Another constraint is the various packaging formats Linux and GNU/Linux distributions are using. Most providers only offer packages for Debian and Ubuntu-like distributions. RPMs are typically Fedora and/or CentOS but do not work on SUSE. On other distributions like Slackware and Arch you're basically on your own. You can hope that someone has provided a build on sbopkg for Slackware or in the AUR for the Arch base or that it can be transformed with the alien packaging tool but these are not official packages.

        Then we have the issue of different init systems in use all over the Linux install base. When exploring Artix Linux I discovered that custom desktop client software is written to work with distributions that are using systemd to handle services and networking. Wanting to use them with OpenRC or Runit presents a bit of a challenge. It can be done but you got to know your init system's run levels or ask a distro developer to package it for you. Thankfully I since discovered that the software of at least two companies I'm perusing supports SysVinit. Their packages worked flawlessly on Devuan 3.0 so all is not lost if you're not running systemd but still want to use your providers client instead of the Networkmanager OpenVPN plugin. Even more so since NM does not seem to work without systemd, haha. They also play nicely with Wicd, no conflicts there. They're not integrated but they don't integrate with NM either.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • How to install Balena Etcher on Manjaro Linux? - Linux Shout

        Balena Etcher is an open-source software to quickly create a bootable USB drive using ISO and raw images of the various Linux flavours including Windows 10/8/7 and others. Its interface is very straightforward, after the installation the user just needs to Select ISO or raw image than a USB drive which he wants to create bootable and simply Flash it.

        There are two ways to install Balena Etcher on Manjaro, one is using the AUR package repository and build Etcher from its source package and the second is to directly download the App image from the official website. I will show both.

      • GNU Linux Debian and others – how to view play RTSP (surveillance and webcam and other cams) streams with mplayer

        if the user wants to know who or what is lurking behind the house… the user needs to view live streams of surveillance cams on GNU Linux.

      • How to Find and Replace Text in Chrome and Firefox

        A browser, as its name implies, is meant for browsing the Web. It is not meant to be used as a text editor. That’s why you seldom find text-editing features like “Find and Replace Text” in the browser. However, there are times where you are writing your blog post, typing a comment, composing emails or moderating forums, and find yourself wanting to replace a couple of words that appear multiple times throughout. This is where a “Find and Replace Text” function is useful.

      • How to run a Linux distribution in a container

        The page that you are reading now is very much developer-perspective, looking at how a different Linux distribution can be converted to run in a container in EasyOS. So far, I have only done this with various Puppy Linux derivatives, as the 'dir2sfs' conversion script is aware of certain Puppy features. However, in theory, any Linux distribution can be converted. The case study for this page is for 64-bit EasyOS running on the Raspberry Pi4, and to convert RasPup to run in a container. At the time of writing, EasyOS is not yet released for the Pi4, but is expected to be soon -- monitor my blog.

      • Code to check if a module is used in python code
      • How to install Master PDF Editor on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS - Linux Shout

        Master PDF Editor is a freemium solution available for Linux, Windows, and macOS systems. Here we will see the steps to install it on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

        One of the popular PDF editors that is Adobe Acrobat is not available for Linux systems, thus in such a case Master PDF editor in both free and premium version could be a good option. It comes with various features such as Edit PDF text, images; create new PDFs, Encrypts, and/or protect PDF files using 128-bit encryption, convert XPS files into PDF, and more… However, the free edition is limited in features and allow only the creation of new PDF documents, Fill PDF forms, add and/or edit bookmarks in PDF files; comment and annotate PDF documents; Split and merge PDF documents.

      • How to Check and print PHP version installed On Linux / Unix Server

        How do I find out PHP version under Linux operating systems? What command do I need to type to show the PHP version under Unix-like systems?

    • Games

      • Retroarch for Android – The Complete Guide - Make Tech Easier

        The first thing you need to do, of course, is install Retroarch from the Play Store. Once you’ve done that, open Retroarch, and you’ll be presented with the main menu, which may mean absolutely nothing to you if you’re unfamiliar with Retroarch.

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

        • KDE Customization Guide: Here are 11 Ways You Can Change the Look and Feel of Your KDE-Powered Linux Desktop

          KDE Plasma desktop is unarguably the pinnacle of customization, as you can change almost anything you want. You can go to the extent of making it act as a tiling window manager.

          KDE Plasma can confuse a beginner by the degree of customization it offers. As options tend to pile on top of options, the user starts getting lost.

          To address that issue, I’ll show you the key points of KDE Plasma customization that you should be aware of.

    • Distributions

      • New Releases

        • EasyOS works on Raspberry Pi 3B with 1GB RAM

          Well I'll be a monkey's uncle, I have created a better product than I realised. I plugged the EasyOS microSD card into my old Pi model 3B, with only 1GB RAM, and it booted, and everything works. Well, everything after only a brief test. Connected to Internet automatically, because wifi was already setup when running on the Pi4. Was able to surf the Internet. I see the bluetooth applet in the tray, excellent, audio applet indicates working audio. The only noticeable downside is very slow. Still quite usable though. SM started surprisingly fast.

        • Norwegian language PETs for EasyOS

          Jostein Skjelstad has created two "langpack" PETs for EasyOS, 'langpack_nb-20210108.pet' and 'langpack_nn-20210108.pet'.

          Jostein is to be congratulated for this, as it is a huge amount of work creating a langpack from scratch, as Lutz (de langpack) and esmourguit (fr langpack) will attest. Though, once created, keeping it updated is easier.

      • SUSE/OpenSUSE

        • openSUSE Smiles

          There is no end to my amazement of the openSUSE community. They do such a fantastic job of making a wonderful distribution with all the tools that keep me productive. I am very thankful for the reliability I enjoy using openSUSE. The community members also do a great job of helping me through a jam, should I drive myself into one.

      • IBM/Red Hat/Fedora

      • Debian Family

        • Junichi Uekawa: Yesterday was our monthly Debian meeting.

          Yesterday was our monthly Debian meeting. We do one every month for Tokyo and Kansai combined, because it's online and no reason to split for now. I presented what I learnt about nodejs packaging in Debian. This time, I started using Emacs for presentation, presenting PDF file. This week I switched most of my login shells to emacsclient, and experimenting.

      • Canonical/Ubuntu Family

        • ECS Announces the LIVA Q1A and the LIVA Q1A Plus

          ECS announces two new Ultra-small and Multi-functional Mini PC, and these two Mini-PCs are called the LIVA Q1A and LIVA Q1A Plus. These Mini PCs have a minimal footprint while having a fanless design, and this design ensures a quiet operation. Since these Mini-PCs utilize the Rockchip SoC offering either a quad-core and a dual-core processor, these Mini-PCs are perfect for a new home office or a PC connected to a TV.

    • Devices/Embedded

    • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

      • 4 big lessons from my internship with open source

        If you happened to have a time machine and chose to shoot yourself back a year to ask me what I thought about making open source contributions (of all the things you could've done), you may have guessed that I would just shrug and say something along the lines of, "I don't know, isn't that reserved for all the hard-core devs with the insane GitHub stats and decked-out macros and stuff? I'd have no idea what I was doing, and who would even care what some random college student had to say about their code?" And you'd probably be correct. But this was all before I stumbled onto the incredible opportunity to intern at Red Hat within the OpenShift Engineering division for the better part of 2020.

        I came into the internship like any fresh-faced computer science student, skirting through life writing untested, barely readable but somehow still functional code, and feeling proud of it. But this internship brought the opportunity to get my hands dirty with the open source culture and finally see what all the hype is about.

      • CMS

        • WordPress Post Vs. Page

          Welcome back to the WordPress 101 series. In this series, we are discussing the basics of WordPress for new WordPress users. In this article, you’ll learn the differences between WordPress post vs. page.

          Often new users get confused between WordPress posts and pages. I remember my cousin created more than 10 pages before he realized he should’ve created posts, not pages. For new users, it may be difficult to understand why WordPress has two separate options to publish content.

          For them, one can create 200 pages instead of 200 posts and that should make no difference in how search engines see that content.

      • FSF

        • GNU Projects

          • GCC's Profile Guided Optimization Performance With The Ryzen 9 5950X - Phoronix

            Given the talk in prior days around patches for PGO'ing the Linux kernel and some readers not being familiar with Profile Guided Optimizations by code compilers, here are some fresh benchmarks on a Ryzen 9 5950X looking at the benefits of applying PGO optimizations to various benchmarks.

            We have benchmarked GCC and Clang PGO performance many times over the years with this just being some fresh data using a Ryzen 9 5950X and the latest software stack on Ubuntu 20.10. The testing was done by first running various open-source benchmarks without PGO, repeating the tests to generate profiles for the compiler to consume with PGO, and then benchmarking those PGO-enabled builds. These numbers are about best case scenarios given that with the testing for the PGO-enabled build, the benchmarks are repeated and thus matching well to the original profile. In more real-world, general purpose scenarios it can be more difficult generating an accurate profile for your actual workflow / software usage.

          • libsigsegv @ Savannah: libsigsegv 2.13 is released

            libsigsegv version 2.13 is released.

      • Programming/Development

        • I told you so, 2021 edition

          You will recall that in 2004, which is now seventeen years ago, I wrote a document explaining why I made the design trade-offs that I did in XScreenSaver, and in that document I predicted this exact bug as my example of, "this is what will happen if you don't do it this way."

          And they went and made that happen.

          Repeatedly.

        • Jamie Zawinski Calls Cinnamon Screensaver Lock-Bypass Bug 'Unconscionable'

          Legendary programmer Jamie Zawinski has worked on everything from the earliest releases of the Netscape Navigator browser to XEmacs, Mozilla, and, of course, the XScreenSaver project.

        • Java

          • Why and How to Use Java.util.stream.Collectors

            Streams are a wonderful feature in Java allowing you to write clean, efficient and powerful code.

            If you haven’t consumed the output of the stream, you will probably want to collect it. That’s when the methods from Java.util.stream.Collectors come to help.

  • Leftovers

    • 3 steps to achieving Inbox Zero

      In prior years, this annual series covered individual apps. This year, we are looking at all-in-one solutions in addition to strategies to help in 2021. Welcome to day 7 of 21 Days of Productivity in 2021.

      There are lots of ways people manage email. Most people I have talked to over the past few years fall into one of two categories: The people who keep everything in their Inbox folder, and those who do not. For those that do not, the concept of Inbox Zero comes into play frequently.

    • Health/Nutrition

      • 'This is not a game': Global virus death toll hits 2 million

        The global death toll from COVID-19 topped 2 million Friday, crossing the threshold amid a vaccine rollout so immense but so uneven that in some countries there is real hope of vanquishing the outbreak, while in other, less-developed parts of the world, it seems a far-off dream.

        The numbing figure was reached just over a year after the coronavirus was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The number of dead, compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is about equal to the population of Brussels, Mecca, Minsk or Vienna.

    • Integrity/Availability

      • Proprietary

        • Security

          • Privacy/Surveillance

            • Issues with Signal messaging app have resolved

              Following a day and a half of difficulties, Signal's cross-platform messaging service is operational again. Both Signal's Twitter and status dashboard indicate things are back to normal, and following the influx of literally millions of new users to the service, we can all enjoy more private and secure communications.

            • Social media posts, cellphone data aid law enforcement investigations into [attack]

              Widespread posts on social media from last week’s deadly riot, along with other less public-facing technology such as cellphone metadata, are aiding officials as they seek to identify members of the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6.

            • FBI investigating if foreign actors funded Capitol rioters: report

              The agency is investigating whether foreign governments, organizations or individuals provided funding to those that helped plan the [attack], according to the news outlet. As part of the probe, the agency is reportedly examining payments of $500,000 in bitcoin by a French computer programmer before the [attack].

            • Despite Parler backlash, Facebook played huge role in fueling Capitol riot, watchdogs say

              "If you took Parler out of the equation, you would still almost certainly have what happened at the Capitol," he told Salon. "If you took Facebook out of the equation before that, you would not. To me, when Apple and Google sent their letter to Parler, I was a little bit confused why Facebook didn't get one."

            • Facebook suspends ads for weapon accessories until at least January 22nd

              Facebook has updated its Inauguration Day preparations to include a temporary ban on ads that promote weapon accessories and protective equipment at least through January 22nd “out of an abundance of caution,” the company said in a new blog post Saturday. “We already prohibit ads for weapons, ammunition and weapon enhancements like silencers. But we will now also prohibit ads for accessories such as gun safes, vests and gun holsters in the US,” the statement reads.

            • Inside Twitter’s Decision to Cut Off Trump

              “This is a phenomenal exercise of power to de-platform the president of the United States,” said Evelyn Douek, a lecturer at Harvard Law School who focuses on online speech. “It should set off a broader reckoning.”

            • Some Twitter employees have reportedly locked their accounts fearing reprisal from Trump supporters

              Some Twitter employees have set their accounts to private and scrubbed their online biographies over concerns they may be targeted by supporters of President Trump, the New York Times reported. In addition, some Twitter executives have been assigned personal security as the company reckons with its decision to bar one of its loudest voices.

    • Defence/Aggression

    • Transparency/Investigative Reporting

      • James Murdoch Denounces ‘Media Property Owners’ for ‘Spreading Disinformation’ Leading to Capitol Riot

        James Murdoch, the son of Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch, has spoken out against “media property owners” that spread disinformation leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

        In an interview with the Financial Times on Friday, Murdoch said that the attack on the Capitol is a consequence of the election disinformation championed by President Donald Trump and circulated by media outlets.

      • Election misinformation dropped 73 percent following Trump's suspension from Twitter: research

        Misinformation surrounding the topic of election fraud dropped by 73 percent after President Trump and several others were suspended from mainstream social media accounts, according to research conducted by Zignal Labs.

        The research firm reported that discourse around election fraud dropped from 2.5 million mentions across social media platforms to close to 688,000, following the president's permanent suspension from Twitter, according to The Washington Post.

    • Environment

    • AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

      • 'His Conduct Was Seditious': House Democrats From Texas Demand Ted Cruz Be Expelled From Senate

        "In his effort to appease Donald Trump and his supporters, Senator Cruz encouraged these terrorists to wage armed insurrection against America."

      • 'Talk About a Super Spreader': Analysis Finds Online Election Misinformation Fell by 73% After Trump Barred

        After Trump's lies disappeared from Twitter and Facebook, the dissemination of falsehoods and the conversations based on them fell dramatically.

      • Republicans Are Using Capitol Breach as Excuse to Promote Anti-Protest Bills


      • Opinion | Trump May Be on Trial, But You Can Bet the System That Produced Him Will Be Acquitted

        Trump is too small and limited of a target to be considered the true and deepest enemy we face.

      • Opinion | Ted Cruzifictions

        Being in the United States Senate does not imbue a person with wisdom, common sense, or integrity. If you doubt that, just look at the junior Republican Senator from Texas.

      • Groups at Last Week's Capitol Protest Are Still Fundraising on Amazon and Paypal
      • Opinion | Will Trump's Grand Finale Be Conviction by the US Senate?

        Congressional Republicans have aided and abetted, for four years, Trump's assertion that "With Article II, I can do whatever I want as president." Dangerous Donald did just that.

      • Only A Corrupt Lord Advocate Stands Between Peter Murrell and Prison

        Following Robin McAlpine’s excellent article, some responded by asking where is the hard evidence of a conspiracy against Alex Salmond? Well, here is some of it, not public before.

      • Opinion | Meet the GOP State AGs Who Spread Election Lies That Fueled an Insurrection

        Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) never acknowledged its role in fueling Trump supporters' ire by sharing repeatedly debunked lies about the outcome of the presidential election.

      • As Democrats Confirm They Did Not Host Pre-Insurrection Capitol Tours, Which GOP Members Can Say the Same?

        "I can say with 100% confidence I didn't give any Capitol tours to anyone last week," said Rep. Ocasio-Cortez on Friday. "Any Republicans out there who want to join us in answering this question?"

      • Biden's Labor Secretary Pick Personifies Compromise -- That's Not What We Need
      • Capitol Coup d’Trump: Deconstructing Media Narratives around January 6th Events - Censored Notebook

        The event was moderated by the Director of Project Censored, Professor Mickey Huff. Those in attendance submitted their questions and comments to the panelists in the Zoom meeting chat which were incorporated into the broader conversation. The event incorporated some of the thoughts put forth in an article published at CounterPunch by Nolan Higdon and Mickey Huff Ripe for Fascism: A Post-Coup d’Trump Autopsy of American Democracy, along with the many keen insights of the diverse and expert panelists listed below.

      • NRA to Declare Bankruptcy, Reorganize in Texas

        In a statement to reporters on Friday, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre said the NRA had reached a “transformational moment” and that a move to Texas opens “a pathway to opportunity, growth and progress.” He added that “an important part of this plan is ‘dumping New York,’ ” where the NRA has been incorporated for more than 150 years, but has come under immense legal pressure, including a move to dissolve the organization over allegations of unlawful self-enrichment by senior executives. (LaPierre recently repaid the NRA more than $300,000 in illicit benefits, and the organization is seeking the return of more than $1 million from its former chief lobbyist.)

        New York Attorney General Letitia James responded to the gun lobby’s news with a burn: “The NRA’s claimed financial status has finally met its moral status: bankrupt,” she said. James insisted that the NRA’s hopes of evading her legal reach are misguided: “While we review this filing, we will not allow the NRA to use this or any other tactic to evade accountability and my office’s oversight.” In a Friday evening virtual town hall with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, James expanded on her thinking: “We filed suit against the NRA because, basically, they were diverting funds from this charitable organization for their own personal use. And so the corruption and greed has finally, unfortunately, resulted in this organization filing bankruptcy,” she said. “But we will continue our efforts,” James vowed, “because this organization has gone unchecked for years, and it’s critically important that we continue to hold them accountable, even in bankruptcy court.”

      • Trump was angry at Capitol mob only because they looked ‘cheap and poor’: report

        The source was quoted as saying: “He was angry, not at the appalling crimes they were committing, but because he felt embarrassed. When they first stormed the Capitol, he was enjoying it. These were ‘his people.’”

        “But when he saw pictures of the half-naked guy in the fur hat he started complaining they looked ‘cheap and poor.’ Even at one of the worst moments in American history, he was thinking about his image. He didn’t grasp the scale of the disaster.”

      • Democrats have a new tool to undo Trump's 'midnight rule-making.' But there's a catch.

        The Congressional Review Act applies only to rules that have been finalized during Congress’ previous 60 working days — a period that often stretches to months, because Congress is usually only in session part of the time. That would apply to Trump-era rules that have been completed since late August, including the most recent flurry of midnight rule-making since Election Day.

        Potential candidates for repeal under the Democrat-controlled Congress include many contentious environmental rules, such as Trump’s restrictions on the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to consider the benefits of regulating air pollutants; limits on the agency’s use of scientific research in justifying public health rules; and the repeal of energy efficiency standards for showers, washing machines and other bathroom fixtures.

    • Censorship/Free Speech

    • Civil Rights/Policing

      • Pack Your Bags
      • The Movement to Defund the Police Won't Go Away When Biden Takes Office
      • Sotomayor Says 13 People Executed During Trump Killing Spree 'Deserved More From This Court'

        "This is not justice," said the liberal Justice after the state murder of Dustin John Higgs as she excoriated the court's conservative majority for essentially rubber-stamping the administration's rushed death penalties.

      • Biden Needs to Make Closing the Racial Wealth Divide a Priority on Day One
      • [Old] Hindus visiting churches on Christmas will be beaten up, threatens Bajrang Dal leader in Assam

        A district unit of right-wing Bajrang Dal in south Assam's Cachar issued a 'warning' to Hindus against attending Christmas celebrations in churches and those not adhering to its diktat would be beaten up by its members.

      • Degree Requirements for Police Officers Will Not Make Us Safer

        Yet while many individual police officers have taken it upon themselves to earn degrees, the notion that university education should be a requirement for employment consideration should give pause to both scholars and citizens alike. Relegating police training to outside universities smacks of duty shirking; it should be the responsibility (and purview) of police departments to train law enforcement professionals effectively. Furthermore, the ever-expanding realm of credentialism further shrinks the available pool of quality jobs for working-class Americans, who, despite the increasing technological complexity of the economy, remain the largest economic and cultural bloc of the general population.3

      • Hindu shrine desecration: Can Pakistan protect its religious minorities?

        Pakistan's Supreme Court has issued an order to officials in the north-western district of Karak to pave the way for rebuilding the Sri Param Hansji Maharaj Samadhi temple, but the attack has left the country's Hindus feeling vulnerable and the government facing accusations that it is failing to protect the country's religious minorities.

        Pakistan is overwhelmingly Muslim - the Hindu community makes up less than 2% of the population. Prejudice against Hindus is ingrained.

      • The selective restraint of American police on display at the Capitol [attack] amazed me

        After Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old unarmed man killed by Baltimore city police officers, died, a CVS burned and we had tanks rolling past those corner we used to hang on. Babyfaced soldiers from the National Guard were deployed to Baltimore and given leg-length rifles with the aim of making sure that no more CVS stores or major chains were damaged. Despite the small amount of property damage that occurred, the bulk of the demonstrations in Baltimore were peaceful and nonviolent, full of people singing, locking arms, praying, passing out bottles of water and hugs, too many hugs. No insurrections, no cops killed, no violence directed at public officials. But we were Black in a Black city, so we got tanks and soldiers armed to the teeth. I'm not amazed by that. The data shows U.S. police are three times more likely to use force against left-wing protesters than on right-wing demonstrators, and yet we see Trump supporters going crazy over chants for "law and order" and "Blue Lives Matter" while at the same time they feel empowered to fight the police, leaving Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick dead from the brawl.

        I'm not amazed that the Coup Klux Klan insurrection happened, but I am amazed that this level of police restraint exists. I'm amazed that the Trump mob could attacked and kill a cop and the right isn't making a bigger deal about it.

    • Monopolies

      • Patents

        • GIPC, INTA & IPO Online Event on American Innovation [Ed: Highly disturbing to see bribed Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), and USPTO Director Andre Iancu in the same room/forum lobbying for patent maximalism as if the patent office is, by proxy, controlled by litigation fanatics rather than science, using bribes]

          Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), and USPTO Director Andre Iancu will discuss the role innovation and creativity play in ensuring American competitiveness, economic growth, and groundbreaking discoveries and how America can remain at the forefront of the global economy and a leader in innovation in the 21st century.

        • Nokia draws first blood in Daimler validity battle

          Nokia is claiming victory in one leg of its long-running patent battle with German automaker Daimler, after the European Patent Office (EPO) affirmed the validity of a key Nokia patent.

          The Finnish telecommunications company is suing Daimler for patent infringement in several German courts. According to Nokia, Daimler has refused to license its standard-essential patents (SEPs) covering cellular telecommunications methods increasingly used in automobiles.

          Daimler responded by challenging the validity of the Nokia patents at the EPO and at the German Federal Patent Court. Earlier this week, the EPO heard the first case in the validity challenges and upheld one of the Nokia patents at issue.

          The patent (EP2087626), one of 10 asserted by Nokia, is part of the company’s SEP portfolio covering the 3G Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) standard. The patent is also included in an infringement case which will be heard by a court in Munich in July.

        • Trident stocks gains 2% on patent grant for 'Fabric and Method of Manufacturing' by EPO

          Trident Limited has been granted patent for “Fabric and Method of Manufacturing Fabric by European Patent office, the company announced.

          The company's stocks jumped over 2% on Friday. Trident was trading at Rs14.73 per piece up on the BSE at arpund 12:00 PM.

        • Second preliminary injunction request based on amended form of patent dismissed



          Sanofi is the owner of European Patent 2.346.552 (EP'552), which does not claim a pharmaceutical invention, but an injectable drug delivery device for the administration of drugs, such as a syringe or a pen, with certain technical features.

          Mylan holds a marketing authorisation for a biosimilar insulin glargine medicinal product (Semglee) in the form of a pre-filled pen with an injectable solution.

          In July 2019 Sanofi filed an infringement action against Mylan, together with an ex parte preliminary injunction request seeking an order from the court prohibiting the launch of Semglee. The case was assigned to Barcelona Commercial Court Number 1, which refused to grant any preliminary injunction ex parte and scheduled a hearing instead. In her interlocutory decision, the judge found that the validity of the patent as granted appeared doubtful, as the patent had been upheld only in amended form by the European Patent Office (EPO) Opposition Division, with an appeal pending. Also, the judge considered that there was no extreme urgency.

          The hearing was scheduled for 31 October 2019.

          [...]

          In its decision of 27 November 2020, the court dismissed Sanofi's preliminary injunction request again, thus concluding that the new alleged circumstances did not justify it. In particular, the decision states that the B2-T9 form of the patent does not form the basis for the main proceedings on the merits, where Sanofi's petition is yet to be prosecuted and decided. In this regard, the court recalled that the claims would be the same as with the former limitation request, now withdrawn, whereas Mylan is opposing Sanofi's petition, arguing that it should be held inadmissible for having been made abusively, with the sole purpose of reiterating a previously dismissed preliminary injunction request.

        • Software Patents

          • Patenting AI and protecting intellectual property [Ed: Misusing buzzwords as propaganda for illegal software patents at the rogue EPO]

            There are two main conditions for patenting any invention: it must be new and it must be inventive (i.e., not an obvious modification to an existing invention). But, innovations in AI are even more challenging to patent at the European Patent Office (EPO) because the EPO views AI as a type of mathematical method. European patent law prohibits patenting subject-matter that relates to mathematical methods ‘as such’ and so the EPO will ignore features of a patent application that relate only to mathematical methods, such as AI, when they assess novelty and inventiveness.

            But, this extra obstacle can be overcome by showing that an invention as a whole is more than just a mathematical method.

      • Copyrights

        • Supreme Court Denies Petition from YouTube Rippers ‘FLVTO’ and ‘2Conv’

          The US Supreme Court has denied the petition of YouTube rippers FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com over personal jurisdiction questions. The sites' Russian operator Tofig Kurbanov is involved in a legal battle with several major record labels and contests the jurisdiction of US courts. The case is far from over and will now continue at the district court.

        • Yandex & Mail.ru Reported For Abusing Dominant Positions To Facilitate Piracy

          An anti-piracy group representing publishers in Russia has reported Internet giants Yandex and Mail.ru to the Eurasion Economic Commission for allegedly abusing their dominant market positions. AZAPI says that through their services and actions, the Internet platforms are creating unfair opportunities for people to download pirated publications at the expense of legitimate companies.



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It remains sad and ironic that Wikileaks outsourced so much of its official communications to Twitter (now X)
The World Wide Web Has Been Rotting for Years (Quality, Accuracy, and Depth Consistently Decreasing)
In the past people said that the Web had both "good" and "bad" and that the good outweighed the bad
Comoros: Windows Plunges to Record Low of About 6% in Country of a Million People (in 2010 Windows Was 100%)
Many of these people earn a few dollars a day; they don't care for Microsoft's "Hey Hi PC" hype
The Mail (MX) Server Survey for July 2024 Shows Microsoft Collapsing to Only 689 Servers or 0.17% of the Whole (It Used to be About 25%)
Microsoft became so insignificant and the most astounding thing is how the media deliberate ignores it or refuses to cover it
Windows Down From 98.5% to 22.9% in Hungary
Android is up because more people buy smaller mobile devices than laptops
Microsoft Windows in Algeria: From 100% to Less Than 15%
Notice that not too long ago Windows was measured at 100%. Now? Not even 15%.
Microsoft Windows "Market Share" in New Zealand Plunges to 25%
Android rising
SUSE Goes Aryan: You May Not Use the Germanic Brand Anymore (It's Monopolised by the Corporation)
Worse than grammar Nazis
Gratis But Not Free as in Freedom: How Let's Encrypt is Dying in Geminispace
Let's Encrypt is somewhat of a dying breed where the misguided CA model is shunned
 
African's Largest Population (Nigeria) Approaching 80% Android "Market Share" Amid Steady Monthly Increases While Microsoft Has Mass Layoffs in Nigeria
Microsoft- and Apple-sponsored Western (or English-speaking) media chooses to ignore that or treat it as irrelevant (a racist disposition in its own right)
[Meme] The Warlord's Catspaw
Thugs that troll us
Microsoft Misogyny Will be the Fall of Microsoft (Covering Up for Misogynists is a Huge Mistake and Highly Misguided Short-term Strategy)
Microsoft's undoing may in fact be its attitude towards women
Red Hat Keeps Behaving Like a Microsoft Reseller (for Proprietary Stuff!), Microsoft Employees as Authors in redhat.com
In some ways this reminds us of Novell
UEFI 'Secure Boot' Once Again Bricking PCs and Fake Security Models Are Perishing in Geminispace
Let's Encrypt has just fallen again
Links 17/07/2024: New Attacks on the Press, European Patents Squashed Even at Kangaroo Court (UPC)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/07/2024: Proponents of Censorship and New Arrivals at Gemini
Links for the day
Links 17/07/2024: School Budget Meltdown and Modern Cars as Tracking Nightmares
Links for the day
This Should Certainly be Illegal, But the Person Who Helped Microsoft Do This is Still Attacking the Critics of It
perhaps time for an "I told you so post"
[Meme] A Computer With an Extra Key on the Keyboard Isn't Everyone's Priority
(so your telling me meme)
Africa as an Important Reminder That Eradicating Microsoft Doesn't Go Far Enough
Ideally, if our top goal is bigger than "get rid of Microsoft", we need to teach people to choose and use devices that obey them, not GAFAM
Billions of Computers Run Linux and Many Use Debian (or a Derivative of It)
many devices never get updated or even communicate with the Net, so exhaustive tallies are infeasible
[Meme] Microsoft is Firing
Don't worry, Microsoft will have some new vapourware coming soon
More DEI (or Similar) Layoffs on the Way, According to Microsoft Team Leader
What happened shortly before Independence Day wasn't the end of it, apparently
[Meme] Many Volunteers Now Realise the "Open" in "OpenSUSE" or "openSUSE" Was Labour-Mining
Back to coding, packaging and testing, slaves
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 16, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 16, 2024
[Meme] Ein Factory
A choice between "masters" (or "master race") is a false choice that results in mass exploitation and ultimately eradication (when there's little left to exploit)
Links 17/07/2024: Open Source Initiative Lies and Dark Net Thoughts
Links for the day
Media Distorting Truth to Promote Ignorance
online media is rapidly collapsing
Android Rises to New Highs of Almost 80% in Cameroon
How many dozens of nations will see Windows at under 10% this coming winter?
Links 16/07/2024: TikTok Ban in Europe and Yandex Split
Links for the day
Gemini Links 16/07/2024: On Packrafting and on Trump Shot
Links for the day
[Meme] Firefox Users Who Think They Know Better Than Mozilla
Enjoy Firebook
Firefox Used to Have About Half the Market in Switzerland, But It Doesn't Stand a Chance Anymore (Chrome Surging This Summer)
Mozilla has managed to alienate some of the biggest fans of Firefox
Microsoft's Biggest Losses Are in Europe This Summer
Microsoft's ability to milk a relatively rich Europe is fast diminishing
How to Make Software Suck and Discriminate Against People at the Same Time
ageism glorified
Bing Was at 2.6% in Russia When LLM Hype Started. Now It's Down to 0.8% (for 3 Months in a Row Already)
The sharp fall of Bing may mean that exiting the Russian market won't matter to anybody
[Meme] Microsoft Seems to be Failing to Comply With WARN Act (by Refusing to Announce Mass Layoffs as They Happen)
since when does Microsoft obey the law anyway?
Microsoft Layoffs Are Still Too Frequent to Keep Abreast of and Properly (or Exhaustively) Classify
The "HR" department knows what's happening, but whistleblowers from there are rare
Bahamas Joined the "5% Windows" Club
statCounter only traces back about 1 in 20 Web requests to Windows
Links 16/07/2024: Salesforce Layoffs and Microsoft's DMARC Fail
Links for the day
Antenna Abuse and Gemini Abuse (Self-hosting Perils)
Perhaps all this junk is a sign of Gemini growing up
Possibly Worse Than Bribes: US Politicians and Lawmakers Who Are Microsoft Shareholders
They will keep bailing out Microsoft to bail themselves out
The Software Freedom Conservancy Folks Don't Even Believe in Free Speech and They Act As Imposters (Also in the Trademark Arena/Sense)
Software Freedom Conservancy was already establishing a reputation for itself as a G(I)AFAM censor/gatekeeper
Djibouti Enters the Windows "10% Club" (Windows Was 99% in 2010)
In Africa in general Microsoft lost control
GNU/Linux Share Doubled in the United States of America (USA) in the Past 12 Months
Or so says statCounter
Even in North Korea (Democratic People's Republic Of Korea) Google Said to Dominate, Microsoft Around 1%
Google at 93.26%
[Meme] The Red Bait (Embrace... Extinguish)
They set centos on fire, then offer a (de facto) proprietary substitute for a fee
Shooting the Messenger to Spite the Message
segment of a Noam Chomsky talk
[Video] Boston Area Assange Defense (Yesterday)
It was published only hours ago
Guinea: Windows Down From 99.3% to 2.7% 'Market Share'
Guinea is not a small country
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 15, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, July 15, 2024
What's Meant by "Antenna Abuse" (Gemini)
syndication is not a monopoly in Gemini and if one doesn't condone political censorship, then one can create one's own syndication service/capsule
Microsoft Layoffs and Entire Unit Termination: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
What an announcement to make just before Independence Day
Links 16/07/2024: Old Computer Challenge and One Page Dungeon Contest
Links for the day
Microsoft Falls Further and Closer Towards 10% (Windows "Market Share") in Kuwait
more countries entering the "single-digit Windows" (under 10%) club
Gemini Links 15/07/2024: Antenna's Pro-Hamas Bias Revisited and Old Computer Challenge
Links for the day
[Video] Julian Assange, Over One Decade Ago, Cautioning About What the Internet Had Truly Become
video is not new
Homage to Malta
Malta is probably easy for Microsoft to bribe
IRC at 16
Logging has been used for us and against us
In Malta, Android/Linux Has Overtaken Microsoft Windows (According to statCounter)
statCounter milestone?
Links 15/07/2024: China’s Economic Problems, Boeing Under Fire
Links for the day
500 Days' Uptime Very Soon
Good luck doing that with Windows...
Windows Falls Below 20% in Tunisia
A month ago we wrote about GNU/Linux in Tunisia
Links 15/07/2024: Google Wants Wiz and Why "Sports Ruin Everything"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/07/2024: Old Computer Challenge and Sending Files via NNCP
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 14, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, July 14, 2024