Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 16/05/2022: FreeBSD 13.1 and Inkscape 1.2 Released



  • GNU/Linux

    • Desktop/Laptop

      • ZDNetThese two Linux desktops are the simplest picks for new users

        Let's face it, any time you come across articles that offer advice on choosing the right Linux distribution, they tend to get bogged down in a lot of technical advice that rarely (if ever) applies to those who've never experienced Linux. They'll speak of things like rolling releases, package managers, kernels, open-source licensing, and other features and ideologies that not only have little bearing on those new to Linux and open-source technology but mire the decision in unnecessary complications.

        I want to take a very different approach, one that should make the process quite simple for anyone looking to dive into the world of desktop Linux for the first time. I'm going to shrug off the usual advice and aim straight for the heart of the matter. What exactly is that matter?

    • Audiocasts/Shows

    • Applications

      • What you’ll find inside Inkscape version 1.2 | Inkscape

        Our annual Spring release has left the building! From offering multiple pages to making tiling super easy and fun, Inkscape 1.2 has something for everyone seeking to Draw Freely.

        What’s not making a comeback are many of the bugs that were fixed thanks to everyone who tested the earlier versions and shared their feedback with the Inkscape teams. This helps us to improve the program between alpha, beta and final releases.

        While we cannot possibly mention everything inside version 1.2 in an article, we suggest a test drive of the actual software. Before you download it – or as it’s downloading – we suggest checking out our Inkscape 1.2 video specially prepared to demonstrate some of the most popular new features and updates.

      • 9to5LinuxInkscape 1.2 Released with Support for Multi-Page Documents, Numerous Enhancements

        Coming almost a year after Inkscape 1.1, the Inkscape 1.2 release is here to introduce a new Page tool that implements support for multiple pages in Inkscape documents. To access the new Page tool, click on the lowest button in the toolbar. The tool also lets you import and export multi-page PDF documents.

        Also new in Inkscape 1.2 is a ‘Tiling’ Live Path Effect (LPE) that allows for interactive tiling, the ability to import SVG images from Open Clipart, Wikimedia Commons, and other online sources, on-canvas alignment snapping, as well as the ability to edit markers and dash patterns.

      • MedevelSurf Ice is an open-source brain surface renderer

        Surf Ice, an open-source software package for visualizing connectome networks, tractography and statistical maps on top of anatomical brain images.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • ByteXDComprehensive Guide to Using FFmpeg to Convert Media Files

        FFmpeg is one of those modern marvels of open source software. It is a suite of libraries and smaller programs to handle video and audio files primarily.

        It works with images and other multimedia files such as video streaming formats. It has lots of uses like video transcoding, video editing, video scaling, video cropping or other video manipulation work.

        At its heart FFmpeg is a command line tool used with the ffmpeg command.

        It has a basic simple video player and ability to probe video media information for analysis.

        FFmpeg is also included in the workflow of other software like the popular video player VLC. Enterprise companies like YouTube use it in their core processing when ingesting video uploads. Overall FFmpeg can play, record, convert, and stream audio and video. It includes libavcodec – the leading audio/video codec library.

        In this tutorial we’ll install FFmpeg and learn how to use some its most popular features through practical examples and detailed explanations.

      • Network WorldExtracting substrings on Linux [Ed: This should say "GNU", not "Linux"]

        There are many ways to extract substrings from lines of text using Linux and doing so can be extremely useful when preparing scripts that may be used to process large amounts of data. This post describes ways you can take advantage of the commands that make extracting substrings easy.

      • HowTo ForgeHow to Install WordPress with Apache and Let's Encrypt SSL on Ubuntu 22.04
      • Linux Made SimpleHow to install Godot Mono 3.4.4 on a Chromebook
      • VideoHow to install Steam Link on Debian 11 - Invidious

        In this video, we are looking at how to install Steam Link on Debian 11.

      • ID RootHow To Install MongoDB on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

        In this tutorial, we will show you how to install MongoDB on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. For those of you who didn’t know, MongoDB is a document-oriented NoSQL database used for high-volume data storage. Instead of using tables and rows as in the traditional relational databases. MongoDB is available in two editions: Community and Enterprise.

        This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the MongoDB NoSQL database server on Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish). You can follow the same instructions for Ubuntu 22.04 and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint, Elementary OS, Pop!_OS, and more as well.

      • ByteXDHow to Install Python Pip on Ubuntu

        Pip is the recommended package installer for python, with which you can install any python library or package that is present in the Python Package Index (and other indexes).

        Pip is a command-line tool that is cross-platform, featuring easy-to-use commands to manage your python packages. Like Python, pip has two versions, Pip 3 for Python 3 and Pip 2 for Python 2.

        This article explains how to install both of them in Ubuntu 20.04 (the guide works for other releases of Ubuntu and most Debian-based distros).

      • Using a Linux phone as a secondary monitor

        As a software developer on the go, one of the very first use cases that I started investigating after installing Linux on my first tablet was that of using a portable device as a secondary display for another Linux machine. Ideally, this would happen wirelessly (or wired, if that involved lower power consumption), with unnoticeable delay, and - why not - even including real-time touchscreen input.

        The journey, however, took longer than planned. Existing solutions, like VNC, tend to be strangely laggy, and others, like Miracast, are so deeply enclosed in proprietary protocols that they do not scale well to a bug-free experience on all devices. The first solution to this problem, at an even less stable stage than currently, was my most shared post ever on Twitter, so I decided to write a post on how this was done.

      • VideoEasily Add Startup Sounds To Your Linux Desktop - Invidious

        One of the most striking features of operating systems of the past were the startup sounds when you logged into your computer. For whatever reason, most Linux desktops don't incorporate a startup sound. But we can easily add one, regardless of distribution or desktop environment or window manager.

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

    • Why Blueman Notifications Stay Forever

      For many years, Puppy Linux had no Bluetooth support. But lately, a user has complained about (the recently added) Blueman: it shows a notification, which don't disappear until you restart X. For some reason, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are super unreliable in this apartment (and I can't wait until we finally move to our new apartment in the summer), so I constantly have to close these distracting and useless notifications about connections and disconnections. I didn't have to do anything to reproduce the problem.

    • BSD

      • FreeBSDFreeBSD 13.1-RELEASE Announcement

        The FreeBSD Release Engineering Team is pleased to announce the availability of FreeBSD 13.1-RELEASE. This is the second release of the stable/13 branch.

      • FreeBSDFreeBSD 13.1-RELEASE Release Notes

        The release notes for FreeBSD 13.1-RELEASE contain a summary of the changes made to the FreeBSD base system on the 13-STABLE development line. This document lists applicable security advisories that were issued since the last release, as well as significant changes to the FreeBSD kernel and userland. Some brief remarks on upgrading are also presented.

      • FreeBSDFreeBSD 13.1-RELEASE Errata

        This document lists errata items for FreeBSD 13.1-RELEASE, containing significant information discovered after the release or too late in the release cycle to be otherwise included in the release documentation. This information includes security advisories, as well as news relating to the software or documentation that could affect its operation or usability. An up-to-date version of this document should always be consulted before installing this version of FreeBSD.

      • FreeBSDRelease Information

        FreeBSD releases are classified into Production Releases and Legacy Releases. Production releases are best suited to users looking for the latest new features. Legacy releases are for users wishing to stay with a more conservative upgrade strategy.

    • Fedora Family / IBM

      • Ben Williams: F36-20220516 updated Live isos released

        The Fedora Respins SIG is pleased to announce the latest release of Updated F36-20220516-Live ISOs, carrying the 5.17.6-300 kernel.

        This set of updated isos will save considerable amounts of updates after install. ((for new installs.)(New installs of Workstation have about 1GB of updates savings )).

      • ZDNetRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6: Better security, more options

        Do you want a solid Linux distribution that also delivers the latest languages and solid security? Yes? Then consider getting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6.

        Red Hat announced this new release at the Red Hat Summit. It has numerous new features, but the ones that caught my eye were the security improvements.

      • Silicon AngleOS consistency solves Linux talent issues, says RHEL executive

        The new Red Hat Enterprise Linux, released during the recent Red Hat Summit, caters to rapidly escalating hardware development occurring throughout tech, along with a growing Linux admin skills shortage.

        RHEL 9 performs the combo double act, in part, by more efficiently optimizing the operating system, according to Gunnar Hellekson (pictured), general manager of the Enterprise Linux Business Unit at Red Hat Inc. Upgrading to the new OS means enterprises can get by with fewer admins. A skills shortage is caused, in part, by a lack of U.S. visas.

    • Debian Family

      • LinuxiacKali Linux 2022.2 Comes with the Latest GNOME and KDE Desktop Environments

        This year’s second Kali Linux update, 2022.2, brings the latest GNOME 42 and KDE Plasma 5.24 desktop environments and many other improvements.

        Kali Linux is a popular operating system designed for security professionals and Linux enthusiasts. It is a Debian-based distribution developed, funded, and maintained by Offensive Security.

        Following the February release of version 2022.1, the new Kali Linux 2022.2 update significantly improves the user experience for all fans of this security-oriented Linux distribution.

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • GNU Projects

      • Hackers getting married

        We had several of our old-time friends from the GNU Project, and some guests with young children still unused to such an international context who soon enough learned to enjoy the sound of different languages and the happy chaos of people meeting for the first time, some more traditional if not formal, others fun and weird.

  • Leftovers

    • Consequentialist Passengers

      I enjoyed the 2016 space movie Passengers. It was hated online because the character Jim Preston does something very cruel and selfish but the movie tries to redeem him and his choice, and presents him as a sympathetic viewpoint character. And I agree with the criticism.

      I like space movies so I saw it anyway. The way I managed to get over it, and to get to enjoy the movie, was by just not consider the character very redeemed. Movies can have villains. He is just a villain whom I could fear and root against and I could get over (or not fall for) the movie’s editing decisions and soundtrack cues and the decisions of other characters. I was going against the obvious intent of the movie, I was “changing it” in my li’l viewer head, but the only “edit“ I needed to do was to let myself feel the way I felt about Jim (creeped out) instead of trying to contort my brain and heart into going where the movie wanted me to go.

    • Security

      • USCERTCISA Adds Two Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog [Ed: VMware in trouble again]

        CISA has added two new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation. These types of vulnerabilities are a frequent attack vector for malicious cyber actors and pose significant risk to the federal enterprise. Note: to view the newly added vulnerabilities in the catalog, click on the arrow on the of the "Date Added to Catalog" column, which will sort by descending dates.

    • Internet/Gemini

      • Dig Deeper Should Be Taken With A Grain Of Salt

        Sure, Tutanota doesn't offer POP/IMAP/SMTP, but at least when using it I can be sure that my emails are making it to their destinations and that I'm receiving everything that's been sent to me. In contrast, I've encountered one reliability issue after another with cock.li over a period of a couple of years.

      • Hello Web!

        Maybe it's because I'm trying to put off other things I should be doing, but I set up a website where I'll be mirroring some of my logs from my gemini capsule to.

      • Desktop Backdrops

        I was hoping to have had time to edit and upload the next couple of hiking videos -- the Lake District is nothing if not picturesque -- but life's got in the way. What I have started doing, though, is taking some panoramas to use as desktop backdrops. A few of these have come out really well, so I thought I'd share.



Recent Techrights' Posts

All Efforts to Censor Techrights Have Always Failed
In 2026 We can make it to 20 years of source protection
Microsoft Bing Lies
When they say "China" or "DeepSeek" censors things don't lose sight of Microsoft
The Latest Microsoft Layoffs Are a Wake-up Call: The Company is Running Low on Money
in most areas it is not even profitable
Copyleft is the Way to Go (Unless You're an Unpaid Volunteer of GAFAM)
The GPL 'family' of licences is very old and those licences were last revised in 2007
statCounter's Numbers Make Sense Given Microsoft's Falling Windows/Client Revenue
There are already articles (some last week) saying that XBox should just be ended
statCounter: New Record Highs for GNU/Linux in Its Birthplace
So Microsoft is in a tough place
 
Links 03/02/2025: Recent Security Holes and Environmentalism
Links for the day
Gemini Links 03/02/2025: X-less English Alphabet and antiX
Links for the day
Disappointing 'Results' and Mass Layoffs (Without Severance Pay) Sank Microsoft, But It's a Lot Worse Than Shareholders Care to Realise
People are losing their patience
statCounter: In Web Browsers, Microsoft Collapses to Worst Levels in 2 Years!
Microsoft nowadays insists that it is a "market leader" in a market that does not exist
statCounter: Apple's iOS About to Exceed Windows in Terms of "Market Share" (Despite Windows Being 'Sold' for Less)
Vista 11 is only about 5% of the "market share"
statCounter: GNU/Linux Reaches New All-Time Highs in Brazil and Argentina, Android Has Reached 60% in South America
Microsoft cultivating buzzwords and cult-like thinking, not real products
The Media Does Not Properly Report Microsoft Profits and Losses (It's Partly Intentional)
So how many Vista 11 (preloaded) copies were sold with new PCs?
Links 03/02/2025: Microsoft's Termination Controversy and EU Hey Hi (AI) Act Compliance Day
Links for the day
It Seems Like BetaNews is Finally Deleting Fake 'Articles' About "Linux" by LLM Slop (aka Brian Fagioli)
Is BetaNews finally taking these problems more seriously?
Gemini Links 03/02/2025: Art is Process, Smartphones, Internet, and More
Links for the day
Links 03/02/2025: USAID Under Attack, Vista 11 Breaking Itself Again
Links for the day
About 1 in 10 Laptops/Desktops in Venezuela and Cuba Uses GNU/Linux
statCounter says GNU/Linux now exceeds 10% in Cuba
At Microsoft, Promoting Back Doors, Proprietary Lock-in and Mass Surveillance Under the Guise of Diversity ("Microsoft Philanthropy Team")
Microsoft staff enters NGOs to lobby for Microsoft and sell for Microsoft
statCounter: Android Share in Operating Systems, Per Country
Towards the bottom there are poorer countries
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, February 02, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, February 02, 2025
statCounter: In Canada, New Lows for Windows and Bing is Perishing
Windows has fallen to about 60% in desktops/laptops
Yandex Has Nearly Caught Up With Microsoft Internationally, Bing Falls to Pre-LLM Hype Levels
Of course we've been saying all along that this would happen
Germany's 'Share' of GNU/Linux Rises to All-Time High Based on This Surveyor
Many public services have made the move to GNU/Linux
Microsoft Uses the Mindset of Drug Dealers and Pays 'News' Sites to Sell 'Drugs'
Microsoft pays publishers to spread the illusion that the only viable option for developers and non-developers is "drugs" like Visual Studio and Microsoft Office, respectively
Windows Going South in the "Global South" (Africa and More)
Microsoft has long been shameless about using the tactics of drug dealers
Sharp Drop for Microsoft Windows This Month, Based on statCounter
Facebook meanwhile censors GNU/Linux advocacy
3 Months Ago Lupa Saw 4,200+ Unique Gemini Capsules; Now It Sees Nearly 4,400
many bots target our capsule (129,152 Gemini requests yesterday alone)
Gemini Links 02/02/2025: Geminispace Targeted by Chatbots, Gabbro 0.1.1 Released
Links for the day
Links 02/02/2025: Website Revamps, Blogging About Blogging, and Self-Harming Tariff Wars (Higher Prices)
Links for the day
Oracle's Debt Soars to 100 Billion Dollars (12 Billion Added in Just 9 Months!) While Larry Ellison Backs Fascism for Bailouts, Graft, and "Contracts"
Including attempts to gain control of TikTok, owing to the corrupt dictator long promoted by Larry Ellison (also via Twitter takeover)
Links 02/02/2025: Union-Busting and Censorship by Executions
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/02/2025: Limits Pushing, Free Software Absolutism, and Why Gemini Matters
Links for the day
Slopwatch: BetaNews and linuxsecurity.com Have Just Published More Fake 'Articles' About "Linux"
There's probably more "Linux" slop out there, but we do our best to identify it on a daily basis
Richard Stallman Has Another Talk in India Tomorrow, at Least Fourth India Talks in Recent Days
In the past month he has given at least half a dozen talks
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, February 01, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, February 01, 2025
Links 01/02/2025: Chinese and American Censorship, Cloud-[sic]Native Targeted by Software Patents
Links for the day
Links 01/02/2025: Belated Happy New Year 2025 and Gabbro 0.1.2
Links for the day
Hiring for Tech Roles Based on Perceived Loyalty is No Better Than Hiring to Meet Diversity Quotas
What we're seeing right now is a national security disaster and it is almost purely about technology
S.E.O. SPAM by Serial Sloppers With L.L.M. Garbage is Hurting Linux
We continue to run Slopwatch
Links 01/02/2025: Administrative Chaos and Aviation Disasters Persist
Links for the day
Arrested: Albanian Outreachy whistleblowers, Sonny Piers GNOME & Debian connections
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 1/2/2025: LLM Hype Revisited, Linuxwashing by Oumi
Links for the day
Growing Evidence That the Patent Industry Has Become a Major Scam
Seeing that the patent "industry" has turned to serious crimes (sometimes to cover up corruption) and seeing that the net negative is clearer for all to see, people who argue for abolition of all patents will have a field day
IBM Says That Half of Its "Assets" is Basically Pure Fiction ("Goodwill")
It times get tough, IBM can sell "Goodwill" at the local pawn shop and pay back the lenders, right?
Planet Ubuntu Overrun by LLM Slop? Faizul "Piju" 9M2PJU Seems to be Publishing Fake Articles About "Linux"...
Maybe it is "assisted" by LLM slop, but slop is slop and it introduces many problems
Gemini Links 01/02/2025: LLMs, Analog Computer, and BorgBackup
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, January 31, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, January 31, 2025