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Links 21/06/2022: RapidDisk 8.2.0 and KDE Plasma 5.25.1



  • GNU/Linux

    • Linux LinksLinux Around The World: Mexico

      Mexico is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States, to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean, to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea, and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico.

    • Applications

      • Petros KoutoupisRapidDisk 8.2.0 now available – Random [Tech] Stuff

        RapidDisk is an advanced Linux RAM Disk which consists of a collection of modules and an administration tool. Features include: Dynamically allocate RAM as block device. Use them as stand alone disk drives or even map them as caching nodes to slower local disk drives. Access those drives locally or export those volumes across an NVMe Target network.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • HowTo ForgeHow to Install Gatsby.js Node Framework on Ubuntu 22.04

        GatsbyJS or Gatsby is a free and open-source framework for building blazing fast, modern apps, and websites with React. In this tutorial, you will learn how to install and set up Gatsby.js on the Ubuntu 22.04 machine.

      • Linux CapableHow to Install qView on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

        qView is a free, open-source image viewer designed to be minimal and space-efficient with super-fast opening images. The image viewer features no cluttered interface, just your image with a title bar containing features such as animated GIF controls for easy viewing on any device.

        For more information about what qView features and looks like before installing it, visit the qView website, which features some great examples of the image viewer in action.

        In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install qView on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish desktop using the command line terminal with tips about installing the alternative development version and removing the application if required in the future.

      • TechtownHow to install PostgreSQL on Ubuntu 22.04 - Techtown

        PostgreSQL is an open source, SQL-based, relational database manager that emphasizes security and SQL compliance.

        According to the PostgreSQL website, it is “The World’s Most Advanced Open Source Relational Database”. Powerful and fast, PostgreSQL is often presented as the logical choice in complex systems or where advanced clustering is required.

        An interesting feature of PostgreSQL is the multiversion concurrency control. This method adds an image of the database state to each transaction offering great performance advantages.

      • CitizixHow to install and configure Pritunl in Rocky Linux/ Alma Linux 8

        In this guide we will learn how to install and configure Pritunl vpn server in Rocky Linux 8. Pritunl is a free and open source enterprise distributed VPN server. It allows you to virtualize your private networks across datacenters and provide simple remote access in minutes. It utilizes a graphical interface that is friendly and easy to use to the user. It is secure and provides a good alternative to the commercial VPN products.

      • Trend OceansDNS Toys: Daily use Tools and Utilities over the DNS Protocol

         DNS Toys is an open-source tool to help you manage all the little queries you have from your command prompt by taking advantage of the DNS protocol.

        It helps you find the public IP, weather, world time, timezone, conversion rate, etc., within your terminal instead of browsing.

      • Go where?

        This seems like the least useful thing to type at a command prompt:

        cd .

        "Take me to where I already am, please."

        But suppose that your current directory, /whatever/foo, is a symlink, and some other process has deleted and recreated foo.

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

        • 9to5LinuxKDE Plasma 5.25 Desktop Gets First Point Release, Multi-GPU Support Improved

           KDE Plasma 5.25 arrived last week as the latest and greatest version of the beloved desktop environment for GNU/Linux distributions used by thousands of users worldwide.

          Now, KDE Plasma 5.25.1 is here as the first maintenance update to KDE Plasma 5.25, addressing various issues like external screen support on multi-GPU setups, an issue with the screen brightness being stuck at 30 percent on some laptops, as well as a KWin crash that occurred when the screen setup changes.

        • KDE Plasma 5.25.1, Bugfix Release for June
          Today KDE releases a bugfix update to KDE Plasma 5, versioned 5.25.1.

          Plasma 5.25 was released in June 2022 with many feature refinements and new modules to complete the desktop experience.

          This release adds a week's worth of new translations and fixes from KDE's contributors. The bugfixes are typically small but important and include...

        • DebugPointKDE Plasma 5.25.1 (First Point Release) Brings 50+ Changes

          With the list of 50+ changes, KDE Plasma 5.25.1 - the first point release becomes more stable, also brings several tweaks.

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • Web Browsers

      • Chromium

        • Its FOSSThis Open-Source Project Proves Chrome Extensions Can Track You

           Is this a reason to ditch Chromium-based browsers and start using Firefox? Maybe, you decide.

          Even with all the privacy extensions and fancy protection features, there are still ways to identify you or track you.

          Note that it is not the case for all browsers, here, we focus on Chromium-based browsers and Google Chrome as the prime suspect.

          While detecting installed extensions in a Chromium browser was already possible, numerous extensions implemented certain protections to prevent it.

  • Leftovers

    • Wonder and Feeling Clever – alternatives to "subverting expectations"

      The modern Hollywood and adjacent story-writing traditions nowadays seem to gravitate upon the idea of "subverting expectations". For various reasons, I find that largely irritating. In this short, I explain why, and offer up the two alternatives in the title as writing goals.

      Let's set up the stage here a little. Around the late 2010s to (hopefully) the late 2020s, there is a trend that goes on in the story-writing traditions that currently is the most popular in terms of raw brain-space occupation power. This group of traditions is currently centred upon a fairly large city somewhere in America that most people would clearly identify with "Hollywood", and despite the best efforts of certain other governments in the world, the best that anyone else can do as of time of writing is to appeal only to local tradition, making the Hollywood tradition generally understood to be a global superstratum in linguistics terms.

    • Noromo

      Sometimes when people say something that might sound kinda romantic but that’s not why they’re saying it, they’ll say “noromo” (which originated in the X-files fandom; whether it’s related to the sometimes kinda homophobic marker “no homo”, I’m not sure but probably).

    • Security

      • Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt/Fear-mongering/Dramatisation

      • Privacy/Surveillance

        • AccessNowIn a bittersweet ruling, EU Court of Justice allows EU-wide border surveillance scheme but clarifies its limits - Access Now

          Despite 10 years of Access Now campaigning against the legislation, this morning, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that the EU Passenger Name Record (PNR) Directive is compatible with EU law and human rights. In a case brought by Belgian civil society group, Ligue des droits humains, the Court upheld the validity of the law despite acknowledging that “the PNR Directive entails undeniably serious interferences” with the rights to privacy and data protection, and seeks to introduce a “surveillance regime that is continuous, untargeted and systematic.” However, instead of scrapping the entire law, judges decided to limit its key measures.

          “Considering the impact that the EU PNR Directive has on fundamental rights — as confirmed by the Court — the law should have been invalidated,” said Estelle Massé, Europe Legislative Manager at Access Now. “All EU states will now have to limit their use of PNR data due to its intrusiveness. They must apply this ruling swiftly, and end their shameful track record of ignoring decisions from the Court — particularly in the area of data retention.”

    • Censorship/Free Speech

      • AccessNowEyes on Kenya: government must uphold commitment to connectivity during elections - Access Now

        All eyes will be on Kenya over the coming months as Access Now and civil society from across the globe urge authorities to uphold their commitment to ensuring a fair, open, and accessible internet throughout the presidential elections scheduled for August 9.

        “Democracy means information, participation, and communication. Democracy means internet accessibility,” said Felicia Anthonio, #KeepItOn Campaign Manager at Access Now. “Kenya votes on August 9, and Access Now is calling on authorities to stand by their commitment, and #KeepItOn when it counts — always!”

        At least three times this year — first in May, then again twice this month — authorities have committed to keeping the country connected during this cornerstone moment in the nation’s democracy. Chief Justice Martha Koome has also highlighted the importance of digitization and access to the internet, and committed the judiciary to ensuring that the law is upheld in internet governance efforts.

    • Gemini/Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

      • DNS over Gemini (DoG

        First of all, we must admit that DoG doesn't sound like a super bad idea (and it's a much better acronym) compared to DoH, and I'm not saying this only because I'm a Puppy Linux developer...

      • low bandwidth lifestyle

        My Internet bill went up by $20 since the 1st year sign-up deal expired so I've been considering switching to another tier of internet service.

        Currently we have the 500 Mbps plan. Since Sac has fiber, fast internet is pretty damn cheap. All this thinking about internet reminded me I barely ever run into any issues with the 10 Mbps 2.4Ghz wifi band I use. Occasionally if I download a large file I'll make sure to swap to the 5Ghz band but even then unless it's above 2 Gb I'd rather just wait a second and do something else while it's downloading than switch over. Of course my roommate is a self described data whore so he needs something a bit more powerful and whenever I do torrent stuff it is nice to be able to utilize the faster connection.

        [...]

        When you cut out these harmful digital leaches and only use the web as a way of gathering information and media, you really don't need much of a connection to it.

        So whenever I do eventually go off-grid, a stable phone hot spot or satellite connection will be all I need. Here's hoping that day eventually comes.



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Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
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