Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 25/07/2022: postmarketOS Considering SourceHut



  • GNU/Linux

    • 9to5Linux9to5Linux Weekly Roundup: July 24th, 2022

       This week has been a bit slow in Linux news and releases due to the GUADEC 2022 and DebConf22 conferences. Still, we saw the launch of two new Linux laptops, Dell’s XPS 13 Plus Developer Edition with Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and System76’s Oryx Pro, as well as new major FFmpeg, Qt Creator, and VirtualBox releases.

      On top of that, early adopters got their hands on the alpha version of the upcoming GNOME 43 desktop environment and LibreOffice 7.3 office received a new bugfix release. Below, you can enjoy these and much more in 9to5Linux’s Linux weekly roundup for July 24th, 2022.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • Trend OceansHow to Change MAC Address in Linux

        MAC (Media Access Control Address) address is one of the most physical identifiers assigned to your network interface controller. Every device has its own unique mac address, which is set at manufacturing but can be changed using a few tools.

      • Linux CapableHow to Install Wine (WineHQ) on Debian 11 Bullseye

        Wine is a free and open-source compatibility layer that enables Windows applications to run on POSIX-compliant operating systems such as Linux, FreeBSD, and macOS. Wine translates each system call your application makes into an equivalent POSIX function used across all platforms, which can be very helpful if you don’t support specific features available in Microsoft’s Windows operating systems.

        One of the great features of Wine is the Wine AppDB. This database contains lists of confirmed applications that can be run under Wine without errors. This program saves the trouble for Linux users who want to use Windows-based programs on their UNIX systems, but not all programs will work in this way; some may have strange bugs or crashes when run with no warnings beforehand. Despite this, many popular programs such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop work well under Wine with few to no issues. Overall, the Wine AppDB is a handy tool for anyone looking to use Windows-based programs on Linux.

        In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install and configure Wine on Debian 11 Bullseye using the command line terminal by importing the official WineHQ repository and installing the latest stable or next release titled development for those eager to try the latest bleeding-edge version of Wine for your windows compatibility needs.

      • UNIX CopHow to install Microsoft PowerShell on Ubuntu 22.04 [Ed: How to destroy GNU/Linux.]
      • Linux Shell TipsHow to Find a String in a tar.gz Archive File in Linux

        Archiving files is another important aspect of Linux file management, which helps in organizing and managing your project-related files and also saves on disk space to let your Linux OS accommodate more files and be more performant.

        A common file archiving tool for seasoned Linux users is the GNU tar archiving program, which not only lets us store multiple files in a single file archive but also gives Linux users the privilege of manipulating the same archives.

        This tutorial however seeks to explore the possibility of grepping an already existing tar.gz archive.

      • Linux Shell TipsHow to View Files in Linux Using cat, more, or less Commands

        Linux has numerous file viewing tools at its disposal and these tools give Linux users the flexibility of scanning or going through already existing files with the objective of fact-checking or simply retrieving specific information. Three in-built file viewing commands are availed in Linux, namely, cat, more, and less commands.

        These three commands will comfortably let you view targeted files under the Linux operating system environment. Despite this shared commonality between the three commands, the functional originality defined for each of them is different.

      • Linux Shell TipsThe History of Manjaro Linux Distribution

        Based on Arch Linux, Manjaro Linux is a desktop-oriented and user-friendly Linux distribution designed for desktop lovers and Linux users with a keen eye for an exciting UI experience.

        Manjaro is a rolling release and is entirely open source and free to download. It is a versatile distribution that can be used for gaming, app development, and even for basic desktop tasks at home or in the office. It is easy to install and provides basic applications out-of-the-box to help you get started.

        In this guide, we explore the journey that Manjaro had taken from when it was first released to where it is currently.

      • Barry KaulerInstall Limine to PC with mainline Linux distros

        This is a continuation of case-studies, using Limine Installer to install Limine to computers with different hardware and software setups. In this case, installing to my "HP Tower" PC. I bought this secondhand, many years ago. The guy I bought it from had built it from various parts, including a Hewlett Packard motherboard. It is one of the early UEFI motherboards. Originally, it had Windows, that I removed, and currently has two frugal installations, EasyOS and VanillaDpup, and three mainstream-Linux installations, Debian, Mint and Manjaro. The mainstream distros all installed GRUB2, though, the end result has become a bit confused.

      • ELinuxHow to set max_open_files in MariaDB / MySQL in CentOS 7
      • LinuxTechiHow to Install Kubernetes Cluster on Ubuntu 22.04

        Are you looking for an easy guide on how to install Kubernetes Cluster on Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish)?

        The step-by-step guide on this page will show you how to install Kubernetes cluster on Ubuntu 22.04 using Kubeadm command step by step.

        Kubernetes is a free and open-source container orchestration tool, it also known as k8s. With the help of Kubernetes, we can achieve automated deployment, scaling and management of containerized application.

        A Kubernetes cluster consists of worker nodes on which application workload is deployed and a set up master nodes which are used to manage worker nodes and pods in the cluster.

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

    • Devices/Embedded

      • Linux GizmosESP32-based PoE+ board designed for home automation applications

        The Espoir is a Power over Ethernet (PoE+) board built around the ESP32-MINI-1 microcontroller and it includes a mikroBUS socket for additional peripherals. This tiny device is OSHWA certified and it was designed for applications such as gardening, home automation, etc.

        The Espoir is a four-layer board that features the ESP32-MINI-1 which is a dual core processor with maximum frequency of 240MHz. This ESP32 microcontroller includes 4MB of flash and 520KB of SRAM. For connectivity, there is one GbE LAN port in addition to the 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 support.€ € 

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • OpenSource.comThe secret to making self-organized teams work in open source

      Managers and executives are in the business of managing people and resources. Because many of our models for organization are built with the assumption that there's a manager involved, there's an expectation that there's some level of control over all the moving parts of the mechanisms we build. And for that reason, when you propose the idea of self-organizing teams to a manager, the response is often that it's just not possible. Surely everything will spin out of control. Surely the only way to maintain momentum and direction is through the guidance of a project manager and a technical manager.

      It's not just management that gets confounded by the concept of self-organizing teams, though. It can give pause to team members, too. After all, in traditional organizations a developer only needs to deal with the technical manager. However, in a self-organizing team, a developer has to face at least seven or eight pairs of eyes (their team members.) That can be a pretty overwhelming prospect.

      Is it possible for self-organizing teams to thrive?

      Take the example of a team I have coached. One day at a daily standup meeting, a technical manager stood behind the team without saying a word.

    • Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra

      • OpenSource.comTour Collabora Online, an open source alternative to Google Workspace
      • OpenSource.comHow to use LibreOffice Writer templates

        A staple in any office software suite is the word processor. Whether your needs are small or large, from jotting down a note to writing a book, the word processor gets the job done. Most Linux distributions include the LibreOffice suite, and I use LibreOffice Writer as my word processor.

        LibreOffice Writer provides lots of flexibility through its toolbar, keyboard shortcuts, and menus. But if you just want to start a document without too much hassle, you can use one of the pre-loaded templates. Here's how to use LibreOffice Writer templates to make your work easier.

    • Programming/Development

      • postmarketOS // Considering SourceHut

        It's important to us that the software we use could be selfhosted. But there's a lot of maintenance effort that comes with running a selfhosted instance of pretty much any code hosting or CI infrastructure related software: making sure it is constantly available, has no unpatched vulnerabilities, doesn't run into performance problems etc. All the time we would spend on that is time we can't spend actually hacking on phones. We would very much like to avoid that.

        So platforms where we would need to selfhost either the whole code forge or CI for it are out of the picture. As you can guess from the title, SourceHut is the prime candidate right now and there we could just use the official instance at sr.ht for everything, including CI. In fact, we have been using the CI component already since end of 2019 to build all packages and images.

  • Leftovers

    • India TimesUber admits covering up 2016 [cracking], avoids prosecution in U.S. settlement

      Hinds said the decision not to criminally charge Uber reflected new management's prompt investigation and disclosures, and Uber's 2018 agreement with the FTC to maintain a comprehensive privacy program for 20 years.

      The San Francisco-based company is also cooperating with the prosecution of a former security chief, Joseph Sullivan, over his alleged role in concealing the [cracking].

    • HackadayTurn Drone Into A Large Propeller To Increase Hover Efficiency

      Multirotor drones are significantly more popular than conventional helicopter designs for many reasons, which do not include efficiency. Making use of the aerodynamic effects behind this, [Nicholas Rehm] was able to significantly increase the efficiency of his experimental tricopter by turning it into one large spinning propeller.

    • HackadayStackable 3D-Printed Gearbox For Brushless Motor

      Affordable brushless motors are great for a variety of motion applications, but often require a gearbox to tame their speed. [Michael Rechtin] decided to try his hand at designing a stackable planetary gearbox for a brushless motor that allows him to add or remove stages to change the gear ratio.

    • Hardware

      • HackadayA ’70s TV With ’20s Parts

        Keeping older technology working becomes exponentially difficult with age. Most of us have experienced capacitor plague, disintegrating wire insulation, planned obsolescence, or even the original company failing and not offering parts or service anymore. To keep an antique running often requires plenty of spare parts, or in the case of [Aaron]’s vintage ’70s Sony television set, plenty of modern technology made to look like it belongs in a machine from half a century ago.

      • HackadayInteresting Optics Make This Laser Engraver Fit In A Pocket

        We’re going to start this post with a stern warning: building a laser engraver that can fit in your pocket is probably not a wise idea. Without any safety interlocks and made from lightweight components as it is, this thing could easily tip over and sear a retina before you’d even have time to react. You definitely should not build this, or even be in the same room with it. Got it?

      • HackadayAutomated Hotend Swapping For Less Wasteful Multicolor Printing

        Multicolor printing on FDM machines can be tricky to get working flawlessly, and purging hotends when changing colors can end up wasting a lot of filament and material. To solve this problem for the popular Prusa i3 and Ender 3 printers, [BigBrain3D] developed the Swapper3D, an automated system that swaps the entire hotend when the material is changed, eliminating the need for purging almost entirely. Video after the break.

      • HackadayComplex Movements From Simple Inflatables, Thanks To Physics

        Inflatable actuators that change shape based on injected pressure can be strong, but their big limitation is that they always deform in the same way.

    • Proprietary

      • The Register UKAWS sales boss claims Microsoft's softened cloud licensing regime is a sham

        A senior exec at Amazon Web Services has accused Microsoft of making cosmetic licence changes to appease regulators, but continuing to ensure its wares are more expensive when run in rivals' clouds.

        Matt Garman, a senior vice president for sales and market at AWS took to LinkedIn to share his opinion that "Customers and policy makers around the world increasingly see MSFT's recent licensing rhetoric as a troubling admission of the same anti-competitive tactics that many companies have been raising with them for years, but went unheeded until they were put before the European Commission."

    • Security

      • Windows LatestMicrosoft: KB5015882, KB5015814 updates break Start menu in Windows 11

        The last two cumulative updates for Windows 11 – KB5015882 and KB5015814 – are causing major issues for some users, according to several reports and Microsoft’s own documentation. The latest round of updates could make the Start menu disappear as soon as you try to open it, thanks to a bug in the operating system.

    • Defence/Aggression

      • Foreign PolicyCan This Brussels Neighborhood Shake Its Jihadi Reputation?

        But while Washington has pivoted away from the Middle East, withdrawing from Afghanistan and reducing its troop presence in Iraq, and the Islamic State’s popularity has waned amid its territorial defeats, local factors in Molenbeek remain that extremist groups could now exploit. In particular, unemployment in Molenbeek is 21 percent, three times the national average. Economic despair has coincided with crime increasing in the neighborhood, especially in drug trafficking over the past couple years. “For more than 40 years, [Molenbeek] was a drug trafficking line from Morocco to the Netherlands, but drug trafficking has exploded recently mainly because the pandemic reduced earnings,” Leman said. “It has become a business model for many families.”

      • AlgemeinerIn Belgium, Jihadists, Guns, and (Drug) Money

        Molenbeek, Belgium, you may recall, was the Brussels neighborhood that was home to almost half of the jihadists responsible for the 2015 Paris attacks and several subsequent terror attacks in Belgium. The bomber of a train at Brussels Central Station in 2017, for instance, lived in Molenbeek. Mehdi Nemmouche, who shot and killed four people at Brussels’ Jewish Museum in 2014, had previously lived in Molenbeek. The mastermind of the Paris killings, Abdelhamid Abboud, grew up and still lived in Molenbeek.

      • Counter PunchThe War ‘Diplomat’: How Borrell, the West Lost the ‘Global Battle of Narratives’

        “The global battle of narratives is in full swing and, for now, we are not winning,” Borrell admitted. The solution: “As the EU, we have to engage further to refute Russian lies and war propaganda,” the EU’s top diplomat added.

        Borrell’s piece is a testimony to the very erroneous logic that led to the so-called ‘battle of narratives’ to be lost in the first place.

      • Common DreamsOpinion | The War 'Diplomat': How Borrell and the West Lost the 'Global Battle of Narratives'

        In a blog entry reflecting on the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Bali, Indonesia on July 7-8, the High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, seems to have accepted the painful truth that the West is losing what he termed “the global battle of narratives.”

    • Environment

      • Counter PunchPaper Straws Are Not Enough

        According to Monbiot: “Paper straws are not enough. Only System Change can halt the climate crisis.” Of course, System Change can only mean throwing out the neoliberal brand of capitalism in favor of almost anything else.

        Adam Smith would be spinning in his grave with today’s crony capitalism. Interestingly, “the term ‘capitalism’ appears nowhere in Smith’s writings.” (Source: Jesse Norman, Adam Smith, Penguin Random House/UK 2018, pgs. 265-66)

      • TruthOutRoads Are Literally Melting in Europe During Unprecedented Heat Wave
      • TruthOutBiden Mulls Climate Emergency Declaration as Wildfire Sweeps California
      • Counter PunchThe Fateful Fist Bump

        Perhaps Joe Biden’s advisors thought that a fist bump between the president and Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) would also somehow avoid the appearance of contamination and embarrassment, in this case of the political variety. Certainly, they were worried about the near-radioactivity of MbS. The crown prince is responsible for the murder of a Washington Postjournalist, the ongoing war in Yemen, and innumerable human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia. Indeed, on the campaign trail, Biden had promised to turn the Saudi autocrat into a veritable “pariah.”

        Shaking hands with such a devil seemed inconceivable for a president determined to distance himself from the callous disregard for human rights of his predecessor. But perhaps a fist bump…?

      • Common DreamsOpinion | The Fist Bump Was Bad, But Biden's Middle East Policies Are Worse
      • Counter PunchBack to the Future: Biden in the Middle East

        Biden did what all presidents do: He gave priority to strategic and economic interests ahead of human rights. His main accomplishment is that he discarded some of the worst features of Trump’s Middle East policy.

        Suspending Human Rights

      • Counter PunchBy the Givers of Jordan

        Towards the end of last year, I wrote a piece for CounterPunch on the Hashemite kingdom, using personal memories and anecdotes from my time there during what I called the foothills of Gulf War One. These were pitted against a recent barrage of coordinated barbs and criticism directed against the kingdom. I suggested that this was not only wearisome for the reader but counter-productive to peace and security in the region. Since then, and this is the great surprise, there has actually been a change in attitude towards Jordan, that for me is like watching someone come back from the dead.

        I see it in all sorts of ways, global food crises or tightening of oil markets or not. The now completed, and sometimes befuddled, visit by US President Biden to the region, when Biden was met on Jeddah tarmac by Prince Bandar bin Sultan, deputy governor of Mecca, and not by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has not been the only show in town. The crown prince, or MBS as he is known — to be fair, not exactly rehabilitated later by Biden’s visit — held recent talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II at Al Husseiniya Palace in the capital Amman. This was the first such visit by the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia in years. This new phase of cooperation, with its openly declared enthusiasm for good relations, was a genuine surprise. MBS was granted the Order of al-Hussein bin Ali, the highest in Jordan. All those tense past few years, due to contrasting views on local hostilities and pledges of aid not followed through, evaporated like a desert haze. Colossal funding projects of at least $3 billion promised by Saudi Arabia could now be unblocked. It was like watching a desert rock at sundown change colour last minute. ‘There are large investments in Jordan that we are keen to actively participate in and such investments will bring benefits to both countries,’ said MBS. (‘What are the Saudis up to?’ one observer exclaimed to me about this.) Despite Biden later refusing to make Saudi Arabia a ‘pariah state’, at the same time as blaming MBS for being personally responsible for the killing of Saudi journalist Jamil Khashoggi, not even he was treated with such largesse. (They say MBS in quick reply to mention of Khashoggi accused Washington of hypocrisy by not investigating the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, and for allowing Abu Ghraib prisoners to be abused.)

      • Counter PunchCreating the Capitalocene: Endless Accumulation

        “ . . . why does the early modern period come across as the new era of progress and humanism (?) . . . The reason for cultivating this myth is obvious: it is crucial to the West’s narrative of being the bearer of progress throughout the history of mankind. But what if our present system was actually built on a nightmare, born of naked violence and sheer despair? . . . What if civilization did not make progress, but systematized barbarism instead?”

        It is that system which threatens to plunge the world into final nightmares as we confront the consequences, of warfare and ecological destruction.€  “€  . . . we must thoroughly question the foundations of our economy, our state and much more,” Scheidler writes in his recent work, The End of the Megamachine: A Brief History of a Failing Civilization.

      • Common DreamsOpinion | Greenland Loses 6 Billion Tons of Ice in 3 Days, Harbinger of Unprecedented Coastal Flooding

        CNN and The Independent reported this week on a massive ice melt in Greenland, with on the order of 6 billion tons of ice lost in three days. The melting was because of a heat wave at the top of the world, caused by our burning coal, gasoline, and methane gas and spewing billions of tons of the dangerous heat-trapping gas carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

      • Wildlife/Nature

        • Common DreamsCalifornia Oak Fire Rages Out of Control as Biden Mulls Climate Emergency

          Thousands of emergency workers in California struggled to fight a rapidly growing wildfire near Yosemite National Park on Sunday as President Joe Biden continued to mull whether to declare a national climate emergency, a move that campaigners say is needed to respond to the immediate threat of extreme weather and lay the groundwork for a livable future.

          Dubbed the Oak Fire, the California blaze was completely uncontained as of Sunday afternoon, having tripled in size since it began on Friday. The fire has now burned more than 14,000 acres, making it California's largest wildfire of the season.

    • Finance

      • TruthOutAmid Eviction Crisis, Organizers Win Right to Legal Representation for Tenants
      • TruthOutFederal Minimum Wage Hasn't Been Raised in 13 Years
      • Common DreamsOn 13th Anniversary of Last Minimum Wage Hike, Dems Urged to Raise 'Deplorable' $7.25 Floor

        Marking the 13-year anniversary of the last federal minimum wage increase in the U.S.—a meager boost from $5.15 to $7.25 in 2009—progressive campaigners on Sunday urged congressional Democrats to make another push to raise the national pay floor as inflation continues to diminish workers' purchasing power.

        "Congress must act to raise wages for the tens of millions of workers who are struggling just to get by."

      • Counter PunchWhy Trader Joe’s Workers Are Joining the Fight to Unionize

        Modern companies like€ Apple,€ Google,€ Starbucks, and€ Trader Joe’s perpetrated this lie, obscuring their business practices with a veneer of progressive ideals and referring to staff with euphemistic titles like “partners,” “associates,” or “crew members.” Indeed, many workers employed within this slice of the American corporate world were often relatively content—until now. Alongside the recent pro-union activity at more than€ 150 Starbucks cafés€ across the United States is a newfound awareness among some workers at the Trader Joe’s grocery chain that a union may also be in their best interest.

        Unlike corporations like Starbucks or Amazon where attempts to unionize have a long history, Trader Joe’s workers have traditionally been content. In 2003, when€ tens of thousands of grocery store workers€ in Southern California—home of the€ original Trader Joe’s—went on strike for better working conditions and pay, Trader Joe’s workers, who were not unionized, sat out the labor strife.

      • Common DreamsOpinion | The World Burns and the Richest Profit. It Doesn't Have to Be This Way

        The last time prices rose this fast was 41 years ago. The last time the UK got through prime ministers this fast was the mid-1970s. The last time there was open war between major European powers was in 1945. The last time the Northern Hemisphere was this hot was probably 125,000 years ago.

    • AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

      • Telex (Hungary)Orbán's key word for the season ahead: staying out

        The Bálványos Free Summer University and Student Camp (more commonly known as Tusványos) has been organised in Transylvania since 1990. It has become a large-scale intellectual workshop of the Carpathian Basin, with tens of thousands in attendance. It was originally intended to promote cross-border cooperation, Romanian-Hungarian dialogue and a cultured Hungarian-Hungarian political exchange. According to critics, in recent years it has become a place where members of the Budapest government and representatives of the intellectual establishment close to them express their ideas without substantive debate. It was here that Viktor Orbán first spoke about building an “illiberal democracy’ in 2014, and his speeches have become the highlight of the event and are largely considered to be marking the direction of Fidesz’ politics for the year ahead. This year’s speech was no different.

      • Craig MurrayThe Forde Report and the Labour Right

        Nobody can accuse the authors of the Forde report of having a low opinion of themselves. Its lofty tone reflects profound disdain for the views and actions of mere mortals, and it utters judgments with an air of deep profundity. This is amusing as it is banal in the extreme.

      • TruthOutPolitical Polarization Is Pushing Evangelicals to a Historic Breaking Point
      • ScheerpostWhat Does the Future Between the US and China Look Like?

        As China ascends economically and politically, its struggle with the US has grown fiercer. Huang Renwei points out the inherent weakness of the US power structure and argues that, starting in 2020 …

      • Common DreamsMajor Missouri Newspaper Calls Josh Hawley a 'Laughingstock' for Fleeing Jan. 6 Mob

        Missouri's second-largest newspaper by circulation derided home-state Sen. Josh Hawley in a scathing editorial on Saturday, calling him a "laughingstock" and a "coward" after the House panel investigating the January 6 Capitol attack showed previously unseen security footage of the GOP lawmaker fleeing the violent right-wing insurrectionists that he helped embolden.

        "Hawley has become one of the defining figures of that day," notes The Kansas City Star's editorial board. "A famous photo captured by Francis Chung shows him raising a fist in solidarity with the crowds that would soon break through doors, loot offices, and assault law enforcement."

      • Counter PunchBy Denying Proven Failures in Tory Government, Sunak and Truss Will Repeat Them

        I was reminded of this Chinese fable when watching Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, one of whom will be the next British prime minister come September, pretend to a control over events past and present that is just as fictitious as anything imagined by the Chinese beetle.

        Governments at all times log anything good that happens as their own achievement and disclaim responsibility for anything bad. There is nothing new in this behaviour, but the Truss/Sunak fantasy picture of what has happened in Britain from Margaret Thatcher to Boris Johnson requires a radical rewrite of history.

      • Counter PunchScott Morrison Awaits the Apocalypse

        This may well have been the case with Scott Morrison, the accidental of Australia’s prime ministers.€  In 2019, he won an election deemed unwinnable.€  In 2022, he lost in the formidable face of a third of voters who preferred to go for alternative parties.€  Refusing to read the smoke signals from a Liberal heartland worried about political integrity, climate change and violence against women, his party was carved by the stormy arrival of independents and minor parties.

        Put out to lean, undernourished pasture, there was little reason to expect him to slide into respectable obscurity.€  The lecture circuit beckoned, and his debut came in his July 14 address to the Asian Leadership Conference in Seoul.€  In it, he emerges enlightened, quoting from yet another pop-historical tract from historian Niall Ferguson, this time on pandemics.€  His account is free of failures and full of praise, much of it for achievements not his own.

      • Counter PunchYellen's Noble Efforts Come to Naught
      • Counter PunchAmerica as Panopticon: You are Being Watched, Even if No One is Looking for You

        Most Americans are aware of video surveillance of public spaces. Likewise, most people know about online tracking – and want Congress to do something about it. But as a researcher who studies digital culture and secret communications, I believe that to understand how pervasive surveillance is, it’s important to recognize how physical and digital tracking work together.

        Databases can correlate location data from smartphones, the growing number of private cameras, license plate readers on police cruisers and toll roads, and facial recognition technology, so if law enforcement wants to track where you are and where you’ve been, they can. They need a warrant to use cellphone search equipment: Connecting your device to a mobile device forensic tool lets them extract and analyze all your data if they have a warrant.

    • Civil Rights/Policing

    • Digital Restrictions (DRM)

      • Computer WorldNetflix to launch ad-supported tier with Microsoft in 2023

        Netflix chief operating officer Greg Peters told analysts during the company's earnings call yesterday that “all of the ads that are served on our ad-supported offering will come through Microsoft. So that's an exclusive arrangement with them.”

      • The VergeStreaming video apps all look the same now

        Based on the comments on our story and comments I’ve seen across Twitter, Reddit (1, 2, 3), and elsewhere, people don’t seem to mind the similarities. This interface has gradually become the de facto standard across Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max, and now Prime Video. And consistency goes a long way here; we’re fundamentally using all of these services to reach the entertainment on each one, and having a samey interface between them should make doing so easier for everyone.

    • Monopolies

      • Copyrights

        • Torrent FreakSony Flags Its Own Website for Repeat Copyright Infringements

          Takedown notices can be a useful tool for rightsholders to protect their content but it's less productive when companies start to report their own websites as piracy havens,. This is precisely what an Indian branch of Sony Pictures did recently, and they're not alone either.

  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal

      • Hadestown and How Having Power Sucks



        This moment in the show is absolutely brilliant. When you see it actually staged, Orpheus stamps his feet in time with the "keeps his head low" line, mimicking the choreography from the workers' chant. It's a fantastic, beautiful reversal of the theme, showing how Hades is just as trapped as his workers.

        Being on top of an oppressive hierarchy is awesome from a resources and power standpoint. You have all the power, money, food, everything you could possibly want, at the expense of everyone underneath you. But beyond that, from an emotional -- or perhaps even, a spiritual -- perspective, there are no winners in the game of oppression. Being at the bottom sucks worst of all because you fear for your survival, your basic needs. But the top of the pile is a terrifying, lonely, impossibly stressful place as well.

        I say this not to say "Oh, think of the poor billionaires, managing a company from their yacht parties must be so stressful! :(" but rather to point out that *everyone* is worse off under oppressive hierarchies, even when those hierarchies seem to explicitly benefit them. We are not meant to hold so much power. We are not meant to constantly watch our backs, fearful someone will take away our position at the top.

      • zine-making, and the benefits it provides (in my eyes)

        I compile a zine, a "per-zine" (personal zine) every so often. Usually every couple of months, and it always is the most rewarding and fulfilling thing I do when I am online. It's a creative initiative, it's motivating, it's 100% *BY* me, and I am glad to keep it going.

        It's also a direct response to a *lack* of motivation and creativity I succumbed to when I was on social media for all those years (10 years). Everything was a "do X in order to arrive at the same result as anyone else who 'does X'", which was to: gain attention > try to gain followers > try to get reaction/engagement, etc. - when all I ever wanted to do was to feel *personally* satisfied/fulfilled with whatever I was doing. Not need to run it through a vanity filter to vindicate/justify that, "yes, I DO need to feel significant, needed, wanted, fulfilled and satisfied". So the zine offers that personal gratification.

      • Plants and Food

        We may have become a bit plant obsessed as of late. This weekend we picked up the following plants for our yard and future garden...

        [...]

        We are hoping to be able to cultivate a nice collection of edibles on our property over time. So far we have 7 different plants that are edible, maybe 8 if you count Hibiscus. Right now the edibles we have are 2 guava trees, 2 varieties of mint, basil, cocoplum, prickly pear, lime and calamondin. Plus, our neighbor on one side has a big avocado tree that produces tons of avocadoes and on the other side they have a huge walnut tree. I'm not sure what else we'll get in the future but some likely possibilties are some of the many varieties of banana that grow well here, maybe a dwarf variety of orange or maybe some other edible natives like blueberry and mulberry. There are some other native and non-native edibles that grow well in our climate too so we'll see.

    • Technical

      • Ask advices about smartphone changing when you try to remove Google of your life



        Today, I have a OnePlus Nord since mostly two years, and I am almost satisfied. I have Android smartphones since about ten years today, and I change my phone almost every two years. I want to keep my current phone longer, this time (for ecological reason). My first problem is the software update (with security fixes) seems to be over in one year, and I don't like to have a phone without security fixes. My second problem is I try to remove maximum Google usage in my (personal) life, and I am not sure if that to keep a "standard" Android phone is a good thing here.

      • On telling users to write the documentation themselves

        i occasionally encounter a situation in which foss users, noting or complaining about the lack of documentation for a piece of software - whether an end-user application or a developer library - get told by the software dev(s) to write it themselves.

        This feels _ridiculous_ to me. Someone reaching for documentation is doing so because _they don't know_ how to use some software, whether an application or a library. Since _they don't know_ how to use the software, they are _not able to document how to use it_!

      • Science

        • Bad news for the pub

          People aged under 40 should not drink alcohol and consumption guidelines should be changed, study says

        • Putting ourselves out of business

          I've started reading Patrick Stuart's blog post about artificial intelligence and art, and I immediately thought of a post by Judd Karlmann I recently saw on Mastodon.

      • Internet/Gemini

        • Re: Gemlog and internet time

          I received a nice email from Ernst, but something's not right with the account so I can't send a response. So instead, I'll just publish my reply here.


* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.



Recent Techrights' Posts

15 Countries Where Yandex is Already Seen to be Bigger Than Microsoft (in Search)
Georgia, Syrian Arab Republic, Cyprus, Moldova, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Turkey, and Russia
FSF Has Made It Halfway to Its Target (Funding Goal) a Week Before Christmas Day
$400,000 definitely seems reachable now, especially if they extend the "deadline"
 
There's an Abundance of Articles About the New Release of Kali Linux, But This One is a Fake
It can add nothing except casual misinformation (fed back into the model to reinforce lies)
Links 19/12/2024: Astronaut Record and Observer Absorbed
Links for the day
Links 19/12/2024: Seven Dirty Words and Isle Release v0.0.3 (Alpha)
Links for the day
Links 19/12/2024: Nurses Besieged by "Apps", More Harms of Social Control Media Illuminated
Links for the day
Links 19/12/2024: Magnitude 7.3 Earthquake and Privacy Camp
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/12/2024: Port Of Miami Explosion, TurboQOA, Gnus
Links for the day
Fake Articles About 'Linux'
Dated yesterday
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, December 18, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, December 18, 2024
[Meme] The Master Churnalist
Speaking of press releases being passed off as "journalism"
Spamnil's TFiR: Still Pretending Press Releases Are 'Articles' (TFiR 'Originals' as Plagiarism or Fluff)
Same as last year
Links 18/12/2024: Zakir Hussain Dies, TuneIn Layoffs
Links for the day
Links 18/12/2024: Karate Love and Advent of Code
Links for the day
Windows (or Microsoft) Has Become the "One Percent" (Market Share) in Chad
How long before it falls below 1%?
Arvind Krishna, IBM's CEO, Will Eventually Suck Up to Donald Trump Like His Predecessor Did or the Watson Family Did With Adolf Hitler
Literally Hitler
Being a Geek Need Not Mean Being Sedentary
"In the past 18 months," Berkholz writes, "I’ve lost 75 pounds and gone from completely sedentary to fit, while minimizing the effort to do so (but needing a whole lot of persistence and grit)."
GAFAM Kissing the Ring of the Mafia Don
"resistance" to dictatorship and defenders of democracy?
Slop Spaghetti From the Chef, Second Time Today
Fresh slop ready out the oven!
IBM - Like Microsoft - Lies About the Number of People It's Laying Off (Several Tens of Thousands, Not Counting R.T.O. "Silent" Layoffs and Contractors/Perma-Temps)
How many waves of silent layoffs have we seen so far at IBM this year?
Links 18/12/2024: EU Launches Probe Into TikTok (At Last!)
Links for the day
Links 18/12/2024: Doha/Qatar Trafficking, Bloat Comfort Zone, and Advent of Code 2024
Links for the day
Saving What's Left of Decent and Independent Journalism on the Web
We increasingly (over time) try to make local copies (hosted on our server) of important documents; it's hard to rely on third parties
[Meme] Microsoft's Latest Marketing Pitch
"Stop Being Poor; buy a new PC with TPMs"
In South Africa, a Very Large Nation, Web Developers Can Already Ignore Microsoft Browsers (Edge Measured Below 3% in 55 Nations)
The dumb assumption you must naively test with Microsoft browsers is no longer applicable in a lot of places
Open Source Initiative (OSI) is the Voice of Bill Gates and Satya Nadella
Not hard to see what they've done with the money
Microsoft Boasts That Its (Microsoft-Sponsored) "Open Source AI" Propaganda Got Cited in Media (That's Just What the Money Did)
This is a grotesque openwashing campaign
In Many Places Around the World, Perhaps as Expected, Yandex is Nearly Bigger Than Microsoft (Like in Several African Countries)
Microsoft may soon fall to "third place" in search
Keeping Productive This Christmas
We've (pre)paid for hosting till almost January 2026 and fully back on the saddle
IBM and Canonical Leave Money on the Table Because Microsoft Pays Them Not to Compete and Instead Market Windows, WSL, Microsoft 'Clown Computing', and TPMs
Where are the regulators?
Other Editors Who Agree "Hey Hi" (AI) is Just Hype But Won't Say So Publicly as It Might Upset Key Sponsors
Some media would gladly participate in a scam to make money
Brian Fagioli's Latest "Linux" Article Appears to be Fake
Another form of plagiarism/ripoff using bots?
IBM (and Red Hat) is a Patent Troll, Still Leveraging Software Patents to Extract Money Out of Other Companies by Suing Them
Basically, when it comes to patents, IBM is demonstrably part of the problem, not the solution
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, December 17, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, December 17, 2024
[Meme] When the People Who Falsely Accuse You of Pedophilia Turn Out to be Projecting
When you attack something or someone using falsehoods, as happens a lot to Richard Stallman (RMS), there's risk that the attacks will backfire, badly
In Some Countries, Such as Greece, Almost 80% of Windows Users Are on Vista 10 and About 85% Need to Move to GNU/Linux for Security Patches
Vista 11 was a failure
[Meme] They Don't Want the Public to Know What "Responsible Encryption" Really Means
They also blame "China" for their own back doors (because China learned how to exploit those)
The Linux Foundation's Certificate Authority (CA) Significantly and Suspiciously Raises the Number of Certificates It Issues (Quantity Increase/Inflation) by Lessening Their Lifetime in the Name of 'Security' (That Barely Makes Sense!)
LE made 3 months the "standard" for most, soon to become just 6 days instead of 6 months?
Why I Continue to Believe That at the End Software Freedom Will Win
a short and incomplete list of factors which I believe contribute to the sentiment that we can - and will - win the battles over hearts and minds in the "Tech" realm
Links 17/12/2024: More China Sanctions, GOP Scheming to Prop Up Fentanylware (TikTok)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/12/2024: The Streisand Effect and Productivity-systems Desiderata
Links for the day
Technology: rights or responsibilities? - Part X
By Dr. Andy Farnell
Links 17/12/2024: More "Tesla Autopilot" and "Hey Hi" (AI) Blunders
Links for the day
Instead of Promoting GNU/Linux (or Ubuntu) Ahead of Vista 10's EoL Canonical is Marketing Microsoft's Proprietary Software
It's like Canonical employs people who work for Microsoft, not for Canonical
Links 17/12/2024: Many Abuses by Microsoft and War Updates From Ukraine
Links for the day
Content Management Systems (CMS) Bloat/ Static Site Generators (SSG) Trouble
some Web site management stories
DEI Room at fedoraproject.org Pretty Much Dead
We're not against diversity but against its weaponisation by greedy people who do not value diversity at all
The "Latest Technology News" at BetaNews is Slop About Slop
This is at the very top of the "news" (front page) at the moment
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, December 16, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, December 16, 2024