Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 12/09/2022: New in KDE Plasma 5.26, Istio Has New Releases



  • GNU/Linux

    • Audiocasts/Shows

    • Kernel Space

      • WCCF TechAMD Utilizes User-Space Hinting To Achieve Faster EPYC CPU Performance in Linux

        Before the Linux Plumbers Conference (LPC) session, to be held next week in Dublin, Ireland, AMD will be conducting a seminar on improving the scheduler for split last-level cache, or LLC, architectures. K. Prateek Nayak, an engineer of the Linux server team for AMD, published a patch series focusing on counting user-space hinting at task placement. This new development displays AMD's intent to improve the Linux kernel's scheduler for split-LLC CPU plans to aid their EPYC server processors.

    • Applications

      • Make Use Of3 Ways to Screenshot Right-Click Context Menus on Linux

        There are many easy-to-use screenshot utilities for Linux, but most of them fail to capture context menus and tooltips if not configured properly.

        If you take a lot of screenshots on your computer, there are several tools that can help you do it effectively. However, most of these screenshot tools don't allow you to screenshot right-click menus in Linux.

        As such, if you need to take screenshots of right-click/context menus on your computer—perhaps to help someone troubleshoot an issue with their system—you have to look toward other methods.

        If you use Ubuntu, there are a few different ways to do this on your computer. Follow along as we check out these methods to screenshot right-click menus in Linux.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • Linux Made SimpleHow to install Sonic Battle Rematch on a Chromebook

        Today we are looking at how to install Sonic Battle Rematch on a Chromebook. Please follow the video/audio guide as a tutorial where we explain the process step by step and use the commands below.

      • VideoHow to install Visual Studio Code on Pop!_OS 22.04 - Invidious [Ed: Or don't. It's proprietary software that Microsoft uses for spying.]
      • Linux HintHow to List Installed Packages in Ubuntu 22.04

        A “package” is a compressed file archive containing all the files that come with a particular application. Several examples of packages are .tgz, .deb, and .rpm. Today, we will explore how to display the list of all the packages installed on our system. To do that, we have presented three different methods. We have used Ubuntu 22.04 to demonstrate the procedure. We will run easy-to-follow Linux commands on Ubuntu’s command line (Terminal) to list the packages.

        Without any further ado, let’s get started!

      • Linux HintHow to Open a File With Nano Editor in Linux?

        GNU nano is a text editor for Unix-like computing systems or operating environments using a command line interface.

      • Linux HintMySQL JSON Data Type

        You may have often heard about the type of clothes or food a person may like. Just like that, the value in a variable can be of a different type. These types define the class of a variable and to which category it belongs and which operations can be used on them. For a programmer or developer, it’s very common to use many data types every day while coding. Within databases like MySQL database, MySQL works so well with many data types as its open source platform. Our topic is to cover the JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) datatype in databases without adding complex examples and unnecessary details. Therefore, you have to log in from your Linux system and open its terminal application further.

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

        • DebugPointKDE Plasma 5.26: Top New Features and Release Details

          KDE Plasma 5.26 is about improving the desktop experience, a huge set of bug fixes and some very nice, much-needed changes.

          The majority of the changes in this release revolve around desktop customizations. However, a vast amount of under-the-hood bug fixes and cleanup is a welcome change for the stability of the desktop. This release is based on Qt 5.15.2 and KDE Framework 5.98.

          The most iconic changes are animated wallpaper, resizable kick-off menu, tray widgets and Discover updates related to Flatpak.

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

    • ZDNetLooking to switch to Linux from Windows? The Feren OS Transfer Tool makes it easy | ZDNET

      Feren OS is a version of the Linux operating system that leans heavily into the KDE Plasma desktop with plenty of tweaks, such as substituting the Nemo file manager in place of Dolphin, to make it as elegant as it is user-friendly.

      I've already reviewed Feren OS, but there's a tool within the desktop distribution that focuses specifically on Windows users to help them make the migration. That is what I want to highlight here.

      [...]

      Anyone looking to adopt Linux as their daily operating system would be remiss if they didn't at least give Feren OS a try.

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • Programming/Development

  • Leftovers

    • Proprietary

      • IT WireiTWire - VMware pays fine to settle SEC charge of misleading investors

        Multi-cloud services provider VMware has paid a fine of US$8 million (A$11.6 million) following a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over a charge of misleading investors about its order backlog management practices.

        In a statement issued on Monday, the SEC said these practices meant the company could "push revenue into future quarters by delaying product deliveries to customers, concealing the company’s slowing performance relative to its projections".

        It found that these practices had begun in fiscal 2019. "VMware began delaying the delivery of licence keys on some sales orders until just after quarter-end so that it could recognise revenue from the corresponding licence sales in the following quarter," the SEC said.

      • John GruberDiffusion Bee 1.0: Easy to Install Stable Diffusion for Apple Silicon Macs [Ed: Apple easy to use? No!]

        It’s been a bit tricky to get running on Apple Silicon Macs, because (among other factors) the Python situation is complex.

      • IT WireiTWire - Apple fixes 10 bugs including two zero-days under exploit

        Apple has released fixes for 10 bugs in macOS Big Sur, including two zero-days that are being exploited in the wild.

        Both the zero-days, CVE-2022-32894 and CVE-2022-32917, were attributed to an anonymous researcher and affect the kernel of the operating system.

        Apple offered no details about these issues, merely saying, "An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited."

    • Linux Foundation

    • Security

    • Transparency/Investigative Reporting

    • Environment

      • [Older] Teachers’ Forum Condemns NCERT’s Decision to Remove Chapters on Climate Change | NewsClick

        After widespread outrage, a teacher’s forum has also stepped in to criticise NCERT for removing crucial chapters concerning climate and weather change from students' syllabus and has urged a rethink on the issue and reintroduction of the chapters.

        In a statement released recently, Teachers Against Climate Crisis (TACC) highlighted said chapters on the greenhouse effect, weather, climate and popular environment movements from syllabi for classes 6th to 12th were crucial and should not have been removed.

    • Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

      • AccessNowGlobal Leaders of Digital Human Rights: Marianne Díaz Hernández recognized as international changemaker - Access Now

        Access Now is proud of Marianne Díaz Hernández, #WhyID Campaigner at Access Now, and her global recognition as one of Ouano Foundation’s 2022 Global Leaders of Digital Human Rights.

        “At Access Now, we’re well aware of the significance of Marianne Díaz Hernández’s work in fighting for the rights of people and communities impacted by technology and digital agendas, and we are overjoyed to see her tireless efforts acknowledged on a global scale,” said Carolyn Tackett, Campaigns and Rapid Response Director at Access Now. “We look forward to learning more from this gathering of global leaders, including Marianne, Access Now board members Arzu Geybulla and Nanjala Nyabola, and many others who have been at the heart of our movement for a more rights-respecting digital future.”

  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal

      • Like Riding a Bike

        I started playing squash again after a five-year break. It wasn't a voluntary break by any means, just weird life stuff I suppose. Regardless, I got a membership with the local community centre and booked my first court in ages.

        Going into it I knew my stamina was going to be really bad. I'm relatively active, but squash always kicks my ass when I'm returning to it after a while. It probably has to do with the short, intense bursts of movement that get me. However, knowing it had been years since I last picked up a racket, I was really worried my skills would be almost gone.

    • Technical

      • Internet/Gemini

        • My Favourites page from Kristall

          I just published a page on this capsule to list my favourites from Kristall (Gemini Browser). There are some interesting stuff there that you could use as a starting point on your Gemini voyage. :)

      • Programming

        • Real life examples of bad upstream packaging

          The debate between upstream and downstream packaging rages on, especially as of late. I thought I'd express some frustration at some third party repositories I've tried to install lately and what went wrong.

          [...]

          Fedora has strict packaging guidelines on what's allowed in the base repositories. Usually this may be due to patenting issues, but security and quality is another issue. Fedora makes no guarantees about the security or quality of third party repositories. Examples are COPR and RPMFusion. COPR is a build service similar to openSUSE's Open Build System while RPMFusion works closely with Fedora to provide packages that cannot land in Fedora itself.

          However, increasingly as of late, developers have opted to take over packaging of their own software themselves. Many people argue that this is a good thing as it cuts out the middleman. After all, developers would know their own software best, updates can be delivered faster and it's better for security right? However, there are some downsides to this approach that I will detail below.


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



Recent Techrights' Posts

How Long Can a Company Delay Its Financial Report That Likely Confirms Exodus of Staff, Growing Debt, and Other Problems?
Brett Wilson LLP was meant to release its annual report some time early this month
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Networking With the National Delegates
António Campinos with a prime opportunity to network with the Administrative Council delegates and lobby for his reappointment
IBM's Alderon as "Silent Layoffs", Not Just Bailout From Taxpayers
Seeing through the noise
Laptop Bricked After Microsoft Certificates Expiry
Is "Jim" dead?
 
DDoS Attacks Are a Crime and They Only Increase Interest (Intrigue) in Their Target
Information cannot be DDoSed out of reach/existence, except temporarily
Pushing to the Top
Publishing is about exposing corruption
Whistleblowing and Retaliation by Microsoft Workers Against Microsoft Seems Increasingly Likely
some will go to the press, looking to expose some shenanigans
SLAPP Censorship - Part 122 Out of 200: Garrett's Solicitors Confirm That Garrett is Ban-Evading and Spying on Our IRC Network
his solicitors basically acknowledge this
PIPs and "Retirements": IBM Layoffs in Anything But Name
That former Red Hat (now IBM) staff threatens to put my wife and I in prison is worse than cruel
Contact Members of the EPO Administrative Council, Tell Them the EPO (Office) Became a Disgrace and an Enemy of Europe's Citizens
If you live in Europe (not just the EU, even Turkey is included), please contact your delegates
The World Needs GNU/Linux for Security, Turn Off "Secure Boot" (It's the Opposite of Security)
They call it "Secure Boot", but what does it mean to say "Secure" when you actively opt for back doors controlled by Microsoft, the FBI, and many more parties?
In Signal of Weakness or Phasing Out XBox (Not Sustainable, According to the CEO) Microsoft "Pauses New Third-Party Game Pass Deals"
Moments ago
Two Pieces About "AI" This Morning Were Paid-For SPAM at The Register MS
The Register MS is the "Tech News" publisher you can pay to promote your company and even key-word-stuff pages for SEO purposes
Week of Microsoft Layoffs, Maybe Record-Breaking Scale
They will mislead about the scale
Links 28/06/2026: More Om Malik Eulogies, Cloudflare Promotes Web Browser Monocultures
Links for the day
'Modern' Web: "Stop! You Are Browsing Too Fast!"
Can the Web ever recover from this?
Pensions Tied to Ponzi Schemes Are Themselves Ponzi Schemes
Pensions are becoming more like that as well
Monoculture in Europe as National (or Continental) Security Threat
We need more browser diversity
Canada 5-0: GNU/Linux Rises to 5.0%, Windows Rapidly Falls to New Lows
Will we be seeing 6-0 (6%) by year's end and will Microsoft be shown two red cards?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 28, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, June 28, 2026
Gemini Links 29/06/2026: Sansieviera, HiFi, and Self-Signed Certificates
Links for the day
Outsourcing is Not Security
Outsourcing to Microsoft is the opposite of security
Links 28/06/2026: Turkey's State Broadcaster Suspends Commentator, Journalists Under Attack
Links for the day
Debugpoint.com Turns to LLM Slop for 'Help'
This is how sites die
Follow the Real Security Experts
Werner Koch
Assessing the Upcoming (July) Proprietary/GAFAM Cuts
The total (or %) matters to us because it can help shed light on what scale of layoffs to expect next week
Microsoft Lunduke Does Not Correct or Clarify Misinformation That He Posted (or Repeats It Instead)
Not the first time [...] detracts and/or distracts from legitimate criticisms
How Not to Do Security
Asking Microsoft for permission
Gemini Links 28/06/2026: Simulation Theory and Pursuit of Novelty
Links for the day
Five Years After Its Formation Libera.Chat Has the Most Simultaneous Users in Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
netsplit.de also measures the cross-network total at over 300k, probably for the first time in years
The Slop 'Religion' is Dying: From Widespread (Paid-for) Hype to Widespread Hate
Wait till "sentiment" in Wall Street - not just general (public) "sentiment" - shifts strongly against slop
For Whistleblowers' Sake, Choose Hosting Platforms Wisely
Techrights is hard to 'sedate'
How to Discreetly Leak Important Information to Techrights
Some years ago we published multi-part series about how to contact us securely
Expect Many More Whistleblowers From Microsoft
We envision many pissed off workers from Microsoft will become whistleblowers after next week's giant wave
Efforts to Resume Progress on FreeJS, LibreJS, and Reduce Dependence on Microsoft
It's still in a relatively early development stage
Whistleblowers Improve the World
we should appreciate and respect whistleblowers
Microsoft Windows Plunges to All-Time Lows in Japan
Microsoft is disintegrating; many people no longer use (nor need) Windows
GNU/Linux Turns 43 in 3 Months From Now
The Manifesto of the Free software movement (GNU Manifesto, 1985) turned 40 last year
SLAPP Censorship - Part 121 Out of 200: One Day We'll Discover What Company or Rich Person/s Funded the Lawfare Against Us
Even if the law firm shoulders some of the losses, then it is in effect an investor in the lawfare, according to established caselaw
Working on "Linux", But on Microsoft's Payroll
Under the totally false guise of "security" those same people are now promoting TPMs and other horrible things
Links 28/06/2026: Energy Crunch, EEE by Microsoft, and John Bolton Pleads Guilty in Dictatorship of SLAPPs
Links for the day
Jim Not Dead Yet
Let's wait a few more days
Microsoft Layoffs So Big They Cannot Even Wait for 'D-Day' (July 1)
"Layoffs at Xbox Appear to Have Already Begun, with Multiple Compulsion Games Employees Announcing Their Departures"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, June 27, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, June 27, 2026
Links 28/06/2026: Heatwave in Europe and Media Failing to Actually Criticise Power
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/06/2026: Poems, Photographs, and Neoliberalism as Religion
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 120 Out of 200: Garrett Undermines His Own Application Because His Friend Graveley Failed to Accomplish What They Had Both Aimed For
Hold off the "popcorn"
Don't Settle for Slop
Slop is a bit of a symptom of where society is told to go
Gemini Links 27/06/2026: Photography From Interlaken to Shynige Platte, Slop 'Code', and Distro Hopping
Links for the day
TIGER COMPUTING LTD Sent Us Threats Half a Decade Ago (Because of Criticism of Their In-House Debian Developer), Now the Company's Debt is Deepening
So what is they're connected to the military?
GNU/Linux in Mexico Near All-Time High
With all the tourists packing the place (or hotels) we can imagine big changes to be seen next month (many portable devices)
Summer Plans in Tux Machines
July is nearly upon us
Gopher (Protocol) Turns 35, Gemini is 28 Years Younger
Bad technology comes and goes very fast
Be Like Stallman and Assange, Not Like MElon or Bill Epsteingate
these people treat women like worse than dirt
Exposure Leads to More Whistleblowing
In areas like IBM or European patent affairs we've always earned a lot of trust
European Patent Office (EPO) Series Will Run Well Into July
We still have a very significant chunk of EPO "trench" stories
Links 27/06/2026: Journalists Kicked Out of China, Torture in Iran and Turkey
Links for the day
How Microsoft is Preventing or Slowing Down Adoption of GNU/Linux (Fake 'GNU' Controlled by GitHub in Windows, WSL, Sabotage at Boot Level, Not Limited to Dual-Booting)
Microsoft is still at it
Rising Computer Prices Good News for GNU/Linux and Free Software
This can greatly assist the adoption of BSDs and GNU/Linux
Links 27/06/2026: More Restrictions on Social Control Media and Russia is Leveraging Cellebrite/Back Doors
Links for the day
Saying "No" is Not a Bad Thing
Society benefits from people who say "No!" even when it seems impolite (and possibly inconvenient) to say so
Next Week's "Bloodbath" at Microsoft Includes "Silent Layoffs" (Which Microsoft Won't Count)
The notion of "silent layoffs" is fast becoming the "new normal"
Akira Urushibata on the Likely False (Unverifiable) Claims Anthropic Makes About Defects for Marketing/Hype
Some pro-LLM person has managed to derail the discussion on this topic
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: "Team Campinos" in Split
The EPO team was of course headed by Campinos himself who delivered a "forward-looking" keynote speech to the assembled audience consisting mainly of Administrative Council delegates from the national IP offices
Supporting Women in the Free Software Community
The common theme here is abuse of women
Left IBM After Many Years, Came to Microsoft/XBox, Now Silent Layoffs at XBox
many inside XBox will have their last day next week
Gemini Links 27/06/2026: Homeworlds and Tarot Cards
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, June 26, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, June 26, 2026