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Links 16/11/2022: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.1 and GNU Lightning 2.2.0



  • GNU/Linux

    • Server

      • UbuntuApache Kafka service design for low latency and no data loss | Ubuntu

        Designing a production service environment around Apache Kafka that delivers low latency and zero-data loss at scale is non-trivial. Indeed, it’s the holy grail of messaging systems. In this blog post, I’ll outline some of the fundamental service design considerations that you’ll need to take into account in order to get your service architecture to measure up.

    • Audiocasts/Shows

      • VideoThe Starship Prompt Offers Infinite Possibilities - Invidious

        Starship is a minimal, blazing-fast, and infinitely customizable prompt for any most shells, including: bash, fish, ion, nushell, powershell and zsh. In this video, I'm going to play around with customizing the prompt by editing the configuration file.

      • Tux Digital39: Tech Bug-Out-Bag - Linux Out Loud - TuxDigital

        Welcome to episode 39 of Linux Out Loud. We fired up our mics, connected those headphones as we searched the community for themes to expound upon. We kept the banter friendly, the conversation somewhat on topic, and had fun doing it.

      • Video7 Days To Die A20.6 | Server Mods - Boat House RP Base Tour | Hosted in AWS EC2! - Invidious

        I have wanted to try EC2 as a game server host for a while and running a 7 Days to Die dedicated server seemed like a great way to test! I've hosted 7 Days to Die servers before but never modded them. I was surprised at how easy it was!

      • Tux DigitalCelebrating 300 Episodes by Giving Thanks to Open Source

        This week’s episode of Destination Linux, we’re celebrating our 300th episode! Thanks to you the listeners and to the amazing contributors of open source that give us stuff to talk about. Then we will be taking a look at a potential new contender for the Linux laptop championship belt? We might have a perfectly spec’d laptop on our hands. Plus, we have our tips/tricks and software picks. All this and more coming up right now on Destination Linux to keep those penguins marching!

    • Kernel Space

      • LWNLinux 6.0.9
        I'm announcing the release of the 6.0.9 kernel.
        
        

        All users of the 6.0 kernel series must upgrade.

        The updated 6.0.y git tree can be found at: git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git linux-6.0.y and can be browsed at the normal kernel.org git web browser: https://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-s...

        thanks,

        greg k-h
      • LWNLinux 5.15.79
      • LWNLinux 5.10.155
    • Applications

      • Johnnycanencrypt 0.11.0 released



        A couple of days ago I released Johnnycanencrypt v0.11.0. It is a Python module for OpenPGP written in Rust.

        The most interesting update is for Linux users, now we have pre-built wheels for Python 3.8, 3.9, 3.10 & 3.11. You can just install that via python3 -m pip install johnnycanencrypt. You can also do the same on Intel Macs (for Python 3.10 and 3.11). But, I failed to build for Apple Silicon systems. I will work on it in the coming weeks.

        To know the Yubikey card version we can call get_card_version function written in Rust.

      • Anbox Cloud 1.16.0 has been released

        The Anbox Cloud team is pleased to announce the release of Anbox Cloud 1.16.0.

        Please see the component versions for a list of updated components.

      • Linux LinksExcellent Utilities: Sticky - note-taking app - LinuxLinks

        This series highlights best-of-breed utilities. We cover a wide range of utilities including tools that boost your productivity, help you manage your workflow, and lots more besides.

        Sticky is a note-taking app for the Linux desktop that simulates the traditional “sticky note” style stationery on your desktop. Sticky is written in Python, and uses the GTK3 toolkit.

        This is free and open source software.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • How to Install SSL Certificate in RedHat Linux Server?

        RedHat is a Linux-based server designed specifically for organizations. It’s a community-supported counterpart that has its multiple variants. But, when it comes to SSL installation, the process is still the same one. For instance, first, you must generate a CSR before installing an SSL certificate on RedHat Linux Server.

        Nonetheless, here is the complete SSL certificate installation process you’ll require to go through before installing the SSL certificate.

      • BeebomHow to Switch Between Wayland and Xorg in Ubuntu | Beebom

        If you are getting a dark preview after recording the screen in Ubuntu, it’s most likely because you’re using the Wayland display server. We tried some of the best screen recorders on Linux recently, but the results were all the same. Only when we switched from Wayland to Xorg (also called X11) on Ubuntu did the recorders start working properly. So if you are having issues with the display server and want to switch between Wayland and Xorg in Ubuntu, we have compiled an easy step-by-step guide for you here. We have included the steps to move to the Xorg windowing system in Ubuntu.

      • H2S MediaHow To Install InfluxDB on Ubuntu 22.04 Linux

        InfluxDB is an open-source database developed by InfluxData that prioritizes maximum efficiency with limited complexity, unlike relational databases such as MySQL and MariaDB or structured databases such as Redis. Although the software is distributed under an open-source license, the company also offers commercial extensions such as access controls for business customers within its root server and cloud services with graphical data analysis via a web interface. Some of its key features are Specialization in time series; Combination of several sources in one central instance; Very high processing efficiency; Support of Flux as a scripting language for administration and Collection of data from different sources, for example via the third-party API.

      • AddictiveTipsHow to upgrade to Fedora 37

        Fedora 37 is here and has an updated kernel, new drivers, Gnome Shell 43, and much more. This guide will cover how to upgrade your Fedora 36 installation to the latest and greatest: Fedora 37.

      • DebugPointHow to Install Unity Desktop in Arch Linux [Complete Guide]

        Good news for Arch Linux users. Here’s how you can install the awesome Unity desktop in Arch Linux.

        Unity desktop was originally developed by Canonical and introduced earlier for Netbook computers with Ubuntu 10.10. Then it became the default desktop environment for Ubuntu until Ubuntu 16.04. Eventually, it was dropped by Canonical and replaced by GNOME as the default Ubuntu desktop environment from Ubuntu 18.04 onwards. However, in the recent release of Ubuntu 22.10 onwards, Ubuntu Unity became the official flavour as a spin.

        However, installing Unity desktop in Arch Linux was not possible until now. Recently it has been ported to Arch User Repository (AUR), and you can easily install it. Here’s how.

      • TecMintHow to Use Grep Command in Linux [12 Useful Examples]

        Have you ever been confronted with the task of looking for a particular string or pattern in a file, yet have no idea where to start looking? Well then, here is grep to the rescue!

        grep is a powerful file pattern searcher that comes equipped on every distribution of Linux. If for whatever reason, it is not installed on your system, you can easily install it via your package manager as shown.

      • HowTo ForgeHow to Install Apache Kafka on Rocky Linux

        Apache Kafka is a distributed data store for processing streaming data in real time.

      • HowTo ForgeHow to Install and Use MS SQL Server on Rocky Linux [Ed: Not only is this proprietary and controlled by Microsoft; it doesn't truly run on GNU/Linux, so better migrate to a free alternative]

        MS SQL Server or Microsoft SQL Server is an RDBMS (Relational Database Management System) developed by Microsoft.

      • OSTechNixHow To Upgrade To Fedora 37 From Fedora 36 - OSTechNix

        Great news for Fedora users! Fedora 37 has been released!! This step by step tutorial explains how to upgrade to Fedora 37 from Fedora 36 and older versions. If you're already using Fedora 36, you can now safely upgrade to Fedora 37 desktop or server edition for latest features, performance and stability improvements.

      • TecAdminStop - Remove All Docker Container’s - TecAdmin

        Docker containers are great for many reasons, but one of the biggest advantages is that they can be stopped and started at any time. This means that you can easily remove a container if it’s no longer needed or you want to upgrade or reconfigure your system. And because Docker containers are lightweight and run in their own isolated environment, there’s no need to worry about having too much overhead on your system.

        So when it comes time to clean up after using Docker, it’s important to remove all of the containers first before starting the process of removing Docker itself. Otherwise, you may find yourself with a mess on your hands.

      • ID RootHow To Install phpMyAdmin on Linux Mint 21 - idroot

        In this tutorial, we will show you how to install phpMyAdmin on Linux Mint 21. For those of you who didn’t know, phpMyAdmin is a free software tool written in PHP, intended to handle the administration of MySQL and MariaDB over the Web. It has become one of the most popular MySQL administration tools, especially for web hosting services.

        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 phpMyAdmin on Linux Mint 21 (Vanessa).

      • Linux CapableHow to Install Pinta on Fedora 37/36/35 [Ed: Microsoft Mono infestation; better not recommend this]

        Pinta is a free, open-source image editing tool for Linux distributions such as Fedora. The user interface is straightforward, making it an excellent choice for novice users. The drawing tools are comprehensive and easy to use, and the wide range of effects makes it easy to add a professional touch to your images. One of the best features of Pinta is the ability to create unlimited layers, which is impossible with other image editing tools. This makes it possible to experiment with different effects and corrections without damaging the original image.

        In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Pinta on Fedora 37/36/35 Linux using the command line terminal and alternative methods using the default DNF package manager or for users that favor the most up-to-date version available with the Flatpak alternative method.

      • Red Hat OfficialHow I decreased the time to create and destroy an OCI container to 5 milliseconds | Enable Sysadmin

        The journey to speed up running OCI containers took longer than expected, but the effort was worth it.

      • Linux CapableHow to Install Plex Media Server on Fedora 37/36/35

        Plex Media Server is a powerful software that allows you to store all your digital media content in one place. It is extremely popular with people who have large TV and movie libraries, as it allows them to share their content with friends and family. Plex Media Server organizes your files and content into categories, making it easy to find what you are looking for. It also supports a wide range of client applications to access your content on your TV, NVIDIA Shield, Roku, Mobile App, and many more platforms. Fedora is an excellent platform for running Plex Media Server, providing stable and reliable performance, especially with the six-month release schedule; it suits personal home use perfectly.

        In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Plex Media Server on Fedora Linux 37/36/35 Linux workstation desktop or headless server using the command line terminal, along with some basic guidance on first-time setup.

      • NextGenTipsHow to install Ruby on Manjaro Linux – NextGenTips

        Installing Ruby is a bit of a hustle simply because Ruby on Rails has many dependencies. It depends on Sqlite3, node, and yarn which sometimes becomes tiresome to start getting all the dependencies together.

    • Games

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

        • KDE OfficialKDE’s New Goals - Join the Kick Off Meeting | KDE.news

          Our previous Goals, Consistency, All about the Apps, and Wayland; are not forgotten! We will continue to focus on them moving forward. However, the selection of the new Goals indicate where the Community wants to go next, and it’s now time for the Champions to leverage the support of the community and the KDE e.V to deliver on those ideas.

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

    • Ubuntu PitOur 8 Best Looking Linux Distros That Will Have You Staring in Awe

      I’ve been using Windows OS for almost my entire life–ever since I first learned about computers. And whenever I needed to do any development work, I would use macOS. But now Linux has changed everything regarding what I think about operating systems and desktop environments.

      While Windows and macOS are both user-friendly systems, they don’t allow users to change things per their own requirements or interests. Both systems prevent me from making my own computer exactly how it should be.

      If you want a system that will allow your creativity to flourish, use Linux. It’s an open source operating system that is smooth, customizable, user-friendly, and, best of all – it’s free! You can tailor it specifically for your needs, whether you’re using it for work or leisure activities.

    • Screenshots/Screencasts

    • PCLinuxOS/Mageia/Mandriva/OpenMandriva Family

      • PCLOS OfficialTokodon 22.09 - PCLinuxOS

        Tokodon is a Mastodon client. It allows you to interact with the Fediverse community. Mastedon has microblogging features similar to the Twitter service, which are offered by a large number of independently run nodes, known as instances, each with its own code of conduct, terms of service, privacy options, and moderation policies. Now available for the KDE Plasma Desktop.

    • SUSE/OpenSUSE

      • YaST Development Report - Chapter 11 of 2022 | YaST

        As the end of the year approaches, the YaST team is focusing more and more on evolving D-Installer with the goal to release an incomplete but decent prototype in December. But we also find time to improve (Auto)YaST with small corrections and not-so-small new features incorporated into openSUSE Factory and released as updates for SUSE Linux Enterprise 15-SP4.

    • Fedora Family / IBM

      • NeowinFedora 37 arrives with GNOME 43 and two new editions - Neowin

        Fedora 37 is now available for download by the public and includes the latest software, notably GNOME 43. With GNOME 43, you get a device security panel in Settings that shows information about hardware security and firmware that’s installed on your system. Additionally, there are two new Fedora Editions, Fedora CoreOS and Fedora Cloud – these are designed for specific use cases.

        Most users will want Fedora Workstation, this is the edition designed for normal desktop computing.

        [...]

        Fedora now officially supports the Raspberry Pi 4 with accelerated graphics, unfortunately, Fedora 37 also drops support for the ARMv7 architecture. For developers, Fedora has included some of the latest updates for various programming languages, packages include Python 3.11, Golang 1.19, glibc 2.36, and LLVM 15. You can download Fedora now or use these upgrade instructions.

      • Red HatWhat’s new in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.1 | Red Hat Developer

        Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.1 brings new features and enhancements that deliver a more secure and consistent foundation for open, hybrid cloud environments and allow organizations to deliver workloads, applications, and services faster and more efficiently. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.1 can be downloaded at no cost as a part of the Red Hat Developer Subscription for Individuals.

        This article summarizes some of the ways Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.1 further improves the developer experience.

      • Business WireRed Hat Introduces Latest Versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux | Business Wire

        Red Hat, Inc., the world's leading provider of open source solutions, today introduced Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.1, the latest version of the world’s leading enterprise Linux platform. Along with the recently announced Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.7, these minor versions add and refine capabilities for a wide range of enterprise IT needs, from helping to streamline complex infrastructure environments to improving the security stance of containerized applications.

      • Enterprisers ProjectA 15-minute primer on Kubernetes | The Enterprisers Project

        Kubernetes has been admired by cutting-edge technology enthusiasts and engineers since its initial release in 2014. Container orchestration was still a relatively new concept at that time. As more software development teams began adopting containers, the demand for Kubernetes grew. Kubernetes is now revolutionizing the way companies of all sizes do business. According to Red Hat's State of Enterprise Open Source 2022 report, 70 percent of IT leaders say their organizations are using Kubernetes.

        Whether your organization is an early adopter or you're just getting started, the possibilities for automation, optimization, and innovation are endless with Kubernetes. But time is not endless. That's why The Enterprisers Project put together a Kubernetes primer that you can read in less than 15 minutes.

      • Red HatWhy OpenShift is essential for containerized applications | Red Hat Developer

        Over the past few decades, application development has been evolving from bare metal hosting to virtualization to containers, leading to the adoption of the Kubernetes orchestration platform. This article traces these developments and explains how Red Hat OpenShift provides the next level of application support.

        There has been an explosion in the modernization of application development and deployment over the past few years. Several publications such as Forbes and Business Wire quoted IDC's prediction that between 2018 to 2023 more than 500 million logical applications will be developed, which is equal to the number of applications built over the previous 40 years. In addition, businesses expect faster changes to applications.

    • Canonical/Ubuntu Family

    • Devices/Embedded

      • CNX SoftwareGOLE 1 R mini PC offers Rockchip RK3588 CPU, 5.5-inch touchscreen display [Ed: Moving away from Windows]

        HIGOLE introduced the GOLE1 mini PC with a touchscreen display in 2015 mostly to get a free and legal Windows 10 license, but over the years the company launched more Intel models inspired by the original design. However, their latest model, the GOLE 1 R, is based on Rockchip RK3588 octa-core Arm Cortex-A76/A55 SoC instead and running Android 12 by default.

        The GOLE 1 R is equipped with 8GB RAM, 128GB eMMC flash, a 5.5-inch touchscreen display, Gigabit Ethernet and WiFi connectivity, a microphone, speaker, a gravity sensor, and a 2,500 mAh battery. The company also sells the GOLE 1 RN mini PC without a display, a microphone, a speaker, or a battery for power.

    • Open Hardware/Modding

      • Stacey on IoTPodcast: Arduino Opta adds a little IT to the OT

        This week’s show kicks off with a discussion of the lawsuit between Arm and Qualcomm amid accusations that Arm is changing its licensing model. We cover what has been said, and what it might mean for the IoT before heading into some industrial news. Arduino has announced a programmable logic controller (PLC) in conjunction with Finder called the Arduino Opta.

      • ArduinoHost the best BBQs ever with home automation | Arduino Blog

        Everybody loves a good BBQ. Getting your family and friends together on a long summer day and evening, cooking delicious food and having a great time as smoke drifts through the air — it’s the perfect weekend activity.

        BBQs can also be stressful, however. Anyone who has ever tried to host one will know the challenges of managing multiple meats at once, trying to avoid any overcooking (or undercooking) disasters, and keeping track of all that equipment.

        Automation can help run your BBQ much more smoothly, minimizing any mishaps and making sure everyone has the best experience possible. In this article, we’ll look at how home automation can improve the BBQ experience and share some examples from Arduino’s Project Hub.

      • BootlinUpdated Yocto support for SiFive RISC-V platforms - Bootlin's blog

        In the next releases, we plan to continue to update BSP parts, as well as the layers, in order to stick as close as possible to the mainline. In addition, we are working to improve CI/CD in order to increase the quality and the tests coverage.

    • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • Medevel15 Free and Open-source Self-hosted Messaging Platform And Slack Alternatives

      RocketChat is another Slack alternative messaging platform that you can self-host at your server. It supports audio and video calls, file attachments, full-text search, and many other features.

      RocketChat offers mobile and desktop clients alongside a web version which supports mobile as well. Like Slack, Users can create groups, use hashtags in messages, pin and bookmark messages, and allows a high level customization.

      RocketChat comes with a desktop clients, web self-hosted server/ client, and mobile apps. It supports webhooks, embedded chat widget, and features a rich real-time API.

    • OpenSource.comHow open source powers innovation | Opensource.com

      One possible answer is the corporate research lab. More long-term focused than most company product development efforts, corporate labs have a long history, going back to Thomas Edison's Menlo Park laboratory in New Jersey. Perhaps most famous is Bell Labs' invention of the transistor—although software folks may associate it more with Unix and the C programming language.

      But corporate laboratories have tended to be more associated with dominant firms that could afford to let large staffs work on very forward-looking and speculative research projects. After all, Bell Labs was born of the AT&T telephone monopoly. Corporate labs also aren't known for playing with their counterparts elsewhere in industry. Even if their focus is long-term, they're looking to profit from their IP eventually, which also means that their research is often rooted in technologies commercially relevant to their business.

    • VideoBuild Your Own Mastodon Server on Debian (Step by Step Server Build Guide) - Invidious

      There's way too much drama with Twitter nowadays, so the alternatives are looking more attractive than ever. Setting up your own Mastodon server is a fun project, and also a potential alternative to Twitter. In this video, Jay walks you through the entire process of setting up your own Mastodon server on a Debian-based VPS.

    • OpenSource.comHow to address challenges with community metrics | Opensource.com

      The previous two articles in this series looked at open source community health and the metrics used to understand it. They showed examples of how open source communities have measured at their health through metrics. This final article brings those ideas together, discussing the challenges of implementing community health metrics for your own community.

    • Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra

      • Document FoundationMonth of LibreOffice, November 2022 – Half-way point... - The Document Foundation Blog

        So far, 203 sticker packs have been awarded in the Month of LibreOffice, November 2022. But we’re only half of the way through – so if your name (or username) isn’t on the list, join in, help to make LibreOffice even better, and get some cool swag! We’ll have 10 bonus pieces of merchandise to give away, to 10 lucky people…

    • GNU Projects

      • GNUGNU lightning - News: GNU lightning 2.2.0 release [Savannah]
        GNU lightning 2.2.0 released! 
        GNU lightning is a library to aid in making portable programs 
        that compile assembly code at run time. 
        Development: 
        http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/lightning.git 
        Download release: 
        ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/lightning/lightning-2.2.0.tar.gz 
          GNU Lightning 2.2.0 extends the 2.1.4 release adding support for 
        Darwin aarch64, tested on Apple M1. 
          Now there is the new --enable-devel-strong-type-checking configure 
        option, not enabled by default, but code that works with that option 
        will work on Apple M1. 
          This release required significant rework as the Apple abi in aarch64 
        requires arguments to be truncated and zero/sign extended, unlike all 
        other ports. Jit generation will understand it, and use the system ABI, 
        avoiding double truncate and zero/sign extension. 
          Due to the significant rework, the library major number was bumped, 
        and the opportunity used to reorder the jit_code_t enumeration.
        
    • Programming/Development

      • LWNMeta's Sapling source-code management system [LWN.net] [Ed: Corbet ('Linux' Foundation) shilling and openwashing Facebook, a top sponsor of 'Linux' Foundation; the server side is proprietary]

        At this point, only the client side of the system has been released; the company "hopes to" release the rest later.

      • Get ready for Google Summer of Code 2023 with GNOME! - Felipe Borges

        Google has recently announced the 2023 edition of Google Summer of Code.

        The 2022 changes in the program’s format have been successful and are continuing for 2023, with just a small adjustment around eligibility (described in the link above).

        GNOME is certainly going to apply to be a mentoring organization, and we hope to once again be part of the program.

      • QtFrom design to reality: building functional UIs with Qt Design Studio

        Qt Design Studio offers a comprehensive set of resources to help UI designers bring digital experiences to life. Any 2D and 3D graphics content can be seamlessly imported into Qt Design Studio via Qt Bridge technology and transformed into a real UI application. This blog post looks at some of the features we love the most.

      • QtQt Design Studio 3.8 Released

        We are proud to announce the release of Qt Design Studio 3.8.

  • Leftovers

    • Linux Foundation

    • Security

      • LWNSecurity updates for Wednesday [LWN.net]

        Security updates have been issued by Debian (grub2, nginx, and wordpress), Red Hat (389-ds-base, bind, buildah, curl, device-mapper-multipath, dnsmasq, dotnet7.0, dpdk, e2fsprogs, grafana-pcp, harfbuzz, ignition, Image Builder, kernel, keylime, libguestfs, libldb, libtiff, libvirt, logrotate, mingw-zlib, mutt, openjpeg2, podman, poppler, python-lxml, qt5, rsync, runc, samba, skopeo, toolbox, unbound, virt-v2v, wavpack, webkit2gtk3, xorg-x11-server, xorg-x11-server-Xwayland, and yajl), SUSE (389-ds, bluez, dhcp, freerdp, jackson-databind, kernel, LibVNCServer, libX11, nodejs12, nodejs16, php7, php8, python-Mako, python-Twisted, python310, sudo, systemd, and xen), and Ubuntu (mako).

      • CISACISA and FBI Release Advisory on Iranian Government-Sponsored APT Actors Compromising Federal Network | CISA [Ed: VMware (proprietary) exploited]

        Today, CISA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) published a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA), Iranian Government-Sponsored APT Actors Compromise Federal Network, Deploy Crypto Miner, Credential Harvester.

      • Privacy/Surveillance

        • El Salvador’s Pegasus spyware case left uninvestigated ten months later - Global Voices

          Ten months ago, in January 2022, Access Now and the Citizen Lab confirmed that several journalists were targeted with the use of NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware on a massive scale in El Salvador. At least, the mobile phones of 35 journalists from six media outlets (El Faro, GatoEncerrado, La Prensa Grafica, Revista Digital Disruptiva and El Diario de Hoy) were infected by this spyware between July 2020 and November 2021.

          Amnesty International Security Lab reviewed the report and verified forensic evidence on the use of Pegasus spyware against Salvadoran journalists. Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said that “the use of Pegasus for the surveillance of communications in El Salvador reveals a new threat to human rights in the country. The authorities must stop any efforts to restrict freedom of expression, and conduct a thorough and impartial investigation to identify those responsible.” But president Nayib Bukele’s government has denied its responsibility and showed not results or signs of a full investigation of this case of espionage.

    • Defence/Aggression

      • Bruce SchneierRussian Software Company Pretending to Be American - Schneier on Security [Ed: CIA pretended to be Swiss company, so...]

        Computer code developed by a company called Pushwoosh is in about 8,000 Apple and Google smartphone apps. The company pretends to be American when it is actually Russian.

      • ReutersExclusive: Russian software disguised as American finds its way into U.S. Army, CDC apps [Ed: The problem is not that it is Russian; the problem is that it's proprietary and "app"]

        Thousands of smartphone applications in Apple (AAPL.O) and Google's (GOOGL.O) online stores contain computer code developed by a technology company, Pushwoosh, that presents itself as based in the United States, but is actually Russian, Reuters has found.

        The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States' main agency for fighting major health threats, said it had been deceived into believing Pushwoosh was based in the U.S. capital. After learning about its Russian roots from Reuters, it removed Pushwoosh software from seven public-facing apps, citing security concerns.

    • Finance

    • AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

      • Deutsche WelleTwitter's sacking of content moderators raises concerns

        Until last Saturday, it was Melissa Ingle's job to help keep Twitter safe.

        As a member of the company's "civic integrity" team, the data scientist monitored the platform for political misinformation about elections from Brazil to the US, and she wrote algorithms to automatically detect similar content.

        "We wanted to make sure Twitter was a healthy platform," Ingle told DW.

        Then, on November 12, a notification popped up on her phone, telling her she no longer had access to her work emails. When she realized that she had also been logged out of her Slack account, the 48-year-old knew she had been fired. She wasn't alone. Thousands of other contract workers had their contracts terminated last weekend, in addition to about 3,700 employees Twitter had already fired earlier this month.

        "The cuts didn't really seem to be targeted," Ingle told DW. "It seems to be huge swaths of people who were just fired."

    • Civil Rights/Policing

      • Public KnowledgeShould Algorithms Be Regulated? Part 3: Evaluating Alternative Frameworks for Regulating Algorithms - Public Knowledge

        This is the third in a series of blog posts from Public Knowledge examining the public policy implications of algorithmic decision-making. A first post clarified what algorithms are and aren’t and identified some basic principles for attempting to regulate algorithmic decision-making, especially as it relates to content distribution. The second post cataloged the harms that can arise from algorithmic decision-making, including (1) harms to safety and well-being; (2) harms to economic justice; and (3) harms to democratic participation. (We’ve also written in other forums about the harmful consequences of unregulated, unproven AI.)

        In this post and the accompanying policy framework, we seek to assess various theories of change and related policy frameworks for creating accountability for algorithmic decision-making. We describe each approach’s drawbacks and benefits and put forward Public Knowledge’s perspective.

        Spoiler alert: There is no single or simple solution for the complex questions our exploration has raised. As you’ll see in our framework, there are several potential approaches for trying to mitigate the myriad harms algorithmic decision-making about content can create through direct regulation of algorithms. But most of them face substantial hurdles, particularly those that entail or even approach the regulation of user-generated content – most of which is protected speech. The hurdles include constitutional challenges, patterns of Supreme Court jurisprudence, or narrow or ambiguous definitions that would compound the challenges of content moderation for both platforms and users. As a Federal Trade Commission report on combating online harms noted, “governments, platforms, and others must exercise great caution” and focus attention on a broad array of considerations before turning to regulation to mitigate online harms.

      • Public KnowledgeAlternative Frameworks for Algorithmic Accountability - Public Knowledge

        This framework was created to accompany the third post in our "Should Algorithms Be Regulated?" series examining the public policy implications of algorithmic decision-making.

    • Monopolies

      • Public KnowledgePublic Knowledge Joins 45 Groups Urging Congress To Rein in Big Tech by Passing Popular Bipartisan Antitrust Bills [Ed: This organisation had the audacity to publish this while having Microsoft inside its Board; They even use Microsoft's lobbying term "Big Tech"]

        Today, Public Knowledge joined 45 public interest and civil society groups in a letter urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to pass the “American Innovation and Choice Online Act” and “Open App Markets Act” to rein in Big Tech. The groups call on Congress to pass these widely supported, bipartisan antitrust bills this year before the current congressional session closes.

        [...]

        “The bills are also incredibly popular with the American people and people around the world who depend on digital platforms. Poll after poll has shown the public [is] fed up with Big Tech’s unchecked power and eager to support members getting tough with them. In a recent poll, 77 percent of voters agreed Big Tech was too powerful and 65 percent were more likely to support their representative [for voting] for greater Big Tech regulation.

        “As history writes the final chapters of the 117th Congress, you face a consequential choice on how it concludes. Passing the American Innovation and Choice Online Act and the Open App Markets Act would mark a triumphant, bipartisan and politically popular win. The choice is yours.”

  • Gemini* and Gopher


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



Recent Techrights' Posts

Advertisers and Their Covert Impact on Publications' Output (or Writers' Topics of Choice, as Assigned or Approved by Editors)
It cannot be trivially denied that sponsorship in the form of "advertising" impacts where publishers go (or don't go, won't go)
Terrible Year for Microsoft Windows in Cyprus
down from 86% to 72% since January
 
Links 25/12/2024: Hong Kong Attacks Activists During Holidays, Xerox to Buy Lexmark
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, December 24, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Gemini Links 25/12/2024: Open Source Social and No Search
Links for the day
Brittany Day Connects Windows Ransomware to "Linux" Using Microsoft LLMs (FUD Galore, Zero Effort, No Accountability)
FUD and misinformation made by Microsoft LLMs again?
Links 24/12/2024: Labour Strikes and TikTok Scrambling to Prop Up Radical Politicians That Would Protect TikTok
Links for the day
Where the Population is Controlled by Skinnerboxes Inside People's Pockets (or Purses)
A very small fraction of mobile users practise or exercise freedom/control over the skinnerbox
[Meme] Coin-Operated Publishers (Gaming the Message, Buying the Narrative)
Advertise (sponsor) to 'play'
[Meme] How to Kill Unions (Staff on Shoestring Budget Cannot Afford Lawyers)
What next for the EPO? "Gig economy"?
The EPO's Staff Union (SUEPO) Takes Legal Action to Rectify the Decrease in Wages (Lessening of Purchasing Power)
here is what the union published
Gemini Links 24/12/2024: Deedum Gemini Client Gets Colour Support, Advent of Code 2024
Links for the day
Microsoft Windows Slides to New Lows in Colombia
Now Windows is at an all-time low
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, December 23, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, December 23, 2024
A Strong and Positive Closing for the Year's Last Week
In a lot of ways this year was a good one for Free software
Feels Too Warm for Christmas
Christmas is here, no snow in sight
Links 23/12/2024: 'Negative Time' and US Arms Taiwan Again
Links for the day
Links 23/12/2024: The Book of Uncommon Beings, Squirrels, and Slop Ruining Workplaces
Links for the day
Links 23/12/2024: North Korean Death Toll in Russia at ~1,100, Oligarch Who Illegally Migrated/Stayed (Musk) Shuts Down US Government
Links for the day
The World's 'Richest Country' Chooses GNU/Linux
This has gone on for quite some time
Richard Stallman on Love
Richard Stallman's personal website includes a section that lists three essays on the subject of love
Apple's LLM Slop Told Us Luigi Mangione Had Shot Himself, BetaNews Used LLMs to Talk About a Dead Linus Torvalds
They can blame it on some bot
Microsoft, Give Me LLM Slop About "Linux" and "Santa", I Need Some Fake Article...
BetaNews is basically an LLM slop site
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, December 22, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, December 22, 2024