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Links 01/07/2023: PostgreSQL 16 Beta 2 and EasyOS 5.4.5



  • GNU/Linux

    • Linux Magazine

      • Linux MagazineEdit landscape photos with RawTherapee 5.9

        The current RawTherapee version finally adds selective image editing, among other long-desired features, to help it compete with king of the hill, darktable.

      • Linux MagazineStarting a podcast with Linux and Audacity

        Audacity is a free, open source, easy-to-use, multitrack audio recording and editing tool perfect for podcasts.

      • Linux MagazineA modern terminal pager

        The most terminal pager offers a feature-rich, better organized alternative to less.

      • Linux MagazineKernel News"

        In kernel news: Rust in Linux; and Compiler and Kernel Frenemies.

      • Linux MagazineAlgorithm-driven team building

        Instead of the coach determining the team lineup, an algorithm selects the players based on their strengths for Mike Schilli's amateur soccer team.

      • Linux MagazineNetwork knowledge at your fingertips with NetBox

        NetBox is a single source of information on your network where you can store all those important details that used to get lost.

      • Linux MagazineBlackouts and Black Ink

        The Reddit blackout is big in the news as I write this column.

      • Linux MagazineDesigning cross-platform GUI apps with Fyne

        The Fyne toolkit offers a simple way to build native apps that work across multiple platforms. We show you how to build a to-do list app to demonstrate Fyne's power.

      • Linux MagazineScoreboards and Video Routing in Python

        We look at a broadcast video system network that uses Python code to control a video router and check out another program that creates a scoreboard.

      • Linux MagazineExploring the TUXEDO InfinityBook 16 Gen7 MK1

        The next-generation laptop from TUXEDO is faster and lighter than previous business models.

      • Linux MagazineNews

        Updates on technologies, trends, and tools

      • Linux MagazineThis Month's DVD

        Linux Mint 21.1 and openSUSE Leap 15.5

      • Linux MagazineDetect duplicates with fdupes

        The command-line fdupes tool helps you find duplicate folders and directories.

      • Linux MagazineNot Intelligent

        Earlier technologies have persisted despite government regulations – so will AI.

      • Linux MagazineAn inside look at creating a podcast

        If you use Linux, you already have most of the tools you need to get in the podcast game. Just plan carefully and take it a step at a time.

      • Linux MagazineMastering and mixing with Ardour

        Once you get your podcast operation up and running, you might decide you want a real mixer and some higher-end software. We'll introduce you to Ardour and get you started with some basic audio hardware.

      • Linux MagazineSparkling gems and new releases from the world of Free and Open Source Software

        This month Graham looks at wallabag, Read It Later, killport, F3D, Tenacity, Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead, botany, and more!

      • Linux MagazineIntroduction

        This month in Linux Voice and Elvie.

      • Linux MagazineThe veteran of free distros

        Rüben Rúdríguez discusses Trisquel, a free Linux distro that has been in continuous development for the past 16 years.

    • Audiocasts/Shows

    • Applications

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • How to Disable/Enable CPU Cores in Ubuntu

        CPU cores are essential for effectively processing data and carrying out computations in the world of computers.

      • It's FOSSHow to Remove Software Repositories from Ubuntu

        From apt-add-repository to Software & Updates tool, here are several ways to remove software repositories from Ubuntu.

      • Install Windows 11 as KVM Guest in SparkyLinux 7 using virt-manager
      • CloudbookletHow to Create a New systemd Service on Linux: A Step-by-Step Guide

        Learn how to create a new systemd service on Linux with this step-by-step guide.

      • Ubuntu HandbookHow to Install Linux Kernel 6.4 in Ubuntu 22.04 | 23.04

        Linux Kernel 6.4 was released a few days ago. Ubuntu users can now install it from Kernel Mainline PPA.

      • DebugPointHow to Fix No Suitable Archive Manager Found Error

        A simple guide to fix the no suitable archive manager found error in Linux distributions, including Arch Linux. The “No Suitable Archive Manager Found” error can be frustrating when extracting or opening compressed files on your computer.

      • Linux CapableBash read Command with Examples

        Bash, an acronym for Bourne Again SHell, is a command-line interpreter that provides a multi-functional interface for users to interact with operating systems. One of the most versatile built-in commands in Bash is the read command.

      • Linux CapableBash wait Command with Examples

        In the realm of Bash scripting, understanding the built-in commands and their functionalities is crucial. One such command, the wait command, plays a pivotal role in managing process execution. This command pauses the current shell’s execution until specified jobs have completed, and then returns the exit status of the command it was waiting for.>

      • It's FOSSHow to Install Wine in Ubuntu

        Looking to run Windows-only software on Ubuntu? Wine is your friend. Learn to install Wine in Ubuntu Linux.

      • Barry KaulerFlapi fix if fail to register with flathub

        There is discussion of a couple of flatpaks here, and failure to register with flathub.org:

        https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=9038

        There is a fault in Flapi; if failed to register with flathub.org, Flapi should not have then been allowed to download and install apps. Federico was getting the failure, then continued to download apps, which then did not work.

      • BeebomHow to Install Git on Ubuntu (2023 Guide) | Beebom

        For most project members, it is probably not feasible to download a ZIP file of all the project files every time a new feature gets updated or added. To solve this, Linus Torvalds created Git in 2005. It is a free and open-source version control software that makes collaborating on projects effortless. In this article, we will walk you through the process of installing Git on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish) and earlier releases.

      • Make Use OfHow to Create a New systemd Service on Linux

        systemd is the service manager for a lot of well-known Linux distributions. A service is a unit of a program that typically runs in the background. Services, by nature, automatically start up as soon as the system boots up and can run unattended.

        If you need to create an auto-starting task or program that executes every time you boot or reboot your system, you can consider creating a new service. Let's learn how to create a new, custom systemd service on Linux.

      • Linux Host SupportHow to Install Icinga 2 on Ubuntu

        In this tutorial, we are going to explain in step-by-step detail how to install Icinga 2 on Ubuntu 22.04 Icinga is a free and open-source monitoring tool used for sending alerts when failures occur on the servers.

      • Own HowToHow to install CentOS Stream 9

        In this tutorial, you will learn how to install CentOS stream 9 on your machine.

      • Trend OceansHow to Install Linux Mint Cinnamon Desktop in Ubuntu 22.04 or Later

        Instead of hopping to Linux Mint, why not just Install the Linux Mint Cinnamon desktop in Ubuntu and enjoy the best of both worlds?

      • Linux CapableHow to Setup Nginx FastCGI Cache on Ubuntu 22.04-20.04

        In this guide, you will learn how to set up Nginx FastCGI cache on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish or Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa LTS. The FastCGI cache is an integral component when optimizing your web server’s performance. Nginx, renowned for its efficiency and scalability, can be further bolstered by configuring its FastCGI cache.

      • Linux CapableHow to Install Python 3.9 on Debian Linux

        Python is a versatile and widely-used programming language. This article sheds light on Python 3.9 and guides you through its installation on Debian 12 Bookworm, Debian 11 Bullseye, and Debian 10 Buster by downloading the Python 3.9 archive, as repositories seldom host this version owing to its age.

      • Linux CapableHow to Install Grub Customizer on Linux Mint 21/20

        Grub Customizer, a powerful tool designed for managing and customizing the GRUB (Grand Unified Bootloader) and BURG bootloaders, enables you to take charge of your system’s startup process. >

      • TechRepublicHow to Stop and Remove All Docker Containers with 2 Simple Commands

        In this TechRepublic How to Make Tech Work video, Jack Wallen shows how to stop and remove all Docker containers at once with just two simple commands.

      • TechRepublicHow to Stop and Remove All Docker Containers with 2 Simple Commands

        In this TechRepublic How to Make Tech Work video, Jack Wallen shows how to stop and remove all Docker containers at once with just two simple commands.

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

        • My work in KDE for June 2023

          We’re about halfway through year! This update is a bit smaller than usual, and more focused on applications than Plasma. This isn’t for lack of time or trying, but I tried to deliberately clear out my backlog. That goal didn’t really pan out, but I’ll be trying again next month.

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • Web Browsers/Web Servers

      • June 2023 Web Server Survey

        In the June 2023 survey we received responses from 1,106,671,903 sites across 255,487,423 domains and 12,106,503 web-facing computers. This reflects a loss of 2.7 million sites, 16.0 million domains, and an increase of 69,309 web-facing computers.

      • Mozilla

        • 9to5LinuxFirefox 115 ESR Is Here with Hardware Video Decoding for Intel GPUs on Linux

          Apart from being the new ESR series, which will slowly replace the Firefox 102 ESR series, Firefox 115 is here to introduce hardware-accelerated video decoding for Intel GPUs on Linux systems using the Video Acceleration API (VA-API) open-source application programming interface that allows apps to use hardware video acceleration capabilities.

          Another cool new feature for Linux users in the Firefox 115 release is the ability to open links or search for text that has been copied on your clipboard by middle-clicking on the New Tab button. This is a productivity feature as you no longer have to open a new tab and paste the copied text or link you want to search/open.

    • SaaS/Back End/Databases

      • PostgreSQLPostgreSQL 16 Beta 2 Released!

        The PostgreSQL Global Development Group announces that the second beta release of PostgreSQL 16 is now available for download. This release contains previews of all features that will be available when PostgreSQL 16 is made generally available, though some details of the release can change during the beta period.

      • OSI BlogOpen Source shaking up document databases, setting new standards

        The founders of FerretDB, an Open Source document database using PostgreSQL as the database backend, is working with different stakeholders on developing a standard for document databases, the same way as SQL was created as a standard for relational databases in the 1980s, with the objective of reducing the risk of vendor lock-in for users.

    • Programming/Development

      • SCM/CI Workflow Versions. Making Larger Changes Less Painful For You.

        Today we’re going to explain the versioning system we’re using to release new features to the SCM/CI integration. Versioning the Workflow Configuration We are introducing the versioning as a way to release new features in the SCM/CI without breaking existing user’s configuration. Those features are going to be released under a MAJOR.MINOR version scheme.

      • Paul Wise: FLOSS Activities June 2023
      • Storage APIs: Libblockdev 3.0
        Statistics

        We started working on libblockdev 3.0 nearly four years ago and definitely thought it would be ready way sooner than now. The difference between 3.0 and our legacy 2.x-branch is 997 commits and 205 files changed with 29382 insertions(+) and 17565 deletions(-).

        Many thanks to all contributors that made this release possible.

        And now I guess I should start working on libblockdev 4. See you in a few years.

      • Python

        • Linux HintPython infinity representation

          The “math.inf”, “np.inf”, “float()” function, and “decimal” modules are utilized to represent positive and negative infinity values in Python.

      • Shell/Bash/Zsh/Ksh

        • TecAdminHow to Escape Single Quotes in Bash

          Bash scripting is a crucial skill for developers, system administrators, and anyone else who needs to automate tasks on Unix or Linux systems. Occasionally, you’ll need to use a single quote (‘) within a string in a bash script.

        • Make Tech EasierPowerShell vs. Bash: Key Differences to Know About [Ed: One is controlled by a company that attacks Linux, one is not]
        • TecAdminHow to Escape Special Characters in Bash

          Bash, short for Bourne Again SHell, is the default command-line interpreter for many Linux distributions and MacOS. It provides a way for users to interact with these operating systems by executing commands. However, bash also includes a number of special characters that have unique meanings.

    • Standards/Consortia

  • Leftovers

    • Science

    • Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

      • Undermining the childhood vaccine schedule with EBM fundamentalism

        When last we encountered evidence-based medicine (EBM) maven and critic of oncology clinical trials and FDA licensure of chemotherapeutic agents turned COVID-19 contrarian, antimasker, and anti-COVID vaccine advocate Dr. Vinay Prasad, he was defending longtime antivax activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., saying, in essence, that he agrees with most of of RFK Jr.‘s positions, especially about big pharma, regulatory capture, and and corruption other than his peskily embarrassing (to him) belief that childhood vaccines cause autism. (That, and he was also denying yet again that he was antivaccine.) As you might recall, what struck me about Dr. Prasad’s post was how much he bent over backwards to portray RFK Jr. as “reasonable” other than a couple of bizarre ideas—his pesky adherence to the the discredited idea that vaccines cause autism again!—even someone as someone who could be persuaded that, for instance, vaccines don’t cause autism and the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine is safe with some well-designed placebo-controlled clinical trials and an expanded vaccine safety monitoring system.

      • JURISTFrance Senate passes legislation requiring age verification for minors on social media

        The French Senate€ approved new legislation on Thursday requiring social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram to implement mandatory age verification systems and obtain explicit parental consent for users aged 15 and below. The move comes amid a growing international crackdown on the platforms lack of privacy protections for users.

    • Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

    • Security

      • LWNSecurity updates for Friday [LWN.net]

        Security updates have been issued by Debian (docker-registry, flask, systemd, and trafficserver), Fedora (moodle, python-reportlab, suricata, and vim), Red Hat (go-toolset and golang, go-toolset-1.19 and go-toolset-1.19-golang, go-toolset:rhel8, open-vm-tools, python27:2.7, and python3), SUSE (buildah, chromium, gifsicle, libjxl, sqlite3, and xonotic), and Ubuntu (linux, linux-allwinner, linux-allwinner-5.19, linux-aws, linux-aws-5.19, linux-azure, linux-gcp, linux-gcp-5.19, linux-hwe-5.19, linux-ibm, linux-kvm, linux-lowlatency, linux-oracle, linux-raspi, linux-starfive, linux-starfive-5.19, linux, linux-aws, linux-aws-5.15, linux-aws-5.4, linux-azure, linux-azure-5.15, linux-azure-5.4, linux-azure-fde-5.15, linux-bluefield, linux-gcp, linux-gcp-5.15, linux-gcp-5.4, linux-gke, linux-gke-5.15, linux-gkeop, linux-gkeop-5.15, linux-hwe-5.15, linux-hwe-5.4, linux-ibm, linux-ibm-5.4, linux-kvm, linux-lowlatency, linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15, linux-nvidia, linux-oracle, linux-oracle-5.15, linux-oracle-5.4, linux-raspi, linux-raspi-5.4, and linux-oem-6.1).

      • Mountain View Hospital restores clinical functions; culprit behind cyberattack still unknown

        An area hospital has been working for over a month now to resolve a cyberattack and progress is being made.

        Mountain View Hospital has managed to restore clinical functions for itself, Idaho Falls Community Hospital and its partner clinics. The IT team and other cybersecurity experts have now turned their attention to administrative functions.

        Even though much of the hospital’s functions have returned, it’s not clear when all operations will be fully restored following the cyberattack.

      • CNNAt least 100,000 could have had data exposed after US health department was hit by global MOVEit cyberattack [Ed: Windows TCO]



        At least 100,000 people could have had their data compromised by a hack of contractors at the Department of Health and Human Services, a department official said Thursday, making it the latest US government agency to be caught up in a sweeping cyberattack connected to Russian cybercriminals.

        HHS notified Congress of the breach on Tuesday and will update lawmakers as the investigation continues, the official said. Agencies are required to notify Congress of a data breach that involves the compromise of personal information of 100,000 or more people.

      • Data BreachesBreach of the Protection Obligation by Fullerton Healthcare and Agape CP Holdings

        Details of the 2021 breach that resulted in data being sold on a marketplace are included in the regulator’s decision. It reports that the breach involved Agape’s Online Drive and not FHG’s system. The personal data of 156,900 FHG customers (133,866 direct patients and 23,034 employees of FHG’s corporate clients) was accessed without authorization in the Incident, although the exact volume of exfiltrated personal data was unknown.

      • Wells Notice Against SolarWinds CISO Could Be First of Its Kind

        SolarWinds Corporation, which suffered a major breach of its Orion software platform in December 2020, submitted a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on June 23rd, saying the enforcement staff of the SEC provided the company with a Wells Notice related to its investigation into the cyber incident.

        A Wells Notice is a letter the SEC generally issues to organizations or individuals when it is planning to take action against them.

      • Data BreachesI had been chatting with a blackhat. They had been working with a whitehat. We were both dealing with the same person.

        On April 18, DataBreaches reported that more details had emerged on the arrest of three men by Dutch police in January. The three were suspected of hacking and extorting victims in the Netherlands and elsewhere, obtaining and selling data online, and money laundering. A fourth person linked to the suspects known as “DataBox” had previously been arrested in November 2022 and had been detained with restrictions until the arrest of the other three in January. DataBox, whose real name is Erkan Sezgin, has subsequently been sentenced in a separate case, and may be facing other charges in connection with alleged crimes by the others.

      • MJH Life SciencesPaying the ransom: Hospitals face hard choices in cyberattacks | Special Report

        It’s the gut-wrenching question many hospital leaders have faced as healthcare systems have endured scores of ransomware attacks in recent years.

        Large health systems, including CommonSpirit Health, have encountered ransomware attacks, but experts say smaller hospitals and systems are increasingly at risk.

      • VLC DoS, Remote Code Execution Vulns Fixed

        Multiple remotely exploitable denial of service (DoS) and code execution vulnerabilities have been found in the VLC multimedia player and streamer. These bugs have been classified as ''high-severity'' by the National Vulnerability Database due to their high confidentiality, integrity and availability impact.

      • CVE-2023-36617: ReDoS vulnerability in URI

        We have released the uri gem version 0.12.2, 0.10.3 that has a security fix for a ReDoS vulnerability.

        This vulnerability has been assigned the CVE identifier CVE-2023-36617.

      • Hacker NewsCritical SQL Injection Flaws Expose Gentoo Soko to Remote Code Execution

        Multiple SQL injection vulnerabilities have been disclosed in Gentoo Soko that could lead to remote code execution (RCE) on vulnerable systems. "These SQL injections happened despite the use of an Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) library and prepared statements," SonarSource researcher Thomas Chauchefoin said , adding they could result in RCE on Soko because of a "misconfiguration of the database."

      • TechRadarThere's Now a Linux Version of This Dangerous VMware Ransomware [Ed: Microsoft-connected clickbait and FUD sites trying to blame "Linux" for proprietary VMware issues]

        A ransomware operation known as Akira has been seen encrypting VMware ESXi virtual machines using a Linux encryptor after a couple of months of targeting Windows systems.

      • Scoop News GroupCISA election security lead Kim Wyman to leave agency

        Wyman, who previously served as Washington state's top election official, will step down as CISA's top election security adviser.

      • Scoop News GroupRussian telecom confirms hack after group backing Wagner boasted about an attack

        A Dozor-Teleport CJSC executive told ComNews that the company has been the victim of a cyberattack affecting its cloud infrastructure.

      • Security Week200,000 WordPress Sites Exposed to Attacks Exploiting Flaw in ‘Ultimate Member’ Plugin

        Attackers exploit critical vulnerability in the Ultimate Member plugin to create administrative accounts on WordPress websites.

      • Security WeekProton Launches Open Source Password Manager

        Proton makes its open source Proton Pass password manager globally available for major browsers and mobile devices.

      • SANSSandfly Security, (Sat, Jul 1st)

        Agentless Linux security with unmatched speed and reliability

      • Security WeekSamsung Phone Flaws Added to CISA ‘Must Patch’ List Likely Exploited by Spyware Vendor

        CISA adds 6 Samsung mobile device flaws to its known exploited vulnerabilities catalog and they have likely been exploited by a spyware vendor.

      • Privacy/Surveillance

        • Bruce SchneierThe US Is Spying on the UN Secretary General

          The Washington Post is reporting that the US is spying on the UN Secretary General.

          The reports on Guterres appear to contain the secretary general’s personal conversations with aides regarding diplomatic encounters. They indicate that the United States relied on spying powers granted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to gather the intercepts.

          Lots of details about different conversations in the article, which are based on classified documents leaked on Discord by Jack Teixeira.

        • ACLUThe ACLU is Committed to Protecting Your Personal Information

          Privacy laws serve as vital guardrails against the potential abuse of personal information in an increasingly interconnected world. As a nationwide organization dedicated to defending civil liberties, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recognizes the paramount importance of privacy in today’s digital age, and we firmly believe that transparency and accountability are necessary to protect all of our rights to privacy.

          Right now, Americans risk being tracked and surveilled without any notice every time we open an app, walk into a store carrying a phone, or do an online search. As Congress works to draft a comprehensive privacy law, states are trying to fill that critical gap by passing their own privacy legislation. In response to this evolving landscape of privacy laws, including the new Colorado Privacy Act that goes into effect on July 1, the ACLU has developed an updated and comprehensive privacy policy to adhere to the values we hold dear.

        • AxiosFuturistic airports are coming: AI facial recognition, biometric scanners

          Airports are slated to become more seamless and efficient, a new report finds, even as they get busier and larger to meet growing demand.

    • Defence/Aggression

    • Environment

      • Energy/Transportation

        • Michael West MediaHow to blast rocks and negativity into prosperity

          The mining industry’s angst about community resistance, sustainability and the need for automation to save workers’ lives are discussions the chemicals sector was having decades ago.

          Sanjeev Gandhi, CEO of chemicals and explosives giant Orica, says artificial intelligence (AI) may be new but the chemicals industry is far advanced.

        • DeSmogPR Agency Catering to Oil Interests Led UK Climate Forum’s Communications

          The UK’s Climate Innovation Forum named global PR agency Weber Shandwick as its “official communications partner,” despite the agency recently holding or continuing to hold contracts with at least eight oil and gas companies, an oil financier, and an industry lobby group.

          On Wednesday, June 28, the climate conference convened in London as part of London Climate Action Week, hosted by the UK-based global event organizer Climate Action in partnership with the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The Climate Innovation Forum describes the UK’s net-zero transition as an “urgent existential imperative and a significant commercial opportunity.” Climate Action did not respond to a request for comment.

      • Wildlife/Nature

    • Finance

    • AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

    • Censorship/Free Speech

    • Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

    • Civil Rights/Policing

      • AxiosOnline hate and harassment continues to rise

        More than half of Americans say they have experienced hate or harassment online, according to a new survey from the Anti-Defamation League, with a dramatic rise in incidents over the last 12 months, especially among teens.

        Why it matters: Experts say what happens online is causing significant real-world harm and also keeping large numbers of people from fully participating in an increasingly digital society.

      • Two prisoners continue hunger strike in Erbil prison

        Two individuals, imprisoned for their alleged involvement in an attack on Turkey’s consulate in Erbil, have been on a hunger strike for 44 days, demanding an end to "torture and ill-treatment."

      • France24China approves sweeping expansion of anti-espionage law

        A revised law dramatically expanding China's definition of espionage came into force on Saturday, giving Beijing more power than ever to punish what it deems threats to national security.

      • ScheerpostAs Movements Like Stop Cop City Gain Power, Police Treat Free Speech as a Crime

        This playbook has been used and reused, depending on the political winds of the time.

      • The NationIs “Bidenomics” Enough to Win Working Voters?

        This Wednesday, President Joe Biden showcased what’s sure to be a central theme in his reelection campaign with a speech in downtown Chicago hailing the signal achievements of his economic agenda and firmly repudiating the legacies of trickle-down economics. Speaking before a crowd of local and statewide political and business leaders at the city’s Old Post Office building, Biden announced his determination to ensure that the US economy grow “from the middle out and the bottom up rather than just top down”—an approach that marks “a fundamental break from the economic theory that’s failed America’s middle class for decades now.”

      • AxiosTrump plots Twitter return

        It may take a while, but former President Trump has entertained the idea of returning to his happy place on Twitter, where he's been absent for nearly 2 1/2 years, sources tell Axios.

        Why it matters: Trump still has nearly 87 million followers on Twitter, but hasn't posted there since he was banned after the Jan. 6 riot in 2021. Now a growing number of Trump allies — and some close to his campaign — are expecting him to tweet again.

      • EFFEFF Urges Supreme Court to Make Clear That Government Officials Have First Amendment Obligations When They Use Their Social Media Accounts for Governmental Purposes

        The resident sued, alleging violations of his First Amendment rights. A federal district court ruled against him, a decision that was upheld by the 6th Circuit, which said that no law required the manager to operate a Facebook page and no government employees maintained it.In the second case, O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier, two school district trustees continued to use the same Facebook and Twitter accounts they created to promote their campaigns after they were elected. They used the accounts to solicit public input about school board decisions and to communicate with parents about school safety.

      • TechdirtEU And Elon Battle Over The New Internet Regulations That Elon Himself Endorsed Last Year

        You don’t need to be some fortune teller to predict some of this stuff. A year ago, after he had announced his plans to buy Twitter (but before he tried to back out, and then was eventually forced to complete the purchase), we were horrified to see Elon Musk meet with the top EU’s Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, and give a full embrace of the EU’s Digital Services Act. As we noted at the time, there are some serious concerns about the free speech implications of the DSA, and someone who was actually committed to free speech would be calling those out, rather than claiming “it’s exactly aligned with my thinking.”

      • Hong Kong Free PressChina censors prominent journalist who raised concerns about economy

        A prominent Chinese financial journalist who has compared the country’s economic problems to the Great Depression has been banned from social media.

      • The AtlanticThe End of Optimism in China

        Young people should learn to “eat bitterness,” says Xi Jinping.

      • The NationMen Overboard

        “The destruction of men in the West is the great story of the last 40 years,” declared conservative author and podcaster Ben Shapiro, during a recent appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored. Shapiro was holding forth before a sympathetic audience, so he laid into the lead talking points of the cult of aggrieved maleness: resisting on pseudo-biological principles the notion that trans women are women, and decrying the sorry state of masculinity in mainstream discourse in the wake of the twin disasters of the sexual revolution and modern feminism. “The patriarchy was so clever that they somehow convinced women that sexual liberation was the most wonderful thing for women,” Shapiro said, “But as it turns out, it actually backfired and it ended up destroying men.”

      • The AtlanticHow to Lose a Century of Progress

        Americans have been too quick to condemn the field of public health, overlooking its massive achievements in the 1900s and, yes, during the recent pandemic, too.

      • EFFDigital Rights Updates with EFFector 35.8

        Learn more about the latest happenings by reading the full newsletter here, or you can listen to the audio version below!

        Listen on YouTube

        EFFector 35.8 | This Pride, Support LGBTQ+ Rights Both Online and offline

    • Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

    • Monopolies

      • Digital Music NewsGoogle Denies Ad Fraud Claims After Damning Research Report

        Google denies ad-fraud claims after a damning research report suggests it inflated video ad views, potentially misleading advertisers.

      • FTC vs Microsoft judge’s son works for the company, watchdog seeks recusal

        The son of the judge presiding over the FTC vs Microsoft case works at Microsoft, posing a conflict of interest, according to an industry watchdog group.

        The Revolving Door Project, part of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, claims the employment of U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley’s son sets up a “clear risk of retaliation” from the company should Corley rule against it in the case. Corley oversaw arguments this week and is set to determine whether to grant the FTC’s request to pause Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

        [...]

        The watchdog sent a letter to Corley on Thursday, obtained by The Washington Post, that says Corley’s son’s employment may violate multiple rules laid out in the Code of Conduct U.S. judges follow. That includes a rule that judges should “avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities.” The Revolving Door Project warns that the conflict risks influencing the judge’s objectivity and could potentially reduce public trust in courts.

  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal/Opinions

      • The Rainy Season

        The weather was just ... gross, this morning. I woke up to it being cloudy and threating rain. The news last night warned of heavy rain and thunder, but when I left home in the AM it wasn't really coming down. In my infinite wisdom I only took a small umbrella, and when I got out of the subway at my destination the rain had really started.

      • malahide swimming

        my work has been taking me to near Dublin on and off over the last few months. i have managed to get some swims in between shifts or on days off. i am trying to get back to more regular running and swimming.

        on previous trips i swam at Portmarnock but this trip i went only a very little further north to Malahide; or rather High Rock. i prefer changing on rocks or pebbles.

      • nb

        The 'nb' mention got me interested, and I immediately installed it. I've been looking for an easy note-taking solution, and this looks like a pretty good one!

        Apparently, it is 25K lines of bash... As long as it's not Python I am in! (The only things that break on Linux are written in Python, if you haven't noticed).

      • Mineral Water Saturday

        Been drinking a lot of mineral water today. By god it's so hot out. I think they should turn the Sun off for just a couple of days. We could really use a break from it. If I could sleep until Fall I would be very pleased

      • Got a new job

        Got a new job as a baker in a bakery I am under an apprenticeship for 5 years The pay is good but the work is hard Working till 5am every night 10+ hours

    • Politics and World Events

      • re: The Supreme Court and other fools

        I despise Capitalism and most other -isms (political systems that prefer A over B). But I believe that people are generally good, or if they are not, it is still wrong to opress them using violence or threats thereof.

    • Technology and Free Software

      • Making Games

        Today, one of my Mastodon mutuals boosted a blog post by software developer Evan Todd. It's a long and thoughtful piece about what we think we want, and the ways in which we deceive ourselves. For Todd, what he thought he wanted was a career in indie game development, and in a very particular, 2010s sort of way. This was after the point where people like Jonathan Blow, Ed McMillen, and others were able to get famous, quickly, by releasing small-studio games in an environment where there was (relatively) little competition. The years after "Indie Game: the Movie", after certain game developers became, in certain circles, actual celebrities, and after a whole industry spun up around The Things You Were Supposed To Do (YouTube trailer, Early Access, twitch, social media, funding via Kickstarter). I know this because I was, in a very small way, adjacent to this sort of scene. I'm a game developer in maybe the loosest sense of the term. I don't do it for a living. I never could. But I've written a little terminal-based puzzle game in C++ - that took me a couple of weeks - and I've written, and continue to write, a huge, sprawling, frustratingly incomplete game on my own time.


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



Recent Techrights' Posts

Techrights' Statement on Code of Censorship (CoC) and Kent Overstreet: This Was the Real Purpose of Censorship Agreements All Along
Bombing people is OK (if you sponsor the key organisations), opposing bombings is not (a CoC in a nutshell)
 
Patents Against Energy Sources That Reduce Pollution
this EV space (not just charging) is a patent mine field and it has long been that way
DARPA’s Information Innovation Office, Howard Shrobe, Values Compartmentalisation But Loses the Opportunity to Promote GNU/Linux and BSDs
All in all, he misses an opportunity
Wayland is an Alternative to X
the alternative to X (as in Twitter) isn't social control media but something like IRC
BetaNews, Desperate for Clicks, is Pushing Donald Trump Spam Created by LLMs (Slop)
Big clap to Brian Fagioli for stuffing a "tech" site with Trump spam (not the first time he uses LLMs to do this)
[Meme] Social Control Media Bliss
"My tree is bigger than yours"
Links 24/11/2024: More IMF Bailouts and Net Client Freedom
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/11/2024: Being a Student and Digital Downsizing
Links for the day
[Meme] The Most Liberal Company
"Insurrection? What insurrection?"
apple.com Traffic Down Over 7%, Says One Spyware Firm; Apple's Liabilities Increased Over 6% to $308,030,000,000
Apple is also about 120 billion dollars in debt
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, November 23, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, November 23, 2024
[Meme] GAFAMfox
Mozilla Firefox in a state of extreme distress
Google Can Kill Mozilla Any Time It Wants
That gives Google far too much power over its rival... There are already many sites that refuse to work with Firefox or explicitly say Firefox isn't supported
Free (as in Freedom) Software Helps Tackle the Software Liability Issue, It Lets Users Exercise Greater Control Over Programs
Microsofters have been trying to ban or exclude Free software
In the US, Patent Laws Are Up for Sale
This problem is a lot bigger than just patents
ESET Finds Rootkits, Does Not Explain How They Get Installed, Media Says It Means "Previously Unknown Linux Backdoors" (Useful Distraction From CALEA and CALEA2)
FUD watch
Techdirt Loses Its Objectivity in Pursuit of Money
The more concerning aspects are coverage of GAFAM and Microsoft in particular
Links 23/11/2024: Press Sold to Vultures, New LLM Blunders
Links for the day
Links 23/11/2024: "Relationship with Oneself" and Yretek.com is Back
Links for the day
Links 23/11/2024: "Real World" Cracked and UK Online Safety Act is Law
Links for the day
Links 23/11/2024: Celebrating Proprietary Bluesky (False Choice, Same Issues) and Software Patents Squashed
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, November 22, 2024
IRC logs for Friday, November 22, 2024
Gemini Links 23/11/2024: 150 Day Streak in Duolingo and ICBMs
Links for the day
Links 22/11/2024: Dynamic Pricing Practice and Monopoly Abuses
Links for the day
Topics We Lacked Time to Cover
Due to a Microsoft event (an annual malware fest for lobbying and marketing purposes) there was also a lot of Microsoft propaganda
Microsofters Try to Defund the Free Software Foundation (by Attacking Its Founder This Week) and They Tell People to Instead Give Money to Microsoft Front Groups
Microsoft people try to outspend their critics and harass them
[Meme] EPO for the Kids' Future (or Lack of It)
Patents can last two decades and grow with (or catch up with) the kids
EPO Education: Workers Resort to Legal Actions (Many Cases) Against the Administration
At the moment the casualties of EPO corruption include the EPO's own staff
Gemini Links 22/11/2024: ChromeOS, Search Engines, Regular Expressions
Links for the day
This Month is the 11th Month of This Year With Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (So Far It's Happening Every Month This Year, More Announced Hours Ago)
Now they even admit it
Links 22/11/2024: Software Patents Squashed, Russia Starts Using ICBMs
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, November 21, 2024
IRC logs for Thursday, November 21, 2024