Bonum Certa Men Certa

Gemini Links 12/07/2023: IM Nostalgia and Goodbye Manjaro, Hello Debian



  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal/Opinions

      • The sound of music

        The day got off to somewhat of a slow start, but we eventually wound up visiting the municipal band so my wife could rehearse with them for a hometown (her hometown) music event in a couple days. Got some good recordings so she can continue to rehearse her part. It was fun to exercise the good 'ole "Zoom H4" device to accomplish the recording. Can't say enough about it. Can't remember how long I've had it, prolly at least half a decade. But it's simplified a lot of sound-related things for us over the years. It's a rare tech winner in my book.

      • 🔤SpellBinding: ABDILZR Wordo: MISSY
      • A really hot Sunday

        It was really, REALLY hot on Sunday. Looking back at the weather report, it said the RealFeel was 39c, which is 102f. Also the UV Index was 11: Extreme. That is probably why I got burned - again - despite putting on sunblock, wearing protection and so on.

      • Depressing Summer

        The RealFeel today after lunch, was 42c / 107f. The news said 20 of the 47 prefectures of Japan raised Heat Stroke warnings. Western Japan was battered by heavy rains which unfortunately took lives. Here in the East it's very hot and very humid. We are baking here in Tokyo.

        It's turning into a depressing Summer. A/C all day and all night, the drone of cicadas all the time, a loss of appetite.

    • Politics and World Events

      • Annotation and Commentary on Marx’s Gothakritik

        “Free State — what is this?

        It is by no means the aim of the workers [..] to set the State free. [..] [T]oday [..] the forms of State are more free or less free to the extent that they restrict the ‘freedom of the State’.

        The German Workers’ party — at least if it adopts the program — shows that its socialist ideas are not even skin-deep; in that, instead of treating existing society [..] as the **basis** of the existing State (or of the future State in the case of future society), it treats the State rather as an independent entity that possesses its own intellectual, ethical, and libertarian bases.

      • Quick peek at The News

        - Opinion: Biden made the right call on cluster munitions for Ukraine - CNN


        But CNN, you say Biden made the right call regardless the call, so what's your assessment worth? Except to True Believers, of course....

        Speaking of which:
        - Opinion | Why liberals protesting cluster munitions for Ukraine are wrong - The Washington Post


        What? Liberals not agreeing on ways that it's okay to kill others? Whodathunk?!!!

      • Beyond Free Banking

        In my previous article “In Lieu of Free Banking,” I outline the mutualist and individualist anarchist arguments for free and mutual banking, its potential ability to empower labor, and, briefly, some immediate proxies available via credit unions and alternative currencies. But I also point to Laurance Labadie’s assessment of Benjamin Tucker’s (and later his own) belief that wealth and property “concentrations had reached such a pass that even if it could be inaugurated, free banking alone would not be sufficient to break the monopolistic power of capital.” I ultimately conclude then that…

    • Technology and Free Software

      • Tribal Voice PowWow

        Did anyone here use PowWow back in the late 90s?

      • Mirabilis ICQ

        Did anyone here use ICQ back in the 90s? I was shocked to learn my UIN actually still works today 🤯

      • Old Computer Challenge 2023 - Day Two

        Recently I switched to Honk, a ActivityPub server written in Go. It is mostly without Javascript.

        This means you can use any browser to view the time line.

        Honk doesn't support external clients like toot.

      • Goodbye Manjaro, Hello Debian

        I have been running Linux on my personal computers for some time now, probably between 10-12 years. I started using Linux after I worked with it as a Post-Grad, it was love at first site, how can you not love the SPEED?!

        I first tried Scientific Linux, then some weird Ubuntu/Debian derivates like Elementary, Xubuntu, Lubuntu, Voyager linux etc; I had no idea what I was doing and what I was looking for. After a few breaking of install by adding dodgy PPAs I discovered Manjaro XFCE; it was amazing and everything I was looking for! I went full Manjaro, even printed those little stickers to stick on my laptop after I removed the Windows ones. After a few years on Manjaro I got that itch again and went down other Linux rabbit holes (ArchLabs Ricing etc). One of which was the systemd-free one, but that for another time.


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



Recent Techrights' Posts

European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Czech Mate: EPO Kingmaker or Merely a Pawn in the Game?
recent "missions" of the EPO President
SLAPP Censorship - Part 131 Out of 200: A Big Win for the Media in the United Kingdom (UK) Today
In a democratic society the Right to Know, which is closely connected to freedom of the press (or what one might label "blogging" or "blag"), comes above all else, except where there are lives being put at risk
IBM's Fedora Plans to Integrate Slop Into "Fedora Workstation as a Default Feature."
IBM does not care whether the community wants this or not
The Media Talks a Lot About XBox Layoffs, a Closer Look at the Data Shows Microsoft 'Bloodbath'
'Bloodbath' is the term insiders use
 
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 07, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 07, 2026
Links 07/07/2026: Microsoft Cuts Doom "id Software" and Turkey Detains Journalists
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/07/2026: Old Computer Challenge (OCC) and Hardware Tests
Links for the day
A Break From the Routine
What matters is what whistleblowers keep feeding information to us
SLAPP Censorship - Part 132 Out of 200: When You Cannot Pay a Million Pounds (1,335,520.00 United States Dollar) to Lawyers But Have a Strong Community
Techrights compensates for its fiscal poverty with a wealth of community spirit
Fame is Not the Goal
"Fame" kills
Mental Health in Free Software Communities
clearly there is a subject that merits debate and it ought not be a taboo anymore
The Era of Sponsored Spam
There is no "era of AI", there is era of BRIBES to PRETEND there is an "era of AI"
Gemini Links 07/07/2026: Cleaning, Old Computer, and More
Links for the day
Links 07/07/2026: Le Monde Combats LLM Slop Plagiarism, "ACLU Launches Largest Ever Midterm Electoral Program"
Links for the day
Extremism in the Free Software World is Mostly a Myth
Only the firm belief that justice applies to all will produce a just society
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 06, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, July 06, 2026
Links 07/07/2026: Kernelized Secure Operating System (KSOS) and "Exploiting Thoughtcrime in LLMs"
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 130 Out of 200: Jealousy, Envy, Hubris
This site is primarily about Free software
Gemini Links 06/07/2026: Still Mostly Dry, GoToSocial, and More
Links for the day
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Effective Dispute Resolution… But Not For EPO Staff
Slovenia fielded one of the few Administrative Council delegations which managed to maintain its own independent line against the tyrannical EPOnian "Sun King"
Community Sites Need Genuine Collaboration and True Autonomy
People who want to communicate, federate and organise for effective change need to evolve
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Covers Quibble, Free Software for Secure Communications, in the FSF Summer Bulletin
The Georgia Tech folks are bringing Free software education and contributions to one of the better known Computer Science hubs in the US
Microsoft Layoffs Include Windows, Bing, Slop (CoPilot etc.) and There Will More More Rounds (or Waves) to Come
"43% of Xbox laid off"
Obscene Contradiction in Microsoft's Layoffs Tally ("Official" Numbers Do Not Add Up)
Notice how they treat "LinkedIn" as separate
Preserving Comments About the Real IBM Before They Get Deleted
IBM in the 1980s is not what it is right now
Cybershow on "Escaping Prisons For Your Mind"
"THE CYBER SHOW: Stealing technofascism's boots, and stomping on its own face with them."
Links 06/07/2026: At Least 20% Staff Reduction in XBox (Microsoft), Taiwan Sees Uptick in Chinese Aggression/Provocation, Senator Rodante Marcoleta Arrested
Links for the day
Confirmed: Microsoft Layoffs Come in Two Waves, Just Like Last Summer
To us, what stands out is the admission from Microsoft that there are two (or more) waves
In Praise of the UK's Stance on Free Speech (but Some Reservations)
At the moment there is a healthy discussion going on with the objective of disrupting attacks on British press
Exposing Corruption at the European Patent Office (EPO), a Call for More Whistleblowers
We predict that, provided enough whistleblowers speak out, António "the unready" won't even finish his current term
Leaving Our Pets for Several Days
This week our pets will be worried that "mommy and daddy" are away
Dating Trees and Dating 'Apps'
several high-profile stories in the news about scandals in "dating apps"
DW Documentary About Julian Assange Turns 2
It was released just days after Assange had turned 53 and about two weeks after he had left the UK
Independent Media is the Only Form of Legitimate Media
Independent media is, indeed, what we need to demand more of
The Story of the European Patent Office (EPO) Wagging the Dog (EU)
The aim of the series is to properly inform the world - not just Europeans - how Europe's second-largest institution is run [...] How did a corporate hub of monopolies become so detached from the Rule of Law?
GNU/Linux Up to New High in Libya, Windows Down to All-Time Low
GNU/Linux touches 5% there, based on statCounter
Links 06/07/2026: Artists Reject Slop (or Even de Facto Bribes to Market/Endorse Slop)
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 129 Out of 200: Iranian Tactics
Hunger for revenge compels people to do overzealous, irrational things
Quiet Week
Many in the US are still enjoying an extended weekend
The Media Needs to Speak of Slop as a Climate Issue Like It Did With Bitcoin
But the slop industry keeps paying the media to play along with the hype
IBM's Fall
IBM's fate is closely connected to that of the Free software movement because of the salaries
Social Dialogue at the European Patent Office (EPO) is Dead, the Strikes and Work Stoppage-Like Actions Carry on
What next for the EPO?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 05, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, July 05, 2026
Links 05/07/2026: Shadows of the Upper Peninsula and 2026 Old Computer Challenge
Links for the day