Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 22/07/2023: Mesa 23.1.4 and More Red Hat Rumours About Layoffs



  • GNU/Linux

    • HackadayAsk Hackaday: What’s Linux Anyway?
      Any time we mention Linux, it is a fair bet we will get a few comments from people unhappy that we didn’t refer to it as GNU/Linux or with some other appellation. To be fair, they aren’t wrong. Linux is a kernel. Much of what we think of as a Linux desktop OS is really from other sources, including, but not limited to, GNU. We thought about this after reading a report from [The Register] that Linux has nearly half of the desktop OS Linux market. Wait, what?

      If you are like us, you probably think that’s a typo. It isn’t. But the more you think about it, the less sense it makes. You know that half of the world’s desktops don’t run Linux. But maybe they mean Unix? Nope. So how can Linux have almost half of the Linux market? That’s like saying nearly half of Hackaday readers read Hackaday, right?

      Here’s the thing. The data came from statistics aggregator Statcounter. They report that desktop Linux use is about 3% of all desktop operating systems, which sounds about right. But an additional 4% are using ChromeOS, and ChromeOS is using Linux — in fact, based on Gentoo Linux and, before that, Ubuntu.

    • Server

    • Kernel Space

      • IT Pro TodayAn In-Depth Overview of the Linux File System Hierarchy

        The Linux File System Hierarchy Structure is governed by the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, a set of guidelines that determines the structure and contents of directories in Unix-type operating systems, including Linux. These standards are maintained by the Linux Foundation.

        The File System Hierarchy starts at the root directory of the file system, from which all other directories and their contents branch out. The file system logically organizes files and folders, with each directory serving a specific purpose. I will explain the significance of various directories below.

      • Open Source For ULinux Kernel 6.3 Reaches End of Life, Users Urged to Upgrade to Linux 6.4

        The Linux community faces a critical moment as Linux Kernel 6.3 reaches its end of life and a significant vulnerability is discovered. With the prompt action of the Linux kernel team, patches have been developed and backported, ensuring the security of affected systems. It is imperative that users heed the call to upgrade to Linux 6.4 to safeguard their systems from potential attacks.

        The announcement comes amidst the discovery of a critical vulnerability, dubbed StackRot (CVE-2023-3269), that affects Linux kernel versions 6.1 through 6.4. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability to escalate privileges on compromised systems.

    • Graphics Stack

      • Free Desktopmesa 23.1.4
        Hello everyone,
        
        

        The bugfix release 23.1.4 is now available.

        If you find any issues, please report them here: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/mesa/mesa/-/issues/new

        Sorry about the 2-and-a-bit weeks of delay, there were regressions and I didn't have enough time to investigate them. For the release dates, I'll consider the one 2 weeks ago as skipped, and the next bugfix release is due in just under two weeks, on August 2nd.

        Cheers, Eric
    • Benchmarks

    • Applications

      • Linux Links7 Best Free and Open Source Terminal-Based Weather Tools

        Most people think of weather in terms of temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, brightness, visibility, wind, and atmospheric pressure, as in high and low pressure. In most places, weather changes from minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour, day-to-day, and season-to-season.

        This article focuses on terminal-based weather tools for Linux. We only feature free and open source software here. Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • TecAdminBash LOCAL and GLOBAL Variables

        In programming languages, variables are named containers that store values. They are the backbone of any program, allowing us to create dynamic scripts. In Bash scripting, we have two main types of variables – Global and Local.

      • TecAdminAn Introduction to Bash Variables

        In our previous article, we discussed the differences between local and global Bash variables (you can read it here). Building upon that understanding, today, we will dive deeper into the world of Bash scripting, focusing on Bash variables.

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

        • Nate GrahamThis week in KDE: Plasma 6 features

          We’re hot on the heels of Akademy 2023, which proved to be a fertile space for collaboration. As a result, in addition to the background work being done to stabilize Plasma 6, a bunch of new features landed too!

          Plasma now plays a sound from the active sound theme (more on that in a bit) when a USB device is plugged in or unplugged. And this is configurable, of course!

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • Web Browsers/Web Servers

      • Mozilla

        • Web Pro NewsThunderbird Leaves Linux Users Waiting for Much-Hyped Version 115 [Ed: Mozilla loves "Open Source" so much that it is prioritising proprietary platforms with back doors and default browsers that are not Firefox]

          Interestingly, despite being available for Windows and macOS, the new version of Thunderbird is still MIA for most Linux users. To be clear, I’m not talking about Linux distro repositories not being updated. Rather, I’m talking about the official Flatpak version.

          [...]

          In many cases, an app’s developer does not package their software for each an every Linux distro. Instead, the distro maintainers will often package the various apps and make them available in the repos. As a result, depending on a distro’s philosophy — fast-rolling or slow and stable — new versions of software may appear almost immediately or months later. The latter is especially true for distros that emphasize stability and reliability, such as Debian and Ubuntu. Maintainers of those types of distros tend to only patch in security and bug fixes in between major releases of their distro rather than releasing major feature updates. This can help reduce issues with apps installing newer components that may break dependencies with other apps that still rely on older versions of those components.

          This is the issue that Flatpak is trying to solve. Rather than relying on, and tampering with, core system libraries, these formats bundle their own dependencies in a self-contained package. As a result, one of these apps can be installed on any distro that supports Flatpak, regardless of whether the distro is a fast-moving rolling release or a slower-moving stable one. Since all the dependencies are self-contained within the Flatpak, a user can run the latest, greatest version without fear of it conflicting with anything on their system.

        • The Servo Blog: Servo and the Web Platform Tests

          With over 52000 tests and nearly two million subtests, the Web Platform Tests are one of the most important parts of the web’s interoperability and compatibility story. Servo has long used the WPT to catch regressions and flakiness, but the suite has also played a role in our layout engine migration and guiding our way towards CSS2 conformance.

    • SaaS/Back End/Databases

      • PostgreSQLCredcheck version 2.1 released

        Release v2.1 adds a two new features and fix issues reported by users since last release.

      • PostgreSQLPgBouncer 1.20.0 released

        PgBouncer 1.20.0 has been released. This release deprecates the online restart feature using the -R flag, instead so_reuseport should be used for online restarts. It also introduces better support for tracking PostgreSQL settings using the new track_extra_parameters setting, which can be used to track search_path in combination with Citus 12.0+. It also adds some other features such as connecting using TLS by default, forwarding error codes in the authentication phase and support for the options startup parameter. And finally it also fixes a few minor bugs.

        See https://www.pgbouncer.org/2023/07/pgbouncer-1-20-0 for more information, the detailed changelog, and download links.

      • PostgreSQLMongoDB, MySQL, Hadoop (HDFS) Foreign Data Wrappers updated to support PostgreSQL 16

        EDB is pleased to announce new releases of MongoDB, MySQL, and Hadoop (HDFS) Foreign Data Wrappers to support the upcoming PostgreSQL 16 release. These Foreign Data Wrappers allow Postgres to connect to Hadoop, MongoDB, and MySQL servers enabling you to view, join, and manage remote data all from Postgres.

    • Programming/Development

  • Leftovers

    • Craig MurrayOnly Human

      I apologise for the break in articles. There is only one of me and I have been taking a little time to recharge my batteries and give my wonderful family some of the attention they deserve. I shall be back to the mill in another week.

    • Ruben SchadeWear patterns in coffee shops

      It may shock some of you to know that I spend altogether too much time and money in coffee shops. They’re my favourite places in the world to write, code, and think. The vast majority of the words you’ve read here over the years come from one of these lovely places.

      One of the older establishments I frequent in my local suburb has squishy bench seats along the walls, and faux wooden tables. The leather and laminate surfaces have started to degrade slightly, but on some surfaces more than others.

      If we assume this uneven wear is the result of differences in use, we can draw some interesting data from it.

      The most degraded chair and table combo by far is at the back. It’s next to one of the large windows, is relatively secluded, and only has one other table next to it instead of two or three. It happens to be my favourite spot, and based on this pattern, its everyone else’s as well.

  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal/Opinions

      • 🔤SpellBinding: GILTOSM Wordo: AURAL
      • Summer reading part 1

        The box fan rumbles. It exhausts hot air out the window over the driveway, draws cooler air from the shady backyard. Low tones of grandpa's voice from first daughter's room, a 35-year-old cassette tape reading her fairy stories and nursery rhymes he once read me: Snow White and Rose Red, Jack and the Beanstalk. The timbre of his voice slowly changes. Tape degrades at naptime and bedtime. One day the stories will be unintelligible.

        Yesterday we biked to the library for toddler time and books, Bugz' house for a book, creek on the way home. Daughter slipped on slick wet slate, fell--- splash!, laughed, slipped carefully to low water- fall wet and muddy. To minnows holding formation in a dapple of sun she said "Hi fishes I love you!" I started Adolph Reed's new book The South.

        Books for summer reading in this diary entry are in three categories: true adventures, 1930s anarchist/ communist fiction, challenges to liberal dogma from the Left.

      • Alex Schroeder’s Diary — Episode 49

        Elves are immortal, metrosexual, aloof know-it-alls. They know every better, they can do everything better, and they're not afraid to tell you.

    • Politics and World Events

      • The discussion that won't die

        First off, I'm going to apologize to Geminispace at large for accidentally setting off this entire firestorm in the first place. I for one much preferred when we were talking mostly about geek culture and gemini itself.

        That said, since my original post about my own feelings regarding the Supreme court there seems to be a neverending discussion on politics, and I'm going to weigh in again with a couple of things that I think need said.


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



Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM May be Sued for Mass Layoffs Via PIPs
Some whole threads (with all the long comments in them) recently got nuked by thelayoff.com
GNU/Linux is a Platform for Work (Usage Surges in Daytime)
GNU/Linux 15% in daytime
What I Learned in London
some ministers still help us in our fight for press freedom in the UK
 
A Vortex of Beacons (or "Bluetooth Everywhere" Vision)
If someone (or someones) calls you paranoid for taking about "beacon"-like functionality, there will be no lack of authoritative citations (e.g. Web links) they can be provided to prove them wrong
Falkland Islands: GNU/Linux Elevated to 6%
GNU/Linux usage seems to have increased a lot there
Links 16/08/2026: Reading Outside, Going Offline More, and Art of Computer Programming
Links for the day
The Question of Patience
Is there a lesson here somewhere?
Links 16/08/2026: Ceuta Reports Social Control Media Used as a Weapon
Links for the day
Links 16/08/2026: Europe in Crisis of Droughts While Energy- and Water-Consuming, Pollution-Emitting Chatbots Are Spread by GAFAM (US) to Keep a Ponzi Scheme Going
Links for the day
We Need Rain, Not Chatbots
There's no "anti-AI" (it's not even AI), there's opposition to fraud, to plagiarism, and to companies that profit more when there's global warning (caused in part by their business activities)
SLAPP Censorship - Part 151 Out of 200: Dealing With Sleazy People and Companies That Steal (While Employing These Sleazy People)
we offer a quick summary and we're reflecting
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, August 15, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, August 15, 2026
Gemini Links 16/08/2026: Sterrenkijker Releases, Solar Gemini Server
Links for the day
At IBM, Workers 'Expire' Early ("Next Step" is 'Voluntary' Layoffs Decades Before Retirement Age)
It seems like the "new normal" is layoffs not existing or barely existing because companies hide them
EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part XVI - The German State Does Not Enforce the Law Against European Patent Office Officials
It's not acceptable that Europe's second-largest institution can get away with crime time and time again
Germany's National Broadcaster (DW English) to Air Julian Assange Film This Coming Week
It seems rather sad that we live in a world where rich thugs can get away with so many horrible things
WordPress is Bloatware and Bloated Software Guarantees Security Incidents
This site turns 20 in about 11 or 12 weeks from now and it was never cracked, not even when it ran WordPress
Too Many Chiefs (or Chefs) at IBM, They Don't Know How to Run a Company (With a 100+ Year or Century-Old Brand Recognition Advantage)
It seems like a consensus opinion; some line managers or middle managers are too selfish or self-deceiving
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on Gym Equipment Can Endanger Several Parties
Joy oh joy! Give us more "smart" things
Microsoft Silent Layoffs This Month (PIPs and More "Buyouts", Driving Out the Workforce), According to Insiders
They know it's happening because they see it and fellow workers talk about it, even if the media keeps mum
Clacton's Election Was a 'Show Election'
At least some people squeezed out some "free press" out of this charade [...] That the media kept boosting parodies as the alternative/s to the bigot is a topic we wrote about a great deal over the past 3 weeks
Omarchy is Already Dying
Same as the life cycle of slopfarms
Windows is Burning
Windows is the "burning platform" of the year
Gemini Links 15/08/2026: Stress, Jetlag, and GPU Hype (Waste of Energy for Amusement, Fake 'Currencies', and Now for Mass Plagiarism)
Links for the day
Links 15/08/2026: XBox Rotting Further, "France’s Top Court Strikes Down Ban on Social Media for Children"
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 150 Out of 200: Always Independently Verify What People Claim to Be (or Find Yourself in a Jason Arday-Type Moment/Dilemma)
I'm not a cardiologist and Garrett was never a security expert
Links 15/08/2026: "There Is No A.I." (Slop Plagiarism Isn't Intelligence) and Its "Impact on the Environment Is Absolutely Horrifying"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/08/2026: Gratitudes, "Microflier" Drones, and Literate Programming
Links for the day
IBM's PIPs and RAs (Layoffs) Going on, Interns as 'Scabs'
It seems like a consensus (also in Reddit, we took a quick look)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 14, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, August 14, 2026
Gemini Links 14/08/2026: Slower Internet, Logging Off Made Easy, and Human Code
Links for the day
Links 14/08/2026: "Mystery of Dark Oxygen", People Despise Slop, and Backlash Grows Against Fake Currencies (Energy-Wasting Scam Like Slop)
Links for the day
Free Publicity
They say there's no such thing as "bad press" or that every publicity is good publicity, sometimes free publicity
Farage's fears, media hijacked by-election, what really happened in Clacton
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
It's Friday. A Ton of People Departing From IBM and Red Hat.
A mere subset of people who announce this in public at Microsoft's LinkedIn
GNU/Linux and ChromeOS Beyond 11%
Combined with ChromeOS, it's already past and beyond 11%
Chatbots/LLMs Are the Next "Clown Computing", Pure Hype, a Serious Mistake
Programs that scan text and emit something similar (but full of errors)
Links 14/08/2026: Slop 'Music' Causing Problems, Slop Data Centre Contractor Unpaid (Massive Debt), and The Cyber Show Says We're "Colonised By Wankers"
Links for the day
Fake Growth of Social Control Media is Misleading
nowadays people look for alternatives - ones not controlled by MElon, CPC, and Kapo-Berg
statCounter: Windows Down to All-Time Low of 25%, Android Leads the Pack, GNU/Linux About to Leapfrog Apple, Overtaking MacOS
The situation was very different in past years
Microsoft's Mass Layoffs (Including 'Voluntary' Secret Layoffs) Take Their Toll on Seattle
How much longer can they hide their crises?
Planet Fedora ("Fedora People") is Just IBM Staff, Former IBM Staff, and LLM Slop
this is what Fedora boils down to now
Explanation of What Will Happen to Red Hat (and Other Acquired Companies) After August
In short, a lot will be scuttled; history shows it happens over and over again
SLAPP Censorship - Part 149 Out of 200: It Took a Long Time to Show What Jason Arday (at Cambridge) and Harvey Weinstein (in Hollywood) Really Were
Really bad when society endures abuse because the abusers silence their exposers
Gemini Links 14/08/2026: 32-bit RISC-V and BlackBerry
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 13, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, August 13, 2026