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Links 26/07/2023: More on This Week's Microsoft Layoffs, WordPress 6.3 Almost Here



  • GNU/Linux

    • Audiocasts/Shows

    • Kernel Space

      • PCLOS OfficialKernel updates are available for PCLinuxOS

        stable: 6.4.6 2023-07-24stable: 6.3.13 [EOL] 2023-07-11longterm: 6.1.41 2023-07-24longterm: 5.15.122 2023-07-24longterm: 5.10.187 2023-07-24longterm: 5.4.250 2023-07-24

      • OMG UbuntuUbuntu 23.10 Will Use Linux 6.5 Kernel

        Planning to upgrade or install Ubuntu 23.10 when it’s released in the autumn? If so, you can look forward to an experience powered by the Linux 6.5 kernel. While the Linux 6.5 kernel is yet to be released yet, the stars (or rather the release calendars) have aligned to make its inclusion in the “Mantic Minotaur” a dead-cert. Current daily builds of Ubuntu 23.10 include the Linux 6.3 kernel.

    • Graphics Stack

    • Applications

      • MedevelInkscape: free open-source vector design software for macOS, Linux, and Windows (Free software)

        Inkscape is a Free and open source vector graphics editor for GNU/Linux, Windows and macOS.

      • Stéphane Cerveau: Discover GStreamer full static mode
        How to embed statically your own tailored version of GStreamer in your application

        Since the gstreamer-full effort, it was possible to create a shared library which will embed the GStreamer framework in addition to its set of plugins.

        Within this effort, it was also possible to register the selected plugins/features automatically by calling the gst_init method in your application linking with gstreamer-full.

        This method was offering a gstreamer-full package with library, headers and pc files but it was not possible to embed GStreamer statically in your application and use it transparently.

      • Nirbheek Chauhan: What is WebRTC? Why does it need ‘Signalling’?

        If you’re new to WebRTC, you must’ve heard that it’s a way to do video calls in your browser without needing to install an app. It’s pretty great!

        However, it uses a bunch of really arcane terminology because it builds upon older technologies such as RTP, RTCP, SDP, ICE, STUN, etc. To understand what WebRTC Signalling is, you must first understand these foundational technologies.

        Readers who are well-versed in this subject might find some of the explanations annoyingly simplistic to read. They will also notice that I am omitting a lot of of detail, leading to potentially misleading statements.

        I apologize in advance to these people. I am merely trying to avoid turning this post into a book. If you find a sub-heading too simplistic, please feel free to skip it. :-)

      • MedevelHandBreak: Multimedia video converter (Free software)

        HandBeak is a video converter and transcode engine for macOS, Windows and Linux. It's free and open source. I have used it several times for my videos it's really easy to use has built-in preset library, supports multiple input sources and dozens of formats and quality options.

        macOS (Inel,

      • MedevelKoodo Reader: open-source ebook reader (Free app)

        Koodo Reader is a modern ebook manager and reader with sync and backup capacities for Windows, macOS, Linux and Web

      • MedevelKLiK: Open-source Social Network System for Communities and Teams

        Klik is a PHP-based Information Pool System, also known as a social media website. It includes a complete login/registration system, user profile system, chat room, forum system, and blog/polls/event management system.

      • MedevelDeskreen Turns any Device With a Web Browser into a Secondary Screen

        Deskreen turns any device with a web browser into a secondary screen for your computer.

      • Medevelmpv: a free, open source, and cross-platform media player (Free software)

        mpv is a free (as in freedom) media player for the command line. It supports a wide variety of media file formats, audio and video codecs, and subtitle types.

      • MedevelMiKTeX: Cross-platform LaTeX editor (Free app)

        MikeTeX is a cross-platform LaTeX/ TeX editor which a built-in package manager that allow the user to extend the core functionalities by downloading online packages.

        MiKTeX is a modern TeX distribution for Windows, Linux and macOS.

      • MedevelLÖVE: framework you can use to make 2D games in Lua (Free app)

        LÖVE is an awesome framework you can use to make 2D games in Lua. It's free, open-source, and works on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Android and iOS.

      • MedevelLynis: System Auditing Software (Free software)

        Lynis is a battle-tested security tool for systems running Linux, macOS, or Unix-based operating system. It performs an extensive health scan of your systems to support system hardening and compliance testing. The project is open source software with the GPL license and available since 2007.

      • Linux LinksExcellent Utilities: pastel – generate, analyze, convert and manipulate colors

        pastel is a command-line tool to generate, analyze, convert and manipulate colors. This tool supports a variety of color formats and color spaces.

      • MedevelGIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program): Open-source free Photo Editor and Photoshop Alternative (Free software)

        GIMP is a free and open-source raster graphics editor used for image manipulation and image editing, free-form drawing, transcoding between different image file formats, and more specialized tasks. It is not designed to be used for drawing, though some artists and creators have used it in this way.

      • MedevelLibreOffice: an open-source Office Suite (Free program)

        LibreOffice is an open-source office suite alternative to commercial office suites such as Microsoft Office, Apple Office apps, and OnlyOffice.

        It is the successor to OpenOffice.org suite, the primary office suite for many Linux distros.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • Install Neovim on Ubuntu

        This article will cover how to install the latest builds of Neovim on Ubuntu. We will be using the unstable PPA repository since it gets updated more often, this means we get new features and bug fixes faster.

      • Red HatManage Kafka clusters with AKHQ and AMQ streams

        A Graphical User Interface, or GUI, is highly important for Apache Kafka administrators and developers. Having the ability to visualize and interact with topics or make changes quickly can save a significant amount of time. While Red Hat's AMQ streams Operator is often considered a lightweight GUI, more advanced and detailed information can only be obtained using command-line tools such as kafka-consumer-groups.sh, kafka-acls.sh, etc.

      • TecAdminAssignment Operators in Bash

        In the Bash shell, assignment operators are used to assign values to variables. They are essential tools in scripting and programming, providing a method to store and manipulate data. This article will take you through the fundamental assignment operators in Bash, along with examples of their usage.

      • Enrico Zini: Mysterious DNS issues

        Uhm, salsa is not resolving:

        $ git fetch
        ssh: Could not resolve hostname salsa.debian.org: Name or service not known
        fatal: Could not read from remote repository.
        $ ping salsa.debian.org
        ping: salsa.debian.org: Name or service not known
        

        But... it is?

      • Carl SchwanMastodon and Matrix link in your AppStream file

        Quick reminder, that you can include a Mastodon or Matrix link to your AppStream file and that the link will then be displayed in your application page at apps.kde.org.

      • ID RootHow To Install Clang on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

        In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Clang on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. Clang is a cutting-edge C, C++, and Objective-C compiler that offers fast performance, robust diagnostics, and extensive support for modern language features.

      • How to Fix ‘Too Many Open Files’ Error in Nginx

        The “Too many open files” error in Nginx typically occurs when the system has reached its limit for the maximum number of open file descriptors

      • Linux CapableHow to Install phpMyAdmin with LEMP on Debian 12/11/10

        In the dynamic landscape of web development, phpMyAdmin remains a cornerstone for effective and efficient database management. Utilizing the power of PHP, this open-source tool is designed to handle administrative operations over MySQL and MariaDB via a user-friendly, web-based interface.

      • Linux CapableHow to Install GNOME Tweaks on Debian 12/11/10

        In the digital world, personalizing your environment is key, and GNOME Tweaks Tool is a powerful ally for Linux users. Part of the GNOME desktop environment, this user-friendly utility allows you to modify your system’s appearance and behavior, moving beyond standard settings to customize themes, fonts, extensions, and window behaviors.

      • LinuxiacHow to Install KDE Plasma Desktop on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

        Ready to revamp your Ubuntu experience? Learn how to install KDE Plasma on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and embrace a whole new level of functionality.

      • Own HowToHow to backup Files and Softwares on Linux Mint

        In Linux Mint, there is a tool called Backup Tool, this tool allows you to backup files that are located in the home directory of your system, it also allows you to backup the current list of the softwares.

      • Trend OceansHow to Install ONLYOFFICE Docs on Ubuntu and Enable ChatGPT

        In the latest build of ONLYOFFICE Doc, it has brought up the option to use ChatGPT on the platform, so let’s learn how to enable ChatGPT on ONLYOFFICE Docs. ONLYOFFICE Docs is an open-source office suite package that includes collaborative editors for text documents, sheets, and presentations, together with the form creator and PDF viewer.

      • FOSSLinuxHow to install and use Zsh on Ubuntu

        The command line is a powerful tool in the hands of a Linux user. However, the default shell, known as Bash, can sometimes lack the features or user-friendliness that some users desire. Enter Zsh: a shell designed to be interactive, user-friendly, and highly customizable. With features such as spell correction, improved auto completions, and a rich set of options for customizing its behavior, Zsh has gained popularity among developers and system administrators alike.

      • ZDNetHow to run multiple Linux commands at once

        When you finally start working with the Linux command line, you'll find numerous ways to make the process more efficient. By running two or more commands at once, you'll not have to wait until one finishes to start the next.

      • Guide to Installing, Configuring, and Managing MySQL on Linux

        MySQL is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) that is widely used for managing and organizing structured (or tabular) data, and to manage this data, you need to have basic knowledge of SQL queries.

      • Linux CapableHow to Install Firewalld on Debian 12/11/10

        Firewalld, an innovation in firewall solutions, emerges as a beacon of security for Debian users, promising dynamic and versatile system defense. It transcends the traditional static nature of firewall management, offering a fresh perspective on system protection.

      • How to Upgrade VCS from 7.4.2 to 8.0 in RHEL

        Veritas Cluster Server upgrade can be done smoothly by using the Install Bundles feature.

      • Step-by-Step Tutorial: How to Create Files in Linux using Commands and GUI

        To create a file in Linux is easier than eating ice-cream.

      • Linux CapableHow to Install SELinux on Debian 12/11/10

        In the vast world of computing, security plays a fundamental role in ensuring the protection of data, systems, and operations. SELinux (Security Enhanced Linux) stands as a formidable solution that fortifies Linux-based systems with an extra layer of security.

      • Linux JournalA Comprehensive Guide to Using PuTTY for SSH into Linux

        Whether you're an experienced developer or a beginner trying to establish a secure connection between your computer and a remote Linux server, PuTTY is a tool you can rely on. Let's delve into understanding how to utilize PuTTY to Secure Shell (SSH) into a Linux machine from a Windows operating system.

        Introduction to PuTTY

        PuTTY is an open-source, free SSH client for Windows. It enables users to remotely access computers over networks and run commands as if they were sitting in front of the terminal. It's a versatile tool that's widely used in network administration, software development, and other IT-related professions.

      • Linux CapableHow to Install MakeMKV on Debian 12/11/10

        MakeMKV stands as a beacon in the sea of digital tools, specializing in video format conversion. It serves as an essential bridge, allowing media to traverse from proprietary and often encrypted formats into a set of versatile MKV files.

      • Linux CapableEnable Universe and Multiverse Repositories in Ubuntu

        Ubuntu, a widely recognized and well-reputed open-source operating system, allows users to customize and augment their computing experience through its vast array of software packages. These packages are neatly organized into different repositories, each designed to cater to various software licensing and maintenance needs.

      • Wireshark IP Address and Port Filtering: A Complete Guide for Kali Linux

        Using Wireshark filter ip address and port inside network

      • Mastering Dig Command for Information Gathering in Kali Linux
      • Linux CapableHow to Install PHP 8.3, 8.2, 8.1, or 8.0 on Debian 12/11/10

        PHP is a programming language executed on the server and is mainly used for creating websites and web applications. It can be easily incorporated into a Debian server to create dynamic websites and content management systems (CMS).

      • It's FOSSInstall and Use Ventoy on Linux [Step-by-Step Guide]

        Tired of flashing USB drives for every ISO? Get started with Ventoy and get the ability to easily boot from ISOs.

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

        • Scarlett Gately Moore: KDE Akademy 2023, Sunburns, and KDE Snaps

          A big thank you goes out to the Ubuntu Community for making my attendance to the KDE Akademy 2023! This was a very successful conference for me. I had very positive feedback for my speech on “A million reasons why snaps are important. I also had a productive BoF on snapping KDE applications. Most importantly I got to catch up with many old and new friends and got to put faces to the new. There were so many great talks and BoFs, but one of my favorites was the Goals as all three compliment each other. The keynote was amazing, I had no idea open source has made its way into space! How cool is that!?! Despite the high temperatures ( something I am used to, but not that humidity! ) I had a wonderful time and was able to visit many cool sites in Greece. What an amazing place.

        • Write.asMy first in-person Akademy: Thessaloniki 2023

          My first in-person Akademy: Thessaloniki 2023

          This year, I was finally able to participate in-person at Akademy. Apart from meeting some familiar faces from the Plasma Spring in May this year, I also met lots of new people.

          When waiting for the plane in Frankfurt, a group of KDE people formed. Meaning, we had a get-together even before the Akademy had started ;). On the plane to Thessaloniki, I made a merge requests to fix a Kickoff crash due to a KRunner change. Once that was done, everything was in place for the talks!

          On Saturday, I talked once again with Nico and also Volker about KF6. This included topics like the remaining challenges, the estimated timeline for KF6 and some practical porting advice. I also gave a talk about KRunner. This was the conference talk of mine that I gave alone, meaning I was a bit nervous 😅. The title was “KRunner: Past, Present, and Future” and it focused on porting, new features and future plans for KF6. Thanks to everyone who was listening to the talk, both in person and online!

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

    • Barry KaulerEasy-to-see mouse pointer

      I received an email from Rick C, asking if anything can be done to make the mouse pointer more visible.

      There is the Pcur PET package, in the "noarch" repository, installable via PKGget, which is a big collection of mouse cursor themes. Some have larger mouse pointer, but can't say that I like them.

      I took a fresh look at the subject, and have created a PET package with two programs, SXC, Simple Xcursor Creator, and SXS, Simple Xcursor selector. The PET is here: [...]

    • BSD

      • KlaraOur 2023 Recommended Summer Reads – FreeBSD and Linux

        Embrace the power of FreeBSD! 🌞📚 Unleash its potential with our captivating summer collection.

        Optimize performance, boost security, and expand your tech horizons. Level up your skills as you sip on your summer cocktail or simply take a break from a heavy year.

    • Canonical/Ubuntu Family

      • UbuntuReaching for the stars, creating the Ubuntu Summit 2023 Logo

        We’re super happy and excited to announce the new logo for this year’s Ubuntu Summit:

        The Ubuntu Summit this year is held in Riga, Latvia, November 3-5 2023. This event is focused on the Linux and open-source ecosystem. It is a great opportunity for the broad and diverse open-source community to meet and showcase what the future of open source looks like.

        The concept behind the logo was to have a design which reflected the different cities we would have the Summit in. I found the freedom monument in RIGA, this very nicely matched one of our core values of Freedom, it also had 3 stars which matched our Circle of Friends 3 heads. The next task was to arrange the stars and the heads so they mirrored each other. Let’s hope the next city is as visually kind to us!

        “The granite and copper monument in the center of Riga symbolizes Latvian statehood, national unity, independence and freedom. The monument was funded entirely by donations from residents and constructed as a memorial to those who fell in Latvia’s struggle for independence.”

        “I was in another meeting at the time,” Graham said, “but I wanted to see whether a cropped version of the monument’s hands would work. So I fired up GIMP, dropped the previous logo and a statue image into background layers, and started sketching. I don’t think anyone in the meeting noticed…”

      • UbuntuOptimised Real-time Ubuntu is now generally available on Intel SoCs

        Canonical delivers Real-time Ubuntu on Intel Core processors with TSN and Intel TCC support.€ €  London, 26 July 2023: Canonical today announced the availability of Real-time Ubuntu optimised on Intel Core processors.€ 

      • Silicon AngleCanonical launches Real-time Ubuntu on Intel Core processors

        Canonical Ltd. and Intel Corp. today announced a technical collaboration focused on a new, enterprise-focused release of Ubuntu that launched earlier this year. The release is known as Real-time Ubuntu.

    • Open Hardware/Modding

      • Hackaday486 Gets Animated Turbo Button Thanks To Arduino

        There was a point in time, excruciatingly brief, in which desktop computers often had a large “TURBO” button on their front panel. Some even featured an LED display that would indicate the current CPU frequency, providing visual conformation that your machine had leaped to a blistering 66 MHz.

      • CNX SoftwareFlipper Zero hardware & wireless hacking tool gets an app “store” with open-source app

        Flipper Zero portable multi-tool for pentesters and hardware hackers has now gotten an app “store” with currently around 100 free and open-source apps available through the device’s Android or iOS app. I missed it at the time, but the Flipper Zero launched on Kickstarter in July 2020 and was massively popular with close to 5 million dollars raised from almost 38,000 backers. The tool looks like a toy but it allows hacking with GPIOs and short-range wireless protocols such as Bluetooth, RFID, NFC, and infrared.

      • Richard W.M. Jones: Heads up! Lichee Pi 4A vs VisionFive 2 vs HiFive Unmatched vs Raspberry Pi 4B

        I have a lot of RISC-V and Arm hardware. How do my latest 3 RISC-V purchases stand up against each other and the stalwart Raspberry Pi 4B? Let’s find out!

        The similarities between these boards are striking. All have 4 cores and all except the HiFive board have 8GB of RAM (HiFive Unmatched has 16GB). All have some kind of flash-based storage: The Raspberry Pi and Sipeed Lichee are using external SanDisk SSDs connected by USB 3. The HiFive Unmatched and VisionFive 2 have NVMe drives (I hope all SBCs provide an NVMe slot going forward).

        Since I mainly use these for compiling Fedora packages, I tested compiling qemu using identical configurations. I built it a few times to warm up and then timed the last build, on otherwise unloaded machines. Here are the results:

      • CNX SoftwareUP 7000 is a powerful x86 alternative to the Raspberry Pi 4 SBC with an Intel Processor N50/N97/N100 CPU

        AAEON UP 7000 is an x86 single board computer with a layout similar to the Raspberry Pi 4 but based on a more powerful Intel Processor N50, N97, or N100 Alder Lake-N SoC with Gigabit Ethernet, three USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, HDMI 1.4 video output, and a 40-pin GPIO header. Not to be confused with the larger UP Squared Pro 7000 also powered by an Alder Lake-N processor, the UP 7000 is an update to the UP 4000 SBC with an Intel Apollo Lake processor introduced just last year.

      • CNX SoftwareRP2 Nano is a $6.6 Raspberry Pi RP2040 board with Arduino Nano form factor

        ArtronShop RP2 Nano board features the Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller in the Arduino Nano form factor in a way that’s much cheaper than the official Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect board. That’s possible because Thailand-based AtronShop did not include all the bells and whistles such as WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, sensors, and used a smaller flash. So the RP2 Nano basically offers the same I/Os and features as the Arduino Nano, but the Microchip ATmega328 8-bit AVR microcontroller gives place to the more powerful Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ MCU plus 2MB flash, and the board also adds an extra Grove connector for expansion.

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • Linux HandbookLHB Linux Digest #23.11: Proxmox Series, DevOps Books, LazyDocker and More

      This newsletter brings the announcement of the new Proxmox tutorial series and a good deal on DevOps eBooks.

    • Linux Format 305

      Escape the tyranny of the corporate owned cloud! Free your files from Google and Microsoft as we show you how to set up and run your own open source office – create, edit, share and save your files and documents running on your own systems using Nextcloud...

    • Events

      • Linux MagazineSUSECON 2023

        The SUSE community gathered in Munich to reimagine the customer process and meet the new CEO.

    • Content Management Systems (CMS)

      • WordPressWordPress 6.3 Release Candidate 2

        WordPress 6.3 RC2 is ready for download and testing. Reaching this part of the release cycle is a key milestone. While release candidates are considered ready for final release, additional testing and use by the community can only make it better.

    • FSF

    • Programming/Development

      • Red HatChecking usage of realloc with Valgrind

        One of the C dynamic memory allocation functions is realloc. Given a pointer, realloc will resize the memory block it points to. This sounds like a simple and useful mechanism to do memory management. But realloc has various gotchas that Valgrind Memcheck can check for to ensure you use the function correctly. Memory blocks should exist and have not yet been freed, blocks can be moved when resized, on failure to resize the memory block might leak, and what happens when a block is reduced to zero size might be undefined.

      • Python

        • Linux HintPandas Merge on Multiple Columns

          In Python, the “pandas.merge()” method of the “pandas” module is utilized to merge the multiple columns of two Pandas DataFrame.

        • TecAdminLogical Operators in Python

          Python, one of the world’s most popular programming languages, supports a wide range of operators, including arithmetic, comparison, assignment, bitwise, and logical operators. In this article, we’ll focus on Python’s logical operators, exploring their usage and significance in coding various logical operations. What are Logical Operators?

        • Linux HintPython List to CSV

          In Python, the “write()”, “CSV”, “to_csv()”, and the “savetxt()” methods are utilized to create a CSV file from the input list.

        • Linux HintPandas Sum Column

          The “DataFrame.sum()” method or “DataFrame.eval()” method is used to add all the columns or specified columns of Pandas DataFrame in Python.

        • Linux HintPandas Between Dates

          In Python, “df.loc[]”, “df.query()”, and the “df.isin()” methods are used to select the rows of Pandas DataFrame that fall within the specified dates.

        • Linux HintPandas DataFrame Remove Index

          The “pd.reset_index()” method of the “pandas” module is used to remove/drop the single or multiple indexes of the Pandas DataFrame.

  • Leftovers

    • TechdirtTechdirt Podcast Episode 359: Red Team Blues, Part Two (With Cory Doctorow)

      Okay, now we’re getting back to the plan. Two weeks ago we featured an excerpt from the audiobook of Red Team Blues, Cory Doctorow’s new (and excellent) novel, and promised that we’d soon be joined by Cory himself. And now, we deliver! Listen to this week’s episode for a long and far-reaching conversation between Mike and Cory about the book and it’s themes and subjects, plus plenty of interesting tangents.

    • The NationTommy the Tuber From Tuberville
    • The NationWithout a Map

      Peter Handke’s latest novel, The Fruit Thief, translated by Krishna Winston, begins with a man going out for a walk. He is waylaid from the first step: Walking barefoot on the grass, he gets stung by a bee. The sting opens up a flood of thoughts—about the weather, a broken shoelace, the anatomy of bees, and whether bee stings are a cosmic sign. He declares, “Suddenly I felt fine about setting out without any map at all.” From there, the narrator begins a strange, sometimes inscrutable journey through provincial towns and fields, across rivers and into darkened woods. He is ostensibly in pursuit of a mysterious woman (the fruit thief), yet all the while our narrator keeps cogitating, describing, elaborating—even though it is unclear whether he wishes (or cares) if his purpose is understood.

      Many of the Austrian writer’s protagonists are wanderers, and for the author, the work of noticing is a lonely struggle between the isolated self and the murky outside world. Language is the bridge: necessary for articulating what we observe and feel, but also fundamentally vulnerable to collapse. Handke subjects the words he uses to a microscopic examination: There is often a stunning ability to shift between abstractions (say, what it feels like to have a “successful day”) and the precisely sensory (say, a meditation on the sound of stepping on a manhole cover). Although they’re often detached in tone, this steady accumulation of impressions asks readers to question how attuned to their surroundings, and their sentences, they really are. The level of detail that The Fruit Thief’s narrator musters in his attempt to put the world around him into words creates a contradiction: Individual moments are exacting in their detail, but the world itself is vague, as if struggling under the weight of its elaboration. It can lead a skeptical reader to wonder whether the narrator—and, by extension, Handke too—is sometimes missing the forest for all the carefully described trees.

    • HackadayBeautifully Rebuilding A VR Headset To Add AR Features

      [PyottDesign] recently wrapped up a personal project to create himself a custom AR/VR headset that could function as an AR (augmented reality) platform, and make it easier to develop new applications in a headset that could do everything he needed. He succeeded wonderfully, and published a video showcase of the finished project.

    • HackadayWhere Old Files Go To Die

      We all lead digital lives, and we work in and on files of one sort or another. And sometimes we get attached to them. That long manifesto you poured your heart into, but nonetheless probably shouldn’t see the light of day? Love letters from former flames? Your first favorite video game that you can’t play any more, but it just sits there eating up drive space?

    • Ruben SchadeTwitter renaming to X

      Just kidding, I’m not going to post about that. Instead, here are a list of words that don’t have the letter X in them:

      • Grilled cheese sandwiches
      • Disenfranchisement
      • Extreme
    • Education

    • Hardware

      • HackadayRetrotechtacular: The Computer Center Of 1973

        You might expect Bell Labs would have state-of-the-art computers, and they did. But it is jarring to realize just how little that was in 1973, fifty years ago. If you started work at Bell’s Holmdel Computing Center back then, you might have watched one of the orientation videos below. Your first clue about how far things have come might be the reference to the IBM 370/165, which had “3 million bytes of core, 2 million of which are available for programmer use.” Even our laptops today have at least 8 gigabytes of RAM. There were at least two other smaller IBM 370s, too. Plenty of 029 card punches are visible.

      • WhichUKWhich mobile phone brands develop the most faults?

        Samsung and Apple phones develop more faults than some other brands – we reveal the most common problems, and how to fix them

      • HackadayCar Security System Monitors Tiny Voltage Fluctuations

        As the old saying goes, there’s no such thing as a lock that can’t be picked. However, it seems like there are plenty of examples of car manufacturers that refuse to add these metaphorical locks to their cars at all — especially when it comes to securing the electronic systems of vehicles. Plenty of modern cars are essentially begging to be attacked as a result of such poor practices as unencrypted CAN busses and easily spoofed wireless keyfobs. But even if your car comes from a manufacturer that takes basic security precautions, you still might want to check out this project from the University of Michigan that is attempting to add another layer of security to cars.

    • Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

      • New York TimesThe Covid Origins Debate

        The picture has changed as more evidence emerges, but we might never get a clear answer.

    • Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

    • Linux Foundation

      • Linux Foundation's Site/BlogTODO Group Releases OSPO Definition 2.0

        The TODO Group community has launched the second release of the OSPO Definition. This new version updates the traditional OSPO definition to be more inclusive and reflects the reality of OSPOs expanding outside purely the corporate sector and into the public sector. The 2.0 version:

    • Security

    • Defence/Aggression

    • Environment

      • The NationIt Only Gets Worse

        To date, the climate migrations that have attracted federal policy attention in the United States generally have fallen under the category of “managed retreat.” Recall, for instance, the 2016 headlines announcing that Isle de Jean Charles, La., would receive $48 million in federal funds for a first-of-its-kind wholesale community resettlement project, or the Biden administration’s announcement last year that it had awarded $75 million to Indigenous communities in Alaska and Washington state to pack up and move. “Managed retreat,” or the planned relocation of vulnerable coastal communities to higher ground, is at once a proactive tactical move and an act of resignation—an acknowledgment that, in a warming world, some geographic communities are fated to disappear into the sea. But what should we make of this intense political fixation on managed retreat? And when climate migration policies prioritize the most extraordinary and poignant cases, who is left behind?

      • AxiosIn photos: Wildfires rock 3 continents as historic heat wave sweeps Northern Hemisphere

        Deadly wildfires burning across Europe, North America and North Africa have forced hundreds of people to evacuate as historic heat grips much of the Northern Hemisphere.

      • European CommissionWildfires: EU provides crucial assistance to the Mediterranean region

        European Commission Press release Brussels, 26 Jul 2023 As several countries grapple with rapidly spreading wildfires, the EU steps in to reinforce firefighting efforts and provide much-needed support to the affected communities.

      • Wildlife/Nature

        • Michael West MediaSurviving whales shown deeper water after 52 deaths

          Wildlife experts are preparing to lead dozens of whales back into deep waters after 52 died in a mass stranding event on a West Australian beach.

          Rescue efforts continue after the mammals stranded themselves at Cheynes Beach, 60km east of Albany in the state’s south.

        • HackadayNo Fish Left Behind

          For hundreds of years, Icelanders have relied on the ocean for survival. This is perhaps not surprising as it’s an isolated island surrounded by ocean near the Arctic circle. But as the oceans warm and fisheries continue to be harvested unsustainably, Iceland has been looking for a way to make sure that the fish they do catch are put to the fullest use, for obvious things like food and for plenty of other novel uses as well as they work towards using 100% of their catch.

    • Finance

      • Scheerpost‘An Abomination’: Today Marks 14 Years Since the Last Federal Minimum Wage Increase

        “$7.25/hour, in 2023, is a poverty wage,” said the AFL-CIO.

      • Pro PublicaHow the Rich Reap Huge Tax Breaks From Private Nonprofits

        Once a week, a little past noon on Wednesdays, a line of cars forms outside the wrought-iron gates of the Carolands mansion, 20 miles south of downtown San Francisco. From the entrance, you can see the southeast facade of the 98-room Beaux Arts chateau, which was built a century ago by an heiress to the Pullman railroad-car fortune. Not visible from that vantage point is the stately reflecting pool, or the gardens, whose original designer took inspiration from Versailles.

        I was sitting just outside this splendor, idling in my rented Toyota Corolla, on a clear day last winter. Like the other people in the line of cars, I was about to enjoy a rare treat. Carolands is an architectural landmark, but it’s open only two hours a week. Would-be visitors apply a month in advance, hoping to win a lottery for tickets. Like most lotteries, this one has long odds. I had applied unsuccessfully for the three tours scheduled for February. Finally, I resorted to my journalist’s privilege: I emailed and called the director of the foundation that owns the estate, explaining that I was a reporter planning to be in the area for a few days. Could she help? Eventually, she called back and offered me a place on a tour.

      • Press GazetteBBC sorry for Farage banking story and source, Natwest CEO Alison Rose, resigns

        The BBC has admitted 4 July Nigel Farage headline was wrong.

      • New York TimesSnap’s Sales Fall for the Second Time in a Row

        The parent of Snapchat has grappled with an ad slump and the challenges of being a smaller social media company in an intensely competitive environment.

      • Infinity lays off 78% of staff, 3 board members after MEI merger fails

        With hopes of a merger with MEI Pharma now sunk for good, Infinity Pharmaceuticals is jettisoning three-quarters of its staff and three board members to stay afloat while it scans the horizon for another financial life raft.

        The planned combination of MEI Pharma and Infinity had been in the works since February. Yet despite surviving the intervention of a surprise bidder at the last minute, MEI’s shareholders finally voted on the proposal on Sunday and scuppered the deal for good.

    • AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

      • TechdirtReddit Kicks Out Protesting Mods, As Reddit Users Continue To Find Creative Ways To Protest

        Reddit CEO’s insistence that the protests from Reddit would simply “pass” certainly hasn’t come to pass just yet. While increasing pressure from the company against protest mods has resulted in some backing down, many are continuing to engage in malicious compliance, making it clear they’re still protesting.

      • The NationKevin McCarthy’s Latest Hostage Crisis

        The woebegone tenure of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is less a study in leadership than a series of reality-TV challenges. Can our contestant withstand the procedural hazings engineered by the House Freedom Caucus? Will he strike a provisional blow for decorum over the “let’s all look at a naked Hunter Biden” faction? And in our next episode: Is he going to get the keys to Doc Brown’s time machine and schedule votes to expunge Donald Trump’s two impeachments in the 116th and 117th Congresses?

      • AxiosDeSantis campaign fires aide who secretly made video with Nazi symbol

        Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' 2024 campaign fired an aide this week who secretly created and shared a pro-DeSantis video that featured the candidate at the center of a Sonnenrad, an ancient symbol appropriated by the Nazis and still used by some white supremacists.

        Driving the news: Nate Hochman, a speechwriter on the DeSantis campaign and a former writer for National Review, created the video on his own and shared it through a pro-DeSantis Twitter account, according to a person familiar with the matter.

    • Censorship/Free Speech

      • MeduzaAlexey Navalny calls Igor Strelkov ‘political prisoner’ — Meduza

        Opposition politician Alexey Navalny wrote on social media that he considers the arrest of Igor Strelkov, the Telegram blogger and former FSB agent who was found guilty of shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, to be illegal.

      • JURISTProposed Jordan cybercrime bill prompts free speech concerns from human rights groups

        Human Rights Watch (HRW), along with 13 other human rights organizations such as Access Now and the Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR), called on the Jordanian government on Monday to withdraw a proposed cybercrime law currently under discussion in Parliament.

      • Off GuardianTrans Rights and the Order of Speech: Part One

        ‘There is a new word in Newspeak’, said Syme, ‘I don’t know whether you know it: duckspeak, to quack like a duck. It is one of those interesting words that have two contradictory meanings. Applied to an opponent, it is abuse; applied to someone you agree with, it is praise.’ George Orwell...

    • Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

    • Civil Rights/Policing

      • Democracy Now19 GOP Attorneys General Seek Private Medical Records of Patients Who Obtain Out-of-State Abortions

        Amid a widening crackdown on abortion access, 19 Republican attorneys general in states where abortion is illegal are demanding the right for local governments to access the private medical records of patients in order to see if they obtained abortions out of state. We speak to Tamarra Wieder, state director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates in Louisville, Kentucky, where residents are crossing state lines to access abortion care due to the state’s near-total abortion ban. Wieder says the act of seeking healthcare “should not be turned against us,” adding that this latest attack on reproductive rights, if it is carried out, would set “a precedent of fear” that would “chill care.” She also discusses the Nebraska teenager who used abortion pills to terminate her pregnancy and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, and the Texas women who are suing to overturn the state’s abortion ban, which put their lives in danger when they were unable to end their pregnancies, even when they were nonviable.

      • Michael West MediaUPS averts strike in deal with unionised workers

        UPS has reached a tentative contract agreement with its 340,000-person strong union, potentially averting a strike that threatened to disrupt logistics across the United States for businesses and households alike.

        The agreement was announced after UPS and the Teamsters came back to the negotiating table on Tuesday to talk over remaining sticking points in the largest private-sector contract in North America.€ 

      • Michael West MediaDoctors strike, reservists eye exit over Israel reforms

        Israeli doctors have declared a strike and more army reservists have asked to halt service in a backlash over the religious-nationalist government’s ratification of the first part of a judicial overhaul that critics say endangers democracy.

        With long-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing his gravest domestic crisis, Israel’s military took its first known internal disciplinary action over the protests.€ 

      • Shirish Agarwal: Manipur Violence, Drugs, Binging on Northshore, Alaska Daily, Doogie Kamealoha and EU Digital Resilence Act.

        Warning: The text might be mature and will have references to violence so if there are kids or you are sensitive, please excuse.

        Few days back, saw the videos and I cannot share the rage, shame and many conflicting emotions that were going through me. I almost didn’t want to share but couldn’t stop myself. The woman in the video were being palmed, fingered, nude, later reportedly raped and murdered. And there have been more than a few cases. The next day saw another video that showed beheaded heads, and Kukis being killed just next to their houses. I couldn’t imagine what those people must be feeling as the CM has been making partisan statements against them. One of the husbands of the Kuki women who had been paraded, fondled is an Army Officer in the Indian Army. The Meiteis even tried to burn his home but the Army intervened and didn’t let it get burnt.

        The CM’s own statement as shared before tells his inability to bring the situation out of crisis. In fact, his statement was dumb stating that the Internet shutdown was because there were more than 100 such cases. And it’s spreading to the nearby Northeast regions. Now Mizoram, the nearest neighbor is going through similar things where the Meitis are not dominant. The Mizos have told the Meitis to get out.

      • ACLUChallenging Police Brutality in Louisiana

        Police violence is a pervasive issue across the country that has led to harassment, injuries, and deaths. Racial discrimination and excessive force disproportionately impact communities of color, which often have an outsized police presence. And although investigations have repeatedly exposed patterns of racism and unconstitutional policing within law enforcement departments, they are rarely held accountable.

      • The AtlanticIsraelis Protest Against Law to Limit Supreme Court Powers

        Images from recent protests against plans to reduce judicial oversight of the government, in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

      • New York TimesIsrael’s Protests Over Netanyahu’s Judicial Overhaul in Photos

        Political turmoil that has been brewing for months reached a crescendo after Parliament passed a law aimed at curbing the power of the judiciary.

      • AxiosUPS and Teamsters union reach deal to avert strike, potential economic chaos

        UPS reached a tentative deal with its union on Tuesday, averting a much-feared strike.

      • The NationBehind the Right’s Frenzied Defense of Florida’s Slavery Curriculum

        Let’s stipulate right away: Florida’s new guidelines for teaching African American history do not merely consist of the noxious, specious claim that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.” There are 190 other “facts” included in the guidelines, and arguably none are as false and loathsome as that one (though a few come close).

    • Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

      • Ruben SchadeSources in my saving video post

        Last Tuesday I wrote a post about the ephemeral nature of online video, and my attempts to preserve stuff Clara and I care about.

    • Digital Restrictions (DRM)

    • Monopolies



Recent Techrights' Posts

'Dark Patterns' or a Trap at the European Patent Office (EPO)
insincere if not malicious E-mail from the EPO's dictators
There's an Abundance of Articles About the New Release of Kali Linux, But This One is a Fake
It can add nothing except casual misinformation (fed back into the model to reinforce lies)
IBM's Leadership Ruining Lives of People Who Thought Working for IBM Would be OK
Nobody gets fire-lined for buying IBM?
The United States' Authorities Ought to Become Enforcers of the General Public License (GPL) for National Security's Sake
US federal agencies ought to pursue availability of code and GPL compliance (copyleft), not bans
The Problem of Microsoft Security Problems is Microsoft (the Solution is to Quit Microsoft) and "Salt Typhoon" Coverage Must Name CALEA Back Doors
Name the holes, not those who exploit them.
A "Year of Efficiency"
No, we don't mean layoffs
 
LLM Slop Disguised as Journalism: The Latest Threat to the Web
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Gemini Links 20/12/2024: Regulation and Implementing Graphics
Links for the day
Links 20/12/2024: Windows Breaks Itself, Mass Layoffs Coming to Google Again (Big Wave)
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The Unspeakable National Security Threat: Plasticwares as the New Industrial Standard
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Microsoft's All-Time Lows in Macao and Hong Kong
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[Meme] "It Was Like a Nuclear Winter"
This won't happen again, will it?
If You Know That Hey Hi (AI) is Hype, Then Stop Participating in It
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Bangladesh (Population Close to 200 Million) Sees Highest GNU/Linux Adoption Levels Ever
Microsoft barely has a grip on this country. It used to.
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, December 19, 2024
IRC logs for Thursday, December 19, 2024
Gemini Links 19/12/2024: Fast Year Passes and Advent of Code Ongoing
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Twitter is Going to Fall Out of Top 100 Domains as Clownflare (DNS MitM) Sees It
evidence of Twitter's (X's) collapse
[Meme] Making Choices at the EPO
Decisions, decisions...
Large and Significant Error Correction in South America?
Windows now has less than half what Android achieved in terms of "market share"
Links 19/12/2024: Astronaut Record and Observer Absorbed
Links for the day
Links 19/12/2024: Seven Dirty Words and Isle Release v0.0.3 (Alpha)
Links for the day
Links 19/12/2024: Nurses Besieged by "Apps", More Harms of Social Control Media Illuminated
Links for the day
15 Countries Where Yandex is Already Seen to be Bigger Than Microsoft (in Search)
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Links 19/12/2024: Magnitude 7.3 Earthquake and Privacy Camp
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/12/2024: Port Of Miami Explosion, TurboQOA, Gnus
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Fake Articles About 'Linux'
Dated yesterday
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, December 18, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, December 18, 2024
FSF Has Made It Halfway to Its Target (Funding Goal) a Week Before Christmas Day
$400,000 definitely seems reachable now, especially if they extend the "deadline"
[Meme] The Master Churnalist
Speaking of press releases being passed off as "journalism"
Spamnil's TFiR: Still Pretending Press Releases Are 'Articles' (TFiR 'Originals' as Plagiarism or Fluff)
Same as last year
Links 18/12/2024: Zakir Hussain Dies, TuneIn Layoffs
Links for the day
Links 18/12/2024: Karate Love and Advent of Code
Links for the day
Windows (or Microsoft) Has Become the "One Percent" (Market Share) in Chad
How long before it falls below 1%?
Arvind Krishna, IBM's CEO, Will Eventually Suck Up to Donald Trump Like His Predecessor Did or the Watson Family Did With Adolf Hitler
Literally Hitler
Being a Geek Need Not Mean Being Sedentary
"In the past 18 months," Berkholz writes, "I’ve lost 75 pounds and gone from completely sedentary to fit, while minimizing the effort to do so (but needing a whole lot of persistence and grit)."
GAFAM Kissing the Ring of the Mafia Don
"resistance" to dictatorship and defenders of democracy?
Slop Spaghetti From the Chef, Second Time Today
Fresh slop ready out the oven!
IBM - Like Microsoft - Lies About the Number of People It's Laying Off (Several Tens of Thousands, Not Counting R.T.O. "Silent" Layoffs and Contractors/Perma-Temps)
How many waves of silent layoffs have we seen so far at IBM this year?
Links 18/12/2024: EU Launches Probe Into TikTok (At Last!)
Links for the day
Links 18/12/2024: Doha/Qatar Trafficking, Bloat Comfort Zone, and Advent of Code 2024
Links for the day
Saving What's Left of Decent and Independent Journalism on the Web
We increasingly (over time) try to make local copies (hosted on our server) of important documents; it's hard to rely on third parties
[Meme] Microsoft's Latest Marketing Pitch
"Stop Being Poor; buy a new PC with TPMs"
In South Africa, a Very Large Nation, Web Developers Can Already Ignore Microsoft Browsers (Edge Measured Below 3% in 55 Nations)
The dumb assumption you must naively test with Microsoft browsers is no longer applicable in a lot of places
Open Source Initiative (OSI) is the Voice of Bill Gates and Satya Nadella
Not hard to see what they've done with the money
Microsoft Boasts That Its (Microsoft-Sponsored) "Open Source AI" Propaganda Got Cited in Media (That's Just What the Money Did)
This is a grotesque openwashing campaign
In Many Places Around the World, Perhaps as Expected, Yandex is Nearly Bigger Than Microsoft (Like in Several African Countries)
Microsoft may soon fall to "third place" in search
Keeping Productive This Christmas
We've (pre)paid for hosting till almost January 2026 and fully back on the saddle
IBM and Canonical Leave Money on the Table Because Microsoft Pays Them Not to Compete and Instead Market Windows, WSL, Microsoft 'Clown Computing', and TPMs
Where are the regulators?
Other Editors Who Agree "Hey Hi" (AI) is Just Hype But Won't Say So Publicly as It Might Upset Key Sponsors
Some media would gladly participate in a scam to make money
Brian Fagioli's Latest "Linux" Article Appears to be Fake
Another form of plagiarism/ripoff using bots?
IBM (and Red Hat) is a Patent Troll, Still Leveraging Software Patents to Extract Money Out of Other Companies by Suing Them
Basically, when it comes to patents, IBM is demonstrably part of the problem, not the solution
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, December 17, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, December 17, 2024