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Links 28/08/2023: Microsoft Collapsing in Web Servers and Mozilla Firefox 117 Released



  • GNU/Linux

    • Desktop/Laptop

      • HowTo GeekYou Don't Have to Leave Windows: 8 Ways to Start Using Linux

        If the technical work or fiddly nature of all the previous options doesn't appeal to you, you can always just buy a computer with a Linux distribution reinstalled. These let you forget about the nonsense of installation media and virtualization layers and just get to work. You buy it like you would any computer, only when you power it on, instead of Windows or macOS, you get Linux.

        Linux computers are a niche market, so it may not seem obvious where to start looking for one. Small retailers like System76 and Star Labs design and sell laptops and desktop PCs specifically with Linux in mind. We've reviewed some of them, in fact, like the System76 Gazelle and the Kubuntu Focus Ir14. Some manufacturers you're probably familiar with also let you configure one of their models with Linux pre-installed, like our favorite Linux laptop, the Dell XPS 13 Plus.

    • Server

      • Kubernetes BlogKubernetes 1.28: A New (alpha) Mechanism For Safer Cluster Upgrades

        This blog describes the mixed version proxy, a new alpha feature in Kubernetes 1.28. The mixed version proxy enables an HTTP request for a resource to be served by the correct API server in cases where there are multiple API servers at varied versions in a cluster. For example, this is useful during a cluster upgrade, or when you're rolling out the runtime configuration of the cluster's control plane.

      • August 2023 Web Server Survey

        Microsoft saw the largest loss this month, losing 3.1 million sites (-9.52%), 123,295 domains (-1.74%) and 10,571 computers (-0.89%). Microsoft now accounts for 2.73% of sites seen by Netcraft, down by 0.27pp.

    • Audiocasts/Shows

      • Tux DigitalThis Week in Linux 231: Bodhi Linux, Kali Linux, LibreOffice, GNOME, KDE & more Linux news!

        On This Week in Linux (231), we’ve got a jam-packed show for you. Libre Office 7.6 and Bodhi Linux 7.0 have been announced. Hold onto your hats, whatever color they may be, because Kali Linux 2023.3 is out.

      • Open Source Security (Audio Show)Free Software Security Podcast Episode 390 – Rust shipping binaries doesn’t€ matter

        Josh and Kurt talk about a blog post that explains how C and C++ compilers prioritize performance over correctness. This is the class story of security vs usability. Security is never the primary goal. If a security requirement doesn’t also enable other business goals it will fail. We also touch on the news of a Rust package containing binary files. It doesn’t really have anything to do with security, it’s all about convenience.

      • Jupiter BroadcastingBeating Apple to the Sauce | LINUX Unplugged 525

        We daily drive Asahi Linux on a MacBook, chat about how the team beat Apple to a major GPU milestone, and an easy way to self-host open-source ChatGPT alternatives. Special Guest: Neal Gompa.

      • GNU World Order (Audio Show)GNU World Order 527

        **gsl** , **gstreamer** and plugins, a bunch of **gtk** libs, and **gvfs**

        from the **l** software series of Slackware.

        shasum -a256=7ca272717d660a768d3bbcba6249e3e6fb4f3675e361e96185774e2574010659

    • Kernel Space

      • Linux CapableLinux Kernel 6.5: Deep Dive into Features & Enhancements

        The Linux community is abuzz with excitement and for a good reason. Just days after celebrating its 32nd anniversary, the much-anticipated Linux Kernel 6.5 has been unveiled.

      • BootlinLinux 6.5 released, Bootlin contributions

        Linux 6.5 was released yesterday, with as usual over 10,000 commits from a large number of contributors. We recommend reading LWN.net articles on the merge window (part 1, part 2), but also the CNX Software page that focuses on embedded-related improvements.

    • Applications

      • Linux Links7 Best Free and Open Source Graphical Linux Diff Tools

        Linux has many good GUI tools that enable you to clearly see the difference between two files or two versions of the same file.

        These utilities are an essential software development tool, as they visualize the differences between files or directories, merge files with differences, resolve conflicts and save output to a new file or patch, and assist file changes reviewing and comment production (e.g. approving source code changes before they get merged into a source tree). They help developers work on a file, passing it back and forth between each other. The diff tools are not only useful for showing differences in source code files; they can be used on many text-based file types as well. The visualizations make it easier to compare files.

        Here’s our ratings chart capturing our verdict. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion. DiffPDF is different from the other tools, as it compares two PDF files.

      • Linux LinksAwesome Linux Game Tools: noise-suppression-for-voice

        noise-suppression-for-voice is a noise suppression plugin based on RNNoise, a noise suppression library based on a recurrent neural network.

      • Medeveldiskover: Open-source File Search and Indexer Tool For Data Engineers

        Diskover is an open source file system indexer that uses Elasticsearch to index and manage data across different storage systems. This means that Diskover is a powerful tool for system administrators to manage their storage infrastructure and make informed decisions about new infrastructure purchases.

      • Medevel35 Free Open-source Data and Files Recovery and Forensic Apps, and Scripts

        Data recovery is the process of retrieving lost, corrupted, or deleted data from a storage device such as a hard drive, USB drive, or memory card. Data recovery is often used to restore important files that have been accidentally deleted or lost due to hardware failure or other issues.

      • OMG! LinuxKDE Video App Haruna Adds Some Neat New Features

        When I watch videos on KDE Plasma I do so using Haruna, a Qt-based media app with a pleasant UI and a potent feature set.

      • OMG! LinuxNautilus Has a New Look in GNOME 45

        The latest nightly builds of the Nautilus file manager sport a split header-bar look.

      • Linux LinksBest Free and Open Source Alternatives to Corel WinZip

        WinZip is a file archiver and compressor. What are the best free and open source alternatives?

    • Instructionals/Technical

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

    • Gentoo Family

      • GentooFinal Report, Automated Gentoo System Updater

        Project Goals

        Main goal of the project was to write an app that will automatically handle updates on Gentoo Linux systems and send notifications with update summaries. More specifically, I wanted to: [...]

      • Gentoogentoo_update User Guide
        Introduction

        This article will go through the basic usage of€ gentoo_update€ CLI tool and the mobile app.

        But before that, here is a demo of this project: [...]

    • Fedora Family / IBM

      • Anaconda F39's Advanced Partioner (Bivet-GUI) vs Calamares 3.2.61

        € Sequence of snapshots down here demostrates F39WKS KVM Guest setup via€ Fedora-39-20230827.n.0€ (netinst-everything boot ISO image).

        [...]

        In my very personal opinion Anaconda F39's Advanced Partioner (Blivet-GUI) behaves pretty much the same way as the most recent versions of Calamares on SparkyLinux 7, Manjaro 22.1, Ubuntu 23.04 DDE Remix . However , at the moment I was forced to perform manual inputs of names of filesystems like /boot/efi in Anaconda Blivet-GUI environment versus picking them up from drop-down Calamares's menu and setting to partitions required flags.

        `

    • Debian Family

      • Jonathan McDowell: OMGWTFBBQ 2023

        As is traditional for the UK August Bank Holiday weekend I made my way to Cambridge for the Debian UK BBQ. As was pointed out we’ve been doing this for more than 20 years now, and it’s always good to catch up with old friends and meet new folk.

      • Steve McIntyreSteve McIntyre: We're back!

        It's August Bank Holiday Weekend, we're in Cambridge. It must be the Debian UK OMGWTFBBQ!.

        We're about halfway through, and we've already polished off lots and lots of good food and beer. Lars is making pancakes as I write this, :-) We had an awesome game of Mao last night. People are having fun!

      • Andrew Cater: 20230826 - OMGWTFBBQ - Breakfast is happening more or less

        € And nothing changes: rediscovered from past Andrew at his first Cambridge BBQ and almost the first blog post here:

        "Thirty second rule on sofa space - if you left for more than about 30 seconds you had to sit on the floor when you got back (I jammed myself onto a corner of the sofa once I realised I'd barely get through the crush :) )
        [Forget students in a mini / UK telephone box - how many DDs can you fit into a very narrow kitchen :) ]

        It's a huge, dysfunctional family with its own rules, geeky humour and in-jokes but it's MINE - it's the people I want to hang out with and, as perverse as it sounds, just being there gave me a whole new reaffirmed sense of identity and a large amount of determination to carry on "wasting my time with Linux" and Debian"

        The *frightening* thing - this is from August 31st 2009 ... where have the years gone in between.

      • Debian 12 templates available

        The following new templates are now available:

        Qube OS 4.1

        [...]
    • Devices/Embedded

      • CNX SoftwareSipeed unveils RISC-V tablet, portable Linux console, and cluster

        Sipeed has unveiled three new hardware platforms based on the LM4A RISC-V system-on-module found in their LicheePi 4A SBC, namely the Lichee Cluster 4A cluster for native RISC-V compilation, the Lichee Pad 4A 10.1-inch tablet running Android 13 or Debian, and the Lichee Console 4A a portable Linux console with a small 7-inch display and a built-in keyboard.

        As a quick reminder, the Sipeed LM4A SoM is based on the Alibaba T-Head TH1520 quad-core RISC-V processor @ 1.8 to 2.5 GHz that has just gotten some support in Linux 6.5, comes with up to 16GB RAM and up to 64 GB eMMC flash, integrates two Gigabit Ethernet PHY, and exposes all I/Os through a 260-pin SO-DIMM connector. We’ve previously noticed the TH1520 module delivers performance similar to the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 and even more when using a customized toolchain.

    • Open Hardware/Modding

      • HackadayCard/IO Is A Credit Card-Sized, Open Source ECG Monitor

        Of all the electrical signals generated by the human body, those coming from the heart are probably the most familiar to the average person. And because it’s also quite simple to implement the required sensors, it makes sense that electrocardiogram (ECG) machines are a popular choice among introductory medical electronics projects. [Dániel Buga], for instance, designed a compact ECG system the size of a credit card, cleverly dubbed Card/IO, that clearly demonstrates how to implement a single-lead ECG.

      • Tom's HardwareHow to Send Alerts From Raspberry Pi Pico W to a Phone or Tablet

        Want to send notifications, messages, files without the hard work? With a Raspberry Pi Pico W and ntfy.sh we can do that, and more.

      • Tom's HardwareTasty Raspberry Pi Project Cooks Up Actual Raspberry Pie

        Steve Kasuya is using a Raspberry Pi to bake an actual Raspberry Pie with his Pi-powered temperature-controlled oven.

    • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • Terence EdenMosh supports .ssh/config

      I've recently started using Mosh. It's a clever bit of software that keeps your SSH sessions running, even if your client goes offline or changes IP address.

    • HackadayExplore FFmpeg From The Comfort Of Your Browser

      If you’re looking to manipulate video, FFmpeg is one of the most powerful tools out there. But with this power comes a considerable degree of complexity, and a learning curve that looks suspiciously like a brick wall. To try and make this incredible tool a bit less obtuse, [Sam Lavigne] has developed a web interface that lets you play around with FFmpeg’s vast collection of audio and video filters.

    • Web Browsers/Web Servers

      • Mozilla

        • 9to5LinuxMozilla Firefox 117 Is Now Available for Download, Here’s What’s New

          During the beta phase, Firefox 117 offered an awesome new feature that other browsers already have, namely a built-in and automatic translation engine for websites, but that's privacy-aware as it does all the translation locally in your web browser. Unfortunately, the final release doesn't ship with this long-anticipated feature!

          For Linux users, the Mozilla Firefox 117 release appears to remove the screen-sharing indicator on Wayland systems. According to Mozilla, the screen sharing indicator never worked well on other platforms, including Wayland.

    • Content Management Systems (CMS)

    • Programming/Development

      • RlangHow to make Data Visualizations THAT GO VIRAL (with ggplot2 in R)

        Quit “storytelling with data”. There’s a reason your data visualizations aren’t working. Hear me out.

      • Xe's BlogHow to use Tailwind CSS in your Go programs

        When I work on some of my smaller projects, I end up hitting a point where I need more than minimal CSS configuration. I don't want to totally change my development flow to bring in a bunch of complicated toolkits or totally rewrite my frontend in React or something, I just want to make things not look like garbage. Working with CSS by itself can be annoying.

      • Xe's BlogReaching the Unix Philosophy's Logical Extreme with Webassembly

        Good morning Berlin! How're you doing this fine morning? I'm Xe and today I'm gonna talk about something that I'm really excited about:

        WebAssembly. WebAssembly is a compiler target for an imaginary CPU that your phones, tablets, laptops, gaming towers and even watches can run. It's intended to be a level below JavaScript to allow us to ship code in maintainable languages. Today I'm gonna be talking about fun ways you can take advantage of WebAssembly, but first we need to talk about the other main part of this subject: [...]

      • Akshay Warrier: GSoC 2023 Final Project Report

        Project Title

        Make GNOME Platform demos and create offline documentation viewer for Workbench

        Mentors

        Sonny Piers, Andy€ Holmes

        About The€ Project

        Workbench is an application that lets you experiment and tinker with GNOME technologies. It’s aimed at beginners who want to get into GTK development or developers who want to prototype a feature for their€ apps.

      • Felipe Borges: An update on GNOME Settings

        There’s no question that GNOME Settings is important to the overall GNOME experience and I feel flattered to share the responsibility of being one of its maintainers. I have been involved with Settings for almost a decade now but only in the last few months I have€  started to wear the general maintainer hat “officially”.

  • Leftovers

    • India TimesSteve Jobs' handwritten ad sells for over Rs 1.4 crores

      A handwritten advertisement penned by Steve Jobs has recently fetched a remarkable sum of over $175,000 (Rs 1.4 crores) in a notable sale. This document offers a revealing glimpse into Jobs' visionary creativity and unparalleled attention to detail, qualities that set him apart from others in the industry at that time. The item, auctioned by Boston RR Auction, holds significant historical value as an original piece written by Steve Jobs himself specifically for the Apple 1 computer. Through this artefact, the embryonic stages of Apple's genesis within Jobs' garage, as well as his entrepreneurial zeal and meticulous nature, come to light.

    • Ruben SchadeUsing what you have is better than not!

      I’ve caught myself making another logical mistake over, and over, and over again, and thought I’d share it.

      I was trying to figure out why I’m able to work through and resolve technical issues for clients at work so quickly, yet things I have at home languish for weeks, months, or even years. We’ve all heard the phrase that the cobbler’s children walk barefoot, but I wanted to know why.

    • Shirish Agarwal: FSCKing /home

      There is a bit of context that needs to be shared before I get to this and would be a long one. For reasons known and unknown, I have a lot of sudden electricity outages. Not just me, all those who are on my line. A discussion with a lineman revealed that around 200+ families and businesses are on the same line and when for whatever reason the electricity goes for all. Even some of the traffic lights don’t work. This affects hardware more than hardware. And more specifically HDD’s are vulnerable.

    • Ruben SchadeThe pushback against productivity hacks

      Remember the early 2010s when it seemed everyone was getting into #productivity? The idea that all these emergent tools could be used to unlock a new, more productive, and happier you? Heck, maybe even more handsome or beautiful, because you’d be disruptively synergising all those nuanced paradigms with such orthogonal elegance.

      More than a decade on, and most people are still living out of text editors and glorified #TODO lists. In the words of moral philosopher Curtis Stigers, I wonder why?

    • Science

    • Education

      • uni MichiganMassive Wi-Fi outage at UMich affects all three campuses

        With the fall semester beginning tomorrow, the University is working toward restoration this evening. In an email to The Michigan Daily, a university spokesperson encouraged students to stay updated via the U-M ITS X account.

    • Hardware

      • HackadayTurning Soviet Electronics Into A Nixie Tube Clock

        Sometimes you find something that looks really cool but doesn’t work, but that’s an opportunity to give it a new life. That was the case when [Davis DeWitt] got his hands on a weird Soviet-era box with four original Nixie tubes inside. He tears the unit down, shows off the engineering that went into it and explains what it took to give the unit a new life as a clock.

      • Ruben SchadeConfiguring Adaptec SCSI CD-ROMs on DOS

        I’ve been experimenting with various CD-ROMs in my Am386’s cute but weird AT case. The vertical orientation makes traditional tray loading drives difficult to use, even ones sporting those special clips. I found a slot-loading SCSI Pioneer drive that might do the trick, so this weekend I set about configuring it.

      • HackadayWhen Does Impedance Matching A PCB Trace Become Unavoidable?

        A common joke in electronics is that every piece of wire and PCB trace is an antenna, with the only difference being whether this was intentional or not. In practical terms, low-frequency wiring is generally considered to be ‘safe’, while higher frequency circuits require special considerations, including impedance (Z) matching.€  Where the cut-off is between these two types of circuits is not entirely clear, however, with various rules-of-thumb in existence, as [Sebastian] over at Baltic Lab explains.

    • Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

    • Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

    • Security

      • Privacy/Surveillance

        • Jacobin MagazineJuggalos Are the Targets of Clownish Discrimination and Police Harassment

          The SACB was abolished in 1972, but the damage was already done — Congress had set the standard for military and federal law enforcement agencies, who continue to use the act, officially known as Security Act 50 U.S.C. €§ 797, as a framework for group surveillance to this day.

          And if state investigations of the Left were a farce, the investigation into Juggalos was a clown show.

          In recent years, a large dossier on the now-abandoned investigation has been unclassified. The ultimately fruitless 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment linked Juggalos to a number of nonviolent crimes such as narcotics possession and graffiti. Almost half the dossier is dedicated to reports of “Juggalo gang action” perpetrated by groups as small as three — though most alleged gang crime was carried out by a lone actor. Perpetrators become “button men” based on loose associations, while Juggalo friends become “shot callers.” Those Juggalos who have engaged in physical violence are mostly those who are also members of actual gangs, like the Crips or the Aryan Brotherhood.

    • Defence/Aggression

    • Environment

      • Local WorldActivists deflate tyres on more than 80 'gas guzzlers' in Falmouth and St Mawes

        The poster reads: "We have deflated one or more of your tyres. You'll be angry, but don't take it personally. It's not you. It's your car. We did this because driving around urban areas in your massive vehicle has consequences for others." It goes on to state that urgent action is needed to reduce emissions and that SUVs are likely to cause more pollution than smaller cars.

      • The Telegraph UKCornwall holidaymakers warned over tyre slashing attacks by eco-activists

        According to the post, flyers left on cars read: “Attention – Your gas guzzler kills… We did this because driving around urban areas in your massive vehicle has consequences for others. SUVs cause more air pollution than smaller cars. SUVs are more likely to kill people than normal cars in collisions. SUVs are unnecessary and pure vanity.”

      • ExpressCornwall tourists warned after tyres left with 'gaping holes' after being slashed

        The group said in a statement: “SUVs are a danger for the climate, safety and our health, all so that a privileged few can flaunt their wealth in their shiny status symbols. This is an act of retaliation, and is intended as a peaceful and non-violent demonstration to draw attention to the presence of grossly inappropriate private vehicles in our town.”

      • Wales UKClimate activists deflate tyres on more than 80 'gas guzzler' SUVs in rampage

        "SUVs are a climate disaster: If SUV drivers were a country, they would be the sixth largest emitter on the planet, International Energy Agency researchers were shocked in 2019 to find that SUVs are the second-largest cause of the global rise in carbon dioxide emissions over the past decade - more than shipping, aviation or heavy industry.

      • Associated PressMaui’s fire became deadly fast. Climate change, flash drought, invasive grass and more fueled it

        Flash droughts are so dry and hot that the air literally sucks moisture out of the ground and plants in a vicious cycle of hotter-and-drier that often leads to wildfires. And Hawaii’s situation is a textbook case, two scientists told The Associated Press.

      • Indian ExpressWildfires ravage Hawaii’s Maui island: How climate change has a link to the fires

        “Over the past few decades, wildfire has been increasing in Hawaii as a result of changing climate, as a result of increases in invasive species, and a lot of our active agriculture going out… and becoming fallow. And so we have invasive species, we have fuels on the ground, we have all the conditions that make for a ripe wildfire environment…,” Elizabeth Pickett, co-executive director of the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, told Sky News in an interview.

      • CNNWhy did the Maui fire spread so fast? Drought, nonnative species and climate change among possible reasons

        While scientists are still trying to fully understand how the climate crisis will affect Hawaii, they have noted that drought will get worse as global temperature increases. As heat sets in, the dried-out land and vegetation can provide fuel for wildfires, which can swiftly turn deadly if strong winds fan the flames into communities.

        Maui has moderate drought covering more than one-third of the island, with some areas seeing severe drought, according to the US Drought Monitor. And the areas in drought coincide with some of the fires.

      • VOA NewsScientists Report Mass Antarctic Penguin Die-Off

        Warming seas prematurely melted the ocean ice, killing baby penguins before they were mature enough to survive. Scientists say when the ice breaks up too soon because of global warming, the chicks fall into the water and drown or freeze. The study by the British Antarctic Survey, the national polar research institute, was published Friday in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.

      • Omicron Limitedoxygen

        "As the temperature in the water increases, the amount of oxygen available decreases. And too little oxygen spells trouble for fish. It's hard to imagine, but a fish can drown," explained Martin Grosell, professor and chair of the Department of Marine Biology and Ecology at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science.

      • Omicron LimitedHow dangerous is extreme heat to humans?

        Perhaps more alarmingly, "the UK may become too hot to endure within three decades", which would surely be a concern to the 97% of humanity who live in places with hotter summers than the UK.

        The good news: Britons won't have to move to Sweden by 2050. The bad news: deadly heat is already here, is getting worse, and soon may become a vastly bigger problem than it is even now in nearly every part of the world.

      • Energy/Transportation

        • Vermont Journalism Trust LtdLetter to the editor: Public light-rail system would be helpful

          That said, we are strongly of the opinion that the long-term sustainable solution for everyone to travel is actually European-style light-rail networks across city, state and region. The origins of light-rail transit systems were electric trolleys.

          I think Vermont’s late Marty Jezer wrote the best history of how General Motors systematically purchased and destroyed the electric trolley systems of cities across the U.S., beginning almost a century ago. (His book is “The Dark Ages: Life in the United States 1945-1960.”)

        • [Old] Internet ArchiveThe dark ages, life in the United States, 1945-1960
      • Wildlife/Nature

    • Finance

    • AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

      • YLEFinnish firm Stora Enso bans Tiktok from company phones

        A growing number of companies and organisations have banned the social media platform from their devices due to cybersecurity concerns.

      • Daniel PocockDaniel Pocock: Will Fowles, the ALP, women & Parliament culture scandal

        Victorians have been scratching their heads for the last few weeks wondering what is really behind the mysterious resignation of Will Fowles. The premier, Daniel Andrews, told us he was personally notified of an accusation late on Friday, 4 August. The following day, Saturday, 5 August, Dan asked Will to resign from the parliamentary caucus. Furthermore, Dan's public statements suggest he is taking sides with an anonymous accuser.

        Will's Wikipedia page gives some basic facts about Will's career up to this point but I felt it would be useful to fill in some gaps, going right back to student politics, while simultaneously looking at the problems of the Victorian parliament. Let's not forget where the name Victoria comes from.

        To put it in perspective, here are some photos I took in Canberra. The man speaking to the group is the highly distinguished leader of the party at that time, Kim Beazley. In the second photo, Will is the student holding a coffee cup and Mr Beazley appears to be looking directly at him. The student on Will's left, not visible in the photos, would become one of the Premier's most trusted advisors before moving into the private sector.

        As noted in a previous blog, I was fortunate enough to receive my first reference letter from Mr Beazley after creating a web site about Native Title.

        Mr Beazley has no connection with the current problems in Victoria. These pictures show us how Australian political parties have opened their doors to young people and given people opportunities, for better or for worse.

      • France24Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Chamisa alleges ‘gigantic fraud’ in presidential vote

        Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa on Sunday alleged “blatant and gigantic fraud” after the country’s electoral commission said President Emmerson Mnangagwa had won a second term. International observers reported an atmosphere of intimidation against voters. FRANCE 24's Erin Bates reports from South Africa.

      • Federal News NetworkZimbabwe’s opposition alleges ‘gigantic fraud’ in vote that extends the ZANU-PF party’s 43-year rule

        Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader has alleged “blatant and gigantic fraud” after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of another troubled election in the southern African nation. Returns were announced Saturday night, two days earlier than expected. International observers reported an atmosphere of intimidation against voters. Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa's Citizens Coalition for Change party said it would challenge the election results as “hastily assembled without proper verification.” The announced outcome of the voting on Wednesday and Thursday extends the ruling ZANU-PF party's 43-year hold on power in Zimbabwe.

      • Digital Music NewsTikTok Shop Isn’t Profitable—Will Outside E-Commerce Links Be Banned?

        TikTok Shop isn’t profitable and is on track to lose $500 million this year. Will the social media giant ban outside e-commerce links to create a walled shopping garden?

      • Hong Kong Free PressBillionaire Foxconn founder Terry Gou announces Taiwan presidential bid as independent

        Foxconn’s billionaire founder Terry Gou announced Monday that he will run for president of Taiwan as an independent candidate. Gou made his fortune turning Foxconn into the world’s largest contract producer of electronics, including for Apple’s iPhones.

      • RFERLPakistan Court Drops Sedition Charges Against Former PM Imran Khan

        A court in Pakistan on August 28 dismissed a sedition case against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, his lawyer said on the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

    • Censorship/Free Speech

      • JURISTBurmese hip-hop artist sentenced to 20 years for criticizing Myanmar military leadership

        On Thursday, 38-year-old Burmese hip-hop artist Byu Har was sentenced to 20 years in prison for purportedly critiquing the present military-administered state.€  A family member of Har shared the verdict details with the Associated Press (AP).

      • The Washington PostIn some schools, dread over the new year: ‘We’re scared to teach’

        Across the country, teachers are reporting to their unions and principals what they describe as a list of accruing traumas from their classrooms. From disruptions to hallway melees to pushy parents to anxieties around censorship and the increasingly political nature of their jobs, many educators say they are starting this school year on edge.

        The concerns differ, in kind and degree, from district to district. But the growing disrespect some teachers feel is a unifying theme.

      • Book RiotLibrary Bomb Threats Continue to Increase: Book Censorship News, August 25, 2023

        It’s not just the Chicago area dealing with an increase in library bomb threats, but it makes for an important point about what’s happening that needs to be emphasized again and again. Bad actors aren’t just in states that folks like to malign; they’re even in “good” states where there are new laws protecting libraries from book bans. The belief that we should only care about “good” states plays right into the very systems that the christian nationalist book censors create. They’ve done enough gerrymandering and disenfranchised voters so deeply that saying “this is what Florida/Texas/fill-in-the-blank” state voted for only adds fuel to their fire. It also deeply harms those living in those states who, through no choice of their own, have had their voting power stolen from them.

      • VOA NewsIran Files Legal Case Against Singer Urging Veil Removal

        Authorities in Iran have begun legal proceedings against a prominent pop singer over his latest song urging women to take off their mandatory headscarves, the judiciary said Sunday.

        The action against Mehdi Yarrahi comes almost a year after the death in custody of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini, 22, triggered months of protests around the country.

      • New York TimesHow Free Speech and Willful Blindness Will Play Out in the Trump Prosecution

        The First Amendment and the former president’s claim he that believed he won won’t help him.

      • France24Biden and Harris to meet King’s family on ‘I Have a Dream’ speech anniversary

        President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s family to mark Monday’s 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, where King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial.

    • Civil Rights/Policing

      • JURISTUS sanctions China officials over Tibetan assimilation policies

        The US Department of State announced visa restrictions on Chinese officials linked to the alleged systematic assimilation of over a million Tibetan children in state-operated boarding schools. This decision is part of a broader strategy by the Biden administration to address China’s treatment of its ethnic minorities, with a particular focus on the Tibetan and Xinjiang Uighur regions.

      • India TimesThe Taliban say security forces will stop women from visiting Afghan national park

        The Taliban will use security forces to stop women from visiting one of Afghanistan's most popular national parks, according to information shared by a spokesman for the Vice and Virtue Ministry. The ministry alleges that women have not been observing the proper way to wear the hijab, or Islamic headscarf, when going to Band-e-Amir in the central Bamiyan province.

        This comes a week after the minister, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, visited the province and told officials and religious clerics that women haven't been adhering to the correct way of wearing the hijab, asking security personnel to stop women from visiting the tourist hotspot.

      • RFERLTaliban Says Security Forces Will Stop Women From Visiting Afghan National Park

        [...] The ministry alleges that women have not been observing the proper way to wear the hijab, or Islamic head scarf, at Band-e-Amir in Bamiyan Province. [...]

    • Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

      • ! Avi Alkalay €¡: Handling Inbox spam

        I’m a serial unsubscriber — absolutely ruthless when it comes to keeping my inbox in order. If I get a new ad or newsletter on my inbox I immediately scroll to the end of it to click on the tiny “unsubscribe” link. I admit I have great pleasure doing this without even seeing the ad.

        I also never ever give my personal e-mail address in account registrations. Instead, if an e-mail address is absolutely necessary, I have my own mail relay service that creates a unique address for each account registration. If you think about it, real people do not communicate through e-mail anymore, only chat nowadays. You keep your e-mail address to communicate mostly with companies only, not friends and family.

      • Adriaan de GrootMessage media (IRC)

        Because I wanted to change some messaging settings for Calamares, I needed to connect to IRC again.

        [..]

        Given the available emotional energy (e.g. lack of desire to monitor two chat applications), it is really likely that IRC is going to fall by the wayside.

      • Jeff GeerlingA Pigeon is still faster than the Internet

        In 2009, a company in South Africa proved a homing pigeon was faster than an ADSL connection, flying a 4 GB USB flash drive to prove it.

        Besides IEEE's speculative work, nobody's actually re-run the 'bird vs. Internet' race in over a decade.

    • Monopolies

      • Patents

        • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O9th Circuit Revives False Claims Act Action for Fraud on the Patent Office

          The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently issued a pair of decisions in the qui tam case Silbersher v. Valeant Pharmaceuticals concerning the False Claims Act’s (FCA) public disclosure bar.€  The case sets significant precedent in linking FCA claims to patent prosecution and fraud upon the patent office.€  The case can be contrasted with Silbersher v. Allergan, Inc., 21-15420, — F.4th — (9th Cir. Aug. 25, 2022) [21-15420], that Silbersher lost.

      • Trademarks

        • TTAB BlogTTABlog Test: Which of These Section 2(d) Refusals Was/Were Reversed?

          Here are three recent appeals from Section 2(d) refusals. At least one of the refusals was reversed. How do you think these came out? Answers will be found in the first comment.



          In re Neptune Eyewear Pty. Ltd.
          , Serial No. 90544913 (August 22, 2023) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Christopher C. Larkin). [Section 2(d) refusal of the mark AVANTI for "Frames for spectacles and sunglasses, excluding frames for protective eyeglasses," in view of the registered mark AVANTÉ for "protective eyeglasses."]

      • Copyrights

        • Digital Music NewsMajor Labels Demand $46.8 Million Payment — Plus Interest — from ISP Grande Communications

          Back in November of 2022, a jury awarded the major labels over $46.76 million in damages as part of their copyright infringement lawsuit against Grande Communications Networks. Now, with the decision having been upheld by a federal court, the Big Three have officially moved to assure that the internet service provider (ISP) will in fact cough up the sizable sum if its ongoing appeal falls short.

        • Torrent FreakSelling 'Handmade' USB Drives with Pirated Movies is a Thing

          A quarter century ago, computer aficionados had to spend a lot of time and effort to get the latest warez. That's no longer the case today. Pirates can get nearly everything they want on demand. And for those who prefer something tangible, there are opportunistic online sellers of 'handmade' USB drives or hard drives, preloaded with pirated films and TV shows.

  • Gemini* and Gopher


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



Recent Techrights' Posts

Sheriff of Cork & Debian Edward Brocklesby or Brockelsby Street confusion
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
"Conviction for a Crime he Did Not Commit," Said Jennifer Robinson
Robinson is the kind of woman accomplisher we should look up to
An Extended Statement on Julian Assange
Assange's release was not important enough to "make the cut" for News, only "tweets" and other Social Control Media nonsense.
Microsoft Falling to New Lows in Aruba
Being below 20% in America is the exception, not the norm
 
Debian Project Still Has a Lot of Explaining to Do...
Assange was actually a Debian Developer
[Meme] When Ian (of Debian) Was Still Alive
I wasn't always a Debian Developer...
"Julian Assange is Free"
Published ~34 minutes ago
GNU/Linux Userbase Surging in Iceland
Maybe there's something big going on, like people deleting Vista 11 in droves and installing GNU/Linux instead
Jennifer Robinson: "After 14 years of legal battles, Julian Assange can go home a free man”
She explains the implications for the general freedom of the press
Judge: Assange Leaves Court 'A Free Man'
on his way to Australia now
Julian Assange verdict: guilty, not guilty or blackmailed
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
12 Months Ago the FSF Said It Would Issue a Statement on IBM Taking RHEL Proprietary
Statement never happened
Microsoft's Bing Fall From 2.6% Before LLM Hype to Just 0.79% Right Now in Russia
statCounter's data
[Meme] Speaking Truth to Power (Still Easier in the West Than in Russia/BRIC)
Different people, different outcomes
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 25, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 25, 2024
The Plot to Silence (or Deplatform) Techrights
This past month I've been spending time working on the text of an online publication
[Meme] Julian Assange's Lawyers Need to Ensure Assange Maintains Freedom to Publish
Let's ensure he can continue to publish
Trying to Make Blogs (Independent and Mostly Decentralised Platforms) What Comes After Social Control Media
Social Control Networks 'stole the thunder' of blogs, but can we get back to blogs?
Julian Assange Has Landed
There will probably be some press interviews some time this month or next month
L is for Linux and Lao
Lao should really have something called LaOS
[Meme] Need More Sites Like Wikileaks, Not Less
On US government vs Wikileaks
We Know Who Stands to Gain From the Demise of the Press
the Assange release was a win for his family, but likely a dire loss for press freedom
[Meme] Think Twice Before Exposing or 'Embarrassing' Powerful People and Interests
The United States government has basically won the Assange case
The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is Openwashing, Ben Cotton (Fedora) Acknowledges It, Fails to See How Bribes Led to That
As if... it "just happened"
Links 25/06/2024: RAM Stress, COVID Graft
Links for the day
Gemini Links 25/06/2024: Hey Hi Punditry and Right to Repair
Links for the day
Links 25/06/2024: Julian Assange Freed From Prison, "AI" Bubble Imploding Some More
Links for the day
Three Points About Julian Assange Plea Deal
There is still a secret problem
[Meme] EFF Became a 'Bunch of Pussies' Working for GAFAM (and Sponsored by GAFAM)
It won't protect people, except very rich people's interests
IBM Does Not Care for the Blind (Wayland Harms Accessibility)
What a punch in the gut
Who Is This Backup FOR, the NSA?
As Admfubar put it, "backups for everyone..."
Tux Machines Past 20: Still Thriving
Now 20 years and 2 weeks old
[Meme] Microsoft is Coming /Home
"LOL, REAL SORRY!!!"
Microsoft's Siege of Libya Coming to an End
One might be tempted to guess the users deleted Windows and installed something else
Gemini Links 25/06/2024: Old Computer Challenge; An Opinionated GNU/Linux Guide
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 24, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, June 24, 2024
IEEE Computer Society on Andrew Tanenbaum, Winner of ACM Award, Who Also Inspired Linux Development
10 years ago
New Talk by Dr. Richard Stallman Published Two Days Ago By CeSIUM - Centro de Estudantes de Engenharia Informática da Universidade do Minho (Portugal)
The FSF no longer mentions Richard Stallman's talks, but we will
FSF Looking to Raise Money by Adding 200 New Members by July 19
The FSF is in good shape, according to Alexandre Oliva
Not Only Does It Not Add Security... (UEFI as a 'Bug Door')
SecureCore?
Data From Monaco Should Alarm Microsoft
Just how many people are deleting Windows and installing something else this year?
Name the Threats and Threat Actors
Looking back to 2006, there was Novell and gregkh (partly salaried by Microsoft), so these are familiar territories
Linux in Central Sahel (Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger)
Vast area, vast number of "Linux users" (if one counts Android as such)
[Meme] Gagging One's Own Staff as a Signal of Corporate Distress
Censorship at Microsoft
The "Other" SPLC
You know you're winning the debate when censorship is explored
Staying the Course
censorship isn't easy against sites that understand ways to resist it
The 'All-Seeing' Microsoft Eye
Microsofters are observing us closely
Links 24/06/2024: Long COVID and "How I Write Blogs"
Links for the day
Microsoft: By Default, Destroy Linux
Here is what the very "polite" Microsoft Boccassi had to say
Allegations That Microsoft is Covering Up Employee Dissatisfaction and Using a Survey to Catch 'Risk' to the Cult Mentality
This favours or gradually socially-engineers a company for sociopathy
'Linux Hint' Inactive for Nearly a Month (It Used to be Very Active)
Their Twitter account hasn't been active for a long time and it's not too clear what's going on
An Unexpected GNU/Linux Trend
Burkina Faso is changing and not just politically
Android (Linux) at New Highs in Burkina Faso, Now Measured at 72% (Windows Was Measured at 98% 15 Years Ago)
based on this month's estimates
With 0.76% for ChromeOS and 3.7% for GNU/Linux (4.5% Total) Burkina Faso Approaches 5% for 'Linux'
More if one counts Android as "Linux"
Gemini Links 24/06/2024: Being Dull and OpenSSH Autoban
Links for the day
EPO Issues in The Hague
a report dated 4 days ago about a meeting that took place 12 days ago
[Meme] Garbage in, Garbage Out (EPO Patent Quality)
"Get back to work"
When the Employer Makes You Too Sick to Go to Work (New EPO Document)
"registering when you are sick"
Perens on a Stick
Remember what Novell did and how few (barely anyone) sided with Novell
Andrew Tanenbaum Gets an Award for His Work on MINIX
ACM one week ago
Twitter's Fall to Irrelevancy in Europe
Musk bought a dud
[Meme] 'Useless' Kids of EPO Examiners
malnourished?
Granting Loads of Monopolies in Europe (to Foreign Corporations of Epic Size and Far Too Much Power Inside Europe) is Vastly More Important Than Raising European Kids Properly?
"Efficiency" first? Whose? Corporations or families? No wonder so many young families are hesitant to have any kids these days; that's particularly true in east Asia and also in north America, not just Europe
[Meme] Putin's Red Flags
Firefox ESR or Firefox USSR
The Corporate/Mainstream Media and Even Social Control Media is Distorting the Record About What Mozilla Actually Did (It Originally Surrendered to Vladimir Putin)
Mozilla being avoided for purely technical reasons (sites not being compatible with it) is one thing. Foolishly, Mozilla is giving people more political reasons to also shun Mozilla. This is suicide.
GNU/Linux Up Some More This Morning, Windows Down Sharply Even in Rich Countries
Microsoft is in trouble in the Muslim world
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Rising... Towards 5% for ChromeOS and GNU/Linux
the latest numbers show it growing from about 0.1% to around 2.4% for GNU/Linux, plus 2.01% for Chromebooks (ChromeOS), i.e. about 5% in total.
Techrights in the Coming Decade: The Free Speech (Online) Angle
Free speech is a fundamental tenet of a free society
Links 24/06/2024: New Research, New Attacks on Justices Sceptical of Patent Maximalists, European Commission for Copyright Maximalists
Links for the day
[Meme] 12 Years a Fedora Volunteer
IBM gives me a 'free' Fedora badge as recognition
IBM Slavery: Not a New Problem
When IBM got rid of Ben Cotton it showed the world how much it valued Fedora
Why They Want to Abolish Master/Slave Terminology (Because This is What They're Turned Free Software Into)
It used to be about community; GAFAM turned that into exploitation and worse
Roy and Rianne's Righteously Royalty-free RSS Reader (R.R.R.R.R.R.) Version 0.2 is Released
They say summer "officially" started some days ago
Torvalds' Number Two Quit Linux a Decade Ago and Has Since Then Earned an Honorary Doctorate
Revisiting Fuzix and Alan Cox
GNU/Linux Reaches All-Time High in Tunisia
Based on statCounter
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 23, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, June 23, 2024
Edward Brocklesby (ejb) & Debian: Hacking expulsion cover-up in proximity to Oxford and GCHQ
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
You Know the Microsoft Products Really Suck When...
"Qualcomm and Microsoft go 'beyond the call of duty' to stop independent Copilot+ PC reviews"
IBM and "Regime Change"
Change of regime is not the same as freedom
Microsoft Windows in Nicaragua: From 98% to Less Than 25%
Operating System Market Share Nicaragua
Techrights in the Coming Decade: The Community Angle
Somebody needs to call them out on their BS
Techrights in the Coming Decade: The Software Angle
Gemini Protocol has just turned 5 - i.e. roughly the same age as our Git repositories
Techrights in the Coming Decade: The Patent Angle
Next month marks 10 years since we began covering EPO leaks
Wookey, Intrigeri, Cryptie & Debian pseudonyms beyond Edward Brocklesby
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock