𝕿𝖊𝖈𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘 Bulletin for Sunday, November 28, 2021 ┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅ Generated Mon 29 Nov 02:40:37 GMT 2021 Created by Dr. Roy Schestowitz (𝚛𝚘𝚢 (at) 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚣 (dot) 𝚌𝚘𝚖) Full hyperlinks for navigation omitted but are fully available in the originals The corresponding HTML versions are at 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈 Latest in 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒕𝒙𝒕 and older bulletins can be found at 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒕𝒙𝒕-𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 Full IPFS index in 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒊𝒑𝒇𝒔 and as plain text in 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒊𝒑𝒇𝒔/𝒕𝒙𝒕 Gemini index for the day: gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2021/11/28/ ╒═══════════════════ 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐁𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐒 ════════════════════════════════════╕ Previous bulletins in IPFS (past 21 days, in chronological order): QmYKBd728JBm11x2JbtET9sF2KJXtKjGPDD1jVnpt7fLqz QmQba8m7JeAYTn4JDwkhe5nDZfnw9TnSASsQqLF7LBYEg2 QmT9Hh5LgzS2eg26pkvFLpdGLNAEURRLod8DffDCczhxy1 QmdEutfCAc7HzKtnLt7k7b2dajGSqfBSGnEPAuD2bontJM QmSuWrcnwPk5e1gVWiJbTq7uxUkNn8DzRVm659JmGTFR5W QmRDvU3Bb1mJHK7qGvaLg5kKvJ9tXx4qDntaaZU2EPXgnr QmXnPPSuiAbypBs2W4Hu14xEgjjptzNmzCptadFdRv7xt5 Qmed7VnZALGrUYrCRnPW72Zg4XmWFjZQUFe7BHLQ4EWp12 Qmak6N1wRPKAPf9DxMtCC9P4rZVS2rKi58Zcinr7iLRtd5 QmYZPeUTA2uaPPdjbKd4Mhnwn8aLtQKzy7Ft175ssdW8PT QmcNLdXKwxdD6cLvdgRCUDzCTD4PfjtBzdq6btKA1VdHeD QmXkgs6nUp2YxKaphy2EXnEaHqcAAagQyA5Z44RUfN2uvD QmdGDdRX8ZuGj76UZ5fvhjBZ81N9v4RyisduQDvtX5i4bQ QmXUd8Sk2pSNG2yA8y1Ddfd7zDgDgQCfztF4s5mGnkZKin QmeDHFuwxMuWGXnXY8ELJ4X5fk6wWvRiyFNXRQ9noLwTQw Qma6fG1kUmKGPn5zAHpVWkUoTsUNdRgGNmFYPmFKcxGEHK QmcehsKRe5D9pD1MUq2cbSWmBriwyeQoqZP3fXiJWEjy4z QmSWwJ7eRdx1kz73nTFtXRp2vF9nhTnV7sYYZVwuM6t9c5 QmWM7VYrVdqPgZh8JgwKyiXxRcVGNjoM8cBVEUyQXKcR5T QmWSgWCNaXdj4bqpVXJtFwGUpuJtUjJhMJNpvzpyfvb343 QmcVbvyKViSMyKpSnvawYzxL7fTBuhBFrU1Qs3vw1Dka8p ╒═══════════════════ 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐗 ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ⦿ IRC Proceedings: Saturday, November 27, 2021 | Techrights ⦿ By 2022 0% of ’News’ Coverage About Patents Will Be Actual Journalism (Patent Litigation Sector Has Hijacked the World Wide Web to Disseminate Self-Promotional Misinformation) | Techrights ⦿ Trying to Appease Those Who Never Liked Free Software or Those Who Blindly Loved All Patent Monopolies to Begin With | Techrights ䷼ Bulletin articles (as HTML) to comment on (requires login): http://techrights.org/2021/11/28/irc-log-271121/#comments http://techrights.org/2021/11/28/little-or-no-actual-journalism/#comments http://techrights.org/2021/11/28/sticking-to-facts/#comments ䷞ Followed by Daily Links (assorted news picks curated and categorised): http://techrights.org/2021/11/28/github-offline-for-hours/#comments http://techrights.org/2021/11/28/linux-5-16-rc3/#comments ䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 54 ╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ (ℹ) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2021/11/28/irc-log-271121/#comments Gemini version at gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2021/11/28/irc-log-271121/ ⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 11.28.21⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧ Gemini_version_available_♊︎ ✐ IRC_Proceedings:_Saturday,_November_27,_2021⠀✐ Posted in IRC_Logs at 2:33 am by Needs Sunlight Also available via the Gemini protocol at: * gemini://gemini.techrights.org/tr_text_version/irc-log-techrights- 271121.txt * gemini://gemini.techrights.org/tr_text_version/irc-log-271121.txt * gemini://gemini.techrights.org/tr_text_version/irc-log-social-271121.txt * gemini://gemini.techrights.org/tr_text_version/irc-log-techbytes- 271121.txt Over HTTP: 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇H 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇HTML5_logs⦈_ #techrights_log_as_HTML5 #boycottnovell_log_as_HTML5 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇H 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇HTML5_logs⦈_ #boycottnovell-social_log_as_HTML5 #techbytes_log_as_HTML5 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇t 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇text_logs⦈_ #techrights_log_as_text #boycottnovell_log_as_text 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇t 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇text_logs⦈_ #boycottnovell-social_log_as_text #techbytes_log_as_text Enter_the_IRC_channels_now =============================================================================== § IPFS Mirrors⠀➾ CID Description Object type IRC log for  QmTxQWgRfqea9HvrhzrDcuEqnoSci41Zp9P99jVrYFHhPs #boycottnovell 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #boycottnovell  QmcuRrqEuDo7FNL7pxim1RHZEfnQyZV7rJLMFLhpFjiN98 (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈ as plain/ASCII text) IRC log for #boycottnovell-  QmPqpGghsFb1P5nAYKGLTyThyi63p6Cxfa7YyM7WBuKqjX social 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #boycottnovell-  QmRak8TjLxD2HdDG6rzP3rapc7KdyTp39zMkCy4epEC9Ci social 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈ (full IRC log as plain/ASCII text) IRC log for  Qmd3rgqEQ2qZGmW2qHc36V1UBSHH9vLBvScb9pyhgGEbG1 #techbytes 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #techbytes  QmQHNuyPMgxSX6kPsi6YpChvS4Gavfwej6rCTh1jY1Yzq4 (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈ as plain/ASCII text) IRC log for  QmXkHyYxZNQC7nGwKwFiEqtNpR7pJNNLeEFyPyygL9p98X #techrights 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #techrights  QmePj5szLJ7bqYbmodVqPTejx1Ukp5yTskKSJ99UqZuWVc (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈ as plain/ASCII text) 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇IPFS logo⦈ § Bulletin for Yesterday⠀➾ Local_copy | CID (IPFS): QmUKBswRXMsDq5RCK5eUe68NysKpHtQ9EhcoUWes6WJbtG ䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 183 ╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ (ℹ) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2021/11/28/little-or-no-actual-journalism/#comments Gemini version at gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2021/11/28/little-or-no-actual-journalism/ ⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 11.28.21⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧ Gemini_version_available_♊︎ ✐ By_2022_0%_of_‘News’_Coverage_About_Patents_Will_Be_Actual_Journalism_(Patent Litigation_Sector_Has_Hijacked_the_World_Wide_Web_to_Disseminate_Self- Promotional_Misinformation)⠀✐ Posted in Deception, Europe, Marketing, Patents at 1:19 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz Video_download_link | md5sum 3ec4eadab0b6d2d6dd1d32598e7051b8 http://techrights.org/videos/fake-news-patents.webm Summary: Finding news about the EPO is almost impossible because today’s so- called ‘news’ sites are in the pockets of Benoît_Battistelli, António_Campinos, and their cohorts who turned the EPO into a hub of litigation, not science; this is part of an international (worldwide) problem because financial resources for journalism have run out, and so the vacuum is filled/replaced almost entirely by Public Relations (PR) and marketing THIS site of ours has been around for a very long time and it started by focusing on patents (initially it was one particular patent collusion). Back then, in early winter of 2006, there was no lack of press coverage when important things happened. The media was all over the Microsoft-Novell deal (literally hundreds of press articles). One could expect that somebody out there would get assigned to investigate events of interest. I fondly remember those days; almost all the coverage from those days is now offline (broken/ changed links, sometimes no copy left online, primarily due to copyright law). Reading news about patents 10 or 15 years ago was occasionally fun. There were the occasional journalistic works into key matters/subjects like software patents and patent trolls. Sometimes they’d quote some law firm, but it would not dominate the narrative. Back then groups like FFII and the EFF habitually wrote about patents and sought reform. It was possible to actually find information. There was also a balance. “Reading news about patents 10 or 15 years ago was occasionally fun.”In the past few years, however, as we’ve mentioned many times before, it’s almost impossible to find any real journalism about patents. It’s so rare. And where it does exist it is super shallow, it’s almost like a mildly-edited press release of some company. In the context of EPO affairs and the UPC, the situation has gotten quite extreme; not only do they dominate the narrative with deliberate lies (disinformation) but they also shout down critics and sometimes delete comments of people whom they do not agree with. The so-called ‘news’ sites about patents are now sponsored and controlled by the litigation ‘industry’ [sic] — the exact same thing which happened to EPO management. “Last week we said that the World Wide Web is fast becoming nothing but a PR “spamfarm” and the same has become true about important topics in Wikipedia (where there is a lot of money at stake).”Seeing that there is only a slim chance of finding actual news in RSS feeds about patents (Patently-O is now paid and controlled by a patent litigation company that lobbies for software patents), I’ve decided to permanently relegate the reading of news about patents, turning it into a weekend task. I started experimenting with such a cycle about a month ago (for the first time since this site was born) and so far I find that even days later (without watching such news at all) I miss nothing of true value/importance, partly because a lot of what stays on the Web is either false or spammy (like law firms promoting themselves). Many of the rebuttals are nowadays posted in Daily Links (as editorial comments); writing whole articles of response/rebuttal is very time-consuming and it does not scale well; this seems like a broader trend on the Web. Last week we said that the World_Wide_Web_is_fast_becoming_nothing_but_a_PR "spamfarm" and the same has become true about important topics in Wikipedia (where there is a lot of money at stake). In the video above I used the example of JUVE, which became absolutely terrible in recent years (it has quit pretending to be doing actual news), as explained above in a video with more information/examples to come in Daily Links… █ ䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 277 ╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ (ℹ) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2021/11/28/sticking-to-facts/#comments Gemini version at gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2021/11/28/sticking-to-facts/ ⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 11.28.21⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧ Gemini_version_available_♊︎ ✐ Trying_to_Appease_Those_Who_Never_Liked_Free_Software_or_Those_Who_Blindly Loved_All_Patent_Monopolies_to_Begin_With⠀✐ Posted in Europe, Free/Libre_Software, FUD, GNU/Linux, Patents at 11:07 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇LTT_Loves_Linux⦈_ Summary: It’s crystal clear that trying to appease everyone, all the time, is impossible; in the case of the EPO, for example, we hope that exposing Team Battistelli/Campinos helps raise awareness of the harms of patent maximalism, and when speaking about Free software — whilst occasionally bashing the alternatives (proprietary) — we hope to convince more people to join the “Good Fight” THE extended weekend (American holiday) is nearly over and we still have two ongoing series, one of which resumes tomorrow. It’s about GitHub, which has just had hours-long downtime. Sometimes those things are indicative of brain drain, but not always. Things are everything but rosy deep inside GitHub (Microsoft does not want the public to see it). Here in Techrights we have made allies of convenience and shared interests. Some of our writers/contributors work or worked for Microsoft; sometimes they remain anonymous. We’ve been more or less the same for 15 years. It’s simple. Stick to a position, defend it as long as it is defensible, and hope that some people will see the light and maybe ‘defect’ (like choosing to leave Microsoft, then speak out against Microsoft; it does happen sometimes!). We’ve never attempted to lower our guard by appeasing patent maximalists, who are also the system’s profiteers. During this pandemic many people realise what impact patents really have on health, whether it’s because a few companies stockpiled patents on work funded by taxpayers or more people recognise that COVID-19 patent monopolies greatly increase the cost of vaccines (sometimes by a factor of 100!) and reduce the incentive to improve existing vaccines. Heck, they even reduce the incentive to actually resolve this crisis because the longer it goes on for, the more doses will be sold (or rather, the more times those same patents will get “licensed”). We have a great deal to say and a lot of thoughts about patents, including OIN’s war on our cause (abolishing software patents), Team UPC faking a lot of things (details in Daily Links), quality of European Patents collapsing (but law firms no longer speaking about it; nor do they speak about the EPO’s tribunals lacking autonomy), and illegal “online” appeals still being compulsory (for another 6 months at least). On top of that we have FUD campaigns against GNU/Linux, which seem to have taken up a lot of time (rebuttals), so there’s no lack of topics to cover, just a lack of time/ capacity to cover them. We’ll do our best to prioritise whilst also improving the site’s operations, e.g. for better efficiency and broader protocol support. At the moment the Gemini capsule will almost never be more than 5 minutes behind the Web site. That’s a considerable improvement in its own right. █ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⣀⣀⣀⣀⠀⢀⣀⣀⣀⣀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⣶⣴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣤⣶⣶⣶⣦⣤⡀⠀⣀⣀⣀⣀⠀ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⡏⠀⢀⣀⣤⣤⣶⣶⣶⣤⣤⣀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⣧⡾⢻⣿⣿⡟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠉⠛⢷⣤⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠋⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣸⣿⡏⢀⣿⣿⣿⢁⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣾⣿⣦⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⢩⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⠘⠡⣼⣾⣿⡟⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣼⢿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣧⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⣷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢻⠇⠸⣿⡯⢋⠽⠿⢿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿ ⢸⣏⣂⠁⠛⠛⠃⠀⢾⡿⠝⠻⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⡏⢸⣿⣷⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⢸⣇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⡏⠈⠀⠘⠿⠿⠿⠟⠷⠦⠀⣹⣿⠈⠑⠁ ⠈⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣶⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠋⠈⠙⠛⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⠋⠉⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⣦⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢹⡆⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⢰⡟⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣀⣀⣤⣤⣤⣶⣶⣿⣿⣿⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⡿⠹⣿⠘⣷⣦⣄⣀⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢻⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⡿⠁⠀⠀⠀⢀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡏⡿⠛⠿⢿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠀⠿⠿⠿⢿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢻⣿⡿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠟⣿⣿⣿⠟⢛⣿⠟⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⡿⠿⠛⠛⠀⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢻⡇⠀⠀⢁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠻⣶⣤⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣸⣿⣿⣿⣶⠟⠋⠂⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⡏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⠃⠀⠀⣾⣷⣶⣤⣀⠀⠀⠀⣤⣟⣻⣿⣿⡶⠶⠶⠿⠟⠛⠉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⣀⠀⠀⠀⠳⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⡀⢤⣀⣄⢠⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣻⠀⠀⠀⡛⠋⢉⣻⣿⣷⣽⣶⣀⣶⣤⣶⣶⣶⣾⣷⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⣿⣶⣶⣆⣄⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣠⣤⣶⣶⣤⣀⣀⣠⣴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⣿⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⣤⣄⣀⣤⣴⣾⣧⣶⣤⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⢀⣴⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⣤⣴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣤⡀⠀⠀ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⡀ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿ ⣤⣤⣠⣤⣤⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡤⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣤⣤⣄⣀⣀⠀⢀ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⡿⠿⣿⡟⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⣇⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣤⡄⢀⣤⣤⣄⣤⣤⣠⣤⣤⣤⡄⣤⣤⣄⠀⢠⣤⡄⢠⣤⢠⣤⢠⡄⣤⡄⣤⡤⣤⣠⣤⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⣿⣿⡟⡿⢿⣿⣿ ⠀⠀⠈⠉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⡇⢸⣿⢸⣿⢹⣿⣿⡏⣿⣧⡄⢿⣮⣍⣾⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⢸⣿⣾⡇⣿⡇⣿⡇⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠛⠯⠀⠀⠀⠁⠂ ⠀⠀⠀⢸⣆⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣇⣸⣿⣸⣿⡸⣿⣿⡇⣿⣇⡃⣶⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿⣟⢸⣿⢸⡏⣿⡇⢿⣇⣿⡇⣿⣿⣷⢻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⠀⢀⣤⣤⣤⣶⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠛⠛⣶⣶⣦⡄⠛⣯⣭⣭⣭⣭⣭⣭⣭⣭⣥⣭⣭⣥⣭⣭⣥⣥⣭⣭⣤⣭⣭⣥⣬⣭⣥⣭⣭⣭⣭⣬⣭⣬⣥⣬⣥⣬⣭⣭⣬⣭⣤⣭⣬⣭⣭⣭⣭⣭⣭⣭⣭⣭⣭⣀⣀⣸⠛⠋⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣀⣠⣿⣿⣿⡇⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣤⣤⡀⠀⠀⣀⠀⠀⠀ ⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣆⠀ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣄ ䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 382 ╒═══════════════════ 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 ═════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 11.28.21⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧ Gemini_version_available_♊︎ ✐ Links_28/11/2021:_Laravel_8.73_Released,_GitHub_Offline_for_Hours⠀✐ Posted in News_Roundup at 8:33 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈ § Contents⠀➾ * GNU/Linux o Distributions o Devices/Embedded * Free_Software/Open_Source * Leftovers * § GNU/Linux⠀➾ o § Desktop/Laptop⠀➾ # ⚓ Linux_Is_Everywhere:_5_Places_Where_You_Didn’t_Know_It’s There⠀⇛ Have you every wondered where is Linux? What key sectors does it power and in what areas is it commonly used? Many people, to this very day, think that Linux is nothing more than a server operating system for advanced users, and nothing more. But that’s not true. Linux can be found in unusual places that you may have not known before, and in today’s article we’ll be seeing some of these places. o § Server⠀➾ # ⚓ AuriStor_breathes_life_into_Andrew_File_System_–_Blocks_and Files [Ed: Financial ripoff; AuriStorFS is also limited to an operating system with NSA back doors so it's money down the sewer.]⠀⇛ Andrew File System developer AuriStor updated attendees at an IT Press Tour briefing about its work on the file system with an HPC and large enterprise customer base dating back 16 or more years. AuriStorFS (a modern, licensed version of AFS) is a networked file system providing local access to files in a global namespace that has claimed higher performance, security and data integrity than public cloud-based file-sharing offerings such as Nasuni and Panzura. AuriStor is a small and distributed organisation dedicated to expanding the popularity and cross- platform use of AuriStorFS. o § Audiocasts/Shows⠀➾ # ⚓ GNU_World_Order_436⠀⇛ **Slacktrack** and **SCons** from the **d** software series. # ⚓ This_Week_in_Linux_177:_Steam_Autumn_Sale,_NVIDIA, carbonOS,_Stargate,_Arch_Linux,_Amazon_Linux_|_TuxDigital⠀⇛ On this episode of This Week in Linux, Steam Autumn Sale 2021 & Steam Awards, NVIDIA Image Scaling SDK 1.0, Godot Engine Plus AMD’s FSR, German State Switch To LibreOffice & Linux, carbonOS 2021.1 Alpha, Venus: Virtual Vulkan Driver On QEMU, Stargate Digital Audio Workstation, Wireshark 3.6, Archinstall 2.3, Amazon Linux Rebased on Fedora Linux, Alpine Linux 3.15, Endless OS 4.0, and Deepin Linux 20.3. All that and much more on Your Weekly Source for Linux GNews! o § Linux Magazine⠀➾ # ⚓ In_the_news:_System76_Developing_a_New_Desktop_Environment; Hetzner_Opens_New_Location_in_the_USA;_KDE_Plasma_5.24 Introduces_Fingerprint_Reader_Support;_Ubuntu_21.10_Released and_Finally_Includes_Gnome_40;_Hive_Ransomware_Hitting_Linux and_FreeBSD_Systems;_and_SUSE_Reaches_Beyond_the_Edge_with SUSE_Linux_Enterprise_Micro_5.1.⠀⇛ # ⚓ Turn_Linux_into_a_gaming_platform_with_Lutris⠀⇛ # ⚓ Working_with_calendars_in_the_shell⠀⇛ # ⚓ Discarding_photo_fails_with_Go_and_Fyne⠀⇛ # ⚓ Turning_old_hardware_into_network_storage⠀⇛ # ⚓ An_accessible_Arch_Linux_derivative⠀⇛ # ⚓ Valuations_and_Values⠀⇛ # ⚓ Parse_the_systemd_journal_with_QJournalctl⠀⇛ # ⚓ Ubuntu_21.10_and_EndeavourOS_2021.08.27⠀⇛ # ⚓ Merging_file_systems_for_a_simple_NAS_with_MergerFS⠀⇛ # ⚓ A_beautiful_web_radio_for_a_living_room_music_system⠀⇛ # ⚓ TDE:_Museum_Piece_or_Modern_Desktop_Alternative?⠀⇛ # ⚓ This_month_in_Linux_Voice.⠀⇛ # ⚓ A_modern_search_tool⠀⇛ # ⚓ This_month_Graham_reviews_Bela,_Quickemu,_GPU-Viewer, Maestral,_Termux_and_AnLinux,_Space_Cadet,_and_more!⠀⇛ # ⚓ The_month_Zack_Brown_reports_on_wonky_typecasting.⠀⇛ # ⚓ Stress_testing_for_temperature_on_a_home_NAS⠀⇛ # ⚓ The_sys_admin’s_daily_grind:_ASN⠀⇛ # ⚓ Continuous_shooting_for_detailed_photography⠀⇛ # ⚓ Privacy_with_a_Home_Server⠀⇛ # ⚓ Replacing_Android_with_LineageOS⠀⇛ # ⚓ Synchronize_and_back_up_data_with_FreeFileSync⠀⇛ # ⚓ Linux_on_a_smartphone_with_PostmarketOS⠀⇛ o § Applications⠀➾ # ⚓ Wireshark_3.6.0⠀⇛ Wireshark is a network packet analyzer. A network packet analyzer will try to capture network packets and tries to display that packet data as detailed as possible. You could think of a network packet analyzer as a measuring device used to examine what’s going on inside a network cable, just like a voltmeter is used by an electrician to examine what’s going on inside an electric cable (but at a higher level, of course). In the past, such tools were either very expensive, proprietary, or both. However, with the advent of Wireshark, all that has changed. Wireshark is perhaps one of the best open source packet analyzers available today. o § Instructionals/Technical⠀➾ # ⚓ How_to_Install_Asterisk_VoIP_Server_on_Debian_11_|_10_– Linux_Shout⠀⇛ In this tutorial, we will discuss some of the steps and commands to install the Asterisk VoIP server on Debian 11 Bullseye or 10 Buster using the terminal to call over Android or iPhone using a local network. # ⚓ How_to_Install_PyCharm_on_Debian_11_Bullseye⠀⇛ PyCharm is a dedicated Python graphical IDE (Integrated Development Environment) popular amongst Python developers with its wide range of essential tools such as analyzing code, debugging, and integration. The IDE also comes with the command line, connects to a database, creates a virtual environment, and manages your version control system (Git). In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install PyCharm Community, Professional or Educational, with Flatpak or Snapcraft (Snap) on Debian 11 Bullseye. # ⚓ Install_apps_on_Linux_with_Flatpak_|_Opensource.com⠀⇛ Computer applications consist of many small files that are linked together to perform a set of tasks. Because they get presented as “apps,” colorful icons in the menu or on a desktop, most of us think of applications as a single, almost tangible thing. And in a way, it’s comforting to think of them that way because they feel manageable that way. If an application is actually the amalgamation of hundreds of little library and asset files scattered throughout your computer, where’s the application? And existential crisis aside, what happens when one application needs one version of a library while another application demands a different version? # ⚓ Easily_Install_PowerDNS_Admin_on_Debian_11/Debian_10_– kifarunix.com⠀⇛ In this tutorial, you will learn how to easily install PowerDNS Admin on Debian 11/Debian 10. PowerDNS Admin is a web administrative interface for PowerDNS. It enables you to easily create and manage DNS zones from a web browser. # ⚓ See,_Multi-Account_Containers_extension_is_not_needed_to use_Containers_in_Firefox_–_LinuxBSDos.com⠀⇛ That last bit about integration with Mozilla VPN is new and can be useful in some edge situations. But we won’t get into that in this article. Let’s just focus on Containers. Like I said earlier, I’ve always relied on the Firefox Multi-Account Containers extension because I thought that was the easiest method of managing Firefox containers. But what I didn’t know is that the features that the Firefox Multi-Account Containers bring to the table are already built into Firefox Core, so all that’s needed to make them shine is to just make 2 changes in the Firefox via about:config. Those 2 changes will give me the same functionalities as the Firefox Multi-Account Containers. So that’s what I’m going to show you show to do in this post. To begin, open a tab and type about:config in the address bar. After clicking through whatever prompt or warning it throws up, type privacy.user in the search bar. The two preferences you’re looking for are privacy.userContext.enabled and privacy.userContext.ui.enabled. Figure 2 shows both preferences in their default state – false. Notice that if you long left-click the new tab (+) button before installing the Firefox Multi-Account Containers extension and with both preferences in their default state, that noting happens. # ⚓ [Old] Migrating_Technical_Docs_from_Jekyll_to_Hugo+Docsy⠀⇛ Recently, I migrated Graphviz’technical documentation from the Jekyll static site generator to the Hugo static site generator, and specifically the Docsy Hugo theme for technical documentation. I thought it would be straightforward to move static site generators, but it turned out rather difficult, so perhaps it’s worth writing about. Good technical doc infra is underrated. I hope this will be useful to write about for anyone considering a move from Jekyll to Hugo, or anyone interested in an evaluation of Docsy. # ⚓ Log_backtraces_at_obfuscated_Android_methods⠀⇛ If you have the source code to the app, and the app is in debug mode (not obfuscated by ProGuard), this is easy: open Android Studio, click in the left- margin of the source code to add a breakpoint, untick the “Suspend” checkbox and tick the “Logging Options – Stack trace” checkbox. # ⚓ Simple_network_dashboard_with_vnstat⠀⇛ Hi! If you run a server or a router, you may want to have a nice view of the bandwidth usage and statistics. This is easy and quick to achieve using vnstat software. It will gather data regularly from network interfaces and store it in rrd files, it’s very efficient and easy to use, and its companion program vnstati can generate pictures, perfect for easy visualization. # ⚓ The_Pagination_Predicament⠀⇛ Previously there were 10 posts to a page, then you had to click through to the next page to see more posts. I have nearly 250 posts on this site now; ain’t no-one got time to be wading through 25 pages of blog posts! So now, all my posts render on a single page. To help you further, posts can be filtered by category at the top of the main blog page. Since I don’t have any featured images being displayed in my posts feed, the page still loads really quickly. Even when rendering ~250 posts. # ⚓ How_we_use_the_SLURM_job_scheduler_system_on_our_compute servers⠀⇛ Our motivation for using SLURM at all is that we have a pool of compute servers of varying capacity, and some GPU servers as well. A few of these compute servers are general login servers, but the problem with these is that they’re a free for all; anyone can log in at any time and start using CPU (and perhaps memory, although that can’t be fair- share scheduled so it’s first come, first served). Traditionally people have wanted to reserve some dedicated amount of resources that are theirs for some amount of time. Well, SLURM does that. # ⚓ Why_region_based_memory_allocation_help_with fragmentation⠀⇛ Overall, I think we can say that region allocation reduces fragmentation by making the order of allocating and freeing memory less important. If you intermix allocating a bunch of different sized objects and then don’t free all of them (or delay freeing them for a long time), in a simple allocator you wind up with allocated holes in your free ranges. In a region allocator, those different sized allocations go to different regions, and failing to free all of the objects of one size (in one region) doesn’t cause problems for other regions of other sizes. # ⚓ Computation_that_needs_to_be_“secure”_is_everywhere_in practice⠀⇛ The problem is that we have wound up with a lot of things on our devices that we want to keep confidential, or in another perspective we’ve wound up in a world where a lot of untrusted things have an inordinate amount of access to our devices. Cryptographic keys are the tip of the iceberg; there are also access tokens in the form of cookies, JWTs, and all of the other forms they take, URLs that we visit, apps that we use, what we type on the keyboard, and on and on and on. We are barely keeping up with identifying what’s sensitive and needs to be kept confidential, never mind actually controlling snooping on it. # ⚓ How_to_Install_phpMyAdmin_on_Debian_11_Bullseye_(Apache)_– Linux_Shout⠀⇛ PhpMyAdmin is an open-source web-based application that offers a web interface to directly manage and access MySQL or MariaDB databases from anywhere/ remotely using a web browser. The user can use the web graphical user interface provided by it to interact with databases without having extensive knowledge of the commands. Hence, even a newbie with some knowledge of computers can manage database tables for querying data and manipulating individual parameters. # ⚓ How_to_reset_or_refresh_Firefox⠀⇛ Browsers can be customized; you can change the way they look by installing themes and you can add or extend features by installing add-ons. Firefox is no different. In fact, Firefox offers users access to more customization options than most other browsers. # ⚓ Install_and_setup_Steam_on_Manjaro_Linux⠀⇛ Steam is a digital game distribution platform for gamers developed by Valve (a well-known game developer). It provides cross-platform support and can be used to buy, play thousands of games. To use Steam, users have to create an account, and they can access the same games on various computers. Steam was initially launched in 2003; since then, they have focused on providing Linux-based systems support. Apart from providing games on Steam, users can also enjoy the voice/text chat feature. However, it is not necessary that these chats are related to the games only. The steam app is free to download, and along with paid games, it offers hundreds of free- to-play games as well. Many games now natively support Linux; in this guide, we will provide an installation process as well as the instructions to set up steam on Manjaro Linux. # ⚓ How_to_fully_disable_the_Firewall_on_Linux_Mint⠀⇛ A firewall is a network security system built into an operating system that monitors and manages network traffic according to preset rules. The firewall also aids in the monitoring of networks to determine whether they are trustworthy or not. They also protect your PC from hackers by filtering dangerous network traffic. The uncomplicated firewall (UFW) in Linux Mint provides a user-friendly interface for managing firewall rules. Its main goal is to make firewall rule management as simple as possible, as the name suggests. Although it is recommended that you keep the firewall turned on, there may be times when you need to disable it, such as when troubleshooting or testing. So this article will provide you the details on how you can disable a firewall on Linux Mint. # ⚓ How_to_extract_rar_files_on_Manjaro⠀⇛ RAR is a file format used to combine multiple files/folders in a single compressed file. The .rar file extension refers to the RAR files, and several applications can create these files. The RAR file format is practiced compressing files used for various purposes like you can keep various types of files inside one compressed file. These compressed files are then extracted to access the files contained by them. The rar files can be extracted by using the graphical interface and terminal support of Manjaro. In Linux-based systems, unrar command-line utility is required to extract .rar files. In this piece of writing, we have provided possible ways to extract rar file in Manjaro Linux. As the interaction with rar files is impossible without the unrar package. So, we will also provide the installation procedure of the unrar package as well. # ⚓ How_to_enable_remote_access_in_Manjaro_Linux⠀⇛ Enabling remote access is crucial when you need to permit your office members to work from the branch office, home or when you want to hand over your system to the IT teams for troubleshooting purposes. However, when you want to access your own Linux-based system from anywhere, any time, without the hassle then the ideal way is to utilize remote desktop software or SSH. This post is all about how to enable remote access on Manjaro Linux. For this purpose, we will first use SSH and then show you the procedure of installing and configuring Chrome Remote Desktop to establish a remote connection between your Manjaro system and mac. This post will also discuss some other remote desktop software for a Linux system. So, let’s start! # ⚓ How_to_enable_SSH_on_Linux_Mint⠀⇛ Enabling SSH on Ubuntu is one of the first things you should do after installing the operating system as it provides an encrypted network protocol for safeguarding remote server and client logins. It allows you to access your machine remotely and execute operations securely. It encrypts all client-server traffic to prevent eavesdropping, connection hijacking, and other types of attacks. Secure Shell (SSH) protocol is used to manage or transmit data between computers through the internet. Old methods for accomplishing these actions, such as telnet do not have these capabilities. They are unsafe since they transmit the user’s password in plaintext. It offers a secure route over an unprotected network, connecting an SSH client program to an SSH server in a client-server architecture. It is mainly used to communicate to Unix-like operating systems, although it may also be used on Windows. # ⚓ How_to_add_a_user_on_Linux_Mint⠀⇛ Linux is reliable and secure compared to other operating systems, yet granting complete permissions to an unskilled user might lead to severe difficulties. This is where the administrator took control, one of the most important aspects of being a system administrator is user management. Because there are so many critical components to administrate, even the tiniest error can result in the intruders taking over the entire system. The system administrator can create, add and give each user a separate set of permissions. When a user is added or created, the appropriate level of access is granted to that user. Adding a user on Linux Mint can be accomplished in two ways; through the terminal and through GUI. # ⚓ How_to_Set_Up_a_Synology_Drive_Server_and_Synology_Drive Client⠀⇛ Synology Drive is an alternative to OneDrive and Google Drive. You can upload files to your Synology Drive, share files, create documents, sync files between your computer and Synology Drive, and back up files from your computer to your Synology Drive. Each user of your Synology NAS can have their own Synology Drive and the files they create on their own Synology Drive are not accessible to other users by default. Each user can use Synology Drive from a web browser. Users can also sync and back up files using the Synology Drive Client desktop app. To use Synology Drive, you will have to install the Synology Drive Server package on your Synology NAS. Once installed, your NAS will become a productivity and collaboration powerhouse. In this article, I will show you how to set up and configure Synology Drive Server on your Synology NAS, install Synology Drive Client on Windows and Ubuntu operating systems, and use Synology Drive Client to sync and back up files. So, let’s get started. # ⚓ How_to_Disable_Comments_on_WordPress⠀⇛ This brief tutorial explains how to disable comments on WordPress sites in different and simple ways. After reading this tutorial, you will get rid of comments on all your WordPress posts or on specific posts. All instructions explained in this article to remove comments from WordPress posts contain screenshots and can be followed by low and medium- level WordPress users. # ⚓ What_is_a_Tar_File⠀⇛ Tar is a powerful archiver that is frequently used for collecting files and archiving them. It was created to produce archives for data storage on tapes, thus the name “Tape Archive”. It was initially included in UNIX version 7 in 1979, and it is currently accessible on a variety of systems. Before we go into the situation’s specifics, let’s define Archive files so that no Linux newbies are left out. Archived file is a combination of multiple files with metadata information. By combining multiple files and their information into a single file, you may improve the storage and mobility of your data. The basic purpose of Tar is to combine the data but you can also compress the data using other utilities. These compressed files are referred to as Archive files, and they assist users to reduce file size and simplify data management. The tar is one of the must-have utilities for managing various files in Linux. o § Games⠀➾ # ⚓ Godot_4.0_Progressing_On_Its_Multiplayer_Capabilities⠀⇛ In addition to Vulkan support and a lot of graphics renderer work happening for Godot 4.0, adding to the expansive feature list is improved multi-player capabilities. A prototype implementation of Godot multi-player scene replication support is ready and more functionality is being worked on as part of Godot 4.0. Godot to date has provided RPC-based messaging for multi-player games but hasn’t itself provided a common mechanism around scene/state replication. With this new code being worked on, there is now an out-of-the-box solution and should be extensible for use by different games while being easy to use on the part of the game developers. o § Distributions⠀➾ # ⚓ Cross-platform_package_building:_Pkgsrc_vs._Ravenports_(1/ 2)⠀⇛ This is the first of a two articles on cross- platform package management / package building. It covers the basics by discussing why it is actually surprisingly (to many people) difficult to do and what some of the problems are. It also takes a quick look at some strategies to solve the problem. # § IBM/Red Hat/Fedora⠀➾ # ⚓ Top_8_alternative_desktops_for_Fedora_and_how_to install_them_|_FOSS_Linux⠀⇛ Are you looking for a way of giving your Fedora distro a new look and feel? If so, here is how to install a new Linux desktop environment on your Fedora and which ones are worth testing. Ideally, there are over 30 diverse desktop environments and window managers available for this distro. However, this article will break down the eight excellent desktop environments for you and cover how to install and switch between them in just a couple of minutes. Today, the most common desktop environment is probably GNOME and KDE Plasma. GNOME comes as the default desktop environment for Fedora, but that does not exempt you from installing the operating system with KDE plus a few other desktop environment alternatives by utilizing one of the many Fedora spins. [...] Alternative window managers and desktop environments are readily available in this distro’s (Fedora) software repositories. Many may wonder what may be the difference between a desktop environment and a Windows manager. What distinguishes the two is the inclusion of apps and utilities. Windows manager is responsible for the placement of windows, how they interact with one another up to the point of their appearance. While, the desktop environment is responsible for the toolbars, panels, and all the little tools we do not take seriously on our desktops. Some tools include the clipboard manager and applets that permit us to control our network connections or maneuver between virtual desktops. For instance, GNOME and KDE come with their applications such as terminal programs, email clients, file explorers, and calculators. So, when you install one of these environments, you will also get all of the apps that ship with it. Below is a compiled list of the eight most popular desktop environments that you can opt for if you are a Fedora user. Along with them are the DNF commands to help you install the preferred one to your machine or instead remove them, which is entirely up to you, mate. Without further to-do, let us delve right into the list. # ⚓ Fedora_35_Mini-Review_On_The_Blackbird_And_TALOS_II⠀⇛ My conclusion is damning with faint praise: at least it wasn’t any worse. And with these tweaks it works fine. If you’re on F34 you have no reason not to upgrade, and if you’re on F33 you won’t have much longer until you have to (and you might as well just jump right to F35 at that point). But it’s still carrying an odd number of regressions (even though, or perhaps despite the fact, the workarounds for F35 are the same as F34) and the installation on the T2 was bumpier than the Blackbird for reasons that remain unclear to me. If you run KDE or Xfce or anything other than GNOME, you shouldn’t have any problems, but if you still use GNOME as your desktop environment you should be prepared to do more preparatory work to get it off the ground. I have higher hopes for F36 because we may finally get that float128 update that still wrecks a small but notable selection of packages like MAME, but I also hope that some of these regressions get dealt with as well because that would make these updates a bit more liveable. Any system upgrade of any OS will make you wonder what’s going to break this time, but the most recent Fedora updates have come off as more fraught with peril than they ought to be. o § Devices/Embedded⠀➾ # § Open Hardware/Modding⠀➾ # ⚓ How_I_Built_a_Homelab_on_the_Budget⠀⇛ In my previous article, I discussed what is a Homelab and why you should (or should not) have one for yourself. Now, can anyone who wants or need, have a homelab? It depends on several things but money or resources can be worked around. In this article, I will explain how I have managed to have my own Homelab without investing a fortune in it. As a matter of fact, it costed me less than US $1,000 and it works good enough to manage my home’s infrastructure requirements. That being said, it is important to mention as a disclaimer: this article doesn’t describe the best way to do things. It just describes how I manage to make it work even knowing there are some issues and risks with it but for now, I am fine to live with these. # ⚓ Want_Octoprint_But_Lack_A_Raspberry_Pi?_Use_An_Old Android_Phone_|_Hackaday⠀⇛ 3D printers and Octoprint have a long history together, and pre-built images for the Raspberry Pi make getting up and running pretty easy. But there’s also another easy way to get in on the Octoprint action, and that’s to run it on an Android phone with the octo4a project. # ⚓ This_Raspberry_Pi_Mini_ITX_Board_Has_Tons_Of_IO_| Hackaday⠀⇛ The Raspberry Pi now comes in a wide variety of versions. There are tiny little Zeros, and of course the mainstream-sized boards. Then, there’s the latest greatest Compute Module 4, ready to slot on to a carrier board to break out all its IO. The Seaberry is one such design, as demonstrated by [Jeff Geerling], giving the CM4 a Mini ITX formfactor and a ton of IO. (Video embedded after the break.) The Seaberry sports a full-sized x16 PCI- E port, with only 1x bandwidth but capable of holding full-sized cards. There’s also four mini-PCI-E slots along the top, with four M.2 E-key slots hiding underneath. The board then has a M.2 slot in the middle for NVME drives, and x1 PCI-E slot hanging off the side. # ⚓ 2021_Open_Source_Pay-it-Forward_Pi_Giveaway⠀⇛ To solve both problems, I’m doing a giveaway—to enter to win one of any of the pictured items below (and maybe a few others I can find lurking in my office), just donate or say thank you to any open source project or maintainer, then submit your entry. # ⚓ Mini-ITX_Seaberry_adds_11_PCIe_slots_to_a_Raspberry Pi⠀⇛ But it’s definitely a specialty board. People who need a low-power ARM-based development or experimentation platform could use this board like I do, to test more exotic configurations on the Pi. And it’s looking like it will be the first commercially-available (though not cheapest) ways to install a Pi into a standard desktop or rackmount PC case, since it’s mini ITX. # ⚓ xa_2.3.12⠀⇛ I’ve updated xa, André Fachat’s venerable 6502 cross-assembler, to version 2.3.12. This contains a bug fix for a regression in 65816 mode which I’d meant to release earlier but got sidetracked on (thanks Samuel Falvo for the nice test case, which is also incorporated into the suite). As with prior versions it is tested on pretty much all of my Un*x-alike systems here including AIX, Mac OS X (PowerPC, Intel and Apple Silicon), NetBSD/mac68k and Linux/ppc64le. I said this before for 2.3.11 but one more time for the record: this will probably be the last in the exceptionally long-lived 2.3 series before 2.4, which as I keep warning you will definitely have some minor compatibility breaks and jettison a couple long-deprecated options and syntaxes (but will have some new features to make up for it). Again, more to come on that. o § Free, Libre, and Open Source Software⠀➾ # ⚓ Trends_That_Defined_Open_Source_This_Year⠀⇛ # § Web Browsers⠀➾ # § Mozilla⠀➾ # ⚓ Waterfox_G4.0.3.1_update_released_with_fix_for bootstrapped_extensions,_menu_bar_issues [Ed: It's irresponsible to promote Waterfox in any way. It's covertly owned by a surveillance company, System1.]⠀⇛ Waterfox has been updated to version G4.0.3.1. This release fixes some issues that users had reported in the previous build. Version G.4.0.2 of the web browser, which shipped at the beginning of this month, had a bug that prevented the installation of bootstrap add-ons. Waterfox would throw out an “addon is corrupt” error message, when users tried to install the legacy extensions. Waterfox G4.0.3.1 update resolves the issue. The latest version also patches a bug that was preventing previously installed bootstrap add-ons, from loading upon the next restart, they were getting disabled by the application. You may have come across an issue in Waterfox G 4.0.2, that caused the menu bar to be displayed partially off the screen, in maximized mode. It also resulted in tabs listed on the menu bar. Both of these issues have been fixed in Waterfox G4.0.3.1. Users who wish to use bootstrap extensions, can find forked versions of some popular add-ons at this page. The update introduces a patch for a problem that was preventing the Copy Tab Link option from working. There is still no option to toggle the menu bar icons. # § Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra⠀➾ # ⚓ This_German_state_wants_to_dump_Microsoft_Office,_and use_the_free_LibreOffice_instead [Ed: This might be plagiarism. Site barely known.]⠀⇛ # § Education⠀➾ # ⚓ Computer_Science_was_always_supposed_to_be_taught_to everyone,_and_it_wasn’t_about_getting_a_job:_A historical_perspective⠀⇛ C.P. Snow’s chapter (with Norbert Wiener of Cybernetics as discussant) predicted a world where software would rule our lives, but the people who wrote the software would be outside the democratic process. He wrote, “A handful of people, having no relation to the will of society, having no communication with the rest of society, will be making decisions in secret which are going to affect our lives in the deepest sense.” He argued that everyone needed to learn about computer science, in order to have democratic control of these processes. [...] I completely buy the necessity part and the basic skill part, and it’s true that CS can provide economic opportunity and social mobility. But that’s not what Perlis, Simon, Newell, Snow, and Forsythe were arguing for. They were proposing “CS for All” decades before Silicon Valley. There is value in learning computer science that is older and more broadly applicable than the economic benefits. # ⚓ Open_LMS_Launches_Pro-Bono_Partnership_With_Pancare Foundation⠀⇛ As part of the partnership, Open LMS will provide Pancare with its open-source learning platform for Pancare’s volunteer training program, helping the foundation enable, engage, and mobilize a growing volunteer workforce while providing additional support for those suffering from GI cancers. # § Public Services/Government⠀➾ # ⚓ A_German_State_Is_Saying_Goodbye_Windows_–_neritam⠀⇛ Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state in Germany, has plans to move almost entirely open source. By the time the dust settles, the regional government will have all but dropped Windows, Microsoft Office, Zoom and other proprietary software for Linux, LibreOffice, OnlyOffice, and Jitzi. By the end of 2026, Microsoft Office is to be replaced by LibreOffice… # § Programming/Development⠀➾ # ⚓ CAPLin_framework_to_build_a_SocketCAN_node application_in_C⠀⇛ The SocketCAN functionality, combined with the can-utils programs, enable you to view, interact and analyze the CAN bus traffic on Linux. However, these tools are no match for high-end tools such as Vector CANalyzer and CANoe under Windows. I especially miss CAPL scripts on Linux. For this reason I developed the CAPLin framework. With CAPLin you can quickly build a SocketCAN node application in the C programming language. # ⚓ [Old] Thoughts_on_how_to_find_remote_work_in Cameroon⠀⇛ Remote work is the new norm there has never been a time like this, where as a SE you can make more than a decent living. This isn’t a know-it-all kind of post, I just wanted to write a bit about my experience, but it’s way too long (6 months+) so I will just share what worked and not for me. Before I forget, this is mainly for people like me doing computer science for the sake of doing it. Not because someone forced us or whatever. In short, geeks I guess. If you’re like me the perspective of spam applying and writing corresponding CVs is not very appealing. So, if CS is just a means to an end – not that there’s something wrong with that – but this might rub you off the wrong way (and you guessed right, no, I don’t look forward to enter management to “escape” coding). The job landscape in Cameroon is… saddening. While everywhere else the supply exceeds the demand, here it’s the exact opposite, which inevitably leads to abuse. Also, if you are still a student, this might not be for you directly, you can still read it to be prepared but there are many opportunities for students and I talk a bit about GSoC here. That being said, let’s get started. # ⚓ Emacs_is_a_Lifestyle⠀⇛ I think that perfectly captures the spirit of Emacs and the nature of its (most devoted) users. I’d even go a bit farther and make the claim that (using) Emacs is essentially a lifestyle (choice). # ⚓ Uninitialized_Stack_Variables⠀⇛ Finally, as we observe here once more, writing C leaves us (necessarily) at the whims of the compiler: FreeBSD 13.0-RELEASE happens to use clang, and gcc(1) would have failed in either of our two scenarios. So one question that arises is whether compilers should perhaps auto-initialize stack variables. clang has a discussion around this, as does gcc, but there does not seem to be an agreed upon conclusion. Considering the possible security implications, it does seem to me that it would be a Good Thing™ to at least move away from having uninitialized variables by default and instead requiring explicit requests from the programmer (say, by way of an attribute?) that a given stack variable not be initialized. But I honestly don’t know what the performance impact of this would be. Either way, I’m going to make it a habit to memset(3) my structs going forward… # ⚓ Testing⠀⇛ I think about tests in terms of defense in depth, value-for-effort and debugging efficiency. Debugging efficiency is not something I see discussed often and it’s the only place where I disagree slightly with Aleksey’s post above. The more that happens between the cause of a bug and the actual test failure, the longer it takes to track down the bug. So I tend to write unit tests for code which is: [...] # ⚓ Writing⠀⇛ I have a file called ‘ideas’ where I write down potential projects or thoughts that might be worth writing about. Entries grow over time as I add more thoughts. The entry that eventually became Against SQL existed for over a year. Every time I encountered a new bizaare corner of the SQL I would make a quick note of it. Eventually one of the ideas will feel ready and I’ll try to write it up in full. This can take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks depending on what the goal of writing it is and how much research is required. Against SQL took something like 60-80 hours to write because I was trying to make a strong argument about a complicated and contentious subject. Why isn’t differential dataflow more popular took maybe an hour or two because I just wanted to hear about other peoples experiences. # ⚓ Property-Based_Testing_In_Go⠀⇛ Property-based testing can be a bit trickier to learn, and not every problem can be well tested in this manner, but it’s a powerful technique that’s well supported by the go std-lib (testing/quick) and that is under- utilized. # ⚓ [Old] EP._#91:_Open_Source_Security:_with_Dr._David A._Wheeler⠀⇛ In episode 91 of The Secure Developer, Guy Podjarny speaks to Dr. David A. Wheeler, an expert in both open source and developing secure software. David is the Director of Open Source Supply Chain Security at the Linux Foundation and teaches a graduate course in developing secure software at George Mason University. Today’s discussion revolves around open source security (or OSS), in which David is an expert, not just from the perspective of consuming open source but also creating and even governing open source. Tuning in, you’ll learn about some of the primary security concerns in open source and the necessity to educate developers about secure software. # ⚓ [Old] Managing_Risks_and_Opportunities_in_Open_Source with_Frank_Nagle_&_David_A._Wheeler⠀⇛ We start off on the topic of looking at metrics that are useful for identifying what’s going on in a Software Configuration Management system. David tells us what it is and if there’s a difference between building software and deploying it. Also, figuring out which components you’re going to bring in, to your overall system. # ⚓ Toit_open-source_language_claims_to_be_30x_faster than_MicroPython_on_ESP32_–_CNX_Software⠀⇛ Developed by a team of former Google employees, Toit is a complete IoT platform with remote management, firmware updates for fleets of devices with features similar to the one offered by solutions such as balena, Microsoft Azure, or Particle edge-to-cloud platform. Toit currently works on ESP32 microcontrollers using lightweight containers, and after seeing existing high- level languages MicroPython and Javascript were not fast enough on low-end microcontrollers platforms, the team at Toit started to develop the Toit language in 2018, and has just made it open-source with the release of the compiler, virtual machine, and standard libraries on Github under an LGPL- 2.1 license. # ⚓ Laravel_8.73_Released_|_Laravel_News⠀⇛ The Laravel team released 8.73 with support for Countable objects in the string pluralizer, allowing closures for determining cache TTL, a lazyByIdDesc() query builder method, and the latest changes in the v8.x branch. # ⚓ Medical_Web_Development:_Top_10_Programming_Languages Used_in_Health_Tech⠀⇛ # ⚓ What_are_Container_Classes_C++?⠀⇛ A container class as the name suggests is used to contain different values, objects, and variables, etc. in the memory or the external storage. A container class supports other classes present in the programs and it functions to hide the objects/variables used in the memory. It stores many items and all of these items are easily accessible by other members of the program. All container classes access the elements of the container efficiently through the iterators. This class is known to hold some similar and mixed objects in the memory. A container can be of a homogeneous or heterogeneous type. If the container holds mixed objects then it is heterogeneous, while in the case of similar items it is known as homogeneous container class. We are going to explain this concept on the Linux operating system, so you need to have Ubuntu installed and in the running form on your system. So you must install Virtual Box and after downloading and installation now configure it. Now add the Ubuntu file to it. You can access Ubuntu’s official website, and download the file according to your system requirement and operating system. It will take hours, then after installation, configure it on the virtual machine. In the configuration process, make sure you have created the user because it is essential for any operation on the Ubuntu terminal. Moreover, Ubuntu needs the authentication of the user before doing any installation. We have used the 20.04 version of Ubuntu; you may use the latest one. For the implementation, you need to have a text editor and must have access to the Linux terminal, because we will be able to see the output of the source codes on the terminal through the query. The user must have basic knowledge of C++ and object-oriented programming to make use of classes in the program. # § Python⠀➾ # ⚓ XOR_Two_Strings_in_Python⠀⇛ You may have used many logical, arithmetic, and comparison operators within mathematics and programming while working. One of the frequently used logical operators is the XOR operator. It returns exactly the opposite of the result of the OR operator. Within this article, we will be using the XOR operator on two string-type variable values while working in a Python environment. Let’s have some examples in the Ubuntu 20.04 system. # ⚓ Python_String_to_a_Dict⠀⇛ In Python, the conversion of different data types is a common problem and it is very important to do it right. Dictionary is the data type that saves the information/elements in a pair form. It is important to convert the string data type to a dictionary data type during programming. However, before going to the methods of conversion, let me explain the strings and dictionaries. A string is a series of elements in Python. It is unchangeable. The elements or items are enclosed in single and double quotation marks. Since Python has no proper character data type. However, any character is also taken as a string in Python. In Python, a dictionary is essentially a collection of changeable data items. This collection is present in an unordered form. Dictionaries save the data in which every element is in the form of a pair. The elements inside the brackets are present in the form of pairs and each pair is segregated by the comma. But the elements are isolated by using a colon. The main attribute of the dictionary is that it does not accept polymorphism. We can get the data from the dictionary later by referencing the appropriate key name. Let’s discuss the techniques of converting the string to a dictionary. # ⚓ Python_String_Decode_Method⠀⇛ The Python language is used to store the string in the form of Unicode. Within Unicode, a simple code point is utilized to represent a single character of a Unicode. We have to know two terms: encode and decode. The encoding would convert a simple string to a group of bytes while decoding will convert the group of bytes to a real string once again. So, within this article today, we will be decoding a string to an original one with the encode() and decode() function. Be sure to configure the python3 package on your Linux system. Let’s start today’s article by launching the terminal console using the Ctrl+Alt+T. # ⚓ Python_Removes_Newline_From_a_String⠀⇛ In Python, the strings are a series of elements. These elements are surrounded by single and double quotation marks. Python has a newline symbol. It is represented by “/n”. It is utilized to track the climax of a line and the appearance of a new line. The newline character is utilized in f-strings. In addition, the print statement prints a newline character to the end. Newline character “/n” is a special character. It is helpful to make a new line. When we utilize the newline character (/n), a new line is created spontaneously. # § Java⠀➾ # ⚓ How_to_Convert_Java_to_Kotlin_and_Kotlin_to Java⠀⇛ This article will cover a guide on converting code written in the Kotlin programming language to Java programming language and vice versa. Kotlin is a relatively new programming language being developed by JetBrains and it is fully interoperable with Java programming language. It offers some benefits over Java programming language like a more concise syntax, more built- in helper functions, stricter null type checking, data classes, and so on. Full list of differences between these two languages is available here. Kotlin is now the preferred language for developing Android apps and it has been fully integrated into Android Studio app development software suite. You can convert Kotlin to Java and Java to Kotlin using offline tools. Some of them are explained in this article. Do note that depending on the code being converted and the type of tool being used for the conversion purpose, the converted code may not be 100% accurate and you may have to make some manual edits. You should always review converted code before using it in an application. o § Standards/Consortia⠀➾ # ⚓ China:_Smart_tech_enables_users_of_braille_book_library⠀⇛ It is three o’clock in the afternoon. The golden sunshine tumbles through the southern window of the main reading room of the Braille Library of China (BLC), yet there is not a single reader in sight. Make no mistake — that does not mean the custodians of this literary trove are doing nothing. On the contrary, the librarian on duty is quite busy. She simultaneously keeps one eye on WeChat, while checking the QQ app for new messages with the other, as well as standing ready to answer the phone that might ring at any time. All calls and messages come from visually impaired people or their families seeking that most essential of societal needs access to knowledge. * § Leftovers⠀➾ o ⚓ What_Does_It_Mean_to_‘Yassify’_Anything?⠀⇛ It should be noted that YassifyBot is not actually a bot. Its tweets aren’t generated by software. The account is run by a 22-year-old college student in Omaha who makes art under the name Denver Adams and asked that The Times not reveal their legal name. The process for making each image is simple: Take a face, run it through FaceApp until it looks generically or grotesquely sexy, post, repeat. Mr. Adams said in a Zoom interview that each image takes only a few minutes to create o ⚓ The_Can_That_Always_Can⠀⇛ The year WD-40 was invented by the Rocket Chemical Company. Located in San Diego, CA, the goal of the product was to create something that would prevent rust and corrosion on aircraft. After forty attempts to create the formula, they famously came up with the right one on their 40th attempt. The name WD-40 stands for water displacement, formula 40. It’s first application came as a coating for the Atlas missiles made by Corvair in the 1950s. o ⚓ Sinking_after_earthquakes_|_EurekAlert!⠀⇛ During an earthquake, solid ground can loosen into something like quicksand. Under earthquake shaking some types of soil undergo liquefaction, a softening caused by groundwater pressure that becomes an evil twin to ground shaking. Liquefaction causes large ground deformations that have toppled buildings large and small, as well as crushed pipes below and taken out roads, rail, bridges, and levees. Such was the case for the 2010 Canterbury earthquake sequence, the most damaging being the magnitude 6.2 Christchurch earthquake. The sequence of earthquakes, 21 of which were greater than magnitude 5, caused $3 billion in damage to buildings and infrastructure on the South Island of New Zealand, particularly in the city of Christchurch, which would receive the brunt of the deadlier aftershocks a year later. o § Science⠀➾ # ⚓ SpaceX’s_Starlink_Will_Make_Life_Hell_for_Astronomers_Like Me._Telescopes_on_the_Moon_Could_Help_Fix_That.⠀⇛ While these satellite swarms are going to make life difficult for astronomers observing the universe in visible light, they are set to be even more problematic for astronomers who work with radio waves—one of the most important tools in an astronomer’s cosmic toolbox. They are emitted by all kinds of things in space, from organic molecules to dying stars. Jodie Foster in the film Contact (playing Ellie Arroway) was listening to the universe using radio waves, and to this day telescopes involved in SETI, the search for extraterrestrial life, use these waves to scan the sky for signs of cosmic intelligence. All of this work is in jeopardy. Satellite swarms have to communicate with humans on Earth, and they do so using radio waves. It won’t take long before the effect of all these satellites becomes overwhelming: In 10 years time we could have 100,000 radio beacons in the sky, blasting our planet with a wall of radio noise capable of deafening even the most sensitive radio telescope. # ⚓ NASA_Research_Launches_a_New_Generation_of_Indoor_Farming_| NASA⠀⇛ # ⚓ Can_Synthetic_Biology_Save_Us?_This_Scientist_Thinks_So. [Ed: It is not biology and it’s often just a disingenuous loophole for getting patents on life and nature as though they’re inventions meriting monopolies ⠀⇛ When the family house in Devon, Pa., caught fire, Drew Endy, then 12, carried out his most cherished possession — his personal computer. Years later, as a graduate student, Mr. Endy was accepted to Ph.D. programs in biotechnology and political science. The episodes seem to sum up Mr. Endy, a most unusual scientist: part engineer, part philosopher, whose conversation is laced with references to Descartes and Dylan, as well as DNA. He’s also an evangelist of sorts. Mr. Endy, a 51- year-old professor of bioengineering at Stanford University, is a star in the emerging field of synthetic biology. He is its most articulate enthusiast, inspiring others to see it as a path to a better world, a transformational technology to feed the planet, conquer disease and combat pollution. o § Education⠀➾ # ⚓ Are_tenured_professors_more_likely_to_speak_freely?⠀⇛ One of the justifications for tenure is that professors who have tenure can speak more freely. Thus, in theory, they can be critical of government or corporate policies. Do they? What would “speaking freely” entails? # ⚓ Can_Biden_expose_the_‘college_is_for_everyone’_fantasy?⠀⇛ So the big question we have to answer is: What messages are our kids getting about the value of a college education? Perhaps more importantly: What messages are we — parents, teachers and mentors — giving them when it comes to their future in the workforce? o § Hardware⠀➾ # ⚓ Magnus_Effect_Propels_This_Flettner_Rotor_Boat_|_Hackaday⠀⇛ The Magnus effect is a interesting and useful phenomena. [James Whomsley] from [Project Air] decided to put it to work on a small radio- controlled boat, successfully harnessing the effect. (Video, embedded after the break.) The Magnus effect is an interesting thing, where fluid flowing over a rotating object generates an aerodynamic force at a right angle to the direction of the flow and the axis of rotation. (It’s why curveballs curve.) This can be used for propulsion on a boat, by spinning a tall cylinder called a Flettner rotor. This takes advantage of Magnus effect to generate thrust. # ⚓ Another_Way_To_Recycle_Those_Empty_Beverage_Cans_| Hackaday⠀⇛ Do you ever sit around thinking of ways to repurpose things in your house? Well [BevCanTech] found a way to recycle some of his empty beverage cans by turning them into homemade wire. # ⚓ Replacement_Motherboard_Brings_New_Lease_Of_Life_To_Classic Thinkpads_|_Hackaday⠀⇛ “They don’t make them like they used to.” It might be a cliché, it might not even be entirely true, but there’s something special about owning a piece of hardware that was built to a much higher standard than most of its contemporaries, whether it’s that bulletproof Benz from 1992 or that odd fridge from 1987 that just seems to last forever. For laptop aficionados, the Thinkpad series from IBM and Lenovo is the ne plus ultra: beloved for their sturdy construction and rich feature set, they have been used anywhere from the United Nations to the International Space Station. The T60 and T61 (introduced in 2006) are especially famous, being the last generation sporting IBM logos and such classic features as 4:3 displays and infrared ports. o § Health/Nutrition/Agriculture⠀➾ # ⚓ Trees_and_Crops_Don’t_Have_to_Compete._Climate_Crisis_Calls for_Agroforestry.⠀⇛ # ⚓ Opinion_|_Indian_Farmers_Score_a_Victory_Against_Modi Government_on_Strike_Anniversary⠀⇛ India’s farmers have mobilized to create one of the world’s most vibrant protests in history, camping on the outskirts of New Delhi for one year now. Friday, November 26, 2021, marked the one-year anniversary of the day when these farmers faced water cannons and tear gas at the Delhi border as they tried to reach the Capital. On November 19, they got a big win, as Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, announced that he has decided to repeal the three controversial farm laws. # ⚓ Africans_Should_Be_‘Applauded,_Not_Punished,’_Say_Advocates Amid_Omicron_Travel_Ban⠀⇛ As a leading World Health Organization official pleaded against “knee-jerk” reactions after the discovery in Botswana of the latest Covid-19 strain, South Africa’s government on Saturday joined public health advocates in criticizing wealthy nations for imposing travel bans on African countries while failing to address “the vaccine inequity that drives new variants.” “These travel bans are based in politics, and not in science. It is wrong… Why are we locking away Africa when this virus is already on three continents?” # ⚓ Forensic_Science_Institute_to_study_wastewater_for_drug use⠀⇛ Wastewater samples for drug use monitoring are planned to be taken in Tallinn, Kohtla-Järve, Pärnu, Viljandi and Võru. The first samples will be taken in mid-January and the results will be available in February. In the future, wastewater samples will be analyzed for traces of drugs once every quarter. # ⚓ ‘It’s_scary’:_Overdose_deaths_driven_by_fentanyl_mixed_with other_drugs⠀⇛ Although the trend has been identified, it’s not yet definitive what is causing it: Are drug users knowingly using fentanyl and other drugs, or does fentanyl enter the larger drug supply via dealers and distributors? “It really could be happening at any point and multiple points along the drug supply chain,” said Kelly Dougherty, Vermont’s deputy health commissioner for alcohol and drug abuse programs. “Some people want to use fentanyl, despite the dangers, and other people are using it without knowing — it’s scary. People are cutting it in, and it basically makes it more deadly.” # ⚓ G.O.P._Fights_Covid_Mandates,_Then_Blames_Biden_as_Cases Rise⠀⇛ Over eight hours last Thursday night and into Friday morning, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California hit on many issues as he spoke on the House floor in an unsuccessful effort to thwart House passage of President Biden’s social safety net and climate change bill. But among his most audacious assertions was that Mr. Biden was to blame for the country’s failure to quell the pandemic. Mr. McCarthy used this line of attack even as members of his own Republican Party have spent months flouting mask ordinances and blocking the president’s vaccine mandates, and the party’s base has undermined vaccination drives while rallying around those who refuse the vaccine. Intensive care units and morgues have been strained to capacity by the unvaccinated, a demographic dominated by those who voted last year for President Donald J. Trump. # ⚓ ‘False_sense_of_security’_around_COVID_vaccines:_WHO⠀⇛ The chief of the World Health Organization has warned that the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over and that some people were falling into a “false sense of security” after being vaccinated against the virus. In a news briefing in Geneva on Wednesday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said many vaccinated people were thinking – wrongly – that receiving the COVID shot meant they no longer needed to take any other precautions. # ⚓ Detect,_Inc.,_Announces_Major_COVID_Testing_Innovation_| Zip06.com⠀⇛ A local entrepreneur is announcing another technological innovation that will be an important tool in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Detect, Inc., of Guilford, founded by National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipient Dr. Jonathan Rothberg, has created an accurate, fast, and easy- to-use PCR-quality molecular COVID-19 test, according to the company. # ⚓ Digital_Health_Accelerators_Boosting_Local_Companies_|_Los Angeles_Business_Journal⠀⇛ Business accelerators have long been a crucial link for taking startups from the research and prototype stage to marketing and selling their products and services to customers. But until about six years ago, there were only a couple of accelerators to serve L.A.’s medical device and health tech industries — including one exclusively focused on medical devices for pediatric care. Starting in 2015, a pair of life science accelerators came onto the L.A. County scene seeking to serve the burgeoning health tech sector: Cedars-Sinai Accelerator in West Hollywood and MedTech Innovator in Westwood. They were soon joined by KidsX in East Hollywood — affiliated with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and USC — and a program from the South Park-based Larta Institute known as Heal.LA, along with one incubator for health tech startups, ScaleHealth in Palms. o § Integrity/Availability⠀➾ # § Proprietary⠀➾ # ⚓ India_says_not_to_preorder_Starlink_until_it_obtains a_license⠀⇛ “Public is advised not to subscribe to Starlink services being advertised,” a tweet from India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) reads. The DoT also says it asked Starlink to refrain from “booking / rendering the satellite internet services in India.” In other words, Starlink will have to put preorders on hold until it can get approval from the Indian government. # ⚓ India_tells_public_to_shun_Musk-backed_Starlink_until it_gets_licence⠀⇛ A government statement issued late on Friday said Starlink had been told to comply with regulations and refrain from “booking/ rendering the satellite internet services in India with immediate effect”. # ⚓ GitHub_is_back_online_after_a_two-hour_outage⠀⇛ Microsoft-owned GitHub experienced a more than two-hour long outage today, affecting thousands or potentially millions of developers that rely on its many services. GitHub started experiencing issues at around 3:45PM ET, with Git operations, API requests, GitHub actions, packages, pages, and pull requests all affected. # ⚓ Insurers_run_from_ransomware_cover_as_losses_mount⠀⇛ Faced with increased demand, major European and U.S. insurers and syndicates operating in the Lloyd’s of London market have been able to charge higher premium rates to cover ransoms, the repair of hacked networks, business interruption losses and even PR fees to mend reputational damage. But the increase in ransomware attacks and the growing sophistication of attackers have made insurers wary. Insurers say some attackers may even check whether potential victims have policies that would make them more likely to pay out. # ⚓ Apple_Grants_Repair_Indulgence_for_iPhones⠀⇛ Save your huzzahs and whatever you do, do not pop the champagne. Apple did not just ‘cave’ to the right to repair movement, and the fight for an actual, legal right to repair is more important now than ever. The occasion for this reminder is, of course, the little-‘m’ momentous announcement by Apple this morning that it would make “Apple parts, tools, and manuals” available to “individual consumers” for self repair — starting with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13.” # ⚓ Montana_high_school_hit_by_ransomware⠀⇛ From their listing, Avos Locker is clearly aware that this is a tiny school district with only a few hundred students and less than two dozen teachers. And yet they are trying to ransom them. Avos writes: “If they refuse to negotiate, we will leak all the data we’ve got.” # ⚓ Apple_alerts_journalists,_activists_about_state- sponsored_[cracking]_attempts_after_NSO_Group_suit⠀⇛ On the same day Apple announced a lawsuit against Israeli spyware vendor NSO Group for developing [cracking] tools to help breach iOS technology, the company was notifying potential targets of those exploits. El Faro, a news organization in San Salvador, El Salvador, reported late Tuesday that 12 of its staff members received notices from the company, which warned that that “Apple believes you are being targeted by state- sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID.” The company also sent notices to four others in San Salvador who are “leaders of Civil Society organizations and opposition political parties,” the news organization reported. # ⚓ Run_a_website_off_a_Google_Sheets_Database,_with Hugo⠀⇛ Here’s how I built a website, Profilerpedia, using a Google Sheet as the backing database. Profilerpedia aims to map the profiling ecosystem and connect software with profilers and profilers with great analysis UIs, so we can make code faster and more efficient. More on Profilerpedia in the announcement post. It’s interesting to explain the architecture, because it challenges some engineering dogmas, like “a spreadsheet isn’t a good database”. I think running your site from a spreadsheet is a very reasonable pattern for many sites. The resulting architecture is my third or fourth attempt at this; I learned a lot along the way, I’m pretty happy with the result, and I want to share what I learned. # ⚓ Boeing_Missteps_on_737_MAX_Went_Beyond_Deadly_Crashes That_Killed_346,_new_Book_Reveals⠀⇛ When the first Boeing 737 MAX plane came off the production line in December 2015, it was the beginning of a highly anticipated new line of aircraft for the storied company. It incorporated the latest technology and was billed by Boeing as “deliver[ing] the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the single-aisle market.” Tragically, that promise came to a glaring halt with two back- to-back disasters in which flight control software known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) incorrectly gauged the aircrafts’ angles of ascent and prevented the pilots from manually overriding it. In total, 346 people on board Lion Air flight 610 on October 28, 2018 and Ethiopian Air flight 302 on March 10, 2019 were killed after only about 13 minutes and 6 minutes in the air, respectively. # § Security⠀➾ # ⚓ New_Side-Channel_Vulnerability_in_the_Linux Kernel_Enabling_DNS_Cache_Poisoning⠀⇛ A recent research paper by a team at University of California, Riverside, shows the existence of previously overlooked side channels in the Linux kernels that can be exploited to attack DNS servers. According to the researchers, the issue with DNS roots in its design, that never really took security as a key concern and that made it extremely hard to retrofit strong security features into it. # ⚓ Reproducible_Builds_(diffoscope):_diffoscope 194_released⠀⇛ The diffoscope maintainers are pleased to announce the release of diffoscope version 194. This version includes the following changes: [ Chris Lamb ] * Don't traceback when comparing nested directories with non-directories. (Closes: reproducible-builds/ diffoscope#288) ⚓ Thousands_of_printers_at_risk_of_denial_of_service_attacks⠀⇛ Researchers have highlighted a trio of potential attacks against printers that could allow denial of service, information theft, or botnet compromise. The collection of attacks, labeled Printjack, appeared in a paper from researchers Giampaolo Bella and Pietro Biondi at the Universit`a di Catania and Istituto di Informatica e Telematica in Italy. § Privacy/Surveillance⠀➾ * ⚓ Opinion_|_Police_Aerial_Surveillance_Threatens_Freedom_to_Protest⠀⇛ The ACLU of Northern California has concluded a year-long Freedom of Information campaign by uncovering massive spying on Black Lives Matter protests from the air. The California Highway Patrol directed aerial surveillance, mostly done by helicopters, over protests in Berkeley, Oakland, Palo Alto, Placerville, Riverside, Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Luis Obispo. The footage, which you can watch online, includes police zooming in on individual protestors, die-ins, and vigils for victims of police violence. * ⚓ WhatsApp_wins_approval_to_double_payments_offering_to_40_mln_users_in India:_Source⠀⇛ WhatsApp has won regulatory approval to double the number of users on its payments service in India to 40 million, a source with direct knowledge told Reuters on Friday. The company had requested that there should be no cap on users of its payment service in India. Instead, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)this week told the company it could double the user base to which it can offer its payment service – currently restricted to 20 million – the source said. WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, which recently changed its name to Meta. * ⚓ Transparency_lawsuit_against_secret_EU_surveillance_research:_Judgement on_15_December_in_Luxembourg.⠀⇛ The EU supported trials of the use of “artificial intelligence” at its borders by testing a “video lie detector” on travellers. On 15 March 2019, MEP and civil liberties activist Dr Patrick Breyer (Pirate Party) filed a lawsuit for the release of secret documents on the ethical justifiability, legality and the results of the technology. The European Court of Justice will deliver its judgement publicly in Luxembourg on 15 December 2021 (Case T-158/19). A landmark ruling could generally shed light on EU-funded „security research“. * ⚓ Chat_control,_biometric_surveillance,_data_retention:_Major_changes_of Germany’s_positions_on_EU_digital_policies⠀⇛ Yesterday afternoon, the new German government coalition of SPD, FDP and the Greens presented its coalition agreement to the public. MEP, civil rights activist and lawyer Dr Patrick Breyer of the Pirate Party hails the new positions Germany is taking on EU digital policies: [...] * § Confidentiality⠀➾ o ⚓ no_u_pnp⠀⇛ UPnP has sort of a bad reputation, and it’s very common in online conversations to see people repeating “disable UPnP” as stock advice. There is some reason for this, although the concern is mostly misguided. It’s still amusing, though, as it relates to the one tiny corner of UPnP functionality which has ever really had any success. Before we dig into that, though, we need some history. o ⚓ GoDaddy_says_information_on_1.2_million_customers_exposed_in_data breach⠀⇛ In a document filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, GoDaddy noted that the company had discovered its Managed WordPress hosting environment had been compromised by an “unauthorized third party,” resulting in emails and customers numbers of 1.2 million Managed WordPress users being exposed. § Defence/Aggression⠀➾ * ⚓ Opinion_|_Women_Have_Always_Been_on_the_Front_Lines_of_Sudanese Resistance⠀⇛ * ⚓ GOP_‘Silence_Speaks_Volumes,’_Says_Ilhan_Omar_as_Boebert’s_Bigotry_Goes Unpunished⠀⇛ Rep. Ilhan Omar on Saturday condemned her GOP colleagues’ inaction following the recent publication by Rep. Lauren Boebert of an anti-Muslim video in which the Colorado Republican lies about the Somali-American lawmaker being mistaken for a suspected suicide bomber inside the U.S. Capitol. “These anti-Muslim attacks aren’t about my ideas but about my identity and it’s clear,” Omar (D-Minn.) tweeted. * ⚓ Opinion_|_‘Our_Land,_Our_Life’:_How_Okinawans_Are_Resisting_a_New_US Military_Base⠀⇛ “We always have to sacrifice our people, our land. We always have to face the risks of war and hosting military bases… I call it dual colonialism, by the Japanese and U.S. government.” * ⚓ Nicaragua’s_foreign_minister:_We’re_resisting_a_‘pandemic_of_neo- colonialism’⠀⇛ * ⚓ Famous_ex-neo-Nazi_shifts_focus:_America_is_becoming_“the_skinhead’s dream_of_the_1990s”⠀⇛ What hangs in the balance is the survival of American democracy. Picciolini sees all the political momentum on the right, aided by disruptive foreign agents who manipulate social media to encourage hatred, division and extreme partisanship. Meanwhile, the combination of voter suppression and the “big lie” subversion of faith in fair elections has brought America, in his words, “to the edge of disaster.” At the more immediate level, Picciolini joins many experts, such as genocide scholar Alexander Laban Hinton and political scientist Anthony DiMaggio, in predicting the possibility of mass violence. * ⚓ Yemen:_The_woman_saving_a_crumbling_heritage⠀⇛ The buildings have been bombed during the six-year Saudi-led air campaign against the rebel Houthi movement – which forced Yemen’s government out of Sanaa – and left to decay. * ⚓ Over_80_Children_Rescued_From_Terror_Training_Centres⠀⇛ Police say that Sheikh Rwangabo has agents in Nansana, Ntinda, Kagoma, Bugerere Kayunga and Kawempe Division that hoodwink parents with different promises and end up taking children. The children who were rescued are now all in a shelter home and the process to reunite them with their families is ongoing * ⚓ Nigeria:_Muslims_have_murdered_over_137,000_people_in_Benue_state⠀⇛ 137,000 killed by Muslim Fulani herdsmen who have targeted Christians and Muslims who do not accept their authority. Will the Islamophobia never end? “Over 137,000 People, 100 Security Agents Have Been Killed By Fulani Herdsmen In Benue—Governor Ortom,” Sahara Reporters, November 18, 2021: [...] * ⚓ Germany:_“House_of_Integration”_in_Bonn_is_a_Salafist_meeting_place⠀⇛ The visit of the chairman of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, one of the most important Islamic organisations in India, Maulana Arshad Madani, to the “House of Integration” in 2017 gave a first indication of the spirit in the institution. Madani is an influential Deobandi, i.e. a representative of an Islamist ideology that, mixed with some Wahhabi elements, makes up the foundation of the Taliban ideology. * ⚓ Five_students_expelled_after_protesting_Bellevue_School_District’s handling_of_assault_reports⠀⇛ Students protested at three different high schools in the Bellevue School District, all calling for change on how the district responds to reports of assault. The demonstrations continued at Interlake, Sammamish, and Newport high schools on Tuesday after five students were expelled from Newport High School for their roles in a protest on Friday. A student who reported being physically assaulted was among the students expelled. * ⚓ Iran’s_Revolutionary_Guard_launches_George_Floyd_video_game⠀⇛ The IRGC’S Basij paramilitary wing releases mobile game in which players can rescue Floyd, a Black man killed by US police in 2020 § Transparency/Investigative Reporting⠀➾ * ⚓ Office_of_Criminal_Justice_Services_opens_use-of-force_database_to public⠀⇛ The public can now access Ohio’s database listing incidents of use-of-force by law enforcement in the state. The use of force database is operated by the Office of Criminal Justice Services. OCJS officials say they opened the database to the public in order to increase transparency. § Environment⠀➾ * ⚓ Biden_Is_Offering_“Trivial_Changes”_to_Oil_and_Gas_Leasing_Policy, Critics_Say⠀⇛ * § Energy⠀➾ o ⚓ Expanding_Carbon_Capture_and_Storage_Would_Delay_Transition_From Fossil_Fuels⠀⇛ o ⚓ Why_the_Oil_Industry’s_Pivot_to_Carbon_Capture_and_Storage_– While_It_Keeps_on_Drilling_–_Isn’t_a_Climate_Change_Solution⠀⇛ By June Sekera, The New School and Neva Goodwin, Tufts University After decades of sowing doubt about climate change and its causes, the fossil fuel industry is now shifting to a new strategy: presenting itself as the source of solutions. This repositioning includes rebranding itself as a “carbon management industry.” o ⚓ Biden_calls_for_higher_fees_for_oil,_gas_leasing_on_federal_land, stops_short_of_ban⠀⇛ The long-awaited report by the Interior Department stops short of recommending an end to oil and gas leasing on public lands, as many environmental groups have urged. But officials said the report would lead to a more responsible leasing process that provides a better return to U.S. taxpayers. o ⚓ More_strange_days_ahead_for_oil_industry_following_Friday_price plunge⠀⇛ The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies will meet next week. They’re expected to discuss whether to adjust plans to increase output by 400,000 barrels per day in January and beyond. It’s part of OPEC’s strategy to gingerly restore deep cuts made last year, when lockdowns and travel restrictions caused demand for fuel and prices to crater. * § Wildlife/Nature⠀➾ o ⚓ Sea_lion_whiskers_can_move_like_human_fingertips:_here’s_how_we found_out⠀⇛ Pinnipeds, including seals, sea lions and walruses, have whiskers that are particularly thick and long, making them easier to measure than those of smaller mammals such as mice. They also have some of the most sensitive whiskers of any mammal – they can detect textures and shapes to the same sensitivity as human fingertips, even in cold water when our fingers would go numb. They are also moveable. We have previously found that California sea lions make the largest and most controlled movements with their whiskers, when compared to harbour seals and Pacific walruses. Those factors, plus their ability to perform object- discrimination tasks – where they could distinguish between objects based on size and shape – made California sea lions the ideal subject for our investigation on task-specific whisker movements. o ⚓ Antarctica’s_fragile_ecosystems_as_human_activity_grows_and_the world_warms⠀⇛ By Dana M Bergstrom and Shavawn Donoghue – We tend to think Antarctica is isolated and far away – biologically speaking, this is true. But the continent is busier than you probably imagine, with many national programs and tourist operators crisscrossing the globe to get there. And each vessel, each cargo item, and each person could be harbouring non-native species, hitchhiking their way south. This threat to Antarctica’s fragile ecosystem is what our new evaluation, grapples with. § Finance⠀➾ * ⚓ Diaper_Banks_Are_Filling_a_Need_for_Low-Income_Families_Whom_Federal Aid_Fails⠀⇛ * ⚓ Opinion_|_Why_a_Small_Business-Centered_Economy_Is_Critical_Right_Now⠀⇛ On Small Business Saturday, it’s a day not only to shop small and local but also to reflect on how we can better support small businesses and our local economy for the long term.  * ⚓ No_tax_and_chill:_Netflix’s_offshore_network_–_TaxWatch⠀⇛ Facebook, Amazon and Google, have all received a significant amount of scrutiny in recent years about their tax affairs, but the last of the FANG group of companies, Netflix, has not. One reason for this could be that that Netflix has historically not been as profitable as other digital companies, as it has spent large amounts of money building an international presence and buying film rights. However, recent years have seen the company’s profits rocket, from $123m in 2015, to $1.2bn in 2018. In this report, we provide an analysis of Netflix’s corporate structure which shows that the company has implemented a similar tax avoidance structure to many other multi-national companies operating in the digital space. Revenues are not collected in the country where they are made. Instead, customers are charged from an offshore company. Profits appear to then be moved from the hub company to a tax haven through the use of intra-company transactions. Netflix’s historically lower profit margins mean that the scale of any tax avoidance will be much lower than other well known companies that employ similar tactics. However, the structure that the company operates presents a significant risk factor for the tax base of many countries as the company expands its presence, increases market share and sees an increase in profits. In total, we estimate that the company moved between $327.8m to $430m in profits to low tax jurisdictions from its international operations. Netflix also presents another issue particular to the film and television world, which is the way in which it is able to attract tax credits. The company is now ramping up production of original content in the UK, and it is likely that this will attract substantial subsidies from the UK taxpayer. Indeed, recently the company said that it is spending over £400m making original content in the UK this year, which means that it is likely to be eligible for tens of millions of pounds in tax relief when it next reports its UK accounts. This demonstrates a significant loophole when it comes to the administration of tax credits for multinational companies, which can take advantage of credits by locating costs in the jurisdictions where they are on offer, whilst at the same time putting their revenues somewhere else entirely. * ⚓ Food_delivery_drivers_question_gig_platforms’_safety_nets⠀⇛ From leg amputations in Thailand to hijackings in Nigeria, millions of food delivery drivers around the world find themselves torn between the desperation to make a living and the fear that each ride may be their last. The gig economy has surged during the COVID-19 pandemic and brought with it a wave of concerns from drivers and researchers who say that dangerous roads and inadequate safety equipment and training are putting lives on the line daily. By 2020 there were at least 777 digital labour platforms – from food delivery to web design – around the world, up from about 140 a decade earlier, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). * ⚓ Nearly_30,000_borrowers_awarded_Public_Service_Loan_Forgiveness_so_far under_new_rules⠀⇛ Katherine Rickfelder, a Florida public school teacher, is one of nearly 30,000 people who have seen their student debt balance reduced to zero since the federal government announced significant changes to a popular loan forgiveness program last month. “I cried when I got the letter. I honestly feel like I can finally breathe again,” said Rickfelder, who had another five years of payments to make under the old rules of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. She started paying off her student debt about 16 years ago. The letter, which she received from the US Department of Education in October, said that she would get credit for 91 additional monthly payments she had made on her student loans. That meant that she had already made more than the 120 payments required for debt forgiveness under the PSLF program, which is aimed at borrowers working in government and nonprofit sectors. * ⚓ Creating_more_climate_change_billionaires⠀⇛ The reason why the Moderna billionaires might be especially upsetting is that so much of what they did was with government funding. The development of mRNA technology, beginning in the early 1980s, was accomplished almost entirely on the government’s dime. § AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics⠀➾ * ⚓ Incident_reporting,_ransomware_payment_legislation_faces_trouble_in Senate⠀⇛ Legislation requiring critical infrastructure owners to report major cyber incidents to the federal government, and mandating that ransomware victims disclose when they make payments, has hit a significant snag in the Senate. A bipartisan group of senators announced a proposal in November that would require critical infrastructure owners and operators to report within 72 hours to the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency when they suffer major cyber incidents, as defined by CISA. It also would require reporting of ransomware payments to CISA from a broader set of organizations, excluding only individuals and some smaller businesses, within 24 hours. * ⚓ Imagine_Not_Living_in_Big_Tech’s_World⠀⇛ I want to flash back to the rise and fall of a once popular storytelling website called Upworthy. It is one of a zillion examples of the power of Facebook and other technology superstars to make or break other companies’ dreams. * ⚓ 193_countries_adopt_first-ever_global_agreement_on_the_Ethics_of Artificial_Intelligence⠀⇛ “The world needs rules for artificial intelligence to benefit humanity. The Recommendation on the ethics of AI is a major answer. It sets the first global normative framework while giving States the responsibility to apply it at their level. UNESCO will support its 193 Member states in its implementation and ask them to report regularly on their progress and practices”, said UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay. * ⚓ UNESCO_member_states_adopt_first_global_agreement_on_AI_ethics⠀⇛ Participants will consider how AI governance and innovation networks can be enhanced to direct AI towards the common good in education, and for humanity. * ⚓ [Old] Open_Source_Software_in_Government:_Challenges_and_Opportunities. August_2013⠀⇛ This document identifies key challenges and opportunities in the government application of Open Source Software (OSS), as reported in interviews of experts, suppliers, and potential users. There are many challenges to the collaborative development and use of such software in the government. To maximize the use of limited resources, the U.S. government must address these challenges, which can be grouped into categories such as: inertia, fears about low quality and malware, concerns about commercial support, procurement issues, and certification and accreditation (C&A) issues. Interviewees reported a critical need for OSS guidance and education. Specific interviewee recommendations included requiring that software and C&A materials developed with government funding be developed collaboratively and widely shared, that the government receive full data rights for such material, and that the government release such software as OSS by default. * ⚓ Christian_nurses’_bail_‘kept_secret’_in_blasphemy_case_to_protect_women from_radical_Islamist_attacks⠀⇛ In April, Police in Punjab province arrested nurse Maryam Lal and third-year nursing student Navish Arooj on blasphemy charges after staff at Civil Hospital in Faisalabad city accused them of removing a sticker from a cupboard that had a verse from the Quran written on it. One of the nurses was allegedly attacked by a knife-wielding Muslim colleague. * ⚓ Opinion_|_Nicholas_Kristof:_Celebrate_the_season_by_changing_someone’s life_–_The_Washington_Post⠀⇛ For years, as a columnist for the New York Times, I wrote an annual giving guide, which in 2019 and 2020 included Holiday Impact awards. I recently resigned from that job to run for governor in Oregon, but I wanted to continue the tradition. § Misinformation/Disinformation⠀➾ * ⚓ Behind_the_Tweet_That_Became_the_Rallying_Cry_for_the_Insurrection_– Mother_Jones⠀⇛ The city was a Democratic stronghold in a state Trump won to secure the presidency in 2016 and needed to win again to remain in the White House. It was also a city long dogged by Republican accusations of election fraud. Will Chamberlain had driven up from Washington, DC, to chase these allegations as a last-minute volunteer with the group Lawyers for Trump. But Chamberlain wasn’t merely a lawyer. Although he had briefly worked at a commercial litigation firm in Los Angeles after passing the bar, he left that job in the spring of 2016, moved to DC, and spent the Trump years running MAGA Meetups, relaunching a right-wing magazine, and generally reinventing himself as a pro-Trump social media figure. When the campaign realized he had roughly 150,000 followers on Twitter, his role changed. “They figured out I’d be more useful doing stuff that wasn’t just legal,” Chamberlain told me. § Censorship/Free Speech⠀➾ * ⚓ What_people_miss_in_the_conversation_about_banned_books⠀⇛ How should parents react to this news, and to the books their children are reading? NPR senior editor Barrie Hardymon and Traci Thomas, host of The Stacks podcast, joined guest host Ayesha Rascoe to talk about banned book lists. The three talk about why it’s important for kids to discover books freely, even if that means starting a hard conversation with them. They also discuss their favorite — and least favorite — books that often show up on banned book lists. * ⚓ Internet_disruption_registered_in_Iran_amid_water_protests⠀⇛ The disruption registered in the southwestern city of Ahvaz comes amid protests against government water management policies which have centered around Isfahan, where outages have also been reported by users. * ⚓ [Old] Renowned_DJ_Zedd_“Permanently_Banned”_From_China_for_Liking_a ‘South_Park’_Tweet⠀⇛ Born Anton Zaslavski, the Russian-German DJ and music producer made the announcement via social media. He has 8.1 million followers on Twitter alone. “I just got permanently banned from China because I liked a @SouthPark tweet,” Zedd said via a tweet. His reps confirmed to CNBC Zedd was notified he was banned from the country. * ⚓ [Old] Katy_Perry_Has_Reportedly_Been_Banned_from_Entering_China_for Wearing_This_Dress⠀⇛ Sources told the site that Perry, 33, had applied for a visa but was denied by Chinese officials. Page Sixreports that the singer was informed she’d be granted access, but that changed after the government became aware of a sunflower dress she had worn during a performance in Taipei, Taiwan, in 2015. The look had caused controversy because the sunflower was the key symbol of a 2014 movement that protested a Chinese trade agreement that was seen as unfair to Taiwan. At one point of the concert, Perry also draped a Taiwanese flag over her shoulders. Though it might not have been her intention, the outfit and the flag-waving was seen as a politically charged gesture and caused uproar in China, which has had long-running tensions with Taiwan regarding its independence. * ⚓ The_Taliban_destroyed_Afghanistan’s_ancient_Buddha_statues._Now_they’re welcoming_tourists.⠀⇛ For around $5, curious visitors can wander around and take photos of the giant holes in the cliff face where the ancient Buddha statues once stood. * ⚓ Canadian_school_cancels_ISIS_survivor_Nadia_Murad_over_Islamophobia fears⠀⇛ Murad advocates for survivors of genocide and sexual violence and is also a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and UN Goodwill Ambassador. Murad’s book tells how she escaped the Islamic State after being taken from her home and sold into sexual slavery when she was just 14. Murad details how she was raped and tortured before finding her way to a refugee camp in Durhok, in northern Iraq, and then to Germany, where she lives today. * ⚓ School_pulls_event_with_former_Islamic_State_sex_slave_over_fears_it would_‘foster_Islamophobia’⠀⇛ Helen Fisher, the superintendent at the Toronto District School Board, voiced her concerns over Ms Murad’s ‘The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State’ and said that her students would not participate in a sit-down event with the author scheduled for February. * ⚓ FATAH:_The_outrageous_censorship_of_Nadia_Murad⠀⇛ For many of us who have followed the mass murder of the Yazidi people of Iraq and have marvelled at the courage of Murad, the TDSB decision came as a shock. It reeked of ignorance and subservience to an Islamist attitude that has infiltrated too many institutions of Canada, especially urban schools where cafeterias have been turned into prayer halls, with gender apartheid on full display. Shocked by the exchange with Helen Fisher, Tanya Lee says she then sent her an email containing detailed information on the Islamic organization, coming from the BBC and CNN. * ⚓ School_Cancels_Former_‘ISIS_Sex_Slave’_Nadia_Murad’s_Event_Over_Fears of_‘Offending_Muslims’⠀⇛ Nadia was all set to discuss her book with the students of TDSB, however, the school board president Helen Fisher pulled the event, claiming that Nadia’s book might promote ‘Islamophobia’ amongst the students. Fisher issued an apology for the act as well. * ⚓ School_shuts_down_after_cops_get_mad_over_student_project_about_“V_for Vendetta”⠀⇛ Katey O’Connor, a teacher at Muncie Central High School, had her students read V for Vendetta, the classic graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, and create some posters reflecting on how the ideological mission of the eponymous V from the book might relate to current real-life social conditions. In the book, V is a queer anarchist who openly admits that he’s doing terrorism as performance art in the name of anti-fascist liberation. He is fighting against a racist, sexist, homophobic authoritarian government. § Freedom of Information/Freedom of the Press⠀➾ * ⚓ “A_Lot_of_Mistakes”:_The_Guardian_and_Julian_Assange⠀⇛ In 1921, the Manchester Guardian’s editor, Charles Prestwich Scott, marked the newspaper’s centenary with an essay entitled “A Hundred Years.” In it, Scott declared that a newspaper’s “primary office is the gathering of news. …Comment is free, but facts are sacred.” * ⚓ Stella_Moris_on_fiancé_Julian_Assange:_‘This_isn’t_about_him,_it’s about_press_freedom’⠀⇛ The result of Assange’s appeal should be known by Christmas (though he will not be immediately released unless America formally drops its case). In the meantime, Moris, 38, has been fighting a second battle. After our meeting, she is rushing straight off to meet her lawyer about their legal action against the deputy prime minister Dominic Raab and the Belmarsh prison governor, who she claims were blocking her and Assange from getting married inside the prison. Just hours later, the news she has been battling for comes through: after five years of trying, she and the Australian-born whistleblower have been granted permission to marry. Moris is relieved that “reason has prevailed” in her marriage battle, calling the delays a “completely outrageous and illegal interference in [their] private lives”. § Civil Rights/Policing⠀➾ * ⚓ Starbucks_Is_Swarming_Buffalo-Area_Shops_With_Top_Execs_to_Quash_Union Drive⠀⇛ * ⚓ A_Unionization_Wave_Is_Reshaping_Museums_and_Cultural_Institutions Across_the_US⠀⇛ * ⚓ No_Dogs_Allowed?_Iran_Considers_Nationwide_Ban_On_‘Dangerous,_Harmful’ Pets⠀⇛ The authorities have attempted to introduce similar restrictions against household animals in recent years as the ownership of dogs and other pets has become more popular despite the clerical establishment’s arguments that keeping them inside homes is unhygienic and un-Islamic. Instances of people being attacked by stray dogs have also fueled calls for restrictions. But while previous attempts to curtail pet ownership through local bans on dog walking and transportation have largely failed or met resistance, the latest proposal would be nationwide and comes as hard-liners increase their influence following the election of ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi in June. * ⚓ Unions_are_finally_fighting_two-tier_contracts⠀⇛ What’s a two-tier contract? Just what it sounds like: management offers the union concessions on its key demands, but only for current workers. Future workers get a worse deal. Management’s theory is that workers may have solidarity with one another, but not with workers who haven’t even been hired yet, and that a two-tier contract will lead to an ever- expanding cohort of workers who pay full union dues but don’t get full union benefits. Thus, over the span of years, the union will get weaker and weaker, and eventually it will be too weak to stand up for any of its workers – even the top-tier workers, who will see all those gains clawed back in future negotiations. * ⚓ RCMP_still_clearing_Indigenous_lands_for_corporate_interests⠀⇛ Media couldn’t access the raw footage taken by filmmaker Michael Toledano until he and journalist Amber Bracken were released from prison days later. Even though the pair had identified themselves as journalists, the RCMP jailed them anyway. When they were released three days later, we then saw the dramatic arrest of unarmed land defenders at gunpoint. * ⚓ Turkish_police_tear-gas_women_protesting_over_violence⠀⇛ Turkish police on Thursday fired tear gas to break up a protest in Istanbul by women demanding the country’s return to a landmark international treaty, signed in the same city, that is meant to protect women from violence. * ⚓ France:_Muslim_stabs_his_sister’s_boyfriend_for_not_being_Muslim⠀⇛ It was the eve of Valentine’s Day in 2020. Inès and Sébastien, two young people from Colombes in the middle of a love affair, were planning to celebrate the day of lovers. But Inès’ brother, who viewed his sister’s relationship with suspicion, would not allow it. On this February 13, he stabbed Sébastien with a knife and is now on trial before the jury court of the Hauts-de-Seine department.Le PArisien. * ⚓ Suspected_Boko_Haram_Terrorists_Abduct_22_Girls_For_Marriage_In_Niger State⠀⇛ The gunmen allegedly told the villagers that they were going to marry the girls. A community leader who spoke on condition of anonymity said they had earlier informed them that the girls should be withdrawn from the school because they would come to marry them, adding that they were surprised that the terrorists came yesterday (Thursday) to pick up the girls without any security check. He said the group leader, identified as Malam Sadiku led several operations in the area, preaching weird Islamic ideology unhindered for several months. * ⚓ Outcry_After_Iran_‘Shocking’_Execution_Of_Young_Murder_Convict⠀⇛ It described his sentencing in December 2015 as being the result of “a grossly unfair trial” by a court that “relied on torture-tainted ‘confessions’”. Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam, head of Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) which monitors executions in Iran, described Abdolali’s execution as an “international crime”. * ⚓ Iran:_Execution_of_juvenile_offender_‘deeply_alarming_and_shocking’⠀⇛ OHCHR expressed serious concern that his case follows the pattern of child offenders being convicted after a flawed trial and on the basis of forced confessions. “It is deeply alarming and shocking that his hanging went ahead, despite interventions by numerous parties on the case, including direct engagement by the UN Human Rights Office with the Government of Iran,” Spokesperson Liz Throssell said in a statement. § Internet Policy/Net Neutrality⠀➾ * ⚓ Can_a_Free_Internet_Survive?⠀⇛ Says John Arquilla, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Defense Analysis at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, “There’s a growing emphasis among some governments to curtail political freedom by using the Internet and social media to control thought and action.” Out of Control Internet freedom is eroding on two fronts: the sheer number of efforts to block access to legitimate information, and the level of sophistication used. According to Access Now, an organization that says it “defends and extends the digital rights of users at risk around the world,” 850 intentional shutdowns have taken place over the last decade, with 768 of these events occurring over the last five years. * ⚓ EU_[Internet]_regulation_to_push_Facebook_to_sanitise_Metaverse platforms⠀⇛ The proposed DSA aims to keep users safe from illegal goods, content or services and protect their fundamental rights online, on the principle that what is illegal offline should also be illegal online. § Monopolies⠀➾ * ⚓ EU_companies_issue_formal_complaint_against_Microsoft_OneDrive_Windows integration⠀⇛ Remember how Microsoft spent years in hot water in the late ’90s and early ’00s by forcing Internet Explorer on its customers? European open-source cloud company Nextcloud does. Now, with a coalition of other European Union (EU) software and cloud organizations and companies called the “Coalition for a Level Playing Field,” Nextcloud has formally complained to the European Commission (EC) about Microsoft’s anti-competitive behavior by aggressively bundling its OneDrive cloud, Teams, and other services with Windows 10 and 11. * ⚓ Microsoft_Weekly:_Defender_for_the_win,_trouble_with_Nextcloud,_and_ARM exclusivity⠀⇛ Microsoft seems to have found itself in a bit of bother at the European Union (EU). This is due to a Nextcloud-led coalition that has filed a complaint against the Redmond tech firm for anti-competitive behavior. Other notable members of the coalition include Tutanota, OnlyOffice, Free Software Foundation Europe, The Document Foundation, and European Digital SME Alliance. Together, these parties claim that Microsoft is bundling its 365 services such as OneDrive and Teams natively into Windows and is shipping the OS with them installed by default. According to the group, this pushes users to Microsoft’s bundled software rather than third-party alternatives. As of now, the challenging party’s demands include Microsoft unbundling its software from Windows and adopting open standards that makes it easier for users to switch software. The issue is still evolving so do keep an eye out on our coverage. In related news, the German state of Schleswig-Holstein has announced that it is shifting 25,000 government machines running Windows to open-source alternatives like Linux by the end of 2026. This will be a multi-step process initially involving migrating to LibreOffice from Microsoft Office, and then switching to Linux entirely. One of the reasons being cited for this massive transition is licensing costs. It is important to note that Munich city attempted the same a few years ago but the experiment eventually failed, with the government going back to Windows in 2015. * § Patents⠀➾ o ⚓ Innovation_from_myFC_approved_by_the_European_Patent_Office_– electrochemically_operated_valves_optimize_fuel_cells [Ed: EPO grants_loads_of_junk_patents_these_days, so does this merit a press release?]⠀⇛ The European Patent Office announces that myFC has one of its patents approved in several countries. With the help of the electrochemically operated valve that the patent protects, it is possible to distribute the hydrogen gas individually to the fuel cells. o ⚓ UPC_favourites:_French_and_German_judges_dominate [Ed: Mathieu Klo publishes fake news for Team UPC to promote the illusion of UPC being inevitable; JUVE_became_“lying_press”]⠀⇛ The Unified Patent Court has already defied many a problem in its now more than 10-year development phase. Years of bitter wrangling over new procedural rules, Brexit and two constitutional complaints in Germany put extreme strain on the nerves of UPC officials and patent experts worldwide. Last Friday, the Austrian Parliament voted in favour of the ratification of the protocol on the provisional agreement (PAP) in its first reading. o ⚓ Austria_will_most_likely_trigger_start_of_preparatory_phase Unified_Patent_Court [Ed: No, Kluwer, Austria is not in the UK. UPC can only even progress by breaking the law, which will cause a major lawsuit.]⠀⇛ Austria will most likely become the member state which will trigger the start of the preparatory phase of the Unitary Patent project. Last Friday the National Council, one of the chambers of its parliament, unanimously approved draft legislation enabling Austria to ratify Protocol for Provisional Application (PPA) of the Unified Patent Court Agreement. o § Software Patents⠀➾ # ⚓ Peloton_sues_Lululemon_in_battle_over_patent_infringement claims⠀⇛ Peloton Interactive, Inc., is urging a court to say that its sportswear does not infringe on Lululemon’s patent designs by filing a lawsuit against the athletic wear brand earlier this week. # ⚓ German_Federal_Patent_Court_confirms_Zoe_Life_software patent [Ed: Well, software patents are_not_legal, but a corrupted and bribed system ceases to care about legality, it bends to lobbying]⠀⇛ Until now, controversy has surrounded the enforceability of software patents. But a ruling by the German Federal Patent Court has fully upheld investor Zoe Life’s key patent on cloud computing. This marks a success for the software patent industry. * § Copyrights⠀➾ o ⚓ Virgin_Media_‘Pirates’_Told_They’re_Also_Liable_For_Other People’s_Movie_Piracy⠀⇛ Virgin Media subscribers who responded to letters accusing them of piracy are now getting feedback from movie company lawyers in the UK. While initial feedback suggested that alleged pirates could be on the hook for potentially thousands in damages, it now appears the movie company is taking a broader view of the situation. Whether such claims will hold up in court remains to be seen. o ⚓ The_film_industry_effectively_solved_the_problem_of_unauthorised downloads;_now_it_is_“unsolving”_it…⠀⇛ There’s no doubt that the introduction of good-value streaming services like Spotify has meant that many people have stopped turning to unauthorised sources. Separate research from 2012, 2013 and 2014 showed this unequivocally: unauthorised music downloads were cut by 20% to 50% when good legal alternatives were available in a country. What’s sad is that having effectively solved the piracy problem through fairly-priced, simple-to-use services offering nearly everything in one package, the film industry is now “unsolving” it by increasing prices unreasonably, and forcing people to subscribe to multiple, fragmented services in order to access the range of material they want. o ⚓ Why_Michael_Moorcock’s_Elric_of_Melniboné_is_getting_a_game_after 60_years⠀⇛ Hillborg said he inquired about the rights to Elric a couple of years ago after a chance conversation triggered the idea. He was told at the time that the ancillary rights to the video game were tied up in a movie license that failed to come through. But a year ago, he was contacted again by Moorcock’s agent, who said the rights to a game were now available. Over time, Elric has become a huge part of fantasy culture. The band Blue Oyster Cult made songs about Elric. The Finnish version of Dungeons in Dragons in the 1980s had Elric’s sword, Stormbringer, on its cover. Elric has also been drawn countless times. (Hillborg said he wasn’t yet ready to talk about the game’s art style, but he said the contributions of fans have been amazing.) Stockholm, Sweden-based Runatyr will work with development collective Aurora Punks and United Kingdom- based studio Upstream Arcade on the project. The independent-focused companies hope to ship a narrative action computer game in 2024. o ⚓ Can_Nigeria_lead_the_way_in_modernising_outdated_copyright_laws through_expanded_exceptions?⠀⇛ The second paragraph above raises an important point. Nigeria’s new copyright law may well serve as a template for the MINT nations, and other rising economies, as they revise their old laws in this domain. If Nigeria brings in wide-ranging copyright exceptions, they could ripple through dozens of legal systems as governments follow suit. Indeed, if Statista’s prediction that Nigeria’s population will reach 400 million in 2050 is correct, it is possible that the country will emerge as one of the trendsetters in copyright law not just for those countries, but for the entire world. Getting it right now is therefore of critical importance. o ⚓ In_response_to_NFT_debate⠀⇛ At CC, we pride ourselves on raising issues thoughtfully and often share articles on our platforms about the digital space where we work. Many times CC staff will expand on these topics through our blog, to provide a perspective that reflects CC’s experiences around our work to support, steward and provide legal and technical assistance for the maximization of digital creativity, innovation and sharing. It is our hope that this open space of conversation will generate different viewpoints and promote civil debate.  ䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 3660 ╒═══════════════════ 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 ═════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 11.28.21⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧ Gemini_version_available_♊︎ ✐ Links_29/11/2021:_Linux_5.16_RC3_and_Lots_of_Patent_Catch-up⠀✐ Posted in News_Roundup at 7:20 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈ § Contents⠀➾ * GNU/Linux o Distributions o Devices/Embedded * Free_Software/Open_Source * Leftovers * § GNU/Linux⠀➾ o § Desktop/Laptop⠀➾ # ⚓ Linux_Weekly_Roundup_#158⠀⇛ Welcome to this week’s Linux Roundup. It was a full week of Linux releases with Endless OS 4.0.0 and Deepin 20.3. We hope that you had a good week and may the be a great one ahead! o § Audiocasts/Shows⠀➾ # ⚓ GIMP_3_Finally_Brings_Multi_Layer_Selection_&_More_– Invidious⠀⇛ GIMP has needed a serious rework for quite a while and it seems like GIMP 3 is finally going to bring us that along with amazing new features like multi- layer selection # ⚓ BSD_Now_430:_OpenBSD_Onwards⠀⇛ Manipulate a ZFS pool from Rescue System, FreeBSD 3rd Quarter Report, Monitoring FreeBSD jails form the host, OpenBSD on RPI4 with Full Disk Encryption, Onwards with OpenBSD, and more # ⚓ Jeri_Ellsworth_and_the_Quest_for_Augmented_Reality_– Kockatoo_Tube⠀⇛ Jeri Ellsworth, self-taught electronics engineer, race driver, and maker and inventor supreme, visits us on KDE’s 25th Anniversary, and gives us a glimpse into her latest project: Tilt 5, an augmented reality system for collaborative tabletop gaming. # ⚓ Amazing_elementary_apps_you_can_install_on_other_linux distributions_–_Invidious⠀⇛ o § Kernel Space⠀➾ # ⚓ Linux_5.16-rc3⠀⇛ So rc3 is usually a bit larger than rc2 just because people had some time to start finding things. So too this time, although it's not like this is a particularly big rc3. Possibly partly due to the past week having been Thanksgiving week here in the US. But the size is well within the normal range, so if that's a factor, it's not been a big one. The diff for rc3 is mostly drivers, although part of that is just because of the removal of a left-over MIPS Netlogic driver which makes the stats look a bit wonky, and is over a third of the whole diff just in itself. If you ignore that part, the statistics look a bit more normal, but drivers still dominate (network drivers, sound and gpu are the big ones, but there is noise all over). Other than that there's once again a fair amount of selftest (mostly networking), along with core networking, some arch updates - the bulk of it from a single arm64 uaccess patch, although that's mostly because it's all pretty small - and random other changes. Full shortlog below. Please test, Linus # ⚓ Linux_5.16-rc3_Released_With_Alder_Lake_ITMT_Fix,_Other Driver_Fixes_–_Phoronix⠀⇛ Linus Torvalds just released Linux 5.16-rc3 with plenty of fixes included. With it being US Thanksgiving week, he’s also having fun with this kernel by having adjusted the codename to “Gobble Gobble” in reference to turkeys. # ⚓ Facebook/Meta_Tackling_Transparent_Page_Placement_For Tiered-Memory_Linux_Systems_–_Phoronix⠀⇛ Back during the Linux 5.15 cycle Intel contributed an improvement for tiered memory systems where less used memory pages could be demoted to slower tiers of memory storage. But once demoted that kernel infrastructure didn’t have a means of promoting those demoted pages back to the faster memory tiers should they become hot again, though now Facebook/ Meta engineers have been working on such functionality. Prior to the Linux 5.15 kernel, during the memory reclaim process when the system RAM was under memory pressure was to simply toss out cold pages. However, with Linux 5.15 came the ability to shift those cold pages to any slower memory tiers. In particular, modern and forthcoming servers with Optane DC persistent memory or CXL-enabled memory, etc. Therefore the pages are still accessible if needed but not occupying precious system DRAM if they aren’t being used and to avoid just flushing them out or swapping to disk. # ⚓ Linux_5.17_To_Boast_Latency_Optimization_For_AF_UNIX Sockets_–_Phoronix⠀⇛ Net-next has been queuing a number of enticing performance optimizations ahead of the Linux 5.17 merge window kicking off around the start of the new year. Covered already was a big TCP optimization and a big improvement for csum_partial () that is used in the network code for checksum computation. The latest optimization is improving the AF_UNIX code path for those using AF_UNIX sockets for local inter-process communication. A new patch series was queued up on Friday in net- next for improving the AF_UNIX code. That patch series by Kuniyuki Iwashima of Amazon Japan is ultimately about replacing AF_UNIX sockets’ single big lock with per-hash locks. The series replaces the AF_UNIX big lock and also as part of the series has a speed-up to the autobind behavior. o § Benchmarks⠀➾ # ⚓ PHP_8.1_Benchmarks_–_Continuing_The_Nice_Performance Trajectory⠀⇛ PHP 8.1 released on Thursday as the latest major feature release for this programming language. In this article are some benchmarks of PHP 8.1.0 on an AMD EPYC powered Linux server compared to prior releases going as far back as PHP 5.6. As previously covered, PHP 8.1 introduces many new language features like PHP “Fibers”, enums, read- only class properties, new fsync functions, and much more. PHP 8.1 is another great annual update to this server-side language. But as we’ve seen over the past number of years since the late PHP 5.x era, the performance has continued improving. o § Applications⠀➾ # ⚓ Best_Free_and_Open_Source_Alternatives_to_Corel_Painter⠀⇛ Corel Corporation is a Canadian software company specializing in graphics processing. They are best known for developing CorelDRAW, a vector graphics editor. They are also notable for purchasing and developing AfterShot Pro, PaintShop Pro, Painter, Video Studio, MindManager, and WordPerfect. Corel has dabbled with Linux over the years. For example they produced Corel Linux, a Debian-based distribution which bundled Corel WordPerfect Office for Linux. While Corel effectively abandoned its Linux business in 2001 they are not completely Linux-phobic. For example, AfterShot Pro has an up to date Linux version albeit its proprietary software. # ⚓ Best_Free_and_Open_Source_Alternatives_to_Corel’s Products⠀⇛ Corel Corporation is a Canadian software company specializing in graphics processing. They are best known for developing CorelDRAW, a vector graphics editor. They are also notable for purchasing and developing AfterShot Pro, PaintShop Pro, Painter, Video Studio, MindManager, and WordPerfect. Corel has dabbled with Linux over the years. For example they produced Corel Linux, a Debian-based distribution which bundled Corel WordPerfect Office for Linux. While Corel effectively abandoned its Linux business in 2001 they are not completely Linux-phobic. For example, AfterShot Pro has an up to date Linux version albeit its proprietary software. This series looks at the best free and open source alternatives to products offered by Corel. # ⚓ 5_Best_Free_and_Open_Source_Linux_MAC/RBAC_Tools⠀⇛ One of the most difficult problems in managing a large network is the complexity of security administration. The deployment of individual security products such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, network traffic analysis, log file analysis, or antivirus software is never going to provide adequate protection for computers that are connected to the internet. For example, a good network intrusion prevention and detection system (such as Snort) does an exemplary job at detecting attacks within traffic. However, this type of detection does not offer any sort of damage containment. Equally, a firewall offers an outstanding method at defining what type of traffic is allowed in a network, but does not offer any deep protocol analysis. o § Instructionals/Technical⠀➾ # ⚓ How_To_Install_Snap_on_Ubuntu_20.04_LTS_–_idroot⠀⇛ In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Snap on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. For those of you who didn’t know, Snap also known as Snappy is an alternative package management tool and program package format developed by Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux. All the snaps are usually stored in a central repository called Snap Store from where snaps can be downloaded and installed using the snap command. Snaps work across a range of Linux distributions, which makes them a distro- agnostic upstream software deployment solution. This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the Snap Package Manager on Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal Fossa). You can follow the same instructions for Ubuntu 18.04, 16.04, and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint. # ⚓ How_to_install_FreeOffice_2021_on_Ubuntu_20.04_Linux⠀⇛ One of the best free alternatives to Microsoft Office is FreeOffice, developed by a German software company- SoftMaker. Recently, they have upgraded their Office suite to version 21. And here we learn the steps to install FreeOffice 2021 version on Ubuntu 20.04 Linux using the command terminal. This free office suite is a part of the commercial one from the same developers known as SoftMaker Office 21 (also available for Linux), of course, the premium will have more features but that doesn’t mean the free version- FreeOffice 2021 deprives to full fill all daily office documents (MS-Word alternative) related requirements. It offers a Microsoft office ribbon-like interface and three modules- TextMaker 21 to create documents; PlanMaker 21 to create sheets (Excel alternative) and Presentations 21 for making slides like MS- Powerpoint. # ⚓ Pin_Custom_Folders_to_Left_Panel_‘Files’_Icon_Context_Menu in_Ubuntu_20.04_|_UbuntuHandbook⠀⇛ In Windows 10, user may right-click on the ‘File Explorer’ icon on panel to access pinned folders (e.g., Desktop, Downloads and Documents) quickly. Ubuntu has first implemented this feature in Ubuntu 21.10, though it seems to be not working properly due to bug. Ubuntu 20.04 may manually add the context (right-click) menu options so user can right-click on the ‘Files’ icon to choose open favorite folders quickly. # ⚓ How_To_Install_Perl_on_AlmaLinux_8_–_idroot⠀⇛ In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Perl on AlmaLinux 8. For those of you who didn’t know, Perl (Practical Extraction and Reporting Language) is a general-purpose programming language originally developed for text manipulation and now used for a wide range of tasks including system administration, web development, network programming, GUI development, and more. The major features of Perl are easy to use, supports object- oriented and procedural programming languages, and has built-in support for processing text. The most impressive feature of Perl is that it supports a large collection of third-party modules. This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the Perl programming language on AlmaLinux 8. You can follow the same instructions for Rocky Linux. # ⚓ How_to_play_Total_War:_WARHAMMER_on_Linux⠀⇛ Total War: Warhammer is a turn-based real-time tactics video game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It takes place in the War Hammer 40K universe. Here’s how you can play it on your Linux PC. # ⚓ How_to_install_Funkin’_Vs._Camellia_on_a_Chromebook⠀⇛ Today we are looking at how to install Funkin’ Vs. Camellia on a Chromebook. Please follow the video/ audio guide as a tutorial where we explain the process step by step and use the commands below. # ⚓ Fail2Ban⠀⇛ Introduction After ensuring that Fail2ban was being used for all suitable modules on the server I saw the need to have a visual indication of the Fail2ban status in the Web Management to help detect any problems that are occurring. Patch Released The latest patch that has just been released now has an extra page for Fail2ban added to the system section of the Web Management. This page gives a visual status indication for each jail that has been configured for Fail2ban on the selected server. # ⚓ How_to_Install_Linux_Kernel_5.15_on_Pop!_OS_20.04⠀⇛ Linux kernel 5.15 is out with many new features, support, and security. The Linux 5.15 kernel release further improves the support for AMD CPUs and GPUs, Intel’s 12th Gen CPUs, and brings new features like NTFS3, KSMBD (CIFS/SMB3), and further Apple M1 support, amongst many other changes and additions. In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install the latest 5.15 Linux Kernel on Pop!_OS 20.04 LTS. # ⚓ How_to_use_disown_command_in_Linux_–_Unixcop_the_Unix_/ Linux_the_admins_deams⠀⇛ In the Unix shells ksh, bash, fish and zsh, the disown builtin command is used to remove jobs from the job table Like cd or pwd, it is a shell built- in command, and doesn’t require root privileges, or to mark jobs so that a SIGHUP signal is not sent to them if the parent shell receives it (e.g. if the user logs out). So, In this tutorial we will cover different ways you can use the disown command in Linux. # ⚓ How_to_Manage_Packages_on_RPM-Based_Linux_Distros_With DNF⠀⇛ One of the most attractive features of the Linux operating system is how easy it is to install or automate the installation of software packages from secure remote repositories. This guide will walk you through how to install and manage software packages on RPM-based Linux distros such as Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) using DNF, the next-generation package manager for RPM-based Linux distros. # ⚓ How_to_Install_PHP_8.1_on_AlmaLinux_8⠀⇛ PHP 8.1 is a significant update of the PHP language that was “officially” released on November 25, 2021. This is a standard upgrade as we advance from the existing PHP 8.0 release. The new PHP 8.1 brings enums, fibers, never return type, final class constants, intersection types, read-only properties amongst the long list of new features and changes. In the following tutorial, you will learn how to import the REMI Module and install PHP 8.1 on AlmaLinux 8. # ⚓ How_To_Find_Top_Running_Processes_by_Memory_and_CPU_Usage in_Linux⠀⇛ Most Linux users use the default system monitor tool that comes pre-installed with the distribution for checking memory, CPU usage, and CPU temperature. In Linux, many applications run in the system background as a daemon to keep another main tool active or live which consumes a bit more system resources. In Linux, you can use various small tools or terminal commands or use one single command that shows all the running processes by memory and CPU usage. After checking the RAM and CPU load, you can determine which application you want to kill. o § Games⠀➾ # ⚓ Nvidia_Pascal_GPU,_DX12_and_VKD3D:_Slideshow_time!_– Boiling_Steam⠀⇛ So Horizon Zero Dawn had a sale recently on Fanatical, and I thought… OK I’ll grab it! It’s time. I first installed it on my workstation that only has a GTX1060 3GB GPU – not a workhorse but a decent card nonetheless for low-to-medium end gaming. I knew very well that Horizon Zero Dawn is a DX12 game and that Pascal architecture (Nvidia 10xx basically) and earlier versions do not play very well with DX12 games running through vkd3d- proton, the DX12 to Vulkan translation layer. Still, I could imagine getting somewhere around 30 FPS on low-to-medium settings, and use FSR if necessary to get to better framerates. Nothing prepared me for the performance I was about to experience. o § Desktop Environments/WMs⠀➾ # § K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt⠀➾ # ⚓ Kalendar_v0.3.0_out_soon,_with_improved_stability, efficiency,_accessibility…_and_a_Windows_version??_– Kalendar_devlog_23⠀⇛ Over the past two weeks, we have been hard at work under the hood of Kalendar. What you can expect from these two weeks’ refactors, additions, and changes is a version of Kalendar that is more stable, faster to use, and easier to use than ever before. We are excited to have you try Kalendar, and we want your feedback — especially bug reports! These will help us improve Kalendar as much as possible before releasing 1.0. o § Distributions⠀➾ # § Screenshots/Screencasts⠀➾ # ⚓ Endless_OS_4.0.0_Run_Through_–_Invidious⠀⇛ In this video, we are looking at Endless OS 4.0.0. Enjoy! # ⚓ Endless_OS_4.0.0⠀⇛ Today we are looking at Endless OS 4.0.0. It is based on Debian 11, Linux Kernel 5.11, Gnome 3.38, and uses about 1 to 1.5GB of ram when idling. Enjoy it and it looks great! # § SUSE/OpenSUSE⠀➾ # ⚓ Putting_the_Open_back_into_Open_Source⠀⇛ Agility has never been more important than it is in today’s disrupted digital world. Leaders in every industry are trying to find a balance between the stability that allows them to plan for the future, while creating highly agile organisations that can quickly respond to new challenges and opportunities. This agility only comes from the ability to innovate at speed, which is why open source communities are as vital as ever. According to SUSE’s recently commissioned Insight Avenue report, Why Today’s IT Leaders are Choosing Open, 84% now see open source as a way to cost-effectively drive this innovation. # § Debian Family⠀➾ # ⚓ GR_procedures_and_timelines⠀⇛ A vote has been proposed in Debian to change the formal procedure in Debian by which General Resolutions (our name for “votes”) are proposed. The original proposal is based on a text by Russ Allberry, which changes a number of rules to be less ambiguous and, frankly, less weird. One thing Russ’ proposal does, however, which I am absolutely not in agreement with, is to add a absolutly hard time limit after three weeks. That is, in the proposed procedure, the discussion time will be two weeks initially (unless the Debian Project Leader chooses to reduce it, which they can do by up to one week), and it will be extended if more options are added to the ballot; but after three weeks, no matter where the discussion stands, the discussion period ends and Russ’ proposed procedure forces us to go to a vote, unless all proposers of ballot options agree to withdraw their option. I believe this is a big mistake. I think any procedure we come up with should allow for the possibility that we may end up with a situation where everyone agrees that extending the discussion time a short time is a good idea, without necessarily resetting the whole discussion time to another two weeks (modulo a decision by the DPL). o § Devices/Embedded⠀➾ # § Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications⠀➾ # ⚓ How_To_Find_and_Delete_Spam_Messages_on_Your Android⠀⇛ # ⚓ How_To_Set_Up_&_Use_Google’s_New_Gmail_Widget_For Android_12⠀⇛ # ⚓ How_to_configure_the_screen_of_Android_TV_to eliminate_everything_that_does_not_interest_us_–_How smart_Technology_changing_lives⠀⇛ # ⚓ Want_Octoprint_But_Lack_A_Raspberry_Pi?_Use_An_Old Android_Phone_|_Hackaday⠀⇛ # ⚓ Best_Android_smartwatch_2021:_Top_picks_for_the holidays_–_9to5Google⠀⇛ # ⚓ Android_Circuit:_Samsung_Reveals_Galaxy’s_Massive Upgrade,_OnePlus_10_Leak,_Pixel_6A_First_Look⠀⇛ # ⚓ Winners_and_losers:_Android_relief_and_another_Huawei nightmare_|_Trusted_Reviews⠀⇛ # ⚓ Vivo’s_next_Android_device_is_a_very_powerful_tablet –_PhoneArena⠀⇛ # ⚓ The_Android_12_Privacy_Settings_You_Should_Update_Now |_WIRED⠀⇛ # ⚓ 11_new_Android_games_from_the_last_week:_The_best, worst,_and_everything_in_between_(11/21/21_-11/28/21)⠀⇛ # ⚓ Chargie_protects_your_Android_phone’s_battery_like_an EV_–_9to5Google⠀⇛ o § Free, Libre, and Open Source Software⠀➾ # § SaaS/Back End/Databases⠀➾ # ⚓ SQLite_3.37_Lightweight_Database_Comes_Packed_with New_Features⠀⇛ SQLite 3.37 has just got better with added new features such as CLI enhancements and additional interfaces. SQLite is is an open source self-contained, lightweight serverless relational database management system. The lite in SQLite means lightweight in terms of setup, database administration, and required resources. Normally, an RDBMS such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc., requires a separate server process to operate, but SQLite does not work this way. It accesses its storage files directly. SQLite stores its data in a single cross- platform file. As there’s no dedicated server or specialized filesystem, deploying SQLite is as simple as creating a new regular file. # § FSFE⠀➾ # ⚓ Upcycling_Android:_Initiative_for_switching_to_free smartphone_software_–_Market_Research_Telecast⠀⇛ Everything always revolves around shopping – be it for Black Friday, Christmas or Easter. But why not just repair and reuse instead of always buying something new? This is what our series of articles “Repairing and Upcycling” is all about. With the “Upcycling Android” initiative, the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) wants to encourage Android smartphone users to disconnect from the Google system and switch to free software. On the occasion of the current “European Waste Prevention Week”, the FSFE wants to help avoid electronic waste, save resources and enable cell phones to have a longer life. The Federal Environment Ministry and the Federal Environment Agency support the upcycling project financially. “Every year manufacturers worldwide produce 1.5 billion cell phones,” said the FSFE on Thursday. Unfortunately, almost as many would probably be “thrown away” after an often short period of use. This is more and more due to planned “software obsolescence”. Consumers are therefore faced with the dilemma of either buying new hardware or living with outdated programs. The environmental impact of this short hardware life could be devastating. # § Programming/Development⠀➾ # ⚓ PHP_8.1.0_and_a_new_foundation⠀⇛ Version 8.1.0 of the PHP language has been released. This release includes a number of new features, including enumerations, read- only properties, fibers, and more. # ⚓ Nemiver_debugger_now_in_devx_SFS⠀⇛ Mike (mikewalsh) responded with a great link that lists lots of Linux debugger/trace tools. The EasyOS devx SFS already has the ‘gdb’ CLI utility, and I saw on that link, there are ‘ddd’ and ‘nemiver’ GUI frontends for gdb. I went for nemiver and compiled it. The project seems to be almost dead, but then, if it works, perhaps no need for more commits to the git repository. I chose version 0.8.2, not the latest, but it suited me to stay with a gtk+2 based app rather than gtk+3. Two dependencies, ‘gtkmm’ and ‘libgtop’, are compiled in OpenEmbedded. I compiled ‘libgtksourceviewmm’ and ‘nemiver’ in a running EasyOS and made them into PETs. # § Perl/Raku⠀➾ # ⚓ Perl_Weekly_Challenge_140:_Multiplication Tables⠀⇛ # ⚓ Leaky_Rakudo⠀⇛ Yesterday the discord-bridge-bot refused to perform its 2nd job: EVAL All The Things! The EVALing is done via shell-out and requires a fair bit of RAM (Rakudo is equally slim then Santa). After about 3 weeks the fairly simple bot had grown from about halve a GB to one and a halve – while mostly waiting for the intertubes to deliver small pieces of text. I complained on IRC and was advised to take heap snapshots. Since I didn’t know how to make heaps of snapshots, I had to take timo’s directions towards use Telemetry. As snap(:heap) wasn’t willing to surrender the filename of the snapshot (I want to compress the file, it is going to get big over time) I had a look at the source. I also requested a change to Rakudo so I don’t have to hunt down the filename, which was fulfilled by lizmat 22 minutes later. Since you may not have a very recent Rakudo, the following snipped might be useful. * § Leftovers⠀➾ o ⚓ A_rare_look_inside_the_Smithsonian’s_secret_storerooms⠀⇛ As the Smithsonian Institution celebrates its 175th birthday this year, the sprawling museum-and-zoo complex counts just over 155 million items in its 20 museums and off-site storage facilities. Across more than 11 million square feet of exhibition and storage space—most of it located in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland, and New York City—those artifacts range from slingshots to space shuttles, ants to elephants. It’s no surprise that only about one percent of the collection is on display at any given time. But that raises a question: What are we missing? As I discover when three Smithsonian museums kindly allow me to peek inside their back rooms, the answer is: lots of things that will absolutely blow your mind. In the maze of storage rooms at the National Museum of American History, for instance, it seems every cabinet I look into holds an iconic cultural touchstone. Behind one door lies Ray Bolger’s Scarecrow costume from The Wizard of Oz. A nearby drawer holds, side by side, Jerry Seinfeld’s puffy shirt and Mister Rogers’ red sweater. A small box contains the original stopwatch from the television news program 60 Minutes. o § Hardware⠀➾ # ⚓ It’s_Nice_Having_Someone_To_Talk_To_|_Hackaday⠀⇛ We all get a bit lonely from time to time and talking to other humans can be a challenge. With social robots still finding their way these days, [Markus] decided to find a DIY solution he could make cheaply, resulting in the “Conversation Face.” The build is actually pretty simple, really. You have three different OLED displays, two for the eyes and one for the mouth, that have different graphic images programmed onto them depending on the expression being displayed. There’s also a small electret microphone that senses when you are speaking to the face. Finally, a simple face cutout covers the electronics and solidifies the aesthetic. # ⚓ Scale_Buildings_With_The_Power_Of_Suction_|_Hackaday⠀⇛ Walls can’t hold [Elijah Cirioli]. The would-be superhero has been busy scaling the sides of buildings using his self-contained vacuum climbers. (Video embedded after the break.) After being inspired by the winning project of an Air Force design challenge, our plain-clothed crusader got to work on a pair of prototype vacuum climbers. The wooden prototypes were an unexpected success, so work soon began on the models featured in the video after the break. The main improvements in this second version included using ¼ inch acrylic instead of plywood, as well as an improved gasket for a better seal against the imperfect exterior of many building walls. o § Health/Nutrition/Agriculture⠀➾ # ⚓ EU_Plans_Changes_to_Covid_Travel_Rules_to_Avoid ‘Fragmentation’⠀⇛ The European Union is discussing this week how to update its digital Covid-19 certificates and its approach to travel within and outside the bloc as member nations take varying steps to counter the latest wave of the pandemic. # ⚓ What’s_The_Wait?_–_Number_Of_MDR_And_IVDR_Notified_Bodies Remains_Stubbornly_Low⠀⇛ We have previously written at length about the continuing regulatory bottlenecks caused by the low numbers of notified bodies for the EU’s Medical Device Regulation (MDR) and In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation (IVDR). A new set of slides from the European Commission sheds some light on where all the notified bodies have gone. The good news is that we do have 24 notified bodies for MDR. However, 29 applications for designation under MDR remain in progress. Of these, two notified bodies will be designated imminently (which should bring us to 26 by Christmas 2022). However, ten applicants haven’t even received preliminary assessment reports, especially when considering the relative speed and ease of this initial stage. # ⚓ Indian_farmers_forced_Modi_to_back_down_on_new_laws._So_why aren’t_they_going_home?⠀⇛ Santosh Singh’s earliest memory is of tilling soil on his family’s farm. Now, the 70-year-old farmer’s eyes gleam with pride as he recalls watching his grandson do the same. But Singh hasn’t been home to Punjab for one year since he joined farmers at one of three protest sites in the Indian capital to campaign against new farming laws they claimed would leave them open to exploitation. # ⚓ Festival_of_Hope_crimped_by_higher_costs⠀⇛ The Community Foundation of the Adirondack Foothills delivered 2,600 free Thanksgiving meals to individuals and families in need on Thursday as part of the third Annual Festival of Hope event, about 606 fewer meals than in 2020, although the total cost was about $1,000 more. o § Integrity/Availability⠀➾ # § Proprietary⠀➾ # § Security⠀➾ # ⚓ Unboxing_Busybox:_Claroty_and_JFrog_uncovers_14 vulnerabilities⠀⇛ Embedded devices with limited memory and storage resources are likely to leverage a tool such as BusyBox, which is marketed as the Swiss Army Knife of embedded Linux. BusyBox is a software suite of Unix utilities, known as applets, that are packaged as a single executable file. Within BusyBox you can find a full- fledged shell, a DHCP client/server, and small utilities such as cp, ls, grep, and others. You’re also likely to find many OT and IoT devices running BusyBox, including popular programmable logic controllers (PLCs), human-machine interfaces (HMIs), and remote terminal units (RTUs)—many of which now run on Linux. As part of our commitment to improving open-source software security, Claroty’s Team82 and JFrog collaborated on a vulnerability research project examining BusyBox. Using static and dynamic techniques, Claroty’s Team82 and JFrog discovered 14 vulnerabilities affecting the latest version of BusyBox. In most cases, the expected impact of these issues is denial of service (DoS). However, in rarer cases, these issues can also lead to information leaks and possibly remote code execution. # § Privacy/Surveillance⠀➾ # ⚓ Apple_Sues_NSO_Group,_the_Israel-based Maker_of_Infamous_“Pegasus”_Spyware⠀⇛ o § Defence/Aggression⠀➾ # ⚓ Jurors_saw_through_the_preposterous_defense_by_Ahmaud Arbery’s_killers⠀⇛ As Americans digest the guilty verdicts in the case of the three men charged with murdering Ahmaud Arbery, we can look to the powerful video evidence and the stellar work of prosecutor Linda Dunikoski and her team in managing that evidence as significant factors in an outcome 180 degrees different from the verdict in George Zimmerman’s killing of Trayvon Martin. # ⚓ Prosecutors_in_the_trial_of_Ahmaud_Arbery’s_killers_explain why_they_had_faith_in_the_jury_despite_its_racial_makeup⠀⇛ Prosecutors in the trial of three White men convicted in Ahmaud Arbery’s killing were not concerned about the racial makeup of the jury, attorneys told CNN Wednesday. Linda Dunikoski, Cobb County senior assistant district attorney, told CNN’s Jim Acosta that after jurors were selected, her team “realized that we had very, very smart, very intelligent, honest jurors who were going to do their job which is to seek the truth.” “We felt that putting up our case, it doesn’t matter whether they were Black or White, that putting up our case that this jury would hear the truth, they would see the evidence and that they would do the right thing and come back with the correct verdict which we felt they did today,” Dunikoski said. o § Environment⠀➾ # § Energy⠀➾ # ⚓ Alabama_Miners_Are_Still_on_Strike_After_8_Months⠀⇛ The courts have attacked their right to picket, and the company has engaged in a campaign of misinformation. But 1,000 union miners in Alabama are still on strike after eight months, fighting for decent compensation and humane work schedules. o § Civil Rights/Policing⠀➾ # ⚓ Superintendents’_group_draft_regulation_on_corporal punishment⠀⇛ The Local Superintendents Advisory Council (LSAC) approved a draft regulation during its meeting on Nov. 23 on the use of corporal punishment in schools. The draft regulation will go before the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) at its meeting on Dec. 1 for approval. A Kentucky state statute from 1982 permits the use of corporal punishment by teachers for classroom discipline, while a 2019 state statute requires the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) to provide resources related to trauma-informed discipline and requires school districts to adopt trauma-informed discipline policies. Corporal punishment is not a trauma-informed discipline resolution. o § Internet Policy/Net Neutrality⠀➾ # ⚓ Joachim_Breitner:_Zero-downtime_upgrades_of_Internet Computer_canisters⠀⇛ DFINITY’s Internet Computer provides a kind of serverless compute platform, where the services are WebAssemmbly programs called “canisters”. These services run without stopping (or at least that’s what it feels like from the service’s perspective; this is called “orthogonal persistence”), and process one message after another. Messages not only come from the outside (“ingress” calls), but are also exchanged between canisters. On top of these uni-directional messages, the system provides the concept of “inter-canister calls”, which associates a respondse message with the outgoing message, and guarantees that a response will come. This RPC-like interface allows canister developers to program in the popular async/await model, where these inter-canister calls look almost like normal function calls, and the subsequent code is suspended until the response comes back. o § Digital Restrictions (DRM)⠀➾ # ⚓ The_European_Commission_To_Force_Apple_To_Allow_App Sideloading_(NASDAQ:AAPL)_|_Seeking_Alpha [Ed: It is NOT called SIDELOADING… it’s called INSTALLING!]⠀⇛ Investors are ignoring significant regulatory developments for Apple while distracted by Apple Car speculation. o § Monopolies⠀➾ # ⚓ Book_Review:_Handbook_of_Intellectual_Property_Research_ [Part_1] [Ed: This is not "research" because "IP" isn't a real thing but a lie; if you claim to be doing research and then use these propaganda terms, then you're a lobbyist or corporate operative, not a researcher; "IP" in the #patent context is fictional; like "aura", it only exists in the minds of the faithful..]⠀⇛ “What is the methodology behind your research?”. This is the question young IP researchers hear most during their first years in the academia. Conference after conference, one comes to realise that a robust research methodology may often be more important than any conclusions such research might yield. Yet, resources on how to design such methodology are scarce. This is why this Kat was pleased to see the “Handbook of Intellectual Property Research” (ed. by I. Calboli and M. Montagnani, OUP, 912 pp.), published recently in open access, with (all?) the right answers. The book consists of four parts, 52 chapters, and covers research methods in a variety of areas of law: privacy law, criminal law, popular culture research, or psychology, to name a few. In this post, this Kat will review the first two Parts, on intersections of IP with other areas of law and with the humanities. A follow-up review will cover the other two Parts of the book. [...] George Nicholas and Catherine Bell follow in Chapter 20, with research concerns and considerations on IP and archaeology. IP issues become relevant at several stages of archaeological studies. Some of the many research venues, suggested by the authors, are 3D scanning or printing of artefacts, and the protection of information uncovered by archaeologists as traditional knowledge (TK). The views on the issue are complemented by Chapter 21, where Fiona Macmillan looks into interdisciplinary approaches to research on IP and cultural heritage. Chapters 22, 23 and 24 then address the research framework for IP and languages. In Chapter 22, Alan Durant and Jennifer Davis explain how linguistics may be applied in IP research: for instance, in judicial interpretation of certain legal terms, or in examining the distinctiveness of certain verbal signs. Law and literature in IP methodologies is the topic of Chapter 23, authored by Zahr K. Said. Said addresses how literature (such as Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice) may be used in research, but also in the teaching of IP law. David Tan discusses, in Chapter 24, semiotic analysis in IP research. Semiotics being the study of signs, it can become a useful methodology for studying acquired distinctiveness of trade marks. # ⚓ FOSS_Patents:_In_Black_Friday_filing,_Epic_Games_opposes Apple’s_9th_Circuit_motion_to_stay_the_injunction⠀⇛ On November 16, Apple filed with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit a motion to stay the Epic Games v. Apple injunction, whih came down in September based on a finding of a violation of California Unfair Competition Law (UCL). Epic had ten days to respond, plus one extra day because the deadline would otherwise have been on Thanksgiving Day. I continue to believe that the Ninth Circuit is more likely than not to grant Apple’s motion. While I don’t agree with all of Apple’s arguments, and don’t disagree with all of Epic’s either, there simply are overwhelming reasons to order a stay. It’s the most logical and reasonable thing to do. Should the appeals court deny Apple’s motion, Apple asks for an additional administrative stay (30 more days) so it can seek Supreme Court review. # ⚓ Covid_And_Counterfeits:_How_Brand_Owners_Are_Fighting_Back Against_Pandemic_Opportunists [Ed: “Pandemic Opportunists” sounds to me like all the largest vaccine makers that 'stole' from taxpayers and turned publicly-funded work into patent monopolies… now licensing patents they “STOLE” for billions or trillions]⠀⇛ As has been widely noted, online trade grew significantly in 2020. Confined to their homes, consumers relied on the internet for buying food, household products, medical supplies, children’s toys and games, and electronic goods. In response to the increased demand, online marketplaces expanded their range of suppliers. Meanwhile, trying not to lose their traditional customers, offline businesses rapidly moved into the online space. # ⚓ EU_Lawmakers_Pass_Strict_New_Rules_Affecting_Big_U.S. Tech⠀⇛ The lead committee in the European Parliament writing new tech rules passed measures Tuesday that could impact major U.S. and European tech companies. # ⚓ District_Court_In_Turkey_Rules_On_Preliminary_Injunction Assessments [Ed: There is no "IP" and there's no "Right" associated with what she refers to; this is lawyers' propaganda showing up in "news" feeds...]⠀⇛ Objectively, preliminary injunction decisions play a key role for the IP right holder particularly for patent holders to be dealt by Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights (IP courts) in an urgent matter due to the super technicality nature of such cases, commercial reasons, time pressure, etc. The preliminary injunction, which appears as a way out in cases where the definitive protection is not sufficient and a temporary legal protection is needed, can be requested before an action is filed as per Article 390 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CCP), or it can be requested after the action is filed. # ⚓ Nextcloud_Asks_EU_to_Stop_Microsoft_From_Bundling_OneDrive With_Windows_|_PCMag⠀⇛ Nextcloud has asked the European Commission to stop Microsoft from pre-installing OneDrive and Teams on Windows to give competitive services a fair chance to appeal to PC users. “Microsoft is integrating 365 deeper and deeper in their service and software portfolio, including Windows,” Nextcloud says on a web page dedicated to its antitrust complaint against Microsoft. “OneDrive is pushed wherever users deal with file storage and Teams is a default part of Windows 11. This makes it nearly impossible to compete with their SaaS services.” Nextcloud CEO Frank Karlitschek said in a statement: This is quite similar to what Microsoft did when it killed competition in the browser market, stopping nearly all browser innovation for over a decade. Copy an innovators’ product, bundle it with your own dominant product and kill their business, then stop innovating. This kind of behavior is bad for the consumer, for the market and, of course, for local businesses in the EU. Together with the other members of the coalition, we are asking the antitrust authorities in Europe to enforce a level playing field, giving customers a free choice and to give competition a fair chance. # § Patents⠀➾ # ⚓ Patents_can_help_Huawei_weather_sanctions_storm:_new IP_chief [Ed: Complete garbage that does not make any sense (patents do not overcome embargoes), but this 'news' site became a megaphone of a lawyer working for "Chinese GAFAM", or a military arm of the CCP/CPC]⠀⇛ In an exclusive interview, Huawei IP vice president Alan Fan tells Managing IP how the company’s IP strategy is adapting to US sanctions # ⚓ G7_IP_Offices_Will_Support_Economic_Recovery_After the_Pandemic [Ed: This is a shameful and villainous lie; granting monopolies to rich people won't help recovery and during the pandemic the patents contribute to the deaths of many millions of people]⠀⇛ The G7 Heads of IP Office Conversation was held via video conference on November 19, 2021, bringing together leading officials from IP Offices in G7 member states (G7 IP Offices). During the Conversation, the participants shared their recognition of initiatives on IP intersections with public health; IP and future technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI); best practices in IP enforcement; and increased cooperation between G7 IP Offices and other entities including WIPO. They also indicated that they would aim to establish a balanced and international IP environment wherein the benefits from innovation and creativity can be maximized, and said that they would support the global economic recovery after the pandemic. Consequently, the G7 IP Offices successfully adopted their Joint Statement for the first time. # ⚓ UPC_inches_closer_with_Austrian_parliament_vote [Ed: Managing IP spreads the_lie that “UPC inches closer” even though it’s not at all tenable; this publisher is participating in illegal action]⠀⇛ The Unified Patent Court has moved one step closer to becoming operational after clearing the first stage of an Austrian parliament vote on Friday, November 19. When Austria formally ratifies the so-called ‘PAP Protocol’, it will trigger the beginning of the Provisional Application Period (PAP). The PAP will be the beginning of the final stage of preparations before the court becomes operational. During this period, a bespoke IT system will be implemented judges will be hired. Last Friday, November 19, Austria’s National Council approved the legislation allowing Austria to ratify the protocol. The bill is now in the hands of the Federal Council, the parliament’s upper house. Once approved by, it requires the signatures of the President and Chancellor before being published in the Federal Gazette. Austria will then be able to deposit its instrument of ratification, triggering the beginning of the PAP. The UPC Preparatory Committee has said it will need at least eight months from the start of the PAP to complete the necessary work before the UPC can become operational. Its initial target of mid-2022 now seems out of reach, with formal Austrian ratification not expected until next month. Managing IP exclusively reported in September that Slovenia had ratified the protocol, leaving just one more country to ratify. # ⚓ Bayer_v_Teva:_Drug_formulation_patent_found_“the result_of_standard_and_routine_considerations”_([2021] EWHC_2690_(Pat))⠀⇛ The recent decision of the English High Court in Bayer v Teva [2021] EWHC 2690 (Pat) is another example in which the UK courts have found a pharmaceutical invention to be the obvious outcome of routine drug development. In the Supreme Court decision Actavis v ICOS the court found a drug dose selection obvious in view of what was considered to be the obvious route that the skilled person would take through the drug development decision tree. The High Court in Bayer v Teva followed a similar reasoning to find the clinical formulation of Bayer’s cancer drug, sorafenib, obvious in view of the preliminary phase I clinical trial results for the drug. In Bayer v Teva, the patent in question EP (UK) 2305255 was directed to the salt form of sorafenib and its use in the treatment of cancer. The particular claim in contention related to sorafenib tosylate salt. Sorafenib tosylate (NEXAVAR) is approved in the US and EU for the treatment of various types of cancer. The SPCs for the basic patent covering sorafenib expired earlier this year. Teva brought revocation proceedings against Bayer’s sorafenib formulation patent (which had an expiry date of Dec 2022) across Europe, including the UK and Germany. # ⚓ EU_sticking_by_big_pharma’s_side_over_TRIPS_waiver, say_critics [Ed: Well, "say critics" or says common sense? Can you write like a proper journalist and check the facts instead of he says, she says?]⠀⇛ Campaigners for the waiver and in-house pharma counsel both agree that the EU is likely to block the proposal at the WTO next week # ⚓ The_Story_Patents_Tell_About_Your_Business [Ed: The patent troll Erich is telling tons of lies here, spreading myths etc. IBM and corrupt EPO made an alliance with that fraudster too]⠀⇛ As a patent owner or a company driving innovation, you more than likely spend a bit of time researching or filling patents to protect ideas. Once granted, the value of a patent lies in the ability to generate a return for your work in contributing to the innovation cycle. Typically, these assets can be monetized by enforcing your rights through patent litigation, or by licensing or selling your patents to others. Other IP owners find themselves on the other side of the coin and feel there is no need for monetization – only the need for defensive IP protection (where return-on-invest is generated by securing their own products and services). # ⚓ ARIPO_chief_on_the_tech_revolution_and_playing_catch- up [Ed: More silly buzzword salads with nonsense_like “4IR”; starting to sound like the utterly clueless Mafia that runs the EPO]⠀⇛ Engagement with protocols and the 4IR are among key priorities for ARIPO director general, Bemanya Twebaze, as he approaches one year in the job # ⚓ FOSS_Patents:_O-RAN_entails_‘medium_to_high’_security risks_according_to_study_released_by_German_government agency:_paradigm_shift_needed_to_avoid_‘security debacle’⠀⇛ In a recent post on O-RAN I discussed European concerns over the contemplated standard for the modularization of mobile network infrastructure being driven by geopolitical objectives (America first, Chinese bogeyman) rather than technical merits. The situation appears to be a lot worse than that. Today one of the world’s most well-respected and independent IT security authorities, the German Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI; official English title: Federal Office for Information Security) released an 86-page study (PDF; in German) that must give some people not only food for thought but possibly even pause. The government agency’s risk assessment–to be precise, the BSI commissioned and funded the study, and did not influence the researchers’ independent work–focused on the following objectives: confidentiality (of data), integrity, accountability, availability, and privacy. The study took three different stakeholer angles: that of a user of a 5G network, that of an operator of a 5G network, and that of the state (i.e., the public interest). In light of the lack of specificity of the current version of the O- RAN specs, the risk assessment relates to a “worst-case perspective” in which none of the optional security measures have been implemented and a “best-case perspective” based on the assumption of all optional security measures actually having been put in place. The renowned security experts took into consideration that the leverage of potential attackers varies greatly. Therefore, they evaluated how much damage could be done by a totally external attacker, a 5G user, an “insider”, a cloud operator, and a RAN operator. # ⚓ FOSS_Patents:_Deutsche_Telekomedy_in_Mannheim:_court informally_dismisses_antitrust_claims_against_IPCom_but urges_global_settlement_including_infringement_action against_Sprint_in_Texas⠀⇛ This Tuesday, the Mannheim Regional Court gave short shrift to Deutsche Telekom v. IPCom, an “antitrust case” in which the mobile network operator is seeking roughly $300 million in restitution (recovery of past royalty payments plus interest). The court’s public hearing list described the cause of action in case no. 2 O 130/20 as “anticompetitive discrimination involving standard-essential patents in connection with patent license agreement dated June 7, 2013.” Some other claim(s) had already been voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff ahead of trial. The remainder was stayed at the end of the trial, but on a basis that allows either party anytime to ask the court to resume the proceedings, which would result in a swift ruling that could have only one outcome: a formal dismissal of the case as clearly meritless. As part of its hold-out strategy, Deutsche Telekom even stipulated to that kind of revocable stay, while IPCom would have preferred a decision. Typically, defendants are happy to just put a case against them on hold, but I’ll get to the parties’ motives later (here’s a shortcut to that part of the post)–and they have a lot do with an IPCom v. Sprint case pending before Judge Rodney Gilstrap in the Eastern District of Texas and slated to go to trial next spring. If I wanted to go into detail on everything that is deficient about Deutsche Telekom’s Mannheim complaint, I’d have to write an even longer post, every single paragraph of which would have to start with “Let that sink in” or “Lo and behold,” which would get a bit repetitive. Let’s focus on the forest rather than get lost in a multitude of trees–and please take any references to Deutsche Telekom’s outlandish theories and allegations as if “Let that sink in” had been put in front of a parenthetical expression in a mathematical formula. What Deutsche Telekom has been trying to do would–if it worked, which it never will–make it practically impossible for parties to enter into reliably stable settlement agreements that put standard-essential patent (SEP) cases to rest. The licensee could always come back later and relitigate settled issues. And even if–as here–a clause specifically and incontrovertibly ruled that behavior out, the licensee would argue–as Clifford Chance “of counsel” Dr. Joachim Schuetze (“Schütze” in German) did on Deutsche Telekom’s behalf–that parties cannot dispose of antitrust law no matter what they put into an agreement. # ⚓ “Prior_public_use”:_an_effective_ground_for opposition_against_the_grant_of_a_European_patent [Ed: Nowadays the EPO grants far_too_many_fake_patents, rendering any efforts to oppose or keep track of them futile; this needs to be corrected at an institutional level, not per patent basis]⠀⇛ The opposition procedure for European patents, enables third parties, within nine months of the publication of the mention of the grant of the patent, to oppose that patent at the European Patent Office (EPO). This opposition procedure for European patents is particularly useful when the patent in question is hindering our commercial interests and we have adequate reasons to revoke its registration. One of the most effective ways of obtaining the revocation is to prove “prior public use”. We look at what this consists of below. # ⚓ Irish_hopes_of_winning_new_EU_patent_court_will_fail without_fast_action [Ed: There is no such patent court, it cannot exist for many reasons (including brexit), so this is the Irish media publish fake news for patent litigation fanatics without bothering to check the facts]⠀⇛ Irish-based pharma firms are pleading with the Government to approve a new EU patent court before it is too late. While other European capitals are laying the legal ground for their local court divisions, firms say Ireland risks being left behind and losing out on new investment and jobs. # ⚓ UK_Government_consultation_on_AI_&_copyright:_text and_data_mining [Ed: The patent_extremists_and_liars from_Bristows lobby on nebulous buzzwords like “HEY HI” in the UK; do we know these fabricators and fraudsters shaping our policy?]⠀⇛ On 29 October 2021, the UK Intellectual Property Office issued an open consultation to examine certain aspects of copyright and patent law in the context of AI. The consultation follows in light of views expressed in response to its Call for Views on AI and IP. # ⚓ “Trust_Me,_I_Am_An_Algorithm.”_Is_AI_The_Future_Of Healthcare? [Ed: The patent_extremists_and_liars_from Bristows think every program is just “HEY HI” (they also promote patents on programs)]⠀⇛ Following on from the success of our previous Bristows Life Sciences Summit on gene editing, we hosted a thought-provoking discussion on the moral, ethical, commercial and regulatory challenges posed by artificial intelligence in healthcare. Chaired by eminent journalist and broadcaster Joan Bakewell, and conducted by a panel of leading experts, the debate covered some of the most pressing issues related to the use of AI in the medical field: # ⚓ Recoveries_in_Patent_Suits [Ed: Dennis Crouch quotes nonsense; he is lying right from the first few words; patents aren't rights and not property either. But he's funded by patent litigation firms, tainted by their financial agenda]⠀⇛ A patent right is the only property which can be trespassed upon without the owner’s knowledge, in every part of the country, by an innumerable number of trespassers at the same time. The owner can neither watch it, nor protect it by physical force, nor by the aid of the police or of the criminal law. He thus necessarily requires more efficient civil remedies than those do the protection of whose property does not depend upon civil remedies alone. # ⚓ ToolGen_Files_Motion_to_Exclude_Evidence,_Broad Opposes,_and_ToolGen_Replies_in_Interference_No. 106,126 [Ed: Latest from the nuts and greedy patent profiteers who want patents on life and nature]⠀⇛ On October 1st, Senior Party ToolGen Inc. filed its Motion to Exclude certain evidence presented by Junior Party the Broad Institute, Harvard University, and MIT (collectively, “Broad”) in Interference No. 106,126. Broad filed its Opposition to ToolGen’s motion on October 8th, and ToolGen filed its Reply on October 15th. ToolGen’s bases for excluding evidence including Broad’s purported “best proofs” on priority were that they have not been authenticated and are thus inadmissible under FRE 901. Specifically, ToolGen raised these objections against Broad Exhibits 2526, 2530, 2533, 2535, 2536, 2563, 2565, 2566, 2581, 2582, and 2599. Some of these objections involve the date of the exhibit (e.g., Exh. 2526) which is dated after the relevant time period concerning conception and reduction to practice of the claimed invention (i.e., CRISPR achieved in eukaryotic cells). Others relate to lack of “dates, labels, or other identifying marks” (e.g., Exh. 2530, which purports to be “an image of an electrophoresis gel that Broad alleges shows a dual-molecule RNA configuration that was ‘used to target, cleave, and edit an endogenous “NTF3″ genomic target in eukaryotic cells in October–November 2011′”). ToolGen raised objections on similar grounds against Exhs. 2535, 2536, and 2563, which ToolGen asserted “are unannotated images completely devoid of identifying features” that “could be generic images from anywhere; none contain labels, captions, or descriptions that would allow a person of ordinary skill in the art (‘POSA’) to understand the alleged experiment, let alone assess whether the exhibit is what Broad claims it to be” (which are “successful single and dual-molecule systems”). Finally, ToolGen asserted that none of these exhibits were authenticated by Broad’s expert witness, Dr. Seeger who “[did] not profess to have any knowledge of the aforementioned exhibits.” # ⚓ ToolGen_Files_Motion_to_Exclude_Evidence,_CVC Opposes,_and_ToolGen_Replies_in_Interference_No. 106,127⠀⇛ In its turn, on September 17th, Senior Party ToolGen Inc. filed its Motion to Exclude certain evidence presented by Junior Party the University of California/Berkeley, the University of Vienna, and Emmanuelle Charpentier (collectively, “CVC”) in Interference No. 106,127. CVC filed its Opposition to ToolGen’s motion on October 8th, and ToolGen filed its Reply on October 15th. # ⚓ Innovation_at_the_Latvian_Patent_Office:_exclusive insights [Ed: EPO- and EUIPO-connected propaganda and whitewash sits does not want you to pay attention to what_happened_at_the_Latvian_Patent_Office]⠀⇛ In an exclusive guest post, representatives from the Patent Office of Latvia reveal the agency’s recent developments of its digital tools and services for trademark users – and those planned for the future. # ⚓ A_Rose_by_Any_Other_Name:_an_Australian_court_rules that_AI_can_be_an_inventor [Ed: Australia basically embarrassed itself, internationally, by making it seem incompetent enough to think bots are "inventors" or buzzwords like "HEY HI"]⠀⇛ On 30 July 2021, the Federal Court of Australia ruled that a machine – that is, a mathematical equation that analysed and processed data – can be an inventor under Australian patent laws. A world-first decision, Thaler v Commissioner of Patents [2021] FCA 879 represents a sea change in how courts assess the requirements of a “patent inventor”, opening up the real possibility that other artificial intelligence (AI) systems may enjoy similar designations. Below, an overview of the Thaler decision is provided, as well as an assessment of its implications if upheld on appeal. A comparison of this decision to other decisions on the issue around the world is then provided with a final word on the issues that are in play and things for the AI industry to consider. # ⚓ Benefits_And_Considerations_For_Patent_Prosecution Under_Patent_Prosecution_Highway_In_The_U.S.,_Europe, China,_And_Singapore [Ed: Putting patent litigation and aggression ahead of actual justice would make it harder to sell the lie that patents exist to advance science and innovation]⠀⇛ Patent Prosecution Highway or PPH is a set of initiatives promulgated by participating patent offices around the world to accelerate patent prosecution in countries of the participating patent offices. PPH allows the participating patent offices to share information and to benefit from work performed by other participating patent offices, and thereby reducing examination workload and improving quality of patents. Under PPH, prosecution of a patent application previously filed with a participating patent office can be fast- tracked in another participating patent office if the patent application meets certain requirements. This article provides a brief overview of benefits of filing patent applications under PPH and requirements by which the patent applications must satisfy in order to participate in PPH. # ⚓ Adjournment_mania_must_stop:_Justice_Prathiba_Singh⠀⇛ The Delhi High Court judge says counsel must stop seeking adjournments so that judges can speed up justice delivery, while ADR is the future # ⚓ High-growth_technology_business_forum:_Build-to-sell [Ed: EPO colluding with patent trolls’ and litigation cartel instead of science and technology. This is vendor capture, where the vendor makes nothing but lawsuits. This means that EPO became a parasite feeding off the system.]⠀⇛ On 18 November, the EPO’s European Patent Academy together with the Licensing Executive Society International (LESI) held their fourth High-growth technology business forum. The forum aims to bring leading experts together to share their knowledge and provide practical insights for innovation stakeholders such as technology start-ups, scale-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This event was specially designed for business decision-makers who aim to grow and sell their high-tech businesses. # ⚓ Latest_news_and_updates_on_the_Unified_Patent_Court [Ed: Amy Sandys still perpetuates lies_and_fake_news for people who break the law, cheat, and deceive everybody; this publisher might need to be reported for its complicity in illegal agenda]⠀⇛ The Austrian parliament has adopted the provisional protocol for UPC, with no votes against the motion. It is an important step for the application phase of the UPC to start. However, the next step is the second chamber of the Austrian parliament, the Bundesrat, also voting on the protocol. # ⚓ Majority_of_patent_community_still_in_favour_of_UPC [Ed: There is no such thing as "patent community"; it's a litigation cartel and JUVE became a shameless megaphone for this cartel]⠀⇛ Now that the launch of the Unified Patent Court is looking increasingly likely again, what do its future users think of the new court? In September 2021, JUVE Patent asked the heads of patent departments in selected technology companies across the world, as well as lawyers and patent attorneys at major law firms with patent expertise, for their opinion. Almost 1,300 stakeholders took part in the survey. # ⚓ DTS_opens_Stuttgart_office_with_Hoeger_Stellrecht patent_attorneys [Ed: Some years ago JUVE became a shameless spam site of patent litigation firms; with puff pieces like these it’s not even hiding that business model shift anymore. JUVE has become no better than Watchtroll.]⠀⇛ Patent attorneys Egbert Engel (46) and Joachim Happold (42) join DTS in January 2022. Both were previously partners at Hoeger Stellrecht in Stuttgart, where they also began their training. Engel and Happold are physicists and were previously active for client DLR. # ⚓ Expert_Witness_In_Russian_Court⠀⇛ As in many other countries, in Russia at the preparation stage of a patent infringement lawsuit the patent owner seeks the opinion of a sufficiently skilled technical specialist regarding use of the patented invention by the assumed infringer. Such technical specialist, which is usually a patent attorney in the beginning of a long story of infringement litigation, is expected to establish, based on available evidence, whether each and every feature of an independent claim of the patent is present in a product or process marketed or otherwise commercially used by such assumed infringer. The opinion confirming the use of the invention normally accompanies the court claim as evidence of the fact of use of the plaintiff’s invention by the defendant. # ⚓ Soho_Forum_Debate_vs._Richard_Epstein:_Patent_and Copyright_Law_Should_Be_Abolished⠀⇛ This is my Soho Forum debate held Nov. 15, 2021, in Manhattan, against professor Richard Epstein, moderated by Gene Epstein. I defended the resolution “all patent and copyright law should be abolished” and Professor Epstein opposed it. Oxford debate rules applied which meant that whoever changed the most minds won. My side went from about 20 to 29 percentage points, gaining about 9; Richard went from about 44 to 55%, gaining about 11, so he won by 1.7 percentage points. # ⚓ EPO_extends_pilot_for_oral_proceedings_in_opposition by_videoconference_to_31_May_2022 [Ed: EPO extends illegal_practices for another half a year, after corrupting the courts to say “OK”]⠀⇛ In light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, travel restrictions and preventive health measures limiting the parties’ possibilities to attend oral proceedings on its premises, the EPO has decided to further extend its pilot project for conducting oral proceedings in opposition by videoconference (VICO) until 31 May 2022. Where there are serious reasons against holding the oral proceedings in opposition by VICO, oral proceedings will be postponed until after that date. The EPO is committed to improving the tools used for conducting oral proceedings by VICO. It will continue to raise awareness and provide additional training to parties so that VICO tools become as close an approximation as possible to direct human interaction. # ⚓ Latest_news_on_IP_and_coronavirus_in_Europe [Ed: Amy Sandys is still just parroting lies of EPO management and she promotes crimes, an illegal agenda, then pretends this is journalism. She does the same for Team UPC]⠀⇛ The European Patent Office has announced an extension to its pilot project, whereby it will conduct opposition proceedings via video, until May 2022. The EPO cites its reasoning as “travel restrictions and preventive health measures limiting the parties’ possibilities to attend oral proceedings on its premises” due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic. # ⚓ EPO_launches_major_patent_training_initiative together_with_the_national_IP_offices_of_Portugal_and Brazil [Ed: The_Portuguese_EPO_Mafia does a PR stunt with a Portuguese-speaking office in America]⠀⇛ During an online ceremony on 23 November, EPO President António Campinos was joined by Ms Ana Margarida Bandeira, President of the Council of INPI Portugal, and Mr Cláudio Vilar Furtado, President of the Council of INPI Brazil, to launch an international patent training event addressing the needs of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. The three-day event covered a broad range of patent-related topics and was attended by more than 130 participants from Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe. It drew on synergies with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) and Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI), of which some of the participants’ countries are also members. # ⚓ #SpaceWatchGL_Column:_Insight_Report_–_Quantum technologies_and_space [Ed: Associating oneself with corruption_and_crimes by liaising with the EPO is a bad idea]⠀⇛ The second study resulting from this partnership titled “Quantum technologies and space” has been published on 2 November 2021. This new study addresses space applications of quantum technologies. The first study of this series, exploiting patent filing statistics in the domain of Cosmonautics, was published in July 2021. The Patent Insight Report “Quantum technologies and space” notes that exploitation of Quantum technologies in the space environment is a very specific use case of the technology but one that is being increasingly explored, as evidenced by several recent satellite missions. # ⚓ Recent_Danish_case_law_on_acquiescence/passivity_in patent_infringement_actions [Ed: A poor copy-paste job by Anders Valentin (Bugge Valentin), who could not even bother to realign the text and remove the hyphens]⠀⇛ On September 30th, 2021, the Danish High Court (Eastern Division) rendered its decision in a long running patent infringement case. One important element of the case was the question of acquiescence, in particular, whether the patent proprietor is required to act on a possible patent infringement (and commence legal proceedings) when opposition proceedings are pending. Both the Danish Administration of Justice Act (article 345) and the Danish Pa-tent Act (article 53a) specify that the court may suspend a case, if there are other ongoing cases (such as opposition proceedings), which may impact the outcome of the case. The Danish courts have interpreted the provisions such that Danish (main) patent infringements action, as a general rule, will be suspended if opposition proceedings are pending. Thus, a patent proprietor is not able to enforce a patent by way of main proceedings in Danish courts as long as opposition proceedings are pending. In this particular case before the Danish High Court, the patent proprietor, Sangenic, a company that manufactures diaper pails with fitting diaper cassettes, was granted a European patent, which was published in Denmark in January 2009, which then became the primary point of contention in the dispute between the parties. The defendant (alleged patent infringer), Lamico, filed an opposition against the patent on the grounds of lack of novelty and inventive step. Lengthy proceedings followed first at the EPO Opposition Division and later at the Board of Appeal. The final decision in the opposition was rendered in December 2018, where the patent was upheld. # ⚓ Managing_IP_Winter_2021_is_now_live [Ed: Managing IP is dying; it became a download because they don't have enough subscribers, perhaps as many realise that paying to be lied to isn't worth a dime]⠀⇛ # ⚓ Moderna_CAFC_appeal_could_affect_who_gets_covid vaccine_revenues [Ed: Taxpayers paid for this work and these patents, so Moderna should get nothing; this is outright plunder of the taxpayers and it serves to show the inherent criminality of this system]⠀⇛ The Federal Circuit yesterday heard oral arguments in IPR appeals initiated by Moderna Therapeutics. The outcome could either prevent or tee up a battle over the company’s covid-19 vaccine revenues. # ⚓ Phase_II_of_Brazilian_PPH_hits_its_limit_|_IAM [Ed: Patent extremists and profiteers would rather set aside the rule of law, due process etc. for the sake of aggressive litigation agenda]⠀⇛ On 5 November 2021, the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (INPI) reported the end of Phase II of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme, which has now reached its limit of 600 applications. As a result, the INPI will not accept new PPH requests for the remainder of 2021. This is good news because it demonstrates the consistent success of Brazil’s involvement in PPH programmes. Further evidence of this can be found in changes to the application period of Phase II (implemented on 29 December 2020 by Ordinance 404/2020). Phase I of the PPH Programme was already considered a triumph as it had reached its limit of 400 applications in December 2020. At that time, the INPI decided to anticipate the implementation of Phase II, which was originally expected to begin in December 2022, by moving up the launch to 1 January 2021. It was then designed to run until 31 December 2024. # ⚓ USPTO_News_Briefs [Ed: Office hijacked_by_the Microsoft_religion, but delays implementation due to backlash]⠀⇛ In a notice published in the Federal Register earlier today (86 Fed. Reg. 66192), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that it was delaying the effective date for assessment of the fee for filing patent applications that are not in the DOCX format. The new fee, which was announced by the Office on August 3, 2020, was set to take effect on January 1, 2022, but will now become effective on January 1, 2023. The fee is set forth in 37 C.F.R. § 1.16(u), which requires an additional charge of $400 for large entities, $200 for small entities, and $100 for micro entities, for any application filed under 35 U.S.C. § 111 for an original patent (except for design, plant, or provisional applications), where the specification, claims, and/or abstract does not conform to the USPTO requirements for submission in DOCX format. # ⚓ Written_Description:_Four_Points_Are_Not_A_Range⠀⇛ IPR challenges are limited only to obviousness and anticipation arguments, and so a patent cannot be directly challenged via IPR for lack of enablement or written description. However, Section 112(a) issues do arise in situations where the challenged patent purports to claim priority back to a prior filing. The priority claim fails if the earlier filing fails to support the challenged claims, and this permits assertion of intervening prior art. [...] Slip Op. Although the ranges were not supported, the court did find sufficient evidence to affirm the PTAB’s determination that the individual point of “about 48.2 wt %” was supported by the original specification: “given that claim 8 does not recite a range, but only a specific amount, which can be derived by selection and addition of the amounts of selected, but identified, components, we accept that there is substantial evidence to support the Board’s decision concerning claim 8.” Without that priority, the claims were clearly invalidated by prior art published between 2009 and 2015. # ⚓ Zynerba_Pharmaceuticals_further_boosts_patent portfolio_for_its_Zygel_CBD_gel [Ed: More fake 'journalism' or rewritten press release disguised as "report"; there's no such thing as "EU patent." The people who type this have no clue. It's also not "IP".]⠀⇛ Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ZYNE) Inc reported that it has further expanded its intellectual property (IP) portfolio covering its Zygel CBD skin gel, with the award of an EU patent. # ⚓ Zynerba_Pharma_pops_4%_after_securing_new_European patent_for_Zygel_CBD [Ed: EPO granting monopolies or patents on narcotics; it's all just a festival of patent-granting, no matter the impact of such patents. The EPO operates outside the rule of law for years. It's like a cartel or part of a cartel.]⠀⇛ # ⚓ Zynerba_Pharmaceuticals_Announces_Issuance_of_New Patent_in_EU_for_Zygel [Ed: Someone needs to explain to Zynerba that its press release is fake news because it didn't get EU patents; EPO is not EU.]⠀⇛ # ⚓ Zynerba_Pharmaceuticals_Announces_Issuance_of_New Patent_in_EU_for_Zygel™ [Ed: Zynerba does not even know what it is applying for. EPO and EU are not the same thing; last I checked, for instance, Turkey wasn't in EU.]⠀⇛ # § Software Patents⠀➾ # ⚓ Dolby_AV1/HEVC_patent_opposed_in_Japan [Ed: Well, it’s important because they’re attacking GNU/Linux distros [1, 2]]⠀⇛ On November 18, 2021, Unified Patents filed a Japanese opposition against JP6875333, owned by Dolby International AB. JP’333 has been designated essential to the HEVC Advance pool and SISVEL’s AV1 pool. It is also related to patents that have been designated in those pools. # ⚓ FOSS_Patents:_Computer-implemented_inventions must_make_direct_impact_at_execution_time_as opposed_to_organizational_recommendations_for design_time:_patent-eligibility⠀⇛ In its weekly roundup, IAM (Intellectual Asset Management magazine) noted that “[p]atent suit numbers are falling in Dusseldorf and Mannheim but are on the rise in Munich as the city’s courts develop a strong pro-plaintiff reputation.” I’d like to comment on that, also because I reported on the premiere session of the Munich I Regional Court’s third patent litigation division (the 44th Civil Chamber under Presiding Judge Dr. Georg Werner) last week. If you wish to skip directly to the part on software patent-eligibility in light of Solas OLED v. Samsung, please click here. Munich is definitely an attractive venue for patent holders, and that is so for a variety of reasons not least including the one noted by IAM. The Munich court still does throw out or stay cases that don’t meet a certain standard, and that’s why the first case the 44th Civil Chamber heard appears, for now, unlikely to be the first in which it will grant an injunction. I’ll get to the fundamental weakness of the patent-in-suit in that Solas OLED v. Samsung case again in a moment–the headline of this post relates to it. If we assumed for discussion purposes that better-than-average chances of winning favorable rulings are a major factor in this, then Munich would simply be beating Dusseldorf at its own game. For many years–actually, a couple of decades–it was no other court than the one in Dusseldorf that consistently and shamelessly set a low bar, only to attract as many patent cases as possible to a city that is anything but a major center of technological innovation, as opposed to the Munich area with BMW, Siemens, Linde, and so many others. Comparing Munich to Dusseldorf is like Silicon Valley vs. Chicago at best, Pittsburgh at worst. By the time I got involved with patent policy (2004, the European legislative process on computer-implemented inventions aka software patents), Dusseldorf already had a reputation for disadvantaging defendants in different ways. I know this from discussions with patent litigators and patent attorneys in the mid-2000s, and I know there was at least one German media report at the time that discussed the issue. [...] It’s really astounding that whoever examined that patent application at the German Patent & Trademark Office failed to see that there was no such thing as a technical effect. It’s about a coding style and mere probabilities of whether programmers will do a better job one way or the other. It’s not about a specific process implemented in software and yielding per se technical benefits. If the mere proposal to break up a complex software development problem into smaller building blocks because they’re easier to digest for the human mind and save the effort of reinventing the wheel was patent-eligible without specific execution-time benefits, we’d see a deluge of additional patent infringement cases against the entire technology industry. # ⚓ $4,000_for_Be-Labs_prior_art⠀⇛ On November 8, 2021, Unified Patents added two separate PATROLL contests with an opportunity to collect up to $4,000 in cash for prior art on at least claim 1 of two patents, U.S. Patent 7,827,581 and U.S. Patent 9,344,183, owned by inventor-backed NPE, Be-Labs, Inc. Each patent relates to a wireless multimedia center (WMC) for reception from one or more signal sources and for distribution of segments of signals from signal sources through the wireless multimedia center to a plurality of end units, in which the signals include video signals and broadband data. Both patents have been and are currently being asserted in over 70 district court litigations against companies such as Verizon, Samsung, Technicolor, Cox Communications, Cisco, Fujitsu, Netgear, and others. # ⚓ Gesture_Tech_patent_likely_invalid⠀⇛ On November 22, 2021, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) instituted trial on all challenged claims of U.S. Patent 7,933,431, owned by Gesture Technology Partners, LLC. The ‘431 patent is generally related to using human motion as an input device for computers and mobile devices and has been asserted against Huawei, Samsung, Apple, Lenovo, and LG. # ⚓ Another_CommWorks_Solutions_patent_challenged⠀⇛ On November 22, 2021, Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination against U.S. Patent 6,832,249 owned and asserted by CommWorks Solutions, LLC, an NPE and subsidiary of IP Investments Group LLC. The ’249 patent is generally directed to multi-layered internet communication systems that allow for control over quality of service and priority of information delivery. It is being asserted against Comcast and RCN Telecom and is at issue in a declaratory judgment action brought by Altice USA. It was also previously asserted against Skybeam, Mediacom, AMG Technology Investment Group, Consolidated Communications Holdings, and Cable One, Inc. # ⚓ IP_Edge_entity_Invincible_IP_patent challenged⠀⇛ On November 18, 2021, Unified filed a petition for inter partes review (IPR) against U.S. Patent 9,678,774, which is owned and has been asserted by Invincible IP LLC, an IP Edge entity. The ’774 patent relates to allowing or denying migration of virtual machines based on the geographic location of the target host. It has been asserted against Citrix Systems, Nutanix, Alibaba Cloud US, DigitalOcean, and NetApp in the District of Delaware. # ⚓ Patent-Eligibility_of_Computer-Implemented Inventions_–_Appeals_Court_Says_an_‘Advance_in Computer_Technology’_is_Required [Ed: When you are a patent attorney you want to shoehorn illegal patents on software because you do not actually code but rip off actual coders]⠀⇛ In a unanimous decision – Commissioner of Patents v Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd [2021] FCAFC 202 – a Full Bench of three judges (Middleton, Perram and Nicholas JJ) of the Federal Court of Australia (‘Full Court’) has reversed last year’s ruling by Justice Burley that claims directed to a so- called ‘feature game’ implemented on an electronic gaming machine (EGM) constituted a patent-eligible ‘manner of manufacture’ under Australia law. (A ‘feature game’ is a secondary, or bonus, game triggered by the occurrence of a defined event in the ‘base’ game of spinning reels.) As I explained at the time, Justice Burley applied a two step test, asking firstly whether ‘the claimed invention is for a mere scheme or business method of the type that is not the proper subject matter of a grant of letters patent’ and then – if this question is answered in the affirmative – ‘whether the computer- implemented method is one where invention lay in the computerisation of the method’ as opposed to ‘merely plugging an unpatentable scheme into a computer’. He found the claims to be patentable at the first step, because they were directed to ‘a mechanism of a particular construction’, i.e. a gaming machine. [...] There are positive and negative aspects to this decision. On the plus side, the approach taken by the majority brings some clarity to the approach to be taken in construing and assessing claims to computer-implemented inventions, which often comprise a physical apparatus defined in terms of (possibly conventional) hardware, configured via software for particular functionality. On the down side, however, the majority also relied upon the existence of ‘an advance in computer technology’ to confer patent- eligibility upon a computer-implemented invention, without providing clear guidance on what, exactly, is covered by this terminology. The decision also perpetuates an uncertainty that exists around the exact role to be played by prior art information in applying the ‘manner of manufacture’ test to assess patent-eligibility. # § Trademarks⠀➾ # ⚓ How_‘always-never’_rules_can_help_brands_battle counterfeits [Ed: Speaking to malicious companies' lawyers to write articles would result in malicious posts that are more like lobbying than journalism]⠀⇛ Counsel at Coty, Starbucks and Otterbox explain how always taking down products with certain characteristics can help them and their vendors catch fakes # § Copyrights⠀➾ # ⚓ The_UK_Copyright_(Rights_and_Remuneration_of Musicians,_Etc.)_Bill⠀⇛ Readers may have followed the IPKat reports on the UK DCMS Select Committee Streaming Inquiry [here], which took place in October 2020. After reviewing more than 300 pieces of evidence, the Select Committee published its recommendations in July 2021. The Government response, published in September 2021, acknowledged a concern that the UK regulatory framework has not kept pace with the changes brought about by streaming. At the same time, one of the DCMS Select Committee members, Kevin Brennan MP, sponsored a Private Members’ Bill, which proposes to introduce legislation giving effect to some of the recommendations made by the Committee, namely equitable remuneration for streaming, contract adjustment, right of revocation and transparency. # ⚓ Google_litigation_chief_speaks_out_on_SCOTUS_case_and IP_vision⠀⇛ Renny Hwang, director of litigation at Google, tells Managing IP about the greatest challenges in Google v Oracle and what he wants from outside counsel # ⚓ Book_review:_Performing_Copyright:_Law,_Theatre_and Authorship [Ed: Luke McDonagh did write some interesting things before the UPC died]⠀⇛ This is the first academic monograph that solely considers the relationship between UK copyright law and historical and contemporary theatre. It focuses on authorship of the copyright in stage plays as dramatic works, texts that can be performed from a script (rather than musical theatre, dance, or performers rights). The book addresses questions of whom is the author and first owner of a dramatic work? Who receives the credit and the licensing rights? In what circumstances can a director or actor be granted joint-authorship with the writer? What happens when a copyright infringement claim is made against the playwright? And who poses moral rights in the work? The monograph is presented in six chapters. Chapter one, ‘Introduction to Copyright and Authorship on Stage’, sets out the rationale and theoretical approach of the research, highlighting that dramatic works are allographic, meaning that they attain their ideal expression in performance, whereas the printed text is, by contrast, often seen as secondary or not as authoritative as the performed text in action. McDonagh takes his primary inspiration for the theories of authorship and the work from Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault, to outline the multi- faceted, and even poly-vocal, nature of theatrical authorship. This chapter also describes the methodology for the qualitative empirical research that involved 20 interviews conducted during 2011-13 with participants from the theatre community including actors, playwrights, directors, and producers. # ⚓ Case_Report:_BASF_Corporation_&_Ors_v_Carpmaels_and Ransford [Ed: When you pay patent lawyers who work against your own interests]]⠀⇛ The claimants in this case claimed to have suffered US$1.2bn in lost profits from the defendant’s accepted failure to file an appeal in time against a patent revocation. In an interesting judgment dated 29 October, Mr Justice Adam Johnson held that the claimants failed to establish that a duty of care was owed to those entities who suffered the most substantial losses and failed to prove that their lost chance of securing some benefit from the patent, had an appeal been filed, was “real and substantial”. As such, the Judge held the claimants were only entitled to “nominal damages” because of the accepted breach of duty. This article provides a summary of the case and the decision which highlights the importance of ensuring that ‘all the boxes are ticked’ in relation to causation when pursuing a loss of chance claim. # ⚓ New_report_suggests_‘upward_trajectory’_for bioplastics_and_chemical_recycling_innovation [Ed: EPO bribery budget for PR puff pieces has not run out; the greenwasing campaign for a deeply corrupt institution carries on and on]⠀⇛ On this note, Japan – along with Europe and South Korea – seems to be driving the current trend of rising patent filing activity. BASF, a German-based company, and Korea’s LG Chemical currently lead in patent activity outside of Japan. The European Patent Office’s recent report on plastic recycling and bioplastics similarly suggests that patent activity is focused in Europe, as well as the US. # ⚓ Indian_publishers_call_for_overhaul_of_copyright_fair use⠀⇛ Academics and publishers demand lawmakers take a balanced approach when amending the fair use provision of India’s Copyright Act # ⚓ ‘At_least_Google_it!’_Counsel_give_pre-launch Christmas_advert_tips⠀⇛ Basic due diligence is a must before launching a Christmas campaign, but publicity can sometimes be a factor in these disputes ╘══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ ¶ Lines in total: 6459 ➮ Generation completed at 02:41, i.e. 36 seconds to (re)generate ⟲