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Links 1/10/2021: GhostBSD 21.09.29 ISO, Free Software Foundation (FSF) Vs JS Mess



  • GNU/Linux

    • Desktop/Laptop

      • The 4 Invaluable Benefits of Switching to Linux

        Linux is an operating system used in everything from phones to cars and complex supercomputers, yet you can also use it to power your personal computer. The desktop may not be the space where you’re most likely to encounter Linux, but it’s more than worth your consideration.

        Far from being merely another tool for the job, there are several big benefits that come from taking the time to try out, learn, and maybe even stick with using the Linux desktop. Here are four advantages of switching to Linux:

        1. A Free Course in Digital Ethics

        The free and open-source community views software differently from what you encounter on commercial operating systems. On Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, most apps come exclusively as binaries whose code you don’t have access to. This binary, though sometimes available for free, is generally a product that you pay for.

        The Linux world doesn’t focus on the binary but on the code itself. This code is a language, and the only way to know what it’s doing is to read it. If you (or other Linux users) can’t read the code, you have no way to know what it’s actually doing. You can only have the developer’s word.

        Free software is based on the four freedoms. Here they are, as defined by the Free Software Foundation...

    • Audiocasts/Shows

    • Kernel Space

      • Linux 5.14.9
        I'm announcing the release of the 5.14.9 kernel.
        
        

        All users of the 5.14 kernel series must upgrade.

        The updated 5.14.y git tree can be found at: git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git linux-5.14.y and can be browsed at the normal kernel.org git web browser: https://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-s...

        thanks,

        greg k-h
      • Linux 5.10.70
      • Linux 5.4.150
      • New AMD Linux Audio Driver Patches Posted - Aimed For Enhancing Chromebook Support - Phoronix

        In addition to Linux 5.15 adding a new AMD audio driver for "Van Gogh" APUs such as found in the forthcoming Steam Deck, AMD's open-source Linux driver engineers have also been working on other audio improvements -- this time on the Chromebook front.

        A set of eight AMD Linux audio patches were sent out today. These audio patches of relevance to Renoir and Cezanne platforms seems to be driven by the Google Chromebook "Guybrush" board but may prove relevant to other hardware moving forward. That Guybrush Zen 3 Chromebook has been known since the end of last year when it began appearing in Chromium OS sources.

      • Microsoft Bluetooth Mouse Loves Linux. A GNU/Linux review of the mouse that wants a better home.

        When I bought this laptop last year, I needed a Bluetooth mouse. Nothing fancy, nothing that would break the bank. Amazon had a “Microsoft Bluetooth Mouse” in Warehouse Deals for $9.99!

        In fact, for that $10, you got a Bluetooth 5.0 LE device, no less, with battery life that goes on for months and months of constant use.

        The problem I kept hitting was that it just doesn’t work very well with Windows 10. In fact, despite all of the “This works great with Windows 10!” nonsense on Amazon, from Microsoft, the facts are that it is very frustrating due to the Bluetooth stack on Windows being utter crap.

      • Intel

    • Applications

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • How to Install Snort on Ubuntu 20.04

        Snort is an open-source lightweight network Intrusion Prevention System for running a network intrusion detection system (NIDS). Snort is used to monitor the package data sent/received through a specific network interface. Network intrusion detection systems can catch threats targeting your system weakness and vulnerabilities using signature-based detection and protocol analysis technologies.

        When NIDS software is installed and configured correctly, can identify different kinds of attack and suspicions things like CGI attacks, network policy violations, SMB probes, malware infections, a compromised system, stealth port scan, etc.

      • How to Install MERN Stack for JS Based Applications on Ubuntu 20.04

        MERN stack is a combination of MongoDB, Express, React, Node. All of them are based on Javascript and the stack is used to build modern web applications. It is comprising the front-end (React), back-end (Node and Express), and database components (MongoDB).

      • How to Install Magento on Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux

        Written in PHP, Magento is a popular open-source, and versatile eCommerce platform that provides businesses with an online shopping cart. It leverages various PHP frameworks such as Symfony and Laminas to enhance its functionality and usability.

        Magento provides you with an Administrator’s control panel that helps you create your online shop, manage product catalog, monitor transactions and invoices, and keep track of customers’ purchase behavior among many other tasks.

      • How to install ZOOM client on Debian 11 Bullseye Linux

        Zoom is a popular video conferencing software available for multiple operating systems including Linux. Here we learn the simplest way to install Zoom client on Debian 11 Bullseye Linux.

        Zoom as a conferencing software can be used to perform telephone and video conferences. The basic functions of Zoom can be used free of charge and registration is not absolutely necessary. Zoom is available both as a program for the computer and as an app for all Android and iOS devices.

        Even if the use of Zoom is basically free of charge, not all functions of the program are available to you in the basic free version. Not only is the number of participants in a conference limited to 100 people, but also its duration. If there are more than two people, the maximum conversation limit will be up to 40 minutes.

      • How to Install and Use Telnet on Debian 11 Bullseye - LinuxCapable

        Telnet is a protocol that allows you to connect to remote computers (called hosts) over a TCP/IP network using a client-server protocol to establish a connection to Transmission Control Protocol port number 23

        In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Telnet on a Debian 11 Bullseye operating system.

      • How to Install The Lounge IRC Client on Debian 11 Bullseye - LinuxCapable

        The Lounge is a web-based IRC client written in Node.js and can be installed and then accessed from any modern browser for a native-like experience without having a dedicated application installed.

      • How to Backup Linux Filesystem Using dump Command

        On a Linux operating system environment, mastering how to create and restore backups is a very important skill set. It is easier for well-versed Linux user to attain their data backup goals from the terminal environment without the need for a GUI-oriented application package.

        The Linux dump utility is effective in creating filesystem backups on an availed storage device. However, the filesystem supported by this backup utility disregards the likes of ReiserFS and FAT.

      • How To Install WordPress with LEMP (Nginx, MariaDB, and PHP) on Debian 11 Bullseye - LinuxCapable

        WordPress is the most dominant content management system written in PHP, combined with MySQL or MariaDB database. You can create and maintain a site without any prior knowledge in web development or coding. The first version of WordPress was created in 2003 by Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little and is now used by 70% of the known web market, according to W3Tech. WordPress comes in two versions: the free open source WordPress.org and WordPress.com, a paid service that starts at $5 per month up to $59. Using this content management system is easy and often seen as a stepping stone for making a blog or similar featured site.

        In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install self-hosted WordPress using the latest Nginx, MariaDB, and PHP versions available.

      • How to Install & Configure Wine on Pop!_OS 20.04 - LinuxCapable

        Wine is an open-source compatibility layer that allows you to run Windows applications on Unix-like operating systems like Linux, FreeBSD, and macOS. It is an interface that translates Windows system calls into equivalent POSIX calls used by Linux and other Unix-based operating systems.

        For Linux users, Wine is a savior when running Windows-based applications on UNIX systems. However, not all Windows applications will run in Wine and may have strange crashes or bugs. The Wine AppDB is a database containing a list of applications that have been tested and confirmed to work under Wine.

      • How to Install & Use PHP Composer on Debian 11 Bullseye - LinuxCapable

        Composer is an application-level package manager for the PHP programming language similar to NPM for Node.Js or PIP for Python. Composer provides a standard format for managing all dependencies of PHP software and the required libraries by downloading all the required PHP packages of your project and managing them for you. It is used by most modern PHP frameworks such as Laravel, Drupal, Magento, and Symfony.

        In the following tutorial, you will learn how to download and install composer, along with some essential how to work with composer on Debian 11 Bullseye.

      • How to Install Discord on Debian 11 Bullseye - LinuxCapable

        Discord is a free voice, video, and text chat app used by tens of millions of people ages 13+ to talk and hang out with their communities and friends. Users communicate with voice calls, video calls, text messaging, media, and files in private chats or as part of communities called “servers.” Discord is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux Distros.

        In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Discord client on Debian 11 Bullseye.

      • How to Install Opera Browser on Debian 11 Bullseye - LinuxCapable

        Opera is a freeware, cross-platform web browser developed by Opera Software and operates as a Chromium-based browser. Opera offers a clean, modern web browser that is an alternative to the other major players in the Browser race. Its famous Opera Turbo mode and its renowned battery saving mode are the best amongst all known web browsers by quite a margin, along with a built-in VPN and much more.

        In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Opera Browser on Debian 11 Bullseye.

      • How to Install Python 3.9 on Debian 11 Bullseye - LinuxCapable

        Python is one of the most popular high-level languages, focusing on high-level and object-oriented applications from simple scrips to complex machine learning algorithms. The Python language was created by Guido van Rossum and released in 1991, Python 2 in 2000, and Python 3 in 2008. Currently, the latest series in Python is 3.9 brings forward significant changes to language features, and how the language is developed along with a performance boost in new string functions, dictionary union operators, and more consistent and stable internal APIs.

      • How to Install Slack on Debian 11 Bullseye - LinuxCapable

        Slack is one of the most popular collaboration communication platforms in the world. From it was initial launch in 2013, it has grown. It is now favored amongst development teams and corporations to integrate so many services, run groups, and meetings, amongst other things. The way Slack works is to create channels for your teams, topics, customers, or co-workers. Slack also features voice and video calls, file sharing.

        In the following tutorial, you will know how to install the Slack communication platform on Debian 11 Bullseye.

      • How to Install Snap & Snap-Store (Snapcraft) on Debian 11 Bullseye - LinuxCapable

        By default, Debian does not come with Snap or Snap Store installed as this is a feature that was built by developed by Canonical as a faster and easier way to get the latest versions of software installed on Ubuntu systems, and Snap packages are installed from a central SNAP server operated by Canonical.

        Given that Ubuntu is based on Debian, Snap can be installed and, for the most part, work with most packages. There are a few conflicts with specific packages, especially when Debian spits out a new release, luckily Debian stable releases are few and far between. The issue with Snaps VS APT package manager is that Snaps are self-contained, which results in an increased .snap due to having all its dependencies included. In contrast, APT is much lighter than its snap counterpart because it doesn’t need to bundle dependencies.

      • How to Install Steam on Debian 11 Bullseye - LinuxCapable

        Steam is a video game cross-platform that Valve created. It was launched as a standalone software client in September 2003 as a way for Valve to provide automatic updates for their games and expanded to include games from third-party publishers and now boasts a library filled with thousands if not tens of thousands of games across all gaming consoles.

        In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Steam on your Debian 11 Bullseye desktop.

      • What Does chmod 777 Mean

        Linux operating systems, like most others, offer multiple users to use the same system. This requires implementing different permissions for different files and folders to ensure the privacy of operation.

        The chmod command is used for changing these permissions for the files and folders.

        Chmod stands for change mode, and “mode” means permissions in Linux terminologies.

        In this tutorial, we’ll cover what chmod 777 means and what the command does.

      • How to Install and Use Zsh Shell in Ubuntu and Other Linux

        Oh my Zsh! Give your Linux Terminal a makeover using this guide. Here, we explain how to install, use and configure several themes in Zsh.

      • How to install tmux on Linux - Unixcop

        tmux is an open-source terminal multiplexer for Unix-like operating systems. It allows multiple terminal sessions to be accessed simultaneously in a single window.

        Tmux is useful for running more than one command-line program at the same time. It can also be used to detach processes from their controlling terminals, allowing remote sessions to remain active without being visible.

      • How to launch Steam games using Rofi | Hund

        I recently figured out how to launch my Steam games from the shell today. This means that I can now start my games via my application launcher Rofi.

      • How to install the Nessus vulnerability scanner on Rocky Linux - TechRepublic

        Nessus is a very popular vulnerability scanner used by tens of thousands of organizations across the globe. And although Nessus doesn't prevent attacks, it does a fantastic job of checking for vulnerabilities and loopholes in your company's infrastructure.

      • How to install DeSmuME on a Chromebook

        Today we are looking at how to install DeSmuME 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.

        If you have any questions, please contact us via a YouTube comment and we would be happy to assist you!

        Most ROMs work, they must be extracted and in your Linux Files in your file manager.

      • How to Install Overlord on Linux - Unixcop

        Overlord provides a python-based console CLI which used to build Red Teaming infrastructure in an automated way. The user has to provide inputs by using the tool’s modules such as C2, Email Server, HTTP web delivery server, and the modules and scripts will be generated on a cloud provider of choice.

        Overlord is still under development and it inspired and uses the Red-Baron Terraform found on Github.

        The tool supports AWS and Digital Ocean.

      • How To Install Hugo on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS - idroot

        In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Hugo on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. For those of you who didn’t know, Hugo is an open-source static website generator designed for small projects and informative sites. It is written in the Go language, making it very secure and extremely fast. Hugo provides a great writing experience and is optimized for website viewing. Hugo supports unlimited content types, taxonomies, menus, dynamic API-driven content, and more, all without plugins. Additionally, you can output your content in multiple formats, including JSON or AMP

        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 Hugo static website engine 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 FFmpeg on Debian 11 - idroot

        In this tutorial, we will show you how to install FFmpeg on Debian 11. For those of you who didn’t know, FFmpeg is one of the best multimedia frameworks that can be used to encode, decode, transcode, and play nearly all multimedia files that have been created on any platform. FFmpeg compiles and runs on Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, BSD systems, and many more.

        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 through the step-by-step installation of the FFmpeg on a Debian 11 (Bullseye).

      • Figuring out Intel’s WiFi glitches on the AX210 chipset. / Debian GNU/Linux tells you it’s glitching. Windows somewhat obscures the glitches. / More T-Mobile Nokia Trash Can lulz. – BaronHK's Rants

        I finally figured out what will make the Intel AX210 WiFi Chipset stay connected to my router and stable, without complaining about expecting hardware encrypted frames, and “software error detected in firmware” and deauthenticating for “reason 3”, among other problems.

    • Games

      • Valve's Steam Deck dev kit got the early benchmark treatment | GamingOnLinux

        Shared on a Chinese news website, one lucky recipient of the Steam Deck developer kit decided to show off some benchmarks although they probably weren't supposed to.

        We already knew that the Steam Deck had some pretty impressive internals, and that Valve had said it's "the most powerful gaming handheld in the world" in their YouTube advert. However, we've not really seen any good numbers until now.

        Something to remember is that this is a dev kit, and so tweaks are likely to be made before the consumer units go out. Not only that but plenty of developers will no doubt be tweaking their games ahead of time. There will also be multiple updates to the Steam Play Proton compatibility layer before release too for running Windows games on it.

      • Third in the To The Moon series, time-loop adventure Impostor Factory is out | GamingOnLinux

        Ready for more adventuring that might make you need a tissue to dry your eyes? Freebird Games are back for the third game in the To The Moon series with Impostor Factory.

        Described as a "bonkers time-loop tragicomedy murder mystery thriller featuring multiple casualties and a suspicious cat" I still don't quite get if it's a sequel, a prequel or what. The good thing is you don't need to know either, as it's playable completely standalone to their previous games. This time the story is focused on a character named Quincy, who was invited to some sort of party at a suspicious secluded mansion that has a time machine in the bathroom and somewhere along the way people start dying.

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

        • A future pentablet review

          Hey, look what I just received! A tablet from GAOMON for a video review oriented GNU/Linux and Krita (soon).

      • GNOME Desktop/GTK

        • If you use DuckDuckGo, you probably aren’t reading this.

          DuckDuckGo doesn’t put any of my posts on the front page of its results even when you specifically search for them.

          According to Wikipedia, DuckDuckGo has an “anti-content farm” policy that was created by CEO Gabriel Weinberg, and it was designed to filter out “sources of low quality articles”.

          While there’s nothing wrong with this in theory, in fact, I am quite angry that they don’t think that what I have to say should be in their results at all, even if you search specifically for me.

          Techrights has a page about DuckDuckGo’s shifty practices. Also, another one updated with more nasty things they do in 2021.

          GNOME Web defaults to DuckDuckGo as a way to earn search royalties, and some others do too. They pay very little, but more than Google will to some smaller projects, and so unfortunately Tor also uses it and this after the pittance of something like $40,000 in a one off donation, if memory serves correctly.

          Interestingly, GNOME Web has been making the Google experience better lately. In addition to lying to it with UA hacks to make it think you use Chrome and to silence the Get Chrome spam, they’ve added a YouTube ad blocker in the version “41” release and also, the option (disabled by default) in the privacy settings to get instant search results if you use Google.

    • Distributions

      • Nitrux 1.6.1 Is Here as One of the First Distros to Ship with Linux 5.14 as Default Kernel

        The new release, Nitrux 1.6.1, is here with Linux kernel 5.14.8 as default kernel, alongside Linux kernel 5.10.69 LTS and Linux kernel 5.4.149 LTS for users who want to use a long-term supported kernel, as well as the KDE Plasma 5.22.5 desktop environment, KDE Gear 21.08.1 and KDE Frameworks 5.86 software suites.

        On top of that, it includes the recently released Inkscape 1.1.1 scalable vector graphics editor and Mozilla Firefox 92 as default web browser, which is available as a sandboxed AppImage by default.

      • How To Pick a Linux Distribution

        I have suffered from distrohopping. Now that I have settled for the last two years, here are some tips to save your time.

      • BSD

      • Screenshots/Screencasts

      • IBM/Red Hat/Fedora

        • Advance your Red Hat OpenShift skills to run Kubernetes at enterprise scale

          As organizations expand their footprint within cloud-native architectures, Red Hat OpenShift and Red Hat products that extend its functionality become key to scaling infrastructure to manage more workloads and applications. Red Hat now offers an extensive portfolio of training and certifications to teach the skills required for these advanced Red Hat OpenShift capabilities.

          We have recently launched advanced training courses to help teams and individuals looking to increase self-sufficiency in Red Hat OpenShift administration. And we have even more that are currently in development. We’ll provide some course highlights in this post.

        • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 Drives Cloud-Native Automation and Helps Developers Become Automators

          Red Hat, Inc., the world's leading provider of open source solutions, today announced Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 as the company’s new standard for hybrid cloud automation. Refined for the evolving realities of computing at hybrid cloud scale, the latest version of the platform adds self-contained automation capabilities while shifting automation more deeply into the application development lifecycle.

        • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 Now Fully Restructured For A Hybrid Cloud-Native World

          Red Hat has announced Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 as the company’s new standard for hybrid cloud automation. Refined for the evolving realities of computing at hybrid cloud scale, the latest version of the platform adds self-contained automation capabilities while shifting automation more deeply into the application development lifecycle.

    • Devices/Embedded

      • Open Hardware/Modding

        • Super 8 Camera Brought Back To Life

          The Super 8 camera, while a groundbreaking video recorder in its time, is borderline unusable now. Even if you can get film for it (and afford its often enormous price), it still only records on 8mm film which isn’t exactly the best quality of film around, not to mention that a good percentage of these cameras couldn’t even record audio. They were largely made obsolete by camcorders in the late ’80s and early ’90s, although some are still used for niche artistic purposes. If you’d rather not foot the bill for the film, though, you can still put one of these to work with the help of a Raspberry Pi.

        • Powercoders and Arduino #Include Promote Equal Opportunities

          The Arduino #include program was first announced as part of 2021’s Arduino Day. Since then we’ve been working with Powercoders, which runs a bootcamp to promote equality in the IT industry.

    • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

      • Open Source is a Relay Race: Reflections from our Outgoing Interim General Manager

        I've been an individual member and occasional volunteer of the OSI for a long time, but signing on in August 2020 as Interim General Manager was a jump into the deep end. Much of OSI's past work was informed by the connections and conversations held with members and stakeholders in person, so we had to chart a different path while still grounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.

        My challenge was to look for ways to continue our work during lockdown, keep the organization moving forward through a transitional year and support the board on its journey towards a visioning body that works with a staff-driven organization. Now it’s time to hand things over to our new Executive Director, Stefano Maffulli but first I’d like to recap my time spent in navigating these waters.

        [...]

        I'm leaving OSI but will still be active in the free and open source software community. I'm looking forward to seeing all of you at in-person events again (eventually) and at many online events like SeaGL and the CROSS Research Symposium or on upcoming video calls where we're collaborating to build a robust, diverse, welcoming and sustainable future for open source practitioners and advocates.

        As I step down from my year as the Interim General Manager, I'm proud to remain a friend and individual supporting member of the OSI.

      • Events

        • Linux Plumbers Conference Matrix and BBB integration

          The recently completed Linux Plumbers Conference (LPC) 2021 used the Big Blue Button (BBB) project again as its audio/video online conferencing platform and Matrix for IM and chat. Why we chose BBB has been discussed previously. However this year we replaced RocketChat with Matrix to achieve federation, allowing non-registered conference attendees to join the chat. Also, based on feedback from our attendees, we endeavored to replace the BBB chat window with a Matrix one so anyone could see and participate in one contemporaneous chat stream within BBB and beyond. This enabled chat to be available before, during and after each session.

          One thing that emerged from our initial disaster with Matrix on the first day is that we failed to learn from the experiences of other open source conferences (i.e. FOSDEM, which used Matrix and ran into the same problems). So, an object of this post is to document for posterity what we did and how to repeat it.

        • Bottomley: Linux Plumbers Conference Matrix and BBB integration [LWN.net]

          James Bottomley explains how the integration of Matrix and BigBlueButton was done for the just-concluded Linux Plumbers Conference.

        • Debian Reunion Hamburg 2021 is almost over...

          The Debian Reunion Hamburg 2021 is almost over now, half the attendees have already left for Regensburg, while five remaining people are still busy here, though tonight there will be two concerts at the venue, plus some lovely food and more. Together with the day trip tomorrow (involving lots of water but hopefully not from above...) I don't expect much more work to be done, so that I feel comfortable publishing the following statistics now, even though I expect some more work will be done while travelling back or due to renewed energy from the event! So I might update these numbers later

      • Web Browsers

        • Mozilla

          • This Week in Glean: Announcement: Glean.js v0.19.0 supports Node.js

            From the start, the Glean JavaScript SDK (Glean.js) was conceptualized as a JavaScript telemetry library for diverse JavaScript environments. When we built the proof-of-concept, we tested that idea out and created a library that worked in Qt/QML apps, websites, web extensions, Node.js servers and CLIs, and Electron apps.

            However, the stakes are completely different when implementing a proof-of-concept library and a library to be used in production environments. Whereas for the proof-of-concept we wanted to try out as many platforms as possible, for the actual Glean.js library we want to minimize unnecessary work and focus on perfecting the features our users will actively benefit from. That meant, up until a few weeks ago, Glean.js supported browser extensions and Qt/QML apps. Today, that means it also supports Node.js environments.

          • These Weeks in Firefox: Issue 101
          • Dyn async traits, part 1

            Over the last few weeks, Tyler Mandry and I have been digging hard into what it will take to implement async fn in traits. Per the new lang team initiative process, we are collecting our design thoughts in an ever-evolving website, the async fundamentals initiative. If you’re interested in the area, you should definitely poke around; you may be interested to read about the MVP that we hope to stabilize first, or the (very much WIP) evaluation doc which covers some of the challenges we are still working out. I am going to be writing a series of blog posts focusing on one particular thing that we have been talking through: the problem of dyn and async fn. This first post introduces the problem and the general goal that we are shooting for (but don’t yet know the best way to reach).

          • Firefox Add-on Reviews: Top anti-tracking extensions

            The truth of modern tracking is that it happens in so many different and complex ways it’s practically impossible to ensure absolute tracking protection. But that doesn’t mean we’re powerless against personal data harvesters attempting to trace our every online move. There are a bunch of browser extensions that can give you tremendous anti-tracking advantages…

      • FSF

        • FSF announces JShelter browser add-on to combat threats from nonfree JavaScript

          The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today announced the JShelter project, an anti-malware Web browser extension to mitigate potential threats from JavaScript, including fingerprinting, tracking, and data collection. The project is supported by NLnet Foundation's Next Generation Internet (NGI) Zero Privacy & Trust Enhancing Technologies fund. Collaborators include Libor Polčák and BednáÅ™ Martin (Brno University of Technology), Giorgio Maone (NoScript), and Ana Isabel Carvalho and Ricardo Lafuente (Manufactura Independente). The JShelter browser add-on is in development and the first release is available.

          Most modern Web sites contain a growing number of programs that the user's Web browser downloads and runs automatically as pages are loaded. While these JavaScript programs can provide functionality to a site in conjunction with native browser features, they are also a significant liability both from security and privacy perspectives. Moreover, the software is typically licensed under unethical terms by the FSF's standards, disempowering users and hampering learning and security. With a thirty-six year history of defending software ethics, The FSF recognizes the importance and urgency of both aspects of the problem and its role in solving this significant challenge. In response, the FSF has been working on an ambitious new initiative, the JShelter browser extension. This browser add-on will limit the potential for JavaScript programs to do harmful actions by restricting default behavior and adding a layer of control. JShelter is a significant next step in the FSF's "Free JavaScript Campaign," providing a new tool that can be used in conjunction with another related extension, GNU LibreJS, which allows the user to identify and run only freely licensed scripts.

        • Keeping your freedom intact when registering or renewing as a DMCA agent

          DMCA agent registration only lasts three years before it must be renewed. Use these add-ons to register and renew without the use of nonfree JavaScript. Users shouldn't be forced to use nonfree software when interacting with their own government. Every user has the right to control their own computing, and the government shouldn't be forcing you to download and install proprietary software just to take advantage of its services. But when it comes to registering and renewing the status as an agent under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the United States, that's exactly what the government expects you to do.

          The U.S. Copyright Office requires a registered agent to renew their status every three years to help ensure that the agent directory stays up to date. However, the renewal can only be done online, and you are required to use nonfree software. We find this unacceptable. Fortunately, three years ago we devised a way to complete an agent’s registration circumventing the use of nonfree Javascript. Today, we confirm the process still works and it can be applied to renewal as well. We encourage everyone to learn more about these tools to access your government services in software freedom.

      • Programming/Development

        • A tale of two toolchains and glibc

          Over the past few years, the LLVM toolchain has seen increasing development and adoption alongside the older, more established GNU toolchain. The emergence of this new two major toolchain world is bringing challenges and questions for projects that need to support both, in particular the GNU C library (glibc), which only supports GCC.

          Is it worth it to fix glibc (and other projects which support only GCC) to build with LLVM? Is it better to just replace them with alternatives already supporting LLVM? Is it best to use both GCC and LLVM, each for their respective supported projects?

          This post is an exploration starting from these questions but does not attempt to give any definite answers. The intent here is to not be divisive and controversial, but to raise awareness by describing parts of the current status-quo and to encourage collaboration. The obvious elephant in the room, licensing, is left out despite being a very important topic.

        • Ratiu: A tale of two toolchains and glibc
        • 7 Open-source solutions to build eCommerce system with Vue

          Vue is a popular JavaScript framework for building frontend web apps. It is proven to be a reliable, production-ready, and development environment for enterprises.

          Vue framework community enriches it every day with reusable open-source components for almost everything.

          In this article, we explore the open-source options to build an eCommerce personalize shopping experience with Vue.

        • Perl/Raku

          • My Favorite Warnings: exiting

            Perl has various ways to transfer control out of the normal flow: die(), goto(), return(), next, last, and redo are among the sorts of things I mean. Not all of these are suitable for all circumstances, and Perl issues an exiting warning for unsuitable cases.

  • Leftovers

    • The Power and Danger of Groupthink

      Unfortunately, modern technology has brought us a new era of Groupthinkers. I have been dealing with it for years. This mind numb phenomenon is also called, The Echo Chamber. The high tech internet based tech firms are full of it. They see this as a good thing. Evan as a virtue. How dare anyone stand up to the vast majority of our high tech monopoly!

      The most obvious reason for me to oppose them is that simply put, I don't fit in with them. I never have, nor will I ever. As a child of God, I was made to be an original.

      I used to refer to myself as an idea man. I had a lot of great ideas. I still do. There are of course many challenges to being that way. One is, how does one implement this into something real? Second is, how do I present this to others in order to gain interest?

    • Science

      • The Challenge and Promise of Quantum Computing

        Quantum computing is still very much in the experimental stages, but it’s starting to look like it could eventually be feasible and practical.

        “After decades of experimental and theoretical efforts, we are now seeing the first examples of quantum computational advantage in the areas of quantum computing and quantum simulation,” said Narang. “The opportunity now exists to build and use the most powerful quantum computers and quantum simulators to enable new applications and new science, made accessible and jointly developed by the community.”

        There are a variety of applications for quantum computing if the science becomes mainstream; some already known, others still to be discovered.

        Weidt pointed out that “the usefulness of the applications of quantum computing scales somewhat with the number of high-quality qubits.”

        “As we scale up, quantum computing is poised to radically change the way we approach problems in fields like chemistry. The vast processing power of quantum computers means we can, for example, simulate complex chemical compounds. This has implications for improved drug discovery, better batteries and cleaner fertilizers, he detailed.

    • Hardware

      • The Coming Copper Shortage: Aluminium Or Carbon Nanotubes To The Rescue? | Hackaday

        The use of aluminium in wiring is unlikely to bring a smile to the face of anyone who has had to deal with it in a 1960s, or early 1970s-era house. The causes behind the fires and other accidents were myriad, including failure to deal with the higher thermal expansion of aluminium, the electrically insulating nature of aluminium oxide, and the general brittleness of aluminium when twisted.

        [...]

        As the world moves to massively expand the use of electrical cars and installation of wind turbines, copper demand is predicted to outstrip current copper supply. With aluminium likely to make a big return as a result, it’s worth taking a look at modern-day aluminium-based wiring, including copper-clad aluminium and the use of carbon-based replacements.

    • Health/Nutrition

      • Cocaine, ecstasy found in river at Glastonbury Festival

        A river that runs through the Glastonbury Festival, the largest greenfield music festival in the world, is contaminated with illicit drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy because stoned revellers often urinate on the ground, scientists said.

        Researchers from Bangor University found that concentrations of MDMA, known as ecstasy, quadrupled downstream in the Whitelake River in the week after the Glastonbury Festival when it was last held in 2019.

    • Integrity/Availability

      • Proprietary

        • Security

          • Security updates for Thursday

            Security updates have been issued by Debian (libxstream-java, uwsgi, and weechat), Fedora (libspf2, libvirt, mingw-python3, mono-tools, python-flask-restx, and sharpziplib), Mageia (gstreamer, libgcrypt, libgd, mosquitto, php, python-pillow, qtwebengine5, and webkit2), openSUSE (postgresql12 and postgresql13), SUSE (haproxy, postgresql12, postgresql13, and rabbitmq-server), and Ubuntu (commons-io and linux-oem-5.13).

    • Environment

      • Energy

        • New study shows that drought could shut down the biggest US Hydro Plants in the next few years

          According to newly-released projections from the US Bureau of Reclamations, there's a significant chance that both Lake Powell and Lake Mead — the largest hydroelectric power sources in the country — will stop working in the next few years.

          Lake Powell had already dropped to about 33% of its capacity in July 2021. According to the Bureau's new calculations, there's a 34% chance of reaching "critically low reservoir elevations" by 2023. There's a 25% chance it'll happen by 2024.

          Lake Powell isn't quite as dire, with only a 12% chance of dropping to critically low capacity by 2024. That likelihood goes up by another 10% in 2025, and will likely keep going up. from there.



Recent Techrights' Posts

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Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
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Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
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Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
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Overworking Kills
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