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Links 31/10/2022: Linux 6.1-rc3



  • GNU/Linux

    • Linux Made SimpleLinux Weekly Roundup #207

      Welcome to this week's Linux weekly roundup.

      We had a good week in the world of Linux releases with Voyager Linux 22.10, Bluestar Linux 6.0.5, and Zorin OS 16.2.

    • Audiocasts/Shows

    • Kernel Space

      • LinuxLinux 6.1-rc3
        It's Sunday afternoon, so it must be time for an rc release.
        
        

        I know I said last week that rc2 was unusually large. It turns out that rc3 is almost exactly the same size. But at least for an rc3 release, that bigger size is a bit more normal: this is when people are starting to find problems and send in fixes for them.

        So while rc2 was just _way_ bigger than usual, rc3 is only a bit larger than an average rc3 release is. But it's still on the largish side. I hope that things start calming down, and we'll start seeing the size of these rc's shrink. Please?

        Unlike rc2, there's no one single reason for the bulk of the rc3 changes. They're pretty much all over, with the usual distribution - drivers dominating (networking, gpu and sound are most noticeable, but there's a little bit of everything).

        Outside of drivers, tool updates stand out, with selftests, perf, and the pm-graph tool all seeing a fair amount of changes.

        And then we have the usual things: architecture updates, some filesystem work, and core kernel fixes (mainly networking and mm).

        Anyway, while it isn't small, nothing looks particularly worrisome or strange, and I thin kyou can just scan the appended shortlog to get a feel for the kinds of fixes we have here. Please do give it more testing, and here's to hoping we'll start seeing the rc's shrink from now on.

        Linus
      • LWNKernel prepatch 6.1-rc3 [LWN.net]

        The 6.1-rc3 kernel prepatch is out for testing.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • Jan Piet MensA nifty push notification system: ntfy

        Ever since thinking “that’s quite nifty”, I have the devil of a time spelling ntfy without transposing the ‘t’ and the ‘f’, but it’s called notify so the ‘t’ comes before the ‘f’. :-)

      • DJ AdamsMore Untappd data explorations with jq - my top ranking beer types (part 1)

        I've been exploring my Untappd data a bit more since analysing my top brewery countries, this time to see if my average ratings indicated anything about my preferred beer types. Here's what I've done so far, in part 1 of this little series.

      • Linux HandbookHow to Install LOMP Stack on Ubuntu

        Are you looking for a complete LAMP stack guide? This tutorial will show you how to install a LEMP stack on an Ubuntu 22.04 server.

      • ID RootHow To Install Snort on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS - idroot

        In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Snort on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. For those of you who didn’t know, Snort is an open-source, free and lightweight network intrusion detection system (NIDS) software for Linux and Windows operating system to detect emerging threats. Snort has a real-time alerting capability, with alerts being sent to syslog, a separate “alert” file, or even to a Windows computer via Samba.

        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 Snort network intrusion detection system on Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish). You can follow the same instructions for Ubuntu 22.04 and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint, Elementary OS, Pop!_OS, and more as well.

      • NextGenTipsHow to set up an Nginx Server with the Google Cloud Platform – NextGenTips

        Have you encountered a problem where you want to host a simple web server but you don’t know how to go about it, here is a very simple solution to host a simple web server on Google cloud using the free tier.

        In this tutorial, I will take you through the setting up of a server on Google cloud and later install Nginx. From here you can run a simple hello world.

        Here I am using a free tier. Make sure you destroy your instance when you are done experimenting to avoid incurring extra charges.

      • LinuxTechiHow to Delete Partition in Linux Step-by-Step

        Sometimes, you might want to delete some disk partitions on your Linux system to recover or regain some storage space. You can easily accomplish this on the command line with a few simple steps.

        In this guide, we will demonstrate how you can delete a partition in Linux step-by-step. We will start off by deleting a standard partition and then deleting an LVM partition.

      • Linux HintHow to Install Wine on Arch Linux
      • UNIX CopHow to use the nohup command in Linux

        In general, the nohup command allows you to run a command immune to hangups, with output to a non-type.

        What does this mean? It allows you to keep the execution of a command independent of the terminal session. Making it continue to run despite closing the terminal.

        As you can notice, the nohup command is quite useful in situations of configurations that we want to be done in the background and without affecting the user’s work.

        Being a bit more technical, the nohup command ignores the HUP signal, which is the one sent to the process when the controlling terminal is closed, making it still alive.

      • Linux HintInstall Python PIP Debian 11
      • Linux Made SimpleHow to install Psych Engine 0.6.3 on a Chromebook

        Today we are looking at how to install Psych Engine 0.6.3 on a Chromebook.

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

    • Games

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • 9to5LinuxXfce’s Apps Update for October 2022: Thunar Gets More New Features Towards Xfce 4.18

        This month there weren’t so many releases of your favorite Xfce apps as the devs continue to focus on the next major release of the lightweight desktop environment, Xfce 4.18, which should soon be ready for public testing.

        According to the official Xfce 4.18 roadmap, the first pre-release version is expected to hit the streets on November 1st, 2022. A second pre-release version is planned for December 1st, while the final release could be out on December 15th or the 29th if there’s a need for a third pre-release version.

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

    • Canonical/Ubuntu Family

    • Devices/Embedded

      • Linux GizmosIoT board based on RPi CM4 supports various wireless interfaces and optional PoE

        The RAK7391 WisGate Connect is an industrial gateway board powered by the Raspberry Pi Computer Module 4. This product also includes flexible peripherals such as dual GbE ports, camera connectors, and multiple expansion sockets for memory devices.

        According to RAKwireless, the WisGate Connect can support the whole Raspberry CM4 family.

    • Open Hardware/Modding

      • HackadayZIF HDDs Dying Out? Here’s An Open-Source 1.8″ SSD

        A lot of old technology runs on parts no longer produced – HDDs happen to be one such part, with IDE drives specifically being long out of vogue, and going extinct to natural causes. There’s substitutes, but quite a few of them are either wonky or require expensive storage medium. Now, [dosdude1] has turned his attention to 1.8 ZIF IDE SSDs – FFC-connected hard drives that are particularly rare and therefore expensive to replace, found in laptops like the Macbook Air 1,1 2008 model. Unsatisfied with substitutes, he’s designed an entire SSD from the ground up around an IDE SSD controller and NAND chips. Then, he made the design open-source and filmed an assembly video so that we can build our own. Take a look, we’ve put it below the break!

      • Old VCRIf one GUI's not enough for your SPARC workstation, try four

        And it turns out that particular computing environment was really the intersection point for a lot of early GUI efforts, which were built and run on Sun workstations and thus will also run on the Solbourne. With some thought, deft juggling of PATH and LD_LIBRARY_PATH and a little bit of shell scripting, it's possible to create a single system that can run a whole bunch of them. That's exactly what reykjavik, this S3000, will be doing.

      • Bozhidar BatsovWhy Bother with a Custom Desktop PC in 2022?

        Many people are quite surprised when I tell them that my primary computer is a custom-built desktop PC, that I assembled myself. After all, desktops have been going out of fashion for over a decade and most people these days use laptops or even tablets as their primary (work) devices. The only big users of the desktop PCs today seem to be gamers, but they rarely assemble their rigs from scratch.1 I’m definitely not a (big) gamer. Customs-built PCs require some degree of maintenance (at the very least you have to get them working) and are prone to some subtle issues (e.g. the RAM not playing well with the MB, some drivers being a mess, etc). So, why bother with all of this in 2022?

    • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

      • GSM ArenaFlashback: Firefox OS burns down, KaiOS rises from the ashes - GSMArena.com news

        The browser wars of the 90s and 2000s saw the dominant player - Microsoft's Internet Explorer - locked in a David and Goliath battle against Firefox, an open-source browser that was spun off from work at Netscape.

        A decade later another software war began - Microsoft was involved again with Windows Mobile, but the Goliath in this case was Symbian lead by Nokia. You should be familiar with the two Davids that took it on - Apple's iPhone and Google's Android project.

        However, today's story is about Firefox OS, which was developed by Mozilla, the same community that had been working on the Firefox browser since the late 90s. Mozilla wanted to bring its principles of openness, security and privacy to the smartphone market and some smartphone makers were receptive to a new alternative to Android.

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • 4 Twitter features Mastodon is better for not having

      At first Mastodon looks like a straight-up clone. It meets Twitter’s 280-character Tweets with 500-character Toots. On Twitter you can Like, or Retweet to your followers; on Mastodon you can Favorite, or Boost to your followers. So far, so familiar.

      But after some time on the network (I joined when the Musk purchase was first discussed in April), I’ve noticed subtle, welcome differences in how conversations play out. And some of the improvements come not from cool new Mastodon-specific features, but from Twitter features that are deliberately missing. The first of these happy omissions is right on the home timeline. Compare, Mastodon versus Twitter: [...]

    • SaaS/Back End/Databases

      • Phil EatonA Database Without Dynamic Memory Allocation

        Let’s recap memory allocation in general. In most languages, you can choose to have fixed size objects and arrays at program start. Or, you can modify the object and array sizes during the run of the program, maybe to add new keys to the object or maybe to grow the array to fit more elements.

    • Programming/Development

      • Linux HintArduino dtostrf() Function -Turn Your Floats into Strings

        While programming Arduino boards we have to deal with different programming techniques to manipulate the data accordingly. To deal with data we need multiple functions that help us to write code for our project. One of the widely used functions is dtostrf() which converts double and float values into string with defined precision.

      • ButtondownSoftware Isomorphisms

        Last week Gabriella Gonzalez wrote What does “isomorphic” mean (in Haskell), which covers isomorphism from a first-principles perspective.

    • Standards/Consortia

      • [Old] Greg WooledgeFTP Must Die

        9. To Summarize

        FTP is an outdated, insecure, slow and unfriendly pig of a protocol. It has no business being on the Internet in the 21st century.

        FTP MUST DIE!

  • Leftovers

    • HackadayStop Silicone Cure Inhibition, No Fancy Or Expensive Products Required

      Casting parts in silicone is great, and 3D printing in resin is fantastic for making clean shapes, so it’s natural for an enterprising hacker to want to put the two together: 3D print the mold, pour in the silicone, receive parts! But silicone’s curing process can be inhibited by impurities. What’s cure inhibition? It’s a gross mess as shown in the image above, that’s what it is. Sadly, SLA-printed resin molds are notorious for causing exactly that. What’s a hacker to do?

    • HackadaySuper 8 Film Editor Reborn As A YouTube Terminal

      We love hacks that give new life to old gadgets, and [edwardianpug]’s YouTube Terminal certainly fits the bill by putting new hardware inside a Super 8 film editor.

    • Nicholas Tietz-SokolskyRC Week 5: Wrapping up projects and starting a new one | nicholas@web

      Another week of my RC batch wraps up. I'm done with five weeks, and seven weeks are left! Time is still flying by, and I've hit an inflection point. I have gotten what I want out of the two projects I've worked on so far, so I'm going to wrap them up and move on to one new project for the rest of the batch.

    • Zach FlowerMy Grandfather Still Gets Typewritten Mail

      While getting personal mail is a novelty in itself in 2022, what made these particular letters so interesting was the fact that more than a few of them were typewritten... you know, like with a typewriter. Now, as funny as it would be to say that my grandpa is friends with a bunch of farm town hipsters, the much more heartwarming reality is that he and his peers haven't embraced modern technology with nearly as much vigor as younger generations have; and as a result, still connect on a much more physical and personal level.

    • Counter PunchShakespeare Today

      We recall that at the conclusion of Romeo and Juliet, the Prince bemoans the predictable and preventable consequences of senseless vendettas, vanities, arrogance and intransigence – a riveting moment:

    • HackadayPlaying With The Power Of Full G-Code Control

      Slicing software needs to maintain a balance between ease-of-use and control, while handling handle any STL file you throw at it. If you eliminate the need to convert an existing 3D model, and create G-Code directly, you gain a lot of design freedom, at the cost of increased design effort. By taking advantage of this freedom and making it more accessible, [Andrew Gleadall] and [Dirk Leas] created the FullControl Design Library.

    • HackadayRecreating The “Stuck Throttle” Problem On A Toyota

      A few years ago, Toyota was in the news for a major safety issue with a number of their passenger vehicles. Seemingly at random, certain cars were accelerating without concern for driver input, causing many crashes and at least 37 confirmed deaths. They issued recalls both for the floor mats which were reported to have slid forward to jam the accelerator pedal, but this didn’t explain all of these crashes. There was another recall for stuck throttles, which [Colin O’Flynn] demonstrates a possible cause for on his test bench.

    • Science

      • New ScientistFirst 3D quantum accelerometer could let ships navigate without GPS | New Scientist

        A quantum device that can determine its position in three dimensions is more accurate than non-quantum versions. Vehicles could use it to navigate even if GPS stopped working.

        One way to keep track of something’s position is with an accelerometer, which is a small device that is found in everything from phones to drones. Accelerometers work by detecting changes in movement and therefore position.

      • ACM[Computer] In Your Ears

        ClearBuds" is the code-name of the first "end-to-end hardware-software neural-network based binaural system using wireless synchronized earbuds," according to hardware engineer Maruchi Kim at the University of Washington.

        Kim and his colleagues demonstrated a prototype of their speech-enhancing/noise-reducing devices at the ACM International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications, and Services (ACM MobiSys2022, held in Portland, OR June 27-July 1 ).

        The "first" claimed by the researchers is the pairing of binaural (dual) microphones—one in each ear's ClearBud—with two neural networks in an app on a smartphone, resulting in a superior user-experience of voice isolation and noise cancellation during telephone conversations, according to test subjects.

        "While neither dual mics nor neural network software is unique or innovative, the combination has value since it reportedly provides an experience that the users liked," said Fan Gang Zeng, a professor of otolaryngology and director of the Hearing and Speech Laboratory at the University of California, Irvine. A researcher in auditory science and technology who was not involved with the research, Zeng added, "Also, there is no technical barrier for others to develop or use the same combo."

        To assist other researchers and even commercial telephony equipment providers to use the ClearBud approach, the researchers open-sourced their hardware, software, and neural network architectures. Details are provided in their paper, as well as in their audio demonstrations (which also contain links to the open-source hardware, including the printed circuit board layout, the software code for binaural transmission over Bluetooth, and the code and architectures of the neural networks).

      • NatureAI model transferability in healthcare: a sociotechnical perspective | Nature Machine Intelligence

        To deliver value in healthcare, artificial intelligence and machine learning models must be integrated not only into technology platforms but also into local human and organizational ecosystems and workflows. To realize the promised benefits of applying these models at scale, a roadmap of the challenges and potential solutions to sociotechnical transferability is needed.

        Predictive model transferability, traditionally defined as “the ability to produce accurate predictions among patients drawn from a different but plausibly related population”1, is receiving increasing attention as healthcare organizations attempt to implement artificial intelligence (AI)-based prediction tools2,3,4. Although some machine learning (ML)-based models fail when subjected to retrospective validation across institutions and patient populations5, technical improvements (e.g., foundation models) show promise for addressing this model efficacy problem. To address the engineering challenges, a technical subfield labelled MLOps has emerged, promising to address technical transferability by injecting needed discipline into the development, integration, deployment, monitoring, iteration and governance of ML models6,7. These developing solutions open the door to deploying models developed for localized applications in new contexts, thereby realizing AI’s promise of scalability.

    • Education

      • Austin Z HenleyDoes experience make you a better programmer?

        A study was recently published that tries to shed light on this topic: Correlates of Programmer Efficacy and Their Link to Experience: A Combined EEG and Eye-Tracking Study.

        They conducted a lab study where 37 programmers were instructed to comprehend code solutions to Leetcode-like problems and then asked the output given a specific input. The programmers did so while wearing an EEG cap and in front of an eye tracker.

    • Hardware

      • Kev QuirkThe Time My Nan Bought Me a Baby-G Watch

        Back in the 1990’s I wanted a G-Shock watch, so my nan bought me one for Christmas. Here’s the story of what happened to that watch…

        So cast your mind back to the late 90s. I was in high school, Saved By The Bell was all the rage, and 13 year old Kev desperately wanted a G-Shock watch.

        This was because my good friend, Cockney Chris (he was from Milton Keynes and moved to the north…that made him a cockney to us), had a G-Shock. I remember Chris’ G-Shock being MASSIVE and really cool. I was so jealous.

        Then, one day when we were getting changed in the gym for PE (physical education), and he dropped a bombshell…

      • Jeff GeerlingAutomating my Homelab with Ansible (AnsibleFest 2022) | Jeff Geerling

        In the presentation, I gave a tour of my homelab, highlighting it's growth from a modem and 5-port switch to a full 24U rack with a petabyte of storage and multiple 10 gigabit switches!

      • HackadayGarmin HUD Got Discontinued, But Not Trashed

        The Garmin HUD+ was a small Bluetooth device intended for the dashboard of a car, meant to be used as a GPS heads-up display for data from Garmin smartphone apps. It used a bright VFD (vacuum fluorescent display) which was viewed through a clear reflector, and displayed GPS information and directions. It was discontinued in 2015, but [Doz] was fond of his and used it happily until a phone upgrade meant it no longer worked. Was it destined for a landfill? Not if he had anything to say about it!

    • Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

      • Mexico News DailyFeds look for suppliers of non-GM corn as imports ban nears

        Deputy Agriculture Minister Víctor Suárez told the news agency Reuters that the government is proceeding with the ban and no modifications would be made, but didn’t specify whether it would apply to corn used to feed farm animals.

      • RTLCases of fuel siphoning on the rise in France

        Siphoning is the practice of emptying a vehicle's tank by sucking fuel with the mouth through a hose. The contents of the tank can then be transferred to a jerrycan to fill up another vehicle. It is a phenomenon that has multiplied in recent weeks: with parts of France being deprived of petrol and diesel, the number of poisonings linked to fuel siphoning have thus exploded.

        The National Agency for Food, Environmental, and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) has even released a statement to address the dangerous practice: "In October 2022, the poison control centres have recorded more than five times the number of poisonings caused by siphoning petroleum fuels."

      • [Older] Disparities in United States COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

        UC San Diego study finds health care facilities serving underrepresented, rural and hardest-hit communities were less likely to administer COVID-19 vaccines during initial rollout

      • RTutor: Political Incentives and River Pollution in China

        River pollution in China tended to substantially increase at the border of an upstream province, which means the harm was mainly born by the neighboring downstream province. A classic case of negative externalities. As a measure to reduce this problem, the central Chinese government changed the promotional incentives of province leaders in a way that makes them more accountable for river pollution at the province border.

        In their very interesting and great article Water Pollution Progress at Borders: The Role of Changes in China’s Political Promotion Incentives (AEJ Policy, 2015) Matthew E. Kahn, Pei Li and Daxuan Zhao study in how far that change in promotional incentives indeed helped to reduce river pollution at province borders. They also explore concrete channels to reduce river pollution like the placement of pulp and paper factories and whether younger provincial leaders react stronger to the change in the promotional incentives.

    • Proprietary

      • India TimesWhy are there so many data breaches? A growing industry of criminals is brokering in stolen data [iophk: Windows TCO]

        For example, one of the fastest-growing and most damaging forms of cyber crime - ransomware attacks - involves malicious software that paralyses a victim's device or system until a decryption key is provided following payment of a ransom.

        Ransomware attacks are big business. In 2021 alone, they earned cyber criminals more than USD 600 million. The huge amounts of money to be made in ransomware, and the rich abundance of targets from all around the world are fostering the development of a vast ransomware industry.

    • Security

      • IT WireiTWire - UK sec guru plays down hype over new OpenSSL vulnerability

        British security researcher Kevin Beaumont has played down the hype over a recent announcement about a critical flaw in the open-source cryptographic library OpenSSL from Red Hat Linux. The advisory is due on 1 November.

        Mark Cox, vice-president of security at the Apache Software Foundation, tweeted on 26 October that an OpenSSL 3.0.7 update would fix a critical CVE due to be announced on 1 November, adding that it did not affect versions before 3.0.

        This led to American tech site ZDNet putting the hype machine in overdrive, with Steven Vaughan-Nicholls penning an article where the standfirst read: "We don't have the details yet, but we can safely say that come Nov. 1, everyone - and I mean everyone – will need to patch OpenSSL 3.x."

      • Privacy/Surveillance

        • Computer WorldIs performance tracking about to go mobile?

          Some collaboration suites offer built-in tracking already — it’s used holistically to identify communication roadblocks, ensure teams work together, find technical or administrative impediments to collaboration, even to help workers understand their own personal productivity and improve it. These kinds of tools track usage across devices and platforms, focusing on interaction with a suite of services instead of an individual PC or device.

    • Defence/Aggression

    • Transparency/Investigative Reporting

      • SalonHow candy corn became the villain in our modern Halloween lore

        Simultaneously, culinary horrors tend to captivate audiences. As Sam Stone wrote for Bon Appetit earlier this week, scathing restaurant reviews have reached TikTok, and this breed of review is particularly cutting, with virality in mind. One reviewer told Stone: "People want the drama — and that's what we're giving."

    • Environment

      • NPRHow big coal companies avoid cleaning up their messes

        Alpha has transferred more than 300 mining permits to smaller companies since 2015, when an industrywide downturn pushed it and other big coal companies into bankruptcy. By shedding those permits, more than it currently holds, the company also freed itself from the responsibility to clean up the mines. Those old Alpha permits are now owned by smaller companies like Lexington, many of them in precarious financial shape. The smaller companies have drawn pollution lawsuits, environmental violations and complaints from distraught homeowners like Hatfield.

        While coal's devastating contribution to climate change has been well documented, it has also left a long and painful legacy in communities where it's mined. A joint investigation by Bloomberg News and NPR found that Alpha is one of several large U.S. coal companies that used the same playbook. They transferred old mines in need of cleanup to smaller operators with meager financial resources, raising the risk that taxpayers, rather than industry, will eventually be stuck with the cost.

      • Michael West MediaTakes the plunge: Tanya Plibersek releases roadmap to fix Australia’s water trading wreck - Michael West

        Water Minister Tanya Plibersek has released the “Roadmap” document accepting Australia’s water trading markets are “a market-design car-crash” and backed the findings of the long-awaited ACCC report. Authors of Sold Down the River, Stuart Kells and Scott Hamilton, report.

        Over a span of years if not decades, people in the Murray-Darling Basin have raised serious concerns about the water market, and the conduct therein of brokers, traders, ‘investors’ and ‘speculators’.

        At first-hand, farmers, irrigators and other people in rural communities saw widespread evidence of market manipulation, front-running, insider trading, conflicts of interest, and brokers ‘trading their own book’. The benign idea of farmers trading their water rights had turned into some kind of 1980s Wall Street nightmare.

      • Michael West MediaBOM nickname ridgey-didge. Bureau of Meteorology needs un-corporatising not rebranding - Michael West

        Australians love a nickname and recoiled in indignation at the farcical rebranding of the BOM. What’s the scam?

        The scam is that the rebrand is just the latest plank in the corporatisation of the BOM. They tried to do away with climate change too.

        Former MWM editor Sandi Keane and her contact, former BOM operative Stephen King, broke the story here two years ago of the infiltration of BOM by global oil and gas funders such as Shell, Santos, Woodside and Chevron.

      • Energy

        • India TimesBank of England considering a central bank digital currency

          The central bank of the United Kingdom said people were using cash less and financial technology (fintech) firms have started to offer new forms of money and new ways to pay. The Bank posted a statement last week that these changes mean new opportunities and risks that the central bank needs to plan for.

          Central bank digital currency (CBDC) is money that a central bank, like the Bank of England, can produce. It's called digital (or electronic) because it isn't physical money like notes and coins. It is in the form of an amount on a computer or similar device.

      • Wildlife/Nature

    • Finance

    • AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

    • Censorship/Free Speech

      • IT WireLaw that protects US tech platforms against lawsuits being challenged

        The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that the court would be hearing a case against Google which argues that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the clause in law that offers protection to technology companies, should not serve as a shield against companies that link to so-called harmful content.

        The US Government has tried in the past to change Section 230, with a bid two years ago to pass what it called the EARN IT Act which looked to add conditions for those who sought protection under it.

      • Eesti RahvusringhäälingJournalist: Press often holds back stories to protect children's interests

        Risto Berendson, head of the investigative editorial department of Estonian daily Õhtuleht, said the paper had decided not to publish the story about Marko Mihkelson until all parties involved had had the opportunity to explain their sides publicly. Speaking on ETV show "Ringvaade," Berendson said, that the press often refrains from publishing stories in order to protect the wellbeing of children.

      • Why the Death Edict on Salman Rushdie? The death edict was neither about rivalries nor geopolitics

        I disagree. This was not a tactical move by Khomeini to promote himself but a true and furious response. Why? Because an author named Salman Rushdie wrote a book called The Satanic Verses. Those two bare facts—and not the complex contents within the 546 pages in the novel—sufficed to provoke an emotional reaction.

      • ScheerpostThe Consortium Imposing the Growing Censorship Regime

        Glenn Greenwald is launching a new live, one-hour, prime-time news broadcast. Armed with cable-sized budgets, it will be part of a network that Russell Brand has already debuted.

      • MeduzaPrigozhin asks Prosecutor General to block YouTube in Russia — Meduza

        Businessman and founder of PMC Wagner Evgeny Prigozhin appealed to Russia’s Prosecutor General to limit access to video sharing service YouTube, and to declare Google’s activities in Russia “undesirable.” Prigozhin’s company, Konkord, shared the appeal on its VKontakte page.

    • Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

    • Civil Rights/Policing

      • ABCDNA evidence frees California man imprisoned for decades

        A man who spent more than 38 years behind bars for a 1983 murder and two attempted murders has been freed from a California prison after long-untested DNA evidence pointed to a different person

      • NBCFacing a wave of public anger, Iran’s regime could be in a fight for its long-term survival, experts say

        From anti-government graffiti to students heckling government officials, to women walking in the street without headscarves to workers putting down their tools, Iran’s regime looks increasingly bewildered by events.

        Historians who study Iran, human rights activists, political analysts, U.S. officials and Iranians on the ground all say the protests represent a potentially revolutionary moment, and that Iranian citizens are increasingly ready to risk their lives for the cause.

        “It’s like a war, the Islamic Republic versus the Iranian people,” said the woman from Tehran. She and other Iranians say the helmeted police flooding the streets resemble an occupying force, unsure of their position and unable to trust the local population.

      • Jerusalem PostIran’s regime kills a female surgeon during doctors' protests in Tehran

        Security forces for the Islamic Republic of Iran killed a general surgeon who was protesting along with doctors in front of the Tehran Medical Council on Tuesday.

        The London-based Iran International news outlet reported on Saturday that the surgeon Parisa Bahmani, from Zanjan, was killed as a result of a shot to her head.

      • CNNHead of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warns that Saturday is ‘last day’ of protests

        Protesters in the eastern city of Zahedan encountered teargas and gunfire following Friday prayers, according to videos posted on social media and provided by IranWire, an activist website. At least one 12-year-old boy was shot, according to video posted on activist group 1500tasvir’s social channels.

        Salami criticized the supposed influence of American and Israeli politicians on the protest movement, alleging that they do “not call you directly, but through their media they force you to face your society.”

      • CNNViolent clashes break out between students and security forces across Iran, rights groups say

        In a video obtained by CNN via the pro-reform activist outlet Iran Wire, two uniformed officers can be seen in what appears to be an attempt to arrest a protester. The video is said to be recorded at Sanandaj Technical College in northwestern Iran.

        In the capital Tehran, activist groups claimed clashes broke out between protesters, members of the Basij militia and police officers in plain clothes at Azad University but CNN cannot independently verify whether those in the clashes are security forces.

      • Jerusalem PostChristian leaders condemn attack on church near Bethlehem

        During the attack, which took place on Friday night, dozens of Muslim men hurled stones at the church, injuring a number of people.

      • Jerusalem PostIRGC commander warns protesters: Today will be the 'last day' of rioting
      • France24Iran's Guards chief warns protesters: 'Today is last day of riots'

        Iranians have defied such warnings throughout the popular revolt in which women have played a prominent role. There were more reports of fresh bloodshed on Saturday.

        Human rights group Hengaw reported security forces shooting students at a girls' school in the city of Saqez. In another post, it said security forces opened fire on students at Kurdistan University of Medical Science, in the Kurdistan provincial capital of Sanandaj.

      • Counter PunchPhilly Judge Blows Off Mumia Abu-Jamal’s Latest Appeal
      • TruthOutStarbucks Workers at the NYC Roastery Strike Against Unsafe Work Conditions
      • ScheerpostChina is Capable of Redefining Modernization

        "China's achievements in eliminating absolute poverty in recent years have been outstanding, especially compared to developed countries."

    • Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

      • IT WireiTWire - Govt to conduct mobile coverage audit next year in bid to improve services

        The Federal Government will conduct an audit of mobile coverage in the country with a view to identify blackspots and help guide it in areas of investment from next year onwards.

        A statement issued by Communications Minister Michelle Rowland on Monday said $20 million had been set aside for the Better Connectivity for Regional and Rural Australia Plan.

        It said a regional telecommunications review in 2021 had expressed concerns from community members about the predictive coverage maps issued by providers and indicated that an audit would help validate them.

        Presumably the focus will be on rural and regional areas where coverage is not half as good as in the metropolitan areas.

    • Monopolies

      • IT WireiTWire - Facebook parent accused of 'robber-baron' tactics in Canada

        Facebook's parent company Meta has been accused of resorting to "robber-baron" tactics in Canada by threatening to block sharing of news feeds if Ottawa legislates to force it to pay news outlets for their content.

        The accusation was made by Liberal MP Chris Bittle during a parliamentary hearing on Friday.

        Liberal MPs Anthony Housefather and Lisa Hepfner also subjected Meta Canada Media Partnerships chief Marc Dinsdale and global policy director Kevin Chan to tough questioning.

      • Copyrights

        • [Old] The public domain grows

          On New Year’s 2021, books, music and films published in 1925 entered the public domain, free for anyone to copy, quote at length, mash up, whatever you like. Jennifer Jenkins at Duke Law’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain provides a rundown of what’s been set free and why it matters. Highlights in literature include Mrs. Dalloway, The Great Gatsby, and Kafka’s The Trial in the original German. An English translation of The Trial, however, won’t be public domain until 2033, and the Franz Kafka cartoon rock opera that got teenage me into Kafka will stay copyrighted until 2096.

        • Torrent Freak'Pirate' Streaming Boxes Boosted Netflix Viewership, Research Finds

          A new study reveals how purchasing a Kodi-powered streaming box changed the Internet and media consumption habits of US households. The researchers use these boxes as a piracy proxy, as they were often loaded with third-party piracy apps. Interestingly, their data show that the use of these boxes led to increased legal consumption through on-demand services such as Netflix and YouTube.

  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Politics

      • Extreme bridge, Brevard NC edition

        Today was a pretty miserable day here in Brevard [1], with it being both cold and rainy. Bunny and I didn't really go out much today. But a few days ago, when I sat in the garden [2] I also took a stroll around the grounds here at the The Bromfield Inn [3]. And it was on the grounds that I found this bridge:

    • Technical

      • Thinkpad camera repair and upgrade

        I bought a second-hand Thinkpad X13 Yoga (Gen 1) with a broken camera. A quick search shows this is quite a common problem that usually ends up in a RMA'd laptop, but as this one is well out of warranty I had a go at repairing it.

        These laptops come with one of two types of cameras - one that includes an infra-red sensor and one without. The IR sensor is mostly used to sign in using facial recognition (i.e. Windows Hello). My laptop was originally non-IR model but through the repair I upgraded it to an IR-capable camera too.

      • Internet/Gemini

        • Mayan and Gemini priests

          There is a short discussion with #Gemini hashtag on Mastodon where a barrier term came up. It's about accessing Geminispace, where reading and writing is limited to people who has knowledge how to do this. It's true that there is a technical barrier. People must learn to do things in a special way to overcome that. I appreciate that it is so. Probably many of us appreciate that. So we are a new caste of Gemini priests?

          Like a Mayan priests (and several other historical examples) who had a power to rule (in a direct or indirect way) the whole society. Mayan priests had a knowledge of astronomy, astrology and calendar/time. Gemini priests have a knowledge to do a real network communication. There are no any abilities to control a whole society, but this is a key to enter or not enter that better world. So you can be an ordinary account in the world of big social network, or an awaken man. It's some cyberpunk theme there?

        • Posting/replying via gemini
        • Answers to correspondents

          I'm slightly surprised that anyone reads this, but I have had a couple of people get in touch. Since my last post I heard from Sandra (idiomdrottning) who wondered why I thought it wasn't good that Alonso got a penalty if that's what the rules say. This question opens a can of worms, but lets start with the facts.

          [...]

          So Sandra asked why Alonso shouldn't get a penalty if that's what the rules say. My answer is that the rules are not clear and straightforward, and their application is even less so.


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



Recent Techrights' Posts

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Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
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