Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 03/02/2023: WINE 8.1 and RapidDisk 9.0.0



  • GNU/Linux

    • Server

      • Kubernetes Blog ☛ Kubernetes Blog: Spotlight on SIG Instrumentation

        Observability requires the right data at the right time for the right consumer (human or piece of software) to make the right decision. In the context of Kubernetes, having best practices for cluster observability across all Kubernetes components is crucial.

      • Container Journal ☛ Is Kubernetes Fit For Purpose?

        Are Kubernetes clusters fit to run many of the applications being deployed on them? That question became the focal point of a panel discussion yesterday in Seattle, Washington, hosted by Tetrate, a provider of an instance of the Istio service mesh. Kelsey Hightower, principal engineer for Google Cloud, said one

    • Kernel Space

      • LWN ☛ Nolibc: a minimal C-library replacement shipped with the kernel [LWN.net]

        The kernel project does not host much user-space code in its repository, but there are exceptions. One of those, currently found in the tools/include/nolibc directory, has only been present since the 5.1 release. The nolibc project aims to provide minimal C-library emulation for small, low-level workloads. Read on for an overview of nolibc, its history, and future direction written by its principal contributor.

        The nolibc component actually made a discreet entry into the 5.0 kernel as part of the RCU torture-test suite ("rcutorture"), via commit 66b6f755ad45 ("rcutorture: Import a copy of nolibc"). This happened after Paul McKenney asked: "Does anyone do kernel-only deployments, for example, setting up an embedded device having a Linux kernel and absolutely no userspace whatsoever?"

      • LWN ☛ Hiding a process's executable from itself [LWN.net]

        Back in 2019, a high-profile container vulnerability led to the adoption of some complex workarounds and a frenzy of patching. The immediate problem was fixed, but the incident was severe enough that security-conscious developers have continued to look for ways to prevent similar vulnerabilities in the future. This patch set from Giuseppe Scrivano takes a rather simpler approach to the problem.

        The 2019 incident, which came to be known as CVE-2019-5736, involved a sequence of steps that culminated in the overwriting of the runc container-runtime binary from within a container. That binary should not have even been visible within the container, much less writable, but such obstacles look like challenges to a determined attacker. In this case, the attack was able to gain access to this binary via /proc/self/exe, which always refers to the binary executable for the current process.

        Specifically, the attack opens the runc process's /proc/self/exe file, creating a read-only file descriptor — inside the container — for the target binary, which lives outside that container. Once runc exits, the attacker is able to reopen that file descriptor for write access; that descriptor can subsequently be used to overwrite the runc binary. Since runc is run with privilege outside of the container runtime, this becomes a compromise of the host as a whole; see the above-linked article for details.

        This vulnerability was closed by having runc copy its binary image into a memfd area and sealing it; control is then be passed to that image before entering the container. Sealing prevents modifying the image, but even if that protection fails, the container is running from an independent copy of the binary that will never be used again, so overwriting it is no longer useful. It is a bit of an elaborate workaround, but it plugged the hole at the time.

      • LWN ☛ Kernel code on the chopping block [LWN.net]

        Code that is added to the kernel can stay there for a long time; there is code in current kernels that has been present for over 30 years. Nothing is forever, though. The kernel development community is currently discussing the removal of two architectures and one filesystem, all of which seem to have mostly fallen out of use. But, as we will see, removal of code from the kernel is not easy and is subject to reconsideration even after it happens.

    • Graphics Stack

      • LWN ☛ X clients and byte swapping [LWN.net]

        While there are still systems with both byte orders, little-endian has largely "won" the battle at this point since the vast majority of today's systems store data with the least-significant byte first (at the lowest address). But when the X11 protocol was developed in the 1980s, there were lots of systems of each byte order, so the X protocol allowed either order and the server (display side) would swap the bytes to its byte order as needed. Over time, the code for swapping data in the messages, which was written in a more-trusting era, has bit-rotted so that it is now a largely untested attack surface that is nearly always unused. Peter Hutterer has been doing some work to stop using that code by default, both in upstream X.org code and in downstream Fedora.

        A Fedora 38 change proposal to disable support for byte-swapped clients by default in the X server was posted in mid-December. It is owned by Hutterer, who proposed adopting the work he was doing for the X.org server into Fedora. At the time, it was unclear whether the upstream changes would land in time, so the Fedora proposal was contingent on that happening. It turns out that Hutterer merged the changes on January 5, so that would not be an impediment to Fedora being an early adopter of the feature.

    • Applications

      • Petros Koutoupis ☛ RapidDisk 9.0.0 now available

        RapidDisk is an advanced Linux RAM Disk which consists of a collection of modules and an administration tool.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • ID Root ☛ How To Install Brave Browser on Rocky Linux 9

        In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Brave Browser on Rocky Linux 9. For those of you who didn’t know, Brave is a free and open-source web browser developed by Brave Software, Inc.

      • UNIX Cop ☛ Dolphin Emulator on Centos

        It is easily the most popular and best-supported emulator for the console on Linux.

      • UNIX Cop ☛ How To Install Kodi Media Server on CentOS 9/ Rocky Linux 9/ AlmaLinux 9

        In this guide, we will show you how to install Kodi Media Server in AlmaLinux, CentOS and RockyLinux servers. Kodi€ (formerly€ XBMC) is a€ free and open-source media player€ software application developed by the XBMC Foundation, a€ non-profit€ technology€ consortium. Kodi is available for multiple operating systems and hardware platforms, with a software€ 10-foot user interface€ for use with televisions and€ remote controls.

      • UNIX Cop ☛ How To Install Mattermost Desktop onCentOS 9/ Rocky Linux 9/ AlmaLinux 9

        In this guide, we will show you how to install Mattermost Desktop on CentOS/AlmaLinux and RockyLinux systems.

      • UNIX Cop ☛ How do you install a pacemaker with Apache on RHEL 8?

        A pacemaker with apache high-availability€ cluster management tool in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 that monitors and manages services running on Apache servers. It provides failover capabilities for system failures. Pacemaker combines with httpd using a resource agent.

      • ZDNet ☛ What are VirtualBox guest snapshots and how do you take them?

        VirtualBox makes it easy to run multiple operating system guests on a single host. One feature you should be regularly using is snapshots. Here's what they are and how to use them.

    • WINE or Emulation

      • WINE Project (Official) ☛ WineHQ - Wine Announcement - The Wine development release 8.1 is now available.
        The Wine development release 8.1 is now available.
        
        

        What's new in this release: - Windows version set to Windows 10 for new prefixes. - Many code cleanups that were deferred during code freeze. - Various bug fixes.

        The source is available at:

        https://dl.winehq.org/wine/source/8.x/wine-8.1.tar.xz

        Binary packages for various distributions will be available from:

        https://www.winehq.org/download

        You will find documentation on https://www.winehq.org/documentation

        You can also get the current source directly from the git repository. Check https://www.winehq.org/git for details.

        Wine is available thanks to the work of many people. See the file AUTHORS in the distribution for the complete list.
  • Distributions and Operating Systems

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • Events

      • Linux Plumbers Conference (LPC) ☛ Linux Plumbers Conference: Preliminary Dates and Location for LPC2023

        The 2023 LPC PC is pleased to announce that we’ve begun exclusive negotiations with the Omni Hotel in Richmond, VA to host Plumbers 2023 from 13-15 November. Note: These dates arenot yet final(nor is the location; we have had one failure at this stage of negotiations from all the Plumbers venues we’ve chosen). We will let you know when this preliminary location gets finalized (please don’t book irrevocable travel until then).

    • Programming/Development

      • Buttondown ☛ Improve your debugging by asking broad questions

        I recently had to help a friend debug a Word issue where fonts would randomly change to Greek symbols. It got me thinking about theories of debugging in general. At my last job, I was the Debugging Guy.

      • Python

        • LWN ☛ Python packaging, visions, and unification [LWN.net]

          The Python community is currently struggling with a longtime difficulty in its ecosystem: how to develop, package, distribute, and maintain libraries and applications. The current situation is sub-optimal in several dimensions due, at least in part, to the existence of multiple, non-interoperable mechanisms and tools to handle some of those needs. Last week, we had an overview of Python packaging as a prelude to starting to dig into the discussions. In this installment, we start to look at the kinds of problems that exist—and the barriers to solving them.

          Our overview just scratched the surface of the Python packaging world, so we will pick up some of the other pieces as we go along. The recent discussions seem to largely stem from Brett Cannon's mid-November post to renominate himself to the steering council (SC) for the 2023 term; that thread also served to highlight the role of the Python Packaging Authority (PyPA) and its relationship to the Python core developers. Up until relatively recently, the PyPA was an informal organization with a membership that was not well-defined; it had an ad hoc style of governance. That changed in 2019 with the advent of PEP 609 ("Python Packaging Authority (PyPA) Governance"); the PEP formalized the governance of the PyPA.

  • Leftovers

    • James G ☛ Happy Groundhog Day

      As of my starting to write this post, there are 25 minutes left until midnight here in the UK. This is the first year that I have actively thought about Groundhog Day throughout the day.

    • ⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆ Alert

      The history of everyone’s favorite attempt to keep the suspense going for just a little bit longer, the spoiler alert. People who spoil things are obviously evil. Obviously.


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



Recent Techrights' Posts

Brigading Against Women - Part XXV - No Anonymity for People Who Did Illegal Things
"Empathy is the sunlight to the vampire of culture."
Links 09/10/2026: Stranded Busan Shark Still a 'Circus', Endangered Monkey Rescued, BBC Shells Out Money
Links for the day
The Register MS Sponsored to Hype Up "Datacenters" and "AI" (Bubble, Pyramid Scheme)
"Sponsored by Cisco" with "AI" 26 times in this page
World Mental Health Day is Tomorrow and EPO Staff Talks About What the Job Does to Workers
In recent years we've written a great deal about mental health consideration in relation to work, with a focus on "IT"
You Definitely Do NOT Wish to Live Close to a Datacentre
put aside for a moment the noise, the pollution...
 
Microsoft Abuses PERM and Lays Off Workers in India
The US government has made it easier for Microsoft to hide the mass layoffs
The GAFAM Elections in the United States
If the election is run by platforms that have back doors "baked-in" and if the communications are overseen by GAFAM, you would not have to be a "nutty MAGAt" to dispute the outcome
More GAFAM Layoffs (Late on Friday Night)
They say they are worth trillions, but they don't even make money
Male-Dominated EPO Fails to Have "Concrete Measures to Support Female Staff"
Being a female at the EPO is exceptionally hard
Production Freeze at the European Patent Office (Opposing Monarchy, Institutional Maladministration and Corruption)
Eight reasons to participate
Links 10/10/2026: Microsoft 'Open' 'AI' Silencing Critics, "Data Centres are the New Front Line in the Russia-Ukraine War"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 09, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, October 09, 2026
Gemini Links 10/10/2026: Optimism, Stargazing, "Life Without Smartphone", and Fairphone 4
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2026: Manifesto, Slop, Geminispace, and "Cryptography of the Internet"
Links for the day
Betanews is Still a Slopfarm, Articles About "Linux" Are Fake and Plagiarism by LLMs
Cheaters and plagiarists aren't journalists; they're people who rip off and harm journalists
James Bottomley Has Promoted Microsoft-Controlled Restricted ('Secure') Boot, His Blog Has Just Been Cracked
Does this meet IBM's and Microsoft's standards for "distinguished" (in security)?
Links 09/10/2026: "Internet Archive to Demo Wayback Machine at Friday’s Uniqlo Street Festival", France Wages Censorship War via DNS
Links for the day
Controlled Opposition
The underlying concept is hardly new
More Stallmans
We need more Stallmans, we don't need to change Stallman
SUEPO Munich (EPO Staff Union in the Main Headquarters) Opposes Monarchy ('Cocaine King' Campinos), Plans Online Meeting Next Week
They may have about 1,000 workers joining in
GNU/Linux Flirts With 20% "Market Share" in North America Overnight
Who should we trust on GNU/Linux? Microsofters on an armchair or Cloudflare Radar?
New Site Makes the Case Against Adoption of Omarchy, But Focuses Almost Entirely on Politics
Let's examine what the page says and what points it focuses on
Brigading Against Women - Part XXIV - Nobody's Name is Unspeakable
Names are not sacred
Microsoft is in Trouble (With the Regime It Sponsored)
It seems like Microsoft paying the existing regime/dictatorship wasn't enough
GGG Pot Calls the Kettle Black
"It means a situation in which somebody accuses someone else of a fault which the accuser shares, and therefore is an example of psychological projection, or hypocrisy. Use of the expression to discredit or deflect a claim of wrongdoing by attacking the originator of the claim for their own similar behaviour (rather than acknowledging the guilt of both) is the tu quoque logical fallacy."
In the United Kingdom, Rising Cost of Hardware Benefits GNU/Linux
GNU/Linux rose from about 4% to almost 6% in one year
Japanese Targets of Cyber Breaches or Insider Threats
Japanese government bureau and major firms experience data breaches
Gemini Links 09/10/2026: Optimism, Stargazing, and Solar MiniServer
Links for the day
The Microsoft Ban Should Go Further (Telecommunications Cybersecurity and Resilience Act Incompatible With Back Doors)
it's not difficult to see where to start
When Americans Export a 'Suicide Mission' to Other Continents
I worry that this culture of debt-taking and overconsumption is being spread from the US to Europe
The Register MS: "AI" Several Times in Same Headline, 31 Times in Page. The Register MS Was Paid to Do This.
The phenomenon is commercial (paid media), not scientific
The Outcome of Microsoft Ban Was Predictable
told you so
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 08, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, October 08, 2026
Gemini Links 08/10/2026: Economical Thrashing, How I Killed the Earth, and Thoughts on Gemini
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2026: Wikimedia Bemoans Chaffbot Slop (Bots Sold as 'Agents') That Sabotage It, ICC's Taliban Warrants
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2026: Slop Scammers (Pushers) Inflate Hosting Bills and "YouTube Testing Everything"
Links for the day
The Register MS Helps Prove the "AI" Frenzy in the Media is Evidence of Compromised Media, Not Legitimate "Revolution"
Ignore the hype and carry on
London Became Synonymous With the Royal Courts of Justice
London used to be a place where we go on holiday/retreat/break; nowadays we have only one destination there
Microsoft Insiders on "Effectively Being Silently Laid Off From Microsoft"
People are laid off by the thousands without the media uttering a word or the companies confirming anything
Brigading Against Women - Part XXIII - Extremism in the Mix and Getting the Police Involved
In 2012 I was getting heckled a lot for opposing back doors in Linux; it has not stopped since
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 07, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 07, 2026