GNU/Linux

• Audiocasts/Shows

  • The BSD Now Podcast ☛ BSD Now 526: ZFS Replication Tools

    Why DNS is still hard to learn, Unix support 50 years ago, ZFS Replication tools, Between ISA and PCI, PCs had EISA and VLB, Old Computer Challenge v3, and more

Distributions and Operating Systems

• Barry Kauler ☛ Network Wizard fixes

  Firstly, the 'p11-kit' has been added, required by a couple of AppImages.
  

  Major changes to the Network Wizard (NW)...
  

  Package 'ethtool' added, needed by NW to detect alive ethernet cable.
  

  Fix for NW not automatically connecting after a reboot.

  The NM scripts use a translation technique from the very early Puppy days. Changed to gettext.  
  

• BSD

  • Dan Langille ☛ Creating a Time Capsule instance using Samba, FreeBSD, and ZFS

    I recently moved a Time Capsule instance from a FreeBSD host into a jail. Today, I’m going to create a new Time Capsule which uses Samba instead of AFP. Why? Samba seems to be the preferred solution because AFP has been deprecated.

• SUSE/OpenSUSE

  • LWN ☛ Replacing openSUSE Leap

    OpenSUSE Leap is a hybrid distribution; it is based on SUSE's enterprise distribution (SLE), which follows the "slow and stable" approach, but adds a number of newer packages on top. Leap is intended to be a desktop-oriented distribution with a stable and reliable base. As SUSE transitions away from its traditional enterprise distribution toward its "Adaptable Linux Platform" (ALP), though, the stable base upon which openSUSE Leap is built is going away. The openSUSE community is currently discussing how the project should respond.

    ALP is, by design, an amorphous project; it is intended to facilitate the creation of focused distributions for a number of different use cases. The initial targets appear to be server workloads, with a focus on containers and confidential-computing uses. While it is somewhat hard to get a grasp on what future SUSE products will look like, the company does not appear to be heading toward the creation of another traditional enterprise distribution as part of the ALP transition.

• Canonical/Ubuntu Family

  • TechTarget ☛ Canonical continues to evolve in cloud market

    Paul Nashawaty, an analyst at TechTarget's Enterprise Strategy Group, shares takeaways from Canonical Analyst Day 2023. Explore key areas of focus for Canonical's cloud strategy.

• Open Hardware/Modding

  • Adafruit ☛ Making a micro Linux distro #Linux #RISCV @popovicu94 - Adafruit Industries - Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers!

    Uros Popovic writes about building up a tiny (micro) Linux “distribution” from scratch, starting with building the Linux kernel, and writing some software to package the micro-distro.

  • LWN ☛ Arduino: open source for microcontroller boards

    Arduino has emerged as one of the prime success stories of the open-hardware movement. In recent years, the company has shifted its focus toward Internet of Things (IoT) applications. As part of this transformation, it has completely redesigned its open-source integrated development environment (IDE), adding a more professional feature set for its hobbyist target audience. If you have experimented with Arduino in the past, but have lost track of its progress, now might be a good time to give it another try.

    The Arduino project originated in 2005 at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea in Italy as an educational tool for teaching students how to create and program interactive devices with sensors and actuators. Gradually, the project outgrew its academic origins and became the go-to platform for hobbyists interested in programming microcontroller boards. After a trademark dispute between the project's founders that lingered for years, the Arduino ecosystem now seems to have found a new life.

    What we commonly refer to as Arduino is actually a combination of several components. First, there's the Arduino hardware, which consists of microcontroller boards with open-hardware designs. Then, there's the open-source software: an IDE that supports C++ programming using some libraries provided with the tool, coupled with an Arduino "core" that supports a specific board family. In addition, users can extend the basic functionality with third-party Arduino libraries. Finally, there's the Arduino company, which oversees the development and possesses the Arduino trademark. This article takes a look at the latest developments in each of these areas.

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

• SaaS/Back End/Databases

  • PostgreSQL ☛ SQLite FDW 2.4.0 released

    We have just released version 2.4.0 of the Foreign Data Wrapper for SQLite.

    This release can work with PostgreSQL 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16.
    This release improves following items (from 2.3.0): [...]

• Programming/Development

  • Buttondown ☛ Was Javascript really made in 10 days?

    I once heard that Javascript has so many warts because the first version was made in just ten days. I was curious 1) if this is true, and 2) if it explains the language's warts.

    After some research, I can unconfidently say: it's complicated.

  • The Register UK ☛ Rusty revenant Servo returns to render once more • The Register

    A pleasant surprise from Open Source Summit is that Servo, the Rusty rendering engine that Mozilla was working on – until COVID, that is – is showing green shoots of renewed vigor.

    Servo has been around for about a decade, so as experimental software projects go, it's a mature one. Igalia developer Manuel Rego presented a talk which reports that the project is back under active development, almost exactly three years after Mozilla terminated its Rust efforts and laid off the whole Rust team, including the Servo developers.

  • LWN ☛ Using the limited C API for the Python stdlib?

    The "limited" C API for CPython extensions has been around for well over a decade at this point, but it has not seen much uptake. It is meant to give extensions an API that will allow binaries built with it to be used for multiple versions of CPython, because those binaries will only access the stable ABI that will not change when CPython does. Victor Stinner has been working on better definition for the API; as part of that work, he suggested that some of the C extensions in the standard library start using it in an effort for CPython to "eat its own dog food". The resulting discussion showed that there is still a fair amount of confusion about this API—and the thrust of Stinner's overall plan.

    The limited API comes from PEP 384 ("Defining a Stable ABI"), but that is largely a historical document at this point. The C API Stability document and developers guide both have more up-to-date information. There are several APIs available that extensions can use, but only the limited API provides ABI stability between major releases of CPython (e.g. from 3.11 to 3.12); packages using the other APIs will need to be rebuilt in order to ensure that they work with a new major (or even minor, in the case of the unstable API) release.

Leftovers

• Hardware

  • Ruben Schade ☛ Every forum reply on a commercial vendor site

    Dear customer,

    Thank you for contacting the $VENDOR support page. My name is $NAME, and I’m here to assist in your enqiury and to solve whatever problem you may be facing at the present time with your system, game, application, phone, or other device. We take your concerns seriously.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Scammers target Microsoft’s AI chatbot Bing Chat with malicious ads

    Malwarebytes Labs wrote that scammers are now targeting Bing Chat users with malicious ads within the chatbot.

  • AccessNow ☛ Watermarking & generative AI: what, how, why (and why not)

    How can we identify content produced by generative AI tools? One solution being touted is watermarking – but what are the human rights risks?

• Linux Foundation

  • OSI Blog ☛ Three highlights from Open Source Summit Europe 2023 [Ed: It was not about Europe and not about Open Source. It's an openwashing festival of American companies and their front group.]

    Read a recap of the three key efforts of the OSI addressed at the Open Source Summit Europe 2023.

  • The Register UK ☛ If the Linux Foundation was a software company, it'd be the biggest in the world [Ed: Complete nonsense. It is a front group for companies. And it misuses the word "Linux".]

    During a keynote that switched languages several times, demonstrating the challenges faced by both AI and human translators in keeping up, Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, threw out several crowd-pleasing statistics while also highlighting some projects likely to make one or two companies squirm a little.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Purism ☛ International Cybersecurity Standards do Not Address Surveillance Capitalism

      I came across a great article, Essential Guide to Cybersecurity Compliance, in the Hacker News.  I noticed that international cybersecurity standards, including those in the U.S. such as CCPA and HIPAA, do not address privacy and security threats posed by Surveillance Capitalism. Cybersecurity compliance, such as ISO 27001,

• Defence/Aggression

  • teleSUR ☛ Iran to Access Now-Unfrozen Funds Transferred to Qatari Banks

    The Iranian funds, previously deposited in South Korean banks, amount to about $6 billion and have already been successfully relocated to six Iranian accounts located in two Qatari banks.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • France24 ☛ East Libya strongman Haftar meets Putin in Moscow

      Military strongman Khalifa Haftar, whose forces dominate eastern Libya, held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, his forces and the Kremlin said.

    • teleSUR ☛ Russian President Meets With Regional Leaders

      "We have everything to effectively follow the chosen path and to strengthen the country," Putin said.

    • France24 ☛ Slovakia swamped by disinformation ahead of parliamentary elections

      As Slovakia heads toward parliamentary elections on Saturday, the country has been flooded with disinformation, ranging from pro-Russian propaganda, lies about the situation in Ukraine and the spread of anti-migrant hate speech.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Russian War Report: Competing claims about the possible death of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet commander

      Following an attack by Ukrainian forces on the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, rumors swirled about the potential death of Russian Admiral Viktor Sokolov.

    • France24 ☛ NATO’s Stoltenberg says Ukraine ‘gradually gaining ground’ in counteroffensive

      NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukrainian forces are “gradually gaining ground” in their counteroffensive against Russia during an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Thursday. The Western alliance chief also said that Ukraine is “closer to NATO than ever before”.

    • Mint Press News ☛ Revealed: How Thousands of Ukrainian Nazis Were Smuggled Into Canada after WW2

      MintPress founder Mnar Adley argues that Canada's celebration of a Ukrainian Nazi in parliament continues its historical legacy of hosting Nazis post-World War II and arming Nazi-linked fascists in Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Kazakh President Assures Germany His Country Follows Sanctions Regime Against Russia

      Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev says his country will not help Russia circumvent Western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine amid suspicions that Moscow is still receiving goods via Central Asian nations.

    • CS Monitor ☛ Now tanks, next missiles? Expanding military aid buoys Ukraine.

      ATACMS missiles can enhance Ukraine’s capabilities. But the weapons will arrive amid tension between Ukrainian resolve and the human toll of a slow counteroffensive.

    • CS Monitor ☛ Global food supply chains have slowed. What’s behind the decline?

      Restrictions on food exports are overflowing. Countries are trying to protect their own stockpiles as the combined effect of the war in Ukraine, El Niño’s threat to food production, and increasing damage from climate change threaten food supplies.

    • New York Times ☛ Ukraine Is Still David. Russia Is Still Goliath.

      Ukraine is still David. Russia is still Goliath.

    • New York Times ☛ Western Leaders Urge Arms Manufacturing in Ukraine

      NATO is pitching weapons making as economic development for war-torn Ukraine, and it could be lucrative for Western arms makers.

    • RFERL ☛ Swiss Court Acquits Former Belarusian Security Force Member In Disappearance Case

      A former member of Belarusian authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s special security forces was acquitted in Switzerland on September 28 of involvement in the disappearances of prominent opposition figures more than two decades ago.

    • RFERL ☛ Warsaw Denies Belarus Claim That Polish Helicopter Violated Its Airspace

      Belarus said on September 28 that a Polish helicopter violated its airspace, but Warsaw said none of its helicopters had crossed the border between the two countries.

    • New York Times ☛ Swiss Court Acquits Belarusian in Opposition Leaders’ Disappearance

      Lawyers for the relatives of the three victims who vanished in 1999 said they planned to appeal the decision.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Breach Media ☛ Naomi Klein: The right has put the left’s ideas in a bonkers blender

    An interview with the author on her new book Doppelganger about our upside-down post-pandemic moment

  • New York Times ☛ New York Is Rebounding for the Rich. Nearly Everyone Else Is Struggling.

    The huge income gap between rich and poor in Manhattan is the latest sign that the economic recovery from the pandemic has been lopsided in New York City.

  • CoryDoctorow ☛ Pluralistic: Yanis Varoufakis's "Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism?" (28 Sep 2023)

    Socialists have been hotly anticipating the end of capitalism since at least 1848, when Marx and Engels published The Communist Manifesto – but the Manifesto also reminds us that capitalism is only too happy to reinvent itself during its crises, coming back in new forms, over and over again

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • ACLU ☛ As a New Term Begins, Where Does the Supreme Court Stand on Criminal Justice?

    It’s that time of year again: The U.S. Supreme Court will convene next week for a new term. While the last few terms have seen the court deliver seismic decisions on abortion, affirmative action, and voting rights, they’ve been tougher to read in another crucial area: criminal justice.

  • BIA Net ☛ Cable factory workers continue strike in Kocaeli

    The workers demand a 105% increase in their wages, which are currently at the minimum wage level.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Event Wrap: AusNOG 2023

    Geoff Huston presented on QUIC at AusNOG 2023, held in the Gold Coast, Australia from 7 to 8 September 2023.

  • APNIC ☛ Distributed latency monitoring

    Guest Post: Searching for a SmokePing alternative to monitor different servers for latency.

• Monopolies

  • Patents

    • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Broad Claims Bite Back: Drafting Narrower Scope in the Age of IPR

      The Federal Circuit recently affirmed a PTAB IPR decision invalidating claims of Masimo U.S. Patent RE47,218 (“the ’218 patent”) as obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103. Masimo Corp. v. Sotera Wireless, Inc., 2022-1415 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 28, 2023) (nonprecedential). The Federal Circuit panel of Judges Prost, Wallach, and Chen determined (1) the Board correctly construed the disputed claim terms and (2) its obviousness ruling was supported by substantial evidence.  Id. (authored by Judge Wallach).

    • Unified Patents ☛ $2,000 awarded for Flick Intelligence information sharing patent prior art

      Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winners, Ekta Aswal and Vibhor Dimri, who split a cash award of $2,000 for their prior art submissions on U.S. Patent 9,465,451, owned by Flick Intelligence, LLC, an NPE. The ‘451 patent generally relates to a computer program product for displaying additional information about a displayed point of interest.

  • Copyrights

    • Digital Music News ☛ Rick Astley and Yung Gravy Settle ‘Betty (Get Money)’ Copyright Infringement Suit After Eight Months

      Eight months back, Rick Astley sued Yung Gravy (as well as Dillon Francis and others) for allegedly featuring a “nearly indistinguishable” imitation of his voice in “Betty (Get Money)” without permission. Now, the involved parties have officially settled.

    • Vice Media Group ☛ The Oldest Active Torrent on the Internet Is 20 Years Old Today, and It Rules

      Hundreds of people are still hosting a fan-made 'Matrix' tribute on the file-sharing network, two decades later.