Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 27/06/2023: Graphics Work and Face-Saving Red Bait (IBM) Spin



  • GNU/Linux

    • Kernel Space

      • It's FOSSLinux Kernel 6.4 Released: Embracing Apple M2, New Hardware, and More Rust Code

        Another Linux Kernel release is here! This comes just months after the release of Linux Kernel 6.3, right on schedule.

        This release offers many improvements, such as initial Apple M2 silicon support, storage enhancements, better sensor monitoring, and more.

        Even though this is not a major upgrade for regular users, it caters to a specific group of users who want to take advantage of the better hardware/software support on offer.

    • Graphics Stack

      • 9to5LinuxOpen-Source NVIDIA Vulkan Driver NVK Now Supports Older GPUs, New Extensions

        Development on NVK kicked off almost nine months ago and it looks like the open-source NVIDIA Vulkan driver is getting more mature and in a pretty decent state for Linux gaming.

        Since then, NVK gained support for older, pre-Turing NVIDIA graphics cards from the Maxwell and Kepler series, support for geometry, tessellation, and transform feedback to support modern video games, as well as better support for the DXVK Vulkan-based implementation of D3D9, D3D10, and D3D11 for Linux / Wine.

      • Tomeu Vizoso: Etnaviv NPU update 3: Deeper into the convolution units

        What two weeks!

        Programming of the convolution units
        Taking from where I left at the last update, I made progress in understanding the format of the buffer that contains the weights and biases.
        The bit of knowledge that made a difference was realising that the format is optimized so that each NN core can efficiently access the portion of it that it needs, without having to do any parsing or decoding. Knowing that also helped in guessing what some fields in the parameter structure are for.

        With that, I€  was able to correctly run a convolution on a small matrix with arbitrary weights and biases.

        The biggest roadblock in this area currently is understanding how I need to program the output unit in the NN so the output data is in the desired scale. There are a series of fields that influence how the output values are processed before being placed in the output buffer, and I don't really know how they work yet. They are called post_shift and post_mult and the first correlates moderately (r=0.78) to the quantization scale of the output. I know that the post_shift field does what it says, to the right, but to understand what value I need in each situation I feel I need to understand better how the hardware works and what could be the initial values at the end of the convolution and before the output unit. I will be reading a bunch of research papers about NN-accelerating silicon in the summer.

        That said, replacing the OpenCL kernels in TensorFlow Lite's GPU delegate that do convolutions with the fixed units turned out to be a worse idea than I initially thought. This is because that delegate is completely oriented towards float-first hardware such as GPUs and this accelerator is integer only.

        A consequence of this is that TFLite inserts a dequantize operation at the start of the graph and a quantize at the end, to match the desired intput and output formats of a fully quantized model while feeding floats to the GPU. We need integers, so would be having to quantize after TFLite's dequantization and vice versa. Also, the other operations in the graph expect floats as well... This is certainly the wrong path to take for performance in a bandwidth-constrained device as all embedded boards are, so I had to go back to the drawing board.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • Installing Google Chrome on Ubuntu: A Comprehensive Guide

        Ubuntu is a popular operating system used by millions of users across the world. While it comes with a pre-installed web browser, many users prefer using Google Chrome for its speed, security, and functionality. In this article, we will discuss how to Install Google Chrome on Ubuntu.

      • BeebomHow to Find Large Files in Linux | Beebom

        One of the most common problems we all face with our systems is identifying large files that take up precious disk space. Whether you are a seasoned Linux user or a beginner, efficiently managing disk space is a necessary skill everyone should know. In this article, we will discuss different methods to find large files in your Linux system to help you recover valuable disk space.

      • How to Add Borders in LibreOffice and OpenOffice Writer

        Borders in a document can improve your document's readability and overall aesthetics. It applies to both online and physical printed documents. LibreOffice and OpenOffice Writer provide simple tools for adding borders to various elements within your documents.

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

    • SUSE/OpenSUSE

      • ForbesPatch Work, SUSE Stitches Tighter Digital Infrastructure Threads

        Technology has layers. A lot like the ogre’s onion analogy in Shrek, technology comes in layers because we have an upper front-end user interface layer, a middleware connectivity layer and a lower substrate back-end, all of which must function in beautiful harmony if we are to enjoy apps the way we want them. We can classify technology stacks into tiers that extend beyond those three basic forms, but you get the point i.e. the modern digital stack is a fabric of interlaced services, functions, computing resources and threads.

        It’s not hard to extend the fabric analogy further, when we need to fix tears, breaks, misconfigurations and frailties in our IT systems today, we talk about ‘patching’ with application code designed to remediate, update and obviate the risk of an IT service becoming further degraded, less function or (at worst) compromized from a security perspective.

    • Fedora Family / IBM

      • Red Hat OfficialRed Hat’s commitment to open source: A response to the git.centos.org changes

        I spent a lot of time walking this weekend thinking about the reaction from our industry to my last blog post. We’ve been called evil; I was called an IBM exec who was installed to turn Red Hat closed source — and that’s only the “nice” stuff. So let’s clear things up.

      • SlashdotRed Hat Enterprise Linux Sources Will Now Be Available To Paying Customers Only - Slashdot

        "CentOS Stream will now be the sole repository for public RHEL-related source code releases..." Red Hat posted this week on its blog, arguing that "The engagement around CentOS Stream, the engineering levels of investment, and the new priorities we're addressing for customers and partners now make maintaining separate, redundant, repositories inefficient."

        Long-time Slashdot reader slack_justyb notes this means patches and changes will now hit CentOS Stream before actually hitting RHEL, which "will make it difficult for other distributions such as Alma Linux, Rocky Linux, and Oracle Linux to provide assured binary compatibility as their only source now will be ahead of what RHEL is actually using."

      • Web Pro NewsAlmaLinux Responds to Red Hat Going Closed-Source

        AlmaLinux has weighed in on Red Hat’s controversial decision to restrict access to its source code, saying the community distro will need to come up with “a new solution.”

        Red Hat riled the Linux community with news that it would restrict access to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) source code to paying customers. The news immediately cast doubt on Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux, two community enterprise distros that offer 1:1 compatibility with RHEL.

        Rocky Linux quickly posted a message reassuring users that everything would continue on and that customers would not be impacted by Red Hat’s change. AlmaLinux has similarly weighed in, although the organization is taking a measured approach. Writing for the AlmaLinux OS Foundation, Board Chair benny Vasquez highlighted what many others have noted, namely that the RHEL license appears to prohibit “re-publishing sources acquired through the customer portal,” likely eliminating the possibility of simply acquiring an RHEL license and using it to maintain AlmaLinux.

      • LinuxiacRed Hat Boosts Free Developers Subscription to 240 Systems

        Red Hat has quietly expanded the number of entitlements in the Developer Subscription for Individuals program from 16 to 240.

        Red Hat Enterprise Linux Individual Developer Subscription is an initiative launched by Red Hat in February 2021, two months after the company discontinued the existence of CentOS. The goal is clear – to give CentOS users a free alternative to migrate their systems to RHEL.

        After signing up in the Red Hat Customer Portal, the program allows you to freely download, install, and register Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Then you can freely use it and receive updates for it.

      • LWNMcGrath: Red Hat’s commitment to open source

        Red Hat's Mike McGrath responds to the many criticisms aimed at the company since it changed its policy regarding RHEL source code.

    • Open Hardware/Modding

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • 9to5LinuxLibreboot Open-Source BIOS/UEFI Replacement Gets Support for New Hardware

      After almost a year of hard work, Libreboot 20230625 is out now as a hefty update that introduces support for new mainboards for both laptops and desktops, including HP EliteBook 2570p, HP 8300 USDT, and Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L, which was removed from previous Libreboot versions.

      While the devs are still working on improving hardware support, Libreboot currently works well on Acer G43T-AM3, Apple iMac 5,2, Intel D510MO and D410PT desktop motherboards, as well as on Apple MacBook1,1 and MacBook2,1, Dell Latitude E6400, HP EliteBook 2560p, and HP EliteBook Folio 9470m.

    • Programming/Development

      • IT JungleMaking Git Part of Your Modernization Strategy

        Maybe the most important part of your IBM i modernization strategy should be modernizing the tools you are using to develop and maintain your applications. Most of the application development world has moved to tools centered around using Git for version control. There is no reason IBM i developers cannot do the same thing. IBM is solidly behind this strategy with their new Merlin product and most of the change management vendors have some kind of Git integration.

      • Shell/Bash/Zsh/Ksh

        • TecAdminCreating Progress Bar in Bash

          As a system administrator, developer, or tech enthusiast, you will often find yourself interacting with Bash or another Unix shell.

        • TecAdminUsing Pipe (|) Operator in Bash

          Bash scripting is an integral part of managing and working on Unix-like systems, and the pipe operator (|) is an incredibly powerful tool in the Bash scripting toolkit. Despite its simple appearance, it's a cornerstone of efficient command line operations, streamlining processes and enabling complex data manipulation.

  • Leftovers

    • Off GuardianInternational Center for 9/11 Justice releases trailer for ‘Peace, War and 9/11’

      We at the International Center for 9/11 Justice are thrilled to announce the release of the official trailer for€ Peace, War and 9/11.

    • Major HaydenEngineering through layoffs

      Layoffs create traumatic times for many. Find ways to break through the frustration and pain. For those that stay, your ability to influence the business can grow. 🪴

      [...]

      In my experience, some of the decisions are made based on data that you can’t see at a publicly traded company. Sometimes a company sheds employees simply because everyone in their market sector is doing it and they’re looking for a temporary bump in the stock price. And then there are those situations where a company chooses to end a product line or project.

      These decisions are often made at a high level within the company and done in such a way to avoid any type of employment-related lawsuits. That brings me to my next topic.

    • AxiosTitanic sub tragedy stokes fears for space tourism

      The catastrophic implosion of a submersible near the wreckage of the Titanic is a sobering moment for another extreme and risky tourism industry: private human spaceflight.

      Why it matters: It's not a matter of if, but when a deadly accident will rock the commercial human spaceflight industry, experts say.

    • HackadayFlying Submarine Documentary Is A Story Of Defied Assumptions

      Donald Reid had a passion for applying himself to challenging problems, and in many ways his life’s work was that of developing a prototype submersible aircraft — or flying submarine — for which his son Bruce was a test pilot. [Jesse Moody] brought to our attention a fantastic documentary he created (with a short teaser trailer here) in which he interviews Bruce, and in the process teaches us all about a story that spanned decades and formed an important part of aviation history. Bruce experienced his share of hair-raising moments while testing the craft, but still has all of his fingers and limbs. Still, in his own words, “you wouldn’t be doing that kind of testing today!”


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



Recent Techrights' Posts

Dystopian Trends in Technology Make Richard Stallman More Relevant Than Ever
It's good to see him attracting vast audiences
Richard Stallman (RMS) Announced His Talk Less Than 24 Hours Before It Took Place and Still Filled Up the Auditorium at Sapienza Università di Roma
Photos from yesterday evening [...] It looks like it was a very successful event
 
Rhonda D'Vine, Gerfried Fuchs, Pronouns & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
At IBM, Relocation Means Layoffs (Downsizing)
Silent or 'invisible' layoffs?
Central Staff Committee of the European Patent Office (EPO) Warns That EPO Management is Robbing or Manipulating Pension Funds Again
Faking "growth" is just about as bad as forgery
Probably a Lot Worse Than LLM Slop: GNOME Tying Itself to Divisive Politics, Even Where It's Clearly Not Relevant
Something has gone terribly wrong in GNOME
Links 14/10/2025: Microsoft OneDrive Scanning Faces in Photos (Without Asking First), "OpenAI Says It Will Move to Allow Smut"
Links for the day
They Generally Don't Like Scholars, as They're Less Compelled or Pressured to Repeat What Corporations and Oligarchs Say
People who loathe scholars have an agenda in mind that, unlike that of reasonable people, revolves around controlling people
Belated New Article About Last Thursday's Lecture by Richard Stallman in Helsinki, Finland
there are good reasons to pay with cash, not limited to privacy
Attacking Richard Stallman Has Become 'Career Suicide'
If you're going to viciously attack somebody, make sure your arguments are rock-solid
Microsoft's Failing XBox Business Has Turned Games Into Funerals
How does it feel to depend on Microsoft?
Yesterday's "Distinguished Lecture" by Richard Stallman Possibly Attended by Close to 1,000 People
The capacity of the place is about 900
Slop Poisons Everything
Imagine wanting to find what Torvalds has just said or what has just been released
Taking Software Freedom 'Mainstream'
interest in Software Freedom must have grown
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, October 13, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, October 13, 2025
Gemini Links 14/10/2025: Ada Lovelace Day, Sony CLIE PEG-TG50 Review, Why to Avoid Network Solutions
Links for the day
The EPO's War on Techrights Was a Massive Mistake
The EPO started the SLAPPs after we had published a few hundreds of articles; we've since then published close to 6,000 because the attacks on us emboldened insiders to help us
General-Purpose Computers to Become Growing Area of Coverage
Without them, we have little left for controlling our lives
"They missed a great opportunity to shut up." -Jacques Chirac
Brett Wilson LLP has been trying to cheat the legal system many times
Harassment evidence: Switzerland, overcrowded fitness and yoga centers, incompetence and racism in accident response
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Vincent Danjean & Debian NXIVM collateral, blackmail risks
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
In Sweden This Past Friday Richard Stallman Explained Why Copyleft is Important
And he didn't have to 'bash' BSDs, either
IBM Layoffs Due to a Lack of Money and Company Debt Rising by Almost 10 Billion Dollars in 6 Months
IBM didn't buy Red Hat for any ideological reasons; it was a fast "cash grab" for revenue
Forbes Already Stopped Being a News Sites. Now It's a Spam and Propaganda Platform for "Paying Partners" (Companies).
news from Forbes became very scarce
Is the Second-Largest Institution in Europe (EPO) Gradually Becoming More Like a Sweatshop?
Underpaid, unqualified, inexperienced and incompatible people are already recruited to replace veteran examiners
The Register MS Has No FOSS Coverage Anymore
The Editor in Chief is like a Microsoft plant
Links 13/10/2025: "Toasty Subwoofer" and WiFi Speakers "Are About To Go Dumb"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/10/2025: iNaturalist and Tove Jansson’s Moominpappa at Sea
Links for the day
Microsoft Does Not Deny That Large Retailers Like Walmart, Costco and Target Are Giving Up on XBox (and Not Stocking It)
No doubt XBox is in trouble and rumours suggest that more mass layoffs are imminent
We'll Encourage Richard Stallman to Talk About Software Patents at the EPO Next Week When He Visits Munich (EPO Headquarters)
Go listen to Richard Stahlmann
Investigative Journalism Protects Society From Corruption, Crimes Against Women, Assaults on Civil Society
"what is the point of men doing military practice to defend a system that is so rotten?"
Swiss pimp usurping reputation of legendary Tissot boss Francois Thiébaud from France (BaselWorld, SWATCH Group SA)
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Paris 'Love Nest' & Debian Outreachy: from Lycée Lakanal to ENS Cachan, Cr@ns, nepotism
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Richard Stallman to Give Public Talk in 3 Hours, Then in the Technical University of Munich (Germany) Next Week
Richard Stallman at TUM on 21.10.2025 18:00, MW2001
Arnaud Parreaux lost case defending rogue employer
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Mathieu Elias Parreaux declared bankrupt in Switzerland
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Breakdown of the Rule of Law and Patent Law in the European Union (EU)
The EPO cannot recruit suitably qualified patent examiners this way, let alone retain them
Gemini Links 13/10/2025: Good Films, Wizard of Earthsea, Upgrading the Steam Controller's Stick
Links for the day
Leaks and Whistleblowers: Our Plan for Today
Society simply cannot advance when too many people self-censor
It's Not Justice When One Side Denies the Other Side the Ability to Even Speak
At this stage, Brett Wilson LLP is in my humble opinion acting in contempt of the Court
Links 13/10/2025: Australian Catholic University Uses Slop to Libel Students, Canada Threatens to Kill Beluga Whales
Links for the day
How Not to Silence Tux Machines (It'll Only Backfire, Badly)
defending Microsoft while attacking this site
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT and Google News
It seems abundantly clear that Google News and Google in general participates in the slop epidemic
Vincent Danjean (not INTERPOL), Claire Bardel & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Christmas lynchings: Martin Krafft (madduck), Penny Leach (mjollnir) & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 13/10/2025: Birthdays and "Committee Unable to Contact Nobel Prize Winner"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, October 12, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, October 12, 2025
The Same People Who Attacked Richard Stallman (RMS) Are Attacking Daniel Pocock to Discourage People From Listening to His Information
Pocock is being demonised for the same reasons and by the same people who attack RMS
Your Typical Anti-Richard Stallman (RMS) Cancellist
"About the RMS cancellation"
Richard Stallman (RMS) Has Announced His Talk in Rome Less Than 20 Hours in Advance (and on a Sunday)
Why did he wait until the night before?
We Are Safe in a Modern "Tech" Society, Right?
People are safer if they control their own computing
GNU Tools Cauldron Event in Portugal: Videos Now Available via Invidious
Go have a look
The Way Things Are Going, They May Soon Stop Saying "Web Address" and Instead Say "Chrome Address"
The Web isn't built or based around open Web standards anymore. It's centered around user-agent.
Microsoft as a Golden Cage
"I was laid off by Microsoft and can't find a job. I'm weeks away from giving up my apartment and moving across the country to live with family."
Weekend Discussion About How IBM's Bluewashing of Red Hat Will Cause "Enshittification" for Users
"I worked at a software company that was acquired by IBM so I knew it was game over for RedHat the day they were acquired"
Brett Wilson LLP Getting Sued by Its Very Own Clients, a Legal Story That Has Made the Mainstream News (Law360)
Law360 or Law.com are about as mainstream as one can get in that "sector" (litigation 'industry')
Slopwatch: GNU/Linux Sites That Became Slopfarms and Spamfarms
The Web is a mess and "Linux" or "Ubuntu" sites became part of the problem
Richard Stallman's Talk 25 Hours Away, Aula Magna Palazzo del Rettorato (CU001), Sapienza Università di Roma (Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5)
The talk is 25 hours away and we see some QR code for it
Gemini Links 12/10/2025: Watches, the Depression of 2026, Gamboling with Odds
Links for the day
Links 12/10/2025: 'False' DMCA Claims and Slop Facing Perils Again (the Hype Wears Off)
Links for the day
Microsoft Has Just Lost Privacy Case in Austria and Its Latest Moves Make a Complete Ban Seem Imperative
Microsoft is not a software company, it's a spying agency that uses software to collect data
The Register MS: Microsoft is the Security Expert, Not the Prime Culprit, So Buy More Microsoft
This front page feature is devoid of any actual substance, it's just Microsoft copypasta
Stefano Zacchiroli (Zack) & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Lucas Nussbaum & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 12/10/2025: "Palm Computering", Further Exploration of Slide Rules, and Key Takeaways from The Well-Grounded Rubyist
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 11, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, October 11, 2025
Tomorrow: Founder of the Free Software Foundation and of GNU/Linux, Richard Stallman, Speaks in Roma (Rome), Italy at 4PM
GNU/Linux is more important than ever in this dystopian world
Microsoft and Apple Are Rare Topics in Geminispace
in Geminispace it's rather safe to assume everyone is into BSD, GNU/Linux, and sometimes retro