Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 22/07/2023: Mesa 23.1.4 and More Red Hat Rumours About Layoffs



  • GNU/Linux

    • HackadayAsk Hackaday: What’s Linux Anyway?
      Any time we mention Linux, it is a fair bet we will get a few comments from people unhappy that we didn’t refer to it as GNU/Linux or with some other appellation. To be fair, they aren’t wrong. Linux is a kernel. Much of what we think of as a Linux desktop OS is really from other sources, including, but not limited to, GNU. We thought about this after reading a report from [The Register] that Linux has nearly half of the desktop OS Linux market. Wait, what?

      If you are like us, you probably think that’s a typo. It isn’t. But the more you think about it, the less sense it makes. You know that half of the world’s desktops don’t run Linux. But maybe they mean Unix? Nope. So how can Linux have almost half of the Linux market? That’s like saying nearly half of Hackaday readers read Hackaday, right?

      Here’s the thing. The data came from statistics aggregator Statcounter. They report that desktop Linux use is about 3% of all desktop operating systems, which sounds about right. But an additional 4% are using ChromeOS, and ChromeOS is using Linux — in fact, based on Gentoo Linux and, before that, Ubuntu.

    • Server

    • Kernel Space

      • IT Pro TodayAn In-Depth Overview of the Linux File System Hierarchy

        The Linux File System Hierarchy Structure is governed by the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, a set of guidelines that determines the structure and contents of directories in Unix-type operating systems, including Linux. These standards are maintained by the Linux Foundation.

        The File System Hierarchy starts at the root directory of the file system, from which all other directories and their contents branch out. The file system logically organizes files and folders, with each directory serving a specific purpose. I will explain the significance of various directories below.

      • Open Source For ULinux Kernel 6.3 Reaches End of Life, Users Urged to Upgrade to Linux 6.4

        The Linux community faces a critical moment as Linux Kernel 6.3 reaches its end of life and a significant vulnerability is discovered. With the prompt action of the Linux kernel team, patches have been developed and backported, ensuring the security of affected systems. It is imperative that users heed the call to upgrade to Linux 6.4 to safeguard their systems from potential attacks.

        The announcement comes amidst the discovery of a critical vulnerability, dubbed StackRot (CVE-2023-3269), that affects Linux kernel versions 6.1 through 6.4. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability to escalate privileges on compromised systems.

    • Graphics Stack

      • Free Desktopmesa 23.1.4
        Hello everyone,
        
        

        The bugfix release 23.1.4 is now available.

        If you find any issues, please report them here: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/mesa/mesa/-/issues/new

        Sorry about the 2-and-a-bit weeks of delay, there were regressions and I didn't have enough time to investigate them. For the release dates, I'll consider the one 2 weeks ago as skipped, and the next bugfix release is due in just under two weeks, on August 2nd.

        Cheers, Eric
    • Benchmarks

    • Applications

      • Linux Links7 Best Free and Open Source Terminal-Based Weather Tools

        Most people think of weather in terms of temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, brightness, visibility, wind, and atmospheric pressure, as in high and low pressure. In most places, weather changes from minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour, day-to-day, and season-to-season.

        This article focuses on terminal-based weather tools for Linux. We only feature free and open source software here. Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • TecAdminBash LOCAL and GLOBAL Variables

        In programming languages, variables are named containers that store values. They are the backbone of any program, allowing us to create dynamic scripts. In Bash scripting, we have two main types of variables – Global and Local.

      • TecAdminAn Introduction to Bash Variables

        In our previous article, we discussed the differences between local and global Bash variables (you can read it here). Building upon that understanding, today, we will dive deeper into the world of Bash scripting, focusing on Bash variables.

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

        • Nate GrahamThis week in KDE: Plasma 6 features

          We’re hot on the heels of Akademy 2023, which proved to be a fertile space for collaboration. As a result, in addition to the background work being done to stabilize Plasma 6, a bunch of new features landed too!

          Plasma now plays a sound from the active sound theme (more on that in a bit) when a USB device is plugged in or unplugged. And this is configurable, of course!

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • Web Browsers/Web Servers

      • Mozilla

        • Web Pro NewsThunderbird Leaves Linux Users Waiting for Much-Hyped Version 115 [Ed: Mozilla loves "Open Source" so much that it is prioritising proprietary platforms with back doors and default browsers that are not Firefox]

          Interestingly, despite being available for Windows and macOS, the new version of Thunderbird is still MIA for most Linux users. To be clear, I’m not talking about Linux distro repositories not being updated. Rather, I’m talking about the official Flatpak version.

          [...]

          In many cases, an app’s developer does not package their software for each an every Linux distro. Instead, the distro maintainers will often package the various apps and make them available in the repos. As a result, depending on a distro’s philosophy — fast-rolling or slow and stable — new versions of software may appear almost immediately or months later. The latter is especially true for distros that emphasize stability and reliability, such as Debian and Ubuntu. Maintainers of those types of distros tend to only patch in security and bug fixes in between major releases of their distro rather than releasing major feature updates. This can help reduce issues with apps installing newer components that may break dependencies with other apps that still rely on older versions of those components.

          This is the issue that Flatpak is trying to solve. Rather than relying on, and tampering with, core system libraries, these formats bundle their own dependencies in a self-contained package. As a result, one of these apps can be installed on any distro that supports Flatpak, regardless of whether the distro is a fast-moving rolling release or a slower-moving stable one. Since all the dependencies are self-contained within the Flatpak, a user can run the latest, greatest version without fear of it conflicting with anything on their system.

        • The Servo Blog: Servo and the Web Platform Tests

          With over 52000 tests and nearly two million subtests, the Web Platform Tests are one of the most important parts of the web’s interoperability and compatibility story. Servo has long used the WPT to catch regressions and flakiness, but the suite has also played a role in our layout engine migration and guiding our way towards CSS2 conformance.

    • SaaS/Back End/Databases

      • PostgreSQLCredcheck version 2.1 released

        Release v2.1 adds a two new features and fix issues reported by users since last release.

      • PostgreSQLPgBouncer 1.20.0 released

        PgBouncer 1.20.0 has been released. This release deprecates the online restart feature using the -R flag, instead so_reuseport should be used for online restarts. It also introduces better support for tracking PostgreSQL settings using the new track_extra_parameters setting, which can be used to track search_path in combination with Citus 12.0+. It also adds some other features such as connecting using TLS by default, forwarding error codes in the authentication phase and support for the options startup parameter. And finally it also fixes a few minor bugs.

        See https://www.pgbouncer.org/2023/07/pgbouncer-1-20-0 for more information, the detailed changelog, and download links.

      • PostgreSQLMongoDB, MySQL, Hadoop (HDFS) Foreign Data Wrappers updated to support PostgreSQL 16

        EDB is pleased to announce new releases of MongoDB, MySQL, and Hadoop (HDFS) Foreign Data Wrappers to support the upcoming PostgreSQL 16 release. These Foreign Data Wrappers allow Postgres to connect to Hadoop, MongoDB, and MySQL servers enabling you to view, join, and manage remote data all from Postgres.

    • Programming/Development

  • Leftovers

    • Craig MurrayOnly Human

      I apologise for the break in articles. There is only one of me and I have been taking a little time to recharge my batteries and give my wonderful family some of the attention they deserve. I shall be back to the mill in another week.

    • Ruben SchadeWear patterns in coffee shops

      It may shock some of you to know that I spend altogether too much time and money in coffee shops. They’re my favourite places in the world to write, code, and think. The vast majority of the words you’ve read here over the years come from one of these lovely places.

      One of the older establishments I frequent in my local suburb has squishy bench seats along the walls, and faux wooden tables. The leather and laminate surfaces have started to degrade slightly, but on some surfaces more than others.

      If we assume this uneven wear is the result of differences in use, we can draw some interesting data from it.

      The most degraded chair and table combo by far is at the back. It’s next to one of the large windows, is relatively secluded, and only has one other table next to it instead of two or three. It happens to be my favourite spot, and based on this pattern, its everyone else’s as well.

  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal/Opinions

      • 🔤SpellBinding: GILTOSM Wordo: AURAL
      • Summer reading part 1

        The box fan rumbles. It exhausts hot air out the window over the driveway, draws cooler air from the shady backyard. Low tones of grandpa's voice from first daughter's room, a 35-year-old cassette tape reading her fairy stories and nursery rhymes he once read me: Snow White and Rose Red, Jack and the Beanstalk. The timbre of his voice slowly changes. Tape degrades at naptime and bedtime. One day the stories will be unintelligible.

        Yesterday we biked to the library for toddler time and books, Bugz' house for a book, creek on the way home. Daughter slipped on slick wet slate, fell--- splash!, laughed, slipped carefully to low water- fall wet and muddy. To minnows holding formation in a dapple of sun she said "Hi fishes I love you!" I started Adolph Reed's new book The South.

        Books for summer reading in this diary entry are in three categories: true adventures, 1930s anarchist/ communist fiction, challenges to liberal dogma from the Left.

      • Alex Schroeder’s Diary — Episode 49

        Elves are immortal, metrosexual, aloof know-it-alls. They know every better, they can do everything better, and they're not afraid to tell you.

    • Politics and World Events

      • The discussion that won't die

        First off, I'm going to apologize to Geminispace at large for accidentally setting off this entire firestorm in the first place. I for one much preferred when we were talking mostly about geek culture and gemini itself.

        That said, since my original post about my own feelings regarding the Supreme court there seems to be a neverending discussion on politics, and I'm going to weigh in again with a couple of things that I think need said.


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



Recent Techrights' Posts

Lies Need to be Corrected
the Court never invited us
Slopwatch: Guardian Digital (linuxsecurity.com), Slashdot, Google News, and More
Maybe one day, once the bubble pops completely, Google News will just outright delist all slopfarms
Lufthansa Modern Slavery, Joerg Jaspert (ganneff) & Debian NSB Softwareentwicklung charade
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 16/10/2025: US Starting More Trade Wars With China, CIA War on Venezuela
Links for the day
SUSE Blog is Still LLM Slop, Marketing Manager at SUSE Cannot Write
Would you buy from a company or seek support from a company that cannot even write (or fakes writing)?
Pretend You're Not Dead: Microsoft Spent Almost Two Decades Rebranding Things as "Cloud, Then "AI", Now "XBox" and "Quantum"
"AI" bubble pops, Microsoft harping about "quantum" already
IBM Allegedly Found New Tricks for Silent Layoffs: LPI, Then MIS (Not PIP)
Remember that "Red Hat layoffs" won't be reported after the bluewashing
Links 16/10/2025: Red Lines and Feeding of Microsoft Trolls
Links for the day
MIT as a Propaganda Mill of GAFAM, Paid by GAFAM
"the news" today
Links 16/10/2025: Lies Euphemised as ‘Dueling Versions of Reality’ and Microsoft "Open" "Hey Hi" Resorts to Porn as No Business Model Was Found
Links for the day
The Local Staff Committee Munich (Representation of the EPO's Staff) Explains When Cluster of Pregnancies May Result in Reduced Pay
"...even one week of part-time working is sufficient to reduce the salary you perceive during the entirety of your maternity leave."
Another Black Eye for 'Secure Boot', Microsoft Media Tries to Blame "Linux"
It enables Microsoft to remotely control computers, even computers that don't run Windows and never had any Microsoft software installed
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT, linuxsecurity.com, and Various Slopfarms in Google News Attacking "Linux"
A new survey of the Web said that the majority of the Web is now slop (that's being said in the news this week)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 15, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Links 16/10/2025: Increased Use of Social Control Media Surveillance in US, French Rage Over Pensions
Links for the day
Links 15/10/2025: Qantas Airways Loses Control of Sensitive Data and Software Patents Are Being Thrown Out
Links for the day
Vista 10 is 'Dead', Here's Why People Should Move to GNU/Linux (or the BSDs)
Today we try to make an outline of reasons move away from Windows to GNU/Linux
Our Sites Continue to Improve
LLM slop has had no noticeable impact on us
Gemini Links 15/10/2025: Neovim, Helix Compared and Gemlog.blue Now Closed
Links for the day
Links 15/10/2025: Mass Layoffs at Amazon, OneDrive Spyware Revved Up, More 'Gen Z Protests'
Links for the day
The EPO's Staff Engagement Survey 2025 is Already Tainted by Intimidation by EPO Management (Trying to Influence Outcomes by Scaring Genuine, Honest Critics)
"[W]e have received reports that, following the previous survey, teams with negative responses were reproached or questioned about their answers..."
The DDoS Attacks by Microsoft's Scam Altman and Other Slop Charlatans and Frauds is Hurting the FSF, Delinking It From Copyleft Projects
This impacts a lot more than access to the licences
Microsoft Scanning Faces in Photos People Upload to Microsoft (Even Unconsciously), Slashdot Turns Report About It Into "Microsoft Sez" (Says)
Or "let's repeat the lies from a PR person/Microsoft's publicist"
[Teaser] Angel Aledo Lopez the Manipulator (Nepotism, Poll Rigging, and Other EPO Corruption)
We'll discuss this later today or tomorrow, based on internal EPO material
Attacks on Techrights Are Only Making Techrights Bigger and Even More Popular
A week ago they offered to settle with us
Epic Metaphor for End of IBM: "The IBM Demolition is Down to the Last Shards!"
Nothing lasts forever
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, October 14, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Proprietary and DRM Prisons Spiralling Down the Sinkhole? Not Just Yet.
Let's hope that more people will flee to GNU/Linux
The European Patent Office (EPO), the Second-Largest Institution in Europe, is Cracking Down on Recreational Activities
Without AMICALE activities, and as staff already says it's pressured to work more for less, how can the EPO recruit bright people?
Transparency: FSFE financial reports exclude speaker fees and expenses
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Many Developers Have Many Political Views, They'll Never Agree on Everything
It's an effort to divide and destroy, not build
Gemini Links 14/10/2025: An Opportunity to Consider GNU/Linux and Another Simple IRC Client
Links for the day
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT, LinuxSecurity, Google News, and the Serial Slopper Brian Fagioli
Nothing of merit here, just more slop
Links 14/10/2025: Lack of Trust in Slop and "Retirement Challenges"
Links for the day
EPO Staff Can Go Listen to Richard Stallman Next Week in Munich (Technical University of Munich, Rudolf-Diesel Hörsaal (MW2001) on Campus Garching at 18:00)
"The talk is open to the public and attendance is free. Registration is not required."
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
Dystopian Trends in Technology Make Richard Stallman More Relevant Than Ever
It's good to see him attracting vast audiences
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
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