Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 20/08/2023: Budgie 10.8 Desktop and Linux 6.5 RC7



  • GNU/Linux

    • Audiocasts/Shows

      • Going LinuxGoing Linux #444 €· Welcome to Linux! - Desktops

        We review some of the most popular Linux desktop environment options. Included are KDE Plasma, Gnome, Cinnamon, MATE, XFCE, LXDE, Budgie, Pantheon and Deepin.

        Episode Time Stamps
        00:00 Going Linux #444 €· Welcome to Linux! - Desktops
        01:18 Bill broke KDE on his computer
        02:08 Larry fixed a 13 year old laptop with LXLE
        09:29 Definition: Linux desktop environments

    • Kernel Space

      • Linux mailing listsLinux 6.5-rc7
        So it's Sunday afternoon, just not in the usual timezone where I do
        these releases, since I've been traveling.
        
        

        But apart from the timezone difference, everything looks entirely normal. Drivers (GPU, networking and sound dominate - the usual suspects, in other words) and architecture fixes. The latter are mostly arm devicetree fixlets, but also some x86 cleanups and fallout from the embargo last week.

        Not a huge amount of patches, and I really get the feeling that a lot of maintainers are on vacation. But I will be optimistic and also blame it all being quiet on things working fairly well.

        So I think this will be the last rc unless something nasty comes up. Do keep testing,

        Linus
    • Graphics Stack

      • Mike Blumenkrantz: Yep

        Finally a default value for gl_PointSize.

        Long-term fans of the blog will recall that I’ve previously raged against the insane concept that pointsize must be written many times prior. In fact, it remains the second most blogged about topic in SGC history right behind

        Big Triangledescriptor management, the topic that modern graphics-related blogs must cover above all others.

        Finally with maintenance5 we can be freed from these unjust shackles that have bound us for so long. No more* shall complex logic be unnecessarily injected into the compiler stack to add senseless writes to this output.
        * except all that code still has to exist and run to handle drivers that don’t support maintenance5

        Beyond the obvious benefit of having a fixed default pointsize (sanity), let’s check out some other benefits.

        Shader Reduction

        Previously all zink-emitted shaders would have a pointsize write, even those that were never used for drawing points. This resulted in unnecessary shader i/o at the hardware level. Nobody wants unnecessary shader i/o at the hardware level.

        Now, however, it’s possible to use heuristics during linking to delete all unnecessary pointsize writes any time there is no XFB emission.

        How much performance improvement will this yield?

    • Applications

      • Linux Links8 Best Free and Open Source Search Engines for Big Data

        Big Data is an all-inclusive term that refers to data sets so large and complex that they need to be processed by specially designed hardware and software tools.

      • Linux Links7 Best Free and Open Source Linux Speed Reading Tools

        The software featured in this group test is based on spritzing. Read text without moving your eyes, and therefore rapidly increase your reading speed.

      • Sparky GNU/LinuxPenguins’ eggs

        There is a new application available for Sparkers: Penguins’ eggs What is Penguins’ eggs? penguins-eggs is a console tool, under continuous development, that allows you to remaster your system and redistribute it as live images on usb sticks or via PXE. It supports: Debian, Devuan, Ubuntu and major derivatives: Linuxmint, KDE neon, etc.

      • Make Use Of10 Ways to Secure Your Samba Server on Linux

        SMB (Server Message Block) protocol is a cornerstone of file and printer sharing in connected environments. However, the default configuration of Samba can pose significant security risks, leaving your network vulnerable to unauthorized access and cyberattacks.

        If you're hosting a Samba server, you need to be extra cautious with the configurations you have set in place. Here are 10 critical steps to ensure your SMB server remains secure and protected.

        Linux is great for hosting servers. However, whenever you're dealing with servers, you have to tread carefully and be extra aware as Linux servers are always a lucrative target for threat actors.

        It is paramount that you put sincere effort into fortifying your network and hardening your Linux servers. Besides properly configuring Samba, there are a few other measures you should take to ensure your Linux server is safe from the crosshair of adversaries.

    • Instructionals/Technical

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • 9to5LinuxBudgie 10.8 Desktop Released with New Trash Applet, Budgie Menu Improvements

        Budgie 10.8 comes with a new applet called Budgie Trash Applet that was previously available as a third-party applet, but not it comes pre-installed by default with the new Budgie release. Apart from the usual functionality of such an applet, the Budgie Trash Applet also features support for restoring trashed files.

        Another interesting change in Budgie 10.8 is support for the StatusNotifier specification in the System Tray Applet, which enables applications to show their icons and menus in the system tray area in a modern way that is expected from a desktop environment in 2023.

      • Beta News Budgie 10.8 takes Linux desktop experience to new heights
        Exciting news, y’all! Budgie 10.8 has landed, and the Linux desktop environment is packed with features that promise to transform how we interact with our desktops.

        First off, the Budgie Menu has received quite the makeover. If you've ever scratched your head wondering why certain apps are in the 'Other' category, you're not alone. The team listened to feedback, and now, applications have found more fitting categories. Plus, there’s a nifty fix for non-Latin text crashes, thanks to a switch to C for the Application Indexer's fuzzy scoring function. And, let's say goodbye to the Utilities category; its apps have found a new home in System Tools.

      • LinuxiacBudgie Desktop 10.8 Released, Here’s What’s New
        Budgie Desktop is a modern, user-friendly desktop environment for Linux operating systems built on GNOME technologies. It is designed to provide a clean, elegant user interface while lightweight and efficient.

        Initially developed by the Solus Project, the desktop has gained popularity and has been widely adopted by other Linux distributions. Currently, it is developed by the Buddies of Budgie organization.

        Nearly seven months after version 10.7 was released at the beginning of the year, Budgie 10.8 is here, so let’s see what’s changed.

      • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

        • Are we transparent enough?
          For me this was surprising, so I would like to raise a few questions here that might as well be answered with: "sure, we are", and I just did not see it because I am a bit out of touch with KDE development news (and modern ways of communication in general). Personal and biased opinion follows. But here are the questions first:

          Are we handling such a prominently user-facing (as in in your face) changes transparently enough?

          How do we decide for such (as in groundbreaking) new defaults?

          Have the users (as in many of them) been asked?

          So, now for the personal opinion...

      • GNOME Desktop/GTK

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

    • Top 10 Best Linux Server Distros for Powerful Performance

      Linux servers are renowned for their robustness, enhanced security features, and ability to handle heavy traffic, making them an optimal choice for businesses and organizations. These servers offer dynamic versatility and scalability, allowing diverse customization options and the ability to adapt to varying load conditions.

    • BSD

    • SUSE/OpenSUSE

      • DaemonFC (Ryan Farmer)I Managed to Make Fallout 4 Work in openSUSE Leap.

        So, openSUSE Leap 15.5 being an enterprise-like system with slow moving releases, it’s been something of a chore to set up for a laptop, especially one where I occasionally want to play Windows games.

        Even after installing the vulkan packages and Wine Stable 8.0, and the media codecs from the “Packman” repository with “opi”, when I launched Fallout 4 Game of the Year Edition this time, I ended up with no voices and no soundtracks.

        When I ran it with wine Fallout4.exe, it complained that it could not find a Windows Media Audio codec for gstreamer.

    • Devices/Embedded

      • CNX SoftwareSetting up a private LoRaWAN network with WisGate Connect gateway

        In this guide, we’ll explain how to set up a private LoRaWAN network using the Raspberry Pi CM4-based RAKwireless’ WisGate Connect gateway and Docker or Portainer to install NodeRED, InfluxDB, Grafana, and other packages required to configure our gateway. The WisGate Connect is quite a versatile gateway with Gigabit and 2.5Gbps Ethernet plus several optional wireless connectivity options such as LoRaWAN, 4G LTE, 5G, WiFi 6, Zigbee, WiFi HaLoW, and more that can be added through Mini PCIe or M.2 sockets, expansion through WisBlock IO connectors and a 40-pin Raspberry Pi HAT connector. We’ll start by looking at the gateway features in detail, but if you already know all that, you can jump to the private LoRaWAN network configuration section.

    • Open Hardware/Modding

  • Leftovers

    • Ruben SchadeSpelling misatkes (cough)

      I’m trying to train myself to stop misspelling these words:

      • acknowlege → acknowledge
      • discernable → discernible
      • existance → existence
      • eshew → eschew
      • maintanance → maintenance
      • vaccum → vacuum
      • vechile → vehicle

      My success rate thus far is hovering around… 50%? I’m at the point now where I remember both spellings, but forget which one I’m supposed to be using.

    • UNIX CopWhat is Web Security and Why It Is Important for Your Website? [Ed: Linkspam disguised as article? This is very poorly done SEO stuny.]

      Businesses of all kinds are finding it increasingly challenging to protect their customers’ financial and private details as technology advances.

    • Zach Oglesby: Change

      As the old saying goes, “The only constant in life is change.” My life has been ruled by it, moving around as a kid, life in the military, and the same old stuff we all deal with as we age and grow.

      For the last 15 years, my wife has been the only constant in my life. We met in Delaware while I was stationed there. We fell in love, got married, and I scooped her away from the only home she had ever known to go live in Spain with me.



Recent Techrights' Posts

Just Because People on Top of the Microsoft Pyramid Made a Lot of Money Doesn't Mean Microsoft is Wealthy
The bigger they are the harder they fall
'Official' Debian Sites That Sell Proprietary and Surveillance
"Azure API throttling strikes back"
 
Links 05/02/2025: Kessler Syndrome and News Online
Links for the day
statCounter: Monaco Now 7% GNU/Linux ("Proper")
GNU/Linux, not counting Chromebooks, is on the rise
Many Parts of Google Lose Money
It's quite apparent that many parts of Google - even some that rely on ad revenue or push ads - aren't profiting
European Internet Forum (EIF) is Dominated by American Corporations and Microsoft Lobbyists, Staff Take the Lead
Should the officials over here or the European Parliament pay attention to these people?
IBM Red Hat on "era of cloud computing", pushing "hey hi" (AI) hype in Microsoft Azure
LLM slop might actually be more benign than Microsoft promotion
Links 05/02/2025: Connection without Connectivity and Unionised Grocery Workers
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/02/2025: Learning, Madman Ruling a Mad Country, Back in Geminispace
Links for the day
statCounter Shows "WIntel" Chasing a Dying Market
Microsoft acts as if it's running out of money
Free Software Foundation, Inc. (FSF) Still Raising Money, Richard Stallman Contributes
total exceeding $430k
A Lot of Stuff About "Linux" in Google News is LLM Slop, Fake 'Articles'
It seems to be getting worse
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, February 04, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, February 04, 2025
statCounter: Only 1 in ~40 Web Users in Ireland Uses Microsoft Browser, One in Six Uses Windows
When/if Windows market share goes down, so will Edge
Links 04/02/2025: Social Control Media Bans and US Fighting Its Allies, Not Russia
Links for the day
Links 04/02/2025: Birth of a Calf, FOSDEM, and More
Links for the day
Anti-Linux FUD Sites cybersecuritynews.com and gbhackers.com Turn Out to be LLM Slop, Even Plagiarism That Spreads Lies
Beware false headlines and fake text from cybersecuritynews.com and gbhackers.com
BetaNews Began Removing LLM Slop About "Linux", But More of It Keeps Coming From Guardian Digital, Inc (at linuxsecurity.com)
the other Serial Slopper, Guardian Digital, Inc
Mollamby, Suicide Cluster, not trademark, the real reasons for Debian legal expenses, evidence
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 04/02/2025: Mass Layoffs at Salesforce, Economic Pressures, Trade Wars
Links for the day
The Latest Microsoft Layoffs Are a Wake-up Call: The Company is Running Low on Money
in most areas it is not even profitable
[Video] Richard Stallman Auctioning a GNU (Gnu) at Surathkal, India
clip is only a minute-long
Software Freedom Month at NITK Surathkal and Yesterday's Talk by Richard Stallman
the message being spread by the person who started it all
Richard Stallman Has Another Talk in India Tomorrow, at Least Fourth India Talk in Recent Days
In the past month he has given at least half a dozen talks
statCounter: GNU/Linux and ChromeOS Now Measured at 2.78% in Japan (It Used to be Less Than 0.5%)
really 'took off' half a decade ago
GNU/Linux Reaches All-Time High in the United States, Based on statCounter
Windows is the loser; GNU/Linux grows at its expense
LLM Hype (Chatbots Hyped and Wrongly Characterised as "Artificial Intelligence") Cause Net Inflation
Net as in Internet, not limited to the Web
It Looks Like BetaNews' Managing Editor Wayne Williams is Taking Over From Fagioli After Repeat Pattern of LLM Slop (State-of-the-Art Plagiarism) About "Linux"
The most plausible explanation is, Fagioli got caught or his conduct could no longer be ignored
statCounter Reckons Less Than 10% in Mexico Still Use Windows to Access to Web and GNU/Linux Surges to All-Time High (Plus, Microsoft's Latest Debt Crisis)
Looking at Mexico in isolation
From India to Italy: Richard Stallman's Next Talk is Next Week in Torino
Announced less than a day ago
Corporate Media is Intentionally Lying for Microsoft, There's Now a Hiring Freeze, No Replacements for Workers Laid Off in Two Mass Layoffs Last Month
Maybe the media - at least some of it - actually deserves doom. If it covers up for the powerful to muzzle and gaslight the oppressed, then what sort of media is that anyway?
Gemini Links 04/02/2025: Tolkien and New Job
Links for the day
Covering EPO Scandals in an Age of Mass Censorship (and Europe Being Afraid to Introspect, for It Might "Help Putin")
It was all along expected that "external enemies" would be invoked to suppress discussion about EPO crimes
Facebook Finally Admits That It Censored Linux and Banned People for Mentioning It; statCounter Shows Rapid Growth for GNU/Linux in Southeast Asia
So GAFAM is losing its power
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, February 03, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, February 03, 2025
Links 03/02/2025: Recent Security Holes and Environmentalism
Links for the day
Gemini Links 03/02/2025: X-less English Alphabet and antiX
Links for the day
All Efforts to Censor Techrights Have Always Failed
In 2026 We can make it to 20 years of source protection
Microsoft Bing Lies
When they say "China" or "DeepSeek" censors things don't lose sight of Microsoft
Disappointing 'Results' and Mass Layoffs (Without Severance Pay) Sank Microsoft, But It's a Lot Worse Than Shareholders Care to Realise
People are losing their patience
statCounter: In Web Browsers, Microsoft Collapses to Worst Levels in 2 Years!
Microsoft nowadays insists that it is a "market leader" in a market that does not exist
statCounter: Apple's iOS About to Exceed Windows in Terms of "Market Share" (Despite Windows Being 'Sold' for Less)
Vista 11 is only about 5% of the "market share"
statCounter: GNU/Linux Reaches New All-Time Highs in Brazil and Argentina, Android Has Reached 60% in South America
Microsoft cultivating buzzwords and cult-like thinking, not real products
The Media Does Not Properly Report Microsoft Profits and Losses (It's Partly Intentional)
So how many Vista 11 (preloaded) copies were sold with new PCs?
Links 03/02/2025: Microsoft's Termination Controversy and EU Hey Hi (AI) Act Compliance Day
Links for the day
It Seems Like BetaNews is Finally Deleting Fake 'Articles' About "Linux" by LLM Slop (aka Brian Fagioli)
Is BetaNews finally taking these problems more seriously?
Gemini Links 03/02/2025: Art is Process, Smartphones, Internet, and More
Links for the day
Links 03/02/2025: USAID Under Attack, Vista 11 Breaking Itself Again
Links for the day
Copyleft is the Way to Go (Unless You're an Unpaid Volunteer of GAFAM)
The GPL 'family' of licences is very old and those licences were last revised in 2007
statCounter's Numbers Make Sense Given Microsoft's Falling Windows/Client Revenue
There are already articles (some last week) saying that XBox should just be ended
About 1 in 10 Laptops/Desktops in Venezuela and Cuba Uses GNU/Linux
statCounter says GNU/Linux now exceeds 10% in Cuba
At Microsoft, Promoting Back Doors, Proprietary Lock-in and Mass Surveillance Under the Guise of Diversity ("Microsoft Philanthropy Team")
Microsoft staff enters NGOs to lobby for Microsoft and sell for Microsoft
statCounter: Android Share in Operating Systems, Per Country
Towards the bottom there are poorer countries
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, February 02, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, February 02, 2025
statCounter: New Record Highs for GNU/Linux in Its Birthplace
So Microsoft is in a tough place
statCounter: In Canada, New Lows for Windows and Bing is Perishing
Windows has fallen to about 60% in desktops/laptops