𝕿𝖊𝖈𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘 Bulletin for Saturday, November 21, 2020 ┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅ Generated Sun 22 Nov 00:10:29 GMT 2020 Created by Dr. Roy Schestowitz (𝚛𝚘𝚢 (at) 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚣 (dot) 𝚌𝚘𝚖) Full hyperlinks for navigation omitted but are fully available in the originals The corresponding HTML versions are at 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈 Older bulletins can be found at 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒕𝒙𝒕-𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 Full IPFS index in 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒊𝒑𝒇𝒔 and as plain text in 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒊𝒑𝒇𝒔/𝒕𝒙𝒕 ╒═══════════════════ 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐁𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐒 ════════════════════════════════════╕ Previous bulletins in IPFS (past 7 days): QmZEByDfGomEW1TeQSQaoupWsxmo5EjLY3CFvKeUXyJoCF QmNrgTi6r2u49k1iWSiANjzATUMw9HkhQgXca2rMfMhcxQ QmUHG95G7Xyn2j8EiUB7jL2HKDjCAj7yo7FbmrTqs6hgn3 QmZ5Fkb4CfotE4Z3E4kaupN5HurudVED9A1JMquN4cmWqX QmRPa3Fa8wFE1JwGtPrdbDGq5VMJ5CinSSSVt2eyZHbt7c QmQ4qcYbFg6RCtajMJBcgoESAn4Cj6wafngVaCsGFVmMTj QmY8CNiuBXEWgEde7biLS6voUiyGg6AsEAjFXJkFEqGUED ╒═══════════════════ 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐗 ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ Bulletin articles (as HTML) to comment on (requires login): http://techrights.org/2020/11/21/deletegithub/#comments http://techrights.org/2020/11/21/epo-for-trump/#comments http://techrights.org/2020/11/21/epo-legal-action/#comments http://techrights.org/2020/11/21/iam-swpats-corruption/#comments http://techrights.org/2020/11/21/irc-log-201120/#comments http://techrights.org/2020/11/21/transparent-but-secure/#comments http://techrights.org/2020/11/21/upc-epo-and-kluwer-again/#comments Followed by Daily Links (assorted news picks curated and categorised): http://techrights.org/2020/11/21/coreboot-4-13/#comments ╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ****** 11.21.20 ****** ***** [Meme]_Good_Advice_From_the_FSF,_So_It’s_Time_to_#DeleteGitHub ***** Posted in FSF, Microsoft at 5:49 pm by Guest Editorial Team The FSF ‘git guide’? [FSF gift guide] Summary: A good gift for the FSF would be git; not GitHub, but git ╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ****** 11.21.20 ****** ***** The_Only_Real_Dialogue_the_‘European’_Patent_Office_is_Having…_is_With Litigation_Parasites,_Even_Foreign_Ones ***** Posted in America, Europe, Patents at 6:02 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz EPO: Well, the policy “came_from_above…” [I said leave the EU and then I want to run the EU] Summary: The EPO’s mask falls off again, revealing a ruthless herd immunity- like mentality that welcomes patent trolls, threatens/condemns actual scientists, harms Europe and basically does a disservice to everybody WE can totally relate to examiners who are disgusted by politicians like Benoît Battistelli and his friend António_Campinos running the EPO, Europe’s second- largest institution, which was supposed to be scientific rather than political. “This is what a coup looks like. The EPO works not for Europe and not for science. It’s eager to have amicable dialogues not with staff but with a bunch of American law firms.”How did we come to this? Why did the Office end up being a litigation fanatic in bed with parasites? Wasn’t it supposed to be an ally of European scientists? Look how it’s constantly attacking patent examiners, who aren’t just scientists but the main, if not sole, asset of the Office. The EPO is no longer able to attract talent. Technical people know to stay well away from the EPO; incidentally, the EPO’s blog had its SSL certificate expire on Friday. If that’s not technical incompetence, what is? Can’t a multi- billion-dollar institution sort out these kinds of things? Apparently not. And it’s far from the first such technical fluke; we gave more examples before. 2 documents/letters have just been released to highlight_impending_legal_action (staff is truly fed up and we cannot blame the staff; we’re only surprised it took so long). [Farage and Trump]Aside from the SSL f*-up of Friday (some people unable to even access the EPO’s official blog), there was also this pure_nonsense from late Friday (warning: epo.org link) in the EPO’s “news” section. It speaks of a “virtual event.” I.e. webchat… (glorified chat) Your lovely and amicable buddy/gentleman ‘Steve’ Rowan (Stephen_Rowan doing a ‘Mike’ Bloomberg) of the EPO “welcomed the US participants” who weren’t scientists but basically parasites claiming to be standing for “innovation” (litigation really). Maybe meet actual scientists instead of lawyers (applicants)? The EPO is a lost cause these days, as they don’t seem to know what patent offices really exist for. They also lost sight of the word “European” in their name. The actual ‘meeting’ (not) was on Thursday, as per the opening statement which says: “The 36th annual meeting of the US Bar-EPO Liaison Council took place yesterday (19 November), held for the first time as a virtual event.” US Bar. [Macron and Trump]No, they don’t offer alcoholic beverages. They’re also not connected to William Barr. They’re vicious litigators and they’re motivated not by science. “Some 27 US members attended [sic] this year’s meeting,” [sic] it said, “representing [sic] IP [sic] law associations and IP [sic] sections of state bar associations from across the country.” (US, not Europe) Here comes ‘Steve’ (Stephen)… “In his opening remarks,” it says, “EPO Vice-President Steve Rowan welcomed the US participants, highlighting that the annual meeting is an excellent opportunity to receive direct feedback from our US users in order to better understand their needs. He also outlined recent measures put in place at the Office to support applicants during the pandemic.” So they have an actual dialogue with people who are neither European nor scientists. They don’t actually create things, except perhaps feuds, threatening letters which keep people awake all night, and of course lawsuits. So this is who or what the EPO nowadays represents. [Merkel and Trump]As usual, EPO non-scientists entrained the same old buzzwords, the obligatory “HEY HI” (AI) nonsense included. Further down it reads: “A lively exchange on Artificial Intelligence took place, with US members presenting a recent report published by the USPTO, Public Views on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Policy, and the Office addressing the issues from a European perspective, also drawing attention to the EPO’s upcoming digital conference The role of patents in an AI driven world, which will take place on 17/18 December 2020.” The EPO says “HEY HI” to parasites and bullies while giving the finger to its very own staff. They couldn’t even bother showing up for a so-called ‘meeting’ (webchat from home) with the staff representatives, as we noted a couple of days ago. This is what a coup looks like. The EPO works not for Europe and not for science. It’s eager to have amicable dialogues not with staff but with a bunch of American law firms. █ ╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ****** 11.21.20 ****** ***** Inside_the_EPO_During_Corona:_SUEPO_(EPO_Staff_Union)_and_the_Central Staff_Committee_Blast_the_Office_for_Illegal_Practices_and_Threaten_Legal Action ***** Posted in Europe, Patents at 5:09 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz The EPO is breaking the employees’ bank to feed the_management's_gambling addiction [Green Piggy Bank] Summary: The Staff Union of the European_Patent_Office (SUEPO) and the Central Staff Committee (CSC) are escalating their tone; the management of the Office and the Organisation is running out of time as staff loses its patience and its tolerance for the repeated abuses by the administration BACK in September, as cases of COVID-19 were starting to increase/rebound across western Europe, the Central Executive Committee of the EPO’s union (SUEPO) wrote to the EPO’s chiefs (Chairman of the Administrative Council and the person whom he pretends to be bossing). “It cannot be overstated; these letters are relatively polite and diplomatic ways of conveying something very severe in an Office where staff is threatened and staff representatives are gagged with menacing letters from Benoît Battistelli loyalists.”The timing of publication of this letter (an open letter circulated among staff) is noteworthy for a number of reasons, partly because of the meeting of the Administrative Council and partly because of another letter — one we’ll come to later. Here’s the letter in full, threatening impending legal action over the Salary Adjustment Procedure (SAP) — incidentally justified by a_"hoax_study" connected to a far-right-feeding family (to quote an_article from the next batch of Daily Links: “Parler was founded in 2018 by two computer programmers named John Matze and Jared Thomson, and is financially backed by Rebekah Mercer, whose father is Robert Mercer. Robert Mercer is the co-founder of Cambridge Analytica and a hedge fund manager. He’s also a major funder of Breitbart.”): 9 September 2020 su20033cl – 0.2.1/0.3.1/4.2.2/5.1 Open Letter To: Mr António Campinos; President of the EPO CC: Mr Josef Kratochvíl; Chairman of the Administrative Council Avoiding mass-appeals against the new Salary Adjustment Procedure Dear Mr. Campinos, With CA/D 4/201 the Administrative Council adopted an amended Salary Adjustment Procedure (SAP), despite strong opposition from staff and its representatives. The first effects of this new procedure are now visible: de facto we are without an SAP for the 2nd half of this year, and the adjustment over 2019, normally due for July, was not carried out. SUEPO is preparing the corresponding legal actions, which we will need to launch before the end of September. Since this new SAP is to the detriment of all staff, SUEPO intends to invite all staff to start with filing the upcoming Request for Review, and further legal actions as needed. However, in an attempt to avoid flooding the administration with lots of Requests, Appeals etc., SUEPO is prepared to identify a few key stakeholders, and pursue the legal route with only these few appellants – provided that we have a commitment from the President of the EPO that the final outcome of this legal route will be applied to all staff. Given the time required to inform staff and allow them to file the first requests before the end of September, we look forward to receiving your answer to this request by Friday, 18th of September, close of business. In the absence of any clear reply from your services, we will see ourselves forced to invite staff to massively show their discontent and file the Request for Review. Yours sincerely, Joachim Michels Chairman of SUEPO Central _____ 1 Link to CA/D 4/20 Those who have been following recent SUEPO publications would not be surprised by this, seeing the growing anger and sense of betrayal. Lawsuits for Christmas? [Christmas wreath]“Mr Campinos pushed his reform of the Salary Adjustment Procedure (SAP) despite the absence of any financial gap at the EPO,” SUEPO told members of the union. “The first effects of this new procedure are now visible: de facto staff is without an SAP for the 2nd half of 2020, and the adjustment over 2019, normally due for July, was not carried out. [...] In this letter dated 9 September, SUEPO has requested a commitment from Mr Campinos that the final outcome of this legal route will be applied to all staff. Until now, the letter remains unanswered.” Of course. As usual. SUEPO said that nearly a fortnight after the letter had been sent. Chairman of the Central Staff Committee (CSC) Alain Dumont wrote to the President of the European Patent Office, António_Campinos, the following letter. Reminder: it’s very important to bear in mind that the Committee (CSC) tends to be a lot softer and more diplomatic/polite than the union for obvious reasons (its role inside the office), so when taken into account the tone of this letter is quite strong: Reference: sc20146cl – 0.3.1/4.2.2 Date: 01.10.2020 European Patent Office | 80298 MUNICH | GERMANY Mr António Campinos President of the EPO ISAR – Room 1081 OPEN LETTER Implementation of Article 1 of CA/D 4/20 Dear Mr President, On 30 June 2020, the Administrative Council took the decision CA/D 4/ 20 amending with effect from 1 July 2020 the Implementing Rule for Article 64 of the Service Regulations for permanent and other employees of the European Patent Office and winding up the 2014 salary adjustment procedure. Article 1 of this decision foresees: (1) Any remainder of an adjustment within the meaning of Article 8(2) of the salary adjustment procedure applicable from 2014 to 2020 that has not been absorbed over the subsequent adjustments will be used to adjust the scales used for the purpose of calculating the next adjustment. (2) Where the moderation clause applied, the amounts resulting from the delayed adjustment will be paid out as a lump sum to the employees and pensioners concerned. Notwithstanding the legality and lawfulness of the above decision and its implementation, which is currently a matter of dispute between employees of the European Patent Office and the Organisation, the Central Staff Committee would like to ask you to inform staff about when said adjustments of the scales and said payment of lump sums will be made. Yours sincerely, Alain Dumont Chairman of the Central Staff Committee This letter is dated October. “In this open letter,” the CSC wrote in its address to staff, “we ask the President when he will proceed to the outstanding adjustments of the scales and payment of lump sums in order to implement Article 1 of decision CA/D 4/20.” (“Winding up the former salary adjustment procedure: Adjustments of scales and payment of lump sums”). It cannot be overstated; these letters are relatively polite and diplomatic ways of conveying something very severe in an Office where staff is threatened and staff representatives are gagged with menacing letters from Benoît Battistelli loyalists. Given the 0%_trust_rate_in_the_Council_and_just_3%_trust rate_in_the_President (that’s like one person in a whole classroom of pupils!), it seems safe to say that Campinos has run out of time and out of favour. Expect things to get more combative. We’ve already seen more recent correspondence and we’re deciding how to disclose it and when. Readers who can offer more information and insights likely know how to contact us. We’d love to hear from insiders. █ ╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ****** 11.21.20 ****** ***** IAM_Celebrating_and_Glorifying_Illegal_Patents_With_Fake_‘Awards’_and Bogus_‘Endorsements’ ***** Posted in Deception, Europe, Patents, Site_News at 9:41 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz ‘Magazine’ of firearms or of actual news? IAM can do neither. [Young dachshund: Yo dawg! I herd ya got IAM 'award'] Summary: IAM’s fake ‘awards’ are nothing more than business and agenda-steering lies; it’s time to call out again the real corruption that’s driving IAM (which is itself supporting and advocating corruption) HALF a decade ago I had an online dispute with the head honcho of IAM (Joff). He alleged that I was against EPO staff by demanding that software_patents go away (which is actually what the law says should happen). It’s all in public, as the dispute was in Twitter. He was defending Benoît_Battistelli (he’s still a fanboy of António_Campinos and purveyor_of_lies) and his oppressive policy, arguing that my advocacy to abolish abstract patents would render some staff redundant. But nothing could be further from the truth; at the moment, patent examiners at the EPO are pressured to rush the process, not properly assessing all available prior art (instead approximating based on ludicrous notions like “closest prior art” based on ‘Google’). Employment is not a function of number of granted patents but of patents/patent applications done/handled right. Good patent examiners openly complain about this, as they rightly should; patent examination shouldn’t be some binary switch based on Google indexing a bunch of garbage that Google cannot even make sense of (there are many synonyms and subtleties in languages which only specialists can properly grasp and analyse, not to mention multiple languages that only polyglots can master). “Good patent examiners openly complain about this, as they rightly should; patent examination shouldn’t be some binary switch based on Google indexing a bunch of garbage that Google cannot even make sense of…”To put it very crudely, IAM is a bunch of very disgusting assholes. I can’t think of a way to put it more politely. Yes, disgusting assholes. Maybe dishonest assholes would be more polite, but “dishonest” is an understatement. They once upon a time asked me to pass along evidence of EPO abuse. I told them repeatedly that they must not publish the evidence itself (it would put our source at risk of getting caught). But guess what IAM did. What a bunch of disgusting assholes. [Telly side eye: Oh, you again? IAM 'benchmarking' 'survey']Yes. Again. They’re disgusting assholes. Nobody who works at the EPO should take these charlatans seriously. Look where they raise money from. Literally from some of the world’s worst patent trolls; they also advocate illegal things on the EPO’s payroll. This is the kind of thing that causes many people to no longer trust the press (or anything they read/find online). These disgusting assholes who run IAM are lying to everyone every day; that’s just their business model. Who does IAM praise and value? Look no further than this_new_page, basically more of an ad than anything. Shame on these IAM propagadists for giving a fake “award” to a software patents lobbyist whose career mostly involved never- ending attacks on software developers — i.e. people whom he can never understand (because he is not a coder). He has a dedicated blog regarding software patents, urging to legalise, spread and celebrate them. Does he (Mr. Lundberg) write any software? Of course not. He makes money from suing those who do. Mr. Lundberg is everything that’s wrong with that lobby and IAM now calls Steven Lundberg “software patents thought leader”; that’s like calling Raytheon a “peace thought leader”. IAM is not alone in this; Managing IP does the same thing; those are fake “endorsements” (in effect just crude marketing) disguised as “news” and “awards”. The business model is misleading potential clients. And if that’s not bad enough, only days ago IAM ended up reprinting a piece entitled “Securing_software_patents_through_the_EPO” (basically, IAM also pushing illegal patents such as these because lawyers love law-breaking rather than obeying the law). Kuhnen & Wacker’s Rainer K Kuhnen wrote a bunch of buzzwords salad (count the buzzwords!): “There is no doubt that in recent decades the patent system has turned from almost exclusively patenting hardware to progressively patenting software. This long-time trend is gathering momentum thanks to increasingly powerful smart devices and communication technologies enabling new technology trends such as the Internet of Things or the fourth industrial revolution. AI methods have increasingly been used in image processing to recognise objects (eg, in robotics, autonomous vehicles and medical diagnostics), while AI systems using natural language processing have made virtual assistant systems such as Siri and Alexa possible.” Oh, yes, let’s celebrate listening devices of Apple and Amazon (who also give access to all these recordings to states, cops, maybe even marketers). Here’s some more “HEY HI” (AI) buzzwords salad: “These developments are also reflected in patent statistics. At the EPO, the proportion of computer- implemented inventions [cheeky phrase for "software patents"] in AI-related inventions rose rapidly between 1998 and 2014, especially in the automotive sector (from 36% to 63%) and medical technology sector (from 31% to 49%) and is still growing in each sector.” Say “HEY HI” to more software patents in “computer-implemented inventions” clothing (or, to use the buzzwords above, “smart” “Internet of Things” “fourth industrial revolution” “virtual assistants” etc.), based on committees like SACEPO WPG, stacked by absolutely clueless people who never wrote a single line of code, as we_noted_as_recently_as_yesterday. SACEPO WPG, not unlike IAM, is just a litigation-motivated bucket of pseudo-experts, assembled for photo ops rather than for knowledge or relevant skills. █ [SACEPO_WPG] ╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ****** 11.21.20 ****** ***** IRC_Proceedings:_Friday,_November_20,_2020 ***** Posted in IRC_Logs at 2:40 am by Needs Sunlight [HTML5_logs] [HTML5_logs] #techrights_log_as_HTML5 #boycottnovell_log_as_HTML5 [HTML5_logs] [HTML5_logs] #boycottnovell-social_log_as_HTML5 #techbytes_log_as_HTML5 [text_logs] [text_logs] #techrights_log_as_text #boycottnovell_log_as_text [text_logs] [text_logs] #boycottnovell-social_log_as_text #techbytes_log_as_text Enter_the_IRC_channels_now =============================================================================== **** IPFS Mirrors **** > CID Description Object type  QmbHDLnr5Ga56RAyv7QjVV1BXB7zdub7rVMG7CarsSWEz2  IRC log for #boycottnovell (full IRC log as HTML) [HTML5 logs]  QmdoK2My4T1tsMdU6CR18u8jND3LcaXf4TiDTmMHw9mr5m  IRC log for #boycottnovell (full IRC log as plain/ASCII text) [text logs]  QmYh1vh8gA2fiBARGNVNpE4oJmcJvH2Qx9z8xux6uzCMxS  IRC log for #boycottnovell-social (full IRC log as HTML) [HTML5 logs]  QmNgaHiqdPw1WuvuBjd3tWyFPCYKQrYnCW8sXfFUjrR76X  IRC log for #boycottnovell-social (full IRC log as plain/ASCII text) [text logs]  QmNY6gpRhthk6cF4gwYHfqD7c1QXHRfiADHsr6KTEd2TQD  IRC log for #techbytes (full IRC log as HTML) [HTML5 logs]  Qmf1uweBrAqRUtsQQWUbMtJEj2u8Rxqq7Et5JLKL9qDuCw  IRC log for #techbytes (full IRC log as plain/ASCII text) [text logs]  QmPgtsDh5K3Xaxwd7DwavPbwGX2kvd4QjCZxq5Sza7NTgz  IRC log for #techrights (full IRC log as HTML) [HTML5 logs]  QmSM7aptWB9FrhfQqZQhqggCGT96VYMVHBd9oxuNTMk9H6  IRC log for #techrights (full IRC log as plain/ASCII text) [text logs] [IPFS logo] **** Bulletin for Yesterday **** Local_copy | CID (IPFS): QmY8CNiuBXEWgEde7biLS6voUiyGg6AsEAjFXJkFEqGUED ╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ****** 11.21.20 ****** ***** Go_Distributed,_Go_Encrypted,_Go_Secure,_Transparency_Still_Possible ***** Posted in Site_News at 9:50 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz It’s hard(er) to cut off a hydra [Lernaean Hydra or Hydra of Lerna] Summary: Earlier today we enhanced access to our (sometimes anonymised) IRC logs by issuing text (ASCII) versions, which will from now onwards be a nightly/daily occurrence; we’re also making everything we publish accessible from a large number of IPFS nodes (akin to P2P) WE recently wrote about our_adoption of alternative_projects_such_as_Sequoia. IPFS is one example of this; we hope that more people will adopt it and help decentralise the Web, as well as encrypt it (not just between server and client, which is what HTTPS/TLS is all about). “IPFS is one example of this; we hope that more people will adopt it and help decentralise the Web, as well as encrypt it (not just between server and client, which is what HTTPS/TLS is all about).”Right now we implement a number of things on a number of affordable-yet-powerful_and_low-energy Raspberry Pi 4 devices, distributed across countries. They have things like Git and IPFS on them. They’re also being used to communicate. They make us more robust in the face of censorship and takedown attempts (which happened several times in the past). [Sailors]In the long run, we might also use these to further enhance encryption. “The idea is to use OpenBSD on something like a Raspberry Pi (probably the Zero W model, for form factor and cost) and turn that into a dedicated HSM (Hardware Security Module),” one person recently suggested, and “SequoiaPGP would be loaded onto the Pi, turning the Pi into a dedicated HSM. The Rpi products at least are more transparent than anything else we have in terms of hardware. Rpi Zero W is also more affordable than any of these spyware closed source products. The idea is to give users the ability to assemble an affordable HSM themselves with reasonable level of risk assumed (for end-to-end encryption).” “Right now we implement a number of things on a number of affordable-yet- powerful and low-energy Raspberry Pi 4 devices, distributed across countries.”Although I still write most of the articles, there are more and more people involved in the site and coordination is imperative, of course with some degree of privacy (to reduce the likelihood of disruption by outside actors). “For now, I’ll continue educating people on GnuPG,” said this unnamed person, “but I think we’ve reached a point now where Sequoia seems like the only direction to move in.” Earlier today someone in IRC suggested that we adopt Matrix and leave FreeNode behind, but we’ve decided that since the IRC logs are publicly visible anyway, there’s nothing to be gained from self-hosting a chat room which aims to be easily accessible to many. █ ╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ****** 11.21.20 ****** ***** Been_There,_Done_That:_Team_UPC’s_‘October’_Becomes_‘Early_November’_and Now_Late_November ***** Posted in Deception, Europe, Patents at 7:19 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz It’s always “just around the corner” (yet so far away) [UPC boat sinks] Summary: The optimists self-serving litigation fanatics who mislead their customers are still at it; Bristows says that UPC has no issues other than “delay” LAST night we noticed the pseudonyms of Bristows (typically_them) writing some face-saving nonsense about the UPC. Bristows writing about itself and referring to itself as a source? That would not be the first. The blog_post said about the UPCA: “It is one of the issues that on the agenda of the legal committee for 25 November 2020, which was published today. According to this report of Bristows, the draft bill will also be considered in the Committee for Affairs of the EU and the Budget Committee, after which the (leading) legal committee will submit a report and recommendation to the Bundestag.” “At some point people need to learn to ignore the “boy who cries ‘wolf’…” (which is what Bristows is; only one or at most two people at Bristows still publicly lie about the UPC).”Bristows again. They_told_us_this_would_happen_in October_and_then_early_November, did they not? Now it’s late November. Early November? No. Late? Maybe. Wait till it becomes December and then 2021. It’s always “coming soon”… since 2013 or thereabout. Maybe_even_2007. To their credit, the post says: “However, it seems likely that – after the constitutional complaint that was filed in 2017 by patent lawyer Ingve Stjerna – a new constitutional complaint will be filed as soon as the parliamentary procedure is completed [notice how they wrongly presume it would go smoothly], this time by the FFII. Dr. Stjerna has also left open the possibility of filing a new complaint. This could further delay the entry into force of the system, or mean the end of it.” “This could further delay…” Yeah, right… [Bristows EPO]Quite frankly, the Kluwer Patent Blog nonsense contains a lot more information in its comments (than the jingoistic, self-serving posts). The German Bundestag and the ministry of injustice have been speaking about this since summer. And where is the UPC/A now? Nowhere. We should really start taking more screenshots, not just video_clips, of all the lies told to us over the years. Two years ago Bristows was spreading false rumours about the FCC complaint being dismissed by Christmas of 2018. Did that happen? Hell no. Both the outcome and timing were completely wrong. At some point people need to learn to ignore the “boy who cries ‘wolf’…” (which is what Bristows is; only one or at most two people at Bristows still publicly lie about the UPC). █ ╒═══════════════════ 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 ════════════════════════════════════════╕ ****** 11.21.20 ****** ***** Links_21/11/2020:_Coreboot_4.13,_EasyOS_2.5,_Wine_5.22,_Gmusicbrowser 1.1.16 ***** Posted in News_Roundup at 12:55 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz [GNOME bluefish] **** Contents **** * GNU/Linux o Distributions o Devices/Embedded * Free_Software/Open_Source * Leftovers * **** GNU/Linux **** o ** Top_25_Linux_Interview_Questions ** The IT industry depends heavily on Linux. So, if you are trying to get into one of the IT industry positions, you need to be good at Linux. As someone trying to get a position, it is essential to impress the interviewer with your knowledge, and that’s where interview preparations come in. To help you in your search for top Linux interview questions, you have come to the right place. In this article, we will list the top 25 Linux interview questions and answer them. However, our answers are mostly for reference purposes, and you are encouraged to research and create your own understanding of the subject matter. By doing so, you can cope with other questions and even answer stuff that requires deep knowledge. Linux is more secure than other operating systems due to its open-source licensing. This means that hundreds of developers work on the code and make it secure compared to other operating systems which are developed in a closed ecosystem. Apart from it being open source, other reasons make Linux more secure. The reasons include… o **** Audiocasts/Shows **** # ** LHS_Episode_#380:_The_Weekender_LXI_|_Linux_in_the_Ham Shack ** It’s time once again for The Weekender. This is our bi-weekly departure into the world of amateur radio contests, open source conventions, special events, listener challenges, hedonism and just plain fun. Thanks for listening and, if you happen to get a chance, feel free to call us or e-mail and send us some feedback. Tell us how we’re doing. We’d love to hear from you. # ** Parler,_Ownership,_and_Open_Source ** Doc Searls, Katherine Druckman, Petros Koutoupis, and Kyle Rankin talk Parler and platform lock-in, the concept of data, software, and hardware ownership, and the open source social contract. # ** Neovim_Vs_Vim:_What’s_The_Difference_in_2020_–_YouTube ** There’s lot’s of user for both vim and neovim but one thing that doesn’t get answered to often is how they actually differ, in the past the gap was considerably wider but as time has gone on the difference has become a bit more subtle but still important. # ** Linux_Users_Deserve_Better_From_AMD_–_YouTube ** Where’s OUR Linux review of the new AMD Radeon RX 6800 graphics cards? Jason and Schykle explain why it’s not coming any time soon, and why AMD MUST do better to prepare popular Linux distros and their users for the newest hardware launches. # ** 3_Concepts_to_Master_for_DevOps/SRE_Interviews ** o **** Kernel Space **** # **** Graphics Stack **** # ** [ANNOUNCE]_libX11_1.7.0 ** Here's a summary of changes from README.md: libX11 version 1.7.0 includes a new API, hence the change from the 1.6 series to 1.7: * XSetIOErrorExitHandler which provides a mechanism for applications to recover from I/O error conditions instead of being forced to exit. Thanks to Carlos Garnacho for this. This release includes a bunch of bug fixes, some which have been pending for over three years: * A bunch of nls cleanups to remove obsolete entries and clean up formatting of the ist. Thanks to Benno Schulenberg for these. * Warning fixes and other cleanups across a huge swath of the library. Thanks to Alan Coopersmith for these. * Memory allocation bugs, including leaks and use after free in the locale code. Thanks to Krzesimir Nowak, Jacek Caban and Vittorio Zecca for these. * Thread safety fixes in the locale code. Thanks to Jacek Caban for these. * poll_for_response race condition fix. Thanks to Frediano Ziglio for the bulk of this effort, and to Peter Hutterer for careful review and improvements. Version 1.7.0 includes a couple of new locales: * ia and ie locales. Thanks to Carmina16 for these. There are also numerous compose entries added, including: * |^ or ^| for ↑, |v or v| for ↓, ~~ for ≈. Thanks to Antti Savolainen for this. * Allowing use of 'v' for caron, in addition to 'c', so things like vC for Č, vc for č. Thanks to Benno Schulenberg for this. * Compose sequences LT, lt for '<', and GT, gt for '>' for keyboards where those are difficult to access. Thanks to Jonathan Belsewir for this. # ** X11_Library_Sees_Lots_Of_Fixes_With_libX11_1.7 Release ** It’s been seven years since the release of libX11 1.6.0 for this central X11 library while on Friday was replaced by the libX11 1.7 series. The release is primarily made up of fixes but leading to the version bump is a new API that allows for applications to recover from I/O error conditions rather than being forced to exit. That API addition for libX11 1.7.0 is interesting with XSetIOErrorExitHandler. But besides that are many fixes that accumulated for quite a while. The fixes range from warning fixes to memory allocation bugs being addressed to thread safety issues being resolved. There are also new locales and other changes with libX11 1.7.0. o **** Applications **** # ** Ymuse_–_GTK_front-end_(client)_for_Music_Player_Daemon ** My favorite pastime is to see an eclectic range of bands, solo artists, and orchestras live. It’s such a life-changing and exhilarating experience to be present. It’s one thing to be sitting at home listening to a CD or watching music videos on TV or on YouTube, but being with an audience, packed out in a stadium or music hall, takes it to another level. But it’s an expensive pastime, and still on hold given the current coronavirus pandemic. I’m therefore listening to music from my CD collection which I’ve encoded to FLAC, a lossless audio format, and stored locally. Linux offers a huge array of open source music players. And many of them are high quality. I’ve reviewed the vast majority for LinuxLinks, but I’m endeavoring to explore every free music player in case there’s an undiscovered gem. Ymuse is billed as an easy, functional, and snappy GTK front-end (client) for Music Player Daemon. It’s written in Go. # ** Gmusicbrowser_1.1.16_Released!_How_to_Install_it_in_Ubuntu 20.04_|_UbuntuHandbook ** Gmusicbrowser, an open-source jukebox for large music collections, released version 1.1.16 a few days ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 20.10, Linux Mint 20. Gmusicbrowser 1.1.16 is the first release in over 5 years. And now it’s working on GTK3 port. # ** gmusicbrowser_Music_Player_Sees_First_Release_In_More_Than 5_Years ** After almost 5 and a half years of no new releases, gmusicbrowser was finally updated. The latest gmusicbrowser 1.1.16 brings support for Opus files, adds musixmatch.com as a music source to the Lyrics plugin, and it fixes the replaygain, equalizer and gapless playback with mpv 0.28.0 and newer, among many other small changes. # ** Cloud_Data_Encryptor_Cryptomator_Adds_Experimental_FUSE Support_On_Windows,_KWallet_Integration ** Cryptomator, a client-side encryption tool for cloud files (and more), has been updated recently with experimental FUSE support on Windows (via WinFSP), KWallet support, vault statistics, and more. Cryptomator is a free and open source Java tool that provides client-side encryption for your cloud storage files, available for Windows, Mac and Linux. There are also iOS and Android applications – these are open core (a business model for the monetization of commercially produced open-source software), and need to be purchased. It works with cloud storage services that synchronize with a local directory, like Dropbox, OneDrive (on Linux using e.g. OneDrive Free Client fork) and Google Drive (including using it with Insync). You can choose to either encrypt your whole cloud storage, or only a few sensitive files, in either a single or multiple vaults. o **** Instructionals/Technical **** # ** FREE_4_Hour_Ubuntu_Course_for_Beginners [Ed: This course must not be too good/factual if they skip GNU and leap to 1991] ** Linux is a well-known operating system. In 1991, Linux was created by a university student named Linux Torvalds. All software’s architecture is covered with Linux, as it helps to communicate between the computer program and the system hardware and also manages the requests between them. Linux is open-source software. It is distinguishable from other operating systems in many ways. People having professional skills related to programming can also edit their code, as it is freely available for everyone. Torvalds intended to name his creation as ‘freaks,’ but the administrator used to distribute the code by its creator’s first name and Unix, so that name stuck. # ** Monitoring_failed_login_attempts_on_Linux [Ed: Those are GNU programs (grep, head…), not_“LINUX”] ** Repeated failed login attempts on a Linux server can indicate that someone is trying to break into an account or might only mean that someone forgot their password or is mistyping it. In this post, we look at how you can check for failed login attempts and check your system’s settings to see when accounts will be locked to deal with the problem. One of the first things you need to know is how to check if logins are failing. The command below looks for indications of failed logins in the /var/ log/auth.log file used on Ubuntu and related systems. When someone tries logging in with a wrong or misspelled password, failed logins will show up as in the lines below: # ** How_to_Install_PHP_OPcache_on_Ubuntu_20.04_LTS_–_idroot ** In this tutorial, we will show you how to install PHP OPcache on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. For those of you who didn’t know, OPcache improves PHP performance by storing precompiled script bytecode in shared memory, thereby removing the need for PHP to load and parse scripts on each request, it simply means any consequent requests for the same script then OpCache stores this script on it memory on the first execution, to be reused afterward, thus leading to performance boosts. This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you through the step by step installation of PHP OPcache on Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal Fossa). You can follow the same instructions for Ubuntu 18.04, 16.04, and any other Debian based distribution like Linux Mint. # ** The_Beginner’s_Guide_to_Btrfs_–_Make_Tech_Easier ** Most desktop Linux users have probably heard of a “Copy on Write” filesystem like ZFS or Btrfs, and along with that, the benefits of those CoW filesystems. Compression, built-in RAID functionality, and snapshot capabilities make them incredibly advanced and modern filesystems. But how do you get started with one of these filesystems? Given that Btrfs is fully FOSS and built into the Linux Kernel, that’s a great place to start. Here we walk you through our beginner’s guide to Btrfs. # ** How_to_play_multiplayer_arcade_games_on_Linux ** Fightcade is an emulator that allows PC gamers to enjoy fighting arcade video games with their friends over the internet. If you’re a Linux gamer who loves playing old arcade games, this guide is for you. Follow along as we go over how to set up Fightcade on Linux! Installing Fightcade on Linux Before we can go over how to play fighting arcade games online with friends on Linux, the Fightcade client must be installed. Thankfully, the developers behind the app make it super easy to install on a multitude of Linux distributions. To start installing Fightcade on your Linux PC, open up a terminal window on the Linux desktop. Once the terminal window is open on your computer, follow along with the installation instructions below to get Fightcade set up on your computer. # ** How_to_Install_MySQL_8_on_CentOS_8 ** MySQL Server is the most popular tool used for relational databases. It hosts multiple databases using a single server where allows multi-user can access these databases individually. At the time, when we are writing this article MySQL Server 8.0 is available for installation. This version introduced some new features that are not compatible with some applications. So, first, read the application documentation before deploy on CentOS 8 server. In this article, we will explain how to install MySQL on CentOS 8 using the terminal. We will also show you how to get started with using MySQL 8. # ** Recording_animated_Gifs_with_Peek_on_Debian_10_Buster ** If you want to extract a gif from any video without having a lot of video editing expertise, Peek should be your go-to tool. It is a very simple screen recorder with an easy to use interface. Peek makes it easy to create short screencasts of a screen area. It was built for the specific use case of recording screen areas, e.g. for easily showing UI features of your own apps or for showing a bug in bug reports. With Peek, you simply place the Peek window over the area you want to record and press “Record”. Peek is optimized for generating animated GIFs, but you can also directly record to WebM or MP4 if you prefer. Peek is not a general- purpose screencast app with extended features but rather focuses on the single task of creating small, silent screencasts of an area of the screen for creating GIF animations or silent WebM or MP4 videos. # ** How_to_install_FileZilla_Client_on_Ubuntu_20.04_LTS_Linux –_Linux_Shout ** Most of us managing files on hosting servers by directly opening the file manager on CPANEL via HTTP protocol, however, that is actually not an FTP connection. The FTP protocol is meant for uploading or downloading files to web servers and file servers. And if you want to use an FTP connection to connect your Cloud or hosting server then Filezilla is one of the best clients available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. o **** Wine or Emulation **** # ** WineHQ_–_Wine_Announcement_–_The_Wine_development_release 5.22_is_now_available. ** The Wine development release 5.22 is now available. What's new in this release (see below for details): - C runtime libraries converted to PE. - Use fontconfig cache for faster startup. - Video playback improvements. - 3DES cipher support. - Various bug fixes. The source is available from the following locations: https://dl.winehq.org/wine/source/5.x/wine- 5.22.tar.xz http://mirrors.ibiblio.org/wine/source/5.x/wine- 5.22.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. # ** Wine_compatibility_layer_development_release_5.22_is_up, video_fixes_and_3DES_support_|_GamingOnLinux ** The Wine 5.22 release also brings with it a note about 36 bug fixes which include fixes for: Guild Wars 2 Launcher, Elite Dangerous Launcher, Fallout New Vegas, Wargaming.net Game Center, Ghostrunner, Overwatch and more. # ** Wine_5.22_Released_With_Video_Playback_Improvements,_More PE_Conversion_–_Phoronix ** We should be getting near the end of the Wine 5.xx development releases with the timed Wine 6.0 release likely to come in early 2021, but for now Wine 5.22 is out with the latest feature work for running Windows programs and games on Linux and macOS. Wine 5.22 continues the trend of converting more components into PE portable executable format, this time around the C run-time libraries have been converted to PE. Wine 5.22 also now uses the fontconfig cache for yielding faster start-ups, video playback improvements, 3DES cipher support was added to Wine, and around 36 known bug fixes. o **** Games **** # ** Humble_Store_is_doing_a_big_Fall_Sale,_save_on_loads_until December_1_|_GamingOnLinux ** Another chance to stock up for the weekend and the coming Winter, as Humble Store are running a big Fall Sale and as usual there’s plenty discounted you might like. # ** Facebook_are_now_funding_the_open_source_3D_creation_suite Blender_|_GamingOnLinux ** In a move that’s sure to raise a few eyebrows, the Blender Foundation has announced that Facebook has joined the Blender Development Fund. Facebook are joining as a Corporate Patron, meaning they will be supplying Blender with at least €120K/ year or more. It’s not a small sum but for the likes of Facebook, it’s likely still money they found down the back of a sofa. Ton Roosendaal, Chairman of the Blender Foundation mentions, “We at Blender see this as another important signal of the industry’s willingness to migrate to open source, and contribute to open source’s continual improvement.”. # ** Facebook_joins_the_Blender_Development_Fund_—_blender.org ** To support these artists and the countless other animators, researchers, engineers, designers and content creators who depend on open source tools, Facebook wishes to contribute to the development of Blender. Which is why we’re proud to announce that Facebook will join the Blender Foundation’s Development Fund as a Corporate Patron as of Q4, 2020. o **** Desktop Environments/WMs **** # **** GNOME Desktop/GTK **** # ** Sugar_Learning_Tools_–_Part_III ** During my GUADEC presentation I mentioned the things I wanted to achieve moving forward with this project. Primarily, improving the documentation and porting guide to ensure that this project can scale and, of course, port more art-oriented applications. For improving the documentation, I ported Sugar’s official “hello world” and re-wrote the porting guide based on this application. By using this minimal application as an example, it becomes much easier to highlight the key porting steps and concepts. I also took the opportunity to update the application itself to the latest version of the Sugar toolkit. As for porting new applications, I didn’t get to port as many art-oriented applications as I wished. Mostly due to the fact that most of those are still using GTK2 and Python2, so it would require more time I can afford at the moment. Nevertheless, I ported some pretty awesome ones. o **** Distributions **** # **** New Releases **** # ** Garuda_Linux_“Black_Eagle”_Released_With_A_New Dr460nized_edition ** After the release of v201007 “Golden Eagle” last month, the Garuda team has now announced a new major version 201119 codenamed “Black Eagle” of its Arch-based Garuda Linux. Unsurprisingly, this Garuda v201119 also introduces a new edition called dr460nized. It is a clean, lightweight, and modified KDE version with a lot of blurs, macOS like app menu at the top, Latte as dock and fish shell. # ** Garuda_Linux_“Black_Eagle”_(201119) ** # ** EasyOS_version_2.5_released ** EasyOS 2.5 is the latest in the 2.x Buster- series, built with Debian 10.6 DEBs. As well as the DEBs, other packages are updated, including SeaMonkey 2.53.5, and the Linux kernel is now 5.4.78. There have been many infrastructure and utility fixes and improvements, including hardware-profiling for the CPU temperature monitor. The single most significant application change relative to the previous release is the new BluePup bluetooth manager, replacing Blueman (though Blueman is in the repository, so can be installed if needed). The Multiple Sound Card Wizard has been integrated with BluePup. # ** Easy_Buster_version_2.5 ** # **** Screenshots/Screencasts **** # ** Kali_Linux_2020.4_overview_|_By_Offensive_Security ** In this video, I am going to show an overview of Kali Linux 2020.4 and some of the applications pre-installed. # **** IBM/Red Hat/Fedora **** # ** Trinity_Guard_Unveils_New_Tools_for_Linux,_Db2_for_i –_IT_Jungle ** Trinity Guard is on the move. The Houston, Texas, based security software company, which is the spiritual successor to the PentaSafe products, is rolling out a full auditing solution for Linux. It’s also developing a Linux version of its security management tool, TGCentral, with an AIX version up next. Plus it’s months away from releasing an encryption solution for Db2 for i. 2020 has not been easy for anyone, but it’s not stopping the folks at Trinity Guard from moving forward on its roadmap items. Near the top of that list is increased support for running on Linux, which has become the dominant operating system for business servers around the world. The new TGAudit for Linux solution provides a full-fledged auditing solution for a variety of Linux environments, including Linux running on Power, X86, and ARM servers. The offering will interrogate a customer’s Linux environment and return a report that shows exactly how its security settings are configured, says Randy Bowie, the vice president of engineering at Trinity Guard. # ** Scaling_Flathub_100x_–_Alexander_Larsson ** Flatpak relies on OSTree to distribute apps. This means that flatpak repositories, such as Flathub, are really just OSTree repositories. At the core of an OSTree repository is the summary file, which describes the content of the repository. This is similar to the metadata that “apt-get update” downloads. Every time you do an flatpak install it needs the information in the summary file. The file is cached between operations, but any time the repository changes the local copy needs to be updated. This can be pretty slow, with Flathub having around 1000 applications (times 4 architectures). In addition, the more applications there are, the more likely it is that one has been updated since the last time which means you need to update. # ** Keystone_and_Cassandra:_Parity_with_SQL_|_Adam Young’s_Web_Log ** Look back at our Pushing Keystone over the Edge presentation from the OpenStack Summit. Many of the points we make are problems faced by any application trying to scale across multiple datacenters. Cassandra is a database designed to deal with this level of scale. So Cassandra may well be a better choice than MySQL or other RDBMS as a datastore to Keystone. What would it take to enable Cassandra support for Keystone? Lets start with the easy part: defining the tables. Lets look at how we define the Federation back end for SQL. We use SQL Alchemy to handle the migrations: we will need something comparable for Cassandra Query Language (CQL) but we also need to translate the table definitions themselves. # ** Fedora_program_update:_2020-47_–_Fedora_Community Blog ** Here’s your report of what has happened in Fedora this week. Elections voting is open through 3 December. Fedora 31 will reach end- of-life on Tuesday. EPEL 6 will reach end-of- life on 30 November. # ** Testing_the_reliability_of_Red_Hat_OpenShift Container_Storage_on_VMWare_Distributed_vSAN_HA ** Storage reliability plays a critical role in managing business-critical applications. A reliable storage solution can help enterprises avoid unnecessary downtime. With Red Hat OpenShift Container Storage continuing to evolve, this blog post shows how we verified the combined reliability of OpenShift Container Storage and Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform when it comes to high availability (HA) in a hardware configuration supported out of the box (mentioned in the Red Hat OpenShift Container Storage Planning Guide). We performed active/ passive and active/active site configuration tests. # ** Linux_Foundation,_IBM,_Cisco_and_others_back ‘Inclusive_Naming_Initiative’_to_change_nasty_tech terms [Ed: The_LF_participates_in_PR_offensive_of hugely_unethical_companies_trying_to_ban_language to distract from bad_track_record] ** A new group called the “Inclusive Naming Initiative” has revealed its existence and mission “to help companies and projects remove all harmful and unclear language of any kind and replace it with an agreed-upon set of neutral terms.” # ** Tech_Organizations_Back_‘Inclusive_Naming Initiative’ ** o **** Devices/Embedded **** # ** Tinker_Board_2_SBC_advances_to_RK3399 ** Asus is prepping a “Tinker Board 2” SBC that runs Linux on a Rockchip RK3399 with up to 4GB LPDDR4, GbE, WiFi/BT, optional 16GB eMMC, 3x USB, Type- C with DP, HDMI, MIPI-DSI/CSI, and 40-pin GPIO. In 2017, Asus launched its first maker-friendly SBC with an open-spec, community backed Tinker Board SBC. Now, French site Clubic (translated) has posted images and specs from an Asus press release about a Tinker Board 2 follow-up that advances from a quad-core, Cortex-A17 Rockchip RK3288 to a hexa- core -A72 and -A53 Rockchip RK3399. Liliputing picked up the news here. # **** Open Hardware/Modding **** # ** Khadas_VIM3_&_VIM3L_SBC’s_become_Android_reference boards ** If you need to work on the very latest development version of Android or AOSP, you can either get one of the supported phones such as Google Pixel 5, one of the reference boards for Android which should be better for development and also fairly cheaper. We previously reported about Hikey, Hikey960, and DragonBoard 845c single board computers being part of the short list of reference boards for the Android Open-Source Project (AOSP), but Amlogic powered Khadas VIM3 and VIM3L have recently been added to the official devices page which makes them the first AOSP reference boards with a dedicated NPU / AI accelerator. # ** Arduino_Blog_»_Monitor_your_heart_rate_while_asleep with_ZazHRM ** Have you ever wondered what your heart rate looked like when you were catching some Zs? Or perhaps you would like to check up on how someone nearby is sleeping, without actually disturbing that person. The ZazHRM monitoring system by Alan Do lets you do both, with a pulse sensor hooked up to an Arduino Uno, which in turn sends data to an Android phone in almost real-time via Bluetooth. The receiving device runs an MIT App Inventor routine, which can output alarms if the person under observation’s heart rate goes out of range. Results are also logged for later analysis. # ** Arduino_Blog_»_What’s_not_to_love_about_this realistic_beating_heart? ** This little motor rotates back and forth under control of an Arduino Uno, making it appear to pulse up and down on a table. One could see this enhanced in a variety of ways, perhaps with a bit of fake blood for an even more lifelike look, or with inputs to the Arduino for interactive capabilities. # **** Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications **** # ** Android_users_are_about_to_lose_one_picture-perfect advantage_over_iPhone_owners ** # ** Android_Nougat_security_certificates_are_expiring_in 2021 ** # ** Redmi_Note_9_Pro_gets_Android_11_update_with_MIUI_12 ** # ** How_to_take_a_screenshot_on_Android_phones ** # ** How_to_Add_“Mark_as_Read”_to_Gmail_Notifications_on Android ** # ** How_to_Use_Xbox_Game_Pass_on_Your_Android_Device ** # ** How_to_turn_off_cellular_data_on_Android_in_3_ways ** # ** How_to_Trick_Out_Your_Android_Home_Screen_Just_Like an_iPhone ** # ** Google_Pay_apps_gets_a_redesign_for_Android_and_iOS ** # ** This_Android_phone_ties_with_Apple_iPhone_12_Pro_in DxOMark_selfie_score ** # ** Ethereum_is_Like_iPhone,_Tron_(TRX)_is_Like_Android ** # ** Delete_‘Go_SMS_Pro’_From_Your_Android_Now ** # ** Save_$600_on_a_4K_Android_TV_from_Sony_that’s_almost as_big_as_Shaq ** # ** Experts_Reacted_On_Android_Chat_App_With_100_Million Installs_Exposes_Private_Messages ** o **** Free, Libre, and Open Source Software **** # ** Announcing_coreboot_4.13 ** coreboot 4.13 was released on November 20th, 2020. Since 4.12 there were 4200 new commits by over 234 developers. Of these, about 72 contributed to coreboot for the first time. Thank you to all developers who again helped made coreboot better than ever, and a big welcome to our new contributors! # ** Coreboot_4.13_Adds_Intel_TXT,_Picks_Up_New_Boards_For_AMD Pollock,_Intel_Alder_Lake ** Coreboot 4.13 is out today as the latest tagged version of this open-source firmware platform supporting a wide range of hardware. Coreboot 4.13 brings initial support for Intel TXT (Trusted eXecution Technology) that can be used with a Coreboot Measured Launch Environment, support for hidden PCI devices, built-in Address Sanitizer support for run-time memory debugging, initial support for building Coreboot as x86_64 code for better performance and allowing use of more than 4GB of RAM, an updated resource allocator, and other improvements. # **** Web Browsers **** # **** Mozilla **** # ** Extensions_in_Firefox_84_|_Mozilla_Add-ons Blog ** Here are our highlights of what’s coming up in the Firefox 84 release… # **** Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra **** # ** LibreOffice_6.4_and_7.0_User_Guides ** I am way behind updating this blog, including mentioning the LibreOffice 6.4 user guides that have been published in 2020. These include Getting Started Guide, Writer Guide, Base Guide, Calc Guide, Draw Guide, and Math Guide. # ** LibreOffice_7.0 ** LibreOffice is a suite of programs for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, and vector drawings. It is free to download, use, and distribute. It is available in many languages and runs on Linux, Mac, and Windows. # ** What_to_do_with_a_document_“created_by_a_newer version_of_OpenOffice”_–_The_Document_Foundation_Blog ** In this case, the document probably wasn’t created in OpenOffice, but in LibreOffice, a successor project. LibreOffice 7.0 introduced support for OpenDocument Format (ODF) 1.3, which includes many new features and benefits. LibreOffice and Apache OpenOffice share the same roots, and while Apache OpenOffice’s last major release (4.1) was back in 2014, LibreOffice has since been developed much further with extra features and updates. # **** FSF **** # ** FSF_Giving_Guide:_It’s_the_thought_that_counts,_so think_freedom ** # ** FSF_Giving_Guide:_It’s_the_thought_that_counts,_so think_freedom ** Even though we’re still in the midst of the pandemic, the holiday season is upon us, and with it comes the time people around the world give gifts to show their appreciation. Companies are starting their sales early this year, and as usual are focusing heavily on tech gifts. But before you buy anything, you should make sure that that gift isn’t putting your friend or family member under unjust control. Each year, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) publishes a new version of our Ethical Tech Giving Guide as a way to help concerned individuals make sure that the presents they plan on giving their loved ones don’t come with dangerous consequences for their freedom. Many of these devices have been through our Respects Your Freedom (RYF) certification program, meaning that they and the retailers that offer them have been held to the highest scrutiny when it comes to matters of software freedom. In the last year, some of the devices on this list have become scarcer, highlighting the pressing need for more hardware that is compatible with a fully free system. Some devices we recommend may only be available from a certain retailer. While it may not be readily available in local stores, offering a gift like the Libiquity Taurinus X200 is perfect for someone who has just become aware of free software’s importance and is interested in going further, or for the free software activist in your life who would love for you to support a company trying to do the right thing. Even better, by avoiding popular but ethically unacceptable devices from manufacturers like Apple, you’re letting your loved ones know that you care about them too much to compromise their freedom. By choosing a device like the upcoming Librem 5 mobile phone from the Giving Guide, you’re walking a different path from everyone else, choosing the road to freedom instead of subjugation. # ** International_Day_Against_DRM_(IDAD)_2020 ** This year’s annual day in protest of Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) will be on December 4th, 2020, and will focus on streaming services’ unjust use of DRM. We need your help to spread that message far and wide to both anti-DRM activists and those simply concerned with how in a world with continued technological advancement, our digital freedoms are increasingly under threat. # ** Copyright_reform_activist_Julia_Reda_to_keynote FSF’s_LibrePlanet,_March_20_&_21,_2021 ** Julia Reda is the first keynote to be confirmed for the 2021 edition of the LibrePlanet conference. Reda is a former European Parliament member who is well known for her work on copyright reform and net neutrality. She is an affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and a Shuttleworth Foundation fellow. Currently, Julia Reda leads the fundamental rights litigation project “control ©” at the German Society for Civil Rights. Reda will discuss the need for public funding for free software projects from different governments around the world. She notes, “The recent decision by Trump to defund the Open Technology Fund has highlighted the dangers of a public funding landscape for public interest technology that relies too heavily on a single government, whose priorities could change rapidly at any time.” Reda believes funding should be decentralized to avoid single points of failure, and is currently working on establishing a European or German framework for free (as in freedom) technology funding. # ** LibrePlanet_2021:_Join_us_online_on_March_20_&_21 with_keynote_Julia_Reda ** Mark your calendars: LibrePlanet 2021: Empowering Users will be held on March 20 and 21, 2021. For those of you who haven’t been to the LibrePlanet conference before: expect a friendly, social, community-focused event with two days of inspiring talks and workshops from some of the most active and inspiring people in the free software community. # ** FSF_calls_for_community_participation_to_help_update High_Priority_Free_Software_Projects_list ** The High Priority Free Software Projects (HPP) initiative draws attention to areas of development and specific projects of strategic importance to the goal of freedom for all computer users. The HPP list helps guide volunteers, developers, funders, and companies to projects where their skills and resources can be utilized, whether they be in coding, graphic design, writing, financial contributions, or activism. Longtime committee member Benjamin Mako Hill said previously that an “updated High Priority Projects list is a description of the most important threats, and most critical opportunities, that free software faces in the modern computing landscape.” As computing is more ubiquitous than ever, the HPP list reflects ongoing changes in priorities for the free software movement. # ** Committee_begins_review_of_High_Priority_Projects free_software_list ** The High Priority Free Software Projects (HPP) initiative draws attention to areas of improvement to the HPP list and specific projects of great strategic importance to the goal of freedom for all computer users. Longtime committee member Benjamin Mako Hill said previously that an “updated High Priority Projects list is a description of the most important threats, and most critical opportunities, that free software faces in the modern computing landscape.” As computing is more ubiquitous than ever, the HPP list must reflect ongoing changes in priorities for the free software movement. The committee is starting the new process of updating the HPP, and we need your input. Fifteen years ago, the first version of the HPP list debuted with only four projects, three of them related to Java. Eighteen months later, Sun began to free Java users, proving the strength of advocacy campaigns for free software. Another example of the effectiveness of the list is when the HPP list called for a donor and contact management system, which was then promptly acted on by the developers of CiviCRM, who delivered the database management system that is currently still in use by the FSF and more than eleven thousand other nonprofit or governmental organizations. The list’s persuasive powers can help guide existing projects, developers looking for a new project, investors, and volunteers to direct their focus toward those projects that will deliver the greatest benefit to user freedom. # ** Intern_blog:_Journeying_into_the_free_software_world ** Hello, my name is Daniel Katz! I am beginning my internship with the FSF in the fall of 2020, where I will start by converting the sites used to draft the GNU General Public License version 3 (GPLv3), mostly https:// gplv3.fsf.org, into a static Web site that can be themed into a historical archive. I began my relationship with the FSF a few years back when I realized the need for free software, but did not have the technical skills to contribute to community projects. As such, I started by volunteering with the Licensing & Compliance team to digitize legal documents, and writing about free software in my school’s magazines. I started programming the summer before high school, where I taught myself Java in order to take the AP Computer Science A exam. From there, I learned Python, my current language of choice, and dove into the world of free software, doing everything from teaching to competitive programming. Recently, I worked on a project that used sentiment analysis and Twitter to get a feel of how people around the US are feeling about the coronavirus. I run GNU/Linux on my desktop and laptop. # ** FSF35_videos_online:_Find_them_on_PeerTube_and MediaGoblin ** On October 9th, 2020, we ended the Free Software Foundation’s (FSF) birthday week with an online anniversary event featuring both live and prerecorded segments. We were honored to have guests from different free software fields join us live for the celebration of the coral anniversary, and we were so thankful to receive prerecorded birthday messages from people in every corner of the world. Many supporters asked us after the birthday celebration was over if the exciting sessions we hosted would be available online. So many community members made such valuable and fascinating contributions, and we didn’t want you to miss out! Plus, the free software community is a global one, and between international members and American members who couldn’t take time out of a work day, there are plenty of people who wanted to participate but weren’t able. # **** Programming/Development **** # **** Perl/Raku **** # ** CY’s_Take_on_PWC#087_|_Moments_on_Perl_or other_Programming_Issues ** After the long-haul Sudoku Task, this week we come to meet two tiny tasks. # **** Rust **** # ** Rust_1.48_released ** In the new language update, the “unsafe” keyword is now syntactically permitted on modules. This is still rejected semantically, but can now be parsed by procedural macros. The stabilized -C link-self-contained= compiler flag, tells rustc whether to link its own C runtime and libraries or to rely on an external linker to find them. (Supported only on windows-gnu, linux-musl, and wasi platforms.) * **** Leftovers **** o ** The_projector_lamp_trap ** I’ve owned three different projectors in the last decade. All of them have been your average mid-range wall-mounted home-theater projector. Fool me thrice, and I’ve finally learned my lesson and bought a TV instead. Initially, I wanted a projector instead of a TV because it gave me a huge picture without burdening myself with a big and transport-unfriendly piece of furniture. I also disliked the idea of having a big and imposing black box in my living room. I decided to get a wall-mounted projector instead. The first projector I got was an Optoma. It lasted five years and went out with a literal bang when the bulb exploded and took with it the mirrors in the lamp housing as well. It sent shards of glass flying everywhere and down onto my head and all over the sofa. Let’s just say I was quite shocked by the episode. I wasn’t sure if the projector still worked or if some pieces of glass had embedded themselves into other components. I found a replacement bulb and lamp housing listed in one online store, but it cost almost as much as a new projector. I didn’t want to make an investment in replacement parts that I wasn’t sure would fix the problem. I decided to replace it with another newer Optoma model instead of trying to clean out all the glass, and investing in a new lamp housing that might not work. I checked the cost of a replacement bulb and lamp housing for the new model before buying it. The bulb and lamp housing for the new projector cost about 90 USD, but I didn’t buy it when I bought the new projector. o **** Integrity/Availability **** # **** Proprietary **** # **** Pseudo-Open Source **** # **** Privatisation/Privateering **** # **** Linux Foundation **** # ** November_2020_Linux_Foundation Newsletter ** # **** Security **** # ** Why_You_Should_Trust_Open_Source_Software Security_|_IT_Pro ** When it comes to open source vs. proprietary software security, security experts say open source software security sets the bar high. # ** SUSE_Private_Registry:_A_safe_Harbor_for_your containers._–_SUSE_Communities ** SUSE Private Registry provides integration points for container content vulnerability scanning services. Included by default is Trivy, a simple and comprehensive scanner that can search image contents for vulnerabilities in OS packages (for SLES, openSUSE, Alpine, RHEL, CentOS, Debian, and others) as well as many language/framework package managers (like Bundler, Composer, Pipenv, Poetry, npm, yarn, and Cargo). # ** Basics_of_Kubernetes_security_–_IBM_Developer ** Kubernetes is popular among developers and administrators, and the concepts of deploying, scaling, and managing containerized applications are very familiar. However, when production deployments are discussed, one area of Kubernetes that is critical to production deployments is security. It’s important to understand how the platform manages authentication and authorization of users and applications. If your Kubernetes cluster holds sensitive information such as bank account details, medical records, or anything confidential, you should take advantage of all the security precautions that Kubernetes offers. In addition, you can use plenty of non- Kubernetes-specific security tools and approaches to add extra security layers. o **** AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics **** # ** Merrick_Garland_Could_Be_A_Biden_Pick_For_Attorney General,_Sources_Say_:_Biden_Transition_Updates ** o **** Freedom of Information/Freedom of the Press **** # ** Rights,_Press_freedom_and_India_–_Experiences_in_the community ** This particular gentleman is a class apart. He is the editor as well as Republic TV, a right-leaning channel which demonizes the minority, women whatever is antithesis to the Central Govt. of India. As a result there have been a spate of cases against him in the past few months. But surprisingly, in each of them he got hearing the day after the suit was filed. This is unique in Indian legal history so much so that a popular legal site which publishes on-going cases put up a post sharing how he was getting prompt hearings. That post itself needs to be updated as there have been 3 more hearings which have been done back to back for him. This is unusual as there have been so many cases pending for the SC attention, some arguably more important than this gentleman . So many precedents have been set which will send a wrong message. The biggest one, that even though a trial is taking place in the sessions court (below High Court) the SC can interject on matters. What this will do to the morale of both lawyers as well as judges of the various Sessions Court is a matter of speculation and yet as shared unprecedented. The saddest part was when Justice Chandrachud said – o **** Civil Rights/Policing **** # ** Federal_judge_blocks_Trump_administration_attempt_at_new criminal_disqualifiers_to_asylum_–_MarketWatch ** o **** Monopolies **** # **** Patents **** # ** Missing_Inventor_Doomed_Broad’s_CRISPR_Patent_At_EPO ** The Broad Institute can’t take advantage of the priority date in provisional patent applications for the breakthrough gene- editing technology CRISPR because it didn’t list the same inventors on its subsequent European patent application, the European Patent Office Board of Appeal said earlier this month. In explaining why it upheld a decision revoking the Broad Institute’s patent in January, the appeal board faulted the research institute for leaving one of the inventors from its U.S. provisional patent applications off its European patent application. By doing so, the board said the institute lost its right to claim the provisional applications’ earlier priority date. # ** Patent_Office_Updates_You_Need_to_Know ** The U.S. Copyright Office is further extending emergency measures, including the extension of statutory deadlines for persons affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Register is extending the modifications for up to an additional 60 days, or through January 8, 2021. More information here. The European Patent Office (EPO) has announced that, effective January 4, 2021, oral proceedings before the Opposition Divisions will proceed only by videoconference. Oral proceedings before the Examining and Opposition Divisions that cannot be conducted via remote means will be postponed until after September 15, 2021. The EPO also updated remedies available to applicants in cases involving non-observance of time limits caused by COVID-19. # ** RF_Venue_Receives_Important_European_Diversity_Fin® Antenna_Patent ** RF Venue, Inc., a global leader in antenna and RF wireless communication products, today announced that it has received notice from the European Patent Office that it will grant a new patent for the company’s innovative Diversity Fin® Antenna platforms stemming from an earlier filing. The patent can be accessed at: https://data.epo.org/ publication-server/rest/v1.0/publication- dates/20180117/patents/EP3270462NWA2/ document.html The “Decision to grant a European patent pursuant to Article 97(1) EP” was granted on November 5, 2020, and allows RF Venue to further protect its products relating to the platform in the countries of Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom in the future. # ** Microbot_Medical_(MBOT)_Secures_Patents_in_Multiple Global_Jurisdictions ** Microbot Medical Inc. (Nasdaq: MBOT) announced that it has received patents in multiple jurisdictions, further demonstrating the Company’s continued execution of expanding and protecting its Intellectual Property (IP) portfolio. The Company now has 40 issued/allowed patents and 23 patent applications pending worldwide. “As we continue to make progress on the development, clinical and regulatory fronts, it is encouraging that we are also achieving our goals to broaden the protection of our novel technologies,” commented Harel Gadot, CEO, President and Chairman. “Strengthening our IP portfolio is a critical component of Microbot’s strategy for facilitating product evolution and maximizing future commercial opportunities.” # ** Patent_Games_in_the_Global_South ** On this Kat’s night stand during the long, locked-down nights in Florence was Amaka Vanni’s monograph Patent Games in the Global South: Pharmaceutical Patent Law-Making in Brazil, India and Nigeria (Hart 2020). Vanni is not just a legal scholar, but also a documentary filmmaker—and it shows in her writing. The from-the-ground-up account of pharmaceutical patents in Brazil, India and Nigeria she offers is timely and perceptive, and like a good documentary, it manages to be both objective and intimate. Vanni’s work comes at a time when structural racism and inequality are – at long last – being discussed in earnest [see Katpost here]. Feelings of hopelessness and defeat may all too easily take hold of us when considering the gross injustices perpetrated against former colonies and the echoes they carry still today. At the time of writing, atrocities are being committed by the government of Vanni’s home country, Nigeria, against peaceful protesters: once again, it seems that the world stands by idly. Patent Games in the Global South shows that, far from being insulated from these perverse relations of power, intellectual property [IP] laws can be tools for perpetuating colonial dominance at the expense of local populations. The strength of the book is that it tells us there is hope, and Vanni’s meticulous research may yet lead the way towards a more equitable system of IP in non- Western jurisdictions. # ** Update_from_the_EPO_on_Opposition_Oral_Proceedings ** Earlier this year, the EPO announced a pilot scheme for Opposition Division Oral Proceedings via videoconference. The pilot scheme, however, required that the parties to the proceedings agreed to the use of videoconference. This meant that parties could delay proceedings by refusing to attend via videoconference and one suspects that because of this, the EPO’s backlog of opposition cases has grown significantly since the beginning of 2020. In an attempt to combat the backlog, the EPO has now announced that the pilot scheme for videoconference Oral Proceedings at the Opposition Divisions will be extended to 15 September 2021, and that all in-person hearings will be postponed until after this date. From 4 January 2021, all examination and opposition hearings will therefore be held via videoconference and in-person hearings will only take place in exceptional circumstances (see here). # ** Update_From_The_EPO_On_Opposition_Oral_Proceedings ** While the Examination and Opposition Divisions seem to have embraced videoconference Oral Proceedings, there has been no further update at this time from the Boards of Appeal, which still seem to favour in-person hearings. # ** Statistics_on_PPH_requests_in_China ** According to the statistics of Patent Prosecution Highway(PPH) provided by CNIPA, by the end of December 2019, CNIPA has received 37,265 PPH requests, including 27,448 National-PPH requests and 9817 PCT-PPH requests. 【Number of PPH requests with CNIPA as the Office of Later Examination】 The applicants used 16,423 work product from the JPO, 12,461 from the USPTO, 4,697 from the EPO, 2,416 from the KIPO, 360 from the German Patent and Trademark Office and 202 from the Intellectual Property Office of the United Kingdom. # ** New_rules_of_procedure_for_EPO_Boards_of_Appeal_– amending_claims_in_appeal ** Since 1 January 2020 the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal of the EPO have become stricter. This has serious consequences for the timing of sending requests for amendments in pending patent applications or granted patents in opposition. IP managers responsible for spending money on European patent applications and patents should be aware that their European patent attorneys will ask for higher budgets during first-instance EPO proceedings because it has now become difficult, if not impossible, to ‘repair’ in appeal proceedings what has been omitted at first instance. Appeal proceedings are, essentially, only a new opportunity to convince the EPO of a viewpoint already presented in first-instance proceedings. It is advisable to be aware that the new rules of procedure also apply to pending appeals, even if filed long before 1 January 2020. In the past, I heard a European patent attorney from a German firm complaining: “I’m getting more and more fed up with the examiners at the EPO. It’s so hard to change their opinion. I’m now increasingly using the option to file a request for a ‘status of the file’ and I will then file an appeal and repair everything.” Such a request for the ‘status of the file’ means that the examiner refuses the application and summarises the grounds for the refusal. Such a refusal can be appealed. # ** Haseltine_Lake_Kempner’s_EPO_Patent_Applications Newsletter_Is_Out_Now! ** ╘══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛