𝕿𝖊𝖈𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘 Bulletin for Tuesday, March 02, 2021 ┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅ Generated Wed 3 Mar 02:32:03 GMT 2021 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 Latest in 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒕𝒙𝒕 and 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 Gemini index for the day: gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2021/03/02/ ╒═══════════════════ 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐁𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐒 ════════════════════════════════════╕ Previous bulletins in IPFS (past 21 days, in chronological order): QmRTYYDYWGusnRs1VNCbHotXnFPXSDYCGVCpks2kHY3LMV QmWRboy3r2TsVs4jD1ukWTvVuYKPfA7fAxMcZVPCw4JdaD QmS5kQC7XM7cx7EjP4hvTQPozshd2reueKci9cJCfnPRNd QmXEHK2QubTfVDK1uRnASYqfRg71omfujwZ1BL2hctbRKL QmcgJMK25sS8KvDP91WGCs8mnD3BshA4mPSR8uGCMM78po QmeidW7C3Nfeo5DgSCuymjXFCNx5k84CW3sDm1xEM1A2vP QmYjM6cB6Z4kvYjHhNvikrBtkxxJu73QFcw85MtznCkPZU QmTuWK5M8BKLKV9kTEfz5BQVkRY8kNjTJSzM4eTkGxvs7a QmVi8wWAB5K8XCTEczCW8tSfWokMSix8hkxfK2nsje5r6w QmR1AGsb7QQmjGiYD6vdxmjmBbmnaNAXuQhLGTmvHVW3Us QmSq5YcztpmMR2UuQfL1yBX7bkKXjs7FKyz6UsnMHPq58B QmXW6ZxAhHeW9g5wHY3DTL6JeZrEoXQw1ghASoRyrNHV4K QmbYNQUWNtVhAQYexu4jom3pG639whDzSgSoVmTABMxaX2 QmQvNZS1LAZnMM4hxFg93Fkzav1osAZoLLmACVyNWTvBEG QmP4sJsHWybFCR6L9YwJ4D9c4ty548pLdtooQKSTcnsvBj QmTJDPW4SySqJM91re39cWCksjMPCgmn9cidUgKb9EK8oY QmSw9S6gbPuCY6EoCWq13EveMmEX357wVLwTQEQyXkXLTn QmRLg7W2bYpr1JiQ6rXJd3frzGWwDsyWcVgiT5DQhV2Ma7 QmXwactwdWFj2TLvAXdStVi238in5okXcVFgsCkGsqexMZ QmcSwMjzRJLVJJk1ktjRc1CEDJ92YWeVn9qVE8ATewiQty QmcR4sVbAs9c71Bh9t9M8xCk5YQJAHUKEK9hpNtc3ZUxnk ╒═══════════════════ 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐗 ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ⦿ Pocock on Removing Cognitive Bias Around Consent | Techrights ⦿ ’GatoKeeper’/IP Kat (AstraZeneca) Still Suppressing and Censoring the Public Views or Internal EPO Talks About EPO Corruption | Techrights ⦿ IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 01, 2021 | Techrights ䷼ Bulletin articles (as HTML) to comment on (requires login): http://techrights.org/2021/03/02/cognitive-bias/#comments http://techrights.org/2021/03/02/gatokeeper/#comments http://techrights.org/2021/03/02/irc-log-010321/#comments ䷞ Followed by Daily Links (assorted news picks curated and categorised): http://techrights.org/2021/03/02/kiwi-tcms-10-0/#comments http://techrights.org/2021/03/02/refund-of-pre-installed-windows/#comments ䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 54 ╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ (ℹ) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2021/03/02/cognitive-bias/#comments Gemini version at gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2021/03/02/cognitive-bias/ ⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 03.02.21⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧ ✐ Pocock_on_Removing_Cognitive_Bias_Around_Consent⠀✐ Posted in Deception, Free/Libre_Software at 9:30 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz Reprinted with permission from Daniel_Pocock Having helped a number of groups in the Balkans, I’ve visited Tirana quite a few times and walked past the home of former dictator Enver Hoxha. Pictures of his basement were recently published_around_the_world. Prisoners would be brought there, bound and drugged to be interrogated. In Australia, when we hear about an_intoxicated_woman_being_taken_into_the defence_minister’s_office_in_the_middle_of_the_night some people seem to think it is more like a date gone wrong than the ordeals of those prisoners in Albania. In the mind of a victim, it is nothing like a date. 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇Enver_Hoxha_mansion,_Tirana,_Albania,_Brittany_Higgins, Bruce_Lehrmann,_defence_minister,_sofa⦈_ Yet everybody else just went about their duties as if this was business as usual. A few days later, the Minister conducted a meeting with the victim in the same location as the assault. If the victim couldn’t even sign the security log, how could the security staff imagine she would perform any normal duties? What, then, was the justification for her to be granted entry? Did visitors to Enver Hoxha’s villa sign the security book? Were they invited back for tea? 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇Australian_Parliament_House,_leaked_security_log⦈_ The woman concerned has demonstrated incredible courage by making her story public and that makes it even more compelling for people to ask questions like that. When I wrote about the_falsification_of_abuse_claims_against_Jacob_Appelbaum, I was thinking about the way such vendettas undermine the credibility of real abuse victims. The people who use the word abuse for just about every minor spat in the free, open source software community are stealing from the experiences of women like those coming forward in Australia today. 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇Chanel_Contos,_Kambala,_Instagram⦈_ It is worth looking at the 70_page_log_of_anonymous_abuse_reports_from_young women_in_Sydney and comparing it to the the_falsified_accusations_against_Jacob Appelbaum. The difference is immediately obvious. One of the most startling scenes I saw in the Balkans was a man raising his voice at female volunteers in exactly the same manner as one of the more controversial members of Australia’s parliament. Yet whenever other men try to defend women in these cases, we_are_accused_of_rocking_the_boat_or_subject_to counter_accusations. It is interesting how the blog_I_posted_in_November_opens_with_a_woman’s_story about_consent_in_a_different_context. Education about consent is the key demand of Chanel Contos and her friends. How can society give young people any credible education about consent when we have the constant surveillance of social media, invasive imaging systems at airports and all these other unwanted intrusions on a daily basis? In 2015, security staff at Melbourne Airport were disciplined after a pat_down search_of_the_Foreign_Minister,_Julie_Bishop. In the context of consent, does a deliberate pat down search from these bullies feel any less desirable than unwanted physical contact ordered by a machine? 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇Melbourne_Airport⦈_ Reforming views of consent requires much more than the improved school curriculum these women are rightly asking for. After my observations in the Balkans, one of the choices I made was to invest some of my time during the pandemic in the online course on Data, Economics and Development Policy now offered by MIT. Although it has a much stronger focus on data, it considers some of the same issues addressed by the_course_Miss_Contos decided_to_pursue_at_University_College_London. It is an uncanny coincidence, although it was many years before the current crisis, I completed my high school education at one of the schools for boys that Miss Contos has drawn attention to. Many men from every corner of Australian society share the concerns of these women. Enrolments_in_this_semester_of_the_MIT_DEDP_MicroMasters_are_closing_between_9 and_12_March. People can start immediately online doing just a single subject or all five. █ ⣿⣿⡟⡼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠈⠉⠉⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠋⠛⠛⠉⠋⠉⠁⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠁⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⢻⡇⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣷⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣴⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣦⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⠀⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⢸⡇⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⠰⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⠃⠀⣠⠀⠀⠸⡷⠀⠀⢀⣿⢸⣧⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⠿⡏⡸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠿⠿⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⣯⣤⣤⠀⠲⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀⠐⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⣿⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⠋⠀⠁⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠋⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠀⢀⠀⠠⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⡟⠃⠀⠀⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⠋⠀⠀⠀⢰⢹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣀⣀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢨⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⢿⣿⢿⣿⡇⢿⣇⠀⠀⡀⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣤⡀⠀⠀⢨⣿⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⡸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⢘⠙⠛⠛⠃⠀⢀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢈⡀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠛⠿⠇⠀⠄⠀⣸⠀⠀⠀⢀⠀⠀⠀⢠⠀⠀⠀⢸⡏⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡁⠰⠀⠀⠘⠛⠀⠛⠀⠀⠀⠈⠀⠀⢠⠀⠈⣡⢠⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⢻⣿⡇⢐⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀⠈⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⢹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⠀⠃⠀⠐⠘⠃⠀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠁⡀⠀⠉⠈⠀⠀⢻⣿⣿⣿⣿⡃⠀⢻⠆⠀⡆⠀⠈⠀⠀⠀⠄⠀⠀⠀⣄⠀⠀⠀⠸⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠀⠀⠑⠂⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢻⣿⣿⠒⠂⠀⢹⣿⣿⠉⠉⠇⠀⠈⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⠀⠀⠀⢸⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠃⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡀⠠⢴⡿⢽⠀⠀⠀⢸⠷⠀⠃⠀⠄⠀⠐⠀⠀⠀⠀⠰⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ 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⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠋⡀⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠂⠀⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⣀⣀⣤⣸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡏⡉⠛⠛⠻⠿⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡡⠊⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠀⠸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⣟⣀⣀⠀⣠⠀⠀⣄⠈⢩⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⣏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⣦⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠁⠀⢻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣾⣿⣦⣾⣿⣿⣿⡟⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣷⣄⡀⠀⠀⣠⣾⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠁⠀⠀⢹⠉⠙⣿⣿⣾⣿⣿⣿⠏⢀⣴⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⠿⠋⠉⠙⣿⣿⣿⣿⡷⠀⠀⢀⣀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⠀⠠⠀⡸⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⢠⣾⣿⣧⡀⠀⠀⠀⠸⡿⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠋⠁⠉⠛⠀⠀⠀⠛⢿⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⢦⣤⣈⠄⡇⡀⢠⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣇⣾⣿⣿⣿⣧⡤⣩⠒⠀⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠐⠂⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢐⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣇⢤⡤⣿⣉⣸⠁⠔⠜⠽⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠛⠓⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⢤⠷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⣇⣴⣟⣩⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⣤⣤⠥⣍⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣟⣿⣿⣔⢲⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣽⡿⠀⡴⠋⠀⠀⠀⣀⠀⠀⠈⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣼⣾⢾⣿⠻⠿⣿⣿⠿⡋⠡⠔⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣶⣶⣿⣯⣭⣽⣟⣛⣻⠿⠿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⡀⠀⠀⠀⣾⣿⠀⠀⠘⠿⠖⠂⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣼⣿⣿⠻⣿⣿⣆⣤⣶⣹⡑⣠⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⣯⡣⡞⠿⣎⣹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣞⠀⣼⣿⡿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⢀⣼⣿⣿⡿⢀⣤⣪⣙⣮⣷⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠛⠿⣿⣿⣿⠿⠋⠋⠁⠉⠃⠗⣿⣿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡰⢀⣾⣿⣿⣿⡧⡈⣶⣿⡿⠛⢉⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ 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‘GatoKeeper’/IP_Kat_(AstraZeneca)_Still_Suppressing_and_Censoring_the_Public Views_or_Internal_EPO_Talks_About_EPO_Corruption⠀✐ Posted in Europe, Patents at 12:22 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz Gato means cat, not gate Video_download_link http://techrights.org/videos/ipkat-eqe.webm Summary: The suppression of comments critical of the EPO‘s administration (especially corruption scandals surrounding António_Campinos and Benoît Battistelli) is a real problem; those ought not be a taboo subject in comments (where bloggers used to speak about those issues openly and regularly) THE blog IP_Kat was banned by the EPO about 5 years ago. Nothing has been the same since then. Key people vanished. “Merpel” became a forgotten pen name. Based on our understanding (private conversations), the original author and founder left, then some key people followed (they saw no reason to carry on once he left and even felt concerned that the site had fallen into the wrong hands). Who was left in charge? They left Mr. CIPA in charge and Bristows (Team UPC) “bloggers” carried on lying to readers about the UPC. Here we are in 2021 and UPC is nowhere in sight. So who was right and who was wrong? “The corporate media makes many of the same mistakes, wrongly assuming that penning corporate puff pieces won’t alienate loyal readers.”Anyway, now it’s safe to say that all EPO articles in the blog are composed by an AstraZeneca employee (not scholar; many of them gradually left) and the latest_comments make it perfectly clear that they’ve once again blocked my comment, which was on topic and highlighted a real_EQE_scandal. In the video above I explain that what we nowadays see in IP Kat reminds me a great deal of a PR technique associated with deflection. They_talk_about technical_issues, but never about legal issues (the EPO doing illegal things). Of course they never mentioned the EPO strike (December 15th) or anything to do with SUEPO. When did they last even mention SUEPO? Two years ago? The author says that the “EPO is instead using the WISEflow system in combination with the “LockDown browser”.” For those who don’t know, to call this ‘browser’ controversial would be an understatement. It’s likely illegal. Look up online all the criticisms of it. “Let’s hope the EPO are able to sort out some of these teething problems by tomorrow’s exam,” it says. As if the EQE problems boil down to some technical and unintended glitches. And later they wonder why so many writers left and the blog is barely active anymore… When you’re reposting self-serving and face-saving spin for CIPA (regarding PEB), the only sort of interaction to be expected in the comments is rebuttal (to falsehoods). The readers deserve better than this. Otherwise, they’ll drift away and go elsewhere. The corporate media makes many of the same mistakes, wrongly assuming that penning corporate puff pieces won’t alienate loyal readers. Once they lose their credibility they lose readership and then their potential to influence the world is diminished. They cease to operate. █ ䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 333 ╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ (ℹ) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2021/03/02/irc-log-010321/#comments Gemini version at gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2021/03/02/irc-log-010321/ ⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 03.02.21⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧ ✐ IRC_Proceedings:_Monday,_March_01,_2021⠀✐ Posted in IRC_Logs at 2:42 am by Needs Sunlight 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇H 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇HTML5_logs⦈_ #techrights_log_as_HTML5 #boycottnovell_log_as_HTML5 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇H 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇HTML5_logs⦈_ #boycottnovell-social_log_as_HTML5 #techbytes_log_as_HTML5 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇t 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇text_logs⦈_ #techrights_log_as_text #boycottnovell_log_as_text 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇t 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇text_logs⦈_ #boycottnovell-social_log_as_text #techbytes_log_as_text Enter_the_IRC_channels_now =============================================================================== § IPFS Mirrors⠀➾ CID Description Object type IRC log for  Qma8ba13KKE1BVnmvLBTw4Ln12FBA56zeaZhKpCnmSwVDS #boycottnovell 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #boycottnovell  Qmd6sgGb8Ma1dv9FXEJ37Nrw6ozBh36W36C3f8pnaZC2DK (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈ as plain/ASCII text) IRC log for #boycottnovell-  QmRkGbBtNipPBj5yYVAQWpT4sSS2KxS7CkEQjFfUQz1nY1 social 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #boycottnovell-  QmUbg9Evr2iRkmyj1spYk73gJhK2X84wezqPCJcnochdBi social 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈ (full IRC log as plain/ASCII text) IRC log for  QmdWJjeFvDhimatiUJ9rMjj3nmWV8e2tyxdL4RPr5LSqh6 #techbytes 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #techbytes  QmeKQJdvyqGLU3GWkX2GQELdmYDUX3diqxnqD6bqRqnpNc (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈ as plain/ASCII text) IRC log for  QmXjMGADZHjLiWNqt3nhpvfxdt9zxD6pGkn6iUgr9rgKkC #techrights 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #techrights  QmT4s2cGjjwHURRoyJJK2VoA7PHqeAagf9qAmJ6NkGi1ta (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈ as plain/ASCII text) 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇IPFS logo⦈ § Bulletin for Yesterday⠀➾ Local_copy | CID (IPFS): QmcR4sVbAs9c71Bh9t9M8xCk5YQJAHUKEK9hpNtc3ZUxnk ䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 447 ╒═══════════════════ 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 ═════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 03.02.21⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧ ✐ Links_3/3/2021:_IPFire_2.25_Core_Update_154,_Red_Hat_Satellite_6.8.4,_Kiwi TCMS_10.0⠀✐ Posted in News_Roundup at 9:26 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈ § Contents⠀➾ * GNU/Linux o Distributions o Devices/Embedded * Free_Software/Open_Source * Leftovers * § GNU/Linux⠀➾ o § Server⠀➾ # ⚓ Tachyum_Delivers_First_Software_Emulation_Systems⠀⇛ Native Tachyum Linux 5.10 o § Audiocasts/Shows⠀➾ # ⚓ KeyNav:_Eliminate_The_Mouse_From_Your_Life⠀⇛ Window managers are fairly keybaord driven experiences but a lot of GUI applications still require you to use a mouse but what if we had a quick way to navigate with just our keyboard, well that’s what KeyNav let’s us do. # ⚓ Linux_for_Normies?!_–_Ubuntu_Deepin_20.10_Review⠀⇛ Time to check in on one of the trendier desktop environments on top of the world’s most popular Linux distribution. # ⚓ Linux_on_Mars,_Mint_users_don’t_update,_block_the_whole web,_and_GNOME_40_on_multi-monitor_setups⠀⇛ This time, we have Linux on Mars, Mint users not doing their updates, /e/ phones shipping to the US and Canada, and a browser extension that makes the web unusable, but is still interesting. # ⚓ Episode_34_WIP_screenshot⠀⇛ First colors of the future episode start to appear this morning and I couldn’t resist to show you this screenshot (speechbubbles hidden) I still have a lot of work on the 10 pages and proofreaders work hard, but I’m confident for a release in March. # ⚓ Five_Tips_For_The_Openbox_Window_Manager⠀⇛ Openbox has always been my favorite floating window manager. It holds a special place in my heart due it being the first window manager that I used when I switched to Linux. And I still find it so darn comfy to use! # ⚓ The_Waybig_Machine_|_LINUX_Unplugged_395⠀⇛ It’s our worst idea yet. We share the password to our brand-new server and see who can own the box first. Whoever wins gets a special prize. Plus how Archive.org uses Linux, and more. o § Kernel Space⠀➾ # ⚓ Xen_4.15_RC1_–_Please_test⠀⇛ Xen 4.15 is in code freeze, and we cut RC1 yesterday. Please help us test it to make sure Xen 4.15 is a high quality release (and that it works well for your use cases!) # ⚓ New_NTFS_Driver_Misses_Out_On_Linux_5.12_But_Revved_A_22nd Time⠀⇛ While Linux 5.12 has many great new features, what you won’t find in the mainline kernel is the new “NTFS3″ kernel driver developed by Paragon Software for NTFS file-systems. That driver is still coming for a future kernel and has now been sent out a twenty-second time for review. Last summer was the big surprise of Paragon wanting to upstream their NTFS kernel driver to replace the Linux kernel’s existing NTFS driver that is mostly read-only and quite basic. Paragon’s “NTFS3″ driver fully supports reads and writes and many other features not found with the existing Linux driver. This new driver is much better off for those needing to deal with Microsoft NTFS file-systems from Linux. The NTFS3 driver is also more performant than the FUSE-based NTFS driver that is also available and currently preferred by some distributions. # ⚓ That_Linux_5.12_Severe_Data_Corruption_Bug_Hits_Intel_CI Systems_–_Issue_Caused_By_Swap_File⠀⇛ Last week I issued a warning of possible data loss on the early Linux 5.12 kernel code that was reliably leaving my test systems severely corrupted. Intel’s internal graphics test systems it turns out have now been bitten by this issue in encountering this significant file-system corruption and as such they’ve been quick to jump on the issue – there’s now an idea what’s causing the nasty issue and a workaround by reverting select patches. As reported last week, on my test systems with the Linux 5.12 kernel I have been suffering from significant data corruption during benchmarking. Running e2fsck on the EXT4 file-systems would yield a plethora of errors and ultimately not recoverable. Besides the fact of having to either recover from a backup image or reinstall from scratch each time, making it more complex was seeing this behavior even before EXT4 file-system changes were merged for the 5.12 cycle and they tended to be on the mundane side anyhow — likely indicating a problem elsewhere in the kernel and not something specific to EXT4, just that many of my test systems are using EXT4. # § Graphics Stack⠀➾ # ⚓ RADV_Vulkan_Driver_Adds_Option_To_Force_Smart_Access Memory_Behavior⠀⇛ The latest “Smart Access Memory” work by the open-source AMD Radeon graphics driver stack is an option for the RADV Vulkan driver to force the “SAM” behavior even if the system is not advertising all the video RAM as visible or even if using APU graphics. o § Applications⠀➾ # ⚓ RNR_Is_A_Terminal_File_Manager_That_Combines_Features_From Midnight_Commander_and_Ranger⠀⇛ RNR File Manager (RNR’s Not Ranger) is a new terminal file manager for Linux that combines features of Midnight Commander and Ranger in order to provide the best of both worlds, while also offering a robust file copier. The text-based application is officially supported only on Linux, but it may work on macOS, FreeBSD or Cygwin. However, if you get errors on non-Linux systems, the developer mentions that they won’t consider them as bugs. o § Instructionals/Technical⠀➾ # ⚓ How_To_Install_Netdata_on_Linux_Mint_20_–_idroot⠀⇛ In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Netdata on Linux Mint 20. For those of you who didn’t know, Netdata is a free and open-source real-time monitoring and troubleshooting tool for cloud servers, containers, applications, and on- premise IT infrastructure. You can view the results in a highly interactive web-dashboard. Using Netdata, you can get a clear idea of what is happening now, and what happened before in your systems and applications. You don’t need to be an expert to deploy this tool in your Linux systems. 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 the Netdata monitoring on a Linux Mint 20 (Ulyana). # ⚓ How_To_Install_Postfix_on_Ubuntu_20.04_LTS_–_idroot⠀⇛ In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Postfix on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. For those of you who didn’t know, Postfix is a free and open-source MTA (Mail Transfer Agent) used for routing or delivering emails on a Linux system. By the default configuration it permits local mailing, however in itself it is very useful on a machine used by many customers, or even if there may be no such visitors, many services dump their reviews and messages into e-mails, which is introduced to the root consumer locally, so the sysadmin might be noticed on any activities when he/she logs in and switches to root user. 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 the Postfix mail 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. # ⚓ How_to_Setup_FTP_Server_with_VSFTPD_on_Ubuntu_20.04_| Linuxize⠀⇛ This article describes how to install and configure an FTP server on Ubuntu 20.04 that you use to share files between your devices. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a standard network protocol used to transfer files to and from a remote network. There are several open-source FTP servers available for Linux. The most known and widely used are PureFTPd , ProFTPD , and vsftpd . We’ll be installing vsftpd (Very Secure Ftp Daemon), a stable, secure, and fast FTP server. We will also show you how to configure the server to restrict users to their home directory and encrypt the entire transmission with SSL/TLS. Although FTP is a very popular protocol, for more secure and faster data transfers, you should use SCP or SFTP . # ⚓ How_to_install_FreeCAD_on_Linux_Mint_20.1_–_YouTube⠀⇛ In this video, we are looking at how to install FreeCAD on Linux Mint 20.1. # ⚓ How_to_install_thinkorswim_Desktop_on_a_Chromebook⠀⇛ Today we are looking at how to install thinkorswim Desktop on a Chromebook. Please follow the video/ audio guide as a tutorial where we explain the process step by step and use the commands below. o § Wine or Emulation⠀➾ # ⚓ Wine_6.3_Built-in_vs_DXVK_1.8:_A_Comparison_Of_Two_Very Different_DirectX_Implementations⠀⇛ Wine is not an emulator, it is a re-implementation of the Windows APIs. Wine implements DirectX 9-11 by translating the DirectX APIs to OpenGL API calls. There is an alternative DirectX implementation called DXVK that can be used with Wine. It translates DirectX API calls to Vulkan. Most Linux users who play game think DXVK is faster than Wines built-in translation layer. Is it, and if so, how much faster is DXVK? o § Games⠀➾ # ⚓ Steam_On_Linux_In_February_Still_Residing_Below_1%_– Phoronix⠀⇛ Valve has released their updated Steam Survey figures for February 2021. For January, the reported Steam Linux usage hit 0.91%, similar to where it was in November of last year. With the ongoing success of Steam Play (Proton + DXVK/VKD3D-Proton) for running many modern Windows games well under Linux, Steam on Linux has been enjoying the upper sub-1% space on a monthly basis — normally 0.8~0.9%. # ⚓ Try_the_demo_of_Dashing_Dodgems,_a_frantic_and_hilarious bumper_cars_party_game⠀⇛ In development by Yellowcake Games, it’s all about last driver remaining and it’s really fun. When a match starts to take too long, the world will start to crumble around you with tiles vanishing into the water. You cars can annihilate the environment too, which you need to do to get power-ups hidden inside buildings – which is quite satisfying when you bump your way through a town. [...] You can follow it on Steam and try the Linux demo on itch.io. # ⚓ You_can_now_beam_Steam_games_from_your_PC_to_practically anyone,_anywhere,_for_free⠀⇛ Valve is significantly expanding your ability to share games at home and with your friends for free using Steam. One change is the introduction of a Linux version of its Steam Link app, which lets you stream games from a computer to a device with the Steam Link app installed on the same local network. This new Linux version means that you can now stream games from a computer to a Linux-based set top box hooked up to a TV, for example. The app is also available on Android, iOS, and Raspberry Pi. # ⚓ Steam_Link_app_now_available_for_the_Linux_desktop⠀⇛ Valve along with their partners at open source consulting firm Collabora have ported over the standalone Steam Link application to the traditional Linux desktop. Originally available as the Steam Link hardware that was discontinued in 2018, which Valve then replaced with the standalone application. The idea is that it allows you to stream content from Steam on one PC to another, or to a different device like an Android phone. Previously the app was only supported for Windows, iOS, Android, or a Raspberry Pi but that ends now with the official announcement today adding traditional Linux desktops to the mix. # ⚓ Steam_Link_Is_Now_Available_on_Linux_to_Stream_Your_Steam Games_on_Any_Device/a>⠀⇛ Launched by Valve about 5 and a half years ago, the Steam Link app is available free of charge for Android, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Raspberry Pi devices to let you stream your Steam games to phones, tablets, and TVs. Thanks to the awesome developers from Collabora, the Steam Link app is now available for 64-bit Linux systems as a Flatpak app that you can install on any GNU/Linux distribution from Flathub. o § Desktop Environments/WMs⠀➾ # § K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt⠀➾ # ⚓ ABI_checking⠀⇛ There is no day so wasted that you can’t take notes about what didn’t work, so here’s some talk about ABI-compliance-checking. ABI- compliance, or ABI-compatibility, is roughly when a shared library can be changed (to a different version, usually an update and upgrade) and users of that shared library (applications, or other libraries) just work with the new version. This requires some discipline, and there are tools to help out. [...] One way to help maintain binary compatibility is to use tools that check the ABI: figure out the shape of the ABI in one version, the shape in another version, and compare those shapes. KDE Frameworks have checks in place, like this one (that link assumes openSUSE and Qt 5.15 are still in use and that there was a recent successful build). Generally, an ABI-shape getting bigger is not a problem (from a technical perspective, although you can have all kinds of semantic mix-ups). Things that go away – functions, variables, etc. – those are problematic. Calamares is a Linux system installer – it can be customized by Linux distro’s to act as the installer for their ISO images. It’s a C++ program offering modules for all kinds of system-installation services. It also offers an ABI: the modules use the ABI of the Calamares libraries to talk to the main program. Calamares supports “third-party” modules, e.g. modules specific to one distro or otherwise customized, and for those third- party modules, ABI compatibility suddenly becomes an issue: it would be nice if they didn’t have to be recompiled when a new Calamares library comes out. That can only happen if the Calamares libraries commit to ABI compatibility. o § Distributions⠀➾ # § New Releases⠀➾ # ⚓ CoreELEC_19.0_“Matrix”_Linux_Distro_Released_for Amlogic_Hardware_Based_on_Kodi_19⠀⇛ As its codename suggests, CoreELEC 19.0 “Matrix” is the first release of this LibreELEC fork to be based on the recently released Kodi 19.0 “Matrix” open-source home theater software, which introduces numerous new featiures and improvements for those who want to make their own media center PC or HTPC. Based on the CoreELEC 9.2.6 Amlogic-NG release, the CoreELEC 19.0 series becomes the active development branch, supporting only Amlogic-NG devices like LaFrite, LePotato, ODROID-C4, ODROID-HC4, and ODROID-N2. # ⚓ IPFire_2.25_–_Core_Update_154_released⠀⇛ The first update of the year will be an enormous one. We have been working hard in the lab to update the underlying operating system to harden and improve IPFire and we have added WPA3 client support and made DNS faster and more resilient against broken Internet connections. This is probably the release with the largest number of package updates. This is necessary for us to keep the system modern and adopt any fixes from upstream projects. Thank you to everyone who has contributed by sending in patches. Before we talk about what is new, I would like to as you for your support for our project. IPFire is a small team of people from a range of backgrounds sharing one goal: make the Internet a safer place for everyone. Like many of our open source friends, we’ve taken a hit this year and would like to ask for your continued support. # § PCLinuxOS/Mageia/Mandriva/OpenMandriva Family⠀➾ # ⚓ KDE_Plasma_desktop_updated_to_5.21.2⠀⇛ The KDE Plasma desktop packages have been updated to 5.21.2. This is a minor bug fix update and available as an update provided that you are using KDE. # ⚓ Viber_updated_to_13.3.1.22⠀⇛ With Viber for Desktop you can make free international calls from your computer to any other Viber user, resting assured your calls and messages are protected by end-to-end encryption. # ⚓ Songkong_updated_to_7.1⠀⇛ Song Kong is an intelligent music tagger app designed to make the task of managing, organizing and cleaning up your digital music collection easy. Lite version is free. Professional version require purchase of a license. # ⚓ Mailspring_email_updated_to_1.8.0⠀⇛ Mailspring is a new version of Nylas Mail maintained by one of the original authors. It’s faster, leaner, and shipping today! It replaces the JavaScript sync code in Nylas Mail with a new C++ sync engine based on Mailcore2. It uses roughly half the RAM and CPU of Nylas Mail and idles with almost zero “CPU Wakes”, which translates to great battery life. It also has an entirely revamped composer and other great new features. # ⚓ Web_Browser_updates_»_PCLinuxOS⠀⇛ The following web browsers have been updated to the most current versions. basilisk-2021.02.06-1pclos2021.x86_64.rpm chromium-browser-88.0.4324.182- 1pclos2021.x86_64.rpm brave-1.21.71-1pclos2021.x86_64.rpm naver-whale-stable-2.9.114.33- 1pclos2021.x86_64.rpm microsoft-edge-90.0.803.0- 1pclos2021.x86_64.rpm waterfox-2021.02-1pclos2021.x86_64.rpm # § SUSE/OpenSUSE⠀➾ # ⚓ openSUSE_Review:_A_Linux_Distro_for_the_Practical User⠀⇛ When looking for a Linux distro, it’s easy to lose sight of the important differences between distros and get overwhelmed. The subtle differences can make all the difference in choosing a distro, and that’s where distro reviews like this come in. Here we discuss a long-standing member of the community that’s less common on the desktop but is still an excellent choice for your desktop in our review of openSUSE, a Linux distro for the practical user. [...] One thing I don’t much like about openSUSE is the relatively old kernel it’s using. 5.3 is in the range where it’s borderline if it’ll work well with particularly new or obscure hardware, so I wouldn’t plan to install openSUSE on your brand new workstation or laptop. It may have some issues with newer hardware. Overall, openSUSE is an excellent distro for users wanting to set up a workstation or desktop that’s easy to manage and use but doesn’t have to do anything beyond standard workstation or desktop features. Gamers may not like openSUSE because of the older kernel. I hope you enjoyed our openSUSE review. Make sure you check out some of our other Distro reviews, like GhostBSD, Clear Linux, MX Linux, and ArcoLinux. # ⚓ Digest_of_YaST_Development_Sprint_118⠀⇛ You may know that both the SUSE and openSUSE families of operating systems include container-oriented members, namely openSUSE MicroOS and SLE Micro. In order to make them even more awesome, we got the request to make possible to propose and configure the usage of Security-Enhanced Linux, more widely known as SELinux, during the (auto)installation. This is a complex change affecting several parts of YaST and various versions of (open)SUSE, but you can get a good overview in the description of this pull request which includes some screenshots that may be worth a thousand words. Right now, the feature may look different on each one of the distributions due to the different state of SELinux on them. While in SLE Micro the new setting is visible during installation and activated at its more restrictive level, in others it may look more permisive or even not be presented at all. We expect things to consolidate during the upcoming weeks. And talking about things that take their time, for a long time we had wanted to improve the usability of the configuration of wireless network adapters. Finally we found the time to reorganize the corresponding tab in the YaST Network module, improving the mechanism to select a wireless network and automatically pre-filling as much information as possible. You can see the result in the following animation and in the detailed pull request with the usual before-and-after screenshots. # § IBM/Red Hat/Fedora⠀➾ # ⚓ IBM_Cloud_Satellite_enables_clients_to_deliver_cloud securely_in_any_environment_including_at_the_edge⠀⇛ IBM has announced that its “hybrid cloud services are now generally available in any environment – on any cloud, on premises or at the edge – via IBM Cloud Satellite, with Lumen Technologies and IBM integrating IBM Cloud Satellite with the Lumen edge platform to “enable clients to harness hybrid cloud services in near real-time and build innovative solutions at the edge.” IBM tells us its Cloud Satellite solution brings “a secured, unifying layer of cloud services for clients across environments, regardless of where their data resides.” # ⚓ Red_Hat_Adds_Common_Criteria_Certification_for_Red Hat_Enterprise_Linux_8⠀⇛ # ⚓ Red_Hat_Delivers_a_More_Secure_Foundation_for_Modern Applications_with_First_FIPS_140-2_Validation_for_Red Hat_Enterprise_Linux_8⠀⇛ -Red Hat, Inc., the world’s leading provider of open source solutions, today announced the renewal of the Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2 (FIPS 140-2) security validation for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.1. This is the first FIPS certification for the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 platform, showing Red Hat’s continued commitment to providing a more secure and production-ready set of open hybrid cloud technologies built on the latest generation of the world’s leading enterprise Linux platform. # ⚓ Red_Hat_Satellite_6.8.4_has_been_released⠀⇛ We are pleased to announce that Red Hat Satellite 6.8.4 is generally available as of February 23, 2021. # § Debian Family⠀➾ # ⚓ Sparky_System⠀⇛ There is a new, small application available for Sparkers: Sparky System # § Canonical/Ubuntu Family⠀➾ # ⚓ Linux_Mint_may_start_pushing_high-priority_patches_to users⠀⇛ Community Linux distributions are easygoing with updates and patches. Yes, they’d like you to update, but they don’t insist on it. Now, though, the popular Linux Mint distribution has had enough of people running out-of-date distributions and programs. In the future, Mint’s Update Manager may “insist” you make important security updates. [...] Yes, Linux tends to be more secure than other operating systems, but that doesn’t mean there have been no serious security bugs. For example, a decade-old sudo bug has recently been patched, and the ancient — but always troublesome — memory addressing tool set_fs() was finally removed. As lead Mint maintainer Clement “Clem” Lefebvre wrote, you must update not just because an outdated system is vulnerable, “it is known to be vulnerable.” Besides, Update Manager doesn’t just patch Linux bugs, it also updates and patches all software on your Linux system. So, for example, when you update Linux Mint, you’re also updating the default Firefox web browser. # ⚓ Updating_Snap_Bases⠀⇛ This is a bit of a dayjob post, but as I maintain a bunch of snaps in my own time, I figured it’s not out of place here. Typically when I (or indeed any developer) uses snapcraft to build a snap, a snapcraft.yaml drives the process. I’ll integrate some kind of CI or build system, and start publishing to the Snap Store. Usually, once created, the yaml doesn’t need much in the way of changes. Back when we first started building snaps, we were using Ubuntu 16.04 LTS systems. At runtime the snap would leverage the base of core. The core snap is a super minimal Ubuntu 16.04 LTS runtime environment. Since then we’ve had releases of core18 based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and more recently, core20 based off Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. The observant will note the original base core isn’t called core16 which is a shame, but hey-ho. In the early days it wasn’t necessary to specify a base in the snapcraft.yaml because it was assumed to always be core. Indeed I don’t think early releases of snapcraft even had a base option. [...] Other snaps will certainly require more invasive changes, but I thought this would be a good example of a simple snap which only needed a few updates to bring it up to spec. o § Devices/Embedded⠀➾ # ⚓ Jetson_TX2_NX_module_offers_TX2_power_in_a_Nano_footprint⠀⇛ Nvidia has launched a 260-pin “Jetson TX2 NX” variant of the TX2 with 4GB LPDDR4, 16GB eMMC, and slightly reduced camera, display, and PCIe Gen2 support. Nvidia has introduced a spin-down of the Jetson TX2 compute module that falls between the TX2 and the lower-end Jetson Nano. The Jetson TX2 NX runs Linux on the same hexa-core CPU and 256-core Pascal GPU with 1.33-TOPS AI performance as the TX2, and it supplies the same 4GB LPDDR4 and 16GB eMMC as the lower-end 4GB TX2 module. However, it moves from a 400-pin board-to-board edge connector to the 260- pin connector found on the Nano and higher-end Jetson Xavier NX, and has fewer PCIe Gen2, MIPI- CSI, MIPI-DSI, and other interfaces. # ⚓ Net_appliance_boasts_four_10GbE_ports_and_up_to_three wireless_links⠀⇛ Aaeon’s “FWS-2365” net appliance runs on an up to 16-core Atom C3000 with up to 6x GbE and 4x 10GbE SFP+ ports plus 2x SATA, 2x USB, 2x mini-PCIe, M.2, and eMMC. Aaeon announced a desktop network appliance for white box uCPE and SD-WAN applications with VPN support and NFV functions such as firewall and router deployment. The FWS-2365 follows earlier FWS branded appliances such as the FWS-2360 and FWS- 7360, which similarly feature Intel’s 4x to 16x core Atom C3000 (“Denverton”) networking SoC. No OS support was listed, but the FWS-2360 supports Linux. # ⚓ Raspberry_Pi_RP2040_boards_are_coming_with…_HDMI?⠀⇛ We’ve already seen Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU can support VGA output using the microcontroller’s programmable I/O blocks. But yesterday, I saw two upcoming RP2040 boards with an HDMI connector. How is that supposed to work? The first one is Olimex RP2040-PICO-PC that’s indeed like a pico PC board with an HDMI connector for video, a micro SD card for storage, a standard 3.5mm audio jack for speaker or headphone, and a USB host for a keyboard. o § Free, Libre, and Open Source Software⠀➾ # ⚓ Big_Gains_for_Open_Aerospace:_Interview_with_Open_Research Institute⠀⇛ The Open Research Institute (ORI) is an OSI Affiliate project that works to facilitate worldwide collaboration in the development of technology. The past year has been a particularly exciting one — achieving some groundbreaking wins for open source in aerospace. ORI’s co-founder and CEO, Michelle Thompson took some time out of her busy schedule to talk with me about their recent regulatory initiatives. DN: Can you tell us a little bit about the Open Research Institute’s history and mission? MT: Open Research Institute’s mission is to provide a friendly, safe, and accessible place to do open source research and development for amateur radio and beyond. We have been fully operational since March 2019 and have contributed technical and regulatory work central to the mission of the international amateur radio service. This work is useful outside of the amateur community because it allows a wide variety of organizations to use open source communications technology where they would otherwise have to reinvent a wheel, or restrict the work to US persons only. DN: It was a big year for ORI, with the determination that “Open Source Satellite Work” is free of International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR.) What prompted ORI to draft a commodity jurisdiction request? MT: We were able to do this work due to the generous support of YASME Foundation, ARRL Foundation, and ARDC Foundation. Without their generous financial support and guidance, the technical and regulatory victories over the past 18 months would simply not have happened. # § Web Browsers⠀➾ # § Chromium⠀➾ # ⚓ New_in_Chrome_89 ⠀⇛ Chrome 89 is starting to roll out to stable now. # ⚓ Chrome_89_Released_With_Various_New_Web_APIs Deemed_Stable⠀⇛ Chrome 89 is out today as the latest stable version of Google’s web browser. With Chrome 89 various new APis are deemed stable including WebHID, WebNFC, and Web Serial. Chrome 89 promoted its WebHID, WebNFC, and Web Serial support with those APIs for HID devices, near field communication, and serial devices being deemed ready for production use. Chrome 89 is also significant for AV1 encoding support for WebRTC in early form. # § Mozilla⠀➾ # ⚓ DevOps_at_Mozilla⠀⇛ I first joined Mozilla as an intern in 2010 for the “Tools and Automation Team” (colloquially called the “A- Team”). I always had a bit of difficulty describing our role. We work on tests. But not the tests themselves, the the thing that runs the tests. Also we make sure the tests run when code lands. Also we have this dashboard to view results, oh and also we do a bunch of miscellaneous developer productivity kind of things. Oh and sometimes we have to do other operational type things as well, but it varies. # § Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra⠀➾ # ⚓ Update_on_tender_for_a_built-in_UNO_object_inspection tool_in_LibreOffice⠀⇛ In July last year, we launched a tender to implement a dedicated, built-in UNO object inspection tool in LibreOffice. UNO refers to Unified Network Objects, the component model used by the software. Tomaž Vajngerl was assigned to work on the tender, and has blogged about his progress. He discusses the point-and-click functionality to inspect selected objects in the document, and his next steps. # § CMS⠀➾ # ⚓ Kiwi_TCMS_10.0⠀⇛ We’re happy to announce Kiwi TCMS version 10.0! # ⚓ WordPress_5.7_Release_Candidate_2⠀⇛ The second release candidate for WordPress 5.7 is now available! [...] Thank you to all of the contributors who tested the Beta/RC releases and gave feedback. Testing for bugs is a critical part of polishing every release and a great way to contribute to WordPress. # § FSF⠀➾ # ⚓ PRESS:_Hardware_hacker_and_academic_Nadya_Peek_to keynote_LibrePlanet_2021⠀⇛ The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today announced digital fabrication expert and University of Washington assistant professor Nadya Peek as a keynote speaker for LibrePlanet 2021. The annual technology and social justice conference will be held online on March 20 and 21, 2021, with the theme “Empowering Users.” [...] At this year’s LibrePlanet conference, Peek will discuss the increasingly ambiguous dividing line between hardware and software, and how everyone can ensure that the physical tools created by digital fabrication methods are as hackable and reconfigurable as free software tools. On Peek’s announcement as LibrePlanet 2021′s third keynote speaker announcement, FSF program manager Zoë Kooyman stated, “Her work in human-centered design is exactly that: human-centered. Nadya Peek’s research and work is guided by the powerful belief that machines, as well as the concept of automation itself, can be approached in a different way. By giving users access to all the pieces they could need to build a machine, she gives individuals the creative freedom to make or automate almost anything. It’s empowering to the core and we’re excited to learn more about her work.” Asked to comment on being selected to keynote at the LibrePlanet conference, Peek stated, “LibrePlanet has an amazing community. I like it when I’m the person in the room who knows the fewest FFmpeg [a popular free software multimedia encoder] flags by heart. I’m very excited to spend time together, albeit virtually during an extremely strange time.” # § Programming/Development⠀➾ # ⚓ Intel_Looking_To_Upstream_A_Proper_SPIR-V_Compute Back-End_For_LLVM⠀⇛ It’s been talked about many times from various parties but so far has remained elusive from the mainline LLVM code-base: a SPIR-V back-end for LLVM that would go from LLVM into this Khronos intermediate representation most notably used by OpenCL and Vulkan drivers. Intel engineers are stepping up and hope to help get a proper SPIR-V back-end upstreamed into LLVM. There have been various out-of-tree efforts and plans talked about by different companies/developers for having a SPIR- V back-end in LLVM as this key IR supported by the modern Khronos APIs. With Intel’s latest push and “request for comments”, they are looking to have a proper back-end in LLVM for targeting SPIR-V — initially with a compute focus but the possibility of extending to 3D shader support for Vulkan later on. # § Python⠀➾ # ⚓ Python_For_Loop_Examples_–_nixCraft⠀⇛ ow and when do I use for loops under Python programming language? How can I use the break and continue statements to alter the flow of a Python loop? A for loop is a Python statement which repeats a group of statements a specified number of times. You can use any object (such as strings, arrays, lists, tuples, dict and so on) in a for loop in Python. This page explains the basics of the Python for loop in including break and continue statements. * § Leftovers⠀➾ o § Health/Nutrition⠀➾ # ⚓ The_Military_Can’t_Get_Troops_to_Take_the_Covid_Vaccine. Come_Again?⠀⇛ About one-third of military service members are refusing to take the coronavirus vaccine. In some units, refusal rates exceed half of members. At a time when the virus remains as dangerous as ever, this is bananas. Yet the military says troops who decline the vaccine will face no repercussions or changes to their assigned duties, meaning even uninoculated troops will remain deployable around the country and the world. What the hell is going on? # ⚓ Kremlin_rejects_analysis_warning_that_Russia’s_rising_food prices_could_provoke_unrest⠀⇛ During a press conference on Monday, March 1, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refuted recent analysis from Bloomberg that listed Russia as one of the “five hotspots” where rising food prices could provoke political unrest. o § Integrity/Availability⠀➾ # § Proprietary⠀➾ # ⚓ AJA_Desktop_Software_v16_Brings_HDR_over_SDI,_Expands IP_Video_Functions,_and_More⠀⇛ Desktop Software v16 includes compatibility updates for the latest macOS, Windows and Linux operating systems, including support for macOS 11.x Big Sur, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Redhat/CentOS 8 and continuing support for Windows 10 updates. # ⚓ ONLYOFFICE_Docs_6.2:_Main_updates_and_a_quick installation_guide_for_Ubuntu [Ed: This is misleading. ONLYOFFICE is proprietary software with an openwashing edition]⠀⇛ ONLYOFFICE Docs is an open-source office suite distributed under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3 (AGPLv3) which is composed of online editors for text documents, spreadsheets and presentations. ONLYOFFICE Docs is fully compatible with the OOXML formats (DOCX, XLSX and PPTX) and can be integrated with multiple cloud storage platforms and services such as Nextcloud, ownCloud, Seafile, Alfresco, Confluence, Nuxeo, SharePoint, etc. Apart from this, you can embed it into your own application using API. # § Pseudo-Open Source⠀➾ # § Privatisation/Privateering⠀➾ # § Linux Foundation⠀➾ # ⚓ Learn_About_the_RISC-V_ISA_with_Two Free_Training_Courses_from_The_Linux Foundation_and_RISC-V_International⠀⇛ The Linux Foundation, the non-profit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, and RISC-V International, a non-profit corporation controlled by its members to drive the adoption and implementation of the free and open RISC-V instruction set architecture (ISA), have announced the release of two new free online training courses to help individuals get started with the RISC-V ISA. The courses are available on edX.org, the online learning platform founded by Harvard and MIT. “RISC-V International is committed to providing opportunities for people to gain a deeper understanding of the RISC-V ISA and expand their skills,” shared Calista Redmond, CEO, RISC-V International. “These courses will allow everyone to build deeper technical insight, learn more about the benefits of open collaboration, and engage with RISC-V for design freedom.” With the recent market momentum of RISC-V cores, systems-on-chips (SoCs), developer boards, and software and tools across computing from embedded to enterprise, there is a strong community need to empower individuals who understand how to implement and utilize RISC-V. In order to help meet that demand, The Linux Foundation and RISC- V International designed these free online courses to significantly reduce the barrier to entry for those interested in gaining RISC- V skills. # ⚓ Linux_Foundation_and_RISC- V_International_launch_free_RISC- V_training_classes_|_ZDNet⠀⇛ RISC-V, the emerging open- source instruction set processor architecture, is growing up. Sure, most of the attention has come from hardware hackers playing on RISC-V processors on development boards from companies such as SiFive. SparkFun, and BeagleBoard. There’s even a BBC Doctor Who-branded RISC-V mini- computer for kids. But, according to RISC-V CTO Mark Himelstein, RISC- V processors have already found a home in data centers and Alibaba cloud servers. So, it’s high time for classes on how to use this new open-source hardware architecture. # ⚓ New_Mobile_Native_Foundation_to Foster_Development_Collaboration⠀⇛ # ⚓ New_Mobile_Native_Foundation_to Foster_Development_Collaboration⠀⇛ The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced the Mobile Native Foundation (MNF). The MNF will bring developers together to improve processes and technologies that support large-scale Android and iOS applications. Organizations contributing to this effort include Airbnb, Capital One, Corellium, Elotl, Flare.build, GitHub, GogoApps, Haystack, Line, LinkedIn, Lyft, Microsoft, Peloton, Robinhood, Sauce Labs, Screenplay.dev, Slack, Solid Software, Spotify, Square and Uber. # § Security⠀➾ # ⚓ Ubuntu_Blog:_GRUB2_Secure_Boot_Bypass_2021⠀⇛ In August 2020, a set of security vulnerabilities in GRUB2 (the GRand Unified Bootloader version 2) collectively known as BootHole were disclosed. Today, another set of vulnerabilities in GRUB2 were disclosed, with similar implications. Because GRUB2 is a key component of the boot process, vulnerabilities in it can permit attackers to violate the integrity promises of UEFI Secure Boot. In this blog post we will discuss these vulnerabilities as well as the changes that have been made to Ubuntu to both mitigate them, and to make the update process easier for any future similar scenarios. As discussed back in August 2020, the UEFI Secure Boot process in Ubuntu is supported by a number of different components, all working together to ensure that only trusted bootloaders and operating systems are able to run. These consist of the UEFI platform firmware (aka UEFI BIOS), shim, the GRUB2 bootloader and the Linux kernel. The latter 3 of these are Ubuntu components, while the former is provided by the device OEM. In this case, both shim and GRUB2 have (or will soon receive updates) to mitigate these vulnerabilities and to help ensure older vulnerable versions of GRUB2 are not trusted by the secure boot process and cannot be used to load malicious code. [...] To ensure a unified approach, the version of GRUB2 for UEFI systems used in older Ubuntu releases is updated so that a single GRUB2 version can be used for all – this ensures that both the latest security fixes and mitigation features can be more easily adopted in these older releases. As this has the potential to cause issues in what is a fundamental component of the boot process (due to the large number of changes in both GRUB2 itself as well as the way this is distributed in Ubuntu), this update will be carefully rolled out via the Updates pocket of the Ubuntu package archive. Because Secure Boot does not apply to BIOS based boot environments, we will not be publishing updates for GRUB2 on those systems. # ⚓ Multiple_New_Security_Issues_Hit_GRUB Bootloader_Around_Secure_Boot⠀⇛ A new set of GRUB2 security vulnerabilities were made public today affecting its UEFI Secure Boot support. A set of eight CVEs were issued in 2020 and this year for the new issues. The issues include the possibility of specially crafted ACPI tables being loaded even if Secure Boot is active, memory corruption in GRUB’s menu rendering, use-after-free in rmmod functionality, the cutmem command allowing privileged users to disable certain memory regions and in turn Secure Boot protections, arbitrary code execution even if Secure Boot is enabled, GRUB 2.05 accidentally re- introducing one of last year’s vulnerabilities, and memory corruption from crafted USB device descriptors that could lead to arbitrary code execution. # ⚓ SUSE_addresses_another_grub2_UEFI_secure_boot security_exposure⠀⇛ Various security researchers and the grub2 team have published more security issues in grub2 today, which can be used to bypass the UEFI secure boot chain. These security issues have the same scope as the BootHole issues from 2020. This attack requires root access to the bootloader used in Linux operating systems, GRUB2. It bypasses normal Secure Boot protections to persistently install malicious code which cannot be detected by the operating system. # ⚓ Thycotic_Announces_Endpoint_Privilege Management_Solution_for_Unix/Linux⠀⇛ Thycotic, provider of privileged access management (PAM) solutions for more than 12,500 organizations worldwide, including 25 of the Fortune 100, announced new privilege management capabilities for workstations running Unix and Linux. The latest release of Thycotic’s Privilege Manager solution includes a Sudo plugin that saves Unix/ Linux administrators time, while still providing granular control over privileged activities. According to the Verizon 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report, eighty percent of breaches involve compromised credentials, making them one of the most common entry points for threats. Unix and Linux endpoints are typically the most valuable targets because they rely on “root” accounts, which provide unrestricted access to all commands, files, directories, and resources. # ⚓ Spectre_returns_as_exploits_for_Windows_and Linux_devices_found⠀⇛ Remember Spectre, the infamous vulnerability that had all major chip manufacturers scrambling for a fix? Three years after its initial emergence, two new working exploits have been identified. According to a report from Bleeping Computer, security researcher Julien Voisin has discovered a pair of exploits targeting unpatched Linux and Windows systems, on the VirusTotal platform. VirusTotal gathers all antivirus scans in one place and checks for potential malware missed by different solutions, and these exploits were uploaded a month ago. # ⚓ Malicious_‘Dependency_Confusion’_packages_are stealing_password_files [Ed: icrosoft is serving malware again but Microsoft partners don't name Microsoft]⠀⇛ Hackers created packages using names similar to ones found in a legitimate organization’s internal repositories. In public repositories, such internal names can be found referenced in public code repositories, such as GitHub, in source code files. # § Privacy/Surveillance⠀➾ # ⚓ Plenty_of_mirth_as_Recorded_Future,_NYT and_ex-NSA_man_have_a_punt_each_way⠀⇛ CIA-backed threat intelligence firm Recorded Future has issued a document in which it claims that a China-linked group named RedEcho is targeting the Indian power industry. That’s the meaning from the headline which is very definitive. But within the body of that document, Recorded Future takes more than one step backward, citing characteristics of other China-related groups (related? linked?) before saying: “Despite some overlaps with previous groups, Insikt Group [the fancy name for its research wing] does not currently believe there is enough evidence to firmly attribute the activity in this particular campaign to an existing public group and therefore continues to track it as a closely related but distinct activity group, RedEcho.” # ⚓ India_says_power_outage_due_to_human error,_not_China_as_NYT_alleged⠀⇛ The Indian Government has said a power outage in Mumbai last year was caused by human error, adding that no evidence exists to connect the incident to a “hacking attempt”. Both the New York Times and CIA- backed threat intelligence firm Recorded Future had hinted that the October 2020 outage was caused by malware infiltrated by Chinese-linked attackers. o § Defence/Aggression⠀➾ # ⚓ UN_Leaders_Demand_Myanmar_Coup_Regime_‘Stop_the_Repression’ as_Military_and_Police_Kill_18⠀⇛ “The international community must stand in solidarity with the protestors and all those seeking a return to democracy in Myanmar.” o § Environment⠀➾ # ⚓ Opinion_|_Factory_Farms:_New_EPA_Emissions_Data_Should Guide_Biden_on_Agriculture_and_Climate⠀⇛ We have to appropriately regulate the factory farm industry that has thus far successfully externalized the costs of its water and air pollution to the rest of us. # § Energy⠀➾ # ⚓ Investigation_Into_Chemical_Exposure_From_Fracking_in Pennsylvania_Provokes_Call_for_Rapid_Phaseout⠀⇛ “Pennsylvania’s children should not be used as laboratory rats,” said biologist Sandra Steingraber, who called fracking “an uncontrolled human experiment” that involves “toxic exposures.” # § Overpopulation⠀➾ # ⚓ Opinion_|_Capital_Versus_Biosphere:_Humankind_Is Testing_the_Limits_of_the_Very_Space_in_Which_We_Live⠀⇛ An eco-social agenda fit for the times. o § Finance⠀➾ # ⚓ Opinion_|_Opponents_of_a_$15_Minimum_Wage_Are_Dead_Wrong⠀⇛ Raising the minimum wage is widely popular. # ⚓ ‘A_question_of_national_sovereignty’_A_new_documentary looks_back_at_the_birth_of_Russia’s_modern_economy,_arguing that_liberals,_not_hawks,_established_Moscow’s_global independence⠀⇛ “Fortress,” a new documentary series from the Russian streaming service “Start,” recounts former Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin’s role in the Russian market reforms of the 1990s, the economic stabilization efforts of the early 2000s, and Russia’s response to the 2008 financial crisis. Kudrin led the Finance Ministry from 2000 to 2011, in addition to serving as deputy prime minister. In the film, notable Russian economists and government officials such as Mikhail Mishustin, Dmitry Medvedev, Anton Siluanov, Herman Gref, Elvira Nabiullira, and Anatoly Chubais discuss Kudrin and his role in building Russia’s modern economy. Director Alexey Kazakov and producer Alexey Bokov based the film loosely on Evgeniya Pismennaya’s book “The Kudrin System.” Meduza’s Dmitry Kartsev watched all three episodes of the series. Here’s what stood out. o § AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics⠀➾ # ⚓ Report_Finds_Biden_Can_Potentially_Freeze_Dozens_of_Trump’s Last-Minute_‘Egregious_and_Damaging’_Rollbacks⠀⇛ “Trump’s sloppiness and incompetence has created an opening to undo some of the damage caused by his destructive anti-regulatory agenda.” # ⚓ Trump_Does_a_Victory_Dance_at_CPAC⠀⇛ Donald Trump was more than an hour late for his speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), held this year in Orlando, Fla. He was scheduled to speak at 3:40 pm ET and didn’t take the stage until around 5. This was a deliberate move on Trump’s part. His motorcade didn’t leave Palm Beach for Orlando until after 2 pm, ensuring that Trump would keep the passionate conservative activists of CPAC waiting. # ⚓ Opinion_|_Lock_‘Em_Up⠀⇛ # ⚓ St._Petersburg_activist_sues_Russian_Justice_Ministry_over ‘foreign_agent’_label⠀⇛ St. Petersburg activist and Russian-language teacher Daria Apakhonchich, who was declared a “foreign agent” in December 2020, has filed a lawsuit against the Russian Justice Ministry over the illegality of this decision. # ⚓ ‘Fight_Is_Not_Over,’_Say_Rights_Groups_as_Biden_Admin_Lets Separated_Families_Remain_in_US⠀⇛ “We will not stop fighting until we end family detention everywhere. President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Secretary Mayorkas must immediately end family detention.” o § Censorship/Free Speech⠀➾ # ⚓ Utah’s_Horrible,_No_Good,_Very_Bad,_Terrible,_Censorial ‘Free_Speech’_Bill_Is_A_Disaster_In_The_Making⠀⇛ A month ago, we noted that a bunch of state legislatures were pushing blatantly unconstitutional bills to try to argue that social media websites can’t moderate “conservative” views any more. All of these bills are unconstitutional, and most are just silly. The latest one comes from Utah — and stunningly seems to have legs as it’s been moving through the Utah legislative process with some amount of speed over the last week or so. # ⚓ AT&T_Appears_Committed_To_Being_Comically_Hypocritical_On Section_230⠀⇛ Telecom giants like Comcast and AT&T have spent the last three or four years pushing (quite successfully) for massive deregulation of their own monopolies, while pushing for significant new regulation of the Silicon Valley giants, whose ad revenues they’ve coveted for decades. As such, it wasn’t surprising to see AT&T come out with an incredibly dumb blog post last August throwing its full support behind Trump’s legally dubious and hugely problematic executive order targeting social media giants and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a law integral to protecting speech online. o § Civil Rights/Policing⠀➾ # ⚓ Federal_Court_Says_There’s_Nothing_Wrong_With_Arresting Someone_For_Parodying_A_Police_Department_Facebook_Page⠀⇛ You know what’s always ripe for parody? Government agencies. You know who’s often outlandishly upset about being parodied? Government officials. # ⚓ Why_The_Problems_With_Police_And_Social_Media_Both_Are Symptoms_Of_The_Same_Disease:_A_Failure_Of_Society_To Actually_Help_Those_In_Need⠀⇛ I’ve written in the past, many times, about how so many people keep wanting to blame social media companies, or intermediary liability laws, for what are only a manifestation of larger societal issues. Social media is only serving to make evident what was previously hidden. A few weeks ago, we quoted UK tech policy expert Heather Burns noting that intermediary liability laws were being expected to pick up the slack for a wide variety of other failures regarding mental health care, social safety nets, criminal and civil justice issues and more. Basically, a whole bunch of government failures were leading to problems in society, which were then being seen online. And rather than trying to fix the underlying causes of those, people were… blaming the internet. Burns later came on our podcast and we had a great detailed discussion about this issue. # ⚓ To_‘Ensure_Justice_and_Accountability_for_Police Brutality,’_Pressley_Leads_New_Bill_to_End_Qualified Immunity⠀⇛ “There can be no justice without healing and accountability, and there can be no true accountability with qualified immunity.” # ⚓ Black_Lives_Still_Don’t_Matter_in_America⠀⇛ Indeed “candy-coated” reform is all that most politicians have offered Black communities in America for decades. Evidence of it abounds in the form of damning statistical measures showing racial discrimination against Black Americans in health (including from the novel coronavirus), law enforcement, criminal justice, voting rights, education, employment(including during the pandemic), housing, and life expectancy before and especially during the past year. The starkest symbol of how little the lives of Black people mean to the state are the ongoing reckless killings by police that almost always go unpunished. In one of the more recent and widely covered instances, the brutal police killing of Daniel Prude in Rochester, New York, that took place nearly a year ago as he lay naked, hooded, and handcuffed in the middle of the street, has gone unpunished after a grand jury declined to press charges. Although a medical examiner ruled that he had died from “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint,” and the police initially refused to release the incriminating and deeply disturbing video of his last conscious minutes of life, it seems that there will be no justice for Prude. # ⚓ St._Petersburg_police_officer_under_investigation_for allegedly_selling_flight_data_on_Navalny’s_FSB_poisoners⠀⇛ The St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case for abuse of office against a local police officer who allegedly sold passenger data from the August 2020 flight where opposition politician Alexey Navalny fell ill from chemical nerve agent poisoning, says Kommersant. # ⚓ Hollywood’s_New_Blackface⠀⇛ Same old shuck and jive from finance capital. AND . . . why are so many foreign Blacks impersonating African-Americans? # ⚓ Mumia_Abu-Jamal,_Now_in_His_40th_Year_as_an_Incarcerated Prisoner,_Has_Covid-19⠀⇛ This latest outrage was sadly predictable. Prisons across the US have for years been allowing serious illness to serve as a form of “silent execution” of prisoners, many of them certainly innocent of the crimes they were convicted of.  Many prisoners in the system, guilty or not, are serving unfairly punitive terms that keep them confined into an old age meaning they are particularly vulnerable to potentially fatal illnesses, whether that is flu, cancer, hepatitis, pneumonia or now Covid-19. Noted journalist and political activist Abu-Jamal, now 66 years old and entering his 40th year in prison, is serving a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole following his 1982 conviction of murder of a white police officer. o § Monopolies⠀➾ # § Patents⠀➾ # ⚓ $2_billion_verdict_in_Judge_Albright’s_Courtroom [Ed: One billion dollars per patent from just one company is clearly disproportional, but welcome to Texas]⠀⇛ The jury just returned in Judge Albright’s first patent trial of 2021. The result: $2.18 Billion Dollars to VLSI for Intel’s infringement. The patents were previously owned NXP Semiconductors, who obtained them by buying up Freescale Semiconductor and SigmaTel. NXP will apparently still receive a cut of the revenue – if the decision withstands both the JMOL motions and appeals. # § Software Patents⠀➾ # ⚓ $2,500_for_prior_art_on_IP_Edge_sub,_Decatur Licensing⠀⇛ On February 23, 2021, Unified Patents added a new PATROLL contest, with a $2,500 cash prize, seeking prior art on at least claim 1 of U.S. Patent 9,706,467. The patent is owned by Decatur Licensing LLC, a subsidiary of the prolific NPE, IP Edge. The ’467 patent generally relates to obtaining radio access network information and transmitting location information between at least two base stations, e.g., in a 5G network. It is currently being asserted against ASUS, Samsung, LG, and Motorola. ䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 2413 ╒═══════════════════ 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 ═════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 03.02.21⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧ ✐ Links_2/3/2021:_KDE_Plasma_5.21.2,_Qt_6.1_Beta,_Refund_of_Pre-installed Windows⠀✐ Posted in News_Roundup at 2:11 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈ § Contents⠀➾ * GNU/Linux o Distributions o Devices/Embedded * Free_Software/Open_Source * Leftovers * § GNU/Linux⠀➾ o ⚓ Cartesi_(CTSI)_Opens_Linux_Environment_Gates_for_Avalanche⠀⇛ Cartesi, the layer-2 decentralized Linux infrastructure announced its integration with Avalanche, the open-source platform for highly decentralized apps. With this integration, Cartesi’s Layer-2 infrastructure will expand within DeFi for the first time. Additionally, it will enable a Linux environment on Avalanche for smart contracts and higher computational scalability. Once the integration completes, the developers building on Avalanche will first time have access to develop smart contracts using Linux and uncountable mainstream software stack. o § Desktop/Laptop⠀➾ # ⚓ Refund_of_pre-installed_Windows:_Lenovo_must_pay_20,000 euros_in_damages⠀⇛ In a historic judgment in Italy, in a case initiated by FSFE supporter Luca Bonissi, Lenovo was ordered to pay 20,000 euros in damages for abusive behaviour in denying to refund the price of a pre-installed Windows licence. In a motivating gesture for the Free Software cause, Luca donated 15,000 euros to the FSFE. We all know how frustrating it is to buy a brand new computer and realise that it comes with a pre- installed proprietary operating system. Some companies have adapted their unfair behaviour and established clearer procedures for consumers to obtain the refund for paid licences of software they do not want to use. However, some computer manufacturers like Lenovo still make it very hard for consumers, forcing them to assert their rights in expensive and exhausting lawsuits. This is the successful story of Luca Bonissi, an Italian developer and long-term FSFE supporter and volunteer, in his relentless quest for getting a Windows licence refund, and how Lenovo was ordered to pay 20,000 euros for its unlawful behaviour during the court proceedings. # ⚓ Star_Labs_Adds_Coreboot_Open-Source_Firmware_Support_to Their_LabTop_Mk_IV_Linux_Laptop⠀⇛ After several months of development, Star Labs’ engineers finally managed to provide Coreboot support for owners of the Star LabTop Mk IV Linux laptop, providing them now only with an Open Source firmware, but also with a lightning-fast and more secure boot experience. Formerly known as LinuxBIOS, Coreboot is a firmware platform designed to replace proprietary firmware in most computers. Coreboot is known to be a lightweight firmware that puts the user in full control of the hardw`are and is designed to perform only the minimum number of tasks necessary to load and run a modern Linux OS. o § Audiocasts/Shows⠀➾ # ⚓ Late_Night_Linux_–_Episode_114⠀⇛ Linux on another planet, Chrome OS enjoys huge success, great Firefox improvements, a flawed but well-meaning idea for a laptop, free RHEL for FOSS projects, Xfce news, and KDE Korner. o § Kernel Space⠀➾ # ⚓ 6_days_without_electricity:_What_the_inventor_of_Microsoft Windows-rival_Linux_did⠀⇛ Linus Torvalds, the founder of the Linux operating system, recently had to face six days without electricity during the power outages in the North- Western US caused due to the winter storms. He lives in Portland, Oregon and the six-day power outage did not let him tend to the kernel. So, how did the inventor spend his time? By working on the merge window for version 5.12 on the Linux kernel. Torvalds gave the Linux 5.12-rc1 the codename of ‘Frozen Wasteland’ and issued the first release on February 28, as per a report by Phoronix. Unable to work on the new kernel cycle due to the six-days-long power cut, Torvalds decided to attend to the Linux 5.12 merge window and succeeded in rolling it out as Linux 5.12-rc1. He said in the 5.12-rc1 announcement: “The one thing that perhaps stands out is that this release actually did a fair amount of historical cleanup. Yes, overall we still have more new lines than we have removed lines, but we did have some spring cleaning, removing the legacy OPROFILE support (the user tools have been using the “perf” interface for years), and removing several legacy SoC platforms and various drivers that no longer make any sense.” # ⚓ Linux_Kernel_5.12_RC-1_Released_with_Many_ARM_Board Support⠀⇛ The merge window for Linux Kernel 5.12 is closed and with that, Linux Kernel 5.12 RC-1 (release candidate) is now released for testing. This release brings many new features and improvements. Linux Kernel 5.12 is going to be the second Kernel release of 2021 following the Kernel 5.11. This release is bringing moderate changes across the Kernel modules. The changes are also not that much compared to the prior releases due to the power cut which is faced by Linus Torvalds for winter ice storm. [...] Overall, many changes are seen on small form factor devices and the addition of drivers for many new devices across vendors in Linux Kernel 5.12 RC-1. Usual changes across the storage and graphics phase. This means it is going to be a quiet Kernel release. Linux Kernel 5.12 will be available with mainstream Linux distributions most probably from Q3 2021 onwards. The LTS releases would stick to the current stable Linux Kernel 5.10. # ⚓ Linux_5.12_Mostly_Restores_Long-Horrid_AES-XTS_Performance Introduced_By_CPU-Bug_Mitigations⠀⇛ AES-NI XTS hardware encryption and decryption performance on Linux has been severely crippled since the Spectre V2 mitigations were introduced to the Linux kernel nearly two years ago. Linux 5.12 has fixes that mostly restores AES-NI XTS performance on the AMD side and those changes slightly increase aex-xts performance on the Intel side. [...] There is a pretty big difference between 2685.7 MiB/s and 1578.9 MiB/s, yet the lack of a practical effect is probably why this has gone unnoticed for so long. A SATA3 interface caps out at 600 MiB/s so it doesn’t really matter if a full-disk encrypted machine can do hardware accelerated AES-XTS at 601 or 5000 MiB if the disk drive is connected to a SATA interface. It does make a difference if the machine has a bleeding edge high-end NVMe drive, which is likely why this was performance-regression was discovered and fixed. Linux 5.12rc1 performs a whole lot better than previous kernels did when Spectre V2 mitigations are enabled on AMD machines. The difference between the kernels default mitigations and mitigations=off is barely noticeable. That’s a huge improvement mostly thanks to the hard work of Google-asset Ard Biesheuvel # § Graphics Stack⠀➾ # ⚓ NVIDIA_introduces_lower_cost_Jetson_TX2_NX_SO-DIMM module⠀⇛ NVIDIA Jetson AI modules and developer kits range from the entry-level Jetson Nano module (5W, ~0.5 TOPS) to the high-end Jetson Xavier AGX module (30W, 32 TOPS). The higher-end modules usually come with a 400-pin board-to- board, while cheaper/cost-down modules like Jetson Nano and Jetson Xavier NX feature a 260-pin SO-DIMM connector and small form factor. But so far all Jetson TX2 modules came with a 400-pin connector, but this has changed with the introduction of the Jetson TX2 NX SO-DIMM system-on-module that is offered as a cost- down version of Jetson TX2 4GB module. # ⚓ AMDs_AMDVLK_Vulkan_Driver_For_Linux_Remains_Horribly Slow_At_Compute_Compared_To_The_Mesa_RADV_Driver⠀⇛ AMDVLK v-2021.Q1.4, released late last week, was a huge yawn with a Mad Max specific performance quirk and the API verison updated to Vulkan 1.2.169. The last half dozen releases were equally boring. It is therefore not shocking that the performance-differences between the AMD AMDVLK Vulkan driver and the Mesa RADV driver are the same today as they were half a year ago: The graphics performance is near-identical, with AMDVLK being slightly slower, while the gap between their respective compute performance remains significant. [...] The MSI Kombustor TessMark benchmarks are clearly doing something the AMDVLK is incapable of handling at acceptable framerates. This is the only test where there is such a gigantic difference so it will probably not matter in the vast majority of games and applications but there could be some that do the same thing – with a huge performance-penalty as a result. Basemark GPU v1.2.3 tell as similar story of two nearly equal Vulkan drivers. The Mesa RADV driver has a one frame per second advantage at 4K, so it does get the higher score. The minimum and maximum values are exactly the same in both cases and practical difference just isn’t there. # ⚓ Updated_Portal_2_Vulkan_Rendering_Code_Yielding_Great Radeon_Results⠀⇛ Valve on Monday rolled out a new Portal 2 build that improves its new Vulkan renderer support. For those interested here are some fresh benchmarks of Portal 2 with OpenGL and Vulkan on the open-source AMD Radeon Linux drivers. In February was the surprise announcement of Vulkan rendering API support for Portal 2. Valve is making use of Vulkan with Portal 2 by leveraging the DXVK native library for translating the game’s existing Direct3D 9 usage to Vulkan. The existing OpenGL support for Portal 2 on Linux remains available. Valve yesterday released their first significant Portal 2 update since the initial Vulkan rendering support last month. Some of the specific improvements in this latest Portal 2 update include “massively improved” performance for multi-sample anti-aliasing (MSAA) with AMD graphics hardware, overall performance improvements, and a large number of bug fixes — including many Linux-specific fixes. o § Applications⠀➾ # ⚓ Best_Screen_Capture_Tools_for_Linux_in_2021⠀⇛ Screenshots come in handy when you want to capture part of or the entire screen usually for elaborative purposes. Screenshots are useful when putting together “How to” tutorials in showing crucial steps that would be better understood using images. Also, you could send a screenshot to a friend or your family to show evidence of a purchase receipt, or guide them in undertaking a task on their PC. To capture the entire desktop, simply press the PrtScr button. Captured images are saved in the ‘Pictures’ folder. Another easy way of capturing screenshots is using the SHIFT + PrtScr keyboard combination. This reveals a crosshair pointer that you can drag to grab the area that you wish to capture. # ⚓ Guake_Terminal:_A_Customizable_Linux_Terminal_for_Power Users_[Inspired_by_an_FPS_Game]⠀⇛ Guake is a terminal emulator that’s tailored for GNOME desktop with a top-down design. It was originally inspired from the terminal seen in an FPS game (Quake). Even though it was initially built as a quick and accessible terminal, it is much more than that. Guake terminal offers a ton of features, and customizable options. Here, I’ll highlight the key features of the terminal along with the process of getting it installed on any of your Linux distribution. o § Instructionals/Technical⠀➾ # ⚓ Padding_and_aligning_data_in_GNU_poke⠀⇛ It is often the case in binary formats that certain elements are separated by some data that is not really used for any meaningful purpose other than occupy that space. The reason for keeping that space varies from case to case; sometimes to reserve it for future use, sometimes to make sure that the following data is aligned to some particular alignment. This is known as “padding”. There are several ways to implement padding in GNU poke. This article shows these techniques and discusses their advantages and disadvantages. # ⚓ Manually_mount_a_USB_drive_in_the_Linux_terminal_– PragmaticLinux⠀⇛ Trying to figure out how to manually mount your USB drive in Linux? Look no further. This article explains step-by-step how to manually mount a USB drive in Linux, to a mount point directory of your choice. We’ll do everything directly in the terminal. So you can use this approach not only on your Linux desktop PC, but also when SSH-ed into your Linux server. We’ll cover how to configure write permissions for accessing your USB drive as well. # ⚓ Install_intellij-idea_on_Debian_Bullseye/sid_via_snapd⠀⇛ # ⚓ Add_these_4_tools_to_your_Linux_container_toolbox_|_Enable Sysadmin⠀⇛ When you need the right tool, there’s nothing like going to your local hardware store and walking the aisles. It’s great to go down the hand tools aisle and check out all the screwdrivers, hammers, hex wrenches, tape measures, and more. Just when you think you’ve discovered the right tool, a thought hits you, if I can do it with a hand tool, I can really get it done with the perfect power tool! # ⚓ How_to_Setup_Pritunl_VPN_Server_on_Ubuntu_20.04⠀⇛ Pritunl is an open-source, simple and easy-to-use VPN server that allows you to setup virtualize your private networks across data centers within a minute. It provides a simple and user-friendly web interface and has an ability to create a wide range of cloud VPN networks. It provides an official client package and supports all OpenVPN clients for most devices and platforms. In this tutorial, we will explain how to set up a Pritunl VPN Server and Client on Ubuntu 20.04 server. # ⚓ How_to_use_exisitng_VDMK_Virtual_hard_disk_in_VMware_Player –_H2S_Media⠀⇛ VMplayer is a popular virtualization platform for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It uses VDMK file format for VMware Virtual Disks to store all data of any virtual machine created on the VMware platform. Here we will learn how to use any existing VDMK file or virtual hard disk with VMware. Many times to install some operating system on VMware or VirtualBox, we download the pre-built disk image files. So, if you are getting one in VDMK format that is the default supported format for Vmware, then how to use it? Because if we open it directly in the Workstation Player, an error will come up i.e VMX file is either corrupted or not found. Thus, here is the proper way to use any existing VDMK file in Player. # ⚓ How_to_Get_IP_Address_of_a_Docker_Container⠀⇛ Wondering what’s the IP address of your running docker container? You can inspect the running container to get that information. sudo docker container inspect container_name_or_ID Don’t know the container’s name or ID? Use the command sudo docker ps. The inspect command gives you many details about the container you are inspecting. Go towards the end and look into the Networks section to get the container’s IP address. # ⚓ How_to_Enable_HTTP/2_in_Apache_on_Linux_System⠀⇛ On Ubuntu and Debian Linux, you can install the Apache server and host your own website. And, if you ever tried to use the Apache webserver on a Red Hat or Fedora Linux, you might know that the HTTP daemon (httpd) runs in your Linux system’s background to transfer the hypermedia and respond to the server’s request. After installing the HTTP daemon on your system, you can enable HTTP/2.0 on your Linux system. When you allow the HTTP/2.0 service on an Apache server, it enhances your server and client’s response rate. Configuring and enabling the HTTP/ 2.0 services on an Apache server is easy and straightforward. # ⚓ Monitor_your_Raspberry_Pi_with_Grafana_Cloud_| Opensource.com⠀⇛ You may have heard of Grafana, a time-series dashboarding tool that helps you discover what’s going on in your environment. People from hobbyists to enterprise professionals like to use it for visualizations because it is open source and can accept data from myriad sources. This article describes how to use it to monitor your Raspberry Pi as an example of Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring. It uses Grafana’s latest offering, Grafana Cloud, a hosted free version that requires a lot less work than setting it up yourself. You can do everything in this article by downloading and installing Grafana, but the hosted version is convenient and lets you focus on other work. (If you really want to experience the pain of setting it up and hosting, you can, but let’s be honest… you probably just want this handy free account.) # ⚓ Splitting_the_ping⠀⇛ In this example it takes 63 ms to send a packet, but only 35ms to get it back. To a normal ping this would just show the latency as 109ms, but if we were to start making one-way latency assumptions based on that 109ms value we would have a decent amount of error (maybe up to 10ms) on how long communications would take to arrive. But how do we “split” this ping into its transmit and receive time counterparts? # ⚓ How_To_Install_Java_on_Manjaro_20_–_idroot⠀⇛ In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Java on Manjaro 20. For those of you who didn’t know, Java is a very popular language when it comes to programming. It is a common language for android development and other enterprise solutions. It was first released by Sun Microsystems in 1995. Java comprises JRE (Java Runtime Environment) and JDK (Java Development Toolkit). JRE is a set of software applications that help in the deployment of Java applications. JDK is a development environment necessary for the building and compilation of Java applications. Many programs and scripts require Java to run it, but usually, Java is not installed by default on a VPS or Dedicated Server. 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 Java on a Manjaro 20 (Nibia). # ⚓ How_to_Speed_Up_Apache_with_Varnish_Cache_on_CentOS_7⠀⇛ Varnish Cache (commonly known as Varnish), is an open-source, popular reverse-proxy HTTP accelerator intended for speeding up web servers. It is engineered for excessively utilized API endpoints and also for dynamic sites that serve massive- content and experience high-traffic. # ⚓ How_to_Speed_Up_Nginx_with_Varnish_Cache_on_CentOS_7⠀⇛ Varnish Cache (also referred to as Varnish) is an open-source, high-performance HTTP accelerator designed for speeding up web servers. In our last articles, we’ve explained how to setup Varnish Cache for Apache on CentOS 7 and CentOS 8. In this article, we will show you how to install and use Varnish Cache as a front-end to the Nginx HTTP server in CentOS 7. This guide should also work on RHEL 7. # ⚓ LHB_Digest_#21.05:_Linux_Server_Tips,_Tutorials_and_Tools⠀⇛ # ⚓ How_to_Fix_–_Failed_to_Start_Light_Display_Manager_Error_ [Solved]⠀⇛ This post is about guiding you on how to fix the scary error Failed to Start Light Display Manager Error in Linux systems. It’s scary. I know. When you expect something to come up on the screen and suddenly face this particular error. It is horrifying because you are lost in a terminal and not sure what to do. # ⚓ How_To_Install_Dropbox_on_Manjaro_20⠀⇛ In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Dropbox on Manjaro 20. For those of you who didn’t know, Dropbox is a Cloud-based file Sharing and file syncing service that allows you to store files in the cloud and share them with other people. Using the Dropbox app you can sync files between your computer and the Cloud and access them from anywhere using your web browser or mobile phone. 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 Dropbox on a Manjaro 20 (Nibia). # ⚓ How_to_Enable_Tab_Groups_in_Google_Chrome_–_Linux_Hint⠀⇛ Are there too many tabs open in your browser? Are you using Google Chrome? Then Google Chrome offers the “Tab Groups” feature. It’s an interesting way of keeping your tabs organized. All the tabs under the same group are organized neatly, color-coded with proper labeling. # ⚓ How_to_Enable_Brotli_Compression_in_Nginx_–_Linux_Hint⠀⇛ Brotli compression is a generic-purpose compression technique widely supported across browsers. It’s comparable to the currently available compression methods as it offers 20-26% better compression ratios. Nevertheless, it’s no good unless the webserver is sending compressed text-based resources with the Brotli algorithm. In this article, we will learn how compression works in the server and why is it useful? We will also learn to install the Nginx server and get our server to provide Brotli compressed files. # ⚓ MySQL_Delete_Row_or_Rows⠀⇛ MySQL is a free, open-source management framework for relational databases. To work on it, you have to install it on your system first with all the required utilities, e.g., workbench and command- line client. Open the newly installed MySQL workbench as below. You must have to connect your workbench with the database to start working on it properly. After that, you have to create a new schema to perform different queries on the data. # ⚓ How_to_read_command_line_arguments_in_a_bash_script⠀⇛ A bash script rarely runs standalone. Rather, you often pass one or more arguments to the script from the command line to modify its run-time behavior. The script then reads the supplied arguments, parse and process them accordingly. In more advanced cases, you may want to pass command-line options to your script (e.g., “-h” or “-f my.txt”) to optinally change the default settings of the script. In this tutorial let’s find out how you can pass command-line arguments and how you can handle command-line options in a bash shell script. # ⚓ 6_best_tools_to_monitor_disk_IO_performance_in_Linux⠀⇛ Disk IO issues (input/output) are one of the most common causes of poor performance on Linux system. This occurs when applications try to quickly read or write too much data on storage device such as hard drives, SAN & NAS, which forcing applications and users to wait. top command can be used to see if the CPU is waiting for disk operations to complete. The ‘wa’ metric shows IO-wait, the amount of time the CPU spends waiting for IO completion shown as a percentage. In this guide, we will explain how to use various Linux commands to identify disk IO performance issues. # ⚓ How_to_solve_zipimport.ZipImportError:_can’t_decompress data;_zlib_not_available⠀⇛ I was able to run, configure and make without any error. When I pass the final command, sudo make install, it shows “zipimport.ZipImportError: can’t decompress data; zlib not available.” This issue mostly occurs when zlib is not installed in your system. We can easily fix this issue with the required dependencies. Therefore we will Install zlib libraries for Ubuntu, Debian and Centos, Fedora, Redhat. o § Games⠀➾ # ⚓ Hack_Grid_is_a_clever_brain-twisting_DOS_inspired_puzzle game_out_now⠀⇛ Created as a love letter to the retro charm provided by the days of DOS, Hack Grid has you throw around coloured pieces on a board until only one is left and it might melt your brain. Another wonderful addition to the puzzle genre with easy to understand mechanics. However, it’s totally deceptive. Simple to look at and understand, sure but not easy to actually get through. You move pieces around a board across set lines until only one is left, but pieces need to hit a different colour to remove them. There’s other rules it gradually sprinkles in and it does get complicated. [...] Also another title made with Godot Engine, lovely to see more being built with it! # ⚓ Godot_Engine_team_grows_with_another_developer_now_working on_rendering_|_GamingOnLinux⠀⇛ Godot Engine is definitely going places and the more we hear about this free and open source game engine the more we love it. The team now has another member hired to work on rendering. Being free and open source means that developments aren’t suddenly going to see a monthly bill increase to use it, or royalties suddenly increasing or anything of the sorts – as Godot has none of that. Entirely free to use, plus with the source open developers can help improve it. Joan Fons is the latest hire, who is now a full- time Godot Engine developer! Fons started contributing three years ago at university, then consulting with a company called Prehensile Tales and now they’re contributing big time to Godot with features like the new CPU lightmapper, which will be landing with the 3.2.4 release. Fons showed off an example of the difference it can make and said it “should make lightmaps a viable option for 3.2″ # ⚓ Open_source_mixed_reality_library_StereoKit_adds_Linux support⠀⇛ The XR (VR/AR) space continues to evolve and one of the promising projects there is called StereoKit, an open source mixed reality library and a new release is out now adding in Linux support. # ⚓ Puzzle_game_Mirrored_Pawns_challenges_your_spatial reasoning_with_opposite_movements⠀⇛ In the new game Mirrored Pawns from Firebelley (Sword Slinger, Cryptographer) it challenges your spatial reasoning as you simultaneously control two characters that move in opposite directions. Supposed to be relaxing but that will depend on how you approach such puzzle games. All you have to do across each level is move your two paws to specific tiles by hopping around. One pawn needs to be on each, and with every movement being opposites for them it actually does get quite difficult. “When either vertical or horizontal symmetry is active, the non-player pawn will move in the opposite vertical or horizontal direction, respectively. You will need to be careful in your movements and use the puzzle board’s characteristics to your advantage.” # ⚓ How_I_cut_GTA_Online_loading_times_by_70%⠀⇛ Profilers are a great way of finding CPU bottlenecks. There’s only one problem – most of them rely on instrumenting the source code to get a perfect picture of what’s happening in the process. And I don’t have the source code. Nor do I need microsecond-perfect readings – I have 4 minutes’ worth of a bottleneck. Enter stack sampling: for closed source applications there’s only one option. Dump the running process’ stack and current instruction pointer’s location to build a calling tree in set intervals. Then add them up to get statistics on what’s going on. There’s only one profiler that I know of (might be ignorant here) that can do this on Windows. And it hasn’t been updated in over 10 years. It’s Luke Stackwalker! Someone, please give this project some love 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇:)⦈ # ⚓ SDL2_Lands_Native_PipeWire_Support⠀⇛ While SDL2-enabled games/applications can already work on PipeWire-based systems like the forthcoming Fedora Workstation 34 thanks to the PulseAudio compatibility layer, the SDL2 library has merged initial support for interfacing with PipeWire. Merged on Sunday were various pieces of PipeWire audio support code for the SDL library including the playback/capture sink abilities. SDL2 now has a build time option for enabling PipeWire support as well as for whether to dynamically load it. # ⚓ Gaming_in_Nitrux_pt._1:_Get_Started_—_Nitrux_— #YourNextOS⠀⇛ In general, gaming on Linux used to be limited to the few FOSS games available for the operating system, which is no longer the case, and it has seen steady growth over the past few years. With major companies like Valve providing Steam for Linux, Proton; the development of DXVK, the continuous work put into Wine by its developers, and Indie game developers creating games with Linux support out-of-the-box, the amount of fun for Linux continues to expand. This post will be pt. 1, and it will only deal with obtaining games. For pt. 2, there will be performance benchmarks on Nitrux and perhaps a comparison with other distributions, including those purposely built for gaming. # ⚓ Portal_2_gets_more_DXVK_Vulkan_improvements_with_another update_|_GamingOnLinux⠀⇛ Valve’s fantastic first-person puzzle game Portal 2 recently had a huge upgrade that pulled in DXVK giving it Vulkan support, with another update out now to further improve it. As a reminder: this has nothing to do with Source 2. Portal 2 by default uses Direct3D 9 on Windows and OpenGL on Linux. For the Linux version, original Source engine games like this used a translation layer called ToGL to translate D3D9 to OpenGL. DXVK being added in gives the option to launch Portal 2 with “-vulkan” as a launch option which may improve overall performance. o § Desktop Environments/WMs⠀➾ # § K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt⠀➾ # ⚓ KDE_Plasma_5.21.2_Update_Re-Enabled_Key_Repeat_by Default,_Improves_System_Settings⠀⇛ Coming just one week after the KDE Plasma 5.21.1 update, which improved support for Nvidia Optimus laptops, the KDE Plasma 5.21.2 point release is here to re-enable key repeat by default, something that probably many of you out there were complaining about. In addition, the KDE Plasma 5.21.2 update improves the System Settings by addressing a bug that made it crash when attempting to clear the history from the Activities page and making the screens in the Display Configuration page draggable again. # ⚓ KDE_Plasma_5.21.2,_Bugfix_Release_for_March⠀⇛ Plasma 5.21 was released in February with many feature refinements and new modules to complete the desktop experience. This release adds a week’s worth of new translations and fixes from KDE’s contributors. The bugfixes are typically small but important and include… # § GNOME Desktop/GTK⠀➾ # ⚓ Felipe_Borges:_Save_the_date:_GNOME_LATAM_2021,_March 27th⠀⇛ I’m happy to spread the word that a GNOME event in Spanish and Portuguese is taking place this month, on the 27th of March. It will be a free virtual event with talks and panels where everybody is welcome. o § Distributions⠀➾ # ⚓ New_Garuda_Linux_“Hawk_Eagle”_Released_With_LibreWolf Browser⠀⇛ Following its monthly release model, the Garuda team has announced a new version called Garuda Linux “Hawk Eagle” (210225). Like all previous releases, this February update also comes with a new edition called KDE Dragonized BlackArch Edition. It features the BlackArch repository, tweaks, and most common tools. So, in total, Garuda now has 16 editions with different desktop environments: KDE Multimedia, GNOME, Xfce, LXQT-Kwin, Wayfire, i3WM, Qtile, MATE, Cinnamon, Recbox, UKUI, BSPWM, dr460nized, dr460nized gaming, dr460nized blackarch, Barebone KDE, and GNOME. Another important change that Garuda Linux “Hawk Eagle” has brought for all editions (except Xfce and i3WM) is the inclusion of the LibreWolf (with extensions) as the default web browser. # § IBM/Red Hat/Fedora⠀➾ # ⚓ The_State_of_Enterprise_Open_Source_2021:_Four results_that_may_surprise_you⠀⇛ We’re now in the third year of our The State of Enterprise Open Source report in which we probe the use of and attitudes about enterprise open source. This year we conducted interviews with 1,250 IT leaders worldwide. They weren’t necessarily Red Hat customers and were unaware that Red Hat was the sponsor of this survey, helping us to avoid biased or influenced responses. Most of the questions were repeats from prior years, allowing us to explore trends over time, but we also threw in a few new ones too and got one answer that even we weren’t fully expecting. # ⚓ IBM_Begins_Adding_GCC_Support_For_Z_Arch14_–_Likely IBM_z16_–_Phoronix⠀⇛ GCC compiler patches began appearing this morning for IBM Z “Arch14″ as a future architecture extension for their Z mainframe processors. IBM Z Arch14 will likely correlate to IBM z16. IBM z15 was introduced at the end of 2019 as “Arch13″ while today is the first time we are hearing of IBM Z “Arch14″ and the first time seeing any code in the GCC open-source compiler referencing it. Short of some re- branding or change in their numbering scheme at IBM, Arch14 will likely end up being IBM z16. # ⚓ Red_Hat’s_2021_Open_Source_Survey:_Who’s_Using_the Software_and_Why_|_IT_Pro⠀⇛ Red Hat’s 2021 State of Enterprise Open Source survey report finds that users trust its security, plan increased use of containers and more. # ⚓ Robin_CNS_Now_Runs_On_IBM_Cloud_Satellite⠀⇛ IBM Cloud Satellite, now generally available, enables clients to run IBM Cloud services in multiple environments—on IBM Cloud, on premises, or at the edge—all delivered as a service. This flexibility will help bring cloud capabilities to where client data resides, in the environment of their choice, while focusing on consistency, user experience, and security. # ⚓ IBM_Cloud_Satellite_Goes_GA⠀⇛ IBM‘s hybrid cloud services are now generally available in any environment — on any cloud, on premises or at the edge — via IBM Cloud Satellite. Lumen Technologies and IBM have integrated IBM Cloud Satellite with the Lumen edge platform to enable clients to harness hybrid cloud services in near real-time and build solutions at the edge. # ⚓ Packaging_APIs_for_consumers_with_Red_Hat_3scale_API Management⠀⇛ One of an API management platform’s core functionalities is defining and enforcing policies, business domain rate limits, and pricing rules for securing API endpoints. As an API provider, you sometimes need to make the same backend API available for different consumer segments using these terms. In this article, you will learn about using Red Hat 3scale API Management to package APIs for different consumers, including internal and external developers and strategic partners. See the end of the article for a video tutorial that guides you through using 3scale API Management to create and configure the packages that you will learn about in this article. [...] The Rate limits policy, shown in Figure 2, enforces call limits on APIs. Limits are defined for each method, and the same package can enforce different limits for each API method. Pricing rules are used to enable metering and chargeback for API calls. Pricing rules are defined for each API method, and the same package can enforce different pricing rules for each API method. Finally, the Features policy lets us define multiple features for each package. 3scale API Management adds metadata tags to each package to uniquely identify and map its available features. 3scale API Management’s packaging scenario is common, and most API management platforms support something similar. In the following sections, we will look at the different types of plans available from 3scale API Management. # ⚓ Fedora_Community_Blog:_Fedora_Code_of_Conduct_Report 2020⠀⇛ In 2020 we had more than two times the number of CoC reports when compared to 2019. Due to dedicating a lot of time and effort to these situations, we spent a significant amount of time trying to understand why this was happening at these rates. We came up with a couple of theories. [...] As we look forward to 2021, we hope to introduce an updated Code of Conduct, as well as supporting documentation. Reminder to be kind and considerate to each other as we move into year two of pandemic life, there will surely be new challenges to overcome. We all depend on each other to create a community that is healthy, safe, and happy. Most of all, we love seeing folks self-moderate and stand up for the right thing day to day in our community. Keep it up, and keep being awesome Fedora, we <3 you! # ⚓ Pure_Storage_teams_up_with_IBM_to_bring_OpenShift hybrid_workloads_to_IBM_Cloud_Satellite⠀⇛ Global Kubernetes Data Services Platform, Portworx by Pure Storage, has announced a partnership with IBM to enable OpenShift- based data services to run in hybrid cloud environments with performance, data protection, data security, and mobility on IBM Cloud Satellite. IBM Cloud Satellite allows clients to run IBM Cloud services no matter whether it is on a cloud, on-premises, in multi-cloud, or at the edge, which IBM’s research is a growing area with increased proliferation of edge devices. This flexibility brings cloud capabilities to where client data resides, allowing organisations to focus on solving business problems. The product builds on IBM’s deep industry expertise across industries such as telecommunications, healthcare, banking, insurance, travel and transportation. The Portworx by Pure Storage partnership fuels hybrid cloud environments by helping Government and enterprises manage and modernise workloads from bare-metal to multi- cloud or anything else in between, with Red Hat OpenShift. # § Debian Family⠀➾ # ⚓ Emmabuntüs_Debian_Edition_3_1.04_Released_with_Debian GNU/Linux_10.8_“Buster”_Updates⠀⇛ About four month in development, Emmabuntüs Linux Debian Edition 3 1.04 comes packed with all the updates from the Debian GNU/Linux 10 “Buster” operating system series, more specifically it’s based on the Debian GNU/ Linux 10.8 update released last month with 45 security updates and 56 other updated packages with bug fixes. This means the educational distro is now up to date and safe to use by anyone on their personal computers. Offering up-to-date systems, especially for educational use, is very important and Emmabuntüs Debian Edition does a good job at keeping its users updated at all times. # § Canonical/Ubuntu Family⠀➾ # ⚓ You_Don’t_Need_To_Ask⠀⇛ Ubuntu – the Linux distribution – has been around for 17 years. Over that time many projects and initiatives have been started, some successful, others less so. Not everything we try can work out, but as a group, we should feel empowered to try. The Ubuntu community isn’t quite the same as it was back in 2004-2010, and nobody I know argues that it is. People who were keen and active contributors may have had circumstantial changes which meant they moved on. Some took on new responsibilities, work, or started family. Some, sadly, have passed away. Over time though, new people discover Linux in general, and Ubuntu specifically. There’s a lot of institutional knowledge in the heads of those of us who’ve been around a long time. There are also plenty of documents squirrelled away on the Ubuntu Wiki, the website and in mailing list archives and forums & discourse pages. New people can feel overwhelmed by the entrenched knowledge and processes. We should improve that onboarding process. Over the last couple of years some fresh new faces have joined the Ubuntu community. Some have collaborated with existing developers, started new projects and built new Ubuntu Remixes. Whether I personally use them and whether they’re successfull (however you measure that) or not doesn’t matter. What matters is they played with the technology enough to build something on the shoulders of previous developers. I love this facet of Ubuntu. # ⚓ Linux_Mint_May_Resort_to_Windows_10-Style_Forced Updates⠀⇛ Linux Mint is considering measures to keep users up-to-date, including Windows 10-style forced updates. Linux Mint is a popular, community-driven distribution (distro) based on Ubuntu. Unfortunately, like users of other operating systems (OS), many Linux Mint users are slow to update, both applications and the OS itself. In a blog post detailing the problem, the Linux Mint teams notes that only 30% of users updated to the latest version of their web browser in less than a week. Similarly, while acknowledging it is hard to get an exact figure, between 5% and 30% of users are running Linux 17.x. # ⚓ Linux_Mint_starts_pushing_updates⠀⇛ Linux Mint will start pushing updates in the same popular way that Microsoft does with Windows 10. Last month the Mint team noted that a sizeable number of Linux Mint devices was running outdated applications, packages or even an outdated version of the operating system. A sizeable number of devices run on Linux Mint 17.x which was end of lifed in April 2019. A new blog post, published yesterday, provides information on how the team plans to reduce the update reluctance of Linux Mint users. # ⚓ Canonical_completes_Azure_Arc_Validation_Program, helps_increase_user_confidence_in_Arc_enabled production_Kubernetes [Ed: Canonical has been boosting Microsoft_for_years and it closed bug #1 which basically means they don’t wish to actually replace Windows]⠀⇛ # ⚓ Ubuntu_Blog:_Ubuntu_in_the_wild_–_2nd_of_March_2021⠀⇛ The Ubuntu in the wild blog post ropes in the latest highlights about Ubuntu and Canonical around the world on a bi-weekly basis. It is a summary of all the things that made us feel proud to be part of this journey. What do you think of it? [...] This one could interest our Italian readers: Lorenzo Cavassa, Field Engineer at Canonical, will be talking about how to create Kubernetes clusters on any type of substrate, from public clouds to private data centers to the Edge, with the automation and flexibility provided by Juju and Ubuntu. o § Devices/Embedded⠀➾ # ⚓ Compact_Arm_Linux_gateway_features_ThingsBoard_IoT software⠀⇛ Neousys’ rugged “IGT-22-DEV” IoT gateway runs the open source Linux “ThingsBoard IoT” stack on a TI AM3352 with PoE PD, DIO, serial, USB, and mini-PCIe with uSIM. After years of playing a dominant role on the pages of LinuxGizmos, the Cortex-A8-based TI Sitara AM335x has faded in recent years in favor of IoT- oriented Cortex-A7 processors such as the i.MX6 UL. Over the last week, however, the Sitara AM3352 has appeared twice: first in Aaeon’s SRG-3352C IoT gateway and now in Neousys’ IGT-22-DEV. Whereas the SRG-3352C showcases NB-IoT, the DIN-rail mountable IGT-22-DEV’s most notable feature is its pre- installed Linux IoT stack based on ThingsBoard IoT Gateway software. # ⚓ My_First_Week_of_Librem_5_Convergence⠀⇛ Using a phone that has real convergence like the Librem 5 is a complete game changer. It feels like I’m getting a sneak preview into the future of personal computing. In many ways it’s hard to explain what it’s like, you kind of have to see it yourself to understand why this is so groundbreaking. Having all of the same desktop applications and all of my files with me in my pocket, and having those same running applications morph to a larger screen automatically, changes how you think about phones and their potential. Calling the Librem 5 a phone doesn’t do it service. It’s really a mobile computer, a desktop in your pocket. Using it like a laptop or desktop computer really opens your eyes to all of the possibilities, and underscores to me all of the things I’ve been missing with other phones. # ⚓ tCam-Mini_IR_thermal_camera_board_ships_with_ESP32_module⠀⇛ While there are plenty of ESP32 camera boards, it’s much harder to find off-the-shelf solutions with ESP32 wireless SoC and an IR thermal camera. That’s likely why Dan Julio decided to design tCam- Mini board combining an ESP32 module with a Flir Lepton 3.5 sensor with 160×120 resolution to capture radiometric data for thermographic analysis. [...] It’s possible to connect to the ESP32 thermal camera board in access point or station mode to control it with “tCam console” desktop application compatible with Linux… # ⚓ How_your_young_people_can_create_with_tech_for_Coolest Projects_2021⠀⇛ # § Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications⠀➾ # ⚓ OnePlus_Nord_starts_receiving_Android_11-based OxygenOS_11_stable_update_–_Gizmochina⠀⇛ # ⚓ Stable_OxygenOS_11_w/_Android_11_out_for_OnePlus_Nord –_9to5Google⠀⇛ # ⚓ OnePlus_Nord_Receiving_Android_11-Based_OxygenOS_11 Update_With_New_UI,_Ambient_Display,_More_|_Technology News⠀⇛ # ⚓ You_Can_Now_Use_Android_11_on_Your_OnePlus_Nord⠀⇛ # ⚓ OnePlus_rolls_out_Android_11_to_the_OnePlus_Nord_– all_you_need_to_know_|_T3⠀⇛ # ⚓ OxygenOS_11_Android_11_now_available_for_OnePlus_Nord –_Android_Community⠀⇛ # ⚓ [Update:_Mar._01]_Xiaomi_Android_11_update_bugs_& issues_tracker:_Here’s_the_current_status⠀⇛ # ⚓ OnePlus_7_&_7T_series_Android_11-based_OxygenOS_11 stable_update_is….⠀⇛ # ⚓ The_Realme_GT_5G_will_launch_with_the_Android_11- based_Realme_UI_2.0_out_of_the_box_–_GSMArena.com news⠀⇛ # ⚓ Oukitel_launches_the_WP12_as_the_“world’s_first Android_11_rugged_phone”_–_NotebookCheck.net_News⠀⇛ # ⚓ 3_Android_12_features_you_can_bring_to_any_phone today_|_Computerworld⠀⇛ # ⚓ Your_Android_apps_can_also_live_on_your_computer_| Popular_Science⠀⇛ # ⚓ Volvo_C40_is_all-electric,_goes_big_on_Google_Android system⠀⇛ # ⚓ Samsung_Galaxy_S21_Ultra’s_secret_weapon_is_coming_to other_Android_phones_|_Tom’s_Guide⠀⇛ # ⚓ This_bundle_will_teach_you_how_to_build_modern Android_apps_|_Engadget⠀⇛ # ⚓ Android_Beam_lives_on_w/_Nearby_Share_tap-to-send function_–_9to5Google⠀⇛ # ⚓ Google_Pixel_Phones_Get_March_2021_Update_With_Latest Android_Security_Patch,_New_Features,_Fixes_| Technology_News⠀⇛ # ⚓ The_most_stunning_Android_phone_of_the_year_just leaked_—_and_it’s_not_from_Samsung_|_Tom’s_Guide⠀⇛ # ⚓ Mi_10T_Lite_and_Redmi_K20_get_their_first_Android_11- based_MIUI_12_builds⠀⇛ # ⚓ LG_X5_Android_One_(LG_G7_One)_Android_11_update begins_rolling_out⠀⇛ # ⚓ Google_Maps_dark_theme_for_Android_officially announced_–_9to5Google⠀⇛ # ⚓ Google_Maps_is_getting_a_new_trick_(plus_5_other Android_features_coming)_–_CNET⠀⇛ # ⚓ Google_Chrome_may_soon_default_to_desktop_mode_on Android_tablets⠀⇛ # ⚓ Chrome_might_automatically_use_desktop_mode_on Android_tablets_soon⠀⇛ # ⚓ Your_Android_tablet’s_Chrome_browser_may_soon_default to_desktop_mode_automatically⠀⇛ # ⚓ Your_Android_Tablet_May_Soon_Default_to_Desktop_Mode When_Using_Chrome⠀⇛ # ⚓ How_To_Turn_off_notifications_from_websites_in_Chrome on_Android?_–_TechStory⠀⇛ # ⚓ Can_iPhone-only_Clubhouse_succeed_in_Android- dominated_Asia_Pacific?_|_The_Drum⠀⇛ # ⚓ PUBG_Mobile_1.3_beta_update_for_Global_version:_APK download_link_for_global_Android_users⠀⇛ # ⚓ OnePlus_Nord_finally_gets_OxygenOS_11_with_Android_11 –_SlashGear⠀⇛ # ⚓ [Updated]_Realme_UI_2.0_(Android_11)_Early_Access_for Realme_6,_C12,_C15,_X2,_X3…⠀⇛ # ⚓ LG_democratizes_Web_OS_to_take_on_Android_TV,_Tizen OS,_and_others⠀⇛ # ⚓ Xiaomi_relaunches_MiTalk_as_a_Clubhouse_clone_for Android_and_iOS_in_China_–_Gizmochina⠀⇛ # ⚓ Video:_Best_Free_Photo_Editor_Apps_for_Android_(Feb 2021):_Edit_Photos_Like_a_Pro…_on_Your_Phone!_|_NDTV Gadgets_360⠀⇛ # ⚓ Galaxy_S21_Ultra’s_Best_Camera_Feature_Coming_To Other_Android_Phones⠀⇛ # ⚓ Best_Android_app_deals_of_the_day:_9th_Dawn_III,_more –_9to5Toys⠀⇛ # ⚓ Tip:_Nearby_Share_has_the_same_tap-to-send_NFC support_as_Android_Beam⠀⇛ # ⚓ Google_releases_a_Jetpack_library_for_Android_Auto, preps_two_new_APIs⠀⇛ o § Free, Libre, and Open Source Software⠀➾ # ⚓ Codeberg_Code_Hosting_is_now_with_Documentation⠀⇛ Codeberg is now the only Gitea-based code hosting with its own user guide & documentation! This guides everyone to start their public software development with ease — similar to the guide GitHub users enjoy for years. I like Codeberg as I frequently mentioned it (see here, see here) as the Free Libre Open Source Software code hosting. It is certainly good news and everyone is invited to improve the documentation together. Congratulations, Codeberg! # § Events⠀➾ # ⚓ Cloud_Foundry_Summit_2021:_Call_For_Papers_Open⠀⇛ The Summit will allow European attendees to participate, as well, with sessions tailored to the virtual format. The Cloud Foundry Foundation will join forces with the community-elected program committee to curate a program that fosters collaboration among attendees and offers interactive platform education. # ⚓ The_Linux_App_Summit_(LAS)_returns_in_May, applications_open_for_talks_until_March_15_| GamingOnLinux⠀⇛ Planned to happen online again during May 13- 15, the Linux App Summit (LAS) is set to return giving you a chance to listen to talks about the future of application design, development and more for Linux. Last year had some pretty interesting talks, like Linux game porter and FNA developer Ethan Lee giving a presentation on how games get built and packages plus Collabora gave an overview of their work with Valve. # § Web Browsers⠀➾ # § Mozilla⠀➾ # ⚓ A_Better_Terminal_for_Mozilla_Build [Ed: Mozilla is moving in a bad direction that serves Windows, not standards or the open Web or software freedom]⠀⇛ If you’re working with mozilla-central on Windows and followed the official documentation, there’s a good chance the MozillaBuild shell is running in the default cmd.exe console. If you’ve spent any amount of time in this console you’ve also likely noticed it leaves a bit to be desired. Standard terminal features such as tabs, splits and themes are missing. More importantly, it doesn’t render unicode characters (at least out of the box). # ⚓ Mozilla_Open_Policy_&_Advocacy_Blog:_India’s new_intermediary_liability_and_digital_media regulations_will_harm_the_open_internet⠀⇛ Last week, in a sudden move that will have disastrous consequences for the open internet, the Indian government notified a new regime for intermediary liability and digital media regulation. Intermediary liability (or “safe harbor”) protections have been fundamental to growth and innovation on the internet as an open and secure medium of communication and commerce. By expanding the “due diligence” obligations that intermediaries will have to follow to avail safe harbor, these rules will harm end to end encryption, substantially increase surveillance, promote automated filtering and prompt a fragmentation of the internet that would harm users while failing to empower Indians. While many of the most onerous provisions only apply to “significant social media intermediaries” (a new classification scheme), the ripple effects of these provisions will have a devastating impact on freedom of expression, privacy and security. # ⚓ Karl_Dubost:_Capping_User_Agent_String_– followup_meeting [Ed: Hopefully enough people understand the degree to which use agents in a Web browser are leveraged for fingerprinting/ tracking/surveillance/abuse]⠀⇛ A couple of weeks ago, I mentionned the steps which have been taken about capping the User Agent String on macOS 11 for Web compatibility issues. Since then, Mozilla and Google organized a meeting to discuss the status and the issues related to this effort. We invited Apple but probably too late to find someone who could participate to the meeting (my bad). The minutes of the meeting are publicly accessible. # § SaaS/Back End/Databases⠀➾ # ⚓ MySQL_from_Below⠀⇛ When you insert data into a database and run COMMIT you expect things to be there: Atomically, Consistent, Isolated and Durable, like Codd commanded us 40 years ago, but also quickly. There is a surprising amount of sophistication being poured into this, but since I do not want to shame MongoDB and Redis developers in this post, I am not going to talk about that much in this place. We are instead trying to understand what our databases are doing all day, from the point of view of the storage stack. # § Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra⠀➾ # ⚓ Exporting_LibreOffice_Guides_to_HTML_(Part_I)⠀⇛ LibreOffice is an open source office suite full of tricky secrets. One of my favorites is the possibility to export a text document to XHTML or HTML5, both are W3C standards supported by most modern web browsers. But you, the reader, will certainly ask: If I have the Guides in ODT and PDF file format why do I need another format? Why spend energy adding another medium for the LibreOffice Guides? # ⚓ LibreOffice_7.0_Getting_Started_and_Impress_Guides_– Taming_LibreOffice⠀⇛ Two more volumes of LO 7.0 user guides were published in January: Getting Started Guide and Impress Guide. They are available in free PDF downloads and in low-cost print editions. See this page for links. # ⚓ LibreOffice_7.1_Finally_Available_to_Install_via Ubuntu_PPA⠀⇛ The official LibreOffice Fresh PPA finally made the LibreOffice 7.1 packages for Ubuntu 20.04 and Ubuntu 20.10. LibreOffice, Ubuntu’s default office suite, released version 7.1 almost a month ago. The new release features new Additions Dialog to better integrate extensions, new User Interface select dialog, new widget with styles preview in tabbed Notebookbar. LibreOffice Math gets full support of HTML colors, and new examples in Element pane. The Writer application features faster find/ replace, a new Style Inspector, and better detection of Unicode in documents. LibreOffice Impress gains new animation presets and adds “Pause/Resume” and “Exit” buttons. # ⚓ LibreOffice_7.1_Community_released_–_Taming LibreOffice⠀⇛ On 3 February, The Document Foundation announced the release of LibreOffice 7.1 Community, the volunteer-supported version of the office suite. The Community label emphasises the fact that the software is not targeted at enterprises, and not optimised for their support needs. Blog post with more information. For enterprise-class deployments, TDF has strongly recommended the LibreOffice Enterprise family of applications from ecosystem partners—for desktop, mobile and cloud—with long-term support options, professional assistance, custom features and other benefits. See LibreOffice in business. # § Openness/Sharing/Collaboration⠀➾ # ⚓ To_Prevent_the_Resurgence_of_the_Pandemic,_Can_We Talk_About_Open-Source_Research?⠀⇛ # § Programming/Development⠀➾ # ⚓ RPushbullet_0.3.4:_Small_Update,_Nicer_Docs⠀⇛ Release 0.3.4 of the RPushbullet package arrived on CRAN today. RPushbullet interfaces the neat Pushbullet service for inter-device messaging, communication, and more. It lets you easily send (programmatic) alerts like the one to the left to your browser, phone, tablet, … – or all at once. This release contains a contributed PR to better reflect an error code, and adds a mkdocs-material-based documentation site (just like a few other packages of mine). See below for more details. # ⚓ Dirk_Eddelbuettel:_RcppSimdJson_0.1.4_on_CRAN:_Small Bugfix⠀⇛ A quick note to say that we finalized a bugfix release 0.1.5 of RcppSimdJson yesterday which got onto CRAN earlier today. RcppSimdJson wraps the fantastic and genuinely impressive simdjson library by Daniel Lemire and collaborators. Via very clever algorithmic engineering to obtain largely branch-free code, coupled with modern C++ and newer compiler instructions, it results in parsing gigabytes of JSON parsed per second which is quite mindboggling. The best-case performance is ‘faster than CPU speed’ as use of parallel SIMD instructions and careful branch avoidance can lead to less than one cpu cycle per byte parsed; see the video of the talk by Daniel Lemire at QCon (also voted best talk). # ⚓ Remove_First_Character_from_String_in_JavaScript⠀⇛ In the previous article, you have learned to remote last character of a string in JavaScript. If you are looking for remove last character from string, visit here. This tutorial describe you to how to remove first character of a string in JavaScript. You can choose any one of the following methods. # ⚓ Fortran_newsletter:_March_2021⠀⇛ Welcome to the March 2021 edition of the monthly Fortran newsletter. The newsletter comes out at the beginning of every month and details Fortran news from the previous month. # § Qt⠀➾ # ⚓ Qt_6.1_Beta_Released⠀⇛ I am pleased to announce that we released the first beta of Qt 6.1 today. As the first feature update in the Qt 6 series, Qt 6.1 adds some important new functionality and brings support for multiple additional libraries. We will continue to provide subsequent beta releases via the online installer throughout the beta phase. # ⚓ Qt_6.1_Beta_Released_With_Porting_More_Modules To_Qt6_–_Phoronix⠀⇛ The first beta is out today of the forthcoming Qt 6.1 toolkit. It’s not even been three months yet since the official release of Qt 6.0 while Qt 6.1 Beta has already arrived as part of the expedited Qt 6 releases this year in trying to button things up so that more developers are ready to migrate their codebases from Qt 5 to Qt 6 with remaining gaps being filled. It was in mid-February that Qt 6.1 Alpha was released as part of the v6.1 release schedule that aims to officially ship Qt 6.1.0 by the end of April. # ⚓ Qt_for_MCUs_–_A_perfect_development_platform for_the_fitness_industry⠀⇛ Historically, the fitness industry has been extremely commoditized, especially in the cardiovascular equipment space. The main cardiovascular products [treadmill, upright stationary bike, recumbent stationary bike, and elliptical machine] have minor differences among the different product brands. For example, a treadmill is made up of a deck, deck cushioning, belt, motor, uprights with handrails, heartrate monitor, tray, “Deadman’s switch” key clip, power switch with cord, and console. These parts are considered “table stakes” meaning every treadmill, regardless of brand, has them. # § Python⠀➾ # ⚓ Python_Developers_Survey_2020_Results_| JetBrains:_Developer_Tools_for_Professionals_and Teams⠀⇛ This is the fourth iteration of the official annual Python Developers Survey, conducted as a collaborative effort between the Python Software Foundation and JetBrains. In October 2020, more than 28,000 Python developers and enthusiasts from almost 200 countries/regions took the survey to reveal the current state of the language and the ecosystem around it. # ⚓ Python_Developer_Survey_Highlights⠀⇛ The annual Python Developers Survey, conducted by the Python Software Foundation and JetBrains, explores Python usage among 28,000 Python developers from almost 200 countries and regions. According to this year’s results, 85% of survey respondents use Python as their main programming language. Additionally, JavaScript is the most popular language to combine with Python, with 75% of web developers using both. “Together with HTML/CSS, Bash/Shell, and SQL, they create a stack of languages where 2 out of every 5 Python devs are using at least one of them,” the report states. # ⚓ 3_features_that_debuted_in_Python_3.0_you should_use_now⠀⇛ This is the first in a series of articles about features that first appeared in a version of Python 3.x. Python 3.0 was first released in 2008, and even though it has been out for a while, many of the features it introduced are underused and pretty cool. Here are three you should know about. [...] Python 3.0 and its later versions have been out for more than 12 years, but some of its features are underutilized. In the next article in this series, I’ll look at three more of them. # ⚓ How_to_Plot_Data_in_Pandas_Python_–_Linux Hint⠀⇛ Data visualization plays an important role in data analysis. Pandas is a strong data analysis library in python for data science. It provides various options for data visualization with .plot() method. Even if you are a beginner, you can easily plot your data using the Pandas library. You need to import the pandas and matplotlib.pyplot package for data visualization. In this article, we will explore various data plotting methods by using the Pandas python. We have executed all examples on the pycharm source code editor by using the matplotlib.pyplot package. [...] In this article, you have seen how to plot DataFrames in Pandas python. Different kinds of plotting are performed in the above article. To plot more kinds such as box, hexbin, hist, kde, density, area, etc., you can use the same source code just by changing the plot kind. # § Java⠀➾ # ⚓ Learn_Java_with_object_orientation_by_building a_classic_Breakout_game ⠀⇛ Several of my courses use Processing, a software engine that uses Java. Java is a great language for learning programming concepts, in part because it’s a strongly typed language. Despite being free to choose any language or framework for my Breakout project, I chose to continue in Java to apply what I’ve learned in my coursework. I also wanted to use a framework so that I did not need to do everything from scratch. I considered using Godot, but that would mean I would hardly need to program at all. Instead, I chose TotalCross. It is an open source software development kit (SDK) and framework with a simple game engine that generates code for Linux Arm devices (like the Raspberry Pi) and smartphones. Also, because I work for TotalCross, I have access to developers with much more experience than I have and know the platform very well. It seemed to be the safest way and, despite some strife, I don’t regret it one bit. It was very cool to develop the whole project and see it running on the phone and the Raspberry Pi. * § Leftovers⠀➾ o ⚓ Whistle_While_You_Work?⠀⇛ o ⚓ A_Modest_Proposal_for_Establishing_a_Strategic_Toddler_Reserve⠀⇛ How many times have we had the unfortunate experience of visiting the home of a dear friend or colleague, only to discover everything changed. The warm embrace is replaced by a distracted, beckoning wave; the smartly arranged chambers are now an untidy mess; the well-crafted libations have changed into beer in cans or wine from a box; engaged dinner conversation about politics, art and letters is now a litany of complaints from the host about lack of time, constant exhaustion and frequent bouts of influenza. The source of the unwelcome change is soon apparent; lurking behind our hosts’ skirts and trousers is a child of 1-3 years of age, the toddler. o ⚓ The_Hijacking_of_Perl.com⠀⇛ For a week we lost control of the Perl.com domain. Now that the incident has died down, we can explain some of what happened and how we handled it. This incident only affected the domain ownership of Perl.com and there was no other compromise of community resources. This website was still there, but DNS was handing out different IP numbers. First, this wasn’t an issue of not renewing the domain. That would have been a better situation for us because there’s a grace period. Second, to be very clear, I’m just an editor for the website that uses the Perl.com domain. This means that I’m not actually the “injured party” in legal terms. Tom Christiansen is the domain registrant, and should legal matters progress, there’s no reason for me, nor anyone else, to know all of the details. However, I’ve talked to many of the people involved in the process. o § Health/Nutrition⠀➾ # ⚓ ‘Opponents_of_Medicare_for_All_Are_Deathly_Afraid’⠀⇛ Even if the near-term dream of getting a Medicare for All (M4A) champion into the White House ended with the defeat of Senator Bernie Sanders’s 2020 primary campaign, the fight to win single-payer health care financing in the United States is far from over. The House and Senate M4A bills have over 100 Democratic cosponsors, and Congress’s insurgent left flank is growing. Voters still voice strong support for the reform, and continue to prioritize health care above nearly any other political issue. Meanwhile, a year into the global Covid-19 pandemic, the inequalities at the heart of the market-driven health care system have never been more apparent—and no single policy is better equipped to combat them than M4A. # ⚓ How_Inequity_Gets_Built_Into_America’s_Vaccination_System⠀⇛ It’s a fact that simply being eligible for a vaccine in America doesn’t mean that you can instantly get one. Yet the ability to get to the front of the line isn’t the same for everyone. ProPublica has found that, whether intentionally or not, some vaccine programs have been designed with inherent barriers that disadvantage many people who are most at risk of dying from the disease, exacerbating inequities in access to health care. In many regions of the U.S., it’s much more difficult to schedule a vaccine appointment if you do not have access to the internet. In some areas, drive-through vaccinations are the only option, excluding those who do not have cars or someone who can give them a ride. In other places, people who do not speak English are having trouble getting information from government hotlines and websites. One state is even flat-out refusing to allow undocumented workers with high-risk jobs to get prioritized for vaccination. # ⚓ COVID-19_vaccines,_prion_disease,_and_Alzheimer’s:_Another old_antivax_lie_is_new_again⠀⇛ Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began and antivaxxers made common cause with COVID-19 cranks, deniers, and conspiracy theorists, I’ve been repeating a simple message: Everything old is new again. The pandemic has resulted in a lot of scientists and other people paying attention to the antivaccine movement in a way that they never have before. Many of these newbies have been amazed at some of the antivaccine misinformation and disinformation that have been spread about the new COVID-19 vaccines. False antivax claims about these vaccines include a veritable antivax “greatest hits” of pseudoscience, conspiracy theories, and distortions, a veritable playbook of claims that COVID-19 vaccines kill, cause miscarriages and/or infertility, cause autoimmune disease, “permanently alter your DNA“, are unnecessary because COVID-19 is not dangerous, that the number of cases are exaggerated, and that the vaccines are filled with “toxins” (in the case of the mRNA vaccines, the lipid nanoparticles used to encapsulate the mRNA coding for COVID-19 spike protein). Now two more famous antivax claims from the past are popping up in my social media feeds, and they are related. I’m referring to the false claim that the COVID-19 vaccines cause prion disease and that they cause Alzheimer’s disease. We have “immunologist” Dr. J. Bart Classen to thank for this disinformation and antivaxxers like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for spreading it. # ⚓ Sovereign_2:_Could_Cuba’s_Covid_Vaccine_Break_Big_Pharma’s Grip_on_Production?⠀⇛ The worldwide Covid vaccine rollout has gone anything but smoothly, with only a handful of countries able to immunize even 10% of their populations yet with a first dose. Two primary causes of this have been rich nations hoarding precious doses and their refusal to waive the intellectual property rights to their creations, both of which have led to massive shortages across the world, particularly in the global south. # ⚓ Every_tenth_teenager_in_Finland_shows_symptoms_of problematic_social_media_use⠀⇛ As per the study, over 9 per cent of young Finns exhibit problematic behaviour related to social media and 34 per cent are at high risk for the same. The research included data from 3,400 Finnish students aged 11, 13 and 15, who participated in the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) school survey. # ⚓ Twitter_to_label_posts_with_vaccine_misinformation⠀⇛ Twitter is also implementing a strike system for its broader policy on coronavirus vaccine misinformation, where more than one violation will lead to accounts being locked and five or more will trigger permanent suspensions. o § Integrity/Availability⠀➾ # § Proprietary⠀➾ # ⚓ Official_Evernote_Application_For_Linux_Available_For Download_(Beta)⠀⇛ Let me start by telling you a bit about Evernote, in case you’ve never heard of it (which is weird, because this is a quite popular application). Evernote is an application for note-taking, organizing, task management, and archiving. Using it you can create notes using text, drawings, add photographs, audio, or web content. Each note can be tagged, annotated, edited, searched, given attachments, and exported. The application is free to use (but not free, open source software) with monthly usage limits, or you can use a paid plan. Up until recently, Evernote was available for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. # § Security⠀➾ # ⚓ Best_Secure_Linux_Distros_for_Enhanced_Privacy &_Security⠀⇛ As we transition to an increasingly digital society, privacy and security have become areas of central concern – not a day goes by that we aren’t bombarded with security news headlines about hacks, breaches and the increasingly common and worrisome practice of storing and monitoring sensitive personal information, often without users’ consent. Luckily for us Linux users, the general consensus among experts is that Linux is a highly secure OS – arguably the most secure OS. While all Linux “distros” – or distributed versions of Linux software – are secure by design, certain distros go above and beyond when it comes to protecting users’ privacy and security. We’ve put together a list of our favorite specialized secure Linux distros and spoken with some of their lead developers to find out first-hand what makes these distros so great. This article aims to help you evaluate your options and select the distro that best meets your individual needs. # ⚓ Is_Your_Browser_Extension_a_Botnet_Backdoor?⠀⇛ A company that rents out access to more than 10 million Web browsers so that clients can hide their true Internet addresses has built its network by paying browser extension makers to quietly include its code in their creations. This story examines the lopsided economics of extension development, and why installing an extension can be such a risky proposition. # ⚓ Security_updates_for_Tuesday_[LWN.net]⠀⇛ Security updates have been issued by Arch Linux (bind, intel-ucode, ipmitool, isync, openssl, python, python-cryptography, python-httplib2, salt, tar, and thrift), Fedora (ansible, salt, webkit2gtk3, and wpa_supplicant), Oracle (bind), Red Hat (bind, kernel, and kpatch-patch), Scientific Linux (bind), SUSE (firefox, gnome-autoar, java-1_8_0-ibm, java- 1_8_0-openjdk, nodejs10, open-iscsi, perl-XML-Twig, python-cryptography, and thunderbird), and Ubuntu (bind9). # ⚓ Malicious_NPM_packages_target_Amazon,_Slack with_new_dependency_attacks [Ed: Microsoft delivering malware again, but the media (actually a Microsoft propaganda site in this case) does not mention Microsoft (similar to this)]⠀⇛ Last month, BleepingComputer reported that security researcher Alex Birsan earned bug bounties from 35 companies by utilizing a new flaw in open-source development tools. # ⚓ Working_Spectre_exploits_for_Windows_and_Linux devices_uncovered⠀⇛ A security researcher has discovered several working Spectre exploits that were uploaded to the VirusTotal database last month. Spectre, along with Meltdown, are two extremely severe hardware vulnerabilities that affect Intel, IBM POWER, and some ARM-based processors. While Intel has since implemented hardware mitigations for the vulnerability in newer processors, older ones have to rely on software fixes that come with a performance penalty, which prevents its blanket use. This means that there’s still a large number of systems that are vulnerable to the recently discovered exploits by security researcher Julien Voisin. # § Privacy/Surveillance⠀➾ # ⚓ EU_Commission_to_Propose_Vaccine Passports_for_Travel_in_Europe⠀⇛ The European Union’s executive arm said Monday it will propose rules for a passport to allow those who have been vaccinated or recently tested for COVID-19 to travel for work or tourism throughout the region. From her Twitter account, EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said legislation will be presented later this month for the digital pass, which she called a “green pass,” that hopefully could help EU member nations rebuild their tourism industries. # § Confidentiality⠀➾ # ⚓ Spectre_exploits_in_the_“wild”⠀⇛ Someone was silly enough to upload a working spectre (CVE-2017-5753) exploit for Linux (there is also a Windows one with symbols that I didn’t look at.) on VirusTotal last month, so here is my quick Sunday afternoon lazy analysis. The binary has its - h option stripped, likely behind a #define to avoid detection, but some of its parameters are obvious, like specifying what file to leak, or the kernel base address. The authors didn’t check (or care) that the logging function hasn’t been entirely optimized out, leaving a bunch of strings helping in the reversing process. o § Defence/Aggression⠀➾ # ⚓ A_Disability_Day_of_Mourning:_Remembering_the_Murdered_and the_Vulnerable⠀⇛ In 2012, Elizabeth Hodgins shot and killed her 22- year-old son, George, in his childhood bedroom in Sunnyvale, Calif. She then turned the gun on herself. Although she murdered her own child, local news described Elizabeth Hodgins as a “devoted and loving mother.” George, on the other hand, was called “low functioning and high maintenance.” George was autistic, and article after article reinforced a single message: His disability made George somehow responsible for his own death. Another mother who knew the Hodgins family told the San Jose Mercury News: “We don’t know what caused this mother to do this. But every mother I know who has a child with special needs has a moment just like that.” # ⚓ Coup-supporting_academics_spread_lies_to_censor_The Grayzone_reporting_exposing_Ecuador’s_pseudo-left_candidate Yaku_Pérez⠀⇛ # ⚓ The_“Murder”_of_John_Hunt_Morgan:_“You_Have_Just_Killed_the Best_Man_in_the_Confederacy!”⠀⇛ It was getting dark. It was December 1862 in Tennessee. # ⚓ Opinion_|_Living_Up_Close_and_Personal_With_Our_Endless Wars⠀⇛ Perspectives on the storming of the Capitol from a military spouse. # ⚓ After_Years_of_Propaganda,_American_Views_of_Russia_and China_Hit_Historic_Lows⠀⇛ A new Gallup poll finds that U.S. public opinion on China and Russia has crashed to all time lows. Only 20% of Americans hold favorable views towards China. This is a remarkable decline, considering that only three years ago, the majority of the country saw the Asian giant in a positive light. The public image of Russia is barely any better, with just 22% of the country viewing the world’s largest nation in favorable terms and 77% holding unfavorable views towards the country. # ⚓ Coup_Leaders,_Aung_San_Suu_Kyi_Betrayed_Democracy_in Burma⠀⇛ However, despite the endless talk about democratization, Burma was, in the years leading up to the coup, far from being a true democracy. Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the country’s erstwhile ruling party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), has done very little to bring about meaningful change since she was designated State Counselor. # ⚓ Opinion_|_Coup_Leaders,_Aung_San_Suu_Kyi_Betrayed_Democracy in_Burma⠀⇛ Though we must insist that the return to rule by the military in Burma is unacceptable, we must equally demand that Burma embraces true democracy for all of its citizens, regardless of race, ethnicity or religion. # ⚓ Burmese_Scholar:_Military_Junta_Using_Terror_Against “Entire_Population”_to_Keep_Power_After_Coup⠀⇛ In Burma, mass protests continue after at least 18 people were killed in anti-coup protests, marking the deadliest day since the February 1 military coup which deposed and detained de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Police fired live ammunition into crowds as Burmese forces steadily escalated their crackdown. One local group says 1,000 people were arrested, including journalists and medical professionals. “The coup group and the entire security sector … have essentially terrorized the entire population,” says Maung Zarni, a Burmese scholar, dissident and human rights activist. “I have seen absolutely nothing like what is happening.” # ⚓ Biden_“Illegally”_Bombs_Iranian-Backed_Militias_in_Syria, Jeopardizing_Nuclear_Talks_with_Tehran⠀⇛ The Biden administration is facing intense criticism from U.S. progressives after carrying out airstrikes on eastern Syria said to be targeting Iranian-backed militia groups. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports at least 22 people died. The Pentagon called the assault a response to recent rocket attacks on U.S. forces in northern Iraq. Those attacks came more than a year after Iraq’s parliament voted to expel U.S. troops — an order ignored by both the Trump and Biden administrations. “Very quickly the Biden administration is falling into the same old patterns of before, of responding to this and that without having a clear strategy that actually would extract us from these various conflicts and actually pave the way for much more productive diplomacy,” says Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute. We also speak with California Congressmember Ro Khanna, who says President Biden’s recent airstrikes in Syria lacked legal authority. “This is not an ambiguous case. The administration’s actions are clearly illegal under the United States’ law and under international law,” says Khanna. # ⚓ John_K._Wilson_and_Abby_Martin_–_The_Project_Censored Show⠀⇛ # ⚓ Nigeria’s_school_abductions:_Why_children_are_being targeted⠀⇛ Until now, kidnap victims have generally been road travellers in Nigeria’s north-west, who pay between $20 and $200,000 for their freedom, but since the well-publicised abduction in 2014 of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok secondary school by Boko Haram Islamist militants in Borno state, more armed groups have resorted to mass abduction of students. # ⚓ Exclusive:_Night-time_satellite_images_show_Chinese_buildup in_Depsang⠀⇛ The post was established after the 1962 war and has seen consistent upgrades over the past few years. The latest imagery suggests that its main building has seen additional auxiliary structures, camps, vehicles and fencing since August 2020. # ⚓ Bandits:_Kidnapping_school_students_is_lesser_evil_–_Sheikh Gumi⠀⇛ Controversial Islamic Scholar, Ahmad Gumi on Monday described the kidnapping of school children by bandits as lesser evil. Gumi said kidnapping school students was a lesser evil when compared to the ransacking of towns and killing of its residents. He made the remark while featuring on BBC Pidgin. o § Environment⠀➾ # ⚓ Opinion_|_The_Most_Effective_Method_of_Minimizing_the Impacts_of_Climate_Change_Is_Ensuring_That_Everyone’s_Basic Needs_Are_Met⠀⇛ We must attend to the structural injustices that immiserate so much of this country. # ⚓ ‘The_Time_Is_Now’:_Survey_Finds_Overwhelming_International Support_for_Greater_Environmental_Protection_Ahead_of_UN Climate_Conference⠀⇛ “We face huge challenges protecting the environment, but global public opinion may no longer be chief among them.” # ⚓ ‘Run_The_Oil_Industry_In_Reverse’:_Fighting_Climate_Change By_Farming_Kelp⠀⇛ In the race to stall or even reverse global warming, new efforts are in the works to pull carbon dioxide out of the air and put it somewhere safe. One startup in Maine has a vision that is drawing attention from scientists and venture capitalists alike: to bury massive amounts of seaweed at the bottom of the ocean, where it will lock away carbon for thousands of years. The company is called Running Tide Technologies, and it’s prototyping the concept this winter. On a recent day in the Gulf of Maine, boat captain Rob Odlin says the task itself isn’t much different from any other in his seafaring career, whether chasing tuna or harvesting lobster. # ⚓ British_American_Tobacco’s_Illegal_Smokes_Burn_Through Mali’s_Quest_for_Self-Determination⠀⇛ Shortly after separatist militant groups took northern Mali in 2012, British American Tobacco (BAT) began flooding the West African nation with unbranded packs of cigarettes aided by another large tobacco company and the French-backed Malian state. The smuggled smokes arrive through ports in neighboring Guinea, Togo, and Benin from where they are transported to distribution points inside Mali and moved across the Sahara into Libya, Algeria, and Europe by an assortment of rebel militias, al Qaeda offshoots, and jihadists in a hugely profitable enterprise, that is further fragmenting the former French colony. # ⚓ Green_Party_urges_Chancellor_to_make_polluters_pay_in Spring_Budget⠀⇛ Ahead of Rishi Sunak’s Budget announcement on Wednesday (3 March), the Greens have put forward their proposals to shift the economy towards more urgent climate action while also ensuring support is provided to those who are suffering the most during the Covid crisis. [1] # ⚓ Biden’s_Tough_Stance_on_China_Will_Lead_to_Global_Climate Doom⠀⇛ Slowing the pace of climate change and getting “tough” on China, especially over its human rights abuses and unfair trade practices, are among the top priorities President Biden has announced for his new administration. Evidently, he believes that he can tame a rising China with harsh pressure tactics, while still gaining its cooperation in areas of concern to Washington. As he wrote in Foreign Affairs during the presidential election campaign, “The most effective way to meet that challenge is to build a united front of US allies and partners to confront China’s abusive behaviors and human rights violations, even as we seek to cooperate with Beijing on issues where our interests converge, such as climate change.” If, however, our new president truly believes that he can build an international coalition to gang up on China and secure Beijing’s cooperation on climate change, he’s seriously deluded. Indeed, though he could succeed in provoking a new cold war, he won’t prevent the planet from heating up unbearably in the process. # § Energy⠀➾ # ⚓ Alpine_plants_face_risk_from_growing_climate_heat⠀⇛ Like many mountainous regions, the European Alps are warming fast. Alpine plants will suffer – and life below ground as well. # ⚓ US:_China_Must_Raise_Its_Ambitions_on_Carbon Neutrality⠀⇛ The U.S. contributes about 15% of the world’s emissions. U.S. President Joe Biden has committed to ambitious targets, including the U.S. achieving a 100% clean energy economy and reaching net-zero emissions no later than 2050.  # § Wildlife/Nature⠀➾ # ⚓ Sounds_of_Silence:_Extinction_Is_Erasing_the_Earth’s Music⠀⇛ o § Finance⠀➾ # ⚓ The_Villain_Leshner⠀⇛ Hart originally enlisted, he recounts, because “It was clear to me that the poverty and crime in the resource-poor community from which I came was a direct result of recreational drug use and addiction. I reasoned that if I could stop people from taking drugs, especially by fixing their broken brains, I could fix the poverty and crime in my community.” Over the course of a decade, his own research and a critical reading of colleagues’ papers led him to question whether recreational drug use inevitably causes brain damage. In a chapter called “Drug Addiction is Not a Brain Disease,” Hart reexamines some concepts he had accepted en route to a PhD in neuroscience and a professorship at Columbia. For example, “The overly simplistic idea… that when a person experiences pleasure, including from recreational drugs, they do so because the dopamine neurons in the nucleus accumbens have become active. Methamphetamine, for example, causes a release of dopamine in the brain region and this increased release is correlated with feelings of pleasure. This basic but highly incomplete knowledge essentially led me, and many, many others, to conclude that there must exist discernible and meaningful brain differences, especially in these dopamine-rich areas, between those who use drugs and those who do not. These differences, I thought, must be the cause of addiction and other problems related to drug use. # ⚓ Financial_Reserves_and_the_Racial_Wealth_Gap⠀⇛ There is excellent research on how the Black-white wealth gap left Black households more vulnerable (see resources below).  But let’s consider the racial wealth divide in financial reserves as measure of precariousness as the U.S. entered into the pandemic.  A much higher percentage of Black and Latino households are part of the vulnerable “underwater nation,” with zero or negative wealth. According to the most recent Federal Reserve data, 14 percent of white households had zero or negative wealth.  An estimated 28 percent of Black households had zero or negative wealth, twice the level of whites. And 26 percent of Latino households had zero or negative wealth. # ⚓ To_Help_Fund_Covid_Recovery_and_Redress_Inequality,_Warren Unveils_Wealth_Tax_on_‘Ultra-Millionaires’_and_Billionaires⠀⇛ “A wealth tax is popular among voters on both sides for good reason: because they understand the system is rigged to benefit the wealthy and large corporations,” said the Massachusetts Democrat. # ⚓ Opinion_|_COVID-19_Has_Exacerbated_Extreme_Levels_of Inequality._It’s_Time_for_a_Billionaire_Wealth_Tax⠀⇛ The US’s billionaires have amassed democracy- distorting concentrations of wealth and power as millions have been thrown into poverty. # ⚓ ‘Failure_to_Deliver_Is_Not_an_Option’:_Khanna,_Omar,_AOC, and_20_Other_House_Dems_Push_VP_to_Overrule_Parliamentarian on_$15_Wage⠀⇛ “If we don’t overrule the Senate parliamentarian, we are condoning poverty wages for millions of Americans.” # ⚓ ‘A_Huge,_Huge_Deal’:_Biden_Issues_Public_Statement_of Support_for_Alabama_Amazon_Workers_Fighting_for_Union⠀⇛ “We haven’t had this aggressive and positive of a statement from a president of the United States on behalf of workers in decades.” # ⚓ Rep._Ro_Khanna:_Democrats_Should_Ignore_the_Senate Parliamentarian_and_Pass_$15_Minimum_Wage_Hike⠀⇛ The House of Representatives has voted to pass President Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package that includes an increase to the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour, which could now be stripped out in the final bill after the unelected Senate parliamentarian found it does not comply with budget rules. Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have also said they’ll oppose the measure. Congressmember Ro Khanna of California says the parliamentarian “misruled” in this case and that Democrats should pass the wage hike anyway. “I don’t know any part of this country where someone can survive on $7.25,” he says. “There is precedent for not listening to the parliamentarian’s advice, and we are hopeful that the vice president, or whoever is in the Senate chair, will do that.” o § AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics⠀➾ # ⚓ Reporter_Extraordinaire:_The_Pioneering_Pathways_of James Ridgeway⠀⇛ I have never met a more honest, meticulous, humble, and productive reporter so persistent in getting the hidden story out to the people, whatever the odds. For Jim, reporting what wasn’t going to get reported was his way of seeking justice for the downtrodden, the powerless, and everyone else unfairly afflicted. He broke many stories with his articles in the New Republic, the then formidable Village Voice, the Guardian, the Nation, CounterPunch and Mother Jones, among other publications that featured his terse, vivid prose. # ⚓ A_Rapidly-Globalizing_World_Needs_Strengthened_Global Governance⠀⇛ These difficulties result from the global nature of the problems. An individual nation is unable to institute adequate measures to safeguard public health because diseases spread easily across national boundaries. Similarly, an individual nation cannot stave off the deterioration of the climate because the climate is a worldwide phenomenon. Furthermore, an individual nation cannot prevent warfare (including the drift to a disastrous nuclear war) because nations live in a state approaching international anarchy, with each relying on its own military strength to safeguard what it views as its national interests. Of course, the need for concerted global action to address global crises has long been recognized. At the end of World War II, when the most destructive conflict in world history demonstrated the limits of the nation-state system, world leaders created the United Nations to take on new tasks, particularly the task of fostering international security. And, to some extent, the UN has been successful in dealing with international problems. But over the decades since the founding of the UN, it has become obvious that the world organization is too weak and underfunded to meet all the challenges of a rapidly-globalizing world. # ⚓ As_White_House_Backs_For_the_People_Act,_New_Calls_to_Get Rid_of_Filibuster⠀⇛ “The For the People Act could be the last best chance to fix our broken democracy,” Common Cause told lawmakers. # ⚓ Biden_Criticized_for_Lack_of_Transparency_After_Refusing_to Publicize_Virtual_Visitor_Logs⠀⇛ “We’re in a pandemic. People meet by video conference instead of in person. Why offer to release visitor logs and then keep virtual meetings secret?” asked one watchdog. # ⚓ Steve_Cobble_Waged_a_50-Year_Campaign_for_Justice_and_for Peace⠀⇛ Steve Cobble was hailed as a political genius for his historic interventions on behalf of candidates from George McGovern to Bernie Sanders. Yet Cobble, who died Friday at age 69, always said he was just a long-haired student radical who turned to politics because he thought it might be the best way to stop wars and dismantle the military- industrial complex. # ⚓ After_a_Decade_of_Misrule,_the_People_of_Haiti_Have_Had Enough⠀⇛ On Sunday, the people in Port-au-Prince filled its broad boulevards, blowing the traditional celebratory one-note vaksen horn, waving Haitian flags and branches of trees, and singing improvised songs, as well as the rousing Haitian national anthem. And I mean “filled,” curb to curb and out of sight against the horizon, coming and coming. There were similar protests in six other cities in Haiti. The Port-au-Prince demonstration was not like the lesser, though important, protests we’ve seen in Haiti in recent years against cost-of- living increases and food prices and gas taxes and government corruption. This well-organized, massive protest was an economy-stopping, throat-swelling, regime-changing political demonstration, more like the ones that preceded and followed the ouster of the Duvalier dynasty in February 1986. “Aba diktati,” read many of the handwritten pancartes held up by people in the surging crowd. Down with dictatorship. # ⚓ Governor_Cuomo,_Sexual_Harassment,_and_Senator_Gillibrand’s Silence⠀⇛ The dam is breaking in New York as more people come forward with stories about Governor Andrew Cuomo. Aside from Assembly member Ron Kim, so far it’s mostly been young women—like Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett—with the least political capital taking all the fire. That includes their champions in the Legislature, Senators Alessandra Biaggi and Jessica Ramos, and Assembly member Yuh-Line Niou and others, who’ve been doing wall-to-wall media, breaking down the relationship between corruption, Covid, and workplace harassment, while the heavyweights in the state have to be dragged out of hiding. # ⚓ Perspectives_on_the_Storming_of_the_Capitol_from_a_Military Spouse⠀⇛ Do a Google search and you’ll find very little suggesting that the January 6th attack on the Capitol in any way resembled a war. A notable exception: a Washington Postop-ed by former Missouri secretary of state and Afghanistan combat veteran Jason Kander. He saw that day’s violence for the combat it was and urged congressional representatives and others who bore the brunt of those “armed insurrectionists” to seek help (as, to his regret, he hadn’t done after his tours of duty in combat zones). Now, take a look back at that “riot” and tell me how it differs from a military attack: President Trump asked his supporters to “fight like hell” or “you’re not going to have a country anymore.” He swore he would go with them, though he didn’t, of course, just as those who launched and continued our “forever wars” of the last almost 20 years sent Americans to fight abroad without ever doing so themselves. Trump’s small army destroyed property with their metal baseball bats and other implements of aggression, in one case even planted pipe bombs near Republican and Democratic party headquarters (that didn’t go off), and looted congressional chambers, including carrying away House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern. # ⚓ Trump_Got_Vaccinated_Secretly,_Because_Otherwise_He_Might Have_Helped_the_Country⠀⇛ Maggie Haberman of the New York Times reported the news on Monday, noting that Trump and Melania got the vaccine all the way back in January, when they were still living in the White House. The news is more than a little frustrating considering the impact a public show of faith in the safety of the vaccine could have had on his supporters, who as it turns out are disproportionately hesitant to inoculate themselves. # ⚓ Watch:_Sacha_Baron_Cohen_roasts_“co-star”_Rudy_Giuliani during_Golden_Globes_acceptance_speech⠀⇛ During awards acceptance speeches, it’s typical to hear someone thank their partner, their parents and maybe God — but “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” actor and director Sacha Baron Cohen spent a portion of one of his acceptance speeches at Sunday’s Golden Globes spotlighting the “work” of former New York mayor and Trump legal counsel Rudy Giuliani, who Baron Cohen credited as his “co-star” in the award- winning film. # ⚓ YouTube_Suspends_Rudy_Giuliani_Again_for_Election_Fraud Claims⠀⇛ YouTube’s strikes system revokes a user’s uploading privileges for two weeks if they violate the company’s content policies for the second time within a 90-day period. If Giuliani runs afoul of the video site’s rules again in the same timespan, his channel will be permanently shut down. The former mayor was previously suspended in January for election misinformation, and YouTube temporarily prevented him from making money from ads that run with his videos. # ⚓ Rudy_Giuliani_just_lost_his_YouTube_privileges_for_two weeks⠀⇛ If Giuliani gets a third strike in the same 90-day period following the first, his channel will be permanently removed from YouTube, according to the company’s strikes policy. # ⚓ YouTube_Suspends_Rudy_Giuliani_Again⠀⇛ Rudy Giuliani has been suspended from YouTube again for continuing to push falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election. The personal lawyer for Donald Trump will not be allowed to upload videos to his channel for two weeks amid his continuing crusade against the outcome of the election, which Trump lost to President Joe Biden. YouTube also cited his apparent promotion of nicotine for the suspension. # ⚓ France’s_former_President_Nicolas_Sarkozy_convicted_of corruption,_sentenced_to_jail⠀⇛ The court said Sarkozy is entitled to request to be detained at home with an electronic bracelet. # ⚓ BREAKING:_Nigerian_govt_jams_Radio_Biafra_in_Lagos⠀⇛ “The illegal Radio, which broadcasts incendiary messages, is notorious for spewing fake, inflammatory and inciting content”, a statement read. # ⚓ UN_experts_urge_international_probe_of_Navalny_poisoning⠀⇛ Agnes Callamard, the UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions, and Irene Khan, the top expert on freedom of opinion and expression, insisted on the need to ensure accountability for the “sinister poisoning”. They demanded Navalny’s “immediate release” from a Russian penal colony, where he was transferred last week from a Moscow prison. o § Censorship/Free Speech⠀➾ # ⚓ Mote_in_Your_Own_Eye⠀⇛ This blog remains, as far as I am aware, blocked in Russia. (Am receiving messages it is not currently blocked, at least on several major ISPs, which is good news). It is, to the best of my knowledge, the only western political blog of wide readership which advocates stripping Russia of all the colonial possessions it obtained contemporaneously with, indeed in competition with, the growth of the British Empire. That a blog which champions Independence for, inter alia, Dagestan, Chechnya and Tatarstan, and which says Crimea should be given back to the Tatars, is condemned by the political Establishment as pro-Kremlin is, on the face of it, paradoxical. # ⚓ Utah_Prematurely_Tries_To_Dance_On_Section_230′s_Grave_And Shows_What_Unconstitutional_Garbage_Will_Follow_If_We_Kill It⠀⇛ As Mike has explained, just about every provision of the social media moderation bill being proposed in the Utah legislature violates the First Amendment by conditioning platforms’ editorial discretion over what appears on its services—discretion that the First Amendment protects—on meeting a bunch of extra requirements Utah has decided to impose. This post is about how everything Utah proposes is also barred by Section 230, and why it matters. # ⚓ 6_Dr._Seuss_books_won’t_be_published_anymore_because_they portray_people_in_‘hurtful_and_wrong’_ways⠀⇛ o § Freedom of Information/Freedom of the Press⠀➾ # ⚓ Moscow_judges_are_getting_meaner_New_investigative_report by_‘Proekt’_shows_how_the_capital’s_courts_are_harsher_than ever_against_arrested_protesters⠀⇛ Moscow judges are losing their patience with political activists. A new investigative report by Proekt found that the capital’s courts are now jailing arrested demonstrators far more often than in years past. Journalists studied case records involving suspects arrested at opposition rallies earlier this year and at protests in 2017 and 2019, when similar-size crowds turned out against corruption and election fraud, respectively. Despite the fact that half of the records for the 2021 cases are still unpublished, Proekt collected evidence showing that Moscow judges are now much harsher in trials involving protesters. # ⚓ Culpability_and_Recalibration:_MBS_and_the_Killing_of_Jamal Khashoggi⠀⇛ This state sanctioned killing was a vile, clumsy effort against a journalist and critic of a person who has come to be affectionately known in brown nosing circles as MBS, the ambitious, bratty Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.  Since then, every effort has been made on his part, and his followers, to repel suggestions of guilt or involvement. It is worth remembering how the narratives were initially developed.  First, the killing was denied as a libel against the kingdom.  “Mr Khashoggi,” claimed an official statement from the Saudi authorities, “visited the consulate to request paperwork related to his marital status and exited shortly thereafter.”  Then, his death was accepted, but deemed the result of a dreadful accident in which the men in question had overstepped.  The death subsequently became the work of a blood thirsty gang of sadists who had acted on their own volition or, as US President Donald Trump called them, “rogue killers”. # ⚓ Khashoggi_fiancee_demands_punishment_for_Saudi_prince⠀⇛ But the United States stopped short of applying sanctions against the 35-year-old de facto Saudi leader, known by his initials MBS. # ⚓ U.S._Says_Saudi_Crown_Prince_MBS_Approved_Assassination_of Khashoggi,_But_He_Avoids_Any_Sanctions⠀⇛ The Biden administration has released a declassified report that finds Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, responsible for the assassination of Saudi dissident and Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. But the U.S. does not plan to sanction the crown prince, though the administration has announced travel restrictions to dozens of other Saudi officials. The decision is being criticized by human rights groups and friends of the late Khashoggi. “It’s important to not point fingers but also to sanction MBS … and to treat him as the pariah he is, like Biden promised during the campaign,” says Abdullah Alaoudh, who works as a researcher for Democracy for the Arab World Now, or DAWN, the organization founded by Khashoggi. We also speak with California Congressmember Ro Khanna, who welcomes the release of the report. “They need to follow that up with concrete action,” he says. “At the very least, MBS shouldn’t be allowed to come to the United States.” o § Civil Rights/Policing⠀➾ # ⚓ Predicting_crime_and_profiling:_Europol_and_Frontex_turn_to artificial_intelligence⠀⇛ The EU police agency will soon receive a new regulation that will allow sensitive personal data to be used for research purposes. Corresponding projects are already underway. As early as next year, the EU border agency wants to use an AI-based lie detector for immigration control. # ⚓ Moscow_City_Court_publishes_full_text_of_appellate_ruling upholding_Navalny’s_prison_sentence⠀⇛ The Moscow City Court has published the full text of its appellate ruling upholding the decision to imprison opposition politician Alexey Navalny for allegedly violating his parole in the Yves Rocher case. The document was added to Navalny’s case file on the court’s website on Sunday, February 28. # ⚓ Pushing_the_Tempo_at_Mumbai’s_Farmer_Sit-In⠀⇛ # ⚓ 150_Former_Aides,_Surrogates_Urge_Sanders_to_Help_Secure Citizenship_Pathway_for_Undocumented_Immigrants⠀⇛ “Undocumented workers and their families continue to face the possibility of deportation and family separation. This is unacceptable.” # ⚓ Oregon_Court:_A_Stop_So_Pretexual_Cops_Forgot_About_The Pretext_Is_A_Rights_Violation⠀⇛ Pretextual stops are legal. The courts have said repeatedly that it’s ok for cops to stop people for one thing to facilitate mini-investigations about other things. As long as the pretext holds up — and reasonable suspicion about other things develops quickly enough — cops can turn a failure to yield into a drug bust or a lucrative seizure. # ⚓ Opinion_|_The_Climate_Crisis_Fuels_Violence_Against_Women⠀⇛ Without women’s full participation and freedom from violence, oppression, and discrimination, our efforts to address the climate crises will be an absolute failure. o § Digital Restrictions (DRM)⠀➾ # ⚓ Roku_to_Buy_Nielsen’s_Advanced_Video_Advertising_Business⠀⇛ Nielsen’s AVA business includes includes the measurement firm’s automatic content recognition (ACR) and dynamic ad insertion (DAI) technologies, and supports addressable advertising efforts, which seek to match marketers with consumers that fit specific targets (i.e. shopping for a new car, expecting a baby, etc) and automatically insert more relevant ads into the programs they are watching. The deal “will accelerate Roku’s launch of an end- to-end DAI solution with TV programmers,” the company says. At the same time, Roku and Nielsen have struck a deal to integrate Nielsen’s advertising and content measurement products into Roku boxes, allowing for more data and precision around what content and ads Roku users are viewing. Financial terms were not disclosed. o § Monopolies⠀➾ # ⚓ What_the_AT&T_Breakup_Teaches_Us_About_a_Big_Tech_Breakup⠀⇛ In the world of antitrust, the calls to “break up” Big Tech companies translate to the fairly standard remedy of “structural separation,” where companies are barred from selling services and competing with the buyers of those services (for example, rail companies have been forced to stop selling freight services that compete with their own customers). It has been done before as part of the fight against communication monopolies. However, history shows us that the real work is not just breaking up companies, but following through afterward. In order to make sure that the Internet becomes a space for innovation and competition, there has to be a vision of an ideal ecosystem. When we look back at the United States’ previous move from telecom monopoly into what can best be described as “regulated competition,” we can learn a lot of lessons—good and bad—about what can be done post- breakup. Cast your mind back, back to when AT&T was a giant corporation. No, further back. When AT&T was the world’s largest corporation and the telephone monopoly. In the 1970s, AT&T resembled Big Tech companies in scale, significance, and influence. # ⚓ Ant’s_Employees_Expected_a_Windfall._They_Got_Unsellable Shares⠀⇛ But now employees of Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co. are stuck holding shares so difficult to value that even the company itself is struggling to determine a fair price. It has shelved a share buyback program for current and departing staff, in part because of uncertainty over how to value the company, according to Ant executives familiar with the matter. # § Patents⠀➾ # ⚓ In_Claim_Construction:_Module_Means_Means⠀⇛ Rain and Samsung agree that this case comes down to claim construction. And, as typical, the patentee is attempting to thread the needle with a construction that is broad enough to be infringed, but narrow and specific enough to avoid invalidation. The district court construed one term narrowly — resulting in no infringement. On appeal, the Federal Circuit focused on a separate term — and found its indefiniteness rendered the claim invalid. Rain’s US Patent 9,805,349 covers a method for delivering apps via a computer network using a webstore and server authentication. The claim requires “a user identification module configured to control access of said one or more software application packages.” If you have been following patent claim construction over the past decade: You know that the focus here will be whether this “module” limitation invokes 35 U.S.C. § 112 ¶ 6 as a means-plus-function term. And, if so, is it indefinite for failing to provide sufficient structural support in the specification. Normally, patent claims are expected to spell out the actual structure of the invention — not just its function. However, § 112 ¶ 6 (now renamed § 112(f)) allows a patentee to avoid adding those specifics in combination claims by including an element “as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof.” The statute goes on to include an important caveat, the element “shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.” The statute does not spell-out what happens when the specification lacks any corresponding structure — but the courts have filled the gap. A means-plus- function claim that lacks corresponding structural disclosure in the specification is deemed invalid as indefinite. [...] During prosecution the patent examiner had expressly stated that the limitation “does not invoke 112, 6th paragraph, or 112(f).” However, the examiner’s somewhat cryptic reasoning was that a 112(f) means limitation cannot exist within a method claim. On appeal, the Federal Circuit noted the examiner’s error: “Applicants are free to invoke § 112 ¶ 6 for a claim term nested in a method claim.” # ⚓ Sisvel_vs._Haier:_Federal_court_raises_bar_for implementers_in_SEP_disputes⠀⇛ At the end of November 2020, in the ongoing Sisvel vs. Haier dispute, the German Federal Court of Justice ruled that Haier had infringed a second Sisvel SEP. Furthermore, the court decided that the Chinese mobile phone manufacturer did not make sufficient efforts to obtain a FRAND licence, in order to be entitled to a FRAND licence (case ID: K ZR 35/17). Now, the court has published its decision with detailed reasons. In 2014, Sisvel filed a suit against Haier in Germany for the infringement of two European patents. These protect the GPRS and UMTS mobile communications standards. In its latest decision, the Federal Court of Justice has thus reinstated a previous ruling of the Regional Court Düsseldorf. Therefore, Sisvel is entitled to receive injunctive relief and damages by February. The disputed patent EP 12 64 504 expired just over a month ago. Under the name “FRAND Einwand II,” the latest ruling will be decisive for future SEP suits in Germany. The highest German patent court has set a new doctrine in SEP and FRAND disputes, summarised as “Increased requirements for licence willingness for implementers”. # ⚓ A_chaotic_start_to_the_eEQEs [Ed: EQE again, but IP Kat actively censored reports about the_real_EQE scandal,_which_involved_EPO_corruption]⠀⇛ Today is the first day of the online EQE (eEQE), following on from Monday’s online pre-EQE . Unfortunately, it seems that things have not begun well. Reports have reached this Kat that some candidates experienced significant issues with the online system during the first session of Paper D today. The EQE Examination Secretariat has chosen to carry out the European exams using a more advanced online set-up than that used by the PEB last year for the UK patent exams (which, in the end, turned out to be nothing more than a Zoom chat room for candidates and invigilators (IPKat)). The EPO is instead using the WISEflow system in combination with the “LockDown browser”. The online proctoring system for the eEQE combines human and software based invigilation. As usual, Delta Patents has done a sterling job of keeping candidates informed in the run up to the European examinations. [...] It is as of yet unclear how many candidates were unable to access the question paper in the appropriate language, or how long it took for all candidates to receive the correct paper. There will undoubtedly be calls for the Examination Secretariat to compensate those affected. Let’s hope the EPO are able to sort out some of these teething problems by tomorrow’s exam. At the very least, it seems that better communication from invigilators might help to alleviate some of the stress experienced by candidates during the course of the exam itself. # ⚓ A_welcome_statement_of_diverse_views_or_a_damning indictment_of_a_hopelessly_fractured_system?_On_the_EU SEPs_Expert_Group_report_and_the_state_of_SEP licensing⠀⇛ Patents covering standards – Standard essential patents (SEPs) – offer their owners R&D incentives/rewards in the form of time- limited monopolistic rights; in contrast, technology standards must be used widely by all players in the market to ensure interoperability. The relationship between patents and standards is thus one of potential, and often actual, conflict. In the absence of a framework to promote harmonious licensing, SEP owners could, if they wish, use the patent enforcement system to ‘hold up’ or prevent their competitors from launching rival products that use the same standards. There is a related risk that the exercise of monopoly power by SEP owners could lead to the need for implementers to obtain multiple licences (known as the problem of ‘royalty-stacking’). The need to obtain multiple licences is particularly evident when it comes to multi- component ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) products that contain many parts, including home devices, game consoles, personal computers, smartphones, and automobiles. In these circumstances a variety of manufacturers are involved in the production process, forming a hierarchical supply chain. The risk of ‘hold- up’ is high in these industries. To minimise risks SEP owners typically must commit to licensing their SEPs on ‘FRAND’ terms (fair, reasonable, and non- discriminatory). Of course, it occurs frequently that the parties cannot agree on what the FRAND terms should be, which can lead to acrimonious disputes and costly litigation. Guidelines on FRAND from independent policy-makers or courts can be useful to provide a measure of clarity to negotiating parties. # ⚓ FOSS_Patents:_Law_profs_to_Federal_Circuit:_China’s antisuit_injunction_case_law_is_consistent_and compatible_with_U.S._approach,_Ericsson’s_anti-antisuit injunction_against_Samsung_should_be_overturned⠀⇛ Many people in other parts of the world, especially in Europe, don’t like to hear this, but this world isn’t as multipolar as some would have it. Instead, there are simply two economic superpowers, the U.S. and China, who are rivals in many ways and whose political systems are fundamentally different, but quite often it is in their interest to work together. Coopetition, so to speak. Ignorant of that reality, the anti-antisuit injunction Ericsson obtained in the Eastern District of Texas against Samsung’s antisuit injunction from the Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court is premised on a disdain for China as a patent jurisdiction–and the underlying assumption that what’s good for China must be bad for the U.S., and vice versa. Like a zero-sum game. The Texas court also wrongly accused Samsung of hypocrisy due to a misunderstanding that happened to me as well: Samsung’s requests for U.S. import bans (in response to similar petitions by Ericsson) didn’t involve SEPs. Antisuit injunctions (ASIs), anti-antisuit injunctions (A2Sis), anti-anti-antisuit injunctions (A4SIs) and recently even anti- anti-anti-anti-antisuit injunctions (A4SIs; see this Juve Patent article of Februar 26 on a Munich ruling) are a mess–if not mayhem–that needs to be addressed through an international treaty sooner or later (sooner if you ask me, but definitely not in the form of mandatory arbitration). Until a sustainable solution has been put in place, the question is when a national court should defer to a foreign court–or keep escalating until someone will issue an A5SI, A6SI or whatever else might earn an entry in the Guinness Book of Records. Are U.S. interests served by the Federal Circuit lifting the A2SI from Texas, or by affirmance? # § Software Patents⠀➾ # ⚓ Tough_year_ahead_for_Nokia,_Ericsson_moving ahead:_analyst⠀⇛ “Not only is Nokia absent from the key Chinese RAN market, it is also struggling in North America due to lower volumes due to its reduced market share and price erosion, which is higher in North America than other parts of the world,” owen said. “In addition, the vendor expects significant currency headwinds during 2021. “On a more positive note, [we] believe that Nokia has a very competitive mid- band RAN portfolio and there could be some upside following the completion of the C-band auctions in the US. In Europe, Nokia is gaining market share due to the absence of Chinese vendors.” # ⚓ $2,000_for_Media_Chain_prior_art⠀⇛ On February 18, 2021, Unified Patents added a new PATROLL contest, with a $2,000 cash prize, seeking prior art on at least claim 1 of U.S. Patent 10,885,154. The patent is owed by Media Chain LLC, an NPE. The ’154 patent generally relates to systems and methods for monetizing the reproduction of digital media content for the rights-holders of the digital media content. The ’154 patent is being asserted against Roku in the Western District of Texas. # § Copyrights⠀➾ # ⚓ Taylor_Swift,_Evermore_Theme_Park_Dispute_Escalates As_Swift’s_Team_Countersues⠀⇛ In early February, we discussed an extremely dumb lawsuit brought by a theme park in Utah called Evermore against Taylor Swift, who recently released an album called Evermore. The whole thing is buckets of stupid, with the Evermore theme park claiming that because it released a couple of songs on Apple Music, this somehow puts them in the same marketplace as Taylor Swift. Then there were complaints that Swift’s album pushed search results down for the theme park, which doesn’t trademark infringement make. # ⚓ The_Law_Bytes_Podcast,_Episode_78:_Jennifer_Jenkins on_What_Copyright_Term_Extension_Could_Mean_for Canada⠀⇛ Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, February 24, 2020 # ⚓ US_Court:_Pirate_Streaming_Sites_Operator_Must_Pay $16.8m_in_Damages⠀⇛ A court in Texas has handed down a significant judgment against the operator of several ‘pirate’ streaming sites that offered content in breach of copyright law. In addition to statutory damages amounting to $16.8m, a broad injunction orders domain seizures and prevents most Internet companies from doing business with the sites’ operator. # ⚓ ‘US_Government_Should_Protect_the_Public_from Copyright_Extremes’⠀⇛ The Re:Create Coalition has sent a letter to the new US Congress, warning lawmakers that heavy-handed copyright policies can do more harm than good. The group wants to keep current DMCA safe harbors in place but encourages penalties for abusive and fraudulent takedown notices. In addition, copyright law should be amended to prevent Internet disconnections based on one-sided piracy accusations. ╘══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ ¶ Lines in total: 6268 ➮ Generation completed at 02:32, i.e. 29 seconds to (re)generate ⟲