𝕿𝖊𝖈𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘 Bulletin for Sunday, June 27, 2021 ┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅ Generated Mon 28 Jun 02:39:59 BST 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/2021/06/27/ ╒═══════════════════ 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐁𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐒 ════════════════════════════════════╕ Previous bulletins in IPFS (past 21 days, in chronological order): QmSAQ3gHueMDVJvK7fqcUVfyPEJTatiEuv2MxnruZfCTbQ QmfV5LDX5WsaqFg9Nyo26N9JWemXAuUFwHXN6HQ3FLiNht Qmarn4LZt4SFbSrQ7aYMgXjrR6PSFowthNW7AL2sxHTbh2 QmcDA7FbLzad36FKCSkeVFEjFXPwpcrt1a9h9kg77mG1fr QmajwF31nmyxxm7e5imo4QUnrAmMGNU9jkY4beybcxWevv QmXeVCbTbi5P1GkGm1gYJnWmeN4nbuehzDpz7Egwwm6Zy1 QmVUBLf9g24CeTFZPr1KCBQh3mA5e5VvjUSi5aU6aj3q9y QmSQCUVKmy81pXTXH7aKYGdbdqZaC9MBduQNu8giufhpGC QmWUuHEZ2oaiCQvka8SLGahoMnqWoQAYEYcBWvmbUrf6Us QmTereeSs2vayhRxEgEKA8eGzkZmqyGmds18oLNaRM5Z9N QmbBtrgn5vZv4zAnCwEsSEbNfqZyMc1GXjrxGtjFJubZo6 QmSqJtaqrrXbzBF4sG3nBzauArR36q6YbF5P7htcHd5cDB QmWCc6UN8rXnBKmcnhPY7waCCSXzfsG1AbhZikKfdp3ymB QmQYQoMFrDMTXEe4NcPiv7amMCQS2ho3c6EaMHAU4SfMUe QmacoxEMNBvXGjkyn4JfrL8LyXBMaArcxAJPBaNoTymtHV QmW6B9kehxSBryvAexunPR3eXN8dZc1CHxSebKiiSDXTRh QmTuxFtDwey5L4ibxTM85bAhdiFUVzq9RQwjk5UqDBCmxH QmcN8yR7Z2eWZBS1YERuwRsVnrTaWaznvZVg4RggnCUrnL QmbsFe5ziGquRqcXLGJdSnXGNu2hM1SfSeL88yE4KoNHRm QmXWM739fasQ1QSDPyf7CYGbRzny4RnfstXa97sZoavDtt QmYUKcuZUTw2RX354YZb7KS96QRvrYWBnM9Hc9ECWTxtmZ ╒═══════════════════ 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐗 ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ⦿ Holding Linus Torvalds Accountable for Things He Has Nothing to Do With | Techrights ⦿ IRC Proceedings: Saturday, June 26, 2021 | Techrights ䷼ Bulletin articles (as HTML) to comment on (requires login): http://techrights.org/2021/06/27/blaming-torvalds/#comments http://techrights.org/2021/06/27/irc-log-260621/#comments ䷞ Followed by Daily Links (assorted news picks curated and categorised): http://techrights.org/2021/06/27/fedora-35-encryption/#comments http://techrights.org/2021/06/27/latte-dock-0-10/#comments ䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 51 ╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ (ℹ) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2021/06/27/blaming-torvalds/#comments Gemini version at gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2021/06/27/blaming-torvalds/ ⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 06.27.21⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧ ✐ Holding_Linus_Torvalds_Accountable_for_Things_He_Has_Nothing_to_Do_With⠀✐ Posted in Deception, Free/Libre_Software, GNU/Linux, Kernel at 6:04 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz Video_download_link http://techrights.org/videos/linux-hatchet.webm Summary: An 81-minute video response to the a new article about Mr. Torvalds and about Linux; there are problematic claims inside this article, which merits a rebuttal of sorts THIS post will deliberately omit links and won’t be discussing in written words the topic covered in the video. Why? Because text is easy to take out of context. As often happens, too. “A few hours ago, an article with a problematic headline showed up concerning Linus Torvalds. It appears to retread issues from nearly 3 yours ago without any sort of provocation such as new developments.”The short story is, a few hours ago an article showed up with a problematic headline. It’s about Linus Torvalds and it sort of brings back from the grave issues from nearly 3 years ago, not because something new happened or because there was some sort of provocation. It doesn’t appear to have been commissioned by the Linux Foundation or anything of that sort, but it grossly exaggerates matters to make it seem like Linux has an impending crisis. Paywalled clickbait or something more profound? The coming days may reveal the impact. The time of publication is a tad unusual. █ Postscript: The above video is my first reading of the article (I only did selective and preliminary skimming for ~2 minutes prior to recording). The source of the article has earned quite some notoriety for these sorts of topics. The opinionated interjections are my personal views, which may not be shared by some who are involved in Techrights. The goal was to put out a response as soon as possible. ䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 106 ╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ (ℹ) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2021/06/27/irc-log-260621/#comments Gemini version at gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2021/06/27/irc-log-260621/ ⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 06.27.21⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧ ✐ IRC_Proceedings:_Saturday,_June_26,_2021⠀✐ Posted in IRC_Logs at 2:32 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  Qmf1f1v7mMmQaD4xqvHToWf1pWBvkzr3D3X6JiiFpjcDQ6 #boycottnovell 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #boycottnovell  QmPiFH6uBvfZSaxN6gacfmXi4HSnaZXFo1UiqHXNViJsEK (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈ as plain/ASCII text) IRC log for #boycottnovell-  QmejAXiufofenwnLVprEfMGAySy7sP4ybrkgCX7hCUVN9r social 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #boycottnovell-  QmQpXBhR8WyapeTAf8iExkCFhfq2ZBoLgoGKcCQjNqXndm social 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈ (full IRC log as plain/ASCII text) IRC log for  QmZeWESQo1pdaLV1Rr4gN278nT79WecBLPfeC3QKW2GDBN #techbytes 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #techbytes  QmTUQ9wbW6GgmCbC8SkzCaZJ9VV6qXdNtFMsNhE3vaShBg (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈ as plain/ASCII text) IRC log for  QmUWg5dHtnhAEPmQ9eqtWuqqLfKSiHBvpTY141LUqvoEPA #techrights 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #techrights  QmZfnoHQDnpV5bAQMDvxtzZsGG6rt1yfjpF6AA4G8Wo2fT (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈ as plain/ASCII text) 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇IPFS logo⦈ § Bulletin for Yesterday⠀➾ Local_copy | CID (IPFS): QmYUKcuZUTw2RX354YZb7KS96QRvrYWBnM9Hc9ECWTxtmZ ䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 220 ╒═══════════════════ 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 ═════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 06.27.21⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧ ✐ Links_27/6/2021:_BigBlueButton_Case_Studies_and_Fedora_35_Encryption⠀✐ Posted in News_Roundup at 9:11 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈ § Contents⠀➾ * GNU/Linux o Distributions o Devices/Embedded * Free_Software/Open_Source * Leftovers * § GNU/Linux⠀➾ o § Desktop/Laptop⠀➾ # ⚓ 10_Reasons_To_Change_Windows_11_To_Linux_For_Free [Ed: Once again_comparing_Microsoft_vapourware_to_a_real_thing]⠀⇛ All decisions about the development and behavior of Windows are made by Microsoft. If the company decides that you will receive updates at some point, you will receive them when they decide to stop supporting a particular version of Windows, support will be terminated, despite the fact that the system is still used by many. For example, they stopped supporting Windows 7. In Linux, everything is different. There is no single company that would make such decisions. All decisions are made by the community. A clear example is the cessation of CentOS support for Red Hat. The community immediately created an alternative – Rocky Linux, which will be binary compatible with CentOS and will continue to evolve instead. o § Audiocasts/Shows⠀➾ # ⚓ GNU_World_Order_413⠀⇛ **gappletviewer** , **gc-analyze** , **gcj** , **gcj-dbtool** , **gcjh** , **gij** , **gjar** , **gjarsigner** , **gjavah** , **gjdoc** , **gkeytool** , **gnative2ascii** , **gorbd** , **grepjar** , **grmic** , **grmid** , **grmiregistry** , **gserialver** , **gtnameserv** , **jcf-dump** , **jv- convert** , **rebuild-gcj- db** and **gcc-objc** from the **d** software series of Slackware. # ⚓ Do_You_Support_The_Open_Source_Initiative?⠀⇛ Recently I’ve been having a back forth with someone who can’t accept a nuanced opinion on open source so I thought I’d just make a video on the topic in case anyone else is confused where I stand. # ⚓ Pop!_OS_21.04_–_Cosmic,_or_less_than_Stellar?⠀⇛ Today, we’re going to take a look at PopOS 21.04. Or 21.06? It should release in June, so 21.04 doesn’t really make sense, right? Anyway, the guys at system76 have been working at their distro for a while now, but this release is the first time that I felt they departed from baseline Ubuntu enough to warrant a dedicated video. So we’re gonna take a look at the new stuff, but also at stuff that already existed previously, as it’s the first time I’m really using PopOS at all, and the first contact I’ll get with their GNOME redesign called Cosmic. # ⚓ 157:_Linux’s_Windows_11_Opportunity,_Rocky_Linux_8.4, Blender_Paid_Support_|_This_Week_in_Linux⠀⇛ On this episode of This Week in Linux, we’ve got Distro News from the team at Rocky Linux with their announcement of the 8.4 stable release and also from the Debian team with Debian 10.10. In App News, Canonical has announced a new LTS Support service for the application Blender. Plus we’ll check out the latest release of KMyMoney. NVIDIA announced availability of the 470 Drivers with DLSS Support in Proton and we’ll talk about what that means. Later in the show, we’re bringing back the Lightning Round of topics that we tested out in a previous episode and so much more including something that may hurt your wallets with the Steam Summer Sale. All that and much more on Your Weekly Source for Linux GNews! o § Kernel Space⠀➾ # ⚓ Linux_Developers_Discuss_A_Global_Counter_For_Block/Disk Changes⠀⇛ Microsoft and systemd developers are proposing a global counter for block device changes for the Linux kernel to better track changes and having a unique system-wide number for disk and other block device changes rather than on a per-disk basis. This monotonically increasing number is system-wide and would be used so systemd and other user-space software could better correlate events for devices that end up re-using the same device, such as /dev/ sda and especially /dev/loop0 and other devices often end up getting re-used when one device is detached and another added. Particularly around loop devices isn’t a better means of finding out if it’s the same loop device as before since not having a serial number or other means of uniquely identifying it. # ⚓ Linux_5.14_HID_Input_Driver_To_Handle_Programmable_Buttons –_Phoronix⠀⇛ The hid-input kernel driver with Linux 5.14 is set to see support for “Programmable Buttons” as outlined by the USB HID specification. Programmable Buttons are as one would think, per the USB specification: “the user defines the function of these buttons to control software applications or GUI objects.” With Linux 5.14 the kernel driver will now finally support the Programmable Buttons and in turn map them to the KEY_MACRO[#] event key codes. The KEY_MACRO event codes in turn are already supported/used by various user-space software. # § Graphics Stack⠀➾ # ⚓ More_Intel_Xe-HP_Enablement_Code_Lands_In_Mesa_21.2_– Phoronix⠀⇛ Back in April was the last time we saw much XeHP specificc ode land in the open-source Mesa driver code while this week there was a fresh batch of code merged. Merged this week into Mesa Git ahead of next quarter’s 21.2 release was XeHP handling for scratch buffers and register spilling. Changes with GFX12.5 rework how scratch handling is done and thus a number of patches were needed to get this ready for XeHP. In turn this functionality is now wired up for both Iris Gallium3D and ANV Vulkan. o § Instructionals/Technical⠀➾ # ⚓ How_to_choose_a_communication_protocol⠀⇛ We rely on protocols to speak to each other, the natural way would be language with spoken words using vocal chords, we could imagine other way like emitting sound in Morse. With computers we need to define how to send a message from A to B and there are many many possibilities for such a simple task. # ⚓ How_Regex_in_SQL_Works⠀⇛ Regex, or Regular Expressions, is a sequence of characters, used to search and locate specific sequences of characters that match a pattern. In SQL if you were looking for email addresses from the same company Regex lets you define a pattern using comparators and Metacharacters, in this case using ~* and % to help define the pattern: [...] # ⚓ How_To_Configure_SSH_Key-based_Authentication_In_Linux⠀⇛ As we all know, Secure Shell, shortly SSH, is the cryptographic network protocol that allows you to securely communicate/access a remote system over unsecured network, for example Internet. Whenever you send a data over an unsecured network using SSH, the data will be automatically encrypted in the source system, and decrypted in the destination side. SSH provides four authentication methods namely password-based authentication, key-based authentication, Host-based authentication, and Keyboard authentication. # ⚓ install_MX_Linux_How_to_install_MX_linux_on_virtual_Box_– Unixcop⠀⇛ We have heard of many linux distributions in recent times used for different purposes. We choose a linux distribution such as debian , manjaro or ubuntu as per our requirements. So we care about the brand recognition of these distros sometimes. now forget about the brand value and go towards the simplicity. Here we will find a distribution that fulfills all our needs, and that is ‘MX linux’. Here I will go through all steps to install MX Linux in detail. We found MX linux as middle weight linux operating system based on Debian stable and using core antiX components. Additionally ,we also get complementary softwares created and packaged by the MX community. Now, MX linux is an operating system that is designed to combine elegant and efficient desktop system with high stability. Also MX linux is the most downloadable Linux Distribution at Distrowatch. This is because it gives simplicity and less dreary feel to the novice linux users. Basically, MX Linux consists of a core pulled from AntiX system and other stuff from MEPI’s. # ⚓ How_to_Install_Python_on_Ubuntu_Step_by_Step_Complete_Guide for_beginners⠀⇛ This is good news that Python comes pre-installed in Ubuntu 19.04. But question is still remain How will you check Latest python version on your Ubuntu operating system? Most of tools and utility having special switch for checking version, same python have. # ⚓ Use_of_cp_Command_to_Copy_a_File_in_Linux_with_example_a beginner’s_guide⠀⇛ You can use the cp command to copy a file in Linux as well as a folder of any kind to the same working directory of any other destination directory. The use of absolute and relative path is also necessary as per requirement. In the subsequent content of this article, we will scrutinize the cp Command according to the following state of the home directory with the help of numerous examples. Following color coding is used to describe better command to copy a file on Linux. # ⚓ How_to_Easily_Append_Text_to_End_of_File_in_Linux⠀⇛ While working with configuration files in Linux, sometimes you need to append text such as configuration parameters to an existing file. To append simply means to add text to the end or bottom of a file. In this short article, you will learn different ways to append text to the end of a file in Linux. # ⚓ How_To_Install_Mega_Cloud_Drive_Sync_on_Ubuntu_20.04_LTS_– idroot⠀⇛ In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Mega Cloud Drive Sync on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. For those of you who didn’t know, MEGA is one of the few cloud storage service providers with native Linux clients like Dropbox. MEGA Cloud Drive permits its users to sync their files and folders in between their MEGA Cloud Drive and local system. All of the modifications made into files on MEGA Cloud Drive will be reflected on your local computer automatically, and vice versa. 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 Shutter Screenshot Tool on a Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (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_edit_the_Ubuntu_bootloader_with_a_GRUB_graphical editor⠀⇛ Are you an Ubuntu user? Do you need to edit your bootloader to change something, delete something, or something else? Don’t know how to do it? If so, this guide is for you. Follow along as we show you how to edit the Ubuntu bootloader. # ⚓ Enrico_Zini:_Ansible_conditionals_in_Transilience⠀⇛ This is part of a series of posts on ideas for an ansible-like provisioning system, implemented in Transilience. I thought a lot of what I managed to do so far with Transilience would be impossible, but then here I am. How about Ansible conditionals? Those must be impossible, right? # ⚓ Projects:_Staging_Environment_with_Netlify⠀⇛ Achievement unlocked! I know how to work with staging environments in Netlify now. Specifically, I have just completed the setup and testing of such environment for this Jekyll-based blog. It’s been a while since I documented a Unix Tutorial Project, too. I’ve been coming back to this idea for a few months now, first not being sure how to use different branches in GitHub, then not quite understanding how to work with different branches in the Sublime Text 4 and lately trying to figure out how to make sure I don’t accidentally publish a whole second website that would compete with the original website – duplicated content is not good for Google rankings. # ⚓ What_Is_Nvidia’s_DLSS_and_How_Do_You_Use_It?_–_Make_Tech Easier⠀⇛ If you’ve purchased an NVIDIA 2000-series or 3000- series GPU, you’re probably already aware of the big, new feature of these product lines: ray- tracing. What you may not know is that under the umbrella of NVIDIA’s ray-tracing features is another even more game-changing feature: Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS). While it sounds like a mouthful, what it does is remarkably simple and totally awesome for gamers. Read on to learn everything you need to know about DLSS, how the technology has evolved, and how to start using DLSS today! # ⚓ How_to_Unshadow_the_file_and_dump_Linux_password_Easy Guide⠀⇛ In the last post I told about Understanding Linux system security for Users After reading this post you have knowledge about Linux file system, and where username and password are stored in Linux? where you can dump this password? when you dump password, it will be in plain text or encrypted format? so for finding the password, walkthrough this post Unshadow the file and dump Linux password # ⚓ Removing_unsafe-inline_from_Ikiwiki’s_style-src_directive⠀⇛ After moving my Ikiwiki blog to my own server and enabling a basic CSP policy, I decided to see if I could tighten up the policy some more and stop relying on style-src ‘unsafe-inline’. This does require that OpenID logins be disabled, but as a bonus, it also removes the need for jQuery to be present on the server. o § Desktop Environments/WMs⠀➾ # § K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt⠀➾ # ⚓ An_Unspecified_Amount_Of_Time_In_Tok⠀⇛ Tok has seen a handful of mostly user- experience focused improvements; the most noticeable one being the presence of global menu support. Tok now supports global menu bars; which are typically at least five times faster to access than window-local menus due to Fitts’ Law. [...] As per usual, Tok is always striving to be lightweight. Mobile was the area of focus for this changelog’s performance improvements. Opening the group information should now be instantaneous; where it took a few seconds before. # ⚓ KDE_on_FreeBSD_2021o4⠀⇛ Pushing towards mid-year here with the fourth octant, and me freshly “wed” (there’s a good Dutch word for “not-married partner” which is “nepgenoot”), here’s some KDE-on-FreeBSD news. It includes some desktop@ and x11@ items as well, because the things we do together are tangled up closely. # ⚓ Akademy_2021_–_Day_8⠀⇛ After 4 days + 1 morning of BoFs, hacking sessions and meetings, talks at Akademy resumed in room 1 on Friday at 17:00 UTC. Kevin Ottens and Christelle Zouein from enioka Haute Couture kicked things off with the talk Community’s Adventures in Analyticsland – Or the State of the Community Through New Analytics. Christelle and Kevin showed us the data analysis tools they have been working on to study information collected from KDE’s development repositories and the surprising facts and trends they discovered. At the same time, in room 2, Volker Krause talked about Releasing Android Apps – Building, optimizing and deploying release APKs. In this talk, Volker explained that, because KDE developers are producing more and more mobile-friendly applications, there was a need to better understand how to release mobile platforms. Volker covered the efforts to expand KDE’s tools for building packages (that already help produce packages for Windows, macOS and AppImage) so developers can also use them to create Android packages. At 19:40, Manav Sethi and Paul Brown came on in room 1 to talk about a new KDE project: Kockatoo a tool to simplify the management of social media posting. After Paul explained the issues derived from managing multiple accounts on a wide variety of platforms, Manav demonstrated how Kockatoo can help. The speakers then explained what was missing from the project and how they thought Kockatoo could help the different KDE projects be more efficient on social media. # ⚓ Figuring_out_recurrence_(and_bugs…)_in_Kalendar’s week_3_(GSoC_2021)⠀⇛ This week, we have been focused on making sure that the event editor is finally fully functional – at least, for adding events. The main obstacles to that were a lack of working recurrence rules and general bugginess, especially around keyboard input of event date/time. Once this week’s merge request is merged, most of that should be fixed! Recurecurecurecurecurrence With this week’s merge request, the previously inactive “Repeat” section of the event editor now does what you would expect it to. Now, like in KOrganizer, Kalendar lets you pick how your event is going to repeat, either by selecting a preset (e.g. Daily/ Monthly/etc.) or by creating a custom recurrence rule. Custom recurrence rules have special layouts that allow you to create a rule that works exactly the way you want it to! # § GNOME Desktop/GTK⠀➾ # ⚓ Christian_Hergert:_Performance_Improvements_in_Text Editing⠀⇛ I realize I don’t blog much these days, but I do try to keep my Twitter filled with screenshots as I work on GNOME. Recently I spent some time doing another round of performance improvements in GtkSourceView. Much work this cycle has focused on submitting work to the GPU more efficiently. For example, Matthias Clasen taught the new OpenGL renderer to submit colors along with glyph vertices so that it could have fewer GL uniform updates along with fewer program switches. This has had the effect of letting us batch common GtkTextView usage into a single glDrawArrays() submission. Great stuff! I’ve been striving to reach 144hz text scrolling ever since a kind GNOME contributor sent me a 144hz monitor to test with. So with the new bits in place, I took another look at what was slowing us down. o § Distributions⠀➾ # § IBM/Red Hat/Fedora⠀➾ # ⚓ Rocky_Linux_8.4_Achieves_First_General_Availability Release,_Proves_Popular_–_Slashdot⠀⇛ “When Red Hat killed off CentOS Linux in a highly controversial December 2020 announcement, Gregory Kurtzer immediately announced his intention to recreate CentOS with a new distribution named after his deceased mentor,” Ars Technica reported in February. And this week, “The Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation has announced general availability (GA) of Rocky Linux 8.4,” reports ZDNet. “It’s an important milestone because it’s the first Rocky Linux general availability release ever.” # ⚓ Fedora_35_To_Automatically_Use_Optimal_Encryption Sector_Size_For_Better_I/O_Performance⠀⇛ With this autumn’s Fedora 35 release there should be better performance out-of-the-box for those employing LUKS/dm-crypt encryption while using 4K sector size based storage. As it stands now when installing Fedora Linux to a disk and using LUKS encryption, a 512 sector size is being used regardless of the physical sector size of the underlying disk. But now with the latest cryptsetup release is an option to be able to automatically determine the optimal sector size. Fedora 35 is planning to enable that option. # § Debian Family⠀➾ # ⚓ Louis-Philippe_Véronneau:_Hardening_Weechat_Relays Against_RCE_on_Bullseye⠀⇛ I’ve been using weechat to connect to IRC since late 2016 and one of its killer feature is relays. They let use other frontends like the Weechat Android app or the amazing Glowing Bear (packaged in Debian Bullseye by yours truly). Sadly, relays also used to be somewhat of a security risk: anyone with access to a relay could run scripts on the machine running weechat by using commands such as /exec or / script. Not great. # ⚓ Louis-Philippe_Véronneau:_Writing_QA_Scripts_for Debian_Teams⠀⇛ Since I joined the Debian Python Team, I have had a lot of fun working on different QA issues. Although I’m still a Perl illiterate, I’ve for example contributed to a few Lintian tags. There are multiple ways to make mass QA changes to team-managed packages. Projects like the Debian Janitor are more than fantastic: they make for a robust, thorough and automated way to fix QA issues in the archive and I don’t have enough good words to describe the amazing work of Jelmer Vernooij on the toolsuite the Janitor uses. But with robustness comes complexity. The Janitor is currently based on 10 different subtools (silver-platter, ognibuild, lintian- brush, …) and if you want to use it to fix a bug, you first need to make sure there’s a Lintian tag that flags the issue you’re working on. Then you need to write a lintian- brush fixer to fix said issue. Sadly, sometimes writing a new Lintian tag to flag a trivial changes is not the appropriate course of action and only creates clutter. # ⚓ Lightworks⠀⇛ There is a new application available for Sparkers: Lightworks # § Canonical/Ubuntu Family⠀➾ # ⚓ Linux_Mint_vs._Ubuntu:_Which_One’s_Better_For Beginners?⠀⇛ Mint and Ubuntu are the two most popular Linux Distros among beginners. Some of the reasons they’re popular are their simple and delightful easy-to-use UIs, especially Mint’s UI, which resembles Windows in many ways. In this article, let’s compare Linux Mint Vs Ubuntu, check out the similarities and differences, and determine which one’s better for beginners. [...] On an old PC and for beginners, Linux Mint is the clear winner. On more modern hardware, the choice is not quite as clear. Both distros offer different experiences, and at the end of the day, it all boils down to your personal desktop preferences. o § Devices/Embedded⠀➾ # § Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications⠀➾ # ⚓ Google_in_fresh_trouble_as_India_reportedly_orders ‘antitrust’_investigation_over_Android_smart_TVs_–_The Financial_Express⠀⇛ # ⚓ How_to_Set_Up_Custom_Text_Shortcuts_on_Your_Android Phone⠀⇛ # ⚓ How_to_Change_the_Language_in_Google_Assistant_on Android⠀⇛ # ⚓ Redmi_Note_9_Pro_Max_Receives_Android_11-based_MIUI 12_Update_in_India,_Here’s_the_Changelog_– MySmartPrice⠀⇛ # ⚓ Android_developers_will_get_larger_sales_cuts_if_they support_devices_beyond_phones_|_Engadget⠀⇛ # ⚓ Sluggish_Wi-Fi_hotspot?_Changing_one_Android_setting can_make_a_big_difference_–_CNET⠀⇛ o § Free, Libre, and Open Source Software⠀➾ # ⚓ Open-source_Politics:_11_Libre_Voting_Solutions⠀⇛ Electronic voting systems are on demand, especially in time of COVID-19 pandemics. The responsibilities of a voting system include allowing voters to mark ballots (if not using pen and paper), counting ballots, reporting election results, and ensuring the integrity of the process. In addition, it may include ballot design and layout, as well as the functionality of a remote accessibility vote by mail system. Voting system should facilitate auditing the results of an election. The responsibilities of a voting system do not include the responsibilities of a voter registration system. If the ballots are pre-printed, the voting system need not be capable of printing ballots. # ⚓ Try_Chatwoot,_an_open_source_customer_relationship platform⠀⇛ Chatwoot is an open source customer relationship platform built with Ruby and Vue.js. It was written from scratch to allow customer-relations teams to build end-to-end platforms for ticket management and support. This article looks at Chatwoot’s architecture, installation, and key features. # § Web Browsers⠀➾ # § Mozilla⠀➾ # ⚓ Mozilla_launches_Rally,_a_Firefox_plugin_to_let users_provide_browsing_data_for_research⠀⇛ Mozilla Corp. today announced the launch of Rally, a new platform that allows users to submit their own browsing data to research projects, using a privacy-centric and opt-in approach. Data is a valuable thing — so valuable that so-called “free services” spend lots of time tracking and collecting vital information on their users to sell to other parties. These parties can be marketers, banks, insurance companies, governments, researchers and others. Services also use this information to target advertisements, personalize experiences on their sites, sell products and similar. At the same time, users don’t get a lot of say in what information is collected and what’s done with it, and they often don’t get the choice to opt in or out. # § SaaS/Back End/Databases⠀➾ # ⚓ Will_open-source_Postgres_take_over_the_database market?_Experts_weigh_in⠀⇛ Tangible difference, according to Sheikh, include getting environments running more quickly, with “less latency in terms of agility,” and the ability for deployment anywhere being attractive factors for the data scientist. # ⚓ ACI_Worldwide_shares_its_Postgres_journey_to_meet evolving_market_needs⠀⇛ “Our previous database solution was complex … we leveraged multiple pieces of software from multiple vendors,” he said. “We looked for an alternative that was simpler and better … 2ndQuadrant Postgres was the one that provided the most comprehensive solution we were looking for.” # ⚓ PostgreSQL_vs._MongoDB:_Features_and_Benefits Comparison⠀⇛ For enterprise organizations switching to an open source database, understanding the benefits and weaknesses of that database is key. In this blog, we compare PostgreSQL vs. MongoDB — two of the most popular open source databases in use today. # § Education⠀➾ # ⚓ How_German_Schools_Use_BigBlueButton_to_Provide Online_Education⠀⇛ The supervisor asked how much it would cost to expand the concept immediately to 2,000 schools. Grupp offered to research a smaller- scale application of 100 to 200 schools. After three weeks, Grupp and two partners had set up and configured a pool of BigBlueButton servers. The onboarding of the first schools followed quickly. These schools almost immediately expressed their satisfaction with the implementation, and the minister of education gave the green light to significantly increase overall capacity. # ⚓ 6_Recommended_Open_Source_Learning_Management_Systems (LMS)⠀⇛ In many ways, the open-source learning management system has many immense benefits to the users. Because any developer can contribute to the source code, the software is always up to date with the ever-changing world of eLearning. There is also no initial need for licensing costs, except for implementation and customization costs. # § FSF⠀➾ # § Licensing/Legal⠀➾ # ⚓ Annotating_Apple’s_Anti-Sideloading_White Paper⠀⇛ Apple today released a white paper arguing against proposed legislation that would mandate the ability to sideload apps (and thereby alternative app stores) on iOS/iPadOS:1 “Building a Trusted Ecosystem for Millions of Apps”.2 I think it’s good, fair, and cogent. I highly encourage you to read it — it’s not long — then come back for my annotations below. # § Programming/Development⠀➾ # ⚓ Using_Git_Version_Control_as_a_Writer⠀⇛ I believe modern writers should begin thinking about their processes, or workflows. In a highly distracted world, it is imperative to take ownership over the chain of tasks we perform every day as writers. Traditionally, writers would put their writing to the hours where the distraction is less, and the focus high. Unfortunately advice from Hemingway, Atwood, et al., isn’t really applicable to us any more. The world we live in is far more connected, and thus have far more pitfalls for writers. Part of that is being disciplined enough to not let social media or cute videos of puppies and kittens distract us at the times we are writing. But disconnecting from the internet isn’t really an option if part of your writing requires quick fact-checks, spellings of uncommon and technical words, etc., – this is very true for me when I am writing. The other issue is the distractions that are within the writing app itself; as a life long MS Word user, I found it getting prettier, but slower and more distracting. I spoke about this at length as being among the primary reasons for transitioning into Vim in the first place, so I am not going to speak extensively on this. The point being that writing in the modern world, on modern devices can be far from ideal. # ⚓ Coral_Dev_board_news_–_NXP_critical_firmware_update, manufacturing_demo,_and_WebCoral_in_Chrome_–_CNX Software⠀⇛ Google Coral is a family of development boards, modules, M.2/mPCIe cards, and USB sticks with support with local AI, aka on- device or offline AI, based on Google Edge TPU. The company has just published some updates with one important firmware update, a manufacturing demo for worker safety & visual inspection, and the ability to use the Coral USB accelerator in Chrome. # ⚓ Building_Fibonacci_sequence_via_Python_C++_Extensions on_Fedora_Linux_34⠀⇛ Building Fibonacci sequence is supposed to be performed by C++ code below as a procedure invoked from Python via Python API. # ⚓ [Old] Functors_and_Monads_For_People_Who_Have_Read Too_Many_“Tutorials”⠀⇛ I am aware of the notorious effect that people “get” monads and then post their own idiosyncratic takes on them. In my defense, this isn’t something I write just after my “ah ha!” moment, I’ve understood them in Haskell’s context for many years now, and actually… this isn’t even about that “ah ha!” moment at all. This is only about what they are. Even if you completely understand everything I write in this post, the real “ah ha!” where you realize just how useful the libraries built up around the monad interface are, the first time you search for a type on Hoogle where you’re like this should exist and it turns out it does in fact exist already, that’s still in your future. In fact I’m quite deliberately not trying to convey that feeling in the interests of getting at simply what the monad interface is. Which isn’t, strictly speaking, a pre-requisite to that experience, but it does help. # ⚓ I_made_56874_calls_to_explore_the_telephone_network. Here’s_what_I_found.⠀⇛ As the telephone network predates the Internet in Finland by over 100 years, the systems in it can be very old and obscure. Before the Internet gained popularity, these systems were used to provide similar services we use on the internet today. Would it not be interesting to explore a bit and see what has survived to this day? As there are no Shodan- like search engines for the telephone network, I needed to do the exploration myself. This post describes my exploration efforts. To explore, I used wardialing. Wardialing is a technique to call a list of telephone numbers automatically using a computer. Hackers of old used wardialing to explore the telephone network much like port-scanning is used today to explore the Internet. # ⚓ The_Clean_Code_Blog⠀⇛ Notice the pathway of my career. I went from untyped languages like assembler and C, to statically typed languages like C++ and Java, to dynamically typed languages like Python and Ruby, and now to Clojure. The type system in Clojure is as dynamic as Python or Ruby, but there is a library in Clojure called clojure/spec that provides all the strong typing anyone would ever need. However, instead of that typing being controlled by the compiler, it is controlled by me. I can enforce simple types, or very complex data relationships. You might think of it as a kind of pre-condition/post- condition language. Eifel programmers would feel very much at home with it. It’s an almost perfect way to engage in Design by Contract. So what do I conclude from this? Not much other than that static typing is not for me. I prefer the flexibility of dynamic typing, and the ability to enforce types if, and when, I need such enforcement. # ⚓ The_(fixed)_scdbackup_afio_problem⠀⇛ Long-time readers of this site may recall my three-level backup system. Daily, my wife’s computer and mine are backed up to each other over the local network, via a cron script I wrote. Also daily, each computer is backed up to its own USB hard drive, via Back In Time. And weekly, more or less, I use scdbackup to back up to DVD-R media (which can be safely stored off-site). o § Standards/Consortia⠀➾ # ⚓ Email_Subscription_Plugin_Migration⠀⇛ Sorry for this bit of administrivia — apparently, Feedburner, which I have been using for years to serve email subscriptions, is ceasing the email service in a couple of weeks. My first instinct was to just trash the service altogether, but I was pleasantly surprised to see I had a not-small number of email subscribers. So, instead of just trashing the feature I’m attempting to do a graceful migration. * § Leftovers⠀➾ o ⚓ The_Bezos_Theory_of_Value_Is_Deeply_Disturbing⠀⇛ In a document as filled with misrepresentations and rhetorical sleights of hand as the 2021 shareholder letter, we are going to need to pick and choose our quibbles; the analysis that follows, accordingly, is thus limited to the second and third sections of the text, for it is here that the author rises far up above the pablum typical of the genre. [...] That Bezos sees himself and his colleagues as a new form of aristocracy is evident in his curious employment of the first-person plural pronoun, as in the above excerpt, in which he claims that “people work for us” because “we create value for them” and that “we need a better vision for how to create value for employees – a vision for their success.” What this suggests is Bezos does not consider the hundreds of thousands of hourly employees and contractors who pick and pack and deliver the goods to play any significant role in the creation of “real value.” It is rather the prerogative of “we” the “inventors” up in the C-suite or over in the R&D lab. Mere “employees” are hardly different from the customers, clients, and third- party sellers; the only significant distinction is that rather than providing goods and services for a fee, we provide you with a living in exchange for your labor. o § Hardware⠀➾ # ⚓ Ethernet_network_cables_can_go_bad_over_time,_with_odd symptoms⠀⇛ The second thing I take away from this is that network cables can fail in place even after they’ve been plugged in and working for months. This network cable wasn’t necessarily completely undisturbed in our machine room, but at most it would have gotten brushed and moved around in the rack cable runs as we added and removed other network cables. But the cable still failed over time, either entirely on its own or with quite mild mechanical stress. It’s possible that the cable was always flawed to some degree, but if so the flaws got worse, causing the cable to decay from a reliable 1G link down to 100M. o § Health/Nutrition⠀➾ # ⚓ Bob_Marley’s_heirs_boost_Jamaica’s_ganja_industry⠀⇛ For years Jamaicans have been getting up and standing up for their right to smoke ganja. But it was only six years ago that the island decriminalised the possession of small amounts of cannabis for recreational use and made growing five plants at home perfectly legal. Since 2015 it has also allowed medical, therapeutic, sacramental and scientific use. The law stipulates that any cannabis-related business must be half-owned by Jamaicans. o § Integrity/Availability⠀➾ # § Proprietary⠀➾ # ⚓ Microsoft_says_new_breach_discovered_in_probe_of suspected_SolarWinds_[cr]ackers [iophk: Windows TCO]⠀⇛ When Reuters asked about that warning, Microsoft announced the breach publicly. After commenting on a broader phishing campaign that it said had compromised a small number of entities, Microsoft said it had also found the breach of its own agent, who it said had limited powers. The agent could see billing contact information and what services the customers pay for, among other things. # ⚓ Microsoft_admits_to_signing_rootkit_malware_in supply-chain_fiasco⠀⇛ # ⚓ Malware_hits_some_Western_Digital_devices:_Report⠀⇛ After malware was found to have wiped all data from some users’ devices, storage solutions major Western Digital (WD) is advising customers who use its My Book Live and My Book Live Duo products to disconnect them from the Internet. In a statement on its community forum, WD said, some My Book Live devices had been compromised by malicious software, which led to a factory reset that erased the data, The Straits Times reported. # ⚓ Windows_11_Announced:_A_Legacy_OS_Gives_Consumers_The Middle_Finger⠀⇛ As some of you may have heard, yesterday Microsoft announced the upcoming release of Windows 11. As an early build had leaked last week and Microsoft had dropped a number of hints this did not shock anybody in particular. What was rather shocking was how little Microsoft seems to give a shit about the normal everyday average computer user. # ⚓ Unplug_your_WD_My_Book_Live,_or_you_might_find_your drive’s_data_wiped⠀⇛ Some users on WD’s forum report that their devices appear to have been factory reset, while others report seeing a page requesting a password they don’t know. In most cases, those who have been affected say that all of the data on the device appears to be gone, with their file structure either remaining intact, but with empty folders, or no folders at all except the ones that come by default on the device. # ⚓ Western_Digital_Confirms_‘My_Book_Live’_Drives_Are Being_Deleted_Remotely⠀⇛ Western Digital’s popular My Book Live hard drives are being deleted remotely by an unknown attacker, according to the company. And there’s not much anyone can do at this point but unplug their drives from the internet. “We have determined that some My Book Live devices have been compromised by a threat actor,” Western Digital’s Jolin Tan told Gizmodo early Friday by email. “In some cases, this compromise has led to a factory reset that appears to erase all data on the device.” # ⚓ Cybercrime_gangs_as_tech_startups⠀⇛ Crime has been moving online, like everything else, for the past 25 years, and for the past decade or so it’s accounted for more than half of all property crimes in developed countries. Criminologists have tried to apply their traditional tools and methods to measure and understand it, yet even when these research teams include technologists, it always seems that there’s something missing. The people who phish your bank credentials are just not the same people who used to burgle your house. They have different backgrounds, different skills and different organisation. # ⚓ Why_Windows_11_is_forcing_everyone_to_use_TPM_chips⠀⇛ We’re still waiting for explicit confirmation from Microsoft on the CPU requirement, but a rep confirms that TPM 2.0 will be mandatory, and that the original information on that page was wrong. “The referenced docs page was a mistake that has since been corrected,” an MS rep tells The Verge. # § Security⠀➾ # § Privacy/Surveillance⠀➾ # ⚓ Twitter_may_soon_let_you_connect_your Google_Account⠀⇛ In a screenshot of the enabled feature, Twitter’s sign-in page on the web shows “Sign up”, “Log in” and a third option, “Continue with Google”. Presumably, this button will allow you to attach your Google Account to an existing Twitter account, create a new Twitter account with your Google Account details or login to your Twitter account if you’ve already associated it with your Google Account. According to tot the report, there are ups and downs to signing in through a service like Sign In with Google. # ⚓ Vaccination_Paywalls⠀⇛ As a proof-of-concept, I’ve built a vaccination paywall to provide an example of how this can be done. In this example, the contents of the book The Great Gatsby are protected by a vaccination paywall. In order to read it, you simply have to get your digital vaccination record from Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record portal, press the Scan Digital COVID-19 Vaccination Record button and scan it in. # ⚓ Chasing_Visitors_–_The_Web_Analytics Rabbit_Hole⠀⇛ When I check my web analytics the response is often frustration, or even mild anxiety. I’m in a perpetual cycle of thinking it’s not enough! This obsession isn’t healthy, so what’s the point? # ⚓ ICloud:_How_To_Arrest_A_Pastor_Without Investigating_Him_Directly⠀⇛ And then, all three affidavits describe, the FBI obtained a warrant for Lesperance’s iCloud account, something that has happened with few other January 6 defendants pre-arrest. The geolocation associated with the iCloud account corroborated what Verizon already had; Lesperance was inside the Capitol the day of the [insurrection]. But it also provided a bunch of photos from the day, presumably at least some of the photos that Lesperance had deleted, “out of fear of negative repercussions.” # ⚓ Germany:_Will_foreigners’_private_data_be unprotected?⠀⇛ Germans take data protection seriously. And with good reason: Their experience under two dictatorships in the 20th-century have made people extremely aware of the dangers. This becomes even more apparent whenever the state wants to collect more private information. For example, a weekslong controversial debate was recently mounted about what data should be available in the federal government’s coronavirus contact- tracing app. In the end, a compromise was agreed: Data could be collected if stored anonymously and decentrally. o § Defence/Aggression⠀➾ # ⚓ Lawmakers,_advocates_demand_details_on_Afghan_evacuation plan⠀⇛ President Biden’s plan to evacuate tens of thousands of Afghans who assisted U.S. military efforts in the country has left lawmakers and advocates with a number of unanswered questions as time dwindles amid the U.S. withdrawal. The White House confirmed Thursday it would evacuate former interpreters, drivers and others along with their families to third countries to shield them from danger in Afghanistan while completing what can be a years-long process of reviewing applications for so-called Special Immigration Visas (SIVs). But even those who have pushed the administration to execute that massive-scale evacuation say officials have been short on details about when, where and how it will take place. # ⚓ Swedes_respond_to_Danish_urgency_to_address_stone-throwing incidents_on_the_way_to_Bornholm⠀⇛ Since the end of April, more than 50 Danes have reported cases of stones being thrown at their cars on the stretch of road leading from Ystad, the Swedish port Danes need to use to travel to Bornholm, to Malmö, their point of entry to Sweden. # ⚓ Fewer_Kenyan_Youths_Joining_al-Shabab⠀⇛ Kenyan authorities say at least 350 young people who joined the Somali Islamist militant group al- Shabab have surrendered this year and will be reintegrated into society. Security agencies in Kenya’s coast region say fewer youth are crossing to Somalia to fight for the group in a sign that counterterrorism measures are working. Kenyan counterterrorism officials are in the county of Mombasa this week to help sensitize the community against violent extremism and to assist former al-Shabab fighters. # ⚓ Medical_charity_MSF_says_three_staff_killed_in_Ethiopia’s Tigray_region⠀⇛ One Spanish and two Ethiopian employees of the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) have been “brutally murdered” in Ethiopia’s war-torn northern Tigray region, the organisation said Friday. # ⚓ Knife_attack_in_German_city_leaves_3_dead,_suspect arrested⠀⇛ A man armed with a long knife killed three people and injured five others, some seriously, in Germany’s southern city of Wuerzburg on Friday before being shot by police and arrested, authorities said. # ⚓ Germany:_3_people_killed_in_Würzburg_knife_attack⠀⇛ Herrmann said that he is not excluding any possibility: “In any case, there is circumstantial evidence that this could have been an Islamist attack.” Herrmann cited a witness who alleged that the attacker had shouted the common Islamic phrase “Allahu Akbar,” [...] # ⚓ Three_killed_in_knife_attack_in_Wuerzburg,_Germany⠀⇛ A reporter for ARD public television said he had been told by police that there were no indications of a terrorist motive behind the attack. # ⚓ Germany_knife_attack:_Three_killed_and_several_others injured_in_Wurzburg⠀⇛ Motive remains unclear on Friday night but the suspect attacked people in the city centre with a knife at around 5pm according to reports # ⚓ Germany_knife_attack:_Three_killed_were_all_women⠀⇛ Police searched a homeless shelter, where he was registered to be living, and found his phone and leaflets with hateful messaging, police said. A witness reported that the suspect shouted “Allah Akbar” during the attack, said Mr Herrmann. o § Environment⠀➾ # ⚓ EPA_Creates_$50_Million_Fund_For_Environmental_Justice Initiatives⠀⇛ The EPA said on Friday that the environmental justice initiatives will use allocated dollars from the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed by Democrats in Congress earlier this year, for underserved communities through a range of local programs. # § Energy⠀➾ # ⚓ Amazon_plans_more_solar,_wind_power_in_Spain, Finland⠀⇛ (Montel) Amazon plans to invest in a Spanish solar plant (152 MW) and a wind farm in Finland (52 MW), it said on Wednesday. # ⚓ Amazon_scooping_up_solar_and_wind_energy_projects around_the_world⠀⇛ But Amazon has a long way to go before it reaches its goal of net-zero emissions. The company had a carbon footprint of about 51.2 million metric tons in 2019, according to its sustainability report — roughly equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of the entire country of Singapore. # ⚓ Big_miners’_capital_discipline_is_good_news_for investors⠀⇛ The other option, developing their own projects, also presents problems. One is investors. Since torching shareholder value the last time around, miners have been on a tight leash. Bosses “know the way to be sacked is to have one of these mega- projects”, says one big investor. Much of the cash flowing in thanks to surging commodity prices is going back to shareholders in record dividends and buy-backs. One mining executive fears that the fat returns have changed the make-up of his shareholders, attracting yield-hungry investors averse to growth projects. Second, many energy-transition metals are simply too small a market for the big miners to bother with. Take lithium, which is used in batteries. In 2004 Rio Tinto discovered a large deposit in Jadar in Serbia. When the project comes online in a few years it may add 2-3% to Rio’s revenue, reckons Liam Fitzpatrick of Deutsche Bank. That is not enough to move the needle at a firm with a market value of $140bn. The market for cobalt is even smaller. o § Finance⠀➾ # ⚓ What_Angers_Mitch_McConnell_More_Than_Our_Unfair_Tax_Code? Those_Who_Exposed_It.⠀⇛ # ⚓ Poor_People’s_Campaign_Marches_on_Washington_to_‘Blunt_the Political_Effects_of_Wealth_Inequality’⠀⇛ Amidst compromise negotiations over President Biden’s infrastructure proposal, hundreds of low- wage workers, faith leaders, and advocates from Kentucky and West Virginia joined the Poor People’s Campaign for a Moral March on Manchin and McConnell.  # ⚓ Organizers_Are_Calling_on_Congress_to_Close_Loophole_That Enables_Prison_Slavery⠀⇛ # ⚓ Local_Eviction_Moratoriums_Aren’t_Enough_to_Avert_Housing Crisis,_Say_Activists⠀⇛ o § AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics⠀➾ # ⚓ Centrist_Dems’_New_PAC_Seen_as_Effort_to_Stop_‘Squad’_From Growing⠀⇛ New reporting out Saturday on the creation of a political action committee by a group of moderate House Democrats is being criticized by progressives as an effort to “protect corporate interests” and put a cap on the so-called Squad. The new political action committee (PAC) is called Team Blue, as NBC News reported. Its May filing with the Federal Election Committee was noted last month by Politico Influence. # ⚓ Biden_Will_Enact_Rule_Proposed_by_Trump_That_Enables_Big Pharma_to_Price_Gouge⠀⇛ # ⚓ After_GOP_Blockade_of_For_the_People_Act,_Progressives Mobilize_‘Deadline_for_Democracy’⠀⇛ Eyeing what they see as a fast-approaching “deadline for our democracy,” progressive groups are mobilizing for a nationwide campaign to pressure lawmakers to pass the For the People Act. “We need wide-scale public pressure,” say the groups behind the Deadline for Democracy campaign. “Not in September. Not in early 2022. Right now—in the weeks leading up to the final showdown in July.” # ⚓ Socialism_Is_Gaining_Popularity,_Poll_Shows⠀⇛ # ⚓ Unpublished_New_York_Times_Letter_to_the_Editor:_Ranked Choice_Voting_and_Multi-member_Districts⠀⇛ Mara Gay diagnoses the problem with New York City democracy: it’s “a one-party affair” (June 16). But she doesn’t offer the solutions: (1) extend ranked- choice voting to the general election and (2) proportionally represent all parties on city council through ranked-choice voting from multi- member districts. City council was elected by proportional representation five times from 1937 to 1945 using ranked-choice voting from multi-seat borough-wide districts. It created a multi-party democracy with four or five parties represented after each election, including Fusion, American Labor, Communist, and nonpartisan independents. o § Misinformation/Disinformation⠀➾ # ⚓ Google_will_now_warn_users_when_its_search_results_might_be unreliable⠀⇛ Google will now be telling its users when search results are rapidly changing around a breaking story, with some searches bringing up a warning that “it looks like these results are changing quickly,” and a subheading that will explain “if this topic is new, it can sometimes take time for results to be added by reliable sources.” According to The Verge, in a blog post, the company suggested that users might want to check back later when it’s found more results. o § Censorship/Free Speech⠀➾ # ⚓ History_of_censorship_and_media_freedom_in_Hong_Kong⠀⇛ On August 10, 2020, Jimmy Lai was arrested under the “collusion with foreign powers” charge along with six associates at Next Media. In the same year, various arrests which included journalists and pro-democratic figures were made as a result of enforcing the above-mentioned rule. On June 23, at 11:59pm, Apple Daily ceased service in both print and online due to their assets being frozen under the order of the 5th term Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam. Later this week she suggested, it is up to the journalists themselves to sort out how to avoid breaking the national security law whereas the law will not be affecting the “normal journalistic work”. However, it is still unclear as she did not explain what “normal” was. o § Freedom of Information/Freedom of the Press⠀➾ # ⚓ ‘Victim_of_tyranny’:_Apple_Daily_newspaper_bids_Hong Kongers_‘adieu’_in_final_edition⠀⇛ Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Apple Daily tabloid said it was a “victim of tyranny” in a defiant final edition on Thursday after it was forced to close under a new national security law, ending a 26-year run of taking on China’s authoritarian leaders. # ⚓ Belarusian_Association_of_Journalists_Under_Investigation as_Media_Crackdown_Spreads⠀⇛ The official inspection of BAJ’s activities has been criticized by rights groups as further harassment of the media. The order comes amid a wider crackdown on media since mass protests over the contested August 2020 presidential elections. Longtime leader Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory, and some opposition members were jailed or forced to flee. During this time, the BAJ documented 480 detentions of journalists in 2020 and, since the start of this year, over 130 arrests or attacks on media. At least 25 journalists are currently detained, it says. o § Civil Rights/Policing⠀➾ # ⚓ The_Right_Has_Chosen_Critical_Race_Theory_as_Its_New Boogeyman_to_Scare_Voters⠀⇛ # ⚓ The_Thin_Blue_Lies_Behind_Crime_Wave_Hype⠀⇛ # ⚓ The_Real_Fraud:_Republicans’_Voter-Fraud_Scare⠀⇛ This week, Senate Republicans in lockstep blocked key reforms of the For the People Act that would address gerrymandering and big money in politics, plus enhance ethics for federal office holders. The Act would also strengthen voting rights—on which a big battle is now underway across the country.   # ⚓ Hundreds_more_unmarked_graves_found_at_erstwhile_Canadian residential_school⠀⇛ An indigenous group in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan on Thursday said it had found the unmarked graves of an estimated 751 people at a now-defunct Catholic residential school, just weeks after a similar, smaller discovery rocked the country. The latest discovery, the biggest to date, is a grim reminder of the years of abuse and discrimination indigenous communities have suffered in Canada even as they continue to fight for justice and better living conditions. # ⚓ Derek_Chauvin’s_sentence_for_murdering_George_Floyd_won’t stop_police_killings⠀⇛ Indeed, it is pure folly to believe that we can rely on the mechanisms of the criminal legal system to eradicate police violence. The irrationality of this country’s addiction to incarceration as the go-to solution does not suddenly become rational just because the defendant in this case happens to be a police officer. A lengthy sentence may provide some measure of closure for Floyd’s family and the community, which is important, but it almost certainly won’t lessen the number of police killings that will likely occur as we head into the summer months. One need look no further than the prosecutors in the Chauvin case to see that his experience with the criminal legal system won’t change the behavior of the police as a whole. The government attorneys who made the case against Chauvin went out of their way to make clear that this case was about an instance of grave misconduct by one bad apple and decidedly not about policing in Minneapolis more generally, let alone the culture of policing nationwide. # ⚓ “Good_Samaritan”_in_Olde_Town_Arvada_shooting_was_killed_by police,_source_says⠀⇛ The “good Samaritan” credited by police with saving lives by intervening with an active shooter in Olde Town Arvada this week was shot and killed by an Arvada police officer, a source familiar with the investigation confirmed Thursday. # ⚓ Good_Samaritan_who_died_in_Arvada_shooting_was_shot_by police,_according_to_sources⠀⇛ “He did not hesitate; he didn’t stand there and think about it. He totally heard the gunfire, went to the door, saw the shooter and immediately ran in that direction,” Troyanos said. “I just want to make sure his family knows how heroic he was.” # ⚓ Universal_Declaration_on_the_Tibetan_Buddhist_Genocide⠀⇛ Article 211 – The Universal Declaration on the Tibetan Buddhist Genocide concludes that the genocidal pattern carried out in Tibet against Buddhists was also repeated against other groups, such as the Falun Gong Community, the Uyghur Islamic People and the Catholic Christians, although for different reasons: in the case of the Tibetan Genocide the reason was communist anti- religiosity whose materialistic atheism is contrary to Buddhist Spirituality; in the case of the Falun Gong Genocide the reason was the lack of democracy of the communist dictatorship that was outnumbered by Falun Gong practitioners; in the case of the Uyghur Genocide the reason was a monocultural and anti-Islamic ethnic policy; and in the case of the Catholic Genocide the reason was the opposition to interference in Chinese society by Western leaders of the Vatican. # ⚓ Chinese_regime_is_solely_responsible_for_thousands_of deaths_and_mass_imprisonments_in_Tibet⠀⇛ Activists from Tibet, Taiwan, Tibet, East Turkestan, China, Hong Kong, and Southern Mongolia protested outside Mars’ corporate headquarters and the Chinese Consulate in New York City and called for a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics. The NYC Global Day of Action protests were organized by RTYC NYNJ, Dokham Chushi Gangdruk, and Students for a Free Tibet. On June 23, 2021, Tibetans and human rights activists demonstrated their discontent with Beijing 2022 and called for its boycott in NYC, first, in front of Mars Incorporated Headquarters, which is an Olympic sponsor, and later at the Chinese consulate as a part of Global Day of Action. # ⚓ Solidarity_on_32nd_anniversary_of_Tiananmen_Square Massacre⠀⇛ We also remember the Tibetans who bravely protested that same year until China imposed martial law in Tibet’s capital of Lhasa on March 8, 1989. Since invading Tibet more than 70 years ago, the Chinese government has systematically worked to eliminate Tibetans’ unique religion, language and way of life, and today, the survival of Tibetan culture is in peril. We are deeply concerned at attempts of the Chinese authorities to systematically suppress the memory of the events at Tiananmen Square and to rewrite history in their favor, as they likewise continuously intend to distort the history of Tibet. # ⚓ Facebook_Must_Face_Claims_Linked_to_Sex_Trafficking,_Judge Says⠀⇛ Facebook Inc. must face lawsuits filed by three women claiming they were forced into prostitution as teenagers by abusers who used the social-media site to ensnare girls. Justice James Blacklock of the Texas Supreme Court said in a ruling Friday the women can sue Facebook under a state law that allows legal action against those who benefit from sex trafficking. But he said they can’t pursue claims under federal law that Facebook failed to warn minors and take measures to block sex trafficking activity on its site. o § Monopolies⠀➾ # ⚓ Is_Windows_11_the_beginning_of_the_end_for_Skype?⠀⇛ First – Microsoft Teams, the video-calling app which saw a boom during 2020′s pandemic, will be integrated into Windows 11 by default. # ⚓ European_Commission_Publishes_Report_On_The_Protection_And Enforcement_Of_Intellectual_Property_Rights_In_Third Countries [Ed: European Commission fronting only for rich people and their monopolies]⠀⇛ The Third Country Report identifies countries outside of the EU in which the state of intellectual property protection and enforcement gives rise to the greatest concern, and provides an update of the existing Commission’s list of priority countries. China remains the top priority country, as was the case in previous editions. Other priority countries include India, Turkey, Argentina, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia. The report aims to improve intellectual property rights protection and enforcement worldwide, as well as inform rights holders, including SMEs, of the potential risks when conducting business in certain countries. To access the report, click here. # ⚓ European_Commission_Launches_Consultation_On_Protection_Of Industrial_Designs⠀⇛ The consultation seeks the views of all those affected by design protection in Europe on selected issues, such as whether rules on spare parts protection should be changed, as well as potential policy options in view of the review of the Community Design Regulation (6/2002/EC) and the Design Directive (98/71/EC). It is a public consultation directed at industry, businesses and designers who own or create designs (including individual designers), trade bodies and associations who represent design and creative industries, Member States and national IP offices, the legal profession, the judiciary, consumers and consumer organisations, and civil rights associations. # ⚓ Guest_book_review:_Research_Handbook_on_Intellectual Property_and_Technology_Transfer [Ed: The book title contains two misnomers. This is really bad. By tech transfers they just mean things like patent licensing and "IP" is just a propaganda term, crude and worthless.]⠀⇛ This book review is brought to you by Donal O’Connell, the Managing Director of Chawton Innovation Services, a company focused on IP Education, IP Consultancy and IP Solutions & Tools. He is formerly a VP of R&D and a Director of IP at Nokia and is a Visiting Researcher of IP at Imperial College Business School in London and teach there about ‘IP management’. His first book “Inside the Patent Factory” was published by Wiley & Sons in 2008, and second book “Harvesting External Innovation” was published by Gower Publishing in 2011. He also has over 200 short papers on various aspects of IP published. Since 2013, Donal has been included into the IAM 300 (the world’s leading IP Strategists) an annual listing of those individuals identified as offering operating companies and other IP owners world-class advice on maximising the value of their intellectual property. # § Patents⠀➾ # ⚓ BIO_Declaration_on_Global_Access_to_COVID-19_Vaccines and_Treatments_and_Role_of_IP [Ed: BIO is run by sick sociopaths looking to kill millions of people for profit maximisation, as usual]⠀⇛ In a message distributed to Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) members, Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath, BIO President and CEO, released a declaration signed by the corporate and organizational leaders of 209 global biotechnology companies and 41 biotech associations, in which the signatories acknowledged their “social responsibility to work with other stakeholders — healthcare providers, governments, multilateral organizations, and non-governmental donor organizations — to ensure that COVID vaccines and treatments get to the patients in the world who most need them.” # ⚓ Protecting_Real_Innovations_by_Improving_Patent Quality [Ed: Far too many fake patents are being granted based on false assumptions promoted by patent and litigation profiteers (who plunder the public)]⠀⇛ Intellectual Property legislation and oversight in the Senate goes through the Intellectual Property Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee. On June 22, the Subcommittee heard testimony on the topic of ongoing problems with “low quality patents.” # ⚓ Carpmaels_&_Ransford_sued_for_missed_appeal_deadline [Ed: Litigation giant and patent maximalist gets sued, for a change]⠀⇛ One of the UK’s leading patent attorney firms is facing a claim brought by their client, chemical company, BASF. BASAF is suing Carpmaels for a reported €1.05 billion, because of a missed EPO appeal deadline. Whilst the court proceedings are ongoing, some interesting background to the case can be found in arguments made by Carpmaels in the request for re-establishment of the appeal deadline. The EPO was characteristically unsympathetic in its decision on the request for re-establishment. The Board of Appeal decision cataloguing the actions leading up to the missed deadline makes for some tough reading for any patent attorney wishing to sleep soundly at night. [...] The request for re-establishment was submitted by the Carpmaels patent attorney responsible for the case. The patent attorney had been a partner at Carpmaels for over quarter of a century, during which it was submitted, he “had never missed a due date for filing a Notice of Appeal or any other critical deadline before the EPO”. Shortly before the incident with the appeal deadline, the patent attorney had retired. To manage the hand-over of work, the attorney continued to take some responsibility for a certain number of cases as a consultant and only visited the office occasionally. [...] BASF have now filed a case against Carpmaels in the UK. BASF have reportedly alleged that because of the missed deadline for filing the appeal, they lost a patent worth €1.05 billion ($1.2 billion). BASF particularly argued that the patent, which would have expired in 2034, would have allowed them to become a market leader in filter products. Carpmaels’ admit to missing the appeal deadline. Their argument in defence to BASF’s claims is that the patent was clearly invalid anyway, and that the decision of the opposition division to revoke the patent would have been upheld by the Board of Appeal. Carpmaels have therefore placed themselves in the rather unusual position of arguing against the validity of a patent they once defended. The merits of the argument will be difficult for the court to assess, given that the opponents in the appeal case did not file replies to the statement of grounds of appeal, and no preliminary view was given by the Board on the merits of the case. The Court may however take note of the divisional patent (EP2042227) in the same family, which was also revoked at opposition. BASF withdrew their appeal of this decision. There also appears to be a pending divisional application (EP2933009), however the register shows no activity since 2017. # ⚓ House_of_Representatives_Holds_Hearing_Focused_on AbbVie_Business_Practices⠀⇛ On May 18, 2021, the United States House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing in which it reviewed the pricing and business practices of AbbVie, Inc., with a special focus on Humira and Imbruvica. Present at the hearing were Tahir Amin, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Initiative for Medicines, Access, and Knowledge; Craig Garthwaite, Professor at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University; Richard Gonzalez, Chairman of the Board and CEO at AbbVie, Inc; and Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. [...] Mr. Amin called on Congress to take action and change the requirements for what can be patented, as well as change the financial incentives and “culture” at the United States Patent and Trade Office. # ⚓ Found_Patentable_-or-_Not_Proven_Unpatentable [Ed: By default, patent applications should be rejected. The burden of proof should be on the party seeking a patent, demonstrating it actually deserves a monopoly. The same should be done by PTAB]⠀⇛ In an Inter Partes Review (IPR), the PTAB generally focuses on whether or not the claims have been proven unpatentable. If the patentee, the PTAB has a general approach of issuing a declaratory order that the claims “have not been shown, by a preponderance of the evidence, to be unpatentable.” The evidentiary-and-burden caveats from the PTAB leave substantial wiggle room about whether the claims are valid or invalid in any more abstract sense. We would be better off if the PTAB was able to make a positive statement — concluding that the claims are patentable. The AIA calls for the Board to “issue a final written decision with respect to the patentability of any patent claim challenged by the petitioner.” 35 U.S.C. § 318(a). This portion of the statute suggests to me that the Board’s declaration should be a more direct decision about patentability. That interpretation is bolstered by § 318(b) which suggest that every challenged claim will have either been “determined to be unpatentable” or “determined to be patentable.” # ⚓ Prior_art_found_on_’304_MagnaCross_patent⠀⇛ Unified is pleased to announce prior art has been found on U.S. Patent 6,917,304. This patent is owed by MagnaCross, LLC, an IP Edge entity and well-known NPE. The ’304 patent generally relates to wireless data transmission through wireless access points or routers and has been asserted in over 100 litigations against many networking companies, including T-Mobile, Sprint, Acer, Logitech, and ZTE. Prior art search service provider, Parola Analytics, found the art shown below. # ⚓ Diagnostic_tests_that_rely_on_a_naturally_occurring phenomenon_patent_eligible_in_Australia [Ed: So granting patents on life and nature now deemed OK in Australia? Have law firms and their multinational clients hijacked the administration?]⠀⇛ On 18 June 2021, the Full Court of the Federal Court confirmed in Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc v Sequenom, Inc [2021] FCAFC 101 that a method of detecting cell-free foetal DNA (cffDNA) in pregnant women, permitting non-invasive prenatal diagnosis, is patent eligible subject matter in Australia. This is a significant decision given that in the US the same subject matter was found to be ineligible for patent protection because it covered a natural phenomenon. # ⚓ EPO_continues_revocation_trend_with_Toolgen’s_CRISPR patent [Ed: EPO admits that it has granted far too many fake patents]⠀⇛ A CRISPR patent held by South Korea-based biotechnology company Toolgen is currently in limbo. The EPO Opposition Division has revoked EP 29 12 175 B1, which covers “Composition for cleaving a target DNA comprising a guide RNA specific for the target DNA and CAS protein-encoding nucleic acid or Cas protein.” CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) is a biomechanical method to selectively cut or modify DNA. Pharmaceutical companies can use CRISPR to combat chronic infectious diseases such as hepatitis C or HIV. The technology also helps improve crop varieties easily and efficiently. Although the gene-editing technology is not uncontroversial, it promises a global business worth billions. # ⚓ Selection_Inventions_–_When_Is_A_List_Not_A_List? [Ed: Enormously corrupt law firm Marks & Clerk moaning about patent limits; of course litigation companies will lobby EPO to allow just about any patent imaginable, even if in the process they embed a Mafia inside the Office]⠀⇛ It is well-established European law that the combination of two specific features each selected from different lists “of some length” may result in a novel invention when combined. This principle, the “two-list principle” as established in T 12/81 is outlined in detail here. In the recently published decision T 2635/16 from the European Patent Office, the Board considers what constitutes a selection in the lists of the prior art. In this case, Claim 1 of the patent was directed to a specific salt of a specific compound. During prosecution, the Examiner cited document D1 as novelty destroying to Claim 1. D1 related to compounds of a general formula or salts thereof and disclosed the specific compound in one of its claims, amongst a list of 121 other compounds. Separately, D1 disclosed the specific salt in a list of possible salts, the list of salts referred to the general claimed formula and not the claimed compounds. The Examiner considered that the disclosure of the specific compound in the claims of D1 meant it was a highly preferred embodiment and thus it picking a compound from the claimed list was not a selection per se. Therefore, the Examiner considered that a selection of the specific salt from the list combined with this compound would allow you to arrive at the claimed invention. As a result, the Examiner considered that only a single selection was required from D1, thus held that the claim was not novel. # ⚓ FOSS_Patents:_Federal_Council_approves_German_patent bill_—_just_one_more_formality_(signing_into_law) needed,_but_new_injunction_statute_dead_on_arrival⠀⇛ Today the upper house of the German legislature, named Bundesrat (Federal Council), waved the new patent legislation (which the Bundestag, or Federal Parliament, had voted on two weeks ago) through. This PDF document says that the Federal Council does not attempt to veto the bill. It would have been highly unusual to say the least if the Federal Council had exercised its veto powers in this case. Not only is the hurdle very high but this bill is simply too uncontroversial and, actually, unimportant. Now the bill is awaiting the Federal President’s signature. Unlike the President of the United States, the German head of state has a purely ministerial function unless a bill raises constitutional issues, which this one obviously doesn’t. There’s no question that this legislative measure will take effect during the summer, which formally requires its publication in the Bundesgesetzblatt (Federal Law Gazette). As I had explained before, the injunction “reform” is dead on arrival. The legislature made it unmistakably clear that it’s not meant to change a thing. The judiciary has already said so, not “in the name of the people” (which is how German judgments formally begin), but via anonymous quotes by the Juve Patent website, which I picked up and commented on. [...] So, let’s imagine that Congress added the eBay language with the four factors to 35 U.S.C. § 283–the U.S. equivalent to Germany’s § 139 PatG. And let’s furthermore imagine that the majority in both Houses of Congress made it totally clear that this is a ringing endorsement of the Supreme Court’s case law in this field. What would the courts do? The same as before. They’d have no reason to decide differently. Same old same old. # ⚓ Optinose_Technology_Inventor_Per_Djupesland_Named Winner_of_European_Inventor_Award_2021_for_Industry⠀⇛ # ⚓ Optinose_Technology_Inventor_Per_Djupesland_Named Winner_of_European_Inventor_Award_2021_for_… [Ed: Way to distract_from_EPO_crimes_at_the_expense_of_the public]⠀⇛ Optinose (NASDAQ:OPTN), a pharmaceutical company focused on patients treated by ear, nose and throat (ENT) and allergy specialists, today announced Dr. Per Djupesland received the European Inventor Award 2021 in the Industry category from the European Patent Office (EPO) for his invention of the technology that serves as a basis for the Optinose Exhalation Delivery System (EDS™). # ⚓ D_Young_&_Co_|_EPO_decides_double_patenting_is_a ground_for_refusal_in_G4/19 [Ed: Enlarged Board of Appeal, which isn’t a proper court but a kangaroo court]⠀⇛ The Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office has issued decision G 4/19 (double patenting) in which it holds that a European patent application can be refused by reason of the prohibition on double patenting. # ⚓ Enlarged_Board_Of_Appeal_Decision_On_Double_Patenting In_Europe_Leaves_Important_Questions_Unanswered [Ed: This court is deeply rigged, but law firms are scared to point this out because EPO engages in retaliation against those who mention EPO crimes]⠀⇛ We reported in March 2020 that questions concerning double patenting were being considered by the Enlarged Board of Appeal in case G4/19. The Enlarged Board of Appeal has now issued its decision, which can be found here. The EPO has also provided a helpful summary of the decision here. The legal background behind the referral, and the specific questions referred, are discussed in our earlier news item. In brief, an examining division had rejected a European patent application on the basis that it claimed “100% identical” subject matter to its already-granted European priority application. The applicant was apparently pursuing this filing strategy because the European patent application would have an extra year of patent term as compared to its priority application. On appeal, the applicant argued that this additional year of patent term provided the applicant with a “legitimate interest” in being granted multiple patents for the same subject-matter. # ⚓ EPO_Enlarged_Board_Of_Appeal_Decision_G4/19_–_A European_Patent_Application_Can_Be_Refused_By_Reason_Of The_Prohibition_On_Double_Patenting⠀⇛ The European Patent Office today confirmed in Decision G4/19 of the Enlarged board of Appeal that a European patent application can be refused for ‘double patenting’. Such a refusal can be made even absent the European Patent Convention having an explicit double patenting provision. The claiming of the same subject matter in two applications having the same filing or priority date to the same Applicant is referred to as double patenting. The European Patent Convention does not contain an explicit prohibition against this practice. However, previous decisions against double patenting have relied upon a reference to general principles of patent law in EPC Contracting States embodied in Article 125 EPC. For example, Section 18(5) of the UK Patents Act provides such an explicit double patenting provision. It was argued that the double patenting provision embodied in Article 125 EPC only prevented double patenting in the case of applications filed on the same day or between a divisional application and its parent. # ⚓ Arthrex_could_make_‘political_animal’_of_USPTO_head say_in-house [Ed: Ridiculous talking points from patent extremists and profiteers; they want us to think that removing fake patents that should never have been granted is a "political" thing. It's not. Partisanship and tribalism for frauds and charlatans who love lawlessness.]⠀⇛ SCOTUS’s preservation of the PTAB came as a relief to many counsel, but its fix has raised concerns about political lobbying and the procedure for final review # ⚓ Webinar_Materials_–_Who_is_Gaming_Who?_Why_5G_Self- Declarations_Have_Exploded_&_What_To_Do_About_It [Ed: 5G as little but a colossal patent trap that screws people for corporate monopolies and profits]⠀⇛ The 5G SEP self-declared landscape has exploded over the past 2 years. The number of self-declared 5G SEP families has grown 275% since 5G Release 15 was frozen mid-2019. Meanwhile, the number of technical contributions to the 5G standard has grown only 40% during the same time frame. Craig Thompson, Unified Consulting’s General Manager, and Matthias Schneider, Audi’s Chief Licensing Officer, interpret the latest 5G SEP self-declaration data and explore the relationship between 5G standard technical contributions and 5G SEP self-declarations. # § Software Patents⠀➾ # ⚓ The_Internet_Of_Medical_Things [Ed: Yet another shoddy_way_or_made_up_buzzwords_by_which_to_push software_patents_as_it_they’re_legitimate]⠀⇛ Exploring the growth of patents for connected medical devices, and how best to protect them. The Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to change our lives by creating a connected world with billions of devices with embedded sensors and transmission capability exchanging data with other devices and systems over the Internet. Whilst the IoT is well-established in the consumer market, this concept is also frequently employed in medical devices for use in healthcare systems. This trend, known as the Internet of Medical Things, is leading to a paradigm shift in ways of treating some of the harder to reach and pervasive medical problems. Patient access to treatment is improved, regardless of their location. # ⚓ [GuestPost]_Lord_Justice_Birss_deals_with_the kitchen_sink_and_the_Formstein_defence_in Facebook_v_Voxer [Ed: Software patents booster (no, does not code) Annsley Merelle Ward, who used to work for Bristows, on software patents perishing in the UK]⠀⇛ Is Instagram Live actually live? This is one of the issues in the case Facebook v Voxer [2021] EWHC 1377 (Pat). Voxer argued that a live broadcast feature offered by Facebook infringes its patent EP 2 393 259. Facebook initiated the present proceeding to revoke the patent. Voxer counter argued that the patent was valid and infringed. The judgment of the pre-trial review had been handed down in March: [2021] EWHC 657 (Pat). The present case has been tried under the Shorter Trials Scheme (a topic for another post, says Merpel….). [...] The amendments were allowed. But the patent was invalid for obviousness over Munje and not infringed ([283], [284]). Comments There are three comments in this judgment which merit additional attention. First, in [56] Birss LJ held that there was no special legal principles of claim construction if the specification included a lexicon. As relevant as the definitions were, other factors such as the specification as a whole and the common general knowledge were also important. Although Birss LJ suggests that the glossary may sometimes be determinative, one thinks these occasions may be rare. Two such situations may be that a revolutionary invention requires a new word to be created, or the specification expressly excludes the interpretation of a word by the common general knowledge. But inventions are more often incremental than revolutionary; patent agents tend to cover a scope as wide as possible rather than exclude other possible interpretations of a word. This means that express definitions given in the specification would be seldom determinative. Secondly, regarding the prohibition of added matter Facebook submitted that the policy behind was to prevent any difference in the monopoly between what the application originally justified and what the patent eventually obtained, then based on this submission appeared to argue that ‘asynchronous message’ was not in claim 1 as filed, which had made this term added matter ( [141]). But the Judge declined this argument. He pointed out that differences between the monopoly originally claimed in the filed application and the one in the granted patent were allowed (which happens often during the prosecution). He explained in [134] that one needed to stick to the law explained in Conversant v Huawei [2020] EWCA Civ 1292, [55] – [60] and apply the comparison in Bonzel v Intervention [1991] RPC 553. Thirdly, Birss LJ noted that the Formstein defence has been recognised both in the German system ([212]) where validity and infringement are decided by separate courts, and in the Dutch Court of Appeal which as the UK Patents Court is not bifurcated ([213]). Birss LJ supported the Formstein defence in the UK, for two reasons ([216]): first, if the claim was valid on its normal construction, it appeared harsh to invalidate it based on equivalents. This would promote certainty. Secondly, since several other contracting states to the European Patent Convention recognised the Formstein defence, the UK as another contracting state to the EPC should adopt the same approach as well. In the UK, the Formstein defence was first discussed by Hacon HHJ in Technetix v Teleste [2019] EWHC 126 (IPEC). A formal decision on this issue by the English court, however, no doubt will require more comprehensive submissions from counsel before a more detailed judgment is reached (and it filters it’s way up on appeal).” # ⚓ Facebook_Succeed_In_Invalidating_Voxer’s_“Live Broadcast”_Patent_In_The_UK⠀⇛ The high court has handed down a judgement in the case Facebook v Voxer. The case concerned European Patent (UK) No. 2 393 259, entitled “Telecommunication and multimedia management method and apparatus” and forms part of an international dispute between the parties relating to the live broadcast features offered by Facebook and Instagram over iOS devices. Voxer alleged that these live broadcast features infringed the patent. The proceedings were started by Facebook as an action for revocation, denying infringement and asserting invalidity of the patent, with Voxer counterclaiming for infringement. The invention of the patent was intended to enable two modes of conversation. Users can conduct communications in either a near- synchronous or “live” conversation, providing a user experience similar to a standard full duplex phone call, or in a series of back and forth time- delayed transmissions referred to as a “time-shifted mode”. Users engaged in a conversation can transition from the live mode to the time-shifted mode and back again. Two individuals using the system could therefore send recorded voice messages back and forth to each other and review the messages when convenient, or the messages can be sent at a rate where they essentially merge into a live, synchronous voice conversation. The infringement case was advanced in relation to live broadcast features on the Facebook website and the Facebook and Instagram Apps as they operate on iOS devices but not Android. After consideration of the claims and potential equivalents, the court concluded that the patent was not infringed by any of these live broadcast features. Regardless of this, after considering the available prior art, the court further concluded that the claims were obvious and therefore invalid. The case therefore represents a success for Facebook, although proceedings are ongoing in the US. # ⚓ Patent_Eligibility:_No_Patenting_a Correlation⠀⇛ What is the appropriate standard for determining whether a patent claim is directed to” a patent-ineligible concept under step 1 of the Court’s two-step framework for determining whether an invention is eligible for patenting under 35 U.S.C. § 101? [...] ‘796 Patent. Nintendo challenged the claims via IPR, but the PTAB sided with iLife. The IPR challenge focused on obviousness and anticipation. [...] Finally though the district court issued a post-verdict judgment as a matter of law — holding the claims ineligible as directed to the abstract idea of “gathering, processing, and transmitting information.” On appeal, the Federal Circuit affirmed, holding that the claims recite the abstract idea of “a motion sensor system that evaluates movement of a body using static and dynamic acceleration information.” Stripped away from pseudo-technical language, the court found this simply gathering, processing, and transmitting information.” # ⚓ Protecting_AI_and_ML_IP_is_crucial_to_remaining competitive_in_booming_domain [Ed: This truly ridiculous propaganda for software patents worldwide shows the degree to which meaningless misnomers and buzzwords (IP, AI) are leveraged (to avoid speaking frankly)]⠀⇛ After decades, the Research and Development of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies have matured to a level where it may be successfully integrated into numerous industrial fields. In fact, the utilization of AI-related technology is not limited to applications and products in the computer software industry, but rather has been successfully adopted in many other fields. The leading domains where AI technology is used include: Recognition, Conversation & Human Interaction, Predictive Analytics & Decisions, Goal-Driven Systems, Autonomous Systems, Patterns & Anomalies and Hyper–Personalization. Also prominent is the growing impact that deep learning and AI technology has on the development of new drugs, personalized and focused treatments, genetic testing, disease detection and diagnostics, medical devices, e-health and many other aspects of life science technology. The bottom line is that we are at the dawn age of AI technology, which is likely to be widely circulated in many technological domains. There is a common belief among many entrepreneurs, investors and technology opinion leaders, that software (sometimes referred to as “algorithms”) is not patentable, and if patentable, is not enforceable, and in any case has no business value. Accordingly, many consider the pursuance of patent protection for innovative software technologies as a waste of time and money. Contrary to the common myth, in most leading countries including but not limited to the U.S., Europe (EPO), China, Korea and Japan, software- related inventions are patentable and enforceable. Almost any innovative software-related “deep technology” involves a “technical” solution in the field of software, and as such, would be regarded as patentable, provided that it meets other criteria of the respective patent laws. Innovations in many fields, including Automotive, IoT, FinTech, Cybersecurity, Telecommunications, Media, Cloud Computing, and many others can benefit from patent protection. # § Trademarks⠀➾ # ⚓ Enforcing_IP_without_IP [Ed: Dennis Crouch uses propaganda terms like "IP"; there's no such thing. The company could apply for trademarks to cover designs]⠀⇛ West helped to design the YZY Runners — a shoe that I would never have imagined possible. Walmart’s version are clearly knock-offs and West has sued. # ⚓ All_Circumstances_Are_Relevant_To_Assess_Bad_Faith⠀⇛ Our colleagues Helena Gajek and Malgorzata Furmanska won the case before the General Court in Luxembourg related to invalidity proceedings concerning the bad faith application. The case was related to the trademark ENTEROSGEL, published in October 2006, for medical products. In 2016 the applicant applied for a declaration of invalidity, claiming that the predecessor of the trademark owner, acted in bad faith when filing a trademark application. The application for a declaration of invalidity was directed against all the goods covered by the contested mark. # § Copyrights⠀➾ # ⚓ Is_CJEU’s_YouTube_copyright_judgment_already redundant?[Ed: They are not "rights owners"; they're not rights and they're not owned. Misuse of language is rather revealing.]⠀⇛ Counsel say that although the CJEU’s ruling offers little comfort to rights owners, its effects could be limited # ⚓ Sony_Thinks_Cloud_Gaming_Can_Eliminate_Piracy_(and Consoles)⠀⇛ Sony believes that cloud gaming is in many ways superior to the way most people play games today. In a recent patent application the company argues that, when people no longer store games on local devices, piracy will become irrelevant. At the same time, this means that ‘expensive’ consoles are no longer needed either. # ⚓ CJEU_rules_on_platform_liability_under_copyright_law, safe_harbours,_and_injunctions⠀⇛ Do platforms like YouTube and cyberlocker Uploaded directly perform copyright- restricted acts under Article 3 of the InfoSoc Directive? At what conditions is the hosting safe harbour under Article 14(1) of the Ecommerce Directive available? What may be the requirements for injunctions under Article 8(3) of the InfoSoc Directive? These are some of the questions that the German Federal Court of Justice had referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in two separate cases, which were subsequently joined: YouTube, C-682/18 and Cyando, C-683/ 18. ䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 3230 ╒═══════════════════ 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 ═════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 06.27.21⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧ ✐ Links_27/6/2021:_Latte_Dock_0.10,_5th_Beta_of_LibreELEC_(Matrix)_10.0⠀✐ Posted in News_Roundup at 3:04 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈ § Contents⠀➾ * GNU/Linux o Distributions o Devices/Embedded * Free_Software/Open_Source * Leftovers * § GNU/Linux⠀➾ o § Desktop/Laptop⠀➾ # ⚓ Does_the_Dell_XPS_13_come_with_Linux?_Can_I_install_it?⠀⇛ Windows is by far the most popular choice when it comes to PC operating systems, and you can find it on the best laptops out there. That includes Dell laptops, most of which run Windows 10 out of the box. It makes sense why this happens, since Windows offers the broadest app and game compatibility of any desktop OS. But if you’re a Linux fan and you want the premium design and performance of the Dell XPS 13, it can be a bummer. Don’t worry though, because you can get the XPS 13 with Linux out of the box, and if you already have an XPS 13 with Windows, you can still install Linux, too. [...] There are two color options to choose from, too. It comes with Ubuntu 20.04, which is no longer the newest release, but you can easily update to version 21.04 if you want the latest bits. It’s truly one of the best Linux laptops you can get. o § Kernel Space⠀➾ # ⚓ Linus_Torvalds,_the_combative_creator_of_Linux,_canceled himself_to_become_a_nicer_person._Now_he’s_in_a_race_against time_to_save_his_legacy.⠀⇛ The list of scathing messages that Linus Torvalds has written over the years is so rich and colorful that there’s an entire subreddit devoted to the topic. “Mauro, SHUT THE F— UP!” Torvalds, the famed creator of the Linux operating system, wrote publicly to a software developer in 2012, calling the hapless recipient’s opinion “garbage and idiocy.” “The above code is s—, and it generates s— code,” Torvalds rebuked a different colleague working on Linux, while blasting the work of yet another because “I expect *some* quality control, and this piece-of-s— driver has clearly seen none at all.” He’s attacked tech giants like Intel, wondering whether the company is “committed to selling you s— forever and ever, and never fixing anything?” When the graphics chipmaker Nvidia ran afoul of Torvalds one time, he said simply: “f— you.” As Torvalds labored over the wording of an important announcement in 2018 though, he was gripped with doubt and self-consciousness. Nearly three decades after creating the software that made him famous, revered and feared, Torvalds — on the advice of a few close friends — was temporarily stepping away to “get help on how to behave differently.” “I am not an emotionally empathetic kind of person,” Torvalds would acknowledge in the 989-word public apology. [...] “We are aging, and we need to bring people into the community as quickly as possible to replace these old hats,” Miller said. When I asked Torvalds about how several developers said the Linux community was getting older, he said that he’s “actually not very concerned about that.” While kernel maintainers used to skew young — Torvalds himself was 21 — it’s been three decades, and many of these people have stuck around. “It’s absolutely true that the kernel maintainers are getting older – it seems to happen to all of us, with each of us being a year older every year,” Torvalds said. “Some of us get fatter too, while others have thinning hair.” Linux has “plateaued” in growth though, Torvalds acknowledges. While the project has a “healthy development pace,” it’s not “accelerating,” he said. Still, Linux does releases every two to three months, with 1,500 to 2,000 developers involved in each, and he’s comfortable with where the project is in terms of size and growth. Linux’s reputation for not being inclusive might also deter newcomers. They might be intimidated, or even “mortified,” about developing for the kernel, Miller said. And they’re not going to stick around if they don’t feel like they’re being treated nicely, said Axboe, who has been actively recruiting new graduates at Facebook to work on the kernel. “As you go into decade one or two or three, to make the project survive and thrive over time, you need to bring fresh, new blood,” Axboe said. “A caustic environment or reputation for being caustic is not conducive to bringing younger people into the fold.” Perhaps the biggest question is what will happen to Linux when Torvalds steps down. Torvalds expects that Linux would go in a similar direction as the Python programming language. After the Python creator Guido van Rossum stepped away from day-to-day involvement, a steering committee was created to oversee things. “Yes, we have several high profile maintainers, but if I suddenly went away, there’s a wide and deep set of people who could maintain Linux,” Torvalds said. “There would be politics, there would be some infighting, but the chaos would very much be temporary.” At least, that’s what Torvald hopes. # ⚓ Linux’s_New_“randomize_kstack_offset”_Security_Feature Having_Minimal_Performance_Impact_–_Phoronix⠀⇛ Of the many new features in Linux 5.13 one of the prominent security features is the ability to randomize the kernel stack offset at each system call. With Linux 5.13 stable imminent, here are some performance benchmarks of the impact from enabling this security feature. Linux 5.13 has the ability to randomize the kernel stack offset per system call to make it more difficult for attackers to achieve stack-based attacks on the kernel for those exploits relying on stack determinism. This mainline kernel feature was inspired by PaX’s existing “RANDKSTACK” while the actual implementation differs. # § Graphics Stack⠀➾ # ⚓ Mesa’s_Exciting_Milestones_So_Far_In_2021_From_Zink To_Great_Intel/AMD_Open-Source_Work_–_Phoronix⠀⇛ With the half-way point for the year upon us, here is a look back at the most exciting Mesa open-source graphics driver news so far in 2021 with exciting contributions from Microsoft, AMD and Intel continuing to be the most open-source friendly graphics vendors, Zink making remarkable progress for OpenGL over Vulkan, performance optimizations galore, more embedded Vulkan drivers coming about, and other milestones for open-source Linux graphics. o § Applications⠀➾ # ⚓ Best_Graphical_Git_Clients_for_Linux⠀⇛ This article will cover a list of graphical “Git” clients available for Linux. Git is a distributed version control system originally created by Linus Torvalds. It can help in tracking changes for your project files or code repositories and can be used to go back to earlier file revisions by reverting commits. The “git” command is undoubtedly one of the most popular commands to manage git repositories. However, this article will mainly focus on graphical git clients. # ⚓ Best_CAD_Software_for_Linux⠀⇛ This article will cover a list of useful “CAD” software for Linux. “Computer-Aided Design” or “CAD” is a design methodology where computers or other similar computing devices are used to create and optimize designs. CAD software can be typically used to create geometric figures and vector-based 2D and 3D graphics for physical or mechanical products and spaces that already exist or can be used to create prototypes and preview designs for physical products that are yet to be invented or launched. They can also be used to print 2D or 3D designs/blueprints of products on paper. CAD designs are really helpful for visualizing products and spaces before they are created, and you can observe their geometry and dimensions. CAD software is not meant for designing mockups for software applications or for designing user interfaces. Though they tend to be pretty flexible, you can design virtually anything if your use case demands. # ⚓ qBittorrent_4.3.6_/_4.4_Beta_1⠀⇛ The qBittorrent project aims to provide a Free Software alternative to µtorrent. qBittorrent is an advanced and multi-platform BitTorrent client with a nice user interface as well as a Web UI for remote control and an integrated search engine. qBittorrent aims to meet the needs of most users while using as little CPU and memory as possible. qBittorrent is a truly Open Source project, and as such, anyone can and should contribute to it. o § Instructionals/Technical⠀➾ # ⚓ How_To_Install_Eclipse_IDE_on_AlmaLinux_8_–_idroot⠀⇛ In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Eclipse IDE on AlmaLinux 8. For those of you who didn’t know, Eclipse is an open-source IDE (Integrated development environment) available for cross platforms like Windows, Linux, and macOS. The primary use of Eclipse is to develop Java applications but can be used to develop apps in other programming languages such as HTML, CSS, or PHP. 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 Eclipse IDE on an AlmaLinux 8. You can follow the same instructions for Rocky Linux. # ⚓ How_To_View_The_Contents_Of_An_Archive_Or_Compressed_File In_Linux⠀⇛ In this tutorial, we are going to learn how to view the contents of an Archive and/or Compressed file without actually extracting it in Linux and Unix- like operating systems. Technically speaking – Viewing the contents of an archive and/or compressed files without extracting them is not possible. Behind the scenes the compressed files are decompressed in a temporary directory, a common location is in the /tmp directory in Linux and Unix systems. Once you reboot the system, the contents of /tmp directory will be gone. # ⚓ CentOS_8_Extend_Root_Partition_Using_LVM_–_Linux_Hint⠀⇛ A few years ago, disk management was a resource- consuming task for system administrators. Scenarios such as running out of space were the bane of sysadmins, mainly because resolving it involved a lot of work. This would cause sysadmins to take servers offline, install new drives, partition and then extend them to the current system. It was not fun. The Logical Volume manager solved this problem once and for all. LVM is a device mapper framework that allows for disk management in very easy steps. LVM allows sysadmins to perform disk management tasks such as resizing, extending, and removing partitions flexibly and easily. Therefore sysadmins do not need to take the system offline to extend partitions and more. In this tutorial, I will show you a method to use the LVM manager to extend the size of your root partition. # ⚓ Configure_Static_IP_Address⠀⇛ Any device connected to a network gets assigned an IP address that allows other devices in the network to locate and communicate with it. Typically, an IP address gets assigned by the DHCP server on a router. A DHCP server assigns any available IP address to the connected network. That means the IP address of a device may change from time to time. In certain instances, you may need to set up a static IP for your device. Doing this tells the router to reserve a specific IP for that device and assign it every time it connects to the network. This tutorial aims to give you the basics of IP addresses, how DHCP works, and show you how to set up a static IP on your Linux machine. # ⚓ Configure_a_Password-less_Sudo⠀⇛ I can bet that we are all familiar with sudo. It is a utility available in most Linux distributions and being adopted by those that haven’t implement it yet. Therefore, if you are a regular Linux user, sudo is a must-use tool. Sudo is a Unix utility that allows trusted users to run commands with the privileges of another user. Its most common use is to run commands as the root user, which is set by default. However, to invoke sudo, the user calling the sudo command must be a group of the sudoers managed by the sudoers file in (/etc/sudoers/). However, the group name of the sudoers group may differ based on the distribution you are using. Out of the box, once a user invokes sudo, they will be required to provide a password before execution. That is one of the security mechanisms of the sudo tool as it can be harmful if incorrectly. However, if you often run loads of commands in your terminal, it can be very exhausting to keep typing your passwords every time you invoke sudo. Similarly, if you are running scripts that require sudo, having a password is really not the way to go. That is where the concept of password-less sudo comes in. # ⚓ Create_Yum_Local_Repository⠀⇛ Linux repositories are one of the most useful features of a Linux distribution. They contain a database of packages and software for the specific distribution or its children. Yum is one of those repositories. It is the base repository for RPM packages used in RedHat and RedHat-based distributions. RPM is easy to configure and use, allowing users to install software packages in their systems easily and quickly. Yum packages can be hosted on a server and served remotely via HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP or local installation of the repository. Local installation involves downloading the packages and store them on the local disk. The purpose of this tutorial is to teach you how to set up a locally hosted Yum repository on CentOS. # ⚓ How_to_install_MongoDB_Compass_on_Ubuntu⠀⇛ Mongo DB Compass is a GUI for the Mongo Database software. It runs on Ubuntu, as well as Mac OS, Windows, and RedHat. It’s helpful software for those that want a better GUI way of managing their Mongo DB setups. In this guide, we’ll show you how to set it up in Ubuntu. # ⚓ Edit_Etc/Hosts_Linux⠀⇛ In various instances, you will need to edit the host file in the system. That can be to either use it as a firewall, i.e., control some network traffic, add a domain name, or test out its functionality. The host file is a local file or local DNS system that contains a static table lookup for hostnames and IP addresses. It is available in all operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS. Because it is a local DNS system, it takes precedence over other DNS systems, making it a good choice for unrecognized domains. This quick tutorial will help you understand what the file contains and how you can edit it. # ⚓ How_to_Change_MySQL_Bind_Address⠀⇛ MySQL is a popular database management system that has been available for years. Due to its flexibility and easy management, many small developments to massive projects use it. In most cases, the MySQL server and the main application are hosted on the same machine. Thus, MySQL listens for connections from the local machine only. However, with the rise of distributed systems where the application and the database are hosted in separate servers, listening on localhost is not very ideal. # ⚓ How_to_Change_the_Default_Interface_in_Linux?⠀⇛ Almost everything productive we can do in Linux requires us to have a network connection. Whether we are developing apps, installing software, scripting, sharing files, or even watching movies, we need a working network connection. Hence, the statement “I require a network connection” is simply an understatement. The only way to enable network connection on a machine is through a network interface. A network interface is a device or a point of connection between a device and a private or public network. In most cases, a network interface is a physical card such as a wireless adapter, a network card, and such. However, this does not necessarily mean that a network interface should be a physical device. For example, a loopback adapter that is not physically visible is implemented by software and available on all devices. # ⚓ How_to_Check_Memory_Usage_in_Kubernetes_Pod⠀⇛ When introducing a new application or migrating an old one to Kubernetes, you may not be aware of the resources required. However, Kubernetes works best when resource restrictions and requests are established for each pod (or, more correctly, each container in each pod). This determines how pods are scheduled on nodes. Kubernetes monitoring is also critical for resource usage, efficiency, and controlling costs. To ensure pods use underlying node resources effectively, Kubernetes clusters must be effectively implemented. The same may be said for resources assigned to certain containers or namespaces. You must learn how an application acts when it is deployed to scale it and deliver a reliable service. In a Kubernetes cluster, you may monitor application performance by looking at the containers, pods, services, and cluster attributes. At all of these levels, Kubernetes provides extensive information on an app’s resource utilization. # ⚓ How_to_Check_if_a_Package_is_Available_In_Yum⠀⇛ Yellowdog Updater Modified or Yum for short is a package management tool for RPM packages. It is popular in the REHL family of Linux distributions, including CentOS and Fedora. Thus, you can think of yum as a bootstrap for RPM package manager. Like popular package managers, Yum works via repositories that contain collections of tools in rpm format. For this quick one, we will discuss the basics of yum and show available packages on a system using yum as a package manager. # ⚓ How_to_Create_An_Ansible_Playbook_in_Ubuntu⠀⇛ Ansible is a powerful automation and remote management tool that allows you to administer all your remote machines. Ansible is cross-platform and can work on most machines with no requirements for additional software. Ansible also offers security by utilizing SSH and Python on remote machines to execute specified tasks. It supports two methods for managing remote machines: ad hoc commands and Ansible playbooks. Ad hoc commands are raw commands that you can execute in the terminal to perform a task in a single instance. Ansible Playbooks, on the other hand, are files written in the YAML language. They contain a single or a set of tasks executed on the remote machine. Due to the strict nature of YAML, Ansible playbooks require careful attention in the general syntax. This tutorial will walk you through the basics of writing Ansible Playbooks and executing commands on remote machines. For the illustrations in this guide, we will set up a simple playbook that installs and configures Apache webserver. # ⚓ How_to_Find_the_Last_Occurrence_of_a_String_in_File_Linux⠀⇛ In Linux, we constantly work with string and text files; whether working with log files or documents, text manipulation is one process we cannot escape. This guide will show you how to locate the last occurrence of a string in a file in Linux. Linux has many tools that can help perform tasks. However, for simplicity, we will stick to the readily available tools in all major Linux distributions. # ⚓ How_to_Get_md5_Hash_Of_A_File⠀⇛ Message-Digest algorithm, commonly known as md5 hash, is a type of cryptographic hash function mainly used to verify the integrity of files. Md5 is a 128-bit message digest produced after running the MD5 function against a file. Md5 has its flaws and is therefore not a very good choice for certain encryption methods, but it is very well suited for file verification. It works by creating a checksum of a file and comparing the result to the original. That means if there are changes to a file, there is no way it can produce a digest value similar to the original. The value stays constant no matter where generated or how many times as long as the file remains unchanged. For this guide, we shall look at ways to generate an md5 hash value of a file. That will allow you to verify the integrity of files either from remote locations or on your local machine. # ⚓ How_to_Install_and_Use_Tint2_Panel_in_Linux⠀⇛ “Tint2” is a free and open source standalone panel / dock application available for Linux. It is a desktop environment and distribution agnostic panel, so you can install it on any Linux based OS. It can be used as a replacement for existing panels / docks in your desktop environment as it supports system tray applets and indicator applets. You can also use it as an extra panel to accompany panels already available in your desktop environment. Tint2 is especially useful for desktop environments that don’t ship any panel by default (OpenBox for example). # ⚓ How_to_Pass_Ansible_Username_And_Password?⠀⇛ Ansible is a modern open-source automation tool that makes it easier to configure and manage remote servers. Although other automation tools can match ansible’s usability, they are often too complex than a basic automation tool needs to be. Ansible, on the other hand, is simple and easy to use for most users. It uses the YAML format to specify server configurations and tasks executed on remote machines. It also offers a great security feature by using SSH as the default mode of authentication. However, in some instances, you may not have configured SSH keys on a remote host and thus need to specify the username and password explicitly If that’s the case, this guide will discuss creating basic playbooks and running them on a remote host that does not have SSH keys configured. # ⚓ How_to_Run_an_apt-get_Update_in_Ansible⠀⇛ In my daily workflow, I work with a lot of remote Linux systems most of which are Debian based. Sometimes it gets very tiresome to SSH into all the machines, do an apt-get update and then check if there are any updates and install them. Even with Password-Less SSH logins, it still takes an immense amount of time. The question arises on how a user can automate this process. The answer is Ansible. For this tutorial, I will show you how to utilize a powerful automation tool to update all your remote systems using apt. Staying up to date and applying all the patches to your system will help keep your system secure. # ⚓ How_to_Use_Systemctl_Utility_in_Linux⠀⇛ Whether you are a seasoned system administrator or a new Linux user, service management is one of the fundamental operations you will have to carry out. Hence, having a firm grasp of how services work and how to manage them is a great advantage. This tutorial walks you through the basics of service management in Linux and how to use Systemctl to manage services, get information about system units, and get helpful information about the state of the services in your system. # ⚓ Migrating_HA_Kubernetes_Cluster_from_CentOS_7_to_Rocky Linux_8⠀⇛ We are going to upgrade our Kubernetes homelab nodes from CentOS 7 to Rocky Linux 8. We have a cluster of six nodes, three control planes and three worker nodes, all of which are KVM guests running CentOS 7. # ⚓ How_to_install_and_use_Pigz_tool_in_Linux_–_Unixcop⠀⇛ Pigz is an acronym for Parallel Implementation of GZip. It’s a compression tool that helps you compress files with blazing fast speeds. As an improvement of the good old gzip utility, it leverages multiple cores and processors to compress data. # ⚓ How_to_remove_old_Docker_containers⠀⇛ # ⚓ How_to_install_and_setup_Docker_Container_on_Rocky_Linux_8 –_Linux_Shout⠀⇛ Docker is a virtualization platform, popular for its ability to run applications in Containers. We can build and communicate containers with one another. Here we learn how to install the Docker CE platform on Rocky Linux 8 to create containerized virtual machines. # ⚓ What_Is_GRUB_Bootloader_and_What_Does_It_Do?⠀⇛ A boot loader is one of the most important components of your Linux operating system’s boot process. This article will show you what a boot loader is and the role it plays in a Linux system. In particular, this guide will focus on the Grand Unified Bootloader (GRUB), a powerful and highly flexible boot loader program. But before looking at GRUB in detail, it is important to understand the boot process in Linux. # ⚓ Install_Docker_on_Ubuntu:_A_Step-by_Step_Guide⠀⇛ Learn how to install Docker on Ubuntu in this easy to follow guide for beginners. Just follow the steps and start using Docker in a matter of minutes. Docker is a platform that packages the application and all its dependencies in the container so that the application works seamlessly. It uses virtualization technology to provide isolated containers for software and tools. They are similar to virtual machines, but containers are more portable, and more resource-friendly. o § Games⠀➾ # ⚓ Talking_point:_what_have_you_been_playing_recently?_| GamingOnLinux⠀⇛ It’s coming to the end of another week so let’s all catch up in the comments about what you’ve been playing recently. For me, I recently got back into a game called Devader. It’s not the most well-known title and the developer Falkenbrew isn’t exactly a big name either. Devader is a twin-stick shooter and a thoroughly bizarre one too. It might, in fact, be one of the most insane top-down games I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing. The enemy designs are absolutely wild and you can see some of that on the developer’s Imgur. If you want something crazy, definitely try it out. # ⚓ Can_you_play_Star_Stable_on_a_Chromebook?⠀⇛ Unfortunately, Star Stable is only playable on PC or Mac, and will not run on Ubuntu, Linux, or Chrome OS. While there are away to get Windows running on a Chromebook, this tends to involve installing a new BIOS is not recommended. o § Desktop Environments/WMs⠀➾ # § K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt⠀➾ # ⚓ digiKam:_GSoC_2021_Week_3⠀⇛ This week we fixed a lot more deprecated code. We are now very close to try building digiKam with Qt6 for the first time. # ⚓ GSOC_with_KStars_01:_Intro⠀⇛ Hi folks, talking to you over the interwebs is Valentin Boettcher who is overhauling the Deep Sky Object (DSO) system in the KStars Desktop Planetarium for the Google Summer of Code anno domini 2021. This is the first post in a series and rather late in the coming, so let’s get right to it. I’m currently studying for a master’s degree in physics at the TU-Dresden in, you’ve guessed it correctly, the beautiful city of Dresden (Germany). In Germany, we do have two study terms per year and the summer term usually coincides neatly with the GSOC so that I couldn’t participate in past years. This time around however, my schedule was finally sparse enough for me to have a go at it, and here we are :). # ⚓ GSoC’21:_Week_1-3_with_Krita_–_Santhosh_Anguluri⠀⇛ It has been 3 weeks since the commencement of GSoC coding phase. This is my blog update to share the status of my project with you all. In this period, I have worked on applying removal of paint data over multiple layers over a selected area. Moreover, when a group is selected to apply on, then the operation is applied on every layer and sub-group belong to it. However this feature lead to a regression that a deletion performed on a paint layer is applied to its masks as well. This is something that might not be user-friendly. So my mentors suggested me to make the operation in such a way that the deletion is performed only on masks that are explicitly selected. # ⚓ Latte_Dock_v0.10_|_Beta_Release⠀⇛ Two years in the making and long awaited from Latte Community because of its advancements. Let’s welcome Latte Dock v0.9.97 the First Beta of v0.10.x branch! Next three weeks will be given for bug fixing and translators to step in. If everything goes on schedule then in middle of July next official stable v0.10.0 will be released. # § GNOME Desktop/GTK⠀➾ # ⚓ Veena_Nagar:_My_Project_at_GNOME⠀⇛ I find the workflow of GNOME very intuitive. It is smart and stable. Dynamic workspaces are one of the features that make using GNOME a great environment to me. We can easily view all the applications running on a workspace simply by pressing the Super key and We cannot forget that it’s easily extensible. It has a lot of extensions. [...] What is asynchronous? The idea of asynchronous operations is to execute a task “in the background” without the user having to wait for the task to finish. In C, We can only use callbacks to implement asynchronous operations whereas other programming languages like JavaScript and Python can implement such operations automatically using async/await keywords. GNOME platform libraries use C and also provide a bridge from the platform libraries written in C, to all the other programming languages such as Python and JavaScript with the help of GObject-Introspection software. In my project, I learned about the working of callable statements, the use of GAsyncResultCallback arguments, how to represent the conditions in an abstract syntax tree(AST) manner and also about the annotations we use to add finish-FUNC and async-FUNC in the GObject-introspection. o § Distributions⠀➾ # § New Releases⠀➾ # ⚓ LibreELEC_(Matrix)_10.0_BETA5⠀⇛ LibreELEC 10.0 BETA 5 is released! bringing Kodi (Matrix) v19.1 (+ additional fixes) to LibreELEC users. Changes from LibreELEC 10.0 BETA 4 are listed here. As discussed in the recent Upcoming Changes blog post it, the 10.0 release is a disruptive and limited hardware release. If you have not read the blog post – please do – because we are not releasing images for all hardware. In summary: this is a stable release for Generic (x86_64 PCs). Stable-Beta for Allwinner and Rockchip. Stable “Alpha” for Raspberry Pi 4 as the code is still very new. RPi 2/3 are still in development targeting an LE10.2 release. RPi 0/1 are discontinued. All others hardware is still in development and not in a state for formal releases. # § Debian Family⠀➾ # ⚓ Antonio_Terceiro:_Debian_Continuous_Integration_now using_Salsa_logins⠀⇛ I have just updated the Debian Continuous Integration platform with debci 3.1. This update brings a few database performance improvements, courtesy of adding indexes to very important columns that were missing them. And boy, querying a table with 13 million rows without the proper indexes is bad! 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇:-)⦈ Now, the most user visible change in this update is the change from Debian SSO to Salsa Logins, which is part of Pavit Kaur’s GSoC work. She has been working with me and Paul Gevers for a few weeks, and this was the first official task in the internship. For users, this means that you now can only log in via Salsa. If you have an existing session where you logged in with an SSO certificate, it will still be valid. When you log in with Salsa, your username will be changed to match the one in Salsa. This means that if your account on salsa gets renamed, it will automatically be renamed on Debian CI when you log in the next time. Unfortunately we don’t have a logout feature yet, but in the meantime you can use the developer toolbar to delete any existing cookies you might have for ci.debian.net. o § Devices/Embedded⠀➾ # § Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications⠀➾ # ⚓ Android_12_One_UI_4_may_have_an_earlier_launch_than expected_–_Android_Community⠀⇛ # ⚓ Alcatel_1_(2021),_Alcatel_1L_Pro_With_Android_11_(Go Edition),_4G_Connectivity_Debuts:_Price,_Specifications |_Technology_News⠀⇛ # ⚓ Redmi_Note_9_Pro_Max_gets_Android_11-based_MIUI_12 update⠀⇛ # ⚓ How_to_automatically_forward_SMS_to_email_on_Android –_Illinois_News_Today⠀⇛ # ⚓ 10_Best_Karaoke_Apps_for_Android_|_Sing_Your_Hearts Out_With⠀⇛ # ⚓ Best_Android_Games_Like_Age_of_Empires_–_Battle_of Polytopia,_Rebel_Inc,_Total_War_Battles:_Kingdom_and More_–_Droid_Gamers⠀⇛ # ⚓ 10_new_Android_games_from_the_last_week:_The_best, worst,_and_everything_in_between_(6/21/21_–_6/27/21)⠀⇛ # ⚓ Five_ideas_for_repurposing_your_old_Android_mobile_to give_it_a_new_lease_on_life_–_Neowin⠀⇛ # ⚓ Google_App_keep_crashing_on_your_Android_phone? Here’s_what_we_know!⠀⇛ # ⚓ PUBG_Mobile_1.5_beta_version_global_update:_APK download_link_for_Android_devices⠀⇛ # ⚓ These_are_the_Android_Authority_team’s_favorite gaming_consoles_of_all-time⠀⇛ # ⚓ A_complete_guide_to_GFX_tools_for_PUBG_on_Android_– Illinois_News_Today⠀⇛ # ⚓ Android_users_may_receive_siren-like_alerts_between_1 pm_and_2_pm_for_the_following_reasons:_ITV_News_– Illinois_News_Today⠀⇛ o § Free, Libre, and Open Source Software⠀➾ # § CMS⠀➾ # ⚓ Best_GPL_Guru_Alternative_site_review_for_Wp_Themes_& Plugins [Ed: The term "GPL" is being misused. WordPress itself is GPL-licensed, but the term "GPL" is now being leveraged to sell proprietary software]⠀⇛ You need WordPress Themes & Plugins to develop and manage your WordPress website. You can virtually build any kind of design that you want, by yourself, given that you have the right tools and plugins at your disposal. This is what GPL WordPress Themes and Plugins websites help you with. These websites offer you access to GPL themes and plugins that the user can download and use for any kind of purpose that they want. The downloader of the GPL products can use, distribute, and even modify the product as per their requirement. In this article, we are going to review the GPL Guru website for WordPress themes and plugins and its best alternative that you can use instead of this GPL WordPress themes and plugins provider website. # § Programming/Development⠀➾ # ⚓ How_a_70s_schoolteacher_invented_C,_one_of_the_most influential_coding_languages⠀⇛ If you thought that C is the kind of language that only 60-year-old white men know, think again. Yeah, it’s the dinosaur among today’s programming languages. But it’s still alive and kicking in more areas than you’d think. For one, Unix is written in C. Originally written in assembly, the Unix kernel was rewritten in C back in 1973. This made Unix a lot more portable across different machines, and helped make it popular. And without this, we wouldn’t have all the beautiful operating systems of today — think Linux, Mac OS X, Android, iOS, Chrome OS, and whatever your router is running with. If you’ve ever worked with databases, you’ve definitely used C, too. Even if you weren’t aware about that! Database management systems like Oracle Database, MySQL, and others are written in C. Most of them have since been rewritten in C++, but that’s also a direct descendant of C. * § Leftovers⠀➾ o § Integrity/Availability⠀➾ # § Proprietary⠀➾ # ⚓ Western_Digital_My_Book_Live_drives_are_getting_wiped on_their_own;_company_advises_users_to_unplug_it_from the_internet_–_gHacks_Tech_News⠀⇛ Losing all your precious files is a data hoarder’s nightmare. Unfortunately, many Western Digital My Book Live and My Book Live Duo users have been experiencing that for the past couple of days. o § AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics⠀➾ # ⚓ ‘If_Keir_Starmer’s_popularity_was_measured_in_Fahrenheit_it would_be_below_freezing’⠀⇛ I missed out on the first incarnation of Batley Variety Club, a nightclub built on a former sewage works that was modelled on those in Vegas and attracted all the stars: Louis Armstrong, Shirley Bassey and, erm, Ken Dodd. I also missed the second incarnation – when it shut in 1978 and re-opened as “Crumpets” which, by all accounts, had a slightly different feel to it. Later on it became the Batley Frontier – which I caught a little bit of (although the less said about that the better), then that shut and it became a gym. And who wants to go to a gym? It’s an interesting part of the world, Batley and Spen. Not quite Leeds but close enough that we never held it against them. o § Censorship/Free Speech⠀➾ # ⚓ No,_Cancel_Culture_Is_Not_the_‘Free_Market_at_Work’⠀⇛ Cancel culture is inconsistent with the ethos of free enterprise, innovation, and discovery on a number of levels. # ⚓ YouTube_Blocks_Videos_Exposing_China’s_Genocide_in Xinjiang⠀⇛ o § Monopolies⠀➾ # ⚓ FOSS_Patents:_In_its_latest_effort_to_dissuade_Judge Gonzalez_Rogers_from_allowing_the_Epic_Games_Store_on_iOS, Apple_points_to_NCAA_v._Alston_Supreme_Court_opinion⠀⇛ If the NCAA had won the case, or had at least achieved some improvement over the lower courts’ decisions (Ninth Circuit and district court), that might have helped Apple at a high level: it would have been a partial or complete, in any event high- profile, success for an antitrust defendant in the nation’s highest court. However, the Supreme Court unanimously decided the matter against the NCAA–and Justice Kavanaugh filed a concurrence only to note that multiple other NCAA rules than the one challenged in that particular case could also be meritoriously attacked on antitrust grounds. Arguably, there hasn’t been a similarly high- profile antitrust decision by the Supreme Court in a long time–and it may be the most significant one ever to have been made unanimously. So what is Apple hoping to gain from this? That is unclear. The only thing that is very transparent here is that Apple–which has recently seen additional antitrust action being launched and Capitol Hill lawmakers taking aim at some fundamental App Store rules–is very afraid. Afraid of the remaining risk from Apple’s perspective–and opportunity for app developers–that Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers might order Apple to allow third- party app stores such as the Epic Games Store on iOS. # ⚓ The_Brazilian_Supreme_Court_defines_the_effects_of_the decision_declaring_the_unconstitutionality_of_the_sole paragraph_of_article_40_of_the_Industrial_Property_Law⠀⇛ On 12 May 2021, the Supreme Court defined the modulation of the effects of the decision that declared the unconstitutionality of the sole paragraph of article 40 of the Industrial Property Law (LPI). [...] As readers are aware, on 7 April 2021, Justice Dias Toffoli (rapporteur) issued a preliminary injunction suspending the validity of the sole paragraph of article 40 regarding “patents related to pharmaceutical products and processes and medical equipment and/or materials for use in healthcare”, effectively preventing the INPI from granting them according to the challenged rule. On 6 May 2021, the Supreme Court decided that the sole paragraph of article 40 is unconstitutional by a majority of votes. The Court began analyzing the proposal to modulate the effects of the decision, i.e., if the decision would have retroactive or prospective effects and if they would be applied to patents and utility models in all technological areas. However, it was decided to resume the discussion on 12 May 2021. During the session held on 12 May 2021, Justice Dias Toffoli proposed that the final decision should have retroactive effects (ex tunc effects) with immediate applicability regarding patents for pharmaceutical products and processes and medical equipment and/or materials, as if the sole paragraph of article 40 of the LPI had never been enacted. He also proposed that patents whose validity was already being judicially questioned based on the sole paragraph’s unconstitutionality before 7 April 2021 should also be immediately affected by the Court’s decision with ex tunc effects [i.e., retroactive effects]. # ⚓ Around_the_IP_Blogs⠀⇛ In a guest post from Pedro Matheus and Leonardo Cordeiro (Gruenbaum, Possinhas & Teixeira), IPTango discussed the Brazilian Supreme Court’s definition of the effect of a decision which declared Art.40 of the Industrial Property Law of Brazil to be unconstitutional. # § Patents⠀➾ # ⚓ IPO_Webinar_on_Waiving_IP_Protections_to_Address COVID-19 [Ed: IBM front group, with IBM mole David Kappos (still salaried by them, was also in USPTO after his time at IBM), on patents that kill lots of people for profit, millions in the case of COVID]⠀⇛ The Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) will offer a one-hour webinar entitled “Waiving IP Protections to Address COVID-19: The WTO Proposals and Ensuring Equitable Access to the Vaccines” on June 30, 2021 from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm (ET). Tanuja Garde of Raytheon Technologies; David Kappos of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP; James Pooley of James Pooley, PLC; and Tony Rollins of Rollins IP Strategies Ltd. will share information about the status of the waiver proposals made by India and South Africa and the European Union’s proposal to increase the global supply of COVID-19 vaccines, the logistics of negotiations at the WTO, and the roles of various U.S. governmental and international agencies. The panel will also discuss questions such as whether a waiver would actually increase access to vaccines and other technologies, the impact of a waiver on innovation, impediments to ensuring broader vaccine access, and the effectiveness of ongoing voluntary efforts to distribute the vaccine and other important technologies more widely. # ⚓ Practical_Tips_For_Patenting_Antibody_Therapeutics_At The_European_Patent_Office_–_In_Association_With Babraham_Research_Campus [Ed: EPO has become so bonkers and so deeply compromised that you can get patents on almost anything, including life and nature (plants, seeds, animals, antibodies)]⠀⇛ The requirements for obtaining granted patents for biological inventions, and in particular antibody therapeutics, have changed dramatically over the last couple of decades. As the science develops so does the law and the way in which the European Patent Office examines such inventions has become tougher, but more clear and consistent. In this talk, Ross Cummings, a biotech focused Patent Attorney at GJE, will discuss how much and what kind of data is required to get antibody patents of different scopes granted. Ross will also talk about common pitfalls to be avoided early on in the patent filing process for such inventions and how to know when you are ready to file that first patent application. This talk will cut through the legal jargon to focus on providing practical tips to help startup companies build commercially relevant patent portfolios to drive investment. # ⚓ Recent_Developments_Regarding_Patent_Injunctions_In Germany [Ed: The Germany government wants us to think monopolies and embargo somehow help improve creativity and innovation]⠀⇛ - Injunction gap: Infringement and validity are heard by different branches of the judiciary (bifurcation). The infringement courts only stay the proceedings pending parallel nullity actions if they have a strong indication that the patent-in-suit is invalid. That is, unless the patent is obviously invalid, first instance proceedings can be completed in about 1.5 years. Parallel nullity actions usually take much longer. Among other disadvantages for the defendants, this gap may result in unfavorable settlements based on potentially invalid patents. - De facto automatic injunction: If infringement is found, the default remedy is an injunction. While infringement courts do have some discretion if and to what extent an injunction shall be granted, they almost never make use of it. This as well provides substantial leverage to patentees in settlement negotiations. - Preliminary injunctions: Preliminary injunctions are available, even in complex cases. # ⚓ A_Framework_for_Protecting_Your_Invention_Outside_the U.S. [Ed: Expanding American monopolies to other countries where American corporations typically write the laws directly and indirectly]⠀⇛ Patent protection outside the U.S. can be important for a company to enter the global market and to build relationships with partners and investors both domestically and internationally. In general, there are two options to file a patent application outside the U.S.: (1) file a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application and then enter the national phase of countries of interest; and (2) file a patent application directly in a foreign jurisdiction. For both options, the foreign application can be based on and claim priority from a U.S. application. # ⚓ Double_patenting:_legal_fact_or_fiction?_(G4/19) [Ed: They fail to note that the_Enlarged_Board_of_Appeal_ (EBA)_is_rigged,_untrustworthy,_and_now_completely corrupted. It needs to be fixed or the kangaroo court will continue to enable crimes.]⠀⇛ The Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) has this week released its decision regarding the issue of double patenting. The concept of double patenting will be familiar to those working in the patent field. It occurs when two different patents in the same jurisdiction claim the same subject-matter. If a claim has identical scope to that of a previous granted claim, the European Patent Office (EPO) will usually issue an objection. Yet, the European Patent Convention (EPC) does not explicitly refer to double patenting, leading to confusion as to whether an application can actually be refused on the ground of double patenting. The question of double patenting was therefore referred to the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the EPO (EBA), in order to determine whether, and under what provision, an application could be refused due to double patenting. The Enlarged Board found that an application could indeed be refused, as a result of Article 125 EPC # ⚓ Double_patenting_–_Art._125_EPC_provides_legal_basis for_refusing_a_European_patent_application⠀⇛ The Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) of the European Patent Office (EPO) has ruled in its G 4/19 decision this week that a European patent application can be refused during prosecution under Art. 97(2) EPC on the basis of double patenting under the European Patent Convention (EPC) and that this also applies to cases concerning double patenting arising from internal priority. The case underlying G 4/19 dealt with a European patent application directed to the prevention and treatment of allergic diarrhea, where the application in question claimed priority from a European patent granted to the same applicant for exactly the same (“100% identical”) subject matter. The Examining Division refused the application under Art 97(2) EPC “in conjunction with Article 125 EPC”, which prescribes that “in the absence of procedural provisions in this Convention, the European Patent Office shall take into account the principles of procedural law generally recognised in the Contracting States”. The Examining Division based its refusal on the principle of the prohibition on double patenting referred to in decisions G1/05 and G1/06. The applicant appealed the case, arguing that it had a legal interest in obtaining a second patent on the same subject matter as the patent derived from the later filed application offered a year of additional patent protection due to the later filing date (the 20-year patent term is calculated from the filing, not the priority date). The Board of Appeal then referred three questions and two invitations to the EBA. # ⚓ Futureco_Bioscience_Obtains_European_Patent_for_New Biopesticide⠀⇛ # ⚓ Webinar_on_Discretionary_Institution_in_PTAB Proceedings⠀⇛ • How the PTAB exercises its discretion to deny institution in the face of parallel district court proceedings, e.g., in the Western District of Texas “rocket docket” # ⚓ Adapting_your_US_patent_application_for_Europe [Ed: EPO patent quality has collapsed, so many of the patents might as well just be copy-pasted nonsense of no real value, except for litigation and shake-down]⠀⇛ A common issue faced by US applicants when entering Europe is the difference in claim and description requirements between the European Patent Office (EPO) and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This can make it difficult to draft applications that comply with both systems. However, there are ways of tailoring your US patent application upon (or after) entering Europe, whether it be a direct European filing or via the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) route, that can make the process much easier. Here, we take a look at some of those differences. # ⚓ Optinose_Technology_Inventor_Named_Winner_of_European Inventor_Award_2021 [Ed: Puff_pieces_such_as_these_cost the_public_a_fortune_and_help_distract_the_public_from the_crimes_of_the_EPO]⠀⇛ Optinose (NASDAQ: OPTN) this week announced Dr. Per Djupesland received the European Inventor Award 2021 in the Industry category from the European Patent Office (EPO) for his invention of the technology that serves as a basis for the Optinose Exhalation Delivery System (EDS™). # ⚓ The_scientific_champions_of_the_2021_European Inventor_Award_celebrate [Ed: Euronews helps cover up EPO crimes by producing puff_pieces_such_as_these]⠀⇛ Without creative thinkers, our society and economy would stand still. The most innovative of these people have just been honored with a European Inventor Award from the European Patent Office (EPO). # ⚓ The_impact_of_Brexit_on_Intellectual_Property_Law [Ed: No impact as there's no such thing as "Intellectual Property Law"; there's patent law, copyright law, trademark law and so on. These meaningless term and utter nonsense would confuse people. Those laws are not the same at all.]⠀⇛ 2021 is the first year in which Brexit took full effect, following the end of the transition period. It therefore continues to keep businesses busy on how to get to grips with the legislative changes resulting from Brexit. On 23 June the Centre for Intellectual Property Rights (CIER) of the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands hosted a lecture by Prof. Sir Robin Jacob – one of the world’s leading experts on IP law, on the impact of Brexit on Intellectual Property Law. Dr Alexander Tsoutsanis (DLA Piper) was asked to provide closing remarks. Attendees included practitioners, industry, academics, judges and students. # ⚓ BioInvent_receives_notice_of_allowance_in_China_for BI-1206_patent⠀⇛ # ⚓ BioInvent_receives_notice_of_allowance_in_China_for BI-1206_patent [Ed: How is this a cause for celebration meriting a press release when China issues many millions of very low quality patents?]⠀⇛ BioInvent International AB (“BioInvent”) (Nasdaq Stockholm: BINV), a biotech company focused on the discovery and development of novel and first-in-class immune-modulatory antibodies for cancer immunotherapy, today announced that the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has issued a notice of allowance, informing the company that a patent application relating to the anti-FcγRllB antibody BI-1206 is granted contingent on payment of the issue fee. # ⚓ A_point_of_principle⠀⇛ Moreover, the “novelty” patentability criterion of an invention has always been considered as the most clearly defined and simple enough to establish that a claimed invention complies with it. # ⚓ Facebook_Patents_An_‘Artificial_Reality’_Baseball Cap⠀⇛ The concept melds a baseball cap with smart glasses. But the result looks pretty laughable, at least on the US patent application. # § Software Patents⠀➾ # ⚓ ACI_Advanced_Summit_on_Life_Sciences_Patents Conference [Ed: In many cases, “Life Sciences Patents” is just a_made_up_(fictional/new)_term used to push_software_patents_as_if_they_save lives]⠀⇛ American Conference Institute (ACI) will be holding its 19th Advanced Summit on Life Sciences Patents conference on July 21-22, 2021 as a virtual conference. # ⚓ Webinar_on_Patentability_of_Simulations_at_the EPO [Ed: A_corrupted_kangaroo_court_at_the_EPO let software patents slip through and mass litigation firms now use that, bolstered by the rigging]⠀⇛ J A Kemp will be offering a webinar entitled “Patentability of Simulations at the EPO” on June 30, 2021 at 16:00 pm BST (GMT+1). John Leeming of J A Kemp will detail the approach of the EPO to computer-implemented inventions (including simulations) and consider what the recent G 01/19 does (and does not) tell us about the patentability of simulations and computer-implemented inventions in general, and also provide practical advice regarding the drafting and prosecution of applications directed to computer-implemented inventions in Europe in light of the decision. # § Trademarks⠀➾ # ⚓ This_week_in_IP:_In-house_‘concerned’_by_Arthrex, Apple_and_Fortress_strike_deal,_SPCs_have_‘huge value’⠀⇛ § USPTO rejects new trademark for former Washington Redskins⠀➾ The Washington Football Team met a setback in efforts to rebrand itself this week when the USPTO rejected trademark for ‘WFT’ (Washington Football Team). On Friday, June 18, the USPTO denied the application on the basis of a pre-existing trademark that was too similar to the one proposed by the Washington team, formerly the Washington Redskins, for a line of clothing merchandise. The offices found there was a likelihood of confusion between the two marks. The decision read: “In total, the two marks create the same commercial impression and the evidence shows that the goods are commercially related and likely to be encountered together in the marketplace by consumers. “Therefore, consumers are likely to be confused and mistakenly believe that the goods originate from a common source.” The agency also found that the name ‘Washington Football Team’ was too generic, and cited evidence that the applicant for the trademark did not reside in Washington, DC. The Washington Football Team has been seeking to trademark its new name since it dropped its ‘Redskins’ name and logo last year in reaction to mounting pressure after the murder of George Floyd. For the moment there appears to be no clear decision what the Washington team will call itself in the future. In April, the team emailed fans with a list of suggestions including ‘The Washington Monarchs’ and ‘The Washington Presidents’. The team now has six months to respond to the trademark refusal and will have to prove that the name is distinctive from other similar names. # ⚓ Recovering_Attorneys’_Fees_in_Trademark_Cases_Made Easier_in_Tenth_Circuit⠀⇛ Under §285 of the Patent Act, a district court may award attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party “in exceptional cases.” In Octane Fitness v. ICON Health & Fitness (2014), the U.S. Supreme Court held that for a case to be deemed “exceptional,” the case need only be “one that stands out from others,” and that the burden of proof is “preponderance of the evidence,” rejecting the prior, more strict, “clear and convincing evidence” standard. This essentially made it easier for prevailing litigants in patent litigation to recover attorneys’ fees. §1117 (a) of the Lanham Act contains a provision that is on its face identical to §285 of the Patent Act; and, in examining whether a trademark case is “exceptional” under the Lanham Act provision, all circuits except the Tenth Circuit had either explicitly adopted the “preponderance of evidence” standard or otherwise applied Octane to trademark cases, making it easier to recover attorneys’ fees in trademark cases as well. On June 8, 2021, in Derma Pen, LLC v. 4EverYoung Limited, the Tenth Circuit found that the “exceptional case” standard in trademark cases paralleled the standard in patent cases, and affirmed the trial court’s decision to award the defendant-appellee attorneys’ fees relying on §285 of the Patent Act as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court in Octane. Now that the Tenth Circuit has joined, all circuits are now unified in applying the “preponderance of evidence” standard in examining whether a case is “exceptional” in trademark cases for the purpose of awarding attorneys’ fees. # § Copyrights⠀➾ # ⚓ Remixing_and_Remastering_Music_in_US_Copyright_Law: Some_Reflections_after_Arty_v_Marshmello⠀⇛ In 2019, Artem Stoliarov, a Russian DJ whose stage name is Arty, filed a lawsuit before the US District Court for the Central District of California, alleging that Marshmello’s song ‘Happier’ copied the synthesizer melody from his 2014 remix of OneRepublic’s ‘I Lived’ (OneRepublic is an American pop rock band). Marshmello, an American electronic music producer and DJ, won the case as Judge Philip S. Gutierrez held that Arty had contractually given up ownership of the rights over remix composition, and therefore had no grounds to sue. [...] Marshmello’s attorney has obviously cheered the ruling, noting that it is supported “not just by fundamental contract and copyright law principles, but also by longstanding industry practice recognizing that remixers do not acquire ownership interests in the remixes they prepare, unless they specifically negotiate for and obtain such interests from the rights holders”. While the case focused on the interpretation of a contractual clause, the decision confirms that in general it can get complicated when it comes to copyright ownership of re-interpretations of previous songs or recordings, whether they are remixes (as in the Arty v Marshmello case) or remasters. What is the difference between remixes and remasters? As also noted by Judge Gutierrez at the beginning of his decision, remixes of other artists’ songs and recordings involve “taking a popular composition or sound recording and changing it, sometimes by adding original material”. Thus, remixes entail that a song or sound recording is tweaked, for example by inserting additional lyrics or different instruments. A remaster, on the other hand, is another version of a previous recording, which leaves the main structure of the latter intact. Remastering often enhances the earlier recordings as it gives a different sound experience for commercial or artistic reasons, e.g. by exploiting digital technological advancements which may allow cleaning of the sound and removal of original distortions. For example, several Beatles’ albums have been remastered. Due to modern music production techniques, though, the line distinguishing between remixes and remasters is increasingly blurred and unclear. US copyright law does not protect remasters, as they lack originality. A 2018 decision from the 9th Circuit, i.e. ABS v. CBS (Case No. 16-55917), confirmed that. In this case the US Court of Appeals held that digitally remastered sound recordings could not be protected by federal copyright law. The issue was whether a remaster, which involved subjectively and artistically modifying the sound balance, timbre, spatial imagery and loudness range, but otherwise leaving the previous record unedited, could be considered original enough to attract copyright. The court held it could not, “unless its essential character and identity reflect a level of independent sound recording authorship that makes it a variation”, which was not the case in this dispute. # ⚓ 21_for_2021:_Term_of_Copyright:_Optimality_and Reality⠀⇛ Under the Berne Convention, the minimum term of copyright protection is life-of-the-author plus 50 years. Many countries, including the US and the EU have terms of life-of-the- author plus 70 years, while others, such as Mexico, extend protection for life plus 100 years. For historical reasons, the term for pre-1978 US works is 95 years, so long as certain domestic formalities were adhered to. The extreme length of the copyright term, as opposed to the standard length of patent or plant variety protection (both 20 years) has generated significant empirical inquiry and criticism. Most of the work has come from economists conducting cost-benefit analysis on the effect of long copyright terms. The primary economic justification for copyright assumes that legal protection is needed to incentivize the production of new works which would otherwise go uncreated. Secondary economic justifications include stimulating the creation of derivative works (like movies from books) and incentivizing the commercialization and distribution of works once they are created. Most empirical research queries whether current copyright terms are longer or shorter rather than optimal. Note: This blog, and most the research cited, uses an economic definition of “optimal” as the length of legal protection that maximizes social welfare by balancing incentives to create against the deadweight costs associated with creation of exclusive rights (often loosely referred to as “monopoly costs”). This blog will discuss the empirical research that addresses several key questions related to copyright term length: 1. Does the long term of copyright incentivize or deter new creations? 2. Does the long term of copyright increase or decrease access to works? 3. Does the long term of copyright incentivize or deter the creation of derivative works? 4. Are negative pricing effects associated with the long term of copyright? # ⚓ Recommendations_for_Summer_Reading:_Copyright_Books in_Review⠀⇛ All five of these titles are important works of scholarship, rooted in rigorous original research and providing bold and fresh perspectives about how we think about copyright. I will start with Kathy Bowrey’s Copyright, Creativity, Big Media and Cultural Value. This is, without reservation, a landmark work of copyright history: the first historically grounded account of the emergence of the ‘Big Media’ corporates of the twentieth century (publishing, film and music), Bowrey’s account is innovative in locating copyright’s central category of ‘authorship’ at the intersection of ‘cultural, political, legislative and business activity’ (p.3). Whereas historicising ‘authorship’ and uncovering its genealogy has been a concern of scholars of law and the humanities since the 1980s and 1990s (inspired by Michel Foucault’s ‘What is an Author?’ (1969)), Bowrey’s account captures the lived experience of the law and this brings important new themes to the centre-stage of copyright history: the incorporation of the author ‘into the commercial empires in the 20th century’ and the ‘value of copyright in practice’ (p.25). While this is an historical work, Bowrey also speaks to present day concerns. One conclusion concerns the importance of ‘authors and artists today’ making the ‘important decisions about the production and distribution of cultural content, their audiences, brand and licensing terms, rather than relying upon others’ (p.211) # ⚓ News_Media_Europe_Slams_Delays_In_Implementation_Of Copyright_In_The_Digital_Single_Market_Directive_(2019/ 790/EU)⠀⇛ The European press publishers’ association, News Media Europe, has slammed the late implementation of the Directive throughout Europe. Only four Member States had transposed the Directive by the deadline for implementation on 7 June 2021. NME says that the delays “threaten the sustainability of the free press” as European press publishers eagerly wait for a clear legislative framework that allows them to set up the mechanisms needed so they can start licensing their content online. ╘══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ ¶ Lines in total: 5292 ➮ Generation completed at 02:40, i.e. 24 seconds to (re)generate ⟲