● 04.04.23

Gemini version available ♊︎

● Links 04/04/2023: Debian Installer Bookworm RC 1 and Qt 6.5

Posted in News Roundup at 3:40 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

Audiocasts/Shows

• This week’s episode of Destination Linux, we will be discussing cloud and server repatriation. Then we’re going to show you why the Framework laptop is going to be your next laptop. Plus, we have our tips/tricks and software picks. All this and more coming up right now on Destination Linux to keep those penguins marching!

• Why using the iPhone makes it harder to run Linux; Chris follows up on his four-month-long challenge to ditch iOS for GrapheneOS.

• Last week, Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne tried to spin his approval of the Rogers-Shaw merger and the enhanced role of Videotron as a win for Canadians, arguing that somehow fewer competitors would lead to greater competition. But in recent months, the Canadian communications landscape has shifted, not only with this merger but also with the gradual disappearance of a half-dozen independent providers who have been swallowed up by the large companies.

Applications

• If you’re after an i3-style workspaces bar in GNOME Shell you need to check out the latest version of the Space Bar extension.

Instructionals/Technical

• We have been covering some essential topics in Ansible and in this article, we will see yet another simple and important feature of Ansible called Collections.

• linuxlogo or linux_logo is a tiny command line utility that generates a color ANSI picture of the Linux distribution logo with an uptime (shows system uptime) along with the other system information.

• The linux_logo utility obtains system information from the /proc filesystem and generates ANSI images of various logos other than the host distribution logo.

• Monitor your infrastructure with Streamlit

• When writing shell scripts, it’s important to add comments to explain the purpose and function of the code. Comments in shell scripts are denoted by the hash symbol (#). However, sometimes you may want to write a multiline comment that spans several lines.

• Unzipping files is a common task in Linux. However, it can become a bit tricky when you need to unzip files into a specific folder. In this article, we will explore different methods to unzip files into a specific folder in Linux.

• Continuous service availability is crucial for the smooth operation of your Linux system. It is essential to have a mechanism that detects when a service is down and automatically restarts it to minimize downtime.

• Hello data traveler, just in case looking for the same answer…

• Git LFS (Large File Storage) is an open-source Git extension developed by GitHub. It is created to handle files that are large and cannot be managed easily by Git itself.

• Create a stylized ASCII text banner on your command line screen by installing Figlet on Amazon Linux 2 with the help of the EPEL repository.

• This guide will teach you how to install Nextcloud on AlmaLinux 9. You will be installing Nextcloud on a fresh/generic AlmaLinux server, so this guide will include some installation of package dependencies such as the httpd web server, MariaDB database server, and PHP. Through the end of this guide, you will also secure the Nextcloud with firewalld, SELinux, and SSL/TLS certificates from Letsencrypt.

• Download the cmsis-dap udev rules to /etc/udev/rules.d/ . If it does not contain the USB VID/PID of your debugger, add a line similar to that. For exmaple, for WCH-Link with USB info like “1a86:8012 QinHeng Electronics WCH-Link”

• Then, run the following commands to make the rules take effect.

• Veritas Cluster (VCS) is the most popular among others because I have seen VCS running on many mission critical systems, especially core banking systems were running on Veritas clusters.

• Python is an interpreted high-level programming language. It is a multi-paradigm programming language that emphasizes code readability and simplicity. Python has an extensive standard library that supports many common programming tasks.

• Python is a programming language that was developed with one goal in mind: It should make it easy for everyone, regardless of their knowledge and experience in computer science.

• RainLoop is a free, open-source web-mail client for the desktop that integrates a talk-to-text service. It is designed to work as an interface to regular IM programs like AOL and Windows Live Messenger.

• We already know that Ubuntu 22.04 is a very customizable system. So much that sometimes you are surprised by the number of things you can do to it. Today I will show you how to Show Seconds on the Clock Panel.

• Comparing two files in Linux can be a useful task when you want to identify the differences between two files. In the Terminal, there are several commands that can be used to compare files, such as diff and cmp. In this guide, we will go over how to compare two files using these commands and also provide some tips and tricks to make the process easier.

• In this article, we’ll explore six powerful commands that you can use to view the contents of a file in Linux. From the simple yet versatile cat command to the more advanced features of less and tail, we’ll cover everything you need to know to efficiently explore file content in Linux.

• This article provides a detailed guide on how to untar files in Linux using the “tar” command. It explains the process of extracting files from tar archives, the common use cases of tar archives in Linux, and the difference between “xvf” and “xzf” options in the “tar” command.

• One of the many features that Ubuntu offers is the ability to manage networks. As a user, you may sometimes face network issues that require restarting the network to resolve the problem. This article will provide a detailed guide on how to restart a network in Ubuntu using various methods.

• We will guide you through the process of installing Perl on your Linux machine, setting up the Perl environment, and addressing common troubleshooting issues that may arise during the installation and configuration process.

• There are instances when you may need to change your MAC address, such as when you want to improve your privacy, bypass MAC address filtering, or test your network for vulnerabilities. This article will provide you with a detailed guide on how to change your MAC address on a Linux system.

• If you’re new to MongoDB and Ubuntu, don’t worry. This article will show you how to install MongoDB on Ubuntu step by step.

WINE or Emulation

• The Wine 8.5 development release is now available for this translation layer, enabling Windows games and other apps to work on Linux. Part of what makes Steam Play Proton do its thing! This is the usual fortnightly release with the latest work, and then once a year they put up a new stable release that will be Wine 9.0.

Games

• Have a PC hooked up to your TV or need a Linux distribution that might work better on a handheld PC? A new release of ChimeraOS is here, and it’s a necessary upgrade. Think of it a bit like SteamOS with fancy extras.

• Roadwarden is a really quite fantastic illustrated text-based RPG, and now the world is set to expand in a big way with Windy Meadow – A Roadwarden Tale. They’re going with a completely different style this time though, and it appears to be far less text-heavy while still blending in elements of an illustrated visual novel. Seems like it could be interesting.

• Ah yes, launchers and external online services, what a nuisance they can be for Steam Deck and Linux desktop players. Thankfully, Valve keep working away on Proton to fix up issues. Remember recently I wrote about how you might see a whole lot more games using Epic Online Services? Well, like what happened with the EA App breaking lots of games, it happened to EOS too.

• Oxygen Not Included is a space-colony builder and probably one of the best. Space is dangerous and of course there’s going to be Meteors but now you can have a bit more fun with them.

• The first release this year for OpenRCT2, the open source re-implementation of RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 has landed with version 0.4.4.

Distributions and Operating Systems

PCLinuxOS/Mageia/Mandriva/OpenMandriva Family

• The rolling release candidate of OpenMandriva is yet another Linux distribution that shows off KDE Plasma’s elegance and efficiency.

Debian Family

Canonical/Ubuntu Family

• Of all the many Ubuntu Spins, the official Ubuntu release will highlight some of the most important updates for the desktop distribution… mainly by way of GNOME 44.

• Although the other 23.04 spins will enjoy their own updates (such as Kubuntu including KDE Plasma 5.27), only the official version will include everything brought about by the latest iteration of GNOME.

• Along with the fresh update to GNOME, Lunar Lobster will also include Linux kernel 6.2, an up-to-date toolchain (such as GCC 13, systemd 252.5, BlueZ 5.66.2, NetworkManager 1.42, PipeWire 0.3.65, and Mesa 23).

• Here’s what you need to know about System76′s in-house Linux operating system, Pop!_OS.

• Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue 781 for the week of March 26 – April 1, 2023.

• Ubuntu 18.04, Bionic Beaver, is one of the most popular distros in use today, but support is due to cease in May 2023, meaning you won’t receive updates or security patches—leaving your machine vulnerable to attacks from the internet, and gradual obsolescence.

• Here’s how you can keep Ubuntu 18.04 running safely for a while longer.

• The next major update for Ubuntu Linux is about to arrive, with the Beta of Ubuntu 23.04 ‘Lunar Lobster’ now available. With the final release scheduled for April 20th, this will be one of the last times you can test for issues before the main release.

Open Hardware/Modding

• PiEEG is an open-source hardware Raspberry Pi shield that measures electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and electrocardiography (ECG) bio-signals and provides a brain-computer interface to applications or robots for gaming, entertainment, sports, health, etc.

Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

Content Management Systems (CMS)

• Most applications allow users to create and add some textual content, such as a comment, a chat message, an article, a product description, or a legal document. Today, plain text isn’t enough. Users format text, insert images and memes, videos, tables, and create lists and links. A developer can probably craft this rich content in HTML by hand, but there’s a high chance that your users would appreciate some help.

• WYSIWYG (“What You See Is What You Get”) editing allows you to see and edit rich text content in a form that resembles how it’s displayed to end users. A WYSIWYG editor provides a UI that makes it easy to format the text and incorporate various elements such as images, links, or tables into your digital content.

• If you want to supply this sort of functionality in your app, you can choose to:

• Each option has advantages and disadvantages.

• March saw the arrival of the first major release of 2023, WordPress 6.2 “Dolphy.” Planning for the project’s 20th anniversary continues with new celebratory updates and commemorative swag. Read on for the latest happenings in the WordPress space.

Programming/Development

• Today we have released Qt 6.5! In the 6th release of the Qt 6 series, we introduce lots of new functionality for graphics and UI developers and the application backend. In addition, Qt 6.5 brings many fixes and general improvements and will be a long-term supported release for commercial license holders.

• Qt has great tools for designing, developing, and testing Android apps using Qt Design Studio, Qt Creator, and Squish. But sometimes, there is an already existing codebase developed in Android Studio which needs a few functionalities from the Qt framework. This blog post demonstrates how we can integrate a Qt for Android project into an Android Studio Project.

Leftovers

Hardware

• We’ve previously seen it’s possible to connect an eGPU to a mini PC through a PCIe x16 to M.2 NVMe adapter or a Thunderbolt 3 port, but while it’s fine to install on your desk for gaming or develop AI applications, the eGPU being larger than most mini PCs, it’s a little too big to integrate into products, and potentially inconvenient to carry around.

Security

Privacy/Surveillance

• Italy blocks ChatGPT over privacy, data security, and mature content concerns. The Italian Data Protection Authority announced it was temporarily blocking the artificial intelligence software ChatGPT until it “respects privacy.” This news comes on the heels of a data breach as Italy investigates a potential violation of strict European Union data protection rules.

Defence/Aggression

• T.X. Hammes describes the most significant gamechangers for ground warfare from the Russo-Ukraine war and the lessons that US, allied, and partner policymakers should draw from the conflict for their own force posture and development.

• Finland will become the alliance’s 31st member state ahead of a two-day meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels on Tuesday. President Sauli Niinistö will attend the event along with the ministers of defence and foreign affairs.

• By all accounts, Chinese President Xi Jinping has had a successful few weeks. Hot on the heels of the Chinese-brokered restoration of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, he used his recent visit…

• Many people rejected the very idea of building a modern defence technology company when I founded Anduril Industries in 2017.

• April marks a year of existence for the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia, now the AU Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) after being AMISOM (AU Mission in Somalia) since its inception in 2007.

• For nearly two years, Mozambique resisted the call for foreign military intervention in Cabo Delgado to help fight the insurgency that started in 2017.

• Reporters Without Borders published on Monday an investigation into the colossal dangers journalists face while working in the Sahel, the vast, semi-arid region beset by jihadism, armed groups and instability. The NGO fears this part of West Africa is becoming a no-go area for journalists.

• Russian officials on Monday detained a 26-year-old woman over the St Petersburg café blast that killed high-profile military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, who was posthumously decorated by President Vladimir Putin. The arrest came as Ukraine dismissed Russian claims of victory in the eastern battleground city of Bakhmut and as Finland prepared to officially join the NATO military alliance on Tuesday, in a blow to Moscow.

• Republican US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Monday he would meet Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California on Wednesday, a move China said would be a provocation.

• House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the expected meeting with a bipartisan group of US congressional representatives would take place in California.

• Four decades ago, a hotel bomb nearly claimed the lives of Margaret Thatcher and her ministers. Can we still feel the aftershocks?

• The North Korean embassy in Madrid demanded Washington to provide a formal apology and compensation.

Environment

Energy/Transportation

• Major oil powers led by Saudi Arabia announced a surprise production cut of more than one million barrels per day on Sunday, calling it a “precautionary” move aimed at stabilising the market.

Wildlife/Nature

• Brazil’s President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, promises to keep miners and loggers from destroying the rain forest. On the ground, the fight is complicated.

Finance

• Employees in the tourism, restaurant and leisure sectors will see higher wages from the beginning of June.

• Reserve Bank to decide whether to lift interest rates for 11th straight time.

• Some Royal Mail workers used social media to brand the manager who wrote it a “horrible human being” who “should be ashamed”, while some called for him to be sacked.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

• Federal government on the verge of banning TikTok on government devices, reports say.

• Former US president Donald Trump heads to New York to face criminal charges

• From 2014 through to today, a commendable number of Strategist articles have focused on the women, peace and security agenda. One of those articles was mine.

• As Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen stops in the United States, Beijing is trying to paint reasonable, routine, and restrained actions as risky, worrisome, and escalatory.

• While the international community has spoken out in support of the Women, Life, Freedom revolution, they have done little to protect the women journalists at the heart of this movement.

• Efforts to pressure Ukraine into accepting a land-for-peace deal in order to end the war misunderstand Putin’s imperial ambitions and will only encourage further Russian aggression, writes, Andriy Zagorodnyuk.

• TikTok owner ByteDance has ramped up its lobbying efforts to the US government after its data security issues. OpenSecrets analyzed the company’s reported payments to federal lobbyists since 2019. What they found is that the social platform owner is ramping up its spending.

Censorship/Free Speech

• European Commission Press release Brussels, 03 Apr 2023 Today marks the launch of a new two-year project to address antisemitism in Europe through education.

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

• News links account for less than 3% of posts people see in their Facebook feeds.

Civil Rights/Policing

• If you thought anti-abortion extremists were going to stop at banning abortion, punishing pregnant people, and allowing bounty hunters to sue abortion providers, you’d be wrong. Politicians across the country have proposed bills taking aim at our right to discuss abortion care, to express the benefits of being able to determine if and when to become pregnant, and even to create art about reproductive health care. They’re continuing their attacks on our reproductive freedom by going after our right to free speech and our access to life-saving information. This isn’t just about taking away people’s decisions during pregnancy; politicians are trying to erase our health care needs, our stories and experiences, and our existence.

Digital Restrictions (DRM)

• A little less than one year after rebranding Greenroom as Spotify Live, the namesake streaming platform is officially shutting down the Clubhouse clone amid a broader effort to dial back its audio-entertainment overexpansion. The discontinuation of Spotify Live just recently came to light in a brief message posted on the app’s homepage.

Monopolies

• After Robert Smith convinces Ticketmaster to issue partial refunds for overpriced tickets, the singer forces the ticketing giant to refund and cancel scalped tickets while donating the fees to charity.

• European Commission Press release Brussels, 03 Apr 2023 The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed creation of a joint venture by Orange and MasMovil. The Commission is concerned that the transaction may reduce competition in the retail supply of mobile and fixed broadband services…

Copyrights

• In March, some five months after laying off about 30 CD Baby and Soundrop team members, Downtown Music announced another round of personnel cutbacks. Now, the company has named a new president of publishing and revealed a high-profile executive departure.

Gemini* and Gopher

Personal

• I recently renovated my primary residence. The project, though modest in size, was rather epic in both cost and timeline, and left me convinced that the residential real estate market is rotten to its core. What I experienced may be specific to certain markets (I live near Washington DC), so it’s an anecdote, but I suspect that much of the saga related here has played out in areas with high costs of living and high real estate liquidity.

• We don’t get paid enough to work here We but further enrich the wealthy What have our managers done for us lately; why should *we* remain loyal?

• They did not make efficient use of our time during standard business hours, every meeting could have been an email, and they mistook us for family

• tfurrows and solderpunk recently phlogged about the storm system that passed through the USA and caused a bunch of tornadoes. The worst of that thankfully messed our little town, but things were still dicey even just a little bit outside of town and in nearby smaller towns, townships/counties/villages/etc… That day I happened to have my new p25 radio setup going, slurping in all of the radio traffic from all of the talkgroups on multiple trunked radio systems in parallel, and that radio traffic actually turned out a lot more interesting than it usually is.

Technical

• Since I recently bought a “new” desktop [0], my old desktop was now sitting idle. This was a refurbished PC from 2009 that I bought in 2016. I upgraded the memory to 16GB, the maximum it could support, and used it for seven years as a daily driver. When I was thinking of how I could make use of it now, I thought back to 2009, and remembered Debian Lenny. Debian Lenny was a wonderful desktop and rock-solid server back in 2009, so it seemed fitting for this particular PC.

• Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It’s like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter. Share in other sites/networks: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. Permalink  Send this to a friend

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