This page permanently redirects to gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2022/02/18/easy-3-4-1-soon/.

● 02.18.22

Gemini version available ♊︎

● Links 18/2/2022: EasyOS 3.4.1 Soon, Media Conflating Snap With ‘Linux’

Posted in News Roundup at 6:17 pm by Dr. Roy SchestowitzContentsGNU/LinuxDistributionsDevices/EmbeddedFree Software/Open SourceLeftovers

GNU/Linux

Desktop/Laptop

=> ↺ 7 New Features to Try in Kali Linux 2022.1

• For years, cybersecurity-centric Linux distributions have been revolutionizing penetration testing and security auditing for internal and remote networks.

• Offensive Security, Kali Linux’s developers, gives you the first major release of 2022 with its newest version. Kali 2022.1 is packed to the brim with innovations and the latest feature additions, making it a power-packed distro for the new year.

• Here are some exciting new features of Kali Linux 2022.1 you need to try right now.

=> ↺ The 7 Best Linux Docks to Give Your Desktop a New Look

• Is your Linux desktop cluttered with apps, and you struggle to find an app every time you want to launch it? Well, it turns out, you can use a dock to fix this.

• Generally speaking, an application dock is a system component on certain desktop operating systems that facilitates multitasking by providing quick access to apps and utilities. Not only that, but it also contributes to the visual appearance of your desktop, making it both functional and appealing.

• On Linux, there are a variety of apps you can use to get a dock on your desktop. Let’s check out some of these best docks apps for Linux.

=> ↺ Dell Latitude 3510 Laptop 10th Generation Intel Core i5-10210U/4GB/1TB HDD/Ubuntu

• Planning to buy a new laptop with exceptional features and specifications? Dell Latitude 3510 Laptop 10th Generation Intel Core i5-10210U/4GB/1TB HDD/Ubuntu is a good choice that you can go for. The laptop is equipped with a 10th Generation Intel Core i5-10210U with 1.6 GHz clock speed that lets you multitask with ease and experience faster performance

• [...]

• You can purchase this Dell Latitude 3510 Laptop 10th Generation Intel Core i5-10210U/4GB/1TB HDD/Ubuntu in India at Rs 53,969. Also, you will get a warranty of 1 Year on it from the manufacturer from the date of purchase.

=> ↺ macOS vs. Windows vs. Linux: Which OS Would You Buy

Audiocasts/Shows

=> ↺ Built to impress: but does the SLIMBOOK TITAN live up its COLOSSAL name? – Invidious

• Thanks to Slimbook for sending us this unit. Overall, Ethan and I were quite impressed with this machine and we really like it.

Applications

=> ↺ Flatpak App of the Week: Minder – Powerful Mind Mapping Software to Visualize Your Ideas

• With Minder you will be able to easily and quickly create visual mind-maps thanks to an automatic layout system and the plethora of tree layouts to choose from. You can add images and tasks to nodes, create node-to-node connections with optional text and notes, add stickers and node groups, as well as to stylize nodes, links, and connections, or colorize node branches.

• The interface is quite simple and intuitive featuring tabs so you can open multiple mindmaps, quick search of nodes, as well as connection titles and notes, zoom in and out, undo and redo changes, as well as a Focus Mode to focus on certain ideas and to better view and understand portions of your mind-map.

=> ↺ GStreamer 1.20: Embedded & WebRTC lead the way

• Made available earlier this month, GStreamer 1.20 is the fruitful result of 17 months of hard work from the entire community. Over 250 developers contributed code to make this release happen, and once again, Collabora had more contributors than any other organization.

• Our work focused on the two areas in which we believe GStreamer shines the brightest: embedded systems, and network streaming, in particular WebRTC. Below is a summary of the impact our team of engineers had on this latest release.

• As usual, you can also learn more about the enhancements done by the rest of the community by looking at the project’s 1.20 release notes.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ Three Examples to Increase Request Timeout in NGINX – LinuxCapable

• NGINX is one of the best choices for serving long-running requests because it has a robust architecture. However, you might need to increase your request timeout to ensure that NGINX can easily handle these heavy loads.

• By default, it is set at 60 seconds, but if you cannot serve your entire traffic without hitting this limit, try raising it higher, like 75 or 100 milliseconds (or whatever makes sense for how busy the site is). The error “504: Gateway Timeout” will appear if there are not enough resources available on the host machine; however, using some proxy timeout settings should fix these problems – including read/connect delays as well as sending messages alone; before waiting till everyone sends them back!

• In the following tutorial, you will learn how to increase request timeout in NGINX using proxy_read_timeout, proxy_connect_timeout, proxy_send_timeout directives to fix 504 Gateway Timeout error.

=> ↺ How to Install Jitsi Meet on Ubuntu – OSNote

• Jitsi Meet is a WebRTC-based video conferencing software that allows you to communicate with others. A Jitsi Meet server allows you to join multi-person video conference rooms that function similarly to a Zoom or Skype meeting. The advantage of a Jitsi conference is that all of your data travels only through your server, and end-to-end TLS is used to secure the connection.

=> ↺ New Linux User? 7 Tips to Help You Excel at Using the OS – LinuxBuz

• Long-time Windows or Mac users may find it difficult to shift to Linux, and in most cases, it’s only due to the professional necessities. So, here in this article, we will make it easier for you to understand Linux in much easier ways so that you can explore more.

• If you are not a power user, spend some time learning from scratch to grab the little things that can prove to be helpful in the later stage. The more you use it, the more you learn, and the more you get into it.

=> ↺ How to Install FastPanel on Ubuntu – VITUX

• Fastpanel is a web-hosting control panel. It provides web-based intuitive, point-and-click interfaces for common tasks such as transferring files, installing applications, updating PHP versions, and creating email accounts.

• Fastpanel is written in PHP5, uses the PEAR DB database layer, and includes over 100 database functions (including MySQL-specific functions such as “orelse” or “bcp”) as well as a large number of other useful functions (including file management, image conversion, HTTP authentication, and session handling). Fastpanel is compatible with all major web servers on Unix/Linux platforms: Apache 1.3+, Nginx 0.7+, and Lighttpd 1.5+.

• Have you ever wanted to install FastPanel on Ubuntu? Have you been scared to try it because you thought it would be a huge pain to get started? We’ve done all the hard work for you. Read this guide, then follow along, step by step. In no time, FastPanel will be up and running on your Ubuntu server in minutes.

=> ↺ Install Varnish 7 for Nginx on Rocky Linux 8

• Varnish cache is a free and open-source cache accelerator used to speed up your website by caching the content in memory. It is extremely fast and reduces the page load time, which helps with your SERPs and improves user experience. It is used by many organizations including Facebook, Twitter, and Wikipedia. Varnish sits between Nginx and clients that receive requests from clients and forwards them to the backend. This will improve the webserver performance because Varnish will serve content from memory.

• In this tutorial, I will show you how to install Varnish 7 for Nginx on Rocky Linux 8.

=> ↺ How To Install LibreOffice on AlmaLinux 8 – idroot

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install LibreOffice on AlmaLinux 8. For those of you who didn’t know, LibreOffice is a free and open-source office suite and is often considered a good alternative to the Microsoft Office suite. LibreOffice includes Writer (word processing), Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), Draw (vector graphics and flowcharts), Base (databases), and Math (formula editing).

• 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 LibreOffice’s free open-source office productivity suite on AlmaLinux 8. You can follow the same instructions for CentOS and Rocky Linux.

=> ↺ How To Install OpenRGB on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS – idroot

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install OpenRGB on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. For those of you who didn’t know, OpenRGB is free and open-source software used to control RGB lighting control that does not require manufacturer software. The project is focused to provide support for multiple hardware manufacturers’ products to reduce the programs load, which is limited to Windows, superfluous. OpenRGB supports ASUS, ASRock, Corsair, G.Skill, Gigabyte, HyperX, MSI, Razer, ThermalTake, and more

• 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 the step-by-step installation of OpenRGB software for controlling RGB lighting on Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal Fossa). You can follow the same instructions for Ubuntu 18.04, 16.04, and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint.

=> ↺ How to Install MERN Stack with Nginx on Debian 11

• How to install MERN stack with Nginx on Debian 11. MERN stack is a setup with MongoDB, Express, React and Node.js. This is one of the variants of MEAN stack. MongoDB is the database, Express with Node.js is used for backend which communicates with the database, React is the client side or frontend. We will use Nginx reverse proxy to Node.js server and setup Let’sEncrypt SSL.

• In this guide you are going to learn how to setup MERN stack on your Debian 11 server.

• This setup is tested on Google Cloud, so it should work fine on other VPS, cloud servers running Debian 11.

=> ↺ Simple Way To Disable The Screen Lock On Your Ubuntu 21.10

• In this tutorial we are going to show you how to disable the screen lock on your Ubuntu 21.01 desktop environment using the settings panel.

• What is lock screen and what are the benefits of having or not having it on?

• The lock screen option is mainly used by the user when he needs to secure his computer system with a password. The lock screen can lock the screen after user inactivity for a period of time like the default 5 minutes on the Ubuntu desktop environment or by pressing the windows button and L.

=> ↺ Add, switch, delete, and manage Linux users in KDE | Opensource.com

• Sharing a computer in a household is usually a pretty casual affair. When you need the computer, you pick it up and start using it. It’s simple in theory, and mostly works. That is, until you accidentally grab the common computer and accidentally post screenshots of your server’s uptime to your partner’s cooking blog. Then it’s time for separate user accounts.

• From the very beginning, Linux has been a multi-user system. It’s designed to treat each user, so long as they log in, as a unique human being, with a desktop all their own, a unique web browser profile, access to their own documents and files, and so on. The KDE Plasma Desktop does a lot to make it easy to switch from one account to another, but first you must set up a user account for each person who you expect to use a computer. You might also set up a special account for guests (I call this account, pragmatically, guest.)

=> ↺ Install/Upgrade MariaDB 10.8 on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS – LinuxCapable

• MariaDB is one of the most popular open-source databases next to its originator MySQL. The original creators of MySQL developed MariaDB in response to fears that MySQL would suddenly become a paid service due to Oracle acquiring it in 2010. With its history of doing similar tactics, the developers behind MariaDB have promised to keep it open source and free from such fears as what has happened to MySQL.

• MariaDB has become just as popular as MySQL with developers, with features such as advanced clustering with Galera Cluster 4, faster cache/indexes, storage engines, and features/extensions that you won’t find in MySQL.

• In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install or upgrade MariaDB 10.8 on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

=> ↺ 6 steps for migrating a PostgreSQL database between containers | Enable Sysadmin

• I decided to run Kanboard, an open source project management application, in a rootless Podman pod as a small weekend project. The pod consists of three containers, an infra-container, a kanboard-container, and a postgresql-container. That deployment went well, but eventually, the image I used for the postgresql-container became deprecated, meaning it was no longer receiving updates. It was time to move to a different image, but that meant migrating a database between containers. It sounds intimidating, but the process is actually straightforward. Here’s how to do it.

=> ↺ Install Microsoft Fonts on Linux Mint 20 LTS – LinuxCapable

• Most Linux Distributions use open-source fonts to substitute Microsoft’s iconic typefaces like Arial, Courier New, and Times. Red Hat created the Liberation family to replace these similar-looking but different sizes — all you have to do is select your preferred font when editing documents so that they’ll be readable without any disruptions!

• For users who want to install Microsoft fonts and want the option to use them in LibreOffice, the following tutorial will teach you how to install Microsoft fonts on Linux Mint 20 LTS.

=> ↺ How To Install Akaunting on Debian 11 – idroot

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Akaunting on Debian 11. For those of you who didn’t know, Akaunting is a free, open-source, and online accounting software for small businesses and freelancers. Akaunting provides an elegant and intuitive UI will all the features and controls needed to stay abreast of your cashflows and transactions.

• 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 Akaunting open-source accounting software on a Debian 11 (Bullseye).

=> ↺ How to Install FFmpeg 5.0 in Ubuntu 20.04 or Ubuntu 18.04 via PPA | UbuntuHandbook

• The popular FFmpeg multi-media library released version 5.0 recently. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 18.04 and/or Ubuntu 16.04 via PPA.

=> ↺ How to install Kali Linux 2022.1 overview – Invidious

• In this video, I am going to show how to install Kali Linux 2022.1 overview.

=> ↺ How to install ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors on Zorin OS

• ONLYOFFICE desktop app is an open-source office suite pack that comprises editors for text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and forms. Along with offline work, it’s possible to connect the application to the cloud for online document collaboration. The source code of the suite is available on GitHub under the AGPL v.3.0 license.

=> ↺ How to Install PHP 7.4 on CentOS 8 | RHEL 8 – Unix

• PHP is a general-purpose scripting language geared towards web development. The PHP reference implementation is now produced by The PHP Group. PHP originally stood for Personal Home Page, but it now stands for the recursive initialism

=> ↺ Workstation Failed Install on Ubuntu/CentOS/RHEL (VMware Kernel Module Updater fails)

• Hi Guys, Sometimes you may have a trouble completing the VMware Installation on a newly installed Ubuntu or RHEL or even CentOS.

=> ↺ dbus daemon fails with undefined symbol: XML_SetHashSalt FiX

• To be honest, i was busy with this issue for 2 days. I have googled everywhere and tried all the suggested solutions, but nothing works. While the system boots, it still hanging with start D-bus messages. It takes too long to reach the console, but even with that, you will not be able to log in with LDAP or ssh Clients. All services using the Dbus are down.

• The Only Way is to use Rescue mode to handle this issue quickly.

=> ↺ How to manage users in Zorin OS – Real Linux User

• Probably for most people their computer is literally their personal computer. These days lots of children have their own computers, but what if you have one family computer that is being shared by multiple persons. If you allow everyone within the family to use the same account, you can for sure expect problems. There will be chaos in the structure of system and personal files, there will be an abundance of apps installed by different people with different interests, and there will be a great chance that family members mutate or delete each other’s files without being aware of the consequences for others in your household. And maybe worse, with a single user setup, the young kids also have the freedom to use the computer when you are not around. In Zorin OS, just like in any other serious desktop operating system, it is possible to create multiple user accounts. And it is advisable to use it. In this tutorial I will explain how to manage users in Zorin OS.

=> ↺ How To Install Virtualmin on CentOS 8 / RHEL 8

• Virtualmin is a domain hosting and website control panel which gives the ability to create and manage many domains, as well as simplify both automation and tasks. It is based on Webmin. Virtualmin is an alternative to cPanel and Plesk

• Virtualmin is available in two versions. Virtualmin GPL and Virtualmin Professional. The Virtualmin GPL version is fully free and open-source software and does not require monthly fee, compared to the Virtualmin Professional version which requires a monthly or annual fee.

=> ↺ Adam Young: Root versus groups

• If you lock down everything, you either need to hand out keys, or plan on doing everything yourself, and getting overwhelmed.

• Probably the single most power ful tool in Linux land to keep people from having to be “root” is the group concept. For example, if I want people to run Docker containers, they need to be able to talk to the Docker socket. The root user can do this by virtue of its global access. However, the more limited access approach is to add a user to the docker group.

Games

=> ↺ Proton Experimental heats up with fixes coming, plus a disk space saving measure | GamingOnLinux

• Now that the huge release of Steam Play Proton 7.0-1 is out, work begins again on Proton Experimental as it pulls in all the latest changes for you to play with. What is Proton? It’s a compatibility layer designed to run Windows games from Steam on Linux. See more about it in our full guide.

=> ↺ Escape Simulator gets Linux fixes, networking improvements – ready for Steam Deck | GamingOnLinux

• A big update arrived for Escape Simulator, the online co-op puzzle game that managed to sell a lot of copies and so it should be ready for the Steam Deck.

• This fresh free upgrade brings in The Alchemist set to make rooms with, additional updates to the room editor with new skyboxes and particle effects, new logic items and additions to existing items to create more challenges with and code optimizations. There’s more though, they said they’ve fixed up some graphical issue for Linux and macOS, along with “Steam Deck support” – although they didn’t elaborate on what they did. Some networking improvements were also made, that the developer said “should work much better for the community rooms”. Could be a great game for the Steam Deck to run through a few puzzle rooms!

=> ↺ Submerged: Hidden Depths – A Relaxing Experience – Boiling Steam

• Submerged: Hidden Depths isn’t your typical game, where you explore, fight off enemies, then move on to the next area. The exploration is part of the game’s experience, but there’s no enemies to be had here.

• Please note that, even though I have access to the full game, I was asked by the publisher to only talk about what goes on during the first hour of gameplay, so as not to spoil the story for potential buyers.

• Submerged: Hidden Depths is the sequel to Submerged, released in August 2015. Originally a Stadia exclusive, the game will be available on Steam March 10th. You’re in control of a girl named Miku. Along with Miku is her younger brother Taku. Together, they explore a vast, open-world ocean on their fishing boat, where every now and again there’s a spot of land to walk on and discover. So kind of think of it like the sailing that’s done in Zelda: The Wind Waker.

=> ↺ Caves of Qud gets a big content upgrade, improved gamepad and Steam Deck support

• Here’s a game that will be thoroughly interesting to see on a Steam Deck. Caves of Qud is a fantastic science fantasy roguelike epic and the developers have been busy.

• In the latest update not only have they added in a ton more content like two minor late-game regions, 48 new Achievements, makeovers to multiple areas, new animations and more — they’ve also made big improvements to gamepad support.

• This new input system isn’t fully ready and so it needs be manually enabled in the control settings under the pre-release option, but even so testing with an Xbox pad today it feels pretty great. It’s good news for the Steam Deck too, as it’s enabled by default if it detects you playing on it and scales things up a bit to be clearer.

Desktop Environments/WMs

GNOME Desktop/GTK

=> ↺ #31 Bit Windy · This Week in GNOME

• Update on what happened across the GNOME project in the week from February 11 to February 18.

Distributions

New Releases

=> ↺ Easy 3.4.1 coming soon

• I built EasyOS 3.4.1RC and did some basic testing. Looks OK.

• Booted it on a PC with AMD Radeon HD 6870 video card and 1024×768 monitor — no problem. Good, the sun in the wallpaper is no longer squashed…

SUSE/OpenSUSE

=> ↺ AppArmor, Flatpak, GStreamer update in Tumbleweed – openSUSE News

• openSUSE’s rolling release Tumbleweed has produced five snapshots since our last review.

• Snapshots 20220215, 20220214, 20220213, 20220212 and 20220210 updated several tools, libraries and clients this week.

• The latest snapshot, 20220215, updated a couple Python Package Index and RubyGem packages. The package that generates profile reports from pandas DataFrame fixed almost a dozen regressions and reverted a performance speedup to fix a precision regression. The RubyGem package rubygem-faraday, which is an HTTP/REST Application Programming Interfaces client library, updated to a major new version from 1.3.0 to 2.1.0; the package added several new features like backport authorization process, improved documentation and added a policy on inclusive language. Data compression package lzip 1.23 reduced compression times by 5 to 12 percent depending on the file. Text editor vim 8.2.4375 fixed a few crashes and a couple of those involved FuncRef. An update of yast2-trans 84.87.20220211 added new pot files for storage, dns-server, nfs and s390.

• Snapshot 20220214 updated six packages. Flatpak 1.12.5 now detects and removes left-over data from /var/lib/flatpak/appstream and a fix was made with a display bug in Flatpak history; it does not set up an unnecessary polkit agent for flatpak’s history. An update of gnome-maps 41.4 provided some translations and fixed build issues with Meson 0.60. The update of NetworkManager 1.34.0 had multiple additions for Meson builds requirements. The updated NetworkManager also split out NetworkManager-pppoe, which is needed to configure regular PPPoE connections; the changelog states that it’s not very common since most users have PPPoE routers for the DSL connections.

• Internet Relay Chat client hexchat 2.16.1 updated in snapshot 20220213 and received build fixes with OpenSSL 3. The IRC client also fixed Python scripts not being opened as UTF-8. The 4.6.1 GTK4 package has a new API for text shaping engine HarfBuzz and the toolkit also fixes support for the new high-contrast setting with Wayland. The glib2 2.70.4 version updated translations and fixed a memory leak. Another packages to update in the snapshot was yast2-installation 4.4.40, which fixed some issue running with Qt 5.15.

=> ↺ openSUSE Tumbleweed – Review of the week 2022/07

• This week, the major news is a glibc update to version 2.35. This was surprisingly smooth (so far) compared to earlier version updates. Let’s all cross our fingers for this to stay the way it is. In total, Tumbleweed has seen 6 new snapshots during this week (0210, 0212, 0213, 0214, 0215, and 0216).

IBM/Red Hat/Fedora

=> ↺ Fedora Magazine: Upgraded Fedora shirts

=> ↺ Remi Collet: PHP version 7.4.28, 8.0.16 and 8.1.3

• RPMs of PHP version 8.1.3 are available in remi-modular repository for Fedora ≥ 34 and Enterprise Linux ≥ 8 (RHEL, Alma, CentOS, Rocky…) and in remi-php81 repository for EL 7.

• RPMs of PHP version 8.0.16 are available in remi-modular repository for Fedora ≥ 34 and Enterprise Linux ≥ 8 (RHEL, Alma, CentOS, Rocky…) and in remi-php80 repository for EL 7.

• RPMs of PHP version 7.4.28 are available in remi-modular repository for Fedora ≥ 34 and Enterprise Linux ≥ 8 (RHEL, Alma, CentOS, Rocky…) and in remi-php74 repository for EL 7.

=> ↺ Friday’s Fedora Facts: 2022-07 – Fedora Community Blog

• Here’s your weekly Fedora report. Read what happened this week and what’s coming up. Your contributions are welcome (see the end of the post)!

• I have weekly office hours on Wednesdays in the morning and afternoon (US/Eastern time) in #fedora-meeting-1. Drop by if you have any questions or comments about the schedule, Changes, elections, or anything else. See the upcoming meetings for more information.

=> ↺ Irving Wladawsky-Berger: How Does AI Improve Human Decision-Making?

• “Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the newest general-purpose technology (GPT),” wrote Sukwoong Choia, Namil Kim, Junsik Kim, and Hyo Kang in a recent paper, How Does AI Improve Human Decision-Making? Evidence from the AI-Powered Go Program. “One remarkable characteristic of AI is its ability to provide humans with high-quality predictions at relatively low cost and to automate a wide range of predictions. AI has already outperformed human professionals in many domains – including strategic gameplay, medical diagnosis, and new drug development.”

• “Furthermore, as a GPT, the domains where AI outperforms humans are expanding at a fast pace. The rapid development and adoption of AI thus raise an interesting yet pressing question about how AI affects human tasks in these various domains. Studies of AI and human capital, for instance, have examined the performance gap between humans and AI, highlighting AI’s potential for replacing jobs.” However, we should keep in mind that new technologies have been replacing workers and transforming economies for over two centuries. But, over time, these same technologies led to the creation of whole new industries and new jobs, increasing productivity and economic output, raising earnings, and augmenting the demand for labor.

• Workers can increase their productivity and performance when assisted in their jobs by AI-based tools. But beyond its assistant role, AI can play a major instructional role by training human professionals to make better decisions. Recent technology advances have significantly improved the quality and reduced the cost of AI-based predictions.

=> ↺ IT talent: 6 ways job expectations have evolved

• Enterprise IT organizations have been shaken by some tectonic shifts over the past couple of years. Tech professionals who held tight to their seats during the early months of the pandemic are now streaming toward the exits during the Great Resignation. It’s a critical time for IT leaders to realign with their team members.

• Specifically, it’s more important than ever to not only understand but get ahead of what IT professionals want from their employers, bosses, and teams today. People’s job expectations have shifted significantly over the last year and IT leaders must acknowledge and meet them in order to not only retain their key players but keep them engaged and happy in their roles.

Canonical/Ubuntu Family

=> ↺ Ubuntu Touch OTA-22 lands with video calling improvements and FM radio daemon

• The UBports Foundation has announced the availability of Ubuntu Touch OTA-22. It comes with plenty of improvements but among the headlines is that video calling now works in the browser (but not apps just yet) and that an FM radio daemon has been added and that the app should be available in the next release.

• For those already running Ubuntu Touch on one of their devices, the update can be obtained through the Updates screen of the System Settings. UBports is randomly rolling out the update to devices from today but it won’t push it out to everyone just yet in case the distribution needs to be paused to fix a major issue. If you don’t run Ubuntu Touch yet but have a device lying around that you’d like to try it on, just head over to the Ubuntu Touch devices page for instructions.

=> ↺ Multiple vulnerabilities put 40 million Ubuntu users at risk | TechRadar

• Security researchers have recently found “multiple vulnerabilities” on Ubuntu systems, some of which would allow a threat actor to gain root privileges on the target endpoint.

=> ↺ Dangerous privilege escalation bugs found in Linux package manager Snap | CSO Online

• Researchers found an easy-to-exploit vulnerability in Snap, a universal application packaging and distribution system developed for Ubuntu but available on multiple Linux distributions. The flaw allows a low-privileged user to execute malicious code as root, the highest administrative account on Linux.

=> ↺ New Linux Privilege Escalation Flaw Uncovered in Snap Package Manager

• Multiple security vulnerabilities have been disclosed in Canonical’s Snap software packaging and deployment system, the most critical of which can be exploited to escalate privilege to gain root privileges.

• Snaps are self-contained application packages that are designed to work on operating systems that use the Linux kernel and can be installed using a tool called snapd.

Devices/Embedded

=> ↺ Solderable OSM module taps i.MX8M Mini

• Kontron unveiled a 30 x 30mm “OSM-S i.MX8M Mini” OSM module with up to 4GB LPDDR4, which is available with a baseboard and a Linux BSP as the “BL i.MX8M Mini OSM” SBC. Iesy is prepping its own i.MX8M Mini and Rockchip PX30 based OSM modules.

• The Open Standard Module (OSM) form factor was developed by Kontron, F&S Elektronik Systeme, and Iesy in early 2020 when it was unveiled on F&S’ OSM-MX8MM module. Kontron has now followed up with an OSM-S i.MX8M Mini, which similarly combines a 30 x 30mm OSM Size-S form factor with an i.MX8M Mini. There is no product page so far, but the datasheet for an OSM-S i.MX8M Mini based BL i.MX8M Mini OSM SBC covers the basics.

Open Hardware/Modding

=> ↺ Weekly Update (7/2022): Call and chat with +015550199999 or put Ubuntu Touch OTA 22 on your libhybris phone!

• A rather boring week: People love handhelds with keyboards, an unofficial PinePhone battery case, a translucent backcover and a little bit of software news. Oh, and PINE64 shared another community update!

=> ↺ Unique Clock Is All Hands, No Dial, And Does The Worm | Hackaday

• Back in the old days, we didn’t have fancy digital clocks. No, we had good analog clocks with a big hand and a little hand, and if you wanted to know the time you had to look at the clock and figure out which number each hand was pointing at, or kind of pointing at. It wasn’t easy, and we liked it that way.

• So now, along comes an analog clock that’s nothing but the hands — no dial, no numbers, just hands. How is such a thing possible? The clue is in the clock’s name: AKUROBATTO, and in the video below, which shows the acrobatic movements of the clock’s hands as it does its thing. Serial improbable-clock maker [ekaggrat singh kalsi] clearly put a lot of thought into this mechanism, which consists of the hands and a separate base. The hands are joined together at one end and powered by small stepper motors. The base has two docking areas, where servo-driven claws can grasp the hand assembly, either at the center pivot or at the tip of either hand. With a little bit of shuffling around at transition points, the hands sweep out the hours and minutes in a surprisingly readable way.

Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

=> ↺ How to block a number on your Android Phone – Geeky Gadgets

=> ↺ 5 easy ways to make Android more ergonomic | Computerworld

=> ↺ Motorola Moto G22 Android smartphone leaked – Geeky Gadgets

=> ↺ 5 Simple Ways to Take Notes on Android While You’re Offline

=> ↺ Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus Review: the Best Android Phone You Can Buy

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra

=> ↺ GTK4: Using GtkMediaStream in LibreOffice

• Today’s GTK4 version of LibreOffice (towards 7.4) using the first cut of my efforts to use GtkMediaStream + GtkPicture for video playback. Works a lot better than this video of a video suggests

Programming/Development

=> ↺ Ruby 3.1.1 Released

• Ruby 3.1.1 has been released.

• This is the first TEENY version release of the stable 3.1 series.

Shell/Bash/Zsh/Ksh

=> ↺ 7 Must-Know Linux File Manipulation Commands

=> ↺ they’re mostly GNU programs

• Modern Linux desktops have come a long way in regards to letting you manipulate files on your system. However, because of all the overhead resources used by a GUI (such as GNOME or KDE Plasma), when you need to work with more than one file or directory, the command line is often the fastest and most efficient way to get things done.

• Learning how and when to take advantage of the Linux command line with just a handful of essential file-manipulation commands will help to enhance your productivity and transform your Linux experience.

Rust

=> ↺ Lang team February update

• Two weeks ago, the lang team held its February planning meeting (minutes). We hold these meetings on the first Wednesday of every month.

Leftovers

Science

=> ↺ Hello (Many Quantum) World(s) | Hackaday

• Historically, the first program you write for a new computer language is “Hello World,” or, if you are in Texas, “Howdy World.” But with quantum computing on the horizon, you need something better. Like “Hello Many Worlds.” [IonQ] proposes what that looks like and then writes it in seven different quantum languages in a post you should check out.

=> ↺ Infinity Mirror Hypercrystal Is As Beautiful As It Sounds | Hackaday

• Sometimes, we feature projects that are full to the brim with advanced functionality or solve some tricky little problem for the end-user. Other times, we feature stuff that just looks super damn cool, and the Infinity Mirror Hypercrystal is firmly in that latter category.

• [...]

• The result is an infinity mirror piece that looks more advanced, more alien, and more luridly enticing than most we’ve ever seen. The dichroic shift placed on the LEDs goes a long way to elevating this sculpture to new aesthetic heights. Video after the break.

=> ↺ blog.harterrt.com – Data Intuition Case Study: Grain-free Dog Food

• My vet told me I should stop feeding my dog grain-free dog food. Apparently, grain-free dog food is linked with a heart condition called Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM). This set off my bullshit detector, so I decided to dig deeper.

• [...]

• I have a different hypothesis for what’s going on here. I suspect this link between grain-free dog food and DCM is entirely caused by a good old-fashioned sampling bias.

Hardware

=> ↺ Commodore 64 Monitor Traces I/O Calls, Eases Debugging | Hackaday

• Developing for the Commodore 64 can be a rewarding retrocomputing experience, and thanks to [Dave Van Wagner], things are easier with his C64 IO_Monitor project, which opens the door to logging and tracing Kernal I/O calls for closer inspection. That’s not a typo, by the way. Kernal is what handles the C64’s low-level OS routines. Amusingly, as the story goes, it did in fact originate as a misspelling of kernel, but the name stuck.

=> ↺ Building A High-Capacity Linear Servo Actuator | Hackaday

• Linear actuators are useful things, moving things in straight lines rather than annoying circles like so many motors. [Retsetman] recently built a linear servo actuator of his own design with accurate positional control.

• The design relies on a carriage that moves along a threaded rod, perhaps the most rudimentary design of linear actuator. A large brushed DC motor is used to turn the threaded rod through a 3D-printed 9:1 herringbone geartrain, shifting the actuator back and forth. End stop switches are used to disengage the motor to avoid damage to the mechanism. Feedback is via a ten-turn potentiometer driven off the output geartrain to match the range of the actuator to the rotational range of the pot.

=> ↺ VIA SOM-9X35 Starter Kit features MediaTek i350 Arm processor for edge AI devices – CNX Software

• VIA has just introduced the SOM-9X35 Starter Kit based on MediaTek i350 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor with AI accelerator and HiFi4 DSP designed for Edge AI devices in the retail, commercial, and industrial sectors.

• The kit is comprised of the SOM-9X35 module with MediaTek i350 SoC, up to 4GB RAM, 16GB eMMC flash, and WiFI 5 + Bluetooth 5.0 wireless module, as well as the VIA VAB-935 3.5-inch carrier board, a 7-inch 1024×600 touch panel display, a 13MP camera module, two speakers and microphone, and accompanying accessories.

=> ↺ Early Hard Drives: Really Big, Really Expensive

• Today in Tedium: Hard drives may be the most fundamental building block of the computer revolution. Hitting the perfect balance between size and cost, it was a defining piece of computer history, one that made our machines more permanent and helped us rethink the way we store information. With a hard drive, we were eventually able to move away from the idea of thinking of our documents in terms of a linear order and a physical space. And that, of the many innovations that came from computing, might be the most important. Now, granted, it wasn’t easy to get to that point—in part because hard drives weren’t always the small, compact platters we have today. In fact, they were bigger. A lot bigger. Today’s Tedium talks early hard drives.

• [...]

• If you were to explain to the public what a hard drive was with no prior frame of reference, where would you start? How would you highlight the benefits to the world?

• That’s an odd, somewhat theoretical problem today, but in 1956, it was legitimately a challenging problem that IBM had to solve. At the time, “business machines” often meant storing information on punch cards and and typewritten pages, which meant that the file cabinet business was doing quite well back in the day.

• The difference between a punch card and a hard drive is quite similar to the difference between the Dewey Decimal System and microfilm—one organizes content that’s completely physical while the other shrinks the scale enough that it allows for some degree of rethinking how we access the content. With a hard disk, it doesn’t have to necessarily be in order anymore. It adds a layer of separation between you and the information being displayed.

• In many ways, the IBM 305 RAMAC (Random Access Method of Accounting and Control), which was initially built for the needs of accountants, represented this sort of abstraction. Designed at the behest of the U.S. Air Force, it was meant to provide faster, more efficient storage of information than magnetic drums.

• “This has been a day of solid achievement,” the first message ever stored on a hard drive stated, according to a 2002 ComputerWorld article.

Integrity/Availability

Proprietary

=> ↺ New Malware Found Infecting Microsoft Teams Meetings

• You may want to think twice the next time you’re on a conference call. It’s not really a time you can let your guard down. Even when doing something as innocuous as joining a chat with co-workers, you can still get hit with malware. Security experts discovered hackers have been targeting Microsoft Teams meetings with malware.

Security

=> ↺ Security updates for Friday [LWN.net]

• Security updates have been issued by Debian (chromium and zsh), Fedora (microcode_ctl and zziplib), Mageia (docker-containerd, mariadb, nas, phoronix-test-suite, rlwrap, thunderbird, webkit2, wireshark, zsh, and zxing-cpp), openSUSE (aide, chromium, clamav, expat, htmldoc, libmspack, libsndfile, python-Twisted, qemu, rust, strongswan, tiff, virglrenderer, and xerces-j2), Slackware (mozilla and php), SUSE (aide, clamav, cobbler, expat, kernel, libmspack, libsndfile, python-numpy, python-Twisted, qemu, rust, strongswan, tcpdump, tiff, ucode-intel, virglrenderer, wpa_supplicant, and xerces-j2), and Ubuntu (kernel, libarchive, linux-hwe-5.13, and snapd).

=> ↺ This Week in Security: Chrome 0-day,Cassandra, and a Cisco PoC

• Running Chrome or a Bhromium-based browser? Check for version 98.0.4758.102, and update if you’re not running that release or better. Quick tip, use chrome://restart to trigger an immediate restart of Chrome, just like the one that comes after an update. This is super useful especially after installing an update on Linux, using apt, dnf, or the like.

• CVE-2022-0609 is the big vulnerability just patched, and Google has acknowledged that it’s being exploited in the wild. It’s a use-after-free bug, meaning that the application marks a section of memory as returned to the OS, but then accesses that now-invalid memory address. The time gap between freeing and erroneously re-using the memory allows malicious code to claim that memory as its own, and write something unexpected.

• Google has learned their lesson about making too many details public too early, and this CVE and associated bug aren’t easily found in in the Chromium project’s source, and there doesn’t seem to be an exploit published in the Chromium code testing suite.

=> ↺ Launchpad now supports SSH Ed25519 keys and RSA SHA-2 signatures | Colin Watson’s blog

• As of 2022-02-16, Launchpad supports a couple of features on its SSH endpoints (git.launchpad.net, bazaar.launchpad.net, ppa.launchpad.net, and upload.ubuntu.com) that it previously didn’t: Ed25519 public keys (a well-regarded format, supported by OpenSSH since 6.5 in 2014) and signatures with existing RSA public keys using SHA-2 rather than SHA-1 (supported by OpenSSH since 7.2 in 2016).

• I’m hesitant to call these features “new”, since they’ve been around for a long time elsewhere, and people might quite reasonably ask why it’s taken us so long. The problem has always been that Launchpad can’t really use a normal SSH server such as OpenSSH because it needs features that aren’t practical to implement that way, such as virtual filesystems and dynamic user key authorization against the Launchpad database. Instead, we use Twisted Conch, which is a very extensible Python SSH implementation that has generally served us well. The downside is that, because it’s an independent implementation and one that occupies a relatively small niche, it often lags behind in terms of newer protocol features.

=> ↺ CISA Compiles Free Cybersecurity Services and Tools for Network Defenders | CISA

• CISA has compiled and published a list of free cybersecurity services and tools to help organizations reduce cybersecurity risk and strengthen resiliency. This non-exhaustive living repository includes services provided by CISA, widely used open source tools, and free tools and services offered by private and public sector organizations across the cybersecurity community. Before turning to the free offerings, CISA strongly recommends organizations take certain foundational measures to implement a strong cybersecurity program….

=> ↺ Linux developers patch security holes faster than anyone else, says Google Project Zero

• There’s a lot of FUD about how Linux is being shown recently to be less secure than proprietary systems. That’s nonsense. But, now there are hard facts from Google’s Project Zero, Google’s security research team, showing Linux’s developers do a faster job of fixing security bugs than anyone else, including Google.

Privacy/Surveillance

=> ↺ Can Pegasus be stopped? | Inside Story – Invidious

• The balance between privacy and security is back in the spotlight in Europe. This time its Data Protection watchdog is sounding the alarm about the threat posed by surveillance software. Specifically, the Israeli Pegasus spyware – which could allow governments access to people’s personal information and decrypt private communications at will.

=> ↺ Digital borders: EU increases use of technology to monitor migration – InfoMigrants

• The European Union and its border agency Frontex are using increasing amounts of technology to monitor migration at external and internal borders across Europe. Experts say that tracking technology is often being deployed to evade legal responsibilities.

• In February, the French government announced it would be installing additional cameras along the Channel coast to help monitor migrants hoping to cross the stretch of water towards the UK. The cameras are paid for by the British government.

• In December 2021, the Italian navy delivered a fresh consignment of containers with monitoring equipment to Libya to monitor migration across the Mediterranean. That’s according to research published by the investigative magazine Altreconomia (February issue).

• “Camera traps” like speed-monitoring devices for cars and people have also been placed on or near the border between Italy and Slovenia along the so-called Balkan route, reported the magazine.

Environment

Wildlife/Nature

=> ↺ South America squid left exposed amid surge in China fishing

• Negotiators from the U.S., China and 13 other governments failed to take action to protect threatened squid stocks on the high seas off South America amid a recent surge in activity by China’s distant water fishing fleet.

• The South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization, or SPRFMO, is charged with ensuring the conservation and sustainable fishing off the west coast of South America.

• At the SPRFMO’s annual meeting that ended Friday, Ecuador and the European Union proposed measures that would require all ships to have observers on board by 2028 and mandate they unload their catches only in ports instead of at sea to giant refrigerated vessels — both considered key tools in limiting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

• [...]

• Biologists warn that the boom has left the naturally bountiful Humboldt squid — named for the nutrient-rich current found off the west coast of South America — vulnerable to overfishing, as has occurred in Argentina, Mexico, Japan and other places where squid stocks have disappeared in the past.

• An investigation by The Associated Press and Spanish-language broadcaster Univision last year revealed how the traditionally lawless area has become a magnet for some of the seafood industry’s worst offenders, many of them Chinese-flagged vessels with a history of labor abuse accusations and convictions for illegal fishing.

Civil Rights/Policing

=> ↺ Amazon Co-Owns Airline Accused of Operating Torturous Deportation Flights

• Activists are pressuring Amazon to divest from Omni Air International, a company at the center of ICE’s deportation machine.

=> ↺ PEARL 2 PEGASUS: Bahraini activists hacked with Pegasus just days after a report confirming other victims – The Citizen Lab

• Mohammed Al-Tajer is a lawyer known for being outspoken about human rights violations in Bahrain, and for defending political prisoners and activists. Al-Tajer was the president of the Bahrain Human Rights Observatory, a human rights coalition inside Bahrain. Al-Tajer was targeted with FinFisher spyware in 2011 when he received a CD containing a video of himself and his wife recorded from a hidden camera in his beach house. His computer was infected with FinFisher around the same time he received the CD.

• Al-Tajer’s wife, Dr. Huda, was detained for her activism during the 2011 uprising for providing medical aid to injured protesters. Ultimately, Al-Tajer did not accede to the blackmail demands, and the video was circulated online on pro-government forums and social media accounts.

• [...]

• In March 2019, Dr. Siwar conducted an Instagram Live interview with a school student reportedly expelled for dealing Lyrica, a prescription anti-anxiety medication that is sometimes abused to produce a “relaxed and euphoric” high. The student said that she was part of an organized drug-dealing group in Hamad Town Intermediate Girls School. Dr. Siwar said that “powerful people” were implicated in the drug dealing. Bahrain Mirror later revealed that Dr. Siwar was referring to the King’s fifth son, Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

• Bahrain’s then Prime Minister announced an investigation into Dr. Siwar’s allegations. The investigative report stated that the Lyrica incident was isolated, and that Dr. Siwar was guilty of slander and defamation. Dr. Siwar was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment in the case.

• Dr. Siwar also faced other allegations: a pro-government newspaper announced that she would be charged with “covering up a rape,” and she was sentenced to a year in prison for reportedly providing Panadol (a medicine similar to Tylenol) to a mentally ill teenager.

• Although Dr. Siwar was pardoned by Bahrain’s King in May 2021 after spending several months in prison, the prosecution re-introduced the same case in court again in November 2021. When she was summoned in the case, she fled to the UK and sought asylum. Further, in January 2022, the Ministry of Interior’s General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic & Electronic Security began legal action against Dr. Siwar after several individuals complained that Dr. Siwar’s Instagram video had defamed them. The Directorate also accused Dr. Siwar of practicing medicine without a license, defaming employees of a ministry and spreading false information during her court hearing.

=> ↺ Civil society calls for solidarity with Ukraine’s human rights defenders in guarding against cyber threats

• In a statement issued today, Access Now, together with Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law and Digital Security Lab Ukraine, calls on the international community to take swift action in support of civil society in Ukraine, as well as the broader public whose human rights are being undermined by cyberattacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.

• Following the most recent cyberattacks on January 13-14 and February 15, 2022 targeting Ukraine’s essential public service infrastructure, and the ongoing threat of escalating Russian aggression, this is a critical moment for solidarity with Ukrainian civil society.

• [...]

• “Cyberattacks are disrupting the ability of Ukrainians to seek medical care and obtain other essential services, and receive important information amidst the intensifying military conflict. The international community must act now to protect Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and human rights defenders from these attacks,” said Anastasiya Zhyrmont, Regional Outreach Coordinator for Eastern Europe & Central Asia at Access Now.

=> ↺ [Attacks] on Ukraine’s infrastructure and civil society violate human rights

• There is a pressing need to provide Ukrainian civil society with technical means to protect both themselves and the sensitive data on their servers and devices, as well as to prevent future attacks. We urge tech companies, nonprofits, and funders to expand their support programs and provide Ukrainian activists with free and secure VPNs, antivirus programs, encryption, DDoS protection, and other essential digital tools, equipment, and services.

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

=> ↺ #SocialMediaComplianceWatch: analysis of Social Media Compliance Reports for the month of December 2021

• Google (including YouTube), Facebook, Instagram (both are now under Meta), ShareChat, Snap, Twitter and WhatsApp have released their reports in compliance with Rule 4(1)(d) of the IT Rules 2021 for the month of December, 2021. The latest of these was published by Meta and was made available in late January 2022. The reports contain similar shortcomings, which exhibit lack of effort on the part of the social media intermediaries and the government to further transparency and accountability in platform governance. The intermediaries have yet again, not reported on government requests, used misleading metrics, and also have not disclosed how they use algorithms for proactive monitoring. You can read our analysis of the previous reports here.

Digital Restrictions (DRM)

=> ↺ Bionic Eyes Go Dark

• If you were blind, having an artificial retinal implant would mean the difference between seeing a few hundred pixels in greyscale and seeing all black, all the time. Imagine that you emerged from this total darkness, enjoyed a few years of mobility and your newfound sense, and then everything goes dark again because the company making the devices abandoned them for financial reasons.

• This is a harrowing tale of close-source technology, and how a medical device that relies on proprietary hard- and software essentially holds its users hostage to the financial well-being of the company that produces it. When that company is a brash startup, with plans of making money by eventually pivoting away from retinal implants to direct cortical stimulation — a technology that’s in it’s infancy at best right now — that’s a risky bet to take. But these were people with no other alternative, and the technology is, or was, amazing.

• [...]

• If we were CEO of SecondSight, we know what we would do with our closed-source software and hardware right now. The company is facing bankruptcy, has lost significant credibility in the medical devices industry, and is looking to pivot away from the Argus system anyway. They have little to lose, and a tremendous amount of goodwill to gain, by enabling people to fix their own eyes.

=> ↺ Why is John Deere so opposed to letting farmers fix their stuff? — The Repair Association

• John Deere is trying to block the agricultural Right to Repair in Nebraska—which affects all of us, not just farmers. When farm equipment goes down in the middle of the season, it can cost farmers a harvest and the rest of us a meal. Everyone that eats has a horse in this race.

• And Deere is rigging the race. They have filled Nebraska’s unicameral legislature with their lobbyists attempting to block the passage of LB543, the Right to Repair for Agricultural and Ranch Equipment. They are telling senators that Deere & Co. supports farmers repairing their equipment, but they don’t support the “right to modify” When pressed, they proclaim that farmers can already fix 98% of their equipment, so there isn’t a problem for legislators to address.

• Hogwash. Within the 2% of repairs that Deere blocks are many problems that can take a machine down 100%. Fixing 98% of something rather than 100% is a farce. Limp mode can be a death sentence for a crop. when a simple problem during key times takes the machine down 100%, not 98%.

• Plus, repair is not modification. Most farmers have no interest in doing anything with their tractor beyond the job it was designed to do—they just want it to be in good working order. So why is Deere paying lobbyists big bucks to bend the ears of every Nebraskan senator, to keep farmers away from 2% of repairs? Why are they fighting 5 antitrust lawsuits already so far this month? What is Deere protecting so fiercely?

< 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

=> Techrights

➮ Sharing is caring. Content is available under CC-BY-SA.