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● 03.07.22

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● Links 7/3/2022: PowerVR Vulkan Driver and Qt Roadmap for 2022

Posted in News Roundup at 8:47 am by Dr. Roy SchestowitzContentsGNU/LinuxDistributionsDevices/EmbeddedFree Software/Open SourceLeftovers

GNU/Linux

Audiocasts/Shows

=> ↺ Raw Steam Deck Recording using OBS Studio and Internal Mic – Invidious

Kernel Space

=> ↺ I’m a Linux expert – here’s why I think the kernel is so important

• In its 30 years of existence, the Linux kernel has had a massive impact on the modern computing landscape – revolutionizing what’s possible for operating systems and allowing countless tinkerers to get their hands dirty in the process. In this article, Cara Nolte, Training Architect at A Cloud Guru, a Pluralsight Company, discusses the importance of the Linux kernel and why it’s here to stay.

• Last year, the Linux kernel turned 30. If you’re someone who’s been immersed in the Linux world since Y2K like me, it may feel a bit surreal that so much time has passed since the kernel’s inception.

• As a training architect at A Cloud Guru (ACG), I teach courses about all things Linux and specialise in hands-on, lab-based learning. Before joining ACG, I worked as a Unix systems engineer at GE and IBM as well as Technical Account Manager and customer advocate for Red Hat. I’m hugely passionate about Linux because of its importance to my career, just like to the careers of so many other engineers and Linux enthusiasts.

Graphics Stack

=> ↺ PowerVR Vulkan driver

• Hi All,

• I’m excited to share that over the last year we’ve been working on a new Vulkan driver, compiler and Linux kernel DRM driver for our PowerVR GPUs. As it was important for us to do things “right”, we got Collabora involved early on in the project. They’ve been a big help and have guided us with the approach and overall design of the driver.

=> ↺ Imagination Technologies bringing open source PowerVR drivers | GamingOnLinux

• Well well, open source continues to grow, good! Imagination Technologies will be joining up with all the rest involved in Mesa development, with their PowerVR GPUs. Developer Frank Binns put up a Merge Request for Mesa that was announced here on a mailing list.

=> ↺ AMDGPU Linux driver update allows multiple users across several engines to execute simultaneously

• The AMDGPU Linux kernel driver will see a new interface that allows user-space to introduce assignments to the GPU coding that qualified users will simultaneously implement across numerous engines.

• Christian König, a longtime AMD open-source Linux driver developer, dispatched the new “gang submission” interface patch series earlier this week for the platform’s AMDGPU Direct Rendering Manager driver. The submission for the AMD Radeon command stream (CS) ensures that the work will be conducted on various engines simultaneously.

Applications

=> ↺ Coolero: Open-Source App to Manage Cooling Devices on Linux

• When it comes to Linux, we do not get official software support from brands like NZXT, Corsair, MSI, ASUS, etc., to manage hardware components on PC.

• While open-source drivers/tools are available to make things work, it is still a work in progress in programs with a graphical user interface (GUI).

• For instance, when configuring a gaming mouse or setting up razer devices on Linux.

• Fortunately, things have improved over the years, and now it is possible to manage/tweak a wide range of the latest peripherals and components on Linux.

=> ↺ Best Free and Open Source Alternatives to Google Analytics – LinuxLinks

• Google has a firm grip on the desktop. Their products and services are ubiquitous. Don’t get us wrong, we’re long-standing admirers of many of Google’s products and services. They are often high quality, easy to use, and ‘free’, but there can be downsides of over-reliance on a specific company. For example, there are concerns about their privacy policies, business practices, and an almost insatiable desire to control all of our data, all of the time.

• What if you are looking to move away from Google and embark on a new world of online freedom, where you are not constantly tracked, monetised and attached to Google’s ecosystem.

• In this series we explore how you can migrate from Google without missing out on anything. We recommend open source solutions.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ How to Find WiFi Passwords on Linux, Windows and Mac

• Connecting securely to the internet requires you to have a preconfigured access point through which you can securely connect to the world wide web. These are usually a variation of the WPA protocol that includes Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2), and Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) with the second one being the most ubiquitous.

• Thankfully, it also has the real advantage of being encrypted by the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) standard and with a designated enterprise variant, WPA2 Enterprise.

=> ↺ How to Go to the Beginning or End of File in Vim

• Knowing to move to top or bottom of a file is extremely useful while dealing with large text files in Vim.

=> ↺ How to Install Dash Framework in Python on Linux

• Written on top of Flask, React.js, and Plotly.js, Dash is an open-source Python framework for rapidly building and deploying interactive web applications. With Dash, you can create stunning analytic dashboards which are viewed from a web browser.

• To work with Dash, you don’t need to be proficient with front-end technologies such HTML, CSS, and Javascript – although it does go a long way in being proficient in such you only need to be good in Python.

=> ↺ How to Increase DNF Speed on CentOS 9 Stream

• CentOS 9 Stream users may notice that the DNF download speed is slow compared to other distributions, and this will be frustrating after you have to download and install many packages. Most users do not realize that some minor tweaks to some configuration files can increase your download speed immensely.

• In the following tutorial, you will learn how to configure and increase your DNF package manager download, update or upgrade speed on CentOS 9 Stream workstation or server by adding and increasing parallel package downloads and mirror sources to find the fastest speed to get your packages from.

=> ↺ Blurring unfocused terminals in picom

• After an extended break I have started using dwm again as my main window manager after being in KDE land for a bit. I had a pretty good setup going before with transparency and a custom status bar but this time I wanted to use the chadwm fork as the base for my current rice.

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

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Etcher on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. For those of you who didn’t know, Etcher is a free and open-source USB image writer for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS. It is used to flash OS images to USB drives, SD Cards, or Raspberry Pi devices. This enables users to create bootable flash drives.

• 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 the Etcher 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.

Games

=> ↺ Dorfromantik gets controller upgrades for the Steam Deck | GamingOnLinux

• Dorfromantik is a ridiculously popular peaceful building strategy and puzzle game and now it should work a little better on the Steam Deck. With an Overwhelmingly Positive user score on Steam, seems it’s one not to miss.

• Along with a bunch of other improvements, the controls have been ported over to gamepads specifically for the Steam Deck. It’s not quite finished, with multiple parts needing improvements but the remaining parts the developer said can be used with the touchscreen for now. They have plans to upgrade it further in future to ensure great gamepad support but that will come after the main launch “this spring”.

Desktop Environments/WMs

=> ↺ Budgie 10.6 is Here as its First Release Under the New Organization

• Back in January, ex-co-lead of Solus Joshua Strobl made headlines after leaving Solus to work on SerpentOS.

• You can read more about it in our original coverage. However, he still wanted to work on the Budgie desktop environment, so he forked the project (in a new repository) and formed the Buddies Of Budgie organization. Three months later, the first release since this organizational change has arrived, which we will be looking at here.

Distributions

IBM/Red Hat/Fedora

=> ↺ What’s new with Java 17 and containers? | Opensource.com

• This article shows how Quarkus allows developers to start a new application development based on OpenJDK 17. Furthermore, Quarkus increases developers’ productivity by live coding. For a production deployment, developers can make a native executable based on OpenJDK 17 and GraalVM.

=> ↺ Check your YAML for errors with yamllint | Enable Sysadmin

• Computers thrive on consistency. The reason programming and markup languages (like YAML) have a syntax is because computers cannot derive context from data. In natural languages, we use conventions like commas, quotation marks, and parentheses to help each other parse what we write. However, even without these assistive characters, most of us can still comprehend the communication. Computers don’t have that ability, so they rely on rules that dictate what kind of data you provide as input.

=> ↺ Artificial Intelligence (AI): 3 strategies for advancing your career

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) is disrupting businesses and job roles in every industry, causing concerns about long-term job security for low-skill manual jobs and management roles alike.

• To prepare for this AI-driven economy, many experienced managers and seasoned executives are turning to MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) to upskill in foundational data analytics and AI. This trend is unlikely to slow down anytime soon: The global MOOC market is expected to grow from $3.9 billion in 2018 to $20.8 billion by 2023, a CAGR of 40.1 percent.

• Business and technology-related courses make up 40 percent of these online courses. Many universities have also joined the drive to fill the AI leadership gap by offering high-touch executive education programs.

• While upskilling programs are easily accessible, many executives are unsure how to leverage their newfound skills to advance their careers. Becoming an AI “practitioner” may not be the right option for some given the high technical bar for these roles. Others may rule out “juniorizing,” which could take them a few steps back in their career.

=> ↺ Agile transformation: 3 ways to achieve success

• Over the last two years, organizations have shifted plans and priorities to meet the challenges of a new hybrid workplace. Planning, along with the ability to adjust and reset as necessary, are important. The last two years have exposed areas within organizations that are stagnant, outdated, or bottlenecked.

• IT departments that were slow to ramp up their digital transformation had a lot of ground to make up. Customers demand exceptional service and immediate response. Companies with outdated succession plans were forced to revisit and revise them due to The Great Resignation and the scarcity of experienced workers. Remote work created silos, impeding collaboration and onboarding.

• As a result, agile transformation progress has taken on greater importance. Companies must act quickly and effectively to industry, organizational, and cultural changes. How can organizations maintain business productivity while ensuring the employee experience is collaborative? And how can you, as an IT leader, measure your organization’s progress to ensure that the entire enterprise is agile and can respond effectively?

Devices/Embedded

Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

=> ↺ Eufy Security Video Smart Lock is a 3-in-1 doorbell, security camera, and door lock (Crowdfunding) – CNX Software

=> ↺ SharkBot Banking Malware Spreading via Fake Android Antivirus App on Google Play Store

=> ↺ What Is An App Drawer In Android And 3 Ways To Use It Optimally

=> ↺ Sony Xperia 5 II starts receiving Android 12 update

=> ↺ Retro Review : Nokia 8, HMD’s first Android Flagship – Nokiapoweruser

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

=> ↺ Get started with EGroupware, an open source alternative to Microsoft 365

• A groupware solution is a must-have, whether you’re working in a small organization, a medium-sized company, or a large enterprise. It promotes collaboration and glues teams together. Are you looking for an open source alternative to the big players? Maybe EGroupware can replace Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace in your team soon.

• This article shows how to install EGroupware on your own server and how to set up the groupware solution for your organization. It also gives a brief introduction to EGroupware’s modules and applications. I’ll provide tips and tricks for the administration of EGroupware in a future article.

Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra

=> ↺ Sparklines in Calc

• To add support in LibreOffice for sparklines, we need to first read them into the LibreOffice data model, but the data model for sparklines doesn’t yet exists, so we need to create that first. Sparklines are defined for one cell, but multiple sparklines can be grouped together into a group, which shares the same properties for rendering the sparkline. The unique data that is defined only for one sparkline is the data range, that a sparkline will use for rendering.

• With this in mind we create a data model that consists of classes: SparklineCell -> Sparkline -> SparklineGroup, where SparklineCell is “added” to a cell and just holds a pointer to the Sparkline.

Content Management Systems (CMS)

=> ↺ Some Known Issues With The New Techdirt

• Well, that’s a wrap on our first week with Techdirt running on WordPress. Overall things have been working pretty well, but as expected there have also been several issues and some things that need improvement. We’ve been tracking user feedback in the comments and via the contact form, and I want to assure everyone that we’re working through the list as quickly as we can! Today, I want to share a few of the issues that we know about and are currently working on. This is not an exhaustive list, so if you don’t see something here that you’ve been concerned about, don’t worry — that doesn’t mean we aren’t aware of it!

Programming/Development

=> ↺ Qt Roadmap for 2022

• Qt 6.2 was released in September 2021, delivering the first Long-Term Supported (LTS) version within the Qt 6 series. With Qt 6.3 getting close to the finish, it is a good time to reflect on what the next steps for the Qt product will be.

• But first, it is important to state that we would not have come so far without the strong support of our community. Contributions, reports, and mailing list discussions are equally beneficial to bring different perspectives to The Qt Company, steer us towards common needs, and tackle the biggest areas to improve upon. Thanks to everyone who helped us make each version of Qt a better one than before. In this post, we will focus mostly on The Qt Company’s efforts for Qt. There are many extra items coming from individual contributors as well as companies in the ecosystem.

=> ↺ Gemini client devlog 1: Parsing gemtext

• I’m completely new to JavaScript, so I figured I’d familiarize myself with the easier task of parsing gemtext and converting gmi documents to HTML.

=> ↺ Languages You Shouldn’t Learn

• The other problem is that not everyone wants to work in big tech or with the newest hottest machines. There are still a mind-boggling amount of mainframes out there and they are all dependant on COBOL and most likely nothing newer than COBOL-85. This doesn’t meean everyone should learn COBOL, but it means if you want to work on mainframes in wallstreet, insurance companies, banks, etc. you could have a better shot than the person who only knows javascript or swift.

• [...]

• Learn the language(s) that you either need for a job or that just makes you happy. Sometimes it is more than one. That is perfectly fine. My coding toolbox has many tools, but my default three are Go for the back-end api, Delphi for the native apps (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android), and vanilla js for web front-ends. A language is just a tool to help you solve a problem. Use the right tool for the right job and don’t let a list make you miserable.

Python

=> ↺ Manage Python security with Thoth’s cloud-based dependency resolver

• Developers and data scientists who want to build healthy and high-performance Python applications often face challenges related to dependency management, including security risks introduced by the installation of dependencies. This article presents a quick introduction to managing Python dependencies with Project Thoth. The included video tutorial shows you how Thoth’s cloud-based resolver finds problems in your Python dependencies and execution environment. Thoth’s resolver is a drop-in replacement for other Python resolvers such as pip, Pipenv, or Poetry. Thoth’s resolution process can also be used in containerized environments.

Leftovers

=> ↺ Don’t Have a Fun Game

• At the end of the day, it’s engagement that counts – the players must buy into the stakes and must care about the results. Talking about ‘fun’ means talking about a non-game concept. It detracts from the game.

Education

=> ↺ Educators in St. Paul and Minneapolis Are Preparing for Potential Strike

Hardware

=> ↺ An Interview With Reinhard Keil

• Over on the Embedded FM podcast, [Chris] and [Elecia] just released their interview with [Reinhard Keil] of compiler fame. [Reinhard] recounts the story of Keil’s growth and how it eventually became absorbed into Arm back in 2005. Along with his brother Günter, the two founded the company as Keil Software in the Americas, and Keil Elektronik in Europe. They initially made hardware products, but as the company grew, they became dissatisfied with the quality and even existence of professional firmware development tools of the day. Their focus gradually shifted to making a CP/M- and a PC-based development environment, and in 1988, they introduced the first C-compiler designed for the 8051 from the ground up.

=> ↺ Nintendo Switch Runs Vita Software With Vita2hos

• Good news for fans of PlayStation Vita — a new project from [Sergi “xerpi” Granell] allows users to run software written for Sony’s erstwhile handheld system on Nintendo’s latest money printing machine, the Switch. To be clear, there’s a very long road ahead before the vita2hos project is able to run commercial games (if ever). But it’s already able to run simple CPU-rendered Vita homebrew binaries on the Switch, demonstrating the concept is sound.

=> ↺ Retro Serial Terminal Uses Modern Chips To Get CP/M Machine Talking

• The hobbyists of the early days of the home computer era worked wonders with the comparatively primitive chips of the day, and what couldn’t be accomplished with a Z80 or a 6502 was often relegated to complex designs based on logic chips and discrete components. One wonders what these hackers could have accomplished with the modern components we take for granted.

=> ↺ Putting The ‘Go’ In Frisbee Golf With A Robot Launcher

• If you’ve gone to a local city park lately, you might have noticed strange metal baskets on poles with chains dangling free. These baskets are spread out throughout the park seemingly at random. For the uninitiated, Frisbee golf (sometimes known as disc golf) is a confusing concept. You might not think it, but Frisbee golf can be a very big deal to some people. [Stuff Made Here] is back with a disc launcher that he hopes will put all the disc golfers to shame.

=> ↺ Vintage Meter Repair? It’s Easier With X-Rays

• Here’s an interesting and detailed teardown and repair of a Keithley 2001 7.5 Digit multimeter that is positively dripping with detail. It’s also not every day that we get to see someone using x-ray imaging to evaluate the extent of PCB damage caused by failed electrolytic capacitors.

=> ↺ How To Solder To Aluminum, Easily

• [Ted Yapo] shared a method of easily and conveniently soldering to aluminum, which depends on a little prep work to end up only slightly more complex than soldering to copper. A typical way to make a reliable electrical connection to aluminum is to use a screw and a wire, but [Ted] shows that it can also be done with the help of an abrasive and mineral oil.

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

=> ↺ Covid-positive deer may be harboring the virus and infecting humans, study says

• Ominously, the infection trend may now be going the other way. A recent Canadian study raises the possibility that deer — one of the most ubiquitous large mammals in North America — may have infected humans with COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. That would imply the virus circulated for a while in deer, reproducing and occasionally mutating on its way, before jumping back into people.

Defence/Aggression

=> ↺ The outbreak of war has ushered in a new campaign – the fourth week of the campaign in five points

• The Russian-Ukrainian war is radically rewriting everything on a global scale, and the election campaign in Hungary is no exception. The events of the war not only overshadow the campaign but also force all of its participants to rethink their strategies. For this reason, the war has clearly been the main issue for the past several days. The fact that MSZP politicians were implicated in corruption or that several candidates made it onto the ballot under suspicious circumstances barely incited a reaction among voters. Translated by Dominic Spadacene

=> ↺ Russia’s Unprecedented Shelling of Ukrainian Nuclear Plant Raises Fears of Another Chernobyl

=> ↺ The Kremlin Goes Neocon

• Chaotic scenes at the Dnipro train station as young families and elderly women alike jump off the platform and cross the tracks by foot, desperate to escape the approaching onslaught. Another city emptied of its people.

• A blinding flash of fiery lightning illuminates the night sky outside Kyiv, the shockwave following a few seconds later like wake lines from a ravenous shark. Another pound of Ukrainian flesh.

=> ↺ Immigrant’s Lynching in Brazil Forces Us to Confront Xenophobia and Colonialism

=> ↺ Why It’s Hard for Most People in the US to Talk About War

=> ↺ Putin Issues Warning About “Future of Ukrainian Statehood” Amid Refugee Crisis

=> ↺ Thousands Arrested as Russians Join Global Anti-War Protests

• Thousands of people were arrested in Russia on Sunday for joining a global day of action against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine, which has killed at least hundreds of civilians and created a refugee crisis.

• Although Russian authorities have cracked down on protests and critical reporting since the February 24 invasion, 4,849 people were detained in 69 cities across Russia as of 2:09 am in Moscow, according to the independent monitor OVD-Info.

=> ↺ Opinion | The Invasion of Ukraine and the Need for Enforceable World Law

• On February 24, 2022, one part of the country I was born in attacked another part of the country I was born in, with potentially devastating consequences for the world.

=> ↺ Opinion | Russian Invasion Threatens All Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plants

• Russian troops in Ukraine seized Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant Friday after shelling set part of the complex on fire, ringing alarm bells around the world of a potential nuclear disaster.

=> ↺ As Over 1.5 Million People Flee, Putin Threatens Ukrainian Statehood

• Despite evacuation efforts hampered by Russian shelling, Ukraine is enduring Europe’s most rapidly escalating refugee crisis since the second world war, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees said Sunday.

• “More than 1.5 million refugees from Ukraine have crossed into neighboring countries in 10 days—the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II,” tweeted the commissioner, Filippo Grandi.

=> ↺ Report Details ‘Unraveling’ of Trump Probe That Led Prosecutors to Resign

• The New York Times on Saturday published a detailed account of what led two prosecutors involved with the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into former President Donald Trump’s business practices to abruptly resign last month—a “seismic development” that some experts had called “troubling.”

• The probe was launched under the former district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., who did not seek reelection. When prosecutors Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz resigned, the newspaper reported that it was because the new DA, Alvin Bragg, had concerns about moving forward with the case.

=> ↺ When is a no-fly zone not a no-fly zone? When it’s an airlift. | I, Cringely

• This was the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49. Post-war Germany was partitioned into sectors administered separately by the major Allied powers. The city of Berlin, buried deep in the Soviet sector of Germany, was similarly partitioned. So there were American- and British- and French-administered parts of Berlin. Access from the rest of Europe was by road, rail, or air with trains and trucks passing through a Soviet-ruled countryside. That was until the Russians decided to shut down those roads and railways in 1948, keeping Berlin from receiving both fuel and food.

• The only remaining access to Berlin was by air and so the United States Air Force and the Royal Air Force flew everything into Berlin for a year and a half. Four hundred airplanes flew continuously, carrying up to 12,000 tons per day, 60 percent of which was coal. When the 6000-foot runway at Tempelhof Airport had to be repaved, the asphalt arrived by air.

• This transport force was mainly C-47s and C-54s, but included even Shorts Sunderland flying boats that landed on the Havel River. The transports were harassed by Soviet fighters, but never shot down.

Environment

=> ↺ UN: Climate change to uproot millions, especially in Asia

• As the world’s most rapidly sinking major city, Jakarta demonstrates how climate change is making more places uninhabitable. With an estimated one-third of the city expected to be submerged in the coming decades – in part because of the rising Java Sea – the Indonesian government is planning to move its capital some 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometers) northeast to the island of Borneo, relocating as many as 1.5 million civil servants.

Energy

=> ↺ Oil and Gas Giants Under Fire for Fueling Russian War on Ukraine

• Climate campaigners worldwide called out major oil and gas companies this weekend for fueling conflict around the world, including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing war in Ukraine, and demanded a shift to renewables.

• “Putin’s invasion is yet another example of the many conflicts fueled by oil and gas across the world.”

Finance

=> ↺ The New Deal, Writers and Rediscovering America

=> ↺ Sanctions May Sound “Nonviolent,” But They Quietly Hurt the Most Vulnerable

=> ↺ Advocates Push Biden to Cancel Student Debt as He Mulls Extending Payment Pause

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

=> ↺ Opinion | Louisiana’s Governor Must Veto the Proposed Redistricting Maps

• The governor of Louisana has a unique chance to ensure that Black Louisianans have an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect candidates of their choice to Congress. That’s why the ACLU and our coalition partners in the region are calling on Gov. John Bel Edwards to veto the proposed congressional and state legislative districting plans, submitted to his office by the Louisiana State Legislature.

=> ↺ Facebook won’t let Russian advertisers create or make run ads ‘anywhere in the world’

• Facebook is cutting off ads in Russia. It’s pausing ads that target people in the country and is no longer letting advertisers in Russia “create or run ads anywhere in the world, including within Russia,” the company announced on Friday. The moves mark a big escalation of its actions against the country and could help prevent Russian misinformation tied to its invasion of Ukraine from appearing in Facebook ads.

=> ↺ The power of tech giants has made them as influential as nations. Here’s how they’re sanctioning Russia

• The world’s five leading tech companies – Google (now Alphabet), Apple, Facebook (now Meta), Amazon and Microsoft – have taken steps to impose significant and (mainly) voluntary sanctions on Russia, in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

• But the decisions didn’t come unprompted. Ukraine has lobbied the major tech companies in the same way it sought assistance from the European Union, NATO and the US government.

• Facing the largest military action in Europe since the second world war, Ukraine appealed directly to big tech companies as though they were nation states. It’s a reminder that in today’s world, these giants are major players on the geopolitical stage.

=> ↺ Netflix, TikTok block services in Russia to avoid crackdown

• Netflix and TikTok suspended most of their services in Russia on Sunday as the government cracks down on what people and media outlets can say about Russia’s war in Ukraine.

• TikTok said Russian users of the popular social media app would no longer be able to post new videos or livestreams and they also wouldn’t be able to see videos shared from elsewhere in the world.

• Netflix said it was suspending its service in Russia but didn’t provide additional details.

=> ↺ TikTok temporarily bans new video creation in Russia

• Russian President Vladimir Putin signed off on the fake news law last week. It punishes people with fines or up to 15 years behind bars for spreading “false information” about Russia’s military or for publicly calling for sanctions on Russia. As Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, it has begun to crack down on social platforms and foreign media — Russia has put a block on Facebook, restricted access to Twitter, and has barred access to BBC news sites.

=> ↺ Twitter bans accounts that promoted #IStandWithPutin for ‘coordinated inauthentic behavior’

• Twitter has banned more than 100 accounts that repeatedly retweeted the #IStandWithPutin hashtag, which trended on the platform earlier this week amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

=> ↺ Twitter bans over 100 accounts that pushed #IStandWithPutin

• Twitter has banned more than 100 accounts that pushed the pro-Russian hashtag #IStandWithPutin for participating in “coordinated inauthentic behavior,” days after the hashtag trended on Twitter amid the invasion in Ukraine.

• A Twitter spokesperson said on Friday that it is still investigating the origins and links between the accounts, and that it banned the accounts for violating its “platform manipulation and spam policy.”

Misinformation/Disinformation

=> ↺ Podcasts Are Hollywood’s Source Material Du Jour

• This trend also has been a boon for news media, which was historically cut out of the adaptation game. “We’re seeing our industry leverage podcasts more as the genesis of IP [sic] for development into film and television,” observes Agnes Chu, president of Condé Nast Entertainment. In 2020, Chu left Disney+ for the legendary publishing house, whose podcasts, like its print features in such titles as GQ and Vanity Fair, are now being pitched for adaptation. “Because we have a team of creative leaders across film, television and audio working with our editors early in the process, we’re together able to shepherd a concept through the entire ecosystem.”

=> ↺ TikTok plans to add labels to ‘some’ state-controlled media

• TikTok has announced that it’ll start putting labels on videos from “some” state-controlled media outlets as it starts rolling out its new state media policy. According to a news post from the company, it is “expediting” its plans for piloting the policy due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The company says it started working on the policy last year. Users can expect the labels to start appearing within the next few days, according to the post.

Censorship/Free Speech

=> ↺ More than 4,300 detained in Russia during anti-war demonstrations

• An independent protest monitoring group said that 4,366 Russian residents from 56 different cities had been detained, according to the news service, which added that Russia’s interior ministry said about 3,500 protesters had been detained. The ministry reportedly added that more than 5,200 residents participated in the demonstrations.

=> ↺ More than 4,300 arrested in Russia during protests against invasion of Ukraine

• Russian Police have detained more than 4,300 people during nationwide protests against President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, according to an independent protest monitoring group.

• Thousands of protesters chanted “No to war!” and “Shame on you!”, according to videos of the events on Sunday posted on social media by opposition activists and bloggers.

=> ↺ Protests across Russia see thousands detained

• In the last 11 days, more than 10,000 people have been detained at protests, OVD-Info says.

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

=> ↺ Internet backbone provider shuts off service in Russia

• Cogent Communications, an internet backbone provider that routes data across intercontinental connections, has cut ties with Russian customers over its invasion of Ukraine, as first reported by The Washington Post. The US-based company is one of the world’s largest internet backbone providers and serves customers in 50 countries, including a number of high-profile Russian companies.

• In a letter to Russian customers obtained by The Post, Cogent cited “economic sanctions” and “the increasingly uncertain security situation” as the motives behind its total shutdown in the country. Cogent similarly told The Verge that it “terminated its contracts” with Russian customers in compliance with the European Union’s move to ban Russian state-backed media outlets.

=> ↺ Letter to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission: withdraw the Regulation for Digital, Social Media, and OTT Platforms

• The undersigned organizations urge you to protect people’s rights and freedoms, and enable an open, free and secure internet in Bangladesh. The draft “Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission Regulation for Digital, Social Media and OTT Platforms” (Draft Regulations), published online on February 3, imperils people’s freedom of expression, and right to privacy, undermines encryption and weakens online safety. If enforced, the regulations will have a deleterious impact on human rights, and put journalists, dissidents, activists and vulnerable communities, in particular, at greater risk.

• The Draft Regulations seek to implement a content governance framework devoid of adequate judicial oversight, clarity and predictability, and integration of human rights and due process. The Draft Regulations are inconsistent with the international human rights framework, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Further, they contravene widely endorsed principles for content governance rooted in international human rights standards including the Manila Principles on Intermediary Liability and the Santa Clara Principles on Transparency and Accountability in Content Moderation. Efforts by telecommunications regulators to change regulations to address concerns around “Over-the-Top” (OTT) services can have significant negative impacts on human rights as well as broader principles such as network neutrality, if done improperly.

• [...]

• In order to protect human rights and enable a free, open and secure internet, it is imperative for the BTRC to withdraw and reconsider the Draft Regulations. Further, sustained, meaningful and in-depth consultation with stakeholders is a prerequisite to the development of a rights-respecting framework. We urge the BTRC to engage in such a process prior to developing regulations for intermediaries and digital services that would impact people’s rights and freedoms, and indeed democracy itself.

=> ↺ Bangladesh’s proposed digital, social media, and OTT platforms regulation needs a complete overhaul

• Bangladesh’s oppressive draft Regulation for Digital, Social Media and OTT Platforms must be scrapped before it jeopardises people’s freedom of expression, right to privacy, and online safety.

• Access Now, representing an international coalition of 45 organisations, is urging the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to immediately withdraw the draft regulation, and instead focus on ensuring access to an open, accessible, and secure internet in Bangladesh to all people.

• “Bangladesh’s current draft digital, social media, and OTT regulation doesn’t belong on the discussion table, it belongs in the bin”, said Raman Jit Singh Chima, Senior International Counsel and Asia Pacific Policy Director at Access Now. “The country’s proposed upheaval of digital rights would not only trample free speech, but risk people’s safety by obstructing encryption and increasing the risks to journalists, activists, and civil society actors — already at risk with existing flawed laws in Bangladesh.”

Digital Restrictions (DRM)

=> ↺ Netflix shuts down its services in Russia

• Last week, Netflix said it wouldn’t comply with a new Russian law that requires large streamers to host 20 Russian propaganda channels, such as NTV and the state-backed Channel One. The streaming giant later announced that it’s halting all productions and acquisitions in Russia — Netflix had been working on four Russian originals at the time. According to Bloomberg, Netflix currently has around 1 million subscribers in Russia.

=> ↺ Netflix Suspends Service in Russia Amid Invasion of Ukraine

• Netflix has suspended its service in Russia to protest the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

• Earlier this week, the streaming service had announced that it would pause all future projects and acquisitions from Russia, joining a growing list of companies that have cut ties with the country. Netflix had four Russian originals in the works, including a crime thriller series directed by Dasha Zhuk, which was shooting and has since been put on hold. Netflix also recently refused to carry 20 Russian free-to-air propaganda channels that it was required to host under Russian law.

• Now, the company is taking an additional step in shutting down its service entirely.

=> ↺ Netflix, TikTok Join Russian Boycott, Suspend Local Services

• Netflix and TikTok have joined the Russian boycott. The global streaming and the social media site on Sunday confirmed they had suspended their Russian services in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Monopolies

=> ↺ Why the FTC Faces an Uphill Battle in Challenging Amazon-MGM Deal

• The Federal Trade Commission’s scrutiny of Amazon’s alleged anticompetitive practices may soon crank up a notch.

• That’s according to The Information, which reported earlier this week that the FTC expects to decide within weeks on whether it will bring forth an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon to challenge its planned purchase of MGM.

• The Information’s report adds a crucial potential milestone date on the timeline of the FTC’s investigations into Amazon. Last June, it was reported that the FTC would be investigating Amazon’s proposed deal to acquire MGM.

Copyrights

=> ↺ Russia Will Probably Legalize Some Software Piracy to Mitigate Sanctions

• With no signs that Vladimir Putin intends to stop his military campaign against Ukraine, there are hopes that sanctions will press the Russian president to stop the killing. However, Russia has plans to live under sanctions if necessary, which may include the legalization of some software piracy. There has also been a call to unblock the country’s largest torrent site.

=> ↺ I2P: The Censorship Resistant Anonymous P2P Network is 20 Years Old

• I2P, short for the Invisible Internet Project, has recently turned twenty years old. Unlike other peer-to-peer technologies such as Tor and BitTorrent, I2P has mostly stayed under the radar among the public at large. Considering its name that’s perhaps fitting; however, its two-decade anniversary shouldn’t go unnoticed.

=> ↺ Open Minds Podcast: Angela DeBarger of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

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