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● 07.01.22

Gemini version available ♊︎

● Links 01/07/2022: Wayland 1.21.0 and SteamOS 3.3 Beta

Posted in News Roundup at 2:26 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

Kernel Space

=> ↺ Rust in Linux 5.20 | Deepfake Hiring Fraud | IBM WFH ‘New Normal’ – DevOps.com

• On the one hand, Rust makes it easier to write secure software—e.g., without use-after-free errors. On the other hand, Rust has an immature toolchain and has a reputation for building bloated executables.

=> ↺ Linux Plumbers Conference: Microconferences at Linux Plumbers Conference: VFIO/IOMMU/PCI

• Linux Plumbers Conference 2022 is pleased to host the VFIO/IOMMU/PCI Microconference

• The PCI interconnect specification, the devices that implement it, and the system IOMMUs that provide memory and access control to them are nowadays a de-facto standard for connecting high-speed components, incorporating more and more features…

Graphics Stack

=> ↺ [ANNOUNCE] wayland 1.21.0

=> ↺ Mike Blumenkrantz: The Doctor Is In

• After my last post, I received a very real, nonzero number of DMs bearing implications.

• That’s right.

• Messages like, “Nice blog post. I’m sure you totally know how to use RenderDoc.” and “Nice RenderDoc tutorial.” as well as “You don’t know how to use RenderDoc, do you?”

• I even got a message from Baldur “Dr. Render” Karlsson asking to see my RenderDoc operator’s license. Which I definitely have. And it’s not expired.

• I just, uh, don’t have it on me right now, officer.

• But we can work something out, right?

• Right?

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ Filesystem Hierarchy Structure (FHS) in Linux – TecAdmin

• If you’re new to Linux, understanding the directory structure can be daunting. There are dozens of different directories, and it’s not always clear what each one is used for. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some of the most important directories in Linux.

=> ↺ How to install Grafana on Debian | FOSS Linux

• Grafana is free software that allows users to query, visualize, alert, and understand their metrics regardless of where they are stored. Besides, Grafana will enable you to easily create, analyze, and share dashboards with your team, fostering a data-driven culture. Grafana is a multi-platform, open-source active monitoring and data visualization tool that displays detailed analytics on charts and graphs.

• It has reusable dynamic dashboards, ad-hoc queries for exploring metrics, alert rules for key metrics to review and send notifications in the event of changes, and built-in sharing for collaboration with team members, among other features. It also can integrate with data sources such as InfluxDB, Graphite, Elasticsearch, and Prometheus.

=> ↺ How to add or change the default gateway in Debian | FOSS Linux

• A default gateway is a node in a PC network. The node, in this case, uses an internet protocol suite that serves as the forwarding host(router) to other networks. This occurs when no other route specification matches the destination IP address of a packet.

• A gateway makes it possible for devices in one network to converse with devices in another network. For instance, if a PC requests a web page, the request goes via the default gateway exiting the LAN (local area network) to reach the internet.

• You can contemplate a default gateway as an immediate device between the internet and the local network. We say this because the default gateway facilitates internal data transfer to and from the internet.

=> ↺ How to Install Vivaldi Browser on Linux

• Vivaldi is a non-FOSS multi-platform web browser that is available for all major platforms like Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is very compelling to use and has many features that might tempt you to replace your old browser with Vivaldi.

Games

=> ↺ SteamOS 3.3 Beta Patch Notes: June 30th, 2022

• Support for Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean keyboard. These keyboards are now available in Steam Client Beta

Desktop Environments/WMs

K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

=> ↺ The Coding Period: Week 1 & 2

• Community Bonding Period

• During this period, I prepared the mock-ups for the activities “10’s complement” and “Grammatical analyze.” Based on my mentor’s reviews the mock-ups were modified further.

• The design for other levels of 10’s complement can be found here.

• This bonding period is provided so the newcomers can get familiar with mentors and projects. As I’ve contributed for a few months now, I am comfortable with mentors and a little less confident with the project. So I decided to increase my understanding by finding the sub-tasks in other activities I needed to complete 10’s complement and Grammatical analyze. I also contributed to one another issue. Also, during this time, my first activity got merged (Left and Right Click Training which was later renamed as Mouse Click Training).

GNOME Desktop/GTK

=> ↺ GNOME Web 43 Gets WebExtension Support. Here’s How to Try

• How to try and use the Firefox add-ons on the new web extension support in GNOME Web 43 (Epiphany) web browser.

=> ↺ Ignacy Kuchciński: GSoC 2022: Second update – Research

• Two weeks have passed since I started the first phase of my “Make New Documents feature discoverable” Nautilus GSoC project. It’s called “Researching the underlying problem and use cases”, and according to the timeline that was set up in my last planning post, I’m here to share our findings and results.

Distributions and Operating Systems

BSD

=> ↺ Convincing a Linux guy to use FreeBSD

• Back in 2017, for an episode of The Lunduke Hour, I talked to George Neville-Neil — author, kernel engineer, and FreeBSD advocate (and Director of the FreeBSD Foundation). He tries to convince me, a Linux user, that FreeBSD is better.

Fedora Family / IBM

=> ↺ Red Hat To Offer Pay-Per-Use OpenShift On HPE GreenLake

• The OpenShift version of HPE GreenLake is part of a Red Hat on GreenLake joint development pact that also includes Red Hat Enterprise Linux and the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform for GreenLake.

=> ↺ Nebula on Fedora

• In the last year, I moved more and more data and services to hardware that I can directly control. A direct consequence of this is that I started to run more hardware at my house. This change has been very positive, but it is suboptimal when not at home. All services I run are secure and could be shared directly on the web, but I prefer a more cautious approach. For this reason, I decided to create a VPN.

• My first VPN choice was Wireguard. In theory, it should have been a very sensible solution due to its security and protocol optimization. Reality is different, though, and creating a mesh network with Wireguard becomes very complex.

Debian Family

=> ↺ Paul Wise: FLOSS Activities June 2022

• This month I didn’t have any particular focus. I just worked on issues in my info bubble.

Canonical/Ubuntu Family

=> ↺ 12-Year-Old Developer Brings Ubuntu’s Unity Desktop Back to Life

• Unity 7.6 is the first major version of the Unity desktop in six years, with the previous release in May 2016.

• Unity is a graphical shell for the GNOME desktop environment designed and maintained by Canonical for Ubuntu. It was beautiful and innovative, but another controversial Canonical’s decision threw it out in 2017.

• So, since its 17.10 “Artful Aardvark” release, Ubuntu has reverted to using GNOME as the default desktop environment. In addition, the last official update from Canonical for Unity was the minor 7.4.5 version dated back in March 2019.

• Now, the restart of the active maintenance of the Unity 7 Desktop Environment is a fact. And this whole thing is thanks to 12-year-old Rudra Saraswat, Linux Foundation Certified Developer and Ubuntu member from India.

• I had used Ubuntu 17.04 back when I was 8 [years old], and I really loved Unity7, so when Unity7 was discontinued by Canonical, I wasn’t happy and wanted to bring it back. I created this project to give Unity7 a new life.

=> ↺ Star Developers are here!

• In the Snap Store, we have a fantastic community where members can discuss topics in the forum, develop snaps and help others. Currently, the Snap Store has verified accounts; verified companies have a green tick by their name to show that the snap has come from a trusted source. However, snaps from individual users were not getting the same recognition, even if a lot of care and attention has gone into developing them. To address this and give recognition to individual users in the snap community, we introduced Star Developers.

=> ↺ New Active Directory Integration features in Ubuntu 22.04 (part 4) – Scripts execution

• Linux Active Directory (AD) integration is historically one of the most requested functionalities by our corporate users, and with Ubuntu Desktop 22.04, we introduced ADsys, our new Active Directory client. This blog post is the last of a series where we will explore the new functionalities in more detail. (Part 1 – Introduction, Part 2 – Group Policy Objects, Part 3 – Privilege Management)

• In this article we will focus on how you can use Active Directory to schedule startup, shutdown, login or logout scripts on your managed desktops through ADsys.

• In this area, as well as for all the other new features delivered by ADsys, we tried to offer a user experience as close as possible to the native one available in Microsoft Windows, with the aim of enabling IT admins to reuse the same knowledge and tools they acquired over the years to manage Ubuntu desktops.

Devices/Embedded

=> ↺ BMW is switching gears from Linux to Android Automotive next year

• Most drivers with Android phones are probably relying on Android Auto these days — assuming, of course, they have a car that supports it. There’s a big difference between projecting your smartphone to your car’s built-in display and a vehicle that actually runs on Android, though, and that’s where Android Automotive comes in. We’re finally seeing more vehicles running on Google’s full-blown OS over the last couple of years, and starting in 2023, BMW will be the latest company added to the list.

• This week, BMW confirmed that some of its future models would run on a next-gen version of its in-house operating system built on top of Android Automotive. It’s a big change from previous Linux-based versions, though the company says some of its cars will stay on its legacy build. So far, the automaker has yet to confirm which of its models will get Automotive support, though work on supporting it won’t begin until March of 2023.

=> ↺ Pine64 Is Now Working On A Powerful RISC-V Single Board Computer – It’s FOSS News

• Pine64, the single board computer manufacturer known for their range of open-source-supporting phones, laptops, smartwatches, and, of course, SBCs, has recently revealed that they are working on a new RISC-V powered computer.

• This isn’t the first time Pine64 has dabbled in the realm of RISC-V; the Pinecil soldering iron and the Pinecone IoT board are both powered by RISC-V. However, this offering promises to be different, with desktop-class performance.

Open Hardware/Modding

=> ↺ Raspberry Pi Pico W supports Wi-Fi and starts at $6

• The Raspberry Pi Foundation launched yesterday a new tiny platform based on the RP2040 silicon. The new device is called the Raspberry Pi Pico W and it provides connectivity by integrating the CYW43439 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module from Infineon.

• The Raspberry Pi Pico W uses the same processor as its predecessor, the Raspberry Pi Pico. The RP2040 provides two Arm Cortex-M0+ processors with a maximum frequency of 133MHz, 264KB SRAM and 2MB QSPI Flash storage.

=> ↺ Hello There, Pico W!

• Raspberry Pi is at it again! SparkFun is proud to co-announce and introduce you to the new Raspberry Pi Pico W and Pico H! With this launch, Raspberry Pi expands their RP2040 microcontroller line to include wireless capabilities and headers. Let’s jump in and see what exactly is being announced and released today. Let’s take a look!

=> ↺ Raspberry Pi Pico W Projects to Inspire Your Inner Maker | Tom’s Hardware

• The Raspberry Pi family has grown today and now includes a $6 wireless microcontrollers, the Raspberry Pi Pico W. We’ve already had the chance to check it out and have a full Raspberry Pi Pico W review available for anyone interested in the new board. In short, we’re head over heels for the new development and it looks like we’re not alone!

• Several makers have had the opportunity to check out the new boards and have even shared some new Pico W projects with the community that demonstrates its potential. Today we’re taking a look at a few of them to get you excited and hopefully springboard some new ideas with their inspirational creations.

=> ↺ Where to Buy the Raspberry Pi Pico W | Tom’s Hardware

• Officially launched today, the Raspberry Pi Pico W is the successor to the Raspberry Pi Pico, Raspberry Pi’s first microcontroller board. Long time Raspberry Pi fans will know that a W at the end of of product name means Wi-Fi and the Pico W comes with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi all for just $6.

• In our review of the Raspberry Pi Pico W we praised how easy it was to get online. Taking a mere five lines of MicroPython to connect our project to the world. The Pico W retains GPIO compatibility with the older Pico, but at this time third-party addons are rushing to patch their software libraries to work with the Pico W.

=> ↺ How to Connect Raspberry Pi Pico W to the Internet | Tom’s Hardware

• The release of the Raspberry Pi Pico W brings with it an interesting opportunity. In the past if we wanted to connect a Raspberry Pi to the world, we would need one of the larger models. The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, and Raspberry Pi 4 were often pressed into data collection duties. The Raspberry Pi 4 is a bit of a power hog, the Zero 2 W is a bit better but still overkill for a simple information project.

• With the arrival of the Raspberry Pi Pico W we have a low power, microcontroller with a competent Wi-Fi chip, in the Pico form factor and only $6!

• So where do we start? How do we get our Raspberry Pi Pico W online, and where can we find interesting data to collect? Let us guide you through making the most of your $6 Raspberry Pi Pico W.

=> ↺ New Raspberry PI Pico released: finally the WiFi came. Hidding Bluetooth capabilities?

• Today, 30th June 2022, great news was raised from the web: a new Raspberry PI microcontroller has been released.

• There’s something really important in this new product. While in Jan 2021 the Foundation entered into the microcontrollers world with the RPI Pico (see Raspberry PI Pico: Foundation entering the micro-controllers universe article for the launch news), the experts have noted since the first time that something was missing. The RPI Pico was a great board, really flexible and able to perform a great number of tasks. The compatibility both with C++ and MicroPython made it the perfect development board for those wishing to reuse their experience both from other microcontrollers (like Arduino) and from the Raspberry PI Computer boards, where Python is a milestone in programming with the GPIOs. The main feature missing was that the new Raspberry PI Pico wasn’t able to connect with a network as there wasn’t any networking capability like WiFi, Ethernet or even a basic Bluetooth.

=> ↺ This large-format laser cutter was built from scratch for just $700 | Arduino Blog

• When stuck between a cheaper yet small laser cutter and splurging on a much larger one, Owen Schafer decided instead to just build one himself. The project started with Schafer sourcing a 40W CO2 laser, which differs from a diode laser in that it uses gas heated with 16,000 volts to produce a very powerful beam of light. This had the added side effect of needing a water-cooling system since the tube tends to generate ample amounts of heat.

• Once the laser and the necessary reflectors had been sourced, Schafer purchased aluminum extrusions and attached them with corner connectors. The head moves with the help of a gantry, wherein the X-axis slides along the Y-axis, and both are driven by NEMA17 stepper motors and a timing belt. For some added safety, he created a basic enclosure out of plywood just in case something went wrong internally.

=> ↺ AEC-Q100 qualified module features Allwinner T507-H processor for automotive applications – CNX Software

• Open-source drivers are offered together with a binary GNU GCC toolchain, but only to customers. The company does not seem to pay much attention to detail as I was told about a new “SOM based on AllWinner T507-H processor which features a dual-core ARM Cortex-A72 industrial processor” and the wrong product link (that’s a habit from them) in the email they sent me, so I first thought “Allwinner finally got a Cortex-A7x CPU”, but that was a false alarm.

=> ↺ DIY diesel emissions monitor is a lesson in spectroscopy | Arduino Blog

• Some things, like voltage, are very easy to measure. Other things, like the chemical composition of a compound? Not so much. Emissions from internal combustion engines are one of those things that are hard to measure. But Janis Alnis needed a way to measure his diesel soot emissions so he could pass inspections in his home country of Latvia. So he used an Arduino, spectroscopy expertise, and some plumbing hardware to build his own Diesel Car Exhaust Smoke Meter.

• As luck would have it, Alnis is a lead researcher at the Institute of Atomic Physics and Spectroscopy of the University of Latvia. That means that he knows his stuff when it comes to spectroscopy, which is a field that uses light for analysis of different materials—including gases like diesel exhaust. In this case, he needed to measure how much soot was in the exhaust, which would let him know if his catalytic converter was warmed up and working well enough to pass inspection.

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

=> ↺ What does AI have in common with Open Source?

=> ↺ OSI is nowadays a corrupt organisation that works against its original mission

=> ↺ OSI seems more like a front group against Open Source

• “I thought, Artificial Intelligence is a new thing. It’s changing the boundary between data and software” blurring the classic divide between the copyright of the documents you write and licenses of the tools you use to write them.

Web Browsers

Mozilla

=> ↺ The Mozilla Blog: Killian Wells, CEO of Fragrance House Xyrena, Shares The Joy He Finds In His Corner Of The Internet

=> ↺ resorted to politics

=> ↺ Mozilla Performance Blog: Introducing A New Performance Comparison Tool – PerfCompare

• I have been a member of the performance test team for the past two and a half years. During that time, the performance team has had many discussions about improving the developer experience when running performance tests.

• The most significant pain points for developers are that:

• 1. tests are difficult to run, or they don’t know which tests to run, and

• 2. our tools for comparing these results are complex or confusing.

• One of the tools we currently use is called Perfherder. Perfherder does many things, such as alerting on performance improvements and regressions, comparing results of performance tests, and graphing those results.

Content Management Systems (CMS)

=> ↺ People of WordPress: Leo Gopal – WordPress News

• In this series, we share some of the inspiring stories of how WordPress and its global network of contributors can change people’s lives for the better. This month we feature Leo Gopal, from South Africa, a back-end Developer and Customer Support agent on the encouragement and learning support the WordPress community can give.

• [...]

• Leo wanted to keep busy and as soon as he finished school, he applied for every entry-level web-related job that he could find. He was hired by a company for the role of webmaster for its Marketing team focused on WordPress.

• He continued to grow his skills as a WordPress developer with the help of useful documentation that he could find and through his helpful local WordPress Community. This helped him earn a living and support his family.

Programming/Development

=> ↺ Looking at assembly code with gdb

• Most of us write code using higher level languages (Go, C++), but if you want to understand the code that matters to your processor, you need to look at the ‘assembly’ version of your code. Assembly is a just a series of instructions.

• At first, assembly code looks daunting, and I discourage you from writing sizeable programs in assembly. However, with little training, you can learn to count instructions and spot branches. It can help you gain a deeper insight into how your program works. Let me illustrate what you can learn by look at assembly.

=> ↺ A Linux Kernel Module written in Scratch (a visual programming language for kids)

• On the left is Scratch — a visual programming tool, primarily geared towards kids, to help with learning concepts of coding. Instead of typing out your code, you drag and drop blocks of programming logic into place. Snapping them together like a jig saw puzzle.

• In this case, instead of a programming tutorial or a simple children’s game, the Scratch project is an actual Linux Kernel Module.

• On the right is some output from the Linux Kernel Log.

Leftovers

Hardware

=> ↺ iTWire – Global monthly smartphone sales fell below 100m units in May

• Global smartphone sales fell below 100 million units in May, the second time this happened since it first occurred after the pandemic broke, the technology analyst firm Counterpoint Research claims.

• In a statement, the company said sales had fallen 4% month-on-month and 10% year-on-year in May, to 96 million units, marking the second month-on-month decline and the 11th successive month of year-on-year decline.

• It said despite a V-shaped recovery after the COVID wave hit in 2020, smartphone sales were yet to reach pre-pandemic levels. Supply constraints and COVID waves had first affected the market, followed more recently by less demand due to inflation, the slowdown in China and the Russia-Ukraine war.

=> ↺ Wirelessly powered sensor evaluation kit comes 1W power transmitter, two battery-free sensors – CNX Software

• Energous WattUp wireless power technology delivers power at various ranges (up to a few meters), and so far, we’ve seen it in wearables like garments, as well as smart glasses and earbuds development kits.

• The company has now launched a wirelessly powered sensor evaluation kit for the Internet-of-Things (IoT) based on the 1W WattUp PowerBridge transmitter with Bluetooth LE 5.0, plus two battery-free sensor nodes based on Atmosic ATM3202 Bluetooth LE 5.0 Cortex-M0 microcontroller with energy-harvesting capabilities.

• [...]

• Just like the previous Energous devkits, the Wirelessly powered sensor evaluation kit is designed for companies that are looking at taking wireless charging to mass production, and you’d need to sign an NDA first to discuss potential applications with power and other requirements. More details may be found on the product page and press release.

Linux Foundation

=> ↺ The Linux Foundation Announces Conference Schedule for Open Source Summit Latin America 2022

• The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced the full schedule for Open Source Summit Latin America, the gathering place for open source code and community contributors, taking place August 23-24 as a Virtual Experience. The schedule can be viewed here.

=> ↺ Ag-Rec: Improving Agriculture Around the World with Open Source Innovation

• One of the first projects I noticed after starting at the Linux Foundation was AgStack. It caught my attention because I have a natural inclination towards farming and ranching, although, in reality, I really just want a reason to own and use a John Deere tractor (or more than one). The reality is the closest I will ever get to being a farmer is my backyard garden with, perhaps, some chickens one day. But I did work in agriculture policy for a number of years, including some time at USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. So, AgStack piqued my interest. Most people don’t really understand where their food comes from, the challenges that exist across the globe, and the innovation that is still possible in agriculture. It is encouraging to see the passion and innovation coming from the folks at AgStack.

Security

=> ↺ How to Spend Less Time on Web and API Security

• With web and API security becoming an increasingly important aspect of software development, “shift left” is gaining wide acceptance as a best practice to ensure security integrates with development early. More and more cybersecurity companies are releasing relevant products and capabilities, and the practice is becoming almost de facto for engineering teams.

=> ↺ Exchange Servers Backdoored Globally by SessionManager

Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt/Fear-mongering/Dramatisation

=> ↺ Microsoft Warns of Cryptomining Malware Campaign Targeting Linux Servers

=> ↺ Windows holes

• A cloud threat actor group tracked as 8220 has updated its malware toolset to breach Linux servers with the goal of installing crypto miners as part of a long-running campaign.

• “The updates include the deployment of new versions of a crypto miner and an IRC bot,” Microsoft Security Intelligence said in a series of tweets on Thursday. “The group has actively updated its techniques and payloads over the last year.”

Privacy/Surveillance

=> ↺ Private Internet Access Now Has 50 Servers in 50 US States

• While legislators play catch-up with cybercrime, Private Internet Access is helping Americans take matters into their own hands with our 50 Servers in 50 States campaign. We now offer physical or virtual locations in all 50 US states.

• Our servers across the United States are a convenient way to find the best deals, maintain access to online services, and protect your privacy from the uncertainties of state and federal laws.

• Set up your own cybersecurity shield with PIA whenever and wherever you want across the US.

Defence/Aggression

=> ↺ Mongol Invasion Of India

• United with the emergence of Genghis Khan in the early 13th century, the Mongol empire stretched from Korea in Asia to Poland in eastern Europe, becoming the largest contiguous land empire in the world’s history. Known for their brute invasions and repression, Mongols invaded and captured every major capital of the Medieval World, including Delhi. Between the mid-13th and 14th centuries, Mongols tried to invade India several times from the North-western front. However, they had to face severe defeats at the hand of the Delhi Sultanate until the 16th century, when Babur invaded India. Let’s dive deep into the series of Mongol invasions in Medieval India.

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

=> ↺ iTWire – Telstra-TPG deal: Budde urges overall review of mobile telco services

• Australia should undertake a comprehensive review of its mobile telecommunications in the wake of Telstra’s bid to actively promote the sharing of its infrastructure, independent telecommunications analyst Paul Budde has urged.

• In a submission to the ACCC, which is examining the proposal prior to a decision on 17 October, Budde said prior to this, he had always argued for domestic roaming in regional areas because it did not make economic sense to overbuild mobile infrastructure.

=> ↺ Pluralistic: 28 Jun 2022 – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

• Remember when they sneered at Geocities pages for being unusable eyesores? It’s true, those old sites had some, uh, idiosyncratic design choices, but at least they reflected a real person’s exuberant ideas about what looked and worked well. Today’s web is an unusable eyesore by design.

Gemini* and Gopher

Personal

=> ↺ I got the rona!

• Well turns out my mom didn’t do her test right and that cold she has is covid, which she passed to me.

• It started two days ago with a bit of a sore throat and I was a little more tired than normal. But yesterday I woke up feeling nauseous, a more sore throat, feeling extremely hot, and a splitting headache. I had a strong feeling this was covid, but I still took a test to be sure. I slept for the majority of yesterday, waking only to drink and use the restroom. That was until I woke at 17:00 and was feeling a bit better. I had enough energy to eat and I took a cool shower, not cold, just cool enough to cool me down. After the shower my headache died down a bit and I was able to watch a few episodes of Better Call Saul. Good Television let me tell ya.

Technical

=> ↺ Unbound AAAA filtering

• If you have ever tried to announce an IPv6 prefix into a network without access to the global unicast subnet you will notice many things break as applications assume otherwise. For me this is a problem when announcing a Yggdrasil prefix (200::/7).

=> ↺ I like flatpak

• I know! sacrilege! no new thing can be good! we must be curmudgeons and Luddites!

• I’ve been using void with musl for a month now with no real complaints. One weird compilation error in rust but that might have been something else since I don’t know rust well. The one thing that was a little frustrating was that I couldn’t play any DRM content due to musl. However since flatpaks come with all the needed libraries I just installed the flatpak of Firefox and watched Netflix through that. Easy Peasy!

• Snaps are dumb, no package manager should rely on a specific init system. Appimages are cool but seemingly have failed to take off for whatever reason. Flatpaks kinda seem like they have won and I don’t really mind. If you don’t take the sandboxing arguments too seriously and just look at them as a package manager for all those apps which you’d like to have but you aren’t going to find in your niche distro’s repos it’s pretty good. Sure the reverse domain name naming scheme isn’t my favorite but it solves name conflicts for certain.

=> ↺ Making a daemon from a shell script on OpenBSD: Why is it so hard?

• I’ve been becoming familiar with OpenBSD over the past few weeks. So far I’ve been liking it a lot. I’m getting so absorbed in it that it’s getting into my dreams. That’s not something that’s happened since I was a kid getting into tech (or maybe it has something to do with the fever I’ve been fighting off). But today I ran into my first ordeal: running shell scripts through rcctl. It was way more fiddly than I was expecting.

Programming

=> ↺ The Missing Bill C-18 Charter Statement: Why Did the Justice Department Remove the Document Confirming the Online News Act Includes Payments for Internet Linking?

• Last Tuesday, Justice Minister David Lametti tabled his department’s Charter statement for Bill C-18, the Online News Act. A link to the statement appeared briefly on the department’s website, but by the end of the week reference to the Bill C-18 Charter statement was removed from the Justice site altogether. As of this morning, there is still no reference to the statement, even though it is a public document having been tabled in the House of Commons. In fact, I have now obtained a copy of the Charter statement and posted it publicly here with an embed below. The department will presumably re-post the statement at some point and it would be useful to confirm that it remains unchanged and provide an explanation for the online removal (I asked and did not get a response). [UPDATE: Hours after this blog post went live, the government posted the Charter statement.]

• Beyond the puzzling removal, the substance of Charter statement is notable since it fails to provide a convincing argument on the constitutionality of the bill. First, it should be noted that it is obviously limited to Charter issues and does not address broader constitutional concerns. If the bill passes, it is likely to be challenged on the grounds that the regulations that touch on the news sector fall outside the federal government’s jurisdiction. In addition, the Charter statement leaves little doubt that questions about whether the bill is Charter-compliant will also be raised. The statement fails to seriously grapple with questions such as the freedom of expression implications that arise from government-mandated payments for linking, indexing or otherwise facilitating access to news.

=> ↺ CRTC Ruling Signals How Bill C-11 Could Be Used To Regulate Internet Content

• Just one week after Canadian Heritage and CRTC officials provided assurances to a Senate committee that the Commission’s regulatory powers over freedom of expression were constrained by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the CRTC yesterday released a ruling in which the majority ignored the Charter altogether in regulating content on Radio-Canada. The decision signals how Bill C-11 could be used to regulate Internet content the CRTC deems contrary to Broadcasting Act policy objectives. It also continues a disturbing trend of revelations that have come in the aftermath of Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez cutting off debate to rush the bill through the House of Commons: officials later admitting that the $1B claim of benefits is merely an “illustrative” estimate, CRTC Chair Ian Scott opening the door to indirect algorithmic regulation, and now the release of a decision on content regulation that dates back to November 2020.

• The CRTC decision involved a Radio-Canada broadcast that discussed a French language book which included the N-word in the title. A six and a half minute radio segment debated a petition that called for a Concordia professor who quoted from the book to be fired. The N-word was used four times. After a complaint was filed, a CBC Ombudsman found the segment did not violate journalistic standards. That finding was appealed to the CRTC in 2020. More than 18 months later, the majority of commissioners on the panel cited Broadcasting Act policy objectives in finding that the segment “goes against the Canadian broadcasting policy objectives and values.” It ordered Radio-Canada to apologize, develop internal measures to address the issue, and advise what it plans to do with the segment’s availability online.

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