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● 11.10.22

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● Links 10/11/2022: Raspberry Pi Shortages

Posted in News Roundup at 6:29 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

Audiocasts/Shows

=> ↺ The Linux Link Tech Show Episode 979

=> ↺ BSD Now 480: OpenBSD 7.2

• OpenBSD 7.2 and FuguIta have been released, Learn the Whys and Hows with the FreeBSD Sec Team, how to get notified about FreeBSD updates, using unbound for ad blocking on OpenBSD, further memory protections on OpenBSD current, and more.

=> ↺ Apple worth $2.3 Trillion, Microsoft sued for GitHub Copilot, Canonical shows future of Ubuntu – Invidious

Applications

=> ↺ 8 Best Screen Recorders For Linux (2022) | Beebom

• If you are searching for how to record the screen in Ubuntu, we have already explained using the built-in screen recorder and third-party apps. However, for those using other Linux distros, we have compiled a list of the best screen recorders for Linux users. We are aware that users have different use cases. While some want to capture the screen with a webcam for recording tutorials, others simply want to make a short GIF with the screen recording. Keeping these points in mind, here are the 8 best screen recording software for Linux you should test out. From basic to advanced tools, we have added all the popular screen recorders to this list. So on that note, let’s dive right in.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ How to Install Node.js and NPM on Rocky Linux

• This article guide will walk us through the installation of Node.js on the Rocky Linux 9 and Rocky Linux 8 distributions and also demonstrate its basic usage.

• Node.js is a JavaScript runtime that is free and open-source to the Linux community. As for its development, it’s built on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine.

• Node.js enables developers and users to build scalable and high-performance network applications. Its wide range of features makes it ideal for the development of distributed device applications as it attributes the apps as data-intensive and real-time.

=> ↺ Install Microsoft SQL Server 2022 preview on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

=> ↺ Linux Count Files in Directory – Linux Nightly

• Learn how to count the number of files in a directory by using ls and find commands on Linux.

=> ↺ How to Install WoeUSB on Linux Mint 21/20

• WoeUSB is a free, open-source simple tool that enables you to create your own USB stick windows installer from an iso image or an actual DVD. I have used it myself to create bootable USB sticks for installing Windows from ISO images, and it has worked flawlessly every time. The interface is straightforward to use. Select the ISO image or DVD you want to use, select your USB drive, and click “Create.” The process is quick and painless, and the results are always perfect. If you need to install Windows from a bootable USB stick, WoeUSB is the ideal tool for the job.

• The following tutorial will teach you how to install WoeUSB on the Linux Mint desktop release series using a LaunchPAD APT PPA with the command line terminal. This installation method will allow you to run in CLI mode or use the graphical mode interface.

=> ↺ How to Install Python 3.11 on Linux Mint 21/20

• Python 3.11 release promises up to 60% speed improvements in some instances, which is a significant jump from the 25% improvement in the standard benchmark suite. This will excite data scientists who often have to work with large datasets. Not only will their programs run faster, but they’ll also be able to get insights from their data more quickly. This will lead to better decision-making and, ultimately, better outcomes for their organizations. For the official Python 3.11 rundown notes, visit the official Python webpage What’s New in Python 3.11.

• In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Python 3.11 on Linux Mint 21 and 20, given both are LTS releases based on Ubuntu using the command terminal, and how to download and compile as an alternative method.

=> ↺ How to Install FreeOffice on Ubuntu 22.10 | 22.04 | 20.04

• FreeOffice is a free, open-source office suite with a word processor, spreadsheet application, and presentation program. The suite is compatible with Microsoft Office, making it an ideal choice for users who want an alternative to expensive proprietary software. FreeOffice offers all the features of a mainstream office suite, including support for complex documents, multimedia elements, and more. The suite also includes several unique features, such as opening and editing password-protected files. Whether you’re looking for an affordable alternative to Microsoft Office or a free and open-source option, FreeOffice is worth checking out.

• In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install FreeOffice on an Ubuntu desktop with the current significant releases supported and tested with the official SoftMaker APT repository using the command line terminal and instructions on how to update and remove the software in the future if required.

=> ↺ How to Install Code Blocks on Fedora 37/36/35

• Code::Blocks is free and open-source software highly extensible Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for the C, C++, and Fortran programming languages. It features support for a wide range of compilers, parallel builds, and multi-target projects and also provides an interface with GNU GDB. The code editor in Code::Blocks features syntax highlighting, code folding, a tabbed interface, code completion, a class browser, and smart indenting.

• In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Code::Blocks on Fedora 37 or 36 Linux desktop with either DNF or Flatpak package manager using the command line terminal and instructions on updating and removing the software in the future if required.

=> ↺ How to Install Foobar2000 on Ubuntu 22.04 – Linux Nightly

• Learn how to install Foobar2000 music player on Ubuntu using Snap package manager or manually with Wine.

=> ↺ How to Install Docker on openSUSE Leap 15

• Are you looking for an easy guide on how to install docker on openSUSE Linux?

• The instructions on this page will show you how to install docker on openSUSE Leap 15.4.

• Docker provides software platform where we can build, test and package application in a container image. Using the container image, we can quickly deploy application because that container image will have all the libraries, code, system tools and run time.

=> ↺ 5 Ways to Fix Could not get lock /var/lib/dpkg/lock Error in Ubuntu

• We explain some steps and methods by which you can quickly fix the Could not get lock /var/lib/dpkg/lock error, which is common in Ubuntu Linux.

=> ↺ How to Upgrade to Linux Mint 21 from Mint 20.3 [Complete Guide]

• This guide gives you all the information you need to Upgrade to Linux Mint 21 (Vanessa) from Linux 20.3.

• Linux Mint 21 Vanessa was recently released with the latest Ubuntu 22.04 base and other additional features. If you are running the earlier Linux Mint 20.3, now it is possible to do a major version upgrade using the graphical tool by Linux Mint.

• But before you upgrade, you need to do some housekeeping because major version upgrades always come with a fair amount of risk.

• That said, make sure of the following before performing the upgrade.

Distributions and Operating Systems

BSD

=> ↺ GhostBSD – A Unix-like OS Based on FreeBSD with MATE Desktop

• GhostBSD is an open-source Unix-like desktop operating system created upon the most recent release version of FreeBSD. GhostBSD purpose is to make the experience of FreeBSD easy and obtainable for the regular computer user by providing MATE and XFCE as the default desktop environment, but as of now, MATE is the only official DE.

• GhostBSD comes with a graphical application to install software and updates, and most of the multimedia codes are pre-installed. The installer advantage OpenZFS makes it easy to install GhostBSD on ZFS with another operating system on the same disk and is appropriate for beginners who are new to FreeBSD.

• With modest hardware requirements, GhostBSD is excellent for modern workstations and 64-bit single-board computer hardware.

• Recently, the GhostBSD project has announced the availability of GhostBSD 22.06.18, which is the new release that comes with a number of new improved features, better Nvidia driver support, and a number of desktop utilities.

=> ↺ Virtualization showdown – FreeBSD’s bhyve vs. Linux’s KVM Virtualization – Klara Inc.

• Not too long ago, we walked you through setting up bhyve on FreeBSD 13.1. Today, we’re going to take a look specifically at how bhyve stacks up against the Linux Kernel Virtual Machine—but before we can do that, we need to talk about the best performing configurations under bhyve itself.

• When we talk about configuration options that have a massive performance impact, we’re mostly talking about storage configuration—CPU configuration options tend to be fairly straightforward, but storage can be configured with different back-end formats and virtual controllers, which can have a massive impact on both throughput and latency.

• OpenZFS is the only back-end storage stack we’ll be testing today—its performance is generally excellent, and its feature set for virtual machine hosting is unparalleled.

Fedora and Red Hat

=> ↺ Fedora Hatch Recap 2022 – Fedora Community Blog

• Fedora Hatches took place across the globe this summer! Take a look at what the attendees experienced at each Hatch.

• [...]

• The Fedora Hatch in Pune India was a fun two-day event, organized by Akashdeep Dhar and Samyak Jain. The official meet-and-greet took place on day one on 7th July 2022 at the Red Hat office in Pune where people discussed many free and open-source technologies such as Wayland, X11, Pulse Audio etc. Cool swags like Fedora Hatch Pune India branded water bottles and Fedora Project hats were handed out. This was followed by the attendees enjoying a delicious lunch at Taco Bell, Seasons Mall, Pune.

=> ↺ Implement a RestAPI application with MongoDB using SBO

• This article concludes a two-part series about deploying a REST API application and binding it to a MongoDB using odo and a Service Binding Operator. Part 1, Setup Openshift cluster to deploy an application in odo CLI, explained the value of odo in managing a cluster and the applications in it. In that article, we installed both odo and the Service Binding Operator. Now you will learn how those tools easily create an instance of a database and a binding (connection) between the application and database.

=> ↺ Set up Openshift cluster to deploy an application in odo CLI

• Binding is the task of finding a backing service and connecting it to an application, such as a database. There are several ways to bind applications to cloud services in Kubernetes and Red Hat OpenShift. The odo command-line interface (CLI) consolidates steps that developers normally have to perform manually, and abstracts away Kubernetes and OpenShift background concepts.

• With odo, you can concentrate on creating applications instead of administering the cluster. The odo tool automates deployment configurations, build configurations, service routes, and other Kubernetes and OpenShift elements.

• The Service Binding Operator, employed by odo, makes the application developer’s life a lot easier by providing a consistent and declarative Service Binding method.

• This two-part series demonstrates how to use odo to create an application and a database service, bind the application to the database using the Service Binding Operator, and get access to the application’s REST API. This article prepares the environment with the necessary tools. In part 2, Implementation of RestAPI application with MongoDB using SBO, we will install MongoDB and the application, and bind them together.

=> ↺ 5 Harvard Business Review articles that will resonate with CIOs right now

• Through our partnership with Harvard Business Review, we regularly refresh our resource library with five new HBR articles we believe CIOs and IT leaders will value highly.

=> ↺ Digital transformation: How to avoid team burnout

• Digital enablement has become a core tenet of every part of a business – and staying on top of rapidly evolving innovations in digital transformation has never been more stressful for tech teams.

Canonical/Ubuntu Family

=> ↺ OpenPrinting keeps old printers working, even on Windows • The Register

=> ↺ Canonical is boosting Windows instead of Ubuntu

• The OpenPrinting project – together with Windows Services for Linux – enables printers that Windows no longer supports to work on Windows 11.

• We know that some Reg readers still actually prefer Windows. Maybe it’s like those hardcore users of Vi and Emacs in the 21st century: some sort of software-induced Stockholm Syndrome. If you are one of them, it’s OK. The penguin is here for you. It can help and can aid Windows 11 users, in particular.

Open Hardware/Modding

=> ↺ Woody brings class to the world of RPN calculators | Arduino Blog

• RPN (Reverse Polish notation) is a method for writing or entering mathematical calculations wherein operators come after operands. For instance, to calculate the product of 3 and 4, you would type: 3, enter, 4, enter, multiplication. This is unfamiliar to most of us, but was common for Hewlett-Packard’s early digital calculators and is still used in some programming languages, like Forth. Some people prefer RPN calculators and this one, called Woody, is the most beautiful of the bunch.

• Woody is a fairly simple RPN calculator, which was its entire purpose. Most of the RPN calculators available are complicated scientific or graphing calculators. Shiura wanted basic calculator functionality, but with RPN. It is also gorgeous. The enclosure is a solid chunk of walnut wood, which was milled on a CNC router. Other than a large power switch on the back, the only features are 19 keys and a dot-matrix style LCD screen.

=> ↺ Raspberry Pi Shortages Could Last Another Year | Tom’s Hardware

• In a recent interview with Micro Center, Raspberry Pi CEO Eben Upton, Upton has talked about the ongoing Raspberry Pi shortage. It looks like we are set for a further year of Raspberry Pi shortages, and between 60 and 70% of boards going into the industrial market. Many thanks to LeePSPVideo for bringing this story to our attention.

=> ↺ How to Control LED Brightness on a Raspberry Pi With PWM – Make Tech Easier

• If you had fun making LEDs blink on a Raspberry Pi, wait until you hear about controlling its brightness! In this guide, we work with a pair of buttons to adjust the led brightness on a Raspberry Pi.

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

=> ↺ 4 key differences between Twitter and Mastodon | Opensource.com

• Social media is not always sociable, and sometimes we need a sufficient impetus to change what we do and what we read. I began using Twitter as a replacement for my RSS reader in 2008, which revolutionized how I read and learned up to that point. Tweets from educators and free and open source (FOSS) advocates worldwide kept me informed and engaged in a learning network that was without equal. That’s changed over the past half dozen years, and recently a change in ownership and the shaping of what I read was driven more by an algorithm than by my personal interests and choices. During a yearly meetup of correspondents and editors of Opensource.com a few years ago, Seth Kenlon suggested giving Mastodon a try. I joined Fosstodon in 2019. Fosstodon is a Mastodon instance for a community of like-minded people who enjoy free and open source software.

=> ↺ Why Mastodon instances are difficult to scale – Lukáš Zapletal

• Mastodon, the free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub is written in Ruby on Rails and the network is experiencing influx of new users. Mastodon administrators are finding how difficult and costly is to scale Ruby on Rails applications the hard way. I’ve spent a deacde working on a large Ruby on Rails project, much larger than Mastodon. Let me quickly describe what is going on. Disclaimer: This post is solely based on my experience with scaling other Ruby on Rails applications, take this with a grain of salt. Also, I’d appreciate comments at @lukas@zapletalovi.com.

• People often think that Ruby on Rails is slow because Ruby is slow, according to various benchmarks and shootouts. Well, while Ruby is not fast at all, it is not the primary reason why that is. See, most web applications, including Mastodon, do not perform CPU-intensive tasks. Most of the time, CPU is actually waiting for data to be read or written from network (client, database, redis) or disk (cache). Even if you upgrade to the most recent Ruby 3.2, which is the fastest of all Ruby versions, it won’t help at all.

• Backend software these days need to respond to many of HTTP requests, when a service is under load we are speaking about hundreds or even thousands of requests per second. A single process (instance of software running on an operating system) with naive implementation can handle as much as one request. To be able to handle more, requests must be dealt concurrently, which is a very complex topic but let’s keep in simple. The solution is to create multiple execution threads that can run concurrently on the program level and ideally in parallel on the operating system level to utilize as much CPU resources available.

Web Browsers/Web Servers

Mozilla

=> ↺ Andrew’s Searchfox Roadmap 2022 | visophyte: shiny? shiny.

• Searchfox (source, config source) is Mozilla’s primary code searching tool for Firefox introduced by Bill McCloskey in 2016 which built upon prior work on DXR. This roadmap post is the second of two posts attempting to lay out where my personal efforts to enhance searchfox are headed and the decision making framework that guides them. The first post was a more abstract product vision document and can be found here.

• [...]

• Bug 1799796: Do you really wish that you could issue a query like webidl:CacheStorage to search just our WebIDL files for “CacheStorage”? Does your team have terminology that’s specific to your team and it would be great to have special search terms/aliases but it would feel wrong to use up all the cool short prefixes for your team? The new query mechanism has plans for these situations!

• The new searchfox query endpoint looks like /mozilla-central/query/default. You’ll note that default looks like something that implies there are non-default options. And indeed, the plan is to allow files like this example “preset” dom.toml file to layer additional “terms” and “aliases” onto the base query_core.toml file as well as any other presets you want to build off of. You will need to add your preset to the mozsearch-mozilla repository for the tree in question, but the upside is that any query links you share will work for other people as well!

Education

=> ↺ Sekoliko is An Open Source Free School Management System

• Sekoliko is a free self-hosted web-based school management system. It is built on top of PHP and Symphony framework.

• It offers a management layout for teachers to put their educational materials, online courses, reports, manage their classes, students, homework, and exams.

• The school admins can manage teachers, employees, and management tasks with their own panels.

Programming/Development

=> ↺ Audit your sharding database algorithm | Opensource.com

• Thanks to the ShardingSphere community’s continuous review and feedback to develop features such as data sharding and read/write splitting, our team found that some users create many shards when using the data sharding feature.

• In such cases, there can be 1,000 physical tables corresponding to a sharding logical table, which disturbs users.

• For instance, a SELECT * FROM t_order statement will lead to a full-route, which is obviously not the case for OLTP. This SQL can be placed in another Proxy to avoid blocking other requests.

• However, if users are not familiar with Proxy or how to write a where condition and don’t know that sharding is not supported in this condition, a full-route is still required.

• A full-route can lower the performance of Proxy and even result in the failure of a reasonable request. Imagine that there are 1,000 shards in a physical database. If they are executed in parallel, 1,000 connections are needed, and if in serial, the request can lead to a timeout. For this reason, community users asked whether the unreasonable request could be intercepted directly.

• Our team considered the issue for a while. One option is to simply block the full-route operation. Doing so requires a check in the code and adding a switch to the configuration file. On the other hand, if the user later needs to set a table to read-only or requires the update operation to carry a limit, does that mean the code and configuration change again? This approach obviously goes against the pluggable logic of Proxy.

• In response to the above problems, the recently released Apache ShardingSphere 5.2.0 provides users with auditing for the SQL sharding function. The audit can either be an interception operation or a statistical operation. Similar to the sharding and unique key generation algorithms, the audit algorithm is plugin-oriented, user-defined, and configurable.

Shell/Bash/Zsh/Ksh

=> ↺ How to Get Your Public IP in a Linux Bash Script

• You’ll need your external IP address if you want to remotely connect to your computer. Finding it manually is easy, but here’s how to find your it from within a Linux script.

Leftovers

Hardware

=> ↺ MediaTek unveils Dimensity 9200 Octa-core Cortex-X3/A710/A510 5G mobile processor

• MediaTek has just launched the Dimensity 9200 octa-core flagship 5G mobile processor with one Cortex-X3 core, two Cortex-A710 cores, and four Cortex-A510 cores, as well as the latest Arm Immortalis-G715 GPU.

• [...]

• The Dimensity 9200 notably offers 10% extra CPU performance switching from a Cortex-X2 to Cortex-X3 core, provides up to 30% power savings with AI-NR and 45% power savings with AI-SR in all visual applications, and the new 6th generation APU 690 delivers up to 35% faster performance in ETHZ5.0 benchmark (aka AI Benchmark) compared to the fifth generation APU found in the Dimensity 9000.

Linux Foundation

=> ↺ Three insights you might have missed from KubeCon + CloudNativeCon

=> ↺ Sponsored junk

• (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA event. Neither Red Hat, the main sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

=> ↺ Looking back on KubeCon + CloudNativeCon 2022

• At the Cloud Native Computing Foundation’s flagship KubeCon + CloudNativeCon conference, held in Detroit from Oct. 24-28, 2022, the over 290 sponsors and almost 8,000 attendees who showed up in person said “yes.”

• CNCF executive director Priyanka Sharma kicked off the keynote with the new Humans of Cloud Native project. Highlights included the CNCF’s growth, with its 176,362 contributors, over 1,000 maintainers and 7 million developers. The growth included an increase of 172 end users and 835 members, according to Sharma.

=> ↺ Kubernetes and the open-source maintainer question

=> ↺ Sponsored junk

• While much of last month’s KubeCon-CloudNativeCon North America was focused on specific software projects, case studies and tech challenges, there was a discernible undercurrent of concern. And it wasn’t just about specific projects, it was to do with keeping the open-source movement going as a whole.

• The key words here were ‘contributors’ and ‘maintainers’. These are the people who keep projects alive and well, the former by contributing ideas and code, and the latter by pulling it all together and managing the project.

Security

=> ↺ iTWire – Optus sets aside $140m for costs associated with data breach

• Telco Singtel Optus has set aside $140 million for costs associated with the catastrophic breach it announced in September, with the company announcing this as part of its half-year results on Thursday.

• The money is for paying for replacement of identity documents such as passports and driving licences and also recovery activities.

• In a statement, chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin said: ““We recognise how painful the exposure of personal information from the cyber attack on Optus customers has been, and we are deeply sorry.

• “We have listened to our customers’ feedback and are committed to finding improvements and ensuring a safer future against cyber crime.

=> ↺ New UEFI Firmware Flaws Reported in Several Lenovo Notebook Models

=> ↺ can impose back doors

• PC maker Lenovo has addressed yet another set of three shortcomings in the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) firmware affecting several Yoga, IdeaPad, and ThinkBook devices.

• “The vulnerabilities allow disabling UEFI Secure Boot or restoring factory default Secure Boot databases (incl. dbx): all simply from an OS,” Slovak cybersecurity firm ESET explained in a series of tweets.

• UEFI refers to software that acts as an interface between the operating system and the firmware embedded in the device’s hardware. Because UEFI is responsible for launching the operating system when a device is powered on, it has made the technology an attractive option for threat actors looking to drop malware that’s difficult to detect and remove.

=> ↺ High-Severity Flaw Reported in Critical System Used in Oil and Gas Companies

• Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a new vulnerability in a system used across oil and gas organizations that could be exploited by an attacker to inject and execute arbitrary code.

• The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2022-0902 (CVSS score: 8.1), is a path-traversal vulnerability in ABB Totalflow flow computers and remote controllers.

• “Attackers can exploit this flaw to gain root access on an ABB flow computer, read and write files, and remotely execute code,” industrial security company Claroty said in a report shared with The Hacker News.

• [...]

• “A successful exploit of this issue could impede a company’s ability to bill customers, forcing a disruption of services, similar to the consequences suffered by Colonial Pipeline following its 2021 [Microsoft Windows] ransomware attack,”

Defence/Aggression

=> ↺ Australia Is a Subimperial Enforcer of the US-led Order

• The foreign affairs establishment describes Australia as a “middle power” in the “rules-based global order.” They’re wrong — Australia should be understood as a subordinate beneficiary of US imperialism.

Environment

=> ↺ International Drought Resilience Alliance Launched at COP27 | News | teleSUR English

• The mission of the alliance is to give political impetus to make the land’s resilience to drought and climate change.

• On Monday, leaders from nearly 50 countries launched the International Drought Resilience Alliance at the 27th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP27) to help countries to be better prepared for future droughts.

Finance

=> ↺ iTWire – Exactly what is wrong with a soldier earning his keep abroad after retirement?

• Australia loves to raise fears over anything to do with countries that it considers, well, below its exalted status, a status that exists only in the world of fiction.

• The latest such reaction relates to defence personnel who have been allegedly approached to work with China’s army. The matter came to light in the wake of news that former UK defence officials are earning a goodly sum in the Middle Kingdom.

• According to the ABC, which often gets quite worked up about such issues, “Defence Minister Richard Marles has announced an urgent review into the existing rules and regulations, amid serious concerns Beijing is using lucrative contracts to try to lure former ADF personnel to train its military.”

• This smacks of hypocrisy given that Australia has no qualms over hiring ex-US Navy admirals who have potential conflicts of interest to advise on its submarine purchases.

=> ↺ Layoffs could weaken Twitter in its biggest global growth markets

Censorship/Free Speech

=> ↺ A public brief on the IT Amendment Rules, 2022 a.k.a ‘how the government is trying to moderate online speech’

• On October 28, 2022, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (“MeitY”) notified the Amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (“IT Rules, 2021”). The notified rules, i.e. the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2022 (“IT Amendment Rules, 2022”) have introduced changes in Part I and II of the IT Rules, 2021. As a result of these amendments, the compliance burden on intermediaries, and as an extension the risk to their safe harbour protections, has increased. Further, MeitY has introduced an additional layer of censorship, wherein government-appointed committees will have a say in what content stays up on the internet, and what doesn’t. We are releasing our Public Brief on the IT Amendment Rules, 2022 in public interest as these rules affect the democratic and constitutional rights of each and every internet user.

• [...]

• The IT Rules, 2021, whose legality is contentious, undermines the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression and privacy for millions of internet users in India. The IT Rules, 2021 have been unequivocally criticised by experts, civil society, digital rights groups, industry bodies, technology companies, technical groups and members of the press. The Editors Guild of India in their statement on IT Rules, 2021 pointed out how they go beyond intermediaries to now even regulate publishers while stating they, “fundamentally alter how publishers of news operate over the internet and have the potential to seriously undermine media freedom in India”. They also stated that “various provisions in these rules place unreasonable restrictions on media at large”. Special Rapporteurs from the United Nations have called these rules incompatible with “international law and standards related to the right to privacy and to freedom of opinion and expression” and sought their withdrawal.

• We have, in the past, written to MeitY and published a detailed analysis listing our issues with the IT Rules, 2021. There are multiple court orders that record the legal deficiencies and constitutional injuries caused by the IT Rules, 2021. Here, IFF’s work includes strategic litigation where it has provided legal representation to LiveLaw Media Pvt. Ltd. before the Kerala High Court which by order dated March 10, 2021 has directed the Union Government to not take coercive action against LiveLaw Media Pvt. Ltd. under Part III of the IT Rules, 2021. IFF is also representing Mr. T.M. Krishna in proceedings before the Madras High Court where a Division Bench of Court has stayed Rules 9(1) and 9(3) of the IT Rules, 2021 while observing that the oversight mechanism in the Rules may “rob the media of its independence”.

• Hence, on the basis of the clear and sufficient existing evidence, it is clear that the IT Rules, 2021 cause injury to the constitutional and democratic rights of Indian internet users. They are contrary to the mandate of the Supreme Court in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015, 5 SCC 1) and deserve a complete recall.

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

=> ↺ Secret power: The war on WikiLeaks

• A new book by Italian investigative journalist Stefania Maurizi documents attempts to demonise and destroy Julian Assange and WikiLeaks

Gemini* and Gopher

Technical

Programming

=> ↺ Python string quoting

• If you were looking for a python equivalent of strconv.Quote or using json.dumps(str) to quote strings, then you are a clod – such as me. Another reminder that looking at the documentation of the standard library is very useful.

• It never occurred to me that codecs (str.encode) are used not only for converting between text encodings like utf-8 ↔️ cp1251, but also for all sorts of formats like base64, bzip (sic!) and uu. In particular, the set of standard codecs includes ‘unicode_escape’, which escapes all characters that make a string unrepresentable as a Python literal in source code.

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