April 2016 - wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

How Windows Handles Pathnames
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 08 Sep '16

08 Sep '16

A Google engineer has published a detailed exposé on how Microsoft Windows handles file and directory pathnames (as opposed to how it is documented to handle them) <http://googleprojectzero.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-definitive-guide-on-win32…> (found from <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/03/01/windows_path_hacks/>). Most of it, it could be argued, makes some sort of sense from a backward-compatibility rationale. Except for the reserved device names (PRN, NUL, CON etc): Now if just specifying these paths explicitly was all that this process handled it would be annoying but not the end of the world. However it’s much worse. The conversion process actively tries to convert any path with the device name last, even if the path is a Drive Absolute path. To make matters even worse the device name can have arbitrary trailing characters as long the trailing characters are separated from the device by a dot or a colon. The name can then also have trailing spaces. ... Why it does the check is beyond me as it seems to serve no actual purpose. Also note the removal of trailing suffixes, which can come in handy if something is actively trying to guard against this behavior. For example, if an application was mindful and was checking for a filename that matched one of the reserved names you can just bypass that check by appending an arbitrary suffix.

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Re: [wlug] Intel?s Atom Chips Circling The Plughole (Lawrence D'Oliveiro)
by rowan schischka 01 May '16

01 May '16

>I wondered--still wonder--why Intel doesn?t just make ARM chips. It?s got to be more profitable than the billions it has wasted on developing Atom processors that nobody seems to want. I believe the Atom was Intel's competition to the AMD geode which is I think is still available. I wouldnt say no one wants them. Microsoft has been keen on them since Windows RT failed. Arm is an old competitor to Intel; remember Acorn computers? I dont think they would attract investors if they were buying licenses from ARM. Seems logical they are dropping the Atom in favour of their new IoT chips. Im more interested in what Samsung is doing with its Artik 12x12mm SOC, an arm you can fit in your undies! -- Rowan Schischka

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Intel’s Atom Chips Circling The Plughole
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 30 Apr '16

30 Apr '16

The next, “Broxton”, generation of Intel’s Atom chips have been cancelled, along with future SoCs incorporating Atom cores <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/04/30/intel_atoms_cancelled/>. I can remember when the first generation of Atom chips were announced, back in 2008 or so with the debut of “netbooks”--remember them? (/me glances at an old Asus Eee 701 sitting within arm’s reach.) Intel claimed it was two years ahead of ARM at that point, and able to offer the “full Internet experience” (which was code for “can run Flash videos”). That “two years ahead” claim went quiet after a few months... I wondered--still wonder--why Intel doesn’t just make ARM chips. It’s got to be more profitable than the billions it has wasted on developing Atom processors that nobody seems to want.

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Intel’s Clear Linux Is Making Waves
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 26 Apr '16

26 Apr '16

Intel has brought out “Clear Linux”, incorporating many optimizations for speed. Now the Fedora folks are looking into these speedups, with a view to making them more mainstream <http://phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Fedora-Looks-At-Clear>.

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Cinnamon 3.0 Desktop Environment Tagged for Linux Mint 18, Here's What's New
by Peter Reutemann 25 Apr '16

25 Apr '16

"With updated dependencies on board and numerous bug fixes, Cinnamon 3.0 comes with multiple new features, among which we can mention an option that lets users display or hide the favbox in the Menu applet, the addition of new default application buttons, as well as support for displaying the panel-launchers actions. The Sound settings have been rewritten in Python, and there's a custom page that shows users when there's no input devices available or if any apps are now playing. Additionally, the Sound panel received a custom settings box that should prevent the sound effects dialog to be opened in a very tall window." -- source: http://www.linuxtoday.com/developer/cinnamon-3.0-desktop-environment-tagged… Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Mozilla Seeks New Home For Email Client Thunderbird
by Peter Reutemann 25 Apr '16

25 Apr '16

"In a report commissioned by Mozilla to explore the next home for Thunderbird, two potential new hosts have been offered: the Software Freedom Conservancy (host to git, boost, QEMU, and a host of other projects) and The Document Foundation (home of LibreOffice). At the same time, the report discusses completely uncoupling Thunderbird from the rest of the Mozilla codebase and bringing in a dedicated technical architect to chart the software's roadmap. Given that the two named organizations are already on board with taking Thunderbird under their wing, is this a new lease on life for the email program Mozilla put out to pasture four years ago?" -- source: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/16/04/25/1949239 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Still On For Tonight?
by Chris McClimans 25 Apr '16

25 Apr '16

I noted that we seem to be scheduled, even though it is a public holiday today. I was planning to attend, but wanted to make sure it was still on. I have some fun org-babel-async stuff I use that might be fun to share. (vim users might enjoy looking at spacemacs.org as well) Cheers, -chris

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Docker-Online-Meeting tomorrow 9am
by Chris McClimans 24 Apr '16

24 Apr '16

http://www.meetup.com/Docker-Online-Meetup/events/230475901/ Wouldn't mind meeting in person if anyone is up for it. Cheers, -chris

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Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Available To Download; Mozilla To Offer 0-Day Firefox Releases Via Snaps
by Peter Reutemann 22 Apr '16

22 Apr '16

"The latest, and hopefully, the greatest version of Ubuntu is now available to download. On the sidelines, Mozilla today announced the availability of future releases of its popular Firefox web browser in the snap package format for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. Earlier today, Canonical unleashed the final release of the highly anticipated Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) operating system, bringing users a great set of new features and improvements. Also today, it looks like Canonical has renewed its partnership with Mozilla to offer Firefox as the default web browser on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and upcoming releases of the Linux kernel-based operating systems. As part of the new partnership, Mozilla is committed to distributing future versions of Firefox as a snap package. Having Firefox distributed in the snap format means that you'll have 0-day releases in Ubuntu 16.04. Yes, just like Windows and Mac OS X, users are enjoying their 0-day releases of Mozilla Firefox and don't have to wait for package maintainers of a particular GNU/Linux distribution to update the software in the main repositories. For Mozilla, having Firefox as a snap package means that they'll be able to continually optimize it for Ubuntu." -- source: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/16/04/21/1940213 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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meeting next Monday
by Ian Young 21 Apr '16

21 Apr '16

If there is time available I could talk about a distro called LXLE I have been looking at lately. ~ Ian Y

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