December 2023 - wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

Firefox: scrollbar buttons gone
by Peter Reutemann 30 Dec '23

30 Dec '23

Hi everyone Call me old-fashioned, but I do like the arrow buttons on scrollbars. Especially on very long pages (eg OpenWRT's hardware table) where I want move the view port only a little bit... On my Linux 20.3 MATE, I managed to get them back by using these CSS settings: scrollbar { -GtkScrollbar-has-backward-stepper: true; -GtkScrollbar-has-forward-stepper: true; } In the following config file: ~/.config/gtk-3.0/gtk.css -- source: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1420887 Also, if you don't like the thin overlay scrollbars, then set the following FF option ("about:config") to "false": widget.gtk.overlay-scrollbars.enabled Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, Hamilton, NZ Mobile +64 22 190 2375 https://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Open Adventure (Latest Reboot Of An Ancient Classic)
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 23 Dec '23

23 Dec '23

Just doing some random browsing on my system, and came across a Debian package called “open-adventure”. Finding my way to its home page at Eric Raymond’s site <http://www.catb.org/~esr/open-adventure/>, I discover that it is a project to modernize the source code for the original “ADVENT” game dating from 1976-1977, the one that originated the whole concept of text-based adventure games. The original code was written in Fortran; this one rewrites it all in clean, almost-idiomatic C (as opposed to automatically-translated GOTO-ridden C), and incorporates such innovations as using YAML as the source code for the maze format (translated to C structures at build time). It has been carefully regression-tested against the Fortran original(s) to ensure the gameplay is identical (and the few conscious deviations can be disabled if you want). The developers also kept in mind the possibility of porting the code further, to more modern languages like Python or Go. In the meantime, they have declared the project “finished” as of earlier this year, with all known bug reports closed and all compatibility tests passed.

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LMDE
by john 21 Dec '23

21 Dec '23

After enduring a few minor health issues over the past months I have finally got round to installing Linux Mint Debian edition 5 Bullseye. I think due to the Cinnamon Desktop environment it is marginally slower than the Mate DE I was using with my Ubuntu Jammy Jellyfish distribution. I didn't find the minor difference to be any problem for me. I am well pleased with the performance, look and feel of it and have not (so far) found anything unpleasant or difficult. It appears to me to be well suited to a first time user or for someone migrating from Windows. Cheers John..

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Fedora Asahi Remix Officially Released For Apple Silicon Macs
by Peter Reutemann 21 Dec '23

21 Dec '23

'9to5Linux: Announced in early August and initially planned for the end of the month, the Fedora Asahi Remix distribution is finally here for those who want to install the Fedora Linux operating system on their Apple Silicon Macs. Previously a remix of Arch Linux ARM, the Fedora Asahi Remix distribution is the result of a multi-year collaboration between the Asahi Linux project and the Fedora Project, enabling you to have a proper daily driver on your Apple Silicon Mac thanks to Fedora Linux's excellent 64-bit ARM support. The distro is based on the latest Fedora Linux 39 release and ships with the KDE Plasma 5.27 LTS desktop environment by default, using Wayland. This promises a smooth Linux desktop experience on Apple hardware similar to macOS. Fedora Asahi Remix also comes with XWayland for those who want to run X11 apps. In addition, it features non-conformant OpenGL 3.3 support including GPU-accelerated geometry shaders and transform feedback, PipeWire by default with WirePlumber, as well as the Calamares graphical installer. ' -- source: https://apple.slashdot.org/story/23/12/20/0357233 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, Hamilton, NZ Mobile +64 22 190 2375 https://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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SSH protects the world’s most sensitive networks. It just got a lot weaker
by Peter Reutemann 20 Dec '23

20 Dec '23

'Named Terrapin, the new hack works only when an attacker has an active adversary-in-the middle position on the connection between the admins and the network they remotely connect to. Also known as a man-in-the-middle or MitM attack, this occurs when an attacker secretly positioned between two parties intercepts communications and assumes the identity of both the recipient and the sender. This provides the ability to both intercept and to alter communications. While this position can be difficult for an attacker to achieve, it’s one of the scenarios from which SSH was thought to have immunity. For Terrapin to be viable, the connection it interferes with also must be secured by either "ChaCha20-Poly1305" or "CBC with Encrypt-then-MAC," both of which are cipher modes added to the SSH protocol (in 2013 and 2012, respectively). A scan performed by the researchers found that 77 percent of SSH servers exposed to the Internet support at least one of the vulnerable encryption modes, while 57 percent of them list a vulnerable encryption mode as the preferred choice. At its core, Terrapin works by altering or corrupting information transmitted in the SSH data stream during the handshake—the earliest stage of a connection, when the two parties negotiate the encryption parameters they will use to establish a secure connection. The attack targets the BPP, short for Binary Packet Protocol, which is designed to ensure that adversaries with an active position can't add or drop messages exchanged during the handshake. Terrapin relies on prefix truncation, a class of attack that removes specific messages at the very beginning of a data stream.' -- source: https://arstechnica.com/security/2023/12/hackers-can-break-ssh-channel-inte… This SUSE knowledge base entry lists some configuration changes that one can apply (section "Additional Information"): https://www.suse.com/de-de/support/kb/doc/?id=000021295 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, Hamilton, NZ Mobile +64 22 190 2375 https://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Firefox 121 Now Available With Wayland Enabled By Default
by Peter Reutemann 19 Dec '23

19 Dec '23

'Firefox 121 has arrived with Wayland support to be used by default on modern Linux desktops. Phoronix's Michael Larabel writes: Some Linux distributions and package builds have been using the native Wayland path for a while but now it's great to see the upstream builds make this default change as we get ready to embark on the 2024 Linux desktop. With my testing of Firefox 121 on Wayland, it's been working out well. X.Org/X11 support remains in place for those not using a Wayland-based desktop environment. Firefox 121 also adds Voice Control command support on macOS, adds an option to always force-underline links within websites, Firefox now includes a floating button to help in creation within PDFs, various CSS feature additions, and other developer enhancements. Firefox 121 also now supports tail call elimination in WebAssembly for enhancing support for functional languages. ' -- source: https://news.slashdot.org/story/23/12/18/2359227 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, Hamilton, NZ Mobile +64 22 190 2375 https://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Microsoft Previews Linux-Powered Windows AI Studio
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 18 Dec '23

18 Dec '23

Microsoft is offering a preview version of “Windows AI Studio”, which lets you run a fixed (for now) set of pre-trained models within Visual Studio Code on Windows. However, your Windows installation must also have Ubuntu installed under WSL2 for this to work <https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/14/windows_ai_studio_preview/>. Quote: There is, however, a certain ironic deliciousness in noting that Microsoft's local AI development on Windows requires Linux under the hood. Windows is still needed for the Visual Studio Code extension, but even that might change. Microsoft said: "We are currently planning for other platform support." When I first heard about WSL2, I predicted that Microsoft would, not from any conscious plan but simply from following the path of least resistance (and cost), start to rely on the Linux kernel more and more for important Windows functionality. I think this represents a step along that path.

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Microsoft Division Will Not Use Microsoft’s Own Cloud
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 15 Dec '23

15 Dec '23

LinkedIn (which is owned by Microsoft) has decided it will not be moving its datacentre operations onto Microsoft Azure after all <https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/14/linkedin_abandons_migration_to_micro…>. The plan was originally announced four years ago. Then last year they decided to back off a bit, and go for a “hybrid cloud” model. And now, the whole cloud part is gone. Seems they were not going for a refactor of their services to take advantage of cloud-native functionality, instead they were trying to “lift and shift” their existing software. This could be a reflection on the inflexibility of Azure, or on the difficulty of maintenance of that existing LinkedIn infrastructure. Either way, it does not exactly make Microsoft look good. Not to mention the four years it took to realize the whole project was a waste of time.

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Proton Mail Finally Gets a Desktop App For Encrypted Email and Calendar
by Peter Reutemann 15 Dec '23

15 Dec '23

'The Verge: Proton has released a desktop version of its Proton Mail app that will give users full access to both Proton Mail and Proton Calendar and (eventually) the ability to view your emails offline. The desktop app is available in beta is optimized for both Windows and macOS, and encrypts sent emails end-to-end just like with the browser version, according to the Swiss company, while offline access to emails will be available "soon." [...] It's important to note that you'll still need internet access to both send and encrypt your emails on Proton. But the offline feature will let you view and draft emails while traveling, during a power outage, or any other situation where you don't have access to the internet. Proton is also bringing encrypted auto-forwarding to paid users, both on its desktop and browser versions, though the encryption for forwards will only apply when the forwarded emails go to other Proton users. The company says it has made improvements to Proton Calendar, too, including a fully searchable web version. Not everyone will be able to access Proton's desktop app right away. Proton is restricting access to its paid "Visionary" tier for legacy users at first (though the company is reopening subscriptions to that tier through January 3rd, 2024). The plan is to make the desktop app available to all users in early 2024. ' -- source: https://it.slashdot.org/story/23/12/14/1916258 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, Hamilton, NZ Mobile +64 22 190 2375 https://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Not Being Swayed to Write in Rust (Yet)
by Ben Cottrell 13 Dec '23

13 Dec '23

I've enjoyed learning how to make performant software, and I've been led to some fantastic toolkits for C++. Some of my favourites include Qt and Boost. Unfortunately, it seems like no amount of pointer container classes, design patterns or static checkers are going to make modern C++ any safer. I don't want to abandon the ship and shift to a garbage collected languages, although they do come in handy, especially Java, as I've used it with ANTLR for testing grammars. These frameworks seem to complement each other nicely, and some scripting in JavaScript is handy for wrangling data as well. I find Rust cumbersome, with regards to naming styles, and error handling. I like the conveniences of the package and toolchain management rolled with Rust, but they aren't enough to sway me from C++. I would like something like the borrow checker being available in C++, and say, MSVC or GCC having more user-friendly compiler error messages. Maybe C++ is too slow to adapt, and Rust will take its place, if comparable frameworks become more popular. Competition is good for innovation anyway. Regards, Ben

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