- wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

LZ4 Compression Algorithm Gets Multi-Threaded Update
by Peter Reutemann 29 Jul '24

29 Jul '24

'Slashdot reader Seven Spirals brings news about the lossless compression algorithm LZ4: The already wonderful performance of the LZ4 compressor just got better with multi-threaded additions to it's codebase. In many cases, LZ4 can compress data faster than it can be written to disk giving this particular compressor some very special applications. The Linux kernel as well as filesystems like ZFS use LZ4 compression extensively. This makes LZ4 more comparable to the Zstd compression algorithm, which has had multi-threaded performance for a while, but cannot match the LZ4 compressor for speed, though it has some direct LZ4. >From Linuxiac.com: - On Windows 11, using an Intel 7840HS CPU, compression time has improved from 13.4 seconds to just 1.8 seconds — a 7.4 times speed increase. - macOS users with the M1 Pro chip will see a reduction from 16.6 seconds to 2.55 seconds, a 6.5 times faster performance. - For Linux users on an i7-9700k, the compression time has been reduced from 16.2 seconds to 3.05 seconds, achieving a 5.4 times speed boost... The release supports lesser-known architectures such as LoongArch, RISC-V, and others, ensuring LZ4's portability across various platforms. ' -- source: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/24/07/28/0057247 Cheers, Peter

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What Happens If You Connect Windows XP To the Internet In 2024?
by Peter Reutemann 29 Jul '24

29 Jul '24

'Long-time Slashdot reader sandbagger writes: Have you ever wondered if it's true you can instantly get malware? In this video, a person connects an XP instance directly to the internet with no firewall to see just how fast it gets compromised by malware, rootkits, malicious services and new user accounts. The answer — fast! Malwarebytes eventually finds eight different viruses/Trojan horses -- and a DNS changer. (One IP address leads back to the Russian federation.) It's fun to watch -- within just a few hours a new Windows user has even added themself. And for good measure, he also opens up Internet Explorer... - Windows XP -- very insecure, they conclude at the end of the video. Very easy for random software from the internet to get more privileges than you, and it is very hard to solve that. - Also, just out of curiosity I tried this on Windows 7. And even with all of the same settings, nothing happened. I let it run for 10 hours. So it seems like this may be a problem in historical Windows.' -- source: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/07/28/2137216 Cheers, Peter

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Secure Boot is completely broken on 200+ models from 5 big device makers
by Peter Reutemann 26 Jul '24

26 Jul '24

'On Thursday, researchers from security firm Binarly revealed that Secure Boot is completely compromised on more than 200 device models sold by Acer, Dell, Gigabyte, Intel, and Supermicro. The cause: a cryptographic key underpinning Secure Boot on those models that was compromised in 2022. In a public GitHub repository committed in December of that year, someone working for multiple US-based device manufacturers published what’s known as a platform key, the cryptographic key that forms the root-of-trust anchor between the hardware device and the firmware that runs on it. The repository was located at https://github.com/raywu-aaeon/Ryzen2000_4000.git, and it's not clear when it was taken down. The repository included the private portion of the platform key in encrypted form. The encrypted file, however, was protected by a four-character password, a decision that made it trivial for Binarly, and anyone else with even a passing curiosity, to crack the passcode and retrieve the corresponding plain text. The disclosure of the key went largely unnoticed until January 2023, when Binarly researchers found it while investigating a supply-chain incident. Now that the leak has come to light, security experts say it effectively torpedoes the security assurances offered by Secure Boot. “It’s a big problem,” said Martin Smolár, a malware analyst specializing in rootkits who reviewed the Binarly research and spoke to me about it. “It’s basically an unlimited Secure Boot bypass for these devices that use this platform key. So until device manufacturers or OEMs provide firmware updates, anyone can basically… execute any malware or untrusted code during system boot. Of course, privileged access is required, but that’s not a problem in many cases.”' -- source: https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/07/secure-boot-is-completely-compromi… Cheers, Peter

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distrobox
by Peter Reutemann 26 Jul '24

26 Jul '24

Just came across distrobox, which seems a useful extension to container managers like docker/podman/lilipod, allowing you to run other distros in your shell: 'Use any Linux distribution inside your terminal. Enable both backward and forward compatibility with software and freedom to use whatever distribution you’re more comfortable with. Distrobox uses podman, docker or lilipod to create containers using the Linux distribution of your choice. The created container will be tightly integrated with the host, allowing sharing of the HOME directory of the user, external storage, external USB devices and graphical apps (X11/Wayland), and audio.' -- source: https://distrobox.it/ That should be especially useful for people working in environments where they are forced to use a specific host OS. As long as they have one of the supported container managers available, they can easily switch! Cheers, Peter

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Anyone can Access Deleted and Private Repository Data on GitHub
by Peter Reutemann 26 Jul '24

26 Jul '24

'You can access data from deleted forks, deleted repositories and even private repositories on GitHub. And it is available forever. This is known by GitHub, and intentionally designed that way. This is such an enormous attack vector for all organizations that use GitHub that we’re introducing a new term: Cross Fork Object Reference (CFOR). A CFOR vulnerability occurs when one repository fork can access sensitive data from another fork (including data from private and deleted forks). Similar to an Insecure Direct Object Reference, in CFOR users supply commit hashes to directly access commit data that otherwise would not be visible to them. ' -- source: https://trufflesecurity.com/blog/anyone-can-access-deleted-and-private-repo… Interesting read! Cheers, Peter

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Run0 vs Sudo: What’s the Difference?
by Peter Reutemann 25 Jul '24

25 Jul '24

'Run0 is a new privilege escalation program for Systemd-based Linux systems. Similar to sudo, it allows you to run commands as a root user and access your machine’s internals. In this article, we compare Run0 vs Sudo to help you determine the right privilege escalation tool for you.' -- source: https://www.maketecheasier.com/run0-vs-sudo-whats-the-difference/ Honestly, I only came across Run0 the other day. I still remember the days of using "su" to get stuff done, long before sudo. Is anyone using Run0? What are your experiences? Cheers, Peter

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It Never Rains But It Pours
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 24 Jul '24

24 Jul '24

Instructive to read this notice <https://rimuhosting.com/maintenance.jsp?server_maint_oid=5241959612&sn_oid=…> about progress in fixing an issue in the Dallas co-lo centre for Rimu hosting. As a customer, I wasn’t affected (though I could have been), and I have no complaints with the way this was handled--it was great that they kept customers like me apprised of developments like this. The interesting part is how a single initial failure can lead to a cascade of other failures. From the description, the original problem was a breakdown of a transformer feeding power from the grid. To allow it to be repaired, the power was switched to a backup generator. The generator then shut down with a belt problem. So power went to UPS batteries. These ran flat before the generator could be brought back to operation. So various parts of the facility were left without power. After power was restored, it was discovered that some (network?) switches had failed to come up. So a bunch of physical boxes holding customers’ VMs had to be physically moved to a different location where they could get connectivity again. From that point, the disruption was (mostly) over as far as customers were concerned, though there was obviously still work to be done to get the infrastructure back to its normal state. I think that a lot of theoretical statistical modelling of the odds of system failures tends to assume that failures of individual components will be independent of each other. Yet time and time again in the real world, we discover that this is not the case.

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Switzerland Now Requires All Government Software To Be Open Source
by Peter Reutemann 24 Jul '24

24 Jul '24

'Switzerland has enacted the "Federal Law on the Use of Electronic Means for the Fulfillment of Government Tasks" (EMBAG), mandating open-source software (OSS) in the public sector to enhance transparency, security, and efficiency. "This new law requires all public bodies to disclose the source code of software developed by or for them unless third-party rights or security concerns prevent it," writes ZDNet's Steven Vaughan-Nichols. "This 'public money, public code' approach aims to enhance government operations' transparency, security, and efficiency." From the report: Making this move wasn't easy. It began in 2011 when the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published its court application, Open Justitia, under an OSS license. The proprietary legal software company Weblaw wasn't happy about this. There were heated political and legal fights for more than a decade. Finally, the EMBAG was passed in 2023. Now, the law not only allows the release of OSS by the Swiss government or its contractors, but also requires the code to be released under an open-source license "unless the rights of third parties or security-related reasons would exclude or restrict this." Professor Dr. Matthias Sturmer, head of the Institute for Public Sector Transformation at the Bern University of Applied Sciences, led the fight for this law. He hailed it as "a great opportunity for government, the IT industry, and society." Sturmer believes everyone will benefit from this regulation, as it reduces vendor lock-in for the public sector, allows companies to expand their digital business solutions, and potentially leads to reduced IT costs and improved services for taxpayers. In addition to mandating OSS, the EMBAG also requires the release of non-personal and non-security-sensitive government data as Open Government Data (OGD). This dual "open by default" approach marks a significant paradigm shift towards greater openness and practical reuse of software and data. Implementing the EMBAG is expected to serve as a model for other countries considering similar measures. It aims to promote digital sovereignty and encourage innovation and collaboration within the public sector. The Swiss Federal Statistical Office (BFS) is leading the law's implementation, but the organizational and financial aspects of the OSS releases still need to be clarified. ' -- source: https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/07/23/2025220 Cheers, Peter

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Linux Mint 22 “Wilma” Is Now Available for Download, Here’s What’s New
by Peter Reutemann 24 Jul '24

24 Jul '24

'Linux Mint 22 is now available for download as the latest stable release of this popular Ubuntu-based operating system for the masses featuring the Cinnamon, Xfce, and MATE desktop environments. Dubbed “Wilma”, Linux Mint 22 is based on the Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) operating system series and uses the Linux 6.8 kernel. It will receive security updates until 2029 and new kernel versions as they’re available upstream in the Ubuntu 24.04 LTS repositories. The flagship edition features the latest Cinnamon 6.2 desktop environment while the Xfce and MATE editions ship with the Xfce 4.18 and MATE 1.26 desktop environments. The Wayland session in the Cinnamon edition is still in an experimental state and Linux Mint 22 Cinnamon will default to X11. Linux Mint 22 comes with PipeWire as the default sound server, support for the new Debian DEB822 format, GTK4 support for themes, improved HiDPI support during boot, better language support, artwork improvements, and FAT32 in File System Transposition mode support for the ISO images. Software-wise, Linux Mint 22 features the Mozilla Thunderbird email client as a native DEB package, a new GNOME Online Accounts GTK independent XApp to support the Online Accounts functionality, and a new Web App called Matrix, which is preinstalled by default and connects you to the Matrix chat network. Furthermore, it features JXL (JPEG-XL) image support in the Pix image viewer, a confirmation dialog pop-up when deleting a snapshot in the Timeshift backup tool, the ability to configure the default position of newly created notes in the Sticky note-taking app, and support for the Xed text editor to duplicate selected text. It also disables unverified Flatpak apps by default in the Software Manager app, which received some welcome changes like improved multi-threading, a new preferences page, and a banner slideshow. In addition, Software Manager now loads faster than before and the main window appears instantly. On top of that, Linux Mint 22 comes with a new package called xapp-thumbnailer-gimp that provides a thumbnailer for GIMP (.xcf) files and an updated xfce4-xapp-status-plugin tray applet that lets you configure icon sizes for full-color and symbolic icons.' -- source: https://9to5linux.com/linux-mint-22-wilma-is-now-available-for-download-her… Cheers, Peter

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Apache Software Foundation is Retiring its Feather Logo
by Peter Reutemann 23 Jul '24

23 Jul '24

'The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) has announced plans to evolve its corporate logo and brand system to better represent its "community over code" ethos and promote inclusivity. Why? Because the ASF took seriously concerns raised by Natives in Tech and other members of the open-source community regarding the appropriateness of using Indigenous imagery. So, the ASF will retire its iconic feather logo, which has been a central part of the foundation's identity since 1999. The organization acknowledges that, as a non-Indigenous entity, it is inappropriate to continue using Indigenous themes or language in its branding. The group also realizes that the logo has been very popular for almost 30 years, but they feel this is the right thing to do. This comes after ASF changed the name of its flagship event to Community Over Code from ApacheCon. The ASF's Marketing and publicity team, along with a Branding Steering Committee composed of ASF Members, is collaborating with branding and design vendors to develop a new logo. This new visual identity will embody the Foundation's history of providing software for the public good while reflecting its global contributor base. The decision to update the brand extends beyond the logo. Changes also apply to ASF open-source projects that currently use Indigenous imagery. It will not--I and the ASF repeat--not change the Apache License or any released software. ' -- source: https://opensourcewatch.beehiiv.com/p/apache-software-foundation-retiring-f… Cheers, Peter

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Imperfect, Linux-powered, DIY smart TV is the embodiment of ad fatigue
by Peter Reutemann 23 Jul '24

23 Jul '24

'Smart TV owners have been subjected to a growing amount of ads and tracking. Ad fatigue, only worsened by a trend that sees streaming providers trying to force customers into subscriptions with commercials, is understandable. We’re at the point where someone would rather use a broken laptop dangling off a TV than be subjected to the watchful eye of the TV's native operating system. Earlier this month, as spotted by Tom’s Hardware, a blogger named Carl Riis, who says he’s a software engineer, shared his DIY project, a Linux-based “smart TV.” Riis’ project doesn’t stand out because it’s the most unique, clever, or clean. In fact, if you’re the type of person willing to pay a lot for TVs with strong aesthetic appeal, like TVs that can look like artwork or appear transparent, you’ll be put off by the EarlGreyTV. The system uses an old Lenovo laptop that has a broken keyboard and is attached to a TV by a string. As Riis wrote: “This may look a little insane, but it has been a great way to keep things neat while retaining access to the laptop."' -- source: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/07/broken-linux-laptop-makes-for-a-fin… Cheers, Peter

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Microsoft: Linux Is the Top Operating System on Azure Today
by Peter Reutemann 23 Jul '24

23 Jul '24

'Azure used to be a cloud platform dedicated to Windows. Now, it's the most widely used operating system on Microsoft Azure. The New Stack's Joab Jackson writes: These days, Microsoft expends considerable effort that Linux runs as smoothly as possible on Azure, according to a talk given earlier this year at the Linux Foundation Open Source Summit given by two Microsoft Azure Linux Platforms Group program managers, Jack Aboutboul, and Krum Kashan. "Linux is the #1 operating system in Azure today," Aboutoul said. And all must be supported in a way that Microsoft users have come to expects. Hence, the need for the Microsoft's Linux Platforms Group, which provides support Linux to both the internal customers and to Azure customers. These days, the duo of engineers explained, Microsoft knows about as much as anyone about how to operate Linux at hyperscale. [...] As of today, there are hundreds of Azure and Azure-based services running on Linux, including the Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), OpenAI, HDInsight, and many of the other database services. "A lot of the infrastructure powering everything else is running on Linux," Aboutoul said. "They're different flavors of Linux running all over the place," Aboutoul said. To run these services, Microsoft maintains its own kernel, Azure Linux, and in 2023 the company released its own version of Linux, Azure Linux. But Azure Linux is just a small portion of all the other flavors of Linux running on Azure, all of which Microsoft must work with to support. Overall, there are about 20,000 third-party Software as a Service (SaaS) packages in the Azure marketplace that rely on some Linux distribution. And when things go wrong, it is the Azure service engineers who get the help tickets. The company keeps a set of endorsed Linux distributions, which include Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Debian, Flatcar, Suse, Canonical, and Oracle Linux and CentOS (as managed by OpenLogic, not Red Hat). [...] Overall, the company gets about 1,000 images a month from these endorsed partners alone. Many of the distributions have multiple images (Suse has a regular one, and another one for high-performance computing, for instance). ' -- source: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/24/07/22/2157209 Cheers, Peter

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Nvidia Will Fully Transition To Open-Source GPU Kernel Modules With R560 Drivers
by Peter Reutemann 19 Jul '24

19 Jul '24

'Nvidia is ready to fully transition to open-source Linux GPU kernel drivers, starting with the R555 series and planning a complete shift with the R560 series. The open-source kernel modules will only be available for select newer GPUs, while older architectures like Maxwell, Pascal, and Volta must continue using proprietary drivers. TechSpot reports: According to Nvidia, the open-source GPU kernel modules have helped deliver "equivalent or better" application performance compared to its proprietary kernels. The company has also added new features like Heterogeneous Memory Management (HMM) support, confidential computing, and the coherent memory architectures of the Grace platform to its open-source kernels. [...] For compatible GPUs, the default version of the driver installed by all methods is switching from proprietary to open-source. However, users will have the ability to manually select the closed-source modules if they are still available for their platform. Unfortunately, the open-source kernel modules are not available for GPUs from the older Maxwell, Pascal, and Volta architectures, meaning people still running a GTX 980 or GTX 1080 will have to continue using Nvidia's proprietary drivers. For mixed deployments with older and newer GPUs in the same system, Nvidia recommends continuing to use the proprietary driver for full compatibility. "Nvidia has moved most of its proprietary functions into a proprietary, closed-source firmware blob," adds Ars Technica's Kevin Purdy. "The parts of Nvidia's GPUs that interact with the broader Linux system are open, but the user-space drivers and firmware are none of your or the OSS community's business." ' -- source: https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/07/18/2050235 Reminds me a bit of the Brother Linux drivers that I've used in the past: open-source scripts around binary, closed-source blobs... Cheers, Peter

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SUSE Requests openSUSE to Rebrand
by Peter Reutemann 18 Jul '24

18 Jul '24

'Believe it or not, an unexpected conflict has arisen in the openSUSE community with its long-time supporter and namesake, the SUSE company. At the heart of this tension lies a quiet request that has stirred not-so-quiet ripples across the open source landscape: SUSE has formally asked openSUSE to discontinue using its brand name. Richard Brown, a key figure within the openSUSE project, shared insights into the discussions that have unfolded behind closed doors. Despite SUSE’s request’s calm and respectful tone, the implications of not meeting it could be far-reaching, threatening the symbiotic relationship that has benefited both entities over the years. Let’s face it: SUSE has been more than just a namesake for openSUSE; it has actively provided resources and support far beyond what it would ordinarily need for its business operations. This generosity has fostered a thriving openSUSE project that has excelled under SUSE’s goodwill and informal support, including contributions made by SUSE employees on company time. However, the recent request for a branding separation has overshadowed this partnership. If openSUSE does not handle this request with the sensitivity and cooperation it demands, the project risks not just a reduction in support from SUSE but a potential shift in priorities away from it. The “Factory first” policy, a cornerstone of the engineering synergy between SUSE and openSUSE, could also be scrutinized, emphasizing the gravity of the current situation.' -- source: https://linuxiac.com/suse-requests-opensuse-to-rebrand/ Cheers, Peter

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What Is Code?
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 11 Jul '24

11 Jul '24

Apologies if you already know about this essay, but I just discovered it today: <https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-paul-ford-what-is-code/>. It’s long. It’s breezy, entertaining, and manages to convey some actual content. Great for recommending to friends or family members who ask what software development is all about.

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Debian Curl Now Supports HTTP3: What You Need To Know
by Peter Reutemann 09 Jul '24

09 Jul '24

'Good news for Debian users! HTTP3 arrives in Debian Curl. Yes, starting with curl 8.0.0-2, Debian users can now utilize HTTP3. This marks a significant upgrade in the capabilities of curl, enhancing its performance and efficiency in handling web communications. This new feature can be easily tested using the --http3-only flag.' -- source: https://ostechnix.com/debian-curl-supports-http3/ Cheers, Peter

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No more boot loader: Please use the kernel instead
by Peter Reutemann 09 Jul '24

09 Jul '24

'We are working on a new scheme to replace the GRUB bootloader with a fast, secure, Linux-based, user-space solution: nmbl (for no more boot loader). Most people are familiar with GRUB, a powerful, flexible, fully-featured bootloader that is used on multiple architectures (x86_64, aarch64, ppc64le OpenFirmware). Although GRUB is quite versatile and capable, its features create complexity that is difficult to maintain, and that both duplicate and lag behind the Linux kernel while also creating numerous security holes. On the other hand, the Linux kernel, which has a large developer base, benefits from fast feature development, quick responses to vulnerabilities and greater overall scrutiny. We (Red Hat boot loader engineering) will present our solution to this problem, which is to use the Linux kernel as its own bootloader. Loaded by the EFI stub on UEFI, and packed into a unified kernel image (UKI), the kernel, initramfs, and kernel command line, contain everything they need to reach the final boot target. All necessary drivers, filesystem support, and networking are already built in and code duplication is avoided. We will showcase the work done so far, and ask you for your feedback and use cases.' -- source: https://pretalx.com/devconf-cz-2024/talk/W3AVCT/ -- video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywrSDLp926M Cheers, Peter

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FreeBSD Contributor Mocks Gloomy Predictions for the Open Source Movement
by Peter Reutemann 08 Jul '24

08 Jul '24

'In Communications of the ACM,/em>, long-time FreeBSD contributor Poul-Henning Kamp mocks the idea that the free and open-source software has "come apart" and "will end in tears and regret." Economists and others focused on money — like my bank — have had a lot of trouble figuring out the free and open source software (FOSS) phenomenon, and eventually they seem to have reached the conclusion that it just makes no sense. So, they go with the flow. Recently, very serious people in the FOSS movement have started to write long and thoughtful opinion pieces about how it has all come apart and will end in tears and regret. Allow me to disagree... What follows is a humorous history of how the Open Source movement bested a series of ill-conceived marketing failures starting after the "utterly bad" 1980s when IBM had an "unimaginably huge monopoly" — and an era of vendor lock-in from companies trying to be the next IBM: Out of that utter market failure came Minix, (Net/Free/Open)BSD, and Linux, at a median year of approximately 1991. I can absolutely guarantee that if we had been able to buy a reasonably priced and solid Unix for our 32-bit PCs — no strings attached — nobody would be running FreeBSD or Linux today, except possibly as an obscure hobby. Bill Gates would also have had a lot less of our money... The essay moves on to when "that dot-com thing happened, fueled by the availability of FOSS operating systems, which did a much better job than any operating system you could buy — not just for the price, but in absolute terms of performance on any given piece of hardware. Thus, out of utter market failure, the FOSS movement was born." And ultimately, the essay ends with our present day, and the phenomenon of companies that "make a business out of FOSS or derivatives thereof..." The "F" in FOSS was never silent. In retrospect, it seems clear that open source was not so much the goal itself as a means to an end, which is freedom: freedom to fix broken things, freedom from people who thought they could clutch the source code tightly and wield our ignorance of it as a weapon to force us all to pay for and run Windows Vista. But the FOSS movement has won what it wanted, and no matter how much oldsters dream about their glorious days as young revolutionaries, it is not coming back; the frustrations and anger of IT in 2024 are entirely different from those of 1991. One very big difference is that more people have realized that source code is a liability rather than an asset. For some, that realization came creeping along the path from young teenage FOSS activists in the late 1990s to CIOs of BigCorp today. For most of us, I expect, it was the increasingly crushing workload of maintaining legacy code bases...' -- source: https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/07/07/0243241 Cheers, Peter

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“RegreSSHion” vulnerability in OpenSSH gives attackers root on Linux
by Peter Reutemann 03 Jul '24

03 Jul '24

'Researchers have warned of a critical vulnerability affecting the OpenSSH networking utility that can be exploited to give attackers complete control of Linux and Unix servers with no authentication required. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-6387, allows unauthenticated remote code execution with root system rights on Linux systems that are based on glibc, an open source implementation of the C standard library. The vulnerability is the result of a code regression introduced in 2020 that reintroduced CVE-2006-5051, a vulnerability that was fixed in 2006. With thousands, if not millions, of vulnerable servers populating the Internet, this latest vulnerability could pose a significant risk. [...] The vulnerability affects the following: - OpenSSH versions earlier than 4.4p1 are vulnerable to this signal handler race condition unless they are patched for CVE-2006-5051 and CVE-2008-4109. - Versions from 4.4p1 up to, but not including, 8.5p1 are not vulnerable due to a transformative patch for CVE-2006-5051, which made a previously unsafe function secure. - The vulnerability resurfaces in versions from 8.5p1 up to, but not including, 9.8p1 due to the accidental removal of a critical component in a function.' -- source: https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/07/regresshion-vulnerability-in-opens… OpenSSH 9.8 was released July 1st: https://www.openssh.com/ Cheers, Peter

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Made Move To Wayland
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 01 Jul '24

01 Jul '24

I’d been running Wayland OK on my laptop for some months now, but I held off putting it on my main machine for one reason: when I logged into a Wayland session, Emacs would not recognize my Compose key (which I have set to Caps Lock). Today I finally figured out I have to install the “emacs-pgtk” package instead of “emacs-gtk”; the former is built with a version of GTK that works with Wayland. And yes, my Compose key works again. Still have to get used to slightly different input behaviour: previously, once I hit Compose, nothing would appear until I finished the whole key sequence. Now it echoes each keystroke immediately as I type it, in place, overwriting the previous echo (starting with an underline for the Compose key itself), then when I have typed the last key, it overwrites the echo area with the final character.

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From Jupyter To JupyterLab
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 28 Jun '24

28 Jun '24

I’ve been using Jupyter <https://jupyter.org/> as a convenient basis for “scratchpad” programming (not just in Python, but also some other languages) for a while now. I had heard about this next-generation “JupyterLab” thing they were working on, but always held off trying it out. Then I did my usual monthly upgrade of Debian Unstable on my main machine a few days ago, and this time my Jupyter installation broke. So I updated my wrapper scripts for building Jupyter from source, to check out more recent versions of all the necessary components. Got the build done, started it up, and ... it seems my Jupyter has turned into JupyterLab. Yup, it has a new interface now. The file-manager display no longer seems to open things with a single click; that now only selects items, and you then have to perform an action (like open a notebook) from a right-click menu. And there is no “open in new tab/window” menu item; creating a new tab always happens when opening a notebook, while opening a subfolder always replaces the current tab contents. I used to be able to middle-click on a folder to open it in a new tab, but that option is now gone. There is an option in the right-click menu to “Copy Shareable Link”. When you do this on a notebook or folder and paste the result into the address bar, it opens the item in what I can only call “lab” mode. The window now has three panes, with the middle one an editor-type display, for viewing/editing notebook contents and other document content. The left-hand pane can show various things, selected by clicking one of the icons in its leftmost margin: it can show folder contents, or the table of contents of the current notebook, or a summary of open notebooks, running processes etc. And in the right-hand pane, there are various kinds of “tools” (for debugging, inspection etc) that only seem to appear when viewing notebook content. Ah, discovered how to control the visibility of this “tool” pane: it has two icons for selecting the two different categories of this it can display. But if you click the icon for the section that is already showing, the whole pane shrinks down to a narrow strip just showing the icons. Click again to expand the pane, of course. Further ah, same thing happens with the left-hand pane: click the icon for the section that’s already showing, and that pane too shrinks down. Hiding both the left- and right-hand panes brings you almost back to the old-style minimal-frills notebook/document display, except it only takes a click to bring one of those extras back. The middle pane has its own tab system, to let you have multiple documents open at once. You can drag its internal tabs around to tile them vertically or horizontally. And you can just drag a document to here from the folder display on the left to open it. Click on the document tab header, and that item opens in a separate browser window/tab. If nothing is open here it defaults to showing a “Launcher” tab, with icons for creating notebooks, opening terminal sessions, and creating other document types. The “lab” mode is activated by having an extra “/lab” part in the URL; if you remove this, it reverts to the old-style view of a single folder or notebook. Another thing that has changed is the way notebooks are saved. Previously, there was a menu option to “save and checkpoint” (with no option to do a manual save without checkpointing). And I found that if you tried to close the view of a modified notebook, it would ask to confirm you wanted to close the tab/window, but regardless of which you selected, the notebook would still be saved back to the file. Now that confirm-close trick no longer does saving; you have to explicitly select Save from the File menu, or hit CTRL/S. Checkpointing might still happen automatically as part of autosaving; I can’t find a menu option for explicitly creating a checkpoint, only for restoring from one. So anyway, a lot of intriguing new stuff in there to discover. If you like experimenting with code (as I do), Jupyter can be a great way to do it.

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Superfile: A Modern Terminal File Manager for Linux and macOS
by Peter Reutemann 20 Jun '24

20 Jun '24

'Superfile is a modern terminal file manager that recently caught my attention; it’s not only easy to use but is very user-friendly compared to its alternatives, such as Ranger, MC, or nnn. It allows you to create files and directories, view (process, metadata, clipboard), provide a navigation pane, create multiple panels to work in two separate directories, support plugins, offer a variety of themes, and much more. The project is new, so there have been active updates every week, allowing you to see new features quickly. I’ve also been using it for a few days, and honestly, one key factor in using DE in Linux for me was its easy-to-use file manager, but with Superfile, there’s no need for that now.' -- source: https://linuxtldr.com/installing-superfile/ I've used mc in the past, being familiar with norton commander, but I might give Superfile a go in the future. Cheers, Peter

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systemd-tmpfiles, deleting /home
by Peter Reutemann 19 Jun '24

19 Jun '24

Saw this on my mastodon feed: 'TIL (thankfully second hand) that running "systemd-tmpfiles --purge" will delete /home in systemd 256 [1]. Apparently if you think linux is mainly for running cloud services, this seems reasonable to you. Or something. [1] tested with systemd-tmpfiles --dry-run --purge on debian. I guess it _could_ be a Debian addition, but I'm guessing not.' -- source: https://mathstodon.xyz/@bremner/112615591101488528 Anyone keen on giving it a go??? :-) Cheers, Peter

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DietPi Released a New Version 9.5
by Peter Reutemann 19 Jun '24

19 Jun '24

Just saw these release notes come across my feed: https://dietpi.com/docs/releases/v9_5/ Since I'd never heard of DiePi before: 'DietPi is a highly optimised & minimal Debian-based Linux distribution. DietPi is extremely lightweight at its core, and also extremely easy to install and use. Setting up a single board computer (SBC) or even a computer, for both regular or server use, takes time and skill. DietPi provides an easy way to install and run favourite software you choose.' -- source: https://dietpi.com/docs/ And it supports a range of boards: https://dietpi.com/docs/hardware/ RPis, Odroid, Pine64, Radxa, Sparky, ASUS Tinker board, NanoPi, Orange Pi Cheers, Peter

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KDE Plasma 6.1 Released
by Peter Reutemann 19 Jun '24

19 Jun '24

'"The KDE community announced the latest release of their popular desktop environment: Plasma 6.1," writes longtime Slashdot reader jrepin. From the announcement: While Plasma 6.0 was all about getting the migration to the underlying Qt 6 frameworks correct, Plasma 6.1 is where developers start implementing the features that will take you desktop to a new level. In this release, you will find features that go far beyond subtle changes to themes and tweaks to animations (although there is plenty of those too). Among some of the new features in this release you will find improved remote desktop support with a new built-in server, overhauled and streamlined desktop edit mode, restoration of open applications from the previous session on Wayland, synchronization of keyboard LED colors with the desktop accent color, making mouse cursor bigger and easier to find by shaking it, edge barriers (a sticky area for mouse cursor near the edges between screens), explicit sync support eliminates flickering and glitches for NVidia graphics card users on Wayland, and triple buffering support for smoother animations and screen rendering.' -- source: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/06/18/2050203 Cheers, Peter

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