What is a Cartridge Razor?

An implement to shave or cut hair from skin designed with razor blade(s) surrounded by a casing that has a single edge exposed per blade. The design is made for simplicity, ease of use and safety.

Variations of this shaving implement is sold with one or more razor blades in a detachable cartridge razor from the razor handle or as a disposable.

What is a Safety Razor?

A razor designed to protect the skin while shaving or cutting hair with only the very edge of the razor blade being exposed.

Safety razors can come in three main design styles, two-piece, three-piece or butterfly. The razor blade itself can be used in two forms, single edge (SE) or double edge (DE) and comes in a variety of different brands each having their own benefits. This means shaving can be done using one or two sides of the razor blade. As well there are different types of razor combs and aggressiveness.

The Beginning

In the beginning to the best of my memory, I started using a cartridge razor called Gillette Sensor with two razor blades. After a year or so I ended up being gifted an electric razor, Philips Philishave 555. For some time I did use the electric razor, but I eventually switched back to the Gillette Sensor. The reason was due to the electric razor would produce worse razor burn and bumps. This issue became even worse when all my whiskers grew in. I don’t ever recall being taught very much about the process or even how to resolve common issues. What I do remember is receiving statements that just acknowledge that the problem is common amongst the family. I continued to use Gillette Sensor into my early adult years and then at some point I moved on to using another cartridge razor called Gillette Sensor Excel. At this point I knew my skin is quite sensitive and even more problematic under my chin.

Around my mid 20s I moved on to yet another cartridge razor, Gillette Mach3 with three razor blades. As usual the marketing was selling it as an even smoother shave. No matter the amount water and shaving cream used I just couldn’t get a smooth shave. At times, I admit I could avoid the razor burn and bumps, but not entirely. Thinking about this now I’m not sure why I never looked into this more and asked more people to figure it all out. In either case I just kept on using Gillette Mach3 for many years to come as it was discontinued, but one could get the cartridge razors for a reasonable price. I would guess around my late 20s to early 30s I was gifted an electric razor, Braun Series 1 190. I would have to say this electric razor is amazing in getting a closer shave without missing a whisker, but the issues still remained. Let me be clear my issues were not enjoyable, but they were never severe like some stories I’ve been told.

The last item I purchased was a Philips Series 7000 about seven years ago before I decided for a major change. Now you’re maybe thinking at this stage why on earth did I do that? Well this implement is a shaving trimmer. You see as I’ve aged I’ve noticed more and more hair growing in places I wish I never had. So I use this trimmer to keep the nose and ear hair under control. Though I completely admit when I’m being lazy I use it to trim down the beard to stubble.

After all these many years what amazes me is I still own each and ever shaving implement except the Gillette Sensor. Several months ago I started to think why do I have all these shaving implements when I don’t use the majority of them. I set aside a few of them to be disposed of, but now I’m starting to think I shouldn’t do this as some have shockingly become a collectable.

Acquiring The Safety Razor

Around mid 2018 my brother was talking to me about safety razors as he was looking into them due his even worse experience of shaving. The talks about using a safety razor really got me curious, so I started looking into them a bit too. We even watch videos of people shaving to try to figure out where to start with brands and what people used. We both spent more time researching than I believe either of us care to admit to. I did find it quite difficult to figure out and there was not a lot of information online for beginners. Since then popularity has increased again making more information available. At one point we drove around the city going to ever place we could find seeing what locally was available, but unfortunately most places don’t have a good selection or anything at all. However, I was able to locally purchase an alum block and collection bank for used razor blades. After building up some understanding we made the decision to purchase our safety razor and the other accessories online through Fendrihan Canada in February 2019. Below lists each item I purchased along with some details.

I’m sure a lot of people would be shocked to see the cost compared to a cartridge razor, but don’t be fooled by the initial investment. The items required to purchase can be done cheaper if desired, but I’m doing this a long term investment. In the end you only need a safety razor, razor blades, shaving soap and brush to get started. In the long run it is far cheaper and does a better shave than any cartridge razor could ever dream of achieving.

The First Shave

My first shave using a safety razor was not ideal nor a few afterwards that lead to one nasty cut and then minor cuts. However, this was due to being a novice and not taking more care of the angle of the razor on my skin. I later learned it was also due to the safety razor I choose to purchase, the Rockwell R1. To me, it is not a novices safety razor as it is more aggressive than expected, too lightweight and for whatever reason I found as I shaved the knob to tight the butterfly razor closed fixing the razor blade in place would loosen over time when shaving. I never did figure this issue out, I just simply moved on to using another safety razor.

Does it Become an Addiction?

As the years have pasted by I have picked up more shaving products. Some to replenish my supply, some to solve issues and others to feed my curiosity of the shaving craft. I would like to say it is not an addiction, but I have to admit when I see an old safety razor at garage sale or flea market it’s hard to not want purchase it and learn more about the past. I suppose one could say this is in a sense become not just an act of caring for myself, but a hobby. So is it an addiction? At this stage I don’t think so though I can see how it can be a balancing act. Below is what I have further acquired since the initial investment in early 2019.

Conclusion

Gathering the information for this post made me realize how much I own as well as how I truly enjoy and appreciate shaving now since switching to using a safety razor. I’ve settled into shaving with a safety razor using Rockwell Razors 6C, Feather double edge razor blades, D.R. Harris & Co shaving bowl and soap, Thayers facial toner for skin care, Laboratoires Osma alum block for cuts, and a Fendrihan pure badger shaving brush. With the gained experience and routine I’ve been able to shave as fast as fifteen minutes now instead of thirty minutes. Using a safety razor is without a doubt a skill that is learned over time by experience no matter how much you gain about the process previously. If you’re willing to do the initial investment into your own self-care it will pay off in the end, and you won’t regret it. We all deserve self-care, so allow your self to enjoy the process.

What is a Keyboard Shortcut?

In computing a keyboard shortcut or also known as a hotkey or a key binding is done by pressing one or more keys to preform a specific action. The actions can be built into a given application, operating system or added in by using another application or scripting language.

For a complete explanation about keyboard shortcuts please refer to, What are Keyboard Shortcuts?

General Application Shortcuts

Actions preformed in a graphical user interface (GUI) by a keyboard shortcut maybe common between each application, but the keyboard shortcut used can vary from application to application. However, there are still some that are commonly used that we can look at to help have a general understanding of where to begin and what one can experiment with to determine how to achieve a desired action. With this said it is always recommended referring to the application itself or the documentation to determine the correct keyboard shortcut for the desired action.

Close Window

Close a window within an application, also known as a child window.

Shortcuts: Ctrl + W or Ctrl + F4

Close/Quit Application

Quit or end an application’s session, also known as a parent window.

Shortcuts: Ctrl + Q, Alt + F4

Copy

Duplicate text or an object (e.g. image file) into the clipboard with the intention to place (paste) at another location.

Shortcut: Ctrl + C

Cut

Remove text or an object (e.g. image file) into the clipboard with the intention to place (paste) at a new location.

Shortcut: Ctrl + X

Find

Locate text within the contents of an application window or document.

Shortcut: Ctrl + F

Find & Replace

Locate text within the contents of an application window or document and then replace with predefined text.

Shortcut: Ctrl + H

Full Screen

Maximize the application window size to use the entire screen.

Shortcut: F11

Go To

Move the cursor to a specific line number.

Shortcut: Ctrl + G

New Tab

Create or open a new tab within an application’s parent window.

Shortcut: Ctrl + T

New Window or Document

Create a new parent window or child window (document) within an application.

Shortcut: Ctrl + N

Open File

Open a document or file within the application.

Shortcut: Ctrl + O

Paste

Output what has been cut or copied into the clipboard to be placed at another location. This usually provides the ability to paste multiple time as required.

Shortcut: Ctrl + V

Print

Open the print dialog to set printing properties and to send a document to be printed.

Shortcut: Ctrl + P

Redo

Reverse an undo action that has been completed previously.

Shortcut: Ctrl + Y

Select All

Select all text or objects within an active application window.

Shortcut: Ctrl + A

Undo

Reverse the last action that was completed previously.

Shortcut: Ctrl + Z

Zoom In

Increase focus inward to make text or objects appear larger.

Shortcut: Ctrl + +

Zoom Out

Decrease focus outward to make text or objects appear smaller.

Shortcut: Ctrl + -

Desktop Environment Shortcuts

There are quite a few GNU/Linux desktop environments to choose from that are made up of a group of components that produce the graphical user interface (GUI). There is even the option to change out components for another. This allows for a user to have the perfect tailored environment. With this custom ability comes with varying keyboard shortcuts from each another, therefore instead of an exhausted list the most popular based environments are shown below.

GNOME

Lock Screen

Lock the graphical user interface.

Shortcut: Super + L

Logout / Restart

Show the power off / restart dialog.

Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + Del (delete)

Maximize Window

Increase the active application window size to maximum.

Shortcut: Super + ↑

Move to Workspace Above

Switch to the workspace above.

Shortcut: Super + Page Up

Move to Workspace Down

Switch to the workspace down.

Shortcut: Super + Page Down

Move Window One Monitor Down

Move the active window down one monitor.

Shortcut: Super + ↓

Move Window One Monitor Up

Move the active window up one monitor.

Shortcut: Super + ↑

Move Window One Monitor Left

Move the active window left one monitor.

Shortcut: Super + ←

Move Window One Monitor Right

Move the active window right one monitor.

Shortcut: Super + →

Restore Window

Restore the active application window size.

Shortcut: Super + ↓

Run Command

Show the run command prompt.

Shortcut: Alt + F2

Show Activities Overview

Display the activities overview of open applications, search and Dash.

Shortcut: Super

Switch Applications

Switch to an open application.

Shortcut: Super + Tab

Screenshot Interactively

Capture the desktop to an image interactively.

Shortcut: Print Screen (Print Scrn)

Screenshot

Capture the entire desktop to an image.

Shortcut: Shift + Print Screen (Print Scrn)

Screenshot Active Window

Capture the active window to an image interactively.

Shortcut: Alt + Print Screen (Print Scrn)

Tile Window Left

Move the active window to the left on current the screen and then select desired application to fill the rest.

Shortcut: Super + ←

Title Window Right

Move the active window to the right on current the screen and then select desired application to fill the rest.

Shortcut: Super + →

KDE Plasma

Emoji Selector

Open the Emoji Selector application.

Shortcut: Super + . (period)

File Manager

Open the file manager application.

Shortcut: Super + E

KRunner

Open the command-line launcher application.

Shortcut: Alt + F2 or Alt + Space bar

Lock Screen

Lock the graphical user interface.

Shortcut: Super + L

Logout / Restart / Shutdown

Show the logout / restart / shut down dialog.

Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + Del (delete)

Maximize Window

Increase the active application window size to maximum.

Shortcut: Super + Page Up

Minimize Window

Increase the active application window size to maximum.

Shortcut: Super + Page Down

Tile Window Left

Move and tile the active window to the left on the current screen.

Shortcut: Super + ←

Tile Window Right

Move and tile the active window to the right on the current screen.

Shortcut: Super + →

Tile Window Top

Move and tile the active window to the top on the current screen.

Shortcut: Super + ↑

Tile Window Bottom

Move and tile the active window to the bottom on the current screen.

Shortcut: Super + ↓

Screenshot Interactively

Capture the desktop to an image interactively.

Shortcut: Print Screen (Print Scrn)

Screenshot

Capture the entire desktop to an image.

Shortcut: Shift + Print Screen (Print Scrn)

Screenshot Active Window

Capture the active window to an image interactively.

Shortcut: Super + Print Screen (Print Scrn)

Switch Applications

Switch to an open application.

Shortcut: Alt + Tab

Terminal

Open the terminal emulator application.

Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + T

XFCE

Application Launcher

Open the application launcher Whisker Menu.

Shortcut: Alt + F1

Display Settings

Open the monitor display settings.

Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + P

File Manager

Open the file manager application.

Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + F

Find Application

Locate an application with the Application Finder.

Shortcut: Alt + F2

Lock Screen

Lock the graphical user interface.

Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + Del (delete)

Screenshot

Capture the entire desktop screen to an image interactively.

Shortcut: Print Screen (Print Scrn)

Screenshot Selected Area

Capture a selected area of the screen to an image interactively.

Shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + Print Screen (Print Scrn)

Screenshot Active Window

Capture the active window to an image interactively.

Shortcut: Shift + Print Screen (Print Scrn)

Stop Application

Abruptly stop or kill a selected application.

Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + X

Task Manager

Open the task manager.

Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + M

Terminal

Open the terminal emulator application.

Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + T

Command Line Shortcuts

How one chooses to access the command line interface (CLI) and which command-line interpreter (shell) is used determines what keyboard shortcuts are made available. For instances accessing via the console would be quite limiting compared to accessing via a terminal emulator (e.g. GNOME Console/Terminal). It is best to refer to the documentation for the shell, and terminal used in order to unleash the full potential. In either case, here are a few keyboard shortcuts one would prefer to not live without that will work with Bash or Bash compatible shells.

Break Command

Abruptly stop the current foreground running process.

Shortcut: Ctrl + C

Clear Screen

Clear the screen contents and redraw the current line, leaving current line at the top of screen. This shortcut when used executes the clear command.

Shortcut: Ctrl + L

Complete Typing

Type a partial text to complete the command, directory or file name.

Shortcut: Tab

Copy Text

Duplicate text into the clipboard with the intention to place (paste) at another location (if supported).

Shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + C

Delete To Start

Delete from the current cursor position to the start of the line.

Shortcut: Ctrl + U

Delete To End

Delete from the current cursor position to the end of the line.

Shortcut: Ctrl + K

Delete Word

Delete the word before the current cursor position.

Shortcut: Ctrl + W

Delete Undo

Restore the last deleted text from Ctrl + K, Ctrl + U or Ctrl + W.

Shortcut: Ctrl + Y

Exit

Shortcut for the command exit. The command line must be empty to work.

Shortcut: Ctrl + D

History Search

Search the entire command history using a provided keyword or string.

Shortcut: Ctrl + R

Move To Start of Line

Move the cursor to the beginning of the current line.

Shortcut: Ctrl + A

Move To End of Line

Move the cursor to the end of the current line.

Shortcut: Ctrl + E

Paste Text

Output what has been copied from the clipboard at the current cursor location. This usually provides the ability to paste multiple time as required.

Shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + C

Run In Background

Suspend the current command/process in the background. Refer to commands bg and fg.

Shortcut: Ctrl + Z

For a more complete list of keyboard shortcuts considering reading Bash Terminal Keyboard Shortcuts.

A Thankless Job

To part take in the development process of a community driven project and that uses a free open source license seems to not be overly appreciated enough in our society. Free software is what runs the majority of our lives and if it wasn’t for the great people that make this possible our world would be a very different place. In these challenging times that we are in and what may come we can lean on our community to support us which allows for our freedoms to be respected. So let us all take a step back and remember to give thanks to the endless people that make our world a better place.

Being In The Public Eye

Many may not be aware, but being in the public eye has its own challenges in itself let alone all the other overwhelmingly endless tasks that need to be completed in a project. Often I read about or hear people talk about their own experiences of being mistreated with ungrateful and disrespecting comments when all they are trying to do is help to empower people. Nothing is perfect, but we can strive to be better people and improve our communication. Let us start to show respect, gratitude and appreciation for all by giving thanks.

Show Appreciation

There are many ways one can show your support and appreciation that is not just in financial terms. Help spread awareness, donate required resources, educate people, and above all else why not just simply send a nice thoughtful message showing that you appreciate the hard work.

I’m thankful and appreciate each individual that contributes to the projects listed below of what is on my mind at the moment that I use on a day-to-day basis. As well take a look at the attribution page to see what I use to make this website possible.

• Android
• AntennaPod
• Arch Linux
• Calibre
• curl
• Fish
• FreeTube
• fzf
• GIMP
• Git
• GNOME
• GNU Bash
• GNU/Linux
• ImageMagick
• Inkscape
• Jekyll
• Mozilla Firefox
• Mozilla Thunderbird
• mpv
• Pandoc
• Shellcaster
• Tusky
• VSCodium

Conclusion

In the end of it all I believe the world will be a better place if we give thanks, show how gracious we are and aim to work better in our communication between each other. Showing love just encourages more love. To me there is nothing wrong with that.

Please remember to show your love for the projects with donations, help spread awareness and to follow these projects on the fediverse.

Fediverse Open Source Highlights

• CircuitPython (@circuitpython@fosstodon.org)

  A Python programming language targeted toward students and beginners for microcontrollers.

• pnpm (@pnpm@fosstodon.org)

  Fast, disk space efficient web development package manager.

• Mojolicious (@mojolicious@fosstodon.org)

  A real-time web development framework for Perl or Node.js.

• Tuist.swift (@tuist@fosstodon.org)

  A command line tool written in Swift that helps to generate, maintain and interact with Xcode projects.

Please consider showing your support with donations, help spread awareness and to follow these projects on the fediverse.

Fediverse Open Source Highlights

• pandas (@pandas_dev@fosstodon.org)

  A fast, powerful, flexible and easy to use open source data analysis and manipulation tool, built on top of the Python programming language.

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  A modern modular medical software for electronic health record (EHR) and electronic data capture (EDC).

• DDEV (@ddev@fosstodon.org)

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Fediverse Highlights

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• Salix (@salix@fosstodon.org)

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The Meaning of Enthusiasm

noun “Intensity of feeling; excited interest or eagerness.” from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

Experiencing Other’s Enthusiasm

I consume a lot through reading, watching and listening that covers vast topics, not just technology and as a result I’m often experience other’s enthusiasm. This leads me going down deep rabbit holes of recommendations or curiosity to learn more on something I was not aware of. If I require purchasing a new item, I spend more time than I want to admit researching out which is going to be the best option for my budget, requirements and quality. My reasoning is that I work hard for what I earn, and I wish to use the money I spend to go towards a company and product I want to support (my vote). Often someone will mention a particular item, software, device, etc. that is being used and if I haven’t heard of it off I go absorbing as much as I can about the exciting new thing.

What I’ve discovered about myself over the years is that my curiosity to learn is quite strong. This desire to explore and learn is a wonderful thing and I believe we should embrace this. However, many times I’ve gotten myself into situations that has made me feel overwhelmed, distracted, defeated and counterproductive. When this happens things start to move to an unhealthy territory that doesn’t benefit you nor those that might get caught up in your excitement. In these cases where it becomes unhealthy, we need to find a way to get it under control and understand why we are doing this to ourselves.

Turning Bad Into Good

Upon reflection, I realized that this unhealthy side to curiosity was a deeper issue about wanting to be in the know of knowledge. To not be the person that is not aware and that it is ultimately a low self-esteem. Just like Jack and Kev stated, I too feel that it is not about the fear of missing out (FOMO). I have no issue doing my own thing without having to be a part of something or have the latest gadget on the market. Often I would bully myself to the point that I would convince myself that I was not good enough as a person, to do a job or that my perspective doesn’t matter. These of course are all lies. I realize now that my perspective holds value and that is what makes me unique. It’s why we follow our curiosity into what someone else has done or said, to gain another perspective that leads to more knowledge and awareness.

So for me what I needed to do was change how I viewed myself and how I talked to myself. I also framed my mind around being productive not busy and each time I’m curious about something, I must stop and think first. Can I do this right now? Do I have other tasks or projects that should have priority first? Quite often I would just take notes or add a task so that I can come back later to fill my curiosity. What also helped was I started to say no more often and not to take on another project or task before I completed what I’m currently focused on. To help all these new processes I adopted the use of a task manager called Task Warrior. I then changed how I organize my files by using the PARA (project, area, resource, archive) method. Thus far these changes have been a game changer for me. I feel more in control of everything and I no longer feel overwhelmed, distracted, defeated and counterproductive. With my curiosity now being managed by my new thought process and filling I have noticed that like Kev mentioned enthusiasm fizzles over time and those tasks or notes I took to do later end up just getting deleted. So in a sense I’ve created a filter for myself.

Conclusion

The changes I’ve taken on is a work in progress, but I do know now that I am more aware of what is going on with in my own head. We should all give ourselves more grace and love our self. The conclusion for me of course may not be same for anyone else, but I do think it is worth the time to reflect on why one’s curiosity is turning into an unhealthy situation. Curiosity is meant to be wonderful and a powerful quality, don’t allow it to cause harm in your life.

What Are System Package Dependencies?

System packages are written in a modular form to create efficiencies and to allow another software project to build upon. In order to make a system package complete often they require another package in order to function and this is what is referred to as a package dependency. However, not all dependencies are created equal. Some dependencies can be set as optional and are therefore only required when a certain feature is desired.

Why You Cannot Remove The System Package

If the package was attempted to be removed using either pacman -R <package-name> or pacman -Rd <package-name>, pacman will fail to remove the package due to dependency checks. A dependency check involves checking for version, conflicts and required packages. The failure to remove the package due to it breaking dependency is done intentionally to help protect the system package from becoming broken.

In this example using the “-R” operation all dependency checks will occur and therefore will fail to remove the package.

$ pacman -R nodejs

checking dependencies...
error: failed to prepare transaction (could not satisfy dependencies)
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by asar
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by coffeescript
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by grunt-cli
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by node-gyp
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by nodejs-nopt
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by npm
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by semver
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by uglify-js
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by yarn

If the “-Rd” operations are used then version dependency check is skipped, but conflicts and required packages will still be checked. This is why in the example below the package fails to be removed.

$ pacman -Rd nodejs

checking dependencies...
error: failed to prepare transaction (could not satisfy dependencies)
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by asar
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by coffeescript
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by grunt-cli
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by node-gyp
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by nodejs-nopt
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by npm
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by semver
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by uglify-js
:: removing nodejs breaks dependency 'nodejs' required by yarn

How to Remove a Package without Dependency Checks

In order to force a removal of a package and skip all dependency checks (version, conflicts, required packages) an operation of “-Rdd” must be applied as shown below in the example.

$ pacman -Rdd nodejs

Please remember to give your support with donations, help spread awareness and to follow these projects on the fediverse.

Fediverse Highlights

• Excalidraw (@excalidraw@mastodon.social)

  A collaborative end-to-end encrypted virtual whiteboard for sketching hand-drawn like diagrams, wireframes and more.

• Theta (@theta@fosstodon.org)

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• PipeWire Project (@pipewire@fosstodon.org)

  An audio and video server for Linux systems handling everything from video capture, pro-audio and consumer audio.

• WireMock (@wiremock@fosstodon.org)

  A flexible open source tool for building mock application programming interfaces (APIs) and testing the client application.

Fediverse Highlights

• Alovoa (@alovoa_love@mastodon.social)

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• Biome (@biomejs@fosstodon.org)

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• Apache Airflow (@airflow@fosstodon.org)

  A platform created by the community to programmatically author, schedule and monitor workflows.

• ApacheDS (@apacheds@fosstodon.org)

  A modern certified LDAPv3 extensible and embeddable directory server with support of Kerveros 5 and Change Password Protocol.

Fediverse Highlights

• asciinema (@asciinema@fosstodon.org)

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• Asura Linux (@asuralinux@fosstodon.org)

  A project to experiment with different ways of building and running modern general-purpose Linux systems—and to share what we learn along the way.

• Unicorn (@unicorn@fosstodon.org)

  Add modern reactive component functionality to Django templates with easy.

• Open-Meteo (@openmeteo@fosstodon.org)

  A open-source weather application programming interface (API) that offers free access for non-commercial use without an API key.

Fediverse Highlights

• FlatPress (@flatpress@fosstodon.org)

  A simple lightweight, easy-to-set-up blogging engine using PHP with no database required.

• overloadapp (@overloadapp@fosstodon.org)

  A user-friendly native app for Android designed to facilitate time tracking for everyone. The application can be installed via F-Droid, Google Play or Codeberg (Git repository release).

• Mammoth (@mammoth@moth.social)

  A beautiful iOS or MacOS client application for Mastodon.

• Moe Memos (@moememos@fosstodon.org)

  Capture thoughts and ideas, works with memos on Android and iOS via F-Droid, Apple App Store, Google Play and GitHub (Git repository release).

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Adamsdesk!

Fediverse Highlights

Today brings Follow Friday in the Fediverse, so let’s shed some light on our community in open source with boots and follows.

• Selenium (@seleniumHQ@fosstodon.org)

  A suite of tools for automating web browsers. Automation can be done for web application testing, common repeated tasks and more.

• Numba (@numba@fosstodon.org)

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• Frigoligo (@frigoligo@fosstodon.org)

  A universal Wallabag client made with Flutter for your mobile and desktop devices. Available to download for AppImage, Linux and Windows.

• Wallabag (@wallabag@social.tcit.fr)

  Freely save and classify articles to read them later. Available to download for Android, iOS, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, PocketBook, Kobo and Kidle.

The Fallout

I launched the podcast archive page on December 5th, 2023 along with asking people to help complete the archive of episodes. Not thinking much more about it, I left the page as is and moved my focus on to other tasks. On December 11th, 2023 I received an email from IntelTechniques requesting the removal of all podcast episodes per the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Now my first thought seeing this email was, is this legitimate? Everything checked out for what little I could confirm. Then my thoughts moved to, DMCA doesn’t apply to citizens outside the United States. However, I’m not interested in battling this out let alone burning any bridges. At the end of the day this not my decision to make, so I replied stating that I have removed all podcast episodes and said that I didn’t intend to cause any harm. I did try and plea my case to restore the podcast episodes. I even offered to help get them back online. After a few emails back and forth, it fully hit home how serious of a decision this was, and I didn’t even take the time to properly think this through. There might be perspectives I may not have thought of or are aware of. As a result I began to think deep on this matter that lead me to a few areas that I should have thought about in the first place.

Storage and Bandwidth

I have no idea why I never took the time to think this decision through. It’s not as if I’m new to the world of how the Internet works let alone a website. The truth of the matter is this situation could have been a lot worse. For instance, the amount of storage required for all podcast episodes is not small by any means. I estimate for the entire podcast episodes I would need about 1.5 to 2 gigabytes of storage space at least. Then there is the whole bandwidth issue that could add up to substantial amount depending on how many people choose to download episodes. Now yes, I have the storage space but that still requires responsibility to manage that, and I also have technically unlimited bandwidth with my web hosting provider. However, I’m on a shared hosting plan, and I’m pretty sure if I started to get 100s of gigabytes or terabytes my hosting provider would start knocking on my door.

Archiving

Then there is the entire legal aspect. I legally obtained the podcast episodes, but do I have right to have them on my website? Where is the legal line drawn for the right to archive?

Let’s set the legal aspect aside and let me explain my view on archiving. Our culture is intertwined within our movies, music, TV shows, fashion, art, etc. and is an important part of our heritage. Being able to examine these areas and more allows us the ability to study, learn, research or even bring inspiration. All media embodies knowledge and I, for one, am a strong believer that we need places like libraries, Internet Archive, Project Gutenberg, Library and Archives Canada, Open Culture, Software Heritage, Wikipedia and more to archive our past. Without archiving we lose knowledge and humanity cannot afford the risk of losing it.

With this all said, this is my view and values and not necessarily of someone else like IntelTechniques or Michael Bazzell’s. As much as I believe my view and values, that doesn’t give me the right to disrespect someone’s elses. I feel we all at times need to be reminded of this.

Conclusion

Unfortunately the podcast episodes have been removed along with the archive page. As well as of the day writing this the episodes are not available from IntelTechniques either. In the end in this particular case it is up to the owner to make the decision. We are not entitled to have access forever, it just unfortunate events that took down the podcast episodes too soon. I would like to give thanks to Michael Bazzell and his team for being so understanding as well as those that took time out of their day to help me. Let us all look forward to whatever IntelTechniques comes up with next.

Fediverse Highlights

Discover and support our community with these wonderful open source initiatives on the Fediverse.

• LemonLDAP::NG (@lemonldapng@fosstodon.org)

  A complete and modular Web-SSO (single sign-on) system that can run with reverse-proxies or directly on application web servers. It can be used in conjunction with OpenID-Connect, CAS and SAML systems as identity or service provider.

• Keila (@keila@fosstodon.org)

  A powerful email mailing list newsletter tool built for privacy with such features as contact segmentation, campaigns, automate/integrate with API (application program interface), markdown support, importing contacts and much more.

• Citation.js (@citationjs@fosstodon.org)

  Convert variety different file formats as input or output. Here are just a few formats supported, BibTeX, BibJSON, DOI, Wikidata to CSL-JSON to convert to styles like APA, Vancouver and to BibTeX and RIS.

• QUnit (@qunit@fosstodon.org)

  Take the complexity out of unit testing by using the powerful JavaScript testing framework QUnit. Originally developed for the jQuery project, it is now evolved into its own dependency for many JavaScript libraries.

Love and Appreciation (week 44)

Follow Friday is here, and it’s time to show your love and appreciation for Open Source software with a boost and follows!

• PipeRider (@piperider@fosstodon.org)

  Code review for data in dbt.

• Pachli (@pachli@mastodon.social)

  A full-featured Android Mastodon client.

• Dino (@dino@fosstodon.org)

  A modern open-source chat client for the desktop Linux.

• Nitrux (@Nitrux_NX@mastodon.cloud)

  Linux operating system powered by Debian, KDE Plasma, Frameworks, and AppImages.

Image credits…

• Illustration by Hansuan_Fabregas
• Fira Sans font by Mozilla
• Gentium Basic font by SIL International
• Modified in Inkscape
• Modifications: Resize, delete background, add backgrounds, add text, add lines, add drop shadows

Open Source Pursuit (week 45)

Show your pursuit for Open Source and Software Freedom on this Follow Friday with boosts and follows!

• Beaver Notes (@Beavernotes@mastodon.social)

  A private and organized note-taking app.

• openmediavault (@openmediavault@fosstodon.org)

  The open network attached storage solution.

• OpenSCAD (@OpenSCAD@fosstodon.org)

  The programmers solid 3D CAD modeller.

• Castopod (@Castopod@podlibre.social)

  A hosting platform made for podcasters who want to engage on the Fediverse.

Image credits…

• Cat & mouse illustration by GraphicMama-team
• Fira Sans font by Mozilla
• Gentium Basic font by SIL International
• Modified in Inkscape
• Modifications: Resize, add background, add text, add lines

Black Friday (week 47)

It’s Black Friday all year around with open source. Discover software freedom on this Follow Friday with boosts and follows!

• Phylum (@phylum@infosec.exchange)

  Automatically detect and block software supply chain attacks.

• Magpie Market (@magpiemarket@fosstodon.org)

  An Etsy alternative to promote and sell good/services leveraging the #Fediverse.

• MapLibre (@maplibre@mastodon.social)

  Mapping libraries for web and mobile app developers.

• Kasts (@kasts@fosstodon.org)

  A podcast player developed by @kde@floss.social community.

Image credits…

• Shopping illustration by Mohamed_hassan
• Fira Sans font by Mozilla
• Modified in Inkscape
• Modifications: Resize, add backgrounds, add text, add lines, add drop shadow, add round corner

Sweet Chocolatey Goodness (week 48)

Taste the FREEDOM of the Sweet Chocolatey Goodness of Open Source for this Follow Friday. Show your support and spread awareness with boosts and follows!

• TBlock (@tblock@floss.social)

  System wide ad blocker using hosts file from the command-line or as a GTK application.

• Mauna Linux (@maunalinux@mastodon.social)

  A simple, elegant and robust Debian-based operating system.

• OpenRTX (@openrtx@mastodon.radio)

  Firmware for digital ham radios.

• Schmiddi on Mobile (@schmiddionmobile@fosstodon.org)

  Beautiful apps for mobile Linux devices.

Image credits…

• Chocolate world by 51581
• Fira Sans
• Modified chocolate world in GIMP
• Created new image in Inkscape
• Modifications: Remove background, remove pooled melted chocolate, add background, add sunburst, add text, add line, add drop shadow, add text stroke

Art

• Fire Clouds (3840 x 3072 px) by Philipp A. Urlich

Books / Magazines

• Efficient Linux at the Command Line (2022, ISBN: 9781098113377, DRM-Free) by Daniel J. Barrett
• Practical Cloud Security (2nd ed.) by Chris Dotson (2023, ISBN: 9781098148140, DRM-Free)
• The Language of Deception Weaponizing Next Generation AI by Justin Hutchens; Stuart McClure (2023, ISBN: 9781394222568)

Blog

• Don’t use what works for you by R.L. Dane
• 20 years of zerokspot by Horst Gutmann
• A Very Merry November by Dustin
• Almost there - 100DaysToOffload by Clayton Errington
• App Defaults (2023 Edition) by Jack Baty
• As many posts as last year by Joel
• Back up, Jack: my current setup by Bryce Wray
• Default apps by Clayton Errington
• Defaults by Steve Makofsky
• Git Status by Clayton Errington
• Gitea by Jack Baty
• Good Bye, Raspberry Pi by Andreas
• I’m not sure that I can trust Bitwarden with my TOTP codes anymore by Neil Brown
• Knowing the long way by Clayton Errington
• Lessons learned, backup by Clayton Errington
• Migrating 2FA apps by Clayton Errington
• My Default Apps (2023) by Joel
• My Default Apps at the End of 2023 by Kev Quirk
• My new printer is here, and it’s fantastic. by JTR
• New Phone Experience by Joel
• October 2023 by Hyde Stevenson
• On Subscriptions by Joel
• One month of full-time job by Nikita
• PICO-8 Game Development by William Brawner
• Reading Goals by Dustin
• Reducing the noise by Clayton Errington
• RFC8482 - Saying goodbye to ANY by Marek Majkowski
• Riding a trend: my defaults by Bryce Wray
• The calm before the unknown by Joel
• Threaded Mastodon Comments by Veronica Berglyd Olsen
• We are complicit in our employer’s deeds by Drew DeVault
• Winter is Coming by Chris Miller
• Youtube’s Anti-adblock and uBlock Origin by Zhenyi Tan

Design

• Movement font by NM Type (License, CC BY-ND 4.0)
• Safety Sign Generator by Damon

Events

• Invitation to YAPC::Hiroshima 2024 in Japan - The Perl Foundation) by Makoto Nozaki

Gaming

• Arcanepad

  A new way of playing.

• Bomb Jack

  Bomb Jack port for ZX Spectrum Next and compatibles.

• BoohaBlox Arcade by Fully Bugged, Gouellie

  A puzzle league/panel de Pon/Tetris Attack/ variation.

• Burger Time (C64) by Arlasoft

• DOS_deck

  Classic games with modern convenience using nothing more than a web browser.

• Heroic Games Launcher

  A Native GOG, Amazon and Epic Games Launcher for Linux, Windows and Mac.

• Jazz² Resurrection

  Jazz² Resurrection: Native C++ reimplementation of Jazz Jackrabbit 2.

• Super Bagman - JOTD’s latest Arcade to Amiga conversion!
• Super Mario Wonder by Mike Sass

• Super Tilt Bro.

  A demake of the Super Smash Bros. series compatible with the good old Nintendo Entertainment System from the 1980s. Featuring online play, thanks to a Wi-Fi chip in the cartridge. Available for Linux, macOS, NES or Windows.

• Toki Commodore 64 Remastered Version, New Video

Hardware

• After 8 Years of Development: NetHSM 1.0 is Available! The First Open Source Hardware Security Module
• An Open-Source Ebike Motor Controller by Bryan Cockfield

• AXIOM Beta

  A professional digital cinema camera built around FOSS and open hardware licenses.

• Eben Upton Hints at an RP2040 Successor, Promises a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 in 2024 by Gareth Halfacree

• HestiaPi ONE (Silent)

  An open source smart thermostat that can be connected to your wifi. Control of the thermostat is done using a smartphone or with a touch screen.

• Make LED Finger Ring at Home by ROBO HUB
• TUXEDO Sirius 16 Unveiled as TUXEDO Computers’ First All-AMD Linux Gaming Laptop by Marius Nestor

Knowledge

• An Interactive Guide to CSS Grid by Josh Comeau
• Open-source and organization workshop by Clément Hardy

• Tidier Course

  Interactive course materials to learn Tidier data analysis in Julia.

• Understanding the OpenDocument Format by Italo Vignoli

Misc

• An Untold History of Thunderbird by Ryan Sipes
• Artisans Cooperative: An Etsy alternative, owned and run by artists and makers (website, Mastodon) by Jennifer Foley
• Efficient Communication by Ryan Peterman
• PipeWire 1.0 – An interview with PipeWire creator Wim Taymans by Christian Fredrik Schaller

• Media History Digital Library (Mastodon @mhdl@hcommons.social)

  A free online resource, featuring millions of pages of books and magazines from the histories of film, broadcasting, and recorded sound.

News

• Alpine Linux 3.15.11, 3.16.8, 3.17.6 and 3.18.5 have been released
• Articons - 8.2.0 Release - The Renamening
• Forgejo v1.21 is available
• FreeBSD 14.0-RELEASE Release Notes
• GIMP 3.0 finally has a release schedule
• Godot 4.2 arrives in style!
• I Can :has Browser Improvements – These Weeks in Firefox: Issue 148 by Mike Conley
• Maine’s right-to-repair law for cars wins with 84 percent of the vote by Wes Davis
• Mastodon takes on the “reply guys” by MajorLinux
• Microsoft opens sources ThreadX under MIT license by Liam Proven
• More info about LibreOffice Viewer app for Android in the Google Play Store By Italo Vignoli
• Omegle, the Site That Paired Strangers for Video Chats, Is Dead by Samantha Cole
• OpenMandriva Lx 5.0 Is Out as the Last KDE Plasma 5 Release, Powered by Linux 6.6 LTS by Marius Nestor
• Open source email pioneer Roundcube joins the Nextcloud family by Mikhail Korotaev
• Organic Maps November 2023 Release with outdoor map style preview
• PeerTube v6 is out, and powered by your ideas !
• PHP v8.3 Released!
• PipeWire first stable release
• Rocky Linux 8.9 Available Now
• Steve Wozniak suffers minor stroke in Mexico City before scheduled talk by Benj Edwards
• This Week In Gnome: #123 Infrastructure Work
• This week in KDE: the Plasma 6 feature freeze approaches
• Xorg is dead, long live Wayland - Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) dropping Xorg by Liam Dawe
• YouTube is reportedly slowing down videos for Firefox users (Update: Statement) by Aamir Siddiqui

Open Source Software

• Arcticons Freedesktop Theme

  This is an adoption of the arcticons icons for Linux desktop managers like GNOME and KDE.

  Language: Shell, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• Cloudflare PHP CLI DNS

  A simple PHP CLI script to list zones and list/add/update/delete DNS records.

  Language: PHP, License: Unknown

• DOS Subsystem for Linux

  Run Linux programs on DOS.

  Language: C, License: GNU AGPL v3.0

• flohmarkt

  Federated decentral classified ad software using ActivityPub.

  Language: Python, License: GNU AGPL v3.0

• Font Manager

  A simple font management application for GTK Desktop Environments.

  Language: C, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• GibleFS

  Mapping a Git repository as a virtual filesystem.

  Language: Rust, License: MIT

• Grimoire

  Bookmark manager for the wizards.

  Language: Svelte, License: MIT

• Lite XL

  A lightweight text editor.

  Language: Lua, License: MIT

• m8c

  Cross-platform Dirtywave M8 Tracker headless client.

  Language: C, License: MIT

• muffon

  Advanced multi-source music streaming + discovery client for desktop. Free, clean, no login, no ads.

  Language: Vue, License: GNU AGPL v3.0

• OxiTraffic

  Self-hosted, simple and privacy respecting website traffic tracker.

  Language: Rust, License: GNU AGPL v3.0

• Sidebery

  Firefox extension for managing tabs and bookmarks in sidebar.

  Language: TypeScript, License: MIT

• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

  Decompilation of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GCN, USA).

  Language: Assembly, License: CC0 1.0 Universal

• ttop

  System monitoring tool with historical data service, triggers and top-like TUI.

  Language: Nim, License: MIT

• Watchmate

  PineTime smart watch companion app for Linux phone and desktop

  Language: Rust, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• WeeWx

  Weather station system is written in Python and runs on Linux, MacOSX, Solaris, and *BSD.

  Language: Python, License: GNU GPL v3.0

Privacy

• Introducing Badger Swarm: New Project Helps Privacy Badger Block Ever More Trackers by Alexei Miagkov & Daly Barnett
• Microsoft lays hands on login data: Beware of the new Outlook

Security

• Forgejo Security Release 1.20.5-1
• Forgejo Security Release 1.20.6-0
• ownCloud vulnerability with maximum 10 severity score comes under “mass” exploitation by Dan Goodin
• WP Fastest Cache plugin bug exposes 600K WordPress sites to attacks by Bill Toulas

One year I had a dream or idea to build a 2D model of Mario and Luigi from the Mario Bros. video game with my youngest son. My son and I built Mario, but never did build a 2D Luigi. So I decided even though this would be easy, let’s build an 2D Luigi. Now I’m not going to keep it that simple. We are in modern times with unbelievable possibilities I only dreamed of as a child. What I will also do is create the 2D model of Mario and Luigi while improving upon the structure using a computer-aided design (CAD) software. I’ve never learned CAD before, but I can’t see it being that hard. After that I will create build instructions and provide all of it for others to build or expand upon.

Find Lego CAD Software

First thought I had is to use the LEGO Digital Designer, but found out quickly that it is not open source, and doesn’t run on Linux and the software has been discontinued. I began my search for an open source computer-aided design (CAD) solution that would allow me to build Lego. I came across one that piqued my interest called LeoCAD that allows for creating virtual Lego models. The bonus of this software is it has an open source license (GNU GPL v2.0) and can be used on the majority of operating systems such as Linux, macOS and Windows. As well the application can be obtained as a Snap, AppImage or Flatpak. LeoCAD is not new to the market at all and makes me feel like I’m catching up with lost time since it has been around since 1997. The only unfortunate part I first noticed was the website lacks fully explaining the software features and capabilities. Thankfully there were some good screenshots that illustrated a lot of what it was capable of.

I’m sure there is other CAD software to use, but I just went with LeoCAD because it interested me and looked like it would do exactly what I’m looking for to accomplish the two model builds.

Install LeoCAD

LeoCAD is quite easy to install since it is widely available. Here are just a few examples of how to install the software. I chose to go with installing LeoCAD using Arch Linux’s package system.

Here are a few assumptions in the installation examples shown below.

• Steps prefixed with a “$” (dollar sign) represents the CLI (command-line interface) prompt
• Steps prefixed with a “#” (number sign) represents the CLI prompt with elevated user permissions (e.g. root)
• The text after the “$” or “#” is to be entered at the CLI

Arch Linux

# pacman -Sy leocad

Flatpak

$ flatpak install flathub org.leocad.LeoCAD

Debian

# apt-get install leocad

Snap

# snap install leocad

Building The Lego Models

I launched LeoCAD and was presented with a virtual workspace to build a model and a side panel to access parts, properties, timeline, part preview and a color palette. I quickly began to play around with the parts list to locate my first brick to build a 2D Mario. Parts are located by type and keyword search. It is a dream to have endless parts available to me. Each part can be dragged onto the workspace to the desired location. The color of a part can be chosen before or after it has been added to the workspace. I proceeded to add part by part, and before I knew it I had the model built. At this point I realized that I could organize the parts into steps within the timeline. As a result this caused more work than necessary if I would have just done this from the start. The advantage of organizing parts into steps is that you can now generate model build instructions to be printed as a hard copy or PDF (portable document format). With this model completed I duplicated the file and modified the color scheme to match Luigi. The color schemes used for each model were chosen to give an old nostalgic look at the same time using more common colors one would have on hand.

Closing Thoughts

Overall I’m impressed with how easy this was and honestly how this can lead to endless creativity. The LeoCAD interface is quite intuitive to use, and I love how wonderful it is to quickly locate parts. The only area that I never did figure out is why the build instructions when printed to PDF is so pixelated/blurry and have a border on the page. The regular print mode outputs beautifully, but lacks the steps numbers with parts list. In the end I enjoyed this adventure and who knows there maybe more models to come.

Here are the build instructions, model files and parts lists.

• Build instructions for 2D Mario (pdf)
• Build instructions for 2D Luigi (pdf)
• Model file for 2D Mario (ldr)
• Model file for 2D Luigi (ldr)
• Parts list for 2D Mario (csv)
• Parts list for 2D Luigi (csv)

The Podcast Farewell

The last episode that showed up in my feed via AtennaPod was September 8th, 2023 - “305-Revisiting VPNs & Firewalls”. Then on September 22, 2023 I received a new episode entitled “Intermission” that seem to confirm to me that the show would return. I later found out that the last full episode was on September 22th, 2023 called “306-Six New Privacy Strategies” which I never ended up receiving. So I’m not sure if this episode was ever released or not. However, reality hit home when a farewell episode was released on November 20th, 2023 entitled “My Irish Exit”. It was finally officially confirmed that the podcast has reached an end. I cannot tell you how disappointed I was. I get it, Michael and his team have many other things to focus on. In the end Michael took a vacation and realized from being unplugged from everything how much time the podcast, blogs, and constant communications were eating up his life. Then on top of that the podcast hosting provider refused to allow a renewal of the subscription. As an outsider I took this as I no longer want to put time into doing the podcast and I want to focus on what matters most. So the podcast was cancelled.

The Podcast Archives

The biggest issue was the unfortunate situation with the podcast hosting provider, SoundCloud. I don’t know the entire story behind it, but ultimately the podcast archives were removed. SoundCloud refused to allow them to renew the annual subscription, and they dropped the account to the free tier. As a result this prevents being able to offer old episodes on this platform and causes all other podcast apps and services that were updated from this feed to no longer be able to download an episode. The archives could have been hosted else where, but as reported by Michael he didn’t see the point.

I myself usually keep old episodes, but for some reason I never got around to archiving this podcast. Now I really wish I had. Michael has his reasons and I respect that, but I feel for the listeners.

UNREDACTED Magazine

Another area that Michael Bazzell produces with his team is an amazing magazine called “UNREDACTED” which also is all about privacy, security and open-source intelligence (OSINT). Unfortunately there has not been a new issue since January, 2023. My understanding is the magazine comes out every quarter. This reason I mention all this is because I’ve not found any information on the status of this magazine including the farewell message. Has this to been discontinued? It is again another amazing resource that honestly I would even be willing to pay for. Hopefully we will learn soon what is happening.

Closing Thoughts

Everything has a life span and at some point will cease to exist. It is hard at times to accept this. I feel though this is just unfortunate as both the podcast and the magazine just was getting to a point of maturity with huge potential at least from my own perspective. It was a very enjoyable and insightful podcast that will be greatly missed by I’m sure many more than just me. We can only hope that something will change, and these wonderful resources will return. I do wish and thank Michael and his team for the wonderful work they have done and continue to do.

I should be clear to mention that it’s not as if all things have stopped. Training, services, and books are still available for purchase. For those that cannot afford these, there is always the free tools, resources and blog posts all provided via inteltechniques.com website.

Does anyone have podcast recommendations that cover the topics of privacy, security, and OSINT? Please let me know by leaving a comment.

What’s New for End Users

• URL Query Parameter Stripping

  The context menu gets a new feature by right-clicking on a link and clicking on “Copy Link Without Tracking”. When used this will remove those pesky tracking query parameters that are often found to be used for tracking purposes.

  Currently, this is only enabled under the Strict security mode setting or when in private mode.

• Global Privacy Control Support

  A new op-in feature to inform websites the user doesn’t wish their data to be shared or sold. While using private browsing this feature is enabled by default. The Global Privacy Control is located within “Preferences” > “Privacy & Security” > “Website Privacy Preferences”. Two options can be turned on, “Tell websites not to sell or share my data” and “Send websites a “Do Not Track” request”.

• Anti-Fingerprinting Technology Enhancements

  When using a private mode or enhanced tracking protection (ETP) strict mode configuration has enhanced the HTML Canvas APIs (application programming interfaces) with fingerprinting protection.

• Cookie Banner Blocking

  By default, while in private mode it will automatically refuse cookies and dismiss annoying cookie banners for supported sites. This is achieved by using two method, injecting an “opt-out” cookie when possible or automatically clicks on the decline or reject option that mimics the behaviour done manually. If you what to know the exact details on how this is all done, take a look at the Cookie Banner Rule List repository.

  Unfortunately at this time the feature is only available to Germany residents. Learn more about block cookie banners on Firefox.

• Import TLS Certificates

  TLS (Transport Layer Security) certificates (trust anchors) from the operating system root store will now be imported by default on Windows, macOS, and Android. This feature can be disabled if desired under “Preferences” > “Privacy & Security” > “Certificates”.

• Keyboard Shortcuts for Logins

  Keyboard shortcuts have been added for editing and deleting selected credentials within the “about:logins” screen. Editing can be achieved by pressing Alt + Enter (Option + return on macOS) and deleting by pressing Alt + Backspace (Option + Delete on macOS).

• Import from Chromium

  Users of Ubuntu Linux now have the ability to import from Chromium when both Firefox and Chromium are installed as Snap packages.

• Picture-in-Picture

  On Windows and Linux operating systems Picture-in-Picture now supports corner snapping by holding the Ctrl key while moving the Picture-in-Picture window.

Security Fixes

A total of 10 common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) have been fixed. The details of each one can be reviewed by reading Security Vulnerabilities fixed in Firefox 120.

What’s New for Enterprise

All policies changes apply to Firefox ESR version 120 and version 115.5.

• Disable printing with PrintingEnabled
• Set Preferences that have a prefix of pref

What’s New for Developers

For those interested, there is a list of changes that affects web developers, Firefox 120 for developers

Closing Thoughts

I’m excited and pleased to see further steps have been taken to help protect the end user with good defaults and allowing the user to have the power to control what they desire. I automatically remove tracking query parameters and have for some time thanks to uBlock Origin custom filters, so I will be not affected by the new copy link feature. Once testing is done in Germany, hopefully we will see the Cookie Banner Blocker. The cookie banner is the worst idea from a user’s experience, and this solution should make it easy for most users to improve their own browsing experience. One other feature I do believe I will enjoy is the Picture-in-Picture corner snapping, I will see how this goes once I have more time to use it. Overall I feel this is all good news. Happy browsing!

With the Fediverse being such a large place, it is easy to get lost amongst it. To broaden the exposure further I’ve wanted to have these posts on my website, but I couldn’t figure out what to call it and how to organize it all. Thanks to my wonderful dear readers and followers on Mastodon a poll was done to determine the name of these posts. The result came back with 39% of voters choosing “Discover The Fediverse: <subtitle-here>”. With the title chosen it is now up to me to figure out how to organize it all into a website post. I’m trying to keep it simple, but adding a little extra verbosity. Without further ado, here is the first website post of the posts I’ve made in the month of October 2023 organized by the week number along with the image I created.

Software Freedom (week 40)

Support Software Freedom to, run, copy, distribute, study and modify for Follow Friday on the Fediverse with a boost and follows!

• Snikket (@snikket_im@fosstodon.org)

  Easy-to-use privacy-friendly XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) messaging platform.

• Semaphore (@semaphore@fosstodon.org)

  Accessible, simple and fast web client for Mastodon.

• Pulsar Edit (@pulsaredit@fosstodon.org)

  Community-led hyper-hackable text editor forked from the discontinued Atom text editor.

  For more information consider reading my review.

• AltStore (@altstore@fosstodon.org)

  A home for apps that push the boundaries of iOS, no jailbreak required.

Image credits…

• Fira Sans font by Mozilla
• Background by aalmeidah
• Modified in Inkscape
• Modifications: Resize, add text, add vertical line

Software Freedom Movement (week 41)

Keep the Software Freedom movement going with a boost and follows on Follow Friday for Open Source on the Fediverse!

• ScummVM (@scummvm@corteximplant.com)

  Run classic graphical point-and-click adventure games and RPGs (role-playing games).

• Podman (@Podman_io@fosstodon.org)

  Manage containers, pods, and images from your local environment.

• Zulip (@zulip@fosstodon.org )

  Team chat designed to help people collaborate.

• Yocto Project (@yoctoproject@fosstodon.org )

  Improve software development process for embedded Linux distributions.

Image credits…

• Fira Sans font by Mozilla
• Background by aalmeidah
• Modified in Inkscape
• Modifications: Resize, crop, add text, add vertical line, add background

Open Source Game Development (week 42)

Support Open Source game development for this Follow Friday on the Fediverse with a boost and follows!

• bitsy (@bitsy@digipres.club)

  A little engine for little games, worlds, and stories.

• Solarus (@solarus@mastodon.gamedev.place)

  2D RPG (role-playing game) engine for Linux, Mac, Windows, Switch.

• Minetest (@Minetest@fosstodon.org)

  A voxel game engine with Minecraft style graphics by default.

• Stride (@xenko@mastodon.gamedev.place )

  A modern open-source cross-platform game engine written in C#.

Image credits…

• Background by Egonetix_xyz
• Game controller by everesd_design
• The Neue Black font by Tré Seals
• Modified in Inkscape
• Modifications: Resize, crop, add text, add line, add background

Join The Ride (week 43)

Join the ride on this Follow Friday by creating awareness and support for Software Freedom by providing a boost and follows for Open Source on the Fediverse!

• Chocolatey Software (@chocolatey@fosstodon.org )

  The package manager for Windows.

• Pods Framework (@pods@fosstodon.org)

  A content development framework for WordPress.

• PeppermintOS (@peppermintos@fosstodon.org)

  A Linux operating system with low hardware resources.

• QGIS (@qgis@fosstodon.org)

  A user-friendly geographic information system (GIS).

Image credits…

• Van scene by dapple-designers
• Fira Sans font by Mozilla
• Modified in Inkscape
• Modifications: Resize, crop, add text, add line

Art

• 1-bit Hokusai’s “The Great Wave” by James Weiner
• Bird and Flower Books by Neltje Blanchan
• NYCC 2023: Sup Inc launches its “public domain” sci-fi universe BLITMAP with every comic cover being a variant
• Traffic light by 6VCR
• Train by 6VCR

Books / Magazines

• Art + DIY Electronics by Garnet Hertz
• Business Success with Open Source by VM (Vicky) Brasseur
• Communication Patterns (O’Reilly) by Jacqui Read
• Forge Your Future with Open Source by VM (Vicky) Brasseur

• Lightspeed Magazine

  A digital science fiction and fantasy magazine.

• Quarter Up! Volume II Fall 2023
• The Official Raspberry Pi Handbook 2024
• Thematic Book Series: How to Build a Low-tech Internet? by Kris De Decker

Blog

• “Thing” Is the Worst Word in the English Language by Kev Quirk
• #34. My Desktop Astronomy OS: LMDE 6 by Daniel Wayne Armstrong
• A Year at the Smallholding by Kev Quirk
• Absolutely Do Not Change Your Blogging Platform by Kev Quirk
• AMA Responses 1 by Joel
• Are There Three Types of #100DaysToOffload Challengers? by Mahmud Ridwan
• audio postcard: the MSC by Benjamin Hollon
• Blogging for the Hell of it by Kev Quirk
• Blogs, Gardens, and Thinking Aloud in Public by Kev Quirk
• Celebrating 25 years of this newsletter – and an announcement by Mark Hurst
• Cleaning Up barf’s Structure by Bradley Taunt
• Considering film (only) by Jack Baty
• Creating Status Pages on the Fly by Clayton Errington
• Did you try turning it off? by Garrit Franke
• Field Notes #2 by Garrit Franke
• File Encryption with GPG by Clayton Errington
• Friends from Blogging by Kev Quirk
• Having a Microblog on a Traditional Blog by Kev Quirk
• Hosting FreshRSS on Fly.io by Clayton Errington
• How I Organize My Life by Sheep
• I am not a supplier by Thomas Depierre
• I Just Really Don’t Like Automated Phone Systems by Cabel Sasser
• I’m Too Addicted to My iPhone by Kev Quirk
• Images in Hugo RSS feeds by Jack Baty
• Important factors for journaling by JTR
• It’s Been A Long Time by Sheep
• Just start blogging by Joel
• Language on Mastodon by Nikita
• Living in the (technological) past by Andreas
• Lossy Memory by Joel
• Mattermost (or Slack) Message on SSH Login by Mahmud Ridwan
• Migrating This Blog to Kirby by Kev Quirk
• Music Platforms by Sheep
• My Brain Is A Messy Desk by OrbitalMartian
• My First Wet Shave in 15 Years by Kev Quirk
• My Linux Journey by Clayton Errington
• My paper journal slash scrapbook by Jack Baty
• Network Usage Since Last Boot by Clayton Errington
• New Desktop Apps I’m Enjoying Recently by JTR
• Nextcloud Music by Dustin
• Nintendo Switch by Joel
• Offline by Nathan Upchurch
• Organizing multiple Git identities by Garrit Franke
• Personal Automations bu Scott Knight
• Response to Kev’s “Use Plaintext Email” by Drew DeVault
• Robots and AI by Clayton Errington
• Scams, cults, and kernels: A look back on waiting for the Librem 5 by Andy
• Scrollbars are becoming a problem by Artemis Everfree
• September 2023 Summary by Joel
• September 2023 by Hyde
• So you’ve been publicly accessibility-shamed by Dave Rupert
• Some of My Favourite Fonts by Kev Quirk
• Sources of Truth by Dave Rupert
• Staying Organized as a Teacher by Brian Bennett
• Still spinning? My time at Canadiana.org prior to the CRKN merger by Russell McOrmond
• Still using Gboard by Joel
• Subscribing to the blogs of people I follow on Mastodon by Ben Werdmuller
• The big rebundle by Bryce Wray
• The Kirby Experiment so far by Jack Baty
• The Mind Rope Experiment by Garrit Franke
• The Old Man is Down The Road by Chris Miller
• The PC Build by Jeremy
• The Phone Counter by Brian Bennett
• This week so far… by Joel
• Trying to organize audiobooks by Joel
• Using ChatGPT to Write Code by Kev Quirk
• Using two USB Sticks as a Raid on a Raspberry Pi by Andreas
• What happened to blogging for the hell of it? by Whiona
• What really matters in life? by Sheep
• Word filters are great by Joel
• Your Own Corner of the Internet by Sheep

Gaming

• Canuckle

  A daily Canadian word game.

• Captain Neat-O in the Time Nexus by Paranoid Cactus
• CD Projekt Red Devs Form Union Following Layoffs by Wesley LeBlanc
• Jersey Jack Pinball’s ELTON JOHN Pinball Is Unleashed at Pinball Expo ‘23
• Lab Job! by Smitner
• Scrollbars are becoming a problem by Artemis Everfree
• Skull Buster (source code) by Jakub Steiner
• Steam Deck - One year later by Daniel Schier
• Super Bernie World by Eniko
• UnDune II - The Demaking of a Dynasty by Paul Nicholas
• Vivaldi launches its new arcade game - Vivaldia 2 - on Steam

Design

• Into the Labyrinth: Revealing the Mantic Minotaur by Aaron Prisk

• OKLCH

  Color picker and converter.

• Colorful HIG by Jakub Steiner
• Why Are We Still Using 88x31 Buttons? by yequari

Hardware

• DIY Tinkerer Invents MacBook Tool That Breaks Apple’s Repair Locks by Jason Koebler
• dispatchPi by Olivier Simard-Hanley
• Liberated Embedded Systems
• Vintage Mac Community Begs Manufacturers for New Supply of Rare Dongle as Resellers Charge $250 by Jason Koebler

Knowledge

• A handy guide to financial support for open source

• Battery University

  A free educational website offering hands-on battery information. The tutorials evaluate the advantages and limitations of diverse battery chemistries, advise on best choices, and suggest ways to extend life.

• Go - Getting Started by Daniel Schier
• Lost in the network by Nagy Krisztián
• Naming Variables In CSS by Jonathan Dallas

• No!Spec

  Don’t underestimate your worth.

• Run your own Syncthing discovery server on OpenBSD by Solène
• Tracking SQLite Database Changes in Git by Garrit Franke

Misc

• Academic Librarian Leans on Internet Archive for Access and Analysis by Caralee Adams
• Check your XMPP server’s TLS setup
• Creating typewriter-styled maps in {ggplot2} by Nicola Rennie
• I’m banned for life from advertising on Meta. Because I teach Python. by Reuven
• If a hammer was like AI… by Per Axbom
• Internet Artifacts
• iPod by Dustin
• Jim Henson’s Labyrinth Pinball Teaser Trailer (YouTube Video)
• OpenBSD Wallpaper
• Samsung disables customer phones remotely, holds data hostage until Mexican government stepped in (YouTube Video) by Louis Rossmann
• Smol Floppy Disk Organizer for Micro SD Cards by Trevor Flowers
• Sorry: This video does not exist. CC’s Open VIdeo Blocked by Automatic Copyright Robots by Catherine Stihler
• Stargate by RevK
• The BBC on Mastodon: experimenting with distributed and decentralised social media by Tristan Ferne
• The Presentation of Sources and Rights Labelling Gets a Big Overhaul
• This Week in GNOME: #116 Fragmented Files
• This Week in GNOME: #119 Stylish Websites
• This Week in Self-Hosted 6 October 2023
• THUNDERBIRD: the SUCCESS STORY of LINUX! (YouTube Video) by Nicco Loves Linux
• To improve your life, consider changing your personality by Christian Jarrett
• Unlocking The Kernel (YouTube movie trailer)
• Video Editing with Kdenlive — Creative Freedom Summit (YouTube Video) by Seth Kenlon
• We need to talk about funding - OctoPrint.org
• What can we learn from those who have a moral change of heart? by Joshua May
• What’s going on in depression to make negative beliefs so sticky? by Tobias Kube
• Who Is Killing Cinema? – A Murder Mystery (YouTube Video) by Patrick (H) Willems

Music

• Ghosts by Hania Rani
• Jimmac by Jimmac

• Radiolise

  A web app that lets you enjoy your favourite TV and radio stations.

• Sunset Shift by fingerspit

News

• Big News! GNOME to Drop X11 for a Wayland-only Future by Sourav Rudra
• Bluesky technical roadmap by Laurens Hof
• Bookworm — the new version of Raspberry Pi OS by Simon Long
• California Right to Repair Signed into Law by Elizabeth Chamberlain
• Everything We Announced at TwitchCon Las Vegas
• Inside a $30 Million Cash-for-Bitcoin Laundering Ring in the Heart of New York by Joseph Cox
• Is Landmark Technology’s Two-Decade Patent Assault On E-Commerce Finally Over? by Joe Mullin
• Mastodon Is the Good One by Jason Koebler
• Microsoft Pledges $150k to Support OpenStreetMap by Courtney Williamson
• The Suicide Attempt by Red Hat [Opinion]

Open Source Software

• Actual Budget

  A super fast and privacy-focused app for managing your finances.

  Language: TypeScript, License: MIT

• Antares

  A modern, fast and productivity driven SQL client with a focus in UX.

  Language: Vue, License: MIT

• Bloček

  A text editor for DOS with unicode support.

  Language: Pascal, License: GNU GPL v2.0

• Ceno Browser

  Side-steps current Internet censorship methods using a peer-to-peer backbone to allow people to access and share web information.

  Language: Kotlin, License: MPL v2.0

• croc

  Easily and securely send files or directories from one computer to another.

  Language: Go, License: MIT

• Damask

  Automatically set wallpaper images by selecting images from a variety of sources, including local files and folders.

  Language: Vala, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• DOjS

  A MS-DOS Creative Coding IDE/platform based on JavaScript.

  Language: C, License: Multi

• Doxide

  Modern documentation for modern C++.

  Language: C++, License: Apache v2.0

• DSLinux

  A Linux operating system for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite.

  License: GNU GPL v2.0

• EgoVenture

  First person point and click adventure framework for Godot.

  Language: GDScript, License: MIT

• fab4m

  Take the hard parts out of form building!

  Language: TypeScript, License: MIT

• FileGator

  A powerful multi-user file manager, self-hosted web application.

  Language: PHP, License: MIT

• Fretboard

  Look up guitar chords.

  Language: Rust, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• Frog

  Quickly extract text from any source such as images, websites, video or a QR code.

  Language: Python, License: MIT

• gathio

  Self-destructing, shareable, no-registration event pages with the ability to self host.

  Language: JavaScript, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• gituwa

  Static git web frontend generator.

  Language: , License:

• Graphedit

  An application for visualizing, creating, editing and debugging graph-based syntaxes.

  Language: Java, License: MIT

• HopToDesk

  A free remote desktop tool allowing users to share their screen and allow remote control access to their computers and devices.

  Language: Rust, License: GNU AGPL v3.0

• Keila

  An Open Source alternative to newsletter tools like Mailchimp or Sendinblue.

  Language: Elixir, License: AGPL v3

• LibreRandonaut

  An Android app to generate true random coordinates that allow users to explore their surroundings to perform the activity “randonauting”.

  Language: Java, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• Lite YouTube Embed

  A faster YouTube embed.

  Language: JavaScript, License: Apache v2.0

• Localsend

  A cross-platform alternative to AirDrop.

  Language: Dart, License: MIT

• MOROS

  Obscure Rust operating system.

  Language: Rust, License: MIT

• Mission Center

  Monitor your CPU, Memory, Disk, Network and GPU usage.

  Language: Rust, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• Nostalgist.js

  A library used for running emulators of retro consoles inside browsers.

  Language: TypeScript, License: MIT

• NormCap

  OCR powered screen-capture tool to capture information instead of images.

  Language: Python, License: GNU GPL

• OpenAthena for Android

  Allows common drones to spot precise geodetic locations.

  Language: Java, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• Pomatez

  Stay Focused. Take a Break.

  Language: TypeScript, License: MIT

• Popochiu

  Godot plugin to make point n’ click games in a similar way to tools like Adventure Game Studio and Power Quest.

  Language: GDScript, License: MIT

• RSS Algo

  A client-side open source algo-driven RSS reader.

  Language: JavaScript, License: MIT

• Stirling-PDF

  Locally hosted web application that allows you to perform various operations on PDF files.

  Language: Java, License: GNU GPL v2.0

• Unicorn

  The magical reactive component framework for Django.

  Language: Python, License: MIT

• Warehouse

  A versatile toolbox for viewing flatpak info, managing user data, and batch managing installed flatpaks.

  Language: Python, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• wyrd

  Receive credentials from clients in a reasonably secure manner.

  Language: Go, License: Multi

Privacy

• How GoGuardian Invades Student Privacy by Jason Kelley
• VICTORY! California Department of Justice Declares Out-of-State Sharing of License Plate Data Unlawful by Dave Maass & Jennifer Pinsof

Security

• [oss-security] with firefox on X11, any page can pastejack you anytime by turistu
• 10 essential cybersecurity cheat sheets available for free
• Cisco warns of critical flaw in Emergency Responder code by Thomas Claburn

• cvecrowd

  Lists of common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVE) that are currently being discussed on the Fediverse.

• Maintainers warn of vulnerability affecting foundational open-source tool by Jonathan Greig
• New WordPress backdoor creates rogue admin to hijack websites by Bill Toulas
• Will the European Union Erect Barriers to FOSS? By Max Roveri

Environment

Tested using the following…

• Arch Linux
• DOSBox v0.74.3-2
• SDL_sound v1.0.3-11

Assumptions

• Steps prefixed with a “$” (dollar sign) represents the CLI (command-line interface) prompt
• Steps prefixed with a “#” (number sign) represents the CLI prompt with elevated user permissions (e.g. root)
• The text after the “$” or “#” is to be entered at the CLI

Problem

Starting a game as an example does not load and when running via the terminal it fails with the following error message.

$ ./GOG\ Games/Jill\ of\ the\ Jungle\ The\ Complete\ Trilogy/start.sh

eGen/AArch64/fast-
Running Jill of the Jungle: The Complete Trilogy
Starting DOSBox
/home/adam/GOG Games/Jill of the Jungle The Complete Trilogy/dosbox/dosbox_x86_64: error while
loading shared libraries: libFLAC.so.8: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
Done.

What Does This Mean?

The FLAC (free lossless audio codec) library is not found on the system. This library is used to decode and encode audio files that utilizes FLAC.

In this context DOSBox requires SDL_sound which then requires FLAC.

Investigating the Problem

First, make sure your system is update to date, and you have the latest version of DOSBox and SDL_sound installed.

Next is to confirm the system doesn’t have the missing system object file, “libFLAC.so.8”. This is done by querying all the files provided by the “flac” package locally and remotely by searching for “libFLAC.so.8”. As you can see the there are no results returned, which then confirms the “flac” package no longer provides this system object file, “libflac.so.8”.

$ pacman -Ql flac | grep -i libflac.so.8

Since the missing file is a system object that is built at installation time, it is unlikely that one would find this file remotely. The example is here to make one aware of this being possible.

# pacman -Fyx libflac.so.8

We now have to extend the search for a package that can provide the file we need within the Arch User Repository. Though before we do that we need to get the current “flac” package version.

$ pikaur -Qi flac | grep -i version

Version         : 1.4.3-1

Now that we have the version number we can search for a package that is older by one minor version, such as 1.3. To do the search I will be using an AUR Helper, Pikaur as an example. The search will look through the package name and description and then search the results returned for a string starting with “aur”.

$ pikaur -Ss flac | grep -i ^aur

Searching... [###]
...
aur/flac1.3 1.3.4-1 (2, 0.00)
aur/lib32-flac1.3 1.3.4-1 (0, 0.00)
...

Within the results we can see a package called “flac1.3” and “lib32-flac1.3” which is the assumed version that we need. The first one is for 64-bit and the second would be for 32-bit. In my particular case I will require the 64-bit library. Let’s confirm the version number of the package “flac1.3”.

$ pikaur -Si flac1.3 | grep -i version

Version         : 1.3.4-1

Since the system object file “libFLAC.so.8” has not been built yet, we will have to install this package in order to confirm it provides what we need.

Solution

Depending on your use case one or both maybe required to install the package which will build the missing file, libFLAC.so.8. It all depends on the program whether it requires 64-bit or 32-bit.

$ pikaur -Sy flac1.3

$ pikaur -Sy lib32-flac1.3

Art

• #freetober - Join the latest Art Challenge! by Marie Nordin
• Inkscape Drawing Challenges, Contests, Competitions

Books / Magazines

• Ebooks: Neither E, Nor Books by Cory Doctorow

  Speech at O’Reilly Emerging Technology Conference, February 2004 (source)

• HackSpace magazine - Issue 70 for September 2023
• Interview With Ken Grahan by AT Gonzalez
• The MagPi - Issue 133 for September 2023

• The Midnight Pals

  Famous horror authors, living and dead, gather around a campfire to tell their strange and scary stories. A social media based microfiction series created by horror author and double Hugo nominee Bitter Karella.

Blog

• 10 Things to Remember Every Day by Noisy Deadlines
• A mastodon client for palmOS by knickish
• Days of our life by Hyde Stevenson
• How to extract notes from your Remarkable2 by Hyde
• Let’s Be Accountable Together by Kev Quirk
• Lock-In Syndrome by Simon Phipps
• Manage AWS Instances by Clayton Errington
• Removing my home information from the internet by Ben Werdmuller
• Scheduling Automatic Builds with Static Site Generators by Clayton Errington
• Thoughts on crowdsourcing your accessibility feedback by Heather Buchel
• Time for a New Phone by Chris Miller
• What’s on my Phone (Fall 2023) By Joel

Gaming

• Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup

  A roguelike adventure through dungeons filled with dangerous monsters in a quest to find the mystifyingly fabulous Orb of Zot.

  Language: C++, License: Multi

• fheroes2

  A recreation of Heroes of Might and Magic II game engine.

  Language: C++, License: GNU GPL v2.0

• Luxtorpeda

  Steam Play compatibility tool to run games using native Linux engines.

  Language: Rust, License: GNU GPL v2.0

• Meet the Guy Preserving the New History of PC Games, One Linux Port at a Time by Emanuel Maiberg

• Mindustry

  The automation tower defence RTS (real-time strategy).

  Language: Java, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• Midzer’s flicker box

  Web ports of video games using emscripts.

• Mindustry

  The automation tower defence real time strategy (RTS).

  Language: Java, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• Rewriting wipEout by Dominic Szablewski

Design

• 98.css by Jeremy

  A design system for building faithful recreations of old UIs.

  Language: CSS, License: MIT

• A (more) Modern CSS Reset by Andy Bell

• B612 Font family

  An highly legible open source font family designed and tested to be used on aircraft cockpit screens.

  License: OFL v1.1

• Intel One Mono Typeface

  License: OFL v1.1

• Memory Icons

  An icon set that contains 22x22 pixelated icons. Ideal for the Sharp Memory 2.7” display.

  Language: TypeScript, License: Apache 2.0 / MIT

• Working With SVGs, and New Books by NJB

Hardware

• TUXEDO Announces Nano Pro Gen12 Mini Linux PC Powered by AMD Ryzen 7000U by Marius Nestor
• Star Labs Reveals a New Surface-Like Linux Tablet by Jack Wallen
• HP Linux Imaging and Printing Drivers Now Support Fedora 38 and Ubuntu 23.04 by Marius Nestor
• Introducing: Raspberry Pi 5! by Eben Upton
• Raspberry Pi 5 product page
• QEMU 8.1 Released with New PipeWire Audio Backend, Many Improvements by Marius Nestor

Knowledge

• Ansible - Notify the right way by Daniel Schier
• Block the Bots that Feed “AI” Models by Scraping Your Website by Neil Clarke
• Workshop: Video Editing with Kdenlive by Seth Kenlon
• Hiding Files in ZIP Archives by Mahmud Ridwan
• How to customise a USB numeric keypad under GNU/Linux by David Revoy
• Introducing NVK by Faith Ekstrand

• Uncurled by Daniel Stenberg

  Everything I know and learned about running and maintaining Open Source projects for three decades.

• Understanding the Cyber Resilience Act: What Everyone involved in Open Source Development Should Know by Ashwin Ramaswami, Mirko Boehm
• Workshop: Video Editing with Kdenlive by Seth Kenlon

Misc

• A license to trust: Can you rely on ‘open source’ companies? by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
• Capitalism and extreme poverty: A global analysis of real wages, human height, and mortality since the long 16th century by Dylan Sullivan, Jason Hickel
• DEF CON 31 - An Audacious Plan to Halt the Internet’s Ensh*ttification (YouTube video) by Cory Doctorow

• End-of-life Date

  End-of-life (EOL) dates and support lifecycles for various products.

• Everything Is Content Now (YouTube video) by Patrick (H) Willems
• Fish doorbells! Historic sandwiches! 50 of the weirdest, most wonderful corners of the web - picked by an expert by Emma Beddington
• How to say no by Shayla Love

• Open Source Summit Europe 2023 - LinuxCon - Room 0B - Live from Bilbao, Spain (YouTube video)

  First talk is Jonathan Corbet, and he initially talks about Linux kernel long term support (LTS).

• The open source licensing war is over by Matt Asay
• Slow down, it’s what your brain has been begging for by Teodora Stoica
• So let’s talk about this Wayland thing by Nate
• Speaking Up For FOSS Now Everyone Uses It (PeerTube video) by Simon Phipps at FOSS North
• The ins and outs of InnerSource by Brian Proffitt

• TLD-List

  Compare prices of all top-level domains.

Music

• Rich Men North Of Richmond (YouTube Video) by Oliver Anthony
• Songtradr acquires Bandcamp

News

• A DIY ‘bionic pancreas’ is changing diabetes care - what’s next? by Liam Drew
• Firefox users may import Chrome extensions now by Martin Brinkmann
• Forty years of GNU and the free software movement
• GNU’s Having a 40th Birthday Party and You’re Invited! by Christine Hall
• Introducing GNOME 45, “Rīga”
• Largest local government body in Europe goes under amid Oracle disaster by Lindsay Clark
• Last Week in Fediverse – episode 35 by Laurens Hof
• MariaDB Announcement Regarding Possible Offer
• Portuguese town flooded by river of ‘good quality’ red wine by Helen Livingstone
• Protestware on the rise: Why developers are sabotaging their own code by Ax Sharma
• Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk (video)
• Slowroll: openSUSE’s New Take on the Rolling Release Model by Christine Hall
• Toyota’s Japanese production was halted due to insufficient disk space by Scharon Harding
• USENET, the OG social network, rises again like a text-only phoenix by Liam Proven
• Welcome to OpenSource.net! by Stefano Maffulli

Open Source Software

• Audiobookshelf

  Self-hosted audiobook and podcast server.

  Language: JavaScript, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• BiznisBox

  A web application for managing invoices, clients, and payments.

  Language: PHP, License: GNU AGPL v3.0

• cbconvert

  A Comic Book converter.

  Language: Go, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• Flemozi

  Advanced emoji picker for Linux, Windows and macOS.

  Language: Dart, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• Gitness

  A lightweight, superfast code hosting and continuous integration service.

  Language: Go, License: Apache v2.0

• Gojekyll

  A fast Go implementation of the Jekyll blogging engine.

  Language: Go, License: MIT

• GoReleaser

  Deliver Go binaries as fast and easily as possible.

  Language: Go, License: MIT

• Graphite

  2D raster and vector editor that melds traditional layers & tools with a modern node-based, fully non-destructive procedural workflow.

  Language: Rust. License: Apache v2.0

• Halfdot

  Minimalistic Umami client for Android.

  Language: Dart, MIT

• Headlamp

  A Kubernetes web UI that is fully-featured, user-friendly and extensible.

  Language: TypeScript, License: Apache v2.0

• Input Remapper

  An easy-to-use tool to change the behaviour of your input devices.

  Language: Python, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• Iris

  A work in progress modern shaders mod for Minecraft intended to be compatible with existing OptiFine shader packs.

  Language: Java, License: LGPL v3.0

• ledit

  A read-only Reddit/YouTube/Hackernews/RSS client for people who don’t like bells and whistles.

  Language: TypeScript

• Maloja

  Self-hosted music scrobble database to create personal listening statistics and charts.

  Language: Python, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• Memoet

  Self-hosted to play quizzes & review flashcards to memorize everything using spaced repetition method.

  Language: Elixir, License: GNU AGPL v3.0

• NewsFlash

  A program designed to complement an already existing web-based RSS reader account.

  Language: Rust, License: GNU GPL v3

• Numen

  Voice control for handsfree computing running locally.

  Language: Go, License: GNU AGPL v3.0

• OCRmyPDF

  Adds an OCR (optical character recognition) text layer to scanned PDF files, allowing them to be searched.

  Language: Python, License: MPL v2.0

• Open BPMN

  Modeler based on Eclipse Graphical Language Server Platform.

  Language: Java, License: EPL v2.0

• Password Thing

  Receive credentials from clients in a reasonably secure manner.

  Language: Go, License: Multiple

• Pods Framework

  A content development framework for WordPress.

  Language: PHP, License: GNU GPL v2.0

• Podman

  Manage containers, pods, and images from your local environment.

  Language: Go, License: Apache v2.0

• Radium

  A next generation graphical music editor.

  Language: C++, License: GNU GPL v2.0

• Rarebit

  Webcomic template built in HTML and JavaScript.

  Language: HTML, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• rdict

  An offline CLI dictionary, using data from Wiktionary.

  Language: Rust, License: MIT

• Rustypaste

  A minimal file upload/pastebin service.

  Language: Rust, License: MIT

• Scilab

  Numerical computation providing a powerful computing environment for engineering and scientific applications.

  Language: Scilab, License: GNU GPL v2.0

• Share Preview

  Test social media cards locally.

  Language: Rust, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• SILE

  Simon’s Improved Layout Engine (typesetting).

  Language: Lua, License: MIT

• Typst

  A new markup-based typesetting system that is designed to be as powerful as LaTeX, but easier to learn.

  Language: Rust, License: Apache v2.0

• wifiqr

  A simple program to generate a QR code to connect to a WiFi network.

  Language: Go, License: GNU GPL v3.0

• Zulip

  Team chat application designed to help people collaborate.

  Language: Python, License: Apache v2.0

OSINT

• Atlas of Surveillance

  Documenting police tech in our communities with open source research (USA).

Privacy

• ACTUALLY! Android is more private than the iPhone! (YouTube video) by The Hated One
• Changes to UK Surveillance Regime May Violate International Law by Ioannis Kouvakas
• Global civil society and experts statement: Stop facial recognition surveillance now
• It’s Official: Cars Are the Worst Product Category We Have Ever Reviewed for Privacy By Jen Caltrider, Misha Rykov and Zoë MacDonald
• The UK passes massive online safety bill by Emma Roth
• UK rolls back controversial encryption rules of Online Safety Bill by Charlotte Trueman

Security

• CISA Lays Out a Roadmap for Open Source Software Security
• Exim AUTH Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
• Free Download Manager backdoored - A possible supply chain attack on Linux machines by Georgy Kucherin, Leonid Bezvershenko
• Google “confirms” that exploited Chrome zero-day is actually in libwebp (CVE-2023-5129)
• Mozilla patches Firefox, Thunderbird against zero-day exploited in attacks by Sergiu Gatlan
• Roundcube – XSS vulnerability
• Zulip Server 7.4 security release by Tim Abbott

Environment

Tested using the following…

• Arch Linux
• Debian 11, 12
• Fedora 38

Assumptions

• Steps prefixed with a “$” (dollar sign) represents the CLI (command-line interface) prompt
• Steps prefixed with a “#” (number sign) represents the CLI prompt with elevated user permissions (e.g. root)
• The text after the “$” or “#” is to be entered at the CLI

What is JDK?

A distribution used for software development and creation of Java applications and is referred as the Java Development Kit (JDK) that includes the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). There are two primary implementations of the JDK, Oracle JDK and OpenJDK. Oracle JDK is commercially licensed with multiple editions and OpenJDK is the Java Standard Edition (Java SE) with a free open source license.

What is JRE?

A software package that Java programs require in order to successfully run and is referred to as the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). This package does not include the development tools.

How to Switch/Set Default Java Environment

Arch Linux

Get the list of installed Java environments.

$ archlinux-java status

Available Java environments:
  java-11-openjdk
  java-17-openjdk
  java-21-openjdk
  java-8-openjdk

Set a default Java environment.

# archlinux-java set java-21-openjdk

Verify Java environment has been set.

$ java -version

openjdk version "21" 2023-09-19
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 21+35)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 21+35, mixed mode, sharing)

Debian / Ubuntu

Get the list of installed Java environments and set the default Java environment.

# update-alternatives --config java

There are 2 choices from the alternative java (providing /usr/bin/java).

  Selection     Path                                        Priority    Status
------------------------------------------------------------
* 0             /usr/lib/jvm/java-17-openjdk-amd64/bin/java   1711      auto mode
  1             /usr/lib/jvm/java-11-openjdk-amd64/bin/java   1111      manual mode
  2             /usr/lib/jvm/java-17-openjdk-amd64/bin/java   1711      manual mode

Press <enter> to keep teh current choice[*], or type selection number:

Verify Java environment has been set.

$ java -version

openjdk version "17.0.7" 2023-04-18
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 17.0.7+7-post-Debian-1deb11u1)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 17.0.7+7-post-Debian-1deb11u1, mixed mode, sharing)

Fedora, RHEL and Variant Basesystem

Get the list of installed Java environments and set the default Java environment.

# alternatives --config java

There are 2 programs which provide 'java'.

  Selection    Command
-----------------------------------------------------------
*+ 1             java-17-openjdk.x86_64 (/usr/lib/jvm/java-17-openjdk-17.0.6.0.10-1.fc38.x86_64/bin/java)
   2             java-11-openjdk.x86_64 (/usr/lib/jvm/java-11-openjdk-11.0.20.0.8-1.fc38.x86_64/bin/java)

Enter to keep the current selection[+], or type selection number:

Verify Java environment has been set.

$ java -version

openjdk version "17.0.6" 2023-01-17
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (Red_Hat-17.0.6.0.10-1.fc38) (build 17.0.6+10)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (Red_Hat-17.0.6.0.10-1.fc38) (build 17.0.6+10, mixed mode, sharing)

What is the GNU Project?

A free software and mass collaboration project to provide users freedom and control over their computing devices. This is achieved by developing and publishing software that gives every user the rights to freely copy, distribute, study and modify. This freedom of rights are granted by the use of the software GNU General Public License.

What is GNU?

GNU is an operating system that was created with GNU packages release by the GNU Project. GNU is a recursive acronym standing for “GNU’s not Unix”. This comes from basing the design on Unix, a propriety operating system.

Commonly though many operating system distributions refer to it as Linux even though Linux is the name of the kernel. So really the operating system should be called GNU/Linux.

Celebrations

There are a few events occurring in celebration. Do consider joining in the festivities.

• 40th GNU Anniversary Hacker Meeting
• GNU40 - Celebration in the US

Closing Thoughts

It’s unbelievable that 40 years has passed by already and truly amazing what GNU Project has been able to accomplish. It feels like it wasn’t that long ago. When I think back over the years I’ve used a lot of GNU’s not Unix software and wouldn’t have been able to accomplish what I have personally and professionally done without it.

I wish all the best to the GNU Project and all those involved. May the next 40 years be productive and impactful. Never stop promoting and pursuing to protect our software freedoms.

What is GNOME OS Nightly?

A working system to help facilitate the development of GNOME for debugging and testing the design and features. It is intended to be used in a virtual machine (GNOME Boxes) or on bare metal hardware. Do keep mind that it is not a complete system nor GNOME’s own platform or general purpose operating system. It can be unstable and unreliable since it contains pre-released software.

What’s New for GNOME 45

1. Workspace Indicator

   Right away I noticed the top left corner of the Top Bar no longer has the static label of “Activities”. Instead, it has an elegant workspace indicator that changes based on which workspace is active. The large rounded rectangle indicates the active workspace and the individual dots indicate the additional workspaces that are available. When the indicator is clicked it brings up the activities overview screen.

   As a result of this change, the app menu that use to be under activities has been removed.

   

2. Fast Search

   The search performance has been improved for the following applications, Software, Characters, Clocks, Files and Calculator. I did a few test searches using Software and Files applications and I would have to say the improvements are quite noticeable providing a snappy search result. Hopefully this is the case on a system that has loads of files.

3. Camera Usage Indicator

   When the camera is in use a new indicator icon shaped like an old school camera one would hold appears in the towards the top right of the Top Bar. The icon is highlighted in orange to match similar privacy indicators when in use such as the microphone, screen sharing, etc. This is a nice addition for privacy reasons. I tested it out using the Camera (Snapshot) application, and it all worked quite well. Apparently the usage is only visible for apps using the latest camera technologies such as PipeWire.

   

4. New Core Applications

   Snapshot a camera application gives easy access to capture still photographs or record videos. Stills are captured in JPEG and video to WEBM file format. Preferences include the ability to toggle on/off shutter sound and composition guidelines. The interface provides an optional countdown in seconds (none, 3, 5, 10), a gallery preview, capture/record button and a mode toggle for picture or recording.

   Loupe an image viewer application works with touchscreen displays and multitouch trackpads with common gesture support. The app bar consists four actions, copy to clipboard, move to trash, image properties, and main menu. At the bottom icons appear only when mouse or touch is in use with, previous image, next image, zoom out, zoom in, and toggle fullscreen. The main menu has features for open with, printing, rotate image, set background.

   Both applications seem quite modern and responsive. Though I do wish for an option in the image viewer to always display the image properties as of right now you have to toggle it back on when opening the app again.

5. Keyboard Backlight Control

   The new quick menu setting provides the ability to toggle on or off the backlight as well a slider to adjust the brightness. In my test I was not able to locate this in my testing using a Logitech K800 Wireless Slim, so I guess my keyboard is not supported.

6. Hardware Video Playback

   The playing of videos will now use hardware resources when possible for a faster and less power experience.

7. Quick Settings Keyboard Shortcut

   A new keyboard shortcut Super + S will open and close the quick settings menu.

   

8. Settings Application

   Date and Time display format in the Top Bar can now be configured without using the GNOME Tweaks app.

   

   Users no longer has the ability to view Account Activity. This seems rather odd to see this go. Apps and Privacy no longer uses the sidebar for subpages. The subpage is built-in to the main viewing area. About now has a more compact layout yet adding more information. System Details bring up a dialog called System Details for hardware and software information with added feature of copying details to the clipboard.

9. Light System Style

   A new option to give the system a light interface style instead of the default dark.

   I see the new option, however this confuses me as of GNOME 44.5, and I’m pretty sure before that I’ve been able to use the default style which is white. Maybe this is an Arch Linux alteration? I even see this within the “Settings” > “Appearance”. Looking into this further using gsettings from the command line that a valid value of “default”, “prefer-dark”, “prefer-light” is already possible. So I’m not sure exactly what this means.

10. Better Pointer

    GNOME’s pointers or cursors has a new look as well as a smoother pointer movement when the system is busy.

11. New Style Apps

    New interface components have been added to many core GNOME applications allowing for better window sizes and device form factors. The adaptive sidebars change width of the window and layout automatically within the app. The header bar also has a new look with a subtle shadow for separation between the header and content below. These improvements are visible in the following applications, Console, Text Editor, Calendar, Characters, Clocks, Contacts, Disk Usage Analyzer, Files, Fonts, Tour and Web.

12. KVM Support for Wayland

    Software called Input Leap implements keyboard-video-mouse (KVM) to control multiple computers using a single keyboard and mouse without the use of hardware. This ability has been added for Wayland sessions.

13. Files Improvements

    Faster search results with claims of being able to search millions of files with results returned in milliseconds. A more useful and predictable order of search results as well as new buttons to allow expanding the scope of search. Though I have no had millions of files to test this on, I indeed notice quite an improvement and I do think having the ability to expand the search scope is great bonus.

    Other enhancements include a new “Visible columns…” menu within “View Options” has been added for theme consistency, more consistent date and time formats in the list view, indicator for starred files in list view, and faster thumbnail generation.

    I’ve done some testing with Files and I do have to say it is noticeably faster for search results and for thumbnail generation. The rest is just bonuses to me.

    

14. Enhanced Applications

    Core applications of GNOME have received a number of new features and improvements.

    • Software:
      • App data can now be optionally removed when uninstalling a Flatpak
      • The user interface adjusts automatically when there are little apps available
      • When detecting a gaming being played downloading and installing updates is paused
    • Calendar:
      • Month view can be scrolled through a week at time instead of flipping from month to month
      • Keyboard shortcuts added for synchronizing calendars (F5), opening the calendars’ menu (F8), and managing calendars (Ctrl + Alt + M)
      • Search results returns events from a wider range of dates
      • Performance improvements
    • Maps:
      • A button has been added that indicates direction and allows orientating the map to north
      • Explore nearby points of interest from the search popover
      • Zoom buttons are now overlaid over the map instead of in the header bar
    • Connections:
      • Allows for copying text, images and files to and from remote computers using the RDP protocol -Console:
      • Settings for a custom font
      • Setting to disable terminal bell sound and visual effects
    • Calculator:
      • Convert more currencies with Taiwanese Dollar, Ukrainian Hryvnia, Nigerian Naira, and Jamaican Dollar

15. New Circle Applications

    Six new applications have been added.

    • Telegraph, Morse code translator
    • Cartridges, Game launcher (supports Steam, Lutris, Heroic, and more)
    • Ear Tag, Audio file tag editor
    • Paper Clip, PDF metadata editor
    • Forge Sparks, Notifier app for GitHub, Gitea, and Forgejo
    • Impression, Writes disk images to removable drives

Closing Thoughts

Well this has been quite the process going through each item, but was cool to be able to try things out using GNOME OS Nightly. It is just a matter of time I hope that soon we will no longer need to have GNOME Tweaks. Overall the GNOME 45 release has positive changes and I believe the GNOME team deserves a job well done. Make a point to reach out with a thank you to the developers and other volunteers that made this all possible.

What is Bluesky?

A decentralized American social media platform focused on microblogging utilizing the open source Authenticated Transfer (AT) protocol.

Bluesky Brief Company History

The initiative was announced by Twitter’s then CEO Jack Dorsey on Twitter in 2019 to develop an open protocol for decentralized social media. Bluesky was formally incorporated in late 2021 as an independent public benefit limited liability company (LLC) with Jay Graber as the CEO. The service agreement between Twitter and Bluesky was severed in late 2022. In July 2023 seed funding raised $8 million and then Bluesky changed from public benefit limited liability company to public benefit C Corp.

What is the Goal of Bluesky?

To build a protocol for public conversation similar to email, blogs, phone numbers that will create an open system to give the power back to its users instead companies being in control.

Who Owns Bluesky?

According to the Bluesky’s frequently asked questions (FAQ), the Bluesky company is a Public Benefit Corporation which is owned by Jay Graber and the Bluesky team. I’ve not been able to determine exactly what the Bluesky team means. Though the FAQ states that Jack Dorsey and Jeremie Miller serve on the board, along with Jay.

What is the AT protocol?

An open source protocol (Authenticated Transfer protocol) for public conversation and framework that allows one to build social applications with the ability to see how it works, and what is being developed. With this foundation it will create a standard format for user identity, follows, and data for social apps. This provides the ability of a federated network with account portability. So if a user wants to move to another application or service that can do so freely without loosing follows, followers, posts, etc.

How Do I Access Bluesky Social?

Bluesky operates its own official network called Bluesky Social, a centralized service running on proprietary software for its servers. The AT protocol and client apps has been released under the open source license MIT. Bluesky Social can be accessed via the web client at bsky.app or mobile client apps for iOS and Android.

Here are few third-party clients…

• Graysky (web, open source)
• Kite (web)
• Klearsky (web)
• Skyline (web, open source)
• swiftsky (macOS, open source)

How do I join Bluesky Social?

Presently Bluesky Social is not accepting new accounts. However, there are a couple of options.

1. Sign up for the waitlist at bsky.app.

   Click on “Create a new account” > “Next” > “Join the waitlist”.

2. Obtain a free invite code from a user of Bluesky.

Closing Thoughts

I’ve not used Bluesky Social enough yet, so another post will be coming about my experience. I’m still uncertain how this is all going to unfold. Though as of September 12, 2023 Bluesky has reported reaching 1 million users. There are many features I feel that are missing. I have a lot to catch up and understand how it all works. Most of my hesitations is really from the fact of I don’t feel this is going to be truly free, and that it feels like a conflict of interest. How does a company create an open social media network when the ultimate goal is to make profit, even though they say otherwise. Time I guess will show us all what becomes of Bluesky Social.

What’s New for End Users

• Full-text search

  A rework of search options (operators), new Privacy and reach setting “Include public posts in search results” and results are ordered chronologically.

  Search operators: from:me, before:2022-11-01, after:2022-11-01, during:2022-11-01, language:fr, has:poll, or in:library

• Privacy and Reach

  Privacy and reach settings are reorganized into one location under “Edit profile” > “Privacy and reach tab”. Under the search section a new option is available “Include public posts in search results”. This allows search results on Mastodon to show your public posts. Do keep in mind, those that interact with your posts may be able to search them regardless of this setting.

• Display of out-of-band hashtags in the web interface

  To be honest, I’m at a loss as to what exactly has changed. I thought the hashtags were to be rendered into pills, however I don’t see this. Though what is an out-of-band hashtag in the first place? Is it the truncation of the hashtags where the first 3 displayed and the rest truncated?

• Role Badges

  Profiles can now have role badges such as Automated (bot), Owner, etc.

• Report User by choosing domains

  A user now has the ability to choose which domains will receive the abuse report user. This allows a choice to not forward to a known malicious instance or an instance that does not violate policies.

• Lists, Hide these posts from home

  A new option is available on each list “Hide these posts from home”. The feature gives the ability to choose if you want the accounts associated to a list to be hidden in your home feed and rather be visible only within the list itself.

• Import Lists

  Support has been added to allow for importing lists and can be access under “Edit profile” > “Import and export” > “Import”. This supplements with the ability to export lists.

• Post Threads

  Vertical lines have been added to clearly indicate a post’s conversion thread.

• New Users

  When signing up for a new account, a user will be presented with step-by-step instructions to assist in creating and setting up a new profile.

• Explore News with Published Date and Author

  News posts founder under “Explore” > “News” now shows the author and published date when possible.

• Open New Post

  After publishing a post you now have the option to click on “Open” within the toast notification.

• Poll Results

  See current poll results without having to vote. This is nice, though I do feel results shouldn’t be visible until poll has ended as this can sway how people vote. Maybe I’m taking polls too seriously (smile).

• Home Feed Too Slow

  When the home feed is too slow a dismissible notice appears with two buttons “See what’s trending” and “Find people to follow”. This only occurs when one is true…

  • Fewer than 7 different accounts
  • Average gap between posts is more than 20 minutes
  • The most recent post is more than an hour ago

• Time zone preference

  The time zone can now be set under “Edit profile” > “Preferences” > “Time zone”. This is an optional setting used for how dates and times are displayed within email messages.

• Alt Text Badge

  Media with an alternative text will now be indicated with a badged displayed at the bottom left.

• Logged-Out Experience

  A new interactive flow has been implemented to handle scenarios when doing actions that require to be logged in. You now be prompted to enter your instance domain that will allow one to login or continue a current session to complete the action. Optional you can create account at this stage too.

• Profile Posts

  The behaviour has changed as follows.

  • Posts tab shows all the users posts and boosts
  • Posts and replies tab only shows users posts and replies

• Link Previews Redesign

  The link card preview has been given a fresh new look. To me this feels bigger and not as clean.

• Direct Messages Name Change

  Direct Messages is now called “Private mentions”.

• Local and Federated Feed

  The local and federated feeds have been moved under “Live feeds” and have also received a name change.

  • Local feed is now called “This server”
  • Fderated feed is now called “Other servers” (excludes This server) or “All” (includes This servera and federated).

• Edit profile

  Rework the profile section using a tabbed design and then rename “Profile” to “Public profile”, “Avatar” to “Profile picture”, “Profile metadata” to “Extra fields”.

• Bot Name Change

  The “bot” label is now referred to as “Automated” for less negative connotation.

• Explore For you

  Under “Explore”, “For you” has be renamed to “People.

What’s New for Administrators

• Notification of new Mastodon version for administrators

  By default, every 30 minutes a query to “https://api.joinmastodon.org/update-check” will be sent in the background checking if a new version is available. Options are available to change the URL or disable this feature entirely.

• hCaptcha

  An optional feature to require new users to solve a CAPTCHA for confirmation of their account.

• Hashtag Moderation

  Within “Trending hashtags” you are now able to click to view hashtag timelines which eliminates the need to manually copy/paste.

• Manage Tags with Admin API

  Adds an API endpoint to return paginated list of all tags, single tag or update a single tag.

• Trend Management

  This extends the admin/trends API for managing trends using REST API.

Closing Thoughts

I’ve yet to have a full experience of all the changes, though I do feel I’ve definitely appreciated a few of them thus far. I like the potential power of search and the layout redesign of “Edit profile” settings especially for “Privacy and reach”. Overtime I believe I will also enjoy seeing posts exclusively within a list to help filter what I exactly want to see. The new “Live posts” layout, seems practical. For backup purpose it is nice to see the ability to import lists since we can export them. At this stage I feel overall these are all good changes, but who knows I may change my opinion once I’ve used theme all more. What are your thoughts?

Environment

• Arch Linux
• Fish v3.6.1
• GNU Bash v5.1.16
• MkDocs Material v9.3.1
• MkDocs v1.5.2
• Python v3.11.5

Problem

When running mkdocs serve or mkdocs build commands the following error message is returned.

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/bin/mkdocs", line 8, in <module>
    sys.exit(cli())
             ^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/click/core.py", line 1157, in __call__
    return self.main(*args, **kwargs)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/click/core.py", line 1078, in main
    rv = self.invoke(ctx)
         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/click/core.py", line 1688, in invoke
    return _process_result(sub_ctx.command.invoke(sub_ctx))
                           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/click/core.py", line 1434, in invoke
    return ctx.invoke(self.callback, **ctx.params)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/click/core.py", line 783, in invoke
    return __callback(*args, **kwargs)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/mkdocs/__main__.py", line 270, in serve_command
    serve.serve(**kwargs)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/mkdocs/commands/serve.py", line 86, in serve
    builder(config)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/mkdocs/commands/serve.py", line 67, in builder
    build(config, live_server=None if is_clean else server, dirty=is_dirty)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/mkdocs/commands/build.py", line 340, in build
    _build_theme_template(template, env, files, config, nav)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/mkdocs/commands/build.py", line 110, in _build_theme_template
    output = _build_template(template_name, template, files, config, nav)
             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/mkdocs/commands/build.py", line 89, in _build_template
    output = template.render(context)
             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/jinja2/environment.py", line 1301, in render
    self.environment.handle_exception()
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/jinja2/environment.py", line 936, in handle_exception
    raise rewrite_traceback_stack(source=source)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/material/404.html", line 4, in top-level template code
    {% extends "main.html" %}
  File "/home/adam/dev/kb/overrides/main.html", line 1, in top-level template code
    {% extends "base.html" %}
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/material/base.html", line 143, in top-level template code
    {% block header %}
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/material/base.html", line 144, in block 'header'
    {% include "partials/header.html" %}
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/material/partials/header.html", line 60, in top-level template code
    {% include "partials/tabs.html" %}
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/material/partials/tabs.html", line 4, in top-level template code
    {% import "partials/tabs-item.html" as item with context %}
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/jinja2/environment.py", line 1405, in make_module
    return TemplateModule(self, ctx)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/jinja2/environment.py", line 1535, in __init__
    body_stream = list(template.root_render_func(context))  # type: ignore
                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/home/adam/dev/kb/overrides/partials/tabs-item.html", line 32, in top-level template code
    {% if nav_item.children %}
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/jinja2/environment.py", line 485, in getattr
    return getattr(obj, attribute)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
jinja2.exceptions.UndefinedError: 'nav_item' is undefined

Solution

If we look closely at the traceback we can see the “nav_item” variable is undefined within the file “/home/adam/dev/kb/overrides/partials/tabs-item.html” just before it encounters the exception error. Due to the fact that I didn’t make any changes to this file or any other base files other than creating new articles I deduced that it has to be that Material for MkDocs code has changed. To prove this I removed the partial file “tabs-item.html” and ran mkdocs serve again. Sure enough the exception error disappeared.

To resolve the error I simply fetched the latest tabs-item.html file and then applied my alterations.

Art

• InkBlot

  A community by artists for artists that is similar to DeviantArt.

Books

• Asimov’s Science Fiction

  A magazine that covers the best at science fiction stories since 1977. Each issue is available in print and digitally via third party platforms.

• The Manual Library

  The Internet Archive Manual Library is a collection of manuals, instructions, walkthroughs and data sheets for a massive spectrum of items.

• Masha du Toit (Mastodon)

  Science Fiction and Contemporary Fantasy set in alternate world South Africa.

• MIT Press: Open Access Materials via Internet Archive
• The Time Machine by H.G. Wells - Nantucket E-books

• Why We Love FreeDOS by various contributors

  A collection of essays and contributions about how people started working on and using FreeDOS, and why we love FreeDOS.

Comics

• Most Popular of 2022: Slice of Life

Gaming

• Out of Print Archive

  Classic video game magazines.

• QUARTER UP! Vol. II, Summer 2023

  A free online newsletter about pinball and retro arcade gaming.

Design

• Blobbee

  Blobbee is an emoji pack based on Neofox by Volpeon.

  License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

• Free Faces

  Collection of typefaces that are available under a variety of free licenses.

• Repair Symbol

  An open source repair symbol, inspired by the recycle symbol.

  License: CC-BY 4.0

• Missing.css

  The classless-ish CSS library you’ve been missing.

  Language: CSS, License: BSD 2-Clause

Hardware

• Playdate

  A tiny handheld game system with a bunch of brand-new games.

Knowledge

• Creating a VS Code Editor Extension by Tim Heuer

• CPU Land by Lexi Mattick & Hack Club

  Learn how multiprocessing works, what system calls really are, how computers manage memory with hardware interrupts, and how Linux loads executables.

• Easy SVG sparklines by Alex Plescan
• Inkscape Challenge | 1 August 2023 - 31 August 2023
• Lost in the Middle: How Language Models Use Long Contexts
• Mini Course Building Your Email List by Millie Adrian

Misc

• AI Causes Real Harm. Let’s Focus on That over the End-of-Humanity Hype by Emily M. Bender, Alex Hanna
• Budgie Backgrounds v2.0 released
• DEF CON 31 Media Files
• First thoughts about threads by Ben Werdmuller
• Free Public WiFi by j. b. Crawford
• How to Kill a Decentralized Network (such as the Fediverse) by Ploum
• If The Shoe Doesn’t Fit, Print It! by Al Williams
• Overture Maps Foundation Releases Its First World-Wide Open Map Dataset
• Peertube Advatar Generator by David Revoy
• The delusions of Debian
• Samsung is a GARBAGE company! (Piped) by Louis Rossmann

Music

• RadioBrowser

  A community driven effort with the aim of collecting as many internet radio and TV stations as possible.

News

• Fairphone 4—the repairable, sustainable smartphone—is coming to the US by Ron Amadeo
• Major U.S. energy org targeted in QR code phishing attack by Bill Toulas
• Making sense of the EU’s fight for user-replaceable smartphone batteries by Jon Porter
• New Study Reveals Forged Certificate Attack Risks by Alessandro Mascellino
• Reddit demands moderators remove NSFW labels, or else - The Verge by Jay Peters
• Rocky Strikes Back At Red Hat by Jenny List

Open Source Software

• lsix

  List images by thumbnails in terminal using sixel graphics.

  Language: Shell, GNU GPLv3

• duf

  Disk usage/free space utility alternative to df.

  Language: Go, License: MIT

• Dig Pretty

  Make dig’s output prettier.

  Language: Python, License: MIT

• Readup

  A free and open source reading platform without the algorithms via a web browser, or on the go with an iPhone and iPad.

  License: GNU AGPLv3

• pv

  Pipe Viewer (pv) is a terminal-based tool for monitoring the progress of data through a pipeline.

  Language: C, License: Artistic v2.0

• Ruffle

  A Flash Player emulator available for both the desktop and the web using WebAssembly.

  Language: Rust, License: Apache v2.0 or MIT

• Dockly

  Immersive terminal interface for managing docker containers and services.

  Language: JavaScript, License: MIT

• Crawlee

  A web scraping and browser automation library.

  Language: TypeScript, License: Apache v2.0

• Our Paint

  A featureless but programmable painting program.

  Language: C, License: GNU GPLv3

• Mail-in-a-Box

  Take back control of your email with this easy-to-deploy mail server in a box without having to be a technology expert to set it up.

• switching.software

  A directory of ethical, easy-to-use and privacy-conscious alternatives to well-known software.

• Plyr

  A simple HTML5, YouTube and Vimeo player.

  Language: JavaScript, License: MIT

• iPlan

  Your plan for improving personal life and workflow.

  Language: Rust, License: GNU GPLv3

• Laminar CI

  Fast and lightweight Continuous Integration.

  Language: C++, License: GNU GPLv3

• Misskey

  An interplanetary microblogging platform.

  Language: TypeScript, License: GNU AGPLv3

• FoundKey

  FoundKey is a free and open source microblogging server compatible with ActivityPub.

  Language: TypeScript, License: GNU AGPLv3

• Gita

  Manage many git repositories with sanity.

  Language: Python, License: MIT

• Mitra

  A Federated microblogging self-hosted, lightweight platform built on ActivityPub protocol.

  Language: Rust, License: GNU AGPLv3

• SmolOS

  A lightweight operating system for microcontrollers with a POSIX-like environment.

  Language: MicroPython, License: MIT

• readexe

  A command-line tool for inspecting various Microsoft PC EXE formats.

  Language: C

• Roc Toolkit

  Real-time audio streaming over the network.

  Language: C++, License: MPL v2.0

• trurl

  Command line tool for URL parsing and manipulation.

  Language: C

• Veilid

  An open-source, peer-to-peer, mobile first, networked application framework.

• webcamize

  Use any camera as a webcam—DSLR, mirrorless, camcorder, point-and-shoot, and even some smartphones/tablets.

  Language: Shell, License: BSD 2-Clause

OSINT

• CrossLinked

  LinkedIn enumeration tool to extract valid employee names from an organization through search engine scraping.

  Language: Python, License: GNU GPLv3

• Harpoon

  Command line tool for open source and threat intelligence.

  Language: Python, License: GNU GPLv3

• octosuite

  A framework for gathering open-source intelligence on GitHub users, repositories and organizations.

  Language: Python, License: GNU GPLv3

Privacy

• gofoss.net

  A guide on how to start protecting your online privacy with free and open source software.

• F40 Change Request: Privacy-preserving Telemetry for Fedora Workstation (System-Wide) - Fedora Discussion
• What are Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) and why are they important?
• Slack Vs Microsoft Teams — Which Is Better For Your Privacy? by Xavier Harding

Security

• How Hype Will Turn Your Security Key Into Junk by William Brown
• ProtonMail Rewrites Your Emails by John Floren

Pre-Celebration Woes

During the afternoon I decided to play Cities: Skylines. It has been almost a year I think since I last played. Unfortunately quite a few things are broken due to updates. This shouldn’t be shocking considering I play with quite a few mods to make the experience more enjoyable. However, I didn’t really want to fight with getting the game working, I just wanted to play. Times like this I miss the old games when updates were slow and for the most part just worked. In either case, I didn’t end up getting to play. I need to go back and finish figuring out which mod is causing the game to crash.

Celebration

As I understood from a previous conversation my son was to come over around 19:00 (7 p.m.) and we would watch the movie The Batman (2022). So I carried on my day as usual and made up meal for my supper. So around 19:30 (7:30 p.m.) my son and his partner arrived with a couple frozen pizzas. Not even a few minutes pass before we could fully talk when a group of family members (my mom, brothers and sister-in-law) walk in with pizzas and a cake. This through me completely off as I didn’t expect this at all. You see my mother was supposed to be on vacation and said she wouldn’t be around. The unfortunate part in all this was I didn’t know about having a meal in the celebration. However, I ate a small meal and I couldn’t pass up eating a few slices (smile). We all visited as we ate, and we ended up not watching the movie.

Unexpected Gifts

If the celebration itself wasn’t enough of a surprise, the gifts I received were much more of a shock. I honestly couldn’t find the right words to say. Even now thinking about this, I still don’t know what to say other than “this is crazy” and “thank you so much”.

I started off by opening a small present from my bother and sister-in-law. It wasn’t really sure what it was other than possibly a tabletop game. Indeed, it was a table-top game I’ve been wanting for years to try out called, Pass The Pigs. I look forward to playing this.

Next my son handed me an unwrapped box of a Logitech keyboard and mouse combo. The unusual box and weight felt like there was nothing inside, which just added to the puzzled look I must have had on my face. I proceeded to open the box up and found three pieces of paper inside. Each sheet of paper had one photo printed on them of an AMD Ryzen 7 5700X Desktop Processor, ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi II Motherboard, and Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB of DDR4 RAM. This puzzled me more, because I thought there is no way he bought me all this to upgrade my current computer system. I found out that the photos were done because the order was late arriving. My son did say that he wanted to get something that would help me achieve my new job as a tech blogger and YouTube creator. This was and is just insane to me, but I am very grateful.

At this stage I figured this would be the end of being blown away by crazy gifts, but I was wrong. My other Brother says his gift has not arrived and proceeds to tell me that he purchased me a Samsung 990 PRO PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 1 TB SSD. Again, I was at a loss for words.

On top of all these thoughtful gifts I received two gifts prior to and after the celebration. First was a Tilley LTM5 Airflow Hat (khaki/olive) from my Mother. I’m was quite surprised as I’ve wanted one of these for a while now. Then the second was a card game ONO 99 given to me from my Aunt which I was not expecting. Since the card game is similar to Uno, I look forward trying it out.

Finale

A far amount of time has passed since this celebration and I still cannot believe the endless blessings I’ve received this year. It all seems to me as unimaginable. Every wonderful gift will be put to good use, especially the computer hardware as my current system is more than 8 years old now. This is the old hardware I was using.

• ASUS A88X Pro Motherboard
• AMD A10-7850K Desktop Processor
• CORSAIR Vengeance Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) 240-Pin SDRAM DDR3 1866Mhz Desktop Memory

My Usage of Social Media

How I use social media in my perspective is not the general norm. I’ve always been against sharing specific details of my life or of others online far before social media became mainstream. I value respect and privacy of others including my own. Furthermore, I’ve always used social media as a means to share as well as explore my joy of technology and hobbies by helping others in the context of creating a positive brand or image of myself, yet keeping true to who I am. It is without a doubt a balancing act of where to draw the line, though having this perspective helps to keep me mostly on track and to avoid making those posts that does not have value for someone else let alone myself.

Waiting It Out

Several years ago prior to Elon Musk’s ownership of Twitter, I wanted to delete my account, but decided that I will keep the Twitter account for now and wait it out. My reasoning was at the time, Twitter is better than Facebook, Instagram, etc. and I will need Twitter in order to reach people for the betterment of my business, Adamsdesk. Now, I no longer agree with this reasoning.

Reasons to Leave

Twitter uses an algorithm to display content within your feed, instead of allowing the user to have full control. To me this gives the potential to manipulate what I can and cannot see as well as influencing a dopamine response. As a result this is creating unhealthy behaviour and displaying posts I never agreed to follow. Saying this though on a positive note Twitter has finally open sourced the algorithm. I believe the only way one can gain control over your feed to a certain extent is by using lists, however I’m not certain if this is still true. In the end this just creates an unenjoyable experience.

As the years have gone by with changes of policies, API (application programming interface), behaviour and new ownership (Elon Musk) of Twitter seems to foster toxicity instead of a healthy respectful engagement. I will not deny, no matter the social media used there will always be some level of toxic behaviour, but things just seem to be out of hand, and no longer care to be a part of the circus.

Recently I’ve realized one profound question that I may have gained from my experiences of using not just Twitter, but many other social media services in a personal and professional context that I believe we should all be asking ourselves. Why have we allowed our social life to be owned and controlled by companies? No company will ever have your best interests at heart. To me this is a conflict of interest. You are not a human being, but rather a product that can be used as they see fit for profit. This doesn’t settle well for me and quite frankly no one should be in my opinion.

In the past there wasn’t much of alternatives other than the main stream social media. However, today this is no longer the case. With the Fediverse growing by leaps and bonds, there is a community out there for just about anyone that is easy to use and become a part of.

Overall I simply feel that my values do not align with Twitter. I want to have a system, admins and moderators that foster a healthy engagement and community that respects privacy, security, freedom and operates in transparency. I’m not looking for perfection, but a good genuine experience without the algorithms, and a system that doesn’t make me into a product.

Considerations Before Leaving

Before taking the action of deleting your Twitter account there are a few things that should be taken into consideration.

1. Backup your data.

   A backup cannot be done during the deactivation period or after the account has been permanently deleted. Therefore, make sure to download an archive of your data. The requested archive can take up to 24 hours before receiving it.

   Browse to “More” > “Settings and Support” > “Settings and Privacy” > “Your Account” > “Download an archive of your data” to begin.

2. Deleting an account is not immediate.

   The process of deleting a Twitter account is done by deactivating it. Once deactivated this process takes 30 days before the account is permanently deleted. However, if the account is accessed with-in the 30-day deactivation period, and you have confirmed to reactivate the account it is then considered reactivated and therefore would require to start the process all over again.

3. Your username is fair game.

   Once an account has completed the 30-day deactivation period, the username associated to the Twitter account is free for anyone to use.

4. Public personas, brand or image can be affected.

   Deleting a Twitter account is not always simple for everyone. If you have an account that has a substantial following as a persona, brand or image one must think about the potential impact for impersonation if the account is deleted. In cases like this, it may be best to hold onto the account, but keep in mind an account can possibly be deleted due to inactivity.

Conclusion

In the end of it all what Twitter has to offer is not a desirable experience I care to partake in and therefore have decided to delete my account. You can see how little I used Twitter with my current stats.

• 139 Following
• 84 Followers
• 12 lists
• 2896 posts

Unfortunately Twitter doesn’t offer an easy way to delete your data before leaving. I tried to find an open source solution, but was not able to do so. I decided to use the free Redact application for Linux (AppImage) to delete my data beforehand. I realize this doesn’t guarantee that my data is indeed deleted, but at least I tried to do the best I can.

Environment

Instructions tested with the following.

• Roundcube Webmail v1.4.13

Change Password

When an email address is set up by someone else other than yourself or the account has been compromised the password should be changed to keep it secure and under your control for accountability.

1. Open Roundcube email client.
2. Browse to “Settings” > “Password”.
3. Enter the desired password under “New Password” and then again in “Confirm New Password”.
4. Click the “Save” button.

Set Your Identity

To clearly communicate to the recipient of your email messages it is best to set the display name, organization name (if applicable) and signature that will be used each time a message is sent. All these settings helps the recipient be able to clearly identify who a message is from.

1. Open Roundcube email client.
2. Browse to “Settings” > “Identities”.
3. Select desired identity.
4. Under “Settings” set the “Display Name” by entering your name.
5. Under “Settings” set the “Organization” by entering the name of organization the email address is associated to (optional).
6. Under “Signature” enter the desired text.
7. Click the “Save” button.

Read Messages in Plaintext

To protect one’s privacy, security and freedom of control turn off displaying email messages in HyperText Markup Language (HTML) by default. This will force all emails to be displayed by default in plaintext. Each email message will now have an extra button to toggle on displaying the message using HTML if necessary. This is the safest route to go in protecting yourself online from tracking or malicious messages.

1. Open Roundcube email client.
2. Browse to “Settings” > “Preferences” > “Displaying Messages”.
3. Toggle off “Display HTML”.
4. Click the “Save” button.

Email Maintenance

To keep your email clean and optimized for the best experience I always recommend emptying the trash and compacting on logout.

1. Open Roundcube email client.
2. Browse to “Settings” > “Preferences” > “Server Settings”.
3. Toggle on “Clear Trash on logout”.
4. Toggle on “Compact Inbox on logout”.
5. Click the “Save” button.

Spellcheck

It is often forgotten to do spellcheck on an email message, so to help combat this follow these steps.

1. Open Roundcube email client.
2. Browse to “Settings” > “Preferences” > “Composing Messages”.
3. Toggle on “Check spelling before sending a message” under “Spellcheck Options”.
4. Click the “Save” button.

Change Theme

For the best experience using an application is having an interface that is enjoyable to interact with. There are three themes to choose from. However, “Elastic” theme is best for the most modern experience.

1. Open Roundcube email client.
2. Browse to “Settings” > “Preferences” > “User Interface”.
3. Select interface skin to “Elastic”.
4. Click the “Save” button.

What is a Display Server?

A program that is responsible for handling the coordination of input and output of the hardware, the operating system and as well as each other. All the coordination is sent using a communication protocol, such as Wayland or X11. Without a display server a computer could not be used graphically.

Environment

Instructions were tested using the following.

• Arch Linux
• Fish v3.6.1
• GNU Bash v5.1.16
• GNOME v44.3
• KDE Plasma v5.27.4

GNOME Settings

1. Open GNOME Settings.
2. Click on “About” on the left-hand side.

3. On the right-hand side look for the value under “Windowing System”.

   

KDE Plasma

1. Open System Settings.
2. Click on “About” on the left-hand side.

3. On the right-hand side look for the value under “Graphics Platform”.

   

Environment Variable

During the loading process environment variables are set and as a result we can confirm which display server is being used by getting the value of the variable using a terminal. For best results look at using “XDG_SESSION_TYPE” or “env” examples.

• Display the value of the variable “XDG_SESSION_TYPE”.

    $ echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE
  

    x11
  

• Display the value of the variable “WAYLAND_DISPLAY”.

    $ echo $WAYLAND_DISPLAY
  

    wayland-0
  

  If no value is returned then X11 is being used.

• Use the “env” and grep commands to search all environment variables for X11 or Wayland.

    $ env | grep -i -e x11 -e wayland
  

    XDG_SESSION_TYPE=x11
  

Systemd Login Manager

For the Linux operating systems configured with Systemd the login manager can be accessed using the command “loginctl” in the terminal to confirm which display server is in use.

1. Get the session ID.

    $ loginctl list-sessions
   

    SESSION  UID USER SEAT  TTY
        3 1000 adam seat0 tty2
   
    1 sessions listed.
   

2. Display session type to confirm display server being used.

    $ loginctl show-session 3 -p Type
   

    Type=x11
   

System Processes

The example below list all the system processes and then searches through all the results to only display process with the name of “tty” using a terminal. Visually look through the returned results for X11 (Xorg) or Wayland.

$ ps -e | grep tty

20162 tty2     00:00:00 gdm-x-session
20167 tty2     00:00:16 Xorg
20200 tty2     00:00:00 gnome-session-b
23334 ?        00:00:00 kitty

Books

• Books by Chuq Von Rospach

  Free e-books on birds and wildlife.

• Book Freebies by Michael W Lucas

  Free fictional stories and novels.

Gaming

• Half-Life: MMod

  A free, fan made modification for Half-Life aiming to refine player’s arsenal and further expand player’s combat options. Featuring AI tweaks, VFX and SFX overhaul in spirit of original, additional weapon functionality and bug fixes, while keeping most changes optional.

Hardware

• Pikku

  A do-it-yourself (DIY) customizable six key macropad powered by Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller.

• Review: XP-Pen Artist 24 Pro on Linux by David Revoy

Knowledge

• Prompt Engineering Guide

  Guides, papers, lecture, notebooks and resources for prompt engineering.

  Language: MDX, License: MIT

• Demystifying the Apostrophe - how and when to use an apostrophe
• Page styles in LibreOffice Writer

• Blind SVG Study Guide

  Built to help teach blind and low-vision folks how to code their own graphics with SVG.

• Learn Shanty

  A markup language for writing e-books.

  License: GNU Free Documentation

• How to Propose Features to GNOME

Music

• Awesome List of Music Retailers

  List of online stores offering music in high quality, accessible, and permanently ownable formats. Each provider must have the option of lossless audio file format, ability to download media to your system locally without DRM and no special tools required and not require a subscription to purchase media.

• Discogs

  A user-generated music database and marketplace that is open source and crowdsourced.

• Radio Free Fedi

  24/7 music and sounds from the fediverse.

News

• Google’s decision to deprecate JPEG-XL emphasizes the need for browser choice and free formats
• Edge browser feature sends images you view back to Microsoft
• The Falcon has landed in the Hugging Face ecosystem
• KeePassXC Audit Report
• What to know about Threads by Eugen Rochko (CEO/Founder of Mastodon)

Open Source Software

• ack

  Grep-like source code search tool.

  Language: Perl, License: Artistic v2.0

• Bandcamp collection downloader

  A command-line tool to automatically download all releases purchased with a Bandcamp account.

  Language: Kotlin, License: GNU AGPLv3

• Doszip

  The Doszip Commander is an LFN (long file name) aware text user interface (TUI) file manager (Norton Commander clone) with built-in Zip and Unzip for DOS and Windows.

  Language: Assembly, License: GNU GPLv2

• Impression

  A straight-forward and modern application to create bootable drives. Available officially via a flatpak.

  Language: Rust, License: CC BY-SA 3.0

• gron

  Make JSON greppable (searchable)!

  Language: Go, License: MIT

• jless

  jless is a command-line JSON viewer designed for reading, exploring, and searching through JSON data. Available on FreeBSD, Linux, macOS and NetBSD.

  Language: Go, License: MIT

• Brutaldon

  A web client for Mastodon and Pleroma. There are two key benefit of this software, one having the option to host it yourself or use the hosted instance at brutaldon.org and two having the ability to work without JavaScript. This makes it possible to use text based browsers such as Lynx, w3m, or elinks.

  Language: Python, License: GNU AGPLv3

• MkDocs Manpage

  Generate a manpage using the source of a documentation site using MkDocs.

  Language: Python, License: ISC

• LunarVim

  An integrated development environment (IDE) layer for Neovim with sane defaults. Completely free and community driven.

  Language: Lua, License: GNU GPLv3

• Grease

  A website starter that makes building performant, accessible, aesthetic websites fast and frictionless.

What is jq?

A JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) command-line processor that provides the ability to slice, filter, map and manipulate the data structure with simplicity.

JSON String: Count Array Elements

Using the built-in length function of jq we can count the array elements found in a simple JSON string that contains a list of website addresses.

$ echo '[{"Adamsdesk": "https://www.adamsdesk.com/"},{"Adamsdesk KB": "https://kb.adamsdesk.com/"}]' | jq '. | length'

2

A File: Count Array Elements

Here are the contents of the file “example.json” that contains a list of countries and cities. Let’s count the root array elements.

{
    "countries": [
        {
            "id": 1,
            "name": "Canada",
            "ISO-3166-1-alpha-2": "CA"
        },
        {
            "id": 2,
            "name": "United States of America",
            "ISO-3166-1-alpha-2": "US"
        }
    ],
    "cities": [
        {
            "name": "Los Angeles",
            "countries_id": 2
        },
        {
            "name": "Vancouver",
            "countries_id": 1
        },
        {
            "name": "Toronto",
            "countries_id": 1
        }
    ]
}

$ jq '. | length' example.json

2

Nested Array: Count Array Elements

The nested array has a list of various city names, let’s count how many array elements are associated to cities.

echo '{"cities":[{"name":"Los Angeles"},{"name":"Vancouver"},{"name":"Toronto"}]}' | jq '.cities | length'

3

Remote JSON Data: Count Array Elements

This example queries the Mastodon account Adamsdesk profile metadata on Fosstodon using the Mastodon API and then will count the total array elements found under the “emojis” key.

$ curl "https://fosstodon.org/api/v1/accounts/lookup?acct=adamsdesk" | jq '.emojis | length'

21

For illustration purposes here are the contents of the query data with the beginning and end truncated so that only the “emojis” data is shown.

"emojis": [
    {
      "shortcode": "arch",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/090/050/original/ae5ab97b259fe17d.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/090/050/static/ae5ab97b259fe17d.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "alpine",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/218/777/original/82d920d583221b7e.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/218/777/static/82d920d583221b7e.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "linux",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/025/115/original/077a5cfa08a16bcb.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/025/115/static/077a5cfa08a16bcb.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "openbsd",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/059/615/original/db208ca8502874ee.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/059/615/static/db208ca8502874ee.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "android",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/025/102/original/64ec1c48b5f213fe.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/025/102/static/64ec1c48b5f213fe.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "terminal",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/025/127/original/398662c04f1d032f.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/025/127/static/398662c04f1d032f.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "AntennaPod",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/720/381/original/9346145bb110c8e3.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/720/381/static/9346145bb110c8e3.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "firefox",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/010/378/original/6710d28f8a2cdc05.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/010/378/static/6710d28f8a2cdc05.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "gimp",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/025/111/original/592f1bf79e1af1d3.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/025/111/static/592f1bf79e1af1d3.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "gitea",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/702/389/original/650b0e605850f306.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/702/389/static/650b0e605850f306.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "gnomewhite",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/010/367/original/gnomewhite.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/010/367/static/gnomewhite.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "inkscape",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/083/940/original/2225d4cb86fd6e88.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/083/940/static/2225d4cb86fd6e88.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "thunderbird",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/010/377/original/4bc6f0caa347f85a.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/010/377/static/4bc6f0caa347f85a.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "ublockorigin",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/716/461/original/9fe02b7d9ec3397c.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/716/461/static/9fe02b7d9ec3397c.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "duckduckgo",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/010/368/original/duckduckgo.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/010/368/static/duckduckgo.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "fsf",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/084/358/original/d1411f3764516b0f.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/084/358/static/d1411f3764516b0f.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "fedi",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/691/240/original/fce8be1e4468ce58.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/691/240/static/fce8be1e4468ce58.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "osm",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/177/141/original/0ccb7bb1bc8563de.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/177/141/static/0ccb7bb1bc8563de.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "tetris",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/100/768/original/5148c03e43140252.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/100/768/static/5148c03e43140252.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "raspberrypi",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/015/409/original/raspberry-pi.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/015/409/static/raspberry-pi.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    },
    {
      "shortcode": "startrek",
      "url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/129/517/original/26b6b8b0066163ac.png",
      "static_url": "https://cdn.fosstodon.org/custom_emojis/images/000/129/517/static/26b6b8b0066163ac.png",
      "visible_in_picker": true
    }
  ]

What’s Changed?

The development of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) works with Fedora at the top of the stream, in the middle is CentOS Stream and then RHEL. Fedora provides innovation and testing with CentOS Stream as the continuously delivered Linux distribution that is now the sole repository for public RHEL source code. RHEL source code will no longer be publically accessible. To be clear CentOS Stream and RHEL is entirely under the control by Red Hat. Fedora Linux however is independent of Red Hat and is developed under the Fedora Project.

This does still provide opportunities for those interested in participating and collaborating in the RHEL ecosystem, however without having the full benefits of RHEL direct source code.

Is It Closed Source?

With these changes of how to access the source code this means that the RHEL source code is no longer publically accessible. The only way to gain access to the source code is by being a paying Red Hat customer or partner via the Red Hat Customer Portal. In the past one could have almost one to one enterprise Linux without using RHEL directly.

Is This Even Legal?

There is many view points on this subject and in all honestly it is beyond my understanding. Though generally speaking I don’t see why a group cannot stop development and then continue on with a new license. However, since I’m not a lawyer I will leave this up to the well versed Software Freedom Conservancy article, A Comprehensive Analysis of the GPL Issues With the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Business Model.

How Does This Affect You?

For the majority of Linux users you will not be affected since most use desktop Linux or a non-enterprise server operating system.

However, those people working in the business industry that uses RHEL or variant (e.g. AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux) will be affected. Changes will need to be done most likely within a year to either migrate to RHEL or move to new Linux server distribution.

There is already movement in the community by AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux.

• Impact of RHEL changes to AlmaLinux
• Rocky Linux Expresses Confidence Despite Red Hat’s Announcement

Conclusion

No doubt this is disappointing news from Red Hat, but it is not shocking. IBM has never had a history of caring much for free open source software and as such does not align with the values open source advocates abide by. However, I see this as an opportunity for the community as a whole to create a new fork of enterprise Linux solutions that will truly be free from corporate interests.

Environment

Tested using the following…

• Arch Linux
• Fish v3.6.1
• GNU Bash v5.1.16
• Python v3.11.3

Assumptions

• Steps prefixed with a “$” (dollar sign) represents the CLI (command-line interface) prompt
• Steps prefixed with a “#” (number sign) represents the CLI prompt with elevated user permissions (e.g. root)
• The text after the “$” or “#” is to be entered at the CLI
• A directory path that includes a “~” (tilde) expands automatically to the current user home directory (.e.g. /home/adamsdesk)

Problem

Each time a Python package is installed or uninstalled using pip the action is stopped with the following error message as illustrated below.

$ pip uninstall mkdocs

error: externally-managed-environment

× This environment is externally managed
╰─> To install Python packages system-wide, try 'pacman -S
    python-xyz', where xyz is the package you are trying to
    install.

    If you wish to install a non-Arch-packaged Python package,
    create a virtual environment using 'python -m venv path/to/venv'.
    Then use path/to/venv/bin/python and path/to/venv/bin/pip.

    If you wish to install a non-Arch packaged Python application,
    it may be easiest to use 'pipx install xyz', which will manage a
    virtual environment for you. Make sure you have python-pipx
    installed via pacman.

note: If you believe this is a mistake, please contact your Python
installation or OS distribution provider. You can override this, at
the risk of breaking your Python installation or OS, by passing
--break-system-packages.
hint: See PEP 668 for the detailed specification.

What Does This Mean?

The operating system configuration is protecting the user against having system provided packages (e.g. pacman, apt, dnf, etc.) and pip provided packages. Mixing the two different package managers is a bad idea and usually ends with having multitude of issues that no one desires.

Solution - Override

$ pip install package-name --break-system-packages.

Another option to not have to add a command-line parameter would be to add the following to the user’s pip configuration file.

$ nano ~/.config/pip/pip.conf:

[global]
break-system-packages = true

Solution - Virtual Environment

The following example will create the Python virtual environment, and then it will be activated.

For further explanation on creating virtual environments and how they work read the Python documentation on venv - Creation of virtual environments.

$ python -m venv .venv
# source .venv/bin/activate

Solution - Package Manager

Each system uses a different package manager, so exact steps will vary. Search for the desired package and then install the desired package.

$ pacman -Ss keyword

# pacman -Sy package-name

I played around with several solutions I found online using Windows 10 22H2. While doing my testing I discovered my installation will be 3 years old in August 2023. Shocking considering most of us know that Windows requires a fresh install just to keep it happy :-).

Windows Settings

1. Click on the Windows “Start” button.
2. Click on “Settings” > “System” > “About”.

3. In the “Settings” window under “Windows specifications”, look for the “Installed on” value.

   

    Edition         Windows 10 Pro
    Version         22H2
    Installed on    8/13/2020
    OS build        19045.2965
    Experience      Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.19041.1000.0
   

   For clarity the date is formatted as month, day, year.

Windows Folder

This solution is not always ideal due to the fact that a folder or directory date can be changed overtime.

1. Click on the Windows “Start” button.
2. Browse to “Windows System”.
3. Click on “File Explorer”.
4. Within the left-hand panel click on the “Local Disk (C:)”.

5. Right mouse click on the “Windows” folder and click on “Properties”.

   Look for the “created” value within the folder properties dialog.

   

File System

As far as I know there is no built-in way to access the creation date of the file system or partition. However, the approximate date can be obtained by looking at the creation date of “System Volume Information” found on the C drive.

1. Click on the Windows “Start” button.
2. Browse to “Windows System”.
3. Click on “File Explorer”.
4. On the left-hand side click on “Local Disk (C:)”.
5. Click on the “View” menu then “Options”.

6. Uncheck “Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)”.

   This step is required in order to see the “System Volume Information” folder. It is advised to enable this feature again once the task has been completed.

   

7. Click on the “OK” button.

8. Right mouse click on the “System Volume Information” folder and click on “Properties”.

   Look for the “created” value within the folder properties dialog.

   

Windows PowerShell

1. Click on the Windows “Start” button.
2. Browse to “Windows PowerShell”.
3. Click on “Windows PowerShell”.

4. Use one of the following command examples.

    PS C:\> ([WMI]'').ConvertToDateTime((Get-WmiObject Win32_OperatingSystem).InstallDate)
   

    Thursday, August 13, 2020 9:31:58 PM
   

    $date = Get-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\' | select -ExpandProperty InstallDate
    (Get-Date "1970-01-01 00:00:00.000Z") + ([TimeSpan]::FromSeconds($date))
   

    Thursday, August 13, 2020 9:31:58 PM
   

   As I understand it there is supposed to be multiple registry entries of “Source OS (Updated on xxxxxx)” per update. However, as you can see I only have one entry even though I have all the recommended updates installed to date.

    $AllBuilds = $(gci "HKLM:\System\Setup" | ? {$_.Name -match "\\Source\s"}) | % { $_ | Select @{n="UpdateTime";e={if ($_.Name -match "Updated\son\s(\d{1,2}\/\d{1,2}\/\d{4}\s\d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2})\)$") {[dateTime]::Parse($Matches[1],([Globalization.CultureInfo]::CreateSpecificCulture('en-US')))}}}, @{n="ReleaseID";e={$_.GetValue("ReleaseID")}},@{n="Branch";e={$_.GetValue("BuildBranch")}},@{n="Build";e={$_.GetValue("CurrentBuild")}},@{n="ProductName";e={$_.GetValue("ProductName")}},@{n="InstallTime";e={[datetime]::FromFileTime($_.GetValue("InstallTime"))}} };
    $AllBuilds | Sort UpdateTime | ft UpdateTime, ReleaseID, Branch, Build, ProductName
   

    UpdateTime           ReleaseID Branch       Build ProductName
    ----------           --------- ------       ----- -----------
    8/13/2020 7:54:54 PM 1909      19h1_release 18363 Windows 10 Pro
   

Windows Registry Editor

1. Open the “Run” dialog by pressing the keys, Windows+R.
2. Type in the input field without double quotes “regedit” and press Enter.

3. Browse to the following location.

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion

4. On the right-hand side double click on “InstallDate”.
5. Within “Edit DWORD” dialog click on “Decimal” under “Base”.

6. The “Value data” field value is the installation date.

   

   The “Value data” field value is formatted in seconds since January 1st, 1970, better know as Unix time.

The seconds can be easily converted using Windows PowerShell.

PS C:\> (Get-Date -Date "1970-01-01 00:00:00Z").addSeconds(1597375918)

Thursday, August 13, 2020 9:31:58 PM

Windows Systeminfo

1. Click on the Windows “Start” button.
2. Browse to “Windows System”.
3. Click on “Command Prompt”.

4. Input the following command after the prompt and press Enter.

    C:\Users\Adam>systeminfo | find /i "install date"
   

    Original Install Date:     8/13/2020, 9:31:58 PM
   

   For clarity the date is formatted as month, day, year.

Windows Management Infrastructure Command-line

1. Click on the Windows “Start” button.
2. Browse to “Windows System”.
3. Click on the “Command Prompt”.

4. Input the following command after the prompt and press Enter.

    C:\Users\Adam>wmic os get installdate
   

    InstallDate
    20200813213158.000000-360
   

The output timestamp is formatted as “yyyyMMddHHmmss” and is described as shown below. The value after the period represents the number of milliseconds.

• yyyy = Numeric representation of a year, 4 digits
• MM = Numeric representation of a month, 2 digits with leading zero
• dd = Day of the month, 2 digits with leading zero
• HH = 24-hour format of an hour, 2 digits with leading zero
• mm = Minutes, 2 digits with leading zero
• ss = Seconds, 2 digits with leading zero

Wallpapers

Please remember to respect the artists of each one of these art wallpapers and consider giving thanks to at least one of the artists.

Culture

The users of Reddit, to me have different characteristics than similar social online services. On top of that we have to remember the age of Reddit as it was established on June 23, 2005. Times were different then, and as a result this has allowed the communities or subreddits to mature over the years. Reddit is known as place that is open nature, and diverse users that tend to be more privacy-conscious that do not like feeling manipulated by Reddit itself or brands. Users often wish to engage with intelligent viewers and participants looking for advice, answers, and social discussions. The culture and the community have allowed for fostering many great things as a result such as, image sharing, image host Imgur and RedditGfits.

Privacy

Change has been occurring with Reddit on how advertising is being done that tracks the user, which is defiantly not desired by the user base. Yes, it has unfortunately become a norm amongst many online services, which is a problem in itself. This has been shown as the user base has worked hard on creating Reddit front ends or entirely new software in order to venture out on their own Reddit like service to take back control over privacy.

Third Party

There is endless third party Reddit front end interfaces, and applications that can be used to access Reddit’s service. This has all been made possible of course by the wonderful user base that develop the software, but would not be possible without having access to Reddit’s API (application programming interface). The unfortunate part is it is now all in question if these third party applications can even survive due to the cost Reddit has put on using the API. Unfortunately I’ve not been able to confirm pricing as I couldn’t find an official source. I’m going by the out cry and subreddits protesting. On the surface, this seems like excessive pricing that in the end would just hurt the open nature and diverse community Reddit has become.

RedditGifts

The service was created by a Reddit user Dan McComas, and was a user-to-user gift exchange service for Reddit users. Later RedditGifts was acquired by Reddit in August 2011. The wonderful and largest gift exchange that I know of and even participated in multiple times sadly was shutdown on January 2022.

This to me was a huge sign of Reddit not understanding its user base. As far as I understand there was a strong user base of the gift exchange. It can be understandable why Reddit itself may no longer want to own and operate RedditGifts, but why not figure out a way to hand it back over to the community in which it came from? Thankfully gift exchanges have returned due to the user base creating it once again.

Community

It appears to me that it is no longer about community with healthy engagement by providing what the users are asking for, but rather all about the dollar. I feel that Reddit the company are not treating the community and the volunteers as valued and respected customers that they are.

Find out for yourself by reading the responses from Reddit in the news.

• Addressing the community about changes to our API - r/reddit
• Reddit CEO compares moderators to aristocracy as blackout stretches on - The Verge
• Reddit CEO Steve Huffman isn’t backing down: our full interview - The Verge
• Reddit demands moderators remove NSFW labels, or else - The Verge
• Thousands of Reddit communities remain dark as protest continues - The Verge

Here are open letters from subreddits and beyond.

• r/aww
• r/ButItForLife
• r/DigitalPainting
• r/funny
• r/ModCoord
• Restricting Reddit Data Access Threatens Online Safety & Public-Interest Research

Alternative

Thanks to the open source movement and the wonderful dedicated developers out there, we all have an alternative if one so chooses to move away from Reddit. Here are a few that to me are quite promising.

• Aether

  Aether is a distributed peer-to-peer network using the stateless Aether protocol. Self-hosting is an option with it based on Go. To learn more read these two pages, How is it different from… and Aether protocol.

• Lemmy

  The decentralized social link aggregation and discussion platform is connected to the Fediverse network (ActivityPub). Can be self-hosted and is based upon Rust and TypeScript. Refer to Lemmy documentation to learn more.

  Discover communities using Lemmy Explorer.

• Kbin

  Decentralized content aggregator and microblogging platform running on the Fediverse network (ActivityPub). Can be self-hosted and is based on PHP. Refer to Kbin documentation to learn more.

  Mobile application coming soon.

• Postmill

  A self-hosted PHP based social link aggregator with voting and discussion platform. Postmill doesn’t appear decentralized by being connected to the Fediverse network or peer-to-peer distributed. Therefore, this seems to be a centralized service.

• Littr (brutalinks.tech)

  Go based link aggregator using the Fediverse network and has the option to self-host.

• Tildes (Tildes.net)

  A non-profit community site that written in Python has no advertising, open source and minimal user-tracking. Learn more by reading the docs or the announcement blog post.

Conclusion

We are in times now that I question if Reddit is really viable and desired anymore to be run by a business that doesn’t seem to understand its own user base. A lot of what is even done by the users on Reddit is accomplished by using third party software because there is no good solution available otherwise. That in itself seems off for Reddit to not see this.

I’m sure most of us would agree that we can all understand as a company like Reddit, they need to find a way to generate revenue in order to pay the bills and to make some profit. However, let’s do this without having to sell out your own users and break the entire system that makes it all possible. It is the connection of people and openness that makes places like Reddit thrive. I only see this becoming more broken as time goes by and creating a division between people instead of fostering the growth of connections to people.

What Is Natural Scroll?

Within a graphical user interface a natural scroll is an upward motion on a mouse scroll wheel, touchpad or trackball that causes the content of the window to move down and a downward motion to move up.

To better understand this let’s take a look at the animated illustrations of traditional vs. natural scroll directions by Allan Day and Jakub Steiner (GNU General Public License v2.0).

For those wishing to dive deeper into the history of natural scrolling, take a look at the article by Tedium entitled, Why Does “Natural Scrolling” Exist, Anyway?

Enable Natural Scroll with GNOME

1. Open “Settings”.
2. Click on “Mouse & Touchpad” located on the left-hand side.
3. Under “Scroll Direction” click “Natural”.

Enable Natural Scroll with KDE Plasma

1. Open “System Settings”.
2. Browse to “Hardware” > “Input Devices” > “Mouse”
3. Under “Scrolling” click to “Invert scroll direction” (checkmark).

Enable Natural Scroll with Windows PowerShell

1. Open the “Start Menu” by clicking on it.
2. Begin typing without double quotes “powershell” then click on “Run as Administrator”.

3. Copy and paste the following code into the command line of Windows PowerShell.

   Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\HID\*\*\Device` Parameters FlipFlopWheel -EA 0 | ForEach-Object { Set-ItemProperty $_.PSPath FlipFlopWheel 1 }
   

   To change back to traditional scroll set the “FlipFlopWheel” value from “1” to “0” without double quotes located towards the end of the code.

4. Verify registry changes.

   Copy and paste the following code into the command line of Windows PowerShell. Verify the FlipFlopWheel value is set to “1” for natural scroll or “0” for traditional scroll.

    Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\HID\*\*\Device` Parameters FlipFlopWheel -EA 0
   

    FlipFlopWheel : 1
    PSPath        : Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\HID\VID_046D&PID_C52B&MI_01&Col01\7&683dbcf&0&0000\Device Parameters
    PSParentPath  : Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\HID\VID_046D&PID_C52B&MI_01&Col01\7&683dbcf&0&0000
    PSChildName   : Device Parameters
    PSDrive       : HKLM
    PSProvider    : Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\Registry
   
    ...
   

Enable Natural Scroll with Windows Registry Editor

Doing this process manually first requires knowing the device identifier (ID). Once the device ID is found then the applicable registry entry can be changed to reverse or enable the natural scroll feature.

Find Device ID

1. Open the “Start Menu” by clicking on it.
2. Begin typing without double quotes “device manager”.
3. Click on “Device Manager”.
4. Expand “Mice and other pointing devices”.
5. Right mouse click on the desired mouse device and left mouse click on “Properties”.
6. Left mouse click on the “Details” tab.
7. Under the “Property” menu list select “Device instance path” option.
8. Make note of the VID value for the mouse (e.g. VID_046D&PID_C52B&MI_01&COL01).
9. Click on the “OK” button.
10. Close the “Device Manager” window by clicking on the “X” at the top right.

Set Natural Scroll

1. Press the Windows key + R to open the “Run” command dialog.
2. Type “regedit” without double quotes and then click the “OK” button.
3. Click the “Yes” button to continue, when the “User Access Control” dialog appears with “Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?”

4. Within “Registry Editor” browse to the following path.

    Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\HID
   

5. Expand the key folder that matches the VID of your mouse that was noted previously (e.g. VID_046D&PID_C52B&MI_01&COL01).
6. Expand the available key.
7. Left mouse click on “Device Parameters”.
8. Double left mouse click on the “FlipFlopWheel” DWORD to edit the value.

9. Set the “Value data” from “0” to “1” without double quotes.

   To change back to traditional scroll set the value from “1” to “0” without double quotes.

10. Click on the “OK” button.
11. Close the “Registry Editor” window by clicking on the “X” at the top right.
12. Restart the computer.

The Free TV

The new television is being marketed as free product which is ad-supported with dual-screens. The primary display is a 55” at 4K HDR and the 9” secondary display or smart screen is used to display advertisements, news, weather, stocks, sport scores, widgets, and more. A sound bar is found between the two displays. The system is equipped with a microphone and camera to used with video calling (powered by Zoom) and voice assistant. Additionally, the TV will come with an Android TV USB dongle in order to use streaming services.

The company behind the free TV Telly Corp. has recently announced and opened a reservation system for the first 500,000 free units that will begin shipping to consumers in summer of 2023. At this time the offer is only applicable to citizens of the United States.

TV Specifications

Unfortunately the entire television specifications have not all been official released to date, therefore what I’ve collected is what I could find reading various websites. The operating system TellyOS apparently is a fork of Google Android TV, though I’ve not been able to confirm this.

Concerns

We should all remember that, nothing comes for free. There is a cost to everything we do and use. The so-called “free” television, actually comes at a serious cost to the consumer. In simple terms the TV is an appliance, but in this case the appliance turns the viewer into a product with the use of your own data along with a billboard advertising whatever it deems necessary. The revenue Telly makes is from your own data and advertisements. The only compensation is the TV itself which is nothing compared to value of your own data and advertisements. This new appliance has taken things to a whole new level of invading your privacy and security within your own home. Telly and any associated third party companies will now be able to collect your data such as, the audio and video content you watch, the channels you view, duration of viewing session, voice pattern, physical movements, queries, settings, preferences, applications, purchases, the buttons clicked, cultural and social identifiers, and the physical presence of people using the TV. All this that may not even be anonymized or de-identified.

If you choose to protect your own network such as using an advertisement blocker or disconnect Internet to the TV or opt out of sharing your data you will be in violation of the terms of service. As a result the service will be terminated and must return the free TV or be charged for it.

Conclusion

It is nice to see how Telly appears to be up front instead of hiding what they are doing. However, this doesn’t make it right. The marketing seems to focus the reader on the fact of “free” and what is generally offers. Doesn’t go into specifics or even provide full detailed specifications. Almost like it’s trying to divert you away from the truth. This is just another appliance like product and service that violates our own freedoms. At least with streaming services, other smart TVs, cell phones, etc. I have a choice how I use it to some extent without being penalized for it. This all seems insane to me, especially considering how a decent TV doesn’t even cost a consumer that much. It just feels like this product will take advantage of those less fortunate or less informed. Heck we don’t even know the entire scope of harm this could bring for the benefit of a company. Ultimately we as consumers should have the say and control over what we own and consume. This free TV is not “free”, so just say “NO”.

Bits

• Minecraft Text Effect

  Follow this tutorial (video) to create the perfect Minecraft text effect using Minercraftory or 8-bit Arcade fonts. Free for personal or commercial use.

• OpenAI Whisper

  An open source general-purpose speech recognition tool that can aid in generating a transcript of an audio file.

• No-icon by Franck Albaret

  Icons for Android, Tux, Forgejo, OpenDesktop and Solus.

• The “Build Your Own Redis” Book is Completed by James Smith

  Take on the challenge of building your own Redis by coding from scratch using C/C++.

• Wendin-DOS : The forgotten multi-tasking, multi-user DOS clone from the 1980s by Bryan Lunduke

  Many are well aware of the existence of MS-DOS, but what about Wendin-DOS? A forgotten operating system that Bryan brings back to life covering an in depth history and the capabilities it offers.

• Rspack

  An open source Rust-based JavaScript bundler that enables fast and efficient web development.

• Shift Happens: A book about keyboards

  Pre-order your copy of the history of keyboards, covering early typewriters to modern day mechanical. The book is broken up into two volumes.

• Bring Back Blogging

  Looking to discover new blogs to read? Take a look at this curated directory of bloggers.

• Mastodon 3.11 for Workgroups

  A Windows 9x Mastodon client built in Visual Basic 6 using an open source license.

• Project Code Rush - The Beginnings of Netscape / Mozilla Documentary (video) published Aug 12, 2013

  “Code Rush is a documentary following the lives of a group of Netscape engineers in Silicon Valley. It covers Netscape’s last year as an independent company, from their announcement of the Mozilla open source project until their acquisition by AOL. It particularly focuses on the last minute rush to make the Mozilla source code ready for release by the deadline of March 31 1998, and the impact on the engineers’ lives and families as they attempt to save the company from ruin.”

• Creating an Operating System for the NES (video)

  An operating system called NESOS for the Nintendo Entertainment System or Family Computer Systems.

Environment

• Arch Linux x86_64
• Electron v22.3.3 (Community/electron)
• Element v1.11.26 (Community/element-desktop)
• Olm v3.2.12

Problem

The application crashes shortly after being started.

I was not able to find anything when launching Element from the command line or launching with “–enable-logging” argument. However, I did end up receiving an error message when monitoring with journalctl.

$ journalctl -f

Apr 12 15:22:07 adamsdesk kernel: traps: ThreadPoolForeg[57565] trap int3 ip:5648e7635924 sp:7f3964c36050 error:0 in electron[5648e400e000+7267000]
Apr 12 15:22:07 adamsdesk systemd[1]: Started Process Core Dump (PID 57667/UID 0).
Apr 12 15:22:09 adamsdesk systemd-coredump[57668]: [🡕] Process 57467 (electron) of user 1000 dumped core.

                                                   Stack trace of thread 57565:
                                                   #0  0x00005648e7635924 n/a (electron + 0x5286924)
                                                   #1  0x00005648e423202b n/a (electron + 0x1e8302b)
                                                   #2  0x00005648e7544565 n/a (electron + 0x5195565)
                                                   #3  0x00007f39c74e1782 closedir (libc.so.6 + 0xcd782)
                                                   #4  0x00005648e752883c n/a (electron + 0x517983c)

.......... (truncated dump)

                                                   Stack trace of thread 57563:
                                                   #0  0x00007f39c7496766 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x82766)
                                                   #1  0x00007f39c7499294 pthread_cond_timedwait (libc.so.6 + 0x85294)
                                                   #2  0x00005648e7534d2b n/a (electron + 0x5185d2b)
                                                   #3  0x00005648e75357b4 n/a (electron + 0x51867b4)
                                                   #4  0x00005648e750d448 n/a (electron + 0x515e448)
                                                   #5  0x00005648e750e08c n/a (electron + 0x515f08c)
                                                   #6  0x00005648e750dc7a n/a (electron + 0x515ec7a)
                                                   #7  0x00005648e750db12 n/a (electron + 0x515eb12)
                                                   #8  0x00005648e753898e n/a (electron + 0x518998e)
                                                   #9  0x00007f39c7499bb5 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x85bb5)
                                                   #10 0x00007f39c751bd90 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x107d90)
                                                   ELF object binary architecture: AMD x86-64
Apr 12 15:22:10 adamsdesk systemd[1]: systemd-coredump@1-57667-0.service: Deactivated successfully.
Apr 12 15:22:10 adamsdesk systemd[1]: systemd-coredump@1-57667-0.service: Consumed 2.095s CPU time.
Apr 12 15:22:10 adamsdesk io.element.Element.desktop[57532]: [57532:0412/152210.055595:ERROR:broker_posix.cc(40)] Recvmsg error: Connection reset by peer (104)

Solution - Workaround

Thanks to a posted project issue I learned of a workaround by disabling the feature “Message Search” which securely cache encrypted messages locally for them to appear in search results. Here are the steps I took.

1. Open Element Desktop application.
2. Go to “Profile picture” > “All settings” > “Security and Privacy”
3. Under “Message Search” click on the “Manage” button.
4. Click on the “Disable” button.
5. Confirm by clicking on the “Disable” button again.

There is a lot to unpack here, especially for those dear readers that are not familiar with shell scripting. Do not allow this to stop you from playing around with this. I will do my best to illustrate what each solution does by showing the command example followed by the command output.

Environment

Applicable commands were tested using the following.

• Bash v5.1.16
• BusyBox v1.35.0
• PowerShell v7.3.3

Command Examples

The examples are sorted below by shell with a few variations. All examples achieve the following.

• Iterate through each file found
• Counts each character used in the filename
• Outputs the results with the filename then filename length (total characters)

For the purpose of testing and output examples, the current directory has a group of files and is illustrated below containing 5 regular files and one subdirectory. The subdirectory contains one regular file.

├── a-deep-dive-into-the-wayland-protocol-for-linux.md
├── hard-links-and-soft-links-in-linux-explained-enable-sysadmin.md
├── inodes-and-the-linux-filesystem.md
├── test/
│  └── hello-world.md
├── this is-a test.txt
└── xorg-x11-wayland-linux-display-servers-and-protocols-explained.md

Bash/BusyBox

Look at all file types within the current directory and then use parameter expansion to count each character (${#file}).

$ for file in *; do echo "$file ${#file}"; done

a-deep-dive-into-the-wayland-protocol-for-linux.md 50
hard-links-and-soft-links-in-linux-explained-enable-sysadmin.md 63
inodes-and-the-linux-filesystem.md 34
test 4
this is-a text.txt 18
xorg-x11-wayland-linux-display-servers-and-protocols-explained.md 65

Look at all file types within the current directory and then use wc command to count each character.

$ for file in *; do echo "$file $(echo -n $file | wc -m)"; done

a-deep-dive-into-the-wayland-protocol-for-linux.md 50
hard-links-and-soft-links-in-linux-explained-enable-sysadmin.md 63
inodes-and-the-linux-filesystem.md 34
test 4
this is-a text.txt 18
xorg-x11-wayland-linux-display-servers-and-protocols-explained.md 65

Look at all regular files (no directories, symbolic links, etc.) using the find command recursively through the current directory with a max depth (-maxdepth) of 1. Count each filename character without directory path using parameter expansion (${#f}).

While this solution may seem more complex, it is still quite simple and offers more flexible with options to change the depth of recursion (how many subdirectories to go into), filter by file type (-type), and ensures only the filename is counted for characters. All being displayed in a beautiful table with title headings making it clear what each value represents.

$ find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -print0 | while IFS= read -d '' file; do f=$(basename "$file"); printf "%s: %s\n" "$file" "${#f}"; done | column -s : -t -N Filename,Length

Filename                                                             Length
./hard-links-and-soft-links-in-linux-explained-enable-sysadmin.md     63
./test/hello-world.md                                                 14
./inodes-and-the-linux-filesystem.md                                  34
./this is-a text.txt                                                  18
./a-deep-dive-into-the-wayland-protocol-for-linux.md                  50
./xorg-x11-wayland-linux-display-servers-and-protocols-explained.md   65

Fish

Look at all file types within the current directory and then use the string length command to count each character.

$ for file in *; echo "$file $(string length $file)"; end

a-deep-dive-into-the-wayland-protocol-for-linux.md 50
hard-links-and-soft-links-in-linux-explained-enable-sysadmin.md 63
inodes-and-the-linux-filesystem.md 34
test 4
this is-a text.txt 18
xorg-x11-wayland-linux-display-servers-and-protocols-explained.md 65

Look at all file types within the current directory and then use wc command to count each character.

$ for file in *; echo "$file $(echo -n $file | wc -m)"; end

a-deep-dive-into-the-wayland-protocol-for-linux.md 50
hard-links-and-soft-links-in-linux-explained-enable-sysadmin.md 63
inodes-and-the-linux-filesystem.md 34
test 4
this is-a text.txt 18
xorg-x11-wayland-linux-display-servers-and-protocols-explained.md 65

Look at all regular files (no directories, symbolic links, etc.) using the find command recursively through the current directory with a max depth (-maxdepth) of 1. Count each filename character without directory path using string length command.

While this solution may seem more complex, it is still quite simple and offers more flexible with options to change the depth of recursion (how many subdirectories to go into), filter by file type (-type), and ensures only the filename is counted for characters. All being displayed in a beautiful table with title headings making it clear what each value represents.

$ for file in $(find . -maxdepth 1 -type f); set basename "$(basename $file)"; echo "$file $(string length $basename)"; end | column -t -N Filename,Length

Filename                                                             Length
./hard-links-and-soft-links-in-linux-explained-enable-sysadmin.md    63
./inodes-and-the-linux-filesystem.md                                 34
./this is-a text.txt                                                 18
./a-deep-dive-into-the-wayland-protocol-for-linux.md                 50
./xorg-x11-wayland-linux-display-servers-and-protocols-explained.md  65

PowerShell

Look at all files types within the current directory and then use object length ($_.Name.Length) to count each character.

PS C:\> get-childitem | select-object Name, @{N="Length";E={$_.Name.Length}}

Name                                                              Length
----                                                              ------
test                                                                   4
a-deep-dive-into-the-wayland-protocol-for-linux.md                    50
hard-links-and-soft-links-in-linux-explained.md                       47
inodes-and-the-linux-filesystem.md                                    34
this is-a text.txt                                                    18
xorg-x11-wayland-linux-display-servers-and-protocols-explained.md     65

Look at files (not directories) recursively within the current directory and then use object length ($_.Name.Length) to count each character.

PS C:\> get-childitem -File -Recurse | select-object Name, @{N="Length";E={$_.Name.Length}}

Name                                                              Length
----                                                              ------
a-deep-dive-into-the-wayland-protocol-for-linux.md                    50
hard-links-and-soft-links-in-linux-explained.md                       47
inodes-and-the-linux-filesystem.md                                    34
this is-a text.txt                                                    18
xorg-x11-wayland-linux-display-servers-and-protocols-explained.md     65
hello-world.md                                                        14

Bits

• 7x7 puzzles by malaika & friends

  A lot of crossword puzzles to pass the time by challenging your mind.

• January 1, 2023 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1927 are open to all!

  Jennifer Jenkins a Director of Duke’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain talks about and lists material that enters the public domain from 1927.

• PXtoEM.com

  Brian Cray makes converting px to em quick and easy with this online tool.

• Ploppy

  A company that produces 100% open source products from computer mice to headphones. Not just the hardware is open source, but also the design files, documentation, and software utilizing the licenses of GPLv3, CERN-OHL-v2-S, and GFDLv1.3.

• Podcast Index

  Helping to preserve, protect and extend the open, independent podcasting ecosystem. Use the search engine to find podcasts of interest, list podcast apps, and use the API to create new applications without the heavy lifting of indexing, aggregation and data management.

• Interviews.school

  Help prepare for software engineering interviews.

• xBrowserSync

  A secure, annoymous, and free open source browser syncing tool.

• grype

  A vulnerability scanner for container images and filesystems.

• The UNIX Pipe Card Game

  A card game for teaching how to combine Unix commands through pipes.

• Vintage Apple

  Vintage Apple books, magazines, manuals and more.

What are Snippets?

Re-usable text pattern or source code that aids in avoiding repetitive typing and recreating the text that has already been done in the past. Typically, snippets are used in programming or specifically formatted text.

There are two types of code snippets, built-in and user-defined. Built-in snippets are provided by the editor itself or from installing extensions. The user-defined snippets are created by you the user. All snippets are written in JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) and have support for C-style comments. Such use cases can be Jekyll code blocks, loops, or Jekyll admonitions.

Snippet Properties

Each code snippet is defined with the following properties.

name (required)

Snippet name that is displayed at the time of code completion if no description is defined.

scope (optional)

Defines the context in which the code snippet is available by using one or more language identifiers. This helps code completion list only relevant suggestions. If scope property is omitted, then the snippet will be available in all languages.

prefix (required)

One or more trigger words that will cause the snippet to be listed as an option at the time of code completion.

body (required)

One or more lines of content that will be added to the desired location from which it was called. Newlines, tabs, etc. will be formatted based upon the context in which the snippet is inserted.

description (optional)

A descriptive text of the code snippet that will be displayed at the time of code completion.

isFileTemplate (optional)

To control whether the code snippet can be used to populate or replace a file’s contents when running “Snippets: Populate File from Snippet” via the Command Palette for a new or existing file. The property has a value of either true or false.

Using Snippets

Accessing the list of user-defined, and built-in snippets can be done using one of the below methods.

Code Completion (IntelliSense)

Type the snippet keyword (prefix) followed by pressing, CTRL+Spacebar and then select a snippet by pressing enter.

Command Palette

Use command “Snippets: Insert Snippet” or “Snippets: Populate File from Snippet” by pressing CTRL+Shift+P and then select a snippet by pressing enter.

Tab Completion

This method is supported, but must be enabled within the settings (CTRL+,) under User > Text Editors ("editor.tabCompletion": "on"). Then simply type the snippet keyword (prefix), and press the tab key and then select a snippet by pressing enter.

Creating Snippets

Use the following steps to create either a language, project or global scope snippet.

1. Open the Command Palette, press CTRL+Shift+P.
2. Run the command “Snippets: Configure User Snippets”.
3. Selected the desired option under “New Snippets”.
   • Options displayed as a language will only be applied to a specific language
   • Options displayed as “New Snippets file for” will only be applied to a specific project
   • Options displayed as “New Global Snippets file” will be applied to all languages

Editing Snippets

1. Open the Command Palette, press CTRL+Shift+P.
2. Run the command “Snippets: Configure User Snippets”.
3. Selected the desired snippet to modify.

Removing Snippets

1. Open the Explorer Workspace (CTRL+Shift+E).
2. Browse and select the desired code snippet by left mouse clicking on the file.
3. Press the del key or right mouse click on the file and left click on “Delete”.

Deleting a snippet can be done manually by browsing to one of the following applicable directories using a file manager or terminal to remove the desired file.

• /home/{username-here}/.config/VSCodium/User/snippets
• .vscode (located within each project folder)
• C:\Users\{username-here}\AppData\Roaming\VSCodium\User\snippets

Example Snippets

This example illustrations language specific snippets for YAML (yaml.json). Multiple snippets are stored together. The first snippet is a changelog that is stored within the Jekyll front matter for a post. This snippet is triggered by the keyword (prefix) “adlog” (Adamsdesk post changelog). The second example is another Jekyll front matter for a wallpaper post that is triggered by adwal (Adamsdesk wallpaper item).

The variable $CURRENT_YEAR will be replaced with the current four digit year, $CURRENT_MONTH two-digit month and $CURRENT_DATE two digit day of the month. The numbered variables control the order of cursor placement after being inserted. Enter the desired value at each cursor positing and jump to the next position by pressing the tab key. The last cursor position is defined by the variable $0. The \t represents a tab character.

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//This is comment for the snippets stored in the yaml.json file.
{
    "Adamsdesk Changelog": {
        "prefix": "adlog",
        "body": [
            "changelog:",
                "\t-   date: $CURRENT_YEAR-$CURRENT_MONTH-$CURRENT_DATE",
                    "\t\tlog:",
                        "\t\t\t- $0"
        ],
        "description": "Adamsdesk YAML frontmatter changelog."
    },
    "Adamsdesk Wallpaper Item": {
        "prefix": "adwal",
        "body": [
            "\t-   caption: $1",
            "\t\tlink: $2",
            "\t\tsource: $3",
            "\t\timage: $4",
            "\t\talt: $5",
            "$0"
        ],
        "description": "Adamsdesk YAML wallpapers array item."
    }
}

Dive Deeper

For further details on snippet scope, special constructs, remove built-in snippets from IntelliSense, and more refer to the knowledge base article.

What is Two-Factor Authentication?

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) or also known as two-factor authentication (2FA) is a security method used to log in to a website or application that requires two or more distinct forms of identification in order to gain access. The first-factor would be the password, and commonly the second would be a text message (SMS) with a code sent to a mobile phone, authenticator app, biometrics (fingerprint, face, or retina), etc.

We can break this down simply as…

• Something you know (your password)
• Something you have (text message with code)
• Something you are (fingerprint, face, retina)

Why Charge for a Security Feature?

As far as I’m aware at the time of writing this post Twitter as not publicly stated their reasoning entirely. The blog post announcement does state indirectly that 2FA via text message is being abused by bad actors. So this does seem to imply that ultimately text message two-factor authentication will eventually be removed for the sack of security. However, we can make further deductions as to why Twitter would even consider this.

• To discourage use
• To reduce operating costs, sending text message (SMS) is expensive for a business
• To gain revenue, even if temporary
• To eventually drop text message support completely
• To improve security, text message is not a secure method for two-factor authentication

When Will Free Text Message 2FA End?

The blog announcement states that after March 20, 2023 non-Twitter Blue subscribers will no longer have access to text messages for two-factor authentication. So to be safe I would make sure to turn off text message 2FA before March 19, 2023.

What Do I Do After the Deadline?

Those accounts left with text messages 2FA enabled will have it disabled according to the blog announcement. What is not clear is, will the accounts with text message 2FA indeed still have access or not. Some users have been shown messages on Twitter that states “To avoid loosing access to Twitter, remove text message two-factor authentication by March 19, 2023”.

What Are My Options?

Twitter offers other methods of two-factor authentication using an authenticator app or security key for free under an accounts Settings > Security and account access > Two-factor authentication. I’m not certain, but it may be possible to not even enable two-factor authentication. However, I strongly advise against this as it is not a matter of if an account will be breached, but more of matter of when without having 2FA enabled.

So my advice would be to disable text message 2FA, and enable either the 2FA using authentication app or security key methods provided by Twitter for free.

Conclusion

I personally may not agree with how Twitter is handling the transition of removing text message 2FA, however I do believe in the end this is better for everyone from a security point of view. Sending a security code using a text message is simply dangerous and honestly should have never been done in the first place. For those using Twitter take this opportunity to learn more about two-factor authentication, password managers and/or an authenticator app, and security keys.

In the end I recommend enabling two-factor authentication using an authenticator app or security key. For those looking for solutions of a free open source authenticator/password manager app or security key, here are some recommendations. Please remember to safe your backup codes in case the 2FA cannot be used.

Authenticator/Password Manager apps

• Aegis Authenticator (Android)
• AuthPass (Android, iOS, macOS, Windows)
• Bitwarden (Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows)
• Buttercup (Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows)
• KeePassDX (Android)
• KeePassXC (Linux, macOS, Windows)

Security Keys

• NitroKey
• OnlyKey
• Solokeys
• YubiKey

The Problem

The driver I am using for the hardware RealSimGear G1000 Suite PFD/MFD/GMA is supplied by RealSimGear RSG_CH34x_Linux_Driver.tar.gz v1.3. Each time the kernel is updated the driver needs to be recompiled. I tried to compile the driver, but received the following output.

# make
make -C /lib/modules/5.15.86-1-lts/build  M=/home/flightsim/Downloads/RSG_CH34x_Linux_Driver
make[1]: Entering directory '/usr/lib/modules/5.15.86-1-lts/build'
  CC [M]  /home/flightsim/Downloads/RSG_CH34x_Linux_Driver/ch34x.o
/home/flightsim/Downloads/RSG_CH34x_Linux_Driver/ch34x.c: In function ‘ch34x_close’:
/home/flightsim/Downloads/RSG_CH34x_Linux_Driver/ch34x.c:642:28: warning: unused variable ‘wait’ [-Wunused-variable]
  642 |         wait_queue_entry_t wait;
      |                            ^~~~
/home/flightsim/Downloads/RSG_CH34x_Linux_Driver/ch34x.c:641:14: warning: unused variable ‘timeout’ [-Wunused-variable]
  641 |         long timeout;
      |              ^~~~~~~
/home/flightsim/Downloads/RSG_CH34x_Linux_Driver/ch34x.c:640:13: warning: unused variable ‘bps’ [-Wunused-variable]
  640 |         int bps;
      |             ^~~
/home/flightsim/Downloads/RSG_CH34x_Linux_Driver/ch34x.c: At top level:
/home/flightsim/Downloads/RSG_CH34x_Linux_Driver/ch34x.c:1348:27: error: initialization of ‘unsigned int (*)(struct tty_struct *)’ from incompatible pointer type ‘int (*)(struct tty_struct *)’ [-Werror=incompatible-pointer-types]
 1348 |         .write_room     = ch34x_write_room,
      |                           ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/home/flightsim/Downloads/RSG_CH34x_Linux_Driver/ch34x.c:1348:27: note: (near initialization for ‘ch34x_device.write_room’)
/home/flightsim/Downloads/RSG_CH34x_Linux_Driver/ch34x.c:1349:28: error: initialization of ‘unsigned int (*)(struct tty_struct *)’ from incompatible pointer type ‘int (*)(struct tty_struct *)’ [-Werror=incompatible-pointer-types]
 1349 |         .chars_in_buffer = ch34x_chars_in_buffer,
      |                            ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/home/flightsim/Downloads/RSG_CH34x_Linux_Driver/ch34x.c:1349:28: note: (near initialization for ‘ch34x_device.chars_in_buffer’)
cc1: some warnings being treated as errors
make[2]: *** [scripts/Makefile.build:289: /home/flightsim/Downloads/RSG_CH34x_Linux_Driver/ch34x.o] Error 1
make[1]: *** [Makefile:1902: /home/flightsim/Downloads/RSG_CH34x_Linux_Driver] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory '/usr/lib/modules/5.15.86-1-lts/build'
make: *** [Makefile:7: default] Error 2

I’ve never written a driver before and nothing really stood out for me from the error messages that I could easily repair myself. I was at a cross road, and I wasn’t sure what direction to go.

Contact Support

At the time the client tried to reach RealSimGear tech support by phone, but unfortunately they were not available and was directed to send an email message instead. A message was left by the client to have tech support call him back. Later that day I decided to send an email into tech support myself since I was the one having to do that work and had the technical know how.

I received an email reply shortly, and I was told that RealSimGear has dropped support for Linux some time ago due to lack of Linux users. This was a response I was not expecting. There was no notice of this change and the hardware was intentionally purchased due to it supporting Linux. The hardware was purchased less than 2 years ago, this doesn’t even seam like a reasonable support period. This isn’t hardware that is just a few hundred dollars. We are talking over $2,000 USD at the time of purchase. I was frustrated due to this response, but figured what can I do, but try and talk more. After some email messages exchanging back and forth I was happy to receive some direction on how to get the hardware driver working again using the native Linux kernel Arduino driver and a Bash script their developer provided me.

Solution

The instructions given by the developer was good, just not exactly clear for my exact use case since I was using Arch Linux and I wouldn’t imagine the developer was using that operating system. It took quite some time of trying different direction and installing a bunch of packages until I finally had a perspective that I should have taken from the start. You see there are a bunch of drivers that the Linux kernel supports, but not all of them are loaded by default. I found out that the driver I required was on the system already I just had to install it. Thanks to the priceless Arch Wiki article Kernel module and Arduino I was able to take what I found, plus the script RealSimGear developer provided to register the USB device IDs and was able to make it all work again. It is very exciting to solve a problem and see things working again while learning more about Linux.

I wrote an entire article on how to make this all work over on my Knowledge Base called RealSimGear G1000 Suite Linux Install for those that are interested.

Conclusion

Though the solution sounds exciting I still concerned about it all. In the short term I am concerned that the X-Plane RealSimGear plugin will no longer work. As I understand it the plugin is what communicates from the driver to within X-Plane, so it understands what action to do. Basically a translator of sorts. I’m grateful for RealSimGear developer that provided the script, without that I doubt I would have fixed it. As for now the hardware is working with X-Plane 11 and the client is happy.

Environment

Testing was done using the following…

• iPad Pro 10.5”
• iOS v16.3
• Ivory v1.4.1

Initial Setup

I installed the application using the App Store by searching for “ivory for mastodon”. Upon initial load of the application I was presented with a lovely elephant that appears to be the mascot of the software. Next I entered my instance server name, “fosstodon.org”. Afterwards I had to authorize access to my Mastodon account. All this went pretty smoothly. Now I was presented with the option to demo the app or purchase a subscription. Apparently I will not be charged a fee if I choose to cancel the subscription within 7 days. This part, I’m not a fan of. I should be able to test out the application using most of the base features so that I can make a decision without making a commitment. I realize this seems to be the norm nowadays especially on an Apple device, but I’m strongly against this approach to get money from people. Anyway, I moved on by choosing to go with “I Just Want to Demo”.

Unfortunately at this point I experienced an iCloud Sync Issue. I found the issue online on the Ivory support page. Turns out iCloud Drive is required along with app permission for iCloud access. I have no interest in using iCloud, so this is why I have it disabled. I would really like to know what exactly the app is using iCloud for as I’ve not been able to find any explanation. As far as I can tell, the app doesn’t have to have access to iCloud in order to function properly.

Using Ivory

At the initial look and feel the Mastodon client is quite smooth and elegant to use. Everything that I need is available to me quickly and easily using the vertical bar with icons. On the home view one can choose to select Home, Local, Federated, or a predefined user list. The top right has a split view icon that adds having mentions listed as you browse. Go down the vertical navigation, you have mentions, profile, notifications, search, favorites, bookmarks, lists, filters, and statistics.

One of the coolest features I’ve found is the statistics. Though it is not a necessary feature it is a cool to see your overall activity, favorites, boots, replies, mentions, posts, and follows all in a nice looking graph. As far I can tell these stats are for the recent week. May be over time this will grow to show more, at this stage I’m not sure.

Customizing

There doesn’t seem to be much left out that I can think of that cannot be changed under the settings. Everything from having multiple accounts to changing the display, behaviour, notifications, sounds, browser, and app icon is available. I like the fact that one has the choice to change the default built-in web browser to the user’s desired web browser of choice. Interesting to see so many options on changing the app icon with even a Tweetbot rest-in-peace icon for some nostalgia.

Missing Features

A few things I noticed that doesn’t seem to be supported yet.

• Profile doesn’t render emojis
• Profile doesn’t have a media tab

Privacy

One of the reasons why I wanted to check out this app was due to how wonderful the developers seem to respect a user’s privacy. It has been taken serious enough that the App Store reports that the developer does not collect any data from this app along with the website explaining this further. It all seems fair and reasonable. I praise the Tapbots for doing this and wish more would come on board.

License

For me this is the disappointing part. I’m a strong advocate of software being developed using free open source licenses, and now seeing this how beautiful everything else has been done it saddens me that a close source license has been chosen. As a user I have no way to verify or have the community verify exact what is going on in the background. Providing transparency is key as far as I’m concerned and in return having an open source license allows for the community to grow and learn if one chooses to do so.

Saying all this though I do respect the developers choice, and wish them all the best in this adventure.

Conclusion

It is unfortunate that I was not able to dive deeper into the review due to being stuck in demo mode. It frustrates that this was the approach the developers took or maybe strongly encouraged due Apple forcing this decision. Overall the application looks and feels great with an intuitive interface. The polished feel definitely shows that a lot of thought and effort has gone into the development of this application.

Ultimately for me the there are two reasons as to why I would not choose to use this application. First is the payment options available, lock a customer in using a subscription of monthly or yearly bases. Which really means I have to pay for it indefinitely to use it. Though the subscription cost is quite reasonable, but not for endless years. Give the freedom of choice with the option of having one time payment even if that means for a certain period of time. The second issue is not being developed using an open source license with the source code available.

Either way it is good to see another Mastodon client available, and I’m sure it will be a good choice for those that choose it. Give it a try and see what you think.

Reflection

I’ve learned a lot through this challenge of issues, one of which is vital is tracking ones progress in order to complete a goal. Second I need to start organizing my life better, so I have the time to do the things that matter most to me. As well, I need to use the tools that help manage tasks and blog post ideas in order to complete them. Third, I really need to start to open up more and allow myself to have short posts. None of them have to be perfect. I’m not entirely sure how I will accomplish the third one as of writing this post.

I created a simple script that I talked about in Tracking 100 Days To Offload that keeps track of my goal for the challenge. As well as use a proper tag line at the bottom of each post to show my participation and post count out of 100.

To help with task management I will be using Taskwarrior and Timewarrior. They are simple yet powerful tools that I’ve found so far priceless in getting things on track.

Challenge Results

Round two ended on January 14, 2023, and unfortunately I did not successfully complete the challenge. I posted a total of 86 posts within a year period. The majority of my posts where done when I was determined to finish this challenge successfully on November 29, 2022 by posting a total of 44 posts within 44 days. This means that I was able to post more within 44 days then I did the entire rest of the year. To me this shows that I’m more than capable of completing this challenge.

Here is a list of all the posts I’ve written during the challenge, January 14, 2022 to January 14, 2023.

• How to Create Social Media Share Buttons with Privacy
• Experimenting with Jekyll Blog Comments
• Slice of Life Wallpaper: Part Four
• How to Change the Default Linux File Manager
• How to Manage Pi-hole Adlists from The Command Line
• Get Your Public IP Address with Ident.me
• Use Your Own Domain for Mastodon Discoverability
• Improve Your DuckDuckGo Search Experience with Bangs
• 2022 Fitness Year End Review
• Cleaning Up Post Tags and Categories: Part Two
• Resolve RustDesk Not Generating an ID or Making a Connection
• How To Use DuckDuckGo From the Command Line
• List Packages That Depend On Another Package with Pacman
• Little Bits: Issue #2
• Add kramdown Attributes with Jekyll or Bridgetown
• Happy New Year 2023
• Must Have Essential Applications For Desktop Linux
• Experimenting with Jekyll Relatable Posts
• List of Helpful Mastodon Resources
• The Joy of Gaming
• Taking Time To Slow Down
• ‘Tis The Season For Stress and Anxiety?
• Merry Christmas from Adamsdesk
• Add Copyright Year Automatically to any Website
• Little Bits: Issue #1
• Markdown Viewers for the Linux Command Line
• Are Quality Products a Thing of the Past?
• Slice of Life Wallpaper: Part Three
• Cleaning Up Blog Tags and Categories
• A Cyberspace Inquisition #6: The End
• Codeberg Forks Gitea to Forgejo
• Pulsar Project: A New Text Editor
• Add Mastodon Link Verification for Gitea
• Building a Point of Sale System
• 5 Easy Steps To Crop An Image in Inkscape
• Why Does Sudo Echo Fail with Permission Denied?
• Tracking 100 Days To Offload
• How To Find The Linux Install Date
• Find Your Most Frequently Used Terminal Commands
• A Bash Countdown To Christmas
• How to Add New Disk Drive to a Linux System
• Restrict PHP Version for Composer Packages
• Slice of Life Wallpaper: Part Two
• Space Cadet Pinball
• Send Email Messages Using Symfony Mailer
• Pairing to a Logitech Unifying Receiver
• Confusion In The Land of Mastodon Features
• Pikaur System Update Returns TypeError
• Challenges of Scheduling Meetings
• Setting Up a Mastodon Profile
• Slice of Life Wallpaper: Part One
• Change Background Color In Geany
• Add Custom Metadata to MkDocs
• Automatically Remove Tracking Parameters
• Adding Admonitions to Jekyll
• Tech Podcasts Recommendations
• Configure Pi-hole Upstream DNS Servers
• Inspiration for Mental Health
• Converting Address Book Contacts from vCard
• Share a Website Address Using a QR Code
• GIMP Image Processing Using Batch Mode
• Replacing Pen Ink Cartridges
• How to Recover and Prevent Depression
• The Benefits of Thrifting
• Printable Paper Based Raspberry Pi Cases
• What are Keyboard Shortcuts?
• Atom Text Editor Project Ends
• Rants of Exporting YouTube Subscriptions
• Building The Mastodon Mascot
• Breathing Life Back Into An Old Laptop with Manjaro
• Update Firmware On Canon EOS Rebel T7i DSLR
• What is Firmware and Why Should Firmware Be Updated?
• My Experience With Cancer
• Canadian Income Tax Software
• Quick Reference Commands
• Postman API Client Open Source Alternatives
• How To View WebP Images
• Element Desktop Error: Cannot Find Module en-us.json
• How To Enable Dark Mode In Calibre
• Mozilla Is Working With Facebook?
• Share Wi-Fi Using A QR Code
• How To Upgrade Storage Capacity On A Raspberry Pi
• One Step Closer To Content Creation
• Movie Review: The One I Love
• Inspiration from an Elder
• What I’ve Learned from #100DaysToOffload Challenge

Conclusion

I’ve continued to learn more about my self as a result of this challenge and that I am grateful for. I will continue to push myself on improving and writing more. Ultimately if I keep focused on my goals with intention and use the necessary tools to help manage it all I will succeed as I’ve shown myself in the post streak I had.

My life is quite busy and unfortunately that is not going to change for a while as I’ve made commitments that I need to complete and then move on. With all this said, I will not be joining in the 100 Days to Offload challenge for round three at this time. Once I have more free time available I will then. This will be a busy year, but I will succeed.

Social Media Buttons

We cannot stop tracking entirely, but we can try to help protect your website visitors by following some key rules when it comes to integrating social media buttons into your own website.

• Do not use plugins
• Do not use add-ons
• Do not use social media button generators
• Do not use remote icons/images
• Do not use remote JavaScript
• Do not use themes with social media buttons built in
• Use only HTML and CSS
• Use local social media icons/images
• Use JavaScript only for copy to clipboard

Of course there are exceptions to what I’ve listed above. Some plugins, add-ons, etc. may be genuine, and purely do what they are intended to do and nothing more. All I’m trying to say is keeping things simple is key by not over complicating the feature. I would go farther and say to use only pure/vanilla JavaScript, meaning without libraries or frameworks.

How Do The Share Buttons Work?

What I’m doing to add this feature to my own website is nothing groundbreaking. It just uses the links each social media platform provides in order to share content. Each link will be crafted to contain the following information, though keep in mind the tags are not always possible.

• Website link
• Website link title
• Website link tags

How to Create Share Buttons

This feature can be added to any website as long as the logic and information is provided to build the links as shown. An example of this could be converting the Liquid template language code to PHP. The key is to at least use the HTML code provided below when building your own social media share buttons. Let’s get started.

The following code is a Jekyll include file called “share.html”. The first line loads another include file called “tags_to_csv.html”. See just below the first code block for further explanation. Add a include to load the “share.html” file to where ever you wish for the share buttons to appear.

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{% include tags_to_csv.html %}

<div>
    <p class="fw-bold mb-2">Share</p>
    <ul class="nav social-list social-list-hover nav-pills">
        <li class="nav-item">
            <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u={{site.url}}{{page.url}}&t={{page.title | url_encode}}" title="Share on Facebook" rel="external noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" aria-label="Share on Facebook" class="nav-link">
                <span aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-facebook"></span>
            </a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
            <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text={{page.title | url_encode}}&url={{site.url}}{{page.url}}&hashtags={{tagscsv}}" title="Share on Twitter" rel="external noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" aria-label="Share on Twitter" class="nav-link">
                <span aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-twitter"></span>
            </a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
            <a href="https://www.reddit.com/submit?title={{page.title | url_encode}}&url={{site.url}}{{page.url}}" title="Share on Reddit" rel="external noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" aria-label="Share on Reddit" class="nav-link">
                <span aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-reddit"></span>
            </a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
            <a href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url={{site.url}}{{page.url}}&description={{page.title | url_encode}}&media={{site.url}}/img/posts/{{page.img}}" title="Share on Pinterest" rel="external noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" aria-label="Share on Pinterest" class="nav-link">
                <span aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-pinterest"></span>
            </a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
            <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/share/link?url={{site.url}}{{page.url}}&name={{page.title | url_encode}}&description={{page.excerpt | strip_html | url_encode}}" title="Share on Tumblr" rel="external noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" aria-label="Share on Tumblr" class="nav-link">
                <span aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-tumblr"></span>
        	</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
            <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url={{site.url}}{{page.url}}" title="Share on LinkedIn" rel="external noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" aria-label="Share on LinkedIn" class="nav-link">
                <span aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-linkedin"></span>
            </a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
            <a href="https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text={{page.title | url_encode}}&nbsp;{{site.url}}{{page.url}}" title="Share on WhatsApp" rel="external noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" aria-label="Share on WhatsApp" class="nav-link">
                <span aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-whatsapp"></span>
        	</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
            <a href="https://telegram.me/share/url?url={{site.url}}{{page.url}}&text={{page.title | url_encode}}" title="Share on Telegram" rel="external noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" aria-label="Share on Telegram" class="nav-link">
                <span aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-telegram"></span>
            </a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
            <a href="mailto:?subject={{page.title}}&body={{site.url}}{{page.url}}" title="Share via email " rel="external noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" aria-label="Share via email" class="nav-link">
                <span aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-email"></span>
            </a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
            <a href="{{site.url}}{{page.url}}" title="Copy link" rel="external noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" aria-label="Copy share link" class="nav-link" data-clipboard-text="{{site.url}}{{page.url}}" id="copy-site-link">
                <span aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-link"></span>
        	</a>
        </li>
    </ul>
</div>

This is the “tags_to_csv.html”, it’s entire job is to convert a post’s hashtags to a comma delimited string (e.g. 100DaysToOffload,webdev,privacy).

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{% if page.tags.size > 0 %}
    {% for tag in page.tags %}
        {% if forloop.first %}
            {% capture tagscsv %}{{ tagscsv }}{{ tag }}{% endcapture %}
        {% else %}
            {% capture tagscsv %}{{ tagscsv }},{{ tag }}{% endcapture %}
        {% endif %}
    {% endfor %}
{% endif %}

To style and apply the icons I used Syntactically Awesome Style sheets (SASS), to help reduce the amount of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) lines that I had to write.

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$icons:
    //name, filename, width (rem), height (rem), background color (hover)
    ('email', 'envelope-solid.svg', 2, 2, '#ddd')
    ('facebook', 'facebook-f-brands.svg', 2, 2, '#ddd')
    ('link', 'link-solid.svg', 2, 2, '#ddd')
    ('linkedin', 'linkedin-in-brands.svg', 2, 2, '#1d9bf0')
    ('pinterest', 'pinterest-p-brands.svg', 1.4, 2, '#ddd')
    ('reddit', 'reddit-alien-brands.svg', 2, 2, '#ff4500')
    ('telegram', 'telegram-plane-brands.svg', 2, 2, '#ddd')
    ('tumblr', 'tumblr-brands.svg', 2, 2, '#ddd')
    ('twitter', 'twitter-brands.svg', 2, 2, '#1d9bf0')
    ('whatsapp', 'whatsapp-brands.svg', 2, 2, '#00e676')
;

.icon {
    width: .875rem;
    height: 1rem;
    display: inline-block;
    content: '';
    -webkit-mask-size: cover;
    mask-size: cover;
    background-color: #808080;
    vertical-align: text-bottom;
}
@each $name, $filename, $width, $height, $color in $icons {
    .icon-#{$name} {
        -webkit-mask: url("/assets/img/icons/#{$filename}") no-repeat 50% 50%;
        mask: url("/assets/img/icons/#{$filename}") no-repeat 50% 50%;
        @if $width {
            width: #{$width}rem;
        }
        @if $height {
            height: #{$height}rem;
        }
    }
    @if $color {
        .social-list a:active .icon-#{$name},
        .social-list a:focus .icon-#{$name},
        .social-list a:hover .icon-#{$name} {
            background-color: #{$color};
        }
    }
}