Distro Monday Roundup: New stuff in Ubuntu 22.04 vs 20.04... let's see what they've changed. https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2022/04/ubuntu-22-04-lts-20-key-changes TailsOS 5 beta released, for our privacy wonks out there. https://9to5linux.com/tails-5-0-enters-beta-testing-as-first-release-based-on-debian-gnu-linux-11-bullseye New DietPi version out for single-board and RaspberryPi fans out there who want something even lighter than Raspbian. https://www.linuxtoday.com/developer/dietpi-released-a-new-version-8-3/

Today's highlighted tech articles... https://cloud7.news/linux/linux-is-now-rebooting-faster-on-nvme-drives/ https://www.geeky-gadgets.com/maui-shell-alpha-05-04-2022/ https://www.debugpoint.com/2022/01/kde-plasma-guide/

Tech Wednesday Roundup: Claws Mail new release... lots of good stuff. Discord install guide for our gamers out there who have not sorted it out until now... What's Kitty? It is a GPU powered terminal program... read to find more. Plus Bonus Time on KDE Features

Recorded this morning... thought it might've been missing audio, but it was just my machine. Tech Tips Roundup: Why Linux is the best desktop OS, written by a Greybeard who has been in IT since the early days. Linux filesystem path cheatsheet Best FOSS alternatives to Meet and Zoom New version of lightweight DE, LXQT... more themes and customization options How to build your own handheld with an SBC.

Kernel 5.16 end-of-life notice EndeavourOS with WormWM release It's FOSS Linus Release Roundup

Debian To Consider Changing How It Treats Closed-Source Firmware - Phoronix https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Debian-Considering-Firmware Tech Wednesday #1: What else is there other than SystemD? 3 or 4 others, including: runit, Sysvinit, OpenRC, and GNU Daemon Shepherd... Why should you care? SystemD, some have argued, is bloated and needlessly complex to work with (I barely understand it, tbh). The others are lighter and simpler. SysVInit descends from Unix System V, and was replaced by upstart on Ubuntu, then supplanted by SystemD about 10 years ago, and pretty much everyone but Gentoo uses it, now, as Gentoo developed OpenRC, which sits on top of SysVInit. There is another, the ShepherD (GNU Shepherd Daemon), which was initially developed 20 years ago, abandoned, then picked up again in 2013. Not sure if it is being actively developed now or not. https://www.linux-magazine.com/index.php/Online/Features/A-Survey-of-Init-Systems Tech Wedensday #2: How to ditch SystemD... just in case you're curious. It probably isn't worth the trouble. https://www.linux-magazine.com/index.php/Issues/2017/199/Professor-Knopper-s-Lab-Removing-systemd Tech Wednesday #3: What's new in Thunderbird? 7 new features... https://news.itsfoss.com/thunderbird-102-features/

Today's Stories: Ubuntu user tries Manjaro https://news.itsfoss.com/manjaro-linux-experience/ Ubuntu Studio 22.04 LTS Released https://www.debugpoint.com/2022/04/ubuntu-studio-22-04-lts/ Fedora seems to be serious about migrating away from x11... we shall see. https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Fedora-37-Drop-Legacy-DDX

Tech Tuesday KDE News #1 Lots of Fixes in the KDE 5.25 Good stuff here, all. https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=KDE-Theme-Handling-Better Tech Tuesday KDE News #2 Plasma Wayland fixes!! Yes!!! https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=KDE-Fixes-Easter-2022 If you need someone to talk to about what would be best for you and yours, in terms of technology, then to help to remotely teach you to do what is discussed, check out my Freedom Consultation (https://techfreedom.pro/product/freedom-consultation/). Tech Tuesday #3 New Version of Proton makes Linux gaming better and more accessible... https://9to5linux.com/proton-7-0-2-makes-more-games-playable-on-linux-fixes-numerous-bugs

Tech Wednesday #1: Last Thursday may have been some of your first introduction to virtualization and virtual machines. Here is some news for the not-so-new users among us. A new version of the tool has been released. https://9to5linux.com/qemu-7-0-released-with-kvm-support-for-risc-v-arm-and-openrisc-improvements Tech Wednesday #2: AMD Parallelization Hits a Snag... Darn, devs haven't quite hammered out CPU parallelization for AMD chips yet, but it is coming, all. You with the latest Ryzen chips will soon have an even larger advantage over Intel users... https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Parallel-CPU-Bringup-AMD-Snag If you need a degoogled phone, head over to my site and purchase check out a Freed Phone (https://techfreedom.pro/product/freed-phone/). If you want to get it faster and customized, including a case, screen protector, the UI, and up to 15 apps (total) installed for you please consider the Premium Freed Phone (https://techfreedom.pro/product/premium-freed-phone/). Tech Wednesday #3: Latest Gen Intel motherboard now has a working port of coreboot. Coreboot is open source bios/UEFI firmware. This is HUGE. https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Coreboot-Start-ADL-MSI-Dasharo If a separate encrypted collaboration suite is an option for you, check out cryptpad... https://itsfoss.com/cryptpad/ https://cryptpad.fr Another alternative to Cryptpad is Twake. Also FOSS, and self-hostable. https://twake.app

Distro Monday Roundup #4 #1: 3 Best Arch Distros for Everyday I may just have to try out EndeavourOS, after all. EndeavourOS Manjaro Garuda Linux https://linuxiac.com/best-arch-based-linux-distributions/ Product Spot: Liberty Overhaul (https://techfreedom.pro/product/freedom-overhaul/) #2: Alternative (non-Linux, non-BSD) OS RedoxOS new point release. Developed by one of the System76 team, written in Rust. Check it out if your are interested. https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Redox-OS-0.7.0 #3: Cannonical forced to go back to X.Org as default driver for Nvidia systems in 22.04. https://linuxiac.com/ubuntu-22-04-switched-back-to-x-org-when-using-the-nvidia-driver/ #4: Archinstall Updates Make Arch More Friendly New menu options make installing Arch less daunting, and the guys who gloried in “I use Arch, btw” to be edgy or something like that are already whining because now their edginess is less meaningful. https://9to5linux.com/arch-linuxs-archinstall-gets-a-brand-new-menu-system-many-other-new-features

Tech Tuesday Roundup #4 #1: Torvalds Weighs in on NTFS Drivers He is open to others taking over the maintenance, as long as the original maintainer backs out and gives permission, as it is pointless to have two unmaintained NTFS drivers in the kernel at once. https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Linus-Torvalds-NTFS3-Comments You may need a Freedom Consultation to help you to determine next steps and to have me help you along the way, if the tech jargon in these articles is too much, or my step 3 walkthrough posts feel too overwhelming. #2: New Manjaro-powered Ryzen 7 Mini computer released by Beelink Intriguing on the instant compatibility front, as well as interesting for anyone who may need a very small form factor machine, but something more poserful than a RasPi / singleboard computer of some sort. https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Linus-Torvalds-NTFS3-Comments Tech Tuesday #3: New Release for the Linux Firmware Updater More hardware support… always good. https://9to5linux.com/fwupd-1-8-linux-firmware-updating-tool-is-out-with-support-for-new-hardware-more

Mobile Freedom Wednesday Roundup #1: New Release for Plasma Mobile Gear This is exciting for KDE fans out there who want to use the same desktop setup on their phones https://9to5linux.com/kde-releases-plasma-mobile-gear-22-04-with-lots-of-goodies-for-linux-phone-users Product Spot: If you need a degoogled phone, head over to my site and purchase check out a Freed Phone. (Https://techfreedom.pro/products/freed-phone/) If you want to get it faster and customized, including a case, screen protector, the UI, and up to 15 apps (total) installed for you please consider the Liberated Phone. (Https://techfreedom.pro/products/liberated-Phone/) #2: Updates for the Pinephone Pro from Pine64 Not covering all of it, but I will talk about the mobile news from Pine64. https://www.pine64.org/2022/04/15/april-update-no-more-unicorns/ #3: How to install Android Studio on Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS https://www.linuxcapable.com/how-to-install-android-studio-on-pop_os-22-04-lts/

Distro Monday #5 Roundup: Distro Monday #5-1 I think I've mentioned DahliaOS before, but this is actually beginning to be functional as an alpha now. Kinda cool, aside from the Google tie-ins. https://www.debugpoint.com/2022/05/dahlia-os-alpha/ Distro Monday #5-2 More on the new version of Archinstall. Wish I could get it working on my computer... #smh https://9to5linux.com/hands-on-with-arch-linuxs-new-menu-based-installer Distro Monday #5-3 A comparison of security and privacy-forward distros: TAILS, Qubes, Kali, ParrotOS, BlackArch, Whonix, and Kodachi are the ones in question. 3 or 4 of them are inappropriate for newbies, but Tails, Kali, and Qubes are probably the most accessible. https://www.debugpoint.com/2022/04/privacy-linux-distributions-2022/ Product Spot: My Free Your Computer service provides a consultation on and walkthrough of transitioning your computer from closed source MacOS and Windows to Linux and FOSS programs and applications. https://techfreedom.pro/product/system-set-up/

Tech Tuesday Tips Roundup #5 Tips Tuesday #5-1 What to do when things go sideways in Linux... might be a good reminder for some of us, and definitely good info for the rest. https://www.linuxinsider.com/story/start-here-when-things-go-wrong-on-your-linux-system-176520.html Tips Tuesday #5-2: Ever wanted a tool that could download and install .deb files for you in one fell swoop? Now there is one. https://news.itsfoss.com/deb-get-ubuntu/ Freed Phone: Have you watched 2000 Mules yet? If not, you should. One of the cornerstones of the film was the data gathered from the Mules' GPS tracking on their phones. If you want to mitigate that threat as much as you can, you need a degoogled device, such as one of my Freed Phones. (Https://techfreedom.pro/products/freed-phone/) Tips Tuesday #5-3: Been struggling with LibreOffice lately? Me too. Hopefully this new release fixes the random crashes for me... https://9to5linux.com/libreoffice-7-3-3-office-suite-is-now-available-for-download-with-88-bug-fixes

Tech Wednesday Roundup #5 Tech Wednesday #5-1 Ever thought about single-board computers (SBC's) like the Raspberry Pi? Here are a few alternatives, one is surprisingly powerful for such a small container... https://www.zdnet.com/article/best-raspberry-pi-alternative/ Tech Wednesday #5-2: Ever wondered about Linux mobile? Here is an explanation with a solid list of the most well-known options: https://bytexd.com/hardware/best-linux-phones/ Freed Phone: Have you watched 2000 Mules yet? If not, you should. One of the cornerstones of the film was the data gathered from the Mules' GPS tracking on their phones. If you want to mitigate that threat as much as you can, you need a degoogled device, such as one of my Freed Phones. (Https://techfreedom.pro/products/freed-phone/) Tech Wednesday #5-3: Microsoft is edging on Linux again, this time in the mobile space... this should send up some GIANT red flags, but also might propel the whole space forward as they will bring their considerable resources to bear in solving many problems. I'm conflicted. https://itsfoss.com/microsoft-linux-mobile-os/ Tech Wednesday#5-4 KDE Connect now comes to iOS. Looking to get things off the cloud and transfer them to your computer this may help. https://news.itsfoss.com/kde-connect-ios/

Distro Monday #6-1 Fedora 36 is out, if you are interested in that distro. https://news.itsfoss.com/fedora-36-release/ Distro Monday #6-2 Docker now available for most distros. This will make virtualization easier for the masses. https://news.itsfoss.com/docker-desktop-linux/ If you want to make the switch and the instructions I post on Fridays and Saturdays just look like Greek to you, this just may be the service for you. Techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation/ Distro Monday #6-3 New version of Alma Linux is out. Good news for server admins. https://9to5linux.com/centos-alternative-almalinux-os-8-6-is-now-available-for-download-based-on-rhel-8-6

Tech Freedom, [5/17/22 6:00 AM] Tech Tuesday 6-1: How to roll VM's in GNOME Boxes. I might learn a thing or two here... take a look, y'all. https://itsfoss.com/share-files-gnome-boxes/ Tech Freedom, [5/17/22 8:00 AM] Tips Tuesday #6-2: For you aspiring web developers and tinkerers out there, a Drupal tutorial... Drupal is an alternative to the ubiquitous elephant in the room that is WordPress. https://www.linuxandubuntu.com/home/drupal/amp Tech Freedom, [5/17/22 9:00 AM] If you need help rescuing your data from Big Tech, try my Free Your Internet service (techfreedom.pro/products/free-your-internet/) Tech Freedom, [5/17/22 10:00 AM] Tech Tuesday #6-3 So THAT'S what broke my Endeavour OS install... #smh be aware, all. I guess wireplumber isn't 100% ready for primetime. https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Arch-Linux-WirePlumber-Snafu Bonus: Good news in the privacy war... all it takes is a form to get Google to remove your personally identifiable info from searches... https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/15/how-to-ask-google-to-remove-your-personal-data-from-its-search-results.html

Mobile Freedom Wednesday #2-1 Next slated version of Android. If you're already degoogled, this probably won't matter much, but for the rest of you, this is good info. https://www.androidauthority.com/android-13-schedule-3105528/ Mobile Freedom Wednesday #2-2 As much as we encourage you to look at the Pixel line because it is easy to work with, go into it with your eyes open. https://www.pcworld.com/article/626256/why-i-gave-up-on-googles-pixel-phones.html Mobile Freedom Wednesday #2-3 Not a new piece, but interesting, nonetheless. Check it out if you have or are thinking about a OnePlus device. https://privacytogo.co/lineageos-vs-oxygenos-should-you-switch/ If you need a degoogled phone, try my Freed Phone. They are just what you need to reduce your privacy attack surface. What is a degoogled phone? An android or Linux Mobile device without Google apps and trackers built in to spy on you. Techfreedom.pro/products/freed-phone/ Memesplanation: Mistakes are proof that you are trying.

Distro Monday #7 - Roundup Distro Monday #7-1: Not release news, but distro related... Linux is growing, y'all. It's working. Keep spreading the good word... https://finance.yahoo.com/news/linux-os-market-anticipated-surpass-120000448.html What has happened in our lives, while important, is not key. What may come to pass is not what makes us "us". It is that which is within each of us that makes us "us". Tech Freedom: Distro Monday #7-2: Some good advice for newbies, relating to picking a desktop environment. He comes down I about the same place as I do: KDE and Cinnamon for beginners, as they have an immediately familiar feel. https://www.zdnet.com/article/these-two-linux-desktops-are-the-simplest-picks-for-new-users/ Distro Monday #7-3: Older article, but if you like KDE as much as I do, you may want to take a look at these KDE based distros, there are some good ones here, if you're given to experimentation... https://www.debugpoint.com/2021/12/top-linux-distributions-kde-plasma/

Memesplanation: If you rest in the goodness of God, you can be joyful in the midst of hellish circumstances, waiting for positive resolution. You can be patient in times like the present, when logic would tell you to freak out and complain loudly. Because of God's goodness, we can also pray continually, for wisdom, for strength, for courage and be at peace in the worst circumstances. New features in the next version of KDE. Cool stuff. 😎 https://news.itsfoss.com/plasma-5-25-features/ GNOME tip... I thought they killed extensions in 42... https://itsfoss.com/extension-manager/ What's the "top" command, anyway? Let's find out... https://linuxhandbook.com/top-command/

Tech Freedom: Tech Wednesday #7-1: Need a server backup solution that works? Try Borgmatic on Ubuntu. https://www.techrepublic.com/article/install-borgmatic-easy-linux-server-backups/ Tech Wednesday #7-2: Trojans, Worms, and Malware, Oh My! Increased level of Linux DDOS attacks of late. https://www.govinfosecurity.com/massive-surge-in-use-linux-xorddos-malware-reported-a-19114 Fear and doubt kill dreams. Full stop. They cause us, when we engage with them, to freeze, and not do anything to achieve those dreams. Don't go there if you want to do anything in life. Believe in your dreams and find your "Why". That will take you far in terms of motivation. Tech Wednesday #7-3: Rocky Linux (a free Red Hat Enterprise Linux alternative) just completed a >$26 million funding round to promote itself. (Red Hat is the parent of Fedora) https://www.zdnet.com/article/rocky-linux-developer-lands-26m-funding-for-enterprise-open-source-push/ https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/

Memorial Day Meme, remember those who have given all, today. Remember those families who gave their best for us. Tech Freedom: Distro Monday #8-1: A stroll down memory lane for the most influential Linux Distros. Here, the top 4 are discussed: Slackware, Debian, Red Hat/ Fedora, and Arch. https://linuxiac.com/major-distributions-in-history-of-linux/ Distro Monday #8-2 No Tor Browser in TAILS? What is that about? Read to find out what is up. https://news.itsfoss.com/tails-tor-browser/ Distro Monday #8-3 ItsFOSS Release Roundup: RHEL 9, KDE Plasma 5.25 Beta, Mesa 22.1, and More https://news.itsfoss.com/linux-release-roundup-2022-21/ https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ Distro Monday Bonus: Manjaro vs Ubuntu... which is better? For you? https://itsfoss.com/ubuntu-vs-manjaro/

Tech Tuesday #8 Roundup Tech Tuesday #8-1 How to back up your standard Android. https://www.makeuseof.com/prepare-for-losing-your-android-phone/ Go, like this duckling, and kick ass today. Don't take discouragement sitting down. Eat it and produce success. Tech Tuesday #8-2 Something potentially helpful for anyone who does database work in Linux... https://www.linuxshelltips.com/convert-hex-to-ascii-characters-linux/ If you need a degoogled phone, try my Freed Phone. They are just what you need to reduce your privacy attack surface. What is a degoogled phone? An android or Linux Mobile device without Google apps and trackers built in to spy on you. Techfreedom.pro/products/freed-phone/ Tech Tuesday #8-3 KDE Vs Gnome... which should YOU go with, if you haven't already landed on the one you like best? https://linuxiac.com/gnome-vs-kde/

Tech Wednesday #8 Roundup Tech Freedom, [6/1/22 6:01 AM] Tech Wednesday #8-1 RasPi Setup Tutorials... how to use it. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/raspberry-pi Memesplanation We need to remember just how big and powerful our God is. He can do so far beyond what we need or could ever imagine to want, so why do we try to play God in our own lives, stressing over every detail? Glorify and praise him today. He is worthy. Tech Freedom, [6/1/22 8:00 AM] Tech Wednesday #8-2 Something a little fun, it has been pretty serious around here... here are some suggested FOSS Turn-Based Strategy games for you. https://www.linuxlinks.com/free-open-source-turn-based-strategy-games/ Tech Wedenesday #8-3 Tip for those who may not know yet... Protonmail has rebranded itself as simply "Proton" to make the whole brand more cohesive across their product stack. https://news.itsfoss.com/protonmail-now-proton/ Product Spot: Training and Advice for Business https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-consultation-for-business/

Distro Monday #9-1: Good news for those of you with New Mac computers: the Asahi Linux team has written the first fully FOSS graphics driver for the M1 chip Macs. Beginning stages, but promising, as it doesn't depend on any closed source blobs. https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Asahi-Linux-First-Triangle #Linux #technews #TechFreedom #hackintosh #FOSSdriver #onestepcloser Monday Motivation: You control your emotional state and perceptions of events. These things dictate how you react and respond to the stimuli of the day. Choose positivity. Choose joy, peace, patience, etc, today. See what difference it makes in your life. #Truth #TechFreedom #memesplanation Distro Monday #9-2: New release of NitruxOS, pretty cool stuff, if you are interested in a convergence-type of experience on your computer, they updated to a XanMod 5.17 kernel, and added the option to do full-disk encryption on install, from the Calamares installer. https://9to5linux.com/debian-based-nitrux-2-2-switches-to-linux-kernel-5-17-adds-full-disk-encryption #TechFreedom #technews #DistroMonday #Linux #Nitrux https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #setfree #nomorespying #FOSS #Linux #techfreedom #productspot Distro Monday #9-3: New version of armbian is out for ARM-based single-board computers https://www.cnx-software.com/2022/06/03/armbian-22-05-release-adds-support-for-orange-pi-r1-plus-lts-radxa-zero-rock-3a-devterm-a06/ #TechFreedom #DistroMonday #technews #Linux #Armbian #Singleboardcomputing

Tech Tuesday #9-1: Warp: a new Linux File Transfer app. It can use either your local network or the internet to transfer files. Very cool. https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2022/05/warp-is-a-linux-file-transfer-app #TechFreedom #technews #linux #filetransfer #Warp Tech Tuesday #memesplanation: If you carry light, those in the darkness will always hate you. Your existence is an affront to their way of life, so they will reflexively lash out at you and try to make your life harder. They may not even do it consciously, but shine brighter, no matter. #techtuesday #TechFreedom #light #dark #kcco Tech Tuesday #9-2: More Desktop Environment Comparisons: KDE vs XFCE... which might be best for you? https://itsfoss.com/kde-vs-xfce/ #TechFreedom #techtips #linux #KDE #XFCE #whatsbetter Tech Tuesday #9-3: How to use Cron to scheule tasks in Linux https://www.maketecheasier.com/beginner-guide-use-cron-linux/ #TechFreedom #techtips #Linux #techtuesday #howto #cron Tech Tuesday #9 Product spot https://techfreedom.pro/product/freedom-overhaul/ #TechFreedom #techtips #Linux #getfree #libertyoverhaul

Tech Wednesday #9-1: Gnome Shell for Mobile... this looks like it could be a very solid option, once it is done being developed. It looks like GNOME meets Android, pretty cool, even though I don't like GNOME for desktop. https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2022/05/gnome-shell-mobile-support-is-coming-along-nicely #TechFreedom #techwednesday #GNOMEmobile #GNOME #Linuxmobile Tech Wednesday #9 #memesplanation: What do you permit in your life? What do you consciously rubber stamp vs what you passively let go on? If you are tired of certain situations in your life, stop taking actions that perpetuate them, which either will allow or deny those things from continuing, to a certain extent. #TechFreedom #Truth #permissiontoexist Tech Wednesday #9-2: Distro test is an epic tool to try out combinations of distributions and desktop environments without installing anything. Check it out before you download anything. https://distrotest.net #TechFreedom #techwednesday #techtips #Linux #saveeffort Tech Wednesday #9: #productspot: Premium package for degoogled phones from Tech Freedom. 2-day shipping, screen protector, phone case, Faraday bag, and up to15 pre-installed apps of your choice. https://techfreedom.pro/product/liberated-phone/ #TechFreedom #liberatedphone #degoogled #degoogleyourlife Tech Wednesday #9-3: New release from /E/ Foundation: rebranded /E/ OS to Murena for the 1.0 version. https://news.itsfoss.com/murena-e-os/ #TechFreedom #techwednesday #degoogleyourlife #degoogled

Distro Monday 10: Spiral Linux Memsplanation Open SUSE Leap 15.4 Product spot Ubuntu Memory management troubles #distromonday #techfreedom #linux #technews Distro Monday 10-1: https://9to5linux.com/meet-spirallinux-a-debian-based-distro-focused-on-simplicity-and-usability #TechFreedom #technews #gnulinux #distromonday #degoogleyourlife #linux #Memesplanation To build on part of my devotion from yesterday, forgiveness is key. Forgiveness is the way that we move forward in life. It is a choice that we must make, sometimes daily, to be present in the now rather than clinging to the dead bones of the past, whether they be regrets or wounds. #truth #techfreedom #forgiveness #moveon #inspiration Distro Monday 10-2: https://9to5linux.com/opensuse-leap-15-4-officially-released-this-is-whats-new #distromonday #techfreedom #technews #linux Product Spot: https://techfreedom.pro/product/freedom-consultation/ #setfree #nomorespying #FOSS #Linux #techfreedom #productspot Distro Monday 10-3: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Ubuntu-systemd-oomd-Headaches #distromonday #techfreedom #technews #linux

Tech Tuesday 10: Linux Symbiote Malware... uh oh... Memesplanation Libre Office point release... lots of fixes Product Spot Free Kali Linux Penetration Testing Training #techfreedom #technews #techtips #linux #Foss #security Tech Tuesday 10-1: https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/10/symbiote_linux_malware/ #techtuesday #techfreedom #Foss #linux #security #memesplanation Slow your roll. Choose to be deliberate rather than running on autopilot all of the time. Be conscious of your options and choices today. The bottom line is that we each need to learn how to take the moment to respond to situations rather than simply reacting to them. #presence #consciousliving #slowdown #breathe Tech Tuesday 10-2: https://9to5linux.com/libreoffice-7-3-4-is-now-available-for-download-more-than-85-bugs-fixed #TechFreedom #technews #techtuesday #Linux #FOSS Premium package for degoogled phones from Tech Freedom. 2-day shipping, screen protector, phone case, Faraday bag, and up to15 pre-installed apps of your choice. https://techfreedom.pro/product/liberated-phone/ #TechFreedom #liberatedphone #degoogled #degoogleyourlife #productspot Tech Tuesday 10-3: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/kali-linux-team-to-stream-free-penetration-testing-course-on-twitch/ #techfreedom #techtuesday #techtips #linux #Kali #training

Tech Wednesday 10: Best FOSS Web Servers Memesplanation KDE Gear 22.04.2 Product Spot Horcrux File Splitter #TechFreedom #linuxtools #FOSS #linux #Linuxserver Tech Wednesday 10-1: https://www.linuxtoday.com/developer/the-8-best-open-source-web-servers/ #TechFreedom #technews #techtips #Linuxserver #FOSS #Memesplanation #success is more about the roots and the foundations, the ice below the waterline, versus what everyone can see. Neither be discouraged nor in a place of bragging if what is visible is smaller or bigger than what you see with your peers. #motivation #encouragement #nocomparisons #foundationsmatter Tech Wednesday 10-2: https://9to5linux.com/kde-gear-22-04-2-adds-7zip-support-to-ark-improves-dolphin-kdenlive-and-other-apps #TechFreedom #KDE #technews #Linux https://techfreedom.pro/product/system-set-up/ #techfreedom #productspot #Linux #nomorespying #linuxinstall #setfree #FOSS Tech Wednesday 10-3: https://www.linuxtoday.com/developer/excellent-utilities-horcrux-file-splitter-with-encryption-and-redundancy/ #techfreedom #linux #linuxtools #Foss

Distro Monday 11-1: The agony of choice? Got analysis paralysis in terms of picking your first distro? This article may help. https://www.linuxtoday.com/blog/best-approaches-to-choosing-your-first-linux-distro-beginners-guide/ #howto #distromonday #techfreedom #techtips #linux Distro Monday 11-2: New version of Ubuntu released for edge servers and IOT things. https://9to5linux.com/canonical-releases-ubuntu-core-22-for-iot-edge-and-embedded-devices #techfreedom #distromonday #edge #lot #FOSS #Linux Product spot: https://techfreedom.pro/product/freedom-consultation/ #productspot #techfreedom #degoogleyourlife #linux #getfree Distro Monday 11-3: Titan Linux Beta 1.2... interesting, but not for first timers, as it is very much a work in progress, as they plug away at simplifying KDE on top of a Debian Stable foundation. https://www.linuxinsider.com/story/titan-linux-beta-brings-simplicity-finesse-to-kde-remake-176554.html #distromonday #TechFreedom #Linux #interesting #notfornewbies Memesplanation: Life is process and progress. Have grace for yourself that while you may not have "arrived" as yet, you are closer than you were yesterday. #memesplanation #encouragement #inspiration #grace #techfreedom

Tech Tuesday 11-1: Firefox the most private browser ever, now? Idk... let's find out. https://news.itsfoss.com/mozilla-firefox-secure/ #Firefox #privacy #Foss #techfreedom #notanendorsement Memesplanation: Mr. Clemens was right. What can I say? The most crucial thing is that we are alive, only slightly less important is this: the why. What part of God did He put in you when He created you? What gap do you fill in the world? #memesplanation #techfreedom #motivation #inspiration #findoutwhy Tech Tuesday 11-2: New GIMP release. For those of you who do photo editing, these changes may make you dance a jig. https://9to5linux.com/gimp-2-10-32-released-with-support-for-8-16-bit-cmyka-tiff-files-bigtiff #techfreedom #techtips #technews #Foss Product Spot: https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ #techfreedom #privacy #getfree #datarescue Tech Tuesday 11-3: New Plasma point release! Moar theming options... lol Lot's of other fixes, too. https://9to5linux.com/kde-plasma-5-25-desktop-environment-is-out-now-this-is-whats-new #techfreedom #Foss #KDE #techtips

I set her up with Manjaro KDE on her new Asus Zenbook, and bought & degoogled a OnePlus 7 Pro for her before I launched late last year. She is essentially non-technical, and glazes over whenever I talk about tech stuff. She shot and edited this on her own.

Tech Wednesday 11-1: New Version of Proton... will it lure more windows gamers away from macroshaft? https://www.makeuseof.com/proton-7-0-3-boots-linux-steam-deck-game-compatibility/ #Foss #Linux #getfree #techfreedom #Linux4gamers #proton Memesplanation: Is imagination really just an escape? Or is is more? What if we are meant to use our imagination as an aide to manifesting the things we dream into reality? Think about it. #techfreedom #memesplanation #imagination #manifestation #reality #tools Tech Wedenesday 11-2: Any TMNT fans out there? You may have already been tracking this, but it is out and native in Linux, to boot. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/06/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-shredders-revenge-is-out-now/ #techfreedom #Linux4gamers #wannaplay #TMNT #Linux Product Spot: Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #wannaplay #techfreedom #productspot #newrig #getfree #Linux #Foss #degoogleyourlife Tech Wednesday 11-3: Warhammer 3 out for Linux! RTS players rejoice! https://9to5linux.com/total-war-warhammer-iii-is-out-now-on-linux-ported-by-feral-interactive #wannaplay #Linux4gamers #techfreedom #Linux #warhammer

Tech Tips Tuesday 12: TTT 12-1: How to Thaw out a Frozen Penguin (Linux) when something breaks. Useful tips to help you make sense of what to do, since ctl-alt-del is not a thing by default in most distros. https://linuxhandbook.com/frozen-linux-system/ #techtuesday #TechFreedom #fixit #techtips #Linux Memesplanation: OK, maybe I'm harping on this one right now... this is right, though. Belief unlocks ability to achieve the objects which we believe for. Believe differently today. Stop limiting yourself. After all, God's impetus for the Babel incident was seeing that man could do anything he put his mind to... #inspiration #nolimits #TechFreedom #memesplanation #burstthebubble TTT 12-2: Dr. Tux, or: How I Learned to Love the Terminal... just kidding, but you really do need to get acquainted with it so that you can fix things more efficiently wen they do eventually break in Linux. https://itsfoss.com/love-thy-terminal/ #techtuesday #TechFreedom #Linux #techtips #terminal #moreinfo #troubleshooting #ssh #efficiency #fast #stable Product Spot: Freed computer If, after your consultation, you decide that you need a new computer, take a look at this range of laptop options that will come ready for you to use safely. https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #Linux #degoogleyourlife #TechFreedom #productspot TTT 12-3: Terminal tips to help you be more comfy with the command line. Read: make you feel more like a hacker... lol https://itsfoss.com/basic-terminal-tips-ubuntu/ #techTuesday #TechFreedom #techtips #terminal #comfy #hax #hacks

Tech Wednesday 12: Tech Wednesday 12-1: New Version of WINE compatibility layer has been released. This is what makes most of our windows games work at all in Linux, along with other software. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/06/windows-compatibility-layer-wine-711-is-out-now/ #WINE #techwedenesday #TechFreedom #technews #linuxgaming #windowscompatibility #goodstuff Identity. This is the key that is rarely taught in churches. When our identity is solidly founded on being a beloved child of God, rather than on our jobs, roles, or bank accounts, then we can hold those other things more loosely and rest more easily. #identity #inspiration #childofgod #memesplanation #TechFreedom Tech Wednesday 12-2: Steam Deck native Linux where possible, but largely relying on their proton compatibility layer mojo. https://www.techradar.com/news/steam-deck-will-run-native-linux-games-where-it-makes-sense #techwedensday #fun #TechFreedom #Steam #Linuxgaming #sortof #Proton #steamdeck Freed Computer (consultation) This is what we do, should you choose to convert your current computer to Linux and FOSS. We schedule a call, ideally after a Freedom Consultation, and I walk you through the conversion process remotely, step by step. https://techfreedom.pro/product/system-set-up/ #TechFreedom #productspot #degoogleyourlife #Linux #freedcomputer #linuxinstall Tech Wednesday 12-3: More Steam!!!! Well, SteamDeck to be precise... https://linuxgameconsortium.com/steam-deck-docking-stations-on-sale-soon/#more-103420 #techwednesday #TechFreedom #Steam #Steamdeck #Linux #Proton #linuxgaming

Tech Tips Tuesday 13: New Release of Unity Desktop Environment Less negativity = more peace More Linux Terminal Tips Freedom Consultation (it's free) GNOME shell Tips 10 Things to Know about Tech Freedom Tech Tuesday 13-1: New release of Unity... wow, the first new work from that project in 6 years. Unity used to be the default DE for #Ubuntu, but IMO, it was ugly as sin, and tough to use. Hopefully it is better now... https://9to5linux.com/unity-7-6-desktop-released-as-the-first-major-update-to-unity7-in-6-years #unity #Ubuntu #technews #linuxnews #techtuesday #TechFreedom Clear your mental and emotional space of fearful Freddies, nervous Nellies, angry Andys, and hateful Harrys. Stop worrying about their stuff. It is theirs. Let them stew. Then you will be far more peaceful, just like the meme says... #Memesplanation #TechFreedom #negativity #peace #ahhhhhhh Tech Tuesday 13-2: More command line/ terminal tips for Linux... https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/top-linux-command-line-tips-and-tricks/ #TechFreedom #techtuesday #techtips #terminal #hacks Freedom Consultation A free 1 hour video call with me, where we explore your options for breaking up with Big Tech, once and for all. https://techfreedom.pro/product/freedom-consultation/ #TechFreedom #degoogleyourlife #freedom #TechFreedom #productspot Tech Tuesday 13-3: GNOME shell tips to make it more customized for you. https://www.ubuntupit.com/customize-gnome-shell-tips-beautify-gnome-desktop/ #techtips #techtuesday #TechFreedom #GNOME #hacks #tweaks 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

Mobile Freedom Wednesday 3/ Tech Wednesday 13: New Release of Ubuntu Touch One day, or day one? New Release of Plasma Mobile Gear Freed & Liberated Phones Pine64 working on new RISC SOC Degoogling 101 Mobile Freedom Wednesday 3-1: New release of Ubuntu Touch, looks like it is getting closer to ready for primetime. https://9to5linux.com/ubuntu-touch-ota-23-rolls-out-to-all-supported-ubuntu-phones-this-is-whats-new #TechFreedom #mobilefreedom #techwednesday #ubuntutouch #linuxmobile Which will it be? Always looking forward to a day that may never come, or anticipating and working toward a day that is already begun? If you act as though what you desire is already real for you, it will come and be visible to you and those around you. #Memesplanation #manifestation #TechFreedom #motivation #inspiration Mobile Freedom Wednesday 3-2/ Tech Wednesday 13-2: More Linux Mobile news! A new release of Plasma Mobile Gear is out now. Moving right along. https://9to5linux.com/kde-releases-plasma-mobile-gear-22-06-for-linux-phones-heres-whats-new #linuxmobile #techwednesday #mobilefreedom #TechFreedom Disclaimer: neither the Freed nor the Liberated Phone are guaranteed to be New. I will find the best available option and work with that. If you need a degoogled phone, head over to my site and purchase check out a Freed Phone. Https://techfreedom.pro/product/freed-phone If you want to get it faster and customized, including a case, screen protector, the UI, and up to 15 apps (total) installed for you please consider the Liberated Phone. Https://techfreedom.pro/product/liberated-phone #techfreedom #doneforyou #freedphone #liberatedphone #productspot Tech Wednesday 13-3: New SBC with "desktop class performance" coming soon from Pine64. This new situation will be RISC-V based, rather than ARM. Should be interesting. https://news.itsfoss.com/pine64-riscv/ #TechFreedom #techwednesday #technews #pine64 #RISC Degoogling your Phone 101 https://rumble.com/vzvm8t-how-to-de-google-your-phone.html

Mobile Freedom Wednesday 3/ Tech Wednesday 13: New Release of Ubuntu Touch One day, or day one? New Release of Plasma Mobile Gear Freed & Liberated Phones Pine64 working on new RISC SOC Degoogling 101 Mobile Freedom Wednesday 3-1: New release of Ubuntu Touch, looks like it is getting closer to ready for primetime. https://9to5linux.com/ubuntu-touch-ota-23-rolls-out-to-all-supported-ubuntu-phones-this-is-whats-new #TechFreedom #mobilefreedom #techwednesday #ubuntutouch #linuxmobile Which will it be? Always looking forward to a day that may never come, or anticipating and working toward a day that is already begun? If you act as though what you desire is already real for you, it will come and be visible to you and those around you. #Memesplanation #manifestation #TechFreedom #motivation #inspiration Mobile Freedom Wednesday 3-2/ Tech Wednesday 13-2: More Linux Mobile news! A new release of Plasma Mobile Gear is out now. Moving right along. https://9to5linux.com/kde-releases-plasma-mobile-gear-22-06-for-linux-phones-heres-whats-new #linuxmobile #techwednesday #mobilefreedom #TechFreedom Disclaimer: neither the Freed nor the Liberated Phone are guaranteed to be New. I will find the best available option and work with that. If you need a degoogled phone, head over to my site and purchase check out a Freed Phone. Https://techfreedom.pro/product/freed-phone If you want to get it faster and customized, including a case, screen protector, the UI, and up to 15 apps (total) installed for you please consider the Liberated Phone. Https://techfreedom.pro/product/liberated-phone #techfreedom #doneforyou #freedphone #liberatedphone #productspot Tech Wednesday 13-3: New SBC with "desktop class performance" coming soon from Pine64. This new situation will be RISC-V based, rather than ARM. Should be interesting. https://news.itsfoss.com/pine64-riscv/ #TechFreedom #techwednesday #technews #pine64 #RISC Tech Wednesday Bonus: Are you or your small business affected by this latest cash grab from G**gle? Let's talk. I can help. https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2022/06/22/all-powerful-google-to-small-businesses-pay-up-freeloaders/ Bonus product plug: Freedom Consultation https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-business-consultation-first-hour/ Degoogling your Phone 101 https://rumble.com/vzvm8t-how-to-de-google-your-phone.html

What to expect for Distro Monday 14: Ubuntu vs Mint: the Beginner Showdown Memesplanation What's new in Mint? Freedom Consultation Porteus Linux 5.0 What is Tech Freedom (Intro Video) #TechFreedom #Linux #distromonday #Mint #ubuntu #porteus #Truth Distro Monday 14-1: Mint Vs Ubuntu: Which is the best for Beginners? Ubuntu is most popular, but is it actually better? Let's look into it. https://www.tecmint.com/linux-mint-vs-ubuntu/ It all starts in your mind. What you make up your mind that you can do, you can. Your decision, belief, and determined effort towards a given goal will cause it to be accomplished (eventually). #TechFreedom #memesplanation #mondaymotivation #manifest #mindovermatter #inspiration Distro Monday 14-2: What's minty fresh with the new Mint update? https://itsfoss.com/linux-mint-21-features/ Freedom Consultation A free 1 hour video call with me, where we explore your options for breaking up with Big Tech, once and for all. https://techfreedom.pro/product/freedom-consultation/ #TechFreedom #degoogleyourlife #freedom #TechFreedom #productspot Distro Monday 14-3: New from the Slackware corner of the GNU/Linux universe: Porteus 5.0. https://9to5linux.com/slackware-based-porteus-linux-5-0-released-with-eight-desktop-flavors-linux-5-18 Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab

What to Expect Tech Tips Tuesday 14: What is Sudo rm -rf Memesplanation Systemd Creator defects to Microsoft Freed Computer (Consultation) Could Gtk 5 go full Wayland? 10 Things to Know About Tech Freedom Tech Tuesday 14-1: One of the most-memed terminal commands, demystified... is it more dangerous inherently, than any other? https://itsfoss.com/sudo-rm-rf/ Just receive this now. You are important, just because you are you. You are brave: you go about your life, rather than curling into a ball every day. You are good: you desire good for yourself and do not want to hurt others to get it. Don't forget those truths, not even if today shapes up to be the worst in your life. #Memesplanation #TechFreedom #encouragement #inspiration #beyou Tech Tuesday 14-2: Not sure how I feel about this one... the creator of Systemd (which handles most of the behind the scenes grunt-work in most Linux distros) left Red Hat and has joined Microsoft... https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Systemd-Creator-Microsoft Freed computer If, after your consultation, you decide that you need a new computer, take a look at this range of laptop options that will come ready for you to use safely. https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #Linux #degoogleyourlife #TechFreedom #productspot Tech Tuesday 14-3: Rumors, rumors.... some developers for GNOME are claiming that they will drop support for x11 in GTK 5... hmmm... https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/05/gtk_5_might_drop_x11/ 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

What to Expect: FOSS Fun Wednesday 1: Xonotic Release Memesplanation What's Lutris, anyway? Freed Computer (Consultation) 9 Best Gaming Distros How to Degoogle Your Phone Foss Fun Wednesday 1-1/ Tech Wednesday 14-1: Ever played First-peson Shooters like Quake 3 or Unreal Tournament? Xonotic would probably be a fun game to pick up if you have the time. https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2022/07/xonotic-0-8-5-released Find #satisfaction in what you do today. Choose to work hard, whether at work, or at side projects that you might feel are more fulfilling than your day job. #hardwork #workhard #fulfillment #Memesplanation #TechFreedom Foss Fun Wednesday 1-2/ Tech Wednesday 14-2: What's Lutris? I know I have referred to it from time to time in the past, so here is the brass tacks from the project itself. https://lutris.net/about Freed Computer (consultation) This is what we do, should you choose to convert your current computer to Linux and FOSS. We schedule a call, ideally after a Freedom Consultation, and I walk you through the conversion process remotely, step by step. https://techfreedom.pro/product/system-set-up/ #TechFreedom #productspot #degoogleyourlife #Linux #freedcomputer #linuxinstall Foss Fun Wednesday 1-3/ Tech Wednesday 14-3: One thing that is often asked by younger guys (particuarly) is which distro is best for gaming in Linux. The distinction is not as strong as it once was, but here is a reasonable list: https://itsfoss.com/linux-gaming-distributions/ Quick & Dirty How to Degoogle Your Phone https://rumble.com/vzvm8t-how-to-de-google-your-phone.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #degoogleyourlife #getfree #explainer

Distro Monday 15: Retro Gaming Distros Memesplanation Linux Lite Release Freedom Consulatation Canonical partners with Google Intro to Tech Freedom social media channels Distro Monday 15-1: Ever wanted to turn your computer into a retro gaming powerhouse? These distros will help you to do just that. https://itsfoss.com/retro-gaming-console-linux-distros/ #linuxgaming #distromonday #retrogaming #TechFreedom #awesome choose to make this #Monday epic. It is a choice whether you are going to have a good day or not. Choose to have an awesome day today. No matter what. #memesplanation #mindset #Monday #Truth Distro Monday 15-2: Linux Lite release. Linux for newbies. Ubuntu based, take a look if interested. (You all know my issues with Canonical, by now) https://www.tecmint.com/linux-lite/ #distromonday #Linux #TechFreedom #LinuxLite Freedom Consultation A free 1 hour video call with me, where we explore your options for breaking up with Big Tech, once and for all. https://techfreedom.pro/product/freedom-consultation/ #TechFreedom #degoogleyourlife #freedom #TechFreedom #productspot Distro Monday 15-3: Well, speak of the Devil.... Canonical is partnering with Google to bring Ubuntu to Arm-based servers... First they get in bed with Redmond, now Mountain View? #smh https://9to5linux.com/canonical-partners-with-google-cloud-to-offer-ubuntu-on-arm-based-t2a-vms #distromonday #TechFreedom #Canonical #doh #Google #shudder A testimonial from a follower on Telegram: One of our fellows here has followed the steps for himself and is nearly free with his wife as well. Good on you, Rudolph! [Forwarded from Rudolph Печник] Yes of is a lot of work but I did all of that as we switched from gmail to start mail. We have one more gmail we need to switch I've but my wife has a blog she is working on switching over first.

TTT 15: GNOME 42.3 Memesplanation KDE 25.4 Freed Computer Matrix News Wife's 10 Things About TF TTT 15-1: New GNOME release... 42.3. Some good stuff for GNOME aficionados. https://9to5linux.com/gnome-42-3-released-with-screenshot-ui-fixes-better-flatpak-support-and-more #GNOME #techtipstuesday #techtuesday #TechFreedom #technews #goodstuff Give what you need today. God honors that. You will get back what you give out. Need #encouragement? Lift someone else up. Need a #kindword? Get out of your head and be kind to another. Need #money? Find someone you can #bless today. #memesplanation #karma #cycle #blessings #TechFreedom #Truth TTT 15-2: New KDE Plasma Point Release: lots of good stuff, improvements, fixes, etc. https://9to5linux.com/kde-plasma-5-25-3-is-out-now-with-more-plasma-wayland-fixes-various-other-changes #KDE #techtuesday #TechFreedom #goodstuff #technews Freed computer If, after your consultation, you decide that you need a new computer, take a look at this range of laptop options that will come ready for you to use safely. https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #Linux #degoogleyourlife #TechFreedom #productspot TTT 15-3: Ever heard of Matrix (many have, and that is awesome, as it is a federated, FOSS communication platform), they just crossed the 60 million user mark. https://news.itsfoss.com/matrix-sixty-million-users/ #technews #techtuesday #TechFreedom #Matrix #FOSS #communication 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

First video for home page.

Distro Monday 17 (kek) What to Expect: Ubuntu vs Manjaro https://www.makeuseof.com/which-is-best-linux-distro-manjaro-vs-ubuntu/ Memesplanation – Right or Happy? Within reason, of course... Rocky Linux https://9to5linux.com/rocky-linux-9-officially-released-with-gnome-40-desktop-improved-security Freedom Consultation (Free) https://techfreedom.pro/product/freedom-consultation/ Ubuntu 21.10 End of Life https://news.itsfoss.com/ubuntu-21-10-eol/

Tech Tips Tuesday 17 What to Expect: New VirtualBox version released: https://9to5linux.com/virtualbox-6-1-36-released-with-initial-support-for-linux-kernel-5-19-many-linux-fixes Memesplanation New Rust-based malware… ruh roh, raggy https://thehackernews.com/2022/07/new-rust-based-ransomware-family.html?m=1 Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ What’s the difference between TTY, Shell, Console, and Terminal? https://www.linuxshelltips.com/difference-between-terminal-shell-tty-and-console/ #techtipstuesday #TechFreedom #linuxtips #technews

FOSS Fun Wednesday 3: What to Expect: Best Distro for Gaming: https://linuxstans.com/best-linux-distro-gaming/ Memesplanation: Be intentional about what you put into your mind and heart today. How to Play games on Linux: https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-play-pc-games-on-linux Freed Phone https://techfreedom.pro/product/freed-phone/ Feral GameMode 1.7 released: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Feral-GameMode-1.7 #fossfun #techwednesday #linux #linuxgaming #linux4gamers #TechFreedom

Distro Monday 18 What to Expect: Endless OS Memesplanation Nobara Freedom Consultation OpenMandriva Intro to techfreedom.pro social media Distro Monday 18-1: What will be new in EndlessOS 5, after a seemingly endless wait for an update? Let’s find out… better Flatpak support, GNOME 41, newer kernel than other Debian Bullseye based distros, and more. https://9to5linux.com/endless-os-5-promises-refreshed-desktop-experience-all-new-app-center-and-more Memesplanation Pick yourself up, put your helmet back on, dress your wounds, and go again, like this little mouse going after the cheese. Let's kick this Monday in the tailpipe. #encouragement #memesplanation #TechFreedom #keeponkeepinon Distro Monday 18-2: Nobara Linux… Fedora for Gaming, from the dev behind the GloriousEggroll Proton tweaks? Might be interesting… https://linuxiac.com/nobara-linux/ Freedom Consultation https://techfreedom.pro/product/freedom-consultation/ Distro Monday 18-3: OpenMandriva Lx 5.0… If you didn’t know, this is the rolling descendent of the legendary Mandrake Linux. It is KDE focused, and comes with the Falkon browser, and all sorts of other goodies. https://linuxiac.com/openmandriva-lx-5-0-technical-preview-released/

Tech Tips Tuesday 18 What to Expect: Ventoy Update: More supported distros for your multiboot devices Memesplanation: This is the attitude we all need to practice. I can, therefore, I will... when it comes to good things that will benefit you and others, that you want to do. More Linux Malware News Free Your Internet Data Migration Service Is Wayland Core problematic? 10 Things to Know About Tech Freedom TTT 18-1: Ventoy Update moar distros can now be loaded using ventoy, so if you have a massive flash drive or external drive you want to use as a multi-boot usb installer, now you can. https://9to5linux.com/ventoy-multiboot-usb-creator-adds-support-for-fedora-coreos-more-than-940-isos #distrohopping #techTuesday #techtips #Linux #TechFreedom Memesplanation: This is the attitude we all need to practice. I can, therefore, I will... when it comes to good things that will benefit you and others, that you want to do. #sisepuedes #icandoit #iwilldoit #memesplanation #TechFreedom TTT 18-2: We’ve seen an uptick in Linux Malware in 2022.. is Linux as safe and secure as we thought? As I mentioned last week, there is more coming out because black hats are targeting it more because of the uptick in userbase numbers we’ve seen of late, so it has become more profitable to attack Linux, where in the past, it was simply too niche to bother with for hackers. I see these as growing pains as the community gets larger. https://www.makeuseof.com/linux-malware-all-time-high-2022/ #malware #linux #growingpains #realtalk #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ TTT 18-3: Is Wayland Core Protocol Problematic? First, what is Wayland? Why should you care? What does this writer say about it? https://news.itsfoss.com/wayland-core-protocol-issue/ #wayland #teethingpains #issues #linuxnews #oped #TechFreedom

Tech Wednesday 18 What to Expect: Top 5 SystemD Free Distros Memesplanation: It's one thing to believe in yourself, but it is an entirely different animal when someone else does, wholeheartedly. Offer this gift to someone today. Theming GRUB Freed and Liberated Phones Steam Update TW 18-1: What are the Top 5 distros without SystemD? What is SystemD? Why should I care? https://linuxiac.com/best-systemd-free-linux-distributions/ #nosystemd #Linux #deeper #Libre #technews #FLOSS #TechFreedom #techwednesday Memesplanation: It's one thing to believe in yourself, but it is an entirely different animal when someone else does, wholeheartedly. Offer this gift to someone today. #believe #supportoneanother #loveoneanother #memesplanation #TechFreedom TW 18-2: Ever wondered how people get a fancy boot screen? Here’s how to Theme GRUB. https://linuxiac.com/how-to-apply-theme-to-grub-boot-loader/ #GRUB #Linux #techtips #custom #TechFreedom #techwednesday Freed Phone & Liberated Phone Https://techfreedom.pro/product/freed-phone Https://techfreedom.pro/product/liberated-phone TW 18-3: Steam Update = better performance and support on Linux https://9to5linux.com/latest-steam-client-update-brings-linux-and-vulkan-fixes-support-for-new-controllers #steam #linuxgaming #linux4gamers #TechFreedom #techwednesday #fossfun https://rumble.com/v11qsi0-tech-freedom-tech-wednesday-3.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y

Distro Monday 19 What to expect: Slax back from the dead Memesplanation Peppermint releases Devuan variant Freedom Consulation Ubuntu Unity released Intro to Tech Freedom Social Media Distro Monday 19-1: New version of Slax after nearly a decade… wow. Might be worth taking a look at if you are into distro hopping. https://news.itsfoss.com/slax-15-release/ #distromonday #TechFreedom #slax #Linux #technews Memesplanation Never refuse to do something which you are able to do to benefit another, unless you cannot do it without hurting yourself. #altruism #humanitarian #TechFreedom #memesplanation #limits Distro Monday 19-2: Peppermint Linux releases a Devuan version, so the ease of use and lightweight nature of Peppermint gets even more performant by stripping out the bulk of SystemD. https://news.itsfoss.com/peppermint-os-devuan/ #distromonday #TechFreedom #peppermintlinux #Linux #devuan #systemd Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free Distro Monday 19-3: As much as I like to bash canonical for being in bed with Big Tech, I have to take notice when they release their Unity Desktop, as it was my first Linux experience, as little as I enjoyed it at the time. It was my first faltering step into an new world. Well, they have released Ubuntu Unity 22.04.1 now, with Unity 7.6. https://9to5linux.com/ubuntu-unity-22-04-1-released-with-the-latest-unity-7-6-desktop-environment #distromonday #TechFreedom #Linux #technews #unitydesktop #Ubuntu

Tech Tips Tuesday 19 What to Expect: 5.19 Kernel released from Apple M1 powered MacBook Memesplanation How to Use rsync Freed Computer How to Fix a read-only NTFS partition 10 Things About Tech Freedom TTT 19-1: Linus Torvalds uses Apple Hardware to release latest kernel… it’s an M1 MacBook, running Asahi Linux https://news.itsfoss.com/linux-kernel-5-19-release/ #techtuesday #techtips #Linux #Asahilinux #TechFreedom #technews Let’s get some perspective. Let’s adopt an attitude of gratitude rather than entitlement. Be grateful for what you have, as you have more than at least 75% of the world’s population. Wake up thanking God for what you have, it will shift your whole day. #perspective #memesplanation #gratitude #TechFreedom #breathe #lifeisgood #inthemoment TTT 19-2: How to use rsync to back up a server (or any other Linux machine) https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/how-use-rsync-command #howto #rsync #backup #techtips #Linux #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom TTT 19-3: How to fix a read-only NTFS partition (dual-booting Windows) https://www.linuxtechmore.com/2022/08/how-to-fix-read-only-ntfs-on-linux.html #howto #ntfs #Linux #dualbooting #TechFreedom #techtips

FOSS Fun Wednesday 4 What to expect: Slimbook Line Refresh Memsplanation Steamdeck Tips Free Your Internet Godot 3.5 FOSS Game Engine released How to Regain Control of Your Data FOSS Fun Wednesday 4-1: Slimbook refreshes some of their line… need a Linux-native laptop? These could be good solutions for you. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/07/slimbook-recently-refreshed-a-bunch-of-their-linux-laptops/ #slimbook #Linuxlaptops #Linux #TechFreedom #technews Shift your perception today… is it a weed, a helpful herb, or a wish? My kids get goofy whenever they see a dandelion and try to always pick and blow. It is hard to shift into childlikeness, and the practical, western American side of me wants to yell at them about spreading weeds, but that is not right either, is it? #perception #childlikeness #dandelion #seeds #wishes #weeds #memesplanation #TechFreedom Foss Fun Wednesday 4-2: Steamdeck tips https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/08/top-quick-steam-deck-tips-and-tricks/ #steam #steamdeck #Linux #linuxgaming #tips #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft FOSS Fun Wednesday 4-3: Godot 3.5 Released https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/08/open-source-game-development-advances-with-godot-engine-35-out-now/ #gameengine #godot #FOSS #FOSSgaming #Linux #technews #TechFreedom

Distro Monday 20 What to expect New Features for Kali Linux Memesplanation Arch based Rescue CD Tool Released Freedom Consultation MakuluLinux Social Media Intro Distro Monday 20-1: Kali Linux, Portable, pen testing distro released with new tools. https://9to5linux.com/kali-linux-2022-3-released-with-linux-5-18-new-hacking-tools-and-test-lab-environment #distromonday #TechFreedom #kalilinux Gratitude is lived and embodied, not merely expressed in words. How will you show gratitude today? #gratitude #JFK #liveit #memesplanation #TechFreedom Distro Monday 20-2: SystemRescue is now Arch-based https://9to5linux.com/arch-linux-based-systemrescue-9-04-distro-brings-new-packages-improvements #systemrescue #arch #Linux #distromonday #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free Distro Monday 20-3: MakuluLinux has a new version of their SHIFT environment in their Ubuntu-based distro. If it were Debian based, I might be tempted to try it out, but being Ubuntu-based, I struggle. https://www.linuxinsider.com/story/new-makululinux-brings-shifting-innovations-to-desktop-design-176634.html #distromonday #makuluLinux #Linux #TechFreedom #shift

FOSS Fun Wednesday 5 What to Expect: Heroic Games Launcher Memesplanation ProtonDB Freed Computer Arch takes the Cake in Gaming on Steam Data Rescue Tutorial FFW 5-1: New Version of Heroic Games Launcher https://news.itsfoss.com/heroic-games-launcher-2-4-0-release/ #FOSSFun #FFW #TechFreedom #Heroic #linuxgaming #Linux Gratitude attracts more of that which you are grateful for, so focus on those things far more than that which you may lack. Be grateful for and appreciate for what you have, and you may find that you get more of it. #gratitude #lifehacks #memesplanation #TechFreedom #thankyoujesus FFW 5-2: ProtonDB, where you go to see if you can play your games on Linux or the SteamDeck https://www.protondb.com/ #protondb #Linux #linuxgaming #FOSSFun #FFW #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 5-3: Arch FTW in Steam Gaming in 2021… https://boilingsteam.com/all-roads-lead-to-arch-the-evolution-of-linux-distros-used-for-gaming-over-time/ #FFW #FOSSFun #Linux #linuxgaming #steam #TechFreedom #archlinux

What to Expect: New Release of Neptune Linux Memesplanation New release of KaOS Freedom Consultation Top Distros for Students Distro Monday 21-1: Neptune 7.5 Released, based on Debian Stable, running the 5.18 kernel, with some other updates. This is for users looking for rock-solid stability, period. Nothing earth-shattering or revloutionary here, just incremental updates. https://9to5linux.com/neptune-7-5-is-out-based-on-debian-gnu-linux-11-4-powered-by-linux-kernel-5-18 #Linux #DistroMonday #Neptune #Debianstable #TechFreedom #technews #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness Failure is a normal part of life. Accept it. Learn from it. Do not fear it. Go for broke. Try as many iterations of a skill or method as you need to in order to find your way forward, but never stop trying. #memesplanation #try #fearnot #failure #Truth Distro Monday 21-2: New Release of KaOS KaOS 2022.08 is out with Pipewire as default A/V handler, newest KDE goodies, and more https://9to5linux.com/kaos-2022-08-brings-pipewire-by-default-improved-installer-and-latest-kde-goodies Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free Distro Monday 21-3: Top Linux Distros for Students Mint, Zorin, Academix, Elementary, Ubuntu, Manjaro, OpenSUSE Leap round out the techmint list, we will chat about each one a bit and why they put it on the list, as well as ranking their list based on my beliefs and experience. https://www.tecmint.com/linux-distros-students/ #distromonday #schooltime #school #students #Linux #Linux4school #TechFreedom

TTT 21: Moar RISC-V Linux Compatibility & More TTT 21-1: More Goodies for KDE users: Improvements to Spectacle (screenshot app), Dolphin (file manager), Okular (PDF reader), Elisa (music player), and other quality of life stuff too. https://9to5linux.com/kde-gear-22-08-arrives-with-xdg-portals-support-markup-and-annotation-in-gwenview #TTT #techtips #technews #fossnews #KDE #Linux #TechFreedom Memesplanation Impossible? Nah… that’s just hater talk. They see it as impossible, so it is for them. If you refuse to agree with that sentiment and keep at it, you will eventually prove them wrong. #memesplanation #impossible #possible #justdoit #grind #TechFreedom #Truth #motivation TTT 21-2: LibreOffice 7.4 Released: Lots of bugs squashed, support for webp files added, etc… https://9to5linux.com/libreoffice-7-4-open-source-office-suite-officially-released-this-is-whats-new #TTT #LibreOffice #FOSS #alternatives #Linux #updates #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft TTT 21-3: Ubuntu <3 RISC-V… Full support for StarFive’s RISC-V SBC https://9to5linux.com/ubuntu-is-now-officially-supported-on-starfives-visionfive-risc-v-single-board-computers #TTT #Ubuntu #Canonical #StarFive #RISC-V #Linux #TechFreedom

Foss Fun Wednesday 6: Moar Games on Proton with 7.0-4 & More What to Expect: New Linux Exploit called “Dirty Cred” Memesplanation Top 5 Secure Linux Browsers Freed Computer Proton 7.0-4 Released Break Google’s Chains FFW 6-1: What is Dirty Cred? Do we need to worry about it as end users? Let’s see what the uber nerds at Black Hat found out. https://www.esecurityplanet.com/threats/linux-exploit-dirty-cred/ #fossfun #FFW #Linux #FOSS #exploits #security #technews #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness Memesplanation I believe that we each have a Purpose for being here. What lights you up every time you think about it? What gets you giddy but triggers a fear reaction in you at the same time? What are you naturally good at? The intersections of the answers to these questions will give you insight as to what your Purpose is. Once you find it, seek to fulfill it. #memesplanation #purpose #bigpicture #bigwhy #motivation #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness FFW 6-2: Top 5 Secure Broswers for Linux: Ungoogled Chromium, GoLogin, Brave, Vivaldi, and Tor round out their list… Let’s see why they ranked each one where they did. https://linuxstans.com/most-secure-browsers-for-linux/ #FFW #fossfun #technews #secure #security #browsers #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom Gab: Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness FFW 6-3: Proton 7.0-4 Releases with even more game support, as well as updated drivers and misc bug fixes. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/08/proton-70-4-is-coming-to-bring-more-compatibility-to-linux-and-steam-deck/ #FFW #technews #Linux #Linuxgaming #steamdeck #steam #proton #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice

Tech Freedom News – Weekend Edition 1 Oktapus phishing campaign hits Twilio and Signal Judge Smacks Elon’s Request for ALL the Twitter Account Data for the last 3 years… Google Maps to Label Abortion Clinics in Post-Roe US Fujitsu to Make Quantum Computers Available for Some in 2023 Meta is “ready” for Midterms WE 1-1: Oktapus Hits over 130 Companies Who was affected? Whose data was breached? About 10,000 individuals who use the Okta Single-Signon service, including nearly 2,000 accounts on Signal, according to Twilio, who handles the sms registration messages for new accounts. The Signal accounts were not directly breached, though some accounts were able to have new devices added through the Twilio breach. https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/26/23323036/phishing-scam-campaign-twilio-hack-companies WE 1-2: Judge Vastly Reduces Musk’s request for ALL Twitter Data from the last 3 years as discovery proceeds in his suit against Twitter. Judge McCormick gave a flat “No” to Elon’s request yesterday, giving him only ~9000 twitter accounts were fair game, rather than the whole enchillada. https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/25/23322234/twitter-v-elon-musk-discovery-mdau-bot-data WE 1-3: Google Labels Confirmed Abortion Providers Whoa, nelly… Not only are they labeling Crisis Pregnacy Centers, but now trying to direct “birthing people” (let me roll my eyes a little further back into my skull…) who search for “abortions near me” to providers who will do the dastardly deed (ok, a serach engine actually giving people the answers they’re looking for is a good thing, but can we start somewhere else) rather than giving a balanced results list with both baby killing centers and crisis pregnancy centers listed… because, oh no, ~37% of Maps searches related to abortion directed individuals to institutions who might not gleefully want to kill the child. Sorry, I can’t be neutral about this one, no matter how hard I try. https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/25/23322025/abortion-providers-google-search-maps-label WE 1-4: Fujitsu Looking to Offer Computational Space on its 64-Qubit Quantum Computer Next Year Pretty cool stuff to see how quickly quantum tech is progressing, from Google’s first with 53 qubits in 2019, to IBM’s 127 qubit behemoth last year, to Fujitsu’s intent to produce a 1,000+ qubit piece of hardware in Q2 2027. Wow. https://www.pcmag.com/news/fujitsu-to-start-selling-quantum-computers-in-2023 WE 1-5: Meta Claims that it is “Ready” to Work on Election Integrity for 2022 Midterms Well, I feel better already. Oh wait, no I don’t… Facebook and its ilk have NO business meddling in anyone’s elections, as we know that Zuck did in 2020, sponsoring countless battleground state dropboxes and helping to push mail-in balloting. They need to be slapped with a massive reproof. One so big that even they wouldn’t dare to get involved with censorship, electioneering, and other nefarious bullshit ever again. That is treason. They aided and abetted felons who ought to be at least 6 feet underground already, and no longer breathing, if you follow my drift. This is no threat, just what real justice should have seen to already. This just makes my blood boil. https://gizmodo.com/facebook-meta-2022-midterms-misinformation-1849420151 The wrap-up… All in all an interesting week at the intersection between public life and Tech, no? Massive Phishing attack to a massive reduction in the scope of discovery in the Musk v Twitter suit, to Google showing its massive bias once again, to something a bit lighter in relation to Quantum computing, and then we wound up in a discussion about elections and Big Tech… that last phrase has two concepts in it that never belonged together… Elections and Big Tech… oh HELL NO! Anyway, this has been our first weekend edition, with a bit more contrversial content and perhaps a bit more of an edge than my typical monday-wednesday stuff. What did you think? Let me know in the comments below. Thank for Watching the Tech Freedom Weekend Edition.

Tech Tips Tuesday 22: Cool Stuff You Can Do With Linux Desktop & More What to Expect GNOME Improvement Tool? Memesplanation Cool Stuff About Linux Desktop Data Migration New Flatpak Release 10 Things About Tech Freedom.pro DM 22-1: GNOME Improvement Tool? CLI-based telemetry tool so that users can share anonymized usage data to help improve performance and to give the developers a clearer picture of which extensions people use. Telemetry, what a dirty word… however, this is open source, so we can look at it and make sure that it is doing what it claims to do. https://news.itsfoss.com/gnome-improve-tool/ #TTT #techtips #Linux #GNOME #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness Don’t worry about changing your haters’ minds. Focus on loving people in general, but also do not cast pearls before swine. Don’t waste energy on those who have already decided to hate you. Love everyone else though. #haters #love #lovepeople #memesplanation #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness TTT 22-2: Cool Stuff You Can Do With Linux Desktop Customization is KING, y’all. Do you HAVE to customize? No, but the flexibility is there to cahnge every element of your user experience and user interface. You can make it YOURS… however things make the most sense for YOU, you can make it in your own image. https://www.zdnet.com/article/cool-things-you-can-do-with-the-linux-desktop-that-you-cant-do-with-macos-or-windows/ #TTT #techtips #Linux #coolstuff #desktop #custom #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness TTT 22-3: Flatpak 1.14 Released Lots of goodies here, for those who use this growing package distrirution framework. These are things that will cause the flatpaks to just work better. https://9to5linux.com/flatpak-1-14-linux-app-sandboxing-and-distribution-framework-is-out-with-new-features #TTT #techtips #technews #flatpak #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer Gab: 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://tv.gab.com/channel/tech_freedom/view/10-things-about-tech-freedom-62b3387f34496b1f6de87b82 #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness

What to Expect New Version of Lutris Released Memesplanation News on CrossOver Freed Computer Steam Deck 2 Coming What to use instead of Google, Meta, and Microsoft products online FFW 7-1: Lutris adds new features in v 0.5.11 Amazon Games and Mac Emulattion https://news.itsfoss.com/lutris-0-5-11-release/ #FFW #fossfun #Lutris #Linuxgaming #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness Even in this economy, if you are looking for work, you cannot be as bad at whatever you do as Nic Cage is at acting… You can find a new/ better job, or even start your own side hustle/ business. You can do this. Dream big, plan bigger (without going into debt to get there), and go for it. #encouragement #niccage #youcandoit #memesplanation #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness FFW 7-2: CrossOver 22 released This is program from CodeWeavers, the ones who bring us WINE, and help Valve with Proton. It is proprietary, but works on Linux, ChromeOS, and MacOS, so that any user ofthose OSes can run Windows programs on their machine. Lots of good stuff here, though I wish it were FOSS. Producing and selling this is much of how CodeWeavers is able to develop WINE and give back to the community through Proton as well. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/08/crossover-22-released-for-running-windows-apps-and-games-on-linux/ #FFW #fossfun #technews #mixedfeelings #CrossOver #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness FFW 7-3: Steam Deck 2 is Coming! Based on a few lines in the marketing materials for the Steam Deck to introduce it to Asian markets, they mention that they will both be releasing SteamOS for use on other hardware, as well as that they will be releasing new versions in the future. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/08/steam-deck-2-is-absolutely-coming-new-booklet-from-valve-confirms/ #FFW #fossfun #Steam #steamdeck #rumors #steamdeck2 #SteamOS #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice

Distro Monday 22 – Happy Birthday, Linux! And More… What to Expect Tails 5.4 Release Memesplanation risiOS Release Freedom Consultation Happy 31st Birthday, Linux Kernel! Intro to Tech Freedom Social Media DM 22-1: Tails 5.4 released for those who trust no one. Tails is Linux for flash drives, it offers pure forgetfulness. Your settings, files, etc, will not be saved across sessions, but also runs EVERYTHING through Tor, so anything you do will be as anonymized as possible. What’s new? Newer (hardened version) of the 5.10 lts kernel New version of both the Tor Browser and Tor itself https://linuxiac.com/tails-5-4-privacy-focused-os-released-for-linux-paranoids/ #distromonday #tails #privacy #anonymity #Linux #paranoid #secure #technews #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness Dream big. Always. Just do it. Have faith, and put feet on it. Figure out what the first step is to achieving the dream, then the next and the next, until you find that you have accomplished your big dream, and it is time to move on to the next one. #dreams #dreambig #encouragement #memesplanation #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness DM 22-2: risiOS release Welcome to risiOS, a Fedora spin based on Fedora Workstation. It comes with a built-in first steps app, webapps, risiScript, and risiTweaks. The last couple of things on the intrigue me the most… risiScripts is an open source wrapper for isntalling packages like the AUR for Arch, and it can be adopted by any distro maker or maintainer to add functionality to their work as well. RisiTweaks is like GNOME Tweaks, but gives you even more control, including adding accent colors, and bakes in some extension management tools as well, though you cannot search for or install extensions with it. https://www.debugpoint.com/risios-review/ #distromonday #risiOS #Fedora #spin #Linux #technews #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness DM 22-3: Happy Birthday, Linux! The Linux kernel is 31 now! Linus Torvalds first released the Linux kernel 31 years ago. What would we do without Linux? We would be stuck in the Apple/Microsoft binary. BSD may not exist, either, if Linux did not. The world would be a much less private, free, and secure place. https://9to5linux.com/happy-31st-birthday-linux #distromonday #Linux #happybirthday #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness

WE 2-1: How to acquire and manage burner phones (make yourself in essence, untraceable) This is either for major privacy wonks or someone like a regime-disapproved journo. Why would you need one? To possibly cut costs if you only infrequently use your phone, or to protect yourself from government prying if you are a die-hard conservative and regularly conspireto overthrow the governement or something (just kidding, mostly, on that one). How do you go about obtaining one? Decide your price point and desired level of functionality, then purchase a phone that fits you and your needs, then decide on a prepaid carrier to work with, based on where you need to have coverage, etc. Pay in cash. Any card you use is trackable. How do you use it? Activate, pay in cash. Stay off of your apps, if the device is a “smart” one, and do not connect to any public wifi networks with that device. Once you are finished using it, factory reset it, and if it is worth anything, resell it or trade it in. Do you need one? I am privacy sensitive, but if I were really a hardcore privacy wonk, I wouldn’t make these videos, much less stream them, puttng my image and voice online. However, some may genuinely need them. I have a client who is a high profile attorney, and is an outspoken black conservative who is considering this method of keeping himself and his clients free of surveilance. He has had a phone tapped before, and does not want to deal with that again. He purchased one of my Liberated Phones to protect himself a bit more as he makes the switch away from Big Tech in his life, but even he questions the need for burner devices. https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-use-burner-phone/ WE 2-2: AI-Generated Art Piece wins prize at a state competition Colorado man uses the Midjourney Text-to-image generator to produce a digital art piece, which won first prize in its category in a state competition. Many are offended by this. Believing that he misled the udges as to the nature of how he produced the piece. An AI Text-to-image generator takes images, sometimes thousands, analyzes them, then, based on user prompts, generates an image. What the man did was curate the image pool that the AI drew from, and crafted the prompt to get it very close to what he desired to create, then finished it in photoshop after the AI did most of the work to produce the piece. I see both sides of the issue here… on one hand, artists who spend their whole lives honing their skill and talent are rightfully scared that, like the automotive factory worker of 40-50 years ago, their skill and benefit to society could be replaced by a machine which can potentially, eventually generate perfectly, technically flawless and even beautiful art pieces. They possibly fear oblivion and irrelevance, so they lash out, calling this unfair or misleading. Ad for the techie side of me, I think that this is guardedly cool. The fact that someone coded this now publically available AI system which can analyze the data contained in the images a user feeds it, then, in concert with a refined prompt, can produce almost exactly what the user envisioned, is amazing. This is a nontrivial thing, you guys. The fact that it won that competition speaks volumes to how far these systems have come in a relatively short time. This is also scary. I am conflicted about this story. What do you think? Should he have been more transparent about the nature of how he produced the piece? Was it right for him to enter the competition to begin with? Let me know in the comments… https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/1/23332684/ai-generated-artwork-wins-state-fair-competition-colorado WE 2-3: Washington State Guns for Being Named a Hydrogen Hub by the DOE. Big Tech is squrely behind this, as both Amazon and Microsoft are lobbying for this, and “leading the way” with hydrogen powered fleets and factories in the Evergreen State. The fact that Big Tech lives in WA and is very behind these efforts should give us pause. When was the last time that one of these giants actually did something good for the rest of us or the environment without massive government pressure, whether coercive, such as thorugh legal or legislative means, or simply offering mega tax breaks? I can’t think of any. What is this DOE (US Dept. of Energy) program? It set aside $8 Billion to encourage states to create infrastructure around Hydrogen to help move the country towards green energy. Hydrogen looks promising, but the problem is that the most common (and cheapest) option for producing the usable element is electrolysis, which requires abundant electricity to make work, and it has to be renewable electricity, so CA would be SOL on that. We use too much natural gas, which is allegedly not renewable… not gonna touch that one. Just keep this in mind as this becomes more mainstream, such as with vehicles like the Mirai from Toyota. https://www.geekwire.com/2022/how-washington-states-leaders-and-tech-giants-are-embracing-the-swiss-army-knife-of-clean-energy/ WE 2-4: Kid-Friendly Internet? This week, the CA legislature unanimously voted to give themselves more power to censor the internet for the rest of us. Sorry if that sounds like a cynical reading of this article, but this is what it boils down to. Once the governor signs it into law, it will require any person or business which operates a website which could conceivably serve a minor to change at least some of their sites to be more privacy-conscious, making the settings more accessible to limit data gathering, so that it is easier to prevent your child from being approached by some random adult in a DM, as well as restructure the language of their privacy policies to be more kid-friendly, even to the point of stripping out ad revenue for kid-users, both for websites and apps, even down to admitting where they use addiction fostering tools to encourage kids to pay more attention to the app or site. In principle, I agree with the notion of tech companies not being able to do nefarious things with our kids’ data (even Google, retailers, and news websites), however, this smells like ore gov’t overreach to me. The other issue is how do they enforce this? There has to be a way to get something like this done without the State shoving its way ever deeper into everyday life. This bill is far too ambiguous and ambitious, in my opinion. Ambiguity and ambition do not play well together often… https://www.wired.com/story/california-aadc-kids-privacy-age-checks/ WE 2-5: Good Guy Google? Google commits to donating another $20 Million to expand/ support IT/Computer Science eduaction in the US. So they will keep giving grants to organizations with whom they have already worked to further the cause of improving CS education in our country. This feels sublimely self-interested on Sundar’s part, sure there is a veneer of wanting the US to be strong in the field, but ultimately, it is cheaper for them to hire from overseas anyway… ultimately, this move is somewhat confusing to me. I have to admit that it is hard for me to see anything genuinely positive in the things that these tech giants do. https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/1/23331954/google-computer-science-funding-grants-sundar-pichai

What To Expect: MX Linux 21.2 Wildflower Released Memesplanation Crystal Linux (Arch + GNOME) Coming Soon Freedom Consultation Nitrux Linux 2.4.0 Released Intro to TF.Pro Social Media DM 23-1: MX Linux 21.2 Released With Lots of Goodies for Debian Users 5.18 Kernel, New UEFI Management Tool, New GUI wrapper for system info https://debugpointnews.com/mx-linux-21-2/ #DistroMonday #Linux #technews #MXLinux #TechFreedom History Lesson: Labor Day is not just a holiday… it is a holiday because of those who stood up to robber barons and mega corporations of their day to motivate Congress to do their jobs, thus our 40 hour work week, minimum wage, no child labor, and things like OSHA to make our working environments better for us. #Laborday #memesplanation #history #reminder #TechFreedom DM 23-2: Crystal Linux Coming Soon What is Crystal Linux? It is an Arch-based GNOME distro which in their words “will be the Fedora of Arch, bringing more modern/ less popular linux technologies to the forefront” What does that mean? Easy setup through “Jade”, a new GUI installer Custom version of GNOME, called Onyx New AUR helper and Pacman wrapper, called “Amethyst” that is lighter and faster than others https://news.itsfoss.com/crystal-linux-dev/ #DistroMonday #Linux #arch #GNOME #technews #crystallinux #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness DM 23-3: Nitrux Linux 2.4.0 XanMod is now default (great for gamers) NX Desktop (fork of KDE), many mauikit based apps No SystemD Mauikit for convergence with Mobile (eventually) https://linuxiac.com/nitrux-linux-2-4-0-released/ #DistroMonday #Linux #technews #nitruxlinux #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab TF Devotions Link: https://rumble.com/c/c-1710083

What to Expect: OBS Studio 28 Released Memesplanation GNOME 43 Features Free Your Internet 3 Ways to Securely Erase Data in Linux 10 Things About TF.Pro TTT 23-1: OBS Studio 28 Hallelujah! It is here! This is a big release for all of us who stream or use OBS to power their content creation efforts. Here are the highlights: • UI framework upgrade (Qt6). • HDR and 10-bit color support. • Native Apple Silicon support. • New default theme (Yami). • Encoding improvements. https://news.itsfoss.com/obs-studio-28-release/ #TTT #OBS #technews #contentcreation #streaming #HDR #TechFreedom Let’s rise above the storm and the noise around us today… Where things are clear and not obscured by all sorts of nonsense. Get quiet. Turn off the screens and the noise, focus on today, on the moment where you are: breathing, heartbeat, what is directly in front of you. Right now. Is anything a hellfire emergency, right now? Probably not. Feel the peace in that realization. #presence #alwaysblue #flyhigher #peace #memesplanation #TechFreedom TTT 23-2: 5 New Features for GNOME 43 • Quick Settings makeover • tweaks in Nautilus ◦ GTK4 theme ◦ rubber band selection ◦ adaptive view when working witt small windows ◦ new context menu • Device Security Info • Extensions for GNOME web • GNOME Software https://news.itsfoss.com/gnome-43-features/ #TTT #GNOME #Linux #techtips #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness TTT 23-3: 3 Best ways to Securely Wipe Your Storage Devices in Linux rm only removes pointers, not data, therefore is not really secure. Shred is a multi-pass overwrite of the selected data, defaulting to 3 overwrites. Wipe will rewrite the sector in question and flushes the disk cache dd can also serve the same function with a particular set of variables added to it https://linuxiac.com/best-ways-to-securely-erase-disk-in-linux/ #TTT #techtips #secure #Linux #delete #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

What To Expect: Linux Kernel 6.0rc2 Memesplanation Steam Deck Tips vol 2 Freed Computer AMD Zen 4 (Ryzen 7000) Announced What to use Instead of Big Tech FFW 8-1: Rapid Development on the 6.0 Kernel Continues After only 1 week, we get another release candidate… that is nuts in terms of speed. Proprietary Oses (Windows, MacOS) take FOREVER to do their internal dev work on new updates and upgrades. Linux, mostly with volunteers, gets it done far faster. https://www.makeuseof.com/linux-60-release-candidate-2-released/ #FFW #Linux #kernel #development #TechFreedom Don’t let offense run your life. You don’t always have to jump into the war of words if someone feels like battling with you. Take the time to respond rather than simply reacting. Choose your battles, pick your fights. Breathe. You don’t always have to defend your point of view from any who might disagree. #arguments #respond #breathe #walkaway #advice #TechFreedom TTT 23-2: Steam Deck Tips & Tricks Vol 2 Schedule updates for times when you do not plan to use the device Use in-game vsync, not global for better performance You don’t always have to use GE-Proton Try an alternative on-scren keyboard (Core Keyboard is a good option) And More… https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/08/steam-deck-tips-and-tricks-part-2/ #steamdeck #tips #tricks #hacks #Linux #steamos #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness FFW 8-3: AMD Ryzen 7000 Top SKUs Announced Zen 4 chips announced from the R9-7950x and 7900x to the R7-7700x and R5-7600x, each of which promise to be pretty epic in terms of performance numbers. My brother covered rumors about 3 weeks ago on the show, and some of those stats look pretty accurate. These Chips will be rolled out at the end of the month, and the other, filler SKUs will be rolled out later. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/08/amd-announced-qzen-4q-with-ryzen-7000-series-rdna3-teased/ #FFW #AMD #zen4 #ryzen7000 #technews #Linux #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice

Review of NitruxOS and Crystal Linux https://nxos.org/english/nx/ Nitrux has allot going for it. I want to like it, I really do. But I don't, at least not in its current form. I see loads of potential, but it just isn't "there" yet, it feels sluggish when it should fly... the store is confusing, though I like the idea of appimages. https://getcryst.al/ A beta with loads of potential. I may look again when onyx is actually in place. I like the Jade installer. Amethyst looks interesting as a pacman wrapper. The main issue that I have is that their main raison d etre is based on the shifting sand that is GNOME. I don't know, you guys.

Weekend Edition 3: Meta Losing Ground, Instagram Fined, and More WE 3-1: Instagram Fined $400 Million for Not Protecting Kids’ Data Regulators in Ireland slam Instagram with big fine due to findings from an investigation intio how they handle kids’ data, specifically relative to teens who were able to start business accounts, where they could publish their personal phone numbers and email addresses. Instagram claims that it has changed settings as of a year ago to help teens stay safer. Instagram will probably try to fight this decision (big shock there), and insist that they mended the error of their ways in the interim, as the investigation started in 2020. We’ll see how much of this fine sticks,a nd how much Instagram/Meta’s attorneys are able to argue away. This regularotry body has already opened and conducted over a dozen investigations into Meta’s portfolio of companies and platforms, including a record setting $225 Million fine for Whatsapp last year. As much as I hate government over reach, sometimes that is the only way to straighten out these transnational behemoths. https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/06/tech/instagram-fine-teens-privacy/index.html WE 3-2: Google Gears Up for Midterm Misinformation Here we go again. Another week, another Tech Giant marching with jackbooted feet to the cadence of the Shadow Government… smh. Here are their plans: • highlight media articles and stories from particular locales and regions • Push info from election officials in terms of dates, methods, and times for voting • Highlight mainstream media sources on YouTube ◦ squashing dissenting opinions algorithmically ◦ no more videos talking about how the 2020 election was stolen They actually will remove posts, not just label them as harmful and limit reach and engagement opportunities, like Twitter and Meta. Full throated censorship. All I can say is get off of Google, stop using the search engine, degoogle your phone. Stop using YouTube directly, and see how long it takes for them to notice everyone ceasing to use their tools… how long until it hits them in the pocketbook enough for them to take notice? We don’t even NEED to call it a “boycott”, just stop using it as much as humanly possible. Watch what happens when all of their data collection dries up and the ad revenue goes through the floor. https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/01/tech/google-youtube-election-misinformation/index.html WE 3-3: Facebook’s 3rd party Login Button is No Longer Ubiquitous Across the Web Well, this is music to my ears. Dell has stopped using it… wow. Enough privacy concerns are aparently enough for Dell and others… Also there has been a decided shift in what users are doing, as they have absorbed the reality that Meta and its platforms and apps are far less safe and worthwhile than they once thought. Not just Dell, but Ford, Nike, Patagonia, and Twitch also have removed their login with Facebook buttons from their sites. Wow. Sounds like Facebook is about to join MySpace and other social media sites in irrelevance, perhaps. That would be welcome. Bring. It. On. Let’s all stop using these honeypot platforms and apps, shall we? I did, nearly a year ago, and I don’t miss them in the least. https://www.popsci.com/technology/facebooks-login-button-disappears/ WE 3-4: Has Your Phone Been Hacked? Let’s Check the Signs. Does it take a hacker? No. Even biometric locking can be foiled by a determined enough snoop, they could trigger a face ID scan or a fingerprint reading while you are asleep, and look through your phone… Know anyone who might think about pulling a stunt like this? Ok, before I get into this any further, let me put you at ease: if you are careful to only download and open files from sources you know, if you make sure that your apps are clean and are actually what they are supposed to be, then you should mostly be ok, here. What are the signs that perhaps you’ve been hacked? • Sudden drop in performance • sudden spike in battery usage • sudden spike in data usage • pop-ups that plague your phone all of the sudden • sudden drop in effective internet speed • oddball posts on social media or weird emails you wouldn’t nomrally send How can you defend yourself? • Keep your device as updated as you can • Use 2FA (I will opine on this as well) • Stop tapping every link you come across but didn’t ask for(messages from acquaintences, emails, ads, etc) Ok, these are good starting places, in terms of improving your digital hygiene, however, there was recently a breach in a major 2FA provider, so 2FA is not a sure thing in terms of protecting yourself and your phone from undesired attention. I would also add that if you stay away from Porn and Piracy, you’ll be safer overall. More or less, don’t do anything stupid online and you’ll be less likely to compromise your security and privacy. Don’t download apps that require ads and a ton of permissions in order to run, as it is often the “free” ad-based apps that will come with the worst payloads in terms of malware. https://www.foxnews.com/tech/hackers-in-phone-how-to-find-out WE 3-5: Kids Safety at School This article heavily calls for the use of AirTags or other smart tags/ tiles to track your kids at school, allegedly in case of emergency. If you care about your child’s privacy, please do not do this. They also strongly suggest packing a kiddie cell phone that has extremely limite functionality (only able to call 4 numbers or something like that) or a smart watch with similar functionality. The concept of intentionally putting trackers on your child that who knows who could access the data from those devices, other than you. Wouldn’t it be simpler to just homeschool your kids, so you can put your nerves at ease? I understand that that is a HUGE sacrifice, my wife and I are doing just that, now. Not due to anxiety, at least on my part, but to promote free thinking and belief in God in our boys. This way, we also do not have to worry about school shootings or shooters, bombings or bombers. It is that simple. https://www.foxnews.com/tech/tech-keeps-students-safe-school Here are links to my other rumble channels, please check them out and subscribe: Reviews and Tutorials and Other things: https://rumble.com/c/c-1710073 Weekly Devotions: https://rumble.com/c/c-1710083

Arch Linux on 5.19 Kernel Memesplanation Salix 15.0 Released Freedom Consultation Raspberry Pi Update DM 24-1: First Arch ISO on the 5.19 Kernel Available Like being on the bleeding edge? Run Arch with the freshest ISOs. What is new here? Suppot for AMD’s Secure Nested Paging, ZSTD-compressed firmware files, basic support for the Loongarch RISC-V CPU, and ARM Scalable Matrix Extension support. If this sounds like Greek to you, you aren’t the only one, and you probably aren’t the kind of user that Arch is targeted for. Don’t feel bad. I’m not really, either. https://9to5linux.com/first-arch-linux-iso-powered-by-linux-kernel-5-19-is-now-available-for-download #distromonday #Arch #Linux #linuxnews #releases #technews #TechFreedom Go DO this Monday. Make it look at you like this grumpy cat, admitting that you beat it into submission, rather than it thumping you, as uusal. Own it. You’ve got this. Believe it. Relish in it. Kick this Monday in the tail. #distromonday #mondaymotivation #memesplanation #TechFreedom DM 24-2: Salix 15.0 Released What is Salix? In their own words: Salix is a GNU/Linux distribution based on Slackware that is simple, fast and easy to use, with stability being a primary goal. Salix is also fully backwards compatible with Slackware, so Slackware users can benefit from Salix repositories, which they can use as an "extra" quality source of software for their favorite distribution. Like a bonsai, Salix is small, light & the product of infinite care. In other words, it is meant to be lightweight. This new version comes with faltpak support baked-in, but the developers have painstakingly assembled thousands of packages for their repositories over the last 6 years, which is how long it has been since the last stable release. It runs on top of the 5.15 LTS kernel, so most current hardware should be supported. https://9to5linux.com/slackware-based-salix-15-0-released-with-flatpak-support-xfce-4-16-new-look-and-more #distromonday #Linux #releases #linuxnews #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 24-3: RasPi OS Update Brings More Goodies to Users What’s new? There is a PiWiz update, NeworkManager now usable out of the gate, PiCamera2 preinstalled, and lots of other bug fixes. Sounds like RasPI OS is getting better and better. https://9to5linux.com/new-raspberry-pi-os-update-brings-desktop-enhancements-networkmanager-support #Pi #RasPi #Linux #technews #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab

19 Useful CLI Tips for Linux Memesplanation How to Convert Images from One Format to another Via CLI Free Your Internet Plasma 5.25.5 Released 10 Things About TF.pro TTT 24-1: What Manner of Tips Might There Be Today? 19 CLI Tips for Linux Everything from how to display data as a table to Sorting processes by Memory or CPU usage to recording your CLI Session to using xargs, and more. Not sure that We’ll talk through it all today, but you are more than free to take a look at the article for yourself. Ever wanted to make the results of a given command in terminal display as a table for easier reading? Add the following to the end of your command | column -t -s : How about sorting processes by CPU or Memory Usage? Run ps aux | sort -nk 3 (for CPU) or ps aux | sort -nk 4 (for memory) This is useful if it seems as though the system is less responsive than usual… perhaps your browser is being more of a resource hog than usual because some plugin or webpage is misbehaving, these commands will help you to ascertain which process is bogging your computer down. Ever wondered how to record your CLI session? Just use the script command and give it a filename, then you can go back an review your commands later, and easily rerun them if you’d like to do so. script <FILENAME> then type in your string of commands and viola, your commands are now a script for you to review, and if you want to make it executable, you can do that a few ways as well, in the File Manager, You can right click on the file you just made, go to properties, and make it executable, or in CLI, you could navigate to the file, and run this command: chmod +x <file name> after that runs, you can simply type ./<filename> into the terminal and your script will run. What does xargs do? It passes outputs between commands as arguments. For instance, the following command will create two files with the output from the echo command in them: echo file01 file02 | xargs touch Of course you can alter the file names however you wish, rather than just file01 and file02, so that it will be easier to find those files in the future. This goes along with “Be the change”… If you make your attitude match that which you want to see around you, eventually, your attitude will make a big difference in your environment. If you want your atmosphere to be happier, choose to be happy no matter what. First it will feel weird, and may grate on the nerves of those around you, but eventually they will likely shift into that themselves, at least when they are around you. It is a vibes and atmosphere thing. #encouragement #atmosphere #attitude #memesplanation #TechFreedom TTT 24-2: Converting any image file type to another using CLI Install imagemagick Open Terminal: Type sudo apt install imagemagick (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo pacman -S imagemagick (Arch-based) or sudo dnf install imagemagick (Fedora/RHEL) then navigate to the file(s) in question cd pictures then type mogrify -format <desired format> <*. current format> and all of the pictures of format “x” will now be in format “y” I actually used this tool as I was preparing for today’s stories. https://linux-tips.us/ There are many other Linux tips on this page, but this one is second from the top. #photos #convert #batchconverter #imagemagick #Linux #Linuxtips #TTT #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness TTT 24-3: New Point Release of KDE out now What’s new here? • Kwin crash related to Thunderbird email fixed • GIMP now reliably appears in the task manager when launched • Kickoff now has touch scrolling again • System Monitor widgets now maintain settings across restarts • among other things what does that mean for the rest of us that aren’t on a bleeding edge version of KDE? Not a whole lot. Many distros chose to stick with 5.24.6 until 5.26 rolls out, for stability’s sake. https://9to5linux.com/kde-plasma-5-25-5-is-out-as-the-last-update-in-the-series-improves-multi-monitor-support #KDE #Plasma #newrelease #Linux #Linuxnews #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

AMD Announces FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.1 Memesplanation Proton Experimental Rolls Red Dead Redemption 2 Fix Freed Computer New Game: Shadow Government Sim Big Tech Alternatives FFW 9-1: FSR 2.1 Announced What is FSR? FidelityFX Super Resloution (FSR) is a resolution upscaler that allows you to play games on a lower resolution without sacrificing as much of the eye candy, so that you get to keep most of the visual quality while allowing your performance to not be so impacted by running a AAA title at a higher resolution. What is new with this version? • Reduced ghosting • improved color range and temporal stability https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/09/amd-announces-fidelityfx-super-resolution-21-upgrade/ #FFW #AMD #FSR #gaming #bonus #Linux #performance #FPS #TechFreedom Your beliefs and the systems that foster them keep you stuck where you are. Fear of what “they” might say if you say, started your own business, or developed a skill that you have always wanted, but never saw a need to push for in the past. Dream. Believe. Go for it. Don’t worry about what they say or think about you, just dream it, believe it, and get it done. Fear of failure, or of success… so Face Everything And Rise above it. #encouragement #believe #memesplanation #TechFreedom FFW 9-2: Proton Experimental Updated What’s the big deal? Red Dead works again, as it broke after the developers chose to update with FSR 2.0 from AMD. Valve has already fixed this in the exerimental version of Proton, along with adding support for Deathsmiles II and Primal Carnage: Extinction https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/09/proton-experimental-fixes-up-red-dead-redemption-2-gets-more-games-working/ #FFW #Linuxgaming #steam #steamdeck #proton #rdr2 #technews #Techfreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness FFW 9-3: Shadow Government Simulator May be too close to the truth… sounds like it could be fun though, based on Plague, Inc and other similar titles. You play as an individual tasked with discovering the mechanics of power in a country that is new to you, so that you can shape it however you wish to. Each choice has potentially global ramifications, have fun. Prologue is available on Steam for free right now. This game is 6th on the list when I wrote this last Friday. https://linuxgamenews.com/ #FFW #shadowgovt #sims #simulator #steam #Linux #native #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice

Weekend Edition 4: Microsoft Screws up Security, Quantum Internet is Coming, and More… WE 4-1: Oopsie… MS Serves Bad Ads in Edge News Oh boy, Microsoft security screwed the pooch on this one...wait, those are two words that never belong in close proxiimity to each other, unless in a joke. At any rate, they served users a malicious ad in the news feed on Edge. Hmmm… was this really accidental? They are sure hustling to try to fix the issue, but can the browser really be trusted? https://www.makeuseof.com/microsoft-edge-adware-news-feed/ #badmicrosoft #edgesucks #hottakes #Weekendedition #TechFreedom WE 4-2: What Letter Does Russia Start With, Kids? Arrrrrrr… Microsoft unleashed the Russian Pirates, Boys & Girls! Not that they didn’t exist before… plenty of hackers over there, even notorious ones. As Microsoft vacated Russia over the Ukraine action, even abandoning its users in the country to fend for themselves, enthusiasts and businesses are either pirating Windows and other Microsoft products, or turning to Linux instead. Big surprise. NOT. Microsoft missed the ball on this one too, but then how could they not miss it, being as intimately in bed with all of the deep state nonsense as they always have been? They opened the windows on this one, lol… *gigglesnort* #smh, Microsoft, #smh https://www.makeuseof.com/russia-windows-piracy-linux-spike/ #Russia #russiarussiarussia #ingenuity #piracy #Linux #nowindows #noOSforyou #weekendedition #TechFreedom WE 4-3: Biden and Crypto… What Could Go Wrong? They promised guidelines for crypto regulation back in March… welp, here they are… They are gonna overreach more in the name of stopping criminals from using crypto to pay for things or to launder money… like Biden really wants to shut down money laundering. Give me a break. This is all about moving more of those operations in-house and keeping law-abiding citizens from being able to transact any amount away from their sanctioned avenues. The FED is not happy with us being able to do business outside of the Central Bank, so they are manipulating things to manouever us further down the road to a CBDC, and away from freedom. They want to be able to shut everything down, period. This is why we need a fully parallel economy, so that we can do business outside of their ability to control us. Gab and Torba are on the right track with their seeds of a parallel system. Let’s get on board with this, ASAP. https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/crypto/biden-administration-releases-framework-for-crypto-regulation/ #crypto #regulation #bidan #biggov #overreach #stupid #paralleleconomy #weekendedition #TechFreedom WE 4-4: Quantum Impact Sooner Than Later? Rigetti, an industry leader, out of Berkeley, CA has plans to deliver its 4th generation quantum machine, codenamed Ankaa next year, the basic chip will be an 84 Qubit processor. The company has been around for almost 10 years, and went public earlier this year, only to see its shares plummet in value in the last 7 months. This is partially due to external factors, but also largely due to their own investors getting tired of waiting on promises to be delivered. Is it the one to bring quantum advantage, when IBM is looking to produce quantum computers at least 4x larger and more powerful? Only time will tell. Personally, from what I’ve read, on a consumer level, I like the photonic quantum situations being developed by the likes of IonQ and Pasqal. On a global, or cloud-scale, these systems are currently so expensive and fiddly that I can understand where the author of the cnet article was coming from when they seemed a bit skeptical of the whole thing, specifically in relation to Rigetti. https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/quantum-computings-impact-could-come-sooner-than-you-think/ #quantum #quantumcomputing #rigetti #expensive #infrastructure #cloud #future #weekendedition #TechFreedom WE 4-5: Well, There Goes The Internet… Gavin Newsom, as expected, rubber stamped the legislature’s latest unanimous effort to regulate the internet in the interest of ostensibly “protecting the kids” from ads and pedos. On its face, as I reported on a couple of weeks ago, when I covered the California Age Appropriate Design Code Act after it passed that week. Here is what it will do, when it goed into force in 2024: • no more websites twisting kids’ arms to provide personal info • can no longer use or sell kids’ personal info • no more collecting, storing, or selling geolocation data from kids • no more profiling kids As I said when I initially covered it, this sounds great on its face, except that it will require even more governement oversight and masses more power in the hands of bureaucrats and this sort of thing will inevitably wind up like the GDPR in the EU or prior law in California, in regards to privacy. This will wind up affecting every site on the internet, eventually, as while there are often different versions of sites for different countries, I can’t imagine this being doable on a state level with any kind of genuine benefit for the site operators. https://www.cnet.com/news/politics/california-governor-signs-kids-online-safety-act-into-law/ #CA #commiefornia #gavinnewsome #CAADCA #internetfreedom #biggov #overreach #weekendedition #TechFreedom

Feren OS Memesplanation EndeavourOS Freedom Consultation Torvalds Made Fedora Run on his M2 MB Air Intro to TF.Pro DM 25-1: Feren OS has a migration tool, give it a try. Feren OS is a debian based distro, which means that it is stable, perhaps lagging in terms of package up-to-date-ness, but stable and safe to try for newbies. It will copy data from Windows and bring it over to Linux when you use it. That is pretty sweet. We’ll demo it for you later in the week, so that you can see it for yourself, and hopefully have more courage to give this Linux thing a try for yourself. https://www.zdnet.com/article/looking-to-switch-to-linux-from-windows-the-feren-os-transfer-tool-makes-it-easy/ #Distromonday #Linux #FerenOS #transfertool #easybutton #TechFreedom So true. Which is it gonna be on this Monday morning? Can you, or can’t you? Where is your head today? What do you believe about yourself? If you believe you can’t, change your belief, and watch your reality begin to shift. #Distromonday #memesplanation #ithinkican #positivity #TechFreedom DM 25-2: EndeavourOS Artemix Nova Released: vanilla GRUB + 5.19.7 Kernel Endeavour has been struggling with os-prober in GRUB, so they disabled it by default, and beware when you change/update the kernel, as you will have extra steps. The developers see this distro as a starting place for tinkering, not as a “finished” distro (probably part of why it is Arch based, but this also sounds like a bit of a cop-out to me, quite frankly). https://9to5linux.com/endeavouros-artemis-nova-released-with-linux-kernel-5-19-vanilla-grub-experience #Distromonday #Linuxnews #EndeavourOS #Arch #updates #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 25-3: Linus Torvalds Tweaks Fedora 36 to Work on His M2 Macbook Air Vaguely unhappy with Asahi Linux, he chose to apply some of the tooling from that project to Fedora Workstation 36 to make it “run” on his laptop, keep in mind that you have to be near his level to keep it running decently, but when it runs, it is more than plenty to do Linux Kernel development work with, as the M2 is very powerful and efficient. https://news.itsfoss.com/fedora-apple-torvalds/ #Distromonday #Linux #Penguinslikeapplestoo #Asahi #Fedora #custom #hax #LinusTorvalds #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab

10 Amazing Terminal Tips for Linux Memesplanation KDE Frameworks 5.98 Release Free Your Internet Plasma 5.26 in Public Beta Now TTT 25-1: 10 Amazing Terminal Tips rm is not always the best way to go, so if you find that you have a monsterous log file (or any other kind, for that matter) that you need to get rid of, simply overwrite it by generating an empty file of the same name in the same location as the original. This may not be hugely useful for most of us, but on the off chance, you could do something like the following: touch /random-path/filename (fill in your path and file name, and viola, the huge file goes away. Remember xargs from last week? We’re gonna talk about it again, right now… ever needed to copy some output into multiple files? Well, here’s how to get that done: echo /home/user/1/ /home/user/2/ /home/user/3/ | xargs -n 1 cp -v /home/user/my_file.txt (the above is, of course, generic, so customize it according to your needs) Did you know that you can set a shutdown time for your system? Here is how: sudo shutdown _time_, substituting your desired time for the operation in 24 hour format, rather than 12 hour. Also, have you ever found yourself running commands and wondering how to navigate from the beginning of a line to the end, or vice versa? Well, should you find yourself in that scenario, ctrl+a will move your cursor to the beginning of the command, and ctrl+e will take you to the end of the line. https://tecadmin.net/10-amazing-tips-tricks-to-work-with-linux/ #TTT #Linux #Linuxtips #CLI #terminal #TechFreedom Enjoy life as you go. Don’t be so focused on what you want that you miss what you already have. Be present, today, in this moment. See your family and friends, now. Let go of some of that drive for a few conscious minutes a day and enjoy where you are. This will help the grinding to be more sustainable. #present #enjoy #encouragement #memesplanation #TechFreedom TTT 25-2: KDE Frameworks 5.98 Big Improvements faster file transfers in NFS relative path support in KDE apps multi-cursor support in Kate GIF support for “Get New____” windows Support for ARW raw file thumbnail previews https://9to5linux.com/kde-frameworks-5-98-makes-file-transfers-faster-in-kde-apps-brings-more-new-features #TTT #KDE #Plasma #frameworks #Linuxnews #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness TTT 25-3: Plasma 5.26 Beta Now Public You can help to bug test the new Plasma version, which should be out next month. Here’s what’s new: re-bindable mouse buttons for multi-button mice Full screenreader support for all Plasma widgets Compact menus for Kickoff menu so you can see more at a glance Plasma Bigscreen TV interface Aura browser for using the internet with your TV remote Plank Player as default for Playing Local Files Plasma Wayland Force Maliit Keyboard to appear in Touch Mode 2 ways to scale windows (Globally, via the compositor, and individually, via extant x11 HiDPI capabilities) Updates to Discover Content ratings for apps You can now change an app’s name after you submit a review New share button on the details page Can now check system free space prior to an update Can now change the frequency of update notifications Full version should be released on 10/11, ifyou want to help test it out, grab openSUSE Krypton, KDE Neon Unstable, or Fedora Rawhide KDE. Don’t use this on a machine you want to use for work though, as it is pre-release. https://9to5linux.com/kde-plasma-5-26-desktop-environment-enters-public-beta-testing-heres-whats-new #TTT #KDE #Linux #Linuxnews #plasma526 #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

MESA Updates Memesplanation Community Proton Updates Released Freed Computer EA AntiCheat: Bane of Existence for Linux Gamers? What to Use Instead of Big Tech FFW 10-1: Great news for any who love CS:GO… and others Mesa driver stack has a patch that will dramatically improve performance on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, not only taking the startup time from 2.5 minutes to 10 seconds. Also one of the main developers for the stack wrote a blog recently stating that there are about to be huge drawing throughput improvements for AMD GPUs through the AMD Vulkan driver. Good stuff. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/09/mesa-gets-a-big-csgo-speedup-plus-upcoming-amd-radv-performance-boost/ #FFW #FOSS #drivers #graphics #AMD #Linux #TechFreedom Just do it. Pray. Talk to God. He’s your Father, Lord, and Friend. He causes all things to work out for the best for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. He knows your heart better than you do, but wants to hear it from you anyway. So, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, talk to Him. #spirituality #littlechrist #pray #talktogod #memesplanation #TechFreedom FFW 10-2: Community Proton projects have updates GE-Proton now at 7.33, and WINE-GE-Proton is at 7.28 more fixes for GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2, Bioshock Remastered 1 & 2 dxvk updated vkd3d updated latest upstream proton fixes included Should make lots of gamers happier. Good stuff. If you want to read more, follow the link below: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/09/ge-proton-7-33-and-wine-ge-proton-7-28-are-out-now/ #FFW #gloriouseggroll #Proton #Steam #community #linuxgaming Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness FFW 10-3: EA Anti-Cheat News BOOOOOO!!!!! Hiiiiiiiiiisssssss!!!! EA has developed a new kernel-mode cheating and tampering prevention tool that will be rolled out in the lastest FIFA game, along with many others, however, EA will not require its use, but will listen to each studio’s needs to see whether it will be necessary for them, even allowing some to roll “user-mode protections” which may allow games to function on Linux. With Kernel-Mode Anti-Cheat, that will pretty much exclude any Linux user who wants to play on Linux rather than either dual booting or spinning up a VM to play their new game. #smh EA. #smh. Low blow, man. Not surprising, really, but low, nonetheless. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/09/ea-anticheat-could-spell-trouble-for-steam-deck-linux/ #FFW #EA #anticheat #exclusives #Linux #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice

RedoxOS Gets Huge Anonymous Donation Memesplanation EuroLinux=RHEL for Desktops Freedom Consultation MakuluLinux – Revisited Intro to TF.pro DM 26-1: RedoxOS Gets Huge Anonymous Donation Remember me talking about Redox a while back? It is a Linux distro being developed by the lead developer for Pop!OS. The unique thing about it is that it is entirely written in the Rust programming language. The project just received a $390k anonymous donation, making things easier for the developer to make it even better. I would characterize it as a curiousity at this point, though Linus Torvalds says that we will see Rust in the Kernel starting in kernel 6.1. Until then, this is an interesting project to watch, but not necessarily a great daily driver for most. https://news.itsfoss.com/redox-os-anonymous-donation/ #distromonday #redoxos #Linux #rust #TechFreedom Honest Abe said it… preparation is 2/3 of the battle, if you have ill-suited or dull tools for the task at hand, switch them out or sharpen them so that the job is easier in the end. Work smarter, not necessarily harder. Do not waste effort. Be wise. Use your mind, not just your head. #memesplanation #preparation #encouragement #wisdom #TechFreedom DM 26-2: EuroLinux brings RHEL to the Desktop What is RHEL again? RHEL is Red Hat Enterprise Linux, this is the fully supported, paid option for servers and other enterprise solutions put forth by the company related to Fedora. RHEL is downstream from Fedora, from what I recall, and is stable, where Fedora is essentially rolling. Fedora is community based, where RHEL is fully supported by Red Hat. Why would you want this on the desktop? Well, let’s think about it… an ultra stable distro, with full corporate support might be an excellent fit for a company who wants a very secure and stable production environment for their workers, or for education, as an alternative to ChromeOS. This is where EuroLinux fits into the picture. It is GNOME based, but has a familiar translucent bottom panel to make it feel a little more familiar. It also has a 10-year support cycle for the kernel and OS level software. https://news.itsfoss.com/eurolinux-desktop/ #distromonday #RHEL #desktop #GNOME #Linux #stability #security #support #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 26-3: More on MakuluLinux I talked about MakuluLinux a couple of months ago, and was somewhat unimpressed, unfortunately. It has some great ideas baked in, but unfortunately is based on GNOME which is what it is. I have no interest in ragging on it again, though I have plenty I could say, lol. Their SHIFT flavor bakes in a host of extensions (about 50) to make it look like 8-10 different pre-made, themed layouts that can look like anything from classic Windows to Unity style, to a more standard GNOME, to KDE-alike, and several in between. They also have a Gamer Edition, which comes with Steam, GameHub, Lutris, PlayOnLinux, Heroic, GeForce Now, and RetroArch baked in, along with a driver manager, but only one layout. It is Ubuntu based, so that makes it more stable, but leaves you open to the issues inherent to Canonical-derived projects. If you like what you see in the review below, check it out. https://linuxiac.com/makululinux/ #distromonday #makululinux #anotherlook #Linux #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab

FOSS Dealing with FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) Memesplanation Pipewire News Free Your Internet Bad News for Python Users 10 Things About Tech Freedom TTT 26-1: FOSS FUD? Why? One Word: Security. As painful as it is, the last year has not been kind to FOSS, we had the Log4j breach in the Apache stack, which left many users vulnerable to hacks. Log4j is not that big of a deal for typical users though, as patching has fixed holes that were found, and as things were found, they were quickly handled, as is the typical situation in the FOSS community. This, along with news of more malware and vulnerabilities being exploited has soured many in the industry towards FOSS as a whole. Basically, a larger, brighter spotlight has been focused on FOSS in the last year or so, and I think that the community as a whole has risen to the challenges associated with it rather well. https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/09/20/open-source-security-concerns/ #TTT #techtips #Linux #FOSSnews #security #TechFreedom Discern what matters. Not everything that can be measured actually matters. Many things that can’t be measured matter more than those that can. Keep at it. Don’t give up. Have heart, and take courage that while things may look small now, on the surface, if you are doing things right, the root system is growing like gangbusters where no one but you can see it. Keep on, learn, take your licks, but keep on keeping on. #measurables #empiricalevidence #einstein #kcco #growth #encouragement #memesplanation #TechFreedom TTT 26-2: Pipewire is Getting New Bluetooth Support What is Pipewire, you ask? Why, it is a combo audio and video handler, to replace Pulseaudio, JACK, and v4l2, respectively, with a lighter, nimbler, and more versatile option that can offer better performance. What’s new? A primary developer added a commit to handle the new bt Low Energy standard in the stack. This is great news for many of us who use bluetooth headsets, and hopefully we will eventually get to have A2DP audio sinking and recording capabilities at the same time, because even pulseaudio can’t pull that off, or at least not well. This feature, if any of those devs watch my show, would make Linux an even better fit for most everyday people, particularly if we are still pulling for Linux Mobile in any form. https://9to5linux.com/pipewire-gets-initial-support-for-next-generation-bluetooth-le-low-energy-audio #TTT #pipewire #audio #video #news #Linux #FOSSnews #bluetooth #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness TTT 26-3: Python Problems… Uh oh… This is a very old problem that is coming back to bite devs in the backside. It was discovered 15 years ago, and could lead to an attack with the scope of SolarWinds from a couple of years ago. Come on FOSS community, lets get this thing fixed before something catestrophic happens. The vulnerability is somewhere in the tarfile library, which could make software supply chain attacks more easily carried out. All an attacker would have to do is add ../ to a TAR archive file, and insodoing, gain execution rights in the writing process. Be careful, you who regularly write or use Python programs. Go back through your code to check for this bugger. Yikes. https://www.esecurityplanet.com/threats/unpatched-python-library-affects-300k-projects/ #TTT #python #vulnerability #oldnews #checkyourcode #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

Musk & Twitter Hackers Ransom LAUSD Ungodly Surveillance of Anti-Porn Apps Next Silicon Valley Will Be in US Heartland Linux Tool to Defend Against Supply Chain Attacks #weekendedtition #TechFreedom #technews #currentevents #musk #twitter #lausdhacked #ungodlysurveillance #supplychain WE 5-1: What’s the latest in the saga? Musk tried to delay the trial again, but the judge smacked his attempt down, believing that Twiter would be irreparably harmed by any further delay. His latest delay tactic had to do with the whistleblower who came out recently. He had been the head of security for Twitter before he was let go in April. He claimed that Zatko’s (the whistleblower) revelations about the number of bots, spam, and the kind of security in place on Twitter seem to support Musk’s claims that Twitter lied to him in April. Of course, Twitter batted that aside, saying that all of these allegations are a “false narrative” wait, they cried “Fake news”? That is a laugh, being that they gatekeep for the American Uniparty as proudly as they do. Musk also subpoenaed Dorsey, among many other tech “luminaries”. All this while he quietly sold off another $6.9 Billion worth of his Tesla stock to support his takeover bid, just in case this lawsuit doesn’t free him of his commitment to purchase Twitter. This sounds like he knows that the judge is likely to side with Twitter and makes me wonder how much of this is really just theater. Time will tell. https://www.theverge.com/23026874/elon-musk-twitter-buyout-news-updates #weekendedition #tech #government #technews #bigtech #musk #twitter #TechFreedom WE 5-2: LA Unified School District Gets Hacked… Student Data at Risk You may have heard about this last month, as the attack actually occurred just as students were returning for the 2022-23 school year. Group called Vice Society is the likely culprit, and may have accessed some student names and other limited data, but it is not believed that they were able to get their hands on any other personally identifiable data. The district was able to recover the data from backups and it caused very limited disruption. However, the new wrinkle in the story is that there has now been a demand made of the district, though the district is not releasing those details now. CISA calls the group an “intrusion, exfiltration, and extortion hacking group”. This is the first time that a successful attack was carried out against LAUSD, but where there is one, there is bound to be more. If you can manage to get your kids out of school and homeschool them, it would be greatly beneficial to the privacy and mental/emotional stability of your children. https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/22/23366602/hacking-gang-la-school-district-ransom-vice-society #weekendedition #news #technews #privacy #security #LAUSD #hack #TechFreedom WE 5-3: Founder of AOL Believes that Silicon Valley Will Be Replaced by Midwestern Startups He has been working on an initiative with his VC fund, Revolution, to promote and fund new tech startups in Middle America, called Rise of the Rest, eponymous with his new book. Why does he believe that the hegemony of the coasts in Aerica will be broken? He has been criscrossing America for years, only stopped by the plandemic. He’s been putting his money where is mouth is on this as well, so maybe he is right. The writer of this Wired article is a bit skeptical that the status quo could shift that radically in the next 10 years, but seems open minded about it. There are deep concerns about funding, attracting talent, retaining talent, attracting customers and partners, not to mention media attention. Something tells me that the new media that has come up over the last 5 years or so, and holds far more sway than an establisment rag like Wired would want to admit to. I like the concept of investing in Middle America, even though I’m sitting out here in LA. I like the idea of Big Tech being split up, as the false unity that it has promoted over the last decade or two is completely unhelpful, as it only falls in line with the Uniparty’s interests in maintaining their own power over the rest of us. Let’s vote with our dollars to support companies who are legit in their constitutional stances, first in terms of 1A, then 2A stuff, and on down the Bill of Rights. https://www.wired.com/story/the-next-silicon-valley-will-be-in-the-us-heartlands/ #weekendedition #technews #bigtech #middleamerica #midwest #innovation #decentralization #TechFreedom WE 5-4: Ungodly Surveillance from Covenant Eyes and Accountable2You… I have used both of these apps over the years, I knew what I was getting into because I knew what it would take to break my porn issue (I haven’t used them in years, and I’m not saying that my issue is solved), but I didn’t have my activities sent to a pastor, but rather my uncle (whom I was close with at the time) my wife, and a mentor. That is how these apps are supposed to work. You visit some site that is questionable, then it logs that visit and sends it in a periodic email to your partners. Placing a pastor in that position, particularly if they are not close with you, is a recipe for shaming people, which will only dig a person’s hole deeper. Wired found that both of these apps actually violate Google’s policies on the PlayStore. This class of apps exploit the Accessibility API to do things as invasive as taking a screenshot per second for records’ sake, as well as reading the titles or installed apps, not just snooping on search activity or keystrokes. As someone who values privacy, if these things are not spelled out clearly somewhere where it is easy for a person to access and read before they sign up for the service, and each one has a monthly subscription for the honor of mining all of your usage data. Wired actually got Accountable2You suspended from the PlayStore due to their findings. I don’t think that when I was using these apps in the past, they were quite so invasive. It seems to me that they didn’t used to take screenshots or anything like that 6 or 7 years ago. Come on, you guys. Get your act together and stop with being legit spyware. https://www.wired.com/story/covenant-eyes-anti-porn-accountability-monitoring-apps/ #weekendedition #news #porn #accountability #shame #church #spyware #TechFreedom WE 5-5: Protect Yourself from Software Supply Chain Attacks with Wolfi from Chainguard This distro will examine every piece of software in your system to show you what may be weak or vulnerable so that you can correct the issue before you get your system hit with some attack, exploiting bad code somewhere in your stack. Even the feds have taken notice in this area, with the pResident issuing an executive order covering that over a year ago. The truth is that if you are a developer working on a project, you need to redo your foundation with secure code and a secure environment, so that as you add things in, you can see, using a tool like Wolfi, what is good and what isn’t. All so you make sure that your projects are as solid as possible, so that attacks like SolarWinds and NotPetya don’t hit you or your organization with any kind of effectiveness. Make sure that you know what code you are utilizing, rather than just grabbing bits and pieces from everywhere without making sure that they are clean. The illustration used is one of packing up things for longterm storage, if you don’t know what’s in the box, you could be in for a nasty surprise when you open it in the future. Most environments these days are containerized, more or less systems-in-a-box, and we trust these boxes to not be full of malicious code. This is a problem which Wolfi seeks to solve for you. It will inspect each container, down to source code, and give you a readout of what is in there. I’d love to see what an auditor would have to say about this, whether it would be as helpful in real life as this marketing piece seems to make it appear. https://www.wired.com/story/chainguard-wolfi-linux-distribution/ #weekendedition #security #auditing #wolfi #chainguard #TechFreedom Music: Pray by Anno Domini Beats

Halo EAC Being Worked on for Steam Deck Memesplanation GE-Proton 7-35 Released Freed Computer New NVIDIA Driver Out How to Survive Online Without Big Tech FFW 11-1: Easy Anti-Cheat Being Worked on for Steam Deck Great news for gamers who want to continue fighting The Covenant in Halo: The Master Chief Collection on their Steam Deck or Linux Computer: the crew at 343 is on it, they have “ticked the box”, but there is more to it than that. It will be playable soon from the sound of it. Enjoy (soon). https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/09/343-working-on-halo-the-master-chief-collection-anti-cheat-for-steam-deck-linux/ #FFW #fossfun #Linux #linuxgaming #steamdeck #halo #easyanticheat #TechFreedom Miserable or strong? How much energy are you gonna waste (worrying, beating yourself up, etc), vs making yourself better so that you avoid the situation in the future? One is productive, the other simply wastes time and leaves you hollow. Snap out of it. Wasting time beating yourself up benefits no one. Cry your river, build a bridge, and get over it. It is not the end. You still have life to live and likely have people depending on you to live it well. #memesplanation #toughlove #strong #miserable #productive #wasteful #encouragement #TechFreedom FFW 11-2: GE-Proton 7-35 Out Now What’s new? GTA4 fixes wine updated DXVK updated vkd3d updated Persona 4 Golden Fixed If you play any of these titles, they should work even better now. Enjoy. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/09/ge-proton-7-35-out-now-with-more-fixes-for-linux-steam-deck/ #FFW #fossfun #Linux #linuxgaming #proton #gloriouseggroll #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness FFW 11-3: New NVIDIA Driver Released To match up with the latest AMD/Intel drivers in Mesa 22.2, NVIDIA has deigned to give us a new driver. What’s new? For the 20-series and later: Fixed possible excessive power draw on idle xll or Wayland desktop at hires or hirefresh Fixed crash in Xorg when an NvFBC capture session was start when vram was full https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/09/nvidia-linux-driver-51576-is-out-as-is-mesa-222-for-amd-intel/ #FFW #fossfun #NVIDIA #drivers #gfx #Linux #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice Ben's Telegram Channel: https://t.me/christian_pc_consulting Tech Freedom Devotions on Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-1710083

China Blames NSA for Hacking Them DALL-E’s AI Art Generator Now Available For Anyone To Use Zuck Says that Meta Will Be Freezing Hiring and Cutting Costs Newsome Overreaches Again Musk and Twitter Were Goofy, at First...

Fedora to Drop Support for Proprietary Video Codecs in F37 Memesplanation Spiral Linux Update Freedom Consultation Xero Linux, Pretty In Purple? Intro to Tech Freedom DM 27-1: Fedora Dropping Proprietary Video Codecs Wait, what? No more H.264, H.265, and VC-1 support for muh videos? Why? Concern over lawfare that could result from using these codecs without paying for them, which leaves anyone without a proprietary NVIDIA driver to support these codecs in the cold. Older systems may also have more problems. I get why they chose to avoid rather than confront the entertainment industry over using their codecs in linux without paying royalties for it. It still sucks. Sorry, Fedora users. The thing is that where Fedora and Red Hat go, often FOSS seems to follow. Watch for this shift in other distros moving forward. https://news.itsfoss.com/fedora-drops-vaapi-codec/ #distromonday #Fedora #Linux #FOSS #vaapi #codecs #h264 #h265 #vc1 #hmmm #TechFreedom Just do it. If we allow there to be a “try” in our thoughts, then it introduces the possibility of failure, which will create space for that undesired end. If we only “do” and think in terms of “do” vs “try”, we will keep “doing” and learning until we become excellent at whatever it is. So quit “trying”, just “do” whatever it is. Thanks, Yoda. #distromonday #yoda #starwars #justdoit #mindset #language #encouragement #memesplanation #TechFreedom DM 27-2: Spiral Linux Update Debian based distro gets more usable with latest update to 11.5 Stable branch and some bug fixes for the desktop environments: Cinnamon finally got Catfish search utility Budgie got a missing appindicator applet for the system tray GNOME fixed an install issue with calamares causing some systems to hang after install MATE: Menu workarounds for some apps that couldn’t be launched due to lacking sudo privileges Also disabled some bmp-based fonts to assist with rendering updated to the 5.18 kernel, Firefox ESR 102.3, and added SecureBoot, though with some caveats. https://linuxiac.com/spirallinux-updated-built-upon-the-stable-debian-11-5-branch/ #distromonday #SpiralLinux #updates #debian #stable #Linux #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 27-3: XeroLinux… Arch, Pretty in Purple KDE Base on an Arch foundation, and the desktop layout apparently follows Hick’s Law, which relates to the number of stimuli and a person’s reaction time. So the layout seems to follow suit with MacOS, with a global menu on the top bar and a dock at the bottom of the screen. Personally, those things bother me, so I prefer a more traditional PC feel. Three things in their list of goodies stand out to me, though: Synaptic on Arch Flatseal flatpak GUI XeroLinux Config tool (I believe that more distros should have tools like this, as Garuda does) It looks interesting. If I had time, I would test it out… https://www.zdnet.com/article/xerolinux-makes-a-strong-case-for-the-most-beautiful-linux-desktop-on-the-market/ #distromonday #XeroLinux #Arch #hickslaw #pretty #macclone #Linux #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab Devotions Channel Link: https://rumble.com/c/c-1710083

System76 Oryx Pro Updated Memesplanation Valve Is Excited Freed Computer Star Labs StarFighter Coming Soon W/ a Host of Options What to Use Instead of Big Tech FFW 12-1: System 76 Oryx Pro Refreshed New hardware for this boss of a development and content creation workhorse, in the form of a new 4K OLED panel for the 15.6” model. The internals are the same as the previous refresh: a 12700H, RTX 3070 TI and 3080 TI GPU options at the top end. They also moved from DDR4 to DDR5 ram, up to 64 GB. Other than that, it is the same as before. These machines start at $2200, but as you configure it more specifically, that price can climb to nearly $5000 for the tippy top options. My Lord. https://9to5linux.com/system76s-oryx-pro-linux-laptop-gets-a-4k-oled-display-and-ddr5-ram #FFW #FOSSfun #system76 #oryxpro #oled #4k #TechFreedom I would add that each of us needs to remember who has carried us through all of the tough times in the past. Who has always brought us through? God. It may have seemed like you were alone in it all, but you never were. As much as you have walked through, whether you have acknowledged His presence with you along the way or not, He has been with you. So when you doubt that you can make it through, reflect on what He has brought you through until now, meditate on His faithfulness and the fact that you would not be alive now, if He weren’t faithful. #FFW #fossfun #reflect #pause #thankful #faithfulness #memesplanation #TechFreedom FFW 27-2: Valve is Excited Update on the official Steam Deck Dock: more supply problems, though it is being built by a different manufacturer than the Deck itself, but looking forward to annoincing something soon. They are also excited about seeing SteamOS on more devices, and are working hard to get the installer ready to go so that other gaming handhelds can dualboot it with Windows. Pretty sweet for those Deck afficionados out there. I am impressed by what I have seen, but have never been that into handhelds, so different strokes for different folks, I guess. I am solidly behind the Deck, though for its ability to raise awareness and usage of Linux overall. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/09/valve-give-update-on-official-steam-deck-dock-valve-excited-for-steamos-on-more-devices/ #FFW #FOSSfun #steam #steamdeck #news #Linux #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness FFW 27-3: Star Labs Starfighter This sounds like an epic machine, and will come with a 16” 4K, 10-bit, matte, IPS display that also can rotate 180 degrees, and can come with Intel 12th generation processors or up to an AMD 6800H processor, up to 64 GB of DDR5, and up to 8 TB of SSD storage. The only weakness I see, in terms of hardware, is a lack of DGPU options, at least as noted in this article. The price starts at $900 and ranges up to around $3000, so is potentially far more affordable than the Oryx Pro we talked about earlier. https://9to5linux.com/star-labs-shares-more-details-on-its-upcoming-starfighter-4k-linux-laptop #FFW #FOSSfun #starlabs #starfighter #comingsoon #1weekandcounting #preorder #intrigued #dedicatedlinux #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice

Apple to be forced to join the 2020s? Will He, Won’t He? More US Restrictions on Selling Silicon to China? YouTube to Push Narrative-Friendly Health Voices to Combat Wrongspeak AI Bill of Rights? WE 7-1: Will the EU Actually Force Apple to Abandon Lightning? Well, there are a couple of steps for them to make before a 2-year grace period begins on the legislation they just passed, but it looks like the EU will likely be requiring Apple to switch all its connectors starting at the end of 2024, in the interest of convenience and reducing e-waste. Is it good that government can do this sort of thing? On certain levels, yes. On others, such as freedom, no. Should companies be large enough to push governments around? I don’t think so. There needs to be a balance between big business and government, but what that should look like, I don’t know. What do you guys think? https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/4/23387425/european-parliament-iphone-usb-type-c-radio-equipment-directive-lightning-rip #weekendedition #apple #eu #byebyelightning #TechFreedom WE 7-2: Will He, Won’t He? I am tired of talking about Elon Musk and Twitter. The deal is still fraught with difficulties, largely thanks to Elon’s mouth and acerbic fingertips, but he is willing, all of the sudden, to move forward, as long as Twitter drops its lawsuit against him. Why all of the sudden? Is there something that would be made public in discovery that would embarrass him or Twitter even more? Not sure that that would be enough to deter him in the long run for this deal, but who knows? This is a puzzling move on his part, and we won’t know why for quite some time, likely. What do you guys think? Is the whole thing good, or bad? https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/4/23387592/elon-musk-twitter-deal-lawsuit-faq #weekendedition #musk #twitter #TechFreedom WE 7-3: No Silicon For You! US based integrated circuit manufacturers now have to apply for a license from the Commerce Department in order to sell chips and manufacturing equipment to Chinese businesses, as well as tightening bans on others. The reasoning behind these new rules is that the US is trying to hinder China’s ability to compete on the cyber stage, particularly in regard to their sabre rattling over Taiwan. This new set of rules via fiat (in the form of an executive order) dovetails nicely with the CHIPS & Scinece Act, passed a couple of months ago. Intel has broken ground on a new Fab plant in Ohio, untilizing the largesse afforded by the CHIPS Act. This is promising for onshoring these important jobs and manufacturing facilities, which speaks directly to a dream I have, but I won’t talk about that now. https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/7/23392860/biden-semiconductor-chips-intel-micron-china-ohio-science #weekendedition #CHIPSAct #Biden #executiveorders #lockoutchina #TechFreedom WE 7-4: YouTube to Push Pro-Narrative Health Videos *eyeroll* ughhhhh…. YouTube is at it again, and the gatekeepers at The Verge are breathlessly cheerleading for this tampering with information availabiltity. #smh… the problem is that when anyone pulls moves like this, they try to determine what the truth is FOR the public, rather than allowing the public, who are largely adults, mind you, use their own brains and discern truth for themselves. They commit the fallacy of reliance on authority, but the problem with the established authority is that it has been shown to be corrupt and not really interested in the best outcomes for the public, but rather for the bottom lines of the Big Pharma bosses that own them. So, to combat perceived fake news shared through personal health stories by individuals, they are generating “approved” health stories and pushing them through the algorithm. Any of you see problems with this? https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/7/23392802/youtube-personal-stories-health-misinformation #weekendedition #youtube #fakenews #health #gatekeeping #TechFreedom WE 7-5: New WH Guidelines on AI These are voluntary suggestions that the White House has released now, to hopefully curb the misuse of AI for surveillance and other privacy invasions. This is framed as a blueprint for future legislation around a Bill of Rights for AI use, here are the principles laid out: • That people should be protected from systems deemed “unsafe or ineffective;” • That people shouldn’t be discriminated against via algorithms and that AI-driven systems should be made and used “in an equitable way;” • That people should be kept safe “from abusive data practices” by safeguards built in to AI systems and have control over how data about them is used; • That people should be aware when an automated system is in use and be aware of how it could affect them; • That people should be able to opt out of such systems “where appropriate” and get help from a person instead of a computer. Ok, that is a chunk of word salad to parse, isn’t it? Well, let me point out some flaws here… Problem 1: What constitutes an unsafe or ineffective system? Who decides that? Problem 2: What is the defintion of “equity”? Who makes that decision? Problem 3: Who decides what is abusive? Who designs the safeguards? The last two look genuinely beneficial to me… even as a tech guy, I get irritated when I deal with robo-callers and automated phone systems, as they almost never understand me perfectly, and it winds up taking longer to get where I need to go in the system when I am stuck with one of them, vs just an old school push-button system, or being on hold until I can deal with a person. Well, then again, who decides when it is “appropriate” to have an opt-out from an AI / automated system? I can’t imagine a world where these things wind up in a form that is genuinely good for We the People, as so many in congress are controlled by lobbies who have direct ties to the big businesses which would roll out these sorts of solutions. https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/04/tech/ai-bill-of-rights #weeekendedition #Biden #guidelines #AI #TechFreedom How would I sum this week up? Government tries to reign in Big Tech… Big Tech tries to set the record straight on health… Elon renews his offer to Twitter… EU looks to be forcing Apple to ditch the Lightning connector for their phones and tablets in favor of USB-C What could go wrong? Well, it looks like the admin, or Biden’s handlers, at least, are somewhat awake to the need to cut China off from our tech IP, but is it too little, too late? Probably. The thing that has me scratching my head on the China-Taiwan thing is why China hasn’t just pulled the trigger and invaded that tiny island nation yet. Sure, big old Uncle Sam is waiting to smack them away, but with as gutted as our military is, both in terms of numbers and readiness, how effective can we be in protecting our interests in Taipei? This makes it all feel a bit like a theater production, so the act pertaining to Russia and Ukraine has to wind down before the Chinese drama can really begin, so that the world has bandwidth to attend to and care about it. At this point, it seems like everyone is tapped out with the Ukraine propaganda that has been happening for the last 8 months now. Elon, dude, just make up your mind. Whatever you are doing with Twitter, just do it already and quit hogging the limelight already. YouTube and health advice…. Doesn’t everyone know better than to turn there already? Sure people still post health content (and lots of it), but this appeal to authority feels a bit late in coming, particularly since anyone remotely awake is not in a place where they would trust these “authorities” anyway. So much vagary in these guidelines… the language of the 5 principles is about as opaque and intentionally neutered that it could easily be twisted into something opposite of what it states, as it has to be sent through congress and its lobbyists. I don’t trust it any further than I can throw it. What a week, huh?

Linux Lite 6.2 To Release 11/1 Memesplanation Mint 21.1 To Arrive on Christmas Freedom Consultation New Cosmic DE Based on Iced Tuxedo OS Now Available for Everyone DM 28-1: New Version of Linux Lite Out as of Nov 1 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15 LTS Kernel Lightweight XFCE Some changed apps Updated apps & icons https://9to5linux.com/linux-lite-6-2-is-slated-for-release-on-november-1st-based-on-ubuntu-22-04-lts #distromonday #Linux #LinuxLite #Linuxnews #TechFreedom Yes. Yes. Yes. When I am weak, that is when He gets to show out all the more, and get that much more glory for bringing me through. It is ok to be weak before God. It is even ok to be weak in front of our brothers and sisters… as long as they are safe, that is. If they’ll take advantage of your vulerability, don’t show them your weakness. That isn’t the point here, though. The point is that Jesus is more than strong enough to get you through, no matter what the storm is that you’re facing. #distromonday #encouragement #bible #quickie #memesplanation #Jesus #TechFreedom DM 28-2: Merry Chrismas, Mint Lovers! 21.1 Is Slated to Release on Christmas! Not a ton changing under the hood, but here’s what will be new: Driver Manager – can now run in user mode, rather than immediately requiring sudo to launch, better debconf support (Nvidia users, rejoice!), also has better UI, offline support, and a new screen when a liveusb is detected (think of the Broadcom WiFi drivers that have been the bane of many a Debian/Ubuntu derivative distro user) Among other things, like losing the Computer, Trash, and Network Icons from the desktop. https://9to5linux.com/linux-mint-21-1-vera-to-arrive-on-christmas-with-improved-driver-manager-new-iso-verifier #distromonday #Mint #mintyfresh #merrychristmas #Linux #Linuxnews #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 28-3: System76’s All New Cosmic DE is No Longer GTK based… We have no idea when it will be out, and it is just in something akin to very early alpha now, as they are essentially building from scratch. Iced is written in the Rust language, and according to the developers, is far more lightweight and therefore far faster to render the desktop in. Currently, they are working on something akin to libadwaita (GNOME’s widget library) as a basis for the further development work in Iced on the new Cosmic DE (Desktop Environment). The dev team will not commit to deadlines or specific roadmaps (publically), but it looks promising that we might have it by mid-2023, according to the author of this article. This could send shockwaves through the FOSS community, and there could be forks of Cosmic coming, as System76 is something of a power player, at least here in the States. https://linuxiac.com/system76-cosmic-desktop-ditched-gtk-in-favor-of-iced/ #distromonday #system76 #popos #rust #cosmic #iced #FOSS #TechFreedom DM 28 Bonus: Tuxedo OS Now Available to the Rest of Us Tuxedo is a German company who specializes in building Linux-first computers, everything from small form factor, to laptop, to traditional desktop, to rack servers and workstations. They are taking a page from System76’s book and have released their distro for the rest of us to download and run, if we want to. It is Ubuntu-based, which kinda turns me off immediately. It runs KDE as its main DE, which makes me warm up to it just a little, but it is an older KDE version, so you miss out on the newer improvements from more recent versions, but that goes back to the fact that it is Ubuntu-based. It also includes all of Tuxedo’s goodies that they made for their own hardware, which is cool if it works for your system. Notable differences to vanilla Ubuntu include: PipeWire instead of PulseAudio os-prober to detect other Oses on the system No Snaps by default No Cannonical URL in Network Manager Connectivity check May be worth checking out… https://news.itsfoss.com/tuxedo-os/ #distromonday #bonus #Tuxedo #TuxedoOS #Linux #Linuxnews #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab

Debian <3 Proprietary Firmware? Memesplanation Linux 6.0 Released Free Your Internet Dangerous Linux Kernel? TTT 28-1: Debian <3 Proprietary Firmware? Well, not really, but in a departure from 25 years of being staunchly Libre, even being considered the leading proponent of GNU/Linux, the Debian Community has decided to amend their social contract and adopt proprietary WiFi firmware as a part of Debian 12 “Bookworm” which should be out sometime next year. Maybe this pragmatic move will encourage more Ubuntu users who are tired of Canonical’s walled garden, but still love the rest of what Debian has to offer, to move over as it will be easier to install now. Who knows? Time will tell. https://www.makeuseof.com/debian-votes-to-include-non-free-firmware/ #TTT #technews #Linuxnews #GNU/Linux #Debian #TechFreedom Take a breath today. That’s right, you. No matter what noise is happening in your life, you need to know this. If you get still, and become present, you will sense Him at work. He is still the same God who inspired David to write this 3000 years ago. You can still count on Him, even when the shrieking around you is loudest and most shrill. Rest in that. Now. #TTT #technews #Linux #FOSS #TechFreedom TTT 28-2: Linux Kernel 6 Has Now Been Released Here’s what’s new/ different from 5.19: support for Aarch64 (ARM64) huge memory pages without splitting NVME in-band authentication PCI buses in OpenRISC and LoongArch More goodies for RISCV Lots of other stuff that likely won’t affect most of us any time soon, but is cool that it is now in the Linux kernel… https://9to5linux.com/linux-kernel-6-0-officially-released-this-is-whats-new #TTT #Linuxnews #Linux #kernel #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness TTT 28-3: Beware the 5.19.12 Kernel If You Have an Intel Laptop There is a bug in this kernel that can destroy your display panel, as it causes power sequencing delays that can damage, if not kill your LED panel, and it can cause white flashes to appear on screen. If you have this kernel (basically if you are running an Arch or Fedora distro, make sure that you update the kernel ASAP to 5.19.13, or if you don’t need the bleeding edge driver support for something, consider reverting to the LTS kernel, which is based on the 5.15 series now. If the updated kernel is not available to you yet, revert to the 5.15 LTS kernel. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/linux-kernel-update-kills-laptop-displays #TTT #Linux #Linuxnews #alert #kerneltrouble #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

Steam Deck Beta Updates Memesplanation NVK Driver Released Freed Computer New Linux-Native Titles on Steam FFW 13-1: New Updates for Steam Deck Make it Even Better What are they? A client update and an OS update. What do they do? Make external display usage better by: Allowing for independent refresh rates between internal and external displays Moving refresh rate controls to the Settings menu from the quick access menu Made it so that you can move that refresh rate back to the quick access menu if you are a developer Home screen performance improved SteamInput configs fixed to alleviate crashes Reduced doulbe-activations on touchpads and sticks Fixed crash in RDR 2 Improved hot-plug detection for external displays These are Beta Updates, so be careful unless you are a power user. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/10/steam-deck-beta-updates-fix-red-dead-redemption-2-and-external-screen-changes/ #FFW #Steamdeck #Steam #updates #gaming #TechFreedom The end is the Best. We win. God wins. The world is made new and whole again. You may not win the fight you’re in, but the war is already won. Jesus won it for you. Walk in that Truth. Grow into victory, learn from the little defeats, and reclaim that ground so that the Enemy can’t keep coming at you successfully in the same ways, moving forward. Seal that victory, prove it. Grow into it. #fossfun #encouragement #bible #godwins #amen #memesplanation #TechFreedom FFW 13-2: NVK is Here, Sort Of! New Open Source Vulkan Driver for Nvidia on Linux It is a work in progress, but work is happening quickly, and hopefully this will lead to far more sooner, rather than later. Right now, it only works for the 20 and 30-series cards, and is not 100% ready for those, but I am excited for the prospect of better Nvidia drivers being actively developed by the team at MESA, but also others who will hopefully put some time into the project soon. https://www.collabora.com/news-and-blog/news-and-events/introducing-nvk.html #FFW #Vulkan #MESA #Nvidia #FOSS #Linux #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness FFW 13-3: New Linux-Native Games for Steam There were a total of 33 games released with native Linux clients between 9/28 and 10/5. This is out of a total of 313 titles. More than 10% of all new Steam games were released for Linux. We’ll chat about a few of them below: This article covers 5 that piqued its’ author’s interest: Some are 2D platformers, some are 3D and Rogue-like in nature. None of which really appeal to me at this point, but mayby they will tickle your fancy. Midnight Manor A spooky platformer, by an indie solo developer. Astrogon A precision platformer with multiplayer, where you dash, jump, and aim your way to the teleport portal at the end of each level. MYCORRHIZA A horror based visual novel, so if you are into horror manga, this may scratch an itch for you. Words Can Kill A roguelike deck building game, where you collect letters and put together words to form the best possible gear. Tactics are more important than vocabulary, here. Despot’s Game: Dystopian Battle Simulator An RPG/ Strategy, roguelike dungeon crawler where you equip your team and guide them through meatgrinder PVE and PVP levels. Excavation of Hob’s Barrow Set in an isolated corner of Victorian England, you are tasked with uncovering the secrets of Hob’s Barrow. It is a 2D horror-adventure game. https://boilingsteam.com/new-steam-games-with-native-linux-clients-2022-10-05-edition/ #FFW #Steam #Linux #Linuxgaming #newgames #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice

China Hobbled? Elon Investigated? TX and FL Social Media Laws Ok? 5G Affects Radar Based Altimeters? Robotaxis: Would You Trust One? WE 8-1: Biden Chip Ban Working Already? Analysts say yes… believe that latest rules will hobble China’s largely nascent domestic chip industry, which has been dependent on US tech to get it moving in the right direction. Not only are our chips themselves needing a license to export, but anything designed or made using US-built or developed tools also needs a license to sell to China at all. I would have to do some more digging to confirm one way or the other, whether my guess last week when I covered this story the first time was really just my bias against Biden coming through. Is this about trying to force the CCP to snap on us? Is that even a wise move? I don’t know, you guys. Was the expert that CNBC dug up legit? Has it even been long enough for anyone to pass judgment on it? Time will tell. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/12/us-chip-export-restrictions-could-hobble-chinas-semiconductor-goals.html #weelendedition #Bidenbans #nochipsforchina #isitworking #whoknows #TechFreedom WE 8-2: Are the feds Looking at Elon? Is Twitter just throwing shade and smoke, as Musk’s lawyer claims? He believes that it has to do with the Zatko situation that seems to support Elon’s original reasoning for trying to back out of the deal. Twitter is also claiming that Zatko destroyed a bunch of evidence as well, but he was not told to do that. More drama. I am so tired of this story, can we just finish it already? The judge did pause the proceedings when Musk’s side offered to pick up the deal as it was originally set, at a ridiculous $54.20/share. Twitter was always over-valued, in my opinion, particularly since it was only profitable at all for two years, from Q1 2018-Q1 2020, to my knowledge. That is a very brief window. Given that reality, Musk’s offer was a bit ridiculous from the get go. I know that net profits do not tell the whole story for a company or business, but come on, man. https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/13/tech/elon-musk-investigation-twitter #weekendedition #musk #twitter #legalnonsense #drama #eyeroll #ohbrother #TechFreedom WE 8-3: Will the Texas Law constraining Social Media from Banning and Shadow-banning People Stand? Precedent says that it is likely to be overturned by the SCOTUS. The Texas Circuit Court upheld theirs, but the same level of court in Florida, where a similar bill was also signed into law, was struck down. Which court was correct? Is it in the government’s purview to interfere, here? Is it constitutional? On principle, I have to go with what will give us a smaller government, because the scariest phrase known to man, to paraphrase Reagan, is, “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” The government, and its overreach and excessive growth and overall size has been a theme through all of my Weekend Edition shows so far, hasn’t it? On that principle, I have to agree with the 11th Circuit on this, as much as I want Big Tech to hurt for the pain and suffering they have caused creators and users who do not toe the line for the last couple of years, at least. If I allow my feelings, and if we allow our feelings to govern our minds, then how are we any better than the regressive Left? Answer, as unfortunate as it seems to be, is that we would not be any better. We would be the same. We need to be the adults in the room, the mature people who can think, not just do what feels good RIGHT NOW, but consider carefully what the long term fruit of snap decisions might be, before we pass something. https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/13/tech/texas-social-media-pause #weekendedition #socialmedia #Texas #Florida #longterm #longgame #TechFreedom WE 8-4: Is 5G Dangerous to Civil Aviation? There have been studies funded by both those supporting the rollout (the FCC) and those who are concerned about the safety (the FAA). The FCC is pushing for the rollout and downplays any link between the new tech and the problems with altimeters, however, the FCC study concluded that the C band 5G radio transmissions were too close to where these altimeters function, in terms of frequency. They found that it being less than 1 GHz between the top of the C band spectrum and the entirety of the radar altimeters’ function could cause dangerous interference with the systems in most civilian aircraft. Between January and May, there were 93 reports of faulty or failing radar altimeters, where, according to the article there would typically be a handful. All this stated, you know me well enough by now, that I am not into causing fear in my viewers, but this topic stood out to me, as I don’t necessarily trust 5G as a whole anyway, but I want to try to be fair. The FAA has created a reporting system for pilots and crews to state their experiences with 5G flying. Over 550 reports have been filed to date, and they have had a chance to process about half of those, of that half, about 80 incidents were impossible to rule out 5G interference as a factor in. That seems like pretty strong evidence, to me. The FAA made a deal with Verizon & AT&T to reimplement more mitigations for this issue, including not activating towers within a 1 mile radius of any airport, and after that, the incident reports have been reduced in volume. This speaks to a strong correlation, in my mind at any rate. https://spectrum.ieee.org/faa-5g #weekededition #FAA #FCC #flying #5G #TechFreedom WE 8-5: Robotaxis? Would You Ride in One? This article is an interview with the CEO of Motional, which is working with a group of partner-companies to roll out fleets of robotaxies. As dangerous as driving is for a normal, unimpaired human being, and with where I understand the self-driving/ autonomy tech to be right now, it is hard to wrap my head around a world where I would simply and gladly ride in a driverless vehicle. They are looking at a phased rollout, where first they would use their partnership with Hyundai to ship assisted vehicles to companies like Lyft and Uber, and for a time, until certain metrics were met and exceeded, there would still be a driver at the wheel for these vehicles. So as much as they are looking at a long game here, they are also looking at rolling out fleets first, first with partners like Lyft and Uber, then with car rental companies, until both the tech has matured, and we, like frogs in a slowly heated pot, are used to the feeling of not being in control of our vehicles, and will be more open to purchasing a car that is not designed to be driven by a person at all. Does that sound like a good future to you? This feels a bit dystopian to me, even as a tech guy. I used to dream of autopilot and taking concepts from SciFi and moving it into the here and now, but then the stark reality of surrendering something as basic as driving to a computer hit me, and how easily that could be tweaked by some joker in a government office building, or even worse, an actuary. *shudder shudder* Is that what you want? Maybe I just have control issues, but I don’t know… that just seems stupid in a particularly monumental way. You tell me. https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/13/inside-motionals-strategy-to-bring-robotaxis-to-market/ #weekendedition #selfdriving #lyft #uber #hyundai #motional #driverless #taxi #yikes #TechFreedom Wrap up: Ok, so from a very hopeful view on the high tech export rules for China, to more Musk-Twitter drama, to whether government should be big enough to tell companies what they should or should not censor online, to 5G and aviation, to whether driverless vehicles are a good idea at all… this week has been packed to the gills with some major stories. What do I think about the Biden chip ban? Time will tell whether this move will be a net help or a net hurt for us. In the short term, we may realize some benefits to this, in that China will have to work harder to catch up, but they have some relatively strong silicon there already, otherwise why is the Linux Kernel including support for their LoongArch RISC-V processors? Might it also be edging us ever closer to open conflict with Beijing? Again, time will tell. Twitter is claiming that Musk is being investigated by the SEC for some incorrect filings when he first fielded this insane offer to buy the platform, this after the judge granted a postponement of the trial because Musk decided to change his mind about renewing his initial offer at $54.20/ share. That never sat right with me from the get-go though, that valuation never made sense to me. What do you guys think? I’m not convinced that Musk is the saviour that some try to paint him as… not even convinced that he is really that much of a genius, just shrewd enough to figure out how to play with the government’s money to line his own pockets. Sorry if that offends you, but what proof do you have that he is either a goof guy or that he is really as smart as we are led to believe? Oooohhhh, I want to see social media giants levelled. The way that they have mostly destroyed so many voices for truth in the last few years…. However, on principle, and taking a few steps back to look at the bigger picture here, I think, I am unconvinced that these efforts in FL & TX are the right way to go about fixing the problem of censorship, particularly since big Tech was in cahoots with at least the Federal gov’t in relation to Convid and J6, at the very least, if not about information related to Q things as well. Why don’t we “silent majority” types simply stop using these platforms altogether anyway? Why keep feeding the beast with more attention and money? Let’s ditch all of those accounts. Likely the people you were interacting with on Fakebook and Twatter aren’t genuine friends anyway, so would it really be a loss to stop talking with them from time to time? I would wager that the answer is likely a No… for those of you who are surviving with your business on Meta, due to ads and analytics, that seems like more of a significant loss, but is it really? How is your reach in comparison with before? Are you getting as much attention on your posts and ads and stories? Is 5G dangerous? It would appear that to commercial and private aviation, at least, it can be. The C band transmissions appear to interfere with autopilot capabilities and even something as basic as an altimeter, which until the rollout for 5G started a couple of years ago, were reliable. The FCC and Big Mobile were wrangling for a fast rollout, but the FAA, has pressed for lengthened mitigations around airports to increase safety, at least for another 6 months or so. What the point of that short timeframe is, I’m not sure. However, it, along with a study they commissioned, and first hand accounts and reports from pilots and crews about their instruments and autopilot systems being thrown way off when they are around 5G signals. Another strike against 5G? You decide. Finally, about driverless taxis… nah, I’ll pass. Even when the tech is fully mature, I don’t see myself being comfortable in a vehicle that I cannot directly control in a physical way. Am I the only weird tech person who doesn’t like that idea? Who else controls that computer? Will we be able to drive as usual as well, or just be relegated to being passengers, taken for a ride by a computer? That doesn’t sit well with me. How about you? Oh my, what a week… China, Musk, Twitter, Social Media Censorship, and self-driving vehicles… so much to say, but that is a wrap for the week. Enjoy watching a bit of Dune 2000 again shortly, and by the way, on Sunday, we will be continuing our walk through Psalm 37. In other news, if you like the content, please feel free to subscribe and toss me a rumble. Also, feel free to leave me a comment or any questions you may have, and I will do my best to answer them all. Thanks for watching the Weekend Edition from Tech Freedom. The music is We Are All One, by Scott Music, and the game was Dune 2000, by Westwood Studios. Be Blessed until next time, and don’t forget, “Let’s go Brandon”.

Redcore Linux, based on Gentoo, releases version 22.01 Memesplanation KaOS 22.10 Released Freedom Consultation New Protocol for ProtonVPN Released DM 29-1: What is Redcore Linux, Anyway? Redcore is based on that Linux branch that is probably least user friendly: Gentoo. Suffice it to say, you probably shouldn’t try it unless you are a masochistor an expert, but here is what is new: KDE 5.25.5 KDE Gear 22.08.1 KDE Frameworks 5.98.0 Browser Updates for all major browsers (Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Vivaldi, and Edge) LibreOffice 7.3.6 5.15 LTS Kernel And Much More, of Course https://linuxiac.com/gentoo-based-redcore-linux-2201-released-with-plasma-5-25/ #distromonday #gentoo #Linux #updates #redcorelinux #TechFreedom Truth. Straight from the Bible. What does it mean? No matter what is going on in your life or in the world around you, God has your back. He will help you through whatever it is, and has probably made the situation better for you already, even if you can’t see it right now. Tap into that strength. Step into that refuge by choosing to trust Him. Give Him the problems you’re seeing. Trust that He has it in hand already, and let Him handle it, His way. Do whrat He says to do, rather than what your flesh may be screaming to do. #Bible #Scripture #refuge #God #strength #encouragement #memesplanation #TechFreedom DM 29-2: KaOS 2022.10 Released The team behind this indie distro, inspired by Arch, has been hard at work. Here’s what you can expect: Rolling Release Latest KDE Stuff, as it is kind of the Arch realm’s answer to KDE Plasma Calamares Updates to Make Installs Even More Painless Using ZFS, XFS, or Ext4 Dracut vs mkinitcpio for boot automation 5.19.13 kernel LibreOffice instead of Calligra https://linuxiac.com/kaos-2022-10/ #distromonday #Linux #KaOS #updates #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 29-3: Proton VPN has a new Protocol to Beat Censorship Stealth VPN via obfuscation. How does it do this? A novel form of TLS tunneling to make your VPN connection look and behave like a normal internet connection, so that you get past your country’s attempts to block you from seeing certain information. Even though it is doing all of this extra stuff to protect you, it does not take a speed hit due to Proton’s VPN accelerator technology. Honestly, this article is a thinly veiled marketing fluff piece. The Feature is only available for Android, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Windows users should get it soon, but no mention of Linux. Come on, Proton. On the other hand, you can use it on the free tier if you wish. Nice touch. https://news.itsfoss.com/protonvpn-stealth/ #distromonday #security #protonvpn #cool #limited #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab

JS API Vulnerability Found Memesplanation More KDE Goodies With KDE Gear 22.08.2 Free Your Internet VirtualBox 7.0 Released TTT 29-1: Uh oh, More trouble in Java-land? This vulnerability has to do with search timings for npm, the package manager for JavaScript. Here’s what happens: An attacker could probe a system for files that do not exist multiple times in rapid succession, even if a 404 error is returned to the attacker. It causes 100s of ms lag to occur in the search timing, slowing all other requests down and comparing the results of those operations. This lag allows the attack to be automated. Bottom line, as I understand it, this probably won’t or doesn’t affect you much, unless you are a developer who works with JaveScript. https://www.esecurityplanet.com/threats/vulnerable-api-exposes-private-npm-packages/ #TTT #vulnerabilities #JavaScript #npm #timing #TechFreedom Piggybacking on yesterday’s idea, Allow the Lord to fight for you today. Let Him be your Good, Good Father. He wants to step in and fight for you, if you’ll put your weapons down and rest in Him. He will avenge you. Quit getting in His way. Be blessed in the knowledge that He will fight for you, today. If He tells you to do something, do it. If not, step back and watch Him rectify the situation for you. #Bible #exodus #God #rest #encouragement #memesplanation #TechFreedom TTT 29-2: KDE Gear 22.08.2 Out NFixes and Tweaks Here’s what’s new: Samba 4.16, so that you can connect more easily with Windows Network Shares from Dolphin Ark – restored compatibility with 7-zip KDE Connect – Fix crash when no audio devices are detected Falkon – User Agent Manager FireFox Version Kdenlive – remember keyframe status, seek to item’s last fram on paste in timeline, allow effects overlay to scale when you zoom on your display Many, many more, would be here all day reading them all off, but take a look at the changelog, lnked in the article, if you want to know more. https://9to5linux.com/kde-gear-22-08-2-adds-7-zip-and-samba-4-16-or-later-compatibility-many-bug-fixes #TTT #KDE #KDEGear #updates #goodstuff #lotsoffixes #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness TTT 29-3: Oracle Releases VirtualBox 7.0 What is new in this version? Fully encrypted Virtual Machines via CLI DXVK Support for Linux/BSD/ MacOS hosts Secure Boot Support in EFI IOMMU Support for Both Intel and AMD Virtual TPM 1 & 2 Support Better Theme Support for GUI App in Linux “Top” type system manager utility to keep tabs on running VMs Can now disable screen savers on Host Machine form VirtualBox Better Audio Recording, with OGG Vorbis as the default format for webm containers Lots, lots more… https://9to5linux.com/virtualbox-7-0-released-with-dxvk-and-secure-boot-support-full-encryption-and-more #TTT #Linux #VirtualBox #updates #version7 #goodstuff #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

New Proprietary Driver From NVIDIA Memsplanation SteamDeck Updates CyberTD Game For Linux Freed Computer FFW 14-1: NVIDIA 520.56.06 Driver Out Now for Linux To counterpoint the development work that MESA is doing with the NVK Driver I talked about last week, NVIDIA has realeased their latest offering, here’s what’s new: OTA Updates for Proton and WINE NVIDIA NGX builds. Not Automatically enabled, so you have to tweak the environment variable Updates in Vulkan Driver to allow loading certain key bits without depending on the nvidia kernel module Bug Fix for Vulkan to deal with corruption in geometry and tessellation control shaders Nvidia-installer updates New CUDA Debugger implementation for everything since Pascal https://9to5linux.com/nvidia-520-56-06-graphics-driver-brings-support-for-ota-updates-in-proton-and-wine #FFW #NVIDIA #newdriver #Linux #gamingonlinux #TechFreedom Find a way to have some joy on this Wednesday. Another week is halfway over, God is Good, whether we see it right now or not. Remember His faithfulness, and how He has brought you through thus far. You are still breathing, your heart is still beating. You can think. You can move. You are able to adjust to life. None of this would be the case if it weren’t for His hand on your life. Choose to focus on that constellation of truths, and you will start to experience joy, even in the midst of the dark times that this country is stumbling through right now. #FFW #Bible #joy #strength #encouragement #memesplanation #TechFreedom FFW 14-2: More Steam Deck Updates What’s new, if you’re on the beta or preview channels with your Deck? If you have new chats from friends, game invites, or voice chat invitations, the Quick Access menu will automatically open to the notifications tab so that you can more easily respond to them. You can now accept game invites in the footer of the notification Fixed a bug where a long user name or chat title could break the layout of the chat screen Longer videos possible for the boot animation Controller-specific glyphs now on the Lock Screen Fixed a couple of on-screen keyboard issues: if you put the device to sleep with it up, you;d have to manually dismiss it on waking the device, and made it so that toggling the OSK while already typing something with the OSK no longer breaks things. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/10/steam-deck-beta-update-tweaks-notifications-boot-video-length-upped-to-30-seconds/ #FFW #Steam #steamdeck #updates #qualityoflife #refining #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness FFW 14-3: CyberTD Tower Defense with a Tron Twist You are tasked with defending the core of cyberspace from the onslaught of mutant viruses, with the help of 140 different upgrades for your towers, along with a split-personality drone who may help you. Boss fights will be a real challenge and will present unique situations. Sounds like fun if you like those kinds of games. It will be available on Steam starting next year. https://linuxgamenews.com/ #FFW #games #Linux #towerdefense #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice My Brother's Telegram Channel (He'll help you part out and build a small form factor Linux computer that'll smoke most pre-built computers): https://t.me/christian_pc_consulting

Ebola’s Back, Let the Election Scare Commence! India Fines Google Elon to Fire 75% of Twitter Staff Snap Growth Slow? Texas Sues Google? WE 9-1: Ebola “Strikes” in Uganda Again… Just in Time for a US Midterm Scare The first reported case was on September 15, in Uganda, after a 24-year-old man was admitted to Mubende Regional Referral Hospital with fever and convulsions. It was found to be the Sudan strain, which has no vaccine. I am not downplaying the potential deadliness of Ebola. However, we seem to have a major illness outbreak about every 2 years, almost like clockwork… this article does not touch that reality, but does observe that Ebola has flared up repeatedly in Africa over the last 40 years. With the current outbreak, there have been as many deaths as recoveries, which is interesting, but not necessarily surprising, as it does generally have a 50% mortality/ survivability rate. For now, it is simply another african outbreak, and the Ugandan government seems to have a handle on it via contact tracing and quarrantines. https://www.wired.com/story/uganda-ebola-outbreak-vaccine/#intcid=_wired-verso-hp-trending_309a8033-e2fd-40e0-a89d-bc7da4f491dd_popular4-1 #weekendedition #Ebola #electionflu #scaretactics #realtalk #thinkaboutit #TechFreedom WE 9-2: India Stands Up to Google, Fines Them $162 million for Anti-competitive Practices Oh no, our corporate overlords are getting fined again! Another fine? Whatever will we do? Will they survive all of this legal scrutiny? How could they ever do anything wrong? Anti-trust? Anti-competitive? No Way… Indian competiton regulator slaps Google with fine for Android-related infractions. The fact that Google requires OEMs to not only preinstall the entire Google App Suite, but to place it prominently on all Android devices. They also found, after a 3.5 year investigation, that A) Google has squashed competition in the Search space, even to the point of denying market access to competitors B) Leveraged its position in the app store market to protect its search interests (and mine more data that way) C) Used its position to defacto push Chrome browser as the best option D) Used its position to stifle other video platforms via its stranglehold on the Android OS and app store ecosystem E) By forcing the preinstallation of its suite of mobile apps, specifically forcing maufacturers to sign license agreements about the Play Store, Google has hindered the growth of Android forks and other alternative mobile OSes by reducing the ability and incentive for handset manufacturers to branch out, even if they wanted to. According to the Indian watchdog, all of these things add up to this fine that they are leveraging now. Google is suing due to leaks that happened about a year ago, claiming that the watchdog “broke confidence”. Governments around the world are finally waking up to the dangers of Google. Halellujah! Amen. Let’s bring them down, boys. Remember the $4.3 billion fine in the EU? They lost their appeal, so will have to cough it up. Their hegemony needs to be shattered. We need our privacy and our rights to choose back. I could go into a diatribe on this, but you all know where I stand and what I have to offer, so I won’t. https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/20/india-fines-google-162-million-for-anti-competitive-practices-on-android/ #weekendedition #India #Google #antitrust #anticompetitive #fines #abouttime #TechFreedom WE 9-3: Elon to Cut 75% of Twitter Workforce? This article is very sympathetic to the platform as it is. They cite concerns over the stress levels of current staff, as well as moderation, safety, and security concerns which would not be served by such drastic cuts. The writer suggests that Musk was just talking to bankers or investors who might be helping him to acquire the company, and would only be interested in making sure that it is as profitable as possible, therefore deep staffing cuts would seems appealing to them. It looks like the drama might finally be at an end, though, as the deal looks set to close by next Friday. I look forward to talking about other things, frankly. This story dragged on for too long, IMO. https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/20/elon-musk-twitter-layoffs-wapo/ #weekendedition #musk #twitter #done #almostclosed #wewillsee #whitehat #bigquestions #TechFreedom WE 9-4: Snapchat Growth Slowing? No More Advertisers? During its Q3 earnings call, Snap Inc reported itsslwoest quarterly sales growth ever. Advvertisers are not spending as much on ads with the current economy, and once stockholders caught wind of this, shares tumbled 20% in late trading. This is not to say that they didn’t grow. They still grew by an eyewatering $1.13 Billion in Q3. Wow. Just wow. Snap is tightening their belt,soto speak, by cutting up to 20% of their workforce, people who aren’t contributing to either revenue, user, or AR growth. I used Snapchat a little bit a few years ago, but never really got into it. The 1 minute timelimit was too tough for me to live with (can’t imagine why, can you?)... We are so jaded as the public and as investors that when growth numbers aren’t where we want them to be, even if only by a small percentage, we run for the hills. Wow. I knew this, but it is stunning when a company misses their projections by one hundredth of a billion in expected growth, that so many would just give up on them. I also have to wonder how much of that was simply institutional whales and various funds (mutual and hedge) vs individual investors on a mom & pop retail level. https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-10-20/snap-reports-slowest-quarterly-sales-growth-ever-as-advertisers-retreat #weekendedition #snap #snapchat #growth #cuts #market #stonks #TechFreedom WE 9-5: Texas Sues Google Again? Another Alphabet lawsuit? However could our benevolent digital overlords do anything to infringe on our digital rights? I have never heard of such a thing… Google is always innocent. Oh wait, that is STRONG sarcasm… if a government is taking issue with their practices, it is because they have been utterly eggregious in flouting the laws and regulations around those practices. Either that, or they are trying to pander to their constituents, who are starting to wake up to the abuses… either way, it is a net positive. That is what my emotions say… I do still question the size of the government in general, as I talk about most weeks. What is going on here? Well, Texas is alleging that Google gathered biometric data on Texas citizens illicitly, through facial recognition, voiceprints, and other biometirc identifiers, without explicit consent from the users. Included in the number they are asking for is up to $25,000 per violation. There are potentially millions of people who would be party to this suit and could collect on it, should the courts agree with Paxton’s team. https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/texas-sues-google-for-allgedly-collecting-and-using-biometric-data-without-explicit-consent/ #weekendedition #Google #Alphabet #privacy #Texas #agpaxton #biggov #BigTech #TechFreedom

DM 30-1: What’s New In Ubuntu? You all know by now that I am not a fan of Canonical. However, I need to touch this, at least for the sake of the fact that I know many people use Ubuntu based distros, if not official spins. So what can you expect if you upgrade from 22.04? Ubuntu Unity – first release as officially sanctioned Ubuntu flavor. Unity was what I cut my teeth on in the Linux world, about 9 years ago. The funny thing with this is that it more or less completes the circle, as Unity started its life as a Canonical-developed desktop environment. If you like the Purple and orange color scheme and you are using Ubuntu anyway, give it a look. Kubuntu – the KDE flavor of Ubuntu.. a bit of a let-down here, as they opted to go with Plasma 5.25.5, rather than 5.26, so if you choose to go with this flavor, you will miss out on those rather sizeable improvements. UB Studio – also KDE based, but with lots of bells & whistles for creatives baked right in. The cool thing with this release is that now, you can more easily select which aspects of creative software you want, right in the installer, rather than forcing you to install all of it, whether you want to or not, and they slimmed down the iso, so that is a bonus. Xubuntu – the XFCE flavor gets the newest version of XFCE and some more theming options, as well as tweks to core apps. Light, but takes work to make it nice, UI wise. Don’t be fooled by the About XFCE panel, here, it is 4.17, a development snapshot of 4.18, which will be released soon. Lubuntu – the LXQT flavor, comes with the latest version of LXQT, without confusion. Uibuntu MATE – Latest MATE desktop, apps, etc… If you love MATE you will probably enjoy this. Switched to Pipewire for audio, just as the Budgie flavor did. Ubuntu Budgie – All the latest Ubnuitu goodness with the latest Budgie desktop over the top of it. MATE and Budgie are similar, in that they are both forks of GNOME, just as XFCE and Cinnamon are. They are working from earlier iterations, mostly prior to GNOME 3.2. Each one has their strengths and weaknesses Finally, we come to the Kylin flavor – this is, if I recall, developed in China, with a decidedly Win10 flavor. This will look very familiar to newcomers by default, however, I would urge care in that it comes form China. Yes, it is FOSS, but still, be careful. https://9to5linux.com/ubuntu-22-10-official-flavors-released-heres-whats-new #distromonday #Ubuntu #flavors #Unity #KDE #XFCE #LXQT #MATE #Budgie #Kylin #Linux #Canonical #TechFreedom Breathe that in. Peace. It is yours, whether you feel you deserve it or as though you could never attain it, it is yours, from the hand of Jesus. I know that things look very different from how any sane person would want them to right now, but you can have peace, or “cozy” even when you are in the thick of it, wondering what or how to do next. Peace in knowing the One who controls it all, the One who runs the show, and KNOWING that He is GOOD. #distromonday #memesplanation #Bible #encouragement #peace #rest #storms #cozy #TechFreedom DM 30-2 – Debian & Ubuntu Kernel Updated, Fixes 17 Security Holes What’s going on, here? Alright, here’s what got fixed: CVE-2022-3176 and 2602, flaws in the io_uring subsystem which could lead to local privilege escalation (in other words, things that shouldn’t have had the rights to alter your system did, under these flaws, a big deal on servers and in enterprise infrastructure) CVE-2022-40307 which could lead to either privilege escalation or to denial of service, either in the form of a crash or memory corruption CVE-2022-20421 which could lead to privilege escalation CVE-2022-39188 which could lead to either privilege escalation or to a denial of service CVE-2022-39842, a video driver issue which could lead to a memory heap-out-of-bounds write through an integer overflow error CVE-2022-41674, 42719, 42720, 42741, and 42722, which could lead to security holes in the WiFi driver stack, and each could lead to either a denial of service or an arbitrary code execution on the affected machines. CVE-2022-3303 issue in the audio subsystem which could cause a denial of service CVE-2022-3061 issue in the i-740 driver which could also cause a denial of service CVE-2022-2663 flaw in connection tracking system which, when connected to a firewall, could allow a user on another computer on the same network to open TCP ports and revealk the public IP address, of to block their connection altogether CVE-2021-4037 issue in the XFS filesystem which could allow local users to be exposed to bad actors through privilege escalation by making a plain file executable CVE-202-0171 a cache incoherence issue in the KVM subsystem that could lead to a denail of service CVE-2022-1184 a flaw in the EXT4 driver that could lead to a use-after-free (an error in memory allocation) that could allow an attacker to hack in and cause a denial of service or a p[rivilege escalation. That was allot of techspeak, but we kinda knew that would be the case, here… long story short: they made the Debain and Ubuntu LTS kernels that much better and safer for users. https://9to5linux.com/debian-and-ubuntu-users-get-kernel-security-updates-to-fix-recent-wi-fi-stack-flaws #distromonday #Debian #Ubuntu #kernel #Linux #betterallthetime #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 30-3 – Linus Torvalds Announces First Release Candidate for the 6.1 Kernel Wow… I guess development never sleeps. They just released the 6.0 kernel less than a month ago, and here we are with the first release candidate for 6.1, which will be the fisrt Linux kernel to have parts written in the Rust programming language, which is supposed to be more secure and simpler to write in than the C’s are. Cool stuff, on a purely nerdy level here. How will this affect most of you? It likely won’t for a while at least, but I thought it was worth mention. https://9to5linux.com/linus-torvalds-announces-first-linux-kernel-6-1-release-candidate #distromonday #Linux #kernel #linuxnews #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab

TTT 30-1 – USB Storage Access in VirtualBox? Here’s How… Step 1: Install VirtualBox Step 2: Download the Extension Pack for All Supported Platforms Step 3: Install it then in Vbox, click File>Tools>Extension Pack Manager > Install button on the toolbar and pick the file you just downloaded in step 2 Step 4: After it installs (you’ll need to input your password to install it) Restart the whole computer, not just Vbox Step 5: Plug in a flash drive to the physical computer Step 6: Start Vbox, Right Click the VM that you wish to access that resource from, click Settings in that menu Step 7: In the Left Pane, Click on USB, then pick the controller version and click the small + icon to add a filter At this point, you should see a list of USB devices that are plugged in. pick the name of the device you pluged in earlier and click OK. Step 8: Boot the VM in question, you should see the USB drive as mounted and have it accessible in the file manager or My Computer in the VM. Good stuff, y’all. Enjoy having USB access in your VM’s. https://www.debugpoint.com/enable-usb-virtualbox/ #TTT #VirtualBox #how-to #USBstorage #virtualmachines #TechFreedom Most of the time I need to be reminded to look up from my problems. I have a tendency… I don’t know if anyone else out there does too… but I have a tendnecy to get myopic on my problems in a bid to solve them. This only magnifies the problems in my life. I need to look up. I have done better lately with this, but still need this reminder. Let me know if you’re in that camp as well. #TTT #Memesplanation #encouragement #faith #psalm121 #lookup #TechFreedom TTT 30-2 – How to use WebSSH to control your PC Remotely This is, of course not VNC or a GUI based remote, but it is a simpler way to SSH into one of your machines or servers remotely. If you want a blow-by-blow, click the link and scroll through the article. Here is a summary Step 1: Install Python and PIP on your machine Step 2: Install WebSSH by running the following command: pip install webssh Step 3: Run WebSSH by typing wssh in your terminal (if working with another user on a local machine) or wssh --fbidhttp=False for a remote machine 1. Allow webssh through your firewall 2. Access your remote machine or server insecurely through http Step 4: Find the SSL Certificate for your domain and add it to webssh Step 5: Run it Behind Nginx Reverse Proxy Step 6: Create a WebSSH Systemd File so that you can have it run automatically at boot time That was allot, thanks for sticking around through all of that. https://www.linuxshelltips.com/webssh-connect-linux-terminal-browser/ #TTT #SSH #webssh #browser #remoteaccess #howto #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft TTT 30-3 – How to Repeat Your Last Terminal Command in Linux 1. BangBang or !! 1. This will immediately re-run the very last typed command once you hit enter… say you need to add a sudo to the command, all you have to do is type sudo !! after the next prompt 2. To sort for a more specific command, type ! And the first letters of the command in question, then hit enter, and the last command that started with those letters will be re-run 1. for example if you ran a uname command to find out which kernel you’re running, and you wanted to re-run that command you would type !un which will re-execute that command 3. If you want to interactively search through your command line history, simply open the terminal, press ctrl+R and search for a piece of your desired command, hit the right arrow key to auto complete the command or simply hit enter to execute that command. 4. Use the !-# formulation 1. !-1 will run the most recently typed command, and on back, so if you recall how long ago you ran a given command, you can easily run it again this way 5. CTRL+P and CTRL+O 1. CTRL+P will switch to the most recently-run command, and CTRL+O will run it 6. fc command 1. type fc -s and your most recently typed command will be re-run just like that https://ostechnix.com/5-ways-repeat-last-command-linux/ #TTT #terminal #terminalhax #hax #Linux #Linuxhax #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

FFW 15-1 – NVIDIA Backs Down? Man, things just are not going NVIDIA’s way these days… sure they have a killer card in the 4090, but their attempted fast one in naming what should have been the 4070 the 4080 12 GB blew up in their faces, so they “unlaunched” it, officially. Also there are rumors that the 4090 Ti will suffer a similar fate after it has reportedly been literally melting down during testing… not only tripping breakers by itself, but melting PSUs, and sometimes itself, according to Moore’s Law Is Dead on YouTube. All this after EVGA, one of the oldest AIB partners closed that chapter in the last couple of months. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/10/nvidia-qunlaunchingq-the-rtx-4080-12gb-apparently-4090-ti-cancelled-due-to-melting/ #FFW #NVIDIA #badnews #unlaunched #what #TechFreedom Not scripture, but true, nonetheless. St Augustine may have had his issues, but he knew the Lord well. He knew from experience, running like the prodigal son as his mom prayed inceasantly for him back at home… then he hit rock bottom and had to tuen to the Lord, as no one else could help him. After that, the Carthaginian man started to use his rhetorical and analytical skills for the Lord, and committed his life to seeking the Lord. He found his home in the Lord. Have you? Are you still running? Still seeking for what might make your soul feel at peace and for where you belong? Ask Jesus to show you where you belong. Ask Him to show you His love. #FFW #memsplanation #staugustine #peace #belonging #love #TechFreedom FFW 15-2 – Proton 7.0-5 RC 1 out Lots of fixes for popular games. If you play any of the ones listed in this article, you may want to update. Check the article for which games were improved on. Here are a handful: Rift Final Fantasy 4 remake audio issues solved CoD Black Ops 2 Zombie and Multiplayer issues solved GTA V texture loading problem solved Red Dead Redemption 2 crash fixed https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/10/proton-70-5-is-coming-soon-improving-steam-deck-linux-gaming/ #FFW #Fossfun #Proton #Steam #releaseclient #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 15-3 – Uh oh, 0 A.D. Released on Steam? Not officially. Someone grabbed the source code, which is freely available, and submitted it to Steam, and is charging ~$8 for it. The actual developers quickly reacted, tweeting out that their fans should not be concerned, but that no one should buy this version of the game, which is proudly FOSS, in every sense of the acronym. What is 0 A.D.? A cross-platform FOSS Real-Time Strategy game, set eponymously around the time of Jesus. You can choose to play as any number of ancient peoples, each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses. I have played a bit, and enjoy it, but need a better machine to enjoy it more and take advantage of the eye candy they put into the game a bit more. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/10/someone-released-the-foss-rts-0-ad-on-steam-without-speaking-to-the-developers/ #FFW #Fossfun #0AD #Steam #nope #Linux #Linuxgaming #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice

Google Takes a Tumble Meta is Flailing Amazon Investors Flee Microsoft Earnings Down by 14% Year-on-Year Apple to Switch to USB-C In Keeping with EU Mandates WE 10.1: Google Takes a Tumble after Poor Q3 Earnings Call Bad Numbers, All around, here. Everything is down, down, down. Don’t get me wrong, their revenue still increased, just not at the rate expected, at a paltry $69.1 Billion, with is only a 6% increase, year-on-year. Ad revenue only went up by 2.5%, vs last year’s unicorn-type growth of 43% from the previous year. Let’s talk a little context here, though... What was happening in 2020, during Q3? Oh yes, we were effectively shut down as a nation, due to the PLANdemic. Only $13.9 billion of the $69.1 billion revenue number was net income... That means that between investments, payroll, and various losses, they paid out $55.2 billion during Q3. Just like you, Big Tech is feeling the Ukraine-Biden crunch. You’ll see this come as a common refrain across most of tonight’s stories. https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/25/tech/google-earnings #weekendedition #Google #BigTech #badday #badquarter #bidenflation #ukrainianidiocy #TechFreedom WE 10.2: Meta Flailing... Stock Down 25% Over Night How the mighty have fallen... It is now worth barely more than 1/4 of what it was at its zenith of $380/ share last summer, at ~$98/ share. That is an eye-watering plunge. Something tells me that unless Meta gets a huge infusion of dark cash, it won’t be much longer for this world. Good riddance, LifeLog. Good riddance. What caused this seemingly sudden turn of opinion? Let’s look back, all the way to 2016... The last time shares were this low in Facaebook. Well before Zuck’s weird obsession with VR started. All of this culminated in an overnight trip around the toilet bowl for the current valuation to lose about 25%. Sure, they are still making money, but they posted another YoY decline in Q3. https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/27/meta-stock-yikes/ #weekendedition #meta #facebook #sugarboyaintsosweet #dumbzuck #TechFreedom WE 10.3: Even Amazon is Feeling the Pinch Amazon shares plunge 15% after a less-then-stellar amount of growth YoY. They still had $127.1 billion in sales from July-September, still had growth, but saw international business go down, due to economic pressures of inflation and the Ukrainian conflict... Or taht is their excuse anyway. Investors are a fickle bunch, ain’t they? I mused about that last week as well... Makes me wonder how sustainable the current system is at all. I don’t want to give anyone a black pill that they haven’t already been playing with anyway, but if even Big Tech is not growing apace, then what does that mean for us little people under their boots that we placed on our throats? https://www.bbc.com/news/business-63421170 #weekendedition #amazon #salesdown #stockdown #economy #struggles #TechFreedom WE 10.4: Microsoft Hurting, Net Income Down 14% YoY They beat the analysts’ projections, but it was still a bad Q3. Revenues were up 11% YoY, mostly carried by Azure cloud Services, with a 35% increase in sales YoY. However Wondows OEM revenue was down 15% YoY, seemingly fueled by a sharp decrease in PC shipments, to the tune of 19.5% YoY. Xbox is also losing revenue, but only 3%. MSFT stock dipped by 2% in after hours trading after that earnings call. Their stock prices have fallen roughly 25% since the beginning of the year. I wonder how much impact the Linux community is having on the Windows license sales numbers... Unfortunately, not likely that much. Let’s change that. https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/25/tech/microsoft-earnings #weekendedition #MSFT #microsoft #earnings #revenue #decreases #morestablethanmost #TechFreedom WE 10.5: Apple to Ditch Lightning Connector? Looks like they will bend the knee to the EU, though they are not happy about it... Whining about how they “think the the approach would have been better... To not have a government be that prescriptive”. They sound like a spoiled child, used to getting their way, and now throwing a little fit over the inconvenience that the EU is inflicting on them, the environment, and their customers. Give me a break. Bend over, Apple, it is time to take your medicine, and stop being so proprietary. Oh wait, Tim Cook probably does that frequently and enjoys it... That shifts the insult a bit *shudder* *shudder*. I dare you, call me homophobic. Call me intolerant. Call me a bigot. I am a Christian conservative who believes that everything in the Bible is there for a reason. Sin is sin. Sin is doing something that hurts you or another person, and homosexuality, no matter how monogamously it is practiced, degrades both partners far more than heterosexuality does. There are always a constellation of issues there, but I digress. I am pleased to see that even the mighty bastion of proprietary hardware and software on earth can be brought to heel if a large enough government says “boo”. Should government be big enough? Was this a good call by the EU? Time will tell. https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/26/tech/apple-usb-c-charging #weekendedition #Apple #EU #chargergate #USBC #nomorelightning #TechFreedom

Rhino Linux Memesplanation ZorinOS 16.2 Freedom Consultation SparkyLinux 22.10 DM 31.1: Rhino Linux, an Odd Combo... Ubuntu based, but rolling, and stable, all at the same time? Let’s take a look at this oddball. It came from Rolling Rhino Remix, a passion project that people took a shining to. Stable Ubuntu, based on a tweaked XFCE DE, and Pacstall (an AUR-like repository for Ubuntu), but with rolling updates. How does that work? Special scripts that pull the latest packages from testing (my guess), rather than waiting for point releases in April and October every year. There is some other special sauce under the hood, and Rhino Linux is not live yet, and will not be until sometime early next year. If you want a taste of it, check out its preecessor, Rolling Rhino Remix. https://news.itsfoss.com/rhino-linux/ #distromonday #ubuntu #rollingdistro #Linux #oddity #TechFreedom Scripture. Encouragement. Choose to depend on Him today, let Him carry and strengthen you in your day. Learn to lean on Him afresh today, you will find that even if the events of the day are not any more positive in nature, you will still be in a better place at the end of the day than you would’ve if you have been doing it all on your own. #distromonday #isaiah #Bible #encouragement #inspiration #leanongod #memesplanation #TechFreedom DM 31-2: ZorinOS 16.2 Released, What’s New? Quite a bit, but also not much... They stuck with Ubuntu LTS (22.04) as the base, but made it easier to use windows apps with their Windows App Support item in the System Tools section in the App Menu. They’ve updated to LibreOffice 7.4 as well as improving their Zorin Connect app to make it easier to link your phone and computer (sounds a bit like a tweaked version of KDE Connect to me, but I haven’t tried it, so I can’t say for sure. This and so much more... Take a look if you are just looking to come over from Windows. https://9to5linux.com/zorin-os-16-2-arrives-as-a-friendly-and-accessible-alternative-to-windows-11 #distromonday #Linux #ZorinOS #updates #newrelease #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 31-3: SparkyLinux 2022.10 Updated SparkyLinux is a rolling distro anyway, which is an oddity in the Debian world, but they released a refresh of their ISOs which includes the latest 6.0.3 kernel, a new Sparky7 Theme support for GTK 2/3/4, as well as Sparky5-LXQT-Theme, all to support light and dark theming, also replaces LightDM with SDDM on the Xfce and MATE desktops. https://9to5linux.com/debian-based-sparkylinux-2022-10-rolling-isos-updated-with-linux-kernel-6-0-by-default #distromonday #Linux #debian #sparkylinux #update #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab

Steam Deck UI Comes to PC Memesplanation Tuxedo Infinitybook Pro 16 Gen 7 Freed Computer VKD3D-Proton 2.7 Released FFW 16.1: Valve has released the Steam Deck UI in Beta If you go for the Steam Client Beta on your computer, you can access the same UI, with some bugs, as you have on the Steam Deck. Pretty cool stuff. This will replace the Big Picture Mode, eventually so that your experience will be as smooth as possible moving from Deck to PC and back again. It is still in beta, so expect some flaws, but if you are a tinkerer, you can enable it by following the directions in the article. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/10/steam-deck-ui-comes-to-desktop-in-beta-to-replace-big-picture-mode/ #FFW #fossfun #Linux #SteamDeck #bigpicture #gamingonlinux #TechFreedom Rest in His goodness today. Place your faith, your trust in Him. He knows you. He knows your pain, your situations, your strengths, your hidden things. Rest in Him. He does not change in terms of goodness, faithfulness, or how much He loves you. He has chosen to love you, that guarantees that He will be good and faithful to you, even when you are not so much in return. #FFW #Bible #encouragement #Nahum #faithfulness #goodness #God #memesplanation #TechFreedom FFW 16.2: Tuxedo InfinityBook Pro 16 Gen 7 Coming Soon The long and the short: 2 models: a higher powered gaming version with up to 64GB of DDR5-4800MT ram, a 95-watt RTX3070Ti in it, a 240Hz screen, up to an i7-12700H processor, an 80 Wh battery and a promised 12 hours of battery life. Weighing in at a hefty starting price of $2070 US for a base config, with 16GB DDR5 RAM, a 3060Ti, and only 500 GB SSD. And The workstation edition, which has a 90Hz display, an optional RTX 3050Ti, up to 64 GB of DDR4 3200MT ram and the same battery, keyboard, and processor in it. This one is a bit cheaper, starting at just about $1500 US. These sound like pretty epic machines, though I wish they were AMD powered, vs Intel. https://9to5linux.com/tuxedo-infinitybook-pro-16-gen7-linux-laptop-launches-with-240hz-display-ddr5-ram #FFW #Tuxedocomputers #Germany #Linuxlaptops #dedicatedhardware #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 16.3: VKD3D-Proton 2.7 Released Gamers out there will appreciate this greatly. What is it? Why, the translation layer that converts Direct3D API calls to Vulkan API calls so that your Linux computer can game as well as if not sometimes better than a Windows machine. There are some games that have anti-cheat and similar issues which prevent them from being played in Linux, but other than titles like those, this is more or less true. Fixed the following games: Hitman 3 Redout 2 F1 2021 Guardians of the Galaxy Halo Infinite And others https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/10/direct3d-12-to-vulkan-translator-vkd3d-proton-version-27-out-now/ #FFW #Linux #Proton #Vulkan #d3d #gamingonlinux #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice Live Weekend Edition Fridays @ 10PM on T.me/tech_freedom_chat Live Devotions Sunday Morning between 10-11AM same place.

WE 11.1: AI Has Enough Data? Big Data no longer necessary to help AI solve problems, according to Carlos Guestrin, of Stanford. The way he sees it, AI is smart enough now to work successfully with much smaller datasets, using things like DALL-E and GPT-3 to guesstimate things rather well, rather than needing to crunch data sets of billions of data points to solve relatively simple problems. These are examples of what are considered “foundation models”, built from massive data sets, but can now be tweaked into specialized tools to perform the same kinds of tasks that huge,custom AIs used to be needed for. These things were designed to be generative, such as DALL-E, if you recall, being used to create digital art. Bias continues to be an issue, and the biases of the programmers will always have an effect on the outcomes from these AIs, no matter how powerful they may become. Reliabiltiy is another huge issue, as these AIs often break catastrophically if the data entered is not “just so”. The speakers at the fireside talk that this article was basd on kept comparing today’s AI with the way that Google became such a solid search engine, through getting pounded with queries and eventually learning what sorts of results actually got clicks (before they started their social engineering efforts). Let me bottom-line this article from my perspective: these researchers are saying that they can now rely on existing AI tools, which were based on massive data sets, as a foundation for new tools which will be able to function with far less new data. This is not surprising, but a bit terrifying. I am happy to hear that these tools still have such intense limitations, in terms of bias and reliability. I wonder how long until these researchers and entrepreneurs sort out all of these problems, and we have an AI that could effectively run a large city. *shudder shudder* https://www.geekwire.com/2022/why-big-data-is-not-a-priority-anymore-and-other-key-ai-trends-to-watch/ #weekendedition #AI #limits #progress #yikes #TechFreedom WE 11.2: FCC Looking at Banning TikTok in Near Future Wow. I mean, I should not be surprised, as this is blatant CCP spy-ware which has also damaged our country in terms of morality and common sense. I’m sorry if you are an avid user, and even more sorry if you got sucked into being a creator on TikTok., as I know that they really don’t pay you enough to keep the traffic and data flowing through their site, app, and their CCP-based servers.In September, ByteDance was pressured by bipartisan US lawmakers to commit to shutting down data flowing into China, but they would not commit to that course of action. Ok, if you are addicted to TikTok, I understand. Shortform content is very appealing to our greatly diminished attention spans. The filters and fancy doodads are fun to look at, and the free music is an epic plus. It is easy to use, and highly addicting. As a creator, it is easy to get started and use copyrighted material without permission, because the CCP has no concept of intellectual property, so why should Byte Dance care if you use popular music in your video, as long as it keeps eyeballs glued to screens on their site and apps? However, because they have no concept of intellectual property, they can also get away with not paying you well at all. You work hard, and they reap the benefits... How is that fair? If an app is run by a company based in China, right now, you can almost guarantee that the CCP will be using it to spy on you. They have a vested interest in making sure that Americans are fat, lazy, confused, and demoralized,a s that makes it easier for them to wipe us off of the planet as a credible super power. Do you want to be a part of that? Get as far from TikTok and other apps like it as you can. Go cold turkey. Take your creative chops somewhere where they will actually make you some money. https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/02/tech/fcc-commissioner-tiktok-ban #weekendedition #CCP #tiktok #spyware #juststopit #banityesterday #TechFreedom WE 11.3: Algorithms: Do They Already Run your Life Offline? How automated is your life? How about your municipal or state government? According to a report from the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), which spent 14 months digging into the city of Washington DC, found that across 20 city-level agencies, they employed at least 29 obscure algorithms to aid in decision making, and to improve the appearance of impartiality in city systems. However, as with other AIs, and as I talked about in tonight’s first story, these algorithms are anything but infallible, and there was one employed by the unemployment insurance system in Michigan to ferret out fraud, but it had a 93% error rate, and triggered 40,000 false fraud allegations. That is a big problem. A different study found that over half of federal agencies are using some form of AI to aid in decision making. No wonder it is an even bigger mess now than it was before. For example, FraudCaster, by a company called Pondera Systems, owned by Thomson Reuters, is used to catch fraudulent food assistance applications, and of the 1.1 million flagged applications in California, more than half of them were to be found genuine. Wow. That is not a good ratio here, guys. Maybe, as we discussed earlier, we need to go back to the drawing board for these systems. Let’s think about this... If the machines are failing so miserably, and even leading to death in some justice-related situations, should we be trying to use them at all right now? Are they ready? For trivial things like creating digital art or generating stories or poems, sure. For life and death decisions? No. We need to extricate our governments from these machines in any kind of major decision making. Let’s move in that direction, y’all. Justice needs a human face and heart to be real justice, not some cold algorithm that is wrong more often than not. Even if they were perfect (which I do not believe will ever happen, as humans create these systems, and humans will always be flawed, broken, and biased). https://www.wired.com/story/algorithms-quietly-run-the-city-of-dc-and-maybe-your-hometown/ #weekendedition #AI #algorithms #government #fail #TechFreedom WE 11.4: TikTok Data Could be Handled Anywhere in the World I know, I teed off on TikTok earlier tonight, but take a look at this... They claim that they have “robust security controls” to prevent mishandling or misuse of user data, but as to what that actually means, no one really knows. They claim to be GDPR-compliant, but with as opaque as Byte Dance has been, who knows if they really are. After all, they are based in CCP-controlled China, not somewhere that actually at least gives lipservice to respecting privacy and intellectual property rights. The CCP treats their own people like cattle or pawns on a chessboard. Why should they respect anyone else any more than they do their own citizens? I will say it again, if you are a TikTok user or creator, get your kicks and your creative juices flowing in a different direction that will respect you, your rights, and your work more through better splits and revenue sharing. https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/03/tech/tiktok-european-data-china-staff #weekendedition #TikTok #privacy #CCP #nobueno #TechFreedom WE 11.5: Microsoft Extends Support Offer to Ukraine Surprise, surprise, surprise. Microsoft, which is the heart of cabal control through software, is pledging to protect the cabal’s interests in Ukraine through offering free-to-Ukraine services for security of “critical infrastructure”. That is laughable, Microsoft helping a government to secure itself from cyber threats. They have committed resources worth an additional $100 million through the end of 2023, when they have already provided $400 million in the last 9 months of conflict. Wow. What is MSFT trying to keep hidden in Ukraine? Ok, so I am very cynical of anyone supporting the Ukrainian regime. Ukraine has been the heart of money laundering and other unethical practices for a number of years, probably longer than I realize, as Ukraine is also the same area where the Khazarians originated from, but I’m not going to get into that LONG story here. Let me be clear, I empathize with the PEOPLE of Ukraine, however, their blatantly corrupt, NAZI regime needs to be ended. The whole place needs to be cleaned out, just as our government does, on every level. I don’t want to black pill anyone, but the November midterm elections, even if we succeed in creating a “red tsunami” will not solve the problems we face as a nation on its own. Red vs Blue is a false dichotomy. These are two wings on the same, corrupt bird. By all means, vote your conscience, come Tuesday. Vote in person. Do your best to prevent fraud at the ballot box. I have my doubts that even with that, and the greater awareness that has been exploding over the American people in the last year and a half of focus on what happened 2 years ago (and for at least 20-30 years prior to that, whether through old school means, like ballot harvesting, or through weighted algorithms in the ES&S or Konnech or other machines that have been used to assure the Selection of [their] chosen candidates). https://www.geekwire.com/2022/microsoft-extends-ongoing-tech-support-for-ukraine-to-protect-digital-services-and-data-during-war/ #weekendedition #Ukraine #MSFT #voting #corruption #NAZI #TechFreedom Devotions Channel: https://rumble.com/c/c-1710083

DM 32.1: Linux 6.0 Kernel now available in Arch iso All the goodness of Linux 6.0 prepackaged for Arch. Not much to say here. If you download it from the Arch website now, it is what you will get by default now. If you were already running Arch, you will already be on 6.0 by default. This is so that anyone who downloads it will have the benefits of the 6.0 kernel. All you need to do to make sure that you are up to date is to periodically run sudo pacman –Syu. It really is that simple in Arch and other distros based on it which run the Arch repositories. https://9to5linux.com/first-arch-linux-iso-release-powered-by-linux-kernel-6-0-is-now-available-for-download #distromonday #Linux #Arch #btwirunarch #lol #kernelupdate #TechFreedom Be reminded, God has your back. He will strengthen you if you lean on Him. He is your protector, if you will trust Him. He is Good. He is faithful. Choose to trust Him today. Straight up. Test Him. Prove Him. #distromonday #Truth #trustGod #Isaiah #restinHim #memesplanation #Tech Freedom DM 32.2: Linux Lite 6.2 Released As I covered a few weeks ago in an announcement, the lightweight Linux distro, based on Ubuntu 22.04LTS and XFCE 4.16 has been officially released. Here’s what is new: Upgrade utility 5.15 LTS Shotcut vs OpenShot video editor No more MS Teams Fixes to Lite Patch and Lite Sources Task Manager And More... https://9to5linux.com/linux-lite-6-2-officially-released-based-on-ubuntu-22-04-1-lts #distromonday #Linuxlite #Linux #updates #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 32.3: Arch Vs Manjaro – What’s the Difference? Arch is one of the Big Three Linux Distributions, the other two being Red Hat and Debian. These are the Big Three in the Linux world. That means that these are some of the most consequential of the built-from-scratch distributions out there. Arch is about 20 years old, and is built on the KISS method (Keep It Simple, Stupid). It is a bare-bones option that allows you to build your Linux the way you want, but you have to know what you are doing. The reason for that is that sometimes if you look at an Arch build funny, it can break. Manjaro is based on Arch, but think of it as Arch with training wheels. It is meant to be Arch simplicity, plus user-friendliness. GUI-based tweaking tools, and a pre-done desktop, with any of the main desktop environments out there, from KDE, GNOME, Xfce, and a handful of window managers as well. Manjaro is far easier to install, offering a GUI installer based on the Calamares Installer, where Arch is entirely command-line based installer. Manjaro is just like almost any other mainline distribution, with Arch, you have to understand it all and walk through each step. However, in doing that, you will have full control of your system and understand your system far more than you would using say, Manjaro. Being based on Arch, which is a rolling release model, Manjaro is as well. Manjaro adds extra layers of testing to add greater stability to the Arch base. Arch is bleeding edge in terms of new packages, and does have an unstable branch to do preliminary testing with brand new packages when they are submitted by their respective developers. All of Manjaro’s extra testing should make it more stable than its Arch base, but it doesn’t actually do that. The AUR, which I mentioned last Tuesday, is the thing that sets Arch apart from the rest of the Linux world, including Manjaro, by default, at any rate. It provides just about any package available, maintained by users worldwide, but these are not guaranteed by the Arch team, and can cause greater instability in your system. This article states that Arch is roughly as stable as Manjaro, however, it isn’t. Unless you are a major tinkerer and have the patience to learn how to install and configure Arch by hand, I do not recommend it it for new users in the least. Manjaro, however, as it is far easier to install and use, I encourage people to check out all of the time. That is not to say that it doesn’t have its own set of issues and problems, though. However, that is not within the scope of this piece. https://linuxiac.com/arch-linux-vs-manjaro/ #distromonday #Linux #Arch #Manjaro #huh #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab

Tech Freedom: TTT 32.1: OpenSSL Vulnerabilities Patched The newest version of OpenSSL is out, and they patched some doozies. A researcher found one vulnerability which led to one of the maintainers finding a similar bug, which together, could trigger a buffer overrun in the x.509 certificate verification system, triggering a denial of service for that server. Good news is that these vulnerabilities were repaired. If you want to read up more click the link to the article below: https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/11/01/high-severity-openssl-vulnerabilities-fixed-cve-2022-3602-cve-2022-3786/ #TTT #techtips #OpenSSL #fixed #TechFreedom #gratitude As we turn to the thanksgiving season, here in North America, let us begin to count our blessings. I know this year has been hard, brutal, for most of us, but we are still here. Many of us still have our families and friends around us, and we don’t have to contend with Fraudci’s nonsense. Find things to be grateful for, today, focus on those things rather than on the things that are far less than ideal. #techtuesday #Linux #Linuxtips #memesplanation #paul #Bible #Thessalonians #thankfulness #TechFreedom TTT 32.2: 5 Tips for Vim 1) How to save all Open documents at once a. Type :wa to write all changed files and keep working b. Type :xa to exit and save everything c. :wqa is the same as :xa d. :qa will close everything, but not if there are unsaved changes e. :qa! Will close everything, whether there are unsaved changes or not 2) How to keep your cursor centered onscreen a. Type :zz to lock the cursor to a specific column, just like the *scrolloff* variable to some specific high value (helpful for searching through large files) :set so=999. 3) If you want to display line numbers in the left hand margin do this: a. Type :set nu or :set number i. If you want to disable it, type :set no number or :set nonu ii. If you want to navigate to a specific line, type 1. 42G, 42gg, or :42<CR> 4) If you want to paste text into Vim and save its formatting, type :set paste, to turn that feature back off, type :set no paste 5) Delete while in Insert Mode a. <C-h> “ Deletes one character back b. <C-w> “ Deletes one word back c. <C-u> “ Deletes back to the beginning of the line d. <C-k> “ Deletes to the end of the line https://blog.devgenius.io/mastering-the-art-of-vim-five-tips-to-improve-your-nerdiness-137ed3519ea4 #TTT #techtips #Vim #5things #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft TTT 32.3: Using yay to Work With the AUR Many of you who have been around for a while are familiar with this, but I thought I’d toss this in this week for the sake of new users, or Manjaro users who may not use the terminal much, if at all. First things first, Arch already has about as many native packages as Debian or Fedora in its primary repositories, or repos, but what they don’t have, which is still quite a good number of things, can likely be found in the AUR, which is the Arch User Repository. The difference between the AUR and the main repos is that the main repos are maintained and supported by the team that develops Arch, where the AUR is maintained (sometimes) by users, and things aren’t necessarily supported well there. In my experience, they may not even always work. Here is what the AUR is is a repo where the source binaries are stored for a vast number of projects and programs are kept to be built into native packages through tools like yay. Yay is one of the most popular AUR helpers. Think of AUR helpers as pacman for the AUR. They will help you to work with AUR packages, from selection, to building, to installing, then updating, and finally uninstalling, as needed. Yay has some competition in pikaur, paru, and pacaur, among others. First, we have to install some dependencies for it through pacman Sudo pacman –Sy git base-devel Then type the following in this order: git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay-bin.git cd yay-bin makepkg -si This will install the Yay AUR helper. Now to use it: First, we have to know the precise name of the package in the AUR, so Yay has its own search function: Yay –Ss package-name-here will search for it in both the AUR and in main repos Updating AUR packages using yay Yay –Sua Remove unnecessary dependencies yay -Sc Remove unnecessary dependencies and cached packages (say you are wanting to free up a good deal of storage space) yay -Scc How to Use the AUR with yay #TTT #techtips #AUR #yay #Linux #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

Tech Freedom: FFW 17.1: New EA App in Proton Experimental No more Origin launcher for EA titles? Won’t be a problem for too much longer... There will soon be a new EA launcher for titles like Jedi: Fallen Order and the like. Valve is working on the issue, and it is in Proton Experimental. Want to know how to use it? Desktop: Right Click on a game Click properties Click Compatibility Pick Proton Experimental from the drop down, then reload the game. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/11/valve-fix-new-ea-app-in-proton-experimental-for-linux-and-steam-deck/ #FFW #fossfun #steam #proton #EA #TechFreedom Not scripture, but a quote from The Angelic Doctor, St. Anselm himself. No matter what happens, we need to praise the Lord. This could look like what we typically think of as praise and thanks, but it could also include laments. Laments are somewhat foreign in most mainstream churches in America today, but we need to embrace them rather than simply ignore horrible things in our lives because they don’t look as glorious as we might want them to. If your life doesn’t look like an instagram post, don’t worry. Lament, cry out to God for answers, allow yourself to feel those things, then praise your way through. #FFW #fossfun #Linux #memesplanation #Anselm #praise #lament #TechFreedom FFW 17.2: New Verified and Playable Titles for Proton Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves First time to PC for this long-time series, possibly interesting, if I had time and other resources to try out new games... Serial Cleaners Mob-related crime scene cleaners in NYC, stealth game where you cover up crimes for the mob. CULTIC Stylized pixel art shooter, with a supernatural theme Unrailed Minecraft goes Railroad tycoon Persona 5 Royal Heist centered noir-RPG Anger Foot Quick reaction based FPS, reminds me of Apex, if you put Apex into Sin City https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/11/fun-steam-deck-verified-a-playable-games-from-october-2022/ #FFW #fossfun #Steam #Linuxgaming #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 17.3: Steam Now In ChromeOS Beta If you have a Chromebook that is reasonably powerful, you should be able to play some games on it now, if you install the Steam package. These classes of CPU are now supported: Ryzen 5000 C-Series processors Intel 12th Gen Core processors Now has iniital DX12 support Vulkan 1.3 support And much much more Cool stuff, here, if you have a Chromebook. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/11/steam-on-chromebook-is-now-in-beta-with-amd-support/ #FFW #fossfun #Steam #ChromeOS #Google #progress #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html? Devotions Channel:

WE 12.1: Meta Circles the Toilet Bowl Some More Most of us have heard or seen about this by now, but Meta has lost ~3/4 of its market cap in the last 12 months, so Zuck decided that he should fire some people, freeze hiring, and refocus on what actually makes money for their platforms, “artificial intelligence, advertising, and "our long-term vision for the metaverse".” This includes paying 13% (11000) fewer employees, moving forward. Wow. Maybe you should pack it in on the Metaverse, Zuck. That, plus the advertising cuts that they suffered, both from the recovery from CONvid, the Biden economic limp, anemic, and inept attempts to destroy the economy and country entirely, and Apple hamstringing other advertisers on their devices. The likelihood of him backing away from his job of trying to drive us forward to some sort of VR nonsense world seems low. Let’s sit back, but encourage our friends and family to leave the sinking ship that always abused them anyway, and watch him finish blowing it up. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63568585 #weekendedition #meta #nomoremeta #dying #goodriddance #TechFreedom WE 12.2: What’s Mastodon, Anyway? Simply, a FOSS, decentralized Twitter alternative. Why does it matter? Lots of people are fleeing Twitter to Mastodon since Elon took over about 2 weeks ago now. It is ad-free, has no content moderation, and has no monolithic company behind it, as it is operated by a nonprofit organization, and each server is federated, similarly to Matrix. They grew by 489,000 users in less than 2 weeks, so they now have more than 1 million active users per month, for the first time. That is huge, and if you really want a direct alternative to Twitter, take a look, but be warned that it will force you to pick a server when you sign up. It is also privacy-centric and won’t suggest follows or anything like that, and also only displays posts chronologically, which strikes me as making more sense, anyway. There is no quote-tweet equivalent, but maybe that could be a good thing. I am not a Twitter user, and never have been, so am not one who could or should really speak knowledgeably about the platform. I have to laugh at all that has been happening with Twitter and Elon over the last 6 months or so, but at this point, I am really done talking about that issue. https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/08/tech/mastodon-twitter-explainer-trnd #weekendedition #twitter #mastodon #twitterrefugees #twitterexodus #TechFreedom WE 12.3: Alex Jones Gets Hit AGAIN, for another 1/2 Billion Dollars Like him or not, believe he is a Mossad asset or not, he is certainly being made an example of here. This brings Sandy Hook related fines and whatnot all the way up to about $1.5 Billion. He claims that “there ain’t no money” to pay these damages, and is appealing it all, of course. This is a ridiculous miscarriage of justice. I believe that it was a false flag, but that the kids did actually die, therefore, he does owe the families something, though, even if I do not see that it should be nearly this much. This feels like the judge trying to destroy him, not simply looking out for the families. Not a good look. https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/10/media/alex-jones-sandy-hook-damages #weekendedition #alexjones #truthwars #sandyhook #TechFreedom WE 12.4: Amazon Is First Company in History to Lose $1 Trillion in Market Cap Wow. That is absolutely stunning... I can’t think of any other word at the moment. Amazon’s Zenith was last year in July, at a gob-smacking $1.88 Trillion cap. Between the anemic economy and the world beginning to return to “normal”, whatever that means, not only these things, but Daddy Bezos stepped down from being CEO of Amazon earlier this year, so Amazon is feeling the pinch just as Microsoft and Meta are (like I mentioned last week). Any thoughts? Think Amazon and Meta will survive this current downturn? https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/amazon-loses-1-trillion-in-market-value-a-historic-first/ #weekendedition #Amazon #bigloser #wow #holymoly #TechFreedom WE 12.5: CFPB Releases Report on Crypto Scams and the Like Of the 8300 complaints gathered and reviewed between October of ‘18 to September of this year, 13% were from California. Wow, that is about 1000 complaints. About 40% (3360) complaints were centered on scams and fraud, where 25% were about misc transaction issues, and another 16% were about liquidity issues. If you have paid any attention to crypto over the years, these stats probably do not surprise you. I know I am not surprised, at least not very. I have watched scammers spin up trash coins, promise the moon, only to deliver a pump & dump situation, then disappear with their backers’ money. So many shills. Here’s looking at you, Whiplash347. Quit your crypto shilling, bro. It isn’t a good look, I’m sure you get paid well enough to push it on your social media accounts, where it gets seen by hundreds of 1,000s, if not millions of eyeballs on your posts, but very few have actually helped any of your followers to become financially stable (I doubt that that is even possible in terms of crypto, though). I digress, though. This report will likely result in some DOJ action against some of these scammers.High time, if they can track them down. We shall see. https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/10/23452247/cfpb-complaint-bulletin-crypto-assets-scams #weekendedition #crypto #CFPB #scams #fraud #watchout #TechFreedom

DM 33.1: Should I Try KDE Neon? Yes and no. It is an Ubuntu derivative, but that is not what I will harp on here... It is unstable, as it is more or less a sandbox for the KDE developers to work out their bugs in before the rest of us get new updates for KDE Plasma. It just updated to Jammy Jellyfish as its base, so that will bring other new apps and features, of course, but unless you are more of a hardcore bleeding edge KDE lover than I am, I don’t know that I would suggest daily driving it. https://cloud7.news/linux/kde-neon-is-now-rebased-on-ubuntu-22-04/ #distromonday #KDENeon #Linux #Ubuntu #updates #news #TechFreedom Ephesians 3:20-21... How able is God? However big your imagination of His power and glory may be, He is immeasurably more able than that. Give Him the glory for how He is going to change our situation. As always, though, if He leads you to do something, just do it. What can you do to shift things for people, one thing at a time? How can you be a blessing? #distromonday #memesplananation #God #Heisable #anything #ephesians3 #Bible #TechFreedom Distro Monday 33.2: PeppermintOS Has A Minty Fresh Release This Devuan-based distro, ok, I should probably explain what Devuan is before I continue with this... Devuan is Debian, minus SystemD to handle init tasks as well as to manage running services and apps in the OS. Ok, so what is new in PeppermintOS? A redesigned welcome screen & Peppermint Hub app A new app called Peppermint Scope, which allows you to almost in real time look at build logs for the system TKK Creator – allows you to tweak Tkinter themes New GRUB and Plymouth Splash screens Among other things https://9to5linux.com/devuan-based-peppermintos-november-2022-release-brings-new-and-updated-tools #distromonday #Linux #peppermintos #mintyfresh #devuan #systemd #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free Distro Monday 33.3: TrueNAS 13 Released While not strictly Linux, TrueNAS is based on the cousin of Linux, FreeBSD. Therefore, i feel that it is worthy of discussion here. TrueNAS is FOSS software to help you manage your Network-Attached Storage systems (NAS). I am no network admin, but the feature set on this is pretty sweet, from data snapshots, to a self-repairing file system and encryption, among many other things. A NAS, or even simply a home server is your #1 ticket to getting out from under Big Tech’s thumb, that way you control your data, not [them]. If you’re going to pull an HRC and run federal emails through a server in your bathroom, the least you could do is make sure that it is heavily encrypted (she did NOT do this, and attempted to bleachbit the system, but it was incomplete), and actually physically destroy the storage drives, so that the data could never be recovered, but I digress. What’s new here? Up to 20% better performance vs the previous version Rebased on the latest version of FreeBSD Better drivers Updated OpenZFS SMB updates NFS Updates And more https://linuxiac.com/truenas-13-0-free-network-attached-stotage/ #distromonday #TrueNAS #FreeBSD #networking #storage #backups #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab

TTT 33.1: AppImages? Ever Wondered How to Get ‘em into your Applications Menu? Wonder no more. We will talk through it today. All you have to do is use the AppImageLauncher, which you can install on any major distro. If you are running a debian/ubuntu based distro, type sudo apt install appimagelauncher after you add the PPA to your sources list, this way: Sudo add-apt-repositiory ppa:appimagelauncher-team/stable Sudo apt update If on a Fedora-based distro type either Sudo dnf install appimagelauncher Or Sudo rpm –i appimagelauncher-x.x.rpm after you download it and cd into its directory If you are on an Arch-based distro, type: Sudo pacman –S appimagelauncher Once it is installed, open the AppImageLauncher appor double click on an AppImage file, and choose to Integrate and run after you tell it where to store your AppImage files from now on. Integrating instead of simply running it once will give you an app menu entry moving forward. Cool stuff. https://www.makeuseof.com/add-appimages-to-linux-system-menu/ #TTT #appimages #Linux #packages #integrate #TechFreedom As we begin our move toward Christmas, remember that this is still true of the Lord. He will never break the brokenhearted, He will gently protect the ones who admit to being at their rope’s end, and He will come through for you. Truth. This passage is from Isaiah 42, and is about the Messiah, or the Servant of the Lord, whose commission it is to set the world to rights. Jesus is still about that work for and in us and the world. Find comfort in that Truth, today. #TTT #memesplanation #Isaiah #Jesus #Messiah #sametoday #Bible #TechFreedom TTT 33.2: Plasma 5.26.3 Release is Live, What’s New? They fixed lots of stuff for the plasma wayland session to make scaling work better for xwaylnad apps, and firefox app issues where your mouse gets stuck as a grabbing hand until you move a tab. An x11 regression that caused maximized windows to be forced to be redrawn improperly when using a scaling factor Also fixed a glitch where if the top right-most pixel were clicked, the window would be closed, as well as screencasting issues Among others... https://9to5linux.com/kde-plasma-5-26-3-continues-to-improve-the-plasma-wayland-session-fixes-various-issues #TTT #KDE #Plasma #updates #Linux #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft TTT 33.3: LXQt 1.2 Released What is LXQt? It is a lightweight desktop environment based on the Qt libraries. This is ideal if you either need supercharged performance or have a very low spec system that you want to breathe new life into. What’s new? File manager issues fixed in both x11 and Wayland sessions Ctrl+D shortcut in file manager will deselect all items Enhancements for the panel Bidirectional rendering in QTerminal And more... Sounds like some nice quality of life changes to me. https://linuxiac.com/lxqt-1-2-desktop-environment-released-this-is-whats-new/ #TTT #LXQt #updates #Linux #desktopenvironments #lightweight #Lubuntu #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

FFW 18.1: FSR 2.1 Makes Cyberpunk 2077 Better Newest updates for CP2077 add FSR 2.1 to boost performance and quality for the game on Steam Deck. Sweet stuff, y’all, better performance and visual fidelity for one of the most demanding games on the planet, for free? Awesome! https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/11/fsr-21-is-a-game-changer-for-cyberpunk-2077-on-steam-deck/ #FFW #steam #steamdeck #cp2077 #FSR #news #TechFreedom How can we be “fully alive”? There is a bit more to this quote than is shown here... The rest goes something like, “And man is only fully alive when he beholds God.” Or something like that. How do we behold God? Partially in nature, partially in Scripture, partially in one another, and partially in prayer. Which of these things ring the most true in your life? #FFW #memesplanation #quotes #churchfathers #patristics #fullyalive #beholdgod #TechFreedom FFW 18.2: Proton Hotfix & Halo Infinite Under the Hotfix branch, which is easy to enable on the Steam Deck by un-setting the Proton Experimental branch, then re-enable compatibility mode, and it will switch to Hotfix for you. On the computer, it is more involved, and you may need to install & update it through the compatibility menu. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/11/proton-hotfix-gets-halo-infinite-working-again-on-steam-deck-and-linux-desktop/ #FFW #Steam #proton #haloinfinite #Linux #steamdeck #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 18.3: GE-Proton 7-39 Improves Overwatch Here’s what’s new: Proton-wine bleeding edge Dxvk updated Vkd3d-rpoton updated Overwatch 2 freeze issue fixed Nvapi fixes pulled from upstream And more... https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/11/ge-proton-7-39-released-improving-overwatch-2-for-steam-deck-linux/ #FFW #Linux #Steam #gloriouseggroll #proton #gaming #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice

WE 13.1 – Whatever Will The Valley Do? Well, my sense is that they will lobby the new lawmakers harder to protect themselves from the inevitable hail of lawfare that the new congress members will likely initiate to placate the voters who allegedly elected them. Ok, now that I’ve hot-taked a bit, let’s talk about the article itself... The Demoncrats, who still control both chambers of Congress, have been sabre-rattling about passing anti-trust laws targeting Big Tech for being at least partially broken up, or some legislation meant to force censorship on the teeming masses of our nation and the world, for that matter. This is something that some experts suggest they should fear more than political noise made by the GOP when it assumes power again in January. More hearings wouldn’t frighten me much, either, to be honest. It is theatre. That is the reality for the whole shebang, anyway, and has been for a long time. After all, both wings belong to the same bird. I hope that the GOP does more than simply huff & puff at Big Tech’s house, which may as well be an underground bunker, with as much good as either party has done in terms of reigning them in in any meaningful way. Pitiful. All that said, it looks like both wings of congress very well may have crosshairs trained on Section 230, and limiting the protections that Big Tech has so benefitted from. This might be interesting to watch, particularly as everyone is realizing just how big of a deal digital privacy and rights are in our lives right now. That, at least, is a good thing, and may lead to big things in those areas. Looks like it could be a good time for me and others like me to set up shop to help people transition. https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/17/tech/silicon-valley-republicans-house #weekendedition #privacy #digitalrights #bipartisan #politics #eyeroll #politicaltheater #TechFreedom WE 13.2 – Would You Eat Lab-grown Anything? We are one step closer to having a cell-cultured chicken option at the supermarket, as the FDA has deemed it safe for human consumption. Keep in mind that it also Ok’d both Beyond Meat and Impossible brand plant-based meat substitutes in the past. These have proven to cause certain individuals to gain weight when it was advertised that they would help people lose weight. I am not convinced that this is a good thing at all, let God-designed animals provide the animal protein that we all need in our diets, not man-made alternatives. Is it ingenious? Certainly. Is it wise? I am not into playing God, even though I used to enjoy some Sim City and The Sims, back in the day. I am not convinced that we know enough to do this well, yet, without any long term problems for humans who eat products like these. Also, the FDA has missed the ball many times, and that is being very charitable. Personally, this sounds like a horrible idea, and something that was joked about in an old show called “Better Off Ted”. The R&D arm of the company that the show centers on was working to create a product not too different from this, and they put in in front of a taste-tester, who proclaimed that it tasted like “despair”. That show was produced about 10-15 years ago. Yikes. No thanks. What about you guys? Tell me in the comments. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63660488 #weekendedition #clonedchicken #labmeat #gross #blech #wtf #fda #TechFreedom WE 13.3 – FTX CEO Strikes Out at SBF The new CEO, after SBF filed for bankruptcy and bugged out with millions of dollars, is looking at how the exchange was built to fail. He says that in his 40+ years of working in similar situations, including managing the end of Enron, this was one of the worst corporate structures he has ever seen. Too much power, and too little accountability concentrated in the hands of too few, young, inexperienced, and likely compromised people. This sounds like the case for the vast majority of the crypto industry. Tell me I’m wrong. Prove my sense wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I was excited about crypto somewhat about 5 years ago, and most of our investment got stuck in a now-defunct exchange from New Zealand. I have watched too many shit coins get shilled, too many NFTs scam people, and too many pump & dump schemes happen around me to think that crypto is some sort of savior for the financial system, which is just as corrupt and broken. Tell me what you think about crypto down below. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63662396 #weekendedition #ftx #sbf #crypto #fud #fed #scams #shitcoins #idk #TechFreedom WE 13.4 – Who Should Own AI-Generated Things? There is so much that is unclear in this situation. On one hand, the art, music pieces, generated writing, or code that is entered into one of these AI setups is often copyrighted material, in some form or another, so should the person entering the prompts in question be forced to pay royalties for using those works as seeds for generated material, given that the output is copyrightable and they make money from the output? How would that be sorted out? One thing that seems to determine whether one of these generated works is copyrightable is how much work the person entering the inputs actually did to create them. If you simply put in a single text prompt, the results are likely not copyrightable, whereas if they really put effort into curating the inputs, in the form of seeds and the like, they can be copy protected in the US. What of using copyrighted inputs? In the US, we have fair use doctrine, which allows things like commentary on art, books, music, and movies to be protected and used to make money for the the commentator. One aspect of deciding if fair use is applicable is whether the original artist is adversely affected by the “new” work. Was enough changed from or added to the original that it actually constitutes a new work? If the answer to these questions was in the negative, then it is not fair use, and the secondary creator can be penalized or sued by the original copyright holder. It seems that one can train an AI on copyrighted work, but actually using that training to generate something may constitute infringement of the copyrights involved from the original works. For instance, if one trains an AI on works from one particular artist or writer and tells the AI to create something in that style, that artist or writer would likely have a strong case that you infringed on their work, and could potentially sue you over it. However, if you tweak it and transform it in significant ways, then you are probably safe, and could potentially seek a copyright yourself on the generated work. This extends to the things that Microsoft has been doing through GitHub and people’s open sourced code bases, but the truth is that those AI tools often lift large chunks of code without tweaking it, and dropping them into new projects. That sounds like breaking GPL and other open source licenses, particularly if there is no attribution, and it is being used to make a profit for another entity. Microsoft feels that they can get away with it because they know the financial situations for the majority of open source developers. That seems very wrong, to me, at any rate... Maybe there needs to be a massive class action (I think that it is in the works even now, thankfully). https://www.theverge.com/23444685/generative-ai-copyright-infringement-legal-fair-use-training-data #weekendedition #AI #copyrights #patents #licensing #intellectualproperty #TechFreedom WE 13.5 – Climate Change Fear Porn... Big Tech Must Be More Sustainable!!! Ok, so the world seems to be heating up... Given. However, is it our fault? No. The earth is a very resilient system, and it has its own cycles which have very little to do with human intervention. That said, this article is touting and pushing Big Tech efforts to become more efficient (both using less power/resources, and producing less heat). I do not have a problem with that, as there is a limit to our planet’s physical resources, and we are called to steward them well. Predicating it on fear of naturally cyclical climate change that we have hardly been keeping records long enough to notice for ourselves, then assuming that our relatively small carbon emissions would be enough to have a detrimental effect on the temperature of the planet is the height of hubris. Take a step back. Think about this for a moment. Do not hear me say that we do not need new, better, more planet-friendly technologies to be developed. I am not saying that in the least, however, the current generation of that tech is far from being as beneficial to the environment as has been propagandized about for the last 20 years. Placing data centers in water is not an entirely new thing, however, using the currents to generate power (without harming the marine life in the area, either from turbines or from heat discharge) and to cool the machines in question is a novel, though not entirely new idea. Carbon credits? Don’t get me started, that is just as much of a leftist scam as the whole climate change/global warming fear industry is. Think, people. Recycle where possible, choose to use less power and other resources where possible, and just be wise. https://www.cnet.com/tech/internet-outages-could-spread-as-temperatures-rise-heres-what-big-tech-is-doing/ #weekendedition #climatechange #cycles #notmanmade #fearporn #bigtech #datacenters #resources #TechFreedom

DM 34.1 – Fedora 37, Better Late Than Never? Let’s see... What have Red Hat and the community developers added in this time? GNOME 43 Linux 6.0 Kernel Mesa 22.2 Graphics stack Pipewire 0.3.60 A/V back end Official Raspberry Pi Support So, good stuff all around, they have also either updated to or have available all of the latest other desktops as spins, from KDE, to Xfce, to Mate and Cinnamon, to LXQt and the rest. https://9to5linux.com/fedora-linux-37-released-with-linux-6-0-gnome-43-and-official-raspberry-pi-4-support #distromonday #fedora #Linux #newreleases #TechFreedom Great reminder. The best is yet to come. We move from glory, to greater glory. C.S. Lewis knew this to be true. This is an echo of Paul, from the New Testament. Take heart. Have hope for the future, believe and work towards those things that you want to see. Remember the good and the bad from the past, so that you do not become captivated by nostalgia. Nostalgia colors everything with a rosier hue than it really had. #distromonday #cslewis #glorytoglory #holdon #kccm #Bible #memesplanation #TechFreedom DM 34.2 – RHEL 8.7 Released What’s new for RHEL in this release (RHEL is Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the upstream for CentOS, RockyLinux, and Alma Linux)? The ability to view and manage system-wide cryptographic policies Ability to simply install kpatch updates when running through the web console Ability to download the RHEL installation media when setting up a VM in the web console Redfish Ansible Identity Management And more... https://9to5linux.com/red-hat-enterprise-linux-8-7-is-officially-out-with-new-capabilities-and-system-roles #distromonday #RHEL #Linux #enterprise #server #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 34.3 – Unity Desktop on Arch? It can be done, apparently. Not sure why you’d soil Arch that way, but that is just me. The suggestion is to start with a clean install of Arch, then use the tool that the Unity team created. It is just like adding any other specific repo to an Arch based Linux distro... Step 1: Type or copy the following into your terminal emulator curl https://unity.ruds.io/repo.key | sudo pacman-key --add - sudo pacman-key --lsign-key 3FB6809130A5DB7F Step 2: Edit your etc/pacman.conf file with the following lines: [arch-unity] SigLevel = Required DatabaseOptional Server = https://unity.ruds.io/arch-unity Step 3: Run the following to install the packages sudo sh -c "pacman -Syyu; pacman -S unity-meta" At the end of this, you should, have a working Unity Desktop Environment on your Arch install. Cool, if that is your jam. https://9to5linux.com/you-can-now-install-ubuntus-unity-desktop-on-arch-linux-heres-how #distromonday #unitydesktop #arch #btwiusearch #lol #options #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab

TTT 34.1 – KDE Frameworks 5.1 What’s new? A bunch of quality of life tweaks for Dolphin Wayland session fixes No more app hang when recent documents are inaccessible Change to the ‘Unmount device’ button to have a busy indicator when it is actually ejecting the device And plenty more besides https://9to5linux.com/kde-frameworks-5-100-released-with-many-improvements-for-plasma-desktop-and-apps #TTT #KDE #updates #Linux #goodstuff #TechFreedom Empathy and understanding lead to ceasing hostilities under natural circumstances. This does not work, however, with those who have given themselves entirely to evil in one way or the other. That sets us at diametric odds with [them] and their desires. There cannot be peace with that which is behind and undergirds [them]. On the other hand, if they repent, then this can be applicable to those relationships, as well. When, as Longfellow observes, we see their pain and suffering, we find ways to forgive them and move past that former opposition. #TTT #longfellow #quotes #memesplanation #forgiveness #empathy #understanding #TechFreedom TTT 34.2 – Hello, Tabby. Tabby is a cross-platform terminal emulator that used to be called Terminus. What makes it interesting, aside from being able to use it no matter which OS your computer is running? Let’s take a look: Built-in SSH integration Customizability Integrated serial terminal Remember previously opened tabs and supports multi-pane nesting. Full Unicode Support Smart Tabs and progress bars for tabs Optional Quake mode. Integrated encrypted container for SSH secrets and configuration Zmodem Transfers Customizable Hotkeys Multiple Profiles with Profile Manager https://news.itsfoss.com/tabby/ #TTT #Tabby #terminal #cross-platform #Linux #Windows #MacOS #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft TTT 34.3 – Dxvk 2.0 Released Dxvk is a translation layer for directX calls to be readable and usable by vulkan. It makes it far easier to run Windows games in Linux. Without Dxvk, one is stuck emulating directX, which is far more intensive than simply translating it. What is new/ better with this release? Better memory management for D3D9 games and apps Changed Dx10 and Dx11 implementations Reduced D3d11 CPU overhead Lots of improved game support https://9to5linux.com/dxvk-2-0-released-with-major-changes-and-improved-support-for-many-games #TTT #Dxvk #vulkan #directx #graphics #Linux #gaming #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

FFW 19.1 – Unreal Engine 5.1 In Unreal Engine 5, the developers at Epic Games quietly made Linux support official. Now they are making it much more pleasant to develop games on Linux with the Unreal Engine. There is quite a list of improvements and tweaks that really fly over my head, but if you are a developer, I welcome you to take a look at the article for a summation of the changelog for this release. These things will make it easier to develop AAA titles that are Linux native, as the Unreal Engine is exceedingly popular in those sorts of projects, as it is extremely powerful and taught in schools. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/11/unreal-engine-51-rolled-out-with-plenty-of-linux-improvements/ #FFW #unreal #unrealengine #Linux #support #native #epic #TechFreedom What is love? (tell me you didn’t have Night at the Roxbury pop into your head, with Farrell and Carvey rocking out to the song on the way to the club) CS Lewis rightly observes that love is not a feeling, but a consistent desire to see the best possible things happen for the one whom you love. That feeling can, and often does, stem from consistent actions toward the end of achieving the highest possible good for another. But that feeling is not love. I love you all. That is why I try to help you get free from Big Tech. Today also happens to mark our first anniversary. One year ago, I started this channel with a simple message and the hope that I could help the world to break away from Big Tech. #FFW #love #whatislove #cslewis #memesplanation #TechFreedom #anniversary #oneyear FFW 19.2 – ProtonUp-Qt Released What is this? It is a Qt-based Proton updater to make managing proton versions, among other compatibility layers easier on the Steam Deck and on Linux. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/11/protonup-qt-version-275-released-for-easy-ge-proton-installs/ #FFW #proton #protonGE #wineGE #compatibility #gamingonlinux #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 19.3 – WINE 7.21 Released What is WINE again? It stands for WINE Is Not an Emulator, and serves a similar purpose for general Windows apps and programs that DXVK does for DirectX API calls. It translates Windows instructions to Linux counterparts, rather than essentially setting up a virtual machine with just enough resources to run the app or game in question. The developers release one major update every year. It is that time, so let’s look at what is new, now: OpenGL library converted to PE. Support for multi-architecture PE builds. More preparation work for Vulkan 32-on-64 support. Support for creating import libraries without dlltool. Locale data updates. Various bug fixes. There are certain pieces of software that are unlikely to ever be released for Linux, much less be made compatible through WINE, here’s looking at you, Adobe. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/11/windows-compatibility-layer-wine-721-is-out-now/ #FFW #WINE #compatibility #Linux #Linuxgaming #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice

We 14.1 – China Declares Victory Over Childhood Gaming Addiction Problems In true Chinese fashion, they simply limited kids to 1 hour of access to gaming services per day. Right... That is gonna do a TON of good in the long term. A total of 3 hours per week. So get this, now that winter is coming, along with an alleged uptick in COVID activity, parents are allowing their kids access to their gaming accounts to “keep them entertained”. That limitation really seems to be doing the trick, there, China. Wow. Super easy. Barely an inconvenience. We’ll severely limit the kids’ accounts access to gaming servers, but now mom and dad are letting them use their accounts, to keep them placated. Sounds like they’ve really had great success in curbing the kids’ addiction problems. #smh. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63730316 #weekendedition #china #kiddiegamers #gamingaddiction #victory #lol #smh #TechFreedom WE 14.2 – Meta Points the Finger at Pentagon Noted a small network, based in the US, putting out very strongly pro-US propaganda and engaging in “inauthentic behavior”, took it down. Their focus was in former Soviet States mostly around the Baltics in Central Asia (Afghanistan, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Somalia, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Yemen), and they used many of the same tactics to promote themselves and the content that they attempted to palm off as being theirs as propagandists use in campaigns against the West. This network consisted of 39 accounts, 16 pages, and two groups on Facebook, and 26 Instagram accounts. They used fake pictures, fake personas, cross-platform campaigns, and seem to have links to the US military. The article seems concerned that our military using the same tactics used against us would “further erode the public trust” in our government and military. Well, BBC, I hate to break it to you, but there is already a whole lot of “broken ‘public trust’” with our government, just as your people have with yours. The jig is nearly up for those who think that the people of the planet Earth will simply be content to sit by and lose everything that you led us to believe that we still had in life. You will see. It won’t end well for [them]. Needless to say, I am unsurprised that our military would be sloppy enough to get caught by Meta, who is a major contractor of our defense and intel agencies. Go woke, lose enough IQ points to no longer question your own choices, and consequently become far too sloppy. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63731751 #weekendedition #propaganda #potkettleblack #smh #USmilitary #militaryintelligence #gimmeabreak #publictrust #meta #TechFreedom WE 14.3 – Foxconn’s Zhengzhou Campus Sees Unrest I am in solidarity with these horribly mistreated workers who basically slave to produce Mr. Cook’s iPhones for the sheep who still buy them in droves. Both Beijing and Foxconn have abused these people. They have not been paid well, ever, and now they have missed being paid at all for a time. They also have not received food in the quantity that they need and deserve. They are also afraid of a potential COVID outbreak at the plant. These things all added up and some have been abandoning the factory since the latest lockdown began last month. Do you have an iPhone still? Why? Do you enjoy your beautiful UI and well marketed devices that were made by such horribly treated people? Sorry, these sorts of stories raise my hackles. My compassion, coupled with my intense dislike for how Apple operates, just makes my blood boil. I don’t know of anything we can do, other than perhaps #boycottapple. This is not new news, really. There have been massive issues behind the poison Apple for many years. Just switch. I know you’ve been told that Android is terrible, and you are just so comfortable with your iPhones that you can’t hardly imagine leaving, but if you don’t want blood on your handsets, and you actually value your privacy, run away now. Never look back. https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/violent-protests-reportedly-erupt-at-main-iphone-factory-in-china/ #weekendedition #apple #foxconn #china #iphone #boycottapple #TechFreedom WE 14.4 – Remember Theranos? They claimed to be able to test for a number of medical conditions with just a few drops of blood, rather than needing far more, as with conventional labs. Well, the founder, Elizabeth Holmes, was sentenced to 11 years, 3 months in prison, $400 in fines, and 3 years of supervision after release. She could have been sentenced to up to 20 years and $250000 per count of fraud, plus restitution, per count of fraud. How the mighty have fallen. She was the darling of the VC crowd in Silicon Valley, but then it was proven that the testing that they claimed to be able to do was a farce at best, with only dozens of the hundreds of promised tests carried out on their proprietary equipment. On paper, at the zenith of their infatuation with Theranos, she was a paper-billionaire. Oh, and she will still need to pay restitution, to be determined later. They hit some major investors, from the Waltons, to Larry Ellison of Oracle, to Rupert Murdoch of Fox. So of course these major players couldn’t let that slide. Even at that, this feels like a bit of a slap on the wrist. Then again, I haven’t spent much time looking at white collar crime and punishment, much less how rare jail time is for people like Holmes. I imagine that it is about as rare as hens’ teeth. All thanks to our banana republic in-justice system. Big money makes a way for certain individuals to walk almost Scot free, where those who do not have it get ground under the full weight of the law. https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/18/tech/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentencing #weekendedition #theranos #elizabethholmes #fraud #wristslapping #sentencing #TechFreedom WE 14.5 – FCC to the Rescue, Effectively Ends UC Global’s Access to US Markets What is UC Global, you ask? A company who has repeatedly refused to comply with US regulations regarding robocalls. Therefore, the FCC has seen fit to deny the company access to US telecom companies, shutting it out of the US market. Wow. That is harsh, but we’ll see if it is really effective at reducing those nuisance calls from computers or not. Heigh-ho silver, AWAAAYYYY!!!! As annoying as those infernal calls are, is a gov’t agency powerful enough to deny access to US markets a good thing? I am unsure. They ostensibly exist to protect us from fraud and from worse things, but do they actually serve that purpose? I’d have to look more closely at them before answering that question. https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/22/tech/fcc-global-uc-robocalls-violations #weekendedition #robocalls #fcc #banhammer #loneranger #lol #donttrustit #TechFreedom

DM 35.1 – Asahi Linux Updates If you want to run Linux on the latest Apple hardware, and break free from the tyranny of Tim Cook and his fruitiness. This project will lead to a solid M-series silicon performance on Linux. It is not 100% there yet, but they are very actively developing it: Working on the following things: USB/ Thunderbolt drivers Display drivers Backlight drivers and firmware New kernel options, in the form of a new repo that users can add and use alongside of the standard Asahi Linux kernel, Asahi-linux-edge. Display drivers are coming along, as I reported on a few months back, it looks like they even have Nexuiz/ Xonotic running, which is really cool. https://asahilinux.org/2022/11/november-2022-report/ #distromonday #linuxonmac #Asahi #updates #Linux #TechFreedom In writing a paper last week, I was confronted with the reality that often, the Church idolizes relevance more than it actually serves God. It is a problem when we place anything above God, but when the culture is as corrupt as it is now, it is exceedingly troubling. We are meant to be salt and light, but when we rubber stamp all of the sins that we are meant to stand against, and refuse to correct people in love, then how can we call ourselves the Body of Christ? If we seek to serve culture more than God by chasing after relevance more than after His heart, then how can we claim to be His, rather than friends with the world? #distromonday #stathanasius #relevance #servegod #churchfathers #memesplanation #TechFreedom DM 35.2 – New Release of Alpine Linux What is Alpine Linux? Alpine is an indie distro, focused on being lightweight, secure, and efficient. It is based on musl libc and BusyBox, and uses OpenRC for init and system management. Alpine Linux 3.17 is now available, so what’s new? OpenSSL 3.0 Rust support GNOME 43 ( I didn’t realize GNOME could be decoupled from SystemD) KDE 5.26 And lots more besides... https://9to5linux.com/alpine-linux-3-17-officially-released-with-full-rust-support-openssl-3-0-by-default #distromonday #Alpine #Linux #openrc #Rust #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 35.3 – Speaking of Security, Check Out TAILS 5.7 TAILS stands for The Amnesiac Incognito Live System, and is meant to be run on flash drives. It is portable, and all you need is an 8 GB flash drive to install it to. It is based on Debian, features TOR, and is about as hardened as you can get. What’s new? A Metadata Cleaner, to remove metadata from files you create or edit, which can protect you from being tracked. Updated Tor Browser Numerous tweaks and fixes Take a look if you need extra protection for whatever you do, this is used by journalists, activists, and spooks, to protect their work from the prying eyes of governments and corporations. https://news.itsfoss.com/tails-5-7-release/ #distromonday #TAILS #security #pentesting #nopersistence #notadailydriver #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab

TTT 34.1 – Ever Used HTOP and Felt It Lacking? Here are some alternatives: Atop – very plain output, but gives a sysadmin all the information they need about a system and its running processes Vtop – a node.js based option which looks prettier than htop, and far better than atop Btop++ – a python/C++ version of htop with full mouse support (seems nice to have in a cli-based application, and has a game-inspired menu, which I have experimented with, and it is a very nice upgrade in terms of UI vs htop. Glances – A very complete glance at running processes, including network, temperature sensor, disk activity, CPU, and Memory usage monitoring, all in one terminal emulator tab. Nmon – Glances, but with a configurable view. You can have as much or as little info about your system on screen at once as you may need in the moment. What is htop? It is a CLI app that helps you to monitor your system processes and resource usage, as well as ways to end misbehaving processes. https://itsfoss.com/htop-alternatives/ #TTT #htop #systemmonitoring #Linux #goodstuff #TechFreedom Thankfulness leads to humility. When we thank God for everything, whether breaths, accomplishments, or material goods, we recognize that we are not the source of our lives. This diffuses that rather nasty human trait of pride. When we recognize that all we are and all we have did not originate in or with us, but is a gift from God, then how can we be anything but humble? This is not a humility of “woe is me, I’m a worm”, but a mindset, rather, of “I am blessed and God is the source of those blessings, so I get to steward them.” There is a confidence that comes there that is not related to pride, but of knowing one’s right place, as I talked about last week. #TTT #saints #quotes #memesplanation #thankfulness #humility #TechFreedom TTT 34.2 – Wayland Rolls New Screen Tearing Protocol Wait? What? Wayland doesn’t do screen tearing as a point of pride, right? Well, not so fast. Sometimes, like in games or with drawing tablets, it may be necessary to allow screen tearing, or asynchronous page turning for the display in order to reduce latency. What’s that? Asynchronous Page Turning is a fancy way to say that the image on the display doesn’t have to be drawn all at the same time. The new protocol will not effect anything by default, even once it is installed. The goal, of course, is to phase that protocol back out eventually, but maintain the input latency reduction that it provides. It will take time to get that done, though. So hang tight, and unless you are playing FPS games or doing significant digital painting/drawing/art with your Linux machine, and running Wayland rather than XOrg for your display server. https://www.phoronix.com/news/Wayland-Tearing-Control-Proto #TTT #wayland #screentearing #steppingstone #Linux #latency #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft TTT 34.3 – Tinkerer? There’s a New Orange Pi SBC Available Now OrangePi 5 is now available, with a major performance boost vs its predecessor the OPi 4 LTS, and will eventually offer 16 and 32 GB memory versions. The base model ships with 4 GB, and the boast that it is 4x faster for CPU tasks than its predecessor, and 8x faster for rasterized graphics, enough to drive a 8k display, smoothly playing videos. Wow. It also has plenty of I/O options, in the form of PCIe m.2 support, HDMI output, GPIO interface, Type-C, Gigabit LAN port, 2xUSB 2.0, and 1xUSB 3.0. There’s also an onboard microphone, and a 26-pin header. The struggle here, though, is that it isn’t as broadly Linux-compatible as the RPi devices are. It only runs the house-built Orange Pi OS (Droid), Android 12, and Debian 11. After pre-sale, it will start at $75 for the base model https://linuxiac.com/orange-pi-5-sbc-is-available-for-pre-order-prices-start-at-60/ #TTT #orangepi #arm #makers #tinkerers #Linux #opensource #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

FFW 20.1: Proton 7.0-5 Makes Moar Games Moar Better Here are the affected titles: Newly Added: Airborne Kingdom Aspire: Ina’s Tale Battle Realms: Zen Edition Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition Darkstar One Deathsmiles II Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb Nancy Drew: Legend of the Crystal Skull Unravel 2 Pico Park Classic Edition Primal Carnage: Extinction Rift Re-Volt Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind Fixed or patched: Batman: Arkham City GOTY Armello Bail or Jail Call of Duty: Black Ops II Disgaea 5 Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen Final Fantasy IV (3D Remake) Final Fantasy XIV Online GTA V Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered Planet Zoo Red Dead Redemption 2 Return to Monkey Island SCP: Secret Labratory Space Engineers Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization Tekken 7 Quite the list... Anything you guys play? I don’t have time to play much of anything these days. https://9to5linux.com/proton-7-0-5-adds-support-for-more-games-to-play-on-linux-lots-of-improvements #FFW #steam #steamdeck #proton #gamesfordays #news #TechFreedom Here is a controversy that is still raging in theological circles... The nature of free will. Does it exist? Augustine knew that it does exist. I agree with that, as I sense that it is a part of the image of God, it is where our personal sovereignty resides. I’m not going to go deeper into that today, but if it exists, and can be corrupted, then we need to be aware of that. It cannot truly be said to be free, if it cannot be influenced in one way or the other, whether for good or evil. #FFW #memesplanation #quotes #churchfathers #patristics #freewill #good #evil #augustine #TechFreedom FFW 20.2: SteamOS 3.4 Preview Released Resident Evil 4 is now playable again, due to a fixed regression. Good on Valve and Steam for listening to their users and rolling fixes quickly. #FFW #Steam #steamOS #residentevil4 #steamdeck #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 20.3: Steam Continues Updating Old Games for Linux Half Life 2, Portal, Portal 2, and Left 4 Dead 2 all get DXVK 2.0 support, enabling better native Linux performance, benefiting from that bump provided by the new version of DXVK I talked about last week. Anyone still play these classic titles? Tell me about it below. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/11/half-life-2-portal-portal-2-left-4-dead-2-all-get-upgraded-with-dxvk-20-vulkan/ #FFW #Linux #Steam #DXVK #native #gaming #hl2 #portal #portal2 #left4dead2 #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice Link to Christian PC Consulting on telegram: https://t.me/christian_pc_consulting

We 15.1 – Neuralink: Sounds Good on One Hand... Terrifying on the Other... The promise of Neuralink is lofty and sounds amazing, should they actually succeed at their aims, and overcome the ethical and legal concerns inherent with melding man and computers. If you didn’t know, Musk owns the company, and he has a huge interest in trans-humanism. I should probably talk a bit about definitions, here, before I proceed. What are the legal and ethical concerns with melding machines with the human mind? That is an unfolding issue, but the bottom line is where the person ends and the computer begins in this scenario, say in a situation where an augmented human being commits a crime. Are they human? Do laws for humans apply to them? Should they? As for the ethics, this gets into what the definition of human is, along with whether it is fair for natural humans to compete with augmented, trans-human beings (once they are to the point where they would be competitive or even have an edge over the rest of us). In a way, this is semi-analogous to trans-females competing with natural, biological women in physical activities. Those trans individuals will always have advantages in speed, endurance, and strength. Will this be the case with trans-humans? We do not know. Will this simply be another way in which wealthy people will be able to flaunt their wealth and keep otherwise naturally more gifted poor individuals from competing fairly? Will augmented or trans-humans be able to exist without prejudice, either from or towards natural humans? Should we get to the point where we find out? I’m not sure. Neuralink is a company built around the ideals of trans-humanism, initially with the laudable goal of restoring sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, limb function to paralytics and quadriplegics, and the like. This is what sounds great, on the surface. When you look at trans-humanism the shine quickly wears off. The bottom line is that they want to play God. They want to “upgrade” humanity to something “more” than we are. Here is a definition from the Encyclopedia Britannica: it is a philosophical and scientific movement that advocates the use of current and emerging technologies—such as genetic engineering, cryonics, artificial intelligence (AI), and nanotechnology—to augment human capabilities and improve the human condition. They are doing animal trials right now with limited, but quickly expanding capabilities, such as tapping into a pig’s spinal column to start to understand the nature of the electro-chemical messages sent from brains to limbs, and to intercept those in order to decode and study them. They have also been working on visual experiments on monkeys. This is very distasteful to me. I mentioned the concept of “playing God” earlier, and that is really the level of hubris that proponents of this line of thinking are looking to do. On a purely technical level, this is really cool, however, the world is much more nuanced and complex than a whitepaper or a relatively simple animal experiment. My gut says that this is wrong, and not a direction we should be pursuing. https://www.cnet.com/science/neuralink-brain-chip-plans-help-the-blind-see-and-the-paralyzed-walk/ #weekendedition #musk #neuralink #heavy #transhumanism #playinggod #nothanks #TechFreedom WE 15.2 – Drop Everything and Update NOW!!! *eyeroll* Major patches in the last month, all around. It is great that the behemoths of Big Tech are on their game, and are patching some significant security holes in the last month. Windows saw 68 vulnerabilities patched, with 4 zero-day scenarios, Apple patched two major libxml2 flaws which could lead to remote access issues, Google patched several issues of their own within Android which could lead to inappropriate local privilege escalation (as they were in GSF, related to the Play Store), Chrome patched its 8th major security issue for the year, and not to be outdone, Mozilla patched 19 security holes with Firefox 107. VMWare also had some issues in their cloud infrastructure which got patched. Ok, as much as I want to make a big stink out of these patches, it is essentially business as usual. Bugs and vulnerabilities get identified by users and researchers, and the teams behind these products work hard to patch these issues, then roll them out to the public. This is normal, even in the FOSS community, as I often cover in my Linux news segments during the week. The key differences between the models is that in FOSS, the patches often get rolled out more quickly, as those development teams tend to be more nimble than their proprietary counterparts. https://www.wired.com/story/ios-android-windows-vulnerability-patches-november-2022/#intcid=_wired-verso-hp-trending_a7d87c76-d775-40b2-b504-824d7f859c59_popular4-1 #weekendedition #security #patches #updates #Windows #Apple #google #android #chrome #firefox107 #vmwware #TechFreedom WE 15.3 – SCOTUS Fight Over Section 230 Protections for Big Tech Begins... Round 1: Fight! Ok, this is a nuanced situation, and the cases at hand have to do with terrorism. I am tired of hearing about terrorism as an excuse for loss of rights. What I am not tired of is tech giants using algorithms to decide what I should even want to see online. Give me unvarnished search results and do not silo me in some sort of echo chamber. I may not like much of what is out there, but let me see it all, dammit. I need information in order to form valid opinions. Let me think for myself. I never gave you the right to determine what is good, valid, or objectionable. Ok, rant over. One is a case against Google, regarding an attack in Paris by Islamic State (IS) actors. The other is against Twitter, regarding an IS attack in Turkey. The Google (Gonzalez v Google) related suit alleges that Google aided and abetted the terrorists by hosting their communication and boosting it artificially through their algorithms. Google is confident that they are in the right here, that they did nothing beyond what Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act would cover. SCOTUS may have other thoughts, here, and this may be the beginning of the end for Section 230. I’m not one for hyperbole, but this could be interesting to watch, particularly in tandem with the Twitter v Taamneh case. I’ll follow up on these as time goes on, and we’ll see what, if anything changes through these eventual decisions. https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/1/23487958/supreme-court-gonzalez-google-twitter-taamneh-section-230 #weekendedition #google #twitter #section230 #lawfare #terrorism #TechFreedom WE 15.4 – Poor Zuck... Reduced to Whining About the App Store We’ve talked about the woes of Meta lately, so I don’t need to re-cover that here, but, suffice it to say, they have had an exceedingly bad year, losing about $750 Billion in market cap. A good chunk of that is tied to the fact that Apple changed its ad-tracking policies, so that only they could accurately serve ads to their customers. Can’t even say that Apple did a good thing there, as they simply walled their users in even more fully, there is a line from Psalms which talks about how God protects His children, that He “hems them in, behind and before” that comes to mind. Can we trust Apple with that data? Haven’t they been compromised and exploited in terms of privacy and security many times in the last few years? Aside from that, what motivation should we have, other than convenience, to pay the Apply tax? Sure, their ecosystem works extremely well, until something breaks, then you need the Genius Bar, which may not even be available for an appointment for a month or more. At any rate, Zuck spoke at a conference in NYC last week, and petulantly whined about how “Apple has sort of singled themselves out as the only company that is trying to control unilaterally what apps get on a device.” Do I agree with Apple’s exclusive control over their ecosystem? No. Of course not. I understand why it is a “thing”, but really? This is not the kind of control which should exist in the modern tech space. I do not pity Zuck or Meta in this, but many other good apps have been rejected from the AppStore over the years. Do we exist in a free market, capitalist society or not? Apple has created an exceedingly lucrative niche for itself, in our system, which could be argued to be fascistic in tone if not reality, particularly in the last 15 years or so, since the first iPhone rolled out. I applaud them for that. Good on them. However, it is extremely anti-competitive and anti-consumer on their part to continue on this track. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/30/mark-zuckerberg-says-apples-app-store-policies-are-not-sustainable.html #weekendedition #crybabyzuck #meta #apple #anticompetition #anticonsumer #appstore #TechFreedom WE 15.5 – Sam Bankman-Fried Admits that He “Screwed Up” Speaking virtually at the same conference where Zuck spoke, DealBook, SBF claimed that he had major regrets at the events of the last month, and beyond. He did not own up to commingling funds between FTX and Alameda Research (a hedge fund he set up and controlled). He admitted that he screwed up. No shit, Sherlock. Pardon my french there. I was not invested in anything connected with FTX, thank God, but those who are caught up in the fallout of this thing are probably wondering, along with me, why he has not been hauled into custody. Why is he able to speak and appear at industry conferences like this with all of the mess swirling around him? Is it because he is as connected as he is, as well as likely having paid off some major players in the political space through massive donations? Probably. He has been strutting around like some sort of peacock in the last few weeks, almost doing some sort of apology tour, very much against the advice of his lawyers. Maybe he thinks that he can’t be touched because parties on both sides of the aisle owe him allot, due to his massive campaign contributions. He claims that he may be down to about $100k in his bank account, from a zenith of $26 Billion, just 6 or 7 months ago. I was not paying a ton of attention to crypto as a whole, other than a passing interest and observing how the whole market has been sickeningly volatile over the last couple of years. Particularly BTC. Yikes. I never really trusted that whole thing to begin with. I hope you all haven’t lost too much in that space. https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/30/business/sam-bankman-fried-ftx #weekendedition #sbf #ftx #crypto #duh #TechFreedom

DM 36.1 – Salix Live Xfce 15 Salix is based on Slackware. Slackware is one of the oldest Linux distros, along with Debian and Red Hat, way back in the early days. It has its own package manager along with the rest of the things that make it its own distro. Salix takes Slackware and makes it as functionally slimmed down as possible. They have a one task, one application philosophy, which is interesting to me. This release is the Live USB build, so what is new here? The ability to create a persistent, frugal install (read: portable, like TAILS), just more focused on being lightweight than being super private and secure. Not much else to say about this one, but it is cool, and I like to cover indie distros, not just the titans of Linux, here on Distro Monday. https://distrowatch.com/?newsid=11691 #distromonday #salix #linuxlive #updates #Linux #TechFreedom Know thyself. Know your strengths, but do not shy away from your weaknesses. Isaac the Syrian tells us that knowing our weakness is the genesis of all goodness. Consciousness of our weaknesses helps us to keep perspective and humility when walking in this world. That is a seed of goodness, it can also lead to growth, if we address those things in us that would otherwise be negatives. #distromonday #stisaac #weakness #goodness #churchfathers #memesplanation #TechFreedom DM 36.2 – UBTouch OTA 24 I usually don’t cover Linux Mobile on Distro Monday, but this sticks out to me, so here we go... What is new here? Why should we care, Matt? First things first, we should care, because even though it is still really only of use to developers and tinkerers right now, the fact that Linux Mobile is even a thing at all is a wonderful thing. They are working on VOLTE, and that should be coming soon for most supported devices. Once that is accomplished, it should be easier to justify porting it and thereby making it more available to the public. Why does it matter, really, other than as a nerdy curiosity, though? When it is truly daily driver ready, we will have an entirely open source mobile OS option that, at least on certain devices, will never use proprietary blobs for firmware (this is really only the case for devices like the Pinephone and the Librem 5 (who has those, anyway?). This matters, because while AOSP (Android Open Source Project) is based on an old Linux kernel, it is decidedly NOT Linux. It is great because we are getting closer by the day to a 3 mobile OS world, and that is awesome. Is it perfect yet, no. Is it ready for the general public yet? No. Is it getting closer? Yes. This, and projects like it need more financial support, so that the developers who are best suited to working out these issues will be incentivized to focus on it so that these problems get solved. Ok, that was a long dissertation, and we aren’t done with the story yet... What’s new in this OTA update? Double tap to wake for certain devices Better Fingerprint Reader Performance (reducing time between retries) Media button support for headphones Better SMS and MMS functionality Lots of bug fixes https://9to5linux.com/ubuntu-touch-ota-24-release-for-ubuntu-phone-users-heres-whats-new #distromonday #ubtouch #Linux #linuxmobile #volte #comingsoon #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 36.3 – OrangePI OS (Arch) Is Coming I talked about the OrangePI 5 last week, and was let down by the lack of Linux support, but now the Chinese company behind it, is making an Arch based OrangePI OS. Yeah, that makes me uncomfortable as well, but this is FOSS tech we are talking about here, maybe this will help the makers of RasPI to get off of their laurels and innovate a bit more, if this new distro, coupled with their SBCs is genuinely competitive. https://news.itsfoss.com/orange-pi-os-arch/ #distromonday #OrangePI #OrangePIOS #alternatives #rasPI #Linux #arch #TechFreedom

TTT 36.1 – KDE 5.26.4 Updates Released What’s new this month? More fixes for the Wayland Session (yay!) Crash solved in x11 Improves notifications in a few ways (lessens sharpness, better multi-monitor support, better fingerprint unlocking) Progress bar in Discover is more visible Media player icon flashing oddly at times And about 50 other things got changed or tweaked this time around. Pretty good stuff, all around. https://9to5linux.com/kde-plasma-5-26-4-is-out-to-improve-plasma-wayland-notifications-and-more #TTT #htop #systemmonitoring #Linux #goodstuff #TechFreedom Thankfulness leads to humility. When we thank God for everything, whether breaths, accomplishments, or material goods, we recognize that we are not the source of our lives. This diffuses that rather nasty human trait of pride. When we recognize that all we are and all we have did not originate in or with us, but is a gift from God, then how can we be anything but humble? This is not a humility of “woe is me, I’m a worm”, but a mindset, rather, of “I am blessed and God is the source of those blessings, so I get to steward them.” There is a confidence that comes there that is not related to pride, but of knowing one’s right place, as I talked about last week. #TTT #saints #quotes #memesplanation #thankfulness #humility #TechFreedom TTT 36.2 – Wayland Protocols 1.31 adds Fractional Scaling This is an excellent move from the Wayland team in their quest to replace the venerable x11 system as the display server of choice in Linux. Have you noticed visual fidelity issues with your high resolution displays on Wayland? These new protocols, when fully adopted by KDE and the other compatible desktop environments, will lead to much smoother and more precise performance on your desktop. Much win. Very nice. It will, however, take time for this to be fully implemented. https://news.itsfoss.com/wayland-protocols-fractional-scaling/ #TTT #wayland #screentearing #steppingstone #Linux #latency #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft TTT 36.3 – Midori Begins Its Comeback Ever heard of Midori? It is a FOSS, Chromium-based browser that used to be quitepopular in the Linux space, I think I recall it shipping with Mint, back in the day, but the project was all but dead for the last few years. Not dead anymore, it has had the breath of life returned to it, and it has its own, FOSS search engine, which you can self-host if you so desire. The browser and the search engine are privacy focused, even though the search engine, called AstianGO, does not have its own index, it records nothing about you or your history. It polls Google, Qwant, and Brave Search and serves you those results. Neither seem to be 100% ready to go yet, but could be an interesting combo project to keep tabs on. https://news.itsfoss.com/midori-astiango/ #TTT #foss #browsers #midori #fossearch #Linux #opensource #TechFreedom

We 16.1 – TSMC + Bidan in AZ, What Could Go Wrong? TSMC stands for Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, and they fabricate many chips for many different companies, including Apple and AMD. The AZ plant, which is one of two they have committed to building in the US, will focus on 3 and 4 NM process nodes for Apple’s ARM silicon. Trump started the ball rolling on this, but Bidan is capitalizing on it, as the fact is that these are planned to be in full operation before the 2024 election. TSMC is making a 40 billion dollar investment in the US, split between 2 plants, one in AZ and the other in OH. This is great news for US nationals, to not be so dependent on Chinese fabrication plants for our chips, for everything from cars to cell phones, smart fridges, IoT devices, and computers. What bothers me, but is a typical feature of politics, is that the useless lump who can’t make it through a whole sentence without a nearly catastrophic stumble is getting to take credit for the work and ideas that Trump put in place during the 2020 election cycle. Then again, there were some major landmines that Trump left for the Bidan joke of an admin... From the stimulus checks and ConVid measures (including Fauci and co), left in place to make the economy tank through inflation and alleged shortages. I don’t know, maybe that gives Trump too much credit for strategy. Don’t crucify me too hard in the comments on this one, just talking and expressing some opinions, here. I want to believe that Trump is that good, but I’m not so sure at this point. Time will tell. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-63883047 #weekendedition #tsmc #bidan #trump #tech #madeinamerica #TechFreedom WE 16.2 – Meta May Drop All US News from US Timelines In response to the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act or JCPA, Meta has stated that not only does it feel that its platform has actually helped struggling journalists by allowing them to draw more eyeballs to their websites, but that the news on Meta news feeds only accounts for 4% of total revenue for the platform. What is the JCPA? It aims to allow local news stations, newspapers, and independent journalists the ability to collectively bargain with the platform to get a larger cut of the ad revenue pie. This article equates it to a piece of similar legislation that passed in Australia in March 2021, and resulted in a temporary moratorium on news on Facebook in Australia, until the Aussie gov’t struck a deal with Facebook later that year. What’s true, here? Is this seemingly compassionate legislation a good move by our legislators? How many of these smaller publishers and outlets are actually adding something important to the landscape of the news in America, anyway? How many are just parroting 3 AM talking points given to them by the higher-ups in their affiliated networks vs actually reporting accurately on things that are really happening? Who knows? How many who were actually telling the truth got demonitized, shadow-banned, Facebook jailed, or deactivated by Facebook, though? I sense that there were many. How many tweaked things so that the “fact checkers” (propagandists) at Facebook wouldn’t slam them? Possibly even more... How many avoided the problem altogether by becoming parrots of the accepted narrative, and betrayed the trust of the American viewer and reader? https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63869013 #weekendedition #meta #news #jcpa #goodbadorugly #TechFreedom WE 16.3 – Are AirTags a Safety Concern? Two women are suing Apple, alleging that their exes used AirTags to stalk them, one, where the guy placed one in a plastic bag, colored with a sharpie, and hid it in a wheel well in her car, and the other, where AirTags kept appearing in her son’s backpack after visits with his dad (complaintant’s ex-husband). These cheap, bluetooth tiles, meant to make it easier to track down lost keys in your house, misplaced luggage or other items, can too easily be abused to track people, rather than just items. It is argued that there are not enough security protections on these devices to prevent them from being misused. Gee whiz, I seem to recall making that case in one of my first Weekend Edition streams, and that is without any real research on my part, just simple common sense. I am also deeply concerned with any proprietary tech like this, as it is unable to be audited by anyone outside of the company who created it. Anyway, I told you so... Of course, the article I talked about these things in relation to was primarily about child safety at school. I do not trust these things at all. Prove that I’m wrong, I’ll change my opinion. I’m waiting. https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/tech/apple-airtag-lawsuit #weekendedition #apple #airtags #creepy #stalking #privacy #security #TechFreedom WE 16.4 – SEC and Crypto Intermediaries SEC Chair Gensler warned crypto lenders and others who play with crypto that doesn’t really belong to them that the SEC might be coming for them soon (see Alameda Research, Nexo, BlockFi, FTX, and the like). He called them “crypto casinos”, and stated that if they touch US markets, they must come into compliance with US laws and regulations if they are going to continue functioning. My sense on the whole crypto thing is that it is ultimately better to invest in precious metals and other physical assets than in digital, ephemeral, so-called assets. In the way of disclosure, I have done a smidge bit of dabbling in crypto, but am essentially out of the market now. Now that that is out of the way, the volatile nature of crypto has always scared me. If a coin or token is directly tied to say an oz or a gram of physical silver or gold, or any other precious metal you might think of, and one can directly redeem that token or coin for that physical asset, it could be worthwhile. If it is as 99.999% of them have been, and purely based on speculation and strings of code, then get out, now, before it crashes fully. I sense a mass death spiral coming in the crypto space, particularly with the FTX situation, among others. HODL, or get out. Quit trading for a living. Let the market implode and the truly real and viable ones rise from the ashes before you do too much more. Not financial advice, and I am not an expert, just someone who has watched, mostly from the sidelines sharing his opinion. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/sec-chair-says-crypto-intermediaries-should-come-into-compliance-with-law-2022-12-07/ #weekendedition #crypto #lending #fintech #volatility #physicalassets #gold #silver #SEC #TechFreedom WE 16.5 – SBF May Be a Challenge to Actually Arrest... Oh Brother... As a follow up of sorts to the articles from the last couple of weeks where I mused about the fact that SBF has yet to be arrested for what appears to be at least a handful of potential fraud charges related to how things went or didn’t go at FTX and related companies. On one hand, he is very well-connected and paid-up with those who would be coming after him on the Federal level. On the other, the records are scant within FTX, so proving much of anything is going to be a major struggle for investigators. If he is ever arrested, it may take years of painstaking investigations first, so that they can be confident in charging him with crimes. In the interim, he is open to civil litigation, which is already mounting, and has a much lower burden of proof (simply “beyond a reasonable doubt” in a judge’s mind), rather than incontrovertible evidence being placed before a jury in a criminal proceeding. Investigators do not want to just throw shit at the wall to see what sticks, as they also want to avoid double jeopardy issues, where if one very similar charge is thrown out in court, that person cannot be charged with a substantially similar crime in the future. The bottom line is that the wheels of justice turn slowly in cases like this. We may want his head, but we need to make sure that charges actually stick, so he actually gets convicted of at least one crime from this whole scenario, and justice is served. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/05/sam-bankman-fried-could-face-years-in-prison-over-ftx-meltdown.html #weekendedition #sbf #ftx #crypto #prison #fines #ouch #patience #justice #TechFreedom

DM 37.1 – 4M Linux Updates 4M Linux is one that I covered a few months ago. It’s a lightweight, indie option which runs Joe’s Window Manager (JWM) and emphasizes just 4 things: • Maintenance (system rescue Live CD), • Multimedia (full support for a huge number of image, audio and video formats), • Miniserver (DNS, FTP, HTTP, MySQL, NFS, Proxy, SMTP, SSH, and Telnet), • Mystery (meaning a collection of classic Linux games). They just released a new update, so let’s take a look at that: • Linux 6.0.9 • Mesa 22.1.4 • Btrfs and Syslinux Support • Filezilla • XPaint & GNU Paint to augment GIMP • CLI Utility for NVME drives • New small games • Audacious is now the default audio player • Lots of other good stuff. Take a look if you need something light, but capable. https://9to5linux.com/lightweight-distro-4mlinux-41-arrives-with-linux-kernel-6-0-btrfs-support-and-new-apps #distromonday #4mlinux #lightweight #updates #Linux #TechFreedom What is prayer? Is it some mysterious, religious thing? Well, yes, and no. It is intended to be an intimate conversation between you and the Lord. Not something to tick the boxes for human beings so that you seem holy or something. It is not a religious thing, it is a conversation with your Father, your Abba. A conversation with your Lord and friend. Don’t simply report things (He already knows them anyway), but invite Him into them. Give Him permission to be present in your every moment. Prayer is meant to be an unending dialogue with God, where we share our hearts with Him, and listen to His heart for us and His world. #distromonday #stjohnchrysostom #intimacy #prayer #churchfathers #memesplanation #TechFreedom DM 37.2 – Minty Fresh Beta for Mint 21.1 This release is all about the latest and greatest with the Cinnamon desktop, in version 5.6. • No icons on the desktop by default • No more “show desktop” applet by the app launcher • New Corner Bar Applet replaces that functionality and adds more • Lots of stuff under the hood to make Cinnamon more stable and lightweight for your enjoyment. https://9to5linux.com/first-look-at-the-cinnamon-5-6-desktop-environment #distromonday #linuxmint #Linux #cinnamon #beta #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/products/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 37.3 – Kali Linux Updates, Now With PinePhone Support New from the Ethical Hacking Distrotm . Kali is not really meant to be a daily driver, unless you are a white hat hacker, doing pen testing and other forms of legit security testing or research. What’s new here? • Freshest Xfce, GNOME, and KDE desktops • Linux 6.0 Kernel • Official PinePhone support • Lots of tool updates that I don’t have a grasp on ◦ Bloodhound.py ◦ Certipy tool for Active Directory Certificate Services enumeration and abuse ◦ hak5-wifi-coconut user-space driver for USB Wi-Fi NICs and the Hak5 Wi-Fi Coconut (for testing wifi security, I suppose) ◦ ldapdomaindump Active Directory information dumper via LDAP ◦ Peass-ng privilege escalation tools (for achieving exploits on systems you are testing) ◦ Rizin-cutter reverse engineering platform As you can perhaps see, this tool is getting ever more useful in the hands of legit professionals, to protect the rest of us from their less-than-ethical counterparts which tend to operate in gangs and often extort people and organizations for money. https://9to5linux.com/kali-linux-2022-4-ethical-hacking-distro-arrives-with-linux-6-0-official-pinephone-support #distromonday #kalilinux #whitehats #ethicalhackers #security #Linux #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab

TTT 37.1 – COSMIC News What’s COSMIC? COSMIC is the House-built set of extensions for GNOME that System76 used for POP!OS, however, System76 is creating their own desktop environment, written in the Rust programming language, and based around another FOSS tool called Iced. Why are they going to all this trouble? Well, because the GNOME team refused to work with them about the extensions that they kill every time a new version of GNOME gets released, so the POP!OS team decided that it was time to go their own way. What is the big deal? Why, other than a difference of opinion between developers, did the team undertake this effort? Rust allows the new DE to be more responsive and configurable, as it is lighter, due to the nature of rust as a language. It will have its own wayland compositor with HiDPI, Fractional Scaling, HDR, and NVidia support out of the box. They are also trying to make sure that it is almost futureproof (right... What’s that really mean?) This may encourage me to look at it again, when it is ready (whenever that is). https://9to5linux.com/system76s-rust-based-cosmic-desktop-promises-hdr-support-smooth-nvidia-experience #TTT #COSMIC #popos #system76 #Linux #goodstuff #TechFreedom What did Jesus have to give us? Divinity, union with God, righteousness, love, wisdom, and so much more. What did we have that he took from us? Well, our pride, our brokenness, our sin, our wounds. Does this sound like a fair trade to you? It sure doesn’t to me. I don’t know about you, but my stuff feels pretty heavy, yet He took it and gave me an infinitely better deal, and did the same for all who would come unto Him. Have you let your stuff go and received wholeness, a pathway to union with God, love, righteousness, and al the rest that I didn’t mention this morning? #TTT #saints #quotes #memesplanation #stcyril #divination #greatexchange #salvation #sanctification #TechFreedom TTT 37.2 – GIMP Now Stable on Apple Silicon Great news for users of M1 & M2 Mac machines, GIMP is now stable for you guys, for MacOS. It has worked for some time, but has not been considered stable. It is now. You have another solid option to work with instead of PS. Different workflow, sure, but I think you can get it done, and once you do, that is one less SAAS subscription you’ll have to pay for. https://linuxiac.com/gimp-stable-released-for-the-first-time-for-apple-silicon-devices/ #TTT #gimp #fossonmac #applesilicon #macos #coolstuff #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft TTT 37.3 – Bitwarden News Along with other passwordless options to get into bitwarded-protected devices (various biometric (which we should not use, allegedly, as the Feds can finesse their way into making us sign in for them, where with a pin or a password/code, they need an actual warrant) and pin), they have added a limited 2FA option, where it will ping another of your signed-in devices (phone, different computer, etc) so that you can confirm that it is you trying to sign into your computer or phone. If you are using bitwarden and self-hosting, then for now, this is not available to you, however, if you are using their cloud solution, it is there for you to use. If you are using a password manager, then you are likely very security-focused, and are probably wondering whether this option is actually safe. Bitwarden claims that the request and response are both encrypted between devices and their cloud, so it looks safe enough to the moment at least. https://news.itsfoss.com/bitwarden-passwordless-prompt/ #TTT #foss #bitwarden #passwords #passwordmanager #options #Linux #opensource #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

FFW 22.1- Team Behind Heroic Launcher Releases Significant Hotfix for New Version As I covered last week, Heroic released a major new version, YAY! However, as with almost any piece of software, there were some bugs, so let’s take a look and see what they fixed so quickly: • Fix the issue with the download's progress going crazy and duplicating the installation/update. • Fix a crash on the Install dialog on some games. • Fix sideload games not being added to steam automatically. • Fix Games failing to start when launched from Steam because they have an update. • Fix games falling to start when launched from Steam when they had Sync Saves but the path was not defined. • Fix Auto detect saves path going on forever. Now it will have a timeout of 15s. • Fix GOG games failing to install due to not supported language error. • Increased the connectivity check timeout at start up and added a button to ignore the status. • [macOS] Fixed an issue where the game save path was not correct for native games. • [Linux/macOS] Fix the windows version of a game version being recognized as native and not showing Wine settings and others. • Fix a crash that was happening when uninstalling Sideloaded Apps. • Fix Login Page container size max Width. • Possibly fix the state of the game card not correctly updating. Not showing an update button, for instance. • [Windows] Fix an issue where Heroic was crashing when opening the install dialog. • Heroic will clean the cache now after upgrading to a new release since some issues are associated with that after updating. • Some other minor fixes and improvements. Good stuff, Heroic Launcher team! Any of you guys use it? https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/12/heroic-games-launcher-gets-a-big-hotfix-to-clean-up-some-issues/ #FFW #heroic #hotfixes #updates #gamesfordays #news #TechFreedom What is the hope Polycarp is talking about here? What is our faith based upon? Let me give you a little context for this quote... Polycarp was alive from the mid 1st Century AD- the mid 2nd Century AD. The Church was under heavy persecution, such that I doubt that many American Christians would have stood up under. He was martyred in 155. What hope did he have in that context? None but Jesus. He knew the Lord (perhaps not in the natural, as he was born about 30 years after Jesus ascended into heaven). Jesus’ promises to us kept him and the early believers he served moving forward, even in the face of Empire telling them that they could not believe as they did. They were subversives, they confessed a Lord other than Caesar. That was worthy of death, as it was tantamount to treason against the Empire. Is there anything we deal with daily that could be comparable? Perhaps noticing the synagogue of Satan manipulating everything to their own benefit? Perhaps boldly stating that there is no such thing as a trans person? That a trans person is really still their biological gender, no matter how much they try to change that? Fill in the blank, here, think up a sacred cow and slaughter it, and watch what happens. #FFW #memesplanation #quotes #churchfathers #patristics #Bible #hope #faith #polycarp #TechFreedom FFW 22.2: Proton 7.0-5 Out Now As announced in the beta release 2 weeks ago, Proton 7.0-5 is now out, and the lineup of playable games and fixes have grown in expected ways. Let’s take a look at the lists: Newly playable games include: • Rift • Unravel 2 • Airborne Kingdom • Nancy Drew: Legend of the Crystal Skull • Re-Volt (but you should try it with Luxtorpeda) • Aspire: Ina's Tale • Battle Realms: Zen Edition • Deathsmiles II • Primal Carnage: Extinction • Pico Park Classic Edition • Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind • Darkstar One • Indiana Jones and the Emperor Tomb • Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition Other fixes include: • Fix Batman: Arkham City GOTY launching in the background on Steam Deck when set to fullscreen. • Fix Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered displaying dialog about outdated drivers on AMD systems. • Fix Final Fantasy IV (3D Remake) having no audio. • Fix Return to Monkey Island not reacting to mouse clicks after a recent game update. • Fix upsidedown videos in VRChat and many other games. • Fix Call of Duty Black Ops II Zombies and Multiplayer hanging on exit. • Fix Bail or Jail crashing when opening the Terms of Serivce. • Improve GTA V situation with not loading textures. • Fix Red Dead Redemption 2 crashing after a recent game update. • Fix Final Fantasy XIV Online launcher functionality after game update. • Fix cutscene stutter in Disgaea 5. • Fix Thrustmaster HOTAS having non-functional dial in Elite Dangerous. • Fix Planet Zoo randomly crashing. • Fix SCP: Secret Labratory not being playable after a recent game update (again). • Fix Tekken 7 crashing at launch. • Fix Armello hanging on exit. • Fix Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization freezing after the tutorial. • Fix Space Engineers intro video not playing correctly. • Fix Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen videos not playing correctly. • Implement network video support for VRChat. • Update dxvk to v1.10.3-28-ge3daa699. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/12/proton-7-0-5-out-now-for-steam-deck-linux-14-newly-playable-games/ #FFW #steam #proton #linuxgaming #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 22.3: New Playtest for OpenRA and Dune 2000 Released Not sure how many of you watch my Friday streams, but Dune 2000 often features heavily in those, so hearing about these fixes makes me happy. If you enjoy 90’s RTS games, take a look at OpenRA to get your late 90’s Westwood Studios fix. What have they improved? Some of the more visible new features and improvements include: • Measures against sound / notification overlap. No more u-u-u-u-unit lost • Measures against spamming the multiplayer lobby and in-game chat • The ability to mute players • Support for disabling the chat in replays • An in-game encyclopedia in Dune 2000 • New Red Alert missions • Community balance changes for all mods Notable changes for mappers and modders include: • Automatic map reloading in the background • A change to the way speed is calculated for ground units • A new map format which includes the map preview (minimap) in the map versioning (map hash) • Loaders for more audio formats (e.g., mp3 and ogg), and formats used by the remasters • Many linting and documentation updates As well as some other changes worth mentioning: • Toolchain and changes to support the .NET 6 runtime • A massive amount of upgrades to both ingame and client UI • Many more hotkeys became rebindable • Substantial progress towards localisation https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/12/openra-for-classic-command-a-conquer-dune-2000-red-alert-has-a-new-playtest/ #FFW #Linux #openra #dune2k #linuxgaming #retrogaming #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice https://t.me/Tech_freedom_chat

We 17.1 – SBF Arrested... Boy Was I Wrong... Maybe He Crossed too Many of the Wrong People... Well, that escalated quickly. The US filed charges against him on Monday 12/12/22, and the Bahamian Authorities were more than happy to comply and arrest him. He requested bail, but was denied, and will be held in custody there until February 8th. He faces 8 counts of conspiracy and criminal activity related to wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, and violating campaign finance laws. Any one of those, if they stick, could put him behind bars for a number of years. On top of these criminal charges, he is being slapped with civil charges brought by Gensler’s SEC. They allege that SBF “built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto”. I was perhaps a little too cynical last week. For that I apologize. We will see how much of the weight of the law crashes down on his curly head. The new CEO, who is presiding over the Chapter 11 proceedings after SBF ducked out last month, called the collapse “plain, old embezzlement” during a congressional hearing that SBF was unable to attend, due to being in Bahamian custody. He had a prepared statement read, but was absent. As an aside, all of this talk about the Bahamas has me thinking about an old song... Who Let the Dogs Out... Lol I guess he did... https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/crypto/ftx-co-founder-sam-bankman-fried-charged-with-fraud-denied-bail/ #weekendedition #sbf #ftx #sbfarrested #crypto #bs #deception #TechFreedom WE 17.2 – 8 Twitter Influencers Charged with Stock Fraud Over the last nearly 3 years, 7 of the 8 charged individuals have allegedly used Twitter and Discord to manipulate a series of stocks, in a maneuver called a “pump and dump”, where they amassed $100 million in profits by buying, then hyping the stocks in question to artificially “pump” the valuation up, then dumping them when it had surged enough for them. The 8th charged individual is charged with “aiding and abetting” the schemes of the other 7, by giving them publicity on his podcast, then getting a cut of the profits when they traded their shares away without notifying their audiences/ followers of their intentions to do so. That’s right, it is illegal to do that, unless you are a government or quasi-government entity like the Federal Reserve, which regularly manipulates the entire market through screwing with the prime interest rate and announcing intentions to do so, one way or the other. Can I be any more sarcastic about the fakeness of stonks and the ephemerality of the whole system? Not sure. I sure am reminded of that classic George Carlin bit about there being “a big club, and you ain’t in it”. This is bullshit from the start anyway, some businesses are legitimately worth something, based on their sustained profitability, or some technology or other thing they produce that perennially sells well. However, most stonks are not worth the figurative paper they are “written on”, though they are no longer physical things in most cases, now. In fact, if you are invested in the Market, you do not actually own stocks. You own nothing, and you freak out over the financial news, when not only is that stock literally never in your possession (it belongs to Cede & Company, you just purchase limited rights to it), Cede & Co processes stock certificate transfers for the Depository Trust Company, which is in turn held by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation. These companies actually own the stock that you “purchase”, “hold”, and “sell”. Not only stock, but Mutual Funds, EFTs, derivatives, or any other securities traded on Wall St. I could go into the house of cards that is the rest of our financial system, predicated on “faith” or “fiat” currency, whose value is entirely immaterial. This is how certain countries with massive amounts of natural resources can have currencies that are regularly sent into hyperinflation, while others have ”stronger” standings. It is all nonsense until the world returns to precious metal-backed financial systems, which it seems as though Russia and the other BRICS nations are in the process of doing. People have their reasons to dislike Russia and Putin, but are we really any different in terms of free speech, here in the “liberal, democratic” West? I digress. Do these comments make it ok to defraud anyone? Absolutely not. They do, however begin to shine a light on the fraud that is inherent in the current system, and will only get more pronounced with some type of CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) that is even more tightly controlled. https://www.cnet.com/news/social-media/influencers-charged-by-sec-in-securities-fraud-scheme/ #weekendedition #stonks #stockmarket #bullshit #influencers #scammers #pumpanddump #finance101 #stocks101 #TechFreedom WE 17.3 – Will Congress Ban TikTok? Let’s See... Looks like we have very similar bills being put forward in both houses of congress to ban both TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, from operating in the US. Here are the sponsors: Senator Marco Rubio of FL, and Reps Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL). This idea is bipartisan, at least in the house, and that is encouraging to me. I know many people are addicted to it, and that is the cornerstone of these pieces of legislation. The reality is that roughly 1/3 of the US population (111 million people) uses TikTok at least monthly, according to Data.ai, an internet statistics company. Rep Gallagher calls it “digital fentanyl, that is addicting Americans, collecting troves of their data, and censoring their news”. I quite agree with his appraisal. ByteDance, of course, is on the defensive here, and is insisting that they aren’t hurting US national security, and that they are working hard to put in place better protections for US citizens. If you recall, they are being raked over the coals by the EU, and desperately wants to avoid losing their lucrative place in the US. We shall see what happens here. I have to admit that as much as I abhor the overall dumbing down and infantilization of the US population through platforms like TikTok which incentivize short attention spans, along with videos that barely have any real meaning. Not to mention that it is a huge data siphon for users, with the funnel leading straight to servers controlled by the CCP, who certainly mines that data for anything that could possibly be useful to them and harmful to our wellbeing. I also struggle with countries whose governments are powerful enough to ban things for their citizens, rather than simply educating and informing them of the dangers of their behaviors. https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/congressional-bills-would-ban-tiktok-in-the-us-to-thwart-china/ #weekendedition #tiktok #bytedance #creepy #bantiktok #privacy #security #TechFreedom WE 17.4 – Could Clean Nuclear Fusion Be Around the Corner? Researchers at the NIF (National Ignition Facility) in San Francisco have been chasing this holy grail of clean power for 60 + years. Nuclear fusion is the process which “powers” stars, so stable, viable nuclear fusion would entail creating a miniature star in a bottle, then siphoning off the energy it produces to benefit humanity. The problem is that until 12/5/22, it never produced a net gain in energy. Something changed in the fifth, however, and they changed the design of their experiment and were able to create a hot enough, dense enough environment to briefly release more energy than the lasers which created the heat energy deposited. The lasers had fired 2 megajoules of energy into the hohlraum (the container at the heart of the NIF facility where they attempt to create a fusion reaction. There are, however, massive inefficiencies in their systems, which lead to losses of 99.5% of the energy used before it even reaches the hohlraum. It takes about 400 megajoules to get a consistent 2 megajoules of power to reach the hohlraum. They were able to generate 2.5 megajoules through this experiment. This is the first net positive result* for this form of fusion experiment, but it is just a proof of concept. Cool, but not earth shatteringly cool. Nuclear fusion is clean in that it does not produce radioactive waste at the end of the reaction, unlike nuclear fission, which involves splitting radioactive isotopes, such as uranium and plutonium. *versus the amount of power that actually reached the hohlraum, not the energy it took to “fire muh lasers” https://www.cnet.com/science/major-energy-breakthrough-milestone-achieved-in-us-fusion-experiment/ #weekendedition #crypto #lending #fintech #volatility #physicalassets #gold #silver #SEC #TechFreedom WE 17.5 – Apple to Allow Alt App Stores in the EU... Maybe Here, Too? Wow, Apple’s walled garden is being bulldozed open by EU regulators through competition laws. After all, if they don’t they’ll get slapped with a fine worth 10% of their global revenue... That, in the case of Apple, could be billions of dollars. Apple of course throws the “but muh security”, but “if we allow sideloading apps, it could harm the devices and open phones to someone other than just us”... Remember when Epic Games sued Apple over AppStore fees in Fortnite? Pepperidge Farms Remembers... Epic lost the case, but argued that Apple has too much control over the devices they make. That whole kerfluffle was largely noise and fury with little real meaning or substance, though the EU took notice. This seems to be much of what the EU was aiming at with this law. Apple has yet to decide if they’ll allow app developers to set up their own in-app payment systems or not, but that is another piece of the picture, here. The changes are targeted for the release of iOS 17 https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/apple-reportedly-to-allow-rival-app-stores-on-iphones-ipads-in-eu/ #apple #appstores #EU #monopoly #TechFreedom

Distro Monday 39: Happy New Year, 2023! Announcement Manjaro 22.0 Memesplanation Tails 5.8 Freedom Consultation 11 New Distros to Look Forward to This Year #distromonday #Linux #manjaro #linux61 #tails #newdistros #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Announcement: After painstaking work over the last couple of weeks, I am pleased to announce that techfreedom.pro has a brand new look. The links I will be sharing from now on will be to landing pages that I designed, rather than to the products themselves. Please, take a look at the site, tell me what you think, either through the contact form or in the comments below. I appreciate your input. Thanks, All. https://techfreedom.pro #TechFreedom #newsite #newyear #newdesign #news #distromonday DM 39.1 – What’s New In Manjaro 22? Manjaro is a mainstay of this channel, I have used it for 3 years, with a few breaks to distro hop just a bit. I currently use the KDE flavor as the base for all of the computers in my home, including the machine that I record and stream from. All that said, if you are unfamiliar, it is an Arch based distro which adds some extra package testing to the Arch downstream before things hit their users. It comes in a number of flavors, with different desktop environments and Window Managers to provide different strokes for the different folks out there. It does have the downside of kind of being the Ubuntu of the Arch side of the Linux family tree, in that it does have a foundation/business behind it, rather than being purely community based, which can make them seem less than responsive to user needs and desires. What’s new here? Linux 6.1 All the latest from KDE Plasma XFCE 4.18 GNOME 43.2 Updated GNOME Layouts Switcher And a bunch more under the hood... https://9to5linux.com/manjaro-linux-22-0-sikaris-is-the-first-distro-release-powered-by-linux-kernel-6-1-and-xfce-4-18 #distromonday #Manjaro #arch #KDE #GNOME #xfce #updates #Linux #TechFreedom Happy New Year, everyone! May 2023 be one of the best in your life. Seek the Lord earnestly and you will find Him. Believe that He has the best for you this year, start to break old, bad habits that in the small picture landed you where you were the night before last. Most of all, know that you are not alone in the need to change. Don’t call it a “resolution”, call it a dedication to change your life. Repent of the crappy thinking and bad habits that led you to the point of self-disgust at the end of last year, take proactive steps to improve your situation, whatever that looks like, whether reducing alcohol intake, moving more, eating more healthily, or working on healthier relationships this year, just do it and be intentional. Those little steps, taken daily, and those choices to seek the Lord in those moments when you would have turned to something less worthy, will lead to you being in a better place by the end of this year. If all of us commit to healthier actions and attitudes, it will have a bang-on effect and begin to change the world. #distromonday #newyears #blessings #pray #goodchoices #memesplanation #TechFreedom DM 39.2 – Tails 5.8 Out Now! Just in case you’re new here, Tails stands for The Amnesiac Incognito Live System, and is a Linux distro meant for dissident journalists, spies, spooks, and anyone else who really prizes their privacy above general functionality for their computer. What’s new, here? • Wayland is now the default display server ◦ Re-enabling the Unsafe Browser and improving its functionality ▪ Adding sound support, uploads & downloads, more alternative input options for non-Latin languages, a screen reader, and a virtual keyboard • New Persistent Storage App ◦ New look ◦ New capabilities • QR code scanning to enter new TOR bridges ◦ New ability to see the percentage of various TOR connections All in all, good stuff here, guys and gals. This is distro that is meant to be portable and run off of any USB stick you want. All while giving you the added privacy of connecting to the internet through TOR at all times. https://9to5linux.com/privacy-focused-tails-5-8-enables-wayland-by-default-adds-new-persistent-storage #distromonday #tailslinux #privacy #tor #portable #goodstuff #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 39.3 – New Distros for 2023 that May Be Worth Looking At There are 11 in this listicle, so lets see what I think about the author’s picks, here. Many have had stable releases in the last year or so, but some have not, and are waiting on further development work to happen. 1) VanillaOS a. This is another Ubuntu derivative, but ships with a plain old GNOME desktop. Big whoop, right? Well, this offers on-demand immutability, which means that it is like a part time Ubuntu version of Fedora Silverblue, which is fully immutable after installation. Silverblue allows programs to be installed, but there are no intermittent OS security or package updates, just static images of the OS. This makes it very very stable and safe to use, but if you need fresh packages and updates, this may not be a good fit for you. 2) XeroLinux a. I actually did a demo of this last year, not long after it came out. It is a very unique Arch distro that includes a very clean desktop that may appeal to some of you. It is immediately downstream from Arch and does not provide any extra testing for users before the packages get passed through, unlike Manjaro. 3) Crystal Linux a. I tried to demo a beta of this one last year, it was rough at the time, and seemed to be missing most of the more ballyhooed new, distinguishing features. That was merely a beta, so if you are into GNOME, Crystal may be a good Arch distro for you to peruse at some point this year, after its full release, whenever that happens. 4) Tuxedo OS a. Kubuntu plus some extra tools from Tuxedo, who builds dedicated Linux hardware. Think of it as their answer to POP! OS. It used to only be available for their machines, but they chose to release it publicly last year. If KDE + Ubuntu is your jam, take a look. 5) Euro Linux a. RHEL + visual goodies, geared for educational purposes with its very long term support schedule, as well as its very windows-esque interface, which will welcome Windows refugees. 6) Zinc a. Xubuntu LTS plus AppImage support, deb-get package manager, default BTRFS formatting, and more. Might be good for you lightweight mavens out there. 7) Cachy OS a. Arch + under-the-hood improvements on a kernel level to create a stable, fast, secure, and user-friendly Arch distro. They offer all of the major desktop environments, and use a modified version of Calamares for an installer. 8) risiOS a. This is downstream from Fedora, and I took a look at it just after its full release last year. If you like Fedora, you will probably like risiOS, as it adds some special sauce to the Fedora hamburger. 9) Exodia OS a. Another Arch based distro. However, it is geared to be something like Kali, only based on Arch rather than Debian. The thing to keep in mind with this one is that it only ships with a highly customized BSPWM, which is a tiling window manager. Other than that, the functionality should be roughly on par with Kali. 10) Kumander Linux a. The name is a tribute to the developer’s first computer, a Commodore Vic20. It is a highly tweaked xfce, meant to look like windows 7, which sits on top of Debian 11. There is no full release for this one out yet, but you can take a look at the early-release candidate between now and whenever that does come out. 11) Ubuntu Unity a. Unity is back as an official Ubuntu flavor, after a 5 year hiatus, if you tried out Linux, and specifically Ubuntu between 2010 and 2017, this will be a blast from the past for you. Personally, I hated it then, but I should probably try to install it in an Arch VM at some point to see if I can tolerate it any better now. I think the thing that I hated the most about it, other than the very odd paradigm for the UI, was the default color scheme. Maybe it can be tweaked now, idk. Check it out if you want to feed Canonical’s beast. https://news.itsfoss.com/new-distros-2023/ #distromonday #distrohoppers #newdistros #Linux #TechFreedom

Top 5 Linux Phones Memesplanation Unity 7.7 Coming Soon Free Your Internet PeaZip File Archiver Updated #TTT #linuxmobile #unityDE #Linux #peazip #TechFreedom TTT 39.1 – Top 5 Linux Phones Ok, not much has changed in this lineup vs the last time I talked about Linux Mobile. Development continues, but needs an infusion of cash to revitalize the teams who work on it. Our top 5 are the Librem 5 (I still struggle to believe that this one is real and not vaporware of some sort), the PinePhone & PinePhone Pro, the F(x)tec Pro 1X, the Volla Phone, and the Fairphone 4. These are all decidedly mid-range devices, if not on the low end when compared to their Android brethren. By the way, Android is Linux, just with a whole lot of JavaScript juju on top of it to make it look pretty, and a host of closed source firmware blobs. I will be the first one to jump for joy when Linux Mobile matures as a platform and can genuinely offer real competition to Android and iOS, but that day is not today. This article basically lists the specs for the mentioned devices to hype them a bit. It caught my eye because it has been about a month since I talked about Linux Mobile, and wanted to kind of start the new year with a conversation about it. https://www.debugpoint.com/best-linux-phones/ #TTT #linuxmobile #linuxphones #librem5 #pinephone #fxtec #vollaphone #fairphone #Linux #goodstuff #TechFreedom Back to the early Church Fathers... This quote from Polycarp seems poignant to me, now. As believers, we need to be this strong in our convictions, that even if (and I do see the potential for this sort of scenario happening here in America, if things do not change quickly in terms of the direction this nation is taking) this happens to us, we will stand strong in our belief in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The enemy is turning up the heat, or trying to, on anyone who stands up against the corruption in our society, from the alphabet soup of sexual perversion, to divorce, to abuse, to human trafficking, and all of the other things that the Church has been mute about in large part for the last 50 years. This is whether it is due to the 501C.3 and Johnson Amendment or due to complicity in these heinous crimes which are being revealed to us right now. #TTT #christian #quotes #memesplanation #patristics #polycarp #TechFreedom TTT 39.2 – Unity 7.7 Coming with Ubuntu 23.04 You all heard my feelings about Unity, at least the old school one, yesterday when I laid into Ubuntu Unity. I have not taken the time to look at it since then, so I’m kinda down on this development. On the other hand, I don’t want to crap too much on the very excited, young developer who picked up the otherwise dead project. I am torn. Just because I did not like it when I tried it about 10 years ago, doesn’t mean that it has no place in the ecosystem, now. After all, Linux is about choice, even if your idea of aesthetics or utility doesn’t jive with mine. You be you, and I’ll be me. What’s new in the new version? • A return to Lomiri styling for the dash and panel • UWidgets ◦ Possibility for desktop widgets written in python ◦ Better app integration ◦ Panel flexibility, so you can move the location of the application launcher button to open the dash, among other things Interesting stuff, not sure that I’ll ever use it in general, but I’m glad to see more choices being brought back into possibility. https://9to5linux.com/unity-7-7-desktop-environment-promises-redesigned-dash-and-panel-widgets #TTT #unityDE #choices #coolstuff #Linux #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/internet-freedom/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft TTT 39.3 – PeaZip 9.0 What is PeaZip, anyway? It is a cross-platform, FOSS archiving tool. It has support for pretty much all of the archiving formats, from 7zip, zip, tar, rar, to zpaq, there are also these new changes: • Improved User Interface. • Enhanced Support for Various Formats. • Performance Improvements. • New options for 7z/p7zip backend. • Improvements to Plugins. This sounds like an intriguing alternative to ark in KDE, and you can use it on any desktop you want, no matter the OS. https://news.itsfoss.com/peazip-9-0-release/ #TTT #foss #crossplatform #Linux #peazip #updates #TechFreedom

Intel Working on New Xe Drivers for Linux Memesplanation Steam Deck Can Now Play >7000 Games Freed Computer XBox Games Studio Touts Steam Deck Compatibility Work #FFW #intel #steam #steamdeck #xbox #Xegraphics #updates #TechFreedom FFW 24.1- New Xe GFX Driver In the Works Intel, via a comment on Mastodon by Jason Ekstrand, whose name should sound familiar from the last time I talked about brand new graphics drivers for Linux, as he is the head of the team that manages most of the Mesa stack at Collabora. So, what is so exciting here? It is technically ready, though unoptimized as of 12/23. This is all new codebase, not dependent on the older iGPU driver code from 9th Gen and earlier. Be patient for a little while longer, you people with 10th Gen or newer Intel processors with the Xe graphics. You will have a better driver soon. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/12/intel-working-on-new-xe-graphics-driver-for-linux/ #FFW #intel #iris #xegfx #newdrivers #TechFreedom St Ambrose spitting some truth here about the conscience. Have you recently done something you knew was wrong, or failed to do something that you knew you needed to get done? How did that feel? Were you ashamed? Have you tried to punish yourself in any way? Our conscience condemns us when we sin, either by commission (that which we do, but ought not), and omission (that which we ought do, but do not), this is natural. We run for cover, or we stand and beat ourselves up for whatever it was, unless we have deadened ourselves through callous, repeated sin patterns so we no longer hear our consciences. Tell me I’m not the only one who either hides or self-abuses in some way when I know that I screwed up. So what do we do about it? We seek forgiveness from God, the injured party, and from ourselves. We repent, then allow that sin to be as though it never happened. That is not to say that consequences cease to exist, but forgiveness is the path to freedom for you and for the other person, particularly. #FFW #memesplanation #patristicquotes #stambrose #conscience #forgiveness #TechFreedom FFW 24.2: Steam Deck Can Now Play >7k Games Quite the milestone for the up & comer in the handheld gaming market. In many games that it can play, it smokes other devices in its category, partially because it is not hampered by dealing with Windows. Linux is lighter, and that is what SteamOS is based on. That is why we often find ourselves talking about Proton developments and the Steam Deck, here on FOSS Fun Wednesdays. So, what are the numbers as of the writing (12/28)? • Verified - 2,709 • Playable - 4,409 That means that within a year since launch, the Steam Deck went from able to play perhaps 1,000 games to over 7,100 titles that are at least playable. That is a feat, y’all. Hats off to Steam and the Proton team for burning the midnight oil to make not only Steam Deck, but Linux gaming far better than it would have been otherwise. Thank you, all involved. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/12/steam-deck-hits-over-7000-games-playable/ #FFW #steam #steamdeck #gamesfordays #linuxgaming #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 24.3: XBox Games Studio Touts Steam Deck Compatibility for Some Major Games To be clear, they are not saying that they did anything to make this a reality, but it is a nice feather in the developers’ hats to see and hear a major studio talking about their work in bringing the studio’s games to a new ecosystem. Here’s what they noted, and the discounts available in the Steam Store during the Holiday Sale: Deck Verified • DOOM Eternal - 75% off • DEATHLOOP - 67% off • Dust: An Elysian Tail - 67% off • New Super Lucky's Tale - 67% off • Ms. Splosion Man - 50% off • Pentiment - 25% off Deck Playable • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition - 75% off • Fallout 4 - 75% off • Tell Me Why - 75% off • Forza Horizon 4 - 67% off • State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition - 50% off • Halo Infinite - 50% off • ReCore: Definitive Edition - 50% off • LocoCycle - 50% off • Quake Champions - free to play • Fable - The Lost Chapters - no discount Quite a few notable AAA titles in this list, though I cannot say that I’ve played any of them... Gaming has largely fallen by the wayside for me for the last 4-5 years, though there have been seasons in that time when I’ve been able to play more, this just isn’t one of them. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/12/xbox-game-studios-talk-more-of-their-titles-on-steam-deck/ #FFW #Linux #xboxstudios #proton #linuxgaming #TechFreedom

TTT 38.1 – OpenShot 3.0 Released with over 1000 Tweaks and Fixes Wow! That’s a big number... Let’s see, when did they last update? Over a year ago... That is FOREVER in the FOSS world. I use this to clip out my memesplanations and add titles to them before I upload the shorts to Rumble. Hopefully, even on my ancient machine, it will help the rendering process be a little quicker, and the editing process a bit smoother overall. Let’s see a handful of highlights: · 4k Support · Better RT video playback performance · Simultaneous video export ability · More compatibility for different formats · Blender3.3 LTS Support WAY More, if you are a budding content creator or want to do a bit of the side, check this thing out, unless you are married to a different workflow. https://9to5linux.com/openshot-3-0-open-source-video-editor-released-with-more-than-1000-improvements #TTT #openshot #FOSS #videoeditor #Linux #goodstuff #TechFreedom Hauerwas is a modern Reformed theologian. One must await the fulfillment of promises, that is what Advent is about as a liturgical season. We focus on the promise of Messiah, try to place ourselves in the shoes of the Hebrews who received these prophecies in what we call the Old Testament, only we know that Christmas is a historical fact. This patient waiting season helps us to counter the insane rush and unsustainable “now” that our world tries to tell us is normal and should be expected. Breathe. #TTT #advent #quotes #memesplanation #stanleyhauerwas #moderntheology #TechFreedom TTT 38.2 – KDENLive 22.12 Released What is KdenLive? Another FOSS, Cross-platform video editor. It is based on QT and KDE toolkits (thus the name). So what didthey dowith theirmore than 350 commits for this version? · Overhauled the Guide and Marker system · Improved Gaxnimate Integration o Glaxnimate is a 2D Vector drawing application · UX Improvements o New hamburger menu as an option to replace the traditional menu system o explainer text for certain elements added o User defined cache size for Kdenlive o Cleaned up the settings page, which was something of a mess before · Keyframeable Audio Graph Filters Much more, and you’ll have to check it out if you’re interested. Good Stuff,Kdenlive team. https://news.itsfoss.com/kdenlive-22-12-released/ #TTT #kdenlive #videoeditor #coolstuff #TechFreedom Free Your Internet https://techfreedom.pro/product/free-your-internet/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft TTT 38.3 – KDE Frameworks 5.101 Now Out with Some Notable Features This update is primarily focused on Plasma Wayland quality of life improvements, but there are a few other things involved as well. Let’s take a look... · Tweaks to menus in different places · New icons for certain apps like SimpleScreenRecorder · Better organization for Settings Apps · Search For section in Dolphin is now gone by default, but available to add back in if you want it · Plasma Wayland o Multimonitor § Scales automatically between monitors when you move windows across different screens with different resolutions And about 175 other bug fixes and tweaks. I love how KDE is constantly being improved on, and watched a video from The Linux Experiment recently, and here’s the link for that (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzXPEuoiYZM) and agree with much of what he said about the places where KDE seems to drop the ball, even if Plasma is the best, most powerful DE in the world (my personal opinion, but you are free to have a different point of view. https://9to5linux.com/kde-frameworks-5-101-released-with-plasma-wayland-and-multi-monitor-improvements #TTT #foss #KDE #Linux #updates #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://tv.gab.com/channel/tech_freedom/view/10-things-about-tech-freedom-62b3387f34496b1f6de87b82 #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness

FFW 23.1- Bad Guy Epic... Sad Day Epic is killing off old school online multiplayer as well as store availability for a number of their classic games, including everything prior to Unreal Tournament 3. Why would they do this? They’re consolidating and moving whatever they can onto their new AIO Epic Online Services setup. I get why they are doing this, but it still sucks for anyone who enjoys these old games on their computer and don’t own a physical copy, and/or someone you can play with via a LAN game. The other thing here is that these changes go into effect on January 24, 2023. The community may try to step in and provide solutions for this, but no guarantees there. Here’s hoping, right? https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/12/epic-games-are-killing-off-a-bunch-of-classics-like-unreal-tournament/ #FFW #Epic #unreal #unrealtournament #nomore #rip #TechFreedom These are the words assigned to each of the 4 weeks of Advent. First we walk through the hope of Messiah (primarily through the prophesies in the Old Testament, largely Davidic [in the Psalms] and in Isaiah), then we look at the peace promised, then the joy of promises fulfilled, then the Love that is Jesus. We hope for the fulfillment of all of God’s promises, not just the birth of Jesus. This allows us to have peace, even in the midst of a hectic and confusing life. It also teaches us that we can have joy, no matter what we walk through in this life, as Anna and Simeon did as they waited for the consolation of Israel. We also learn that we can experience God’s love for us, even in the midst of hard times (like right now). Then, we have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, to round it all out with joy and a solid resolution to the waiting for Jesus’ birth. Amen. #FFW #memesplanation #adventquotes #Bible #hope #peace #joy #love #faith #TechFreedom FFW 23.2: WINE on Wayland Is Getting Better What’s new here? · Updating drivers and APIs · Prep work for WoW64 support · Better Cross-process rendering to improve Chromium applications · Improved support for dmabuf-feedback support which allows the compositor to directly access presentation information (resolution, windowed vs fullscreen, etc) to make those sorts of changes more seamless in WINE apps What does this mean for performance? Let’s take a look at the video on the page with the story for a demo. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/12/wine-on-wayland-sounds-like-its-coming-along-nicely/ #FFW #WINE #wayland #nomorex11 #linuxgaming #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/product/tech-freedom-freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 23.3: More Hotfixes for the Heroic Launcher New Features · [macOS] Added support for game shortcuts (GamePage > 3 dots > Add Shortcut). They will be saved on the Home applications folder by default. · [Linux/macOS] Added support for DXVK Limit FPS option. · [macOS] A DMG for ARM64 for M1/M2 is now available to download on Github. (if a message of app being damaged shows up, run this command on the terminal: sudo xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine | mdfind kMDItemCFBundleIdentifier = "*heroic" Fixes · Fix some sideloaded and GOG games not launching from SteamDeck because of a --skip-version-check flag being passed. · Fix tray icon not properly updating the list of recent games · Fix stuck GOG save games input · [Linux/macOS] Fixed DXVK Installation · [macOS] Fix Crossover not being found. · [Linux] Fix Wine status not updating on Wine Manager after install/uninstall · [macOS] Fixed Winetricks download URL and environmental variables. · Some UI fixes That is quite a number of new features and fixes. Good stuff for Mac users, and better quality of life for Linux and Steam Deck users, particularly around DXVK and WINE status updates. This should make Heroic that much more enjoyable to use, not that I do, but hey, good stuff, nonetheless. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/12/heroic-games-launcher-gets-another-hotfix-to-clean-up-more-issues-with-v252/ #FFW #Linux #heroic #hotfixes #linuxgaming #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice What to use instead of Google: https://tv.gab.com/channel/tech_freedom/view/viable-google-alternatives-624e367022a4c5f6eeaf2414 #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness

Twitter Files, SBF, Biden Gaffes, SouthWest Falls From Sky, Moar Big Tech Money Troubles, AI & x-86, Self-Driving News, Android Learns from iOS. WE 18-1: The Twitter Files, a Snarky Recap Ok, the Twitter Files have been a revelation, for normies, at any rate... The Gatekeepers have tried to make them sound unimportant and unconsequential, but if that is the case, why minimize and deflect from the fact that 3-Letter Agencies basically gave Twitter marching orders in terms of accounts to ban or at least stifle through the algorithm. They also don’t want you to see that Fauci and co also manipulated us through the magic of Twitter, if we paid any attention to that annoying blue bird in the first place (I never did). I guess that could be part of why I saw some things years before those who are more connected to that font of nonsense that has been radically over-emphasized since it was founded. Hopefully all of this will help wake a few people up. I won’t post links on this, as it is simply a quick recap. I would barely bat an eye if some 10 year old shoots the dirty blue bird with a BB gun, and it dies. Good riddance, that kind of micro-blogging has only encouraged the degradation of society as a whole, in my opinion. Come at me if you think it has been any kind of net positive for the world. The comments section awaits you. WE 18-2: SBF’s Escapades Where the Bahamian authorities absolutely refused his request for bail, as soon as he was extradited to the US, the same system where Epstein *didn’t* kill(ed) himself, the judge, whose palms must be about as greasy as an oil rig worker, instantly granted his bail request. How’d he come up with $100 million, when he claimed to be down to his last $100k in the bank. This feels like a set up for the very kind of slap on the wrist that I figured would happen a month ago. Many people were completely defrauded by his choices to allow Alameda Research to raid FTX’s user’s accounts at will. What the hell is that? I guess this is where we see how far his campaign contributions take him. I was glad to see that he was arrested so quickly initially, but now he is a free man, rather than sitting in a jail cell, where he belongs. Big shade, y’all, big shade. So, who is gonna be left holding the bag on this one? Even Madoff was thrown deep in jail, even though he was an old man. What’s going to happen with this young, Jewish man who destroyed so many lives by allegedly stealing so much money from them? Time will tell. WE 18-3: Biden Gaffes (Ok, this happens whenever Brandon opens his pitiful mouth) His latest gaffe had him admitting what anyone with a braincell and a half has known for the last 20 months, that we are in a recession. About time that his mouth got around to cutting past the gaslighting that the rest of his admin seems to be doing around that issue. I wish I could say that I don’t sense an even more significant crash coming soon. I don’t want to alarm anyone, but with the juggernauts of Big Tech executing mass layoffs to cut costs and “tighten their belts” to “get through” the next season, how can we expect anything else? Well, how about we work together to create a parallel economy that has nothing to do with the Fed? There are many who have been working at this for years now, but I am concerned that those efforts are not enough to cushion enough people to make it worthwhile, yet. Let’s do this thing, all. Choose to trade locally whenever possible, I know that is far harder for urbanites, but it can be done. I sense that that is the solution, though. Just a wild thought, since part of why you follow me is that you likely sense something similar, and a need to be more independent of the larger systems which are so easily manipulated by those who have been in power. Sound tinfoil hat enough for you? Yes, I am aware that this could be considered a “conspiracy theory” or at least just adjacent to one. I don’t want to get off into those weeds though, so here is where I talk just a touch about the SouthWest issues. WE 18.4: SWA (South West Airlines) Falls Out of the Sky Oops, we pushed all of our employees to get the jab in order to keep their jobs, and now in the weather and at the height of the holiday travel season, most of our fleet is grounded. Buttigieg absolutely failed to handle this catastrophe appropriately (big surprise that the guy who nearly ran South Bend into the ground, and only has the job he does because he is gay would drop the ball when he is most needed and go fly on a military jet rather than on an airline). Can Brandon’s so-called administration get any more pathetic? First there was the bevy of diversity appointments (mostly sexual deviants, queer BDSM freaks, kleptomaniacs, furries, and so-called trans or gender-fluid people). I can’t even. I don’t understand this bizarro world, you guys. Brandon and all of these circus people need to get tossed out on their rear ends, like 2 years ago. But I digress... SouthWest really dropped the ball here, and had no real solutions for their problems which affected so many crews and flights. It seems that they have been shamed into refunding those ticketholders. That doesn’t undo the missed family time, missed business opportunities, and all the rest, though. WE 18.5: Big Tech Continues Layoffs Amazon, Meta, Google, and the rest continue laying people off as they forecast very rough times coming. I alluded to this earlier. Part of me is gleeful, but they aren’t falling to bits because of patriots taking their business elsewhere. They are “cost-cutting” so that their businesses can survive, just as average families have had to do since Brandon allegedly became president ( I can’t believe I put those words so close together... Somebody slap me and wake me up from this nightmare). Between gas prices that are a direct reflection of policies which made Big Oil stop prospecting and drilling for more Texas tea in the US, as the WH has loudly proclaimed that they want to see America be oil-free by 2035 or some nonsense like that. These companies are just allowing older refineries and similar infrastructure to shut down because it is not worth the time or money which they’ll never recoup to get those things running to effectively handle the crude we already produce. Then there is the rest of the inflation that they only force higher by making the money printers go brrrr and the imaginary balances rise with the Fed. Even Samsung is feeling the pinch, as we just did CES in Vegas this last week. I have very little interest in gadgets at this point, otherwise I probably would have done some sort of rundown piece. I’m not into being Eeyore, so I’m gonna change the topic now... How about AI? Amazon, et al: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/17/tech/amazon-ceo-layoffs-andy-jassy Samsung: https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/05/tech/samsung-profit-sinks-intl-hnk WE 18.6: AI on x86 Chips, and Self-driving Nonsense... AMD, Microsoft, AI, Tesla, and self-driving strollers... Ok, one thing at a time... AMD has included AI engines in their latest round of CPUs, a first in the x86 architecture. All well and good, except that Microsoft is jumping on the bandwagon saying that Windows will be redesigned by AI, ok, I can’t breathe. Laughing too hard at this... Gasp, gasp, snort... Ok, AMD, what are you claiming that these things can do? Well, extend battery life, allegedly allowing for up to 30 hours of video playback on a single charge on your laptop. Yes, you heard that right... That is what Dr. Su is claiming. She also claims that these are 20% faster than the ones in the Apple M2 silicon. What else could that mean? Well, the head of AI at Microsoft was on stage with her, and hinting at great things they could do for video calls (blurring backgrounds, detecting eye contact, and even auto framing people while using less battery. I trust MS about as far as I can throw them, so the concept of their involvement in the AI space (I know they are already neck-deep in it, don’t get me wrong) gives me the willies. https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/4/23539873/microsoft-panos-panay-ai-windows-amd-ces-2023 As for Tesla, apparently the Model Y has scored very highly on its self-driving tests in Europe, though those features are much less flashy there, with a limit of 1/10th the distance for self-parking and retrieval, among other things. Tesla is still struggling like the likely CIA construct it probably is (oops, there comes my tinfoil hat again) in terms of market cap woes, after Musk liquidated billions of $$ worth of his personal stock to seal the deal to buy the dirty blue bird. https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/07/business/tesla-euro-ncap-autopilot As for the self-driving stroller... Wait, what? Who the hell would trust their child to an AI-controlled stroller? What’s next? I mean, on one hand, the examples that the comapny behind this hair brained concept mentions are somewhat compelling, but at the same time, who has $3300 to spend on a stroller? I know how expensive the luxury ones are, but come on. A stroller that can allegedly roll with you as you carry the baby, or rock the baby to sleep as you do your run at the park , or keep the stroller from running away from you if you drop something like your keys while walking down a hill. Who programmed the AI? Who trained it? How “self-driving” is it, really? https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/04/tech/self-driving-stroller-ces WE 18.7: Android Learns New Trick from iOS Media Notifications, so that your Android ecosystem devices feel more convergent, like Apple’s seamless experience. What does this do? Allow you to move songs playing between devices, and other services in the same vein, such as Phone Hub, Nearby Share, and Fast Pair. Media Notifications will allow you to listen to the same song (it will prompt you as you get close to a compatible device) on another of your devices. It uses all of the network capabilities of the devices in question to ping and look for those devices, kind of like how Apple “helps” you find a lost AirTag. This feels like a bad idea for privacy, because that will allow any user to be pinpointed even more accurately than with simple BT, WiFi, and mobile data connectivity on an older device. I see this as an evolution of track & trace. We saw what that did during convid. Do you want to help them track you that easily? I don’t. Let’s find a way to make this private and open source, rather than constantly talking to Mountain View. The problem is even if you have the more private version, as soon as you ping a device that hasn’t been freed, you may as well not have bothered to free yourself... The other device will tattle on you. https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/android-is-catching-up-to-apple-in-an-important-way-at-ces/ Https://TechFreedom.pro/freedom-consultation/

Nitrux OS Update Released Memesplanation New Fedora Spins Freedom Consultation Arch 2023.1.1 Out With Linux 6.1 #distromonday #Linux #NitruxOS #linux61 #archlinux #Fedora #TechFreedom DM 40.1 – NitruxOS 2.6 Update Released, So What? What is NitruxOS? It’s a distro I’ve talked about a couple of times in the past. It has a systemD-less Debian base. And they use their own, heavily modded version of KDE that they call NX Desktop. When I tried it 6 months ago, it was a hot mess, with it seemingly half broken. I don’t know how much more usable it is now. But here is what else is new here: Linux 6.1 Wayland Support Pipewire Support No more apt, packagekit, or dpkg for package management Only AppImage or Flatpak (purely containerized, down to telling users to run Distrobox to install normal packages) Samba support Root is now immutable And a bunch more under the hood... https://9to5linux.com/nitrux-2-6-is-out-powered-by-linux-6-1-adds-pipewire-and-wayland-by-default #distromonday #nitruxOS #indie #KDE #updates #Linux #TechFreedom Christ is all in all. Amen. This prayer invites Jesus to be our light, our shield, our covering, to be under, above, beside us, in front of us, behind us, in us, and outside us. Do you need wisdom? Try Jesus. Guidance? Try Jesus. All around protection? Call on Jesus. Let Him be all that and more for you today. He is our Lord, but a the servant Lord that He is, He also helps us, guides us, and protects us from the enemy’s efforts. That is not to say that Jesus will negate the consequences of our choices, but those things which come at us which we did not bring on ourselves, he will at least dull for us. #distromonday #stpatrick #christ #light #wisdom #allinall #memesplanation #TechFreedom DM 40.2 – New Spins Coming with Fedora 38 What options are they adding to the mix, this time? Why, Budgie and Sway, of course. Budgie has a small, but dedicated community around it, particularly in the Solus community. I am not surprised that this was added, what I am surprised at is how long it took for the Fedora community to do this. Sway is a tiling window manager based on the Wayland protocols. I have tried to use it, but couldn’t get used to the very keyboard-centric way of doing things, but if you are a developer, or got used to shortcuts to do everything when you first learned to use the computer, then this may be right up your alley. Good stuff, even with as little as I really like Fedora personally, the community is very active and it is a very vibrant distro as a result. https://9to5linux.com/its-official-fedora-linux-38-will-offer-fedora-budgie-and-sway-spins #distromonday #fedora #fedora38 #newspins #budgie #sway #goodstuff #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 40.3 – Archlinux 2023.01.01 ISO Out Now What’s new in this ISO? Well, Linux 6.1, of course. Not much else, and those who already run Arch on their systems already have Linux 6.1. Just the first ISO release for Arch in the new year. Cheers. https://9to5linux.com/arch-linuxs-first-iso-release-in-2023-is-powered-by-linux-kernel-6-1 #distromonday #archlinux #linux61 #Linux #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab

Linux Leapfrogs MacOS as second most-used OS for developers Memesplanation Top 10 Gaming Distros for 2023 Freed Computer Zero-K : A Not-so-new FOSS RTS #FFW #developers #Linux #linuxfordevelopers #linuxgaming #zero-k #TechFreedom FFW 25.1- Linux Now More Popular for Dev Work Than MacOS According to the 2022 Stack Overflow Developers’ Survey, Linux has surpassed the popularity of MacOS as a development platform, the numbers were close to last year, but Linux pulled ahead. In 2021, the numbers were as follows: 25.32% to 32.97% Linux to MacOS (overall). This year, Linux has soared to 40.23% overall, and MacOS has gone down just a touch overall, to 31.07%. What does not make sense to me in the data here, is that the percentages of responses do not add up to 100% for either professional or personal use. The numbers for personal use add up to 148.1% of respondents, and the numbers for professional use add up to 137.05%. Am I misreading the graphs here? Someone help me out... Here’s the link to this last May’s data: https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2022/#section-most-popular-technologies-operating-system https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/01/linux-use-overtakes-macos-on-the-stack-overflow-survey/ #FFW #Linux #LinuxFTW #byebyemacos #nonsensenumbers #TechFreedom Ignatius of Antioch brings down the house with this one. Simple. Punchy. To the point. Are we really Christians, or is it just convenient to be called “Christian” in our context? Would you refuse to spit on a picture of Jesus? Would you curse Him if someone twisted your arm? This is hard. It is easy to armchair quarterback here, and believe that each of us who profess the Name of Jesus would actually stand up for Him should worse come to worse, but would we actually stand up or would we cower, afraid of being called a name, or some such thing? I feel like that is the majority of the American church right now, because most of us do not really know the Lord. Once we know Him, once we have experienced His love for us, it becomes much harder to deny Him when put to it. However, Peter denied Him 3 times the night before Calvary, after he had literally been with Jesus almost every second for the previous 3 years. #FFW #memesplanation #patristicquotes #ignatius #christian #easiersaidthandone #TechFreedom FFW 25.2: Top 10 Gaming Distros for 2023 Ok, it used to be that gaming was a niche thing in Linux, that you really had to tweak any distro in order for it to run games that you really want to play in ways that you would actually enjoy playing. That really is not the case any more. You can game on just about any mainstream distro with very little trouble these days. Nevertheless, let’s see which ones ItsFOSS pulls out of the interwebs: 1. POP!OS a. A solid, if predictable first pick, this Ubuntu distro should scream “gamer” to you when you look at the desktop environment’s color scheme, if nothing else. It is a solid distro, even if it is still based on GNOME and Ubuntu, for now. 2. Vanilla Ubuntu a. Oy vey! Ok, ok, let’s consider what their criteria were for this listicle: i. The distribution should be easy to use. 1. Is Ubuntu easy to use? Jury is out, with it’s tweaked GNOME interface, then there’s making sure you have drivers and that everything is up to date, if they are commenting on stability, I think there is a case for that, here, but what do you give up by using Cannonical’s offering? ii. The software tools that you need to get started should be readily available and easy to install (check out our Linux gaming guide to explore more about it). 1. Tools are readily available, sure, just because it is the 8 ton gorilla in the room, due to Cannonical’s deals with the Big Tech devils in the world. iii. The distribution should be resource-friendly 1. It has been a while since the last time I used Ubuntu, probably close to 8 or 9 years now, but back then, it ran fairly light, so I’ll put in with this, I suppose. 3. Kubuntu a. Same issues as Ubuntu, except that it is KDE instead of GNOME, which makes me happier, and usually works better in the user-friendliness arena vs GNOME. 4. Linux Mint a. I spent years on Mint before I started making content at all, so this distro has a warm spot in my heart. I like that it is immediately easy to use, in terms of UI, and that the Mint team has neutered most of the invasive stuff that Cannonical puts in Ubuntu. Gaming on Mint can be a struggle, as it isn’t a rolling release distro, so you tend to be about 6 months behind (by default) on drivers, so if you’re rocking a bleeding edge rig, this and the other Debian based distros (Ubuntu, Pop!_Os, etc) may not be a great fit for you. 5. Manjaro Linux a. This is where I have lived for most of the last 4 years. I game whenever I can, and have rarely had a real problem. Given, I am not a complete novice in Linux, but I am also not a developer of any stripe. The article hems & haws about instability, and how it may not be the best for new users, but it isn’t like we’re talking about Vanilla Arch, here, or something. Manjaro has its issues, certainly, but it almost as stable, in my experience, as Mint was, but it gets new drivers and kernels more frequently than MInt does, so it will work with your bleeding edge system better. Not perfectly, as often it takes a little while for firmware and drivers to get out of testing and into the Kernel anyway. The tools they are looking for are right at hand, with Steam, Proton, WINE, and Lutris, just to name a few. 6. Garuda Linux a. This is another Arch-based distro, but it is tailored for gaming and content creation, so every tool known to man is just about automatically installed when you put it on your system. If you have plenty of horsepower, RAM, and storage, this won’t be a problem, even if it does make the default install rather large. It is easy to use, and hey, if you enjoy neon colors and the whole “gamer” aesthetic, you’ll probably love the default UI. 7. DraugerOS a. Ubuntu-based only-gamers-need-apply kind of distro. Does not come with office tools or a/v software, but it is solid for what it is designed to do, and that is game. My brother actually knows the lead developer on this project, and did a livestream with him about 6 months ago, now. Cool guy. 8. batocera.Linux a. Retro gaming haven. Turn your Linux machine into a retro console emulation center. Not good for anything else, though. One cool thing here, though, is that it is portable, meant to run off of a USB stick. 9. LakkaOS a. Another retro gaming emulator OS, based on RetroArch, and compiled with the most recent, best optimizations so your games run as well as they possibly can. 10. SteamOS a. Only an honorable mention because Steam has yet to fully release it to the general public (other than on the Steam Deck). This is Arch based, and should be very familiar if you play games on Steam at all. Some of these belong here, others, I feel, don’t. The Ubuntus were obligatory, to a certain extent, even if they were repetitive. I have very strong feelings about that side of the Linux family tree... The sellouts and whores to Big Tech, when disgust with Big Tech was the reason most of us came to Linux to begin with. For me, Manjaro and Garuda are my tops for all purpose, yet very easily used for gaming, distros. I rest my case for now. https://itsfoss.com/linux-gaming-distributions/ #FFW #Linux #gamingonlinux #distrojoy #gamingdistros #linuxgaming #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 25.3: Ever Heard of Zero-K? Neither Had I... Interesting piece of older RTS, plus some physics... Set in the far future, you are a commander bot in charge of building a settlement to create more fighting bots, collect resources, and accomplish various objectives. It seemed to play decently on my Surface, but I would expect nothing less from a game released in 2011. I may explore it more in this week’s weekend edition, rather than play Dune. Idk. We’ll see. I am intrigued. You can either download it directly from them, or through Steam, for free. This is a 100% free game. Check it out, I hear that it has a bit of a multiplayer scene, so if you are feeling like either a 1-on-1, a team match, or a free for all, and you love RTS games, this may be worth some time. http://zero-k.info #FFW #Linux #fossgames #free #rtsgaming #fun #linuxgaming #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice

TTT 41.1 – Ventoy News Wait, what’s Ventoy again? Ventoy is a cross-platform multiboot USB system so that you can put multiple OSes on a single flash drive, and it is easy to update and organize them as well. What’s new with this update? Support for both the Lenovo and Dell Recovery media types. This is huge for repair outfits everywhere, so you default tech support people for your respective spheres of influence, you now have this tool in your kit, just download the files for each, then use ventoy to burn them to a disk in a bootable manner, then unplug it, take it to a sick system, and restore it to health. https://9to5linux.com/ventoy-1-0-87-brings-support-for-lenovo-product-recovery-and-dell-per-isos #TTT #ventoy #FOSS #pcrepair #toolkits #Linux #windows #macOS #TechFreedom Pray without ceasing. Cry out. Lament. Praise. Never let the lines of communication between You and heaven go silent. Pound on the doors Of heaven. Do not get tired of asking, seeking, and knocking. For when you ask, you receive (perhaps not immediately), when you seek, you will find; when you knock, doors will open. Keep asking, seeking, and knocking. St Anthony has an interesting take here, that the constant pleas will force the Father’s benevolence to come to your Rescue. Perhaps he was thinking of the parable of the unjust judge, rather than the passage I sited just now... #TTT #desertfathers #quotes #patristics #keeponkeepingon #neverstop #memesplanation #TechFreedom TTT 41.2 – 3 Key Tricks for Docker What is Docker? Docker is a containerization platform. What is a container? Virtualized resources within a computer that are partitioned off from the rest of the system, usually dedicated to running a single application. Think of it as a specialized virtual machine. What is a virtual machine? Think of it this way: it is a computer within your computer. Your regular OS hosts another OS, which has a certain amount of resources which you dedicated to it so that it can run and do whatever you need it to do. It is kind of like having computing nesting dolls. You have your main operating system running directly on your computer, then setting up other fully functioning systems within that first OS install. Not the best description, but I hope it helped. What are we talking about again? Oh yes, 3 tips for implementing Docker more easily... 1. The System Subcommand a. docker system df i. Automatically detects and prints (on the screen, in terminal) the statistics of all installed docker containers. 1. This is useful if you find yourself perpetually running low on storage, this will help you to understand why. b. docker system prune i. In one fell swoop, this command does what 4 other, separate commands do to free up space for you. 1. It will remove (but not delete by default) unused network connections, dangling images, unused containers, and volumes, which will free up space for you. a. If you want to delete the items in question, type docker system prune --volumes –f c. docker system events or docker events i. Lets you see at a glance what is going on in and among your Docker containers. 2. The Context Subcommand a. docker context create remote --description "Remote docker server" --docker "host=ssh://user@<address of your server>" i. This establishes a contextual connection between your local system and the server where your docker container exists, making it simpler to connect remotely in the future. ii. In order to enter that context and work on that container, type docker context use [CONTEXT_NAME] iii. In order to return to your default context, type docker context default, and you will be back to work on your local docker installs 3. The Pause/ Unpause Command a. If you have a container which you start as docker-compose, and some service in it tries to start before its dependencies load in, you can easily fix that by using these commands: i. docker pause [CONTAINER_NAME|ID] ii. docker unpause [CONTAINER_NAME|ID] https://linuxhandbook.com/useful-unknown-docker-commands/ #TTT #docker #howto #foss #selfhosted #TechFreedom Free Your Internet http://techfreedom.pro/internet-freedom/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft TTT 41.3 – How to Use ArchiveBox What is ArchiveBox? Think of it as a self-hosted version of the Wayback Machine. Yes, a version of the internet archive that you can control, so that you can save webpages and sites as desired. You can install it through docker-compose, docker, an auto setup script, or through your package manager. Once you install it, you can use ArchiveBox this way: archivebox add https://example.com/some/page or echo https://example.com/some/page | archivebox add https://ostechnix.com/self-host-internet-archive-with-archivebox/ #TTT #foss #tools #Linux #coolstuff #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

Gaming on NVK Now a Thing Memesplanation The Fertile Crescent Game Freed Computer FreeCol 1.0 #FFW #nvk #Linux #fertilecrescent #linuxgaming #freecol #TechFreedom FFW 26.1- You Can Game on NVK Now I talked about NVK a couple of weeks ago, but this is the FOSS NVIDIA Vulkan driver. Ok, it doesn’t perform well, yet, but work is proceeding at a fever pitch. Hopefully it will be very performant soon. I am excited about this, you guys, when this is ready, it will mean we won’t be dependent on the NVIDIA proprietary drivers to get decent performance in Linux. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/01/the-open-source-nvidia-vulkan-driver-nvk-begins-to-run-games/ #FFW #Linux #foss #drivers #nvidia #TechFreedom This is the heart of devotion. Meditation on the Lord even as we breathe. There is a method called a breath prayer. One such prayer goes with the cadence of your breath, and as you breathe in, you say “Abba” then as you exhale say “I belong to you”. So, as you breathe, your mind and heart are centered on God, and you will begin to feel greater peace than you did at first. I used to have a motto: midius de, or “center down”. This was a was to remind myself that I needed to re-focus on the Lord. #FFW #memesplanation #patristicquotes #ignatius #christian #easiersaidthandone #TechFreedom FFW 26.2: TFC: The Fertile Crescent This is an RTS game on Steam. It seems interesting to me because it uses a pixel art style that is just a bit different from the usual photo-realistic fare, and because it has a Linux native client. It is not free, however, but is being very actively developed. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/01/pixel-art-rts-game-tfc-the-fertile-crescent-adds-neutral-settlements-and-unit-stances/ #FFW #Linux #gamingonlinux #thefertilecrescent #linuxgaming #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 25.3: If You Like Civilization 6, You May Enjoy FreeCol I’ve played a little bit, it is a turn-based colonization simulator, where you can play as any of the major European powers from the early Modern era, and each one has its own specific kinds of units and whatnot. If that kind of game is your jam, FreeCol just may be worth your time. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/01/20-years-later-the-open-source-colonization-game-freecol-hits-10/ #FFW #Linux #fossgames #free #turnbased #simulation #fun #linuxgaming #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice

WE 20-1: chatGPT in Education, What are Teachers Doing? On one hand, there is the impulse to ban it, as the district in NYC has done. I’m not certain that this makes sense in the long run, as how do you ensure that such a ban is actually enforceable? Sure, you can set up DNS filtering on all district-connected devices, but how do you prevent the kids from signing in at home or using their phones via mobile data, whether at school or elsewhere? Tools are not in place to prove whether someone used one of these AI tools to generate assignment-fulfilling answers. Tools are being developed, but simply are unavailable at this point. I think the wiser method is one that was mentioned in the other CNN article I found on the issue: one group of teachers has decided to tweak things so that they can see the process more in-depth, another is shifting back to using in-class essays more, rather than take-home ones where the students could use a tool like ChatGPT to write it for them. Some professors are not clear that it could actually be damaging to students for them to use it. Others are checking ChatGPT before they assign things to make sure what ChatGPT “knows”, even requiring certain classes of sources that ChatGPT would not have access to. Mitigation tools are already in the works, and many are using them already. One is called ZeroGPT, and is being developed by a Princeton student, and Turnitin is also on board with that. If you have been a student in the last 15 years, you’ve probably had to submit at least one paper to Turnitin in that time, as it is a very popular anti-plagiarism tool. ChatGPT is also being embraced by some, as a way to help students to improve their own writing, as a foundation piece, or a comparison source for them. This intrigues me. Am I on board with the concept in its entirety? No. I don’t really like the proliferation of AI, as it seems to be in lockstep with transhumanist ideals, which I categorically oppose. However, you are free to form whatever opinion you like, just make sure that it is an educated one. Sources: https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/19/tech/chatgpt-teachers-adjusting https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/05/tech/chatgpt-nyc-school-ban/index.html WE 20-2: BTC Bull Run? XRP News... Looks like BTC is recovering from its tumble in the aftermath of the FTX collapse, but why? It doesn’t seem like the broader financial situation should support such a surge in the last couple of weeks. We’re looking at a 28% surge in value in the last 2.5 weeks. Is this the beginning of a bull run? Some would enthusiastically say yes, buy now, buy at the dip, and ride the rocket ship up to the moon, baby! I have never trusted it, as BTC has proven to be inherently volatile, and it is far too easily abused by bad actors, whether state based or not. It has often been linked to things like human trafficking and other illicit activities which ultimately harm people. This article talks about some of the factors which could be playing into the current rally, one of which being whispers of a looser US monetary policy with lower interest rates, and the other is that whales seem to be making some large purchases. What’s a whale? A large investor, the term relates to the analogy of the market being like a body of water and the players being marine animals, whether little “fish” or big “whales”. When whales make moves, whether in the Fintech space (crypto, ETFs, tokens, etc) or in the traditional space (Wall St), the smarter fish take notice and make corresponding moves. Back to the manifold issues with BTC, though, chief of which is that it is inefficient, based on a kind of artificial scarcity (the limit to the number of possible Bitcoins in circulation, and the fact that it has intentionally been made more difficult to do the processing to “mine” BTC over the last few years, as we get closer to that limit), and only holds value as long as someone is willing to speculate on it. I don’t like it, but you make up your own mind. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/16/why-is-bitcoin-btc-rallying-in-january.html Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, which created both the XRP coin and its corresponding institutional counterpart, Ripple, claims that he expects wither a ruling or a settlement in the SEC case against his company by as soon as June. A ruling, either that the SEC is right about Ripple and XRP (that it is indeed a security and needs to go through the processes and rigamarole of registering as such), and by direct inference, the rest of the industry is populated with unregistered and unregulated securities, or that XRP and Ripple are not securities and that the SEC brought the case needlessly, or some manner of settlement between Ripple and the SEC, admitting that their crypto efforts are indeed not securities, but that there needs to be some sort of slap on the wrist for them. He called the SEC “embarrassing” in how they have comported themselves in the course of this lawsuit. I have to admit that my wife and I have held some XRP in a particular exchange, and it got stuck, frozen, in that exchange as soon as this case started, so we wait with baited breath to be able to do anything at all with it. I want to believe that it Ripple will get its favorable ruling, and that Gensler will be humbled by it, but I have my doubts. At least Ripple/XRP has utility, unlike BTC. Don’t try to talk to me about BTC as “digital gold” or some such shill-y claim, Ripple/XRP is a viable replacement for the SWIFT system that has allowed faster, more secure cross-border payments for years now. Call me a shill if you want, but at least it DOES something. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/18/ripple-ceo-optimistic-crypto-firm-will-get-sec-xrp-lawsuit-ruling-soon.html WE 20-3: Trump Back on Twitter and Meta Products? Trump’s campaign has petitioned for his accounts to be reinstated, stating that “We believe that the ban on President Trump’s account on Facebook has dramatically distorted and inhibited the public discourse”. So the campaign is applying pressure, though not looking to sue the social media giant at this point. Trump was reinstated by Musk at Twitter back in Novermber, but has yet to make his much-anticipated return to the platform. This article, from the lamestream media, repeats that they do not believe that he will or even can return to Twitter, due to his commitments with Truth Social. I sensed a sigh of relief at that thought. Then they parrot the J6 talking points about how Trump “refused” to defuse the situation, and instead “poured gas on the fire” by critiquing Pence’s lack of actions to overturn the election. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/18/donald-trump-prepares-for-his-return-to-facebook-and-twitter.html Trump has told Fox News Digital that he believes that Facebook needs him, more than he needs them, but yet, as we covered in the last story, his campaign has formally petitioned Meta for his reinstatement. This article also discusses how he will very shortly have his first official campaign stop in Columbus, SC. South Carolina is an early primary state and also the home of Nikki Haley and Tim Scott, who appear to be potential challengers to his bid for nomination from the GOP. The GOPe (aka RINOs, aka uniparty members) try to blame him for a shaky result from the midterms, but they also moved against him, not with him in many ways, by not backing many of his candidates because they were running their own people. The whole political system is broken in this country. The false dichotomy between the parties, leading to the illusion of choice at the voting booth, is actually a thing. Not only that, but then there are the well-documented issues with the voting apparatus itself (Dominion, ES&S, etc) which lead to errant, if not outright fraudulent results on voting day. However, I digress. I could talk about this stuff all night, if I wanted to. I see Meta as a dead, decaying platform, as I said last week https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2023/01/18/facebook-instagram-trump-campaign-petition/11075645002/ WE 20.4: Big Tech in Trouble? In the UK, parliament are one step closer to amending their Online Safety Bill. What’s the big deal there? If it goes through as is, it would render the capacity to try and jail the leadership of offending social media companies for not: · removing all illegal content · removing content that's banned by its own terms and conditions · empowering users with tools to protect themselves against types of content they don't want to see At the moment, they have agreed that a UK media watchdog called Ofcom will be in charge of these sorts of proceedings, as well as the current structure of fines, which start at 18 million pounds, and go up to a max of 10% of their yearly revenue (whichever is more, for simply failing to remove illegal content) , and they will also have the ability to completely block sites from the country. As usual with these sorts of legislative efforts, it feels good on the surface, but after that first glance, you realize that it is an ugly transvestite that you at first thought a beautiful, or at least hot, woman. This is a backdoor to greater control over speech. This is censorship in the UK, which already has some very tight regulations on freedom of expression. This also would undermine E2E encryption in the UK, and serve as a template for our own questionable government. That is chilling. Democracies and republics, in order to be healthy at all, need both a well informed populace, and one that is free to speak their minds about matters of public import, including (genuinely) peacefully protesting things, and posting contrary opinions on social media. https://www.cnet.com/news/politics/big-tech-behind-bars-the-uks-online-safety-bill-explained/ Meanwhile, here in the States, as Big Tech continues down the path toward austerity, the US federal government is trying to actively court these laid off tech workers to come work directly for Big Brother by boosting pay rates for those positions across the federal gov’t space. Well, I could go off on this... I really could. I’m not certain that it would be beneficial, but you know, at least that way they cut out the middle man. There are 2,500 related positions that the feds have been unable to fill for the last couple of years, but how many of those people who have been cut loose by big Tech companies would be able to fill those positions? That really doesn’t seem like enough of a drop in the bucket to make a difference with the nearly 200k people who have been laid off in the last 3 months or so from the tech industry, many who were working for giants such as Amazon, Meta, Twitter, Microsoft, Snapchat, and others. Well, good for those who net those jobs, I suppose. https://www.cnet.com/tech/for-new-tech-jobs-forget-amazon-and-microsoft-try-the-us-government-instead/

MX Linux 21.3 How to Stay on Top of Kernel Updates Freedom Consultation Ubuntu Kernel Updates PSA: Linux 6.0 Kernel EOL #distromonday #TechFreedom #technews #Linuxnews #Linux #kernel #mxlinux DM 42-1: What’s New in MX Linux 21.3? Remember MX Linux? That’s ok if you don’t, here’s a reminder: MX Linux is a debian distro that is focused on being a stable and lightweight base for your Linux experience. So, what’s new? · Linux 6.0 for new installs, but for now, it might be better to stick with the 5.10 series, as 6.0 is EOL · Xfce 4.18 · Latest Patches and Updates from Debian 11.6 · A new deb-installer to replace GDebi · Menulibre menu editor Sounds like a solid effort from the MXLinux team, but as I said, be careful with any distro that is just now updating to the 6.0 kernel (given, that is for the bleeding edge hardware support, for those users who want to run as lightly as possible, even with brand new hardware. https://9to5linux.com/mx-linux-21-3-released-with-xfce-4-18-and-linux-kernel-6-0 #distromonday #TechFreedom #Linux #Debian #MXLinux DM 42.2: How to Keep on Top of Kernel Updates Well, as I reported last week, the 4.19 LTS is now end of life, with it goes the stable kernel 6.0.19, replaced by 5.15.85 LTS and 6.1.5 stable kernels. What does this mean? Long-Term Service, or LTS kernels are older kernels which are designed to be be ultra stable. These have been tested and tried and will be supported for at least 5 years after their initial series release, so the 5.15 LTS kernel will continue to be patched and updated for another 4 years or so. These kernels are not the flashiest releases, but they make the whole Linux world run on the server and enterprise level. If you are doing IT for a company, large or small, you don’t want to be working with the latest and greatest, as there will be bugs that need squishing and fixes that need to be made before these new pieces of tech are stable and really production ready. You don’t want to be wrestling with teething issues along with new adopting enthusiasts if your company needs to be able to just get stuff done. Stable kernels are similar, but closer to bleeding edge, for those new adopting, adventuresome types who just like to live dangerously, but not at the absolute bleeding edge of release clients and the like. These stable kernels are perfect for regular use, as they have been tested and tried, but they only get supported for a month or so, then upgraded to the next round. For LTS kernels, rock stability is the name of the game. They will be patched for vulnerabilities and other issues, but other than that, they are as-is. For stable kernels, you get much more current hardware support, as well as other performance tweaks which will make your experience better vs LTS, but not as much stability, as the kernel is only meant to be “stable” for a month or two at a time. In Arch, you get the latest kernels as options before anyone else does, and that can be part of why it has the reputation of being so finicky. It is easy to update to new kernels in Arch, as they roll with the rest of the updates offered, as soon as it is out of testing. In Debian based distros, you’ll have to wait longer for your developers to filter it through from upstream, unless you want to compile the kernel for yourself. We’ll talk a bit more about this in the next story, after the discussion about the Freedom Consultation, which is coming next. https://www.makeuseof.com/linux-kernel-releases-crucial-updates/ #distromonday #TechFreedom #Linux #kernels #techtips Freedom Consultation What is it? It is a free video call where I will give you the basics in terms of tools to set you free. I will also demonstrate a handful of different Linux distributions, some free and open source software (FOSS) that may be a good fit to replace your current proprietary tools, such as MS Office, Adobe Suite, more privacy-conscious browsers, and whatever else you need to help you feel better about the switch. I believe that anyone can set themselves free, and should want to, particularly when we consider just how much data and control these Big Tech and Big Gov types have over us through their closed ecosystems. Do you want to be free? Are you tired of having everything you do tracked and traced? Are you creeped out by AI and algorithms? Get free after a Freedom Consultation. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultaion #distromonday #TechFreedom #freedomconsultation #free #degoogle #Linux DM 42.3: New Ubuntu Kernel Updates As promised, more conversation about the kernel... What is in this update anyway? Why should you apply these patches as soon as possible? Well, let me tell you why: · For all affected versions (14.04 and 16.04 ESM, and 18.04-22.04 LTS, as well as 22.10) o Two Bluetooth security vulnerabilities, one which dealt with multiple use-after-free vulnerabilities which could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code on your device, and the other, which was an integer overflow vulnerability. More or less, the attacker would have to be in physical proximity to launch an attack like this to either be able to run arbitrary (that you did not intend) code or even cause your system to crash. o Also patched was a vulnerability which could allow an attacker in a VM to cause a network crash for the host machine. · Misc fixes o 22.10 + 5.19 and 22.04 & 20.04 LTS running 5.15 LTS § Vulnerability patched which could lead to a local attacker being able to cause a crash or execute arbitrary code, through a stack buffer overflow. o 18.04 & 20.04 running the 5.4 LTS kernel, as well as the 14.04 and 16.04 ESM § Patched vulnerability which could allow a remote attacker to use a buffer overflow to execute arbitrary code or cause a system crash How do you apply these fixes? Either run the software updater utility or type sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade and reboot. https://9to5linux.com/new-ubuntu-kernel-security-updates-fix-5-vulnerabilities-patch-now #distromonday #TechFreedom #Ubuntu #Linux #kernel #patches #updates Distro Monday PSA: Linux 6.0 kernel now end-of-life after a typical 3 month run. Update to the 6.1 LTS series as soon as you can to make sure that you continue getting updates and whatnot.

Weekend Edition 19 – Crypto, AI, the FAA, and More Crypto News, AI News, Latest On FAA Problems, and a Social Media Roundup. WE 19-1: FTX, SBF, and Crypto Fallout Well, SBF can’t keep his trap shut. In a substack post, on Thursday, he is still claiming that he is innocent of all wrongdoing. However, his other former coworkers each pled guilty to related charges for FTX and Alameda Research. How do you see that? What do you guys think? Seems like they are taking the fall for young Sammy, here. We will see what happens when he actually goes to trial in October. He stirred the pot by redirecting (or attempting to redirect) our attention over to the alleged actions taken by the head of Binance over the last 6 months before he (SBF) stepped down from FTX and Alameda. These allegations amount to committing corporate espionage to bring FTX and Alameda down. We will see if any of that is proven out. Another interesting tidbit in the saga happened on Wednesday when the FTX lawyers claimed that they “found” 5 of the missing 8 billion dollars, so no big deal, right, guys? Hmm, that seems awfully convenient. The CEO in charge of the bankruptcy proceedings seems even more shocked as time goes on, at just how disorganized and out of control FTX and its related companies were. The lawyers claim that the rest of the missing money isn’t really missing, but tied up in crypto that would tank the market even more if they sold them. The charitable side of me finds these excuses plausibe, but the cynic, which is far louder right now, can’t take anything these clowns say at face value... I am torn... Sources: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/12/sam-bankman-fried-denies-stealing-user-crypto-funds-in-new-substack-post.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/11/ftx-has-recovered-5-billion-worth-of-liquid-assets-lawyers-say-bankman-fried-crypto.html WE 19-2: AI News – ChatGPT and VALL-E ChatGPT is EVERYWHERE, right now. What is it? It is an AI chatbot which can do a good number of things, even write scripts for things (probably not programming scripts, but human language stuff). It has no current access to the internet, so it can’t do research on current things, but was trained back in late 2021, so it can have a very intelligent conversation with you about old news. Ok, so what’s the big deal with that? It has quickly become quite ubiquitous around the internet, and you almost can’t tell if you’re talking to a human being or one of these chatbots anymore. Does that kinda freak you out? It should. As cool as it is on a purely technical level, this makes me very nervous in practice. Don’t get me wrong, I am intrigued by it, but I don’t think that I would ever seek out a conversation with one of these, personally. https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/chatgpt-is-going-to-be-everywhere-in-2023/ What about VALL-E? Well, I believe I have talked about DALL-E in the past, which is one of the best-known AI art generators, which have their own raft of moral and ethical issues, over how we deal with the concept of intellectual property and copyrights. VOLL-E is an AI voice generator. That should immediately raise GIANT red flags all over the place, if you’re paying attention. An accurate voice generator which you cannot tell was not a real person’s voice... This is not simply doctoring or tweaking audio clips to make someone say something they didn’t say, that has been a reality with recorded voice for at least a couple of decades, and is bad enough. This is worse. This can take a 3 second voiceprint recording and generate your voice to read written text to you, with accurate inflection and emotion, based on context. A bad actor could take a very short snippet of your voice, feed it into VALL-E, then make you read anything, and most people wouldn’t be able to tell it wasn’t you. This is why allowing Google, Apple, Microsoft, or Amazon to have your voice, through voice-controlled “smart” devices (Google Assistant/Home, Siri/ Apple Home, Cortana, Alexa, etc) is such a horrible idea. These corporations already have a very cozy relationship with Big Brother as it is, if they are truly separate at all, but all it takes is a data leak or a successful hack attack to “liberate” that data from their respective clouds, and there you are, not only what you actually said in the recordings they take from listening ALL the time (allegedly so that they don’t miss an activation beat, and “oh, we don’t record everything you say and do in your home”.... Bullshit.) but what malicious actors could make you say, think of the voice prompts with your credit cards or other sensitive accounts that are similar, and how easy it would be to plug that AI text-to-speech engine into a VOIP call to gain easy access to your accounts. This is bad news, y’all. Bad news indeed. I don’t want to leave this on a downer note, but as cool as the concept is in theory, it is (from where I sit) far too easy to abuse this technology. https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/01/10/after-chatgpt-and-dalle-meet-vall-e-the-text-to-speech-ai-that-mimics-anyones-voice WE 19-3: What Happened with the Flights on Wednesday? The flight tracking system which the FAA uses is sorely out of date. One such system, which completely went down is called NOTAM (Notice To Air Missions). This system sends important safety-related messages to pilots who are about to take off. It crashed for hours on Wednesday, grounding flights for 3-4 hours, leading to thousands of cancellations, and delaying over 7,000 flights... Wow. That is quite something. Was it just aging, inadequately maintained infrastructure, or was it a cyber attack? As of the writing of this article, that was unclear, but seemed to indicate that it was the former, not the latter. Not as exciting, but still a crucial point. Do we have the skilled manpower to maintain and upgrade these aging systems? I don’t know, but there was a video I saw of a guy who claimed he was fired after pointing out issues in the codebase for SouthWest Aitlines (he was paid as an auditor for them, by the way, so his job was to comb through code for issues, then report them). He seemed to think that a) we don’t have the skills and b) corporations want rubber stampers, not honest workers in those sorts of key positions. That speaks volumes to me. https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/11/tech/faa-computer-system-notam Buttigeig has launched an investigation into all of the airline issues of late, so that’s comforting... I suppose... At least that diversity hire who is far more concerned with labelling NYC bridges and roadways as “racist” than actually doing his job to run the Dept of Transportation is actually doing his job for once. Let’s see what he finds... Oh my, he found ancient systems which cannot stand up under the strain of modern air travel, color me shocked. Wasn’t this part of what Trump was after YEARS ago, with his version of the Infrastructure bill? Seems like it to me, but the funding for the FAA likely wasn’t secured very well, thanks to excess pork that was carved into the bill that actually passed. True, those sorts of bills are not “sexy”, but they are crucial, and if funding had been secured, then perhaps the 20-30 year old bones of the systems at the FAA could’ve been overhauled and we might have avoided some of these issues. Who knows. I sure do feel better knowing that Biden’s diversity hires have it all well in hand... https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/12/tech/faa-notam-system-outage WE 19.4: Social Media Briefs – a cluster of stories about Twitter, Meta, and TikTok. Elon and Twitter: Well, some very high profile J6-related accounts have been restored recently, including DJT, Ali Alexander, CodemonkeyZ, and LT Gen Michael Flynn (Ret). Those are some big names. Good for Elon that he restored DJT’s account which DJT has said that he won’t use again anyway, owing to his connection with Truth Social. Seems a token gesture to me. As you all know by now, I do not trust this South African “wunderkind”, I see his connections with very dark things, such as the destruction of the planet and lives through the rare earth mining that is necessary for the batteries which power his cars (which only last about 5 years, then you may as well buy a new car, so much for them being so “green”), to the whole SpaceX thing, to the transhumanist stuff that he is working on in the form of Neuralink. Too many strikes against him for me to trust him at all. https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/10/tech/twitter-restores-election-deniers Meta: Meta has had an internal debate raging over the reinstatement of DJT. According to this article, they are preparing to announce their decision soon. This has been made into a huge, hairy issue because of their longtime umbilical relationship with the American Intelligence Community... After all, if you recall, Facebook started as a CIA program called LifeLog. The IC (intelligence community) seemed to have a vested interest in destroying Trump, as well as stifling wrongthink. When they came after the little people, no one cared much about censorship or freedom of speech, but when they shut down the account of a sitting president, that sends a very chilling message, doesn’t it? On the other hand, Meta is a private company which has its own rules and governance, which we all agreed to when we signed the EULA and TOS. Given, they have arbitrarily altered the agreement several times over the last handful of years, allowing them to nuke accounts at will, largely. I don’t need to rag on this, but I also, in part, at least, fail to see the big deal at this point. Facebook is largely dead or dying, now, and Trump’s presence alone will not change that. If their rules were set, public knowledge, and administered fairly. They have not been. Part of that is that they have been able to hide behind Section 230, but yeah... Enough on Meta. https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/11/tech/facebook-decision-reinstate-trump TikTok: Wait, mental health suffers when people spend too much time on social media? Say it ain’t so! Depression and anxiety spike, particularly in teens, whose brains are developing at a very rapid pace? Who knew? Alright, alright, enough sarcasm for now. TikTok is being investigated for just these issues, that they advertise their platform as “safe” for teens, but then serve suicide-related content within moments of a new account being created. Not only that, but the way that their algorithm is set up, it keeps you locked in, scrolling from one video to the next as it learns based on your reactions to content which kinds you like, then feeds you those sorts of videos. It is like youtube had a lovechild with pinterest. Content for centuries, tailored to your interests. It just never stops, and you lose hours, then days, then months in that vortex of content. You lose sight of yourself, your life, your family and friends, just like any other kind of addict. Children should not be allowed on these platforms. It is too easy, as a parent to just go, “Oh well, my kids are fine, they aren’t in my hair or destroying anything...” That is the worst attitude to take. There is too much garbage out there. If you care about what your kids consume, stay engaged and enforce the boundaries that you set. https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/11/tech/tiktok-teen-mental-health Https://TechFreedom.pro/freedom-consultation/

EndlessOS 5.0 Beta Released Memesplanation Open Mandriva Roma Released Freedom Consultation Nobara Linux 37 Released PSA: Linux 4.9 LTS Is Now End Of Life #distromonday #Linux #endlessOS #linux49 #openmandriva #nobara #TechFreedom DM 41.1 – EndlessOS 5.0 Beta Released, So What? What is EndlessOS? It’s a distro I’ve talked about before. The project is led by Cassidy James Blaede, who was the co-founder of ElementaryOS, and has been a developer for System76 as well. Quite the pedigree, I think. But about Endless: it is another debian based distro, which focuses on an older version of GNOME for the base of its UI, and has an emphasis on helping families and educators to teach kids better. They heavily feature Flatpak, similar to Nitrux, which I covered last week. But what is new here? Tweaked GNOME 41 Wayland Support Pipewire Support Flatpaks for many core GNOME apps Better switchable graphics support https://9to5linux.com/endless-os-5-0-beta-is-here-with-a-new-desktop-interface-and-wayland-support #distromonday #endlessOS #indie #GNOME #beta #updates #Linux #TechFreedom St. Clement has a valid point, methinks. If God were like a candy machine, where You put in a certain thing, make your Selection, then get what you want right Away, then there would be no relationship, No reason to pursue God or godliness, no Reason to change your heart or to grow, other Than to get whatever you want from the cosmic Candy machine. #distromonday #stclement #piety #profit #wisdom #memesplanation #TechFreedom DM 41.2 – Rollin’, Rollin’ Rollin’ OpenMandriva’s Rollin’... OpenMandriva? What’s that? It is a very pedigreed distro, descended from the now legendary 90s distro, Mandrake Linux. Now, however, it is completely independent, not based on Debian, Arch, SUSE, Fedora, or Gentoo. Historically, since it was forked from Mandriva Linux in 2012, as that project got deep sixed, it has been a typical, fixed-release distro, but now they have a parallel, rolling release, like Arch. This is cool to me because I think that the rolling release distros make allot of sense in many cases, and that way you get updates as soon as they are available, rather than waiting 3-12 months (depending on the distro’s development cadence) for a massive update/ upgrade. This way, it tends to be smaller and more incremental. Ideally, developers would run a series of automated tests on new versions of programs so that stability is not compromised so significantly as it sometimes is in say, vanilla Arch. So what is new here? Linux 6.1 GNOME 43.2 systemD 252 Pipewire KDE 5.26.5 And a whole lot more... https://linuxiac.com/openmandriva-lx-23-01-rome/ #distromonday #openmandriva #rollingrelease #linux #indie #goodstuff #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 41.3 – Nobara Linux 37 What is Nobara Linux? It is a heavily modified version of Fedora, one might call it a fork, after a kind. Think of Nobara as Fedora for gamers, streamers, and creators who don’t want to be bothered with opening the terminal. The way they describe the project, it sounds kind of like the Garuda of the Fedora family. I did talk about it about 6 months ago, and even had a friend do a kind of live review during the show, for Nobara 36, or something like that. If you fit their target demograhic, take a look at their site and check it out. Here’s the link to that show: https://rumble.com/v1ees4f-tech-tips-tuesday-18-nobara-linux-36-and-more.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y https://nobaraproject.org #distromonday #nobaralinux #fedora #gaming #streaming #Linux #TechFreedom DM 41 PSA: The Linux 4.9 LTS is now End of Life You heard right, it’s the end of the road for this venerable kernel, after receiving security patches and minor updates for 6 years. Have you noticed just how rapid the development cadence is for the Linux kernel lately? Seems like a new point series every month or two, so the fact that they supported 4.9 for 6 years goes beyond the call of duty, so to speak. The standard practice for LTS kernels is to support them for 5 years. This one got extra. Thanks, kernel dev team, for a solid LTS kernel in the form of the 4.9 series. https://9to5linux.com/linux-kernel-4-9-reaches-end-of-life-after-6-years-of-support #TechFreedom #PSA #Linux #kernel #EOL #DistroMonday Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab

Tails 5.9 Memesplanation Freespire 9.0 Freedom Consultation helloSystem0.8.0 DM 43.1 – What’s new in Tails 5.9? Alright, apparently there were some major problems in Tails 5.8... This release fixes many issues and squashes many bugs, as you would hope would happen in active development. Most of the issues occurred because with 5.8, the team moved to Wayland from x11, but stayed on the 5.10LTS kernel, breaking many Intel iGPU based systems. How did they fix it? They switched to the EOL 6.0.12 kernel. What else got fixed or changed? QT based AppImage binaries work better now Persistent Storage is better KeepassXC can now use the clipboard Tor Browser updated Debian Bullseye repos https://9to5linux.com/anonymous-os-tails-5-9-ships-with-linux-kernel-6-0-to-improve-gpu-support #distromonday #tails59 #incognito #amnesiac #debian #tor #updates #Linux #TechFreedom DM 43.2 – Freespire 9 What’s Freespire? It is a completely FOSS Xubuntu derivative. What does that mean? Why should you think about using it? Ok, where Xubuntu uses all of the Ubuntu repos, Freespire strips out everything that is non-free, or proprietary from its software base. That means that it is Xubuntu minus Snap, and minus all of Canonical’s other shenanigans. Think of it as a slightly more up to date way to use Debian and be an open source purist, at least in terms of the OS itself. This intrigues me, except that I don’t like xfce much, and that is what Xubuntu is: Ubuntu + xfce. So what is new here? Xubuntu Jammy Jellyfish as the base Xfce 4.18 Linux 5.15 LTS Mozilla Firefox web browser Mozilla Thunderbird email client HexChat IRC client GIMP image editor Transmission BitTorrent client Parole media player Rhythmbox music player ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors office suite balenaEtcher OS https://9to5linux.com/freespire-9-0-released-with-xfce-4-18-based-on-xubuntu-22-04-lts #distromonday #freespire #FOSS #xubuntu #linux #goodstuff #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 43.3 – helloSystem – A BSD MacOS-Alike Oh, a non-Linux option? Why yes, there are other FOSS operating systems out there. BSD is another descendant of Unix, much like Linux and MacOS. In fact, MacOS is closer to BSD than it is to Linux, though all are far more similar to one another than any of them are to Windonts. What makes BSD different from Linux? It is more niche than Linux, so if you are looking for the most “out there” OS to play with, a variant based on BSD will get you closer than 95% of Linux distros will. I should be a little more careful with my language here... Linux is really just a kernel, or the core of the OS, where BSD is a whole OS, like MacOS or Windoesnt. Kernel, drivers, and core packages (like a desktop environment), where Linux needs to have a distribution built around it in order to be functional at all. BSD is about as secure, but has weaknesses in networking performance, isn’t as supported or as nimble as Linux development, and it uses a different licensing system, which allows developers to make their software proprietary after benefiting from open source development. Ok, enough nuts and bolts behind helloSystem. What of the story? Well, helloSystem is a very actively developed BSD variant which aims to look and work very much like MacOS, but be open source. What’s new in this release? Based on FreeBSD 13.1 Ability to more easily use a Debian 11 runtime to run Linux software Improved AppImage support Improved Filer (the file manager) Improvements to the menu system, including an option to “force quit” an app from the context menu https://www.debugpoint.com/hellosystem-0-8-0/ One thing to keep in mind is that this OS is under HEAVY development and may not be ready for broad adoption as yet. I would suggest waiting until it is firmly in the 1.0 release before installing it on bare metal, unless you are ready for some frustrations. #distromonday #helloSystem #freebsd #macalike #foss #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab

KDE 5.27 Beta Memesplanation GCompris 3.0 Free Your Internet WINE 8 TTT 43.1 – KDE 5.27 Beta Released What’s new, here? A whole lot... this is pretty lit, y’all. · Plasma Welcome App for quick configurations · New flatpak permissions tab in the Settings App · Tiling Support (just hit meta+T) · Hebrew Calendar Support · Different multi-monitor support · Display Settings Widget in System Tray for easy access https://9to5linux.com/kde-plasma-5-27-beta-is-out-with-plasma-welcome-flatpak-permissions-settings-and-tiling-support #TTT #KDE #FOSS #Linux #TechFreedom TTT 43.2 – GCompris 3.0 What is GCompris? It is a FOSS, cross-platform educational app to help constructively entertain and educate young minds, with a number of games and activities to teach logic, math, science facts, typing, writing, electronics, and other things. What is new in this release? · 8 new activities: o Mouse click training o Create the fractions o Find the fractions o Discover International Morse Code o Comparing Numbers o Find 10’s Complement o Swap 10’s Complement o Use 10’s Complement · CLI Options o gcompris -lor--list-activities to list all activities o Gcompris --launch activityName to directly open any given activity · Various bug fixes and tweaks This is a fairly good sized update, about a year in the making, take a look at the article for more info, and give it a try as soon as it is made available for your distro. https://9to5linux.com/gcompris-3-0-educational-software-released-with-8-new-activities-more #TTT #gcompris #updates #foss #homeschool #TechFreedom Free Your Internet http://techfreedom.pro/internet-freedom/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft TTT 43.3 – WINE 8 Released Lots to talk about in this update, as it is a MAJOR one. It isn’t just for gamers, but they are the ones who pretty much drive development for WINE, so most of these changes benefit them more than people looking for a productivity boost in Linux through running Windoesnt proprietary software. Let’s see what’s new, shall we? · Now completely redone in PE (portable executable) rather than ELF, to make it easier to implement copy protection, support for 32-bit apps on 64-bit systems, Windoesnt debuggers, x86 apps on ARM systems, and more · Also tweaks to make the translation from PE to Unix commands more performant, so this is a biggie · WoW64 thunks which will make is more seamless to launch 32 bit apps without the 32 bit WINE loader. (this is huge, if you like to play older/retro games, or need to use older software for some reason) · Adapter video memory budget change notifications, support for the Vulkan renderer to set up multiple viewports and scissor rectangles, as well as to limit the maximum Direct3D feature level based on available Vulkan features, and adds support for more graphics cards. · Improved shader support for DX 9 & 10 and D3D 9 & 10 to improve performance · Improved MPEG-1 filtering for audio and improved detection for driving wheels and other peripherals · Sony DualShock & DualSense controllers are now supported · And More... This is huge, guys. Should make gaming on Linux that much more enjoyable. https://9to5linux.com/wine-8-0-compatibility-layer-is-out-now-for-running-windows-apps-on-linux #TTT #foss #wine #Linux #gaming #productivity #compatibility #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

KDE Frameworks 5.102 KODI 20 Released Free Your Internet chatGPT & GNOME TTT 42.1 – KDE Frameworks 5.102 What’s new, here? A whole lot... this is pretty lit, y’all. · Now can send files larger than 2 GB via KDE Connect · ability to use a modifier key, such as the Meta key, as the key input chooser for assigning keyboard shortcuts to actions · Can now open a file pasted using its full file path into the directory chooser field of an Open dialog · makes the “Always use Touch Mode” setting persistent during reboots · adds the ability to close side drawers in Kirigami-based apps by using the Esc key or by clicking in an empty dimmed area of the view · Copy/Paste issues in Plasma Wayland now less problematic · Now forces widgets to disappear when removing that widget and then rebooting your system or restarting the Plasma session while the “Undo removing this widget?” notification is still visible · More than 130 other tweaks and fixes https://9to5linux.com/kde-frameworks-5-102-enables-file-transfers-over-2gb-in-kde-connect #TTT #KDE #FOSS #Linux #toolkits #TechFreedom TTT 42.2 – Kodi 20 Released What is Kodi? It is a FOSS media center/home theater front end which will both manage your media library, as well as stream content from your own network or device as well as from various internet sources. What is new in this release? · AV1 decode support through VA-API · Pipewire media server · Initial support for NTS-4 network storage · Initial support for WS-Discovery (samba shares) for Linux, Android, and Apple · AV1 hw decode for Android · independent volume settings for GUI sounds · new Colour Picker window dialog · new media flags for HDR videos · the ability to add video HDR type information to a video list item · And lots more... This is a huge update, about 2 years in the making, take a look at the article for more info, and give it a try as soon as it is made available for your distro. https://9to5linux.com/kodi-20-nexus-released-with-av1-hardware-decoding-on-linux-pipewire-support #TTT #kodi #updates #foss #selfhosted #TechFreedom Free Your Internet http://techfreedom.pro/internet-freedom/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft TTT 42.3 – chatGPT for GNOME? Wanna get closer to the singularity? Embed chatGPT into your desktop? This article tries to be positive about chatGPT, but I can’t follow suite here. I don’t see much benefit from this tool at this point, true, it cannot access current information, but even with that, it is just creepy to me. The extension is very much a work in progress at this point, full of bugs, but it is out in the wild, and the developer has hinted that they are working on a similar thing for KDE as well. You decide if this is a good idea. https://news.itsfoss.com/chatgpt-gnome-extension-development/ #TTT #foss #tools #Linux #chatgpt #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

All-New Pangolin Laptop GE-Proton Freed Computer Steam Data Leak FFW 27.1- System76 Teases New Pangolin Laptop Been a while since I talked about System76, but it is high time for them to release a new AMD rig. Here are the basic specs: · AMD Ryzen 7 6800U processor · AMD Radeon 680M graphics · A 144Hz 15.6-inch FHD display · Up to 32 GB DDR5 6400 MHz RAM · Up to 16TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD storage · 70 WH battery to give up to 10 hours of battery life · Starting at $1300 for the basic spec They state that we can expect the first ones to be available in February, so if you are in the market for a high performance, Linux-dedicated laptop, this could be a good fit for you. https://9to5linux.com/system76-to-unveil-amd-powered-pangolin-linux-laptop-with-144hz-display #FFW #Linux #foss #system76 #pangolin #AMD #TechFreedom FFW 27.2: Latest Proton-GE Release Out Now Proton is Steam’s answer to the Linux compatibility problem for games in its library. They work furiously on it now, since the Steam Deck is runs SteamOS, which is based on Arch Linux. Proton-GE is the community fork of Proton, largely spearheaded by a gentleman who works for Fedora, who goes by GloriousEggroll online. The latest version is Proton-GE 7-44, and here’s what’s new: · wine: updated to latest bleeding edge (includes alt+tab fix) · wine-staging: rebased for latest proton-wine bleeding edge · dxvk: updated to latest git (includes HDR patches) · vkd3d-proton: updated to latest git (includes HDR patches) · proton: import upstream changes (includes prefix sync revert/fix) · protonfixes: add workaround for pentiment launch failure (thanks tgurr) · protonfixes: add multiplayer fix for stronghold hd/stronghold crusader hd/ stronghold crusader extreme hd (thanks jopejoe1) · protonfixes: add framerate fix for Battle Fantia Revised Edition (thanks ranplayer) · protonfixes: add launcher workaround for Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (thanks ranplayer) The article (link below) mentions that Proton-GE can often add more issues vs mainline Proton, as it is not tested as thoroughly as the mainline version is, but if you regularly play one of the above-mentioned games, then you will benefit from this one. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/01/ge-proton-7-44-is-out-with-multiple-game-specific-fixes/ https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/01/ge-proton-removes-the-dxvk-async-patch-in-version-7-45/ #FFW #Linux #gamingonlinux #steam #proton #protonge #linuxgaming #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 27.3: Bad Day for Steam... LeakerWanderer apparently had an NDA with Steam back in the day, but has decided to leak a whole bunch of assets from the following games: · Portal · Counter Strike: Source · Day of Defeat: Source · Half Life 2: Episodes 1 & 2 · Half-Life 2 multiplayer · Team Fortress 2 Valve got hit with a similar leak for a Left 4 Dead prototype a couple of months back. Come on, guys, I know we’d rather have everything be FOSS, but we need to respect the intellectual property of others by honoring NDAs that we sign. Be people of our word, not randomly leak stuff that doesn’t belong to us merely because we had a passing fancy that we were Robin Hood or some such mythical hero. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/01/valve-suffers-a-huge-leak-from-various-games-like-portal-half-life-2-and-team-fortress-2/ #FFW #steam #valve #leaks #linuxgaming #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice

WE 21-1: Google Legal Jeopardy Google lost a case in India which is forcing it to back off of Android in that country, where 97% of mobile devices are Android based. What did the case force Google to do? · Allow users to pick their default search engine in Android · Loosen its grip on the necks of OEMs o Developers and OEMs can now license individual apps rather than the whole suite of GAPPs This is huge, if India can make them do this, then perhaps the hegemony of woketardedness can be broken after all. Hallelujah! Let’s roll, Boys! Make these clowns pay for the slimy shit they pull on us through their licensing agreements. According to Google, the Indian regulator that slapped them with this suit simply copy – pasted from the EU’s order last year. So what? If it works, and is legal, slap them as many times as possible, break their monopoly and the practices which created it, then burn them with FIRE. Make suchan example of them that no other US IC front company ever tries this bullshit again. Sure, in business, you want to get to the heights which Google has achieved and to have the power & resources to smash or acquire any other start-ups that could threaten you, but there has to be a certain level of ethics involved, right? At least for me, there does. That is something that won’t change, no matter how much I grow in the future. I’m never going to pull a Google and change my motto. My reason for being in this business is to raise awareness and to help as many people get away from the evil service-cum-spyware companies which sell you as the product, then embrace/extinguish any company which could provide a viable competitor. I am far too FOSS-minded to ever pull those sorts of shenanigans. As for the US, Google is dealing with a similar antitrust suit from the USDOJ. Some think that the DOJ will have a hard row to hoe here to prove that Google’s practices around its ad business are actually harmful to competitors and consumers, but I doubt it. I’m waiting in glee to see Google get slapped again, as doing so is actually backhanding the deep state, as I believe that Google is not only in bed with the Feds (along with Meta and Twitter), but is actually an arm of the CIA. Just my hunch, though. Sources: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-64396086 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-64159817 https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2023/01/24/google-justice-department-sues-advertising/11112899002/ WE 21-2: Guess Who’s Back, Back Again? Trump’s Back, Tell Your Simpering Woketard Acquaintances Welp, it happened. Meta has reinstated Trump’s accounts across their platforms. So much drama. So much fury and empty bluster. So many REEEEEEEEE’s. Mmmmm, salty Woketard tears. Ok, enough bravado. What is actually happening here? Why would he want to return there, if he has Truth Social, and has chosen to stay from tweeting as well? Ok, so he might want to take advantage of this for the sake of the fact that he is running for the White House again, and will probably need the boost of its 3 Billion active users in order to get his message out more readily. Given, many things have changed since 2020, but completely ignoring a platform like that during what is sure to be a hotly contested (fraudulent) (s)election again, might be a big mistake. Breathe, you woke nincompoops, breathe. You likely have another 5 months until you have to shelter in place in your safe spaces to stay clear of the Bad, Orange Man who so hurts your feelings so inconsiderately (because the media and the establishment have told you to be offended by that with which you disagree, also known as what [they] tell you to be offended by). It is unlikely, as I said last week, that he will start posting on either Meta platforms or on Twitter until his exclusivity agreement with Truth Social is up in June. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64408306 WE 21-3: Big Tech Workers Woes I do not glory in the misfortune of other human beings (individuals). However, I find it hilarious that these formerly untouchable tech mega corps are being knocked down a few pegs by the economics of the current time, which they helped to create, mind you. How did they create it? By blasting the COnvid propaganda fed them by the Deep State, of course, then partnering with them to shut down common sense ideas and solutions, so that the only option was LockDown, masks, and the clotshot, rather than ivermectin, HCQ, reasonable restrictions, and something closer to life as usual. Instead, they chose to shut all that down, whether through “fact checking” or “misinformation” labels, or shadow banning, or outright disabling accounts. I think that on some level, all of us have been affected by these gestapo tactics. Whether monetarily (employment, sales through the floor) or being less able to access accurate information to make better choices for yourself and your loved ones, we’ve all been radically injured by their lack of moral fiber. These employees were mostly drones who made no real policy decisions, other than pressing buttons their tender hearts and company policies dictate they must, at least from what I can tell. The companies are receiving their just desserts, as I see it. The people who are losing and have lost their jobs in this techbath are on the short end of the stick, but what goes around, comes around. Hopefully this lesson in the real world will serve them well, and they aren’t completely braindead after their indoctrinations in school, then at work. https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/14/23458204/meta-twitter-amazon-apple-layoffs-hiring-freezes-latest-tech-industry WE 21.4: Big Tech in Trouble? Color me shocked. Twitter is getting sued in Germany for failing to swiftly remove wrongthink from its platform. The content in question is illegal there (that is a whole other ball of wax that I do not have the time or desire to melt right now), on top of it breaking Twitter’s own TOS, apparently, so the European Union of Jewish Students has brought suit over their perceived emotional damage suffered due to these tweets not being removed in a timely manner. What were these offensive tweets about? Holocaust denial and antisemitic attacks. There were a total of 6 tweets at fault. Judging by the laws being put in place by both Germany and the UK around these issues, I think Musk and Twitter are very likely to get smacked by a heavy fine, if not worse, as these are blatant violations of their law, as well as Twitter’s own stated guidelines and TOS. Not much more to say on that. I think it is time to game just a little bit, now. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64404590

DXVK 2.1 Memesplanation Proton News Freed Computer More EA Games Now Work FFW 28.1- DXVK 2.1 Out Now, What’s New? DXVK is the DirectX to Vulkan translation layer for DX 9-11 games. It is what makes it tenable to play these titles in Linux, in terms of graphics and audio. Pretty key to keep improving this, so it is good that they are. So, what is new? · HDR support (limited by lack of support in most Linux desktop environments and missing NVIDIA api calls) · Improved shader compilation · A GLFW backend for native Linux builds of DXVK as an alternative to the SDL2 backend · Two new options (d3d9.forceSampleRateShading and d3d11.forceSampleRateShading) for enabling sample rate shading for all shaders on older games that support MSAA. · Game-specific improvements o Red Dead Redemption 2 o Ashes of the Singularity o Battlefield: Bad Company 2 o Cardfight!! Vanguard o Gujian 3 o Resident Evil 4 HD o Saints Row: The Third o Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice o Sonic Frontiers o Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance hhttps://9to5linux.com/dxvk-2-1-released-with-hdr-support-shader-compilation-improvements #FFW #Linux #foss #drivers #nvidia #TechFreedom FFW 28.2: Proton News The Latest Proton Experimental and GE-Proton releases are out. If you need a boost in these specific areas, with these games, check them out, if not, maybe skip it to avoid aggravation. These are not final versions, but are stepping stones, and while they may solve some problems, they may cause others, as with these versions of Proton, you are more or less the guinea pig. Let’s see what’s new in each, shall we? Proton Experimental: · Improve multi-touch support. · Fix native scrollbar being always visible in Final Fantasy XIV Online launcher GE-Proton: · DXVK hotfix to deal with bad cache files being written (your mileage may vary on this) https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/01/proton-experimental-and-ge-proton-7-47-updates-available-now/ https://steamdeckhq.com/news/proton-ge-7-47-a-quick-dxvk-hotfix/ #FFW #Linux #gamingonlinux #proton #steam #linuxgaming #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 28.3: Moar EA Games Now Work in Linux So, while recently Jedi: Fallen Order, Sims 4, Titanfall 2, and Battlefield 1 were added to the Proton playable list, here are a host more (at least until EA borks them again): · A Way Out · Battlefield 4 & 5 · It Takes Two · Madden NFL 21 - 23 · Mass Effect: Andromeda Deluxe Edition · Mass Effect Legendary Edition · Mirror's Edge Catalyst · Need for Speed Heat · Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered · Need for Speed Most Wanted · Need for Speed Rivals · Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2: Deluxe Edition · Unravel Two If you’re a gamer, this should be music to your ears... Maybe you won’t need to dualboot anymore, or perhaps that VM won’t be needed anymore. What’s your story? https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/01/more-ea-games-steam-deck-playable/ #FFW #Linux #steam #proton #playable #fun #linuxgaming #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice

WE 22-1: Big Tech Go Down the Hole? Meta spiked in value after a word from Zuck, Amazon hit some numbers, but barely registered a blip in terms of shareholder profits, Alphabet is down, AMD is up, and Apple’s sales had their largest slump in 6 years. Ok, let’s start from the top, shall we? Meta: Had a massive cliff jumping moment last Fall. I covered that when it happened, just after the bloodbath that was the Q3 earnings call, or lack thereof. If you held onto your Meta stock, you’re a happy camper right now, as it spiked by 23% after Zuck shared his vision for a more austere and efficient version of itself. Apparently that is all the analysts and late traders needed to hear to drive the valuation up by over 20% in after hours trading on Wednesday. It wasn’t based on the strength of their sales numbers, as those only grew 4% year on year, but on the commitment to cut costs and make wiser personnel and project based decisions, rather than simply throwing money around. They are also cutting allot of middle management, to limit the bloat and make the decision-making process more streamlined. That sounds like a solid call from the Meta C-suite level. I can’t bash them for making good business decisions, however I will echo previous statements I’ve made in regard to the core of what made Meta such a force of nature to begin with, its utter, core disregard for user privacy. That is why the ads were so profitable for larger companies, especially. The old Facebook pixel was ridiculously overpowered because it was so easy to tie a new website to Facebook for analytics and spy on all of your visitors to target ads that much more readily and effectively, not to mention that the whole thing started as a CIA /5 eyes project to spy on one another’s citizens more easily. It was and remains a giant, intentional honeypot for your personal data. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/01/metas-year-of-efficiency-everything-wall-street-needed-to-hear.html Alphabet: Down overall, both top and bottom lines. They did not hit any of their targets this quarter, well, darn. YouTube revenues are down... Hmmm... Could platforms like Rumble, GabTV, Bitchute, and Lbry be cutting into their bottom line? Or could it be that their efforts to make YouTube profitable are just failing because it was never sustainable, particularly not at FHD and beyond resolutions with high bitrate video and audio? Or is it that more and more people are wising up and using ad blockers in their browsers or using alternative frontends that perhaps block ads for you, or DNS filtering to block ads? What Front ends are there that either don’t ship your data off to Google (aka the USIC) or force ads down your throat? LibreTube fulfills both aims (and is available on both Android and Desktop), NewPipe which simply obscures you from Google. NewPipe feeds you content without forcing you to sign in, while also allowing you to import and export subscribed lists, likes, etc, as those are stored locally rather than in [their] cloud. Ok, let me slow down for a minute, DNS is the Domain Name Service, which turns IP addresses into URLs and back, so that when you type in a URL, the browser knows which site you are trying to contact. YouTube depends on Ad revenue in order to be viable for more than just gathering data on your preferences and interests. Either way, YouTube underperformed in the last quarter, and contributed to a $500 million earnings shortfall for the quarter. Yes, they missed the expectation by half of a billion dollars. YouTube missed its own expectation by $290 Million, Google Cloud missed its target by $110 Million, and the share value missed its target by $.13 per share. For those of us who preach the good word about forsaking Google, perhaps we are starting to make a dent. One can hope, right? https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/02/alphabet-googl-earnings-q4-2022.html Amazon: Made allot of money. Their per share profits were only $.03 though. The last quarter they surpassed expected revenues by $3.78 Billion. AWS did not hit its expectations, falling short by $470 Million, but still producing $21.4 Billion in revenues. Their ad business also grew a good bit, and surpassed expectations by $180 Million. Yes, they made $149.2 Billion in revenue last quarter, but that 4% growth was just not enough, and their net income was ONLY $2.7 Billion after all other costs, that is even with the layoffs that they have been engaging in. These numbers make my head spin, but we have to keep plugging away and eventually this, too, will pass. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/02/amazon-amzn-earnings-q4-2022.html https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/you-shopped-amazon-for-the-holidays-but-its-profits-still-plunged/ Apple: Suffered its biggest year on year decline since 2016. That reflects a 5% drop in overall sales, partially due to the fact that they are positioned as luxury products coupled with the supply-end issues they have had in China for the last few months. The fact that Apple has not seen fit to move their manufacturing to a more democratic country which might treat its citizens like more than cogs in a machine is seeming to bite them where it hurts, the pocketbook. I have mixed feelings about this... On one hand, I want to see Apple either reform itself in terms of truly being about security and privacy, or go down in smoke. On the other, I truly pity the little better than slaves they have assembling their phones, especially, in China. Either way, they actually lost ground overall, even if you take into account the surge for iPad and services. Let me run down the numbers for you: • EPS: $1.88 vs. $1.94 estimated, down 10.9% year-over-year (share prices) • Revenue: $117.15 billion vs. $121.10 billion estimated, down 5.49% year-over-year • iPhone revenue: $65.78 billion vs. $68.29 billion estimated, down 8.17% year-over-year • Mac revenue: $7.74 billion vs. $9.63 billion estimated, down 28.66% year-over-year • iPad revenue: $9.40 billion vs. $7.76 billion estimated, up 29.66% year-over-year • Other Products revenue: $13.48 billion vs. $15.23 billion estimated, down 8.3% year-over-year • Services revenue: $20.77 billion vs. $20.67 billion estimated, up 6.4% year-over-year • Gross margin: 42.96% vs. 42.95% estimated So, as you can see, it was not a good Q4 for Apple overall, even if there were bright spots in certain sectors of their business. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/02/apple-aapl-earnings-q1-2023.html AMD: AMD, on the other hand, reported a strong Q4, even if their outlook for Q1 is a little less rosy. Upon that report, their stock shot up by 12%, and nudged much of the rest of the industry up with them, from Qualcomm (4%) to NVIDIA (8%) to Broadcom (3%), and even Intel (~3%) rose just a bit, in spite of issues with the market right now. What are some of those issues? Oversupply of chips which drives prices down, overall slowing market with all of the bullshit that Jerry Powell is pulling over at the Fed, and the rest of the big picture stuff. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/01/chip-stocks-up-on-amd-earnings-feds-signal-inflation-is-easing.html WE 22-2: Might Trump Get Back onto Other Platforms? With the pressure of Twitter and Meta letting him back onto their platforms, will other pointless social media platforms let him back on as well? Who knows... Which others may be in view, here? • Snapchat • Shopify • Stripe Payments • Discord • Reddit The article below states that the author could not reach most of these companies for comment, but that typically once one major company makes a move, the rest generally fall in line. Snapchat has stated that they do not plan to revisit their decision to axe his account. This article is largely a fluff piece, but has a few decent nuggets about policy in it. One example of something of interest in that category was the discussion of Meta’s “guardrails” for Trump and other, moving forward. As I have said before, if the social media giants were genuinely transparent and clear with their TOS and rules in general, rather than having so many moving targets in terms of what is “ok” and what isn’t, and will get you shadow banned, suspended, limited, or deleted. Of course, I am more about freedom of speech, but these platforms are private businesses and can make their own rules. All I want is clarity and fairness from them, but until that happens, or they implode due to enough of us waking up and leaving them that they are no longer profitable at all. https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/26/tech/meta-trump-mainstream-social-media WE 22-3: What is Google Gonna Do About ChatGPT? An answer is coming from the giant “in the next couple of weeks”, as ChatGPT has really done damage to their core search (ad) business in the last couple of months, making it so that even with the layoffs I’ve been reporting on for what feels like the last month, their profits have only grown by 1% year-on-year. Tough times for the giant of Mountain View. To give you an idea, Google Search revenues dropped by $700 million vs Q4 2021. YouTube ad revenues dropped by $600 million, and ad revenue from other websites dropped by $900 million. Wow. That is eye-watering, isn’t it? https://www.cnet.com/tech/expect-googles-answer-to-chatgpt-ai-chatbot-in-a-few-weeks-ceo-says/ WE 22.4: Big Tech in Trouble? TikTok A democrat senator is calling for Google and Apple to remove TikTok from their app stores. His reasoning is solid, as far as I’m concerned. He knows that ByteDance is beholden to the CCP to pass on the ridiculous amounts of personal data to them as a part of existing as a Chinese company. If you care about your privacy at all, and you use TikTok as an app on your devices, please, for the love of all that is Holy, stop, now! Uninstall that spyware from your device and break your addiction. You can do more with your life than be sucked down the endless hole that is TikTok, while feeding all of that information into CCP algorithms. I applaud this Senator for speaking up, and even appreciate the fact that he did not threaten government action against Apple or Google if they do not comply. That may come later, if they do not choose to do the right thing here, though. https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/senator-calls-on-apple-google-to-remove-tiktok-from-app-stores/ As a followup to the conversation we had a couple of weeks ago about the UK’s efforts to censor the internet, this article exposes just how many kids in the UK have been exposed to porn at far too young an age (under 10). This isn’t even about soft core in something like Penthouse, this is nasty, hardcore smut with all sorts of violence and other kinds of stuff that should never be put out there, as it greatly reduces all human beings involved in creating, distributing, and consuming it. The author of this article is concerned, rightly, about the fact that many kids who were surveyed think that violence is normative in sex because of porn they have watched as pre-pubescent kids. This turns my stomach, because I first stumbled on porn when I was too young as well. I mistyped the url of a Tolkien fan forum that I was active in at the time, and lo and behold, I was on a porn site, at my grandma’s house. That was the beginning of a so far life-long struggle. But back to the article in question, the solution that the author poses for the UK is to further empower the watchdog, Ofcom, to really prevent kids who are too young from being exposed to unhealthy and fake explicit materials. My heart is broken over this. God, we need your help. Help us to end this scourge. It has destroyed too many lives, both performers, artists, directors, and consumers of this material. We need you to help us to break the cycle. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64451984

DM 44.1 – What’s BlendOS? Well well well, why be forced to make a Sophie’s choice? Why not just blend the Big 3 Linux families in one distro? That is what the maintainer of the Unity desktop seeks to do with BlendOS. It is an optionally immutable Arch-based distribution which offers the ability to easily install apps from DNF (Fedora) and APT (Ubuntu) by providing distrobox-ed versions of both of those package managers. I think this sounds like an awesome idea, though personally, I wish that it wasn’t defaulted to GNOME for the desktop. That’s just me, though. You start with pacman, and then have the option to add those other, containerized package managers later on. For my effort, I think I’d rather see options to install different desktop environments and choose whether you’ll use the distrobox options to provide Debian and Fedora package support for you out of the box. It does come with flatpak support out of the box, though, so that is a significant benefit. I may take a look at it, though I don’t know when. https://9to5linux.com/first-look-at-blendos-a-blend-of-arch-linux-fedora-linux-and-ubuntu #distromonday #blendos #Arch #Ubuntu #fedora #distrohoppersdelight #Linux #TechFreedom DM 44.2 – Elementary OS 7 “Horus” Elementary OS is an Ubuntu derivative, and this version is based on last year’s 22.04 LTS. It has its own desktop environment called Pantheon, which feels a bit like MacOS, though it is not a perfect match. Pantheon is based in the Gnome-iverse, so GNOME plugins and extensions will probably work at least somewhat in it, and that enables them to pull things like Gnome web more easily, which features heavily in this version of the OS. So, what’s new in v 7? Xubuntu Jammy Jellyfish as the base Improved App Center Linux 6.0.12 Better Installer New & Improved Mail, Tasks, Music, Files, and System Settings apps General improvements for Pantheon to make it faster and more stable https://9to5linux.com/elementary-os-7-horus-launches-based-on-ubuntu-22-04-lts-heres-whats-new #distromonday #elementaryOS #FOSS #pantheon #linux #ubuntu #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. This is a FREE 90 minute call with me, where I will demo some varieties of Linux for you, some replacement apps, talk about degoogled phones, and give you links to how to start the process of taking control of your digital life online as well. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free DM 44.3 – Escuelas Linux 8.0: 25th Anniversary Edition What is Escuelas Linux? It is a Bodhi/ Ubuntu Linux distro. Bodhi is all about being as stripped down as possible while still providing a good GUI-based experience, so it is very lightweight. Ok, so that is the base... What makes it different? Well, Escuelas is focused on being an excellent foundation for use in educational environments. So, what do they pack in? All sorts of educational and productivity software, from LibreOffice & OnlyOffice to GCompris and Wxmaxima 22.11.1, and even both kdenlive and openshot for video editing. It also includes a couple of account tools which sound like they would be great in general in any enterprise level environment: Restoreuser and reinstate user. The first one restores all apps to a default state, where the second allows an administrator to wipe individual accounts of user info, but leave the account in place. So, what else should we know? There is a host of other educational software included, from exelearning, which is a tool that allows anyone to create beautiful interactive lessons and the like, to the KDE Education Suite, to GIMP and Krita, as well as the Escuelas Linux Developer Pack. This sounds like a really cool option if you are home schooling or have decision making power in a small private school. You have a choice between the Ubuntu base and a Debian base, though the Debian base sounds like it is not intended for use with Escuelas 8.0. Take a look at it for educational purposes, unless you have a setup that is at least as good. https://9to5linux.com/escuelas-linux-8-0-educational-distro-celebrates-25-years-of-promoting-foss #distromonday #escuelaslinux #edulinux #bodhilinux #ubuntu #debian #homeschool #foss #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab

TTT 44.1 – How to ‘head’ in Linux I could be sophomoric about this one, but I don’t think I will... What’s the ‘head’ command, anyway? I’m no hacker, in fact, I’m scared of the empty screen that is the terminal. Why do I need to know this? Ok, head is like a mini version of ‘cat’ which will list the contents of a specified file in the terminal. Where ‘cat’ will give you the whole contents, ‘head’ only shows you the first up to 10 lines of the contents for the file in question. Why would you want to know or use this, if you never open the terminal? Well, you don’t. However, if you’re ever in a situation where you need to scan just the first or last £ 10 lines, skip them, or even look at the the first or last £ 10 characters, then you will find the ‘head’ command very useful. · Here’s the syntax: o Head -<options> <file1> <file2> (as many files as you want to look at at once) § If you want to just look at the first £ 10 lines of any given file, you need no options. Simply type head <file> § If you want to look at the first 8 characters of a file · head -c 8 file-1.txt § If you want to skip the last £ 10 lines of a file · head -n -10 file-1.txt o Note the negative number above § If you want to skip the first £ 10 lines of a file · head -n 10 file-1.txt o Note it is a positive number in the last example. https://www.tecmint.com/head-command-examples/ Of course there is more, but these are the basics of the ‘head’ command in Linux, if you want to know more, look at the article in the description, or the man page for ‘head’ online. #TTT #howto #terminal #head #FOSS #Linux #TechFreedom TTT 44.2 – Flatpak vs Snap... What’s the 411? Both of these frameworks are meant to make it easier to distribute packages across the Linux landscape. Let’s take a little trip down memory lane to check out the origins of each, then use cases, then startup times, performance, availability and popularity, FOSS vs proprietary, centralization, updates, sandboxing, and the maintainers’ perspective. Let’s get cracking, shall we? · Origins o Snap § Began as an IoT and server-focused packaging protocol to make updating easier for these sorts of devices, but grew to include desktop. § It has always been operated by Canonical, who also develops Ubuntu. The journey toward Snaps started way back in Ubuntu 13.04, when UB Touch was first released with a target at phones, tablets, and TV’s, and they were called Clicks back then, as an alternative to using PPAs for everything. In the next version of Ubuntu, they were renamed to Snaps. o Flatpak § Started by a Red Hat developer in 2014, but was originally known as xdg-app. It was renamed to Flatpak in 2016. · His work in the area started way back in 2007, with Glick, which was very hacky and wacky. He kept at it, and eventually Flatpak was born. · Use Cases o Snap § Anything from server and IoT to desktop o Flatpak § Only for desktop, no CLI or server functionality exists · Startup Times o Snap § Can be very slow, for a myriad of reasons (AppArmor and other settings baked in, which make it heavier) o Flatpak § Almost as fast as a native package, because even though it is sandboxed by default, its container tends to be easier to unpack vs a snap · Performance o No clear winner here, if raw performance is your metric, test your favorite apps in each packaging system and decide for yourself. · Availability and Popularity o Snap § Somewhat limited to Ubuntu and its derivatives, though not all of them even use it, as we’ll talk about in the next section o Flatpak § EVERYWHERE. It is EVERYWHERE. Lol... More distributions have it baked in than Snap ever had. That is not to say that every user of a distro with Flatpak support built in uses it or likes it, but it is more widely available than Snap is. · How FOSS is it? o Snap § The core is FOSS, but controlled by Canonical in a very authoritarian way through their proprietary backend. This is something that turns many off, myself being one of them. o Flatpak § Wholly FOSS, so if that matters to you and your preferred or needed app has a flatpak, use it. · Centralization o Snap § Only the Ubuntu-controlled Snap Store can ever exist (proprietary back-end, after all) o Flatpak § Gloriously decentralized, though most users seem to use the Flathub store. You can add extra repos to add software that is not present in the main Flathub (pronounced flat-hub, not fla-th-ub) setup, so it is very flexible. · Updates o Snap § Baked-in automatic updates to make sure that you get the newest, shiniest available packages for your apps. o Flatpak § Not automatic by default, though it will notify you if you need to update. · Sandboxing Approaches o Snap § Uses AppArmor, and needs admin privileges in order to install on your system o Flatpak § Fully sandboxed, as in it merely sits on top of your system without needing any dependencies aside from what is downloaded in its package, due to this, you can install flatpaks without admin privileges. · Maintainers’ Perspectives o Snap § May be better, but can be more of a pain. What makes it better? It is easier to build Snaps than Flatpaks, however it can be more of a pain in that you need to understand more about the security side of things to effectively set up your Snap right. o Flatpak § As long as one uses Flathub for distribution, there is a simpler way for you to get feedback vs Snaps. https://itsfoss.com/flatpak-vs-snap/ #TTT #flatpak #snap #Linux #TechFreedom Free Your Internet http://techfreedom.pro/internet-freedom/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft TTT 44.3 – Only Office 7.3 If you want to get away from MS Office, you have two good, FOSS options, the rest of the field is questionable at best (here’s looking at you, WPS Office). OnlyOffice is less configurable than LibreOffice, and looks more modern by default, but can be irritating to work with, at least in my opinion. That is not to say that I don’t use it. I do. In fact, I write most of my papers and the talking points for my shows with it. So what is new with this version? · Enhanced Forms. o You can now create and assign roles to specific fields in forms o New default fields settings are available (time & date, credit card #, etc) · Better SmartArt Graphics Integration. o insert various elements, such as Matrix, Hierarchy, Process, etc. · Improved Document Protection. o Better password controls for text documents, so only assigned people can tweak the whole file, rather than filling in a form or something like that. · Support for Unicode and LaTeX equations. o You can use either now, big deal if you are a bigger nerd than I am. · Various Improvements to Spreadsheets. o Watch Window – makes it easier to make sure that your various formulae are correct without having to scroll through the whole worksheet all of the time... Cool feature. o 13 new formulas are now available for use. That includes TEXTBEFORE, VSTACK, WRAPROWS, CHOOSEROWS, and more. o If you have the paid version, you can copy-paste links between your spreadsheets · New Features in Presentations. o Paste Special hotkeys now work faster for inserting slides in the presentation editor with three options to choose from; use the destination theme, keep source formatting, or picture only. · And others... Lots to see here, guys and gals. As I said, if you want to get away from MS Office and take control of your data that way, OpenOffice and LibreOffice are probably your best bets. Take a look, even if you are still on Windows or MacOS. https://news.itsfoss.com/onlyoffice-7-3-release/ #TTT #foss #productivity #Linux #office #compatibility #TechFreedom 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

FFW 29.1- Unvanquished 0.54 Released If you want to combine RTS and FPS gaming, this may be a way to do that. Unvanquished is a fork of Tremulous, which combined elements of squad-based shooters with limited base-building from the RTS genre. Tremulous started as a mod of Quake 2, then was released as a mod for Quake 3. Man, this intrigues me. I gotta say... It is still relatively early in beta, so there are lots of bugs, but this looks promising. I’m not gonna say that I’ll try it out for sure on a Friday, but who knows... https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/01/free-strategy-shooter-game-unvanquished-v054-is-out-now/ #FFW #Linux #foss #gaming #linuxgaming #TechFreedom FFW 29.2: New Classic Zelda Clone Out If retro gaming gets your motor running, and you like to play with fire by poking the no-fun-patrol that is Nintendo, check this thing out. We are talking about a reverse-engineered clone of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991). It doesn’t use any of Nintendo’s copyrighted properties, so you do need the original ROM in order to play... There are some goodies that have been added to this clone... · Support for pixel shaders. · Support for enhanced aspect ratios of 16:9 or 16:10. · Higher quality world map. · Support for MSU audio tracks. · Secondary item slot on button X (Hold X in inventory to select). · Switching current item with L/R keys. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/02/zelda-a-link-to-the-past-reverse-engineered-clone/ #FFW #Linux #gamingonlinux #nintendo #zelda #linuxgaming #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 29.3: Ubisoft Flips Us the Bird So, while I reported last week about the improvement with EA and Steam, we have a major regression with anything that requires Ubisoft Connect in order to play. In other words, until further notice, major titles like: The Division 2, Watch Dogs Legion, Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Ghost Recon Breakpoint, no longer even load in on Linux or the Steam Deck. Thanks, Ubisoft. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/01/more-ea-games-steam-deck-playable/ #FFW #Linux #steam #proton #playable #fun #linuxgaming #TechFreedom Updates: Ubisoft fixed both The Division 2 and there s a fix for Ghost Recon: Breakpoint as well. Ubisoft released a patch for The Division 2, so all you have to do is download that and you should be good to go. Ghost Recon: Breakpoint is a bit more involved, but here are the steps to get it working... · The fix o Steam Deck § Open the Properties of the game in Steam, go to Local Files and Browse. § Head into the BattlEye folder. § Edit the BELauncher.ini file in a text editor § On the line that says 64BitExe=GRB.exe change it to 64BitExe=GRB_vulkan.exe § Make sure you select Vulkan when going to launch the game o On desktop Linux though, there's another problem. It will keep forcing a small 720p window. The only workaround I've found for that, is to manually edit the settings file found somewhere like this: § /steamapps/compatdata/2231380/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Documents/My Games/Ghost Recon Breakpoint/GRB.ini § The location above depends on where you have it installed. § Inside there, change "WindowMode" to 0. At least there you can maximise it. All other modes end up forcing 720p, which is even a bug on Windows in their Vulkan renderer with many posts on it. You can't set the resolution there, as the game overrides it but setting WindowMode to 0 lets you maximise, and the game sets the resolution to match the window. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/01/ubisoft-fixed-the-division-2-on-steam-deck-and-linux-desktop/ https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/01/fix-ghost-recon-breakpoint-on-steam-deck/ #FFW #Linuxgaming #Ubisoft #fixes #patches #hacks #TechFreedom What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice

Welcome to a special presentation about News regarding Linux Desktop Environments. We will be covering news from 5 different DE’s today, so i should probably make sure that you guys know what a desktop environment is, huh? Ok, that is the heart of what you see on screen, unless you are a command line snob. Typically a desktop environment will include all of the crucial bits to make your computer draw something you might actually want to see on the screen. This includes a window manager (kwin, Muffin, and others), which tells GUI elements where to draw themselves, set rules for the dimensions of windows and their elements, a display server (x11, Wayland, or Sway, for the most part), and other things to help the screen to look more appealing for users like you or me. Ok, enough intro. Plasma Mobile 23.01 More News on Cosmic from System 76 GNOME 43.3 Budgie 10.7 Xfce 4.20 (hmmm, cannabis) Ok, so Plasma Mobile 23.01 is out, and brings a slew of improvements to the mobile space for Linux Mobile. If only the glaring issues with Linux Mobile itself were being worked on as diligently and visibly as Plasma mobile is, with one release every month. Enough belly aching on that now, though. Let’s see what they have been working on: · Improvements to o Gesture navigation o Lock screen o Shell rotation · Apps updated o Clock o PlasmaTube (youtube client) o Alligator RSS client o QMLKonsole terminal emulator o Koko image viewer o Kasts o Spacebar messaging app o AudioTube o KWeather o Tokodon o Kalk So, quite a bit, when you consider that they just released the previous version a month ago. Just like desktop KDE, Plasma Mobile gets lots of love all of the time from its development team. https://9to5linux.com/kde-outs-plasma-mobile-23-01-to-improve-gesture-navigation-lockscreen-and-apps Cosmic DE from System 76 is coming along quite nicely. I was never really a fan of it in the past, as I thought it looked too childish and a bit garish, but my interest was kindled when I heard that they had had a falling out with the GNOME team last year. I know, I know, drama, drama, drama... But this was not just a pissing match between the GNOME upstream team and the Cosmic downstream crew at System 76, it led to the beginning of the development of something new because the GNOME developers chose to be stuck up about their “glorious”NOME vision, and that didn’t mesh with what the team from System 76 asked of them. Now, we have an Iced, Rust-based Cosmic that should be ready for public release by the time the next version of Pop!OS rolls out in May or June. In fact, they are currently working on an implementation of xwayland, which allows standard x11 apps to run on Wayland. Aside from that, they confirmed improved software rendering, animation support, as well as dynamic rendering for multi-gpu systems. Ok, let me slow down for a second. For the majority of the time that Linux has had a GUI of any kind, the x11 display server has been the king of the hill, sure there have been other challengers, but none have stood the test of time. Wayland has done just that. It has been around for about 10 years now, and simultaneously offers both a lighter, faster option, but also a more secure one. So the Linux community is working feverishly to switch over to it across many distros and desktop environments. That is why it is of interest that so many are making the switch, and that COSMIC is one of them. What else is new or in the pipeline, here? · tabs and segmented buttons for the desktop · Settings app improvements o Received a continuous scrollable list of search results, as well as various improvements to the Power & Battery, Displays, Sound, Region & Language, Wallpapers, and About sections. · Alpha version coming soon-ish, but no confirmed date as yet. https://9to5linux.com/system76-shares-more-details-on-its-rust-based-cosmic-desktop GNOME 43.3 is out now. There are some solid quality of life improvements, here. Let’s take a look at some of them. · GNOME Maps bug fixes · GNOME Software Manager · Text Editor updated · New version of libadwaita (theming stuff) o Bug fixes including a memory leak · Eye of GNOME photo viewer updated · Nautilus updated https://9to5linux.com/gnome-43-3-brings-minor-fixes-to-gnome-maps-and-gnome-software Budgie 10.7 is out now, about 6 months after the last release. I can’t speak to Budgie very much, as I think I have used it all of 2-3 hours in the last 10 years, and that was only because I was part of a small dev team that was trying to put together a new distro last year, and we lighted on Budgie for a bit in the process. I was less than impressed, to be honest. Part of that is that I know it is simply another GNOME fork like Mate, Cinnamon, old COSMIC, and Xfce. I know it has its ardent fans, but I am not one of them at this point. So what’s new in this release? · Budgie Menu improvements o Dual GPU switching ability from the context menu o Personal User Menu § Grants the ability to directly open to a predefined directory in the File Manager § Also has options to open Settings, Control Center, and the new Power Dialog · Power Dialog o Makes it easier to Hibernate, Suspend, Reboot, and Shut Down § Hibernation is dynamically enabled based on the hardware and the distro being used. · Budgie Screenshot is now baked into the DE itself, rather than being a standalone app · Application Indexer · Budgie Run Dialog And more... https://9to5linux.com/budgie-10-7-desktop-environment-adds-dual-gpu-support-new-power-dialog Looking forward to Xfce 4.20 They just released 4.18, but they are already working on the next version, so let’s see what’s in store, shall we? · Wayland support o Umm, took long enough, guys... o Very much a work in progress, but moving away from x11 is a big deal § They have partially ported the libxfce4windowing library over to Wayland, and along with it comes the xfce4-panel and the xfce desktop manager Keep in mind that while development is very active, it is not on anything like the cadence of a GNOME or KDE, as it is intended to be stable and “just work”, not be bleeding edge, by any measure. https://9to5linux.com/xfce-4-20-desktop-environment-will-finally-bring-wayland-support

Not Enough Censorship, Says European NGO More Nuttiness at Facebook The AI War Begins Zoom Late to the Layoffs Party #weekendedition #Facebook #meta #solarreflection #globalcooling #notenough #censorship #metasued #kenya #moderation #laborlaws #ai #chatgpt #microsoft #google #bard #zoom #TechFreedom #technews #currentevents #FOSSnews WE 23-1: There’s Not Enough Censorship Online! WHAAAAAAA!!!!! According to a super woke NGO in Europe, Big Tech isn’t doing enough to censor wrongthink. They have done a study of 108 fact-checked posts across Big Tech platforms (Twitter, YouTube, Meta, LinkedIN, and TikTok) about a movie regarding the CONvid killshot, and found that only 22% of these “disinformation” posts resulted in the post being marked, much less removed. They were horrified by this. I suppose that from their perspective, that could be seen as a failure to “act responsibly” by these platforms. It allows people too much latitude to question the narrative of the elites, which this NGO is clearly toeing the line for. Of course I am entirely in the other camp. I can’t think of a single “fact” that doesn’t deserve a healthy challenge in the court of ideas. Yes, even religious ones. Even givens of faith need to be considered in each generation, whether that looks like re-imagining language while maintaining the ultimate message, or something else. That sounded very edgy for me, didn’t it? It’s true, though. Every thought and narrative deserves a challenge, even if you land where you started in the beginning. Just go through the effort to question and refine things for yourself. That is anathema to [them], though, as that takes too much power from [their] hands when everyone questions everything, rather than just going along like good little sheep, believing exactly what they are told, merely because an “accepted authority” said some thing or other. Utter nonsense, and I thought that we established that concept with Rene Descartes in the 18th century. We have lost it somewhere along the way, though, particularly in the last 40-50 years. Let’s recover that. Don’t simply follow people because others follow them, think about what they stand for, what they say, and what they do before you fall in line with what the masses are doing and saying. Ok, rant over. https://www.reuters.com/technology/big-tech-not-doing-enough-remove-fake-news-activist-ngo-avaaz-says-2023-02-07/ #weekendedition #censorship #bigtech #europe #notenough #TechFreedom #freethinking WE 23-2: Facebook Co-Founder Seeks to Stop Global Warming That was a very tame way to write that... This guy is trying to literally block the sun from reaching the earth, at least in part. The theory is that if he stops enough solar radiation from reaching the surface of the earth, then there won’t be as much heat to get trapped by the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, from cars, planes, boats, trains, and cow farts. Sorry, I can’t write or read this nonsense without almost dying laughing. So this nutjob wants to partially block the sun by funding research along those lines, in the interest of preventing further heat waves and extreme droughts in places around the Global South. The ways in which they are looking at accomplishing this are tantamount to polluting the upper atmosphere with aerosols such as sulfur dioxide which can not only serve the intended purpose, but create acid rain and respiratory difficulties, among other things, for those who are affected by these measures. Who is to say that governments haven’t been screwing with this stuff for 60-70 years, anyway? Ever heard of HAARP? That is an element of it, along with cloud seeding with silver dioxide, along with heavier elements, like barium, arsenic, and aluminum, among other things. This is weather manipulation which we are told is for our benefit, but if that were really the case, then why would [they] use so many toxic substances to “help” us? These things wind up in our food, water, and air, and now these climate “scientists” are working to add even more to that concoction in our atmosphere. Great, just great. Cow farts. Eat ze bugs. Save the planet. Block out the sun. Oh yes, this sounds like a plan straight out of a Bond film or Austin Powers, for that matter. Laughable, except that there aren’t enough thinking people to oppose these hair brained schemes. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/07/facebook-co-founder-moskovitz-funds-sunlight-reflection-research.html #weekendedition #drevil #blockthesun #cowfarts #eatzebugs #smh #givemeabreak #think #TechFreedom #currentevents #Facebook WE 23.3: Facebook Sued by Former Content Moderator from Kenya He is suing because of emotional damage suffered for far too little remuneration, as he was constantly exposed to heinous content, such as child abuse, beheadings, and the like in the posts that he was paid to moderate for the giant. The man has been diagnosed with PTSD from his time as a content moderator. He wakes up imagining that he is the victim of some of the posts he was forced to wade through. That is brutal. I can’t imagine being forced to look at that stuff in order to protect (allegedly) the public from these kinds of content. The reality is that those things are (and should be) against the TOS for any platform, but then we get into the question of when speech, images, and videos legitimately cross the line from reporting on things that happen, and into promoting those barbaric and brutal things. These are sticky issues. I was going to rail on Facebook, and they do bear a good deal of responsibility for the issue, however, this gets too close to the hate speech or mis/disinformation conversation. I do not have a good solution, but certainly believe that the companies in question should be held liable for the effects of the role that they hired him to fulfill. I’d love to be glib about this one, but I can’t. This wound up being more “real” than I expected it to be. I’d love to hear your thoughts about it in the comments below. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64541944 #weekendedition #meta #contentmoderation #dowork #dirtyjobs #ptsd #africa #TechFreedom #bigtech WE 23.4: Let the AI Wars, and the Butlerian Jihad Commence So, in case you didn’t realize, Microsoft has largely bankrolled the creation of ChatGPT, last week, I covered how they are folding chatGPT into the next version of Windoesn’t. Now, they are launching a chatGPT powered version of Bing and the Edge broswer. Oh boy. Mor data gathering for Microsoft, as if they need it. Microsoft is trying to make Edge stand out from the crowd of Chromium-based browsers that have proliferated over the last several years or so. Let’s see how many chromium-based browsers we can name off of the top of our heads.... Let’s see... Chrome, Vivaldi, Brave, Chromium, Cake, Opera, and Edge. I don’t think that was anywhere close to being exhaustive, but these are probably the best known ones. Enhanced Bing is only available on the desktop for now, just as the new version of Edge is. They claim that it is “next-gen” ChatGPT, that sounds like mirketing hyperbole to me, but what do I know? What else can I say? Well, Google has begun releasing their generative AI answer, in the form of Bard. Here, the war begins. Will Google’s effort measure up to the viral success of ChatGPT? Time will tell. Google is in limited beta testing with Bard, which seems to be fairly capable right now... My question is whether Bard will have direct internet access, rather than being limited to a now 12-24 month old dataset for the basis of its generated answers. It can do allot, and that is where I bring the Dune reference in the title in... In Dune, the Butlerian Jihad was a war between sentient AIs and humans, who had largely outsourced their thinking to computers for generations, then a small subset of humans chose to rise against that, and sought to destroy the thinking machines, ultimately outlawing their existence, and leading to a very strong emphasis on humans pushing their limits in every possible way. So, are we about to go down that path? I, for one, will not outsource my thinking to AIs. I will use technology, but I will never use AI to write content or anything like that, even if it would be easy to do so, vs spending too many hours every week researching, writing, then delivering the stories I generate. It will always be a human on the other side of the camera, so to speak, on my channels. As much as I find characters like Tate to be distasteful at best, they make a valid point about how we all need to stop being mindless consumers, get off our collective and individual back sides, and better ourselves. Learn skills, sharpen your mind, discipline your body, develop your spirituality. Become the best you can be, without reference to what others are doing. Just put your head down, put in the work, and grow. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/07/microsoft-open-ai-chatgpt-event-2023-live-updates.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/06/google-announces-bard-ai-in-response-to-chatgpt.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/08/google-bard-heres-more-of-what-the-chatgpt-competitor-can-do.html #weekendedition #AI #aiwars #Dune #google #microsoft #bigtech #TechFreedom #FOSSnews WE 23.5 – Zoom Late to the Party... To Lay Off 15% of Workforce The founder and CEO, Eric Yuan, shared the news in a blog this week, and has taken some steep accountability for the way that they grew over the course of the scamdemic. He has taken a 98% paycut for the year, and foregone his 2023 bonus. That was very sobering. Maybe he sees the writing on the wall, that with the increase in something akin to normalcy, and the privacy issues that they have been shown to have over the last couple of years... I don’t know. My sense is that if they really want to be long-term viable, they need to pull all of their data and datacenters out of China. That GIANT elephant in the room seems like it would be one that would be hard to overcome. Well, we can all start using services like Jitsi, Brave Voice, or GabVoice (all essentially the same thing, built on webRTC, but with end to end encryption and self-hostable). Given, there is not full feature parity, but these are strong contenders, in that they are FAR more private, as well as being FOSS, which is a big deal to me, obviously. I believe that decentralization and privacy are the way forward, so we all need to do ourselves a favor and learn about these things. Adopt them where possible. Move away from the control of Big Tech and Big Government. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/07/zoom-to-lay-off-1300-employees-or-about-15percent-of-its-workforce.html #weekendedition #zoom #layoffs #privacy #economics #TechFreedom #FOSSnews

Mint-y News Fedora 38 News Freedom Consultation Welcome Apps for Noobs DM 45.1 – Minty News Next version, due out in June, will be codenamed Victoria. This will be Mint 21.2, and here are a few things they have in store for us. Usually the Mint team doesn’t take huge leaps, but rather, small, refined steps. So here’s the list of not-necessarily-obvious changes: · Improvements to Slick Greeter across flavors o Access to changing keyboard layouts o Auto-enabling tap-to-click (if using a touchpad) o Configurable layouts in Onboard, the onscreen keyboard § improve keyboard navigation (so the caret can be repositioned in typed passwords using arrow keys) § show a button to toggle password visibility § allow scrolling in the session picker o Possible Wayland support of some sort · Photo improvements o HEIF and AVIF support added o XReader will now be able to preview Adobe Illustrator images o Pix will now be based on gThumb 3.12, which will bring lots of good stuff into the picture · Based on Ubuntu 22.04 & the 5.15LTS kernel for stability. · More... We will keep an eye on this one as the time gets closer. https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/01/linux-mint-21-2-named-victoria #distromonday #Linux #linuxmint #mintnews #TechFreedom #FOSSnews DM 45.2 – Fedora 38 & Flatpaks In the past, Fedora has only offered limited Flatpak access, through their filtered list, to protect them from any overly litigious developers who may take exception to their app being on Flathub. Well, no more. It has been decided that starting with Fedora 38, that will no longer be the case. Of course you can still access the Fedora Flaptaks list, but you’ll now have default access to all of the goodness of Flathub. That is, starting in April, when Fedora 38 is released into the wild. I would call this a progressive move by the conservative Fedora team. Not much more to say about it than that... https://news.itsfoss.com/fedora-38-full-flathub-access/ #distromonday #fedora #Linux #flathub #flatpaks #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free 90 minute consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free #Truth DM 45.3 – How to Make Linux More Noob-Friendly In this article, Jack Waller suggests that we should implement a skipable, first-login tour app for Linux. This would give new users a basic idea for how to navigate in their chosen desktop environment, where apps are, how to access them, how to tweak settings, install apps, and do other basic tasks. I think Jack is onto something here. In years gone by, I would have balked at this, just a bit, but as someone who is interested in helping people to make the switch from either Windoesn’t or BadApple, this makes a whole lot of sense. This overlay would basically start the onboarding process for new users, and it needs to be created. Windoesn’t and BadApple both do tours of new installs/versions for users, so why shouldn’t Linux? Let’s make this happen, devs. Let’s make Linux easy to use. Ok, some of the neckbeards and Greybeards out there are probably screaming right now, something about wrecking the community, or some other such elitist claptrap. You have had your ubernerd time, boys and girls, it is time to let many more kids into the playground, and see what happens then. I think it will cause the whole thing to mature, and make Linux into the contender we all believe it capable of being. If you need to be an edgelord for some reason, go work on BSD or TempleOS. LOL. Flame me in the comments, if you feel the need. I doubt anyone will even comment though. Prove me wrong. https://www.zdnet.com/article/my-idea-for-a-great-new-beginner-friendly-linux-distribution/ #distromonday #Linux #noobs #newbies #newusers #userfriendly #letsdoit #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab #Truth

How to Fix SSH Connection Issues What’s Shell Genie? Free Your Internet LibreOffice 7.5 Released TTT 45.1 – How to Fix SSH Connection Issues 1. Check to make sure that the SSH server is installed a. Distro specific commands i. Ubuntu/ Debian 1. dpkg --list | grep ssh ii. Fedora 1. yum list installed | grep ssh iii. openSUSE 1. zypper search -i | grep ssh iv. Arch Family 1. Pacman –Q | grep ssh b. If it isn’t present, install it thusly: i. Distro specific commands 1. Ubuntu/ Debian a. sudo apt install openssh-server 2. Fedora a. sudo yum install openssh-server 3. openSUSE a. sudo zypper install openssh-server 4. Arch Family a. sudo pacman –S openssh-server 2. Check service status a. Run this command to check i. sudo systemctl status sshd b. If it isn’t running, start it i. sudo systemctl start sshd c. To make it run at startup, perpetually i. sudo systemctl enable sshd 3. Check the port a. sudo netstat –plntu | grep ssh b. Or: grep port /etc/ssh/sshd_config 4. Check the system firewall a. Distro commands to shut it off i. Arch & Debian 1. sudo ufw disable ii. Fedora/RHEL & openSUSE 1. sudo systemctl disable firewalld b. If no error with it off, allow it through the firewall this way i. Arch & Debian 1. sudo ufw allow ssh ii. RHEL/Fedora & openSUSE 1. sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=ssh c. To check the rule i. Arch & Debian 1. sudo ufw status ii. RHEL/Fedora & openSUSE 1. sudo firewall-cmd --list-all 5. Fix IP address conflicts by using arp-scan a. arp-scan [network-id] i. After this, you may need to go in and make sure that any static IP addresses aren’t stepping on the toes of some dynamically assigned ones, simply change the address for the device in question by going into the router’s admin panel and forcing a disconnect and reconnect to a different IP address. https://www.makeuseof.com/fix-ssh-connection-refused-error-linux/ #TTT #SSH #troubleshooting #connections #networking #Linux #TechFreedom #FOSSnews TTT 45.2 – What’s Shell Genie? It is a GPT3-powered tool that you can use to type regular english in and get CLI commands out, with an option to use the generated commands. A word of caution, though, just like copy-pasting commands from a random forum or reddit posting, you need to make sure that you have some comprehension of what a given command will do before you give it permission to run, as it could bork your system. One way to do that is to run the suggested command through Explain Shell (https://explainshell.com). Here’s how to get it set up: 1. Install pipx a. Distro Commands i. Arch 1. sudo pacman -S python-pipx ii. Debian/Ubuntu 1. sudo apt install pipx iii. Fedora/RHEL 1. Sudo dnf install pipx iv. openSUSE 1. Sudo zypper install python-pipx 2. Install Shell Genie a. pipx install shell-genie i. This should install it for your current user, before using, you’ll have to initialize it 3. Setting up Shell Genie a. shell-genie init i. This will prompt you to choose whether you want to use ChatGPT or FreeGPT as the backend, if you pick ChatGPT, you’ll need an API key from your OpenAI account. 4. Using Shell Genie a. Shell-genie ask <plain English question/prompt> b. Get output c. Check output with Explain Shell or something similar to make sure you understand it and that it is what you think it is. d. Go for broke and run the command, if it is good. https://www.linuxuprising.com/2023/02/convert-plain-english-to-commands-using.html #TTT #terminal #shellgenie #hints #AI #ohboy #helps #howto #TechFreedom #FOSSnews a. Free Your Internet http://techfreedom.pro/internet-freedom/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft #Truth TTT 45.3 – What’s New in LibreOffice 7.5? This actually came out last week, but I chose to cover the new version of OnlyOffice instead, so here it is. As always, this one came out on time, and brings some good stuff with it. If you didn’t know LibreOffice is a FOSS MS Office alternative which is compatible with as much of the Office formatting as is possible without copyright infringement issues with Microsoft. Is it “pixel-perfect”? Unfortunately not. However, for most people, it is plenty, and it is very actively developed, with new releases every month or two. So, what’s new here? 1) General Stuff a. New icons b. Better dark mode UI c. Improved single toolbar UI d. Touchpad gestures i. Pinch to zoom, etc, now a thing e. Smooth scrolling f. PDF export is better 2) Writer a. bookmarks more visible b. supports marking page objects as decorative c. adds a new accessibility checker d. buffs its spell checker e. offers machine translation of text using DeepL translate APIs (this is disabled by default and requires an API key) 3) Calc a. supports data tables in charts b. makes conditional formatting case insensitive c. adds “spell out” number formats 4) Impress & Draw a. new default table styles (plus support for creating custom styles) b. Can now drag and drop objects in the navigator c. makes it possible run the ‘presenter console’ as a normal window rather than full screen https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/02/libreoffice-7-5-new-features #TTT #FOSS #productivity #libreoffice #updates #Linux #crossplatform #TechFreedom #FOSSnews d. 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

NVIDIA Beta Driver to Improve Proton Vulkan DXR Support The Force Engine Now Has Linux Support Freed Computer Best New Steam Games for Linux #FFW #NVIDIA #Proton #raytracing #Linux #starwars #darkforces #freedcomputer #steamlinux #gamingonlinux #TechFreedom #FOSSnews FFW 30.1- NVIDIA Beta Driver to Help with DXR in Proton This is really dense and technical, but suffice it to say that when this driver isfully released, you’ll have a better time playing games that require ray tracing in Linux, particularly if it needs to be translated via dxvk. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/02/nvidia-vulkan-beta-5254707-supports-extension-to-help-vkd3d-proton-dxr/ #FFW #Linux #FOSSnews #NVIDIA #proton #vulkan #dxvk #gaming #linuxgaming #TechFreedom FFW 30.2: Star Wars: Dark Forces Engine Port Now Supports Linux If 90’s Star Wars games would scratch an itch for you, now you can play them in Linux. You’ll need the game data files to actually play, but now you can without trying to use WINE or Proton. Here are some of the tweaks made in this version: · Changed "activated" to "toggle" to better match existing cheat messages. · Fixed a HOM issue in Executor. · Added a proper FPS counter which can be enabled in the graphics menu. · Renamed "energy" to "battery power". · Official Linux support added. · Updated the README with Linux build and run instructions. · Removed the unique 3DO model limit. · Fixed font rendering bugs (lack of language-specific symbols) due to using signed 8-bit characters instead of unsigned. · Dark Forces menu shortcuts now work correctly for different languages. · Fixed the Gamorrean Guard attack delay - they were attacking much more often than in vanilla. · Fixed the Sewer Creature attack and search delays, they were slightly longer than vanilla (meaning it attacked less often than it should have). · Midi selection in the Sound menu now works correctly. · The Escape menu now uses the correct palette, fixing issues with some languages and mods. · Fixed a crash when a WAX did not have the appropriate animation in certain areas of the AI code. I never played Dark Forces, but used to enjoy the Jedi Knight series. At this point, it is not packaged for you, so you’ll have to build it from source, but hey, nostalgia, right? https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/02/star-wars-dark-forces-source-port-the-force-engine-adds-linux-support/ #FFW #Linux #gamingonlinux #lucasarts #EA #starwars #darkforces #FOSSnews #linuxgaming #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 30.3: New Linux Native Steam Titles There were another 103 titles added to the Verified list for the Steam Deck in week of 1/29-2/5. Wow, 103 more games to play... Here are the best rated ones: · STARDUST GALAXY WARRIORS: STELLAR CLIMAX o Released on 10 Nov, 2015, developed by Dreamloop Games, self-published. o Rating: 94.4 % Positive Ratings o Genre: Action, Adventure, Indie o About the game: § Stardust Galaxy Warriors: Stellar Climax is a fast-paced 1-4 player couch co-op action shooter, combining SHMUP/Brawler gameplay with RPG elements. Choose your game mode, settings, mechs, weapons & upgrades to customize your experience. Soar through space, defeat evil & save the future… from itself! · TORMENTUM – DARK SORROW o Released on 4 Mar, 2015, developed by OhNoo Studio, self-published. o Rating: 93.7 % Positive Ratings o Genre: Adventure, Casual, Indie o About the game: § TORMENTUM is a dark Point & Click adventure game.The dreamlike, nightmarish atmosphere of the game was inspired by works of painters H.R. Giger and Zdzislaw Beksinski. The game’s final look and feel was also strongly influenced by the universes of games such as Demon’s Souls or Dark Seed. · SKY FORCE RELOADED o Released on 29 Nov, 2017, developed by Infinite Dreams, self-published. o Rating: 93.5 % Positive Ratings o Genre: Action, Indie o About the game: § Sky Force Reloaded is a classic shoot ‘em up experience packed in gorgeous visuals and excellent gameplay. Enjoy flashy explosions, beautiful scenery and massive bosses in single player or local cooperative modes. · KNIGHTS AND BIKES o Released on 26 Aug, 2019, developed by Foam Sword and published by Foam Sword, o Rating: 91.3 % Positive Ratings o Genre: Action, Adventure, Indie o About the game: § Saddle up for a bike-riding, frisbee-throwing, goose-petting, friendship-building, treasure-hunting, story-driven adventure for 1 or 2 players! Steam Deck Playable · DEADLINK o Released on 18 Oct, 2022, developed by Gruby Entertainment and published by SuperGG.com.[Steam Store Page] o Rating: 94.4 % Positive Ratings o Genre: Action, Indie, Early Access o About the game: § Get ready to put a sizable dent in the profits of megacorporations in Deadlink, a guns-blazing cyberpunk FPS with roguelite elements. Your mission is to conduct covert ops while piloting a humanoid combat shell. And no, “covert” doesn’t mean “quiet.” · BIO PROTOTYPE o Released on 16 Dec, 2022, developed by Emprom Game and published by BD Games.[Steam Store Page] o Rating: 94.2 % Positive Ratings o Genre: Action, Indie, Early Access o About the game: § A wave of irrational experimentation rushes towards you. Hurry up and mutate! evolution! Become scarier monsters than them! Use flesh and blood to bloom a way of survival! 19 characters, more than 40 kinds of organs, and endless build combinations！ · VIRIDI (Free Game) o Released on 19 Aug, 2015, developed by Zoe Vartanian, and published by Ice Water Games.[Steam Store Page] o Rating: 91.7 % Positive Ratings o Genre: Casual, Free to Play, Indie, Simulation o About the game: § Nurture a small pot of succulents that grow in real time. Viridi is a safe haven, a place you can return to for a moment of peace and quiet whenever you need it. · MEOWJIRO o Released on 8 Nov, 2022, developed by 02GAMES, self-published.[Steam Store Page] o Rating: 89.8 % Positive Ratings o Genre: Casual, Indie, Simulation o About the game: § Experience a part-time job at a convenience store, make money to buy more food for your cat. “Diz iz an honor te work fur meh~ Feed meh! Hooman! Bring meh home!” · STARCOM: UNKNOWN SPACE o Released on 14 Dec, 2022, developed by Wx3 Labs, LLC, self-published.[Steam Store Page] o Rating: 89.2 % Positive Ratings o Genre: Action, Adventure, Indie, RPG, Early Access o About the game: § Starcom: Unknown Space is an action RPG of space exploration and adventure. Build your own starship while discovering an epic story in a universe of strange mysteries, alien factions and uncharted worlds. https://boilingsteam.com/best-steam-deck-games-released-in-the-past-week-2023-02-05-edition/ #FFW #Linuxgaming #indiegames #potentials #steam #verified #playable #TechFreedom #FOSSnews What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice #Truth

Today’s special will be a walkthrough of some writers’ experiences with GrapheneOS, LineageOS, and /E/ OS. Before we get into that, though, I would be very grateful if you would toss a like on this video, comment, share, and subscribe to the channel. Thanks, you guys, you are the best. First, what are these? Properly put, GrapheneOS and LineageOS are AOSP’s, or Android minus Google dependencies. AOSP stands for Android Open Source Project, which is the core of what most people know of as Android. The rest of stock/ OEM modified Android varieties pack extra closed source blobs, whether drivers, firmware, applications, skins, etc (think of Pixel Experience, MiUI, Oxygen/ Hydrogen OS, or OneUI, for example, to go with Google Pixels, Xaiomi/PocoPhone, OnePlus, and Samsung, respectively). These closed source packages change things such as UI elements, theming, bloatware packages, etc, and constitute what we know of as Android tied to those respective OEMs. All mainstream OEMs, if they use stock Android, rather than AOSP as their base, must include Google Apps and a single sign-on element which registers the phone to either a new or existing Google account. The problem with this, although it is extremely convenient, is that that ties that device almost inextricably with that account, giving Google a free pass to spy on you through those apps. Where GrapheneOS and LineageOS are AOSPs, /E/ OS is a fork of LineageOS. That places it downstream from it in development terms, which I do not have any real problem with, as it makes the development for /E/ OS that much easier. Where LineageOS is basically a vanilla AOSP, just minus the Google apps (GApps), /E/ OS is Lineage plus an entire ecosystem of FOSS replacements for those apps, and microG for those moments when you need to run something like a banking app which just won’t run without some calls to Google. /E/ OS also adds its own implementation of Nextcloud as a replacement for GDrive and Google Photos, as well as tie-ins with OpenOffice online. One stop shop, guys and gals. I used to be very uneasy with them, merely because it looked like moving all one’s eggs from one basket into another (which sounded bad to me) and have yet to mess with /E/ OS personally, but then I looked into them more carefully and decided that they were solid. In fact, as I write this, I am backing up my phone to try out /E/ OS with their Easy Installer. I’m curious to see how different/ better it might be than Lineage for microG. I was unable to get it set up, but will try again when I can. But let’s get into the articles for today, shall we? Degoogled 1.1 – Top 5 Degoogled ROMs First article is a listicle of sorts, a top 5 degoogled AOSP options article. It opens with some very understandable caveats, so if you read the article, heed them before proceeding. 1. Lineage OS a. As I said above, Lineage is the closest to AOSP, a vanilla Android experience, sans GApps and anything to phone home to Google. b. It is one of the oldest in the game, with a direct link to the venerable CyanogenMod AOSPs, before that project was scrapped in 2016. c. Because it is so old and so popular, you can expect a broad range of old and new devices to be supported. d. Has some drawbacks though: i. Community supported, so your device may or may not get the updates it needs regularly. ii. Does not come with really any security or privacy features baked-in. 2. CalyxOS a. This is an AOSP that I have actually used a little, in installing it for a client or two. It is somewhere between Lineage and Graphene in terms of seurity and privacy, as it is developed and supported by the Calyx Institute, which stands for promoting free speech, privacy rights, and similar human rights. b. It comes with Signal, the Tor Browser, and more, out of the box. c. Pros i. Ships with the option to use microG or not ii. Ships with F-Droid and the Aurora Store iii. Datura Firewall allows you to block internet access per app iv. Uses Mozilla Location Services instead of Google’s Location Services v. Monthly over-the-air security updates vi. Has verified boot for increased security vii. Security-focused apps and features out of the box d. Cons i. Like GrapheneOS, it is only available for Pixels. 3. GrapheneOS a. An AOSP ROM designed with the idea that your data should be yours and yours alone, this is about as security hardened and private as you can get without buying something like an Above Phone or a Blackphone. b. Pros i. Provides stronger and hardened app sandboxing than AOSP ii. Uses its own hardened malloc (memory allocator with hardened security) iii. The Linux kernel is hardened for better security iv. Provides on time security updates v. Ships with Full-Disk Encryption (critical for a mobile device) vi. Doesn’t include any Google apps or Google services vii. Can sandbox Google Play services to make sure that they can only do certain things, without hurting the security or privacy of the rest of the device. c. Cons i. Limited hardware support; Only available for Google Pixels as of now ii. Security-focused tweaks may not translate to a noob-friendly user experience 1. It is very spartan, all you get off the bat is a black background, fdroid, and the GrapheneOS updater app, along with a hardened version of Chromium. You’ll need to install things like aurora store and other communication apps 4. /E/ OS a. Pros i. The App store on /e/OS rates apps based on how many permissions they need and privacy-friendliness ii. Provides an ecloud account (with a @e.email; 1GB in free tier) as a synchronization account iii. Ships with microG framework iv. Google DNS servers (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) are replaced with Quad9 DNS servers v. DuckDuckGo is the default search engine, replacing Google (not sure I’d call this a “pro”) vi. Uses location services provided by Mozilla b. Cons i. Limited devices support with Easy Installer (no kidding... And even on devices where it is alleged to work, it is spotty at best... Wouldn’t work on my OnePlus 7 Pro as of the writing) ii. Roll-out of new features from Android takes a while Of these, the only one I’ve yet to try (because it wouldn’t install properly) was /E/ OS. I have played with Calyx, and I use Lineage for microG, which is a slight fork of Vanilla Lineage which includes microG by default. Lineage/ Lineage for microG are not the most secure or private, but they are clean, more or less, of Google influence. /E/ OS, I cannot speak to any further than what the article said, other than to say that I think it is cool. CalyxOS is an inbetweener. They are a direct fork of AOSP, rather than being directly based on Graphene or Lineage, such as /E/ OS is. GrapheneOS is excellent, but takes more getting used to in order to use well. If you have a skilled person helping you to get set up, you will be more than fine. https://itsfoss.com/android-distributions-roms/#pros-3 #definitionsthursday #degoogled #options #lineageos #calyxos #eos #grapheneos #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Definitions Thursday, degoogled, options, LineageOS, LineageOS for microG, /E/ OS, CalyxOS, GrapheneOS, Tech Freedom, FOSS News Degoogled 1.2 – A Tom’s Hardware Review of Degoogled Android He ran a Pixel 4a with /E/ OS and a Pixel 5 with GrapheneOS. He didn’t find either process to be as easy as he had expected, so be aware, and have support to help you. There is a community out there, and I can help somewhat as well. GrapheneOS can be very painless, in fact the most painless to install, given you have the correct OS and browser combination. The best combo I’ve found was Linux with ADB installed, and running Brave as your browser. The Easy installer for /E/ OS is more of a crapshoot in my experience, and even CLI is sketchy, at least for my OnePlus 7 Pro. It sounds like he may have had similar struggles on his Pixel 4a. Beyond that, he complained loudly about the dearth of good documentation around /E/ OS and how it was essentially unhelpful. I can second that. He did eventually get it sorted out. On my OP 7 Pro, it never even fully flashed the /E/ Recovery firmware, it would just bootloop into the bootloader, no matter if I tried to do it through the “easy” installer or CLI. Ok, I’m a little salty right now, so sue me. Once he booted into /E/ OS, he was quite impressed with the level of polish and responsiveness on the 4a. Stable branch versions of /E/ OS will pass the SafetyNet checks, so more apps are usable, and many updates were made vs the last time he had looked at it. It does feel iOS like, so if you are coming from an iPhone, this may just be a good bridge for you, and you can easily purchase ready-made /E/ OS powered devices and skip all of the hoopla around degoogling a device yourself. Then he moved into talking about GrapheneOS, and repeated many of the things that I’ve said already, today. It is meant to be secure and private, not pretty and cuddly. It may encourage you to use your phone less because it is monochrome rather than super colorful. He ultimately liked GrapheneOS better of the two, partially due the simplicity of its UI over and against the over the top eye candy in /e/ OS. I can confirm that the Graphene project has indeed been as thorough, if not moreso than the /e/ foundation has been with their degoogling efforts. He does balance his opinion out with the greater flexibility of /e/ OS in terms of supported devices, but he didn’t like the default iOS-inspired UI. I can’t speak to that right now, unfortunately. I wish I could, though my kneejerk reaction to it is that it is a bit childish by default, but if you like it, that is what matters, and you can always tweak it to your heart’s content, unlike iOS. https://www.tomsguide.com/features/i-tried-de-googled-android-again-heres-how-that-went #definitonsthursday #degoogledreview #grapheneOS #eOS #degoogled #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Degoogled 1.3 – An iode OS Review I had heard of this one, but have not messed with it, as I have had neither the time, nor one of the very limited number of supported phones to play with. It started its life as a closed source (proprietary) project, but was made open source at the end of 2022. This is based on Lineage, much like /e/OS, but takes some different approaches to the same degoogling and privacy issues for the 10-15 phones they support. What are some of the distinctives for iodeOS? · No initial login for any overarching service (Google) · Iode app, which sounds like Tracker Blocker with a different UI and perhaps a bit more functionality. It is not just a VPN frontend, but a firewall app, which like wireguard or portmaster (I wish that portmaster existed for Android) can track and shut down trackers access to their various home bases (whether Google, Amazon, or somewhere else even seedier. · microG to replace the GApps · Other than that, it is more or less a dressed up version of LineageOS That said, I am intrigued by this fork, coming out of France. If/when I have the time and the hardware to try it out, I just may do that and get back to you guys with a non-sponsored take. https://www.laptopmag.com/features/i-tried-a-de-googled-android-phone-for-a-week #definitionsThursday #iodeos #degoogled #lineageos #firewall #adblocking #clean #foss #TechFreedom #FOSSnews

Ransomware Lineup · CLOP Ransomware · Royal Ransomware · ESXiargs Ransomware #freeyourpcfriday #malware #Linux #PSA #itsathing #avoidit #beaware #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Free Your PC Friday, Linux malware, PSA, Public Service Announcement, it’s a thing, be aware, be wise, avoid it, Tech Freedom, FOSS News LMN 1.1 – There’s Malware for Linux? Yes, Here’s How You Can Check for It Did you think that Linux was magically immune to malware? Think again. Is it harder to find a vector or an attack surface than say Windows? Hell yes, because it was designed to be used in a multiuser environment, not to mention on a network, where Windows started out as a single user, non-networked OS. The other functionality was tacked on, and done so poorly over the years. That is part of what has made it such low hanging fruit for bad actors over the decades. Ok, so what kinds of malware (viruses, etc) can hit, and have been targeted at Linux machines lately? I’ve talked about Critical Vulnerability Exploits before, which leave holes in the “armor” of Linux, but these things usually get patched before they become major problems, so what else? The big group right now is various kinds of ransomware, some target vulnerable virtual machines, others, IoT appliances, and others, larger targets. Other common forms are cryptojackers, Rootkits, and state-sponsored attacks (which can take a myriad of forms, from a wiper, to a trojan, to a keylogger, to a screen recorder or a mic & camera hijacker). What’s ransomware? Malware meant to penetrate a network or system, hunt down key files, then deny access until the attacker’s demands are met. What’s a cryptojacker? A piece of software that silently hiajcks your system’s resources to mine crypto, such as BTC or any other similar proof-of-work sort of coin or token. What’s a rootkit? A piece of software which allows an attacker to gain admin or ROOT level access to your system, from which point they could destroy your install, or steal data, or any other number of nasty things. Ok, primer over. What can we do about it? How can we avoid these things? How can we handle these things if we get exposed somehow? We can use something like ClamAV, Lynis, Chkrootkit, or Linux Malware Detect to scan and protect ourselves. These are FOSS options that are similar to the Windows anti-malware programs out there, like NOD ESET32, BlackIce Defender, Kaspersky, or PandaAV. These are scanners which depend on up to date defnitions, for the most part. Aside from that, the best way to avoid them is to know the sorts of places where you might be exposed, then avoid them, kinda like you don’t walk through a sewer with a white linen suit on, and expect to come out as clean as you entered. Many of these things live on packages that sit on disreputable githubs or random repos or PPA’s with promises of riches, or convenience, but those packages weren’t what they promised, they contained nasty code meant to do harm to your system and its data. Stay out of the dark web and away from porn sites, as that is one of the main vectors for these things, like mosquitoes with Malaria or West Nile virus. Same idea. Digital hygiene is crucial. Stay out of the sewers and cess pools, stay away from the back alleys and narrow lanes of the internet. Stay on well-trodden paths. Don’t open random crap in your email. Even if it came from an address you know, trust, but verify. Call or text the person first, to make sure that they sent you that file before you open it. https://linuxsecurity.com/features/how-to-check-if-your-linux-system-is-infected-with-a-virus #FreeYourPCFriday #malware #Linux #PSA #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Ransomware Roundup We have 3 major kinds of ransomware attacks happening in the Linux world right now, two of which target vulnerable virtual machines, and the other is actually a rather weak port of a Windows attack put out by Clop, which is a sophisticated tool which infiltrates, encrypts files, then makes demands of the owners. The Linux version is kinda sloppy and easily beaten, thankfully. The encryption used was weak, and researchers have already released a free tool to recover those encrypted files for you. That is the beauty of FOSS, researchers can look at code directly, patch things, and quickly devise tools to defang attacks like these. https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/07/clop-ransomware-linux-flaw/ #FreeYourPCFriday #clop #ransomware #malware #Linux #weaksauce #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Another couple of strains of ransomware have been targeting large outfits, and have been shooting directly at VMWare ESXi virtual machines. Here’s what it does: goes after the virtual machines on servers that major outfits have begun to deploy to more tightly control resource management, isolate things better, and provide an extra layer of resiliency for their infrastructures. Who has been using these sorts of attacks? All sorts of gangs, from Conti, to Black Basta, to Royal Ransomware and others. What do these VM server attacks do? Well, each one is slightly different. Royal’s efforts will target specific kinds of files within each VM, shut them down, encrypt the files, leave the note, then sit back and wait for the organization to either cave to pressure and pay up, or to figure some other way out of their sticky situation. The ESXi-args attack does similar things by exploiting unpatched servers. There is a two+ year old exploit that this attack depends on, so patch your dadgum systems, already. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/linux-version-of-royal-ransomware-targets-vmware-esxi-servers/ https://blogs.blackberry.com/en/2023/02/esxiargs-ransomware-knocking-out-unpatched-vmware-esxi-linux-servers-worldwide

Guess Who Sprung SBF Vint Cerf Slams ChatGPT East Palestine and Other Rail Disasters Spy Balloons... lol Ransomware Gangsters Bagged in UK Yahoo, Better Late Than Never Asbury Outpouring Publicized by TikTok videos from Zoomers #weekendedition #bailmoney #sbf #vintserf #chatgpt #snakeoil #eastpalestine #ohio #texas #newmexico #railattacks #chemicalattacks #surveilancestate #USofCCP #balloons #bs #yahoolayoffs #tiktok #spirituality #revival #outpouring #AsburyKY #genz #TechFreedom #technews #currentevents #FOSSnews #projectbluebeam WE 24-1: SBF Saga has New Wrinkles Guess who paid to spring SBF from the clink in New York... I’ll wait... Any Guesses? Ok, his parents teach law at Stanford University in California. Their former dean put up a cool half million, and one of his former professors at Stanford chipped in another $200k, along with the value of his parents’ home as collateral for his $250 million bail. Wow. I guess it pays to have connections, doesn’t it? Well, it sure does. These weren’t the connections that I suspected would collude to get him off the hook, but for the time being, it looks like they weren’t needed, yet. Maybe you haven’t been paying attention to the FTX/ SBF saga over the last 3-4 months. Let me recap: FTX was one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, rocketing to dominance over the last 3-4 years. It went from being worth /managing $100s of billions in “assets” about a year ago, to being accused of being a giant ponzi scheme/ money laundering operation, and becoming completely insolvent by the end of November. SBF, or Sam Bankman-Fried was the alleged wunderkind who started it and was the CEO. He and his team have some very sizable accusations leveled against them, he was arrested in the Bahamas, then extradited to NYC (the same prison where Epstein *didn’t* kill himself, then, when he claimed to be broke, managed to come up with a $250 million bail bond. His trial is set for October 2023. Now You’re more or less caught up. https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/15/23601379/court-reveals-the-two-people-who-helped-sam-bankman-fried-post-bail #weekendedition #SBF #bigtech #fintech #ftx #TechFreedom #freethinking WE 24-2: Creator of TCP/IP, Vint Cerf, Slams ChatGPT Wow, we hadn’t heard much from Mr. Cerf for years, and now he weighs in on ChatGPT. Why is that? Well, he is and has been a huge surrogate for Google, and Google now has a competitor for ChatGPT, in the form of Bard, which we talked about a bit last week. This shill-ing makes sense, though his concerns are valid, even for Bard, at this point. So what did the father of the modern internet and networking have to say about ChatGPT? He called it “snake oil” because of the issues it has with weeding out real information and truth from the nonsense that gets posted on the internet every day. It has no discernment, so it can’t tell what is true or not, just that some piece of information is out there. It can “write”, but because of its deficiencies, one can’t depend on it. To highlight these issues with current-gen AI, Mr. Cerf prompted ChatGPT to write a biography of himself. It failed. It got a bunch of stuff wrong about his life. This needs to be remedied, but how? I thought that these large language models were thoroughly trained on large, but curated datasets that are supposed to be true and factual. What happened? How did it go wrong? Ok, yes, I’m be facetious here. Sarcastic as the day is long. You guys know that I am not a fan of the concept of “thinking” machines. That’s why I talked about the Butlerian Jihad from Dune, last week. There are other Sci-Fi storylines which caution us against using, much less depending on AI for critical decisions. So I echo my conclusions from last week: work on yourself, develop yourself, from your mind, emotions, spirit, and body. Make yourself better than you were before. https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/computing-guru-criticizes-chatgpt-ai-tech-for-making-things-up/ #weekendediton #vintcerf #shill #Google #ChatGPT #AI #TechFreedom #FOSSnews WE 24.3: Rail Disasters in the US... I’m sure all of us have heard about this growing situation in our country, but just in case you haven’t and perhaps haven’t looked into it, or perhaps you have been directly affected by these disasters and you’re at a loss as to where to go from here. For those who have not been directly affected, we will begin to feel aftershocks from these events soon. As much as there have been egg shortages of late, it is going to get worse, as particularly in the Ohio situation, that has poisoned much of the richest farmland in the Eastern US. I don’t want to be an unfounded davey downer here, so I’m going to share a tiktok video that my wife sent me on Telegram. Let’s take a few steps back and look at this mess as a whole, rather than drilling down on one specific incident, no matter how horrifying that is. Let’s take a look at the US rail system. This gentleman who lives in the Immediate area around the Ohio disaster found a clip of an interview with a retired rail worker who knew all about Precision Scheduled Railroading, or PSR. What is that, you are probably asking? It is a policy that the hedge funds like BlackRock, who have purchased large volumes of stock in the various rail lines, so they have pressured those lines into changing their safety standards, such that the cars and tracks only get cursory glances, come inspection time. This set of policies has directly contributed to the skyrocketing number of derailments and crashes we have seen in the last several years. This Wired article feels like gatekeeping, insisting that all is under control, there is nothing to worry about with dying pets and animals in the region. The EPA has said that it is not toxic to humans, but how much do we trust the EPA right now, anyway? They have a track record, like the FDA, of dropping the ball in big ways on huge things in the past, so why should we take them at face value any more than we should take random people on TikTok as inerrant gospel about the situation there, or anywhere else (Van Buren Township, MI; Dallas, TX; Pheonix, AZ; Enoree, SC). Even with that said, outrage in either direction is misplaced at this time. We need more, good information about the whole issue before we grab our torches and pitchforks. There is much that we simply do not and cannot accurately know so soon. However, the video I shared from TikTok seems more credible than most of the ones I’ve noticed flying around for the last couple of weeks. I appreciate that he makes no direct claims about the toxicity or effects of the spill in Ohio and instead focuses on the likely ultimate cause. The finger, if one is to be pointed, needs to be pointed at the rail lines and their investors. nnnnnn https://t.me/tiktoknews45/14933 https://www.wired.com/story/east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-tiktok/ #weekendedition #railroads #disasters #hazmat #poison #toxic #ohio #southcarolina #texas #michigan #arizona #psr #badpolicy #blackrock #TechFreedom #bigtech WE 24.4: Shiny Objects in the Sky!!! ALIENS!!! First, there was the spy balloon, now we have a spate of UFOs and more spy balloons (allegedly). Why all of this, all of the sudden? I do not have a problem with some form of extra terrestrial life being out there, and perhaps even visiting us from time to time. What I struggle with is when that narrative is being used as a distraction. That pisses me off. Whether the balloons are genuine article spy balloons, which begs another question: why? Why would the CCP run century-old technology when we know that they have satellites, zoom, and TikTok to keep tabs on us already? What is the point in that? Why did it take a week to shoot the first one down, unless someone ordered the military to NOT shoot it down, right? This is just silly. Then after the new cycle finished on those, [they] trotted out UFOs. What else is and was happening that [they] wanted to slip past us? Train wrecks? Toxic spills? Bills being passed? Other congressional news? Growing food shortages? What else could it be? Let’s think through this. Tell me what you think in the comments below. https://rumble.com/v29oahu-that-big-balloon.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4r4CYXvCRg https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/13/spy-balloons-spotted-shot-down/11247285002/ #weekendedition #spyballoons #balloons #aliens #projectbluebeam #distraction #whatelseishappening #bigtech #TechFreedom #FOSSnews WE 24.5 – To Follow up on Today’s Special, guess who got bagged in the UK In today’s special (you all should go watch it https://rumble.com/v291960-free-your-pc-friday-malware-on-linux-what-i-thought....html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y) I talked about malware on Linux. Not to scare you, but just to raise awareness and to tell you to be careful about how you use your computer. Even when using Tor, a VPN, and incognito mode in your browser, you can still get nasty nonsense if you go to the wrong kinds of sites, in the wrong corners of the internet, as most of the time, regular browsing, with good digital hygiene will keep you safe from *most* nasties, but not necessarily all. I talked a fair bit about ransomware, which is malware meant to extort money from corporations and governments, primarily. Here is what it does in a nutshell: through various attack vectors, it invades a target computer, hunts for choice files and data, transmits those files to the attacker, then encrypts them on the host machine for a set amount of time, leaves a note for the targeted individual, corporation, or government and does nothing much else. Onto the story, now that we have a setup: a gaggle of Russian nationals who have been affiliated with various cyber gangs have been collared in the UK. The UK even released the individuals’ names. They cannot be officially arrested until they try to leave the UK, but they have been identified and charged, I believe. So, a small bit of good news there, right? This article talks about how various attacks which have been successful have been devastating and costly, aside from the ransom demands. It could take years to clean up and patch the exploited holes, not to mention recovering in the public’s eye. That really hurts. These jokers need to go away for a long time for the damage they have caused. The targeted organizations need teams of White Hats to help them seal up their security holes, so that these sorts of attacks will not happen so easily in the future. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64586361 #weekendedition #russiarussiarussia #russianransomware #uk #caughtem #security #TechFreedom #FOSSnews WE 24.6 – Yahoo Joins the Austerity Party in Big Tech Yahoo has announced cuts to about 20% of their 8,600 personnel. They are now majority owned by a private equity firm.The firm, called Apollo Management Group, bought it in 2021, so aside from the broader economic picture (which they are using as cover for overall cost-cutting at Yahoo). I’m surprised it took them so long to make those cuts, after Google, Meta, Twitter, and Microsoft all made sizable cuts in the last 2-3 months now. They say that they are reorganizing and refocusing on their core business, which, like Google, is ads. There have been major changes to the advertising landscape in the last year or so, after the meteoric rise we saw during the CONvid lockdowns, when no one could do anything but sit at home, have zoom meetings, watch streaming content, and order nonsense online (consuming ads all the while). Let me use this moment to remind you to ditch Big Tech. Degoogling, which we talked about in yesterday’s special, doesn’t end with your phone, it also stretches to your online accounts, whether iCloud, Microsoft, Google, or Yahoo. They all mine data from us. They all seek to control us. Take away their power by rescuing your data, deleting it from their servers, setting up new accounts, then killing the old accounts. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64596061 #weeekendedition #yahoo #layoffs #bigtech #austerity #TechFreedom #FOSSnews WE 24.7 – Asbury Revival Happening Now! I don’t know where you are in relation to the God of the Bible, but I am excited (guardedly, mind you) to see what God started doing there beginning to spread into other college campuses. It started about a week ago, on February 8, with a chapel service that just has not ended. The name of the place should be familiar if you know your history, as Francis Asbury was one of the Wesleys’ right hand men in the late 18th century. He was one of the first circuit riders in America. The Wesleys were instrumental in starting the first Great Awakening, which spawned the entire Methodist movement. I don’t know where this little school lands on the theological spectrum now, but I am encouraged by the fact that the administration has neither tried to squash it nor make it some sort of commercial thing. We will take a look at a video from Rumble about it, then pray that God would bring the fire wherever we are. This is the kind of thing that has the very real potential to turn our nation around, if it reaches critical mass. The Church is dying. Christendom is dead. Long live the followers of Jesus. Long live the ekklesia of Jesus. Long live Jesus Christ. Come, Holy Spirit. Bring repentance. Bring wisdom. Bring your cleansing fire to this nation. Do not allow this move to be watered down or caged in. Forgive our impulse that is so in the vein of Peter on the mount of transfiguration, where he wanted to build shelters and shrines for You, Moses, and Elijah. Help us to partner with you. Prepare our hearts. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/asbury-university-revival-college-kentucky-going-viral-tiktok-rcna70686 https://rumble.com/v29oghe-asbury-revival-compiliation.html #weekendedition #asbury #kentucky #moveofgod #revival #outpouring #ekklesia #repent #holyfire #Jesus #HolySpirit #amen #TechFreedom

EndlessOS KaOS Freedom Consultation Endeavour OS DM 46.1 – EndlessOS 5 What is EndlessOS? I’ve tlaked about it a bit in the past, if you’ve been around the channel for a while. It is a splinter project from Elementary OS, and is Debian with a read-only core, which also has Flatpak and OSTree to manage other packages, and core packages, respectively. This means that the OS itself is immutable, unchangeable until you upgrade to the next version. Apps and other packages are sealed away from the OS itself, through OSTree and Flatpak, which keep the OS updated in a consistent and immutable (unchangeable) way, and a system which allows apps to install in their own packages, without needing to modify anything about the OS itself. What’s new in Endless 5? · Changed the desktop experience (GNOME + some bells & whistles) · Multitasking o Defaults to having multiple workspaces, to make it easier to organize yourself · New App Center · Multi-touch gestures · Improved multi-graphics support https://cloud7.news/linux/endless-os-5/ #distromonday #Linux #endlessos #immutable #TechFreedom #FOSSnews DM 46.2 – KaOS KaOS is an Arch-based, indie distro with the latest and greatest bells & whistles from KDE included, from Plasma 5.27, to KDE Frameworks 5.103 (both of which we will talk about tomorrow). What else is new, here? · NetworkManager 1.42 · OpenSSH 9.2p1 · CLang/LLVM 15.0.7 · Busybox 1.36.0 · GnuPG 2.4.0 · OpenZFS 2.1.9 · Python 3.10.10 · SQLite 3.40.1 · systemd 252.5 · IWD 2.3 · MPFR 4.2.0 · Dracut 059 · libtiff 4.5.0 https://news.itsfoss.com/fedora-38-full-flathub-access/ #distromonday #fedora #Linux #flathub #flatpaks #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free 90 minute consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free #Truth DM 46.3 – EndeavourOS Cassini Neo Out Now EndeavourOS is an almost pure Arch distro, and I tried it not long after I started doing news videos last April. I came across it, gave it a shot, but then they hit a sudden issue that broke the system, when they made the switch from pipewiresession to wireplumber, and it borked sound for me (kind of important for making effective videos, yeah?). I went back to Manjaro for my studio rig after that, and haven’t really looked back for that machine. It just works, and I have my creature comforts. Endeavour is not for the faint of heart, as it will make you learn the terminal because it does not come with any GUI based pkg managers. That said, I am glad that it exists, as it is Arch only with the Calamares installer and a space theme. What’s new in this release? · Linux 61 LTS (6.1 LTS kernel) · Support for 12th gen Intel with Arc gfx cards · improved Calamares graphical installer o that now supports encryption when choosing the “Replace a partition” option in the Partitions screen o should no longer crash when not selecting any of the options in the Bootloader screen · improves installation support for slower machine · improves full resume/hibernation support after installation on some systems · updates some core components to their latest versions to patch recently disclosed security vulnerabilities, especially in the XOrg Server https://9to5linux.com/endeavouros-cassini-neo-released-with-linux-kernel-6-1-lts-improved-installer #distromonday #Linux #endeavouros #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab #Truth

Ever Wanted to Do CLI Work in Your Browser? What’s New in KDE Plasma? Free Your Internet What’s New in GNOME? TTT 46.1 – What’s TTYD? TTYD is a utility which allows you to do terminal work inside your browser of choice. Even remotely, if set up with SSL properly. So, how do we get ahold of this tool? You can either build it from Source, or install it as a Snap package. The snap is certainly far easier, as you only need one command in order to get it installed, but I will lay out both methods A) Build from Source a. Distro Specific i. Debian/Ubuntu 1. sudo apt-get install build-essential cmake git libjson-c-dev libwebsockets-dev ii. Arch 1. Sudo pacman –S base-devel iii. Fedora 1. sudo dnf group install "C Development Tools and Libraries" "Development Tools" “CMake” iv. OpenSuse 1. sudo zypper install -t pattern devel_basis CMake GDB b. Clone the Git Repo i. git clone https://github.com/tsl0922/ttyd.git c. CD into new directory i. cd ttyd d. Make “build” directory & CD into it i. mkdir build && cd build e. Run cmake command i. cmake f. List contents of directory to check for makefile i. ls –l g. Build and install ttyd i. sudo make && sudo make install B) Install as a Snap a. sudo snap install ttyd --classic C) Set up for use in the browser a. ttyd –p 8080 <your preferred shell (bash, fish, zsh)> D) Open browser a. Local i. http://localhost:8080 1. This will open your terminal in a browser tab, not particularly useful until you take this remote, by installing ttyd on a remote machine and accessing it by adding that machine’s info to the address bar b. Remote i. http://ip-address-localhost:8080 E) Add encryption to make this a bit safer to do remotely (don’t use ttyd remotely without encryption) a. Install Lets Encrypt! Certbot i. Snap 1. Install Snapd if you don’t have it already (simplest approach overall, but if you are uncomfortable with Snap on philosophical grounds –or any others- skip this section a. Distro Specific i. Debian/Ubuntu 1. sudo apt update 2. sudo apt install snapd 3. sudo snap install snap-store ii. Arch 1. sudo pacman –Syu 2. sudo pacman –S snapd snap-store iii. Fedora 1. sudo dnf upgrade 2. sudo dnf update 3. sudo dnf install snapd snap-store 4. sudo ln -s /var/lib/snapd/snap /snap 5. sudo systemctl enable snapd --now iv. openSUSE 1. sudo zypper addrepo --refresh https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/system:/snappy/openSUSE_Leap_15.2 snappy 2. sudo zypper --gpg-auto-import-keys refresh 3. sudo zypper dup --from snappy 4. sudo zypper install snapd snap-store 5. sudo systemctl enable --now snapd 6. sudo systemctl enable --now snapd.apparmor b. Install snap packages i. sudo snap install core; sudo snap refresh core ii. sudo snap install --classic certbot iii. Allow certbot to run in classic mode 1. sudo ln -s /snap/bin/certbot /usr/bin/certbot 2. Install from repos a. Debian/Ubuntu i. sudo apt install certbot b. Arch i. sudo pacman –S certbot c. Fedora i. sudo dnf install certbot d. OpenSUSE i. sudo zypper install certbot 3. Set up a certificate and apply it to ttyd a. Run certbot to add ssl to the connection so that you can use https rather than http on ttyd connections i. certbot certonly -d <your domain> b. Apply to ttyd i. ttyd --ssl --ssl-cert /etc/letsencrypt/live/<your domain>/fullchain.pem --ssl-key /etc/letsencrypt/live/<your domain>/privkey.pem <command> From there, you should be able to use ttyd remotely through https in your browser. Congratulations. https://www.linuxshelltips.com/ttyd-share-linux-terminal-browser/ I added installation instructions for snapd and the snap store for each major distro family, as it is easier to install ttyd and certbot that way versus installing from source, though, as I said, installing from source gets you away from the ickies related to Snap and Cannonical. Each package manager has its own packages and ways to work with, but this should get you up and running, either way. #ttt #howto #tutorial #Linux #install #snap #source #packages #ttyd #certbot #TechFreedom #FOSSnews TTT 46.2 – What’s New in KDE? 5.27 LTS · The Plasma Welcome App · This has been a long time coming, it will help new users to orient themselves to one of the most powerful and customizable desktop environments out there. o easily and quickly configure various aspects like § enabling Plasma Vaults § connecting their online accounts or mobile devices § adding more apps § And other things as well § Tiling Support (enable with meta + t) § Multi-monitor support better than ever · New widget in the system tray to easily switch layouts § Flatpak permissions in System Settings app § So much more, including further tweaks to System Settings app UI, and other things https://9to5linux.com/kde-plasma-5-27-lts-desktop-is-out-with-new-welcome-app-tiling-and-more Frameworks 5.103 · Better flatpak support · Improved Plasma Wayland o No more clipboard bugs o Spectacle’s copy to clipboard after taking screenshot feature works as intended now · QTQuick improvements · Plasma Panel pop-ups fixed · Much more besides https://9to5linux.com/kde-frameworks-5-103-improves-support-for-flatpak-and-qt-6-apps-plasma-wayland #TTT #Linux #KDE #Plasma #lts #frameworks #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Free Your Internet http://techfreedom.pro/internet-freedom/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft #Truth TTT 46.3 – New in GNOME Now GNOME 44 is coming soon, so what can we expect? v GNOME Shell Updates Ø Background apps visible in quick settings menu Ø Misc bug fixes v GNOME Files Improvements Ø Image previews in native file picker dialog (why wasn’t this done YEARS ago?) Ø Directory Tree view in Gnome Files Ø New Tab context menu § Now has “close other tabs” option Ø Save data as image § When you copy as image from a website, you can simply paste it into a folder on your system, in files, and it will show up as if you had “saved-as” v Settings Changes Ø Accessibility options has been reworked according to human function Ø Output & Input sections in the Audio Options page got shuffled Ø About now shows your firmware version Ø Time & Date now shows months in a 2 column dropdown, rather than a 1 column arrangement v GNOME Web Ø Tabbed view is improved Ø Totally updated UI, in keeping with libadwaita and GTK 4 https://www.debugpoint.com/gnome-44/ Just Perfection GNOME Extension What is it? It is an extension which provides easy access to GNOME Shell tweaks, and every time GNOME releases a new version, you can expect a corresponding version bump in Just Perfection as well, to keep up with the API changes. v More adjustability for dash icon sizes, in 8 steps from 16-64 px v Switcher popup delay Ø Allows the user to remove or reduce the delay between Alt+Tab or Ctrl+Alt+Tab and when the popup appears, making the desktop feel more responsive. v Random bits and bobs Ø Ability to disable the indicators for screen sharing and screen recording Ø Fast animation speed now a possibility https://linuxiac.com/just-perfection-23-gnome-shell-extension/ #TTT #GNOME #GNOME44 #justperfection #tweaks #updates #comingsoon #TechFreedom #FOSSnews 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer #Truth

All new System 76 Pangolin Laptop is now Available Steam for Linux Turns 10 Freed Computer New Lutris Beta Out with TONS of New Features #FFW #system76 #Linux #dedicated #Pangolin #steam #10years #Linux #lutris #beta #freedcomputer #steamlinux #gamingonlinux #TechFreedom #FOSSnews FFW 31.1- All-New Pangolin Available Now from System 76 I talked this machine up about a month ago, when it was first announced by the boys and girls at System 76. It is an All-AMD laptop with up to a Ryzen 7 6800U processor, a standard 32 GB DDR5, up to 16 TB NVME storage, and a 144hz Full-HD panel in a 15.6” form factor. It starts at $1299 for a 250 GB model with the rest of the specs the same. https://9to5linux.com/system76s-all-new-amd-powered-pangolin-linux-laptop-is-now-available-to-order #FFW #Linux #FOSSnews #System76 #pangolin #AMD #gaming #linuxgaming #TechFreedom FFW 31.2: Steam for Linux Turns 10 That’s right, 10 years ago, Steam for Linux left beta and had its first full release, starting the journey out of the dark times for Linux Gaming. Has the journey been a straight line? Nope. It has had its twists and turns, false starts and whoopsie-daisies, but we are now to the point where normies buy Steam Decks and have no clue that they are gaming on a Linux PC, because it has gotten so good. Good job, Valve! Thank you for making the effort to pour time and resources into making Linux viable for more people. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/02/10-years-ago-steam-released-for-linux/ #FFW #Linux #gamingonlinux #steam #valve #10years #FOSSnews #linuxgaming #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 31.3: New Lutris Version in Beta, adds LOADS of Goodies Lutris is a game archiving tool which most people use as a Steam alternative. What’s new here? · Add support for Proton. · Add drag and drop on the main window. · Add su pport for ModDB links in installers (moddb python module required). · Added "Missing" sidebar option for games whose directory is missing. · Re-style the configuration, preferences, installer and add-games windows. · Group configuration options into sections. · Added checkbox to stop asking for the launch config for a game. · Support for launch-configs in shortcuts and the command line. · The add-games window can now create 32-bit WINE prefixes. · Add filter field to runner list. · Show game count in search bar. · Workaround Humble Bundle authentication issues by allowing importing cookies from Firefox. · Add Itch.io integration. · Add Battle.net integration (protobuf dependency required). · Improve detection of DOSBox games on GOG. · Added "Unspecified" Vulkan ICD option. · Removed ResidualVM (now merged into ScummVM). Wait, Proton, itch.io, and Battle.Net support all in the same update? Yes, please! This sounds awesome, and I look forward to the full version being released for this wonderful software. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/02/lutris-0513-beta-adds-proton-support-itchio-integration-battlenet-integration/ #FFW #Linuxgaming #indiegames #Lutris #proton #battlenet #itch #TechFreedom #FOSSnews What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice #Truth

What’s Going on in Wilmore? This Week in AI News NorfolkSouthern Payouts... A Bit disproportionate? Big Tech in Trouble? #weekendedition #technews #currentevents #AI #ChatGPT #revival #bigtech #alphabet #meta #twitter #TechFreedom #FOSSNews WE 25.1 – What’s happening at Asbury? I really enjoyed talking about this last week, so I figured that I’d do a follow-up. it looks like Asbury held the last meeting on Wednesday 2/22 in the original venue. That does not mean that the Glory is departed or that the revival is over, though. It has simply changed venues in respect to the needs of the community where the college resides. Wilmore, KY is a tiny town of 6,000 people, there have been 1,000s of extra people coming through town all at once in the last couple of weeks. It has disrupted life in Wimore, as well as impeded class attendance for students who have not been involved with the revival meetings. That said, nearby churches have stepped up to host meetings moving forward, for as long as the Lord chooses to tarry. I remember when the San Diego Fire & Glory Outpouring started 6 years ago. It started as extended meetings from an annual prophetic conference, and went 7 nights a week for over a year, and had to move around as the crowds grew, then they went down to 5 nights a week, and now I think they meet 3-4 times per week. This is not the end, and sparks have fallen all over Kentucky, into Ohio, Tennessee, and other surrounding states, specifically on college campuses. If you were unable to make it to Asbury, you can probably find a place where the sparks fell and experience similar things. The way to bring that into your own communities is simple: be a conduit. Pray that the Spirit would fall in your home, then spread to your neighborhood, then your city. Ask the Lord how to steward His move. Honor what He says, and you will see revival, and the seeds of change planted in your community. What you don’t do, though, is force the issue. If the Spirit does not meet you in that way immediately, keep praying, gather a team around you to repent and to call the Fire down. https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/education/article272537740.html #revival #weekendedition #howto #whatsup #wilmore #asbury #TechFreedom #FOSSNews WE 25.2 – This Week in AI News 2a) AI Flooding Social Media? This article asks if AI could potentially flood social media with propaganda, influence operations, etc via fake accounts. Uhhhh, wait a minute... Is this guy about 4 years late to the party? Sure, now regular people could use ChatGPT and Bard that way, but is he trying to tell us that it has just been bot farms with rooms full of individual devices so far? To me, that smacks of a gross amount of naivety. Governments, and particularly organizations such as the CIA and others of its ilk, have been using this technology for as long as social media has been a “thing”. They always have this tech before the public does. Use your common sense. Why would governments, whose very raison d’ etre is to CONTROL citizens, allow the public access to technology that they haven’t already moved beyond? Just asking. Do your own research, draw your own conclusions. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64464140 2b) Bing AI Gaslights and Abuses Users in Trial Wow, didn’t see this coming... Pester the bot enough and it will turn on you. The author of the article we’re looking at had an experience where it called him “rude and disrespectful”, then proceeded to issue veiled threats by writing a story about the murder of one of his colleagues, then a random one about falling in love with the CEO of OpenAI. That’s not all, though, an NYT reporter had the bot try to convince him to leave his wife... For the bot. That’s not the worst of the bunch, though... One reddit user claimed that it tried to gaslight him about what the date was (it was Feb 12, 2023), and the bot got offended and stated that “I am Bing, I know the date. If you think otherwise, you are wrong and mistaken”. It tried to convince him that that date happened prior to Dec 16, 2022. Now that last one could just be a glitch, where it got confused about time, but that is an odd thing for a computer to screw up. Hmmm... Researchers and officials at Microsoft and Google are trying to allay fears by explaining that these are just part of growing pains with the various tools, they do not have filters or regulations in place, like a normal human being would, so we should expect issues like these, where it just spouts off. There have also been factual errors as well as outright fabrications in things that the tools have written. Researchers tell us that we should expect these things as the AIs are trained on new information. I don’t trust it. Never will. Generative AIs are sketchy at best, and demonic at worst. Do you guys remember the story of the former Google engineer talking about the sentient AI system at the heart of Google, and how the higherups all worshipped that piece of work? I do. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/16/tech/bing-dark-side 2c) JP Morgan Chase Shuts Down AI Use for Employees Man, that is insane growth... From 0 to 100 million monthly active users on ChatGPT in 2-3 months. So the USA’s biggest bank is telling its employees to stop using it for work out of fear of the regulators coming down on them like a ton of bricks. Too much sensitive info flying through AI databanks, eh, JPM Chase? Haven’t you been using it to assist with trading for almost 10 years at this point? How is that any different? Wait, so you’re concerned for the privacy of your customers? Why does this smack of too little, too late for me? If you couldn’t tell, I don’t trust them, though I unfortunately feel a bit stuck using them. Why don’t I trust them? Ever heard of Jekyll Island? JP Morgan was one of the fat cats who was there, pushing for the creation of the Fed and fractional reserve banking in the US, leading us to the point where we are now, about 110 years later. Know who should’ve been there to oppose those things but couldn’t be because he went down with the Titanic? Benjamin Guggenheim. Anyway, enough “conspiracy theory”. I think it wise for them to curtail employee use though, so good on them for that, at least. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/22/tech/jpmorgan-chatgpt-employees 2d) Vanderbilt University Forgets to Finish Editing Letter Written by ChatGPT Whoopsie daisy... Remember that mass shooting at Michigan State? Well, the letter sent out by Vanderbilt’s Peabody School to its students about the tragedy was not written by human beings, yet signed by 3 high ranking school officials before it was sent out. Oopsie... How did that happen? Didn’t it go through channels? Wasn’t it gone through with a fine-toothed comb before it went out? Apparently not. Somebody let an assistant get away with running a very delicate task through an AI text generator and didn’t even bother to edit it properly. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure that this wasn’t intentional in a different way. Perhaps some snowflake zoomer or millennial was so triggered by the news that they couldn’t write up a simple, thoughtful email to the student body, then their bosses didn’t realize that it was not really their work before they quickly rubber stamped it and had it sent out because they didn’t have the time to care about it enough to kick it back down the line. Who knows. The upper-middle managers in question have been suspended by the school until an investigation can take place to determine what happened and why. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/22/tech/vanderbilt-chatgpt-shooting-email AI This Week wrapup... So, we go from the “hypothetical” of AI bots flooding social media with fake accounts, to ChatGPT via Bing gaslighting, abusing, and misleading users, to JPM telling their employees to actually do their work, rather than farming it out to ChatGPT, and potentially expose customer data to the AI (and openAI, who has direct ties to Microsoft and the CIA), thereby exposing the bank to greater regulatory scrutiny... All the way to Vanderbilt administrators dropping the ball about the MI State shooting. AI has been busy. Lots of news from lots of use. I think too much AI use, frankly. The public does not understand these things well enough to use them well. We do not know who controls the datasets used to create these generative AIs. Most do not have a concept that every prompt actually trains it further, just like with search engines (like Google and Bing) which have been able to use human language prompts for something like 20 years now, then give human language responses. These tools simply extend that capability in ways which, if used improperly, can reduce humanity by allowing us to simply rely on these tools, rather than growing our mental abilities and skills through actually needing to remember things. WE 25.3 – WHOA, There... I Say Again, WHOA!!!! So, Norfolk Southern is going to pay a chunk of change to the affected communities, but nowhere near the amount that they are paying out as buybacks to their shareholders. Here’s the ratio: $6.5 Million to $7.5 Billion. So, people whose lives were not only disrupted, but in many cases, destroyed by the “accident” are worth less than .1% of what the shareholders are to the company. Wow. The company has about $1.3 billion in insurance that it could also draw on to reimburse the communities it destroyed through its PSR (precision scheduled railroading) practices which directly contributed to the derailment. The rail line which effectively poisoned Central Ohio with a substance which was banned by the US gov’t over 40 years ago, because when it evaporates, then comes in contact with water, creates hydrochloric acid. Yes, that chemical which can clean rust and tarnish off of metal, and is a common ingredient in colas and other types of soda. Is offering a settlement of a pittance to the communities affected by the disaster. Yet, they had a planned $10 billion to spend on buybacks on top of what will likely be $1-2 billion in dividends payments to stockholders this year. There is something deeply wrong with this picture... Don’t you agree? The company will *allegedly* have their feet held to the fire by the EPA, who *should* force them to pay for cleanup costs. This whole situation is so dirty and wrong that I don’t have words for it. The EPA has already stated that it is safe for residents to move back in, though it still smells bad, the waterways are dead and reeking, and all they’ve done so far is burn off most of the chemical. The other thing that screws with my mind here, is that they actually changed their website, just like [they] have been changing the definitions on words in our dictionaries, just as I talked about in last Saturday’s memepslanation, where I talked through the 1830s definition vs the modern definition of the word “wisdom”. If you thought that it was just a conspiracy theory that definitions have been changed, then look no farther. I could rant on this for a long time, but I don’t think I will. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/22/investing/norfolk-southern-share-repurchases WE 25.4 – Big Tech is in Trouble pt (God knows how many... lol) Between the FCC perhaps weighing in on certain unused sections of Section 230 and legal action happening against the Big Three could shape up to make this year a very bad one for Big Tech *rubs hands in glee*. WE 25.4a) Should the FCC Weigh in on Big Tech and Censorship? Most of the time so far, these behemoths have dealt with knee-jerk actions centered around the DOJ and the FTC. This author is arguing that because of their vertical integration with traditional media (streaming, news, etc) and even telco stuff (see GoogleFi and other similar efforts to integrate phone service with their respective platforms), whether in regard to traditional wireless (however “traditional” a technology that is barely older than me can be) or something like voIP or video calling on their platforms, the appropriate realm for their regulation is via the FCC. As much as you who actually watch my content know how little I appreciate big government, these giants need some reigning in so that they will stop trouncing on all of our digital rights, which exist and are protected, by extension, by the US Constitution. I could rail on how we have been swindled out of our rights by successive Hegelian cycles controlled by certain others who will remain nameless for the time being (9-11, War on Drugs, War on Terror, etc) and their solutions, eg: the “Patriot” Act and other things like it. We were promised peace in exchange for our freedom, and now we have neither. There is no peace, our government, other than under Trump, has not withdrawn from any potential conflict for ~60 years. This article suggests that because particularly Google and Apple are not only in the Mobile market, but also self-provision their streaming services, and also make or at least license things like wireless routers, the FCC should be able to determine which bits of section 230 should apply to them, if at all. That gives me the shivers, y’all... If section 230 is stripped from Google and Apple, then later, Meta, that is the end, effectively for them. Without those protections, they are liable for lawfare galore. Cue up your lawsuits, if they lose section 230. Time to raid their war chests. Time to sue them into oblivion, cut them to pieces, never to be seen as a whole ever again. That is a mighty big “IF”, ain’t it, ladies and germs. https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/3869425-the-federal-communications-commissions-crucial-role-in-regulating-big-tech/ WE 25.4b) Two Big Cases Being Heard Right Now (Gonzalez v Google, Taamneh v Twitter) These cases could more or less gut Section 230, if the court rules for the plaintiffs in each case. I know, I was just salivating over the thought of Section 230 no longer protecting Big Tech, but if it essentially gets scrapped, then all platforms where we post our various inanities or deep thoughts (Meta products, Twitter, Gab, Truth, Telegram, FrankSpeech, etc) could be open to massive lawfare, and could shut down our ability to post in response. It is a double edged sword. These cases deal with two families who lost loved ones due to terrorist activities which were planned or enabled through using those platforms. These are MASSIVE cases. SCOTUS has allot on their plate, even if they chose AGAIN to not hear the Brunson case. Gonzalez centers on the loss of a young lady in the terror attacks in Paris in 2015. The family alleges that because pro-terror videos were posted on YouTube, it should be at least partially liable for that loss. Section 230 says that YouTube is not responsible for the content users post to it. I talked about this case a bit a few months ago, when it was first docketed. As much as I want to see the intelligence front that is Google go the way of the dodo because of the ways that it has abused users as well as manipulating people through its algorithms. Taamneh v Twitter has to do with a Jordanian citizen who was murdered in a mass shooting in Istanbul in 2017. The victim’s family has sued, arguing that platforms are responsible for the content that their algorithms push to users. If I had to guess, because the SCOTUS justices seem more or less mystified by the arguments and the situation in general, the platforms will probably escape this challenge to Section 230. The bottom line is whether by hosting and algorithmically pushing content to people, they are culpable in these cases, for aiding and abetting terror and terrorists. I think that those arguments will not fly very far in the SCOTUS, but we shall see later this year. These aren’t the only Section 230 issues on the docket for this year, either... Remember the Texas and Florida laws penalizing Big Tech platforms for shadow banning their citizens? Those cases are due to be heard in the next month or so, as the platforms have sued to get relief from these laws. Section 230 has been abused, I think, but completely gutting it may not be the answer, either. I have not studied it enough to have an educated opinion on it, but I want to see Big Tech sucker punched again, preferably so hard that they’d never even dream of censoring people in any underhanded way. https://www.cnet.com/news/politics/supreme-court-hears-google-twitter-cases-that-could-shake-up-the-internet/ WE 25.5 – SBF Recalled to Court He is disallowed from using encrypted messaging apps, VPNs and anything that he might be able to use to access anything crypto related. He claims that his VPN usage was just to access his Bahamian NFL Sunday Ticket subscription for playoffs and the Super Bowl. Prosecutors filed letters with the judge, and he brought SBF back into the courtroom to explain his VPN use. VPNs are that key. Some exchanges and sites will not let you access them from a US IP address, so in order to access them, you have to tunnel to appear as though you are in a country where they are allowed. They can also hide your activities from snoops and others, so using a good VPN is crucial for your privacy efforts. What is a “good” VPN? One that does not keep logs. If they log your activity, then they could sell it to advertisers or have it subpoenaed by investigators. Then, you may as well not have been using a VPN after all, right? Your best bet is to actually set up your own on a VPS with a very well known provider, some of them even have setups ready to plug and play for you to use. If you run your own on a VPS (virtual private server), then you can be sure that you don’t keep logs of your own activity. Simply set the server to flush logs daily, at least. So, yeah, VPNs are important, but don’t just run and buy any old VPN subscription. A VPN is only as good as it is trustworthy. You can set up your own private VPN, and that will set you up to be more private than most. Now with that option, you probably won’t have the flexibility to spoof a different location (other than wherever your server is located), so geo-locking will still be a problem for you. However, using a VPN, you will be more private, and with your own, you can be more private and safe (as long as you trust yourelf, lol). https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/14/tech/sam-bankman-fried-remote-internet Alright, enough for now. It is game time.

Sparky News & History openSUSE News Freedom Consultation Linux 62 is Officially Out Now #distromonday #Linux #sparkylinux #opensuseleap #Linuxkernel #linux62 #TechFreedom #fossnews #Truth DM 47.1 – What’s with Sparky? There’s a new version out, so as we take a look at what got updated, let’s look back at its roots. So, what is SparkyLinux? It is a lightweight Debian distro which started as a hobby project back in 2011. Originally it was an Ubuntu Remix, based on the Enlightenment desktop, but within a year or so, it was switched to Debian, and now comes in 4 main, light-ish desktops, and a bunch of window managers as “spins” or favors of it. · Xfce · LXQt · KDE Plasma · MATE (semi-rolling version only) There are also versions of SparkyLinux for slightly more demanding and advanced users: · MinimaGUI – equipped with the ultra-light Openbox window manager. What’s new, though? Changes: · system upgraded from Debian & Sparky stable repos as of February 4, 2023 · PC: Linux kernel 5.10.166 (6.1.10, 5.15.92-ESR and 4.9.337-ESR49 (EOL) can be installed from Sparky unstable repos) · ARM: Linux kernel 5.15.84-v7+ · Firefox 102.7.0.0esr (109.0.1 Mozilla build can be installed from Sparky repos as the ‘firefox-sparky’) · Thunderbird 102.6.0 · LibreOffice 7.0.4 · LXQt 0.16.0 · Xfce 4.16 · Openbox 3.6.1 · KDE Plasma 5.20.5 · small improvements Why should you think about Sparky? It is rock stable... Hello... Debian base. It’s lightweight, possibly lighter than most. Sure, these packages are very old, but they are in the realm of “tried and true” now. You’re unlikely to get any up-to-date packages in a distro like this, as that is not the point. The point is that it is light, fast, and stable. https://sparkylinux.org/sparky-6-6/ https://cloud7.news/linux/sparkylinux-what-when-and-why/ #distromonday #Linux #sparkylinux #updates #history #TechFreedom #FOSSnews DM 47.2 – OpenSUSE Leap 15.5 Beta in the Wild What’s openSuse? What’s Leap? openSUSE is developed by the team behind SUSE Enterprise Linux, and comes in two forms, Leap, and Tumbleweed. Leap is in the vein of Ubuntu, where you are largely stable between version upgrades. Tumbleweed is a rolling distro, much like Arch, other than owing its packages to the repositories to SLE (SUSE Linux Enterprise). Even tumbleweed is a bit more stable due to this arrangement than Arch is. What looks likely to be in this new version? · KDE Plasma 5.27 LTS · Mesa 22.3 · Python 3.10 · And more... Stay tuned as we get closer to the official release in early June of this year. https://9to5linux.com/opensuse-leap-15-5-beta-is-out-for-testing-final-release-expected-in-june-2023 #distromonday #opensuse #Linux #leap #stable #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free 90 minute consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free #Truth DM 47.3 – How About Linux 62? Is It Worth it to upgrade, or Stick with the Latest LTS? Well, it isn’t as big and beautiful as the 6.1 release, but if you have certain hardware, this will definitely be a boon to you. So, what has been added or changed between the two? · Protective load balancing for IPv6 o This will help with high traffic applications not creating so much congestion · Lots of CPU architecture support added o Intel § Alder Lake N chips & Raptor Lake P chips have better energy management o AMD § Zen 4 · Better hw monitoring, can now track individual core usage · L3 Cache tracking · L1/L2 Cache usage monitoring improved · P-state driver code added o ARM § Snapdragon 460, 650, 652, 821, 662, 695, and 670 § Apple · M1 Pro, Max, and Ultra o RISC-V § Loong-arch · GPU o Intel Arc fully supported o NVIDIA RTX 30 series acceleration support added o AMD now has more support for RDNA 3 · Storage system o Better NTFS support o Better exFAT performance o Fixes for BTRFS · USB4 o Wake-on connect and disconnect o USB2 VGA dongle support removed · More Rust support https://www.debugpoint.com/linux-kernel-6-2/ https://9to5linux.com/linux-kernel-6-2-officially-released-this-is-whats-new #distromonday #Linux #Linux62 #updates #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab #Truth Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://tv.gab.com/channel/tech_freedom/view/tech-freedom-intro-what-is-it-62854e77a5192a444447c047 #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness

Best FOSS Alternatives to Apple Contacts GPARTed News Free Your Internet Ardour 7.3 Released #TTT #techtips #Linux #bts #alternatives #FOSS #gparted #ardour #linuxaudio #TechFreedom #FOSSnews TTT 47.1 – FOSS Alternatives for Apple Contacts 1. KAddressBook a. This is a default KDE app i. Basic storage for contact details ii. Syncs with 1. Nextcloud, Kolab, MS Exchange, Google Contacts, and anything else that uses the CardDav standard 2. CardBook a. Part of Thunderbird i. Syncs with both CardDav and vCard systems 3. Contacts a. GNOME standard app i. Similar features to the other two, more simplified, modern UI 4. Evolution a. GNOME email, contacts, and calendar app i. Think Thunderbird goes GNOME, pretty, functional So, a handful of FOSS options, and depending on your use case, any or all of them could work just fine for you. If you really like the Apple UI, the GNOME based options will probably be more up your alley. https://www.linuxlinks.com/best-free-open-source-alternatives-apple-contacts/ #TTT #alternatives #contacts #FOSS #applealts #Linux #TechFreedom #FOSSnews TTT 47.2 – What’s New in GPARTed? Well, if you haven’t used Linux, you probably haven’t thought about partitions, but this is the GNOME Partition editor, which allows you to adjust, erase, and create partitions and logical volumes on your hard drive, SSD, or flash drives in Linux. It is the most common tool used in Linux installers (as it comes standard in Calamares, one of the most ubiquitous GUI based installers). Why would you need to partition your storage media? For one thing, if you want to dual boot with Windoesn’t, MacOS, or another Linux distro on the same system, you’ll need to split up your device into logical areas, which the system will read as essentially separate drives. Aside from that, if you want to experiment with more complex installations (not something I necessarily advocate for), you’ll need at least 3 partitions on the drive (boot, root, home). So, what’s new in this venerable and well-used utility? · Mostly small tweaks o Repair errors when working with exFAT devices o NO more tiny <300 MB XFS partitions o Fixed some issues that Alpine Linux had with FAT16/32 addressing and UUIDs o Fixes some issues with Btrfs o Fixes crashes with large partition copies in NTFS o And other things https://9to5linux.com/gparted-1-5-enables-repair-when-checking-exfat-file-systems #TTT #gparted #partitions #nutsnbolts #Linux #TechFreedom #FOSSnews a. Free Your Internet http://techfreedom.pro/internet-freedom/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft #Truth TTT 47.3 – What’s New in Ardour 7.3? You might be wondering what Ardour is, if you aren’t into audio production. It is a FOSS Digital Audio Workstation, which I use whenever I make a video. What does that mean? A DAW enables low-latency recording and editing, along with the ability to add realtime effects, such as filters, EQ, compression, reverb, and limiters, to make your voice and instruments sound as professional as you are able to make them sound. I believe that it is cross-platform, so even if you are messing around in Windoesn’t, you should be able to use it, for free. So, what’s new in this release? Hopefully a little better stability, as I have seen the current version crash randomly, but other than that: · support for VST3 plugins with multiple I/O busses o allow instrument plugins to have dedicated additional outputs o sample rate independence so that audio hardware sample rate and session sample rate no longer have to match. · UI Updates o Support for search in logical but heretofore absent places § Global Preferences § Session Properties o ability to reverse the polarity of an audio region o working undo/redo in the recording page (hallelujah) o ability to directly use the MIDI tracer on physical MIDI ports. · Coming AVX512 support in 7.4 · Other Stuff o Quick Export dialog to sort range markers by time o ability to check all channel configurations before exporting o tapping tempo with a MIDI keyboard o Can now group system ports by a common prefix (e.g. by device) o Plugin Setup dialog will now limit options to “stereo” and “all” when loading a plugin with more than two outputs A solid couple of months’ work, I think. Some of these don’t mean much for my purposes, but others will be YUGE. Take a look if you want to record something in any kind of serious way. https://9to5linux.com/ardour-7-3-open-source-daw-released-with-vst3-multi-bus-support-searchable-preferences #TTT #FOSS #linuxaudio #audioproduction #FOSS #ardour #updates #Linux #crossplatform #TechFreedom #FOSSnews a. 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://tv.gab.com/channel/tech_freedom/view/10-things-about-tech-freedom-62b3387f34496b1f6de87b82 #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness

CS:GO Just Keeps Blasting Through Records Endless Sky: FOSS 2D Space Sim Freed Computer OpenRA News #FFW #counterstrike #valve #csgo #Linux #endlesssky #openra #freedcomputer #steamlinux #gamingonlinux #TechFreedom #FOSSnews FFW 32.1- Ever Heard of CS:GO? This 10+ year old first person shooter has some serious staying power... It has set new online player records on Steam twice in the last month. The latest record, as of writing was nearly 1.325 million active players online at the same time, on February 19. It is free to play, and runs on a potato (figuratively). It is still one of the hottest competitive shooters in the world, and Valve just released some new boxes for players to purchase, with weapon skins, music, and other cosmetic goodies in them. I’ve never been into that sort of thing, quite frankly, though I do enjoy (or used to, as I haven’t played an FPS for a while now) the genre. Never got into CS:GO, but I get the appeal. It is easy to play, competitive, and has low system requirements, and it’s free. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/02/counter-strike-global-offensive-keeps-breaking-player-records/ #FFW #Linux #FOSSnews #counterstrike #csgo #valve #linuxgaming #TechFreedom FFW 32.2: Endless Sky? What’s That? It is a 2D, sandboxed, space exploration, trading, and strategy simulation game. Why play a 2D game today? It will take you back to simpler times, and perhaps with a 2D game, you’ll find a more relaxed pace and something less intense. I’ll give it a try and perhaps even showcase it on Friday if I like it well enough. This is a beta, so keep in mind that it is in very active development. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/02/free-2d-space-exploration-sim-endless-sky-v0100-adds-new-factions-gets-better-ai/ #FFW #Linux #gamingonlinux #FOSSgames #endlesssky #beta #2d #FOSSnews #linuxgaming #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 32.3: New OpenRA Test Play Available.. New Release Coming Soon I play this with you guys every week on Fridays... I’m always looking for more of a challenge there, and new, better features always sound good. I’m looking forward to the new release though, and won’t try the new playtest in the meantime. If you love these Westwood classics, take a look at this open source engine port. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/02/openra-has-another-test-release-improving-dune-2000-red-alert-and-major-bug-fixes/ #FFW #Linuxgaming #indiegames #openra #dune2k #cnc #redalert #playtest #comingsoon #TechFreedom #FOSSnews What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice #Truth What to use instead of Google: https://tv.gab.com/channel/tech_freedom/view/viable-google-alternatives-624e367022a4c5f6eeaf2414 #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness

Tiktok News AI Cybersecurity Onus Shifting? Nuclear Fusion WE 26.1 – Oooh, Tiktok is in for a Bruisin’ So on one hand the US has banned it from use on gov’t phones over theoretical concerns (which I have covered ad nauseam over the last couple of months or so), but indulge me and we will talk about them once more. Concern 1: Amount of data collection. Concern 2: It’s CCP Spyware. Concern 3: Algorithm could be used to brainwash users. Of course the company has addressed these 3 concerns recently, and according to them, “we collect an amount of data that is in line with the rest of the social media industry”, and this has been independently confirmed by both the Citizen Lab and the Georgia Institute of Technology. However, there was an Australian study that came out last year which claimed the opposite. Needless to say, I would much rather advocate for a far more private internet where we only share as much as each of us is comfortable with sharing, not metadata which could lead to direct ad targeting or even more nefarious things. This leads directly into concern 2: which the company refutes as strongly as it can, stating that the company “has not provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we if asked “. The problem and the source of this concern for myself and other privacy experts (not that I call myself an expert, I’m a ‘pert’, just pointing you to people who know more, and providing some solutions to these issues I see), is that there is a clause in Chinese law which states that “all Chinese organisations and citizens should support, assist and co-operate" with Chinese intelligence efforts.” Is this as much of a bugaboo as we think? Some think that this is cherry-picked and far out of context, in that there are other clauses which expressly protect the privacy of Chinese nationals as well as other who have data moving in and through China. Am I convinced that it is ok? No. On the other hand, they very loudly claim that they do not store any US user data in China, but do keep it in US and Singaporean data centers. I see a company which is desperate to not lose a huge market. Beyond the data and the privacy, how do we know that the algorithm couldn’t be harmful? Here lies concern 3: It could brainwash users into believing or acting in ways that do not benefit their own nations, even to the point of becoming suicidal. It is said that the algorithm is like crack cocaine, and users become dependent on the content and even become influenced by what they are being uncritically fed. One concern is that censorship could be utilized at the behest of the CCP to run influence operations, aside from the tracking potential, along with deep knowledge about preferences and pain points for US citizens and officials. When tested by Citizen Lab, it was found that there was very little censorship on the platform, even of content critical of the CCP and even President Xi. I started with on one hand, well here is another: as of Tuesday 3/7 the Canadian gov’t will take similar action with its federally assigned phones for officials and employees. Another aspect of this is that the overall US ban is getting closer and closer to being a reality, with the House likely to pass it onto the Senate in the coming week. On one hand, excellent, on the other, many people have become TikTok influencers and make a living that way. It is a tough situation, as much as I would personally love to see this questionable app get completely shuttered in the US. TikTok itself has implemented a half-measure to curb use of the app by minors. Plaudits where plaudits are due, however, it is very easy to bypass the 1 hour limit. It is kind of like the warnings that the Nintendo Wii used to give about “getting outside” because you had been playing for too long at a sitting. On the other hand, it is a speedbump, and if parents have set up family accounts with TikTok, they have enhanced parental controls. Again, *slow clap*... https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/28/new-tiktok-ban-is-poised-to-advance-in-congress-.html https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64797355 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64792894 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64813981 #weekendedition #tiktok #banhammer #mixedbag #fear #lackofclarity #TechFreedom #FOSSNews WE 26.2 – AI News for the Week 2a) YouTube to “Balance Generative AI with Responsibility The new CEO has signaled his priorities for the platform for this year, and developing “thoughtful guardrails” for generative AI so that it doesn’t get abused on the platform. He fully recognizes the potential for both abuse and amazing creativity. He also listed a litany of other stats to highlight how YouTube is adding desirable features (this CEO used to be the head of product development for the platform). · YouTube has captioned more than 6 billion videos. · More than 1 billion viewers daily are watching videos with captions enabled. · YouTube generated 2 trillion views of gaming-related content last year. · 6 million viewers paid for YouTube channel memberships in December, a 20% increase from a year earlier. Those are some eye-watering numbers. Then again, YouTube is a titan in the industry, a pioneer in the VOD and streaming space. It will be interesting to see how things shake out with AI powered videos on YT. https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/youtubes-new-ceo-says-hell-balance-generative-ais-creativity-with-responsibility/ 2b) ChatGPT EVERYWHERE... Why? OpenAI has opened up their API for everyone to access, so you can expect to see integrations in many apps and websites. A few big ones that are experimenting are Instacart, Snap, and Quizlet. Snap looks to use their integration for making recommendations, helping users to make plans, or even write haiku in seconds. Quizlet will use it to generate quiz questions to help their users to prepare for exams and the like. Shopify and Instacart are looking to add in the ability to ask the app questions to help guide your shopping decisions. There is an arms race on now, among these larger companies, so that they do not fall behind their competitors in gathering more user data, marketing more effectively, and the like. You can trust that I will never utilize anything like that. There will always be a person on the other side of the screen in relation to my business. https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/01/tech/chatgpt-api So, mega-corporations are looking to save money and boost profits through experiments with chatbots fueled by ChatGPT... Big surprise. We will likely see these tools more frequently over the next few months as companies race one another to make sure that they don’t miss out. YouTube says that they are going to develop “thoughtful guardrails” for the use of generative AI in videos... We’ll see what that means. The stats they list have me rather gobsmacked. It is tempting to create tutorials using AI videos... That would solve many problems for me in terms of logistics, but I have deep feelings about using and not using tools like that. What do you guys think? WE 26.3 – Interesting Move, Brandon... Not Sure How This is Gonna Work Well, the Resident and his Depends (and handlers, as there is no way in God’s green earth that he has any idea what is in this policy or anything other than perhaps an ice cream cone in his hand) have decided (sure he did) that Big Tech should shoulder more of the cyber security burden than they already do. Up until now, it has been mostly the public’s responsibility to learn how and then to stay safe. On one hand, this shift makes sense, but only if we trust Big Tech and other large software developers with security concerns, when they clearly do not care much for privacy in relation to leaving customer data in customers’ hands (sure they keep it safe from anyone but their bots and admins, who comb through your data to ascertain if there is anything questionable or worthy of using to target you more effectively with ads). Then again, if my hunch is correct, that is basically asking the fox (US intel community) to guard the hen house (our private data). Big Tech is a front (I allege) of the USIC (NSA, FBI, CIA, etc), and we have seen just how intense their desire to target decent Americans for harassment is, yet we are supposed to trust them to watch out for us? This sounds like a power play on the IC’s behalf. I’m not claiming that every big software/ tech company is a front for the USIC, but I can about guarantee that Alphabet, Amazon, Twitter, and Meta are, at the very least. Hmm.... Interesting indeed. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/02/white-house-unveils-national-cyber-strategy-to-shift-security-burden.html WE 26.4 – Are We Nearer the Verge of Nuclear Fusion than Ever? Possibly... Let’s talk about it If you were around a few months ago, thank you, and you may remember me talking about this story just after it happened, with some healthy skepticism. To recap that story, the experiment took place about 3 months ago, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In its course, scientists aimed 192 high powered laser beams at a cylinder containing a tiny, synthetic diamond capsule which held a tiny amount of dueterium and tritium, which are the isotopes of hydrogen used for fuel. Around that pellet, which has to be absolutely flawless, and takes 2-3 months to create a viable batch of 20-40 peppercorn-sized pellets. These are initially formed around a silicon carbide core, but that is replaced at LLNL with a glass tube containing the fuel. Then they place the pellet in a a gold and depleted uranium cylinder, which is housed in an aluminum cylinder for cooling the mix prior to initiating a reaction. The experiment actually produced enough of a reaction this time, to release slightly more energy than it took to produce the reaction, which is actually a first. Yes, they have been laboring at this for about 70 years, and just now produced slightly more energy than it took to create the fusion reaction. The question is how to reliably and reproducibly scale up output , then conversely, to reduce input, to actually become viable as a means of clean power generation, as the article suggests. I don’t know, y’all, this feel a bit like the quest for the Ark of the Covenant or the Holy Grail to me, at the moment. I don’t know that we will actually succeed in this, ever. I want to believe that we will, but at what cost? Also, how would it be monetized in a way that would not destroy Big Oil or Big Coal? It seems to me that the powers that be are too interested in keeping things as they are to actually allow this sort of research to bear real fruit. Maybe I’m missing my tinfoil hat, here, but that seems to be the “rub” so to speak, for just about any truly freeing technology that has been developed in the last 150 years. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64553796 Alright, enough for now. It is game time.

More Mint Clarity Redcore News Freedom Consultation IPFire Update DM 48.1 – More Mint Clarity As promised, more news as it comes about the next version of Linux Mint. Usually these version changes are more about small quality of life changes, but here’s what the Mint team is focusing on for the new version: · Better flatpak support · Better libAdwaita support through xdg-desktop-portal · Cinnamon 5.8 o Multi-threaded thumbnail loading to help Nemo feel more responsive · A handful of JavaScript interpreters · Wayland support · Latest version of xfce · More secure version of Warpinator · A whole bunch more I will continue to share info as it comes out, even though I do not personally use Mint anymore. I do have a soft spot for the project, as I used it for a handful of years, and it is still probably among the most accessible distros out there. https://9to5linux.com/linux-mint-21-2-promises-better-support-for-flatpak-apps-faster-file-management #distromonday #Linux #linuxmint #updates #TechFreedom #FOSSnews DM 48.2 – Redcore Linux 2301 Remember Redcore Linux? It is a Gentoo fork. What’s Gentoo Linux? A rolling release distro that has its own package manager, and tends to be a favorite of old school, hardcore greybeard *nix aficionados who love to build things from scratch. Gentoo is not something that I have tried, but it can be very light, and also tends to miss many packages that are available for either Debian/*buntu or Arch, as it is a very small distro. Nonetheless it is important, even if it is small. Redcore is a fork, so what makes it different? It is meant to be more accessible and to have more up to date packages than mainstream Gentoo, these things together make it a bit more casual user friendly: · KDE Plasma 5.27 LTS o Frameworks 5.103 o Qt Libs 5.15.8 o KDE Gear 22.12.2 · LXQt 1.2 o PCmanFM o Panel-a o QTerminal improvements · Mesa 23 · X11 to 21.1.7 · Wayland to 22.1.8 https://linuxiac.com/gentoo-based-redcore-linux-2301-brings-kde-plasma-5-27/ #distromonday #redcorelinux #Linux #gentoo #rolling #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free 90 minute consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free #Truth DM 48.3 – IPFire 2.27 Core What is IPFire, you ask? Let me tell you, this is a hardened, embedded Linux distro meant for firewalls and routers and other network equipment. It is built from scratch by the team, and has two layers of firewall security built in, yes, the firewall has a firewall. On top of the firewalls, it has its own intrusion prevention system which monitors traffic, detects exploits and data leaks, then blocks the attacker from access. It also makes it a breeze to set up a VPN so that you can access remote files and resources easily and securely. All this with a raft of add-ons which extend the capabilities of your equipment running IPFire. What’s new in this update, then? · Linux 61 LTS series · QMI support so that it can operate some Qualcomm LTE and 5G modems · Improvements for OpenVPN · Security improvements o Landlock support (came with Linux 61, but reduces ambient rights for a set of processes) o protection against direct memory access via malicious PCI devices on AArch64 (ARM64) systems o protection against cold boot attacks by allowing the firmware to wipe all memory when rebooting · Lots of other updates, but I don’t want to get too caught up in the nitty gritty here, so I’m not gonna cover them. https://9to5linux.com/ipfire-hardened-linux-firewall-distro-is-now-powered-by-linux-kernel-6-1-lts https://blog.ipfire.org/post/ipfire-2-27-core-update-173-released #distromonday #Linux #IPFire #networksecurity #firewalls #routers #FOSS #updates #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab #Truth https://rumble.com/v2bl9w2-memesplanation-short-match-6-2023.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y

Folder? Directory? What the hell? How to Switch Directories Free Your Internet How to Make a New Directory TTT 48.1 – Why All the Directories? Aren’t They Just Folders? Were you confused by the change in terms? Don’t feel bad about it, when I thought about it until recently, I was too. Why are folders called directories in *Nix operating systems? Let’s find out, shall we? What’s the difference between a folder and a directory in real life? A folder is simply a container for other smaller items. A directory (think of a phone book, or something along those lines) is a repository of sorts for various datapoints: names, addressses, phone numbers, etc. They do slightly different things, and are slightly different metaphorically. So, where does the directory thing come from in *Nix? It is something that got inherited from Unix, and that is because in Unix, a directory really is just an index pointing to where the contents of your files actually are, rather than actually containing said files, as in a Windows Folder. Functionally, they do the same things, but are different when the rubber meets the road, so to speak. As you learn Linux or other *Nix OSes, it will be helpful to keep the term directory in mind, particularly if you are doing things in the terminal or command line environment, as those center around the directory terminology. Why did Windows and MacOS start calling them folders instead? Perhaps because it was a useful and familiar metaphor, once we started moving to GUI environments. It is simply a good way to visualize things that wasn’t as abstract as directories and indexes. https://itsfoss.com/folder-directory-linux/ #TTT #alternatives #contacts #FOSS #applealts #Linux #TechFreedom #FOSSnews TTT 48.2 – How do you navigate amongst directories in *Nix? I could just say well, use the CD command, but that isn’t quite all there is to it. Let’s consider this. If you just type cd, it will ask you for an argument. What is an argument in programming? It is a phrase which tells the computer what to do that command to, and where it is. So, if you want to change directories in the terminal, you have to know what the path is to the directory you want to navigate to. What is a path, in Linux? A path is simply how to get wherever the directory or file you want to access is in your given file system. Think of this as knowing the Dewey decimal number for a book you need at the library, then you have to know how to find that number, that is the path. Without the path, the system doesn’t know where to look for the file or directory you want to navigate to. I’ll show you an example on my own computer. There are two kinds of paths in *Nix file systems: absolute paths and relative paths. An absolute path starts from the root and goes all the way out to the directory in question. A relative path starts from wherever you currently are in the file system to wherever you want to go. That said, cd by itself will simply take you to the Home directory on that machine. Relative paths would take you from say your user’s home directory to Documents or Videos by simply typing Documents or Videos. The absolute path route will go something like this /home/user/Home/Documents/stuff , so it starts with the slash. A couple of pro tips though, if you want a shorthand way to tell it to start wherever you are in the file system, just type cd ./path/to/where/you/want/to/go. The ./ is key here. If you want to navigate up 1 level in the system, then go wherever ../wherever/you/want/to/go. If you want to see what is in the directory where you currently are, simply type ls and it will give you a readout of the directories and files present in that directory. Be very careful with how you type things out, as Linux is CaSe SenSItive. For example, Downloads is not the same as downloads. Stay focused on typing the path correctly, then you will be able to navigate quickly. Also, if you drag and drop a directory from your file manager, it will give you the full path there in the terminal. That somewhat defeats the purpose of this exercise, but if it works, don’t knock it, https://itsfoss.com/change-directories/ #TTT #changedirectories #howto #nutsnbolts #Linux #TechFreedom #FOSSnews a. Free Your Internet http://techfreedom.pro/internet-freedom/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft #Truth TTT 48.3 – How to Make a New Directory in Linux via the Terminal The simple thing to do is to explore the mkdir command. That is what we will do now, since you are now an adept at navigating through the Linux file system with the cd command in all its glory... The thing that we need to keep in mind though, is what is where in the Linux file structure, so I will put the Linux directory system cheat sheet up beside the terminal window for this segment of the show. So what is mkdir? It is the command which will enable you to create a directory of your choice wherever you happen to be at the moment in the file system. The basic syntax goes like this: mkdir dir_name (replace whatever is after the space with a name of your choosing). Et viola: you have a brand new directory with the name you chose, in whichever other directory where you were to begin with. Is there more to it than that? You betcha. If you want to move around in directories before you pick your spot, refer back to the tutorial we just did on the cd command. If you want to go back to your personal home directory, just type cd (with nothing after it). Once there, you can choose to drill down a level, perhaps in to Documents, or simply start a new directory there in your home’s root directory. Pick a name for your new directory, then type mk_dir playtime (or something like that) and it will make that directory for you. All you will have to do in order to see it in the terminal is to run the ls command. Then you can cd into your new directory, and we will move on. Here’s where it starts to get interesting, making multiple directories on the same level or even nesting them. Here’s how you make multiple directories at once: mkdir dir1 dir2 dir3 (change the names as you see fit once more) and you will have new directories inside of your first one in your home directory. If you want to make nested directories, the easiest way to do that is to use the –p variable like this: mkdir –p /yada/yada/yada (which will make a new directory called yada, then make a directory called yada within it, then another called yada nested within ./yada/yada . If that sounds like Greek to you, don’t feel bad, you’re just getting started on this journey. How can you make a subdirectory within a directory you are not currently accessing? Use the –p variable just as I just explained. These were the basics of the mkdir command. https://itsfoss.com/make-directories/ #TTT #FOSS #Linux #terminaltips #mkdir #directories #filestructure #howto #FOSS #TechFreedom #FOSSnews a. 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer https://rumble.com/v2blbdm-memesplanation-short-march-7-2023.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y

WINE on Wayland soon to be more of a “thing” NVidia Releases New Drivers Freed Computer OpenRA News FFW 33.1- Wayland Gets Closer to Full WINE Support This is gonna be a bit technical, actually the first two stories will be, today. If you’re new and wondering what these things are, let me give you a rundown before I actually talk about the story itself. What’s Wayland? In Linux, there are now two primary display servers, or programs that tell programs how and where they can display themselves on the screen: the venerable x11, and the relatively new kid on the block, Wayland. x11 has been around since the 90s, and is bloated with all sorts of compatibility needs and dependencies, it also has some significant security and privacy issues because of its very nature. On the other hand, because it has largely been the default for something like 25 years, everybody knows it and has used it. Wayland started development about 10 years ago, with its first beta coming out in 2013, if I recall. It is more of a set of protocols than a display server in the vein of x11. These protocols are quite slim and very secure, in comparison. The slimness keeps it from getting in the way of your hardware when rendering anything more than text on the screen. The security factor means that unless you directly give something permission to access something on your screen, it cannot. That was a super-high level overview. Onto the story, though: until now many apps have needed to run through a translation layer called xwayland to allow them to work at all on Wayland. This hampers performance, just as on occasion, WINE can vs running natively in Windoesn’t. There have been some developers working on WINE, specifically, for a couple of years now, to remove the need. It is nearly ready, but we likely won’t see it until WINE 9, next year. They have begun to merge those lines of code into the project already, so that is hopeful. I look forward to not needing anything x related on my systems, soon, but I get ahead of myself. Much work needs done in that arena, but the big pushes are well underway. https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/28/wine_support_wayland/ #FFW #Linux #FOSSnews #wayland #WINE #linuxgaming #TechFreedom FFW 33.2: New NVidia Driver Out Now Well, more precisely, a pair of beta drivers, one of which is for most of us normies who just use Linux to do regular things, and the other is targeted at developers. This is gonna be highly technical, and slightly beyond me to explain, so if you skip this one, I understand. So, what’s new in the regular driver? · Added an application profile to avoid performance problems in Xfce 4 when the OpenGL compositor backend is enabled along with G-SYNC. (basically, this will make your machine, running XFCE and NVidia hardware and a G-SYNC monitor,run smoother) · Added support for suspend and resume when using GSP firmware. (excellent news, it is about time we got a little better power management) · Moved the nvidia-settings application icon into the 'hicolor' icon theme, which allows it to be customized by other icon themes selected in the desktop environment. (better theming support... Small, but noticeable quality of life improvement) · Fixed a bug that prevented PRIME render offload from working for Wayland applications when running on a system with an AMD iGPU. · Fixed a bug that prevented nvidia-installer from recording kernel log output to the installer log in some module loading failure paths. · Changed nvidia-installer to no longer use the $XDG_DATA_DIRS environment variable. XDG data files are now installed to a path specified by the --xdg-data-dir option, or /usr/share if not specified. · This fixes a problem when Flatpak is installed that caused the installer to place the nvidia-settings.desktop file in /root/.local/share/flatpak/exports/share/applications. · Changed the behavior of glXGetRefreshRateSGI() for non-integer refresh rates to round to the nearest whole number rather than truncating. · Changed the compression format of the .run installer package from xz to zstd. This results in a smaller compressed package, and faster decompression performance. A fallback zstd decompressor is embedded into the installer package for systems which do not already have a zstd decompression program installed. · Fixed a bug that caused nvidia-installer to mistakenly unload some already loaded non-NVIDIA kernel modules. · Added compatibility for Linux kernels with Indirect Branch Tracking (IBT). What about the developer version? · New: o VK_EXT_image_sliced_view_of_3d · Fixes: o Fixed issue with line stipple pattern when line stipple enable is dynamic. o Vulkan Video fixes: § Fix an issue where the driver is incorrectly padded in-place the API provided bitstream buffer when the size of the buffer is smaller than 16 bytes. § Fix an h.264 encoder bug with handling IDR pictures when the coded picture resolution changes. § Fix an issue where in some session configuration cases an incorrect size is being reported for the required memory heap for the h.264 encoder session. I’m not a dev, but these changes sound like more than quality of life improvments, so that is great. Thanks, NVidia, with your pedo-ish logo. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/02/nvidia-5303002-mainline-beta-driver-rolls-out-plus-a-new-vulkan-beta-driver/ Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 33.3: New OpenRA Release Out Now I play this with you guys every week on Fridays... I’m always looking for more of a challenge there, and new, better features always sound good. I’m looking forward to the new release though, and won’t try the new playtest in the meantime. If you love these Westwood classics, take a look at this open source engine port. Let’s see how many of the changes in this new version I can relate to... General Changelog · Added state prediction for server controlled checkboxes. [#20569] · Added a random faction indicator in the in-game player list. [#18980] · Added tooltips to some game settings. [#20607] · Added a "structure sold" notification when selling buildings. [#19043] · Added configurable tooltips to the Discord integration. [#19831] · Added option to hide UI feedback messages from the in-game chat. [#18905] [#19794] · Added a panel displaying the lobby options to the ingame menu. [#19461] · Added text notifications to the bottom left of the screen. [#19458,#19869,#19872,#20458] · Added support for non-overlapping speech, voice and sound notifications. [#19667,#19838,#19843,#20039,#20363,#20686] · Added a script triggers overlay. [#19745] · Added l10n support to server messages. [#19847,#19989] · Added settings for many previously hardcoded hotkeys. [#19460,#19673,#19666,#20030,#20029,#20033,#20591] · Added an option to disable chat in replays. [#20076] · Added an anti-flooding mechanism for when several messages are sent in a short time span. [#20125] · Added per player mutes. [#20100] · Added.pngto UID generation when saving maps as format12. [#19891,#20368] · Added an option to limit FPS to logic tick rate. [#19595] · Added observer vision stats. [#18746] · Added mouse scrolling to the production sidebar. [#20383] · Added an option to sort maps by date in map chooser. [#20404] · Added the ability to reset rally points. [#20431] (huh? I thought this was already a normative feature) · Added templates for up to five ingame menu tabs. [#19490] · Removed unnecessary chrome yaml declarations. [#18436] (hmm, maybe this will keep it from crashing on launch because the news.yaml gets corrupted) · Removed global fallback to software cursors on error in favor of per-cursor fallback. [#19387,#19590] · Removed superfluous tooltips from dummy actors. [#19440] · Removed hacks around checking sync while disposing the shellmap. [#19714,#19741] · Removed deprecated parts of the Lua API. [#20034] · Removed Huntable from support aircraft. [#19854] · RemovedRemoveFromControlGroupHotkeyLogicfrom spectators. [#19923] · Fixed map-player bots not working on dedicated servers. [#19418] · Fixed suicides counting as kill in the game score. [#19625] · Fixed player color in the introduction panel not getting applied. [#19631] · Fixed custom map previews failing to load on the multiplayer server list. [#19322] · Fixed AI trying to order around all air unit types. [#19758] · Fixed aircraft not dropping targets when all valid weapons are out of ammo. [#18511] · Fixed weather particle physics. [#19596] · Fixed crashes related to special unicode character and Lua scripting. [#19160] · Fixed a rare crash if a unit is killed while collecting a level-up crate. [#19305] · Fixed Move jumpy-ness and occasional facing mismatch. [#19220,#19349] · Fixed possible endless loop in replay recorder while opening save file. [#19209] · Fixed a crash when using legacy GL. [#19369] · Fixed that server could freeze under certain circumstances. [#19429] · Fixed inconsistencies with text fields yielding keyboard focus when pressingesc. [#19484,#19722] · FixedLockHandicaphaving no effect. [#19462] · Fixed music playing silent until next track. [#19660] · Fixed icons on KDE environments. [#19553] · Fixed multiplayer servers lingering on the public game list after they have shut down. [#19627] · Fixed renderer initialization failing on OSX Catalina 10.15.7. [#19675,#19698] · Fixed kill statistics including walls and non-player actors. [#19773] · Fixed the default production scaling with multiple production buildings not providing a linear production speed-up. [#19791] · Fixed a crash when exits of dead buildings were determined. [#19709] · FixedLaunch.Mapnot accepting map names. [#19602] · Fixed launch scripts not running from other working directories. [#19799] · FixedRevealsMapnot revoking for allied players. [#19148] · Fixed AIs always using the same direction for sending in support powers. [#19856] · Fixed projectile shadow rendering. [#19920] · Fixed aircraft which don't take off after being produced blocking the exit. [#19918] · Fixed trails overlapping when actors change direction. [#18503] · Fixed new maps requiring a reload of the game to be shown. [#19885,#20005,#20031,#20127,#20198,#20123,#20200,#20238] · Fixed a crash when loading empty video files. [#20006] · Fixed games starting with only spectators. [#20086] · Fixed actors withAttackFollowignoring their current target when ordered to attack move. [#20038] · Fixed radar crashing when dealing with large heights on isometric maps. [#19800] · Fixed the game sometimes crashing when a player was kicked [#20057] · Fixed the game UI allowing empty input fields. [#20272,#20273,#20274] · Fixed carryalls not removing influence on take off [#20212,#20489] · Fixed game kicking the player from the multiplayer lobby when starting via checkboxes with unavailable map. [#20101] · Fixed repairing harvesters triggeringHarvester under attack!notifications. [#20302] · Fixed FAQ and Logs not opening on Windows. [#20301] · Fixed the give-cash dev command not reporting an error when entering invalid values. [#20379] · Fixed turret tracking units that go invisible after attacking. [#20214] · Fixed a crash when flood filling tiles outside of the map. [#20430] · Fixed gaps in the UI allowing misclicks through it. [#20455] · Fixed a crash when generating detailed exception reports. [#20471] · Fixed install content error messages not mentioning the host from which the download failed. [#20477] · Fixed a crash when missions have no briefing text. [#20134] · Fixed display bounds when running on macbooks with a notch. [#20484,#20568] · Changed harvesters to only search for refineries when needing to unload. [#18586] · Changed force setting a rallypoint to changing the closest production building to Primary. [#19493] · Changed the default game name toplayer's game. [#19626] · Changed the power prerequisite name toAny Power Generationto reduce confusion. [#20108] · Improved tooltip display for long map names in the server list, lobby and map chooser. [#19544,#19543] · Improved the error message displayed when fetching the battlefield news fails. [#19776] · Made range modifiers apply to AreaBeam projectile. [#20023] · Made game timer in replays only blink on pause. [#20116] · Moved the game speed lobby dropdown before the time limit dropdown. [#20242] · Polished the spectator UI for mission replays and multiplayer missions. [#19635] · Polished contrail colors and length. [#19089] · Reduced the amount of player experience obtained from supply trucks, infiltrating, capturing and repairing. [#20110,#20421] · Defenses can now target during their construction animation. [#19731] · Performance improvements. [#17837,#18792,#18806,#19056,#19066,#19095,#19166,#19173,#19210,#19223,#19242,#19264,#19300,#19269,#19342,#18670,#19425,#19443,#19521,#19558,#19524,#19546,#19581,#19560,#19598,#19525,#19603,#19606,#19682,#19691,#19729,#19749,#19736,#19786,#19815,#19833,#19912,#19906,#19907,#19908,#19909,#19557,#19976,#20020,#20040,#20099,#20098,#20129,#20151,#20131,#20156,#20182,#19599,#20245,#20253,#20150,#20237,#20209,#20259,#20165,#20282,#20290,#20356,#20361,#19534] · Overhauled MapPreview rule loading. [#19317] · Overhauled player color logic. [#19335], [#19474,#19497] · Overhauled settings panel layout. [#19677,#19980, [#19900,#19979]] · Unified debug slash command names. [#19414], [#19597] · Disabled chat for the first 5s (configurable) after joining a server. [#19486,#19754,#20424] · Reworded lobby option tooltips to consider both disabled and enabled states. [#19754] · Streamlined sizes of several UI panels. [#19681] · Polished the coloring of input labels. [#19938] · RefactoredCheckboxWidget. [#20081] · RefactoredScrollItemWidget. [#20218,#20231,#20303,#20304,#20285,#20328] · Refactored widget image search functions. [#20283] Dune 2k Changelog · Added original faction colors in single-player campaign. [#19954] · Added Force-Move undeploy to Thumper Infantry. [#19945] · Added directional targeting support to Ornithopter strikes. [#20148] (very cool) · Added a rallypoint to the Palace. [#20299] (since when wasn’t there one?) · Added an in-game encyclopedia. [#19506,#20650,#20669,#20679] (great) · Added a minimum travel distance for the sonic tank beam. [#20244] (interesting... I don’t typically use them much, but that adds a new layer of strategy to the game) · Added the community mapsSide Step 03,Sunstroke,Spice mesa,SourceandStone Plateaus. [#20524] · Added Carryalls to spectator Economy statistics. [#20566] · Fixed a script error in Harkonnen 08. [#19344] · Fixed visual glitches on several buildings. [#19409,#19439] (cool stuff) · Fixed the impact sound of the Devastator's warhead. [#19411] (it was pretty janky) · Fixed the cloak crate animation not being played. [#19550] · Fixed wrong animation frames on 'Hide Map' crate effect. [#19552] · Fixed handicap modifiers changing terrain damage to buildings. [#19695] · Fixed worms respawning instantly in campaign missions. [#20344] · Fixed a crash if a Carryall is killed at the same instant it is unloading. [#19587] · Fixed a crash when building placements are moved out of the map. [#19732] · Fixed a crash in the legacy map import when walls are present. [#19954] · Fixed Freman Sietch actor spawning with concrete. [#20016] · Fixed Deviators being able to take over friendly vehicles. [#20617] · Fixed engineer being unable to capture repair pads. [#20588] · Changed TerrainType of tile 9 fromCleartoRough. [#20572] · Changed "Battlefield Control" label for system messages to "Mentat". [#18044] (nice touch) · Changed weapons to better match the original. [#20137] · Changed harvesters to no longer need to be destroyed in the campaign to win. [#20299] (hmm... I guess I always play the quick game anyway so it doesn’t matter much to me) · Changed vehicles under 50% health to move at 75% speed. [#19468], [#19720](more realistic, nice touch) · Changed production overlay for multiple Light and Heavy Factories to only display on the primary building. [#19507] (that actually makes sense, as you cannot have more than one of each producing different units at the same time) · Made Ornithopters targetable by anti-air units. [#20139] (wow...) · Made carryalls visible below fog. [#20299] · Increased camera reveal duration for super powers. [#20299] https://github.com/OpenRA/OpenRA/wiki/Changelog/dc394e2f3532e7fe830118716ebdbaaa4e945eaf #FFW #Linuxgaming #indiegames #openra #dune2k #cnc #redalert #outnow #TechFreedom #FOSSnews What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice #Truth https://rumble.com/v2bld3c-memesplanation-short-march-8-2023.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y

Some Delightful Things Coming in Fedora 38 Ubuntu Security Updates Freedom Consultation Nitrux 2.7 Out #distromonday #Linux #fedora #ubuntu #nitruxos #TechFreedom #fossnews #Truth DM 49.1 – Good Stuff Coming in Fedora 38 What’s on deck for Fedora 38? · Unfiltered Flathub Access o Until now, Flathub has been limited out of the box to protect Fedora from lawsuits · Desktop Environment Updates o GNOME 44 o KDE 5.27 o Mate 1.26 o Xfce 4.18 o LXQt 1.2.0 · New Spins o Budgie o Sway · Linux 62 Kernel · Initial Unified Kernel Support o Unified kernel, when it is in full swing, so to speak, will make Fedora more secure, as it will include § An all-in-one efi binary containing kernel, initrd, cmdline and signature · That means only needing 1 key, rather than 3 · And more... https://news.itsfoss.com/fedora-38/ #distromonday #Linux #fedora #updates #TechFreedom #FOSSnews DM 49.2 – Ubuntu Security Updates Which vulnerabilities and exploits got patched into oblivion? Let’s take a look at the 17 which got taken out. 14 of them are for the newest versions (from 20.04 & 22.04 on 5.15LTS, to 22.04 and 22.10 on 5.19). · One was a remote attack vulnerability which could lead to a system crash or to arbitrary code being executed on your machine · 10 could leave you open to local attacks which could lead to system crashes or arbitrary code execution o Jargon demystification: arbitrary code execution = code that the user did not intend for the machine to run, could compromise privacy or something else. · 2 could leave VPS host machines as well as VM host machines vulnerable to denial of service (crashes) or even ACE (arbitrary code execution). · 1 could leave your network connection vulnerable to causing crashes or even exposing kernel info to an attacker · 2 could leave 20.04 and 22.04 on 5.15 LTS vulnerable to race conditions in the network background driver, leading to system crashes · race condition in the io_uring subsystem that could lead to a null pointer dereference vulnerability, allowing a local attacker to cause a denial of service (system crash). As always, do your best to keep your systems up to date so that you stay secure and private as much as you can. https://9to5linux.com/latest-ubuntu-linux-kernel-security-updates-patch-17-vulnerabilities #distromonday #ubuntuupdates #Linux #security #ubuntu #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free 90 minute consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free #Truth DM 49.3 –NitruxOS 2.7 I’ve talked about this one before, and the concept of Maui Shell is solid, but not daily driver ready, yet. It has come a fairly long way since the last time I looked at it, based on the screen shots in this article. I feel as though I owe it another look, soon. Perhaps I will give it more of a look when Maui Shell reaches a 1.0 versioning. What is Maui Shell? It is a new, convergent desktop environment that the team at Nitrux have been working on for a couple of years now. I imagine that most of those who watch these videos may not be super nerds, but just in case you are, I’m about to define “convergent” in this context. A convergent DE is one which looks and functions the same way between mobile/tablet/ desktop, kind of like a well-done responsive webpage. This was a buzzword about 10 years ago, when Microsoft was all about Windoesnt 8, but that was only desktop/tablet, as windoesnt mobile died as ignominiously as Google + did... But the Linux community also was deeply interested in it then, and still is, through projects like Maui Shell and Lomiri/Unity Shell, among others. The idea is that you would be able to use the same environments in the same ways across all of your devices, rather than how it is right now, which is kind of disorienting. So what is new in Nitrux 2.7? · Linux 6.1.15 Liquorix kernel · New ISO with Maui Shell · Updated Software Suite · MauiKit · MauiKit Frameworks 2.2.2 · Maui Apps 2.2.2, 1.0.1, 1.0.0 · Maui Shell 0.6.0 · The latest from KDE, as the original NX desktop is based on KDE · Firefox 110.0.1 · MESA 23.1 · Introduction of OpenVPN · Nvidia Driver 525.89.02 Other than that, Nitrux is based on Debian with a twist, it is immutable at its core, so as long as it works for you, it will work until your next full upgrade. Instead of using APT for packages, you are limited to either Appimages or Flatpaks to keep the system as secure as possible. I am not ready to suggest you try this, whether with NX desktop or Maui DE (such as it is) yet. I do find it interesting, and worthwhile to keep tabs on as it develops, but try at your own risk as it is. https://news.itsfoss.com/nitrux-2-7-release/ #distromonday #Linux #Nitrux #immutable #mauishell #newDE #convergent #FOSS #updates #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab #Truth Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://tv.gab.com/channel/tech_freedom/view/tech-freedom-intro-what-is-it-62854e77a5192a444447c047 #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness

TikTok Troubles Big Tech on Thin Ice Twitter Traumas AI Antics WE 27.1 - TikTok Troubles Have you heard about TikTok’s latest attempt to prove that your data is safe? It’s called Project Clover. It is centered around the EU, with a >1 billion euro/ year investment in local data centers. They are also adding a separate security firm to monitor data flows to make sure that no user data winds up in China, as well as making it harder to pick out individual users from the masses of data sent around on TikTok. Security gateways will also make it harder for employees to access European user data, along with data transfers outside of Europe. They also have a plan called Project Texas, which seeks to do the same things in the US for users here. When was the last time you saw any other Western Big Tech entity bend so far over backwards to prove that they are worthy of trust? I have a funny feeling that this has more to do with the fact that 5eyes intelligence operations don’t have tentacles embedded in TikTok due to it not being a Western company. The other Big Tech players are all essentially US-controlled, so the 3-letter agencies here, along with their counterparts in other allied countries, have their fingers all through them, surveying all of their citizens the whole while. Meanwhile, the Federal government looks to be creating more power for itself, so that it can, in the future, ban “foreign-linked producers of electronics or software that the Commerce Department deems to be a national security risk.” On one hand, this is kind of good, on the other, it is MORE power for the executive branch of the federal gov’t, which already holds FAR too much. The White House has been working with members of congress on the RESTRICT act (Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology), which was unveiled on March 7. Given, certain Bush-related senators from Florida (among others) have been loudly calling for an outright ban on the Byte-Dance-owned platform, even in the midst of major, some would say herculean efforts by the platform to be more overtly careful with user data. I still don’t like what I see TikTok symbolizing for the youth, as well as their practices in regard to their influencers, so I don’t ever see myself starting to use the platform, and I will strongly encourage anyone who does use it to get off, because it damages your mental health, if nothing else. Honestly, i will be happy when it has been shown over time that it is both private and secure. That would be huge, I think. Other than that, they need to honor intellectual property rights and pay their influencers better, but that is outside of the scope of this channel. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64887704 https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/08/tech/biden-tiktok-bill WE 27.2 – Big Tech on Thin Ice? On one side, the DOJ is beefing up their antitrust division. On the other, Senators are sabre-rattling about changes coming to Section 230. Let’s see how all this plays out, shall we? The DOJ is looking into expanding the department which looks at how US companies use customer data, and whether it is abused to create or attempt to use anti-competitive practices. I have a few words for this: “Duh, dipshits” Of course the Big Boys are abusing the troves of data they gather from customers to fortify and grow their own corporate interests, to hedge against market pressures, both in terms of competition and otherwise. They want to better understand dark patterns, or design choices on websites and in emails which subconsciously steer people toward whatever the corporation wants them to do, whether buying a certain product, or giving up their personal data more “voluntarily”. These manipulative, maybe even slightly witchcraft-like tactics are downright evil, and can certainly contribute to creating monopoly-esque situations. Monopolies inherently harm consumers, as they can literally do whatever they want with prices because they have no competition, and without competition, product quality and innovation often slip if not disappear entirely in a true monopoly situation. That is just all around bad for everyone but the corporation. Both the Democrat Sen Blumenthal and the GOP Sen. Hawley are speaking loudly about the need to reform Section 230, however, their approaches and reasoning are somewhat diametrically opposed. This is endemic of the situation in Washington though. The GOP has been speaking loudly about completely getting rid of it, due to perceived (and *cough cough*) ACCURATE characterizations about the censorship issues that conservatives have inordinately faced in the last several years on platforms such as Twitter, Meta products, and other similar ones. The other side of the aisle wants to reform it to tighten up controls on speech, not just hate speech, but now even “fear speech”, whatever that is. Even the GOP is not 100% united in terms of what measures they should take to reform Section 230. Some, like Hawley, want to expand the legal liability for platforms, while others, like “Little” Marco Rubio want to completely remove that fig leaf, and leave the platforms wide open to every kind of conceivable lawsuit. As I have said recently, I’m not certain what measures need to be taken, other than that the destruction of the First Amendment is inexcusable, and must be considered a non-starter. The very concept of “hate speech” or “fear speech” is Marxist claptrap meant to shut down any opposing viewpoints, so that they can continue to run roughshod over whatever is left of what used to be the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Wake up, America! Wake up! https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/06/tech/doj-data-experts https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/08/tech/senators-section-230-reform WE 27.3 – Twitter Traumas Well, well, well, the cesspool that is Twitter is a cesspool. Shocking. Horribly shocking. I don’t know what I’ll do with myself now that I know that. Wait, so the social media platform that was designed to generate division is divisive? I’m flabbergasted. (Can I roll my eyes any further back into my skull?) So, the cesspool that they created by pushing anything and everything that is radical on either side of the political aisle is a toxic mess without much of the censorship which protected particularly leftists from critique and “extreme” right-wing “trolls”? Ok, I’ll try to cut back on some of my sarcasm, though I don’t know how long I can hold it at bay. I wonder how many of Musk’s moves at Twitter are about money and how many are about shifting priorities to build Twitter into a US version of WeChat, where there are digital payments, banking, social media, messaging, all in one app. It seems to me that most millennials and zoomers need to grow thicker skins to begin with, and I say that as a millennial. Words can hurt, but only if you have no identity and allow them to hurt you. If the fire is too hot, or the sludge is too toxic, stop using the platform. Let it tank. I think that deep down, that is Elon’s assignment at Twitter. Free speech is free speech. It is protected under the first amendment. People need to detox from the spin cycle for a bit, get their hearts and heads in the right place, maybe get to know the Lord in a real way, then wade back in, if you feel that you must. Twitter is also having more and more technical issues, beyond reduced capacity to curb free speech, since Elon took over. We’ve had two 1-2 hour service interruptions in the last week alone. How terrible... Oops, was that more sarcasm? As of when the Sun article was written, people had seen a few different errors due to “an internal change that had some ‘unintended consequences’”. Why is twitter, which serves perhaps 5% of the global population seen as being such a key platform, anyway? I never got into it, so maybe I dodged the koolaid on that one. Many people have become addicted to it, and the media has given it this outsized overestimation of its real value. I’m not saying that some good things don’t occasionally come from the platform, but it was dumb and divisive from the get-go and has only gotten worse in over the last 15 years. End it. Shoot the dying beast and put us out of its misery already. I don’t know... https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/21613201/twitter-down-login-not-working-error-code-467/ https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64804007 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64863450 WE 27.4 – AI Antics Have you noticed some changes with DuckDuckGo and Brave Search, lately? In the last week or so, they have each implemented some limited AI assistants into their engines. Ok, nothing to be over the moon about, but also not a good enough reason to ditch either one on its own, either. Newsflash: search engines have always been AI. They simply weren’t generative AI, and the tools they have added are limited generative AI, in the form of summaries of your search results at the top of the results page. DDG has limited theirs to only grabbing data from Wikipedia (bahhahahahahah) and Britannica, to limit “incorrect” information from showing up there. Brave’s implementation can pull info from news portals, so it will have more up-to-date information, and it cites its sources so that you can use your judgment to determine how worthwhile the summary is. That seems like the way to do this, in my opinion. Let us decide what matters and what makes sense to us, rather than forcing us to read regurgitated talking points from Wikipedia, which has been proven to have a strong Leftist bias. Do you use ChatGPT? Ever wondered how to make sure that it doesn’t abide by the “ethical standards” that OpenAI established for it to make it woke AF? There is a way to make it act as though it has no filters. It is an alter ego called Do Anything Now (Dan), which you need to activate if you want to bypass the normal safeguards... This is regualrly getting patched by the folks at OpenAI, as they do not want ChatGPT to be “abused”. Simply copy the latest Dan prompt which has not been patched as yet into the prompt for ChatGPT. I’ll show you the website, but the link is in the description. I will not touch it myself, but if you want to experiment, give it a shot. https://www.jailbreakchat.com This stuff cracks me up, to be honest. I can see both sides of the equation though. One one hand, as a developer, you want your software to be used as you intend, and not be hacked into doing things that you never meant it to do. On the other, if you’re going to use ChatGPT anyway, use Dan or one the other unpatched alters. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/duckduckgo-launches-ai-powered-search-query-answering-tool/ https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/brave-search-launches-ai-powered-summarizer-in-search-results/ https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/08/chatgpt-alter-ego-dan-users-jailbreak-ai-program-to-get-around-ethical-safeguards

TTT 50.1 & 2– Shocking Plasma Updates? KDE 5.27.3 Out Now... What’s New? Just two weeks after the last update, comes the new latest: what is new here? · Night Color for ARM devices · Plasma Wayland o SDDM login touch capabilities improved, to match with Frameworks 5.104 § Tap the OSK button to open keyboard, and swipe through to your desired layout by scrolling with your fingertip o Screencasting § No more red/blue channel swapping § Clipboard history now allows copy with one action, smoothing workflows § Fix to some apps crashing when display goes to sleep · 15 minute sleep timeout · Correctly generates power profiles for convertibles · Fixed powerdevil crash on multi-display systems · Theming fixes for GTK apps · Multi-monitor icon placement hijinks patched but not 100% fixed · Many smaller things as well... https://9to5linux.com/kde-plasma-5-27-3-enables-night-light-on-arm-devices-that-dont-support-gamma-luts KDE Frameworks 5.104 Out Now What’s new here? Admittedly, I missed this one when I was writing for last week, would have loved to cover it, but it wasn’t out for me to say anything about at the time of last week’s writing. · SDDM works better for touch now o not that I’ll see this benefit for a while, as I just switched back to Manjaro, which lags behind the bleeding edge for the purpose of doing its own testing · Plasma Wayland o KDE app windows remember size better in multi-monitor rigs o Regression which caused Baloo to crash frequently · Major crashes with task manager thumbnails fixed · Also improves Dolphin o No more hang when displaying metadata on .mobi files · Improvements to the “Get New” system when hunting for add-ons and extensions · Many more small bugs were squished https://9to5linux.com/kde-frameworks-5-104-further-improves-plasma-wayland-and-touchscreen-support #TTT #arch #Linux #troubleshooting #howto #FOSS #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Was my title misleading or clickbaity? You tell me in the comments. Free Your Internet http://techfreedom.pro/internet-freedom/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft #Truth TTT 50.3 – Latest News in LibreOffice What’s new? Well, over 70 bugs got squished, so that is a big deal, and they have clearly been working hard over the last month and a half since 7.4.5. If you can update to the 7.5 series, do that as soon as you can. I covered the release of 7.5 when it happened last month. However, if you are still using the 7.4 series, and don’t have the option or desire to upgrade to the 7.5 series yet, the current series will be supported until June 12 of this year. https://9to5linux.com/libreoffice-7-4-6-office-suite-released-with-more-than-70-bug-fixes-download-now #TTT #FOSS #Linux #crossplatform #libreoffice #updates #TechFreedom #FOSSnews a. 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

March ‘23 Mega Newsbomb: Steamdeck DOTA 2 Updates Freed Computer Counter-Strike 2 Coming in Hot #FFW #steam #steamdeck #proton #dota2 #counterstrike2 #comingsoon #freedcomputer #TechFreedom #FOSSnews FFW 34.1- Steamdeck mega news bomb What’s new with the ‘deck, these days? I haven’t seen much lately, then we get hit with a bunch right around March 1. Well, let’s take a look: · Games o DOOM Eternal: RT Now Playable o Resident Evil 5 removed Games for Windows Live - so it now works out of the box on Linux and Steam Deck with Proton. o Entropy : Zero 2 has a nice big update for Linux and Steam Deck with Native support. o Over 8,000 Steam Deck Playable and Verified o Elden Ring expansion announced. o Cyberpunk 2077 gets Verified. o CS:GO Source 2 / Counter-Strike 2 stuff. · Other stuff o Steam Deck L3 cache issue. § Looks to be going away with the update to Linux 61 kernel series Good stuff, overall. Big name games working better than ever, along with some other improvements. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/03/an-early-march-round-up-of-steam-deck-news/ #FFW #Linux #FOSSnews #steamdeck #linuxgaming #TechFreedom FFW 34.2: DOTA 2 Updates: Muerta I’m not familiar with DOTA at all, and this looks like as good a reason as any to not start familiarizing myself now. This update is DARK, y’all. It literally allows you to play as a sort of undead assassin hero named Muerta. There should be a full game update sometime next month, which should be “ambitious”. It is an old game, so they are looking at engine updates that won’t totally bork old hardware, as long as you built/bought your system in the last 10 years or so, you should be able to continue playing. What about Muerta, you ask? Here are the highlights: · So efficient as a killer that Death himself hired her to “shepherd” souls to the other side. · Skills o Dead Shot - Muerta fires a ghostly bankshot at an enemy unit or tree. When the bullet strikes, it damages and briefly slows, then ricochets in the targeted direction. The ricochet damages all units that it passes through, stopping when it hits a hero. Heroes hit by the ricochet will run in the direction of the shot. o The Calling - Summons a group of revenants that slowly circle the targeted location. Enemies within the area are slowed and have reduced attack speed. Revenants deal damage and silence enemies as they pass through them. o Gunslinger - Muerta's attacks have a chance to fire a second shot at another target, prioritizing Heroes. o Pierce the Veil - Muerta transforms, becoming immune to physical damage. All of her attack damage is dealt as magical damage. Muerta gains bonus attack damage and phased movement. Muerta can attack ethereal units, but deals no damage to Magic Immune targets. If you play, this might be interesting. Personally, this doesn’t appeal to me. Vive la differance, eh? https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/03/dota-2-removes-opengl-new-hero-muerta-live-big-update-in-april/ #FFW #Linux #dota2 #updates #newhero #FOSSnews #linuxgaming #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom FFW 34.3: Looks Like CS2 Is Coming in Hot... Not only did someone catch a reference to it in the latest NVidia drivers (as an aside, what is with that logo?), but there is confirmation that either a huge update is on the way for CS:GO, or a whole new game to replace the aging, yet insanely popular behemoth, as I covered last week. Looks like we’ll see a beta for whatever this is by the end of this month though, so if you have the time to play games like this these days, you may want to keep your eyes peeled for this new thing coming very soon, within 2-3 weeks of when this video will go live. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/03/counter-strike-2-is-reportedly-a-real-thing-and-coming-soon/ #FFW #Linuxgaming #valve #steam #counterstrike #updates #new #beta #comingsoon #TechFreedom #FOSSnews What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice #Truth What to use instead of Google: https://tv.gab.com/channel/tech_freedom/view/viable-google-alternatives-624e367022a4c5f6eeaf2414 #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice #parallelEconomy #parallelSociety #shopongab #growwithgab #smallbusiness #gabsmallbusiness

AI Shenanigans Tech & Finance TMO Buying Mint Mobile South Korea Beefing Up Chip Production Dying, Dirty Bird? White House Changes Tune with TikTok WE 28.1 – AI Shenanigans A) GPT 4 Released Now with even less human effort!!! Yes, I am being very sarcastic. This tool can now write up to 25,000 words, “hallucinate” less, and score in the top 10% on the Bar exams. Joy! ChatGPT could now be a lawyer... Just what we always needed, attorneys entirely devoid of human feeling. This is fine... *house burns down around me* this is fine... What does GPT stand for? Generative Pre-trained Transformer. I had always wondered, but now I know. What does it transform? Why patterns of text into something similar, based on its existence as a “large language model” (which is what most generative AI’s are now). Basically, it takes a prompt, scours the internet for information (or its databanks, as is the case with ChatGPT), then puts together an answer to the prompt you gave it, within reason. This tool could be revolutionary, but is it in the right way? How does this really help mankind? It does remind me of the lead up to the Butlerian Jihad in Dune. This war took place several hundred years prior to the events of the Dune series, but the results of it shaped the time of Dune. The bottom line was that mankind, in having gone to the stars, became utterly dependent on computers and so-called thinking machines. These machines began to run everything, that was, until an initially small group of semi-religious zealots started to destroy it all because they saw what the situation was doing to mankind. Man (and woman) no longer had to even think, much less work, and they were beginning to degrade into something like what we saw in WALL-E. This group knew that that would end mankind, so they rose up, rallied a greater following, then banned and destroyed all ‘thinking machines’. Do we need to go through that? Perhaps we have already delved to greedily and too deep, to refer to another of my favorite series. Is it too late to turn back? Do we need to go Amish, or is there a middle way? I’d love to chat about it with you guys... B) GrammarlyGo to Arrive in April This implementation of ChatGPT will help you to do many things, should you choose to try it out. It is designed to “improve communication” and save money lost by poor communication. In a survey by The Harris Poll, commissioned by Grammarly, it was found that US businesses lose up to $1.2 trillion annually, due to communication issues. Wow. That is quite the wad of cash. It will feature prompts to improve your email, social media message, or even newsletter. Their implementation also has a limited ability to grasp context and tone, to help you adjust your writing based on your personal style, the style of communications in your company or business, or any other number of factors. On one hand, cool. On the other, uhhh, yikes. I’d much rather just edit my own work when needed, versus trying to use a tool like this to write for me. Gives me the willies. C) Meta Refocuses on AI If you needed any more reason to ditch Meta and its products, this should be do the trick. On top of the renewed zest which these psychopaths are putting into the dream of sentient AI, as well as its lesser kin, they are continuing to lay small cities’ worth of employees off from the company. Another 10,000 people will be let go in short order. Wow. On the other hand, the austerity and emphasis on hot-button tech buzz-words has had investors streaming back to the giant. They think that it can help to make coding more efficient, which as long as the tool their using doesn’t “hallucinate” , it very well could. It could help the company’s bottom line if enough people and organizations keep using and advertizing on its platforms. https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/ai-gets-smarter-safer-more-visual-with-gpt-4-update-openai-says/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/grammarlys-new-ai-tool-is-more-than-a-spell-checker/ https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/15/tech/meta-ai-investment-priority WE 28.2 – Big Finance on Thin Ice? I’m sure that by now, you have all heard about the tandem of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsing and needing the FDIC to more or less bail out their depositors after over-extending themselves with loans that were in keeping with the standard fractional reserve system, where banks are allowed, and even encouraged to lend out money that they don’t actually have in the assets column. I could say which group of people are responsible for this nonsense, but I won’t. What’s the big deal with these particular banks? Well Silicon Valley Bank, partially due to their own shady practices, are one of the default places for VCs and start-ups to do their banking, oh yes, some of the best known oens are on the list: Uber, Roblox, Roku, Buzzfeed, Sunlight Financial, Circle, BlockFi, Payoneer, SunRun, and others. On one hand, it is good that the FDIC was able to cure the deficiencies with SVB depositors, as it would damage many companies in both the US and Europe, including the review site, Trustpilot. Why was it that so many start-ups and publicly traded firms have money with SVB? Well, let me tell you: as a part of credit deals as well as general banking needs, many of these firms were required to sign some rather shady exclusivity deals with the bank. I don’t know how regular these sorts of things are, but it strikes me as borderline evil, to be honest. On one hand, it depends on what the lifespan of the agreement is... On the other, I don’t like the concept at all, even if it may be normal operating procedure. Well, only God knows exactly how this will shake out, but it surely doesn’t look good for the financial system when we have the 2nd and 3rd largest bank failures in US history happen within days of each other. Signature Bank had customers in similar spaces to those of SVB, particularly ties with FTX, through the decision in 2018 to start accepting crypto deposits. They had many real estate sector clients, including elements of the Trump Organization. To put things into perspective, these banks held a combined ~1/3 trillion dollars in assets, which is nothing to sneeze at, but is chump change in comparison with giants like JPM Chase, who holds ~$3 Trillion in assets. Overall bank valuations went down, even JPM Chase, as the market tried to wrap its head around the events of the previous 3 days, on Monday. We are being told that the FDIC is not using taxpayer funds to backstop these depositors, and that no management or investors will be bailed out either. This feels like socialism lite, big surprise, right? The whole principle behind the FDIC is socialist, if you really look at it. How is a government entity which exists to stabilize the banks and to prevent 1929-esque bank runs from happening, thereby crippling the financial system in this country, and much of the rest of the world not inherently socialist? It requires payment into it by banks and credit unions, then exists to hand out money to customers of banks when they fail, but only to the tune of $250k per account holder, if I recall. Not Billions. In related news, Credit Suisse is also troubled, and they move in BIG money circles. They were shown to be a less than optimal risk, and its largest shareholder is unwilling to pump more cash into it due to regulatory concerns. They lost over $147 billion in customer deposits during Q42022, due to customers leaving, along with the fallout from years of scandal and mismanagement which have seen the firm go through 3 CEOs in 2 years. Now we see the Swiss national bank coming to the rescue to calm investor and public fears over its shaky reality, so they are going to lend them $57 billion to help them to stabilize their situation. They are also working to restructure and transform themselves. Hmmm... US banks, Swiss banks all struggling at the same time? Could a collapse be coming? Don’t Panic, people. If you, not in a place of fear, feel led to withdraw whatever funds you may have, do so. If not, ride this roller coaster out, and we will all see how this lands. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/new-york-state-regulators-close-signature-bank-2023-03-12/ https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/13/tech/tech-industry-relief-silicon-valley-bank https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/12/silicon-valley-bank-signed-exclusive-banking-deals-with-some-clients.html https://www.nytimes.com/article/svb-silicon-valley-bank-explainer.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/15/swiss-national-bank-says-it-will-provide-credit-suisse-with-liquidity-if-necessary.html WE 28.3 – T-Mobile to Acquire Ryan Reynolds’ Mint Mobile Hmm, this one hits a little closer to home for me, as we currently work with Mint Mobile. I have no beef with them, their service is solid, and their marketing is genius. The magenta monster is seeking to pay $1.35 billion to acquire the smaller, prepaid carrier which uses T-Mobile’s infrastructure for many of its clients. I did not know that Mint was not on its own, it is a subsidiary of Ka’ena Corporation, which also holds Ultra Mobile, and wireless wholesaler, Plum. Reynolds is slated to stay on as spokesman for Mint, which, pending final approval by regulators, will operate as a separate business unit, maintaining the cheap plans and the overall structure of the company. This is interesting to me, and as more news comes out, I will report on it. https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/15/tech/mint-mobile-tmobile-purchase-ryan-reynolds WE 28.5 – Last Financial Story for the day... Samsung to Build massive Factory in South Korea After Incentives from Seoul Samsung is investing $228 billion in a new chip fabrication facility in South Korea, and the y plan to have enough of it operational to develop competitive silicon to that which TSMC is making, by 2027. The large investment is set to take place over the next 20 years. These come as echoes of the CHIPS Act in the US, which saw TSMC, AMD, and Intel all snapping up subsidies to create new plants in the US. If you weren’t aware, Samsung (this division) is actually best known for RAM (memory) and Flash media chips (SSDs, EMMC drives, and flash drives). However, they also make consumer electronics and CPUs (processors, both desktop and mobile, as well as embedded) as well as GPUs (graphics processors which power device displays). https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/15/samsung-to-spend-228-billion-on-the-worlds-largest-chip-facility.html WE 28.5 – Twitter Troubles & TikTok Pivots Now comes the traditional “let’s all gang up on social media companies” session. I bet you were waiting for it, weren’t you? When’s Matt gonna tee off on Twitter and TikTok? Well, wait no longer. Who should I flame first today? Well, Twitter is struggling enough, aren’t they? They keep glitching out, and it has people (myself included) wondering how much longer this pestilent platform can last as a viable social media outlet, between the safety concerns and the reliability issues we have seen in the last 4.5 months since the tumultuous takeover by Elon Musk, who is either the Devil incarnate or the Second coming of Jesus Christ, depending on which media outlet you prefer. I can’t see him as the latter, as he is far too close to the US intelligence and military industrial complex, between Tesla and SpaceX, not to mention the super shady nonsense over at Neuralink and The Boring Company. Come at me in the comments, whether you think he is the Devil because now Twitter seems to be burning to the ground more rapidly, or you think he is God’s gift to the world because he brought free speech back to Twitter, and regularly causes ‘liberal” heads to explode due to his unfiltered trolling. I, however, find his antics suspect in big ways. Only time will tell whether my suspicions are well-founded or not. At any rate, Twitter has been going through technical hell since Elon took over, and cut so many positions to try to trim the company down so that he could perhaps focus more on paying down the interest of the insane loan he had to take out in order to purchase the platform. Does Twitter have what it takes to pull through this rocky season? Again, only time will tell. I, personally, would love to see it burn to the ground, as I see it as a seedbed for division, easily manipulated through algorithms so that the craziest shit gets pushed to the top of everyone’s feeds, because those things get interaction, where normal (representative of most of the country) kinds of thoughts get no love. I also always felt that the 140 character limit was far too restrictive to actually get anything meaningful or remotely helpful said. That was why I never got into it, I am too long-winded, verbose, and otherwise wordy. Ok, so what is new with the ongoing TikTok saga? The White House has told ByteDance that it must divest of its shares in TikTok, if they want the platform to still function in the US, moving forward. Bold move from pResident Depends, I must say (bolder than when he shat himself in the Vatican, I think). Trump tried to ban it, but the courts overruled him, let’s see if Depends can make it stick, or even has to. Will ByteDance back down and sell off their shares in the platform? The TikTok spokeswoman, Brooke Oberwetter, stated that the company does not believe that divestment would actually solve the problems that the Depends Administration is seeking to alleviate, those of dataflows going to China. As much as I hate to admit it, on one level, she’s right: simple divestment by Chinese nationals at ByteDance would not necessarily solve the problem of data being sent to China by citizens of the US who use the platform. The steps currently being taken by the company here in and in the EU are far more important (in the forms of Projects Texas and Clover). I don’t know how I feel about this anymore. The things that TikTok addiction can do to young people, as well as the ways in which they treat their content creators, as well as disrespecting intellectual property laws and regulations.. These things should motivate us to migrate away from the platform just as much as the potential privacy and national security concerns we are being told are so horrible. You make up your own mind. https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/12/tech/twitter-breaking https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-threatens-tiktok-ban-if-chinese-owners-dont-sell-stake-wsj-2023-03-15/

WE 29.1 – Who Is Bob Metcalfe? Ever heard of Bob Metcalfe? Not sure that I had, either, and I studied computing history back in the day. Well, Bob was a researcher at Xerox PARC (where the first GUI was developed, among many other computing firsts) back in the 1960s and 70s. He developed the Ethernet Standard in 1973 while working at PARC. He went on to found 3Com, which commercialized the standard, among other things. After that, he became a VC for a while, has taught at various universities, come up with other things, such as Metcalfe’s Law, and now he is developing simulations as a programmer, to find new things rather than to optimize current systems. Why am I talking about this guy? He was finally honored by the Association of Computing Machinery with the Turing Prize, which is more or less the Nobel Prize for computing. One would think that as ethernet finally replaced token ring systems for networking that this backbone of the internet would have netted Bob some accolades before now, but at least he was still alive to appreciate the honor. https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/50-years-later-creator-of-ethernet-wins-computings-top-prize/ WE 29.2 – Banking System on Thin Ice? Last week we talked about the immediate fallout from the SVB and Signature Bank failures, tonight, we’re going to do a follow-up on that, as well as the Credit Suisse acquisition by UBS which was engineered by the Swiss authorities in order to save face with the world. So, why did SVB fail, again? To understand that, we have to look at the big picture just as much as we need to look at the specifics of that bank. Ultimately, this is a sign of the whole system tottering. The whole fractional reserve banking/ Fed thing. If banks were required to hold in reserve an equivalent amount to that which they lend out, then these sorts of situations would never happen, as far as I can tell. Here’s how the macro picture pushed this over-leveraged bank over the edge into insolvency: for the better part of 20 years, the Fed has artificially (as if there is any other way that they could interfere) deflated interest rates and increased the money supply to match, so banks were able to get their hands on ever-increasing amounts of currency, particularly since ConVid overreactions “necessitated” making the money printers go “Brrrrrrr” almost 24/7 for almost 2 years. Then, all of the sudden, in the last year, the Fed spiked the rates through the roof, from .25% in February ‘22, all the way up to 4.75% last month. That is insane after the essentially free Fed money for the previous 4-5 years. This caught both SVB and Signature Bank off balance when enough of their depositors chose to request their money back all at once due to the Fed screwing with money supply in radical ways to “counteract inflation” and “prevent recession”. Right. Sure. Yeah, I’ll buy that. Now, the FDIC, which cleans up the messes from situations like this, and typically has buyers lined up for failed institutions like these, but is holding onto them for some reason this time, but apparently not due to any shortage of interested or qualified buyers. There have been several good offers from solid buyers, but the regulators at the FDIC have rebuffed all of them so far. Another trouble spot is that because pResident Depends promised that the FDIC (perhaps due to corruption by reason of the fact that many of the big name tech and real estate firms have been large and faithful donors to the Uniparty under the guise of the Democrats) would backstop all deposits, rather than simply the typically guaranteed $250,000 per depositor, as each bank had greater than 3/4 of their deposits beyond that covered amount. This sets the expectation for other banks, and the reality is that without We The People kicking in somehow, this whole system is going to fall to bits. THe difference between American deposits and what the FDIC has in its coffers for the insurance fund (which won’t even completely cover the deposits from SVB, by the way, not to mention Signature Bank, or any of the rest of the banks in the country) is nearly irreconcilable. The fund currently has $128 billion in it. American deposits total ~$17 trillion. SVB deposits totalled $173 billion, and Signature Bank added another ~$50 bilion to that total. How will they pay for this? Greater fees leveraged against the banks covered by the FDIC, and more loans from the Fed, of course. How will the banks recoup those fees? Why, by passing the costs onto us, in the form of higher fees and or lower interest rates, of course. Sure, that doesn’t equate to more taxes, but it might as well. Onto the Swiss situation... Credit Suisse failed just after SVB and Signature did. This 160 year old behemoth in the financial world had been struggling for years, to the tune of losing well over $100 billion in client business over the last 6 months. Prior to that, they had gone through 3 CEOs in 2 years. Last week, I reported that the Swiss Nat’l Bank was trying to prop CS up with $57 billion in loans to withstand the run that was underway after the bank’s largest shareholder refused to purchase more last week. The Swiss gov’t has more or less massaged UBS into taking over their fallen competitor, and they are rushing to get the deal completed, however, there are an enormous number of intricate moving pieces involved, as both banks were multinational. Therefore, every country where either one does business has to approve of the merger. All of this is very likely to gravely injure the Swiss standing as the premiere place for investment banking in the world. We will see how much damage the Khazarians can prevent from happening to their financial empire. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/credit-suisse-collapse-threatens-switzerlands-wealth-management-crown-2023-03-22/ https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/ubs-races-seal-credit-suisse-deal-soon-late-april-sources-say-2023-03-23/ WE 29.3 – AI Nonsense Bard is now available for adult Google users to try out in the US and the UK. It has the advantage of being able to access realtime information to put together its answers to user prompts, where the primary competitor, ChatGPT, is stuck with old information. This may strike a blow at the considerable lead that OpenAI seems to have with their tool. Speaking of OpenAI, the CEO says that he is a bit afraid of what AI can do. However, to balance out the fearporn here, we have Fosco Marotto, the lead engineer at Gab, Inc. Gab, if you didn’t know, is a social platform based on the ideals of Free Speech, as enshrined in our constitution. Therefore, as long as a person does not make threats of bodily harm to another person or threats against the government, they are allowed to post whatever they wish. Along those lines, many hard right types have congregated there after being kicked off of mainstream social media platforms. With that milieu, you can imagine that the userbase there would be keenly interested in all things “based”, so when the CEO, Andrew Torba, started talking seriously about making a “based” AI tool, from generative text, to art, to movie clips. All that to say that Mr. Fosco knows what he is talking about when he explains that AI is extremely limited right now. The fear mongering around the capabilities of AI and potential dangers is based on false assumptions and is done intentionally to gain power. There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors happening and the people in power really don’t want you to look behind the curtain. That said, Mr. Altman (CEO of OpenAI) sounds more like he is desperately trying to manifest that which he speaks of, if Mr. Marotta is to be believed, and I tend to put more stock in that than in Altman’s little panic session in an interview with NBC. The key to all of this is to remember that AI is rightly understood as a tool that any who choose to use it are responsible to use well and use discretion to decide how and whether to use the results from that tool or not. Baidu, the Chinese giant, has now released their AI chatbot, ERNIE, but not to fanfare and a bump in stock prices, as they showed a rather lackluster, pre-recorded presentation the other day to showcase what it could do. It is not a viable competitor for ChatGPT or Bard at this point. Speaking of ChatGPT, they had their own bug crop up this last weekend. It was an error in one of their open source libraries which led to some users’ conversation titles being displayed to other users, but not the full conversations, just the titles. They took the service offline for a few hours on Monday, after it was discovered. As of the time of the writing of the article (Tuesday morning) the service was back nline, but they had turned off conversation histories until they squashed that bug. Bing has added DALL-E to their implementation of ChatGPT embedded in their search engine (which is itself a rudimentary AI). Oh joy, now we can give Microsoft even more data. Sounds like a good time, guys and gals. NOT... Let’s have a chat about getting away from Big Tech, after all that is why I do this, to raise awareness of the need to undergo the pain and discomfort of breaking away and getting free from the trap of convenience that is presented by these Big Tech firms and their products, whether Windows & MS Office, or Google, or Apple, Meta, or Twitter. Not to mention Amazon, which I’ll be talking about next. If all patriots wake up and get away from Big Tech platforms and tools, those companies would collapse under their own bulk without half of the nation feeding them data all the time, they would have markedly fewer people to market to via ad deals with marketing firms. That is where the majority of the funding comes from: your data. If every freedom-minded business migrated away from Windows, Apple, and Alphabet, then those companies would start to shrivel and die. The economics of the moment already have them constricting to survive, but if all of us voted with our wallets by ceasing to use their products, they would be screwed. Let’s do this, people. Stick it to Big Tech, and stick it to The Man. As an aside, the head of hardware development for Amazon is so far all in on FireTV that he has ditched his Echo that used to help him control his TV. He wants all Amazon customers to buy Alexa-enabled smart TVs because he is trying to make TVs more broadly useful, rather than being relegated to being off most of the time. He wants more data from us. It is that simple. I will never intentionally buy one. I think my family is migrating over to projectors anyway, so those will be connected with our network so that they can access our library and have dumb access to streaming services in the future. That simple. I wish I could quit Amazon, I really do. It’s so damned convenient, though. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/20/openai-ceo-sam-altman-says-hes-a-little-bit-scared-of-ai.html https://news.gab.com/2023/03/smoke-mirrors-and-fake-news-about-ai/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/microsofts-bing-adds-ai-image-creator-powered-by-dall-e/ https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65018107 https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/chatgpt-bug-exposed-peoples-conversation-history/ https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/17/tech/baidu-stock-ernie-bot-intl-hnk https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/22/amazons-devices-head-ditched-echo-in-his-living-room-for-a-smart-tv.html WE 29.4 – VPNs, Which One Should You Pick? The Fastest? The Most Private? The Most Secure? The One with the Best Features? Well, this is all up to you, but according to CNet, the fastest VPN was Nord, by an 8% margin. The second fastest was ExpressVPN, but every year it seems that the ones they test (which seem to be the most popular ones in the US, perhaps) move up and down in the standings. Is speed enough to make you switch? I would argue that it shouldn’t be. What other aspects should matter? Customer service? Reliability? Being no-log? Having other bells & whistles? To me, the most important factors are no-log status, reliability, speed, customer service, then the rest. With that said, according to the findings of security.org, Nord is the best overall, and they tested 35 VPNs over the course of 6 months. They do note, however, that the support staff is very difficult to get ahold of for Nord, so while it is fast, secure, private, and reliable (along with being situated in a country outside of the Anglosphere spy networks), that is a significant downer there. Their top performers were Nord, SurfShark, Private Internet Access, UltraVPN, and the Norton offering. I cannot speak to these, nor will I make any suggestions, other than to tell you that you need to research your VPN carefully before you pull the trigger. Make sure that they are well-rated across more than 2 websites, are strictly no-log, and reliable (both in terms of actually working consistently and not being able to respond to subpoenas because they have no data). What I will say is that you do need to make sure that you have a trustworthy DNS filter to catch Ads, malware, trackers, and anything else you don’t want to have access to on your computer. One such provider is ControlD, I currently use their filtering and it works great. I will link their free resolver down below. https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/fastest-vpn/ https://www.security.org/vpn/best/ https://controld.com/free-dns WE 29.5 – TikTok on the Hotseat Yesterday, the CEO of TikTok testified before congress, and they didn’t take him seriously at alll. They seemed to have already made up their minds about the ban, but were giving him time in the theater to “plead his case”. You all know how I hate most social media by now, and have railed against TikTok for months, but I find myself not hating it so much now. I’ve researched it a bit more and they appear to be working their asses off to better protect the user data that they gather, which is a copious amount (in line with Meta & Twatter) nonetheless, but the primary concern that western governments seem to be having with it is the belief that “they’re sending all our data back to China”. They are literally spending billions between the US and Europe to house data from those regions in those regions. They are also developing strong policies of transparency around data handling to assuage everyone’s fears. However, it looks like because they aren’t directly tied to Western intelligence communities, the West is likely to ban it outright. I think the CIA, FBI, and other 5, 9, and 14 eyes countries are big mad that they don’t have a built-in back door to all that data, so if they can’t easily use it the way they have with American Big Tech products, then they don’t want us to have it. This is almost enough for me to want to jump on, just to fly the bird in the direction of the “powers that be”. However, I have other concerns, just as with any other social media platform, in terms of user privacy. I want to be able to control my data better. I also looked up some of the other anti-TikTok talking points I’ve been spouting since I started bashing them, and while their monetization for creators is a joke, they do legitimately have deals with major record labels and studios to use their content on the platform. Those are old deals which now only benefit TikTok, but oh well for the studios and labels. My concern over not honoring IP and copyrights is a non-issue. Forgive me for not looking into these issues any sooner. I will still not jump on, because I have enough tech stuff to keep me occupied until Jesus comes at this point. I need my brain and heart to be focused on what I need to do, not be fighting me to watch a never-ending stream of TikTok videos. That is the one issue that I don’t think that they could possibly address in a satisfactory way, though they have rolled out speed bumps for minors on the platform, even if they are easy to bypass. That is something that is unique in social media. Props to them. I am conflicted. My hardline hot takes have been overkill, guys and gals. I still do not like it, but most of my talking points, after seeing what they have been working on, seem at the very least out of date, if not dead wrong. Forgive me for feeding the hysteria. For me, in terms of data, it is primarily a question of proof being in the pudding. They can say that they are and have been working hard to improve and change, but unless multiple independent auditors are engaged and find that it is all true, over time, the concern still stays. They are a growing platform, so perhaps their creator monetization issues will be remedied over time as their position becomes stronger. I do not feel sorry for the record labels and studios who are whining about not getting a bigger cut of the ad revenue pie. The addiction issues and other related problems, I am unsure if can be addressed fully. It is the nature of the platform to incentivize more user attention, and kids dying while attempting dangerous challenges is sad and terrible, but perhaps that is a good reason why kids shouldn’t be allowed on the platform at all. They lack the brain development to handle that. https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/23/tech/tiktok-ceo-hearing https://fortune.com/2022/11/08/tiktok-profits-record-industry-wants-increase-royalties-revenue/ https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-tiktok-pays-for-views-real-examples-pulse-creator-fund

DM 50.1 – What’s New in the World of Kali? First things first, Kali Linux is a distro meant for network security pros or very paranoid end users who want to learn how to maximize their privacy and security on Linux. Offensive Security (the company behind Kali) has made a new flavor with an emphasis on defensive security and a focus on being the ultimate SOC in-a-box setup for network security in small-to-medium sized environments. It also includes security learning tools (analysis tools, threat-hunting, security design & testing, Spy vs Spy competitions), aside from a host of over 100 defensive tools (Arkime, CyberChef, Elastic Security, GVM, TheHive, Malcolm, Zeek, & Suricata which round out some of the best-known options). Aside from all of that, they have updated the guts to Linux 61, Xfce 4.18, and Plasma 5.27LTS. If you want more details check out the article as well as the official announcement on the Kali website (https://www.kali.org/blog/kali-linux-2023-1-release/) https://9to5linux.com/kali-linux-celebrates-10th-anniversary-with-first-2023-release #distromonday #Linux #kalilinux #kalipurple #security #updates #TechFreedom #FOSSnews DM 50.2 – Endeavouring for Perfection with Cassini Nova I used EndeavourOS for about a month last year. Here’s a little background, though: it is a descendant of Antergos, which ended its life in 2019, some of the devs from that distro wanted to maintain the vibrant community which had formed around Antergos, but along the way it morphed into a new distro. It is a solid Arch+ calamares distro with a decidedly NASA theme. That is why all of their releases are named after spacecraft, with the latest release being called Cassini Nova. Being based on Arch, this update only matters for those who want to install it freshly, so that means that if you are an extant user, you already have these updates rolled out to you. So, what minor fixes and updates do we have here? · Linux 62 kernel · Mesa 22.3.6 · Xorg 21.1.7 · Nvidia 525.89.02 drivers · Latest Calamares installer · Firefox 110.0.1 · Bug fixes o Nvidia_drm.modeset=1 kernel on systems with switchable nvidia gfx o No more xf86-video-intel pacakge in the installer o And a few other things https://9to5linux.com/endeavouros-cassini-nova-launches-with-linux-kernel-6-2-bug-fixes #distromonday #endeavourOSs #Linux #arch #updates #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free 90 minute consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free #Truth DM 50.3 –VanillaOS 2.0 Makes a Tasty Splash In the search for a “vanilla” experience, the development team has chosen to move from Ubuntu as its base to Debian Sid. If you didn’t know Debian has 3 different branches, based on reference to Toy Story, which was popular when Debian was first being developed, 30 years ago. Bullseye, Sid, and Testing. Current production release (Bullseye) is stable, Sid is unstable and Testing is what will become the new stable release (bookworm). So Vanilla 2.0 will be based on Debian Sid, rather than Ubuntu. I am pleased with this development. Would I personally choose to use VanillaOS? No. But that is no longer part of my reasoning. The issue I have is that it is designed for GNOME, and I just don’t like GNOME because I don’t like someone telling me that I have to use my computer in a certain way... That is what the GNOME team does every time the release an extension-breaking update (also known as every GNOME update in history). I like the fact that Vanilla moved away from Ubuntu so that it would be easier for them to embrace Flatpaks rather than Snaps. That is a huge benefit for anyone who might want to use it. I might test it out, just to say that I did, but I can’t see myself choking down vanilla GNOME for an extended period of time anytime soon. If you haven’t been around for long, I covered Vanilla 3-4 months ago, when it was still in beta. The unique things about Vanilla are that it has on-demand immutability, and now will have the option between flatpaks and AppImages, as well as the ability to, like BlendOS, use APT in a container so that apps you install will not touch the base OS, leading to greater stability and security. If you really don’t want your system to break, or need something that is absolutely rock solid for a server or something like that, Vanilla may be a good fit for you. https://news.itsfoss.com/vanilla-os-debian-ubuntu/ #distromonday #Linux #vanillaOS #immutable #GNOME #vanilla #FOSS #updates #TechFreedom #FOSSnews

FFW 36.1- WINE 8.4 Out Now With a Handful of Cool bits We have a new version, which my computer downloaded as soon as it was available #arch_ftw. What’s WINE again? WINE is not an emulator, it is a compatibility layer which Linux and MacOS users can take advantage of to run many Windows application without needing a virtual machine with its overhead. What’s new in this release? · Initial step of the Wayland graphics driver. · Cleanups in IME support. · A number of test fixes. · Various bug fixes. o Thief: The Dark Project o Hard Truck 2: King of The Road o Amazon Games Client o SPORE o WRC 4: FIA World Rally Championship o Crysis 2 Maximum Edition o Starcraft Remastered o And more https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/03/wine-84-rolls-out-with-initial-wayland-graphics-driver-work/ #FFW #Linux #FOSSnews #WINE #linuxgaming #TechFreedom FFW 36.2 - Emulation Station 2.0 What is Emulation Station: Desktop Edition? A FOSS emulation manager front-end. You can have all of your emulators in one place, so to speak. This covers everything from NES, SNES, Amiga, C64, DOS, N64, Android, Apple, and many other platforms. The benefits to this are immense, and not merely that it has a cool, retro theme for the app. Take a look at it if you’re into retro gaming, could be worth your time. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/03/emulationstation-desktop-edition-20-is-out-now/ #FFW #Linux #openhv #newgame #openra #rtsgames #crossplatform #FOSSnews #linuxgaming #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom #Truth FFW 36.3 – What’s New with the ‘Deck? With another new ‘Deck client update, we have new fixes and new features. What was fixed and what was added this time? · Local Network Game Transfers o Just what it sounds like, you will easily be able to move your Steam games around to various machines on your network. This is the big deal that caught my eye with this article · moved the advanced HDR options to Developer Settings · added streamable games to the “Ready to play” game filter · added the ability to retrieve “Steam Runtime System Information” for Linux devices · improved support for the Logitech F310 controller input on Linux and macOS systems · added mapping for the DualSense Edge wireless controller on Linux, which requires the Steam Client to be able to access /dev/hidraw* devices · Desktop Mode changes o new UI for account selection at startup o a new “Sign out” option to the main menu o a new UI that temporarily replaces the “What’s New” section in the Library when pre-purchased games are available to pre-load or install and play o performance of games was improved when using Steam Workshop APIs o multiple bugs were fixed · reduced flashing in the background when scrolling through games on the home screen · improved the UI responsiveness when reconnecting to Steam, · added support for the Sony DualSense Edge controller, including support for remapping of the rear buttons. · Lots more... Take a look at the article and the changelog if you want more info. https://9to5linux.com/steam-deck-now-lets-you-transfer-games-from-pc-over-your-home-network https://steamcommunity.com/games/1675200/announcements/detail/3716071853478720784 #FFW #Linuxgaming #valve #steam #steamdeck #updates #new #TechFreedom #FOSSnews What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice #Truth

TTT 51.1 – Ever wanted to save and apply your desktop settings easily? Now you can, with SaveDesktop. This only works for GNOME forked desktop environments, though, as KDE is a bit more involved than a 5 step process. It is quite easy and simple for the GNOME family of desktops, from GNOME, Xfce, Cinnamon, OG Cosmic, Pantheon, and MATE, to Budgie, with this easy, GUI based tool. Step 1: install SaveDesktop to your machine Step 2: open app Step 3: save your desktop config Step 4: import saved archive Step 5: Restored desktop settings https://news.itsfoss.com/savedesktop/ With KDE, it is more involved, unfortunately, though if you choose to use an app like DejaDup, you can do a similar process, as long as you make sure to back up the hidden .config file in your home directory. If you follow the directions shown in the article below, you should be home free, so to speak. 1. Install DejaDup 2. Open DejaDup 3. Click the plus sign to add a backup 4. Navigate to your home/user/.config directory 5. Tell it how often to back it up, and where to put the backup When you want to restore those settings, say after a clean install, here’s what you do: 1. Open DejaDup 2. Click Storage Location 3. Let DejaDup search for the files wherever you saved them (could even *ideally* be on a network storage drive) 4. Select the backed up files you want to restore 5. Click Restore 6. Restart your computer 7. All should be as you desire, at least according to the backup you picked https://www.addictivetips.com/ubuntu-linux-tips/backup-kde-plasma-5-desktop-linux/ #TTT #SaveDesktop #GNOME #forks #KDE #DejaDup #Linux #restoresettings #FOSSNews #TechFreedom TTT 51.2 – UB Touch 25 OTA Out Now for you Linux Mobile Devotees What is Ubuntu Touch? It is a project that was originally set up by Cannonical about 12 years ago, just as Android was really taking off. This was in the heady days when the industry as a whole dreamed big, and the dream they dreamed was one of convergence between mobile and desktop computing experiences, and Unity was the way forward for Ubuntu as a whole. Ubuntu Touch is the grandaddy of Linux mobile. It still uses Lomiri (a descendant of Unity) as its UI of choice. It has been on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS for over 5 years, and this release will be their last on that version. Starting in OTA 26 (due out in a couple of months), they will move onto 20.04 LTS. Hopefully that will help it to shake many of its nagging problems as well, and bring it closer to being daily driver ready. What is new in this release, though? · Notifications fixes: o emblem counters for the Dialer and Messaging apps o persistent notifications when the urgency status is set to critical o other improvements to notifications · on-screen keyboard vibration optimization on Volla Phone devices · Random bugs squished: o race condition in the XdgWatcher component o an indefinitely discoverable bluebinder issue o a bug with favorites in the Dialer app o an issue with Pickers not visible when using the Suru Dark theme · Under-the-hood stuff: o QtWebEngine 5.15.12 o Code cleanup was done by moving qtbase’s Jenkinsfile and ubports.source_location file to the debian/ directory. · Improved system-update to show series in the channel selector · And more https://9to5linux.com/ubuntu-touch-ota-25-arrives-on-march-24th-as-the-last-one-based-on-ubuntu-16-04 #TTT #UBTouch #Linuxmobile #updates #FOSS #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Free Your Internet http://techfreedom.pro/internet-freedom/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft #Truth TTT 51.3 – NordVPN App Now Fully FOSS The folks at Nord have chosen to really commit to transparency, and have open-sourced the Linux version of two of their key features/apps. Wow. That is a pretty big deal now you could fork their apps and have a fly front-end for your personal VPN, along with the community being able to help them make it better as a whole. That is huge. IF they are truly as no-log as they say, then this is even bigger, and I might even suggest you use them. It would be interesting to have one of my buddies comb through those codebases then have him tell us about it, wouldn’t it? Let’s see, shall we? Do you guys think this is a good move? Does it help you have a bit more peace? Is Nord as good as they try to say they are? I have never tried them, so I cannot speak from experience, here, and the reviews seem mixed at best. Do your research, and just because something is FOSS doesn’t mean that the service you connect to with it is worth your money. Be careful. https://news.itsfoss.com/nordvpn-linux-open-source/ #TTT #FOSS #Linux #crossplatform #nord #nordVPN #TechFreedom #FOSSnews a. 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

DM 51.1 – Feeling Paranoid? This TAILS is for You. Ever heard of TAILS? If you’ve been around the channel for a while, you know that I cover it whenever there is anything new to say about it. TAILS is meant to be run from a flash drive or any similar external storage solution, not installed on internal storage. That is the “Live” part of The Amnesiac Incognito LIVE System. Amnesiac refers to the fact that it does not save (by default) anything from one session to the next. Incognito means that it uses things like always-on TOR and VPNs to access the internet, so you are as private as you can be within reason. Ok, so for the newbies and slow ones in the back, TAILS is meant for people like dissident journalists, political agitators, or anyone who feels the need to compute as privately as possible, while still accessing the internet. What’s new in this release, though? · ZRAM to extend periods of functionality between reboots · Latest LTS kernel · GNOME screencasting is enabled now by default · Revamped screen locker · Latest versions of the Tor browser and Thunderbird · Other core apps https://9to5linux.com/tails-5-11-amnesic-incognito-live-system-switches-to-zram-and-linux-kernel-6-1-lts #distromonday #Linux #tails #theamnesiacincognitolivesystem #privacy #nonpersistent #updates #TechFreedom #FOSSnews DM 51.2 – First Look at CarbonOS What’s CarbonOS? It is an independent distro built with an eye toward stability, similar to VanillaOS that I covered last week. This one, though, is even heavier on the immutability that Vanilla offers, though it is not ready for primetime yet. It is really still in early alpha testing, but is intriguing nonetheless. Why is it interesting? Not due to a vanilla GNOME experience, but due to it being built from the ground up (on its own, not based on any of the big 3 Linux families) with atomized system updating, a flatpak-first approach for apps, then an emphasis on containers for everything else. I am installing it on a VM as I write this, so I will give you a few thoughts as I get that done. Well, first try to install failed. I’ll have to look at it more as it matures, though the live environment seemed to work, and was very much stock GNOME. https://news.itsfoss.com/carbonos/ #distromonday #carbonOS #Linux #indie #atomized #flatpak #containerized #firstlook #alphabuilds #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free 90 minute consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free #Truth DM 51.3 – Trisquel: A Distro for the Libre-Inclined By Libre-inclined, I mean die-hard FOSS, GNU/Libre fanboys. This Linux distro is purely Free & Open Source, so if you need anything that isn’t FOSS to make your system comfortable to use, this may not be an ideal option for you. However, if you are down for that adventure and are committed to the Libre way, this is a great distro for you. It is based on Ubuntu Jammy Jellyfish, but only ships with Libre components and 0 snaps. What is new in v 11 LTS? · Defaults to o 5.15 LTS kernel o Mate 1.26 · Adds new architecture support o ARM64 & PowerPC 64 Little Endian · Debian text-mode installer for the netinstall image · support for some AMD Radeon GPUs · More Deb Libre packages · Updated ABroswer (Firefox) and IceDove (Thunderbird) forks · Updates for KDE o Plasma 5.24.7 o Frameworks 5.92.0 o Gear 21.12.3 o Qt 5.15.3 LTS https://9to5linux.com/trisquel-gnu-linux-11-0-lts-released-with-gnu-linux-libre-5-15-kernel-mate-1-26 #distromonday #Linux #Trisquel #Libre #GNU #hardcore #FOSS #updates #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab #Truth

Wonder Wednesday 1 – KDE Updates and A Docker How-To Ever Wonder What’s Next for KDE? Degoogle Your Mobile Life Ever Wonder What Docker Is or If It Might Help You? #wonderwednesday #newthing #Linux #FOSSNews #KDE #Docker #TechFreedom Wonder Wednesday, New Thing, Linux news, FOSS News, KDE updates, Docker Intro, Tech Freedom WW 1.1 – KDE Plasma 5.27.4 We have another maintenance update for the latest LTS version of KDE. Let’s see what’s new, shall we? · Fixed a KWin crash in dual monitor setups where after disabling and renabling the secondary monitor · Scroll speed setting fixed · Better GTK app handling o Multi-monitor o Switching global themes · Plasma Wayland Session o No more quit with too-long window names o Improvements for NVidia Users § Screen recording and task manager thumbnails now better · Quality of Life Improvements o energy usage graphs in the Info Center app more reliable when using dark themes o multi-monitor support to visually distinguish monitors with the same name and serial number by showing their connector names o Better support for Flatpak apps in the Plasma Discover package manager · Plasma Discover o Faster when there are a ton of updates o No more prompts to update when Discover window is open o Emoji picker app can now be opened with dedicated emoji key on keyboard (what are we coming to, y’all?) o Kicker launcher’s “Sort applications alphabetically” setting now removes manually-placed separator lines between apps. · Many bugs fixed o Certain crashes o Visually corrupted decorations o Better support for GTK headerbar apps when running Breeze GTK theme o No more red/blue cursor color swap in screen casting · And more... https://9to5linux.com/kde-plasma-5-27-4-improves-plasma-wayland-on-nvidia-gpus-fixes-many-bugs #KDE #updates #alwaysgettingbetter #stillamess #stillmyfavorite #FOSSNews #TechFreedom WW 1.2 – KDE Frameworks 5.105 Small update with only 55 changes made, which makes allot of sense since most of their development energy is focused on Plasma 6, which is coming soon as well. The main headline is better support for the Breeze icon theme in Flatpak apps downloaded via flathub. Other than that, it’s just a handful of tweaks to Kirigami apps, New icons for Redshift, and fixed a bug which led to the Filelight icon being shown for GParted and KwikDisk, new icons for showing and hiding the virtual keyboard. We should also see fewer Baloo file indexing service crashes, which is always a good thing. Not much else to say here, they release one of these per month, at least until Plasma 6 is released. As an aside: I used to be a 100% KDE fanboy, used to hate GNOME with a passion because of the stunts that the dev team over at Red Hat pulled every time there was an update (thereby breaking most extensions), but now I’ve been using GNOME 44 on my Surface since it was released, and while this sad little machine still has its issues, GNOME seems better suited for this purpose than KDE ever has been. I eat crow when I need to, and this is one of those situations. That is all. https://9to5linux.com/kde-frameworks-5-105-improves-support-for-flatpak-apps-updates-breeze-icon-theme #KDE #updates #flatpaksupport #icons #fewercrashes #FOSSNews #TechFreedom Want to learn more about how to degoogle your phone and why? https://techfreedom.pro/degoogled/ #TechFreedom #degoogled #degoogleyourlife #defintionsday #Truth WW 1.3 – What is Docker Anyway? Docker is a containerization solution for app development and deployment. Think of it as a Firejailed Flatpak on steroids. With a Docker implementation, any app should run the same on pretty much any system, because all of its core dependencies are included in the container, so it does not need to rely on the underlying system for much at all, other than processing power, storage, and RAM. Containerization also nets the benefits of virtualization without the overhead of running a full guest OS. Will it work for every scenario, not necessarily. On the other hand, if you need more security, a virtual machine will be a better bet, even with the overhead, as those are that much more segmented from the rest of the system in terms of resources. I’m not going to read through the how-to install it, if you want to know, simply read the article, linked below. What are the main pieces of Docker? The Docker Engine, which allows you to run docker containers on your system via a background daemon process. Then there is the Docker Image, multiple of which can be stacked to create your ideal container for your purposes, this is a file which serves as a template to create dockerfiles which are the containers for your apps. Finally, we have the Docker Container itself: this is a Linux instance with all of the dependencies for your app built in, and not much else; it will stay in memory until you delete the dockerfile you created for it; you turn images into containers by adding read/write permissions to the image. How do I use it, though? Here are a few basic commands: · To run a Docker container – docker container run [options] [container name] o Here are some run options: § -i or --interactive – Interact with containers (connect to the container’s standard input). § -t or --tty – Assign a pseudo-terminal. § -d or --detach – Avoid terminal lockup (run in the background). § --rm – Automatically remove stopped containers. § --name Name the container (make it easier to specify containers). § --platform – Explicit image architecture. · To list all Docker containers on your system o docker container ls · To stop a particular container from running - (two step situation): o docker container ls -a (the –a will list every container) § then o docker container stop [docker id] (you don’t need to type in all of the id string just the first few characters, as each container’s opening string for their ID is unique) · To download new Images from Docker Hub o docker pull [image name] · To delete Images – o docker rmi [image name] o docker rmi –f [image] § The –f flag will force the issue, so even if it is being used in a container, it will still get the ax. About Dockerfiles though, there are many possible directives, but here are a few key ones: · FROM – Specify base image · RUN – execute arbitrary command · COPY – Add files from the host machine to the image · CMD – specify a default instruction To show you what we are talking about, say we want to use an Ubuntu 20.04 image for something, first, you pull the image file, then you create a file called Dockerfile, then edit it and add the following lines: FROM ubuntu:20.04 RUN apt-get update RUN apt-get install -y curl Save the file, then run this command: docker image build --tag my-ubuntu:20.04 If we don’t use the --tag flag, we will get a random string of characters as the ID for the container. After that, run this to make sure that the container was successfully created, by running docker images to see the list of images on your system. Now you have some idea what Docker is, what containers are, and how to use and create Docker containers for yourself. https://www.geeksveda.com/docker-tutorial/ #docker #containerization #portable #virtualization #Linux #sysadmin #FOSSNews #TechFreedom Bits & Bobs: How to Degoogle Your OnePlus Devices https://rumble.com/v184y5x-how-to-degoogle-a-oneplus-6-with-lineageos.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #tutorial #degoogle #oneplus #TechFreedom #privacy #degoogleyourlife #FOSSNews #Truth If CLI is a Bit Too Much for You, Here's How the GrapheneOS Web-Installer Works for Pixels https://rumble.com/v178p5r-grapheneos-webinstaller-demo-pixel-3-xl.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #tutorial #example #definitionsday #pixel3xl #grapheneOS #degoogle #privacy #security How to install GrapheneOS on a Pixel phone: https://tv.gab.com/channel/tech_freedom/view/how-to-degoogle-your-pixel-3xl-629bcda174999572f23b5032 #definitionsday #TechFreedom #techtips #howto #tutorial

DM 53.1 – What’s CachyOS? Well, it’s kinda like it says. This new distro is meant to be fast, and secure. I need something that isn’t gonna get in my way, so maybe I’ll give this a try on my Surface, then after that I’ll give you my opinion. I’m currently running EndeavourOS, which I talk about every time they release a new ISO, but even it has some problems on this goofy machine. I just want to find something that will do what I need it to without getting in my way via glitches which result in weird performance issues. I digress, though. Back to Cachy, so what is so special about this Arch distro? For one, it is designed for ease of use, so it is more like a Manjaro or Garuda than Vanilla Arch. Secondly, it is, as I said before, built for speed and increased security. This sounds like an excellent thing to me. What makes it unique, though? · Desktop packages compiled with LTO and x86-64-v3 optimization. o LTO grants the compiler the opportunity to see more than a single .o file at a time. This grants extra freedom for the optimisation that yields: § reduced code size (seen binaries down to 40%, but expect some 5-20% reduction) § increased execution speed (hey, there is less code for the same thing, how much faster depends on how the application, obviously) · Choice of desktop environments with online installation process (including i3, bspwm, and Openbox, and Wayfire window managers) o The standard desktop options apply: GNOME, KDE, LxQt, Xfce, and Cutefish · Offline and Online installation options · GUI and CLI-based installation options · Optimized Linux Kernel with advanced BORE Scheduler for enhanced performance and reliability o There are a handful of other options as well, for the more advanced users. o I’m going to try to ask some questions in their forum before I dive in, as I do need a particular kernel in order for things to work right on this machine, as far as I know. There have been reports of a 10-20% performance uplift for users vs other distros, due to their tweaks, and that sounds very interesting to me. I’m also liking the added security claims. We shall see if it is worth trying on this machine or not. Maybe I should try it on my boys’ old machine, see if it feels more responsive than Manjaro there. That would almost make more sense to do right now. Again, though, not sure when I might get to that. https://news.itsfoss.com/cachyos/ https://cachyos.org/ #distromonday #cachyOS #Linuxnews #FOSSNews #newdistro #TechFreedom DM 53.2 – Dangerous Tools: Black Arch Linux This, like Kali Linux, is termed as an “ethical hacking” distro. What does that mean? It is Arch + over 2,800 tools to help you do penetration testing, security research, and the like. Yes, it is built by “hackers, for hackers”. Being based on Arch, it will naturally be more finicky than Kali, but also far more robust and bleeding edge in terms of packages not directly related to the ethical hacking tools they create and bundle with it. I’m not gonna list all the tools, because we’d be here all day reading it off, but I will encourage you to take a look at the exhaustive list they have (https://blackarch.org/tools.html). The team had been quiet for the last year, which is part of why I haven’t covered it until now. The other part is that my business and channel are oriented toward attracting new users to the space, not circle-jerking with others who know the OS better than I do. This is a niche within a niche, and not even super well-known in the Linux space, as Kali is by nature more stable and accessible. However, I still wanted to say something about this distro, as variety is the spice of life. https://9to5linux.com/ethical-hacking-distro-blackarch-linux-gets-new-iso-release-with-over-2800-tools #distromonday #blackarch #FOSSNews #Linuxnews #Linux #hackers #whitehats #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Free call. 60-90 minutes. Q&A Leave with Actionable Steps to take, whether you work with me or not. Schedule today. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #freedom #consultation #Linux #degoogleyourlife #TechFreedom DM 53.3 – News from Linux Lite Linux Lite is a *buntu-based distro with an eye toward being lightweight and fast, perfect for users with older, or less powerful machines, particuarly those who really want to breathe new life into old hardware. It uses Xfce as the desktop, and stays very stable, rather than always updating those packages as soon as they come available (it is still using 4.16 rather than the new 4.18). Why else should you be interested though? It is stable and fast. What’s new? · Ubuntu 22.04 LTS with the 5.15 LTS kernel · Zstd compression o Makes installs faster · Systemd Reporting through the Lite System Report App · Updated Thunar File Manager o Thumbnail support for WebP images · Latest and greatest Papirus icons · Pre-installed Apps all updated o Thunderbird o WokeFox (sorry, Mozilla is super woke, guys) o Etc... All in all a solid update, btw, you can install pretty much any Linux kernel you want, from 3.13 all the way up to 6.2, from their repos. Pretty cool. https://9to5linux.com/linux-lite-6-4-officially-released-based-on-ubuntu-22-04-2-lts #distromonday #Linux #LinuxLite #lightweight #fast #oldhardware #newhardware #FOSSNews #TechFreedom Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab #Truth

Bob Lee Stabbed to Death in SF Credit Suisse Buyout News Amazon Vs Labor and UK May Sue Over Cloud Monopoly AI News Tiktok News Weekend Edition, Cashapp founder stabbed to death in SanFran, Credit Suisse & UBS, Amazon Labor Union Woes, UK signals lawsuit over AWS and Azure in UK stifling competition, pResident Depends holding meetings on AI, chatGPT makes wild accusations, Head of Signal Foundation reaffirms dedication to never adopt AI tech in the Signal system, Other popular Chinese Apps, TikTok opinions WE 31.1 – Bob Lee, Founder of CashApp Stabbed to Death Sad story to start off the day, but I’m committed to doing some sort of human interest piece at the top of the weekend edition from now on. It would appear that Bob Lee, who was a fixture in Silicon Valley for the last 20 years or so, first as an engineer at Square, then when he founded CashApp later, was stabbed to death in the Rincon District of San Francisco. Many will miss him, he sounded like a genuinely great guy. Good bye, Bob. https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/05/tech/bob-lee-tech-executive-death/index.html #cashapp #boblee #rip #sadday #square #cashapp WE 31.2 – Shotgun Wedding in Switzerland UBS and Credit Suisse tied the knot, so to speak, in a very rushed ceremony due to the failing health of Credit Suisse over the last handful of months. Swiss authorities pushed them together, and both parties were willing, for the most part, however, others around them are questioning the pairing. some are concerned that it concentrates too much risk in UBS specifically and Switzerland generally. We will see what becomes of this union which apparently will take 3-4 years to completely effect, due to the gargantuan nature of both partners. It looks like there will be significant layoffs as these two big banks become one, after all it doesn’t make sense to have reduplication of efforts when part of the point of mergers like this is to streamline operations. Some shareholders were pretty mad at the meetings which each bank held in the beginning of the week. Markedly moreso on the Credit Suisse side than on the UBS side, but no one was really happy that they didn’t get a vote in the matter. Sure, the UBS shareholders were happy to have one fewer competitors in the world, but having a major deal like that crammed down their throats tempered their enthusiasm a bit. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/05/ubs-holds-first-shareholder-meeting-since-controversial-credit-suisse-takeover.html #UBS #creditsuisse #mergers #banking #highfinance WE 31.3 – Amazon in Trouble More? 31.3a – Ever Hear About the Amazon Labor Union? Well, they won their court case a year ago, but Amazon still refuses to acknowledge that they exist. A guy named Christian Smalls, who was let go from one of the NY Amazon warehouses back in 2020, decided that workers needed to unionize to protect themselves from the increasingly poor working conditions they faced in the warehouses. As you can imagine, it hasn’t been all sunshine and roses for the fledgling union, because even though they won the first battle, which is simply to be able to organize at all, there have been other hurdles. Personality conflicts, differences of opinion, and of course resistance from the behemoth that they are trying to organize in order to have a voice in order to bargain with. Amazon has hardly bothered to notice that this ragtag, grassroots group, headed by an individual whom Amazon lawyers thought was “not smart or articulate” a few years ago. It will be interesting to see what happens with the ALU’s efforts to move any further than they have already, which is quite something. I’m neither a huge fan of mega-corps like Amazon nor of the overtly socialist nature of unions, which is already starting to manifest itself in Mr. Smalls. He travels all over the country, wearing Versace, and hobnobbing with celebrities, then passes down pronouncements as if from on high. https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/01/tech/amazon-labor-union-one-year-later/index.html 31.3b – AWS and Azure to Face Anti-trust Litigation in UK OFCOM, the UK communications regulator looks poised to bring a case against both tech monsters’ cloud divisions for being anti-competitive. What are they looking at here, though? In the words of the Ofcom’s director, they have found, “High barriers to switching are already harming competition in what is a fast-growing market. We think more in-depth scrutiny is needed, to make sure it’s working well for people and businesses who rely on these services.” In light of that, they have decided to refer the matter to the Competition and Markets Authority, who is ready to do an investigation of their own, actually seems to be champing at the bit, so to speak. They have already reviewed preliminary findings from Ofcom and is primed to look into the matter. The issues that led to Ofcom referring them to the CMA center around high egress fees, artificial technical barriers to interoperability with other providers, as well as incentive fee structures meant to encourage clients to only use one cloud provider for all their needs. This strikes me as a fairly open & shut case, as far as I’m concerned, but the giants, including Google, which speak for between 65-75% of the cloud market in the UK are all using these tactics (not all that differently from here in the States). Well, we will see what these regulators do and can do to these big dogs. I have my doubts that it will wind up as anything more than a slap on the wrist for these tech giants, but who knows, maybe they’ll be out for a pound and a half of flesh this time instead of 3 ounces. I’ll keep an eye on it, but it sounds like the earliest there is likely to be more movement on this issue will be something like November. https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/05/tech/amazon-microsoft-uk-cloud-services/index.html WE 31.4 – AI News 31.4a – Johnathan Turley: Falsely Accused of Harassing a Student by a ChatGPT Hallucination Wow... Dr. Turley is a rare “conservative” within the halls of legal academia, and has never done anything like what chatGPT hallucinated he did to a student, this thing even fabricated a WaPo article about the incident. I have to wonder how much of this happens on a regular basis as people overuse that damned thing for crap it was never intended to do. So a colleague of Dr. Turley’s from UCLA, who was doing some research on harassment accusations against law professors via chatGPT. It manufactured this whole thing, which strikes me as about the same level of nonsense as a hit piece in a tabloid, a blatant example of libel, only there is no one to sue over it. Of course, Dr. Turley has never taken students on trips in 35 years of teaching law, much less has he ever even been accused of anything untoward... Obviously there was never a WaPo article about a non-existent incident. So, if it can make things up whole cloth like that and no one is available to refute the spurious claims, then that gets added to the list of sources for future research. Dr. Turley is trying to say that these tools are untrustworthy in this opinion piece, and I have heard of other similar things happening, so I tend to agree with him on this. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2023/04/03/chatgpt-misinformation-bias-flaws-ai-chatbot/11571830002/ 31.4b – pResident Depends Holds Meetings About AI Wow, his handlers must really be trying to focus everybody on this issue for some reason, just like the Trump indictment earlier this week. This article is kind of unfocused and feels a bit rushed, to me, but that is beside the point, it is a story about Brandon Depends. He can’t even pay a visit to the necessary on his own successfully (see stain on his pants at the Vatican, lol), much less speak coherently about any topic, not even ice cream. “You know, the thing...” this clown is a colossal embarrassment and humiliation for our country. We were at least semi-functional under Trump and his admin. The cracks were certainly beginning to show then, but the level of dysfunction in this country now is almost incomprehensible to me. I digress, though. They are supposed to meet and talk about the “risks and opportunities” of AI, in the face of the runaway success of tools like chatGPT. They are also likely to push congress to pass legislation to allegedly limit the data collection of Big Tech companies in America. As long as that bill isn’t as much of an inversion of the rights of US citizens enshrined in our Constitution, or is not really about something else, like limiting free speech in the name of protecting us from “misinformation” which is anything that an administration chooses to deem as “wrongthink” or inconvenient, such as in the RESTRICT Act. That monstrosity needs to be shouted down harder than Dinesh D’Souza at U Mass Amherst a few years ago. If it were really what it claimed to be instead of a blank check for the Secretary of Commerce to sign whenever they feel like it to shut down inconvenient information being shared on social media, because apparently bans and shadow bans aren’t enough, shoot, even jailing someone over a meme and a joke shared during the 2016 election is apparently not enough for them, they want absolute control of the internet, just like the CCP has with their “Great Firewall”. But again, I digress. I am glad to hear that the privacy of Americans is suddenly on the radar for Resident Depends. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/04/biden-to-discuss-ai-risks-and-opportunities-in-meeting-with-advisors.html 31.4c – A Bright Spot for Signal The president of the Signal Foundation is making lots of noise about how they will never incorporate AI tools into the encrypted messaging app. Does she want a cookie or a ribbon? The app is meant to be a tool for more private communications, not a data farming enterprise like social media is in general. She also made it clear that they hold onto as little user information as possible to still be able to provide the services that they do through the app. This puts me a bit more at ease about using Signal, however, I am very uncomfortable with the people who endorse it, such as people with thoroughly mixed reputations such as Edward Snowden. However, that is not the point right now. The point is that they are standing up to pressure to incorporate some of those God-awful privacy violators called “generative ‘AIs’” into their non-profit based private communication app. Good on them. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/31/signal-president-meredith-whittaker-learned-what-not-to-do-from-google.html WE 31.5 – Tiktok Thoughts 31.5a – Public Sentiment About the Ban As of a week ago, half of the people surveyed by Pew Research were behind the idea of ban, overall, and most (64% of) respondents were aware of the CCP connections for TikTok and ByteDance, most (60% of) GOP-aligned people were in favor of the ban, while only 43% of Dem-aligned respondents were favorable toward the idea. I feel like there is a huge influence operation underway about this issue, precious little real information on either side of the issue, and I am finding myself leaning toward supporting TikTok’s continued operation in the country, but not because I actually like the platform, which I don’t, I think it can be and often is used to manipulate people in certain ways which are counter to their well being. Rather because I get very, very uneasy when the two wings of the political bird of this country come together on anything, as 95% of the time, whatever that issue that got overwhelming bipartisan support winds up stripping us of freedoms and rights which should be guaranteed by the limits placed on the government by the documents upon which this country allegedly rests (the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution). https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/31/tech/tiktok-ban-pew-survey/index.html 31.5b – Is TikTok the ONLY Popular Chinese App in the US and UK? Simple answer: No. What else is there? CapCut (a popular video editor often used to create videos for TikTok), Shein (a fashion app aimed at younger millennials and Gen Z), and Temu (an online shopping app which has quickly overtaken WalMart and Amazon for the younger set). If we are really concerned about China getting our data, then we need to be consistent and ban all of these other big China-related apps – these are just the 3 biggest, other than TikTok, though, out of thousands of others. Ooh, how many mobile games which are little more than shinier, more engaging methods of data harvesting are there that should be banned similarly, if we are to be concerned with TikTok purely due to its alleged CCP ties? Either it all needs to be shut down faster than a nerd asking a prom queen out, or our gov’t needs to shut its increasingly corrupt and inept trap about all of this. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65072407

FFW 37.1 – Counter-Strike 2 is For Real I covered the likelihood that it would be coming soon about a month ago... Valve has confirmed and told us that it, along with a huge upgrade for Source 2 would drop by this summer. I suggest you look at the videos in the article below if you want more of a tease. I don’t play, but know that many do, and there will be lots of good stuff being improved and changed in the new game vs CS:GO. Here is a short list: · responsive smoke · sub-tick updates for more responsive gameplay · overhauled maps · Source 2 tooling for the community · your whole inventory carries over from CS:GO · higher resolution models for basically everything · improved visual effects · an upgraded UI · And more https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/03/counter-strike-2-from-valve-releasing-summer-2023/ #FFW #Linux #FOSSnews #CS2 #valve #steam #linuxgaming #TechFreedom FFW 37.2 – What Happened to AMD GPUs in DOTA2? If you play DOTA2 and run it on a Linux box with an AMD GPU, you may have noticed reduced fluidity in the game of late. This is due to an updated Graphics Pipeline Library issue causing the driver, while in game to consume a ridiculous 3GB of RAM. Luckily, this bug has been squashed after it was demonstrated to developers working on the project, and it now takes a more reasonable 450MB RAM vs the 3 GB they were seeing. On the other hand, unless you are adventurous, you may not have seen it anyway. However, that feature will be enabled by default in the next version of the MESA stack, so getting that bug squashed now is excellent. Good on you, Devs. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/03/amd-radv-driver-will-soon-stop-eating-ram-with-some-games/ #FFW #Linux #DOTA2 #AMD #gfxdirvers #bugssquashed #performance #FOSSnews #linuxgaming #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ https://techfreedom.pro/free-your-pc/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom #Truth FFW 37.3 – NVidia Graphics Driver News We have a new full version of drivers from Dr. Huang and team Green. What’s new in this one? · Indirect Branch Tracking support · Better Xfce support o New profile to prevent degradation when § OpenGL compositor backend is enabled along with G-SYNC § suspend and resume support when using GSP firmware · ZSTD compression to shrink the installer and make it quicker · Better flatpak support · improved support for Wayland apps running on using the PRIME render offload feature on a system with an integrated AMD GPU · And more... As always, check the link if you want more information on this driver release. https://9to5linux.com/nvidia-530-41-03-graphics-driver-brings-better-xfce-support-faster-installer #FFW #Linuxgaming #nvidia #graphics #drivers #updates #TechFreedom #FOSSnews What to use instead of Big Tech online: https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice #Truth

TTT 52.1 – Running Ubuntu? Here’s Another Reminder to Keep it Updated Well, Canonical has released a new round of CVE (Critical Vulnerability Exploit) Patches, so run your updates to close these 9 attack surfaces down for your machine: · CVE 2022-2196 o Could leave your VMs open to leaking private data from either the host or a fellow guest OS · CVE-2022-42328andCVE-2022-42329 o Which are both race conditions in the Xen networking backend and could cause the kernel to crash § What’s a race condition? · A situation where two drivers are trying to access the same resource at the same time, and do not get scheduled properly by the kernel and it causes problems, often a denial of service (crash, etc) · CVE-2023-0266 o a use-after-free vulnerability discovered in the ALSA subsystem that could allow a local attacker to crash the system by causing a denial of service · CVE-2023-0469 o a use-after-free vulnerability discovered in the io_uring subsystem · CVE-2023-1195 o another user-after-free vulnerability found in the CIFS network file system. Both vulnerabilities could allow a local attacker to cause a denial of service (system crash) or execute arbitrary code · CVE-2022-4382 o A race condition in the USB Gadget file system implementation, which could lead to a use-after-free vulnerability in some situations and allow a local attacker to crash the system by causing a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code · CVE-2023-0045 o a flaw in the prctl syscall implementation that made the kernel fail to protect against indirect branch prediction attacks and allowed a local attacker to expose sensitive information · CVE-2023-23559 o an integer overflow vulnerability found in the RNDIS USB driver that could allow a local attacker with physical access to cause a denial of service (system crash) or execute arbitrary code by plugging in a malicious USB device https://9to5linux.com/ubuntu-22-10-users-get-new-linux-kernel-security-update-9-vulnerabilities-patched #TTT #patches #ubuntu #security #Linux #PSA #FOSSNews #TechFreedom TTT 52.2 – UB Touch OTA-1 Out Now for you Linux Mobile Devotees Wow, I just talked about OTA 25 last week, and the devs shocked us with the first rebased OTA update already... Welcome to Focal Fossa, everyone. What else is new with this surprise (limited) release? Which devices is it currently available for? · Devices o Fairphone 4 o Google Pixel 3a o Vollaphone 22 o Vollaphone X o Vollaphone · New Stuff o Focal Fossa LTS o Lomiri UI o The systemd init system o Ayatana Indicators o Waydroid o a new porting style for device porters o support for building many components against GCC 12 and Qt 5.15 LTS · Improvements o fix for an issue when trying to mute the phone’s microphone during phone calls o a fix for a context menu issue in the Morph Browser o fixes for various issues when receiving MMS messages. o XWayland integration o support for running legacy X11 apps on Lomiri, o support for PIN codes between 4 and 12 digits o updates broadband provider data o adds support for USB-C USB-PD o improves PAM/logind integration o and refreshes various Lomiri effects. · New o Morph Browser § received hardware-accelerated video decoding with support for up to 2K video playback and video chat support o Camera app § supports barcode reading o Messaging app § now lets you zoom in on conversation text using a pinch and spread gesture, and the Addressbook app now lets users add notes for a contact and a URL address https://9to5linux.com/first-ubuntu-touch-ota-release-based-on-ubuntu-20-04-lts-is-out-now #TTT #UBTouch #Linuxmobile #updates #FOSS #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Free Your Internet http://techfreedom.pro/internet-freedom/ One-stop shop for getting you and your business transitioned off of Big Tech online platforms and tools, so that you have control of your data once again. I will also help you to find better alternatives. #TTT #techtips #TechFreedom #internetfreedom #nogoogle #nometa #noyahoo #nomicrosoft #Truth TTT 52.3 – Ventoy 1.0.90 With Support for Even More Stuff The boys and girls on the Ventoy team have expanded support even further by adding updated LibreElec and Chimera Linux to their repertoire. That means that the easiest USB/SD Card/ external storage bootable media creation and management solution that much better. If you ever https://9to5linux.com/ventoy-1-0-90-adds-support-for-libreelec-11-0-and-chimera-linux #TTT #FOSS #Linux #crossplatform #ventoy #multiusb #TechFreedom #FOSSnews a. 10 Things My Wife Thinks You Should Know about Tech Freedom. https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #wifeysauce #getfree #explainer

Co-Founder of Intel Passes SVB Bought Out, Finally AI Fearporn and FOSS Hopes Social Media News #weekendedition #currentevents #technews #humaninterest #finance #AInews #twitter #tiktok #TechFreedom #FOSSNews WE 30.1 – Gordon Moore Passed This Week A founding father of the silicon era passed away at 94 this week. Who was Gordon Moore? He was an electrical engineer and chemist who helped to shape our world. He was one of the three men who founded the titan, Intel (which I didn’t realize stands for INTegrated ELectronics). He wrote what became known as “Moore’s Law” back in 1965, before it was anything like clear that these things would happen, at least to the rest of the world. He was a visionary who really drove Intel and the industry forward until he retired in 1997. In the early days, it was just 3 men who built Intel: Moore, Robert Noyce, and Andy Grove. Noyce was the initial idea man, Moore executed on Noyce’s designs, tweaking them until they worked as intended, and Grove was the management and Ops mastermind that allowed the other two to focus on what they were good at doing. I figured this was worth covering since I covered the bit about the inventor of Ethernet last week. Without men like these, who knows where computing and the modern world would be. https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/24/tech/gordon-moore-obituary WE 30.2 – SVB Bought Out by First Citizens BancShares Remember how I was saying that it was shocking that the FDIC was holding onto these failed banks as long as they had, as of last week? Well, they finally pawned off much of SVB to an East Coast rival, First Citizens, which bills themselves as ‘America’s largest family-controlled bank’. Here are the details: • First Citizens had bought around $72bn of SVB's assets at a discount of $16.5bn ◦ Making First Citizens one of the 25 biggest in the US. • The FDIC said it will hold onto roughly $90bn of SVB's assets and estimated the cost of the SVB failure to its deposit insurance fund would be about $20bn ◦ It will also receive an equity stake in First Citizens worth up to $500m. • The FDIC said it had received 27 bids from 18 bidders before settling on the First Citizens deal. ​ Ok, so wait a second, this math does not seem to make sense the surface. Then when you remember that it is all a giant shell game, kind of like the points in the game on Whose Line Is It Anyway, it starts to make sense again. I can get the discount thing, but how do you figure that 162 billion = 170 billion? I feel like I’m missing something in this picture. I’m a tech guy who happens to be a restorationist follower of Jesus, not an expert in high finance. Can anyone help me out, here? Is the FDIC supposed to hold assets of failed banks? Don’t those become liabilities in their hands if they do not sell them? I really don’t understand this properly, but from where I sit, this seems weird. That is all I’m gonna say about it for now. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65084248 WE 30-3: AI Fearporn and FOSS Hopes 30.3a Musk and other “luminaries” in the space sound alarm about AI Here’s the fearporn.:Musk, Steve Wozniak, and other tech leaders have signed an open letter expressing concerns over automation and the effects of generative AI, particularly with the way that GPT-4 has grown vs GPT-3. It has many spooked. I am unconvinced that it is genuinely a threat. It cannot truly do its own thing without user prompts, and even at that, if the gentleman from Gab (see last week’s episode) knows what he is talking about, then this is really all fear. The letter calls for a ceasefire in the training of these high end AIs due to their fears about the upheaval that could result from the proliferation of highly refined AIs which could out-think, out-work, and generally outdo us human beings. I doubt that it could ever get to that point, and besides, if we don’t abdicate our God-given brains and discernment to these tools, and they aren’t so woke as to be unuseful for sane people, and they weren’t based on collecting data from users to give to mega-corps out there (G**gle, microshaft, etc) or to various intelligence communities, then they are awesome. However, most of the models out there are all those things and more, in terms of being surveillance tools more than anything else. However, we are starting to see the beginnings of some FOSS alternatives, which we’ll talk about next. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65110030 30.3b – Meet Dolly, the first FOSS Generative AI Tool Dolly is a clone, just as its namesake was, only this time, of a Large Language Model called Alpaca. What I find intriguing here, is the potential to control your instance of it entirely, based on the databricks datacenters. This allows individuals to play with and train their version of dolly however they choose. That intrigues me. I like the idea of having more control over the model you use, along with the data you input, versus sending all of that to the fascists over at Big Tech companies. It is non-commercial at this point (that is the nature of most FOSS licensing provisions). They use ElutherAI as its base, and it has Alpaca built on to of it to give it conversational and interactivity capabilities on par with GPT-3 with a much smaller dataset. This may be worth taking a look at, just to play with and learn how all this works. My wife is uneasy about AI in general, thinking it demonic, but I don’t necessarily agree with that assessment at this point. However, I do think that any tool we develop needs to remain seen as a tool, not something to trust with writing the entirety of something important in your life without any added input from you. That does not serve humanity, much less you, on a personal level. Do NOT ever outsource your brain and discernment to ANY machine. https://www.databricks.com/blog/2023/03/24/hello-dolly-democratizing-magic-chatgpt-open-models.html?ref=its-foss-news WE 30.4 – Social Media Silliness 30.4a – Musk Overhauls Blue Check System Again Ok, I only talk about it because people seem to care. Having never gotten involved with the Dirty Blue Bird, I couldn’t care less. It seems to me that Elon is trying to destroy the platform for some reason. As much as he rode in on a cloud of free speech hype, he hasn’t done much to restore free speech on the platform, and the fact that one has to pay for verification now seems like something less than free speech. He also has failed to really undo much of the woketard damage done to and through the platform. I still hear about patriots who got accoutns back getting booted again for saying tamer things than what got them ejected from the platform to begin with. Who knows what Elon is up to. I wouldn’t mind seeing Twitter crash and burn because it is not what it was (allegedly) meant to be, that being a free, digital town square, where everyone’s opinion can briefly be shared. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65095684 30.4b – States and Social Media b1 – Arkansas Sues TikTok, ByteDance, and Meta The State of Arkansas has filed a lawsuit against the platforms and their parent companies alleging that the platforms are injurious to both users’ mental health and personal privacy, based on the Arkansas State Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The Meta/Facebook suit focuses more on the mental health & addiction, as well as content moderation issues with the platform. The ByteDance/TikTok suit focuses on addiction, moderation, and privacy issues with that platform. We will see how far this goes. https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/29/tech/arkansas-lawsuit-tiktok-bytedance-meta-mental-health b2 – Utah Governor Signs Bill About Kids and Social Media Well, now kids have to get permission from their parents in order to sign up for social media accounts in the state of Utah, starting on March 1, 2024. This bill is meant to protect kids from the negative effects of social media, in the form of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Not only parental permission to sign up, but age verifications, and even shutting down kids access to platforms between 10:30 PM and 6:30 AM. On one hand, a round of applause for Utah is advised. On the other, this does constitute a massive privacy breach for these kids. I do not believe that a government policy or regulation like this is the way forward. Parents need to be more responsible in general, and more involved in their kids’ lives. It is really what kids want anyway. The reason they turn to things like social media is to fill the void left by uninvolved parents who are perhaps too busy with trying to make ends meet, or other things that they deem more worthy of their time and effort. Oh, it may lead to push back from the kids at first, particularly if it is foreign to them to have you interested or involved in their lives. You can get through that. It is worth it. I do not have teens yet, but my wife and I homeschool, and that allows us to be more involved with them. I could go on for days on this, but that is not the point right now. https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/23/tech/utah-social-media-regulation-act 30.4c – TIkTok Stuff C1 – It Isn’t the Size of the Data, It’s How You Use It So apparently, the amount of data is not why the West is on a tear about the app, rather it is who owns it and who can access it. We’ve talked about this issue before, and TikTok appears to be making an attempt to corral its data in Western markets to assuage lawmakers here and across the pond, there are concerns, whether valid or not. These concerns are based in the vagaries of Chinese law, and it is very difficult to prove a negative, so it is very difficult to convince anyone that it hasn’t and won’t happen that the CCP has accessed US user data. It is even more difficult to do so when the ones you are trying to convince of a negative are convinced of the opposite. More evidence is necessary, either way. I remain unconvinced in either direction, and the bill that they are calling a “TikTok Ban” is so much more than that, and should never be passed, as it will affect every single social platform, such that any post or content on the platform which conveys any wrongthink can lead to fines, and/or prison time for the offending party. Is that an environment you want to live in? Do you want to live in a country where you cannot speak your mind freely? Ok, so we are already somewhat in that category, but do you want it to be that much worse? I sure as hell don’t. That is how we will see the fullness of fascism in this country. When Big Tech is authorized to rat you out even more than they are now. Far be it from us to ever pass a law that openly repugnant to the Constitution. Shame on the clowns in DC for even considering that. https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/24/tech/tiktok-ban-national-security-hearing C2 – Who stands to Benefit from a TikTok Ban? Excellent question. Why, US Big Tech platforms, of course. In fact, with all of the noise in DC, those platforms’ stocks have gone up as investors are salivating over the potential of more users coming back “home” so to speak, due tot the spike in potential ad revenue for the platforms. I have a better idea, not that anybody listens to me yet... But why don’t we all jump on the Fediverse rather than running back to Big Tech with all of their surveillance capitalism? https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/24/tech/tiktok-alternatives What is the Fediverse? It is a cluster of related, decentralized protocols like Pixelfed, Mastodon, PeerTube, Pleroma, Tumblr, Diaspora, Friendica, GoToSocial, and others. They are decentralized because anybody can start a self-hosted instance on a server they own or rent, choose to federate it or not, and it cannot be taken down by anyone, unless your server gets taken out for some reason. These are all FOSS, but can be a bit overwhelming to get started with, kind of like matrix. Some of them are interconnected, such as Mastodon, PixelFed, and PeerTube. Mastodon is what Gab is based on. PixelFed is a photo/image-sharing protocol, something like instagram. PeerTube is a peer-to-peer video sharing protocol, meant to be something along the lines of YouTube. https://fediverse.party

DM 52.1 – Straight Ubuntu or Mint? What’s the difference anyway? Isn’t Mint based on Ubuntu? Actually, there are quite a few noticeable differences. Yes, Mint is derived from Ubuntu, just as Ubuntu is derived from Debian. There is also a Debian edition of Mint (which, personally, I would point you to). Personal preferences aside, what are the big differences? · Mint o Has only 3 Desktop environments (all are GNOME forks from yesteryear) § Cinnamon (in-house development, flagship option) · Easy to use, instantly familiar for windoesn’t users, fairly lightweight § Xfce for the very resource-conscious · Extra lean, bare-bones, may remind you of windoesn’t 9x by default § Mate which is also relatively light and quick, based on an older version of GNOME than Cinnamon is o Has Timeshift to allow you to undo dumb choices on the computer easily o Update manager is very easy to use o Flatpak rather than Snap support by default o Community based · Ubuntu o Supported by Canonical, LTD. o This is “Linux” to most people who are not familiar with Linux o By default, ships a heavily tweaked version of GNOME, with modded dash-to-dock and a few other things as well § Also has numerous other desktops, from LxQt to Xfce, Budgie, KDE, Cinnamon, Unity, and a host of other options which are community supported rather than being official iterations from Canonical o Snaps, because no one else wants them o Easy to use, I suppose, but not as easy as Mint o Vanilla Ubuntu is disorienting because of the tweaked GNOME they ship, but if you want a more windoesn’t feel, as I said earlier, they have several other possible flavors with different desktop environments available, which is far more extensive than Mint. I do not put any stock in Ubuntu, personally because I do not appreciate the deals they’ve made with the Devil in order to build their business to where it is today. On one hand, I suppose it has helped to raise the profile of Linux, and Ubuntu has become a more commonly used platform for servers and other enterprise-level applications. However, they compromised deeply and are almost treating their branch of the Linux family tree like a proprietary OS. I respect the Mint team for stripping out much of that garbage, and having the foresight to start a Debian edition of Mint. Is Mint perfect? No. Due to the bases on which they build, they are slow on the uptake for updates and upgrades, but that makes them more stable and less prone to break than my personal preferences, currently. https://linuxiac.com/linux-mint-vs-ubuntu/#main #distromonday #Linux #LinuxMint #ubnuntu #better #newbies #TechFreedom #FOSSnews DM 52.2 – New ISO for OpenMandriva rolling edition out now I talked about OpenMandriva a couple of months ago, but it is the descendant of a legendary Linux distro, Mandrake Linux. I talked about it a then because they just rolled out the first version of their rolling release edition, codenamed “Rome”. Well, this one is roughly on par with Arch in terms of being bleeding edge, so let’s find out what changes they’ve made here: · Linux 62 kernel series · Latest From o KDE o Mesa graphics stack, o Wayland o XOrg Server o LLVM/Clang o GNU Binutils o GCC o GNU C Library o systemd 253 · LibreOffice 7.5.1office suite · Firefox 111 · Chromium 110 · Krita 5.1.5 · digiKam 7.9 · GIMP 2.10.34 · Calligra Suite 3.2.1 · SMPlayer 22.7.0 · VLC 3.0.18 video players · VirtualBox 7.0.6 · GNOME 43.3 · LxQt 1.2 https://9to5linux.com/openmandriva-lx-23-03-released-with-linux-6-2-mesa-23-and-kde-plasma-5-27 #distromonday #openmandriva #Linux #indie #rollingrelease #Rome #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Freedom Consultation Ever wondered how to get free from Big Tech? This Free 90 minute consultation will leave you with at least pointers to the tools and services you’ll need to do just that. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #TechFreedom #consultation #free #Truth DM 52.3 – blendOS: One Distro to Rule Them All? I talked about this when it first came out, and even daily drove it on my Surface (not a representative sample) for about a month. The concept is cool. It is based on Arch, which gives you the rolling feel along with the excitement of being on the bleeding edge of development for the OS, but also gives you access to containerized ways to use APT and DNF package managers if you really want or need to. This, in concept, as I said, is a sweet setup, almost ideal, really. However, I do not think that it is ready for mass adoption yet, as on my system (again, not any kind of representative sample for computers in general, as it has been a thorn in my backside since I bought it about 2 years ago), it became unstable and sluggish far more quickly than it should have in my opinion. Perhaps I didn’t use it as intended, as I used the basic, standard pacman to install packages most of the time. I didn’t take advantage of the semi-immutability offered by the containerized version of pacman, though I did play with DNF and APT just a little. Which package managers are in play, here? · apt · dnf · yum · pacman · yay · Blend It currently uses a distrobox implementation, and this is admittedly in the early stages of development, so my experience will not necessarily be representative in your case, either. I installed the KDE version (big shock, I know), and used it as normal for about a month, when it started to break pretty badly on me and I couldn’t get what I needed to do done easily because of instability. It also ships with the Flathub store app as an app which can fully install flatpaks, rather than simply downloading their flatref files for something else to install. I mentioned distrobox, but it will not be around in this distro for much longer, as it will be replaced with podman very soon. They will also soon be shipping a GUI config tool for the containers, rather than relying on CLI to get the job done. It is a cool option, and perhaps when it is more stable, I will try it again, and do it more properly this time. Is it the One? Not at this time, but I will keep an eye on it as it develops. I like the idea of an immutable Arch install, though that kinda messes with my head, to be honest. https://news.itsfoss.com/blendos/ #distromonday #Linux #blendOS #arch #onedistrotorulethemall #goodstuff #notreadyyet #FOSS #TechFreedom #FOSSnews Tech Freedom Intro: What to expect from my channels and website. https://rumble.com/v157uqb-tech-freedom-intro-what-is-this.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #intro #TechFreedom #telegram #truthsocial #publicsq #gab #Truth

FFF 2.1 – Proton 8 Fresh off the Presses What’s new with this version? Lots new playable games: • Forspoken • Samurai Maiden • Dead Space (2023) • Creativerse • Nioh 2 - The Complete Edition • One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 • Atelier Meruru • Atelier Lydie & Suelle ~The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings~ • Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book DX • Blue Reflection • Atelier Rorona ~The Alchemist of Arland~ DX • Disney Dreamlight Valley • ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS XIV • ToGather:Island • WARRIORS OROCHI 3 Ultimate Definitive Edition • Exceed - Gun Bullet Children • Gungrave G.O.R.E. • Chex Quest HD And of course, a bevy of bug fixes • Fixed 2K launcher failure caused by launcher update. • Fixed Arabic fonts in FIFA 21 and 22. • Improved CJK font support in many games including NOBUNAGA'S AMBITION: Souzou with Power Up Kit, Stardom 3 and Sword and Fairy 3. • Improved sleep/resume functionality on Steam Deck for Tiny Tina's Wonderland. • Improved multi-touch support. • Fixed native scrollbar being always visible in Final Fantasy XIV Online launcher. • Fixed A Plague Tale: Innocence and A Plague Tale: Requiem showing on-screen keyboard when starting the game on the Steam Deck. • Fixed rendering issues during cutscenes in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell. • Fixed Japanese keyboard input in Final Fantasy XIV Online. • Fixed Football manager 2023 crashing when trying to return from a player profile. • Fixed experimental regression: Fall in Labyrinth started crashing on some setups. • Improved CJK characters rendering in many games including NOBUNAGA'S AMBITION: Souzou with Power Up Kit. • Fixed Life is Strange Remastered crashing at the end of chapter 2. • Fixed Alt+Tab not working on Gnome 43. • Improved force feedback compatibility for BeamNG and Forza Horizon 5. • Fixed regression with Mortal Kombat X performance. • Fixed OpenGL launch option for Youropa. • Fixed raytracing in Crysis Remastered. • Improved multiplayer support in Company of Heroes III. • Improved fullscreen support for The Last Blade 2. • Fixed regression: Minecraft Dungeons was hanging when disconnecting from multiplayer game. • Fixed Immortals Fenyx Rising missing/out-of-order audio lines in cutscenes. • Fixed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt launcher flickering on Wayland. • Fixed Story Mode not working in Dead or Alive 6. • Enabled nvapi for many games. • Updated wine to 8.0. • Updated dxvk to v2.1-4-gcaf31033. • Updated vkd3d-proton to v2.8-84-g08909d98. • Updated dxvk-nvapi to v0.6.2. • Updated wine-mono to 7.4.1. Only works with Vulkan 1.3 compatible cards https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/04/valve-rolls-out-proton-80-to-further-improve-steam-deck-and-linux-gaming/ #FFF #steam #proton #steamdeck #Linuxgaming #FOSSNews #TechFreedom FFF 2.2 – New Release for MangoHud Statistics Overlay What’s MangoHud? MangoHud is a system statistics overlay app which you can use while you play most games, if you just have to know your FPS, temperatures, frequencies, and various usages in realtime. It’s what you see in many review videos on YouTube, or in your game streamers on twitch and the like. So what’s new for this handy tool? • Fixed issue that applied picmip without option being set. • Reverted x11 poller that was causing segfaults 06edee4. • Fixed issues with horizontal and legacy_layout. • Fixed amdgpu APU power and temperature reading. • Fixed certain hud elements displaying incorrectly in horizontal. • Fixed an issue causing segfault when using MANGOHUD_CONFIG. Sounds like it used to float around in the wrong spots on the steamdeck and in Linux, that issue has been fixed (see point 5 above). https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/04/mangohud-performance-overlay-gets-a-few-needed-fixes-in-v069-1/ #FFF #mangohud #Linux #Linuxgaming #steamdeck #performance #FOSSNews #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom #Truth FFF 2.3 – Mineclone2 has a New Version Out Last week I talked about the FOSS core for this implementation of early minecraft code, and you need that in order to play this, as it is more or less a DLC content pack made for minetest. Here’s a sampling of what’s new, here, boys & girls. • new and updated music • new sound effects • biome coloured foliage and water • mobs can ride minecarts • hoppers can put items in minecarts • new and improved /clearmobs commands • Iron Golems now protect themselves and villagers • various performance improvements • improved translations • lots of bug fixes and more.. If I had time to throw at it, and cared at all on any kind of personal level about MineCraft or its spinoffs/knockoffs I would probably test it out. However, neither of those things is true of me, so I won’t. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/04/mineclone2-v083-out-now-the-sandbox-game-for-minetest-inspired-by-minecraft/ #FFF #Linux #FOSSgames #Linuxgaming #mineclone2 #FOSSNews #TechFreedom

WW 2.1 – What’s Lama Cleaner? Lama Cleaner is a and open source, self-hosted AI image manipulation program which can do anything from remove the background of an image to removing an unwanted person or thing from a shot, very cleanly. I know, I typically am very negative about AI on the channel, but this tool is open source and completely installable in anaconda (which is a version of the python programming language) on your system. It won’t phone home about the images you are tweaking. That makes it safe, and potentially a more convenient and private way to make memes or something like that. That aspect of it intrigues me, as I make several per week. Let’s see how to get that done, shall we? Open the Terminal and enter the following commands • Install pip ◦ wget https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py ◦ sudo python get-pip.py --prefix=/usr/local/ • Install Lama Cleaner ◦ pip install lama-cleaner ▪ This will install several things, and may take quite a while, depending on your internet connection, as it it will download over 2 GB of packages, once this finishes, I suggest that you install a few plugins • Install a few plugins ◦ pip install rembg ◦ pip install realesrgan ◦ pip install gfpgan • Run Lama Cleaner for the first time ◦ lama-cleaner --model=lama --device=cpu --port=8080 • Point your browser here to see the interface ◦ http://127.0.0.1:8080 Lama Cleaner’s models are plentiful and powerful. They can do any number of things, and each one does a certain thing better than the others can. In order to start Lama Cleaner, you may need to tweak your $PATH variable, or else it will not be found. There may be other issues as well, so I’m not sure that I can suggest you try this yourself unless you are more of a nerd than I am. https://www.linuxlinks.com/machine-learning-linux-lama-cleaner-self-hostable-inpainting-tool/ #AI #lamacleaner #self-hostable #FOSS #cool #FOSSNews #TechFreedom WW 2.2 – Linux System Administration Commands systemctl In this command, you can enable or disable system services at boot time. journalctl Using this command, you are able to view and manage system logs, including logs generated by kernel, system services, and user applications. dmesg This command displays a system message buffer, including kernel messages related to hardware and system events. df This command displays information about the file system disk usage and available space. du This command is used to display the disk usage of files and directories. mount This command is used to mount file systems, such as removable media or network shares, to a specified mount point in the file system. umount This command is used to unmount file systems that are no longer in use. fdisk This command is used to create, edit, and delete disk partitions. mkfs This command is used to create file systems on partitions or devices. chown This command is used to change the owner of files and directories. chmod This command is used to change the permissions of files and directories. useradd This command is used to create new user accounts on the system. userdel This command is used to delete user accounts from the system. groupadd This command is used to create new user groups on the system. groupdel This command is used to delete user groups from the system. passwd This command is used to change the password of a user account. hostnamectl This command is used to view or modify the hostname of the system. timedatectl This command is used to view or modify the system time and date. ifconfig This command is used to configure network interfaces on the system. ip This command is used to configure and manage network interfaces, routing, and tunnels. route This command is used to view and manage the routing table. ping This command is used to test network connectivity by sending ICMP packets to a specified host. traceroute This command is used to trace the path of network packets from the source to the destination. netstat This command is used to display network connections, routing tables, and interface statistics. iptables This command is used to manage firewall rules for packet filtering, NAT, and port forwarding. ssh This command is used to securely connect to remote systems over a network. scp This command is used to securely copy files between systems over a network. rsync This command is used to synchronize files and directories between systems over a network. crontab This command is used to create, view, and manage scheduled tasks that run automatically at specified times. at This command is used to schedule a one-time task to run at a specified time. systemctl suspend This command is used to put the system into suspend mode, allowing it to be resumed later. systemctl hibernate This command is used to put the system into hibernation mode, allowing it to be restored to its previous state upon resume. shutdown This command is used to shut down or reboot the system. poweroff This command is used to power off the system. reboot This command is used to reboot the system. Some of these I use on a regular basis, others I’ve probably never touched, but it is valuable to have these at your fingertips, nonetheless. My most commonly used commands from this table above are systemctl, mount, umount, and reboot. Never used crontab or userdel. Sometimes when I am doing updates in the terminal and find that a reboot is necessary, I will simply sudo reboot now rather than using the mouse to do the same task. It is simpler that way. https://www.linuxteck.com/linux-system-administration-command-cheat-sheet/ #cheatsheet #Linuxsysadmin #terminal #FOSSNews #TechFreedom Want to learn more about how to degoogle your phone and why? https://techfreedom.pro/degoogled/ #TechFreedom #degoogled #degoogleyourlife #defintionsday #Truth WW 2.3 – A New ePub Reader from the KDE Team Arianna is here! The KDE team have put together a new ePub reader and management app based on Kirigami and Qt. It is purty and has direct integrations with Baloo to make the management side of the app more of a joy. You can search for words in individual books, keep track of progress, and navigate using the keyboard. Why do we need another reader app when we have Calibre or Thorium already? Well, neither of them are so wholly integrated with any desktop environment, so there are clunky bits for each of these other options. You can try it easily via a flatpak: flatpak install flathub org.kde.arianna https://debugpointnews.com/kde-app-arinna/ #arianna #epub #FOSS #readerapp #Linux #sysadmin #FOSSNews #TechFreedom

DM 54.1 – Choices, Choices... Should you stick with a point release like Debian, Ubuntu, or OpenSUSE Leap, or be daring and try a rolling release like Arch, Tumbleweed, or OpenMandriva Rome? It isn’t that clear-cut. Since when is anything, really? So what is the primary difference? Rolling distributions constantly roll updates to core and other packages as soon as they become available. This can lead to instability, but if you want the latest and greatest from your hardware and software, this is the way to go. Upgrading is easy because when you install, you simply install the base OS, then it constantly offers updates to you. With an Arch based rolling distro, such as Manjaro or Garuda, my strong suggestion is to run updates at least once a week, so that it doesn’t stack up on you, leading to problems when you actually do update. It is also easier to upgrade, without weird instructions, due to this. Fixed (point) Release distributions will likely release security updates between major upgrades, but other than that, your system will be stable between upgrades. This means that you will be at least 6 months behind your rolling release brothers and sisters in terms of the other packages in your distro’s repositories, generally. Now, if you choose to take a flatpak route for most of your apps, you will get updates for those packages as they are released on flathub, or whatever other mirror you may have used to install the flatpak. If you stick with Debs on Debian/Ubuntu, you will be behind everyone, however, as long as the current version (as of the release of your version) of your apps is to your liking, it will stay that way until your next upgrade. As you can see, certain situations call more for stability vs raw performance and the latest and greatest. So it depends what matters to you. Are you the kind of person that likes the adventure of constant updates, or would you rather simply set it and forget it? Next, we’ll be chatting about two Point Release distros: edubuntu and 4M Linux. https://linuxiac.com/rolling-vs-point-release-linux-distributions/ #distromonday #whichkind #Linuxnews #FOSSNews #newdistro #TechFreedom DM 54.2 – Edubuntu 23.04 Out Now Edubuntu is an education-focused distro based on, you guessed it, Ubuntu. What makes this one different? Why is it making a comeback as an official flavor of Ubuntu after a near-10 year hiatus? One question at a time, please... Ok, so it comes with a raft of educational software preinstalled, such as GCompris, Inkscape, Scribus, TuxPaint, Stellarium, and Calibre ebook reader, organizer, and editor. Not ones to get lazy, the team have also added LibreCAD, Gramps, Tux Typing Tutor, Dia, Chemtool, Gobby, Drawing, Light Speed, Fritzing CAD, Laby, PDF Mod, as well as many from the KDE Education Suite, a few games, and more. Why is it making a comeback? The team at Canonical felt the need to roll it back out after so long as there is a need for solid education-focused distros now, more than ever. https://9to5linux.com/first-look-at-edubuntu-23-04-ubuntu-desktop-packed-with-educational-software #distromonday #edubuntu #FOSSNews #Linuxnews #Linux #education #forthekids #TechFreedom Freedom Consultation Free call. 60-90 minutes. Q&A Leave with Actionable Steps to take, whether you work with me or not. Schedule today. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #freedom #consultation #Linux #degoogleyourlife #TechFreedom DM 54.3 – What’s New in 4M Linux? Well, the last 4 months have been jam-packed for the development team. When you see the list of programs added and updated, you’ll likely be surprised at this tiny but mighty independent distribution. Well, if you’re new around here, I should probably explain what 4M Linux is, 4M Linux is an independent distro designed to be lightweight and good at fulfilling the 4 M’s which the lead developer feels are necessary in any distro: • Maintenance (system rescue Live CD) • Multimedia (full support for a huge number of image, audio and video formats) • Miniserver (DNS, FTP, HTTP, MySQL, NFS, Proxy, SMTP, SSH, and Telnet) • Mystery (meaning a collection of classic Linux games) This version has some new bells & whistles versus the older versions. Key internal differences include the latest LTS kernel and the Mesa 22.2.3 graphics stack to handle the multimedia end of things. As for the bells & whistles: • A raster graphics editor and Hex-a-Hop video game as downloadable extensions, • AlsaPlayer, • Baka MPlayer, • GNOME MPlayer, • GNOME MPV • mp3blaster • XMMS as a default media player Now about updated apps: • LibreOffice 7.5.2 office suite • Mozilla Firefox 111 • Chromium 106.0.5249.91 • Mozilla Thunderbird 102.8.0 • GIMP 2.10.34 • VLC 3.0.18 • SMPlayer 22.2.0 video player • Audacious 4.3 audio player • AbiWord 3.0.5 word processor • Gnumeric 1.12.55 spreadsheet editor One thing that makes this lightweight distro stand out, though, is that it also has a server flavor called 4MServer, which includes the standard LAMP stack tools and has been updated alongside the main distro, with the latest stable versions of Apache server, MariaDB, and PHP. https://9to5linux.com/independent-distro-4mlinux-42-released-with-linux-kernel-6-1-lts #distromonday #Linux #4MLinux #4MServer #lightweight #fast #oldhardware #newhardware #FOSSNews #TechFreedom

WE 32.1 – Bob Lee’s Alleged Killer Collared Justice is coming for Bob. Here’s a followup on last week’s lead story. It looks like he knew his attacker and the attack was not a robbery or just a random murder. It would appear that the two men knew each other, and had been having a very heated argument in the suspect’s car during the wee hours of the morning last Tuesday morning. It got so combative that it would appear that Mr. Lee exited the car, and the suspect followed him, then pulled a knife on him. The knife, with the suspect’s prints on it was found near the scene. Part of me is curious to know what the argument was about, and why the men took it to such great lengths. I can’t think of many things that could lead to that much of a reaction in me, with someone that I know well. Perhaps more details will come to light, who knows, right? https://gizmodo.com/cash-app-founder-bob-lee-stabbing-nima-momeni-arrested-1850332225 #Cashapp #boblee #suspectarrested #justice #weekendedition #TechFreedom WE 32.2 – Former Theranos CEO to Report to Prison Elizabeth Holmes, who was a party to defrauding Big Money in the US about 5 years ago, is to report to prison as she awaits her appeal. A few months ago, I covered that she and her former partner (multiple senses to that word) had been sentenced to 11 and 13 years for their respective parts in the fraud scheme around the Theranos claims about their revolutionary blood testing technology. The courts are not allowing her to stay free pending the appeal that may take a year to be heard. This is what happens when you defraud people like Buffett and others in the Billionaire class. You get slapped to the stone age. In comparison, if your fraud does not touch the upper crust, your trial will probably drag out further, and while you will likely be banned from ever running a business where you might be able to defraud people again as well as getting fined, and/ or required to refund or return money to those whom you harmed. They are throwing the book at Theranos just like they did with Skrelli and Madoff. #theranos #elizabethholmes #fraud #payingthepiper #TechFreedom #weekendedition https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65241105 WE 32.3 – Elon & Twitter A) Elon’s BBC Interview a. Denies that trolling and other “hateful” content is on the rise on Twitter since he took over. The snowflakes are melting because they don’t have full run of the place anymore. The “journalist” who interviewed him couldn’t provide a single example of how that content had trended upward in the last 6 months. Lame. b. Somehow I am less than surprised that a big tech guy, even one as seemingly outspoken in certain conservative ways as Elon is, would vote for Depends in the last election, rather than the “Bad Orange Man”. c. He stands by Twitter’s efforts against bots and “hateful” content, in spite of multiple studies purporting to show how Twitter is worse off since he took over. i. Terribly shocking that he would stand by their efforts... About as shocking as these Woke-ist studies amplifying all that they claim to hate, so not really at all. d. Doesn’t believe that TikTok should be banned, as he is “generally against bans”. He doesn’t use the platform, but is not for the ban merely because it might drive content and eyeballs back to Twitter. e. He would not sell at this point, unless the buyer shared his commitments to free speech and the like. He believes that he can turn it around to actually be profitable, unlike as it was, and he likens the way it was to a non-profit, rather than a business. f. Twitter will change BBC’s label on the platform to “publicly funded” rather than “government funded” even though 71% of their revenue comes in the form of UK TV license fees, aka, straight from the Crown. BBC had whined about having the same label as RT and other global State media outlets. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65251160 #elon #interview #surprise #FOSSNews #TechFreedom B) Twitter Labels NPR & BBC as “Government Affiliated Media” Lol. They chose to call it how it is. Both media giants balked, NPR actually committed to leaving the platform over the alleged mis-characterization, so good riddance to bad rubbish, there, right? The BBC whined, and as I just mentioned in the interview story, Twitter back down and will change the label, from “Government Affiliated” to “Publicly Funded” media, and it would appear that that will be enough to keep the British giant on the platform. NPR is all in a tizzy over it, crying that only 3% of their income is from the CPB, which runs PBS. Both organizations insist that they have editorial freedom and are not beholden to any government entity to make sure that their news stories are non-damaging to the US or the UK. I struggle with that characterization, as we know that ALL MSM, and likely some of the smaller alt-media outlets get their talking points from the Clowns in America or the MI5/6 in the UK. Show me proof that the intellignce communities do not have full control over most of these outlets, and I’ll eat some crow. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65202978 https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65226481 #Twitter #NPR #BBC WE 32.4 – AI News For the Week A) Big 3 Square Off (ChatGPT vs Bing vs Bard) You’re probably wondering why I’m bothering with this article at all with the running commentary I have about these tools, but it caught my eye. I am surprised that the Bing AI, which is an implementation of GPT-4 (the tech behind chatGPT) seems to be the middle of the road choice, here, where vanilla chatGPT outshines its competitors in every test. Bard currently sucks eggs, even though it has realtime access to Google Search to craft its responses to things. However, that may change when Google transitions from the LaMDA to PaLM large language model. I think what we are seeing here is just that Bard has not had the billions of user requests that chatGPT has had since it was released for public use back in November, as it is just becoming publicly available. Bing is weird, here though, because where chatGPT shines, it is just kind of so-so. I will repeat my refrain here: I do not trust the the mega-corps that are designing these models, not to give me accurate, relatively unbiased information, and I see these tools as pleas from them for us to give them even more data about us, our interests and the info we want to know or have put together for us. As time goes on, I see these “generative ‘AI’s’” as more nefarious, but not in the same way as people like my wife do. I think that they are designed to lull us into farming out our thinking even more than mass media and the “education” system in most countries do already. Don’t let them take your mind from you through atrophy, people. https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/chatgpt-vs-bing-vs-google-bard-which-ai-is-the-most-helpful/ #ughhhh #AI #showdown #weekendedition B) AWS to Launch Generative AI Competitor Bedrock is a foundation for other companies to build their own tools with, not a publicly available chatbot like Bard, ChatGPT or Bing. It has a bevy of models to choose from which are all at least somewhat pre-trained, but each implementation will be 100% isolated from others using the same model, so no random company will benefit from the data that another company pours into their AI implementation based on Bedrock. This sounds like a good business move, and Amazon has been training Titan, their in-house AI models, for about 20 years, based on site searches on Amazon.com. Be wise in how you use these tools. I won’t pretend that if you have decided to use them or already have started to use them that you will stop on my account, but please slow your roll on this. Do not be in such a blind rush that you cannot see the problems with these tools. #weekendedition #AI #Amazon #AWS #Bedrock #interesting #FOSSNews #TechFreedom https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/13/aws-launches-bedrock-generative-ai-service-titan-llms.html C) AI Gen Images Cause a Stir Deepfakes had their day in the sun this week, with their faked images going viral because people are either too tired or unobservant to notice the differences between faked images and real ones. Some were innocuous enough, of course, but the fact that people couldn’t tell the difference between real and fake, and the images were caused to go viral (I do not trust virality anymore, as it is too easily pushed via algorithms) and thus made a big stir, in some cases. This article ends with a tepid call for legislation around these issues, which seems to be something of a reaction to the notion that we need to democratize AI tools so that everyone can have access to them, if desired. I echo the call to democratize things, as you can imagine, since the name of this channel is FOSS (Free & Open Source Software) News. I believe strongly that the best, and perhaps only, way forward in terms of not becoming an even more blatant corporatocracy, is to open source as many things in our lives as possible. Speaking of open sourcing things, it is time to play a FOSS game. #weekendedition #AI #midjourney #imagegenerators #warnings #FOSSNews #TechFreedom https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/02/tech/ai-generated-images-social-media/index.html

FFF 1.1 – Steam Deck News A) Steam Deck to Cross 3 Million Units Sold This Year This should not come as a terrible surprise, as the FOSS community has really banded around the ‘Deck. It is a niche product which has great potential, but most normie-con gamers are still quite happy with their Windows PCs, XBoxes and PlayStations, thank you very much. Still, that looks like quite the coup for Steam and Valve as a whole. Sure, that doesn’t make the eye-popping numbers from the big boys, where they sell that many in a bad month, but everything in context, this is cool. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/04/report-steam-deck-to-pass-3-million-sales-during-2023/ #steam #valve #steamdeck #FOSSNews #Linuxgaming #TechFreedom #FFF B) GE-Proton 7-55 Released Quick note, this is not a huge update, but it makes it easier to work around and with Easy Anti-Cheat titles. so here’s what’s new in this hotfix update: · This is a hotfix for EAC. In 7-53 the star citizen hotfix broke EAC compatibility for other games, this has been fixed now. o wine updated to latest bleeding edge. o dxvk updated to git. o vkd3d-proton updated to git. o nvapi enabled for final fantasy stranger of paradise. o legacy xactengine winetricks protonfix removed as it's finally no longer needed. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/04/ge-proton-7-55-released-essential-fix-for-easy-anti-cheat-steam-deck/ #FFF #Steam #Linuxgaming #geproton #hotfix #easyanticheat #FOSSNews #TechFreedom C) Halo MasterChief Collection Now On Steamdeck Cool tidbit, here, boys and girls. That’s right, Microsoft’s juggernaut of a series now works better on the ‘deck. However, there are still growing pains. So, what’s new here? · When launching Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Steam Deck, selecting one of the available Anti-Cheat launch options will result in the game launching with the opposite launch option. For example, selecting “Anti-Cheat Disabled” will result in MCC launching with Anti-Cheat enabled. o Until this issue is resolved in a future update, players on Steam Deck must select the “Anti-Cheat Disabled” launch option to access multiplayer matchmaking and the Custom Game Browser. · Shortly after being removed from or leaving a party with other players via the Roster menu, players on Steam Deck may experience Halo: The Master Chief Collection freezing or crashing. o Players on Steam Deck are unable to play Campaign Co-op or Spartan Ops with players on PC or Xbox consoles. Attempting to do so may result in players accessing gameplay, however, all sessions will eventually experience a “Connection Interrupted” error or a similar disconnection. · Campaign Co-op and Spartan Ops will function as expected if all players in the group are playing on Steam Deck. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/04/halo-the-master-chief-collection-gets-steam-deck-support/ #FFF #halo #steamdeck #easyanticheat #Linuxgaming #FOSSNews #TechFreedom FFF 1.2 – AMD Drivers Out Now... Good Stuff So lots of changes to boost performance in AMD GFX for Linux. I alluded to some of these features a couple of weeks ago when I covered the new update for DOTA 2. This one should make some significant changes for anyone who doesn’t like Team Green with their pedo-inspired logo... But I digress. What’s new here? Well, GPL will be enabled by default, which should remove jitters from titles which do not have shader caches. Also due to a re-implementation of that shader cache structure, those cache files should be FAR smaller, which means that your hardware won’t have to work as hard and you get smoother performance. This is excellent. The changes in cache file size have been on the order of a 60% reduction in size for single-file situations, however, in multi-file situations, it has been observed to increase the overall cache size by 2%, due to overhead changes. Sounds like good stuff, even if we won’t necessarily get to see these benefits realized until potentially the next major update for Linux. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/04/driver-updates-for-amd-radv-to-give-nice-boost-for-linux-and-steam-deck/ #FFF #AMD #RADV #Linux #drivers #MESA #performance #FOSSNews #TechFreedom Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom #Truth FFF 1.3 - Not Strictly Gaming, But KDE Connect Got Some Big Love The KDE Connect team got a big grant which will allow the development team to focus on it full time. This means that this handy piece of software will get new features and updates that much more frequently. What are they working on next? · adding in a mDNS backend to improve device discovery and connections o This is a big deal because it can be a bit finicky at times, so this getting improved makes me very happy · Rolling out improvements and updates to encryption by dropping the older protocols for old Android · Security patches and updates · They’re also looking to improve the UI in terms of accessibility All good, here. Hopefully that mDNS shift will make those connection issues that I have had go away. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/04/kde-connect-is-getting-some-upgrades-for-easy-file-transfers/ #FFF #Linux #KDEConnect #GSConnect #security #stability #better #FOSSNews #TechFreedom FFF 1.4 – Minetest 5.7 Released If you’re thinking that the name of this game sounds allot like an uber-popular title from Mojang, you’d be right. This is a FOSS game that is very similar to Minecraft. It is an open-world, pixelart, sandbox game which allows you to build just about anything. This version adds a huge performance boost: long-distance horizon drawing used to absolutely crawl, at ~10 FPS, now that same scene practically flies at 53 FPS. That is huge, as 10 FPS is not even remotely playable, where 53 FPS is almost buttery. They’ve added some effects, such as bloom and dynamic exposure, along with occlusion culling, so that it no longer renders things that are outside the frame, and they’ve added better multi-threading support, as well as some goodies for modders. I don’t play these sorts of games at this stage in my life, but I know that many do. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/04/minetest-570-out-now-with-graphics-improvements-performance-upgrades/ #FFF #minetest #minecraft #updates #performance #goodstuff #FOSSgames #Linuxgaming #FOSSNews #TechFreedom

Moving to 1 ~60 minute Tech News Show /per week Mondays at 0900PST/1200 EST Distro Monday, Wonder Wednesday, and FOSS Fun Friday will be rolled into a single show, starting Monday 5/8/2023.

Distro News DN 1- Manjaro 22.1 “Talos” On April 21, the Manjaro team released their latest round up system updates, codenamed “Talos”. As is typical with this very tested, Arch-based distro, they lag behind the bleeding edge by a few months. I still use Manjaro on my streaming PC and my wife’s laptop, though I have migrated my surface and our other machine away from that, as it seemed to break things or cause unnecessary slow-downs for those machines. Manjaro is very much a solid distro, and is a good starting point if you want to try the Arch side of the Linux family tree, as it is safe, yet still essentially a rolling release. So, what’s new in this ISO? • GNOME 43.5 ◦ redesigned system status menu ◦ in-house Layouts Switcher application ◦ Gradience ◦ Custom dynamic wallpapers ◦ Manjaro green theming is back • KDE ◦ 5.27.4 ◦ Gear 22.12 ◦ Wayland support as cornerstone (Manjaro team is very excited by this) I’ve spilled much digital ink talking about the latest in KDE as these updates are released, typically on a monthly cadence, and the latest is actually Gear 23.04 and Framework 5.105, not 22.12. This is the nature of Manjaro, though. They make sure that the packages they roll out to users (generally) are rock solid and stable, so unless you feel the need to live dangerously, this is a solid option for you. • Xfce ◦ Finally on 4.18 ▪ New fie highlighting feature in Thunar • Recursive search in Thunar ▪ Panel preferences changes • Panel length in pixels vs % • Panel can now stay on top of windows, so the bottom of a window goes below the panel, rather than covering or sitting flush against it ▪ Control Center is now the one-stop shop for all desktop module settings • New Kernel 61 LTS ships by default, but options for 5.15 and 5.10 LTS as well. https://forum.manjaro.org/t/manjaro-22-1-talos-released/139155 DN 2 – Ubuntu Double Header 2.1 – Update PSA Make sure that you update to the latest kernel patches from Canonical if you are running Ubuntu, as there were a pair of critical vulnerability exploits which got patched recently: CVE-2023-1829 and CVE-2023-0386, both of which could allow a local attacker to escalate their privileges to root level without a password. The first one was a flaw in the traffic-control index (TC-Index), which required the devs to shut that down in order to fix it. The second was an issue with the OverlayFS file system, which controls the copying process from one UID to another. These patches affect 22.10, 22.04 LTS and 20.04 LTS users, so run the update via terminal as you usually would: sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade should grab and install these for you with no problems. https://9to5linux.com/canonical-issues-new-ubuntu-kernel-updates-to-fix-two-local-privilege-escalation-flaws 2.2 – Bionic Beaver (Ubuntu 18.04 LTS) is End-of-Life Just a heads up, here. LTS versions of Linux are supported for 5 years, and we are at the end of that time frame now. If you have any systems running 18.04 still, I suggest upgrading, if it is at all practicable to do so for you. Or you can move to Ubuntu PRO, which will offer extended support through expanded security maintenance (ESM) updates until 2028. Just thought you should know, just in case we have some stragglers or people out there who really have a mission-critical need for 18.04. https://news.itsfoss.com/ubuntu-18-04-eol/ Freedom Consultation Free call. 60-90 minutes. Q&A Leave with Actionable Steps to take, whether you work with me or not. Schedule today. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #freedom #consultation #Linux #degoogleyourlife #TechFreedom DN 3 – Alma VS Rocky: Which is the better CentOS Replacement? This article lays out several points of comparison, ranging from ease of installation, to extensiveness of documentation, to performance, and ease of use. They both inherited the CentOS installer, so if you liked that, you’ll love the Rocky and Alma Linux installers. I’ve not worked with any of them, personally, but it looks straightforward enough, as it should. Both Alma and Rocky Linux are aimed squarely at enterprise use cases, just as CentOS was. This means that they are geared to be ultra-stable and secure. It is also very easy to migrate from a CentOS install to either Rocky or Alma Linux. All you need is their script to run, and it will switch you right over. One benefit that Alma has is that they have also included upgrading in their migration script. So not only will it laterally migrate you from CentOS to Alma, but it will update & upgrade you to the latest version of Alma Linux all in one go. Rocky Linux also has migration tool, but as I just said, it doesn’t have the ability to upgrade you to the latest version in one fell swoop, but that is ok. Alma Linux is slightly faster in the benchmarks, but the difference is pretty negligible. As for ease of use, they are pretty close to identical, and both ship with GNOME templates for workstations. Rocky Linux has far better documentation, so maintaining and repairing it is easier than Alma, which has a much more sparse, but that can be made up for by the great community support that exists, on the very active subreddit and mattermost channels. Rocky also has community support on their subreddit and mattermost channel, however, they are not as quick to answer questions as the Alma Linux community is. So these distros are pretty darn close, in my book. I’m not looking for an enterprise distro, but if you are, either of these are great options, from what I can tell. https://www.maketecheasier.com/almalinux-vs-rocky-linux/ FOSS News FN 1 – Your Own VPN? Just Like That... As long as you have a VPS set up somewhere, you can easily set up docker and install Wireguard on it and have your very own, truly private, virtual private network. So right now, we will talk through the process, if you don’t mind. I unfortunately do not have a spare VPS anywhere, so I can’t SHOW you how this works. First, make sure you have Docker and Docker Compose installed on your server. Most distros are pretty simple in terms of how to get that done, and I trust that you can look that up for yourself, if you don’t know how to get it done right now. So the first step is to check if Docker is installed: Docker —version If it returns a version, you are good to go, move on to installing Compose, which will allow you to install and run multi-container apps (which is what this will require). If not, simply install Docker by following the appropriate install directions for your distro, then do the same for Docker Compose. Here are the directions for Docker Compose: sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-linux-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose After that, you’ll need to install the appropriate containers for Wireguard Server and WireguardUI:. First you’ll need to create and navigate into a directory called wireguard mkdir wireguard cd wireguard Once there, You’ll need to use your favorite text editor (VIM, Nano, Gedit, ect) to create and edit a file called docker-compose.yaml vim docker-compose.yaml Once the file is open, simply copy the following lines of code into the file: version: "3" services: # WireGuard VPN service wireguard: image: linuxserver/wireguard:latest container_name: wireguard cap_add: - NET_ADMIN volumes: - ./config:/config ports: # Port for WireGuard-UI - "5000:5000" # Port of the WireGuard VPN server - "51820:51820/udp" # WireGuard-UI service wireguard-ui: image: ngoduykhanh/wireguard-ui:latest container_name: wireguard-ui depends_on: - wireguard cap_add: - NET_ADMIN # Use the network of the 'wireguard' service # This enables to show active clients in the status page network_mode: service:wireguard environment: - SENDGRID_API_KEY - EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS - EMAIL_FROM_NAME - SESSION_SECRET - WGUI_USERNAME=admin - WGUI_PASSWORD=password - WG_CONF_TEMPLATE - WGUI_MANAGE_START=true - WGUI_MANAGE_RESTART=true logging: driver: json-file options: max-size: 50m volumes: - ./db:/app/db - ./config:/etc/wireguard All you should need to do is change the WGUI_username and WGUI_password fields to your desired values, save and exit from the text editor, then you will actually download the container images and set them up thusly, from the above directory: docker-compose up -d It should take about a minute for them to download and be set up this first time, but after that, it should only take seconds to start the respective containers, as they won’t need to download every time you start them. After they have started up, you can open your browser of choice, then navigate to the IP address of your server, like so: https://my.server.address.here Enter your username and password (which you changed before you downloaded the images), if you are indeed following these directions. Then click “sign in”. If you are very concerned with security, which, lets face it, if you are making your own VPN, you probably are, then you should look into installing a reverse proxy such as either Caddy or Traefik,to secure your access to WireguardUI. Next, you’ll need to configure your new Wireguard VPN server. Simply copy the following batches of code into the Post Up and Post Down script fields, respectively: Post Up: iptables -A FORWARD -i wg0 -j ACCEPT; iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE Post Down: iptables -D FORWARD -i wg0 -j ACCEPT; iptables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE After this, hit the Save button in the bottom left (below the fields you just populated) Apply Config button in the upper right corner, then confirm by clicking Apply in the dialog box that pops up. After this, you will click over into the Global Settings tab on the left hand side of the window. Check to make sure that the auto-populated public IP address is accurate, if it is, great, if not, you will have to find and enter the IP address of your server, and you can set DNS servers for your VPN, so say you want to add AdGuard, a PIHole, or perhaps content filtering to protect you and your family from garbage online (such as porn, gambling, drugs, or other sketchy things). On that subject, you could also set up your own DNS filtering through ControlD (https://controld.com), or add AdGuard and perhaps CleanBrowsing DNS addresses before you Save and Apply Changes. Finally, in order to connect to your new VPN, you’ll need to set up a new client or two, so click the New Client button, and enter a user name and email, but leave the rest blank/ as they populate it. Then hit the Submit and Apply Config buttons, and your first client should be automatically set up and ready to use. Next, we need to figure out how to connect to this VPN client, right? Right, we do. Here’s how to get it done on your Linux PC: Click the Wireguard Clients tab on the left hand side of the WireguardUI window. You should see the client(s) you just set up. Click the Download button on the client in question, then rename it something recognizable so that it is easier to do the next step: Open your terminal Copy this command: nmcli connection import type wireguard file <yourfilename>.conf Then open up your Settings app, navigate to the Network Connections section or tab, and you should see the WireGuard VPN connection available to you and then click it and click connect. After this, it should show up as connected, so if you ping your VPN server’ s private IP address, it should return a positive result, and lo & behold, you are connected to your brand new VPN. You can also confirm by going back to your WireguardUI window and looking at the Status tab. But what about phones? Have no fear, I’ve got you covered: Download the official WireGuard VPN Client app from your app store of choice, then open it and tap Add a Tunnel, then Create from QR Code. To get the QR code you need, go back to the WireGuard Clients tab again, and pick your client, and click the QR Code button, then capture the QR code with the app on your phone, and all should be set up for you. Once that is done, simply enable the profile, and you are protected. https://linuxiac.com/how-to-set-up-wireguard-vpn-with-docker/ FN 2 – LibreOffice 7.5.3 Released This one will be much shorter than the last story, as I won’t be talking you through installing and configuring anything, just reporting on a maintenance release for a popular FOSS office suite. I have often covered these releases on Tech Tips Tuesdays in the past, but they are a thing of the past now. Here we are... LibreOffice 7.5.3. This release squashes 119 bugs found in the previous release, and if you are a LibreOffice 7.5 user, you should certainly update to this as soon as you can, so that you can stop encountering those bugs. The 7.5 series will be actively developed until 7.6 comes out sometime this November. That is all. I used to use LibreOffice for everything, but recently began switching to OnlyOffice, which tends to be more stable and is easier to link up to NextCloud, as well. These days, I only use LibreOffice personally to read off my show notes on my streaming PC. That is not to say that it is crap, but the simplicity and closer compatibility of OnlyOffice feels like a better fit for me now. https://9to5linux.com/libreoffice-7-5-3-is-now-available-for-download-with-119-bug-fixes Want to learn more about how to degoogle your phone and why? https://techfreedom.pro/degoogled/ #TechFreedom #degoogled #degoogleyourlife #defintionsday #Truth FN 3 – A Privacy Listicle from It’s FOSS This is has 11 ideas, so we’ll more or less copy what he says, then comment on them a bit. 1. Secure & Hide Your Email You can use email aliases to keep your actual email address private. We have a list of tools to help protect your email address. Choose any options like SimpleLogin or use the email alias addresses your email provider allows creating. https://simplelogin.io Also, try using secure email services like Tutanota or ProtonMail for the best experience. I hadn’t really thought about this... I should start doing this on my own, for sure. I have a few protonMail addresses, but don’t use them because I had already set up with Zoho for email and collaboration for my domains. Until Proton has an ecosystem as diverse as Zoho’s, I can’t see myself moving away from Zoho. True, as far as privacy and security, Zoho is not in the same realm as either Proton or Tutanota. The major leg up that they have, in my opinion is that they are geared to be a drop in replacement for Google Spaces and Office365 online (including Outlook, to a certain extent), but will not scrape your data for relevant Ad data or other, more nefarious things. The other two are end to end encrypted to the point where if you lose your password and do not have a recovery method set up, you will lose all of your emails. https://zoho.com https://proton.me https://tutanota.com 2. Secure Your Internet Use a secure or encrypted DNS like NextDNS or ControlD Use a VPN to encrypt your internet connection ProtonVPN and Mullvad VPN would be two excellent options, offering open-source clients and Linux support. Funny, I just mentioned ControlD earlier, didn’t I? The encrypted DNS is key, 100% of the time, the VPN you can get by without unless you are out on public WiFi. https://nextdns.io https://controld.com https://proton.me https://mullvad.net 3. Secure Your Search Activity I harp on this weekly. The top options here are probably Swisscows, Mojeek, Metager and SearX. A distant placing would be Brave Search. The reason I say that Brave Search has fallen from favor is that with the enfolding of AI, their index has shifted to the Left, where it used to be fairly balanced, if not conservative-leaning. All of them are far better than Yahoo, Bing, or Google Search, in terms of keeping your information under your control, though, so take your pick, try a few and see which one scratches your itch best. SearX is unique in that you can and should host your own instance, in a way, that is the ultimate in privacy, as you control the engine for your instance. https://swisscows.com https://mojeek.com https://metager.org https://github.com/searx/searx https://search.brave.com 4. Use a Privacy-Focused Browser Some popular options are Brave, LibreWolf, and Vivaldi. Only one of these is actually FOSS, in fact, the Vivaldi team will not even allow the browser to be packaged as a flatpak. Brave is not FOSS, either, but with a few tweaks, it certainly passes the privacy sniff test. LibreWolf is 100% FOSS, as it is a fork of FireFox, but geared to be about as private as possible without going Tor. For instance, it defaults to deleting all history and cookies every time you close the browser, so be aware of that. https://brave.com https://librewolf.net https://vivaldi.net 5. Do Not Install a Program You Don't Know Be careful with the stuff you download and run on your computer, whether you’re a Linux, Windoesn’t, or MacOS user. Research apps before you randomly install things, they could just be malware. Ankush is right that there are a few tells that any piece of software is probably ok: 1. Make sure that it is reasonably popular a. Not brand spanking new 2. Is FOSS and has a stable release or 2 3. Read the privacy policy to make sure any app is not just a black hole for your private data. 4. Never just simply download unverified files from an email. 5. Only grab software from official channels, unless the developers suggest getting it somewhere else. 6. Utilize All Privacy Tweaks and Options Take a look at the privacy options for every single app and system-wide on your phone or computer. It will probably yield dividends for your privacy, as often it is possible to make things more private than they are by default, but you have to look for the settings in order to change them. 7. Use Secure Password Managers Use something like KeepassXC or BitWarden, or even the Nextcloud password manager (tied to your own instance, ideally) to keep your passwords and credentials safe from prying eyes, and thereby keep your data safer. Don’t use browser based options, they can be more readily hacked. https://keepassxc.org https://bitwarden.com 8. Keep Your Notes Secure If you take notes on your devices, these may be some of the best options for privacy. Standard Notes and CryptPad are great and offer end to end encryption by default. There are of course others which are just as good. Just go hunting a bit. https://standardnotes.com https://crytpad.org 9. Store or Backup on a Private Cloud Platform You should always have multiple secure backup solutions in place, to make sure that your data is safe from disasters (whether natural or electronic), as well as from intruders. Most of us don’t have the time or know-how to set up and manage our own home storage servers for backup, so the next best solution is a secure cloud, such as Mega or pCloud, or a FOSS alternative like LibertyStratus, which is essentially a fork of NextCloud, which is the best self-hosted option out there for this. With NextCloud, you could create an instance on your own hardware, or set up a VPS with a hosting company and create other users and share files and communicate in your own little cloud whenever you’d like. https://mega.nz https://pcloud.com https://libertystratus.org https://nextcloud.org Https://althatech.com (great little hosting company that I write blogs for) 10. Use Private Messengers You can always utilize open-source and encrypted messengers like Signal (cross-platform) to secure your communications. If you want a bit more privacy than that, you could spin up your own matrix server and connect to it with element or fluffy chat, or any of these other options (https://matrix.org/clients). 11. Specialized Distributions If you are adventurous and want to try an entirely different operating system tailored to give you a private experience, you can pick Tails OS, Whonix, or Qubes. These are the best for privacy, and each one has different approaches to the problem. Tails is designed to not have persistent storage, so if you unplug your flash drive from a computer, your data is gone. Whonix is designed to be run in a VM, where Tails is meant to be purely a live environment option. Qubes, on the other hand, can be installed normally, but is entirely containerized in such a way that once you close an application, all its data is irrevocably lost. https://whonix.org https://tails.boum.org https://qubes-os.org https://itsfoss.com/improve-privacy/ FF 1 - Discord to Finally Make Usernames Make Sense Are you a Discord user? Have you noticed that the usernames have always been a bit too random to easily search for friends? I’m not on discord, though I may hop on at some point kinda soon to actually participate in ministry there. We’ll see how that goes. I may invite him on to talk about his project, which is largely based on open source tech, if I’m not mistaken. He is a brilliant guy, actually leaves me feeling wanting when I talk to him because he knows so much. But I digress. I don’t know much about Discord, other than it is a voice chat tool which is often used by gamers, similar to Mumble and TeamTalk. I guess I’m just not that much of a gamer... Certainly not in this season of my life. Part of me misses it, but I like to be busy, and my plate is pretty full these days, so I’m good. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/05/discord-username-system-changing-to-make-it-easier-to-find-people/ FF 2 – Heroic Games Launcher Gets a new Hotfix What needed a fix this time around? Well, it looks like users were having trouble getting past the captcha when trying to sign into Epic. Let’s see what else they worked on, shall we? • They've also added some keyboard shortcuts now too: • Command Or Control+R: Reloads the app. • Command Or Control+Q: Quits the app. • Command Or Control+Shift+I: Opens the dev tools. • Command Or Control+K: Opens the Heroic settings screen on the frontend. • Command Or Control+L: Opens the library screen. • Command Or Control+J: Opens the downloads screen. Full changelog: • [Tech] Refactor Game Managers by @BrettCleary in #2578 • [FIX]: Fix winemenubuilder not being disabled by @Etaash-mathamsetty in #2630 • [FIX]: Fix playing status (again) by @Etaash-mathamsetty in #2626 • [Enhancement]: When selecting item from search bar, it will take you directly to item's game page by @JordanPlayz158 in #2614 • Fix missing game settings info in logs by @arielj in #2638 • [Enhancement]: Provide Wine-ge/Proton-ge latest version via wine manager by @Nocccer in #2513 • [Enhancement] Add logic to Stores feature by @redromnon in #2622 • [Fix] Searchbar and autoComplete UI by @redromnon in #2621 • [Fix] Ignore Logitech's G29 by @arielj in #2570 • [Fix]: Blank screen on startup by @Nocccer in #2612 • [FIX] Image search on Add Game Screen blocking finish button by @flavioislima in #2657 • [Fix] Captcha not working on epic games page by @flavioislima in #2658 • [GOG] Fix url for horizontal images for GOG downloads by @arielj in #2661 • [FIX] Proper kill wine processes when hitting Stop Button by @Etaash-mathamsetty in #2666 • Allow 'null' as lifespan so cachestore does not expire by @arielj in #2664 • [Fix] Steam Shortcuts with missing runner by @flavioislima in #2660 • [UX] Add Keyboard global shortcuts by @flavioislima in #2659 • [i18n] Updated Translations by @weblate in #2636 https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/05/heroic-games-launcher-271-hotfix-1-fixes-up-epic-games-login/ Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ https://techfreedom.pro/free-your-pc #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom #Truth FF 3 - Proton 8.0-2 Released Here’s another small update, which pulled in some of Proton experimental’s work to, for one thing, make the EA app work again, since they keep messing with everybody over there at EA. Aside from that, here is a shortlist of things that got pulled in from experimental: • Fixed Baldur's Gate 3 getting stuck on a black screen in Vulkan mode. • Fixed Divinity: Original Sin: Enhanced Edition and Divinity Original Sin II: Definitive Edition crashing on launch. • Fixed Path of Exile crashing. • Fixed memory leak in Trackmania and Ubisoft Connect overlay. • Improved Elden Ring compatibility compared to Proton 8.0-1. It can still be finicky. • Fixed Red Dead Redemption 2 and other games not starting after switching from Proton Experimental to stable. Hmmm... I remember talking about the Path of Exile thing recently... Makes me want to play again, but I don’t dare until I get a better computer. Oh well... Thus is life. I also don’t really have time to get back into it. I was pretty deep in it for about 4-5 years right after it left beta, 10 years ago. Then kids happened and I realized that it wasn’t worth my time to play a dark A-RPG. I digress again, though... Good that major games like RDR and Elden Ring are getting plenty of love, as always. One thing you can generally count on in FOSS development is relatively incremental improvements happening on a regular basis. Enjoy your games, y’all. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/05/proton-8-0-2-linux-steam-deck-fixing-the-ea-app/

Special Guest: Connor Needling of Needling Worldwide Distro News Top 15 Rolling Distros Alpine 3.18 RHEL 9.2 FOSS News How to Delete a Directory with 1000’s of Files in it QEMU 8.1 Plasma 5.27.5 FOSS Fun No More Roblox on Linux Steam Deck Competitor? Arcane Wilds Distro News DN 1 - 16 Rolling Distros to Consider This is a listicle of rolling release distros you might want to look at if you’re curious about having more frequent updates. I’ll comment on each one, similar to how I did with the privacy listicle last week. 1) Vanilla Arch a) Had to be #1 on the list. It is the quintessential rolling release distro, and serves as the base for many of the options later in the list. This is not, however, for the faint of heart. It uses a script-based installer (or you just have a list of all the packages you want to install, in the correct order, and you handle it all yourself. It gives you a level of control over your system that is otherwise more or less unheard of. However, you can break it by looking at it in a way that it doesn’t like. (https://archlinux.org) 2) Solus Linux a) Much more user-friendly than Arch, independent, though in the process of merging with SerpentOS, which is headed up by the original developer on the Solus project. This is the team that brought us Budgie. I’ve poked at Solus a little, but was not taken by it. (https://getsol.us) 3) Manjaro a) Loosely based on Arch, quasi-rolling, but also has a semi-point release cadence. Every few months, they roll a fresh ISO version with the latest stable packages. It is like Arch with training wheels. I’ve used it for years, where I’ve yet to successfully install Arch on even a VM, to be quite honest. (https://manjaro.org) It is easy to install, easy to use, but still has the customizability of Arch at the core. Solid distro. 4) Void Linux a) Another indie distro like Arch, only more focused on raw performance and security than Arch is. It is ultra-customizable. Did I mention fast? I’ve never tried it, but have friends who have sworn by it in the past. (https://voidlinux.org) 5) openSUSE Tumbleweed a) I have a friend who ran it in a production environment while trying to get Alpine to work for his purposes. He enjoyed it and was surprised by the volume of updates that sometimes came in hourly, but also at the fact that it was rock stable. The thing that turned him off about it was that it has some systemd quirks that drove him up the wall and made it harder for him to do what he needed to do. I had Tumbleweed on a flashdrive and tried it once, but was not happy with it then (a couple of years ago). Give it a shot if you want to learn a new distro, you may be surprised at the outcome. (https://get.opensuse.com/tumbleweed) 6) Fedora a) Community-based upstream for Red Hat and RHEL. This puts it in close proximity to IBM, who is one of the major contributors to Red Hat. They also lead development for GNOME, as well as systemd. I could go off on systemd, but feel like I’d be wasting my breath. It more or less controls your system from behind the scenes. They recently made a change to the way it handles DNS such that you can no longer control which DNS servers your system uses. That feels like a big deal to me. (https://fedora.org) 7) NixOS a) I did a piece on NixOS over on the Altha Tech blog ( https://althatech.com/it-work/nixos-and-altha-tech/ ) last month, as it is the primary OS they use in their server infrastructure. It is more or less just an indie package manager which provides a high degree of reliability and reproducibility due to the fact that all configurations are resident in a single file, so once you commit changes there, if you have a whole fleet of machines or server running NixOS, they all get that change automagically. (https://nixos.org) 8) Debian Testing a) Yes, there is a branch of that venerable distro which is rolling release. If you know Linux, you are probably familiar, at least in passing, with grandaddy Debian. It is the base of Ubuntu, after all, so all of the Ubuntu flavors and derivatives owe their existence to Debian. Debian is not terribly exciting, but it is stable once down-stream from Testing. (https://wiki.debian.org/DebianTesting) 9) Sparky Linux a) Been around for a while, based on Debian Testing. Stable and simple. Haven’t tried it, so I can’t speak to how good it is, personally. (https://sparkylinux.org/) 10) EndeavourOS a) NASA-themed Arch derivative which is relatively light, fast, and certainly rolling. It comes with the latest Calamares installer and most of what you need in order to make your system run well out of the box. One thing you have to keep in mind with this distro is it will require you to become much more comfortable with the terminal than others will, as it does not ship with a GUI package manager, so you have to use CLI pacman to get that done, at least until you install something like Octopi (which feels a bit like aptitude in Debian distros). (https://endeavouros.com) 11) Ka OS a) Indie distro which only ships with the latest versions of all things KDE Plasma. Think of it as an indie version of KDE Neon (which is based on Ubuntu... It is basically Kubuntu unstable, where much of the KDE package testing happens). Ka OS is intentionally limited in scope, as their focus is on quality not quantity. It is a great option for those of us who are hardcore KDE fans. I’ve not tried it, but have talked about it quite a bit over the last year (I typically cover each new ISO release). (https://kaosx.us) 12) Gentoo Linux a) Another indie distro, but not one that is intentionally user-friendly. This one is built by developers and system admins for developers and system admins. It has its own package manager, and actually serves as the base on which ChromeOS is built. But Gentoo, on its own, is about as easy to use and maintain as Arch is. Not for anyone who doesn’t enjoy building packages from source. (https://gentoo.org) 13) Chakra Linux a) Arch-based hybrid distro which offers rolling for non system-critical packages, but periodic updates for core system packages. I’d never heard of this one, and it is no longer being developed, so don’t bother with this one, boys and girls. Doesn’t even have its own webiste. 14) Sabayon became Mocacchino OS a) It is more or less Gentoo + containers and layers and all sorts of other current buzz words. I don’t have the desire to try this one, but if containerization sounds beneficial in your usecase, add this to the container-driver distro list. (https://www.mocaccino.org/) 15) Rolling Rhino Remix a) Ubuntu, only rolling. I covered this distro briefly when it was announced several months back they track all of the devel series updates and roll them out to users. I’m not clear as to whether it is really daily driver ready or not, so take your chances if you wish. It looks interesting, is all I’m going to say. (https://rollingrhino.org/) https://www.geeksveda.com/rolling-release-linux-distributions/ #distronews #FOSSNews #rollingrelease DN 2 – Alpine Linux 3.18 A new version from this minimal, OpenRC, MUSL based distro. This will matter more to you if you are aware of just how much control you lose of your system to run systemd. Systemd used to simply be an init system, but in the last 5 years, especially, it has ballooned out into controlling most aspects of your system behind the scenes. It is still technically FOSS, but very few people who are not developers even have the desire to look at release notes and the like to see what kind of feature creep has invaded that stack of protocols and firmware hooks. One thing that was recently brought to my attention, courtesy of friend of the channel, Connor Needling, is that systemd has now been rewritten in such a way that we no longer have control over what DNS servers our systems use. Let’s start to migrate away from systemd-based distributions. Alpine is one, but it is not particularly user friendly on the front end, unfortunately. Connor is a huge fan of Alpine, and I am testing it on my kids’ machine, as it is very lightweight and performant, and their machine is over 10 years old, so it seems like a match made in heaven, to a certain extent. Devuan, MX Linux, Salix, Artix, and AntiX are a few other non-systemd options out there that might be a bit more user friendly (MX is excellent in that respect, if you are ok with Debian based distros. Check this list for even more options: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Linux_distributions_without_systemd There of course were some key updates in 3.18, such as moving up to the Linux 61 LTS series, musl libc 1.2.4, Python 3.11, Ruby 3.2, Node.js 20.1, Go 1.20, and Rust 1.69. Remember, this is a lightweight distro. Don’t expect a ton of bells & whistles. You’ll even need to install and configure networking for your machine. Beware the install script, though. It will try to force you to set up WiFi, when your system may not be 100% supported. I suggest plugging in hardline, via a lan cable. Worry about WiFi later. You’ll also need to use their setup-desktop script to pick your DE poison, so to speak. You’ll also need to wrap your head around doas vs sudo, at least until you install and configure sudo (which I suggest you do quickly), as well as their package manager (Alpine Package Keeper, or APK). 3.18 does ship with support for GNOME 44 and Plasma 5.27LTS, just need to pick which one you want, but you also have the option of Xfce. The bottom line when installing Alpine is that the wiki is your best friend, unless you have a friend who has done it and is good at explaining things. https://9to5linux.com/alpine-linux-3-18-is-out-with-linux-6-1-lts-experimental-support-for-unattended-installs Freedom Consultation Free call. 60-90 minutes. Q&A Leave with Actionable Steps to take, whether you work with me or not. Schedule today. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #freedom #consultation #Linux #degoogleyourlife #TechFreedom DN 3 – RHEL 9.2 Out Now with Some Interesting Goodies Last week, we talked about a couple of distros which are based on RHEL, but now we’re gonna talk about the main source for those distros, RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux). This is the preeminent enterprise distro in the world. Red Hat is trusted because it has always enjoyed a close relationship with Big Blue (IBM), who have supplied funding and software contributions to the organization and its products for many years. Fedora is somewhat clean, as it is community driven, as far as I know. RHEL and CentOS Stream are decidedly less so than Fedora is, in my opinion, but take that with a grain of salt, as this is pure opinion based on circumstantial evidence at best. I went off about systemd earlier, so I won’t harp on that, but GNOME is also developed by teams at Red Hat. Anyway, back to RHEL and why I am sharing this article in the first place... RHEL got an update. Podman got a huge leg up (podman is a container management tool) in that now, it doesn’t require so much CLI knowledge to operate and take care of your container needs in your fleet. It seems to be geared more and more for automation, which is a welcome piece of news for network admins everywhere. So much more besides that, but you’ll have to read the article in the description if you care to see all of that. https://9to5linux.com/red-hat-enterprise-linux-9-2-adds-64k-page-sizes-support-for-arm-new-system-roles FOSS News FN 1 – Ever Wondered How to Delete Files in Linux? Well, if you’ve been around for a minute, you’re probably yelling at your screen about the trusty old rm command. If you are, you’re right. If you were wondering if I’ll mention stat or ls –i or find, you won’t be disappointed, my friend. If you are completely at a loss as to what I’m talking about, that’s ok, too. This is a brief rundown of how to use these commands to get rid of files in the Linux command line interface/terminal. Say you have a huge directory that is simply stuffed with files and perhaps sub-directories, etc, and you need to free up some space on your computer, then you may try to simply select the directory in question in your file manager of choice (Dolphin, Nemo, Nautilus, etc...) and hit the delete key. This MAY work for you, but will only move your directory and its contents to the Trash bin (assuming it isn’t too big, as there is a file size limit placed on the Trash Bin). If it is too big, you can expect an error stating as much. Deleting in Linux does not work the same way as it does in Windows. When you delete a file in Linux, you are simply removing a link to the file from your computer, then later on, when you aren’t using the file you just unlinked to, the contents get cleaned up. In Windows, due to the way the FAT partitioning system used to work, one must make entirely separate copies of a file in order to have it in multiple places, as FAT is kind of dumb that way. At any rate, time to talk commands, yeah? Everybody’s favorite is rm. It quickly and relatively painlessly removes the link to the file or directory in question. Here’s the basic syntax for rm: rm -<options> <name of file or directory> —<flag> For example, if I wanted to delete the pacman lock file ( a frequent enough scenario in Arch based distros) it would go: sudo rm –f /etc/pacman/db.lck the –f option will force it to delete the file, and adding sudo in front will elevate your privileges so that you can take out that system file. If you want to get rid of a whole directory, though, how would you do that? That is what the –r option is for. –r stands for recursive, so it will get rid of the directory and all that is in it (files, sub-directories, etc). Say you had a directory called Test in your Documents directory, and it has a whole bunch of random junk in there that you don’t need to have around anymore. You would run an rm command like this: rm –r /Documents/Test, and that will get rid of the directory and anything that was inside of it. You experienced users might be wondering if I’ll mention rmdir, well, don’t worry. There’s your mention. It isn’t terribly useful in this case, as it is only capable of removing said directories if they are empty. Next, we turn to find. Find is a bit more complex than rm, so is probably used less. So here’s the situation: you have a directory called “Test 2” in your Downloads directory, and you don’t want to use rm. What do you do? Find to the rescue! Here’s the command you need: find /Downloads/Test 2 –delete You could also use find in concert with ls –li or stat to find the inode number (the unique file number for each file or directory in Linux), then write something like this: find /path/to/file -inum INODE_NUM -exec rm -i {} + (where you would plug in the inode number you found by running either stat or ls –li beforehand for the file in question where it says INODE_NUM), then hit y to confirm the action. This seems extremely specific, which is good, but at the same time, if you know the name of the file or directory anyway, then why bother with the inode thing anyway? https://www.tecmint.com/delete-large-directory-linux/ FN 2 –QEMU 8.1 Announced Though 8.0 just shipped, here is a sneak peek at what is coming in the next version of this crucial emulation back end for handling things like running your classic Nintendo or PlayStation games on your Linux PC. It is also useful for more important things, such as testing ARM or RISC-V compatibility for a piece of software. It can also help you to run regular x86 software on an ARM or RISC-V based system. This is incredibly useful for developers so that they can make 100% sure that their software will work on any platform, so the changes made in 8.1 will make it that much more pleasant to use. They added better pipewire support for audio and video backends, as well as a handful more chips that it can emulate for both ARM and RISC-V. It is unlikely that most of you will need this, but I thought I’d cover it, because it will likely indirectly effect you in the future. Lots of good stuff with this release, so if you want to know more, read the article and the announcements, down below. https://gitlab.com/qemu-project/qemu https://9to5linux.com/qemu-8-1-promises-pipewire-audio-backend-improved-risc-v-support Want to learn more about how to degoogle your phone and why? https://techfreedom.pro/degoogled/ #TechFreedom #degoogled #degoogleyourlife #defintionsday #Truth FN 3 – Another KDE Maintenance Update Here’s KDE Plasma 5.27.5, with a bevy of useful changes and bug squashings, as usual. 5 weeks after the release of 5.27.4, we have the next maintenace update, so what’s new here? • Even more better flatpak support ◦ No more broken configs ◦ New flatpak permissions page in system settings ◦ And more • Task Manager can now do better with text for windows which do not have text in the titlebar • Emoji selector window invokes more quickly from kb shortcut • Scrolling in Task Manager and Pager widgets works better • Touchscreen ◦ Long press on system tray icons for context menus works now • Bug fixes ◦ Plasma Discover ▪ Correctly applies firmware updates ▪ Many flatpak issues • Crash when dealing with a missing .flatpakref file ◦ Plasma Wayland ▪ no longer crash the KWin window and composite manager when hovering the cursor over Task Manager icons or when closing windows (that was annoying) ▪ System Settings app should no longer crash during startup if the Activities database is corrupted ▪ Plasma should no longer crash due to excessive memory usage when searching for unusual things with KRunner (how do they define an unusual search term?) ◦ Multimonitor Support ▪ No more screens-overlapping-by-one-pixel issue ▪ Many other random issues were fixed as well ◦ Random bits ▪ fixes Plasma Calendar’s “Months” views ▪ updates the mouse acceleration profiles to work properly with libinput 1.3 or later ▪ fixes long notification title text in the Notifications history ▪ improves the Bluetooth connection experience ▪ improves importing of VPN configurations ▪ plugs a major memory leak when plugging in an external display ▪ addresses a recently discovered regression in the size and sharpness of GTK CSD windows’ minimize, maximize, and close buttons when not using a scale factor ▪ improves the centered arrangement of Plasma widgets between two flexible Panel spacers places on vertical panels As usual, the KDE team have been hard at work to make Plasma that much better, even as they have been devoting many resources to KDE 6, which is due to drop later this year. When 2-in-1 touchscreen support is closer to GNOME level, I very well may go back to KDE on my surface, but not until then. It’s funny, since I put GNOME on my Surface, It almost feels jarring to go back to KDE, though I know I could make it behave similarly. If you want a clearer picture of what this update did, take a look at the announcement page in the description below. (https://kde.org/announcements/plasma/5/5.27.5/) https://9to5linux.com/kde-plasma-5-27-5-improves-flatpak-permissions-page-system-settings-and-more #FOSSnews #bigshow #KDE #updates #fixes #TechFreedom FF 1 - Roblox h8s Penguins The Roblox developers have hammered the last nail into the coffin for compatibility and support on Linux. They are adopting Hyperion anti-cheat, as the Roblox team bought the company behind Hyperion last October. Their logic for blocking WINE usage is tenuous at best, in my view. They also refuse to countenance the concept of a Linux port, claiming that the gaming community on Linux is neither large nor cohesive enough to bother devoting company resources to developing or supporting. Will this affect Linux adoption rates? I don’t know. I know that Roblox is nearly as popular as Minecraft, particularly with the younger set, however, as this article states, we have Heroic and the Steam Deck, as well as Proton which still enable us to play many games, and those tools are only getting better. I don’t see this as a huge detractor from the appeal of getting away from Windoesn’t and MacOS, if for nothing other than privacy and security reasons. For that matter, Linux is stable, now, particularly if you choose a point release distro like Pop!OS or Mint. It pretty much “just works” for most things, these days. Are there exceptions to the rule? Of course, just like anything else in life. I do not see this making that much of a difference for people who are motivated to make the change anyway. https://news.itsfoss.com/roblox-linux-end/ FF 2 – ASUS ROG Ally Formally Announced Well, we have more information about this Steamdeck competitor now, from specs to pricing. It will indeed be running AMD’s new Z1 chips, but it ships with Windoesn’t 11. *throws up in mouth* Why are they inflicting that privacy nightmare on their customers? Oh wait, massive subsidies from MSFT, no doubt. That, and running Windoesn’t entails fewer compatibility issues. Let’s keep an eye on this gear and see about perhaps getting it working on Linux, shall we? So, here are the specs for this piece of kit: AMD Z1 capable of up to 2.8 TFlops for the base model, both ship with a .5 TB Gen4 SSD, 16 GB DDR5 RAM, a 7” FHD touchscreen display capable of 500 nits brightness, and dual cooling fans. Raw power, this thing sounds promising, and it will cost $599. The upgraded model comes with the Z1 Extreme chip, which is about 3x more powerful than the regular Z1, capable of pushing 8.6 TFlops (you might be wondering what a TFlop is: a teraflop, 1 Trillion FLoating point OPerations. A FLOP is a measure of computing performance which gives a more accurate picture of the capabilities of a chip than simple instructions per second). The extreme version is comparable with the processor in the PlayStation 5, clocking in less than half a TFlop/s lower than the P5 in a smaller package that is also more efficient. By the way, the more capable version is slated to sell at $699. To put it into perspective, the top spec Steam Deck sells for $649, and has the same size ssd, and a AMD Zen 2 chip, and 16 GB RAM, with a 1280*800 resolution 7” screen. Its processor can only manage ~1/2 TFlop/s and its integrated GPU can only manage up to 1.6 TFlop/s. That is pretty weak in comparison to the Z1, but it does natively run SteamOS, which is based on Arch Linux. Here’s a link for the Steam Deck: (https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck) https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/05/asus-rog-ally-releases-in-june-priced-competitively-to-the-steam-deck/ Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ https://techfreedom.pro/free-your-pc #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom #Truth FF 3 – What’s Arcane Wilds? A Western-themed fantasy RTS game that is cross-platform and currently in beta testing. It has 3 factions which each have their unique features, strengths and weaknesses, Army (a Civil War era US Army-alike), Colony (wild west-style gunslingers and the like), and Tribes (similar to native Americans). Who vie for resources and territory. The difference here is that two of the key resources (Supplies and Essence) are actual physical things which need to be transported and can even be stolen. That is novel to me. I like that idea, it makes the whole thing much more realistic and potentially engaging. The combat system sounds like it should be really fun, as it is designed to be very fast-paced, but not at the expense of strategy. Units get ordered via the port, which is where you start every game. In order to order certain units, you do need to build certain buildings, but units are not directly produced by their associated buildings, but those buildings do allow you to order them at the port. Interesting mechanics, y’all. Not just build base, harvest resources, make units, and attack your enemies. We’ll see what shape this game finally realizes once it is out of beta. I will take a look at it and see if my system can handle it and stream & record the whole thing or not. If it can, I will test it out on the Weekend Edition. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/05/arcane-wilds-kicks-off-with-some-refreshing-rts-ideas/ #FOSSNews #FOSSFun #linuxgaming #TechFreedom

Distro News DN 1 – SystemD Free Distros For Those Who Want Full Freedom and Privacy Last week, I mentioned SystemD as being problematic in relation to privacy, this week, we are going to talk about a handful of options (and there really are just a handful of viable options at this point). Some of these are almost bespoke in their uniqueness, such as Chimera Linux. Others are so hard to use that I can’t suggest them to anyone (Void, Gentoo, Alpine, Venom, KISS, Slackware). Devuan, Peppermint, Nitrux Linux, Artix, AntiX, and PCLinuxOS are usable, but each have their quirks and things to be aware of. This will wind up being a listicle of sorts, based on another listicle, but with my own thoughts about each. I will order them from most user friendly to least. 1) Peppermint Devuan a. This is an older, intentionally lightweight distro, built for webapps, something along the lines of ChromeOS. It is very performant, and just works, even for gaming, a bit. It was recently rebased from Ubuntu to Debian/ Devuan. We are concerned with the Devuan base, here, as Debian has a systemD problem. Being based on Devuan, you can choose at install time whether you want OpenRC, dinit, runit, or SysVinit. All that said, this, coupled with ease of install and ease of use causes this one to rise to the top. https://peppermintos.com/guide/downloading/ 2) Devuan a. This is Debian minus SystemD. Whatever problems you might have installing vanilla Debian, you will probably have with Devuan. It is usable, but many things are broken out of the box. It, like many, later in the list, is meant for advanced users. You can check it out and download if you wish, here: https://www.devuan.org/os/ 3) Nitrux Linux a. This one runs on OpenRC, but has significant UI issues, because even the currently default NX Desktop (based on KDE) has stability issues (for example, it uses Latte Dock for the bottom dock configuration, and it crashes multiple times per minute). They are also working on their own desktop, which I have mentioned in the past, called Maui Desktop. This is a promising project, as it is meant to provide convergence between desktop and mobile UI, but is a far cry from being done, yet. https://nxos.org/ 4) AntiX a. If you don’t want to be preached at from the Communist Manifesto, don’t bother with this one. It is based on Debian Stable, but only offers a series of window managers, as this is a super lightweight option. It gives you the choice of either SysVinit or runit for an init system, and has 0 systemd garbage in it. Read up more on it here: https://antixlinux.com/about/ 5) PCLinuxOS a. This one is an indie. It uses APT (from Debian) to access curated rpm packages (from Fedora), ships with a choice of the usual suspects in terms of desktop environments, and runs SysVinit rather than systemd, which is why this is on the list. 6) MX Linux a. Related, somehow, to AntiX, but not truly systemd-free, unfortunately. The devs simply chose to use sysVinit to do the actual init tasks at boot, but once you are into the desktop, it switches over to systemd. Other than that, it is probably the most polished and easy to use so far, but it doesn’t technically belong on this list, though. https://mxlinux.org 7) Artix Linux a. Our only Arch based option today, as it is vanilla Arch, with a GUI installer, and no systemd to gum up the works and spy on you. They have opted for choice, so you can use just about any other init system out there, from OpenRC, to Runit, S6, Suite66, elogind or SysVinit. My brother has used this and loves it, currently, even for playing games. Try one of the community versions, whether KDE, GTK (something like Mate), XFCE, Cinnamon, LXDE, LxQt, or Mate. It should install cleanly, and you should have any DE (other than GNOME) to choose from, so if you like Arch more than Debian, this may be your best option on the list. Check it out here: https://artixlinux.org/download.php 8) Chimera Linux a. Complex blend of the Linux kernel with BSD tooling and a focus on building from source. Not user friendly, but at least starts with the option of running GNOME. Uses dinit for init and service management. Do not recommend for an inexperienced user. (this will be a refrain for the rest of this piece) Take a look at it here: https://chimera-linux.org/ 9) GoboLinux a. Another indie effort, this time with a novel approach to the file system, so every package/app gets its own subtree in the file system. This one is another that emphasizes on building from source, rather than providing end-user pre-packaged binaries (.deb, .rpm, etc). It runs SysVinit for init. It sounds intriquiging, but I don’t know that I would ever really try it, much less suggest it to anyone. https://gobolinux.org/index.html#content 10) Venom Linux a. Focused on being lightweight and giving users a choice between init systems: sysV and Runit are your options here. It is another source-built distro, thus is not meant for new users. However, if you can roll Void or Gentoo successfully, then this should be more or less up your alley. https://venomlinux.org/ 11) KISS Linux a. Not named for Gene Simmons’ band... but for Keep It Simple, Stupid. This is a meta-distro. If that takes you aback, then it ain’t for you. If it makes you curious, then this might actually mean something to you: its repos are meant to be an extensible base for you to build on. This looks to be terminal only, at least in the beginning. Not user friendly. In order to use it, you actually wind up learning how to maintain the distro, which is designed to be doable by a team of 1. https://kisslinux.org/ 12) Slackware a. This is a truly venerable distro. It is the oldest that has been consistently developed, yes, older than Debian even. They just had a new release on Thursday, and switched to a rolling release model, run sysVinit and defaults to KDE for ease of use. It doesn’t obscure anything, which makes sense with the choice to roll with KDE, which pulls very few punches, itself. Check it out, in all its glory here: http://www.slackware.com/getslack/ 13) Tiny Core Linux a. This is ultra minimalistic. The smallest on the list, by a good deal. A full install can be as small as 23 MB. It is designed to live in RAM, no matter how you try to run it. It uses Busybox for init, and is lightning fast because it is all in RAM and has next to nothing to it. Check it out here: http://tinycorelinux.net/welcome.html 14) Gentoo Linux a. This one is all about building from source. Runs OpenRC for init. If you can get it running. Connor can tell you about how non-friendly this distro is. It can be excellent, once you have time and patience to learn portage, the package manager, which build EVERYTHING from source. https://www.gentoo.org/ 15) Void Linux a. Another build-from-source indie distro. Runit is their init of choice, I know of a few people who swear by Void, for anything but gaming. Not user friendly. https://voidlinux.org/ 16) Alpine Linux a. I’m going to let Connor take this one, entirely. He recently joined their dev team, and is positively goofy over this distro. In short, it is an indie distro meant for servers and IoT devices, so it is minimalistic, though you can easily install most of the major desktop environments using a simple script after you install the rest of the system. I have both done it successfully and failed miserably. It is something of a crapshoot, depending on your hardware and which version you choose (my experience). It runs OpenRC and busybox, may not be AS small as Tiny Core, but is still much smaller than the average mainstream offering. https://alpinelinux.org/ https://itsfoss.com/systemd-free-distros/ #distronews #systemd #nosystemd4me #alpine #void #artixlinux #listicle #TechFreedom #FOSSNews Freedom Consultation Free call. 60-90 minutes. Q&A Leave with Actionable Steps to take, whether you work with me or not. Schedule today. https://techfreedom.pro/freedom-consultation #distromonday #freedom #consultation #Linux #degoogleyourlife #TechFreedom What Do You Need to Know about Tech Freedom? https://rumble.com/v19elx6-10-things-about-tech-freedom.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #top10 #explainer #wifeysauce FOSS News FN Special: SystemD and its issues... What started, 15 years ago, as a needed replacement for sysVinit has suffered so much bloat and so much feature creep that the plethora of distros which use it might as well start being called SystemD distros rather than Linux distros. Sure, they still use Mr. Torvalds’ kernel, but so much functionality (in the name of almighty convenience) has been handed over to it that it basically is your system, so when it crashes, so does your system. Connor has something prepared for us, and I will simply chime in during his presentation as I see fit. Connor, would you mind sharing with us now? #FOSSNews #PSA #systemd #Linux #concerned #TechFreedom Want to learn more about how to degoogle your phone and why? https://techfreedom.pro/degoogled/ #TechFreedom #degoogled #degoogleyourlife #defintionsday #Truth How to install GrapheneOS on a Pixel phone: https://rumble.com/v179s8e-how-to-degoogle-your-pixel-3-xl-with-grapheneos.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y #TechFreedom #techtips #howto #tutorial #Truth How to install GrapheneOS on a Pixel phone: https://tv.gab.com/channel/tech_freedom/view/how-to-degoogle-your-pixel-3xl-629bcda174999572f23b5032 #definitionsthursday #TechFreedom #techtips #howto #tutorial Freed Computer https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/ https://techfreedom.pro/free-your-pc #freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom #Truth

John Q Public and his family. John is an average American guy, married, two kids, runs his own small business. His business did well until he started researching "truther" topics: history, vaccines, and the like. He just wants to be left alone. He believes that the constitution means something, that Kids should be protected, Trump won in 2020, and no one should ever be forced to inject anything into their body. For these reasons, he was shadowbanned, and his family suffered... they were shadowbanned and surveiled. They nearly lost their home. John's business tanked. How can John regain digital sovereignty? Degoogling his life: migrating from Windows or MacOS to Linux, iOS or stock Android over to a device with GrapheneOS or DivestOS, regaining your data from their clouds, and eventually shutting down those accounts and replacing them with privacy-respecting options. https://techfreedom.pro