FOSDEM 2020 talks are online
https://fosdem.org/2020/schedule/events/

https://redd.it/ezh6y8
@r_linux

PSA: Installing Ubuntu in UEFI mode to an external harddrive may alter your internal ESP partition. This is a known bug for 6 years, yet no fix so far.

I have a Surface and wanted to install Ubuntu to my external hard drive since I needed proper 3D acceleration for an university project. However, since I like Windows as a main desktop OS (dangerous to say here I guess, but there are quite a few things I really hate about Linux on Desktop) and my SSD is not that large, I wanted to install it to my already existing hard drive. So, I made room for a FAT32 partition and a ext4 partition, chose the ext4 for / and selected the FAT32 parition for the "Install boot loader to the following partition" option.

Guess what happens next? System installed, reboots and whoops, I'm in a GRUB shell. Okay, guess it just changed the UEFI boot variable. I disconnect the drive, and still boots to GRUB shell. Well here we go, Ubuntu just installed the boot loader to the internal SSD and set it as default boot loader, even though that was never intended. On top of that, it even installed a non working boot config, that's why I ended up in the GRUB shell after all.

After spending like 2 hours fixing this shit, I finally managed to remove GRUB from the SSD and moved it to the external hard drive. However, how did this happen?

Turns out [this is an almost 6 years old known bug reported with high priority.](https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubiquity/+bug/1396379?comments=all) No one bothered fixing it so far, even though it messes up the boot config and other distros don't seem to have this issue.

To spread awareness here, pay attention when installing Ubuntu in UEFI mode as dual boot, even on an external hard drive. Kinda strange to ignore a given option, especially since UEFI is not new anymore but rather already there for years, yet the support for it still seems half-assed, at least in Ubuntu.

https://redd.it/ezice5
@r_linux

Deviceplane - A new open source tool for updating and managing Linux devices
https://github.com/deviceplane/deviceplane

https://redd.it/ezjixy
@r_linux

What happened to Deepin?

The website is inaccessible for me for some reason.

Last time I checked the update was like 8 months old.

https://redd.it/ezifrc
@r_linux

What are some good uses of Termux for Android?

I just discovered it today, and it works great with youtube-dl, a command line app to download YouTube videos (and vids from many other websites).

https://redd.it/ezljrj
@r_linux

23+ year old "bug" shows up in compiling a Linux application

This is not meant to be a support question. This is tagged "over-dramatic" because it feels like a TNG Picard "facepalm" moment; except Q is an apparent bug that goes back to when DS9 was still on the air...


*'struct dirent' has no member named 'd\_namlen'*


I've been struggling to build a copy of /r/nginx 1.6.1 with some addons on /r/centos 7.x over the past couple days. Tried using gcc, devtoolset-7 (newer gcc), r/LLVM 3 & 5, ... even compiled from scratch LLVM version 9 ... still back to that same error. Thought I'd get clever & disable the test: nope, still failed when it actually got to compiling what needed that test to pass. But it led me closer to the problem at hand. Some more Google-Fu, and [this interesting gem appeard from TLDP](http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Software-Building-HOWTO-11.html)...


*The notorious fortune program displays up a humorous saying, a "fortune cookie", every time Linux boots up. Unfortunately (pun intended), attempting to build fortune on a Red Hat distribution with a 2.0.30 kernel generates fatal errors.*

*....*

*Let us edit the file* *fortune.c*
*, and change the two d\_namelen references in lines 551 and 553 to d\_reclen. Try a make all again.* ***Success.*** *It builds without errors. We can now get our "cheap thrills" from fortune.*


[Red Hat 4.2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Hat_Linux) (not RHEL, not Fedora) came out on my 16th birthday. I'm going to be 39 this year, and I didn't even start using Linux until 1998/1999. [Nginx](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nginx) first came out in 2004. I'm terribly amused that this old piece of advice, involving a [joke program](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune_(Unix)) not many folks bother to use these days; is probably my best bet at fixing this issue.

https://redd.it/ezn7cj
@r_linux

Introducing Creepts: The First Cartesi DApp - 2-Layer Linux Infrastructure

Creepts is the world’s first decentralized tower defense tournament game. It is built on top of Cartesi’s Layer 2 solution for blockchains, which is available as an open-source software stack that is under active development. Currently, Creepts is playable on the Rinkeby Ethereum testnet.

Full Article: https://medium.com/cartesi/introducing-creepts-the-first-cartesi-dapp-374eee8ad914

https://redd.it/eznuwd
@r_linux

Whatever happened to Tux Droid and where can I buy one?



https://redd.it/ezmth1
@r_linux

Unable to access drive

So o basically tried to install Linux mint with the option that partitions off a bit of your drive so you can dual boot. I tried that and the partition had failed, so I restarted my computer tho see if anything happened, but now my windows drive won’t boot.

TLDR: failed partition, broke windows drive, is there any way I can get the files back without formatting?

Here’s a picture https://imgur.com/a/elZkI6m

Edit: is there any way I can access it from Ubuntu?

https://redd.it/ezp1tt
@r_linux

Kali on Android via Terminal

Is there a way to install the full Kali package on an ARMv7 Android KitKat device?

https://redd.it/ezpunq
@r_linux

The Hidden Early History of Unix (Video)
https://fosdem.org/2020/schedule/event/early_unix/

https://redd.it/ezq26t
@r_linux

How PowerShell 7 Logging works in Linux
https://www.petri.com/how-powershell-7-logging-works-in-linux?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-powershell-7-logging-works-in-linux

https://redd.it/ezs6ii
@r_linux

Contribute Linux For Beginner?

Hello, I just migrated from Windows to GNU / Linux 6 months ago, and it changed my habits to be more productive ... such as joining the community, learning web programming, trying new alternative software, etc.

​

I want to join in contributing to the development of Linux

where should i start?

What programming language should I learn?

https://redd.it/ezru4e
@r_linux

[FLOSSforScience EP025] FreeCAD, a 3D Parametric Modeler
https://flossforscience.com/podcast/season3-episode1

https://redd.it/eztohd
@r_linux

Advice for emulation on linux or similar operating systems

Hello

i explain my situation, i need a stable solution to keep retrogaming on an on its my thing butthe problem is that is not needed to function on windows forever (when will they release in the future a new version the emu may not work properly ; i need something i can use indefinetly any suggestion? PS dont know if its the correct section to post this i apologize

for short i setup it one time and i can use forever like a multi console machine emulator

https://redd.it/ezuizl
@r_linux

jc: JSONify the output of dozens of common GNU/linux commands and file types

Hi everyone - I've just released version 1.7.1 of `jc`.

[https://blog.kellybrazil.com/2020/02/06/jc-version-1-7-1-released/](https://blog.kellybrazil.com/2020/02/06/jc-version-1-7-1-released/)

`jc` converts the output of dozens of common gnu/linux commands and file types to JSON so you can use tools like `jq` to filter instead of lower-level text processing tools like `sed` or `awk`.

[https://github.com/kellyjonbrazil/jc](https://github.com/kellyjonbrazil/jc)

For example:

$ ls -l /usr/bin | jc --ls | jq '.[] | select(.size > 50000000)'

{"filename": "docker", "flags": "-rwxr-xr-x", "links": 1, "owner": "root", "group": "root", "size": 68677120, "date": "Aug 14 19:41"}

Here is a blog post on the motivations for this project:

[https://blog.kellybrazil.com/2019/11/26/bringing-the-unix-philosophy-to-the-21st-century/](https://blog.kellybrazil.com/2019/11/26/bringing-the-unix-philosophy-to-the-21st-century/)

And here is a fun use-case using `jc`, `jq`, and `jp` to plot system stats on the terminal:

[https://blog.kellybrazil.com/2020/01/15/silly-terminal-plotting-with-jc-jq-and-jp/](https://blog.kellybrazil.com/2020/01/15/silly-terminal-plotting-with-jc-jq-and-jp/)

Happy JSON parsing!

https://redd.it/ezvj04
@r_linux

Latest Precompiled Standalone ARM & AARCH64 Toolchains for Raspberry Pi (New Release - v3.0)
https://github.com/abhiTronix/raspberry-pi-cross-compilers

https://redd.it/ezvez3
@r_linux

My Eluktronics Max-17 running Pop_OS! Amazing performance

My Specs are:

* Intel i7-9750H
* Nvidia 2070
* 32GB Ram
* 512GB M.2 for Linux
* 2TB M.2 for windows

https://imgur.com/a/OtWRgdF

If you are looking for a powerful laptop that can run Linux out of the box, I highly recommend one of these. I received it 2 weeks ago and the first thing I did was install Pop_OS on the 512gb drive it came with. Once setup, I installed rEFInd and then added my 2TB drive and did a fresh Win10 install.

The entire process was a breeze. I used the Nvidia ISO that System 76 has available and it ran right perfect right out the box. I'm able to switch between the Intel and Nvidia GPU on the fly or use it in hybrid mode.

I haven't run through a full battery test with the different modes, but on Balanced power with the Nvidia GPU and the screen at 50%, I got about 3.5 hours of usage. This was browsing the web and watching Youtube videos and playing some Hypnospace Outlaw which is not a high demand game. I'm sure if I had it on the iGPU and in low power mode I could get an hour or more out of it.

In regards to Linux gaming, it can handle everything you throw at it. I mainly use Windows for gaming, but it's getting to the point where I may not need to for much longer. I've been playing the Witcher 3 at Ultra via Proton and averaging FPS's in the low 90's.

My gripes with Linux are that I haven't figured out a way to control the RGB's through the OS. I have to change them in the Bios and keep it that way. It does get a bit loud while under heavy load, but that's common with most gaming laptops. I think I was spoiled by the 17" Y740 that I had before this. But it was also a giant compared to this thing in size and weight and not nearly as portable as the Max-17.

https://redd.it/ezwza5
@r_linux

The Realist's Guide to Promoting Desktop Linux

[Steam announced their highest concurrent user rate at 18.5 million users](https://www.gamingonlinux.com/articles/steam-hits-a-new-all-time-high-for-users-online-linux-share-rises.15907). Steam also announced that the number of Linux players was around 0.9%. Doing the math generously by pushing that up to 1%, that's 185,000 active Linux gamers. That's never going to be a viable market as far as triple-A is concerned: [many such noscripts are considered failures for selling just over 7.3 million copies] (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-5-fails-to-meet-sales-targets-and-ea-e/1100-6464832/).

Let's say each active player engaged in activism and efforts to promote Linux that actually translated to a single conversion of one person for each player doing so, which would be a phenomenal ratio: you're looking at 370,000 active players now. It's a fart in the wind as far as devs and companies are concerned, and when the fart stinks because it gets uppity with bug reports and support requests and vitriol for dropping Linux versions (to be clear, you should be able to log bugs, to request support, to expect software sold with implicit promises to keep working as advertised), they pinch their nose and wonder why they ever opened the toilet stall at all.

At that pace, gaming on Linux will NEVER be an option for the majority of players, for the majority of companies, for the majority of developers. LINUX will never be a viable option as a general-purpose operating system, period. The prolific number of distros, the small user base of the Linux ecosystem as a whole, lack of peripheral support and inability to run many of the world's most popular applications means it's always going to be a last-class citizen without some serious intervention and an increase in the userbase.

Linux is built on the principles of freedom, but is operating inside a prison that is allowed to perpetuate due to familiarity. SecureBoot locks out Linux on many laptops that have been built implicitly for Windows in mind. Laptops come with Windows 10 preinstalled, healthily supported by various OEMs who provide their own bloatware alongside it. Essential services, such as libraries and government departments, lean into the Windows ecosystem and demand Windows-specific software to access things like books, documents, forms and reports. Some developers actively work to PREVENT their software from working on Linux through specific interventions that check for things like Wine or VMs, which is a step beyond simply not developing for it in the first place.

Also, Linux is difficult. Linux is mainly used by hackers, conspiracy nutjobs and criminals. Linux makes it impossible to run anything. Linux accounts for the most support requests, the least revenue and the rudest customers. All exaggeration, but it illustrates the fundamental issue: that Linux has an image problem.

You don't beat this by being technically better, or with a more "open" ethos, or [writing up 5,000+ word guides for switching](https://old.reddit.com/r/linux4noobs/comments/ejsz3v/still_on_windows_7_dont_want_windows_10_consider/). You do it with money, marketing and politics while punching Microsoft in the nose repeatedly. You target the lowest common denominator.

Fuck technical symposiums, fuck conferences, fuck dev jams. The Linux Foundation should seriously consider setting aside a massive budget for advertising, marketing and public relations in the most public spheres possible. Well, maybe not the Linux Foundation, since [Microsoft is one of their biggest partners at this stage](https://www.linuxfoundation.org/members/corporate). So maybe a consortium of interests that have vested interest in Linux as a general-purpose OS doing well. Canonical, maybe? Valve? DuckDuckGo? Mozilla?

You choose a distro to get behind. Linux will always have its flavours, but for the purposes of better messaging you choose one. I'm not going to suggest which; that wouldn't be in the spirit of Ubuntu. But it's better to focus the efforts around one.

You tel

l consumers that maybe they could get a significant discount on that shiny new laptop they're looking at if they asked for it not to come preinstalled with Windows. Doesn't matter that the retailers aren't going to budge an inch; it's just to put in the consumers mind that maybe Windows 10 is costing them something they wouldn't have had to pay for otherwise.

You advertise Linux as aspirational, a means of further career advancement and employment opportunities. Linux is a high-demand, high-pay career choice with a lot of accessible resources to get you to a point of employability. Tech salaries are very appealing, especially in times of economic downturn. Maybe you run a couple of ads asking what Microsoft is doing for the little guy in the small town just trying to build a business, make a living in these tough economic times. I mean, they advertise different versions of Windows 10 for the consumer and the business, with the top option somehow being "Faster and better". That's $300, straight-off, even before you look at Office subnoscription and other necessary software. And that's for one person.

Heaven forbid they decide to "upgrade" their software to a new version, like they did with Windows 7. Did you know that Linux costs a fraction of that and everyone gets the best version, whether your a freelancer or 50+ person SME? How about Upgrades? Office software? Payroll? Accounting? All can be had at a fraction of the cost of Windows alone. You'll pay for support - like you do to Microsoft - and that's it.

Simultaneously, you lean into fearmongering around the privacy and security of the Windows ecosystem. You create horror stories out of what happens when your personal information and private photos, stored so readily in Microsoft's cloud, just happen to leak [like it did just two weeks ago] (https://securityboulevard.com/2020/01/microsoft-leaks-250m-customer-details-in-azure-fat-finger-faux-pas/).

*"Unless you properly checked your settings, Microsoft's probably storing all your files on the cloud without you even knowing! It's linking everything you type, say, watch to a personal profile they're tracking. Oh, they say they're 'anonymising' it. I guess that's why they need to provide you a unique Advertising ID upon installation. I'm sure you can trust them. Did you know their agreements state that they can freely share that information with third-parties? I thought that was very interesting."*

You build media contacts, write press releases and engage with local news channels any time there's a major virus or piece of malware or bug that has serious ramifications for end-users and make sure people hear about. As it stands, most of these go unnoticed by the general public. Nothing like a bit of scaremongering with a presentable, savvy expert on hand to explain to your audience the sordid details. Stick it in the public's face; you want people worried that they're sitting vulnerable all the time. Start and end any communication with some variation of, "Linux is unaffected." Do it enough times and people start to wonder why they're sticking with something seemingly so prone to attack when this "Linux" they keep hearing about seems to always seem to get off.

You employ experts to engage and lobby in the legislative process, to participate in a way that supports the Linux ecosystem. Legislation that forces hardware manufacturers to keep their hardware fundamentally open, or that equates the kind of monetary incentives that Microsoft gives OEMs and retailers selling Windows preinstalled (with convenient provisos for certification that make installing another OS difficult-to-impossible) as legally questionable and anti-competitive. Maybe suggest that subsidies are approved on the basis that the applicants demonstrate that they've done their best to minimize the cost of their IT infrastructure for supported projects/industries/etc.

This all requires money, and lots of it. [When I wrote up a guide to donating to Linux gaming] (https://old.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/ehimxa/donating_or_supporting_opensource_gaming_

projects/), I saw first-hand the difficulty Linux has in generating this monetary support at a grass-roots level. The most obvious example was ProtonDB, where at the time of writing was earning $50 a month. Over the next couple of days, it climbed to around $65. It's now at $79. This is for an online resource that's been crucial to growing Linux gaming by providing a useful list of working noscripts in Steam with reports for implementing fixes. $79 isn't setting the world on fire.

You can't focus on Linux being "free"; that's never going to get us anywhere. Those who want it free will figure it out; those who don't will happily pay a fraction of what Windows costs. While it doesn't hurt to donate in your individual capacity to the distros and projects you use with the comment or note that you'd like to see this used for more messaging, PR and marketing-related activities, it's ultimately going to have to come from corporate sources. It's all well and dandy saying the Linux desktop "isn't profitable" if you've never tried to compete on the same level.

**TL;DR**
The Linux community and organizations has preferred to focus on Linux's technical capabilities, openness, freedom of choice and it being free, things the average person doesn't give two honks about, and should focus instead marketing, public relations and twisting arms if they're serious about growing the desktop market. If they're not, that's fine. I realize much of what I've mentioned goes against the grain of everything Linux stands for. Either we maintain our high-minded ideals - things I appreciate and respect - and accept that Linux will forever remain on the outskirts of viability as far as being a general-purpose OS ([which comes with some advantages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_malware)) or make a deal with the devil for more support and a larger install base which provides incentive for non-Linux aligned companies and businesses to start seeing it as a viable market to provide for.

If you disagree and somehow feel it's possible to get the Linux desktop to the same marketshare as, say, MacOS via other methods, I'd love to hear it.

EDIT: adjusted the formatting a bit for better readability.

https://redd.it/eztvvo
@r_linux