What's the Linux equivalent of rooting Android?

Actually, I'm confused if Android a Linux distribution. I had many phones, and unlocked bootloader and rooted those devices. But when I'm using Ubuntu or similar, what's the equivalent of Android's unlocking bootloader and rooting? Are there similar on Ubuntu?

https://redd.it/kqg7xg
@r_linux

Just noticed the trees display a message in reverse: "Image Type: ARM Linux Kernel Image (lzo compressed)". In 2077 even the trees run Linux!

https://redd.it/kqrts5
@r_linux

What's your reason prefer using independent linux distro (like Debian, Fedora, Arch & OpenSUSE) rather than their derivatives one (like Ubuntu, Korora, Manjaro & GeckoLinux)?

I asked this to my friend and he said independent Linux distro offers very vanilla DE experience while derivatives from that distro already modified the DE to the point it'll break the DE if you tried to change the themes & the icons, but I'm still not impressed. Is there any main advantage other than that?

https://redd.it/kqs0fq
@r_linux

What are your thoughts on Fair-code licenses?

This is somewhat unrelated to r/Linux but it's probably the largest community which have an opinion on licenses.

At first glance Fair-code seems like a great strategy to make money with open software for independent or small groups of devs. What are your thoughts on pros/cons?


Edit:
For those that don't know Fair-code adds a "common clause" to an existing license stating that you can't sell the software.

"Without limiting other conditions in the License, the grant of rights under the License will not include, and the License does not grant to you, the right to Sell the Software...."

https://redd.it/kqttlp
@r_linux

Anybody here using Photoshop with wine?

Hey there :

1) which version of wine and photoshop do you use?
2) i am using cs5 with wine 5.2 - does the "platinum" status apply here or was that for older wine versions?
3) did you have the same problem as me, that wine would use the intel graphic card instead of the nvidia one? how did you solve it?

https://redd.it/kqtfca
@r_linux

What do you feel is missing in the Linux kernel?

Linux kernel is far from perfect. Like any other project does. Many here may not be kernel devs, like myself. I personally feel better audio support is missing from the Linux kernel. What we have is good, but could be much better.

But, what do you feel is missing from the Linux kernel?

https://redd.it/kqtjkj
@r_linux

Moving root from HDD to SSD

I have a laptop with 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD. The SSD only contains windows partition and the HDD contains both windows as well as Linux partition (root+home).

Since I do not use windows much, I am planning to give transfer my Linux root partition to SSD. I need help with how can I transfer the whole root partition to SSD without reinstalling it as I am still not completely sure about how I can do that (some guide, tutorial, etc). Also, since it is my daily driver and I will be using it a lot for the next few days, I do not like to fresh setup everything currently.

FWIW:-

OS - Arch Linux
Root and home partition are separate so there will not be any problem with the home partition even if something goes wrong with root (but still does not want anything to happen)

PS - I am not sure if anything else is needed but please tell me if it is

https://redd.it/kqru8n
@r_linux

Free Linux and Ethical Hacking Books
https://www.pythonstacks.com/free-books/category/ethical-hacking

https://redd.it/kqv8o1
@r_linux

Arch Linux Reproducible Builds Progress 2020
https://vdwaa.nl/arch-linux-reproducible-builds-progress-2020.html

https://redd.it/kqwlaq
@r_linux

q4os is so underated!

its amazing and light if you want a very light desktop thats similar to windows xp go for trinity want something modern but is also light kde is a good option

requirments

300-MHz Pentium, 128 MB Ram and 3 GB Space trinity

1gb ram for kde

https://redd.it/kqyw8v
@r_linux

LibreSSL languishes on Linux [LWN.net]
https://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/841664/0ba4265680b9dadf/

https://redd.it/kqzm7a
@r_linux

PSA: For those of you that, like me, have a newer Lenovo laptop and the touchpad and brightness controls weren't working, they have been fixed on Kernel 5.11, guide below.

I'm posting this because I am not a technical user and it's taken me a long time to figure out how to update the kernel (sad I know). So for others like me I wanted to post this, hope that's ok.

For any noobs like me that are on Ubuntu this is the guide that I followed to upgrade to kernel 5.11 and everything works perfectly for me, both the touchpad and the brightness controls. (I have a new Lenovo Legion and until recently the touchpad and brightness controls weren't working)

Upgrade kernel by going to the terminal and copying and pasting these instructions:

Change current directory to /tmp
cd /tmp

Download the latest mainline kernel from 5.11.x branch by copying and pasting this:

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.11-rc2/amd64/linux-headers-5.11.0-051100rc2_5.11.0-051100rc2.202101032030_all.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.11-rc2/amd64/linux-headers-5.11.0-051100rc2-generic_5.11.0-051100rc2.202101032030_amd64.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.11-rc2/amd64/linux-image-unsigned-5.11.0-051100rc2-generic_5.11.0-051100rc2.202101032030_amd64.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.11-rc2/amd64/linux-modules-5.11.0-051100rc2-generic_5.11.0-051100rc2.202101032030_amd64.deb

Install new kernel
sudo dpkg -i *.deb

Reboot the system
sudo shutdown -r now

Update packages list
sudo apt-get update

Upgrade packages
sudo apt-get upgrade

Reboot the system if needed
sudo shutdown -r now

Check the OS distro
lsb_release -a

Check kernel version
uname -r

That's it, now you should be running on the Linux Kernel 5.11rc2

Guide taken from this wonderful page:
https://sypalo.com/how-to-upgrade-ubuntu

Thanks to everyone for their hard work over on the launchpad thread (https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1887190?comments=all) sorry for posting this noob guide here but it took me weeks to figure out an easy way to do it (patching was beyond my abilities). Hope this helps someone!

https://redd.it/kr0uzs
@r_linux

LTS versions of Qt going closed-source

The Qt Company are making LTS releases commercial only and thus closed-source. "The problem is that these releases are in effect no longer maintained. If there is a security issue, or a fix needed to support some change in one of the target operating systems, open-source users will not get that fix other than in the not-ready version 6.0."

https://redd.it/kr0j1h
@r_linux

Advancing in the Bash Shell
https://samrowe.com/wordpress/advancing-in-the-bash-shell/

https://redd.it/kqzehz
@r_linux

Did you know? Tor and firejail

As you already know, Tor is a browser that helps you stay anonymous on the internet.

Whenever you download a file, Tor warns you about opening the file after it is downloaded.( you should open files offline if they come from unknown/untrusted sources)

The best way is to open the file in a VM. But there is also firejail (sandboxing) that allows you to open files as safe as in a VM with right parameters.

Example : reading pdf's from unknown/untrusted sources in okular offline

firejail --net=none --seccomp okular

You can also use it to sandbox other apps like firefox/tor for more security

firejail firefox

It is not much, but i thought you should know this.

Further reading :

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Firejail

In cmd : man firejail

https://redd.it/kr4r24
@r_linux

Firefox GTK CSD

https://redd.it/kr6186
@r_linux

Asahi Linux
https://asahilinux.org/

https://redd.it/kr7r6u
@r_linux

Reclaiming the word Hacking

OK, I'm sick and tired of seeing people dance around the word "Hacking", usually by placing qualifiers such as "ethical" or "white hat" etc.

In my time the word hacking had nothing but a positive meaning. The word we used for the meaning that is the cause of everyone's fear of hacking was the word "Cracking". Maybe it's my age, but I will always happily use the words hack/hacker/hacking without shame. I hope this younger generation will join me in reclaiming this awesome word.

https://redd.it/krcrtn
@r_linux

What's your opinion about paid advertisement for non-profit Linux Open-source projects?

This is something I've been wondering about.

In this post I'm talking mainly about non-profit organizations like Gnome or KDE, and also community made distros and other OSS software. Keep in mind I'm not talking about Linux projects owned by companies.

-----

It's not everyone, but many Linux users would really love to see open-source software and also Linux distros become mainstream options, however, only relying on organic growth and word of the mouth marketing is a veeeeery slow process. A way to improve awareness about Linux/OSS projects could be using paid advertisements. The money would come from existing donations for those projects.

Pros:

-Getting people to know about Linux/OSS could help improve the quality of these projects, attract volunteers and also donations to pay for more full-time developers.

-Paid advertising by non-profit distros/projects could really help increase awareness about Linux and open-source software in general.

-Making the OSS philosophy more known could really inspire people to care more about computers and not put up with abusive practices by technology companies.

Cons:

-Paid advertising most of the time also implies user targeting/tracking. Not using any kind of user targeting means wasting money on ads shown to the wrong people. And usually Linux/open-source advocates are really concerned about user freedom and privacy.

-Having projects that openly defend user freedom and privacy use advertising tools like Google/Facebook Ads could be seen as hypocritical and also damage the image of those projects. Even alternative tools like Matomo still need to know user details to provide ads, even though they claim respecting user privacy.

-Money spent on ads could be used for other things instead.

------

Paid ads like those you see on websites are not the only options, other marketing tools like sponsored posts on more mainstream technology related websites and influencer marketing could also be used. Usually companies that use those tactics still use tools for monitoring performance, however, that's not really required.

So... What's your opinion about ads/digital marketing for Linux open-source projects? Should Linux and OSS projects strive to become mainstream for everyday users or are things good the way they are now? Feel free to discuss and point out new ideas that could make Linux/OSS more popular.

https://redd.it/kraskr
@r_linux

I have Linux Mint with only my /home folder encrypted. Is this safe?

Hello!

I recently got Linux Mint. In the past I had Ubuntu and Kali. Kali for fun, not actually an expert! Hence why I have Linux Mint now

They are all Debian based tho

During installation with Linux Mint, you get an option to encrypt the /home folder which I checked of course.

However, is it safe to only have the /home folder encrypted? What about SWAP?

Also, in your opinion. What is the most safest Linux distribution?

Thank you for reading and weighting in your input

https://redd.it/krjn42
@r_linux

Color all in one network laser printer/scanner recommendations

What printers can you recommend with good Linux compatibility (including scanning)? I can't get scanning working under on my current HP all in one, and I'm tired of having to grab my old mac book every time I want to scan something. Budget is anything that has good bang for the buck (IE under 500 euros).

https://redd.it/krkzsy
@r_linux