Distrowatch

With the recent turnout in geopolitics, I wanted to compare several distributions for their geographic origin.

So I went to the Distrowatch website (https://www.distrowatch.com) but it turns out the site is down.

I get an error 403: Forbidden. You don't have permission to access this resource.

I havent been on the site for months. So I dont know: is the site down? Since when? Is this a regional blocking? (I tried google translate as a proxy, but it wasnt able to give me a webpage either)

https://redd.it/1j409zw
@r_linux

XWayland: suddenly, everything works again

A few months ago I decided to do my annual check on the much touted Wayland and distrohopped to Fedora KDE. It proved generally usable as a daily driver this time, yet not without a bug here and there. Firefox and LibreOffice were especially affected.

Recently I ran into a showstopper: Firefox started freezing for unpredictable periods at random moments. And guess what, forcing it and other affected apps to use Xorg (technically XWayland) cured the thing along with many other annoyances.

Firefox no longer gives me wobbly text.
Firefox correctly switches to foreground after I click a link in another app.
LibreOffice Writer documents stopped scrolling to random positions in web view.
And so on. After two days of testing I do not even remember all the bugs XWayland fixed for me.

Overall, it's just another quality of life. Why not switch the whole KDE to Xorg and stop using crutches? Well, Wayland is supposed to have some security advantages... I will consider it when choosing my next distro, though.

And no, it is neither Nvidia nor AMD. It's an Intel iGPU, not really new.

https://redd.it/1j41ft3
@r_linux

What did i break? Kernel panic unable to mount root. It is fixed now, i just wonder what happened.

This morning i was browsing internet on latest Ubuntu, and firefox. I opened a few reddit posts in new tabs, this sometime freezes/crashes firefox for some reason. (Read on internet apparently common reddit hecks on forefox)

But today whole computer decided to freeze, no keyboard no mouse no nothing.

Well i pressed reboot key on desktop and it didnt boot, but said: kernel panic unable to mount root.

After using duckduckgo for fifteen seconds i found these instructions

They worked, rebooted and now all is/was fine.
So i wonder, what broke? Was there and update in background i messed up?
I tend to let os decide itself when it updates/upgrades.

https://redd.it/1j444qm
@r_linux

FLX1 Linux Phone Display Out!
https://redd.it/1j46f2w
@r_linux

Introducing Mumbai GLUG!

Mumbai GNU/Linux Users' Group (Mumbai GLUG) is a community for GNU/Linux enthusiasts, hackers, tinkerers, and free software advocates

Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned pro, this is a space to learn, share, and collaborate on everything GNU/Linux and FOSS.

I'd love for you to be a part of it! And despite the name, this isn't just for Mumbaikars - anyone interested is welcome: https://mumbaiglug.org/

If you know anyone else who might be interested, feel free to share this with them too! Would be great to grow the community together. :D

https://redd.it/1j473q5
@r_linux

How far has debian come?

I like distrohopping, my latest run was with pure Arch but after some time it eventually broke on me. It made me wonder, I've always liked debian but it always seemed a bit behind.
Any of you daily driving debain? Is it better that it was, let's say, 7 years ago? I'm just itching to come back to it.

Edit for some clarity:
When I say debian I mean pure debian + de used as a desktop os, not the forks.
Forgive me, it's a tad bit late where I am 😅

https://redd.it/1j4csj9
@r_linux

is linux desktop in its best state?

hardware support (especially wifi stuff) got way better on the last few years

flatpak is becoming better, and is a main way install software nowadays, making fragmentation not a major issue anymore

the community is more active than ever

I might be wrong on this one, but the amount of native software seems to be increasing too.

https://redd.it/1j4fnit
@r_linux

How can you protect unencrypted databases utilized by an application?

Imagine an application that utilizes an unencrypted database. While I recognize that snapd and Flatpak provide security for applications, do they also alter the filesystem where an application writes its data? Essentially, do they containerize the application to such an extent that even when the application is not actively running, the unencrypted database remains inaccessible to other applications that might be operating simultaneously on the host system?

https://redd.it/1j4fec5
@r_linux

Linux Server & TPM

Is it advisable to enable the TPM module on a Linux server?

Pros:

Enhanced Security:
Secure Boot
Disk Encryption
Platform Integrity

Cons:

Compatibility?
A layer of complexity?

Anything else I should know?

https://redd.it/1j4gso9
@r_linux

You can use smart cards on snap web browsers (like Firefox)

I don't know how long this has been a thing but you can use smart cards with the snap version of Firefox. I've been looking for information on this for years, but randomly came across an article on it referring to yubikeys. If you have the snap version of firefox for example, install PCSCD (sudo apt install pcscd) and thne run the command "sudo snap connect firefox:pcscd" and it just detects your card and works immediately.

https://redd.it/1j4j2qt
@r_linux

Essay from Bert Hubert, a Dutch Expert on Open Source and Security of Open Source and Critical Infrastructure, on how to protect Information Networks against Hybrid Attacks
https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/cyber-security-pre-war-reality-check/

https://redd.it/1j4ml5v
@r_linux

AMD Radeon RX 9070 + RX 9070 XT Linux Performance
https://www.phoronix.com/review/amd-radeon-rx9070-linux

https://redd.it/1j4p9ss
@r_linux

useful tips or commands to learn in the terminal?

I am new to linux and I wanna learn the terminal since I heard a lot of people say that once you learn it it's a lot better and faster than using the UI, I figured the best way to learn it is learn some useful commands for it, so what are some tips or useful commands for the linux terminal?

https://redd.it/1j4qzuq
@r_linux

Nexlify: Instantly Query LLMs for Code Help, Debugging & Doubts! (Free, Unified API, Open Source)

Hello everyone, I'm Sufyaan (19yo) and I'm excited to share Nexlify, a project I built for those moments when you need instant coding assistance! It's a FREE, unified API that makes accessing powerful language models like QwQ 32B (latest), Gemini 2.0 Flash thinking Exp., DeepSeek-R1, Deepseek R1 Qwen 32B, and Deepseek V3 incredibly easy. Use it for quick queries, resolving coding doubts, debugging errors, and getting code assistance!

Why I built Nexlify:

As a student myself, I often need quick answers and AI help while coding. I built Nexlify to be the ultimate tool for instantly accessing the best LLMs for coding help. I wanted something fast, free, and unified – and now I'm sharing it with you!

Key Features for Coding & Quick Queries:

Unified API for Instant Answers: Access Gemini, Gemini Lite, Deepseek, Mistral, Llama, Qwen, and more through ONE simple interface! Perfect for quickly querying different models to see which gives the best coding help.
Completely FREE: Use it for all your coding questions, debugging dilemmas, and quick experiments without cost barriers.
Blazing Fast Groq Integration: Get lightning-fast responses for your coding queries using Groq-powered models like Deepseek R1 Qwen 32B – crucial when you're in the coding flow and need answers NOW.
Rapid Model Switching: Instantly switch between models to compare responses and find the best AI assistant for your coding problem or question.
Quick & Portable: Get Nexlify running in minutes – perfect for immediate AI help without a lengthy setup. Linux AppImage (beta) available for super-fast deployment!
Versatile Model Selection - Choose Your Coding Brain: From efficient models for simple questions to massive models for complex code analysis, Nexlify lets you select the right AI engine for your coding challenge.

Get Instant Coding Help Now! Check out the GitHub repo: https://github.com/dev-sufyaan/Nexlify
Linux AppImage (Beta) Available!

For Linux users, we have a beta AppImage available in the "Releases" section on GitHub. Download, make it executable, and run! Remember to place your .env file in the same directory as the AppImage for API key loading.

Let me know how Nexlify helps you code faster and debug easier! Feedback and suggestions are very welcome! Happy (and efficient!) coding!

https://preview.redd.it/h5flhaigb2ne1.png?width=609&format=png&auto=webp&s=b95de6d9e94535afcb8c9e147bcec8f94051dcd3



https://redd.it/1j4uakw
@r_linux

Meet Rayhunter: A New Open Source Tool from EFF to Detect Cellular Spying
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/meet-rayhunter-new-open-source-tool-eff-detect-cellular-spying

https://redd.it/1j4uq39
@r_linux

wifi menu - nm_ui | plug and play
https://redd.it/1j4ui4g
@r_linux

Replacing tmux and GNU screen with Emacs
https://www.masteringemacs.org/article/replacing-tmux-gnu-screen-emacs

https://redd.it/1j4zp8o
@r_linux

Sleep command with a piped password.

Hello, all.

I’m currently setting up a proxmox server running a Debian VM. From there Debian is going to run LocalLlama. This is my capstone project for graduation so I’ve been turned loose to figure this out, which I have for the most part. However…

I need Llama 3 to update after hours so I don’t destroy the campus bandwidth (again) so I used the sleep command set for 10 hours.

Issue is that after 10 hours, the command ran and asked for a password that I was not here to provide.

So I need to pipe a password onto that time delayed command and my grasp on Linux is still tentative and new, could anyone give me a quick run down on what that command syntax would look like?

https://redd.it/1j51y1v
@r_linux

KeePassXC 2.7.10 released
https://keepassxc.org/blog/2025-03-04-2.7.10-released/

https://redd.it/1j52avt
@r_linux

Pros and cons of switching as a gamer

I know we've made huge bounds in the Linux space with gaming and before the compatibility issues are what made me want to switch back to windows.

As far as I understand it's fairly compatible these days but some games with anti cheat won't like it.

I'm planning on switching to arch with hyprland (probably pretty popular choice at this point) and was just wondering if I would be missing out on much.

https://redd.it/1j56ewg
@r_linux

EntrySign: Zen and the Art of Microcode Hacking (new AMD Zen 1-4 vulnerability requires BIOS update to patch)
https://bughunters.google.com/blog/5424842357473280/zen-and-the-art-of-microcode-hacking

https://redd.it/1j57eqr
@r_linux