Latest 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 - 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲/𝟬𝟮/𝟬𝟮 (Valuable News - 2026/02/02) available.

https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2026/02/02/valuable-news-2026-02-02/

Past releases: https://vermaden.wordpress.com/news/

#verblog #vernews #news #bsd #freebsd #openbsd #netbsd #linux #unix #zfs #opnsense #ghostbsd #solaris #vermadenday

TIL about the leave command

#Leave #programming #Linux #BSD #freeBSD #OpenSource #POSIX

https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=leave&apropos=0&sektion=0&manpath=FreeBSD+15.0-RELEASE+and+Ports&arch=default&format=html

Episode 2 of Dark Blue Weekly released

https://darkblueraven.com/sites/news/dbw-e2.php

#darkblueweekly #opensource #freesoftware #linux #bsd #opnsense #budgiedesktop #cosmicdesktop #aerynos #gstreamer #gettext

Super+Space opens a small menu script that launches apps and system actions (WiFi, reboot, shutdown),
all keyboard-driven via sxhkd.

No panel, no mouse menus, WM-agnostic.

#!/bin/sh
ROOT=doas
# Open a terminal (st) with the given title and command
# example: st -t terminal_title -e command 
term() {
    st -t "$1" -e "${@:2}"
}
choice=$(printf "%s\n" \
    "Browser" \
    "Terminal" \
    "IRC" \
    "Mail" \
    "PDF" \
    "Editor" \
    "Files" \
    "Mixer" \
    "WiFi" \
    "Bluetooth" \
    "Reboot" \
    "Shutdown" |
    dmenu -i -l 12 -p "Menu" \
        -fn "Iosevka Term-11" \
        -nb '#000000' -nf '#ffffff' \
        -sb '#005f87' -sf '#ffffff')
case "$choice" in
    Browser)    firefox ;;
    Terminal)   term st tmux ;;
    IRC)        term senpai senpai ;;
    Mail)       term mutt mutt ;;
    PDF)        pdf-open.sh ;;
    Editor)     geany ;;
    Files)      term fff fff ;;
    Mixer)      term alsamixer alsamixer ;;
    WiFi)       term wifitui "$ROOT" wifitui ;;
    Bluetooth)  blueman-manager ;;
    Reboot)     "$ROOT" /sbin/reboot ;;
    Shutdown)   "$ROOT" /sbin/poweroff ;;
esac

#dwm #dmenu #sxhkd #x11 #linux #suckless

Guix System first impressions as a Nix user

But NixOS isn't the only declarative distro out there. In fact GNU forked Nix fairly early and made their own spin called Guix, whose big innovation is that, instead of using the unwieldy Nix-language, it uses Scheme. Specifically Guile Scheme, GNU's sanctioned configuration language. I've been following Guix for a bit, but it never felt quite ready t

https://www.osnews.com/story/144313/guix-system-first-impressions-as-a-nix-user/

#Linux

I already had notes on dwm, st, and X11 usage, and
this thread was the motivation to turn them into a
short, standalone document about the trade-offs
around scope, ecosystem complexity, and sustainability.

Original thread:
https://swiss.social/@LukePhilipps/115973122695310819

Document:
https://git.sr.ht/~r1w1s1/code-notes/blob/main/notes/Understanding_Wayland_X11_and_Minimalism.txt

Blog:
https://4c6e.xyz/

#Unix #Linux #BSD #Wayland #X11 #SystemDesign #Minimalism

@cks

I suspect that this has changed over the years. Kay Sievers's original proposal in 2010 indeed had the active device as the last one. But Lennart Poettering writing in 2012, after things had settled down amongst the kernel developers, wrote that the active device was the first one. I vaguely remember inspecting the code that constructed the string to check, at the time. I'll try to remember to have another look.

https://0pointer.de/blog/projects/serial-console.html

#Linux #console #vt #manual #nosh

Time for this week's #Linux and #OpenSource News video!

I'm off to play with my little Warhammer minis, so you'll have to watch it t know what's in it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNAFvcSWW6o

Turns out I'm not the only one currently with Bluetooth problems on Linux. The latest WirePlumber version 0.5.13 introduces a new auto-switch to headset profiles for Bluetooth headsets, which crashes my Jabra Headset from work but not my Google Pixel Buds Pro 2.

The workaround for the moment is either downgrading to 0.5.12 or disabling the new auto-switch feature with the following:
```
wpctl settings -s bluetooth.autoswitch-to-headset-profile false
```
(Taken from https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libgnome-volume-control/-/issues/34#note_2645091)

The `-s` persists this change - otherwise I'd have to remember setting this after every login.
#bluetooth #linux #wireplumber

@cks

I write a console(4) and a vt(4) manual page for #Linux, too, as there is a larger gap there, Linux doco not having a vt(4) page as #FreeBSD does.

http://jdebp.info/Softwares/nosh/guide/commands/linux-console.xml

http://jdebp.info/Softwares/nosh/guide/commands/linux-vt.xml

#console #vt #manual #nosh

I'm streaming KDE docs:

• right now! 7 PM UTC
• on https://twitch.tv/herzenschein

Be sure to join and ask any questions related to KDE and I'll try my best to answer them.

Every single stream I do is an Ask Me Anything KDE Edition ™️

Today I'll see about finishing polishing the "Preparing your software for release" page. Otherwise, I might start porting another library to QDoc. I may also play with RPM packaging.

#KDE #Linux #Documentation #TechnicalWriting #FurryStreamer #FurryVTuber #VTuber #Twitch

Eigentlich habe ich die Daten schon lange nicht mehr angepackt. Aber jetzt wäre es mal wieder soweit. Aber -- welche Möglichkeiten gibt es, mit alten Corel Draw Daten unter Linux weiter zu arbeiten?

#CorelDraw #Linux

My wife's little sister, who is special needs, wants to attend a community college (well, not technically a community college, but it's a special program connected to a well-known Utah-based university.)

Her family doesn't want to buy her a laptop or other computer.

My wife is headed to Utah next month to spend time with family. I'm preparing an #Ubuntu #Linux system to donate to her little sister.

Education is crucial in life. I'll always support (to the best of my ability) efforts to better one's knowledge and skills.

Uh. Is this a known #ubuntu thing? Or is this a quirk of #Wayland?
Sometimes when I bring a window from the background it stays like this, text and icons all garbled. Sometimes if I resize or jiggle it, it sorts itself out, sometimes I have to kill it. #linux
It is also on a very ancient laptop that hasn't been rebooted in months.

Alt...

Screenshot of a file manager window in #Ubuntu but the file listing text is all garbled and unreadable, almost as if the character code page has switched to weird Matrix style glyphs.

One feature I would like added to the #GLiNet #CometPro is #IPv6 support in the web UI.

The device runs a version of #Linux that supports IPv6, and sets a link-local address up.

That means the only thing that's missing is the web UI integration (there for IPv4 already, so shouldn't be difficult to implement.)

I've personally grown to hate the security theatre of rotating my bank passwords every six months, especially because of requirements like "must contain one uppercase, one symbol, one lowercase, one special case and the blood of a unicorn."

When mathematically, a simple, grammatically incorrect sentence of 25 characters is much harder for a machine to crack than a gibberish 8-character password with symbols.

Entropy loves length.

I love the idea that the most secure key to your digital life could just be a weird little poem or an inside joke that only you know. Security doesn't have to be painful.

#infosec #passwords #cybersecurity #UX #security #sysadmin #programming #foss #linux #privacy #enshittification #reading #finance

Hmmmm can I outsource this tech question to the Fediverse..?

The hinge on my Lenovo laptop has broken and can't be easily repaired so I need a new laptop.

I will install Ubuntu onto it and wondered if anyone wanted to recommend a suitable and *inexpensive* replacement laptop from e.g. Curry's in the UK?

So much choice and I don't know what to pick. 14 inch screen and light is good. #Linux Thanks in advance!

New Vivaldi release for Windows, Mac & Linux. We got some cool stuff for you and we avoided AI, so enjoy!

#Windows #Macos #Linux #Browser #Vivaldi #Computer #AI

https://vivaldi.com/blog/vivaldi-7-8-launches-with-message-to-big-tech-humans-dont-need-ai-babysitters/

I like the #XFCE desktop on #Linux and #FreeBSD as it is full featured, bug free, and lightning fast. I noticed the battery life on my new laptop was ok, but found it odd why the CPU was running at high frequencies at all up to 5GHz. So I set the maximum CPU speed at 500MHz, which is faster than the insane speed of a #DEC #Alphaserver in the early 1990's. And this is still that fast, but with 8 cores. And now the battery is on the second day at 86%. Even when compiling code, 500MHz is insanely fast. The battery charge might last longer than some calculators I had...

"500MHz ought to be enough for anyone"

I don’t want using my computer to be like a game of Russian roulette

I've been terribly sick for a few days so we've got some catching up to. Let's first take a look at how Windows is doing.

People often say Linux is "too much work." And I agree. They're completely justified to complain. There's the documentation page diving, the forums, the reddit threads. And, mo

https://www.osnews.com/story/144290/i-dont-want-using-my-computer-to-be-like-a-game-of-russian-roulette/

#Linux

The Framework 16 laptop detects when it's booted partially assembled. It boots into a special mode to walk you through completing the assembly. The screen updates to reflect your progress and prompt the next step. This requires no tools to complete. Impressive! Watch:

@frameworkcomputer

#Framework #FrameworkLaptop #Framework16 #Linux #Video

GOG is now using AI generation for store banners, and it is as sloppy as you would expect. It is a shame to see a company that sells art cut corners by replacing actual artists.

Complacency leads to more slop. Speak up! Don't reward bad behavior. Don't give them your hard earned cash.

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/01/gog-now-using-ai-generated-images-on-their-store/

#NoAI #AntiAI #GNULinux #GNU #Linux #GOG #Gaming #LinuxGaming #Videogames #slop

Epochal change in Linux text consoles underway

Better security, getting rid of legacy, and new features: This is what an impending change in Linux's Virtual Terminal (VT) technology promises.

https://www.heise.de/en/news/Epochal-change-in-Linux-text-consoles-underway-11155097.html?wt_mc=sm.red.ho.mastodon.mastodon.md_beitraege.md_beitraege&utm_source=mastodon

#Fedora #IT #Journal #Linux #OpenSource #news

#TechTalkTuesday

What single bit of tech would you consider vastly underrated for what it accomplishes.

Enlighten us.

#FreeBSD #Linux #OpenSource #Tech

NordVPN is the Starbucks of privacy: it is everywhere, too expensive for what you get, and bad for you.

If you are considering it after a YouTube creator told you about it, consider a better alternative like @mullvadnet , @ivpn , Proton VPN, or Windscribe. Explore your options before you hand over your credit card.

#TerminalTilt #FOSS #Privacy #Linux #SelfHosted #NordVPN #Mullvad #IVPN #Proton #ProtonVPN #Windscribe