How to Control Kernel Boot-Time Parameters in Linux “Boot-time parameters are like secret keys to the Linux kernel; they allow you to control exactly how the system starts, how hardware is initialized, and how problems are handled. Whether you are debugging a stubborn boot issue, tuning performance, or experimenting with kernel features, these parameters give you low-level power over your Linux machine.” There is no GUI managed options here, but this linked article does give a pretty good overview of how it works and what some of the most common options do. See

How to Control Kernel Boot-Time Parameters in Linux

How to Use Kernel Boot-Time Parameters in Linux

In this article, you will learn everything about Linux kernel boot parameters, how to use them, troubleshoot startup issues, and optimize system pe...

#technology #Linux #opensource

German state replaces Microsoft Exchange and Outlook with open-source email “The German state of Schleswig-Holstein has dumped its government email and calendar systems for open-source software. The six-month migration has replaced Microsoft Exchange and Outlook with Open-Xchange and Mozilla Thunderbird. The transfer covered more than 40,000 mailboxes and over 100 million messages and calendar entries.” Again, this is not about necessarily having better or flashier functionality (e-mail and calendaring are basically decades old and open standards). It is about digital sovereignty, preventing vendor lock-in, potentially more local economic investment, and not getting locked into annual increases in cost without any end in sight. All I can say is, be very wary of corporate PR trying to push any organisation into their cloud-owned service. Losing control of your IT is just not a strategy for the long (or short) term. See

ZDNET

This is my favorite Linux distro of all time - and I've tried them all

I've used or tested just about every Linux distribution available, and this one is my go-to. Here's why.

#technology #opensource #Germany #digitalsovereignty

LACT - Linux GPU Configuration And Monitoring Tool for AMD, Nvidia or Intel GPUs Detailed GPU information reporting, monitoring (with historical graphs), power configuration, thermals configuration, overclocking, and settings profiles. GPU configuration is handled by a system service that does not depend on a graphical session (Wayland/X11). The service can also be used standalone with a config file, for example in headless scenarios. It's even possible to have the LACT daemon running on one machine, and then manage it remotely from another. See

GitHub

GitHub - ilya-zlobintsev/LACT: Linux GPU Configuration And Monitoring Tool

Linux GPU Configuration And Monitoring Tool. Contribute to ilya-zlobintsev/LACT development by creating an account on GitHub.

#technology #Linux #opensource #GPU

Fantastic News! South Africa's Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe to steam ahead again after 19 years “The return of the Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe steam train, which was officially announced on Monday, will not just be the revival of a beloved heritage attraction, but a major economic boost for the entire region.” It really looks like everything is in place now for this to happen. This is an incredibly beautiful piece of railway line, and I'll certainly make an effort to get there to once again experience this train ride. Hopefully the ride also encourages slightly longer stays by tourists too. But it looks like the full line opening could take nearly two years to complete. See

George Herald

Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe to steam ahead again after 19 years

GEORGE NEWS - The return of the Outeniqua...

#southafrica #tourism #steamlocomotives

The Discord Hack is Every User’s Worst Nightmare — Why Uploaded IDs are a Problem “A hack impacting Discord’s age verification process shows in stark terms the risk of tech companies collecting users’ ID documents. Now the hackers are posting peoples’ IDs and other sensitive information online.” This was EXACTLY my concern about having to upload one's ID document to any private (or government) website. Neither a private organisation nor most government websites are immune to hacking. A password is easy to change, but an ID document is often a nightmare to change, and the ID number anyway stays the same. A fine does absolutely zero to benefit any end users, either. In South Africa we do have the POPI Act that has restrictions on what sort of data may be collected and stored about individuals, but in practice that is still a big problem as companies always want to collect for the sake of collecting. We've yet to see any CEO or a government official do jail time for weak controls of hacked sites. We need more severe penalties for companies (and governments) who lose control of private data, as well as for the hackers, and also to limit want really needs to be collected. At least I am finding now most banks and private organisations, who require some personal data for tax purposes, do insist it is encrypted with a password before sending over e-mail. Things are improving, but are still way behind where they need to be by now in 2025. See

404 Media

The Discord Hack is Every User’s Worst Nightmare

A hack impacting Discord’s age verification process shows in stark terms the risk of tech companies collecting users’ ID documents. Now the hac...

#technology #privacy #hacks

ProtonUp-Qt v2.14 Brings New Proton-EM Compatibility Tool “ProtonUp-Qt, an open-source GUI that streamlines the installation and updating of Proton-GE and Wine-based compatibility layers, enabling Linux gamers to run Windows-exclusive titles on their preferred distributions, has rolled out the brand-new 2.14 version. The key change in this release is the addition of Proton-EM, a new compatibility tool that places emphasis on Wayland, expanding gaming support for users who rely on custom Proton builds.” The tool has gotten really useful actually as I see you can also see which layers are not in use by any games, and the game list view shows which games are using which layers as well as which ones are compatible, and you can change those. I'm just not seeing the Proton-EM option yet for Wayland. See

Linuxiac

ProtonUp-Qt v2.14 Brings New Proton-EM Compatibility Tool

ProtonUp-Qt 2.14 adds Proton-EM support, drops NorthStar tool, and improves compatibility for Steam, Lutris, and Heroic users.

#technology #gaming #Linux

South Africans can now spend cryptocurrency directly at more than 650 000 Scan to Pay-enabled stores “The integration allows users of major exchanges — including Binance, Luno, Blink and VALR — to pay merchants using bitcoin, stablecoins and other digital assets without first converting them into rand. Payments are made instantly via QR code at checkout, while merchants still receive settlement in local currency.” I have successfully used the CryptoQR app to pay for my groceries at Pick 'n Pay a year or two back. It seems MoneyBadger works much the same way, and good to see it quickly integrated with my existing Muun wallet on my phone. It also integrates with Bitcoin Lightning accounts, so this seems like it will also cut out having to convert from one crypto networks across others, before being able to use funds. See

TechCentral

Crypto hits checkout counters in South Africa

South Africans can now spend cryptocurrency directly at more than 650 000 Scan to Pay-enabled stores nationwide.

#technology #southafrica #crypto

Mastodon social network is bringing quote posts to the Fediverse "Mastodon is officially rolling out quote posts. Starting next week, you’ll see an option to quote another user by selecting the repost — or “boost” — button, allowing you to add your thoughts to someone else’s post.” I know there were concerns about this, but it does seem to be the way to go. For influencers or bloggers, it does at least link back to their original post for attribution, which is important to them. It also seems users will have the option to disable it for their posts, so surely this choice to have or not have, is the best of both worlds. ActivityPub, which is what powers the Fediverse including Mastodon, is quite significant as it is an open standard and is probably the most used social network protocol outside of the centralised social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. See

The Verge

Mastodon is bringing quote posts to the fediverse

Quote posts on Mastodon are finally happening.

#technology #Mastodon #socialnetworks

New Movie “Python: The Documentary” Traces the Language’s Story “Some things in the open-source ecosystem are absolutely foundational—they’ve shaped it into what we know today. One of the biggest is the Python programming language. And now, it’s giving its global community something a little different—and pretty exciting. A movie!” This is one of the most popular programming languages in the world, and known for its quirky sense of humour. The documentary should be entertaining to watch. There is a link to the movie in the linked article below. See

Linuxiac

New Movie “Python: The Documentary” Traces the Language’s Story

“Python: The Documentary” is a new 90-minute film that tells the story of how a side project evolved into one of the world’s most influential...

#technology #Python #programming

A Love Letter To Internet Relay Chat — The Original Social Media That Is Still With Us Today “Although kids these days tend to hang out on so-called “Social Media”, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) was first, by decades. IRC is a real-time communication technology that allows people to socialize online in both chat rooms and private chat sessions. As a decentralized communication protocol, anyone can set up an IRC server and connect multiple servers into networks, with the source code for these servers readily available ever since its inception by a student, and IRC clients are correspondingly very easy to write.” Yep, even though it was the first, and was around before today's youngsters were even born, the fact is IRC is still around. With so many becoming disenchanted with all the trackers, adverts, high bandwidth requirements, and bloat of modern social networks, there is still IRC, and it works much the same as it did way back when. It's true, it is more a network that people escaped to, and not from. I actually use IRC daily, even if it is just posting to my own two channels I manage there. I also suspect that IRC will be around still long after other networks have disappeared. Not only that, but I'm just wondering if it won't get “rediscovered” by today's youth at some point, in the quest to find something simpler and more pure as a social network. There are quite a few IRC clients around, but something that may help with onboarding of brand-new users is also having a really user-friendly client that obscures some of the slash commands. I know IRC purists will turn their noses up at this, but remember attracting new blood also often means offering new interfaces. My channel is called #gadgeteerza and is on the Libera IRC server. If you want to try IRC out without installing a client or a server, you can just head to

Kiwi IRC

in your browser and try listing and joining channels. There is an interesting video to watch about IRC at the linked article below. See

Hackaday

A Love Letter To Internet Relay Chat

Although kids these days tend to hang out on so-called “Social Media”, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) was first, by decades. IRC is a real-t...

#technology #IRC #socialnetworks