FOSS News: Big Show 3 - First Interview with Jared Heath of Altha Technology

Distro News
Rocky & Alma Linux 9.2 Out Now
Tails 5.13
Freespire 9.5

FOSS News
PSA: Linux 62 is EOL
KDE News
Interview with Jared Heath of Altha Technologies, Inc.

FOSS Fun
Lutris 0.5.3
Changes at Codeweavers
New DXVK Released

Today, I’ll be chatting with Jared Heath, who is the founder and CEO of Altha Technology, Inc., out of Mount Airy, North Carolina. He is a USMC veteran and all around nerd. Altha Technology was founded in 2016, with the clear mission to help people be more censorship-resistant. The motto at Altha Tech is “Protect the data, Own the data, Serve the Data”. Jared and his team manage their own infrastructure in Mount Airy. They depend on FOSS tools to make their business run, as well as their customers’ interests keep moving toward their goals. They are an excellent alternative to big hosting companies who will never infringe on your rights to Free Speech. He’ll be riding shotgun for the majority of the show, commenting as things pop into his head in regard to the topics at hand, then partway through, we will have a conversation about him and his company.

Distro News
DN 1 – Version 9.2 Released for Alma and Rocky Linux
As promised and expected, Alma Linux & Rocky Linux each got refreshes, based on the RHEL which forms their shared foundation. Last week, we mentioned that RHEL got an update, now its free downstream distros also got the love. More or less it is the same stuff that we talked through in the notes last week, but if you want more information, as usual, feel free to look in the description for the link to the article. In short, lots of good stuff, here, for the server/enterprise/business crowd. The primary differences with these downstream options is that they are purely community based, not paid options through Red Hat. As a small business person, that should appeal: a free, enterprise-focused OS.

https://9to5linux.com/almalinux-os-9-2-and-rocky-linux-9-2-are-out-now-as-rhel-9-2-alternatives
#distronews #FOSSNews #RHEL #almalinux #RockyLinux

DN 2 – Tails 5.13
This month’s iteration from the team at Tails enables LUKS 2 for new installs with persistent storage. That is the biggest change for this month, next month, they will roll out the ability to switch from LUKS 1 to LUKS 2 on existing installs. What’s the benefit of LUKS 2 vs LUKS 1? It is more secure and more flexible. LUKS 2 can store 4x as many keys as LUKS 1, it offers password-based key derivation functions (PBKDF) which allows for greater security. The newer standard also creates a larger unencrypted header area, which is what allows for the greater number of keys to be stored, but I digress. I have to admit that there is much about this topic that I do not understand, as I’ve never really done much with encryption on my own machines. Back to Tails, though, their cURL download tool now runs through Tor all the time, so you can easily use it for investigations without being easily tracked as you work. If you want to take a look at an exhaustive list of updates and changes, you should peruse their changelog (https://gitlab.tails.boum.org/tails/tails/-/blob/master/debian/changelog). Here is a shortlist, though:
• Tor Browser 12.0.6 anonymous web browser by default
• Mozilla Firefox 102.11 ESR,
• Updated Unsafe Browser feature
• Updated documentation
• Updated Welcome Screen
• Several bug fixes
If you are set on being nigh untrackable online, you can use this, the same OS as Ed Snowden. Not sure how much of a ringing endorsement that is, I still don’t know how much I trust him, though I suppose he must know what he’s talking about in terms of privacy.
https://9to5linux.com/tails-5-13-enables-luks2-by-default-for-persistent-storage-and-encrypted-volumes
#distromonday #Tails #Linux #privacy #encryption #FOSSNews #TechFreedom #BigShow

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DN 3 – FreeSpire 9.5 Out Now
Freespire is an Ubuntu 22.04LTS derivative. It has been meticulously designed to appeal to the group of people (perhaps like you), who are comfortable with Windows 10 in terms of UI. It has a heavily customized GNOME desktop built to look almost identical to the aforementioned OS. If you are looking for an easier entry point into Linux, this could be your ticket. It used to run Xfce, but they found that they could more easily tweak the UI to match customer feedback with GNOME, so they went that direction instead. What else changed?
• Latest Ubuntu upstream security patches (as of 5/5/23)
• Fixed many bugs and issues
◦ Python 3 apps should no longer crash or refuse to start,
◦ proper resolutions are now displayed on HDMI connections
◦ Bluetooth headset microphones should now work correctly (I wish the rest of the Linux world would fix this issue... I’ve never been able to reliably use bt headset microphones, could someone just make this work, please?)
◦ Both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge web apps now show in the applications menu
◦ Zoom calls no longer crash when using Bluetooth audio devices.
• Out of the box flatpak support, with a handful of key inclusions that are missing from Ubuntu itself: OnlyOffice Desktop Editors, balenaEtcher, and Midnight Commander
The only things that I’d want to see change here are a total rebase on anything other than Ubuntu, and a migration away from systemd. These things go for most other distros as well, though.
https://9to5linux.com/ubuntu-based-freespire-9-5-brings-custom-gnome-ui-to-resemble-windows-10s-look
#distromonday #freespire #Linux #FOSSNews #TechFreedom

FOSS News
FN 1 – PSA: Linux 62 is Now EOL
Linux 62 series, we hardly knew ye. Nah, non LTS kernel series only get supported for 3 months or so. It is time to either go back to the Linux 61 LTS or update to the latest Linux 63 series, if you want to continue getting security updates and the like. Just wanted to make sure that you guys and gals who are already in the Linux space know about this.
https://9to5linux.com/linux-kernel-6-2-reaches-end-of-life-users-urged-to-upgrade-to-linux-kernel-6-3
#FOSSNews #PSA #updates #Linux #news #developmentmarcheson #TechFreedom
FN 2 – KDE News Triple Header
2.1 – KDE Frameworks 5.106
Here’s the monthly (roughly) update for Qt and related apps, this one has some good stuff in it, as usual.
• support for the small monochrome versions of the “MS-DOS Executable” icons in the Breeze icon theme to respect the active color scheme
• improved Display Configuration widget and OSD icons with consistent stroke widths and levels of detail
• icons for .abc Alembic files
• new icons for the pixelate and blur tools in Spectacle
• a new icon for the Partition Manager app
• improves the Plasma Browser Integration to fix a Plasma crash that occurred when playing certain YouTube videos and also when using a proxy
• Fixed bug with Right to Left scripts causing errors with windows (talked about this last week, when we covered Plasma 5.27.5)
• Can now convert to and from kilometers per hour using the “kph” keyword
• Improves dragging from empty areas of the toolbar in the Plasma Discover package manager and many other Kirigami-based apps
• Dolphin bugs squashed
◦ prevent a major source of crashes when copying files
◦ folders fail to update in real-time when contents are modified in another application
• improved middle-clicking on various things like KWin-drawn titlebars
• fix for an issue that could cause KDE apps and the Plasma desktop to hang when using them to move a lot of files at the same time
• Among other things, if you want more detail, check out the changelog here: (https://kde.org/announcements/frameworks/5/5.106.0/)
https://9to5linux.com/kde-frameworks-5-106-improves-breeze-icons-plasma-browser-integration-and-more
2.2 – KDE Gear 23.04.1
What’s new in KDE Gear? Why, improvements for many significant KDE apps, such as:

• Kdenlive
◦ fixed an issue causing project files to be corrupted when opened
◦ a recent regression where sequence clip duration was not updated
◦ Fixed various sequence issues
◦ Fixed a crash when the speech engine was left configured
◦ Fixed a concurrency crash in thumbnails
• Spectacle
◦ fixed the Rectangular Region selector to work as expected on multi-monitor setups where one of the displays has a scale factor below 100%.
◦ Spectacle will no longer affect the window below it when it’s closed with the Esc key
• Dolphin on x11
◦ no longer see an already-open instance of Dolphin in a different workspace or activity becoming focused and switched to when using the “Open containing folder” functionality in various KDE apps
▪ Coming soon for Wayland sessions as well
• Skanpage
◦ UI improvements as well to force the “rotate image” buttons to actually rotate the image in the expected directions
◦ OCR language list view is now scrollable when needed
• Filelight
◦ no longer fail to launch when your disk is full, , ,.
• KItinerary
◦ adds support to the library to handle the German language variant of Vueling boarding groups
• Neochat
◦ improves Qt 6 support for NeoChat
• KDE Minuet support for Wayland
◦ improved windowing
• If you want to know more, take a look at the changelog here (https://kde.org/announcements/changelogs/gear/23.04.1/)
https://9to5linux.com/kde-gear-23-04-1-is-out-to-improve-kdenlive-spectacle-dolphin-and-more

2.3 – KDE 6
At a joint sprint event in Germany, the KDE team and Tuxedo Computers teamed up to work on Plasma 6. There are some really big changes coming down the pipeline, guys. I am excited about these. The first thing that should have been on the list in the article linked below was the change in release cadence. I think that will not only make KDE more stable, but it will allow the devs to apply a significant amount more polish to the environment between releases. Once it is released, they are moving to a more deliberate 2 releases per year cadence. Sure, that means that there won’t be as many of these update pieces to cover, but when they do happen, they may take up lots of space to cover adequately. My question there, though, is does that mean that Gear and Frameworks will also slow down that much, or just the DE itself?
Other than that, there will be some significant changes made in terms of quality of life:
• Defaulting to double click for opening files in Dolphin (should have been a standard default the whole time, afaic).
• Floating panel is now a default, to differentiate between KDE and Windows, which seems to have stolen KDE’s homework yet again.
• Default to Wayland rather than x11
◦ Not great for NVidia users, but those issues look to be fixable by whenever they release Plasma 6, which is excellent
• new default Task Switcher
• no more scrolling on the desktop to switch virtual desktops,
• clicking in the scrollbar track jumps the scrollbar to that location,
• a wallpaper page in System Settings
• unified desktop plugins
• better handling for keyboard backlighting
Unfortunately there is still no fixed date for the release of Plasma 6 at this time. I will keep you apprised as more information comes out. One thing I really hope for in 6 is that they fix 2-in-1 & touchscreen support. If they do, I will gladly switch back to KDE on my primary work machine (a surface pro 5).
https://9to5linux.com/kde-plasma-6-to-ship-with-floating-panel-by-default-double-click-for-opening-files

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FN 3 – Interview with Jared Heath
Well, now that we have talked about KDE and a few distros, let’s chat with Jared about his company and learn a bit more about him, his team, and what all they offer.
So, Jared, why should we care about you and Altha Tech?
What is Altha Tech?
What got you into tech to begin with?
Why did you start Altha Tech?
What is your vision for Altha Tech?
How can people reach out to Altha Tech?
How’d you come up with the name of the company?

#interview #bigshow #TechFreedom #FOSSNews

FF 1 - Lutris Updates
Lutris, if you’re unaware, is a game management/ library system. They’re constantly working on making it better, and the big deal with this update is the ability to directly use proton from Lutris. It is apparently just a compatibility check, so don’t expect perfection at this point, but cool, either way. Here’s the rest of the highlights:

• Add drag and drop on the main window. Dropped files will be matched No-Intro, Redump and TOSEC checksums.
• Add support for ModDB links in installers (moddb python module required).
• Added "Missing" sidebar option for games whose directory is missing.
• Re-style the configuration, preferences, installer and add-games windows.
• Group configuration options into sections.
• Added checkbox to stop asking for the launch config for a game.
• Added checkbox to sort installed games first. (about time)
• Support for launch-configs in shortcuts and the command line.
• Show platform badges on banners and cover-art. (good)
• Installing games from setup files can now use different presets (Win98, 3DFX, ...). (oooh)
• Add filter field to runner list.
• Show game count in search bar.
• Workaround Humble Bundle authentication issues by allowing importing cookies from Firefox.
• Add Itch.io integration.
• Add Battle.net integration (protobuf dependency required).
• Improve detection of DOSBox games on GOG.
• Added "Unspecified" Vulkan ICD option.
• Removed ResidualVM (now merged into ScummVM)
• Detect obsolete Vulkan drivers and default to DXVK 1.x for them.
• Improved High-DPI support for custom media.
• Performance improvements.
Good stuff, overall. I would say that the direct proton compatibility will, once it is mature, make a huge difference for a growing number of games.

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/05/lutris-v0513-adds-proton-support-itch-and-battlenet-integration/
#FOSSNews #BigShow #FOSSFun #Lutris #TechFreedom
FF 2 – Codeweavers (creators of WINE) Change Corporate Governance Model
CodeWeavers is having a bit of a shakeup in how the company is being run. They are moving from a traditional ownership model to an employee trust model, so that employees get to make decisions about the direction of the company, and also get to benefit directly from it. This sounds like a win-win for them, we’ll see how it goes. As long as WINE/ Proton/ Crossover stay solid, or even get better, this is a good move for the community. If they deteriorate, then not so much. Not sure that I would ever do that with my company, but then, it barely exists as more than an aspiration at this point. On the other hand, my desire, when I hire people, is to provide them with a living wage, so that they don’t have to worry about anything, and can just work happily without that stress on them. Big dreams.
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/05/codeweavers-partners-of-valve-on-proton-move-to-an-employee-ownership-trust/
#FOSSNews #codeweavers #WINE #proton #changes #TechFreedom

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FF 3 – New Version of DXVK? Yes Please.
The latest, v 2.2, ships with some tasty additions. Let’s list them, shall we?

• D3D11On12
◦ Makes it so that DX11 games get rendered as though they were DX12 titles, which is better for Vulkan to manage, if I’m not mistaken. In order to use it though, you’ll need a recent vkd3d-proton build and it uses the D3D11On12CreateDevice and ID3D11On12Device interfaces
• D3D9 partial presentation
◦ This feature enables DXVK to present parts of a window by copying the contents of the back buffer to system memory and then drawing them into the window on the CPU.
▪ What’s that mean? Better compatibility for some game launchers and visual novels, but at a performance penalty
• Game fixes
◦ Jade Empire
◦ Sid Meier’s Pirates
◦ Total War: Shogun 2
◦ Battle Fantasia Revised Edition
◦ Cold Fear
◦ Dawn of Magic 2
◦ DC Universe Online
◦ Far Cry 2
◦ Halo: The Master Chief Collection
◦ Warhammer 40K: Space Marine
• Other fixes
◦ a regression that occurred when rendering YUY2 or UYUY texture formats
◦ some Vulkan validation errors
◦ improved usage of some VK_EXT_extended_dynamic_state3 features
◦ improved enumeration of DXGI outputs on systems with multiple graphics cards
◦ improved memory usage in cases where games create unused D3D11 devices
You could potentially grab it now from the project’s GitHub, then compile from source on your machine, or if you don’t play any of the titles on the list, you could just wait for it to be available in your distro’s repositories. As an aside, when will MS abandon DX, anyway? Sure, it has become a defacto set of protocols, but it has always been a pain in the hind parts to work with, and it makes it harder for FOSS to be legit in terms of gaming. *thinks to self* Maybe that is why they haven’t... Because even though Vulkan works better and is easier to work with, MS doesn’t control it, and that is intolerable for those sociopaths.

https://9to5linux.com/dxvk-2-2-released-with-d3d11on12-support-d3d9-partial-presentation

#FOSSNews #FOSSFun #linuxgaming #dxvk #TechFreedom