China joins Europe in scrapping Windows for Linux

Headline of the day! However, it appears to be sensational!

As a Linux user myself, I get it! 😊

"... key takeaways

• The Chinese government is dumping Windows for some desktops.
• A Linux desktop version will replace Windows.
• The most likely candidates are Kylin OS or UOS.

According to a Bloomberg report, attributed to China's Ministry of State Security, the country has ordered some government agencies to drop Windows 10 China Government Edition for Chinese-made Linux distributions. ..."

"China is pulling the plug on an older version of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows tailored for government agencies, taking another step toward rooting out the world’s most popular PC software in a broader effort to reduce its dependence on foreign technology.

The Chinese Ministry of State Security recently told some state-linked entities to uninstall customized Windows 10 software from their machines, people familiar with the matter said. That moves up the schedule to discontinue the operating system by several months ..."

China joins Europe in scrapping Windows for Linux | ZDNET "The specialized Chinese version of Windows was already scheduled for retirement in February 2027, but now its end-of-life date has been moved up."

China Removes Microsoft Windows at State Users Ahead of Plan

My Life as a Linux Kernel Developer and Maintainer with Mark Brown

I have been a Linux user for many years. If I had time, then I might watch this webinar.

My Life as a Linux Kernel Developer and Maintainer with Mark Brown

The third major Linux kernel flaw in two weeks has been found - thanks to AI

Good news! I also noticed more than usual software update notifications lately with Fedora Linux on my laptop.

AI may not only find security vulnerabilities or software flaws much faster, but also may provide usable information how to fix them without breaking the operation system or causing a bug.

"... According to Linus's law, "Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow," is fundamental to open source. ...

thanks to AI bug-finding tools, such as Claude Mythos and OpenAI Daybreak, behind most of those eyeballs are AI engines, and they're proving to be much faster at finding security problems than human ones. ..."

The third major Linux kernel flaw in two weeks has been found - thanks to AI | ZDNET "AI is exposing Linux security holes faster than developers can patch them. Fragnesia is the latest. Here's what we know about it."

Linux Foundation Announces the Formation of the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF)

Good news! Linux is an excellent open and free operating system that has evolved and improved for decades!

"With founding contributions from Anthropic, Block, and OpenAI, the AAIF unites cutting-edge technology and open source governance to shape the future of open and accessible AI

Summary

• The Linux Foundation announced the formation of the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF) with founding contributions of leading technical projects including Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP), Block’s goose, and OpenAI’s AGENTS.md.
• The AAIF provides a neutral, open foundation to ensure agentic AI evolves transparently and collaboratively.
• MCP is the universal standard protocol for connecting AI models to tools, data and applications; goose is an open source, local-first AI agent framework that combines language models, extensible tools, and standardized MCP-based integration; AGENTS.md is a simple, universal standard that gives AI coding agents a consistent source of project-specific guidance needed to operate reliably across different repositories and toolchains.
• Platinum members include Amazon Web Services, Anthropic, Block, Bloomberg, Cloudflare, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI.

...

 The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced the formation of the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF), and founding contributions of three leading projects driving innovation in open source AI; Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP), Block’s goose, and OpenAI’s AGENTS.md."

Linux Foundation Announces the Formation of the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF), Anchored by New Project Contributions Including Model Context Protocol (MCP), goose and AGENTS.md – Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF)

Credits: Data Points newsletter

Mastering Concurrent Algorithms with TLA+: A webinar offered by the Linux Foundation

Just a few moments ago, I blogged here about TLA+, then I discovered this is now being offered! What a coincidence!

Concurrency is one of those very tricky subjects in software development.

Mastering Concurrent Algorithms with TLA+ Join a Complimentary Live Webinar from The TLA+ Foundation and The Linux Foundation

Linux Fedora 38 beta has arrived and it heralds a spectacular upcoming release

Since I use Fedora Linux for several years now, I am getting already excited!

Fedora 38 beta has arrived and it heralds a spectacular upcoming release | 

ZDNET Fedora 38 beta is here and it looks to once again prove this Linux desktop is ready for users of all kinds.

8 things you can do with Linux that you can't do with MacOS or Windows

Recommendable! As a long time Linux user myself, I can relate to this article!

It is not quite correct to claim "Upgrade without reboots". You actually do have to reboot quite often after system/software updates.

8 things you can do with Linux that you can't do with MacOS or Windows | ZDNET

Linux Foundation Newsletter: Diversity, equity, and inclusion

Horrible, the Linux Foundation is also spreading this propaganda and demagoguery!

Since I use a Linux distribution operating system (Fedora) on my notebook, I am not amused!

"Words Matter: The Language of Diversity, Understanding, and Acceptance (Open Mainframe Project Webinar replay)

Diversity Scholarships are offered for events. For more eligibility information and how to apply, please visit the individual event’s website (all listed here), click the “Attend” tab, and select the “Registration Scholarships” option. 

The Linux Foundation’s Travel Fund enables open source developers and community members to attend events they would otherwise be unable to attend due to a lack of funding. We emphasize funding applicants from historically underrepresented or untapped groups and those of lower socioeconomic status. Please click here for more information and to apply."

Linux Foundation Newsletter: November 2022

Linus Torvalds is cautiously optimistic about bringing Rust into Linux kernel's next release

Seems to be some interesting news! I am not familiar with the Rust programming language, but a cursory look at it indicates this is a serious programming language to develop robust and safe software.

Could Linux one day be written in Rust (or similar language) instead of ancient C?

"For over three decades, Linux has been written in the C programming language. Indeed, Linux is C's most outstanding accomplishment. But the last few years have seen a growing momentum to make the Rust programming language Linux's second Linux language. At the recent Open Source Summit in Austin, Texas, Linux creator Linus Torvald said he could see Rust making it into the Linux kernel as soon as the next major release. ..."

Linus Torvalds is cautiously optimistic about bringing Rust into Linux kernel's next release | ZDNet Linux creator Linus Torvalds said that while he won't make any promises, he'd like to see Rust merging into the Linux kernel with the next release.

Latest Fedora 36 update broke the Starred feature and other features

Update of 6/9/2022: The latest update also broke other features e.g in the Files manager:

1. Folders are not anymore sorted first before files despite explicit configuration e.g. when trying to upload a file
2. Dropping files into e.g. Google Drive does not work anymore. I have to use now the Google Drive file upload feature
3. Apparently, also the Software Update function is broken. I have used the Software Update function for many years and I have never seen such a message. It works usually very smoothly.
   
   
   

Original Post

Yesterday (6/7/2022), I ran the most recent update available for Fedora 36. To my surprise, the Starred feature did not work anymore and my previously starred folders and files were gone.

I also noticed that others have reported similar experiences.

Waiting for the next update to come out quickly!

Fedora 36 Annoyances

I noticed following when you try to download files (e.g. PDF files) from the Internet to your laptop computer:

1. The file download facility will not allow you to change the name of the file anymore before you start the download. This was possible with previous releases of Fedora.
2. After you selected the folder into which you want to download the file, the content of the folder is not automatically ordered by folders first anymore despite me having specifically configured the Preferences of the files manager.

Upgraded Fedora Linux from release 35 to 36

Today, I noticed that Fedora 36 Workstation was available for download. 

Did I hesitate to upgrade my Dell Inspiron laptop? Resistance failed me entirely! Excitement won! 😄👏 

As usual, the upgrade was flawless and without hiccups or glitches. Let's find out what is under the hood in the coming days ...

Announcing Fedora Linux 36

TransTech Social and Linux Foundation Training & Certification Partner to Award Technology Training Scholarships to LGBTQ people

Who are these LGBTQ people? See my answer!

"We’re proud to announce that we are partnering with TransTech Social Enterprises, an incubator for LGBTQ talent with a focus on economically empowering the T, transgender people, to provide scholarships to promising individuals to help them get started working with open source software. 

TransTech will award 50 scholarships per quarter to deserving individuals, with Linux Foundation Training & Certification ..."

TransTech Social and Linux Foundation Training & Certification Partner to Award Technology Training Scholarships - Linux Foundation - Training

Just upgraded Fedora Linux to 34

The upgrade from Fedora 33 to Fedora 34 went very smoothly and uneventful on my Dell laptop! No error messages or warnings etc.! However, the official tour of new features was not very impressive.

What bothered me immediately is that the Activities panel is now by default aligned horizontally at the bottom by of the screen instead of vertically along the left edge of the screen.

Fedora 33 Annoyances

Update of 12/22/2020

I am really annoyed! Every week there is at least one critical OS update to be installed!

Main Post

I have recently upgraded from Fedora 32 to 33. However, I have experienced quite a bit of issues with this version. I have been using Fedora Linux now for several years and I always upgrade to the latest version when available.

The upgrade itself was not smooth as advertised. In the end, I had to do it manually using DNF commands. I presume, e.g. I had done one update to many using the Software app before the upgrade. Something conflicted with the upgrade. I don't remember the details anymore.

Since the latest upgrade, I had to a lot of software updates almost on a daily basis.

There were a few other, unexpected and unfamiliar issues. They were annoying, but not critical and I don't remember the details anymore.

Software App

I have never seen something like this before with earlier Fedora versions. Several times now, I have seen even different error messages when invoking this app.

Upgraded from Fedora 31 to Fedora 32

On Labor Day, I risked to upgrade my notebook from Fedora Workstation 31 to 32 (released on April 28). I followed the instructions provided in this timely Fedora Magazine article. The upgrade was fast, a breeze, and without a glitch. Not sure I noticed any significant improvements so far.

My Experience With New Fedora 31

At the end of October, I upgraded Fedora 30 to 31 without any problems. The upgrade was smooth and went very well! Bravo for that!

I can now also say with some certainty that Fedora 30 was a real garbage version of Fedora. I blogged about it here.

Almost all the very strange phenomena that I had to suffer through with Fedora seem to be gone. These phenomena were of such a kind that you wondered whether my newly purchased Dell Inspiron notebook (hardware) was to blame. No more frequent (sometimes three times a day) freezes of the operating system; no more weird black rectangles appearing in random locations on the screen; no more time varying sensitivity of the touchpad.

I am quite relieved that the ordeal with Fedora 30 is over!

The KDE Monastery

Posted: 8/24/2019

If you think that monasteries in the Western world are kind of quaint and only exist on the periphery of Western societies, where few citizens aspire to become a monk, you might be in for a rude shock.

I have recently discovered a modern monastery, where young people flock to in droves. It is called the Linux based KDE international free software community (S1). E.g. the KDE Plasma Desktop is the default desktop environment on many Linux distributions.

Since I have been using one of KDE’s products very heavily on a daily basis, i.e. Okular (a PDF file viewer & annotator), I thought it would be a good idea to share bug/feature reports about this product with the KDE community.

In dealing with the KDE community, I found out that they care more about themselves and their well being than about the users of their products or the quality of their products. Some of the volunteers have a lazy, cloistered, cultish, arrogant prima donna like attitude and they respond like snowflakes. Volunteer outsiders (like me) trying to contribute are not treated very well unless they adhere to the rules of the monastery. When I addressed my concerns with the KDE community, an administrator quickly shunted me and disabled my account. 

I also tried to contact by email the German registered association behind the KDE community, i.e. the KDE e.V. a registered non-profit organization that represents the KDE Community in legal and financial matters, but they never bothered to respond.

Sources (S):

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDE
2. https://okular.kde.org/
3. https://ev.kde.org/

New Fedora 30 Is Unstable

Posted: 6/12/2019  Updated/revision: 8/2/2019, 7/17/2019, 7/15/2019, 6/27/2019, 6/20/2019, 6/15/2019

A few days ago (7/9/2019) it was announced that IBM closed purchase of Red Hat. This does not alleviate my worries about the future of Fedora Linux distribution.

About around 6/12/2019, I upgraded from Fedora version 29 to 30. The upgrade went smoothly without a glitch or anything.

These are my experiences since the upgrade of 6/12/2019:

1. Fedora 30 is a sheer disaster. I am ready to dump Fedora. After about 6 or more OS updates it is still suffering from major issues: 1) the notebook touchpad sensitivity is very erratic and changes as time goes by (this is the most annoying) 2) It still freezes every so often and I have to reboot (maddening) 3) a black rectangular bar on the screen (as I write this post; see screen print below) 4) after reboot the sound is still turned off. It is becoming maddening and very frustrating! (8/2/2019)
2. Several OS updates later and one DNF upgrade later, I still see this annoying black rectangle across my screen and today it is particularly annoying because of its size and location. See screenshot below (7/17/2019)
3. Suffered at three freezes in about 24 hours after an operating system update using the Software app about two days ago. Decided to use dnf upgrade today, which, among other things, upgraded the Linux kernel. Keeping my fingers crossed! Before that Fedora 30 would freeze about every 2-3 days (7/15/2019)
4. Fedora 30 froze again despite operating system update just a day ago. I can say now that Fedora 30 freezes about every 2-3 days (6/27/19)
5. Fedora 30 froze least two more times since I reported it here on 6/12/19. Every time it happens during a routine activity working with the usual apps and totally unexpected (6/20/19)
6. For several days now, I notice frequently a single black rectangular bar appearing on my screen (size ranging from about 0.5 cm height to between 3-10 cm in width) in the upper half of my screen. Since I have a new notebook, I do not think my hardware is failing. I did not observe those bars Fedora 29 (update of 6/15/19)
7. Fedora twice became unresponsive within days and I had to reboot. It happened every time while I was doing some very routine things and I have no idea why Fedora became unresponsive. Only the second time was caught by the Problem Reporting program indicating that the “evolution-calendar-factory killed by SIGABRT”
8. When you reboot, the loudspeakers are turned off every time (a bit odd)

Screenshot of annoying black rectangle across my display (7/17/2019)

First Disappointment With Linux Fedora 29

Posted: 12/8/2018 Updated: 12/12/2018, 12/9/2018

Update Of 12/12/2018

Suffered now three application crashes by now. Two crashes came from the Files utility, which I find strange that such a standard utility becomes so brittle. The other application crash was caused by an application, which I was not able to identify.

Update Of 12/9/2018

Unfortunately, I was premature and had to change the original blog post title from “In Praise of Linux Fedora 29” to the current title.

As if I had come under a spell since publishing this blog, I noticed those annoying application is not responsive messages again with Fedora 29. And today (12/9/2018), my system crashed all of a sudden with a black screen of death, which I had not seen in a long time.

Original Post

For four long years I suffered from poor memory management with the Fedora (Workstation) operating system. Every few days, responsiveness would become molasses and I had to reboot.

A about a week ago, with apprehensions I dared to upgrade from Fedora 28 to Fedora 29 and to my great surprise, they finally tackled this poor memory management problem much to my satisfaction!

Special appreciation also for the very smooth upgrade process without any glitches or negative surprises so far!