Linux Weekly Daily Wednesday – Linux Defender

Windows Defender comes to Linux, elementary OS updates Loki, Steam gets flat, and Paintstorm is looking for testers!

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Colour key – Venn Pedro Mathieu Jordan

My dear Watson
https://medium.com/elementaryos/new-release-elementary-os-loki-0-4-1-2a756549ee76

  • Rebased on top of 16.04.2 (Kernel 4.8)
  • Features the new App Center with Pay what you want
  • Signed up to register Lutris, currently stuck at “your app should respect Elementary HIGs”
  • This is being worked on.
  • The new App Center also allows third party developers to submit their stuff.
  • Now supports Kaby Lake chipsets.
  • Now, riddle me this… why does it seem like every distro is trying to create their own app store?

 

XP
http://www.techrepublic.com/article/wannacrypt-makes-an-easy-case-for-linux/

  • Let me hear again about how people who can’t even keep up with Windows versions are thrilled to switch to an entirely new OS
  • Those people are a menace to society.
  • And no, I’m not talking about end users, I’m talking about the IT teams who manage them.
  • WannaCry makes as much of a case for Linux like all the other security flaws in Windows ever did.
  • People didn’t change when Edward Snowden leaked the fact Microsoft was giving personal details to the NSA, they didn’t change and chances are they won’t.
  • As much as it pains me to see, Microsoft is holding end-users and user facing enterprise systems hostage.
  • Even if it is cheaper in the long run and just safer to change everyone to Linux, companies would rather pay Microsoft money than pay Red Hat, SuSE or Canonical for support.
  • No, no it does not.
  • The types of people who run unpatched Windows boxes are simply not prospective Linux users.
  • And remember kids, if you “convert” someone’s box YOU are responsible for their tech support… for life.

 

Defen-Dor
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/05/24/windows_defender_linux_port
https://github.com/taviso/loadlibrary

  • Fuzzing from Linux for fun and profit!
  • Is this Linux Subsystem for Windows? What even **is** Linux Subsystem for Windows?
  • Seems like going the long way around and could possibly introduce more bugs and exploits which wouldn’t ever be a problem with the native Windows version, but okay!

 

Flat Steam
https://community.endlessm.com/t/tip-using-steam-on-endless-os/2080

  • Curious to see if this actually works (including every game)
  • Steam being quite isolated from the system itself, I don’t see why it wouldn’t
  • So long as the Runtime still gets picked up by the LD_Library_path variable, I don’t see how this could affect it.
  • Then again, even as it currently stands, Steam runs mostly in user land by default.
  • The Steam package you install from a repo is often just the binary and a couple of other things.
  • The runtime and everything else will get stored in your ~/.local/share/Steam or simply ~/.steam folder.

 

FireFlash
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/software/firefox-55-flash-will-become-ask-to-activate-for-everyone/

  • Yeah, this.
  • Yet another story about the demise of Flash
  • Just kill it! Seriously! What’s the hangup?
  • I honestly can’t think of a website I’ve visited over the past year, at least, that absolutely requires flash.
    • And even if I did run across one it would find its way onto my nope list.
  • And remember, if I don’t run Flash, then YOU don’t get to run it either

 

Sputnik
http://www.cio.com/article/3197766/linux/how-dell-s-project-sputnik-came-to-life.html

  • “While Dell had been offering Ubuntu since the late ’90s” I like that, they shipped Ubuntu before Ubuntu existed!
    • Ubuntu IS Linux, newb.
  • It’s now safe to say that shipping Linux on laptops is viable commercially, other OEMs should take a hint.
  • Interesting how the touchpad driver was the main issue.
  • He was given $100,000 and six months to see if the idea of a developer laptop would fly and become a real product.”
    • One of the smartest moves DELL ever made.
  • It took them about 7 months from the initial slideshow presentation to putting a product out on the market.
  • Dell also talked Barton George from the full lineup of svelte portable laptops to full on workstations at the start. That was very smart!
  • Use the money to focus on ONE single laptop and make it the best possible product.
  • Of course, nowadays you have the svelte ultra portables in the way of the XPS series, you have the precision workstation laptops and they also offer an 27” AIO desktop.

 

Penguin paint
http://paintstormstudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1884
http://www.paintstormstudio.com

  • Thanks to RTheren for pointing this out.
  • I can always enjoy a good painting program, even if I couldn’t produce any thing with it
  • This is a direct competitor to MyPaint and Krita but isn’t Open Source
  • That said, it’s not expensive either, $20 for a lifetime license.
    • Yeah, that is pretty cheap considering the alternatives.
  • Pressure sensitivity seems to be a hit or miss according to the forums, couldn’t test it myself due to the lack of hardware.
    • Didn’t work at all with the Trust Slimline tablet.
    • It does work in GIMP.
  • I would test it out but i’ve never been able to find a left handed Wacom tablet.
  • It works: http://i.imgur.com/vsxKni7.jpg
  • Trial version is limited to 30 start ups.

 

Ubuntu survey
http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2017/05/ubuntu-desktop-gnome-extensions-survey-1710

  • That’s a sane choice of extensions
  • IMO, it’s missing Workspace Grid, that’s the extension that made me switch to Gnome Shell
  • Sooo, this survey means they’re not going for a vanilla Gnome Shell experience after all?
    • This is Ubuntu we’re talking about.
    • They went out of their way to make a whole new DE on top of Compiz and a display server no one wanted to use.
    • How is that surprising?
      • It’s not surprising, it just contradicts what Mark said a few weeks ago
      • I’m fine with a bit of customization.
  • Aaaaaand it’s now closed.
  • So, did anyone watching take the Pepsi challenge?
  • If so, what (and why) did you vote on / for?
    • I voted favorably for most of the proposed extensions since I already use them.
    • And I voted for window controls on the left, always on the left.

Slice of Pi

Bzzt
https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/open-source-energy-monitoring-raspberry-pi/

  • A legit use of a Pi for a legit product, that’s not something we have every week!
  • I could see this being useful for people running off the grid e.g. Solar / Naquadah reactor
  • For everything else I suggest a Kilovolt and using the usage meter from your power companies webzone.

Deal
https://blog.adafruit.com/2017/05/18/updated-raspberry-pi-zero-v1-3-camera-packs-includes-pi-zero-v1-3/

  • You can get the same thing with a Pi zero W for $5 more

Feedback

Lingo
http://linuxgamecast.com/bradley/?82PLwyR

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