LWDW 358: Edubuntu is back and hacking Xfinity with Linux

Edubuntu is back! Handbrake gets super AV1 powers, System76 is giving away a Thelio Mira Workstation, hacking Xfinity with Linux, and data recovery with xfs_undelete.


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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:05 Wrecktangle build update
03:01 Podcasting on Linux guide
06:58 Pine Buds Pro
07:29 Atari VCS
10:04 Recovering files from XFS filesystems
14:10 Edubuntu is back!
20:04 handbrake AV1
23:50 Hacking Xfinity with Linux
31:42 System 76 workstation giveaway
41:58 Raspberry Pi home security system


Colour key: Jill Venn 

XFS Recovery

  • Yeah, guess who deleted something important and didn’t have a backup. 
  • Me!
  • It was on one of my XFS drives so things were extra tricky. 
  • Tricky because you will never guess what TestDisk does not support. 
  • Poor Venn!  LOL
  • This is why we tell everyone to make 3 backups of everything when possible, but we all forget doing this now and again.

 

Edubuntu is back 

  • Remember Edubuntu? 
  • It was an official flavour back in the day and I had forgotten about it. 
  • Edubuntu was for classrooms, schools, homes, and communities of education, but they pulled the plug in 2016. 
  • We have an important Ubuntu Linux Flavour that was lost in 2016, that will be able to resurface once again in our classrooms, Edubuntu is back!
  • The Edubuntu project had started back in 2005, and sadly, due to a lack of contributors, was ended with the release of Edubuntu 14.04 LTS.
  • Ubuntu Studio’s Erich Eickmeyer and his wife Amy, whose background is in education, are the ones stepping up to reboot and revive this spin.
  • The aim is to take part in the Ubuntu 23.04 release this April and, if all goes well, re-apply to become an official Ubuntu flavour.
  • Tentatively planned for Edubuntu 23.04: 
    • Will use the same desktop and apps as regular Ubuntu
    • New logo
    • Will use Yaru’s red theme by default
    • Default application folders by education subject (Math, Science, Language, etc.)
    • An installer based on Ubuntu Studio’s
    • Curated software metapackges based on age (ubuntu-edu-preschool, etc.)
    • A meta uninstaller to quickly remove ‘groups of irrelevant applications’
  • I was so happy to hear this!
  • When Edubuntu stopped development in 2016, a lot of teachers, organisations and schools had to find alternative distros to use, like UberMix.
  • Qimo 4 Kids, which was one of my favourites, also ended development in 2016. 

 

Handbrake AV1

  • AV1 is now officially in the Brake. 
  • The only hardware acceleration is for Intel cards at the moment. 
  • Still waiting on support for AMD and NVIDIA encoders. 
  • HandBrake is an application that I use constantly to convert files, and one I recommend my students to use.
  • They Improved the Linux GUI in parity with the Mac and Windows graphical user interfaces.
  • Thank you for the AV1 support, the NVENC HEVC 10-bit encoder support, and the H.265 4:2:2 profile for VideoToolbox encoder on Apple Silicon support!

 

Xfinity on Linux 

  • In the states we have a service called Xfinity Stream. 
  • It allows you to watch your cable service online. 
  • Handy If you want to watch on demand. 
  • It also has a completely arbitrary Linux block \:D/ 
  • Changing the user agent didn’t work. 
  • The plan was to extract Chrome OS’s Widevine CDM from a recovery image, load it into Firefox, and try to use Xfinity Stream.
  • Didn’t work because Google patched glibc with some extra bits. 
  • He ended up compiling glibc without GLIBC_ABI_DT_RELR. 
  • Back when I was on Cable, I remember doing a lot of hacks to get the TimeWarner app working on Linux.

 

System76 in Review

  • Do you want to win a desktop workstation?
  • PNY, NVIDIA, and System76 have teamed up to give away a System76 Thelio Mira Workstation! Check out the Watch2Win contest for details on entering. There are 16 ways to enter! Deadline for entry is January 31st.
  • As of yesterday, there are 120778 entries.
  • The Launch Lite and the Launch Heavy Keyboards were released.
  • In case you missed it, check out my quick review of the Launch Heavy Keyboard in the intro on LWDW #356.
  • Thelio desktop swappable accents.
  • Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS came out.
  • Transitioning COSMIC DE to a rusty code base.
  • Thelio and Thelio Major join Thelio Mira in offering AMD Ryzen™ 7000-Series processor options alongside 13th Gen Intel.

Slice of Pi

Security Pi 

  • I’ve never considered building a DYI security system but this guy did. 
  • And to keep things interesting he used a RasPi3 at the heart of the system. 
  • After all, he wanted a system he soucl SSH into. 
  • A DIY security alarm system — powered by a Raspberry Pi that supports hardwired and MQTT sensors.
  • Supports both hardwired and MQTT sensors and outputs
  • Support for multiple MQTT alarm panels, with set states †
  • Home Assistant integration with auto discovery
  • The existing security systems have incredibly high monthly fees and are proprietary.
  • Anything that uses the open source Home Assistant is a great option.
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