Ubuntu with Cinnamon and browsing with Mullvad

Cinnamon is now an official Ubuntu flavour! Mullvad VPN releases a security focused browser, Pine64 tablet updates, and Raspberry Pi powered eurorack module.

Listen:

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
06:51 Ubuntu with Cinnamon on top!
12:45 Browsing with Mullvad
22:21 Pine64 March update
30:30 Eurorack Pi

Colour key: Venn Jill

Ubuntu with Cinnamon on top!

https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/03/ubuntu-cinnamon-new-official-flavor

So Ubuntu Cinnamon is now an Official Ubuntu Flavour!
And it will be official when Ubuntu 23.04 ‘Lunar Lobster’ is released April 20th.
Ubuntu Cinnamon takes an Ubuntu-base and layers the GTK-based Cinnamon desktop environment over it.
Nemo is used as the default file manager and Ubuntu’s Yaru is installed as the default GTK, icon, and Cinnamon theme.
And lots of other Cinnamon-based settings and tweak tools are included.
These allow you to customise and extend the Cinnamon desktop with all kinds of extra applets, themes, and other content from the online Cinnamon Spices hub.
Joshua Peisach, the Ubuntu Cinnamon Lead, and The Ubuntu Cinnamon Remix team has been working on official status in Ubuntu’s family of flavours for 4 years!
I have known Joshua in the Linux community for quite some time, and have been following his progress on Ubuntu Cinnamon.
And I need to point out that Joshua was only 11 years old 4 years ago!
Congratulations Joshua on this fantastic achievement!
I have been playing with yesterday’s daily build of Ubuntu Cinnamon, and I am very impressed!
I love the Cinnamon coloured theming.
Really need to change the default image viewer to something other than GIMP.

The Mullvad Browser

https://mullvad.net/en/browser

This is an open source, rebranded Firefox.
Open business model.
The dns lookups are done via Mullvads encrypted dns service.
You get all the in-browser tracking protection Firefox has (e.g. against fingerprinting) + the ones only the Tor browser.
Mullvad is the Swedish name for a mole in case you were wondering.
The download is a standard tar and you can launch it right from the directory.
Nice, and it is quite zippy!
The Mullvad Browser is open source and free of charge, whether or not you are a Mullvad VPN user.
It is a browser built by the Tor Project team and distributed by Mullvad.
It includes the uBlock-Origin and NoScript add-ons as well as the Mullvad Browser Extension for using your Mullvad VPN account.
The Mullvad VPN service is only $5 a month.

Slice of Pi

Pine64 Tabs & SBC (RTheren)

https://www.pine64.org/2023/04/01/march-update-tablet-bonanza/

The wisdom of releasing an update on the day of Fools is questionable.
The big news (nor me) is the PineTab-V.
In traditional fashion the V stands for ‘very early’ or ‘vaguely functional’.
PineTab-V is identical to the PineTab2 in all ways but the SoC.
One can only dream.
Anyway, the serious bit is the PineTab2 update.
The PineTab2 will ship with a build of DanctNix Arch Linux for Arm with KDE Plasma Desktop.
Wi-Fi is disabled on the PineTab2 by default due to driver stability issues.
Addressing some concerns about the potato SOC.
If they can enable hardware decoding it should be able to manage 1080p 60 YT videos.
With the 1280×800 panel.
Protip: If you are going to show the browsing performance show a page with something on it.
Pine64 has some new goodies coming this month!
The Star64 will be available for purchase now and the PineTab2 and PineTab-V(ery good!) will launch next week on April 11th.
The PineTab2 will ship with a build of DanctNix Arch Linux for Arm with KDE Plasma Desktop.
And is built around the peppy Rockchip RK3555. This boasts four ARM Cortex-A55 cores and ARM Mali-G610 MP4 graphics.
The PineTab 2 is fronted by a 10.1-inch IPS touch display, and it is equipped with a pair of USB-C ports, a micro-HDMI out, 3.5mm audio out, and a microSD card slot. A 5MP rear camera and 2MP front-facing camera are also present.
The entry-level $160 model offers 4 GB RAM and 64 GB internal eMMC storage; the $209 model offers 8GB RAM and 128 GB eMMC storage.
Both models come with a matching detachable, backlit keyboard case-come-stand included in the price.
The PineTab-V on the other hand might hopefully be the x86 Unicorn that Venn has been wanting!
And the Pine64 Star64 single board computer we have talked about in the past will be available on April 4th in two configurations: 4GB and 8GB LPDDR4 memory for $69.99 and $89.99.
The Star64 features a Quad core 64bit RISC-V, HDMI video output, i2c touch panel connector, dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, dual-band WiFi and Bluetooth, as well as 1x native USB3.0 port, 3x shared USB2.0 ports.
The board also features 128M QSPI flash and eMMC and microSD card slots.

Beep-Boop Pi

https://github.com/Allen-Synthesis/EuroPi

Ever wanted a module for your eurorack that could run python?
The EuroPi is a fully user reprogrammable module based on the Raspberry Pi Pico that will let you do just that.
Oscillation, sequencing, quantizing, harmonics and more.
There is a list of packaged scripts in the readme. About 24 of them to play with.
DYI kit will run you around £106.00 but there is a BOM as well.
Synth musicians are no strangers to programming, so having a Python based module seems right up their alley!
The EuroPi is a project aimed at making Eurorack more accessible and customisable by giving users complete control of the inner workings of a digital module.
Users can entirely reprogram the module simply by connecting it via USB to a computer, and then writing or editing the program in Python.