Slackware turns 30! AlmaLinux OS drops “bug-for-bug compatibility” with Red Hat, a Pi 2040 powered ergonomic keyboard with balls, and Windows-like resource monitoring with Mission Center.
Listen:
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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:43 A bossy shirt MKII
02:09 Windows-like monitoring with Mission Center
05:06 Why cloned apps are important
06:02 30 years of Slackware
11:24 Bothering to learn Linux
14:01 Alma drops “bug-for-bug compatibility” with Red Hat
17:01 Pi 2040 powered ergonomic keyboard
21:54 Come play classic Trackmania with us
Colour Key: Venn Jill
Linux mission center
https://gitlab.com/mission-center-devs/mission-center
- I heard you all like Windows!
- This looks real windowsy, something that was confirmed in Discord by our resident Windows user.
- Monitor CPU, RAM, Disk, GPU, Ethernet.
- And you know it’s written in, wait for it, Rust!
- So it doesn’t build OOTB on Debian.
- Bonus points for having a dark mode.
- This is the swiss army knife for monitoring system resource usage!
- I love the nice big graphs that are easy to read.
- I installed Mission Center as a Flatpak in the Pop!_OS software shop.
- The only monitor I can think of that could be added is CPU temperature, which I like to monitor frequently.
- The GPU monitor does have temperature readout which is great.
Slackware turns 30!
https://debugpointnews.com/slackware-30-years/?amp=1
- Slackware Linux, the world’s oldest surviving Linux distribution, has turned 30 years old!
- Slackware remains actively maintained and is highly regarded for its exceptional stability.
- Once thought dead, last year Slackware released version 15.0 after a six-year gap.
- I still run Slackware on one of my main machines with the xfce desktop.
- Slackware is a lot of peoples first introduction to Linux, including mine :-)
- I started with Slackware in 1993, and because it was my first Linux distro, it has a special place in my heart!
- And getting twenty-four 3½” floppy disk images installed and working correctly!
- And not blowing up my CRT in the process with the XF86Config file.
- It is extremely fast, nibble and stable.
- And its goal is to be the most “Unix-like” Linux distribution.
- There are no official repositories for Slackware. The only official packages Slackware provides are available on the installation media.
- However, there are many third-party repositories for Slackware.
- Slackware’s package management system is called pkgtools.
- Slapt-get, and Gslapt you can use to resolve dependencies like Debian’s apt.
- Slackware includes all my favorite classic multimedia apps, including: mplayer, XMMS and xine.
- I have been a Patreon of Slackware for quite some time, and happily support Patrick Volkerding and his small team of developers.
- Slackware’s first release predates the Linux kernel reaching version 1 and was an introduction to the operating system for many of us.
- Almost six years passed between version 14.2 and the current release.
- Patrick takes the it’s done when it’s done approach.
- That said, 15.1 incremental update after a far shorter development cycle.
- Slack still aims to be the most “UNIX-like” Linux distribution and nobody wants to fight them over the title.
The future of AlmaLinux OS
https://almalinux.org/blog/future-of-almalinux/
- Alma is the first announced casualty of the RH decision to shut down RHEL clones.
- Unlike Rocky who plans to rube goldberg their way around the new restations Alma is doing their own thing.
- It’s still going to be Red hat compatible’ish but no longer maintaining the bug-for-bug compatibility.
- Being able to accept patches for bugs outside of Red Hat is great, unless you need a RHEL clone.
- Congratulations AlmaLinux! This is awesome!
- In many ways this will progress the AlmaLinux ecosystem as a whole.
- They have always been great when it comes to giving back to the community, filing bugs and contributing upstream in Fedora and CentOS Stream. And this will not change.
- If you would like to help them out you can join the AlmaLinux OS Foundation, or become a sponsor on GitHub or OpenCollective, and report bugs!
Slice of Pi
Punch Pi
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/dual-raspberry-pi-rp2040s-power-split-ergonomic-keyboard
- That looks really nice.
- I don’t know about practical.
- Using two of the wee RP2040 chips.
- You still need the key caps, switches, LEDs,
- This is really unique use for a Raspberry Pi, a split keyboard PCB that uses an RP2040 processor in each half.
- It is known as the Ximi, and you can grab one on Fingerpunch for $79.00.
- This PCB serves as a base for those who want to build their own split keyboard.
- This purchase includes two separate PCBs—one for the left side and one for the right.
- Each board has an RP2040 and 16MB of storage.
- Breakout pins are accessible for three extra GPIO pins as well as SPI, I2C, LED support and USB-C.
- The Ximi has support for choc v1 or MX switches, per key leds, rotary encoders, 34mm trackball, cirque trackpad, 3 way thumb switch, haptic feedback, and a pre-soldered audio buzzer!
- This PCB is a starting point for creating a fun and unique customizable keyboard.
