today's howtos

• How to install the Node-Red on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS?

• How to tell pacman not to update a package like a kernel

• How to uninstall snap in Ubuntu

• [Older] How to use ncurses widgets in shell scripts on Linux

• How to Use $() and ${} Expansions in a Shell Script

• How to Setup Redis Replication (with Cluster-Mode Disabled) in CentOS 8 – Part 1

• How to Reset Forgotten Root Password in Arch Linux

• How to Install and Use Blender on Linux Mint

• How to Go Full Dark Mode in Ubuntu 20.04

• How To Easily Configure Flatpak Apps Permissions With Flatseal

• Getting Started with Ansible Security Automation: Investigation Enrichment

• Install Orca (*Screen Reader*) on Linux Ubuntu 19.10/18.04 LTS!

• Building a Low Energy Virtualization Server for Your Office/Homelab with Proxmox

• 2 Ways to Upgrade Ubuntu 18.04 To Ubuntu 20.04 (Graphical & Terminal)

• What is Apt-get upgrade and dist-upgrade commands and how to use them

• Use Emacs Org mode to easily create LaTeX documents

Games: The Universim, Zoria: Age of Shattering, Quiplash 2 InterLASHional, Plastris, Something Ate My Alien, Gutwhale

• City-builder god sim 'The Universim' has a massive update with bridges and pretty towerblocks

  The Universim from Crytivo continues pushing through Early Access updates, towards an eventual release later this year. A massive update is out now, which amongst other things adds in some fancy bridges to build. Crytivo's aim with The Universim is to create what they're calling a "a new breed of God Game", to bring in features from some classic with a modern physics engine and blending in a city-builder. So far, so good. You can build a big beautiful city across an entire planet, and guide your Nuggets a little with various god powers. It oozes charm and the narrator brings some nice comedic value to it. The latest update is another step forward in the overall content available. While bridges are a great (and needed) addition to the game, personally I'm more excited about the huge Residential overhaul. From the Stone Age to the Modern Age, there's a huge amount more variety in the buildings where your little Nuggets reside. It gives the game that bit more character to it.

• Party-based RPG with base management 'Zoria: Age of Shattering' now has a Linux demo available

  Tiny Trinket Games emailed to mention their upcoming party-based RPG, Zoria: Age of Shattering, now has a Linux demo available for you to try out right now. A story-driven, party-based RPG that will have a focus on "strong" tactical elements with turn-based battles that have free movement rather than tiles, plus base and follower management. Taking place in the fantasy world of Zoria, a world filled with magic, ancient history, tumultuous politics, and countless mysteries. Tiny Trinket are promising something interesting too, with it being hand-crafted adventuring with multiple branching paths.

• Jackbox Games goes global with Quiplash 2 InterLASHional out now, we have a few keys to give away

  Quiplash 2 InterLASHional is the first time Jackbox Games have attempted to go global, with this being their first fully localized party game. For English speakers, it's basically the same as Quiplash 2 found in The Jackbox Party Pack 3 but expanding the languages is vitally important for a game developer since it's one of the best ways to expand their reach. Obviously that's good for people want to play where English isn't their best language, a wonderful bit of "quality of life". Now it's available in English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish with a bunch of extra content for each language.

• Plastris is a 'hyper casual' puzzle game with a wonderful style out now on Linux

  Plastris from developer Khud0 is a 'hyper casual' puzzle game, where all you need to do is fill all the tiles on the screen with simple clicks and it's so weirdly satisfying. Releasing in March 2020, with Linux support arriving a few days ago. I decided to picked up a personal copy, since it's only £1.69. I will admit, the term 'hyper casual' is a new one to me. Turns out, it's a thing, and a term that came into light a few years ago with a new breed of casual mobile games. All you're doing is clicking, and filling. However, you're given a very specific fill-shape, so you also need to use the mouse right-click to remove some you've filled, to be able to complete each level. That's it. Hyper casual? Yeah, sure is. The main thing is how super accessible they are and Plastris is certainly that.

• Something Ate My Alien has a curious mixture of action, digging and puzzle platforming - demo up

  Something Ate My Alien is now confirmed to be launching in June, although there's no exact date they at least have a release window now for their intriguing gameplay mix of action, platforming, puzzles and digging. There's also now a demo. In Something Ate My Alien, you're tasked with digging through different worlds to find all the items required for the pirate who hijacked your mining ship. During the adventure on each planet you have to battle environmental dangers, fight off wildlife, solve secret puzzle chambers, and all this while surviving on a depleting oxygen supply and a threat far scarier than the local wildlife.

• Gutwhale is a claustrophobic 'finite roguelite' action game taking place in a digestive system

  Taking place entirely in a digestive system, Gutwhale is a 'finite roguelite' action game about managing your limited ammo in a very cramped space. Stuffed Wombat, the developer, said the only reason the game actually exists is that they were fired from their job due to Coronavirus so they took it as the perfect opportunity to finally release a game with help from Franek and Britt Brady. [...] Currently, the Linux and macOS versions are only available on itch.io as they haven't had enough testing. I've played it for a good while today and it's a lot of fun and very challenging. Works perfectly with keyboard input, although one button prompt on the Logitech F310 gamepad was wrong as it says B to respawn when it's X. Apart from that, it does work great!

Today in Techrights

• The Fall of the UPC – Part XVII: Bardehle Pagenberg in ‘Corona Zombie’ Mode
• The Fall of the UPC – Part XVI: What’s Reality Got to Do With It? Ask Hogan Lovells.
• The Fall of the UPC – Part XV: A Three-Week Parade of Lies From Team UPC and Its Media Collaborators
• GitHug – A Guest Article by Thomas Grzybowski
• Coronavirus Has Not Slowed Down the EPO’s Promotion of Illegal Software Patents
• IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 07, 2020
• IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 08, 2020
• Links 7/4/2020: Firefox 75, Python 2.7.1 RC1
• Links 8/4/2020: Tails 4.5, Septor 2020.2, GNOME Money Awards and Mozilla’s New CEO