• The world’s most advanced UNICs of Organizers

  I recently began using Emacs Org mode, a tool for keeping notes, maintaining TODO lists, planning projects, and authoring documents with a fast and effective plain-text system.
  Since I am a cosplayer I was looking for a repacement for Cosplanner, a non-free Android app. When I was still using Android, I once installed Cosplanner and found out that it has many nasty features. So I deleted my copy. Unlike Cosplanner, Orgmode uses a human readable text format that you can read with any text editor. This allows the user to store an Orgmode file in a git repository that can be synced between devices.

• November 2018 ISO C++ meeting trip report (Core Language)

  The ISO C++ standards meeting in November 2018 was held in San Diego, CA. As usual, Red Hat sent three of us to the meeting: me (for the Core Language Working Group), Jonathan Wakely (for the Library Working Group [LEWG]), and Thomas Rodgers (for the Concurrency and Parallelism Study Group [SG1]). I felt the meeting was productive, though some features that had been expected to make it into C++20 are now in question.

• PyCharm 2019.1 EAP 4

  Our fourth Early Access Program (EAP) version for PyCharm 2019.1 is now available on our website.

• Recursive Programming

  Despite often being introduced early-on in most ventures into programming, the concept of recursion can seem strange and potentially off-putting upon first encountering it. It seems almost paradoxical: how can we find a solution to a problem using the solution to the same problem?

• Virgl Lands A Number Of Performance Optimizations In Mesa 19.1

  For those using the Virgl3D driver stack for having OpenGL acceleration within KVM guest VMs with VirtIO-GPU that is then accelerated by hosts, there are performance optimizations that have just landed in the Mesa 19.1 development code.

  Virgl has introduced a transfer queue along with being able to de-duplicate intersecting 1D transfers, which results in a texture upload micro-benchmark going from 64.23 mtexel/sec all the way to 367.44 mtexel/sec.

• Panfrost Gallium3D Driver Gets Mali T600/T700 Midgard Update

  The Panfrost Gallium3D driver that was recently merged into Mesa 19.1 will soon have better support for the Mali T600/T700 series graphics.

  ARM's Mali Midgard T600/T700 generations have always been part of the support target for the Panfrost driver, but the newer T860 is where the developers spend most of their reverse-engineering, open-source driver development resources. With a several hundred line patch, the Panfrost Gallium3D driver is receiving updated support for the older Mali Midgard hardware with tests done on the T760 while not regressing the newer T860 support.

• Nouveau Driver Picks Up SVM Support Via HMM

  The Nouveau kernel driver has queued patches for introducing Shared Virtual Memory (SVM) support for this open-source NVIDIA driver as a step forward to its OpenCL/compute opportunities.

  The Nouveau DRM driver has support for SVM via the Heterogeneous Memory Management infrastructure that's been part of the mainline kernel for a while. Nouveau patches have been worked on for a while but finally on trajectory for mainline. The NVIDIA proprietary driver has also been working to make use of HMM.

• Linux 5.1 Kernel Bringing New Option For Drivers To Be Async Probed

  This driver_async_probe option added by Intel Linux developers allows specifying a list of drivers for the given system that can be probed asynchronously. While the Linux kernel has supported asynchronous driver probing during boot time, some drivers still don't behave properly in this context. As a result, using driver_async_probe= is a safe route for specifying drivers that can be probed asynchronously or for easily testing drivers to verify their async behavior.

• Linux 5.1 To Deal With More Quirky Hardware From The Lenovo X1 Tablet To ASUS Transbook

  There's no shortage of quirky HID hardware out there. With the upcoming Linux 5.1 kernel cycle will be more fixes/workarounds for such consumer devices.

• Bitcoin scam warning over ‘criminal’ Android apps on the official Google Store

• Google Refocuses 'Android Things' to Smart Speakers, Screens

• The Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e is a thin and light entertainment-centric Android tablet

• Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e official with 10.5in screen and Android Pie

• Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Android Pie Update With One UI Reportedly Rolling Out

• Android 9 Pie update for Nokia 6, Nokia 8 in India planned before MWC19

• Moto G6, Moto G6 Play, Moto Z3 Play Now Receiving Android Pie Update: Report

• Latest OnePlus 6 and 6T news will not please its Android rivals one bit

• PlayStation DualShock 4 support may be coming to Android in Android Q

• Leak reveals another exciting new foldable Android phone you can’t buy

• HONOR Thinking At Least 10 Android Phones Ahead: Report

Announced at the end of January was the Samsung 970 EVO Plus as the first consumer-grade solid-state drive with 96-layer 3D NAND memory. The Samsung 970 EVO NVMe SSDs are now shipping and in this review are the first Linux benchmarks of these new SSDs in the form of the Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB MZ-V7S500B/AM compared to several other SSDs on Linux.

The Samsung 970 EVO Plus uses the same Phoenix controller as in their existing SSDs but the big upgrade with the EVO Plus is the shift to the 96-layer 3D NAND memory. Available now through Internet retailers are the 250GB / 500GB / 1TB versions of the 970 EVO Plus at a new low of just $130 USD for the 500GB model or $250 USD for the 1TB version. A 2GB model is expected to ship this spring.

In the spring of 2014 (nearly five years ago), I was preparing a regular presentation I give most years—where I look at the bad side (and the good side) of the greater Linux world. As I had done in years prior, I was preparing a graph showing the market share of various Linux distributions changing over time.

But, this year, something was different.

In the span of less than two years, a tiny little Linux distro came out of nowhere to become one of the most watched and talked about systems available. In the blink of an eye, it went from nothing to passing several grand-daddies of Linux flavors that had been around for decades.

This was elementary. Needless to say, it caught my attention.

Linux isn’t just for developers. I know that might come as a surprise for you, but the types of users that work with the open source platform are as varied as the available distributions. Take yours truly for example. Although I once studied programming, I am not a developer.

The creating I do with Linux is with words, sounds, and visuals. I write books, I record audio, and a create digital images and video. And even though I don’t choose to work with distributions geared toward those specific tasks, they do exist. I also listen to a lot of music. I tend to listen to most of my music via vinyl. But sometimes I want to listen to music not available in my format of choice. That’s when I turn to digital music.

I've played with Linux on several of my own machines, but I recently unboxed my first custom-built Linux PC courtesy of Tuxedo Computers. It's called the InfinityCube v9, and it's left me very impressed. In fact I've been leaning on it more than the beefy AMD Ryzen 1950X rig I built because it's silent and super stable. Tuxedo Computers just launched the InfinityCube on their web shop, so let's take a quick look at this new desktop along with some initial benchmarks.

I like the overall look and feel of Redcore Linux. I generally do not use Gentoo-based Linux distros.

However, this distro does a good job of leveling the field of differences among competing Linux families. I especially like the way the LXQt and the KDE Plasma desktops have a noticeable common design that makes the Redcore distro stand out.

• Linux Distributions Deconstructed

  Wanna know what’s in a Linux Distribution? Watch this video...

• What To Do When Your Chromebook Reaches the End of Its Life

  Chrome OS is built on top of the Linux kernel, which is why newer models can install Linux applications. It also means that users can install Ubuntu and other Linux distributions. There are a few problems you may run into with installing other versions of Linux, but overall, it’s a great way to give your Chromebook a new life.

• Linux 4.20.10

  I'm announcing the release of the 4.20.10 kernel.

  All users of the 4.20 kernel series must upgrade.

  The updated 4.20.y git tree can be found at:
  git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git linux-4.20.y
  and can be browsed at the normal kernel.org git web browser:
  http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-st...

• Linux 4.19.23

• Linux 4.14.101

• Linux 4.9.158

• Linux 4.20.9

  I'm announcing the release of the 4.20.9 kernel.

  Stay away from this, use 4.20.10 instead.

  The updated 4.20.y git tree can be found at:
  git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git linux-4.20.y
  and can be browsed at the normal kernel.org git web browser:
  http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-st...

• Linux 4.19.22

• Linux 4.14.100

• Linux 4.9.157

• Forgiveness, a new escape room style puzzle game is coming to Linux this month

  With themes based around the seven deadly sins with psychological-horror vibes, Forgiveness, a new escape room puzzle game is coming to Linux.

• Littlewood, the peaceful building RPG has been fully funded and it's on the way to Linux

  Unlike a lot of RPGs, Littlewood actually takes place after all the action has been done. It's your job to rebuild and the Kickstarter campaign was a huge success.

  For those who didn't see this before, it's developed by Sean Young (Roguelands, Magicite, Kindergarten) with their own take on the building and crafting type of game taking inspiration from titles like Animal Crossing, Dark Cloud and earlier versions of Runescape.

  Against a funding goal of only $1,500 it managed to pull in $82,061 from 3,952 backers. This means it has smashed through every single stretch-goal that was set.

• The 2D beat 'em up 'Tunche' is another game funded on Kickstarter and heading to Linux

  Another bit of positive crowdfunding news for you today, as Tunche, the 2D beat 'em up with procedurally generated worlds has been funded and so it's coming to Linux.

  Their Kickstarter campaign managed to get $55,395 from 1,080 backers against their original goal of $35,000. With that funding secured, they managed to break through two stretch goals, which will add in "challenge events" and a "dark heroes expansion pack".

• The Linux version of Eastshade, the peaceful open-world exploration game is still coming to Linux

  While the Linux version of Eastshade sadly didn't arrive at release, the developer has confirmed it's still coming.

• Dungeons 3 has a new unexpected DLC out today, adding in another campaign

  I have to hand it to Realmforge Studios and Kalypso Media Digital, they've supported Dungeons 3 exceptionally well since release.

  Not only have they released multiple new (and fully voiced) campaign packs, they also put out a free update earlier this month adding in a new multiplayer map and a powerful new spell can be earned by completing the Clash of Gods expansion.

• Apparently Valve are working with Easy Anti-Cheat to get support in Steam Play (updated: yup)

  Turns out, this is true. As a Valve developer did reply to a user on the VKx Discord to say "they're probably referring to the ongoing conversation, which is currently stalled by the NDA, yes" which I've now seen myself—thanks for the tip, MartinPL.

• A look at what games and bundles are on sale ahead of the weekend

  Ah yes, another weekend is about to crash into our lives and so you're looking for a new game to sink some hours into. Let's have a look at what's available.

  First up, itch.io has a Midwinter Selects Bundle available with four games that support Linux and two that don't. The Linux games included are Minit, Wheels of Aurelia, Heaven Will Be Mine and Milkmaid of the Milky Way. The entire bundle is $10 and that's a pretty good price for all of them together.

  GOG have a midweek sale going on for another day or so which has some gems like Owlboy, Pinstripe, Timespinner and more with their prices cut down to size. GOG also have an 11 bit studios sale, with lots of their games going cheap too like Moonlighter and This War of Mine.

• Fancy working on Wine to help push Steam Play? CodeWeavers are hiring

  What will you need to work with them? They require strong C language skills, you obviously need to be very familiar with Linux, a good understanding of build systems, know your way around debugging problems and so on.

  This is great, if they're after more developers it shows just how serious they are about pushing Steam Play forwards to really improve Linux gaming for those titles that will never come to Linux.

Not too long ago, I published an article on TecMint about 13 Most Promising New Linux Distributions to Look Forward in 2019 in which I listed a distro for mobile phones, Bliss OS.

Today, I introduce to you a free, open source, and futuristic project that aims to bring mobile devices together in one swoop.

postmarketOS is a touch-optimized, security-focused, and pre-configured Alpine-based Linux distribution created to be compatible with several old and new devices.

Below is an introduction from the developers themselves,

• Why Does Mozilla Maintain Our Own Root Certificate Store?

  Mozilla maintains a database containing a set of “root” certificates that we use as “trust anchors”. This database, commonly referred to as a “root store”, allows us to determine which Certificate Authorities (CAs) can issue SSL/TLS certificates that are trusted by Firefox, and email certificates that are trusted by Thunderbird. Properly maintaining a root store is a significant undertaking – it requires constant effort to evaluate new trust anchors, monitor existing ones, and react to incidents that threaten our users. Despite the effort involved, Mozilla is committed to maintaining our own root store because doing so is vital to the security of our products and the web in general. It gives us the ability to set policies, determine which CAs meet them, and to take action when a CA fails to do so.

  A major advantage to controlling our own root store is that we can do so in a way that reflects our values. We manage our CA Certificate Program in the open, and by encouraging public participation we give individuals a voice in these trust decisions. Our root inclusion process is one example. We process lots of data and perform significant due diligence, then publish our findings and hold a public discussion before accepting each new root. Managing our own root store also allows us to have a public incident reporting process that emphasizes disclosure and learning from experts in the field. Our mailing list includes participants from many CAs, CA auditors, and other root store operators and is the most widely recognized forum for open, public discussion of policy issues.

• Extract Method Refactoring in Rust

• Why should you use Rust in WebAssembly?

  WebAssembly (Wasm) is a technology that has the chance to reshape how we build apps for the browser. Not only will it allow us to build whole new classes of web applications, but it will also allow us to make existing apps written in JavaScript even more performant.

  In this article about the state of the Rust and Wasm ecosystem, I'll try to explain why Rust is the language that can unlock the true potential of WebAssembly.

• Intake released on Conda-Forge

  Intake is a package for cataloging, finding and loading your data. It has been developed recently by Anaconda, Inc., and continues to gain new features. To read general information about Intake and how to use it, please refer to the documentation.

• Introducing the Meson Quest

• Eighth Annual PyLadies Auction at PyCon 2019

• Episode #117: Is this the end of Python virtual environments?

• Talk Python to Me: #199 Automate all the things with Python at Zapier

• Nohup Command in Linux Enables You to Run Commands Even After Logging Out

• Make websites more readable with a shell script

• Intel's OpenGL Mesa Driver To Better Handle Recovery In Case Of GPU Hangs

  It's sure been a busy week in the Intel open-source graphics driver space... The latest improvement is a patch series providing better context restoration in the case of GPU hangs.

  Chris Wilson who usually deals with the Intel DRM kernel driver, including on the reset/restore front recently, sent out a set of two patches for improving the Intel i965 Mesa driver's behavior following GPU hangs.

• Intel's Linux DRM Driver To Enable PSR2 Power-Savings By Default

  The Intel DRM/KMS kernel driver will soon see PSR2 panel self refresh capabilities enabled by default for allowing more power-savings on Intel-powered ultrabooks/notebooks.

  For a while now Intel's Direct Rendering Manager driver has enabled Panel Self Refresh (PSR) by default as well as other power-savings features like frame-buffer compression (FBC). But the newer Panel Self Refresh standard, PSR2, for eDP displays has not been enabled by default.

• Intel Linux Graphics Driver Adding Device Local Memory - Possible Start of dGPU Bring-Up

  A big patch series was sent out today amounting to 42 patches and over four thousand lines of code for introducing the concept of memory regions to the Intel Linux graphics driver. The memory regions support is preparing for device local memory with future Intel graphics products.

  The concept of memory regions is being added to the Intel "i915" Linux kernel DRM driver for "preparation for upcoming devices with device local memory." The concept is about having different "regions" of memory for system memory as for any device local memory (LMEM). Today's published code also introduces a simple allocator and allowing the existing GEM memory management code to be able to allocate memory to these different memory regions. Up to now with Intel integrated graphics, they haven't had to worry about this functionality not even with their eDRAM/L4 cache of select graphics processors.

Many dating Web sites run proprietary JavaScript. JavaScript is code that Web sites run on your computer in order to make certain features on Web sites function. Proprietary JavaScript is a trap that impacts your ability to run a free system, and not only does it sneak proprietary software onto your machine, but it also poses a security risk. Any piece of software can be malicious, but proprietary JavaScript goes the extra mile. Much of the JavaScript you encounter runs automatically when you load a Web site, which enables it to attack you without you even noticing.

Proprietary JavaScript doesn't have to be the only way to use Web sites. LibreJS is an initiative which blocks "nonfree nontrivial" JavaScript while allowing JavaScript that is either free or trivial.

Many dating apps are also proprietary, available only at the Apple App and Google Play stores, both of which currently require the use of proprietary software.

Let’s tackle the obvious starting question for 10. What’s a dock? I doubt this will ever be a question on the TV programme University Challenge…

A dock is a graphical user interface element that allows the user to have one-click access to frequently used software. This type of utility also enables users to switch quickly between applications, as well as to monitor programs. This type of application is an excellent way of extending the functionality and usefulness of the desktop

Latte is a dock based on plasma frameworks that aims to offer an elegant and intuitive experience for your tasks and KDE Plasma widgets. It animates its contents by using parabolic zoom effect and tries to be as unobtrusive is possible.

The software is mostly written in Qt/QML and C++, but this project also heavily relies on KDE Frameworks 5.

• How to Install Pagekit CMS on Debian 9

• How to print to PDF in Ubuntu 18.04

• How To Install VMware Workstation Player on Debian 9

• How to Install GNU Octave in Ubuntu 18.04 LTS

• How to Install and Setup Zsh (Z Shell) in Fedora

• C Programming Tutorial 4 - Variables and Memory