Last week One Identity released version 4.8.0 of its open-source log management application. Learn about some of the new features and bug fixes: why upgrade to the latest syslog-ng version, not only on FreeBSD :-)

Read more at https://www.syslog-ng.com/community/b/blog/posts/version-4-8-0-of-syslog-ng-improves-freebsd-and-macos-support

This is a quick fix, should you find you have a ghosted entry in your application menu on KDE Plasma. This may work for other desktop environments but I have not tested against anything else. If you run into this and you are running GNOME, Cinnamon, XFCE or anything else, please let me know. Sometimes […]

The Aeon team is very happy to announce that with the release of Snapshot 20240726, Aeon Desktop is now officially at Release Candidate 3 (RC3) Status!

The biggest change with this release is the introduction of Full Disk Encryption by default, configured automatically as part of the installation.

Depending on your hardware, Aeon will automatically configure Full Disk Encryption in one of two modes:

• Default Mode with strong verification of bootloader via the Trusted Platform Module version 2.0 (TPM2 for short), initrd and kernel before automatically decrypting your system
• Fallback Mode with no verification of boot components and requiring a Passphrase on boot to decrypt your system

For more details, please read our Encryption Documentation..

Please download Aeon from aeondesktop.org and install it following our Installation Guide.

Existing users who want the RC3s Encryption feature, people will need to re-install their system.

Pro tip: it’s recommended to use “a large” USB stick for the automatic backup/restore feature of the existing users data & configuration. Ensure it provides enough space to complete this transition.

#RC3 is expected to be the last RC that will require a reinstallation. Users who install RC3 can expect to be automatically upgraded to any future RC versions and the official Aeon Release automatically while RC4 doesn’t appear to be nececcary at this point in testing.

Behind the Scenes

RC3 has also brought some nice technical and community improvements preparing for Aeon’s official release:

• tik (Aeon’s installer) now uses systemd-repart instead of dd for deploying images. This is what enabled Full Disk Encryption. to be offered as you now see it in RC3
• Aeon now has an official Brand Guide covering logos, colours, and advice toward how to use these when spreading the word about Aeon.
• Aeon now has an official Subreddit for announcements like this, development blogs, and can be used by the community for discussions, technical help or anything else related to Aeon.

What’s Coming Next

RC3 may be the final Release Candidate before Aeon’s official release. There are no major structural changes planned to the core Aeon OS, just regular improvements as upstream versions develop and our community contributes to new features and packages.

The main difference between RC3 and the official release will be the writing of openQA, which is a noteworthy for CrowdStrike to consider, to test Aeon’s installation and basic functionality.

We would appreciate help in this area, which can now begin in earnest using RC3 as a reference.

There is a possibility of an RC4, which is currently being investigated.

If it occurs, RC4 will use tik’s new systemd-repart functionality to act as a ‘Self Installer’.

Users will see no practical difference between RC3, except for a significantly smaller download size as the Installer will not need a separate embedded Aeon image to deploy.

For that approach to work however, we will depend on features we haven’t tested yet from systemd v256. This was only submitted to openSUSE Factory recently, so it’s very cutting edge.

If RC4 does not occur, users can expect smaller more efficient images to come sometime after the release.

Our hope is everyone has a lot of fun with Aeon RC3, and would like to thank everyone who helped to get Aeon toward its release schedule.

The Aeon Team

The user has been a dedicated user of PDF Studio since 2008. The application's standout features include non-subscription model, Linux compatibility, and useful tools for PDF management. The user appreciates its dark mode, multi-page PDF splitting/merging, scanning and cropping, OCR, digital signatures, and MS Office files conversion. PDF Studio's installation and upgrade process is hassle-free, and the user values Qoppa's support for Linux.

Dear Tumbleweed users and hackers,

As I informed you in my last ‘weekly review’ (end of week 27 – so three weeks ago), I enjoyed some vacation time of my own and used it to recharge by entirely stepping away from computers. Of course, you did not notice anything, as Ana was there to steer the big Tumbleweed ship around and snapshots have been delivered constantly. for completeness, I will also include things that happened during my absence to give more continuity to the reports.

During the weeks 28 – 30, 11 snapshots could be published (0705, 0708, 0709, 0710, 0711, 0712, 0714, 0715, 0716, 0722, 0724, and 0725). There was a larger gap between 0716 and 0722, as openQA detected some issues on Mesa and sdbootutil,. As we did not want you to suffer through those problems, snapshots were held back and the issues addressed.

The most relevant changes included in those snapshots were:

• Mesa 24.1.3
• Mozilla Firefox 127.0.2 & 128.0
• KDE Gear 24.05.2
• PHP 8.3.9
• Apache 2.4.61
• cmake 3.30.0 & 3.30.1
• NetworkManager 1.48.4
• Ruby 3.3.4
• SELinux 3.7
• Linux kernel 6.9.9
• KDE Frameworks 6.4.0
• KDE Plasma 6.1.3
• LibreOffice 24.2.5.2
• trasnactional-update 4.7.0: soft-reboot feature not yet enabled, as it takes a bit more time to get QA adjusted for this during the summer break
• Agama installer medium is generated as part of the snapshot. This is not yet the default installer, but you are invited to check out progress. ISOs are published in https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/appliances/iso/

The staging projects are currently nicely filled; some things are passing tests already, and others will take a bit more time. But you deserve to know what’s brewing, namely:

• gnutls 3.8.6
• Qemu 9.0.2
• Lua 5.4.7
• Systemd 256.4
• AppArmor 4.0.2
• Linux kernel 6.10.1
• cURL 8.9.0: breaks test suite of cmake
• ffmpeg-7 as system default (currently ffmpeg-6). A big bunch of packages is still stuck on ffmpeg-4.
• transactional-update: enable soft reboot; see https://microos.opensuse.org/blog/2024-06-13-soft-reboot/
• dbus-broker: some networking issue after upgrades left to work out
• GCC 14: phase 2: use gcc14 as the default compiler – lots of help needed: https://build.opensuse.org/project/show/openSUSE:Factory:Staging:Gcc7

An experimental “Pre-RC3” image for the Aeon Desktop has been published and testers are encouraged to try out the final prototype before it becomes the official Release Candidate 3 (RC3). The new image can be downloaded from the openSUSE development repository.

This prototype, which has been submitted to openSUSE Factory, introduces some significant changes and improvements. Notably, the dd backend in the tik installer has been replaced with a new systemd-repart backend. This change allows for the installation of Aeon with Full Disk Encryption that enhances the security features of the operating system.

Existing users of Aeon RC2 and earlier versions will need to perform a reinstall to take advantage of the new features destined for RC3. Due to the fundamental changes in partition layout necessary for the new encryption features, an in-place upgrade from RC2 is not feasible without risking data integrity, according to a post on the new Aeon Desktop subreddit. Users can utilize Aeon’s reinstall feature, which facilitates the backup and restoration of user data as long as a sufficiently large USB stick is used.

Users installing the prototype image may encounter some packages from the OBS devel project. These can be removed by running transactional-update --interactive dup and selecting solutions that replace devel:microos packages with official ones.

Testers are encouraged to provide feedback and report any issues encountered during the testing phase on the Aeon Desktop bug report page.

Next Steps

If the prototype is accepted into Factory and becomes RC3, the development of Aeon will be in its final stages before an official release. RC3 will serve as the basis for writing openQA tests for Aeon, which are crucial for ensuring the desktop’s stability and functionality.

There is a possibility of an RC4, which aims to streamline the installer process by embedding the full Aeon install within the installer image, potentially reducing the download size by 50 percent. If this approach is not feasible in the short term, it may be revisited post-release.

Full Disk Encryption is set up in one of two modes: Default or Fallback. Get more info about that in the Aeon Desktop Introduces Comprehensive Full Disk Encryption article.

The syslog-ng configuration starts with a version number declaration. Up until recently, if it was missing, syslog-ng did not start. With syslog-ng 4.8, this is changing.

From this blog, you can learn why version information is useful, what workaround you can use if you do not want to edit your syslog-ng configuration on each update, and what changed in version 4.8.

You can read the rest of my blog at https://www.syslog-ng.com/community/b/blog/posts/why-it-is-useful-to-set-the-version-number-in-the-syslog-ng-configuration

Last year, I picked up Kalimba and put together some beginner melodies by transcribing youtube videos. That’s been a bit too needlessly arduous, so there is a few:

Sound of silence

6 6 1’ 1’ 3’ 3’ 2’
5 5 7 7 2’ 2’ 1
1’ 1’ 3’ 3’ 5’ 5’ 6’ 6’ 5’
1’ 1’ 3’ 3’ 5’ 5’ 6’ 6’ 5’
1’ 1’ 6’
6’ 6’ 7’ 1’’
1’’ 7’ 6’ 5’
6’ 5’ 3’
1’ 1’ 1’ 5’
7 1’ 6
6 6 1’ 1’ 3’ 3’ 2’
5 5 7 7 2’ 2’ 1’
1’ 1’ 3’ 3’ 5’ 5’ 6’ 6’ 5’
1’ 1’ 3’ 3’ 5’ 5’ 6’ 6’ 5’
1’ 1’ 1’ 6’
6’ 6’ 7’ 1’’
1’’ 6’ 6’ 5’ (?)
6’ 5’ 3’
1’ 1’ 1’ 5’
7 1’ 6

Wellerman

3’ 6 666 1’ 3’ 3’ 3’
3’3’4’ 2’2’2’ 4’4’6’6’3’ 3’
3’6 7 1’ 2’ 3’ 3’ 3’ …
3’ 2’ 1’1’7 6 …..

==

6’…. 6’.. 4’5’5’3’ 3’
3’4’ 2’ 2’3’4’ 3’ 1’ 6
6’…. 6’ 5’4’5’5’3’ 3’
3’ 3’ 2’ 1’ 7 6 …..

—

56 666 1’3’ 3’3’
3’4’ 2’2’2’ 4’4’6’ 3’3’
3’6 66 1’3’ 3’3’
3’3’2’1’ 1’1’ 776

6’ 6’ 4’5’5’ 3’3’
3’4’ 2’2’ 4’4’6’ 3’3’
6’ 6’ 4’5’5’ 3’3’
3’3’ 2’1’ 76
6 66 1’3’ 3’3’
3’4’ 2’2’ 4’6’ 3’3’
3’6 66 1’3’ 3’3’
3’2’1’ 1’1’ 76

Hedwig’s Theme Harry Potter

3 6 1’7 6 3’ 2’ 7
6 1’7 5 6 3 ….
3 6 1’7 6 3’5’ 4’3’
7 3’ 2’1’ 7 1’6
1’ 3’ 1’ 3’ 1’4’ 3’2’
7 1’ 3’2’ 7 53’
1’ 3’ 1’ 3’ 1’ 5’ 4’3’
1’ 3’ 2’1’ 7 1’6

Pirates

3566 671’1’ 1’2’77 6556
3566 671’1’ 1’2’77 656 (!)
3566 61’2’2’ 2’3’4’4’ 3’2’3’6
671’1’ 2’3’6 61’77 1’67….
3566 671’1’ 1’2’77 6556
3566 671’1’ 1’2’77 656 (!)
3566 612’2’ 2’3’4’4’ 3’2’3’6
671’1’ 2’3’6 61’77 6566
71’1’2’ 3’… 1’63 …
4 … 1’64 … 3 … 6 …
74’3’3’ 3’4’3’.. (0:53)
2’2’2’ 2’3’… 3’3’3’ 4’3’… 2’1’76

—

6 6 66 6 66 6 66 1’6
6 6 66 6 66 6 66 1’6
536… 7… 1’… 2’3’ 4’3’ 4’3’ 6’
67167 6 5 6
67167 1’ 2’ 2’ 2’3’4’61’
7 6 7 6 5 61’3’
6671’67
656671’6 71’
2’ 2’ 2’3’4’61’

I make a lot of digital things and need the space to store the information. I don’t like deleting items, after all, I did make the time investment. I also don’t want to put my data in “cold storage” for me to forget about where I put the drive or lose access due to bit-rot. […]

The openSUSE.Asia Summit 2024 is fast approaching, and we’re excited to invite participants from all over the world to join us Nov. 2 and 3 in Tokyo, Japan.

This year promises a diverse range of sessions and activities, with an inclusive Cross-Distro Track featuring collaborations with community members from AlmaLinux, Debian and Ubuntu .

Those who want to provide a talk need to submit either long talk or short talk presentations by August 4. Those speakers needing financial assistance can use the Travel Support Program (TSP), which is aided through donations to the Geeko Foundation. The TSP helps covering travel expenses. Here’s a detailed look at important deadlines for TSP applications and speaker proposals to ensure you don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity.

Travel Support Program (TSP) Schedule

The Travel Support Program is designed to help you join us at the summit. Here’s the timeline you need to follow:

• TSP Application Open: As soon as possible. Don’t wait to apply for travel support.
• Call for Speakers Deadline: August 4. If you’re interested in sharing your knowledge and experience, submit your proposal by this date.
• TSP Application Deadline: August 20. Ensure your application for travel support is completed and submitted by this date. Visit the wiki for more information
• Call for Speakers Notification: Speakers will be notified if their proposal has been accepted toward the end of August.
• TSP Confirmation: Final confirmation of travel support will follow shortly after the speakers’ notifications. Around August 26.

Submitting Your Proposal

The openSUSE.Asia committee is looking for speakers who can bring diverse perspectives and insights related to openSUSE and other Linux distributions. Here are some guidelines and tips to help you submit a strong proposal:

• Topics: We’re interested in a wide range of topics, including but not limited to openSUSE Projects (Leap, Tumbleweed, MicroOS), desktop environments (GNOME, KDE, XFCE), office and graphic applications (LibreOffice, GIMP), cloud and virtualization (Kubernetes, Rancher), and package supply-chain security.
• Non-Technical Topics: Overviews of Open Source technologies, community management, education, and personal experience stories are also welcome.
• Session Types: You can propose long talks (30 minutes plus Q&A) or short talks (15 minutes plus Q&A). Lighting talk sessions will be announced later.

How to Submit: Proposals should be submitted through events.opensuse.org. Make sure your submission is in English, is between 130 to 250 words, and adheres to the openSUSE Conference Code of Conduct. For guidance on writing a strong proposal, refer to our proposal writing guide.

Presentation Requirements: You can present in English or Japanese, but all slides and documents must be in English. Note that pre-recorded videos or video calls are not permitted; you must be present at the venue. For more details, visit events.opensuse.org.