• mesa 19.0.7

  Hi List,
  
  I'd like to announce the availability of mesa 19.0.7. This is the last release
  of the mesa 19.0 series, and all users are encouraged to migrate 19.1.x instead.
  
  I'd like to apologize for the lateness of this release, in my defence I was on
  vacation most of the 19.0.7 cycle and there were several patches that needed
  backport.
  
  There's nothing too crazy here for the final release of the series. It's pretty
  spread across the system except for radv which had a number of small bug fixes.
  
  Thanks again for the smooth sailing 19.0.x series, I'll see y'all again as
  release manager in October for the 19.3 cycle.
  
  Dylan
  
  Bas Nieuwenhuizen (5):
        radv: Prevent out of bound shift on 32-bit builds.
        radv: Decompress DCC when the image format is not allowed for buffers.
        radv: Fix vulkan build in meson.
        anv: Fix vulkan build in meson.
        meson: Allow building radeonsi with just the android platform.
  
  Charmaine Lee (1):
        svga: Remove unnecessary check for the pre flush bit for setting vertex buffers
  
  Deepak Rawat (1):
        winsys/svga/drm: Fix 32-bit RPCI send message
  
  Dylan Baker (4):
        docs: Add SHA256 sums for 19.0.6
        cherry-ignore: add additional 19.1 only patches
        Bump version for 19.0.7 release
        Docs add 19.0.7 release notes
  
  Emil Velikov (1):
        mapi: correctly handle the full offset table
  
  Gert Wollny (2):
        virgl: Add a caps feature check version
        virgl: Assume sRGB write control for older guest kernels or virglrenderer hosts
  
  Haihao Xiang (1):
        i965: support UYVY for external import only
  
  Jason Ekstrand (2):
        nir/propagate_invariant: Don't add NULL vars to the hash table
        anv: Set STATE_BASE_ADDRESS upper bounds on gen7
  
  Kenneth Graunke (1):
        glsl: Fix out of bounds read in shader_cache_read_program_metadata
  
  Kevin Strasser (2):
        gallium/winsys/kms: Fix dumb buffer bpp
        st/mesa: Add rgbx handling for fp formats
  
  Lionel Landwerlin (2):
        intel/perf: fix EuThreadsCount value in performance equations
        intel/perf: improve dynamic loading config detection
  
  Mathias Fröhlich (1):
        egl: Don't add hardware device if there is no render node v2.
  
  Nanley Chery (1):
        anv/cmd_buffer: Initalize the clear color struct for CNL+
  
  Nataraj Deshpande (1):
        anv: Fix check for isl_fmt in assert
  
  Samuel Pitoiset (5):
        radv: fix alpha-to-coverage when there is unused color attachments
        radv: fix setting CB_SHADER_MASK for dual source blending
        radv: fix occlusion queries on VegaM
        radv: fix VK_EXT_memory_budget if one heap isn't available
        radv: fix FMASK expand with SRGB formats
  
  
  
  git tag: mesa-19.0.7
  

• Mesa 19.0.7 Now Available As The Last Of The Series

  Mesa 19.0.7 was released on Monday as the last Mesa 19.0 stable release, ending this quarterly update series from Q1.

  Mesa 19.0.7 is the end of the line and users are encouraged to move to Mesa 19.1 stable, which has been out since earlier this month. Mesa 19.2 is where all feature development is happening and it should be released around the end of August or more likely will end up being September due to blocker bugs often ending up delaying the releases.

• Mesa 19.1.1

  Mesa 19.1.1 is now available.
  
  In this release we have:
  
  Mostly in fixes for different drivers (RADV, ANV,
  Nouveau, Virgl, V3D, R300g, ...)
  
  Also different fixes for different parts (Meson build, GLX,
  etc).
  
  
  Alejandro Piñeiro (1):
        v3d: fix checking twice auf flag
  
  Bas Nieuwenhuizen (5):
        radv: Skip transitions coming from external queue.
        radv: Decompress DCC when the image format is not allowed for buffers.
        radv: Fix vulkan build in meson.
        anv: Fix vulkan build in meson.
        meson: Allow building radeonsi with just the android platform.
  
  Dave Airlie (1):
        nouveau: fix frees in unsupported IR error paths.
  
  Eduardo Lima Mitev (1):
        freedreno/a5xx: Fix indirect draw max_indices calculation
  
  Eric Engestrom (3):
        util/futex: fix dangling pointer use
        glx: fix glvnd pointer types
        util/os_file: resize buffer to what was actually needed
  
  Gert Wollny (1):
        virgl: Assume sRGB write control for older guest kernels or virglrenderer hosts
  
  Haihao Xiang (1):
        i965: support UYVY for external import only
  
  Jason Ekstrand (1):
        anv: Set STATE_BASE_ADDRESS upper bounds on gen7
  
  Juan A. Suarez Romero (3):
        docs: Add SHA256 sums for 19.1.0
        Update version to 19.1.1
        docs: add release notes for 19.1.1
  
  Kenneth Graunke (2):
        glsl: Fix out of bounds read in shader_cache_read_program_metadata
        iris: Fix iris_flush_and_dirty_history to actually dirty history.
  
  Kevin Strasser (2):
        gallium/winsys/kms: Fix dumb buffer bpp
        st/mesa: Add rgbx handling for fp formats
  
  Lionel Landwerlin (2):
        anv: do not parse genxml data without INTEL_DEBUG=bat
        intel/dump: fix segfault when the app hasn't accessed the device
  
  Mathias Fröhlich (1):
        egl: Don't add hardware device if there is no render node v2.
  
  Richard Thier (1):
        r300g: restore performance after RADEON_FLAG_NO_INTERPROCESS_SHARING was added
  
  Rob Clark (1):
        freedreno/a6xx: un-swap X24S8_UINT
  
  Samuel Pitoiset (4):
        radv: fix occlusion queries on VegaM
        radv: fix VK_EXT_memory_budget if one heap isn't available
        radv: fix FMASK expand with SRGB formats
        radv: disable viewport clamping even if FS doesn't write Z
  
  git tag: mesa-19.1.1
  

• Mesa 19.1.1 Released - Led By RADV & Intel Driver Fixes

  Mesa 19.1.1 is out as the first point release to this quarter's Mesa 19.1 series that was christened earlier this month.

• GNOME Shell 3.33.3

  GNOME Shell provides core user interface functions for the GNOME 3 desktop, like switching to windows and launching applications. GNOME Shell takes advantage of the capabilities of modern graphics hardware and introduces innovative user interface concepts to provide a visually attractive and easy to use experience.

• GNOME Shell & Mutter See Their 3.33.3 Releases With Notable X11/Wayland Changes

  Arriving late, a few days after the GNOME 3.33.3 development snapshot, the Mutter and GNOME Shell updates are now available.

  The Mutter 3.33.3 window manager / compositor update is notable with preparations for running XWayland on-demand -- a.k.a. just when needed for X11 client usage and not constantly. The Mutter update also now honors the startup sequence workspace on Wayland, fixes around fractional scaling, adds the new Sysprof-based profiling support, adds mouse and locate-pointer accessibility, consolidates the frame throttling code, improves screencasting support on multi-monitor systems, fixes running X11 applications with sudo under Wayland, adds initial KMS transactional support, and there are many bug fixes.

• GStreamer Rust bindings 0.14.0 release

  Apart from updating to GStreamer 1.16, this release is mostly focussed on adding more bindings for various APIs and general API cleanup and bugfixes.

  The most notable API additions in this release are bindings for gst::Memory and gst::Allocator as well as bindings for gst_base::BaseParse and gst_video::VideoDecoder and VideoEncoder. The latter also come with support for implementing subclasses and the gst-plugins-rs module contains an video decoder and parser (for CDG), and a video encoder (for AV1) based on this.

• Sysprof design work

  Since my last post, I’ve been working on a redesign of Sysprof (among other things) to make it a bit more useful and friendly to newcomers.

  Many years ago, I worked on a small profiler project called “Perfkit” that never really went anywhere. I had already done most of my UI research for this years ago, so it was pretty much just a matter of applying that design to the Sysprof code-base.

Adding to the growing list of features for the upcoming Linux 5.3 kernel is now Intel UMWAIT support for better power-savings.

UMWAIT is a new feature for Intel Tremont CPUs cores. UMWAIT can help enhance power savings during idle periods with "user mode wait" functionality. UMWAIT allows for monitoring a range of addresses in a lightweight power/performance state or an enhanced mode that can still help with conserving power but less so in order to offer lower latencies. UMWAIT is intended to be used as an alternative to kernel spinloops when needing to wait/sleep for short periods of time when the system is idle.

• How to setup AMule and control it via web interface on a Raspberry Pi

• How to install League of Legends on Zorin 15

• How to check if string contains specific word in PHP

• How to Enable Networking in Arch Linux (Guide)

• How to Use git blame

• How to Cherry Pick in Git

• How To Install Discourse Forum on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS

• id command examples in linux ?

• How to Enable Fission in Mozilla Firefox 69

• Easy guide for Securing Redis Server

• Common And Most Used Nginx Commands For Beginners

• How to Install Winamp on Ubuntu using PlayOnLinux

• How to Limit Resources an LXD Container Can Use

In 2017, an employee at GitLab, the version control hosting platform, was asked to replicate a database of production data. Because of a configuration error, the replication did not work as expected, so the employee decided to remove the data that had been transferred and try again. He ran a command to delete the unwanted data, only to realize with mounting horror that he had entered the command into an SSH session connected to a production server, deleting hundreds of gigabytes of user data. Every seasoned system administrator can tell you a similar story.

The Linux command line gives server admins control of their servers and the data stored on them, but it does little to stop them running destructive commands with consequences that can’t be undone. Accidental data deletion is just one type of mistake that new server administrators make.

Not to be confused with Ubuntu's varying stance on dropping 32-bit packages beginning with their next release later this year, Fedora 31 now has a proposal pending to discontinue their i686 kernel builds but they will still be keeping with their 32-bit packaging.

This Fedora 31 change proposal by Justin Forbes, one of Fedora's kernel hackers, is just about ending i686 kernel builds beginning with this Fedora release due out in October. The i686 kernel-headers package would still be offered in order to satisfy necessary dependencies for 32-bit programs needing those headers. Of course, users will have to be running off a 64-bit kernel. All 32-bit programs should continue to work on Fedora 31.

Also: Fedora Workstation 31 Is Looking Great With Many Original Features Being Worked On

Fedora booth at Red Hat Summit

Fedora Update Week 23–24

Remember a.out binaries? They were the file format of the Linux kernel till around 1995 when ELF took over. ELF is better. It allows you to load shared libraries anywhere in memory, while a.out binaries need you to register shared library locations. That's fine at small scales, but it gets to be more and more of a headache as you have more and more shared libraries to deal with. But a.out is still supported in the Linux source tree, 25 years after ELF became the standard default format.

Recently, Borislav Petkov recommended deprecating it in the source tree, with the idea of removing it if it turned out there were no remaining users. He posted a patch to implement the deprecation. Alan Cox also remarked that "in the unlikely event that someone actually has an a.out binary they can't live with, they can also just write an a.out loader as an ELF program entirely in userspace."

Having the Plasma and Usability & Productivity sprints held at the same time and place had an unexpected benefit: we were able to come up with a way to make it easier to test a custom-compiled version of Plasma!

Previously, we had some documentation that asked people to create a shell script on their computers, copy files to various locations, and perform a few other steps. Unfortunately, many of the details were out of date, and the whole process was quite error-prone. It turned out that almost none of the Plasma developers at the sprint were actually using this method, and each had cobbled together something for themselves. Some (including myself) had given up on it and were doing Plasma development in a virtual machine.

So we put some time into easing this pain by making Plasma itself produce all the right pieces automatically when compiled from source. Then, we created a simple script to install everything properly.

Bcachefs is the file-system born out of the Linux kernel's block cache code and has been worked on the past several years by developer Kent Overstreet. Our most recent benchmarking of Bcachefs was last year, so with the prospects of Bcachefs potentially being staged soon in the mainline Linux kernel, I ran some benchmarks using the latest kernel code for this next-generation file-system.
Those unfamiliar with this copy-on-write file-system can learn more at Bcachefs.org. The design features of this file-system are similar to ZFS/Btrfs and include native encryption, snapshots, compression, caching, multi-device/RAID support, and more. But even with all of its features, it aims to offer XFS/EXT4-like performance, which is something that can't generally be said for Btrfs.

• Retro themed city-builder 'TheoTown' has now added Linux support

  TheoTown, developed by blueflower is a city-builder with a retro style that looks to be inspired by the classic Sim City 2000 and it's now available on Steam for Linux.

  Released on Steam earlier this month, TheoTown is also available on mobile but the PC version is a full and proper game with no in-app purchase nonsense. On Android at least, the game is very highly rated and I imagine a number of readers have played it there so now you can pick it up again on your Linux PC and continue building the city of your dreams. So far, the Steam user reviews are also giving it a good overall picture.

• Reminder: Update your PC info for the next round of statistics updates

  This is your once a month reminder to make sure your PC information is correct on your user profiles. A fresh batch of statistics is generated on the 1st of each month.

• Prison Architect gains a new warden with Double Eleven, free update incoming

  After Paradox Interactive acquired the rights to Prison Architect from Introversion Software, they've now announced that Double Eleven will be handling future updates.

  Double Eleven are a well-known developer and publisher of quite a number of titles, with them also previously been responsible for the console versions of Prison Architect so it seems like a pretty good fit as they already worked with the game.

• Steam To Drop Support For Ubuntu

  Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distribution and that’s why it gets the attention of big companies like steam to design software for it. But recently, Linux community is kind of unhappy over Canonical decision on dropping Ubuntu 32-bit packages.

  The community already discussed that in case Ubuntu drops 32-bit packages support in upcoming Ubuntu 19.10 or future releases, it’d create big problems including Wine users and Linux gamers. And here comes the first news from Steam, the gaming platform.

  Pierre-Loup Griffais from Valve tweeted that Ubuntu 19.10 or any future Ubuntu releases will not be officially supported by Steam. He also said that the team will work on to minimize the breakage for existing users and thinking to focus on any other Linux distribution.

• Canonical to Continue Building Selected 32-Bit i386 Packages for Ubuntu 19.10, Azul Systems Announces Zulu Mission Control v7.0, Elisa v. 0.4.1 Now Available, Firefox Adds Fission to the Nightly Build and Tails Emergency Release

  After much feedback from the community, Canonical yesterday announced it will continue to build selected 32-bit i386 packages for Ubuntu 19.10 and 20.04 LTS. The statement notes that Canonical "will also work with the WINE, Ubuntu Studio and gaming communities to use container technology to address the ultimate end of life of 32-bit libraries; it should stay possible to run old applications on newer versions of Ubuntu. Snaps and LXD enable us both to have complete 32-bit environments, and bundled libraries, to solve these issues in the long term."

• OpenVIII, an in-development open source game engine for Final Fantasy VIII

  Any fans of Final Fantasy VIII reading? You're going to want to keep an eye on the in-development game engine OpenVIII.

  While it doesn't seem like it's currently playable, plenty of work has already gone into OpenVIII to work with "video support, music support, audio support, in-game menu" and more. The project is currently classed by the developer as a "pre-prototype" so don't go getting any hopes up yet about playing Final Fantasy VIII natively on Linux.

• Littlewood hasn't been out for long, but this peaceful RPG has a lot to like about it

  Entering Early Access last week, Sean Young's peaceful RPG Littlewood is a game for those who like to relax a little. Note: Key provided directly by the developer.

  What happens after the world has been saved, after all the major battles have already been fought? That's exactly what Littlewood is all about, you saved the world and lost your memory so you're helping to re-build the town.

  In some ways, it actually reminds me of my experience with Forager. It's small, it's sweet and it doesn't feel like it's constantly begging for attention. Quite different in setting though of course, more along the lines of Stardew Valley but with less emphasis on constant farming. I love the building interface too, while it's quite simplistic it allows you to pick up trees, stones and move everything out of your way. Nothing feels annoying, so it's really sweet.

• Cyberspace first-person shooter 'Black Ice' just had a massive upgrade

  Currently in Early Access, it has been a long time since Black Ice had an update to the "stable" version but the developer hasn't been sat idle. A massive update to the entire game just landed.

  Featuring some of what I showed off recently, Black Ice has come a very long was since the initial few releases making it a vastly more interesting game. One of the biggest changes, is an overhaul to the entire world design full of new areas, combat arenas with even more to come. Additionally, there's now some random events that will happen to also make the world seem a bit more lively. One server might try to hack another, so you can jump in and fight them all or sit back and watch the fireworks.

• HTC U11 Android Pie (9.0) update rollout resumes

• [Updated] Oppo F9 (Pro) ColorOS 6 (Android Pie 9.0) public beta update is live

• Nokia 1 gets Android 9 Pie update

• Are you using Android Q on your daily driver?

• Android Q desktop mode launcher is pretty amazing

• How to recover deleted text messages on Android

• How to remove Google search bar on Android

• Google Play Store counterfeit apps are tarnishing Android’s credibility

Coming just one week after the first point release, the KDE Plasma 5.16.2 maintenance update is here to add yet another layer of bug fixes with the ultimate goal to make the KDE Plasma 5.16 desktop environment more stable and reliable for users. In particular, this second point release introduces a total of 34 changes across various core components and apps.

"Today KDE releases a bugfix update to KDE Plasma 5, versioned 5.16.2. Plasma 5.16 was released in June with many feature refinements and new modules to complete the desktop experience. This release adds a week's worth of new translations and fixes from KDE's contributors. The bugfixes are typically small but important," reads today's announcement.

Also: Plasma 5.16.2

• Linux 5.1.15

  I'm announcing the release of the 5.1.15 kernel.

  All users of the 5.1 kernel series must upgrade.

  The updated 5.1.y git tree can be found at:
  git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git linux-5.1.y
  and can be browsed at the normal kernel.org git web browser:
  https://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-s...

• Linux 4.19.56

• Linux 4.14.130

Ever since the demise of Google+, many developers have expressed a desire to have a service that would provide a way to create and manage content in a format that would be more rich and easier to access than email messages sent to LKML.

Today, we would like to introduce people.kernel.org, which is an ActivityPub-enabled federated platform powered by WriteFreely and hosted by very nice and accommodating folks at write.as.

It is with a mix of sadness and appreciation that the ASF Board accepted the resignations of Board Member Jim Jagielski, Chairman Phil Steitz, and Executive Vice President Ross Gardler last month.

As an ASF co-founder, Jim has held every officer position since the Foundation’s incorporation, with the exception of a one-year break in 2018. He has played a substantial role in the development and success of the organization and is a recognized advocate of Open Source at the developer and corporate levels.

An ASF Member since 2005, Phil was instrumental in the adoption, growth, and ubiquity of Apache Java projects across many industries, most visibly financial services. He served as Vice President Apache Commons for four years, and as ASF Chairman August 2017 - May 2019.

Ross has been championing The Apache Way to governments, corporations, and educational institutions for nearly two decades. Since becoming an ASF Member in 2005, he served as Vice President of Community Development (2009-2012), ASF Director and President (2015-2016), and ASF Executive Vice President October 2016 - May 2019.

We laud their contributions to many of the ASF's achievements over the past two decades [1]. Their motivation, vision, and passion is truly inspiring. Whilst we will greatly miss their day-to-day leadership at the executive level, we are heartened that the Foundation will continue to benefit through their participation as ASF Members.

• ASUS ZenFone 6 review: The phone for selfie-obsessionists and Android purists

• Nokia 1 Starts Receiving Android Pie (Go Edition) Update in India

• Vosen V1 S905X2 Android TV Box Doubles as a Home Gateway with IR Blaster and Z-Wave Support

• Android Pie updates for Huawei smartphones start in July

• Huawei: it is safe to buy a Huawei phone. Android will continue to work

• Google Play Store Quality Problems: Over 2,000 Malware-Laden Counterfeit Apps Served to Android Users

• Chrome OS will show Android cloud storage apps in Files app

If you are looking for free Email clients for Linux and Windows – here are 5 of them we list which you can try and consider for casual or professional uses.

• The European Patent Office Remains a Crooked Patent Office That Harms Staff and Abolishes the Rule of Law
• USPTO and EPO Faking Growth by Granting Patents on Everything in Nature, But Campaigners Strike Back
• IBM Happy That Patent Quality at EPO Collapsed and It’s Easy to Get Software Patents
• The Linux Foundation’s Staff Uses Windows and Microsoft. Now the Foundation Outsources the Coding and Hosting, Too (to Microsoft of Course).
• Patent Extremism: Stacking the Panels, the Surveys, the Hearings, the Debates
• Links 25/6/2019: Raspberry Pi 4, Ubuntu’s Change of Mind, Wayland’s Weston 6.0.1
• Links 24/6/2019: Linux 5.2 RC6, Skrooge 2.20.0, ZFS vs. OpenZFS

• Move Android's Quick Settings to the Bottom for Easier Access to the Swipe Menu

• Android Devices Become Target of a New Crypto Mining Malware

• Google Play Store Quality Problems: Over 2,000 Malware-Laden Counterfeit Apps Served to Android Users

• Huawei’s foldable phone will ship with Android, despite US ban

• Moto Z4 would get bi-monthly security updates, no Android R support

• Is it possible to recover your deleted files from Android devices on Mac?

There are plenty of Linux distributions out there to choose from when you're deciding what to run on a daily basis, yet some are so small that they get little notice. But tiny Linux distributions are powerful innovations: having an entire operating system drive a computer with less than 1GB of storage and half as much RAM is the ultimate software hack.

Tiny distros have many uses, such as...