today's howtos

• Converseen 0.9.9.6 - Improved Quality/Compression Settings - Fasterland

  Here is Converseen 0.9.9.6, the open-source and cross platform batch image processor that allows you to convert, resize, rotate and flip an infinite number of images with a mouse click.

• Using sigstore-python to sign and verify your software release

  Sigstore allows software developers to quickly sign and verify the software they release. Many of the bigger projects use hardware-based OpenPGP keys to sign and release. But the steps used to make sure that the end-users are correctly verifying those signatures are long, and people make mistakes. Also, not every project has access to hardware smartcards, air-gapped private keys etc. Sigstore solves (or at least makes it way easier) these steps for most developers. It uses existing known (right now only 3) big OIDC providers using which one can sign and verify any data/software. For this blog post, I will use the python tool called sigstore-python.

• Finding files on Linux with the longest names

  File names on Linux systems can be as long as 255 characters. While determining which files in a directory have the longest names might not be the most exciting task at hand, doing this with a script poses some interesting challenges that invite equally interesting solutions.

• How to List Installed Packages on Fedora

  Occasionally, you may want to check the packages installed on your system. Learn how to list packages in Fedora using DNF and other package tools.

Announcing Oracle Linux 9 general availability

Oracle is pleased to announce Oracle Linux 9 general availability for Intel-64/AMD-64 (x86_64) and Arm (aarch64). This release includes the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 7 (UEK R7), also generally available today, along with the Red Hat Compatible Kernel (RHCK).

Running the Steam Deck’s OS in a virtual machine using QEMU

The Steam Deck is a handheld gaming computer that runs a Linux-based operating system called SteamOS. The machine comes with SteamOS 3 (code name “holo”), which is in turn based on Arch Linux. Although there is no SteamOS 3 installer for a generic PC (yet), it is very easy to install on a virtual machine using QEMU. This post explains how to do it. The goal of this VM is not to play games (you can already install Steam on your computer after all) but to use SteamOS in desktop mode. The Gamescope mode (the console-like interface you normally see when you use the machine) requires additional development to make it work with QEMU and will not work with these instructions. A SteamOS VM can be useful for debugging, development, and generally playing and tinkering with the OS without risking breaking the Steam Deck. Running the SteamOS desktop in a virtual machine only requires QEMU and the OVMF UEFI firmware and should work in any relatively recent distribution.

today's leftovers

• Dead Rising 1 and 2 Make it as Steam Deck Verified Titles

  But not just Dead Rising! Valve has progressed in testing more games and we are at more than 3700 games validated (3719 games to be precise at the time of publication) on the Steam Deck – in two categories...

• Linux is more popular than ever, thanks to Valve’s Steam Deck | PCGamesN

  The Steam Deck is undeniably a popular handheld gaming PC, and its street cred is helping Linux grab a larger slice of the market pie. While Windows 10 still reigns supreme within the operating system scene, more Steam users than ever are playing games on versions of the Unix-like OS.

• Behind open DORS – Conference organizers share their thoughts on Canonical, Ubuntu, snaps, and open-source | Ubuntu

  A Linux conference almost as old as Linux itself. In mid-May, DORS/CLUC hosted its 29th event at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb, Croatia. With a long history of participation and contribution to open source communities, Canonical was one of the sponsors at the conference, with a busy schedule that included a presentation on snaps, an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session, and several interviews. Typically, at conference events, the conference presenters (and attendees) are the ones who get interviewed. This time, we decided to add a spin. I interviewed the event’s organizers. For a good hour and half, I spoke to Svebor Prstacic, the president of HrOpen and Vedran Lebo, the co-chair of the conference and president of HULK (an aptly acronymized organization that translates to The Croatian Linux Users Association). We discussed the origins of DORS, the value and importance of Linux and open source, the relation with Canonical, and the future.

• KDE Dev-Vlog 4: Too Much Spectacle! – Felix Ernst

  Sometimes it is the smallest thing that makes the biggest difference for our users. This video shows the cause and the thoughts behind such a small change on a small application.

• Brenda is classic automata nightmare fuel | Arduino Blog

  Art is a strange thing. Sometimes its purpose is purely aesthetic. Sometimes it makes a statement. And sometimes it exists to disturb. Kinetic art is no different and some robots fall into this category. Graham Asker’s art elicits pondering on the relationship between humans and robots, as well as the relationships between different robots. But as Brenda, a classical-style automaton, demonstrates, Asker’s art can also induce nightmares. Brenda and her companion Brian are strange, bodiless robots designed to mimic the aesthetics of automatons from myth and history. Each robot is a construction of beautiful brass, mechanical joints, linkages, and cables. Servos hidden inside the bases of the robots actuate the various joints, giving Brenda and Brian the ability to emote. Most of their “facial” movement is in their eyes. Lifelike eyeballs look around from within heavy eyelids, while pivoting eyebrows help to convey expressions.