Bash – mintCast https://mintcast.org The podcast by the Linux Mint community for all users of Linux Sat, 25 Dec 2021 23:50:50 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1 https://mintcast.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/cropped-small-logo-32x32.png Bash – mintCast https://mintcast.org 32 32 mintCast false episodic CC-BY-SA 4.0 CC-BY-SA 4.0 podcast Bash – mintCast https://mintcast.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/big-logo-1600.png https://mintcast.org TV-G 164426984 376.5 – Getting Ac-CLI-mated https://mintcast.org/376-5-getting-ac-cli-mated/ Sat, 25 Dec 2021 23:46:06 +0000 https://mintcast.org/?p=5309 And finally, the feedback and a couple of suggestions
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]]> 1:30 Linux Innards
26:21 Vibrations from the Ether
33:13 Check This Out
35:44 Announcements & Outro

In our Innards section, we talk about our favorite command line tools

And finally, the feedback and a couple of suggestions

Twitter. Discord. Telegram. Matrix. Reddit. Youtube.

Linux Innards

Vibrations from the Ether

  • William H
  • Hilander

Check This Out

Announcements

Wrap-up

Before we leave, we want to make sure to acknowledge some of the people who make mintCast possible …

  • Norbert for our audio production
  • Leo for timestamps and publishing
  • Josh Lowe for all his work on the website
  • Hobstar for our logo
  • initrd for the animated Discord logo
  • Londoner for our time sync
  • Bytemark Hosting for hosting mintcast.org and our Mumble server
  • Archive.org for hosting our audio files
  • HPR for our backup Mumble room
  • The Linux Mint development team for the fine distro we love to talk about <Thanks, Clem!>
]]> 376.5 - Getting Ac-CLI-mated full 41:08 5309 mintCast 364.5 – Dynamic Audio https://mintcast.org/mintcast-364-5-dynamic-audio/ Wed, 07 Jul 2021 06:25:20 +0000 https://mintcast.org/?p=5131 And finally, the feedback and a couple things to check out
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]]> 1:29 Linux Innards
39:02 Vibrations from the Ether
1:09:10 Check This Out
1:10:09 Announcements & Outro

In our Innards section, we talk travelling studios

And finally, the feedback and a couple things to check out

Twitter. Discord. Telegram. Matrix. Reddit.

Linux Innards

Vibrations from the Ether

  • Allan N.
  • Elizabeth T.
  • Brad A.

randstring:

#!/usr/local/bin/bash
COUNT=$1
if [ "$COUNT" = "" -o !"$COUNT" ] ; then
  echo "Enter a number of characters to generate", read $COUNT
fi
head -c $COUNT /dev/random | uuencode -m - | sed -n '2s/=*$//;2p' | cut -c1-$COUNT
  • John Wallis
  • A. Stombough
  • Stan R.

Check This Out

Announcements

Wrap-up

Before we leave, we want to make sure to acknowledge some of the people who make mintCast possible …

  • Owen Peery for our audio editing, Josh Lowe for all his work on the website, Hobstar for our logo, initrd for the animated Discord logo, and Londoner for our time sync
  • Bytemark Hosting for hosting mintcast.org and our Mumble server
  • Archive.org for hosting our audio files
  • HPR for our backup Mumble room
  • The Linux Mint development team for the fine distro we love to talk about <Thanks, Clem!>
]]> full 5131 mintCast 343.5 – FOSS or Bust (mp3) https://mintcast.org/mintcast-343-5-foss-or-bust-mp3/ Wed, 16 Sep 2020 04:08:13 +0000 http://mintcast.org/?p=4630 And finally, the feedback and a suggestion
Download
]]>

Download

1:29 Linux Innards
38:20 Vibrations from the Ether
1:06:58 Check This Out
1:09:29 Outro

In our Innards section, NonFree vs FOSS

And finally, the feedback and a suggestion

LINUX INNARDS: 

Is insistence on FOSS limiting the growth of Linux?

  • This came up because of a recent Humble Bundle sale that had Magix offering their Sound Forge Audio Studio 13, Movie Studio 16 and a few more bits of software all for $25. It’s one version old, but still fully functional and never-expiring software.
  • The kicker: It’s proprietary, close-sourced, and Windows-only.
  • So, what’s your stance on proprietary software?
    • Leo
      • To the prompt, “no.” For Linux, as a technology, a kernel, FOSS has been the driving force of its adoption. It’s made Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, and every other major internet company out there take notice, adopt and adapt.
      • However, for Linux as a desktop, for regular folks like us, it can limit our personal growth. For instance, daVinci Resolve. It’s a full on audio video editor that is Linux native, but proprietary. It’s not wrong to decide you don’t want to use it because of its proprietary nature, but if it has features that you want, and isn’t in other tools, you’re hamstringing yourself.
      • I have a “right tool for the job” mentality. But, I do lean toward and prefer Open Source software. For instance, we use Audacity and Mumble to create the show every week, and I’m pretty proud of that. However, if it turned out that another software, Open Source or not, free or not, reduced the time required to, say, edit the show, from 5-8 hours to 2-4, I would certainly use it and encourage us all internally to try it.
      • To that end, I went ahead and bought this bundle and installed most of it on my Windows disk.
        • Sound Forge Audio Studio is actually pretty good in that you’re able to do non destructive editing and very fast. 
          • These things are important because one of the drawbacks of Audacity for me is that every compress, noise reduction and truncate silence you do is written to the disk before you ever save. And it’s HUGE. 1-4GB per audio track, and there are 4 or 5 of us on at a time. It’s write speed dependent, which means you want to do this on an SSD, not a HDD, but this puts a lot of wear on an SSD.
        • The built-in effects are… fine? It looks like I’m going to need to find a VST for everything that Audacity does out of the box.
          • These look promising:
            • https://www.reaper.fm/reaplugs/
        • The Movie Studio software, I haven’t used much yet. But it reminds me so much of Kdenlive, which is what I’m pitting it against. I’ll report back if it’s amazing or not, but with Kdenlive’s 20.08 release… I may have a hard time making a switch.
      • We also use Google Drive, and have been pretty open about that fact for a while. It’s such a good, cross-platform, collaborative, free writing application that is so simple to use, it’s impossible to pass up, and extremely difficult to migrate away from because of the responsibility that’s put on you for alternatives.
        • Syncthing and the like are options, but aren’t instant
        • Nextcloud is an option, but it’s not without maintenance
      • To close out all my rambling, FOSS isn’t holding us back, per se, it’s more that we don’t have any killer apps that are Linux-only on the desktop. If we want that to change, we need to get on “team developer.” Buy them coffee, send them $10 for a job well done, share successes, build them up, and for those adventurous enough, become one. Because remember, we’re competing with the likes of multi-billion dollar companies.
      • Linux is different. It truly is community-based and can be so very user-driven. Let’s use the power we have to invest in our own future.
    • Moss – History Lesson
      • Corel came out with Corel Linux with WordPerfect in late 1999, back when WordPerfect was still *a* leader in the Office market. They wanted $89. They were hoping for positive feedback to improve the product; instead got screamed at by the FOSS crowd and had to pull their product. They finally pulled the Corel Open Source Development website in March 2002.
      • SoftMaker has made Office since 1987. I’ve been using it since 2008 (in Windows) and have used the Linux edition since 2012. (They even had a BSD version in 2006.) It has always been more compatible with MS Office than any of the free office packages. I filed three bugs with OpenOffice.org (2010? 2012?) having to do with MS Office compatibility which greatly impeded my ability to use OOo in my professional editing work, and was told they were not interested in fixing those bugs. I have been loyal to SoftMaker since. I have not seen LibreOffice 7, but at least two of the bugs continued to exist through the latest 6.4 version. I have mentioned on this show many times how I have taken a lot of heat and even been forced to leave discussion groups because I was not using a FOSS word processor.
      • People coming over from Windows are not willing to work without Adobe software, or AutoCAD, or similar professional software. Linux people keep saying it’s up to those companies to OPEN SOURCE it before they can use it. 
      • The only software Linux people seem to be willing to pay for is games.
      • My view is, you use FOSS first, and then look for other software when FOSS software does not meet your needs. Expecting companies to give up the way they operate just to provide a very limited userbase software they will use is closed-minded.
    • Joe
      • I tend to not stress whether an application is open source or not.  As long as it works on Linux with minimal fuss
      • I don’t think this limits the growth of Linux in any significant way.  You will always have people that think the best way to make money is to have complete control of the product.  If you disallow that type of thing then you would be discouraging the platform.  Yes, money can be made as a service, but some just don’t like that dynamic and some applications simply will not fit into that mold.
      • Also if you are going to have an environment that is open then the programmers can make whatever they choose to fit on top of it.
      • Now if something will only run in Windows or is basically unusable in Linux, I will either find an alternative or I will load up Windows long enough to run the application.  I do keep a Windows install around for those purposes.
      • If you are going to have an open platform then people can use it in any way they see fit.  Including writing proprietary code for that open platform.
      • Check out Windows 10 Ameliorated: https://ameliorated.info/
    • Tony W
      • I am not sure that insistence on FOSS is hindering Linux growth in any significant way
        • The main reason I feel this way is I think the vast majority of people that come to Linux desktop are technically savvy, will research and try things on their own.  and are presented with the options to install alongside windows,etc. They can research options for proprietary software vs FOSS and will decide for themselves with the information available to them.
        • DUAL BOOT: This option actually may keep people using Linux more because there is a safety net if something doesn’t work.
      • My stance on proprietary software: If it works and is convenient, I use it.  I do look for FOSS options first.
      • I cannot understate how much I appreciate that most FOSS is free as in beer and that it’s intended to be that way.  Donate to those projects, when you can.
      • The proprietary software/hardware I use and why:
        • Windows software 
          • Have to use Windows and Windows software for work, no choice there)
          • Boss tone studio
          • Studio One
        • Google stuff
          • Chromebook
          • Google Home/Chromecastz
          • Android, Play store, google apps
  • It’s MOSS, the Website
    • My website, which has been mentioned a few times on this podcast, is about using the best tool for the purpose and to encourage the Linux community to stop sending good software away just because the provider wants  to charge for it.  I have a few articles up on the need for, use of, and desire to increase the availability of non-FOSS software in Linux. I am always open to receiving more articles and comments. I have noticed that It’s FOSS sometimes has articles referencing non-FOSS software, and I have suggested to them that they could use my website to post those articles, thereby dodging some slings and arrows from the FOSS community. All submissions are welcome.

VIBRATIONS FROM THE ETHER: 

  • Joseph Husak on Youtube

Joseph’s Followup Email

Tony W Response

  • TheComputerKid

Leo’s Response

Moss’ Response

  • Raphaël

Leo’s Response

sudo flatpak install org.videolan.VLC

sudo flatpak install fr.handbrake.ghb
  • John Wallis Saga

I’ve disabled avahi-daemon.  Lynis does not provide more information regarding the services.  I’m puzzled as to why hddtemp.service should be marked as unsafe.  Could we make hddtemp.service the first service to be investigated?

Leo’s Response

Here is some basic usage.

leo@maya ~ > sudo hddtemp /dev/sda

[sudo] password for leo:        

/dev/sda: ADATA SU800: 27°C

leo@maya ~> sudo hddtemp /dev/sdb

/dev/sdb: TCSUNBOW N4 240GB: 40°C

I wouldn’t worry about hddtemp much, especially if you use it with any frequency. If you don’t ever use it, it may be prudent to remove it with 

sudo apt remove hddtemp

If you want to keep it, but are worried that it is listening to its default TCP port 7634, you can run

ss -l4

and check for a line like this

Netid       State        Recv-Q    Send-Q      Local Address:Port

tcp         LISTEN       0         0           0.0.0.0:7634

If you see anything with the port 7634 in the far right there, it’s listening. If you see anything other than 0 under Recv-Q or Send-Q, it’s been talking to remote hosts!

  • Brad Alexander
  • Brad Alexander
[storm@danube ~]$ cp rsx.jpg Media

[storm@danube ~]$ cd !$

cd Media

[storm@danube Media]$

CHECK THIS OUT! 

  • Moss
    • https://itsfoss.com/best-markdown-editors-linux/

Announcements:

Our next episode will be Sunday, September 20, 2020 at 2 pm Central US time, 7 pm UTC and 8 pm British Summer Time. Time conversions are available at https://www.timeanddate.com. You can use Austin, Texas as a Central Time reference.

Wrap-up:

Before we leave, we want to make sure to acknowledge some of the people who make mintCast possible … 

  • Owen Peery for audio editing
  • Josh for all his work on the website
  • Hobstar for our logo
  • Bytemark Hosting for hosting mintcast.org and our Mumble server
  • Archive.org for hosting our audio files
  • HPR for our Mumble backup
  • The Linux Mint development team for the fine distro we love to talk about <Thanks, Clem!>
]]> full 4630 mintCast 343.5 – FOSS or Bust https://mintcast.org/mintcast-343-5-foss-or-bust/ Wed, 16 Sep 2020 03:46:43 +0000 http://mintcast.org/?p=4618 And finally, the feedback and a suggestion
Download
]]>

Download

1:29 Linux Innards
38:20 Vibrations from the Ether
1:06:58 Check This Out
1:09:29 Outro

In our Innards section, NonFree vs FOSS

And finally, the feedback and a suggestion

LINUX INNARDS: 

Is insistence on FOSS limiting the growth of Linux?

  • This came up because of a recent Humble Bundle sale that had Magix offering their Sound Forge Audio Studio 13, Movie Studio 16 and a few more bits of software all for $25. It’s one version old, but still fully functional and never-expiring software.
  • The kicker: It’s proprietary, close-sourced, and Windows-only.
  • So, what’s your stance on proprietary software?
    • Leo
      • To the prompt, “no.” For Linux, as a technology, a kernel, FOSS has been the driving force of its adoption. It’s made Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, and every other major internet company out there take notice, adopt and adapt.
      • However, for Linux as a desktop, for regular folks like us, it can limit our personal growth. For instance, daVinci Resolve. It’s a full on audio video editor that is Linux native, but proprietary. It’s not wrong to decide you don’t want to use it because of its proprietary nature, but if it has features that you want, and isn’t in other tools, you’re hamstringing yourself.
      • I have a “right tool for the job” mentality. But, I do lean toward and prefer Open Source software. For instance, we use Audacity and Mumble to create the show every week, and I’m pretty proud of that. However, if it turned out that another software, Open Source or not, free or not, reduced the time required to, say, edit the show, from 5-8 hours to 2-4, I would certainly use it and encourage us all internally to try it.
      • To that end, I went ahead and bought this bundle and installed most of it on my Windows disk.
        • Sound Forge Audio Studio is actually pretty good in that you’re able to do non destructive editing and very fast. 
          • These things are important because one of the drawbacks of Audacity for me is that every compress, noise reduction and truncate silence you do is written to the disk before you ever save. And it’s HUGE. 1-4GB per audio track, and there are 4 or 5 of us on at a time. It’s write speed dependent, which means you want to do this on an SSD, not a HDD, but this puts a lot of wear on an SSD.
        • The built-in effects are… fine? It looks like I’m going to need to find a VST for everything that Audacity does out of the box.
          • These look promising:
            • https://www.reaper.fm/reaplugs/
        • The Movie Studio software, I haven’t used much yet. But it reminds me so much of Kdenlive, which is what I’m pitting it against. I’ll report back if it’s amazing or not, but with Kdenlive’s 20.08 release… I may have a hard time making a switch.
      • We also use Google Drive, and have been pretty open about that fact for a while. It’s such a good, cross-platform, collaborative, free writing application that is so simple to use, it’s impossible to pass up, and extremely difficult to migrate away from because of the responsibility that’s put on you for alternatives.
        • Syncthing and the like are options, but aren’t instant
        • Nextcloud is an option, but it’s not without maintenance
      • To close out all my rambling, FOSS isn’t holding us back, per se, it’s more that we don’t have any killer apps that are Linux-only on the desktop. If we want that to change, we need to get on “team developer.” Buy them coffee, send them $10 for a job well done, share successes, build them up, and for those adventurous enough, become one. Because remember, we’re competing with the likes of multi-billion dollar companies.
      • Linux is different. It truly is community-based and can be so very user-driven. Let’s use the power we have to invest in our own future.
    • Moss – History Lesson
      • Corel came out with Corel Linux with WordPerfect in late 1999, back when WordPerfect was still *a* leader in the Office market. They wanted $89. They were hoping for positive feedback to improve the product; instead got screamed at by the FOSS crowd and had to pull their product. They finally pulled the Corel Open Source Development website in March 2002.
      • SoftMaker has made Office since 1987. I’ve been using it since 2008 (in Windows) and have used the Linux edition since 2012. (They even had a BSD version in 2006.) It has always been more compatible with MS Office than any of the free office packages. I filed three bugs with OpenOffice.org (2010? 2012?) having to do with MS Office compatibility which greatly impeded my ability to use OOo in my professional editing work, and was told they were not interested in fixing those bugs. I have been loyal to SoftMaker since. I have not seen LibreOffice 7, but at least two of the bugs continued to exist through the latest 6.4 version. I have mentioned on this show many times how I have taken a lot of heat and even been forced to leave discussion groups because I was not using a FOSS word processor.
      • People coming over from Windows are not willing to work without Adobe software, or AutoCAD, or similar professional software. Linux people keep saying it’s up to those companies to OPEN SOURCE it before they can use it. 
      • The only software Linux people seem to be willing to pay for is games.
      • My view is, you use FOSS first, and then look for other software when FOSS software does not meet your needs. Expecting companies to give up the way they operate just to provide a very limited userbase software they will use is closed-minded.
    • Joe
      • I tend to not stress whether an application is open source or not.  As long as it works on Linux with minimal fuss
      • I don’t think this limits the growth of Linux in any significant way.  You will always have people that think the best way to make money is to have complete control of the product.  If you disallow that type of thing then you would be discouraging the platform.  Yes, money can be made as a service, but some just don’t like that dynamic and some applications simply will not fit into that mold.
      • Also if you are going to have an environment that is open then the programmers can make whatever they choose to fit on top of it.
      • Now if something will only run in Windows or is basically unusable in Linux, I will either find an alternative or I will load up Windows long enough to run the application.  I do keep a Windows install around for those purposes.
      • If you are going to have an open platform then people can use it in any way they see fit.  Including writing proprietary code for that open platform.
      • Check out Windows 10 Ameliorated: https://ameliorated.info/
    • Tony W
      • I am not sure that insistence on FOSS is hindering Linux growth in any significant way
        • The main reason I feel this way is I think the vast majority of people that come to Linux desktop are technically savvy, will research and try things on their own.  and are presented with the options to install alongside windows,etc. They can research options for proprietary software vs FOSS and will decide for themselves with the information available to them.
        • DUAL BOOT: This option actually may keep people using Linux more because there is a safety net if something doesn’t work.
      • My stance on proprietary software: If it works and is convenient, I use it.  I do look for FOSS options first.
      • I cannot understate how much I appreciate that most FOSS is free as in beer and that it’s intended to be that way.  Donate to those projects, when you can.
      • The proprietary software/hardware I use and why:
        • Windows software 
          • Have to use Windows and Windows software for work, no choice there)
          • Boss tone studio
          • Studio One
        • Google stuff
          • Chromebook
          • Google Home/Chromecastz
          • Android, Play store, google apps
  • It’s MOSS, the Website
    • My website, which has been mentioned a few times on this podcast, is about using the best tool for the purpose and to encourage the Linux community to stop sending good software away just because the provider wants  to charge for it.  I have a few articles up on the need for, use of, and desire to increase the availability of non-FOSS software in Linux. I am always open to receiving more articles and comments. I have noticed that It’s FOSS sometimes has articles referencing non-FOSS software, and I have suggested to them that they could use my website to post those articles, thereby dodging some slings and arrows from the FOSS community. All submissions are welcome.

VIBRATIONS FROM THE ETHER: 

  • Joseph Husak on Youtube

Joseph’s Followup Email

Tony W Response

  • TheComputerKid

Leo’s Response

Moss’ Response

  • Raphaël

Leo’s Response

sudo flatpak install org.videolan.VLC

sudo flatpak install fr.handbrake.ghb
  • John Wallis Saga

I’ve disabled avahi-daemon.  Lynis does not provide more information regarding the services.  I’m puzzled as to why hddtemp.service should be marked as unsafe.  Could we make hddtemp.service the first service to be investigated?

Leo’s Response

Here is some basic usage.

leo@maya ~ > sudo hddtemp /dev/sda

[sudo] password for leo:        

/dev/sda: ADATA SU800: 27°C

leo@maya ~> sudo hddtemp /dev/sdb

/dev/sdb: TCSUNBOW N4 240GB: 40°C

I wouldn’t worry about hddtemp much, especially if you use it with any frequency. If you don’t ever use it, it may be prudent to remove it with 

sudo apt remove hddtemp

If you want to keep it, but are worried that it is listening to its default TCP port 7634, you can run

ss -l4

and check for a line like this

Netid       State        Recv-Q    Send-Q      Local Address:Port

tcp         LISTEN       0         0           0.0.0.0:7634

If you see anything with the port 7634 in the far right there, it’s listening. If you see anything other than 0 under Recv-Q or Send-Q, it’s been talking to remote hosts!

  • Brad Alexander 
  • Brad Alexander
[storm@danube ~]$ cp rsx.jpg Media

[storm@danube ~]$ cd !$

cd Media

[storm@danube Media]$

CHECK THIS OUT! 

  • Moss
    • https://itsfoss.com/best-markdown-editors-linux/

Announcements:

Our next episode will be Sunday, September 20, 2020 at 2 pm Central US time, 7 pm UTC and 8 pm British Summer Time. Time conversions are available at https://www.timeanddate.com. You can use Austin, Texas as a Central Time reference.

Wrap-up:

Before we leave, we want to make sure to acknowledge some of the people who make mintCast possible … 

  • Owen Peery for audio editing
  • Josh for all his work on the website
  • Hobstar for our logo
  • Bytemark Hosting for hosting mintcast.org and our Mumble server
  • Archive.org for hosting our audio files
  • HPR for our Mumble backup
  • The Linux Mint development team for the fine distro we love to talk about <Thanks, Clem!>

]]> full 4618 mintCast 342.5 – Droidcam Can! (mp3) https://mintcast.org/mintcast-342-5-droidcam-can-mp3/ Wed, 02 Sep 2020 04:47:07 +0000 http://mintcast.org/?p=4604 And finally, the feedback and a few suggestions
Download
]]>

Download

We would like to welcome Owen Peery to the team. He’s our new editor!

1:27 Linux Innards
21:44 Vibrations from the Ether
43:17 Check This Out
48:10 Outro

In our Innards section, how we use droidcam!

And finally, the feedback and a few suggestions

LINUX INNARDS

Droidcam

  • Joe
    • Tested out Droidcam.  The setup on the phone is simple and the instructions on https://www.dev47apps.com/droidcam/linux/ make it really simple to make it visible to the system. The video quality was good but not as good as it could have been but the latency over wifi was non existent. It looked like it was real time.
    • Also set up ip webcam because it is something that I have used in the distant past that is similar.  The video quality was much better than droidcam which applies some paywall limits to its quality and the latency was also very good.  But the setup to use it as a computer webcam is a bit more difficult than that of Droidcam. Just follow the directions online to set up an ip cam as a computer webcam.  
    • But seeing the two side by side you can really see the difference in video quality using the Note 10 Plus
  • Leo
    • Been using Droidcam for 6 months now as a USB webcam
    • I’ve used it mostly for Zoom, but I’ve given it a run with Cheese and VLC for testing over USB. The quality is actually quite good, but defaulted to 640×480. To crank it up to 720p, you need to reload the module
cd /tmp/

wget https://files.dev47apps.net/linux/droidcam_latest.zip

echo "73db3a4c0f52a285b6ac1f8c43d5b4c7 droidcam_latest.zip" | md5sum -c --

unzip droidcam_latest.zip -d droidcam && cd droidcam

sudo ./install

sudo insmod /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/media/video/v4l2loopback-dc.ko width=1024 height=720
    • This is special for me. For some reason, 1280×720 stretches me out. 1024×720 gives me a higher resolution, without stretching.
    • Overall it’s great in VLC, Cheese and Zoom.
    • Such a good option if webcams are not affordable.
  • Tony W
    • Found this app since Covid-19, while investigating live streaming
    • My son has been using DroidCam every day for school.  Remote learning with Zoom meetings
    • Android version wired capability does require USB debugging enabled, which in turn requires turning on Developer options (not difficult but not n00b friendly either)
      • Developer mode needs to be allowed in Google Family Link, so one more hurdle for devices with parental controls
    • Wireless was actually really good but wired is rock solid
    • Why do you need this?
      • Have a computer without a webcam?
      • Even if you do have a webcam, is your phone’s camera better? (will require paid version of app to get full HD resolution)
      • OK, maybe you already have one video source – but do you want more?  How about multiple video angles for OBS Studio? 
  • Tony H

VIBRATIONS FROM THE ETHER

  • Jeff
#!/bin/bash

DISPLAY=:0.0 google-chrome-stable --new-window https://website.example &

sleep 5

export win_dow=xdotool getactivewindow

echo $win_dow

DISPLAY=:0.0 xdotool mousemove --window $win_dow 200 400

# DISPLAY=:0.0 xdotool click 1

DISPLAY=:0.0 obs --scene "CNNNews" --startrecording &
  • Stan Reichardt
  • Londoner

https://www.timeanddate.com

  • Sia
  • John Wallis SAGA

One thing that Lynis has brought to my attention is that of security

issues with the following services:

Running ‘systemd-analyze security’

         – ModemManager.service:                               [ MEDIUM ]

         – NetworkManager.service:                             [ EXPOSED ]

         – accounts-daemon.service:                            [ UNSAFE ]

         – acpid.service:                                      [ UNSAFE ]

[truncated for length]

Consider hardening system services [BOOT-5264]

     – Details  : Run ‘/usr/bin/systemd-analyze security SERVICE’ for

each service

       https://cisofy.com/lynis/controls/BOOT-5264/

  • John’s Followup
  • John Wallis Saga – A Family Affair
  • spike bookbinder
  • Larry Murphy
    [truncated for length]

CHECK THIS OUT

  • Moss
    • Linux Handbook is an ethical web portal from the same team behind It’s FOSS, the web’s favorite Linux and Open-Source portal.

While It’s FOSS focuses on Open Source, Linux news and desktop Linux, Linux Handbook focuses on the server side of Linux.

Announcements:

Our next episode will be September 6, 2020 at 2 pm Central US Time, 7 pm UTC, 8 pm British Summer Time – https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

Add Dallas Tx

Wrap-up:

Before we leave, we want to make sure to acknowledge some of the people who make mintCast possible … 

  • Londoner for his suggestion to use timeanddate.com
  • Hobstar for his work on the new logo
  • Josh for all his work on the website
  • Hacker Public Radio for the Mumble server we are using to record
  • Bytemark Hosting for hosting mintcast.org and our Mumble server
  • Archive.org for hosting our audio files
  • The Linux Mint development team for the fine distro we love to talk about.
]]> full 4604 mintCast 342.5 – Droidcam Can! https://mintcast.org/mintcast-342-5-droidcam-can/ Wed, 02 Sep 2020 04:34:45 +0000 http://mintcast.org/?p=4599 And finally, the feedback and a few suggestions
Download
]]>

Download

We would like to welcome Owen Peery to the team. He’s our new editor!

1:27 Linux Innards
21:44 Vibrations from the Ether
43:17 Check This Out
48:10 Outro

In our Innards section, how we use droidcam!

And finally, the feedback and a few suggestions

LINUX INNARDS

Droidcam

  • Joe
    • Tested out Droidcam.  The setup on the phone is simple and the instructions on https://www.dev47apps.com/droidcam/linux/ make it really simple to make it visible to the system. The video quality was good but not as good as it could have been but the latency over wifi was non existent. It looked like it was real time.
    • Also set up ip webcam because it is something that I have used in the distant past that is similar.  The video quality was much better than droidcam which applies some paywall limits to its quality and the latency was also very good.  But the setup to use it as a computer webcam is a bit more difficult than that of Droidcam. Just follow the directions online to set up an ip cam as a computer webcam.  
    • But seeing the two side by side you can really see the difference in video quality using the Note 10 Plus
  • Leo
    • Been using Droidcam for 6 months now as a USB webcam
    • I’ve used it mostly for Zoom, but I’ve given it a run with Cheese and VLC for testing over USB. The quality is actually quite good, but defaulted to 640×480. To crank it up to 720p, you need to reload the module
cd /tmp/

wget https://files.dev47apps.net/linux/droidcam_latest.zip

echo "73db3a4c0f52a285b6ac1f8c43d5b4c7 droidcam_latest.zip" | md5sum -c --

unzip droidcam_latest.zip -d droidcam && cd droidcam

sudo ./install

sudo insmod /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/media/video/v4l2loopback-dc.ko width=1024 height=720
    • This is special for me. For some reason, 1280×720 stretches me out. 1024×720 gives me a higher resolution, without stretching.
    • Overall it’s great in VLC, Cheese and Zoom.
    • Such a good option if webcams are not affordable.
  • Tony W
    • Found this app since Covid-19, while investigating live streaming
    • My son has been using DroidCam every day for school.  Remote learning with Zoom meetings
    • Android version wired capability does require USB debugging enabled, which in turn requires turning on Developer options (not difficult but not n00b friendly either)
      • Developer mode needs to be allowed in Google Family Link, so one more hurdle for devices with parental controls
    • Wireless was actually really good but wired is rock solid
    • Why do you need this?
      • Have a computer without a webcam?
      • Even if you do have a webcam, is your phone’s camera better? (will require paid version of app to get full HD resolution)
      • OK, maybe you already have one video source – but do you want more?  How about multiple video angles for OBS Studio? 
  • Tony H

VIBRATIONS FROM THE ETHER

  • Jeff
#!/bin/bash

DISPLAY=:0.0 google-chrome-stable --new-window https://website.example/ &

sleep 5

export win_dow=xdotool getactivewindow

echo $win_dow

DISPLAY=:0.0 xdotool mousemove --window $win_dow 200 400

# DISPLAY=:0.0 xdotool click 1

DISPLAY=:0.0 obs --scene "CNNNews" --startrecording &
  • Stan Reichardt
  • Londoner

https://www.timeanddate.com

  • Sia
  • John Wallis SAGA

One thing that Lynis has brought to my attention is that of security

issues with the following services:

Running ‘systemd-analyze security’

         – ModemManager.service:                               [ MEDIUM ]

         – NetworkManager.service:                             [ EXPOSED ]

         – accounts-daemon.service:                            [ UNSAFE ]

         – acpid.service:                                      [ UNSAFE ]

[truncated for length]

Consider hardening system services [BOOT-5264]

     – Details  : Run ‘/usr/bin/systemd-analyze security SERVICE’ for

each service

       https://cisofy.com/lynis/controls/BOOT-5264/

  • John’s Followup
  • John Wallis Saga – A Family Affair
  • spike bookbinder
  • Larry Murphy
    [truncated for length]

CHECK THIS OUT

  • Moss
    • Linux Handbook is an ethical web portal from the same team behind It’s FOSS, the web’s favorite Linux and Open-Source portal.

While It’s FOSS focuses on Open Source, Linux news and desktop Linux, Linux Handbook focuses on the server side of Linux.

Announcements:

Our next episode will be September 6, 2020 at 2 pm Central US Time, 7 pm UTC, 8 pm British Summer Time – https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

Add Dallas Tx

Wrap-up:

Before we leave, we want to make sure to acknowledge some of the people who make mintCast possible … 

  • Londoner for his suggestion to use timeanddate.com
  • Hobstar for his work on the new logo
  • Josh for all his work on the website
  • Hacker Public Radio for the Mumble server we are using to record
  • Bytemark Hosting for hosting mintcast.org and our Mumble server
  • Archive.org for hosting our audio files
  • The Linux Mint development team for the fine distro we love to talk about.
]]> full 4599 mintCast 329 – fish Pi and Wine https://mintcast.org/mintcast-329-fish-pi-and-wine/ Wed, 26 Feb 2020 06:30:41 +0000 http://mintcast.org/?p=4241 Then in our news, Python 2 is dying, a new kernel is in the works, ElementaryOS is getting devs paid, and more.
In security, we talk more Firefox woes.
Download
]]>

Download

First up, in our Wanderings, I go fishing, Bo has some Wine, and Joe bakes some Pi.

Then in our news, Python 2 is dying, a new kernel is in the works, ElementaryOS is getting devs paid, and more.

In security, we talk more Firefox woes.

Bi-Weekly Wanderings:

  • Leo
    • Been hearing about “FISH” shell for a while, and never figured I’d need anything more than BASH. Well, that’s still true, but FISH is pretty awesome.
    • We missed the news of Fish’s 3.1.0 release back on the 12th.
    • Great for beginners, but can be a double edged sword.
  • Bo
    • Recorded first session of Star Trek Adventures. Check it out at ecnradio.com
    • I could let Leo have the highest kernel version of the show so I installed kernel 5.5 and borked my Mint installation.
    • Running into Wine installation issues on Mint.
    • I’ve been taking on small Python projects at work.
  • Joe
    • For my reading pleasure
      • Demon accords
      • Stormlight archive book 1 and 2
      • Looking for something new
      • Going to listen to Andy Weir again
        • Listened to the Martian
          • Really good book
        • Have Artemis in my queue
        • Both great books
      • Used voice aloud for Steven Barnes Aubry Knight book 2
        • A classic book, worth the read.  I like it better than the first book and think the third book is a little weak
    • Pulled the screen from an old laptop and converted the monitor so that I could use it with the Pi 4
      • The connection is relatively simple
      • Fabricating the stand for it was a bit more difficult but only because it is a bit out of my normal wheel house
        • Used a soft board that was very light to do it and repurposed an old tablet stand to hold it in the correct position.
        • Attached the controller board and the pi to the back of the screen as well.  The viewing angle is very narrow but it is working great and has a much lower profile than the other screen i was using for it.
      • Also setup the case of the pi so that it connects to the back of the stand.  It looks pretty good.
    • I have never liked any of the BT receivers that I have purchased.  Granted that may be because i buy the cheap ones.
      • But I do have plenty of broken bluetooth headphones.  
      • Solution:  Bust out the soldering iron and convert an old pair of headphones into a bt receiver giving longer battery life and better sound quality
      • The Sony XB650 is not the simplest choice for this as the battery is on the opposite side to the usb port and controls but the end result is pretty low profile and sounds great.  
      • I was even able to use a 4 pole female 3.5mm adapter and wire into the existing microphone so that my gaming headsets will work properly.  Although i used an old 3.5mm extension cable and this added a problem where the speaker audio was being pumped back through the mic. This can be easily fixed by either putting back in the old mic or replacing the jack with a new one.
      • 10 solder points total the cable was a bit difficult to work with and took longer than it should have to connect the headphone wires.  
      • Moved all the electronics from the left ear to the right ear including the battery and shortened all the cables down to about 2 inches.  Had to shave down the supports at the back of the can so I could put in the battery and controller for it along with the NFC tag. 
      • I have done similar in the past with one of the neck band headphones that i have.  That was much simpler. Some speaker wire from each headphone connection to a 3.5mm female jack.  It works well but not pocket friendly. Although the built-in mic is useful.
    • Also received the DIY desktop headphone amplifier 
      • It was fun to put together
      • Good way to practice through hole soldering
      • There was also some surface mount but that was easy
      • Did not quite get the left channel chip soldered properly on the first try and had to go back and fix it
      • End result is pretty good.  It works as an amp and gives me a knob to control the volume
      • Had to switch from my razer krakens to the neo classics in order to have something that could be pushed with minimal distortion(for testing)
      • Good volume but not great quality
      • What do you expect for 9 bucks
    • Went to the lug on saturday.  Spent a lot of time there writing show notes.
    • My son had fun as well.  I was using my 7130 and he was using the 7140.  
    • Lots of discussion about old school linux and new advances.  Discussed powershell on linux and WSL.
    • Had a root canal.  Can’t say it was fun but i will say it was one of my better visits to the dentist.  I do have to go back for the crown and I have already had the cleaning. Also not fun.  
    • I want to ask if anyone knows what to do about cable hardening on headphones. 
      • Something that happens to some headphone wires as they age.  
      • The only thing I know to do is use a hairdryer to get them into the most comfortable position and then live with it or replace the whole dang cable.
    • Ordered the parts to fix my 3d printer
      • Also ordered the mosfet fix this time too so hopefully i don’t have any further board burnout problems
        • I understand that similar things can happen to the mosfets but they are 10 dollars to replace as opposed to 120
        • Will have to keep a close eye on the first couple of run throughs as I hear that some of the fetts come broken. 
        • Will do a slightly difficult test print and see how it comes out and how much time it takes to dial in.
        • Then a few simple prints to test longevity and because i need more headphone desk hooks. And maybe a stand or two

The News:

Security Update:

Announcements:

  • Our Next Episode will be live March 8th, 2020. 2PM CST, 8PM UTC

Wrap-up:

Before we leave, we want to make sure to acknowledge some of the people who make mintCast possible … 

  • Josh for all his work on the website and the livestream
  • Bytemark Hosting for hosting mintcast.org and our Mumble server
  • Archive.org for hosting our audio files
  • The Linux Mint development team for the fine distro we love to talk about (Thanks, Clem!)
]]> full 4241 mintCast 329 – fish Pi and Wine (mp3) https://mintcast.org/mintcast-329-fish-pi-and-wine-mp3/ Wed, 26 Feb 2020 06:30:15 +0000 http://mintcast.org/?p=4239 Then in our news, Python 2 is dying, a new kernel is in the works, ElementaryOS is getting devs paid, and more.
In security, we talk more Firefox woes.
Download
]]>

Download

First up, in our Wanderings, I go fishing, Bo has some Wine, and Joe bakes some Pi.

Then in our news, Python 2 is dying, a new kernel is in the works, ElementaryOS is getting devs paid, and more.

In security, we talk more Firefox woes.

Bi-Weekly Wanderings:

  • Leo
    • Been hearing about “FISH” shell for a while, and never figured I’d need anything more than BASH. Well, that’s still true, but FISH is pretty awesome.
    • We missed the news of Fish’s 3.1.0 release back on the 12th.
    • Great for beginners, but can be a double edged sword.
  • Bo
    • Recorded first session of Star Trek Adventures. Check it out at ecnradio.com
    • I could let Leo have the highest kernel version of the show so I installed kernel 5.5 and borked my Mint installation.
    • Running into Wine installation issues on Mint.
    • I’ve been taking on small Python projects at work.
  • Joe
    • For my reading pleasure
      • Demon accords
      • Stormlight archive book 1 and 2
      • Looking for something new
      • Going to listen to Andy Weir again
        • Listened to the Martian
          • Really good book
        • Have Artemis in my queue
        • Both great books
      • Used voice aloud for Steven Barnes Aubry Knight book 2
        • A classic book, worth the read.  I like it better than the first book and think the third book is a little weak
    • Pulled the screen from an old laptop and converted the monitor so that I could use it with the Pi 4
      • The connection is relatively simple
      • Fabricating the stand for it was a bit more difficult but only because it is a bit out of my normal wheel house
        • Used a soft board that was very light to do it and repurposed an old tablet stand to hold it in the correct position.
        • Attached the controller board and the pi to the back of the screen as well.  The viewing angle is very narrow but it is working great and has a much lower profile than the other screen i was using for it.
      • Also setup the case of the pi so that it connects to the back of the stand.  It looks pretty good.
    • I have never liked any of the BT receivers that I have purchased.  Granted that may be because i buy the cheap ones.
      • But I do have plenty of broken bluetooth headphones.  
      • Solution:  Bust out the soldering iron and convert an old pair of headphones into a bt receiver giving longer battery life and better sound quality
      • The Sony XB650 is not the simplest choice for this as the battery is on the opposite side to the usb port and controls but the end result is pretty low profile and sounds great.  
      • I was even able to use a 4 pole female 3.5mm adapter and wire into the existing microphone so that my gaming headsets will work properly.  Although i used an old 3.5mm extension cable and this added a problem where the speaker audio was being pumped back through the mic. This can be easily fixed by either putting back in the old mic or replacing the jack with a new one.
      • 10 solder points total the cable was a bit difficult to work with and took longer than it should have to connect the headphone wires.  
      • Moved all the electronics from the left ear to the right ear including the battery and shortened all the cables down to about 2 inches.  Had to shave down the supports at the back of the can so I could put in the battery and controller for it along with the NFC tag. 
      • I have done similar in the past with one of the neck band headphones that i have.  That was much simpler. Some speaker wire from each headphone connection to a 3.5mm female jack.  It works well but not pocket friendly. Although the built-in mic is useful.
    • Also received the DIY desktop headphone amplifier 
      • It was fun to put together
      • Good way to practice through hole soldering
      • There was also some surface mount but that was easy
      • Did not quite get the left channel chip soldered properly on the first try and had to go back and fix it
      • End result is pretty good.  It works as an amp and gives me a knob to control the volume
      • Had to switch from my razer krakens to the neo classics in order to have something that could be pushed with minimal distortion(for testing)
      • Good volume but not great quality
      • What do you expect for 9 bucks
    • Went to the lug on saturday.  Spent a lot of time there writing show notes.
    • My son had fun as well.  I was using my 7130 and he was using the 7140.  
    • Lots of discussion about old school linux and new advances.  Discussed powershell on linux and WSL.
    • Had a root canal.  Can’t say it was fun but i will say it was one of my better visits to the dentist.  I do have to go back for the crown and I have already had the cleaning. Also not fun.  
    • I want to ask if anyone knows what to do about cable hardening on headphones. 
      • Something that happens to some headphone wires as they age.  
      • The only thing I know to do is use a hairdryer to get them into the most comfortable position and then live with it or replace the whole dang cable.
    • Ordered the parts to fix my 3d printer
      • Also ordered the mosfet fix this time too so hopefully i don’t have any further board burnout problems
        • I understand that similar things can happen to the mosfets but they are 10 dollars to replace as opposed to 120
        • Will have to keep a close eye on the first couple of run throughs as I hear that some of the fetts come broken. 
        • Will do a slightly difficult test print and see how it comes out and how much time it takes to dial in.
        • Then a few simple prints to test longevity and because i need more headphone desk hooks. And maybe a stand or two

The News:

Security Update:

Announcements:

  • Our Next Episode will be live March 8th, 2020. 2PM CST, 8PM UTC

Wrap-up:

Before we leave, we want to make sure to acknowledge some of the people who make mintCast possible … 

  • Josh for all his work on the website and the livestream
  • Bytemark Hosting for hosting mintcast.org and our Mumble server
  • Archive.org for hosting our audio files
  • The Linux Mint development team for the fine distro we love to talk about (Thanks, Clem!)
]]> full 4239