There is a subtle, almost sadistic pleasure in what I’m doing right now: I open boxes of brand-new ThinkCentre PCs, unpack them, hook them up to a monitor, keyboard, and network cable. I boot from USB and replace the preinstalled Windows 11 (never even started) with my Debian 13 golden image, using Clonezilla.

As of today, the setup is based on Debian 13, but I’m already working on a variant based on FreeBSD and jails.

#Linux #FreeBSD #Clonezilla #LiberatingPCs

Latest 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 - 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲/𝟬𝟯/𝟯𝟬 (Valuable News - 2026/03/30) available.

https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2026/03/30/valuable-news-2026-03-30/

Past releases: https://vermaden.wordpress.com/news/

#verblog #vernews #news #bsd #freebsd #openbsd #netbsd #linux #unix #zfs #opnsense #ghostbsd #solaris #vermadenday

Episode 10 of Dark Blue Weekly released

https://darkblueproject.com/sites/news/dbw-e10.php

#darkblueweekly #darkblueproject #linux #kalilinux #tailsos #ubuntu2604 #ubuntu #firefox #opensource #freesoftware

Exempt Linux and BSDs from age verification laws

<https://www.change.org/p/exempt-linux-and-bsds-from-age-verification-laws>

― petition started on 22nd March by Konstantinos Apostolidis, Greece.

Via <https://www.reddit.com/r/BSD/comments/1s4646t/a_petition_to_exempt_linux_bsds_from_age/> | <https://old.reddit.com/r/BSD/duplicates/1s4646t/a_petition_to_exempt_linux_bsds_from_age/> | <https://www.reddit.com/r/freebsd/comments/1s6oms1/exempt_linux_and_bsds_from_age_verification_laws/>

#Linux #BSD #FreeBSD #MidnightBSD #California #Brasil #Brazil #Colorado #Illinois #NewYork #Michigan

People still saying "Linux is only free if you don't value your time" should update their calendars.

This sentence was first used in 1998. That's about 28 years ago.

In all that time Linux has evolved way past the point of offering several user-friendly "batteries - included" distros that allow you to set up a working environment in just a few minutes.

It has graphical installers, desktop environments, window managers, software repositories with thousands of pre-compiled binaries. All the compiler pipelines you can think of are available. And most importantly: it is secure and free of big tech company spyware.

Sure, you might still find that one peculiar laptop that needs a few extra steps to get Wi-Fi to work, maybe even the audio.
But cmon! Do you have any idea how many people fail to install windows because they are missing the Intel Rapid Storage driver?

There is a point when it stops being a problem of "Linux not having the driver" and it starts being an issue of "this piece of shit private company decided to make the most shitty proprietary drivers for this thing on purpose".

#Linux

Fooyin is such a nice #music program for #linux Reminds me of how the old iTunes used to be. It is customizable too like Foobar2000 on Windows.

https://fooyin.org/

For many people, the #Linux vs #Windows vs #Mac debate is a privilege — it assumes you can choose. But working with the Computer Upcycle Project, I've seen the real choice is often Linux vs no computer at all.

~95% of donated computers are "too old" for Windows 11 or macOS. Linux installs on them anyway, adding 10+ years of life to machines #Microsoft and #Apple called trash.

This isn't Linux vs Windows. It's Linux vs e-waste.

Alt...

graphic showing Linux VS Windows

[$] Vibe-coded ext4 for OpenBSD

A number of projects have been struggling with the question of which submissions created by large language models (LLMs), if any, should be accepted into their code base. This dis [...]

https://lwn.net/Articles/1064541/ #LWN #Linux #kernel #Python

We are now officially using @forgejo! The Fedora Forge is ready for contributors to start migrating to. Cutoff for switching from Pagure is by Flock to Fedora 2026.

New chapter :)

➡️ https://communityblog.fedoraproject.org/the-forge-is-our-new-home/

#Forgejo #Fedora #OpenSource #Linux

NEW VIDEO - The UNIX Lawsuit That Almost Killed the Internet (Birth of FreeBSD)

#freebsd #unix #linux #opensource #garyhtech

https://youtu.be/wK2fBr2G38c?si=fL8_sKGwHALY_LID via @YouTube

Do you want your computer to sound like an 80s #scifi device with lots of bleeps and bloops and swoops? Are you running #linux?

https://github.com/jamestomasino/beep

This is my recreation of an old program from nullsoft called 'beep' that does just that. The more stuff your computer is doing (cpu, mem, network, etc) the more it beeps and boops. Enjoy!

Meme scene from Star Wars Rogue One where Krennic confronts Galen Erso on the plain before abducting him...

Krennic: What?! You don't have any distros running systemd? A man of your talents?

Galen: It's a peaceful life.

#systemd #Linux #RunBSD #meme

Alt...

Meme scene from Star Wars Rogue One where Krennic confronts Galen Erso on the plain before abducting him... Krennic: What?! You don't have any distros running systemd? Galen: It's a peaceful life.

@monospace `ss -lpn | grep :8080` is my goto personally. I find it much more robust and fast. ymmv.
#linux #sysadmin #networking

Linux tip: `lsof -i :8080` shows which process is using port 8080. Essential when you get "port already in use" errors during development or when troubleshooting service conflicts. #Linux #SystemAdministration

#Linux security best practice: Create system user accounts for services that can’t be used for login: `useradd -r -s /sbin/nologin servicename`

🔗 Learn more in my course: https://monospacementor.com/courses/linsys-1/

#Linux #SystemAdministration #SysAdmin

Sometime around 2017 (IIRC) I got nostalgic for a little "netbook" type computer and decided, for some reason, that an HP Stream 14 would scratch that itch.

These are really low spec machines, even for 2016-2017. It came with Windows 10 and the first Windows Update basically filled the disk and effectively bricked the device. LOL!

I installed Linux on it after that (ofc) but didn't really use it much. So slow....

I was digging around in my service manuals library this evening and stumbled over it in a drawer of files... for some unknown reason it was in the drawer.

I started it up thinking it was still running Arch from back before Covid and might be entertaining to try to get it to update to the present.

Hmm, Alpine 3.21 boots console but sway is installed. Weird, no recollection of doing anything with this machine 12-18 months ago. "I'm not saying it's aliens..."

Ok, Alpine updates to 3.23 without issues. I'm not much of a tiling window manager person so I installed Plasma. Bad idea! With 4GB of ram and an afterthought of a CPU and storage it doesn't run very well at all.

Installed LXQt with labwc and it runs great! Tweaking and themeing to come. (Hi @Tionisla 👋 )

Not sure what I'm going to do with this machine but currently it is pretty usable for simple stuff. Screen and keyboard sucks, pretty close to e-waste. Lesson: ~$200 (retail) laptop is about as good as you would expect a $200 laptop to be. Ha.

#Linux #AlpineLinux #LXQt #netbook #labwc #windows #Windows10

Alt...

Fastfetch output: chris@blue ---------- OS: Alpine Linux v3.23 x86_64 Host: HP Stream Laptop 14-ax0XX Kernel: Linux 6.18.19-0-lts Uptime: 49 seconds Packages: 1157 (apk), 7 (flatpak) Shell: sh Display (LGD0508): 1366x768 in 14", 60 Hz [Built-in] Theme: Breeze-Dark [GTK2], Breeze [GTK3] Icons: Reversal-dark [GTK2/3/4] Font: Sans (9pt) [GTK2/3], Noto Sans (10pt) [GTK4] Cursor: breeze (24px) Terminal: /dev/pts/0 CPU: Intel(R) Celeron(R) N3060 (2) @ 2.48 GHz GPU: Intel Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Int] Memory: 611.66 MiB / 3.74 GiB (16%) Swap: 0 B / 4.00 GiB (0%) Disk (/): 7.05 GiB / 24.06 GiB (29%) - ext4 Local IP (wlan0): 192.168.86.16/24 Battery (Primary): 100% [AC Connected] Locale: en_CA.UTF-8

Pals, I'm looking for any personal recommendations of #cycling helmet cameras that are #linux friendly.

By Linux friendly I mean that I would be able to reliably extract the footage. I don't want or need any specific software that comes with the product.

Please, only recommend if you've got personal experience.

#askfedi

Signal Boost: If you are willing to fix any of the #Wayland related issues I describe in https://michael.stapelberg.ch/posts/2026-01-04-wayland-sway-in-2026/, I am willing to sponsor the hardware you need for it, e.g. high-res monitor, GPU, PC, etc. and/or pay a bounty for the fix itself.

See https://lobste.rs/s/5pkjai/wayland_set_linux_desktop_back_by_10_years#c_4cpf8q for details and reach out; thanks in advance.

My goal is that #Linux works better, but I can’t do it alone. Let’s improve it together!

Alt...

screenshot of a lobste.rs discussion regarding Wayland

When it used to be fun and no age verification required.

#linux #playstation #sony #gaming

Alt...

Linux kit for the Sony PlayStation 2.

Latest 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 - 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲/𝟬𝟯/𝟮𝟯 (Valuable News - 2026/03/23) available.

https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2026/03/23/valuable-news-2026-03-23/

Past releases: https://vermaden.wordpress.com/news/

#verblog #vernews #news #bsd #freebsd #openbsd #netbsd #linux #unix #zfs #opnsense #ghostbsd #solaris #vermadenday

Project N.O.M.A.D. is an open-source offline survival computer. Everything runs locally on your hardware.

* Full Wikipedia archives via Kiwix
* Offline maps via OpenStreetMap
* Calculators, reference tools, resource libraries
* Local AI models via Ollama
* A management UI

Runs headless as a server so any device on your local network can access it.
Minimum specs to run the base system: dual-core processor, 4GB RAM, 5GB storage.

https://github.com/Crosstalk-Solutions/project-nomad

#technology #linux

GrapheneOS refuses to comply with age verification laws.
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

https://www.tomshardware.com/software/operating-systems/grapheneos-refuses-to-comply-with-age-verification-laws

#Infosec #GrapheneOS #AgeVerification #Linux #Mastodon

Today I've stumbled across old screenshots from my distro hopping adventures I made 4-6 years ago and remembered when I first learned about the differences between distributions and also between Linux and BSD.

Here are two of them that I've made from two i3wm setups, one on FreeBSD and one on Gentoo.

#freebsd #gentoo #linux #bsd

Alt...

FreeBSD 13.0 with the i3 window manager and two open terminals side by side, one showing a neofetch output and the other the cmatrix program.

Alt...

Gentoo with the i3 window manager and three open windows, a terminal, the Vivaldi web browser, and a terminal file manager.

Episode 9 of Dark Blue Weekly released

https://darkblueproject.com/sites/news/dbw-e9.php

#darkblueproject #darkblueweekly #linux #gnome #gnome50 #fedoraasahiremix #asahilinux #almalinux #riscv64 #blender #opensource #freesoftware

[$] A truce in the Manjaro governance struggle

Members of the Manjaro Linux distribution's community have published a "Manjaro 2.0 Manifesto" that contains a list of complaints and a demand to restructure the project to provide [...]

https://lwn.net/Articles/1063717/ #LWN #Linux #ArchLinux #Git #Firefox #systemd

After weeks of trial & error, I finally had #FreeBSD run #Python Torch software (the #AI / #MachineLearning stuff) with my NVIDIA Thunderbolt eGPU using the #Linux Binary Compatibility. Here are the notes summed up and sorted.

https://www.tumfatig.net/2026/generative-ai-using-linuxulator-and-egpu-on-freebsd/

It's great to see more #Linux content aimed at new users. But....y'know what's even cooler? More #FreeBSD content aimed at new users!

Just stumbled across this video while looking for other things. I think it does a good job at introducing it as a desktop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EFG3BO6oVY

#tech #desktop #operatingsystem #unix #newbie #computer #pc #awesome

Why I Love freeBSD

freeBSD

Processing

I've only skimmed this nice post.
Thorough reading will follow later

Some highlights which resonate with me *as flageolets on a string instrument* are captured here in screenshots I've made on an Android

• Many tools still work exactly as they did (decades ago)

• The feeBSD handbook taught me an enormous ammount, more than many of my University courses, including things that had nothing to do with freeBSD specifically

• This is vital

• The handbook taught me the right approach

  understand first, act second

This is a principle I use since I've been a peuter (NL).

• Analyze what occured
• understand why it occured
• find out under what circumstances it can occur
• close or limit those conditions
• fix the problem by repairing, cooling, modifying the break
• analyse the proposed fix before implementing
• Only replace when all other methods fail or repair is more expensive than replacement

Sources

https://it-notes.dragas.net/2026/03/16/why-i-love-freebsd/

#freeBSD #IT #notes #ITNotes #dragas #programming #OpenSource #no #Linux #logic #analysis

Easy way to kickstart a runbook: Log actions with “history | tail -20 | tee file.md” to capture recent commands, then add explanations.

🔗 Learn more in my course: https://monospacementor.com/courses/linsys-1/

#Linux #SystemAdministration #SysAdmin

[$] California's Digital Age Assurance Act and Linux distributions

A recently enacted law in California imposes an age-verification requirement on operating-system providers beginning next year. The language of the Digital Age Assurance Act does n [...]

https://lwn.net/Articles/1062112/ #LWN #Linux #security #Debian

@stefano

I enjoyed and appreciated reading this post.

"I realized almost immediately that GNU/Linux and FreeBSD were so similar they were completely different."

This right here.

My initial impression with #FreeBSD in 2006 was quite similar. Of course, #Linux back then was a much different beast than what it has evolved (mutated?) into today.

Had I not pursued Linux system administration as a career, I *probably* would have stuck with FreeBSD.

We can make all the technical comparisons between the two OSes all day long but what drove my interest and enthusiasm are (1) the documentation and (2) the community.

Latest 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 - 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲/𝟬𝟯/𝟭𝟲 (Valuable News - 2026/03/16) available.

https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2026/03/16/valuable-news-2026-03-16/

Past releases: https://vermaden.wordpress.com/news/

#verblog #vernews #news #bsd #freebsd #openbsd #netbsd #linux #unix #zfs #opnsense #ghostbsd #solaris #vermadenday

TIL about Bazzite, if it works, I will happily recommend it just to screw Microslop
https://docs.bazzite.gg/General/FAQ/

#linux #gaming #microsoft

Entropy 2

#unix_surrealism #technomage #openbsd #linux #foss #comic #art #mastoart #privacy

Alt...

Girl: "Master?" Fish and Penguin are playing chess. Fish: "Yes?" Girl: "It should compile by morning. I'm off to bed." Fish: "Fine, fine" Girl goes to bed, reads hagakure and falls asleep.

Alt...

analognowhere presents techno-mage in entropy 2

Alt...

Girl awakens in the Realm of the Spirit of The Machine. She notices Fossangel in the distance.

Alt...

Girl: "Fossangel!" Fossangel: "SHHH. Fill this in first." It's a clipboard: Before you dream, we must verify your identity. Name, DOB, Address, MATA_ID. Girl: "I have to do this in my own dream now?!" Fossangel: "Girl.. You have no idea how deep this thing goes."

Get snac'd up (not just) for #fosdem !

You can now purchase #snac propaganda stickers and apparel to show your allegiance or to wage war with.

https://www.redbubble.com/people/analognowhere/shop?artistUserName=analognowhere&asc=u&collections=4443355&iaCode=all-departments&sortOrder=top%20selling

Blessed be the hacker @grunfink for they can C.

#snac2 #runbsd #linux #unix_surrealism #fediverse

Alt...

snac's suzie qr, points to comam.es/what-is-snac

Alt...

snac alien SINCE YOU LEFT ME IVE BEEN SNACPILLED comam.es/what-is-snac

strlcpy(3)

#unix_surrealism #technomage #openbsd #analognowhere #fish #penguin #mata #linux #comic #art

Alt...

MATA_Bots descend upon Fish's bunker. Bots: "CLEAR! KEEP MOVING, THE FISH IS HERE" Fish: "I'll buy you time. Use the ventilation system. Go wake her up. Get her out." Bots: "GOT A SEALED DOOR. BREACH IT" Fish: "And Purple? Thank you." Bots: "BREACHING! MOVE MOVE!" Fish: "For what it's worth... I wish for unlimited ammo."

Fish Alpinism

How I make digital art.

https://triapul.cz/_/1765291397

#unix_surrealism #openbsd #alpine #linux #gimp #art #foss

Alt...

artist keyboard

DUFF v KORN 2

prev: https://merveilles.town/@prahou/115508225024561937

#unix_surrealism #plan9 #9front #korn #ksh #rc #comic #linux #lo0 #technomage #openblade #openbsd

Alt...

Daemon: "I think that looks pretty good! Don't you?" Kshboy: "Haha, yeah! You made it in troff?" Daemon: "Yeah!" Kshboy: "Cool!" DEAR MISTER DUFF, MY BEST FRIEND AND I WERE WONDERING, IF YOU COULD BEAT KORN IN A FIGHT. WE KNOW OF A GREAT PLACE WHERE YOU COULD DO BATTLE. Daemon: "We can just swap the names with sed for the other letter!" Kshboy: "But how do we get it to them? We don't even know where they live..." Daemon: "I have an idea. Let's rewrite it!"

Alt...

Random penguins hand a leaflet to Techno-Mage. DUFF V KORN DUEL OF THE AGES WHEN: NEXT FULL MOON WHERE: THE BIG HILL OUTSIDE FOSSTOWN WHOEVER DOESN'T SHOW AUTOMATICALLY LOSES! PLACE YOUR BEST AT THE DRUNKEN BIRD BARD OpenBlade: "Oh yeah, I heard about this." Mage: "You heard about this?" OpenBlade: "You have a lot of money riding on Korn btw."

Alt...

Lo0: "YOU AND I WERE MEANT TO BE!" Lo0 KORN TRIBUTE practice Korn: "STOP! That's not what they sounded like..." Mec: "Sorry, Mister K." Korn: "Are you? The gig is in a week. Do better!" Bot_Manager: "YO! CASH MONEY K! Why didn't you tell me about the fight?!" Korn: "What fight?" Bot_Manager: "I could get the band to play there!"

Alt...

Penguin Postman walks up a mountain. Penguin: "Mister Duff? Mail!" Duff: "Vincent! Is it next year already?" Penguin: "No sir, just some admin stuff regarding your fight." Duff: "Fight?"

Static Web Hosting on the Intel N150: FreeBSD, SmartOS, NetBSD, OpenBSD and Linux Compared

Update: This post has been updated to include Docker benchmarks and a comparison of container overhead versus FreeBSD Jails and illumos Zones.

https://it-notes.dragas.net/2025/11/19/static-web-hosting-intel-n150-freebsd-smartos-netbsd-openbsd-linux/

#ITNotes #freebsd #illumos #jail #linux #netbsd #openbsd #ownyourdata #server #smartos #sysadmin #zoneshosting

the list

#unix_surrealism #comic #poster #openbsd #freebsd #netbsd #dragonflybsd #9front #plan9 #glenda #cirno #girl #daemon #puffy #rabbit #mata #openblade #penguin #linux #foss

Alt...

MATACORP'S MOST WANTED HACKERS Fish Daemon Cirno OpenBlade Rabbit Frederick "the Hammer" Glenda II Sphence Purple "Penguin" Pentium-M Man Girl

This Isn't a Battle

After reading a post describing the FreeBSD community as 'toxic', I share a different perspective. This isn't a battle. It's a reflection on coexistence, the original Open Source spirit, and the quiet richness of taking a different path.

https://my-notes.dragas.net/2025/11/14/this-isnt-a-battle/

#MyNotes #IT #SysAdmin #FreeBSD #NetBSD #OpenBSD #Linux #OpenSource

bathing

I use @OpenBSDAms btw

#unix_surrealism #openbsd #vmm #vmd #poster #comic #linux #plan9 #glenda

Alt...

Girl and Penguin visit the fish vats.

dating culture clash

#9front #openbsd #gnu #linux #plan9 #dating #comic #unix

Alt...

plan9bunny-person meets with a fish-daemon-person. Daemon: "So, how was the date?" Bunny: "He talked about docker for 35 minutes and then asked, if I have wine." Daemon: "Did you tell him you're not Unix?" Bunny: "Yeah, he said: 'oh, like GNU?'"

The Man of MATA pt1

next: https://merveilles.town/@prahou/115271822786360293

pls consider supporting my work: https://analognowhere.com/support

#unix_surrealism #comic #technomage #openbsd #linux #penguin #mata

Alt...

Somewhere in a desert... Girl and Penguin are eating breakfast. Penguin: "Morning, slept well?" Girl: "mhmhmhm" Penguin: "What's today?" Girl checks her school schedule. It's Monday, morning class - history. Girl: "History. Penguin, unenthusiased: "Sounds exciting."

Alt...

Classroom. Fish begins the lesson. Fish: "I wanted to call this class mythology, but Purple said history suggests that some of it might actually be true. Nobody remembers how long ago, but as you know, the world ended. While the inheritors of the ravaged land learned to adapt to their predicament, three brothers, successors of those who brought about the end, set out into the destroyed world to ruin it some more." LAST REMAINING MATACORPBUNKER B_73; three brothers "Well, gentlemen, we ate all the women, children and uly. The water purifier is busted and the only person who could fix it was Parkinson." "We ate her last week." "We ate her last week." "Nothing to eat, nothing to drink. So now what?" "I think it's time to do what our great great great grandparents spoke of - Go outside and restart civilization." "Ugh..."

Alt...

Penguin and Fish are dressed as the MATA brothers. Penguin: "I have the best ideas." Fish: "You're going to have to help us play the third brother." Girl, ecstatic: "School trip!" analognowhere presents: techno-mage in: Girl, Fish and Penguin stand outside their cave home. Fish: "... they gathered a bunch of thumbdrives with ancient CORPO tech and went on a journey to find people and machines they could poison." Penguin: "It's a good day to fuck shit up. Come on, bros!" Girl: "He's really into it!"

Alt...

The three brothers cross the ancient desolate land. "This suuuuuuuuuuuucks." "Shut up."

Codeberg - We stay strong against hate and hatred

https://blog.codeberg.org/we-stay-strong-against-hate-and-hatred.html

Discussions: https://discu.eu/q/https://blog.codeberg.org/we-stay-strong-against-hate-and-hatred.html

#linux #opensource #unix

UPDATE: I haven't seen Recall in action there. I was just asking the doctor how they'll deal with it.

This morning, I went to the doctor for a scheduled appointment. While she was looking at the results of blood tests from two years ago on the screen (and suggested repeating them for a follow-up), I realized she was using Windows 11. A detail came to mind. The doctor is extremely polite and friendly, so I asked her, "How do you handle the feature called Recall?" The doctor was taken aback and had no idea what I was talking about. I was about to drop the conversation, but she, being a serious professional, immediately called the technicians who manage their PCs to ask for clarification. They downplayed it, saying it's not an issue and that it's a feature "on all PCs, so we can't do anything about it." She started to express that she didn’t like it and wanted it deactivated. No luck: they won’t proceed because, according to them, even deactivating it is "a hack that could compromise future updates." She’s furious and will talk to her colleagues and the decision-makers. She wants secure systems because "there’s patient data involved."

In reality, patient data is stored on servers (which I haven't investigated), but everything that appears on the screen is, in my opinion, at risk.

I’ve offered to help them find a solution—because, if I'm right, all they need is LibreOffice and a browser. In that case, I’ll suggest one of the *BSD or Linux systems and do it for free.

I don’t want to make money off my doctor. I just want patient data to be (sufficiently) secure.

#IT #Recall #Windows #OwnYourData #Security #Privacy #RunBSD #Linux

If you are thinking of moving from Windows to Linux and are not sure where to start, here's the software that I am using day to day:

https://decoded.legal/blog/2024/09/running-a-law-firm-on-free-software-2024-edition/

(Work-focus, as that is where I spend most of my (computing) time, but I am Linux-only for personal computing too.)

And don't forget that many Free software programs have Windows versions too, so you can test before you leap.

Good luck!

#Linux #FOSS