today's leftovers

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Oct 21, 2022

• After 30 Years, a Second Language Comes to Linux Kernel

• DisplayPort backwards compatibility outshines USB • The Register

  The USB Implementers Forum, USB-IF, rolled out the spec of USB 4 version 2 just last month, as you've probably read in The Register. We noted at the time that the nitty-gritty stuff would debut in time for developer events scheduled for November.

  Well, it's nearly November, and a more detailed announcement [PDF] is here. (We especially like the _FINAL_v2 on the end of the filename. We've all done it.)

  Apparently, if you have a passive USB-C cable capable of 40Gbps, with USB-4 v2 it will now be able to do 80Gbps. Good for you if you know the speed rating of your USB-C cables, because here at the Reg FOSS desk, we freely admit that we don't. We don't even know if ours are active or passive. We can only apologize for this wretched lack of professionalism, and once we learn how to tell, we'll put a new cartridge in our label-maker and rectify this.

• Environmental monitoring of corporate offices with Arduino Pro | Arduino Blog

  The quality of the air we breathe has a direct impact on our health. Poor air quality can cause a variety of health problems, including respiratory infections, headaches, and fatigue. It can also aggravate existing conditions such as asthma and allergies. That’s why it’s so important to monitor the air quality in your office and take steps to improve it if necessary.

  Furthermore, the number of people in an office can have a significant impact on air quality. The more people there are, the greater the chance of contaminants being emitted into the air. This is why environmental monitoring is so important in corporate offices; it helps to ensure that the air quality is safe for all workers.

  The last few years added to this challenge yet another layer: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many businesses to re-evaluate their workplace safety protocols. One of the most important considerations is air quality. Poor air quality can lead to a variety of health problems, including respiratory infections.

• Stranger Things Christmas lights are the perfect Halloween decoration | Arduino Blog

  In the first season of Stranger Things, a character uses a string of Christmas lights to communicate with a missing loved one. The missing person in question can flash particular lights next to letters painted on a bedsheet to spell out messages. The Christmas lights and bedsheets have become a part of pop culture and because the show is creepy, Redditor BishSaidWut’s recreation is the perfect Halloween decoration.

  Unlike most of the similar decorations that you can buy online that either blink randomly or spell out pre-programmed messages, BishSaidWut’s Christmas lights can spell out any message that they text to a specific phone number. That phone number connects to the Twilio service, which parses SMS messages and makes the text available through an API. An ESP8266 board connects to that API and processes incoming messages. If the message is within an acceptable length and doesn’t contain profanity, the ESP8266 passes on the text to an Arduino Uno development board.

• Makulu Max Coming Soon - MakuluLinux

  In preparation for the upcoming Makulu Max release, We have now added a “Max” section to the Main website where we have posted the “Release notes highlights” for the last 2 months, users can now follow development as we get ready for the Beta 1 release. The release date is expected to be in the coming weeks, however no exact date is yet determined. Feel free to check out the Release Notes Highlights by clicking here. We will also be making some videos in the Coming Days/Weeks to prepare users for what to expect. More news will follow…

• Announcing LINBIT SDS 2.0 - Improved Software-Defined Storage Solution for Linux Platforms

  LINBIT® SDS 2.0 is a software-defined storage solution for Linux platforms. It is available in flavors for Kubernetes, Red Hat OpenShift, Apache CloudStack, OpenStack, OpenNebula, Hashicorp’s Nomad, Proxmox VE, XCP-ng, and as a virtual appliance for VMWare.

• Linux Format 295

  Build the ultimate retro emulation gaming experience, relive your Amiga Basic days and explore the huge open source emulation world! Discover all the software to enjoy the classic computer days of the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga and more. We’ll even run a mainframe for fun.

  PLUS: Search your PC faster, monitor your bandwidth, perfect your 3D prints, full-disk encryption, the best Lightweight distros tested, we dive into Kubernetes and loads more!