today's leftovers
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Seeking the endgame for Debian's /usr merge
Like most other distributions, the Debian project decided to end the separation between the root and /usr filesystems years ago. Unlike most others, though, Debian is still working on the implementation of this decision. The upcoming Debian 12 ("bookworm") release will feature a merged /usr in most respects, but there are a couple of nagging issues that threaten to stretch this transition out for some time yet.
At its core, the /usr merge is the project to move files out of root-level directories like /bin and /lib into the equivalent directories under /usr. Most distributors took a "rip the bandage off quickly" approach to this change, causing it to simply happen over the course of a single major-version upgrade. It was an abrupt change and not without problems but, for the most part, distributors got through it quickly.
Debian has taken a slower approach, spreading the transition over a few releases. If one looks closely at a fresh Debian install, either the current Debian 11 ("bullseye") or the upcoming "bookworm" release, one will see that directories like /bin and /lib exist only as symbolic links into their equivalent directories under /usr. It would seem that the merge process is complete.
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AED Location Data in NYC Will Go Public On January 1st
Last week, the New York City Council passed several bills. One of them was Int 0814-A-2022, which I had suggested. As the press release says, [...]
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My First Linux Conference - SouthEast LinuxFest 2023
I've been a Linux fan for almost 30 years, yet in all of that time, I never actually attended a Linux event (ignoring a handful of local Linux User Group (LUG) events here and there). That is, until this past weekend when I attended SouthEast LinuxFest (SELF) 2023 in Charlotte, NC. So what took so long? Well frankly, traditionally I have avoided socializing with others. COVID and age have both helped to shift my position on this a bit.
So let's get this out of the way up front: I loved it and I will absolutely be attending SELF each year, barring scheduling problems and life in general, going forward. I absolutely regret that it took COVID to inspire me to go to one of these. It was such a refreshing experience to meet and talk with so many other people who were enthusiastic about Linux. Even in situations where there were hints dropped that we disagreed on a wide variety of other topics, the core of shared enthusiasm for Linux won out every time. We all had something in common that brought us together and it was awesome to experience that. The reality is that in my relatively small social circle, I'm basically the only Penguin (my chosen term for referring to myself as a Linux enthusiast). This means that my non-Penguin friends and co-workers have to suffer through bouts of hearing me gush about Linux.