USA sues Apple, Plasma themes are insecure, GNOME 46: Linux & Open Source News

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Try out Proton Mail, the secure email that protects your privacy: proton.me/mail/TheLinuxEXP

[@dexterman6361]

Hey I have to ask. How has proton mail been for you? I've been a paying customer for over 3 years now, it's just appalling how they lack basic features that one expects to work. For example, I can't sync contacts through their app! I can't update other calendars (google or otherwise, for example) which is used by everyone else to sync up! And a plethora of other issues that leave it as a subpar experience. True there is privacy, but so is it there if I'm not talking to anyone or using it any meaningful way. And right now, it just * sits there *, hoping they start becoming at least useful to be a decent experience, let alone competitive. It feels like they're just taking money and doing barely anything with it.

[@michalsvihla1403]

@@dexterman6361 Tbh, to me, any service that starts to market itself aggressively becomes a red flag. I use protonmail myself as a free user for a few years now, but it's starting to get annoying with them pushing premium subscriptions. I'm just a basic home user, so I don't use advanced features like syncing, so I can't speak for that, but there's definitely some things that could use some more attention.

[@Lampe2020]

The USA is doing something now, not just the EU? Wow!

[@JordanPlayz158]

The US is trying to get me to stay, what is happening to governments, actually doing good things, brings a tear to the eye

[@BrennanWest85]

I know right? Shocked me too! Hopefully they help out the Beeper founder too so people can get iMessage on Android again.

[@Wampa842]

@@JordanPlayz158 It's an election year, don't get used to it

[@St.Basil.]

USA decided to go based.

[@JordanPlayz158]

@@Wampa842 I have never seen the US do something this drastic and actually know what they are talking about, so this is a good step if only for an election year

[@envynoir]

The US should sue HP too for their printer subscription scams, oh wait they won't...

[@rchltmedia]

mo mo money... lobby money whoah

[@ahriboy]

Now do it again against Microsoft

[@tschorsch]

People still use printers?

[@felderup]

@@tschorsch monochrome lasers are spectacular for making printed circuit boards, either ironed on from photo paper or printed on a transparency for uv cure masks. the equipment for old fashioned screen printing is far more expensive and not as high resolution.

[@cameronbosch1213]

It almost happened back in the late 1990s / early 2000s. If it wasn't for Microsoft (successfully) lobbying it to be stopped, they would have been in deep shit.

[@RagnarinVa]

Nick has established the standard for Linux channels. I look forward to each video --- I learn something new every time. If it wasn't for this channel, I would not have my own private cloud and my complete Linux desktop set-up for my workflow and photos/videos. You have done the Linux community proud sir.

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it!

[@livedreamsg]

Apple deserves it. Love their phones and laptops, hate that they force you to buy more Apple products to make it seamless.

[@crypti1c]

Don't get your hopes up. Our lawmakers are the least tech savvy group of individuals you could ever hope to find

[@epmcgee]

@@crypti1c it has nothing to do with being tech savvy. They purposefully created a world of obfuscated litigation in order to allow corporations like Apple to defend what are illegal practices by saying it will harm their identity and make their property insecure.

[@willi1978]

No matter how good the products are I'll never buy apple again. My values don't align with the company

[@commentarysheep]

The US DOJ have finally started noticing the DMA. Will they force sideloading in the US, too?

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Would be nice!

[@Bagginsess]

No that would be a planned economy. A store should decide what it is and is not going to sell regardless of if it's digital or physical. If I buy land and build a shop I can prevent other people from opening shops on my land. Like wise if I program an OS, my digital landscape, I decide what is sold on it or not and you as a capitalist can choose to pay for it or take your business else where. Keep your socialism in europe the US has already crept to far into that territory and it needs to reverse.

[@Konkov]

Please 🙏🏻

[@cameronbosch1213]

If the US government makes the DMA provisions apply in the US too, that would be huge. Still not going back to iPhones anytime soon, but that would be a big step.

[@tulsatrash]

I hope so.

[@JordanPlayz158]

I am so happy, the overview from the US v Apple Lawsuit sounds like they know what they are talking about, the points they make are the points I have been making for years

[@MyAmazingUsername]

9:30 Mozilla discontinuing location services isn't bad news. That's AMAZING news. FINALLY Linux can rid itself of that garbage. Their database has not been updated for 3 years. It is completely wrong for most users. Thank you Moxilla! Finally someone may design something new!

[@aromaticsnail]

Not MLS! MicroG, important for an Google-free Android experience, relies on MLS to get AGPS and mapping apps to work properly. Let's hope an alternative appears before the shutdown

[@kuhluhOG]

7:44 Because that's not how Qt works. Qt's styling system, be it for QtWidgets or for QtQuick, is not some CSS file which gets applied. You write a theme by writing actual code. Also, widgets are plugins. Plugins are essentially optionally on-demand loaded libraries. QML also has the capability of running JavaScript (and pretty much depends on that if you want it to react to even your mouse hovering over a button.

[@thegoldenatlas753]

QT honestly sucks. We desperately need better options.

[@kuhluhOG]

@@thegoldenatlas753if it comes to theming if you are not the app developer, yes otherwise, not really (if we talk QtQuick/QML) sure, there are better ones, but these are mostly web frameworks but I at least hope we can agree that Qt is better than GTK

[@sharp14x]

@@thegoldenatlas753 Nope, the problem is that QML run here should be in a sandbox, with whitelisted imports.

[@collectorguy3919]

In Plasma 5 or 6, click "Get New Global Themes", and you can run code submitted an hour ago by a random stranger that you now trust. They have a warning "The content available here has been uploaded by users like you, and has not been reviewed by your distributor for functionality or stability." ... but don't acknowledge the severe security risk this is.

[@MNbenMN]

That content warning is pretty clear to me as is, and, although it could be reworded, I hope they don't make it even longer than it is already by tacking on a risk assessment. The more words you put in the warning, the less likely people will pay attention to the entire text. It's too easy to slip into the habit of things like EULA texts that require scrolling for pages and pages to even skim through. Kitchen sink disclaimers are a waste of time for everyone except lawyers. ( Then again, i think the signs they put in the parking lots at the ski resort near where I live stating "Warning! Winter Environment!" are not necessary, since the need for caution in low traction conditions involving ice and snow should obvious to everyone. Individuals should bear some/most responsibility for assessing risk themselves.) However, KDE global themes are named poorly, and renaming should be considered. Something like KDE System Hacks, maybe would be better. "Global themes" sound like look and feel configuration, but they are more like full access script packages, and it would be nice if they could convey that scope in a couple words.

[@SyncETod]

I switched to Linux for data safety years back. KDE providing inbuilt functionality trivially exploitable to wipe out the hard drive is super dumb design choice.

[@MNbenMN]

@@SyncETod every operating system includes destructive functionality. Any system with limited resources needs to have mechanisms to recycle/reclaim those resources or else stop function due to lack of available resources. Having features that are flexible enough to be useful will often expose mechanisms that can be abused. Global themes as a feature itself (although poorly named) cannot destroy your data alone. You need to download one of those untested external bundles of code and resources. Those themes that get downloaded are not "inbuilt functionality" in the same way that a virus embedded in a website is not "inbuilt functionality" of the web browser.

[@SyncETod]

@@MNbenMN Okay, lets take your example. Firefox/Chrome let you theme/extend your browser via an extension store, and they do not verify all extensions. You provide explicit permission to the extension, I know it can log/scan every page I browse, a risk I agreed to take. But no one in their right mind would think "to provide this extensions flexibility, a random dev can have full access to user's disk and any mounted backups". A giant red flag should have gone up when some plasma dev came up with this idea.

[@MNbenMN]

@@SyncETodGlobal themes really should not be called "themes" at all, they are more analogous to downloading a script and running it, and its your whole system being "themed", not just a modification to an app like a browser. I'm not defending it as a good idea, I just think they are already providing a warning that communicates to me clearly enough that they contain arbitrary untested code. There is definitely plenty of room for improvement, such as sandboxing, or limited permissions, or a bespoke plugin packaging system , or a full blown SDK. I don't see a quick fix that would have been an obvious alternative for the KDE devs when Global Themes were initially rolled out, though, but maybe they should have held off on Global Themes until after developing a more contained deployment system.

[@ИванКлигунов]

They are not insecure, just introverted

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Hahah just like me then!

[@TomJakobW]

They are just shy! Shy of being secure.

[@charautreal]

There was a blog post from one of the KDE devs explaining why global themes can run code, it is intentional so the theme can have extra functionality, and it explains that themes are different to global themes, and, for now, they are working to make it more obvious that they can run arbitrary code but it explains they have some plans for sandboxing

[@corvacopia]

Something that would be good I think is if themes that ran code explicitly said they did and have what the code is easily viewable

[@MNbenMN]

@@corvacopiaGlobal themes are already classified separately from plasma themes, but maybe shouldn't even be referred to as "themes" but some stronger name, and, yeah, it would be great to have a convenient way to see the source before any user submitted arbitrary code.

[@supercheetah778]

For the KDE global themes, my understanding is that KDE doesn't want to overly restrict what themes can do, but they are thinking about some kind of containerization or running them in some kind of VM or something like that for security.

[@guss77]

Interesting, do you have pointers to where this is discussed?

[@rileyn2983]

Yeah they really need to be sandboxed in some way

[@RogueRen]

to be fair, KDE is handling this global theme issue WAY better than Canonical is dealing with the crypto scams on the Snap Store

[@abdullahzafar4401]

You mean the scam store ?

[@RadikAlice]

Agreed. Default rating didn't help this situation tho

[@DS6Prophet]

To be fair, any lawsuit against Apple is welcome, regardless of origin. I think it's among the few companies I pretty much straight up hate & it amazes me how they have such a blindfolded fan base, which keeps buying their overpriced products year after year. I mean, okay, MacBooks are pretty okay, but the iPhone is dog 💩. Anyway, nice video, as usual, Nick!😊

[@MaryamMaqdisi]

As a former reluctant iphone user I agree. I want a Linux phone but Android is already a billion times better than Apple. Much closer to freedom and hardware ownership, even if it's still far from ideal.

[@DS6Prophet]

@@MaryamMaqdisi Absolutely! In our times everything is vulnerable to hacking anyway, no matter how "secure" it's advertised to be, so we might as well at least get the freedom to do what we want with our OS, rather than being limited for "our safety". I also agree, a full-functional Linux Distro specifically for any Android phone would be the best! I know Android is Linux technically, but not in the way we're used to! I'd love to get my Arch on my phone.

[@DS6Prophet]

@JimAllen-Persona We're all allowed to our preferences! I feel you for the laziness part to an extent. I was lazy too for a long time, but a few technical issues can cause a man to learn his tech better & once you get caught up in this rabbit hole of possibilities, it feels hard to ignore things you'd ignore otherwise.

[@collectorguy3919]

You don't remember how bad Android was. Back when I switched to an iPhone 7, Blackberry was a zombie and Android wasn't fixing security flaws (poor support from manufacturers and phone carriers obstructed the few updates). Android has improved a lot, but Google is not trustworthy with privacy. I want to switch to Graphene OS on a Pixel (ironically), but my iPhone SE is working and it's hard to justify. Although, privacy on Apple devices is questionable.

[@DS6Prophet]

@@collectorguy3919 Well, I got into the smartphone era a bit late, so by the time I got my first one, Android was at a pretty good spot. As for the privacy, it's basically non-existent at this point in time.

[@paultapping9510]

I agree with everything the US has to say about Apple, but I am quite surprised they're doing anything about it

[@NathanielHarari]

To be fair, Apple’s walled garden has huge advantages which quite frankly are actually addressed in this video: You’re not going to get dozens of crypto apps that try to trick people into installing them, and you’re not going to get a theme/app that is just going to wipe somebody’s hard drive. While I agree that they do have a monopoly in some sense, we can’t forget that for your average user, their model is very good. I think Linux people forget that sometimes: most people don’t know what they’re doing with computers and desperately need that help.

[@the-answer-is-42]

Yeah, though it can be argued that allowing other app stores can help with this, since most will probably use the default (it's still a risk, of course).

[@NathanielHarari]

@@the-answer-is-42 I’m definitely not against more freedom with Apple, including more stores. I’m just pointing out that so many people hit on Apple for their “protection” of most users all while they keep warning about viruses and trojan horses and exploits in all of the alternatives. It’s a bit hypocritical. Most people who buy Apple actually want that protection. They’re paying for it. They know they’re not good with computers and they want to pay for somebody who is to help them. You can fault Apple for being too strict with it at times, but you can’t really say that there isn’t a legitimate need in the market for this sort of thing - just as there is a legitimate need for Linux/Unix and FOSS.

[@itsamemarkus]

It seemed a bit amusing to me that the issues with the Snap store could have been avoided if they had implemented an app review process similar to Apple's, which now faces a lawsuit for this. I guess with more freedom also comes more responsibility for the individual user.

[@mx338]

It is very unfortunate that Mozilla decided to stop supporting locations services, unlike many other Mozilla services in the privacy space, which were redundant, MLS wasn't, and many projects rely on it. I see that as a definite misstep of the new Mozilla CEO.

[@RagnarinVa]

I look forward to Gnome 46 in Ubuntu 24.04. I don't use a lot of extensions, so I won't be concerned. I like the continuous refinements. Nice, steady improvements. I love where all of this is going for the Linux Desktop - I hope it bleeds into the user facing app space. Proton's mail/calendar and drive apps are coming which is great and integrates with an mobile and web based ecosystem that doesn't rape your privacy.

[@flintfrommother3gaming]

that doesn't what

[@ArefinKarim]

USA sues Apple: without hesitation I click this video

[@drewo.127]

I literally was like: is Heck getting cold or something? Am I actually rooting for my own government? (Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want this to end up with an “out of the frying pan, into the the fire” scenario, but any lawsuit against any greedy, anti-competitive company is welcome in my eyes! This specific one however…I’m grabbing my popcorn! I’m praying that Apple will be forced to dial back on their current anti-competitive nature and find a way to adapt their tech and their actual privacy and security features into a more open-ish software!)

[@floppa9415]

Are there any other cards than "But Security and Privacy" card in the Apple Response deck?

[@Jamey_ETHZurich_TUe_Rulez]

Privacy card always amuses me, they are the biggest seller of user data on planet lol.

[@ザウアークラウトマン]

And macOS is not "secure" if you assume that installing software from other sources is unsafe. But Apple would lose a lot of mac users if they put the same restrictions into macOS.

[@corvacopia]

There’s the “but this stifled innovation!”

[@thescrewfly]

@@ザウアークラウトマン iOS has clearly been a bigger priority for Apple for many years now but it would be stupid to alienate a significant number of its laptop/desktop users, particularly since many of them will also have iphones.

[@Jamey_ETHZurich_TUe_Rulez]

@@corvacopia breaking LLVM for no technical reason every 2 months is stiffling innovation

[@dexedrine404]

6:12 If I'm not mistaken, rm -rf / does not actually do anything. You would need to specifically pass --no-preserve-root to it in order for it to actually delete anything. Or alternatively, rm -rf /* which is not what the posts says is happening.

[@rchltmedia]

US punishing apple? huh. that's weird

[@jackfeng2676]

I really like the way this channel separates their comments from the contents of news. There are clear signs where they put objectives, while on the comment session they always video our podcaster Nick. Although I share the same opinion, I highly appreciate this kind of separation.

[@swagmuffin9000]

Now if only we could get more tech/corperation lawsuits

[@drewo.127]

I know this isn’t really related, but one lawsuit I hope happens is with the Warner Discovery CEO and his very ugly habit of shelving completed projects just to get more money! (I don’t care why he needs to get money, shelving finished projects is never the way to get money!)

[@swagmuffin9000]

@@drewo.127 maybe not related, but glad you mentioned that, i didn't know

[@AshnSilvercorp]

the problem with KDE's "global themes" issue is that they are calling a theme *plug-in* a "theme." The term "global theme" isn't quite accurate as it was meant to run scripts to be able to setup anything from widget sets to even changing home configurations. Someone just managed to, just like Steam, make a poor rm -rf call without any checks to prevent itself from running with the wrong reference. On the developer, it is poor programming. On KDE, they should not call these "global themes." It should be called something like desktop environment user-scripts. Not as catchy, but would explain that they do indeed have risk to your PC.

[@winmac2565]

As an American, I highly doubt the DOJ will come through in the end. Especially if our terrible Supreme Court has anything to do with it.

[@Toll99725]

Hooray! The US is Learning!!🎉🥳

[@OcteractSG]

I like how Apple admitted that being anti-competitive and anti-consumer is in their identity. It’s official!

[@kinda_crazy_art2733]

I look forward to this vid every week 🥰

[@peterschmidt9942]

"If successful, it would hinder our ability to create the kind of technology people expect from Apple" Is that the: - $120 phone charger cables? - $1049 for macbook wheels? (which includes 4 wheels, installation guide and 4mm hex bit) - $400 earbuds? - Laptops that can never be upgraded? 😂🤣

[@frozendude707]

There is a long history in general of themes in Linux using shell scripts to enhance functionality, that is how you can see git/svn/mercurial status in directories, and how icons in your file manager can know if your Google Drive files are synced or in cloud, and you can do cool stuff like special colours for folder that are bookmarked, etcetera.

[@OzWannabe]

Unfortunately same goes for Gnome extensions but these go through security control by volunteers. Doubt KDE have the resources to do the same. Maybe volunteers can help here as well. Safe to say this issue was also present in Plasma 5.

[@keit99]

Yup since global themes existed (5.8ish). E.g. 0:01 Plasma panel/widget themes are not (those really are just SVGs). Plasmoids were always executables (going back to kde 4). But the global theme Name for look-and-feel packages was badly chosen.

[@MNbenMN]

@@keit99Yeah, "Global Themes" really could use a better name. Maybe "Hack Packs"?

[@AndreaBorman]

This is very worrying about the Plasma themes. There was the same problem on Windows 7 a few years ago with the Windows Gadgets and the Vista Sidebar. They were found to have security holes. Microsoft issued an update to disable the Gadgets and Sidebar and we were also advised to turn them off in Windows Programs. KDE should do the same thing and they should block the install of any themes not part of the OS until this problem is sorted out. I had one theme on my computer which I uninstalled just in case. Users should remove any themes they have installed that are not part of Kubuntu or KDE. Just to be on the safe side.

[@MNbenMN]

I think it's specifically Global Themes that are the concern, the themes for Plasma Styles and Application Styles seem to be properly limited to changing the appearance of visual elements. So, I'm pretty sure we can still have some theming without sticking to the stock look and feel. "Remove any themes" seems a bit of an overreaction, but removing all global themes might be a good idea, at least until some system of review can be put in place.

[@AndreaBorman]

@@MNbenMN I only had one global theme that I installed through the control center but I have now removed it just in case. I think KDE has enough themes in it's default settings already. So I don't think we need to download any extras. I think KDE should just disable the download extra option until this problem is sorted out.

[@MNbenMN]

@@AndreaBorman Too much neutral gray/white and blue for my eyes in all the built in themes, but if you tolerate the defaults without getting eye strain issues, more power to you!

[@AndreaBorman]

@@MNbenMN The plasma themes are not gray or white. They are very colourful and beautiful. KDE Plasma is the best looking desktop of them all. I love KDE. It is also very Windows 7 like which makes ex-Windows users like me feel right at home.

[@MNbenMN]

@@AndreaBorman I'm not saying they are purely gray or white, but that most options include too much gray white and blue for my confort. It's the blue component of color choices that strain my eyes, which means over 25% of the color space - anything purple, blue, teal, gray, white. I know there are shader/filter effects available, but they tend to mess up contrast. It's OK though, I just make my own themes for my own use with a focus on warm colors, or modify a theme that is already mostly warm and swap out the blueish stuff. But, you don't need to use global themes to change colors, anyway. Plasma styles and icon themes are great.

[@ryebread095]

Mozilla's location services have never worked reliably for me. It always thought I was in Oregon, when in reality I'm on the east coast of the US. It put me on the wrong side of the continent

[@SumRndmPenguin]

I'm not sure how it is in France but in the USA out of a group of 20-30 high schoolers you'd be lucky to find 4 of them using an android phone. It's more balanced with older people tho.

[@tournevisamericain-ec2ji]

something from the past: Microsoft's policy with internet explorer against Netscape which led to killing Netscape eventually internet explorer did not last too long after Netscape death to become a big failure

[@ErickWhite-Gronok]

I gotta admit, I was a KDE main on Mint for years until they took it away. Then on my Fedora I used GNOME because of it's history and I've been through it. Forced myself to get use to it and it's my daily driver. (Though I still use a lot of K apps.) All that to say this, I had no clue how to navigate in Nautilus. It was driving me nuts I couldn't just use the bat (and I don't know when that changed) To go to the file system portion I wanted when showing someone. I was going by command line and trying to pull up what I needed. The Cntrl + L thing..... Man, I thought I was losing my mind on that and thought... this is stupid not being able to go backwards. So ... if nothing else in the last couple video's that was awesome.

[@gwgux]

The US suing Apple this year of all years lines up perfectly with what is going to be a very contentious election year. I don't expect anything worthwhile to come of this case. This is just smoke and mirrors for politicians to get re-elected in November. For the Plasma theme issue, it's a good thing I'm holding on downloading any new themes. We just recently got Plasma 6 and many themes need to be updated for it anyway so I was going to keep using my own for a while before seeing what people come up with.

[@VektrumSimulacrum]

From what was explained from other sources, Global themes do more than just change the look. They can modify some settings and add or remove widgets so the global theme can create whatever it is they're trying to create the look of. The other things like just modifying icons, cursors, plasma style etc don't really do that. On the bright side the Global Theme issue didn't seem to be intentional this time.

[@nunagoras]

It may very well not be intentional... But, it revealed a CRITICAL bug that now needs to be addressed the quicker the better, because, for us, people with some computer knowledge, it is obvious to understand what is there in cause, but for a average Joe that simply installs such a distro someone recommended him that has Plasma 6 as DE and simply pushes a Global Theme that may feel him pleasant just to notice his computer was now broken is something that should not be admissible, so, intentional or not they MUST solve the issue.

[@SyncETod]

It’s not just a critical bug, it shows a total lack of any regard on part of plasma devs towards user security. How else can plasma screw over their users - big blow to trust.

[@VektrumSimulacrum]

@SyncETod There has always been the warning that global themes are 3rd party user created. How do they mod the AUR? Pling? Kde didn't do anything to the users, they didn't create the global theme that caused it either. The more detailed post about it also pointed out the differences in how plasma 5 and 6 handled certain thing slightly different. If anything it was negligent or sloppy work by the global theme's original author.

[@SyncETod]

@@VektrumSimulacrum You are conflating design and responsibility. Warning of a theme is about functionality and stability, If I install a random theme that makes my desktop visually unusable, that is an acceptable risk, since i can login via console and take remedial action. Themes should be designed as such like a json config, like Nick suggested. The fact that plasma devs think it is okay for theme writers to run any arbitrary script shows 0 competence/thought about basic unix principles. If Microsoft or Apple had such a design vulnerability, they would have hell to pay.

[@VektrumSimulacrum]

@SyncETod Where did they say they were okay with it? Non of the official statements said anything about them being okay with it. Just looking for a reason to crucify them...the linux world I swear. Sheesh.

[@talkysassis]

MESA: Keeps legacy support to not break userspace GNOME should take some notes on that

[@npgoalkeeper]

Idk if keeping everyone else behind to appease a really small group of people is the way to go. Those companies pushed for this because it was easier to change Mesa than it was to change the benchmarking software, and I’m not sure if that’s necessarily a good example to set.

[@talkysassis]

@@npgoalkeeper This support is one of the main reasons devs make programs for windows. They last forever. Even Linus himself said this is the way to go

[@sheershaw22]

The point about iMessage in the DOJ's lawsuit is the strongest, I think. iMessage is creating strong network effects in the U.S. (yes I know Europeans use WhatsApp, please shut up), and network effects leads to natural monopolies. Unfortunately, I think some of the other points raised in the lawsuit are weaker, and I worry that it might undermine the case overall. I'm also rather cynical and am not expecting this case to amount to any real beneficial changes, since U.S. courts tend to default to "big business can do whatever it wants".

[@gwgux]

Yeah, I agree. If the US government doesn't want to make any meaningful changes for protecting consumers (and they don't) this lawsuit amounts to something candidates can talk about when trying to get re-elected this year.

[@AdmiralBison]

Has 'Tuxedo' considered also making Linux tablets/pads? What I would give for a Linux version of an iPad Pro - I prefer the 4:3 paper aspect ratio of the iPad pro as this makes portrait very useable - Very big for note taking, document managing. I moved away from the iPad because I got so sick of the wall garden, monopoly app store and constrictions of iOS/iPadOS - I want to use other applications outside of Apples' App store. Using a Windows Surface Pro 9, but the 16:10 aspect ratio is still not good enough for portrait use and things end up being narrow and cramp. Besides the choice in OS, why is it only Apple that has no problem using the 4:3 aspect ratio and the iPad still indisputably rules the tablet space, but every other manufacturer seems to shy away from the aspect ratio?

[@Racistobama]

THIS. I don't get it either...the display ratio is a big selling point for iPad and the competition just doesn't get it. The only true iPad alternative available in the US is the Oneplus Pad.

[@pi_ist_toll]

What if we built a Nintendo [whatever] emulator that supports not only the Nintendo CPU instruction codes but also some others (custom invented ones)? Then we could say "Hey, this is a demonstration of an own CPU with own invented microcodes, we will release it as a chip perhaps later" and Nintendo couldn't sue us because our project is not an emulator…

[@cameronbosch1213]

7:31 The scripts are kind of necessary for global themes because they can change the layouts of panels among other things, which do require some script permissions.

[@AndersHass]

With the push for open map alternative to Google I hope a location service could also arise, though various supporters of the open map alternative like Microsoft probably want to push their own location service for that data to serve ads.

[@coldestbeer]

Apple having a bad week. This and M chip vulnerability for cryptographic operations.

[@ebattleon]

It requires the malicious actor to have physical access to the device ao it not that bad. I m not a apple user just putting it in perspective.

[@atreusduvelll600]

Important distinction: using Google Locations devices affects just the user that enables it. “Backstabbing the community” is a bit dramatic. Linux is about choice, users can use Google if they want. I and many others don’t but let’s not continue the gatekeeper.png meme please

[@thescrewfly]

I think it's quite appropriate to boo and hiss every time Google or Microsoft (or Meta or X) are mentioned. No point being fair or civil with these people. Act like cartoon villains and then not expect drama?

[@novaTopFlex]

Reaction to Plasma themes: I do not believe in software programs that include the "rm -rf /" command of system destruction. I agree with your stance on such themes being insecure, and would simply avoid Plasma themes as these are often unethical.

[@MikeWood]

I was just going to ask if you had seen the Global Themes rm -rf/.... And of course you have it as a story. Thanks for keeping current. 🤓

[@openbabel]

Please could you explain when we can run Unix and Linux code on RISC 5 architecture on the current crop of opensource chips available in the UK and Europe ?

[@friendfortheartists]

Form COOP's instead of companies.

[@drewo.127]

COOP?

[@friendfortheartists]

Yep. I don't think it's been done outside of farming communities or non-profits. However the model takes the edge off of answering to Public or Private stocks.Each person involved is technically an owner. There's much more. However, I'm not an authority on the subject. Technically difficult to setup but once setup they are more durable than other models. Everytime I see opensource projects I see the biggest problem is the continued need to branch projects as income is at the corps of the problem. There's a lot to it at the beginning but the foundation seems solid. Many farmers belong to COOPS over a hundred years old. I am great for ideas and am lured in with this business model. However a lawyer and a good accountant would provide more sound advice. I can't help but wonder is this would be a great fit for Open Source.@@drewo.127

[@ronm6585]

Thank you.

[@TheAsjdj]

Mail is unsecure by default, if you don't like it. Don't use E-mail. Nothing in email in secure or build around privacy at all. As soon as your email leavs your email host it will get tracked, marked, stored and used to share the data with partners. Its really that simple. Nothing about email can be counted as "private" when it leaves the email host server. This has been known from the beginning but no one reads anything these days. I'm really dispointed in The Linux Experiment for taking this sponsership. Email is not private and is not build around privacy and can not be build around privacy.

[@fuseteam]

The snap store now requires manual reviews

[@stwenty5758]

"It wasn't intended as malicious..." Okaaay... I'm having a little trouble buying that, but assuming it's true, dear science, people, proofread.

[@trevorford8332]

I would never use apple products, far to expensive, same as Adobe. Who in their right mind would pay that much for a piece of software. 🤔

[@MegaManNeo]

People who use it for a living.

[@paultapping9510]

^^^ that. When you have a monopoly on a market you can charge what you like.

[@MegaManNeo]

@@dreaper5813 Being Stallman's puppet and having ideals isn't working in the corpo world

[@the-answer-is-42]

I feel validated in my stubborn refusal to use any themes that doesn't come with the distro (it's also because I don't care that much how things look).

[@cavvieira]

The Mozilla loss is another example of software patents harming the ecosystem.

[@crypti1c]

3:00 This is the same thing I've been saying about how Apple responds to these questions and objections for years. Somehow, their customers believed that response without thinking twice about it lol

[@AlejAndro-zg7bz]

Sheeps love apples

[@WMan37]

I wonder if I'm fine if I just download individual pieces of global themes instead of the global themes themselves (window decorations, color schemes, etc.). Either way, I hope KDE Developers address this better than canonical is addressing the snap problem.

[@binchamers]

Suyu is back up already, the dmca was faked. There would not even be a basis for a dmca because yuzu was never taken down through copyright strike. It was taken down by the developers themselves.

[@DarrylAdams]

Surely the iPhone is strongly desirable in France. I can see it now: oh la la la la. Look at the curved corners. And the style? Who cares about libertie!

[@F_Around_and_find_out]

Native resolution is better because that is real image, real details being displayed. Also upscaling technologies provides safe harbors for incompetent optimization, doesn't matter how good the game is, if it requires upscaling to run smoothly i.e at 60 fps, it is still crap, and no gamers should be treating themself bad and buy the crap, no one. The way I see it, upscaling should be something like ultra performance mode, or support mode for ray tracing, while all games are required to be optimized to provide smooth 60fps on mid range hardware. If mid range hardware cannot 60fps the game then it is crap game. Good customer set up standards for the producer, the red line, or they'll be abused.

[@enkiimuto1041]

"The project will have to be relatively stealthy" . * proceeds to post the website they're in *

[@akeiai]

US and other big tech are doing Avengers assemble right now, against apple for some reason😂

[@crisim1976]

Just bought my Tuxedo Pulse 14 gen3, it's the most powerful computer i've ever had. don't mind me, i'm just a Tuxedo Simp.

[@FineWine-v4.0]

When will Frameworks make their laptops available in Asia, come ooooooooon

[@Mempler]

oh my god, the nautilus thing will be so huge for me. It's always annoying that i always had to use a terminal to properly copy or change path.

[@TheLinuxEXP]

You could press Control + L to edit the path before but that’s much easier now

[@Mempler]

@@TheLinuxEXP that keycombo is actually really really hard to find on google. Weirdly enough

[@Mempler]

@@TheLinuxEXP No end user should ever be expected to do the unobvious ngl

[@zeta_eclipse]

@@MemplermacOS: sup

[@Mempler]

@@zeta_eclipse that one annoys me aswell.

[@TheLotw]

Or just leave Ubuntu since they force SNAPS.

[@card_craft]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO NOT MLS. Calyx uses that!!!!

[@deviouscat0]

Do most computers have the hardware to access gps or do they have to rely on a location service?

[@epmcgee]

Mesa tries to push the blame off of themselves so they look like they're doing what's best for their company, but really they're doing what's best for their wallets. No point calling yourself open source when you're taking money to utilize outdated software in order to support specific devs.

[@sub-harmonik]

regarding the mesa issue: even if the vendors weren't 'corporate', it seems like it would still be breaking some standard benchmark, right? I feel like any user wouldn't be a fan of that, corporate or not.

[@npgoalkeeper]

This is about one very specific piece of benchmarking software, end users would normally never run it. If something like a game didn’t run because of an outdated dependency, users would blame the game and not the software. Same should still apply, but companies suck and it’s easier to pressure MESA than specviewperf.

[@sub-harmonik]

​@@npgoalkeeper I meant users as in: users of mesa. Not the end-users. Even if developers weren't corporations they would still be annoyed at it not supporting a standard.

[@niksethi500]

I want plasma to be the one and only de out there and also invulberable at the same time.

[@agh0x01]

If KDE themes can wipe the whole hard drive, are they somehow running with root permissions? Or do you mean they can wipe the logged-in user's home directory?

[@jani3253]

Apple thing is so ridiculous. They let them use that monopoly position for decades. But of course US support their products, even it's made in China..🤣🤣🤣

[@CyborgZeta]

Messaging iPhone users is painful as an Android user. WhatsApp isn't a thing here, and good luck trying to get an iPhone user to install Signal.

[@AlejAndro-zg7bz]

Has 'Tuxedo' considered also making Linux tablets/pads? What I would give for a Linux version of an S9+ or ultra...!

[@JureRepinc]

Error in the title should be: "some Plasma themes can have bugs", a big difference, current text is hugely misleading and overly generalises over all themes.

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Well, no, all themes can run arbitrary code, so they’re just not secure. It’s not misleading at all, it’s the current situation. KDE even recommends to not install these anymore, sooooo…

[@ThatLinuxDude]

The thing is Global Themes can't... BUT what is inside Global Themes *can.*

[@tablettablete186]

​@TheLinuxEXP Agree!

[@oalfodr]

I don't mind much a theme running any command, but my question is why plasma has root privileges?

[@keit99]

It doesn't have root privileges. Apparently the lookandfeel-package deleted everything in $HOME

[@keit99]

The only way it could get root is by installing an SDDM "theme"

[@tom8347]

I support this request to not add Google services by default in linux apps.

[@TheCharlos64]

They should sue Nintendo for monopoly over their plateforme

[@thebozzIDW]

Apple in the title of the video… This is going to be an interesting video to watch :D I haven’t read too much into the legal case against Apple, but some of the stuff is a little farfetched, I can download third-party messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, or Viber without issue. Requiring Apple to develop iMessage for Android is as silly as demanding Microsoft to release Halo or Gears of War on Playstation. I do agree that there are several things that Apple is in the wrong, specifically with Apple Watch - there is no way of setting an Apple Watch up without an iPhone, even then if you manage to get ahold of an iPhone (and one that is running a more recent version of the OS) and set it up, you can still sync it with an Android but it has limited features. I do wish that sideloading was available on iPhones, it is the one feature that I admire about Android.

[@RealGengarTV]

The problem is not that iMessage is not on Android but that stuff like pictures from an outside system gets violently compressed and downscaled so they look like a total mess. If iMessage could implement RCS and keep pictures as intended then the problem would be solved even though the text 🗨️ bubble would be a different colour

[@RealGengarTV]

I guess apple thinks that we are even lucky to be able to text iphone users

[@thebozzIDW]

@@RealGengarTV Didn't know that - about the downscaled images, I've only ever had an Android tablet. I know with iPhones there is an option to compress images when sending over SMS, I wonder if that is a factor when Android users get images sent from iPhone users.

[@dabger1516]

The kde widget things sounds a lot like the windows xp(?) widget issues that popped up back when that was still seeing regular use

[@nunagoras]

Not Win XP, but the Vista, 7 and 8 ones back in the day. XP was great and should have been alive for years with just the needed visual updates of the time.

[@MNbenMN]

@@nunagorasXP with visual updates sounds like Vista!

[@mattheww797]

It’s amazing to me ubuntu still hasnt fixed that bug where windows appear behind the launcher bar when waking from sleep. It kills me a little each time it happens

[@wiedapp]

Regarding the Mozilla Location Services, how about Open Street Map, would that work?

[@Daniel_VolumeDown]

mozilla location servicess are using defined location of wifi networks emitters and other devices to locate you. It serves the same purpose ad GPS, but without GPS. Open Street Maps are providing maps, not your position on these maps. So OpenStreetMaps is not replacement.

[@wiedapp]

@@Daniel_VolumeDown Ah, thanks for clearing that up!

[@IfritBoi]

Ichnaea is what MLS is based off of, someone's bound to use the source code on it to make another geolocation service like it

[@Little-bird-told-me]

Both KDE and Gnome have this problem of extensions. Thery bad

[@thomaslindell5448]

the government is suing apple simply because they won't let the NSA Back door in

[@PaulG.x]

6:45 I have connected the front door knob to the mains electricity supply of my house. It's not intentionally malicious.

[@courtneymertz4596]

I personally feel like the built-in Global Themes and Widgets for KDE are better than most 3rd Party Widgets and Global Themes. The stuff KDE gives you is already good as is. So I'm not too worried about having my openSUSE Tumbleweed install ruined.

[@keit99]

I don't use global themes. Just plasma styles (which really are just svgs)

[@MegaManNeo]

I like the Sweet theme and Ghost Deco for window decorations. I dunno, I had the default dark theme and Arc Dark beforehand but Brodie talked about themes recently and I thought to add in some changes for eye candy.

[@IfritBoi]

MLS is jank for me anyway, but hope we get a better geolocation service soon

[@experimental0000]

Yuzu and the like do what Nintendon't: attempt to preserve games. While piracy exists, not every person using this software is "malicious".

[@THeck_23]

Here we go again! :)

[@fabricio4794]

Install Linux on Macs,lets boycott all this Big Techs...

[@StaffyDoo]

How exactly would that “boycott” work when you are giving them your money in the first place to buy the hardware - thus reinforcing the quarterly sales report they show to their whale investors? 🧐

[@Tobias-fl3nb]

The mozilla news really sucks....

[@raughboy188]

So Apple finaly got what was comming to them. I do hope DOJ tears them apart.

[@thingsiplay]

Alan Pope is the only one I trust from Canoncial.