Linux

Back in February of this year you may recall the interesting news that was announced on Phoronix that AMD Quietly Funded A Drop-In CUDA Implementation Built On ROCm: It's Now Open-Source. That open-source ZLUDA code for AMD GPUs has been available since AMD quit funding the developer earlier this year. But now the code has been retracted. It's not from NVIDIA legal challenges but rather AMD reversing course on allowing it to be open-source.

As explained in that article earlier in the year, AMD had quietly funded the ZLUDA developer Andrzej Janik to bring his CUDA-compatible implementation to AMD GPUs and atop the ROCm software stack. ZLUDA start off originally as an open-source CUDA implementation for Intel graphics built atop the Level Zero (hence the ZLUDA name) software stack. While working on ZLUDA, he got it working out rather nicely and various CUDA applications running seamlessly on AMD GPUs as shown and benchmarked in my prior article. But then AMD decided to quit funding the project.

The agreement was reportedly that if/when the contract ended, the ZLUDA code could be open-sourced. That's what happened back in February. But now that code has been retracted from the official public GitHub repository. It's not from legal threats from NVIDIA as one might imagine given its working to support CUDA on non-NVIDIA hardware, but rather from AMD itself.

Janik also noted in his announcement that he had a NVIDIA GameWorks implementation working on AMD GPUs but sadly that code will now never be open-sourced.

Andrzej Janik notes he wants to "rebuild ZLUDA" moving forward and is working on project funding. What wasn't clear from his message whether this means a new ZLUDA focused on the original Intel GPU plans or a new clean sheet design for AMD GPUs. When I asked Janik about it, he's still exploring options.

It will be very interesting to see where ZLUDA goes from here but disappointing that the prior open-source code has been retracted. The GitHub repository is at vosen/ZLUDA while we are eager to see its future direction.

Well this was a fun way to start my day. I was trying to install Davinci Resolve on my Mint PC (since Mint 22 broke some of Resolves dependencies), and it was still giving the warning of missing dependencies.

One of the dependencies libasound2 couldn't install but apt recommended 2 others. Tried both and non worked. So I decided to uninstall both, and then Cinnamon Setting disappeared. I tried to fix it by reinstalling Cinnamon itself, but yeah... on reboot it would crash on the Mint file check.

However after trying the Recovery mode to get access to the terminal. I was able to access Timeshift, get the backup from yesterday and I'm back up and running.

So happy I enabled Timeshift. Hurray for safety nets actually working to protect me from myself.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/25358117

The second beta of Inkscape 1.4 has been released last week. If you use the application, consider checking out the beta and report any bugs you encounter on GitLab (Guide on reporting Inkscape bugs).

This is the second beta release of Inkscape 1.4, featuring:

• Filter Gallery: it has never been so easy to find the best filter for your needs! This new dialog features previews, categories and search.
• Modular grids & improved axonometric grids: set the grid angle by ratio for isometric designs and use modular grids to plan layouts and make icons!
• Swatches dialog and palette file handling improved: quick access to dialog layout controls, search for colors, and open different palette file formats!
• Unified font browser preview: when activated in the preferences, use it to quickly browse through your font collection. Try it out and give your feedback!
• Customizable handles: Power users with CSS knowledge can now customize the styling and basic shape of all the handles!
• Fast image clipping with the Shape Builder: raster graphics can now be clipped into multiple sections using the Shape Builder.
• There's even more: new templates for folding booklets, a new icon theme, additional options in Ruler and Taper Stroke LPE, preview in Spray tool, many new command line options, updated translations and many bug fixes.

The release of System76’s COSMIC desktop environment, which is still in development, is expected to be one of the most important 2024 events in the Open-Source ecosystem.

The expectations are huge and not without reason. First, we’re talking about a desktop environment written from scratch—something that hasn’t happened in a very, very long time, making it truly one of a kind.

Secondly, this is not a hobby project but one with a company behind it that has invested enough resources, blood, and sweat into it. This gives every reason to believe that COSMIC is here to stay and thrive.

So, it is no surprise to anyone that the leading Linux distributions are expected to quickly adopt the new desktop environment, adding COSMIC to their official flavors list to meet user expectations. This is exactly the case with one of them, Fedora.

In an informal discussion at X, following a question from a user, Carl Richell, the CEO and Founder of System76 hinted that Fedora 42, slated for release in late April 2025, might officially include a COSMIC Spin.

However, we want to clarify that this information is very preliminary. So far, neither side has made any official moves or announcements about this matter. But the most logical thing is to happen.

For the leading rolling release distros like Arch, openSUSE Tumbleweed, Void, and others, we expect the new COSMIC desktop environment to be available in their repositories shortly after its first stable release. In fact, you can already install pre-release versions right now.

Finally, here’s something you won’t want to miss! Just a reminder that the first official alpha version of COSMIC is set to be released to mass public on August 8th, only a week away.

Edit:
oh whoops didn't realize this was an old vid (Jan 5 2024)

Hey gang,

So Ubuntu has Ubuntu Core as an immutable distro option. You can customize it to create you own image. I was thinking of just using that and adding Kubuntu-desktop and any proprietary codecs and drivers such as Nvidia. Everything else would be installed as flatpak or Snap.

Has anyone tried something similar?

The big names mostly can't yet, but some lesser-known Linux distributions offer the ability to undo updates and recover from damage, even automatically.

With a new version of Linux Mint available, a lot of people – especially less-technical types – are about to upgrade their PCs. As with almost all major upgrades, inevitably some some stuff won't work with the new version. Going back is difficult, although Mint does have a solution, and so do some smaller distros.

Linux Mint includes the Timeshift utility, originally developed by Teejeetech, but that doesn't make it invulnerable. No operating system is, as amply demonstrated recently by CrowdStrike. If installed on a file system that supports copy-on-write (COW) snapshots, Timeshift can use that, but if you chose some other disk format, it can also back up your system files using rsync to another drive.

For now, most Linux file systems can't handle snapshotting, including the default ext4 or its predecessors, or XFS, or the now-vanishing ReiserFS. Several existing file systems that work on Linux do include snapshot support, including bcachefs, ZFS, and Btrfs. However, there are solid reasons why most distros don't include the functionality.

For instance, while OpenZFS does support snapshots, and several distributions include ZFS, including TrueNAS Scale, Ubuntu, Proxmox, Void Linux, and NixOS, the ZFS code can't be compiled into the Linux kernel due to an incompatible software license. Thus, from appropriate levels of caution, OpenZFS isn't part of either SUSE's or Red Hat's enterprise offerings. Their compliance with multiple legal requirements and certifications is a big part of their corporate appeal. (For the curious, both companies maintain lists of their certifications. Red Hat has a 16-section list and SUSE a respectable dozen sections. Some companies will pay good money for this stuff.)

Red Hat removed Btrfs from RHEL six years ago, and is working on its own, all-GPL combined volume management system and file system called Stratis. Since Btrfs was invented there, Oracle had a simpler route available for its RHEL-compatible distro: Oracle Linux offers a kernel with Btrfs.

Bcachefs, meanwhile, is relatively new and immature. It only appeared at the beginning of this year in kernel 6.7, meaning that it's only been in three releases of the kernel so far. It's a little bit too new for anyone else to support it just yet.

So, for now, Btrfs is the most mature file system in the Linux kernel that can do snapshots. This is why SUSE's Snapper uses Btrfs by default, although it also supports LVM, and can be configured to use that instead.

Btrfs + Timeshift saved my broken Linux Mint

Recently I had a hiccup with my main SSD drive. I have a dual boot Win/Kubuntu setup. Linux was crashing hard and Windows was giving me blue screens. After I resolved the issue (cooling/loose connection, idk) my Linux was doing fine, but Windows was giving me blue screens. I think it was doing an update when it crashed.

After a couple of hours messing with my recovery USB and booting in safe mode, I was able to fix the bad update and reboot normally.

I tried to open Firefox and it couldn't find the executable. Looking into the Program Files Mozilla folder, I found the .exe files had been renamed to .exe.sig??????

Then looking for the Edge browser, I suddenly found out that Microsoft Copilot AI had been installed!?!?!?!?!?!?

What the actual fuck???

I never wanted that trash on my PC! That's one of the reasons out of the many that I didn't want to use Windows 11.

And it's a weird fucking coincidence that Firefox was fucked. I couldn't even rename the files to .exe because they wouldn't execute. Looks like they were encrypted or some shit? What the fuck is Microsoft pulling?

It's a happy coincidence because you know what? I've been thinking about going full Linux install since all my games and Windows applications work with Steam, Proton and Bottles now.

I really don't see any fucking reason to keep using Windows. Fuck this shit and fuck Microsoft.

Edit: Oh and that's on top of all the other bullshit like forcing users to create a MS account to install Windows 10 now and having to jump through hoops to have an offline installation. And also defaulting to having all your user folder documents into their fucking One Drive cloud.

I'm done.

I just got an email about this today. Here is more context:

To our valued Linux users:

After a great deal of internal discussion, we have made the difficult decision to sunset Linux support following the upcoming release of LightBurn 1.7.00.

Many of us at LightBurn are Linux users ourselves, and this decision was made reluctantly, after careful investigation of all possible avenues for continuing Linux support.

The unfortunate reality is that Linux users make up only 1% of our overall user base, but providing and supporting Linux-compatible builds takes up as much or more time as does providing them for Windows and Mac OS.

The segmentation of Linux distributions complicates these burdens further — we've had to provide three separate packages for the versions of Linux we officially support, and still encounter frequent compatibility issues on those distributions (or closely related distributions), to say nothing of the many distributions we have been asked to support.

Finally, we will soon begin building LightBurn on a new framework that will require our development team to write custom libraries for each platform we support. This will be a significant undertaking and, regrettably, it is simply not tenable to invest our team's time into an effort that will impact such a small portion of our user base. Such challenges will only continue to arise as we work to expand LightBurn's capabilities going forward.

We understand that our Linux users will be disappointed by this decision. We appreciate all of our users, and assure you that your existing license will still work with any version of LightBurn for which your license term is valid, up until LightBurn version 1.7.00, forever. Prior releases will always be made available for download. Finally, your license will continue to be valid for future Windows and Mac OS releases covered by your license term.

If you are a Linux-only user who has recently purchased a license or renewal that is valid for a release of LightBurn after v1.7.00, please contact us for a refund.

Rest assured that we will be using the time gained by sunsetting Linux support to redouble our efforts at making better software for laser cutters, and beyond. We hope you will continue to utilize LightBurn on a supported operating system going forward, and we thank you for being a part of the LightBurn community.

Sincerely,

The LightBurn Software Team

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/18608925

It's not my work in KDE, it's a blog I posted

Hyprland is a relatively new name among tiling compositor offerings, but thanks to its impressive features, it is quickly becoming a popular choice among Linux users. If you’re not familiar with it, here’s a brief introduction.

It is a highly customizable, dynamic, lightning-fast tiling Wayland compositor designed to provide a powerful and flexible environment for managing windows and workspaces.

It is also built with performance in mind, resulting in smooth operations, very good performance, and, last but not least, visual appeal to users.

All of these qualities, combined with its avalanche of popularity, have resulted in a well-received message on the Debian developer list, announcing that precompiled Hyprland packages are now added and available to the distribution’s unstable repositories.

Furthermore, the acceptance of Hyprland in Debian can be compared to a wide-open door to a large part of the Linux ecosystem. Being one of the foundations on which today’s Linux world is built, Debian has always been a crucial factor in promoting free software.

Adopting a given one in its repositories means it will become available to millions of users, considering the huge amount of Debian derivatives that use it as their base. It is enough to mention Ubuntu, for example.

They did some crazy stuff, also implementing core technologies from the ground up.