Linkdump #1

So here comes the second linkdump, or really, the first one as I have started from 0!

Software

• Boids in the Blue: A very interesting KDE add-on which you can use as both your normal wallpaper and your SDDM lockscreen wallpaper. It’s an aquarium simulation, except that the fish will become nervous if your PC is under load! You can configure to monitor you CPU, GPU or both. I wanted something like this for a long long time. So I can realize when the computation task I have is finished. It’s useful if you compile huge codebases, do scientific computations, you have machine learning workflows or other compute intenstive tasks.
• DroidPad: This Android app is really lovely! With DroidPad you can define gamepads, remote controllers or otherwise human inputs. And they send data using a variety of transports such as Classic Bluetooth, BLE, UDP and WebSocket among others. For instance, here is ArduTank, an RC car/robot with a WiFi enabled Arduino at its core. And it utilizes DroidPad as the remote control.

Hardware

I have so many links in here about Ebook readers because I’m currently searching about them and “epaper” in general. The story fits in another blog post I have in draft.

• InkBook: A manufacturer of Android ebook readers, both color and monochrome, sizes of 6" and 7.8". They are in business for so long time.
• Pocketbook: They also have been in business for a long time. And they allow custom OS on their devices while also releasing the kernel source codes.
• XTEINK: A new player in the market of E-reader devices. The notable feature about XTEINK is that they produce small sub-100 USD 4.3" and 3.7" devices. Another important thing is that their devices use ESP32 as processor. Using ESP32 has got advantages and disadvantages. You get cheaper SoC(if we could call it one!), with lower power consumption and thus longer battery life. But on the software side you are very much limited. There are two big caveats which prevent me from considering XTEINK include lack of input and frontlight.. I have messaged them me comment. Let’s see if we’ll see some changes!

Articles

• Linux 6.19 release from CNX software: I’m not sure how many others are interested in changes in the Linux kernel, but it’s something I want to always check out, among other OS kernels.
• The Official unplanned emergency OSNews fundraiser: I’m not sure if you follow this guy or not. If you don’t, I do recommend his blog in your feed. Some people often say why such a website needs money. I can remind them of NFL(No Free Lunch) and further elaborate that the author of OSNews is a human, and has human needs like every other single human. If you see a news website not asking you for money, they are making money some other way, like ads or promotion. As I publish this linkdump, the fundraiser probably has ended. And unfortunately, I can’t donate meself either. But hey! At least I’m spreading the word. Maybe the next fundraiser(s)!
• Do not apologize for replying late to my email from Ploum: Very valueable tips about Email culture. I can’t agree more.
• Arianism on English Wikipedia: A Christian sect or doctrine which doesn’t believe in Trinity. It went completely extinct around 6th or 7th century. In the modern ages, many people hold that government and religion should be separate, emphasizing religion should not influence government. However, studying history of Arianism and heavy influence of the Roman Empire teaches us an important lesson: That government shouldn’t influence religion, too!

Self promotion

Yeah! Even while the streets smell blood, I have been making things:

• halqe: A simple and minimalistic Webring software written in Rust with zero external dependency and no usage of a DB. Except it requires an SSL enabled reverse proxy to work. It was written to launch a webring of Bitcoin Cash websites: bchwebring.com.