from:"masonhock"

I only ran the last Beta version live without installing and it was a little  
while ago, but here's what I remember:


(1) I liked the default MATE configuration better than Trisquel's, primarily  
because it had a search bar, making it easier to find the things I wanted to  
change.

(2) The default theme and icons were lovely.
(3) install-guix.sh (or whatever it was called) did not work. I know that  
isn't helpful feedback without the specific error message, but I've forgotten  
what it was.
(4) It would be amazing if Guix were pre-installed and fully configured  
out-of-the-box. I'd probably start using Uruk as my main OS.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Either the rating system goes, or I will

I agree that the rating system is not really necessary and a little silly.  
There was also that thread a few months ago (which I won't link to because it  
should stay dead) in which someone intentionally abused the system with  
multiple down-votes from the same IP address to hide certain comments. If  
this happened frequently I would agree that the voting system should go, but  
I have only seen it happen once and a moderator addressed it promptly.


A post is only hidden if multiple people down-vote it, so apart from  
situations like the one I alluded to it is unlikely that a comment will be  
hidden without good reason. All of the comments I can remember being "hidden"  
(displaying them is optional with JS enabled, and they are always displayed  
with JS disable) have violated the community guidelines. Even if a post does  
get hidden without good cause, others can quickly cancel out the down-votes  
with up-votes.


The alternatives would be (1) have moderators delete the posts or (2) change  
the community guidelines. I think that indicating that a post is  
inappropriate without censoring it is a better solution.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Either the rating system goes, or I will


> I don't share your experience with this system

It's likely that my experience is incomplete. I only recently realized that  
it only takes a couple of downvotes to hide comments. In fact, for a while I  
was confused when people talked about comments being hidden because I've  
never had javascript enabled while using the site. So I haven't been paying  
attention to the issue for as long as you have.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Either the rating system goes, or I will


Maybe something like this would be better than up/down-votes.

(1) Replace the +/- with "flag as inappropriate"
(2) If you click "flag as inappropriate" the community guidelines are  
displayed and you are asked to mark which ones have been broken.
(3) If you mark at least one and press submit, the comment will become hidden  
by default but optionally displayable.
(4) "flag as inappropriate" is then replaced with "not inappropriate" or  
something similar. If a certain number of people (2-3?) who aren't the author  
of the comment click this, then the comment will be fully displayed again and  
no-one can re-flag it.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Either the rating system goes, or I will

(7) If someone's flags are reversed a certain number of times, they are  
suspended from being able to flag comments. They should be warned about this  
before pressing submit.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Either the rating system goes, or I will

Ha, I was just going through the troll lounge and realized that your comment  
that got down-voted was in response to mine. My comment above probably seemed  
really passive-aggressive. I honestly hadn't seen your comment yet.


Your comment was constructive and should not have been down-voted. I still  
support that particular thread getting moved to the troll lounge because it  
contributed nothing valuable and the OP was fraudulently posing as a Trisquel  
developer, but there have been other "where is Trisquel 8" threads that have  
resulted in some meaningful discussion and I agree that they should not be  
censored. I now understand why you are angry.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Either the rating system goes, or I will

I've only ever seen quantumgravity be helpful and constructive, so I believe  
that if he received downvotes they were unjustified. But as you say it's best  
to just ignore nonsense like that.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Trisquel 8 release countdown clock

I just noticed your use of the word "we" here. That goes beyond simple  
immaturity. You are fraudulently claiming to be a Trisquel developer to  
create the impression that your FUD is credible. This thread needs to be  
deleted.

Re: [Trisquel-users] 32 bit T8 netinstall on older Thinkpad(s)

This reminded me that when I installed Flidas via the text installer I did  
not have the screen at which to select a DE like in the Belenos text  
installer. After the install I had just a black screen. I didn't think to try  
Ctrl+Alt+F7 so I just reinstalled using the graphical installer, after which  
everything was fine.

Re: [Trisquel-users] We need a simple YouTube solution

I've never tried livestreamer, but gtk-youtube-viewer streams. Well, really  
it just opens vlc or mpv with the url and the player streams it.


gtk-youtube-viewer can search, download, stream, display comments, display  
the description, and search by channel.


You can view all playlists by a particular channel, but I'm not sure if you  
can search for playlists independently of channel. It appears to be possible  
to post comments, but I haven't tried as I would presumably have to be  
somehow logged into a Google account.

Re: [Trisquel-users] We need a simple YouTube solution

Yes, that would be more convenient than having to copy/paste into the app,  
but at this point I'm happy to have at least one option (gtk-youtube-viewer)  
that works at all. Any solution that doesn't allow us to be tracked will  
eventually be broken by Google, so it doesn't seem worth optimizing any  
particular solution for convenience.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Technoethical T400s now available

2017-11-28 Thread masonhock

Have Protonmail made their webmail usable without proprietary JavaScript  
and/or added IMAP support so that webmail is unnecessary? I looked into using  
them a few months ago, and while they seemed great in terms of privacy their  
service was unfortunately incompatible with software freedom.

Re: [Trisquel-users] X200 libreboot thinkpad unable to resume from suspension

2017-11-25 Thread masonhock

Suspend and hibernate work on my librebooted ThinkPad x60 running Trisquel 8.  
Both worked with Trisquel 7 too.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Browsing and javascript

2017-11-24 Thread masonhock


> They're actually probably the only way you
> could legally distribute embedded JavaScript if it is under > the GNU
> General Public License.

Onpon4 makes some good points on this here:  
https://onpon4.github.io/other/kill-js/


> and it limits what
> Facebook and other malicious sites can do when you type stuff in their
> forms. (They can't use JS to log keystrokes you never > publish.)

I find this is the quickest way non-techie people that non-free JavaScript  
can be dangerous. It doesn't hurt to also mention that *what* you type isn't  
all a site can get from your keystrokes.  
https://www.secureauth.com/products/secureauth-idp/behavioral-biometrics

Re: [Trisquel-users] How does one respond to this statement?

2017-11-28 Thread masonhock

Patents stifle innovation by preventing one from building on the work of  
others. It is inefficient to have to repeat work just because a component of  
your project is NIH.


The government should break up monopolies. Patents allow it to grant them  
instead. This incentivizes companies to pursue frivolous patents to hinder  
their competitors instead of coming up with new ideas.


"But how will developers make money?" I reject the assumption that coercive  
acquisition of wealth is the only motivation for innovation. Plenty of free  
software projects rely on volunteers and donations. Without software patents  
and proprietary licenses, they would be able to achieve even more because  
they would spend less time performing redundant work. However, even if we  
pretend that software cannot be created without a profitable business model,  
Red Hat proves that patents and proprietary licenses are unnecessary in order  
to profit from software development.


"But what if I have an idea that I can't realize without funding?"  
Crowdfunding or a Red-Hat-like business model can solve this problem without  
the disadvantages of antisocial software patents.


Software patents reward companies who can afford a large team of lawyers and  
punish potential innovators who have to rely on the strength of their ideas  
alone. They don't magically make people more imaginative.

Re: [Trisquel-users] trisquel 8

2017-11-30 Thread masonhock

While we're here, would anyone like to share their thoughts on systemd or  
give Purism credit for other people's work?

Re: [Trisquel-users] Advanced user/ beginner programmer wants to help trisquel to have an raspberry pi 3 release

2017-11-24 Thread masonhock

In order for Trisquel to run on a Raspberry Pi it would have to include  
non-free firmware, infringing on user freedom and becoming ineligible for FSF  
endorsement. https://www.fsf.org/resources/hw/single-board-computers


The only libre replacement for the Raspberry Pi that I'm aware of is the  
Libre Tea Computer Card, which runs Parabola. Trisquel could run on an EOMA68  
computer card as well if it had support for ARM.


I don't know what all is required for Trisquel to support ARM. I assume it  
would be easier if the upstream Ubuntu version did, but as far as I know only  
Ubuntu Server does currently. The last Ubuntu Desktop release with ARM  
support appears to be 12.04

Re: [Trisquel-users] Thoughts about the impact and future direction of proprietary software and technologies of surveillance and control.

2017-11-23 Thread masonhock

A relationship with the developer of or company controlling a piece of  
proprietary software is like any other abusive relationship. Often, the  
relationship is perpetuated by emotional or practical dependence on  
perpetrator, sometimes to the point that the victim will defend their abuser.  
When someone you care about is in this kind of relationship it can be very  
frustrating. However, you can't force them to change their mind, and if you  
push too hard you will lose their trust.


I think the solution is to intermittently communicate the problems you see  
over an extended period of time, and hope that they'll begin to see it on  
their own. When I talk to someone about the importance of privacy and  
software freedom, the conversation always ends with them unconvinced. Often  
though, if we talk about it a few weeks later they'll have started to reach  
some of the same conclusions after making their own observations with what I  
said in mind.


It's a slow process, and only a solution at the individual level. However, if  
society as a whole is doomed then the best we can do is mitigate the damage  
to ourselves and the people we care about, and if society is not doomed then  
we should keep doing our best.


I was watching an interview with RMS a while ago and he was asked if he  
believed that the Free Software Movement will win. He responded (I'm  
paraphrasing) that if you believe you will win you risk underestimating your  
enemy, and if you believe you will lose you risk giving up when you could  
have won. Either way, there is no benefit in trying to answer that question.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Thoughts about the impact and future direction of proprietary software and technologies of surveillance and control.

2017-11-23 Thread masonhock

Thanks for sharing this. I hope you know what a positive force you are in  
this forum.

Re: [Trisquel-users] little css snippet to make the trisquel forum somewhat responsive

2017-12-04 Thread masonhock


The indentation is a huge improvement. Thank you.

Re: [Trisquel-users] I'm happy that Trisquel 8 is finally being developed, but I won't have time to help. I wish everyone good luck :D

2017-12-17 Thread masonhock

I've been using Trisquel 8 for weeks. It's basically ready with just a few  
things to wrap up. However, if you are unwilling to use it until the official  
release and want to use a similarly accessible distro in the meantime, Ubuntu  
would be a better temporary compromise than Mint.


Ubuntu quarantines much of its proprietary software in its "multiverse" and  
"restricted" repositories. It should not have these repositories at all, and  
disabling them still does not make it a fully freedom-respecting distro, but  
it is better than Mint which makes no effort to clarify whether software is  
proprietary.


Also, you would be able to migrate from Ubuntu 16.04 to Trisquel 8 once it's  
released without reinstalling.

Re: [Trisquel-users] trisquel 8

2017-12-01 Thread masonhock

If you stick to MATE everything works great except for a few minor bugs. The  
only important missing/broken packages I've run into are firmware-ath9k-htc  
(so some users might have to build it or download a deb file to use WiFi) and  
some dependencies of Xfce. Things like this might be what is holding up the  
official release of a distro that is otherwise very usable if you stick the  
the default DE.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Quantum kicks ass

2017-12-18 Thread masonhock

If your only problem with Firefox is its addon policies, Abrowser is the most  
similar alternative that addresses that. The version of Abrowser in the  
Trisquel 8 repository has already been updated to version 57.


Icecat would be a good option if you would like some additional privacy  
features and don't mind that it's based on an older version of Firefox.


However, anonymity is a prerequisite for privacy. Use Tor Browser if you are  
truly concerned for your privacy.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Maybe its time to rethink Mozilla products

Installing the addon automatically was indeed a mistake. I believe that it  
was an honest mistake on Mozilla's part, as I'm sure they value their  
privacy-respecting image over a game, but it certainly erodes trust.


The addon in and of itself doesn't seem malicious, and because it is libre  
software any undesirable features could be removed. Since the addon was  
disabled by default, it did not affect anyone who did not want to use it. If  
the addon were proprietary it would be a more serious issue, as Mozilla  
should not push proprietary software.


However, Mozilla already had a policy of recommending non-free addons.  
Fortunately, Firefox is free software so others have been able to fix this  
and other problems in Abrowser, Icecat, Tor Browser, etc. There were already  
reasons to use these forks instead of Firefox, and Mozilla has not impaired  
our ability to do that, so little has changed as far as I'm concerned.


Mozilla did make a mistake, and I hope they learn from it, but even if they  
aren't as serious about privacy as they claim they don't even begin to  
compare to Google. Google doesn't even pay lip service to privacy. They try  
to train us not to value our privacy so that we will give it to them gratis  
and they can sell it. So far they are winning.


When Firefox 57 came out, I saw people switch from Chrome for the better  
performance. (Not that anyone should use Chrome regardless of performance,  
but whatever.) When people I know installed Firefox and were prompted to  
configure their privacy settings, it got them thinking about their privacy.  
Knowing that I'm already healthily paranoid, they began asking me questions  
about internet privacy. If Mozilla is teaching people to care about their  
privacy again, they are a valuable ally regardless of how well they deliver.

Re: [Trisquel-users] So what about the new Trisquel? Is it going to be released?

2017-12-13 Thread masonhock


https://xkcd.com/1508/

Re: [Trisquel-users] Libreboot X200 returns on Minifree

2017-12-13 Thread masonhock

I'm sorry this happened again, Leah. Thanks so much for all of your hard  
work. I'm glad that a variety of vendors can ethically distribute  
freedom-respecting laptops that you made possible.


Forum posts do not seem to be the best medium for providing information about  
products from any of these vendors. Perhaps adverts like ThinkPenguin's would  
be a better way of informing the Trisquel community.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Thoughts on- and questions regarding Trisquel Mini on MacBookPro9, 1

I don't know if it's the case with Trisquel Mini, but with some other live  
CDs I've found that they'll make the ISO smaller by only containing what's  
necessary to try out and install.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Thoughts on- and questions regarding Trisquel Mini on MacBookPro9, 1


There's a $25 one,

https://www.thinkpenguin.com/gnu-linux/penguin-wireless-n-usb-adapter-gnu-linux-tpe-n150usb

but no, your WiFi card will not work without proprietary firmware.

I'm not too familiar with LXDE (the desktop environment for Trisquel Mini)  
but you might be able to find what you're looking for under "System Tools."

Re: [Trisquel-users] Thoughts on- and questions regarding Trisquel Mini on MacBookPro9, 1


You really don't see $25 at the link I gave?

I was referring to whatever you see under "System Tools" in the menu. There  
should be a tools for whatever you're trying to achieve. Hopefully someone  
more familiar with LXDE than I will come by and be able to give you more  
specific advice.


I found with Trisquel 8 on my ThinkPad X60 that some issues with the live  
image went away after installation. It might be worth installing first before  
you spend too much time banging your head.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Guix on Trisquel

2017-12-17 Thread masonhock

I was also confused when I started using GUIX. ADEFNO provided a very helpful  
answer: https://trisquel.info/en/forum/guix-usage#comment-119341

Re: [Trisquel-users] Family Buying Me Cellphone Without My Consent

2017-11-17 Thread masonhock

Perhaps they would be satisfied with you carrying a portable device with a  
SIP and Jabber client for JMP. When I began to use JMP it was my plan to use  
such a device in place of a cell phone. It has become a lower priority as  
I've come to realize that I never really needed a cell phone that badly in  
the first place, but I have looked into some options.


(1) Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 (WiFi only versions) running Replicant
The WiFi only version has no modem, so it will not track you, and Replicant  
is entirely libre. WiFi is non-free, but you can replace it with USB adapter.  
The bootloader is non-free and can't be replaced. It would be unlikely to fit  
in anyone's pants pocket, but maybe a coat pocket.


(2) GPD Pocket (replacing Windows 10 or Ubuntu with something libre)
I may buy this device but am on the fence. If you can get past the  
poorly-translated casual sexism in their promotional materials, it seems like  
a neat device. It has a trackpoint and actual medium sized keyboard, which is  
great if like me touch screens and thumb-keyboards drive you insane. It would  
fit in my pocket, but may not fit in everyone's depending on how they dress.  
The main thing I like about it is that it would not only function as a phone,  
but is also powerful enough for basic desktop usage, so I wouldn't have to  
carry my laptop around all of the time. The only problem is the Intel  
firmware, which is non-free even with the ME disabled.


(3) PocketCHIP
I bought one of these devices and used it for a while. Despite its name, it  
may not fit in someone's pocket depending on how they dress. WiFi is non-free  
but can be replaced with a USB adapter. GPU firmware is non-free but is  
unnecessary for SIP and Jabber clients. The kernel is non-free. I deblobbed  
it via FSFLA's linux-libre scripts but couldn't figure out how to compile it  
for the correct architecture. Someone With more knowledge than I have might  
be able to do it. https://github.com/mason-hock/CHIP-linux-libre


(4) DragonBox Pyra
Not available yet, but I'm unaware of any freedom issues, and if it is  
powerful enough for games should be more than sufficient for SIP and Jabber  
clients. Its predecessor, the Pandora, may also work if you can manage to  
find one.


(5) Ben NanoNote
I want one of these but have no idea where to find one. It has no freedom  
issues, is very portable, and should be powerful enough for SIP and Jabber  
clients.


(5) Neo 900 running Replicant
Not available yet, and probably won't be for a while, which is a shame  
because it would be PERFECT. Totally libre, and if you leave telephony  
switched off you can be 100% certain that the modem is inactive, yet in an  
emergency you could switch it back on to call 911. I might just stick with  
using my laptop until this becomes available.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Either the rating system goes, or I will

2017-11-17 Thread masonhock

> the forum as a place for free and open discussions gets ruined by this  
shitty feature


I'd hardly say "ruined." No one's speech is censored by down-votes.  
Everyone's posts can still be read with one click or zero depending on  
whether or not JavaScript is enabled. All that down-voting does is express  
disapproval, which should also be allowed in a free and open forum. Freedom  
of speech does not mean freedom from disapproval of your speech.


I agree that down-voting is a silly way to express disapproval. Down-voting a  
comment just because you disagree is passive aggressive and immature.  
Discourse would be improved if the feature were only for flagging violations  
of community guidelines. However, level of discourse is not an issue of  
freedom.


The voting system is stupid and should be replaced. I understand why you are  
frustrated with people who down-vote posts without presenting a  
counterargument. You have every right to be angry at whoever down-voted that  
comment of yours on that other thread, as you were not violating any  
community guidelines. However, I think that your justified anger is clouding  
your judgement, as your attempt to frame this as a moral issue to condemn the  
entire community is flawed, and from what I have seen you are an otherwise  
logical person.


Even if the voting system doesn't get fixed any time soon, there are plenty  
of people here who do respond to posts with which they disagree with an  
argument. Numbers, red bars, and extra clicks are irrelevant to those  
arguments. I recommend disabling JavaScript on the site. It is unnecessary,  
and without it I do not even have to click on down-voted posts in order to  
read them.

Re: [Trisquel-users] I met RMS yesterday. We talked about Trisquel 8, this is what he said...

2017-11-11 Thread masonhock

Magic Banana is one of the most consistently helpful and valuable resources  
on this forum. You show up occasionally to take everything personally (to the  
point that you still haven't gotten over an argument from almost two months  
ago), become hostile, and derail the conversation. Even when you make the  
occasional factually correct statement or sound point, it is not enough of a  
"contribution" to be worth that amount of toxicity.


By the way, it would only have been an ad hominem fallacy if Magic Banana's  
argument *relied* on personal criticism of you. If every time somebody  
criticized someone it were an ad hominem fallacy, then so would be all of  
your arguments criticizing RMS. Magic Bananas argument was that RMS's time is  
better spent spreading information about free software to many potential  
supporters and contributors than acting as a single contributor. Pointing out  
your hypocrisy was a separate statement. You failed to adequately address  
that argument and focused instead on the second statement, committing a red  
herring.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Where is and when trisquel 8 will be released?

2017-11-10 Thread masonhock


Gnewb stands for "Gnewb's Not Even Worth the Bother."

olatriruk is just the kernel.

Re: [Trisquel-users] entries in "Add/Remove Applications"

2017-11-10 Thread masonhock

"Add/Remove Applications" is gnome-app-install, which depends on  
app-install-data, which includes a bunch of files in  
/usr/share/app-install/desktop named "[package]:[name].desktop". For example,  
there is "3dchess:3dchess.desktop" which contains[Desktop Entry]

X-AppInstall-Package=3dchess
X-AppInstall-Popcon=20
X-AppInstall-Section=main
Type=Application
Version=1.0
Name=3D Chess
Comment=3D chess for X11
Comment[de]=3D-Schach für X11
Exec=3Dc
Icon=3dchess
Terminal=false
Categories=Game;BoardGame;
Keywords=chess;board;3D;X11;
X-Ubuntu-Gettext-Domain=app-install-dataLooking at the selection of desktop  
files in this directory, I see a lot of Ubuntu-sounding crap like  
"unity-webapps-amazoncloudreader:AmazonCloudReaderreadamazoncom.desktop" so  
perhaps the app-install-data package has not been modified from the upstream  
version. That would explain why non-Ubuntu apps like IceCat and Abrowser do  
not show up in Add/Remove Applications.


Does that sound right? If so, how would one go about updating  
app-install-data to reflect the differences between Ubuntu and Trisquel? As  
an experiment I tried copying 3dchess:3dchess.desktop to  
icecat:icecat.desktop and changing a few of the fields to see if I could get  
a new entry to appear in Add/Remove Applications, but it didn't work.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Where is and when trisquel 8 will be released?

2017-11-10 Thread masonhock

You might want to start a new thread about the specific issue you ran into.  
The people who will give you technical advice are more likely to click on a  
thread asking for such advice than a 3-week old thread with an unrelated  
subject line.

Re: [Trisquel-users] I met RMS yesterday. We talked about Trisquel 8, this is what he said...

2017-11-11 Thread masonhock

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toxicity "an extremely harsh,  
malicious, or harmful quality"


You describe your own language as harsh. It also is harmful and malicious.

It is harmful to make use insipid or irrelevant comments as a distraction.  
You make many statements that are accurate or subjectively reasonable but do  
not form a complete argument. Because of this, others do not accept your  
conclusion. You deflect by accusing them of misunderstanding the individual  
statements, when the problem is that the statements do not form a logical  
progression toward proving your claim. You ignore everything in their  
response about which you can’t make additional tangentially related  
statements to avoid moving toward a conclusion. This is why these  
conversations go in circles.


It is malicious to use the pretense of making an argument to berate others.  
Your use of a debate tactic that avoids progress toward a conclusion  
indicates that you are uninterested in persuading anyone to agree with you.  
Instead, it seems that each statement you make is an attempt to justify the  
subsequent insult by first demonstrating that you are articulate and  
presenting an irrelevant but superficially reasonable statement. Your  
defensiveness over virtually everything said to you, plus the fact that you  
are still so hung up on the password generation thread that you brought it up  
weeks later in an unrelated discussion, makes it painfully obvious that you  
are driven by insecurity rather than logic.


You can disagree with my assessment, but I used the word “toxicity”  
correctly. I regret participating in this and will be checking out now.  
However, I want to acknowledge one thing you are absolutely right about,  
which is that distributing your project as free software is a meaningful  
contribution. I do respect you for that.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Uruk 2.0 Last Touches

2017-11-20 Thread masonhock


Will Uruk use the Trisquel repository or will it have its own?

[Trisquel-users] the crackling

2017-11-20 Thread masonhock

When using Belenos I always had frequent crackling when using headphones. I  
don't recall noticing it while I was briefly using Arch, but it's definitely  
there after switching to Flidas. Searching online, I can find a lot of  
threads about crackling when using pulseaudio, but not a lot of solutions.  
The crackling doesn't go away after$ killall pulseaudio I'm pretty sure it  
didn't happen in Arch (using pulseaudio), so maybe it's a Trisquel/Ubuntu  
issue, or perhaps Arch includes some non-free firmware that fixes the  
problem. I would rather endure the crackling than use non-free firmware, but  
it would be awesome if I could do neither. Have any Trisquel users  
encountered and/or fixed this problem? Maybe it's an issue with my hardware?  
I'm using a ThinkPad x60. Come to think of it, I was only ever using Arch on  
my x230, so it's possible that the hardware is the issue and not the distro.  
Ideas?

Re: [Trisquel-users] Quantum kicks ass

2017-11-20 Thread masonhock


Yay! Do you think Tor Browser will use this as its new base?

Re: [Trisquel-users] QupZilla-libre?

Do the versions of QupZilla in Trisquel and Parabola have these non-free  
components?

Re: [Trisquel-users] the crackling

So... I wrote that in evening-of-archer-and-scotch-mode, not  
problem-solving-mode. I realized today that I've always kept one set of  
headphones with my x60 and another with the x230 and only used Trisquel on my  
x60 and Arch my x230. I just tried the other headphones with Trisquel and the  
crackling is gone. It was the headphones, not the distro or pulseaudio. Oops.


Trisquel, I'm sorry for doubting you.

Pulseaudio, you know that you've lost the benefit of the doubt on things like  
this by now. If you weren't a dependency for indicator-sound...

Re: [Trisquel-users] Uruk 2.0 Last Touches

Meaning that it includes all packages from Flidas plus a second repository  
containing its own packages?

Re: [Trisquel-users] the crackling


SuperTramp tried to purge me, Morty!

https://media.giphy.com/media/iBNpknFpmhspa/giphy.gif

Re: [Trisquel-users] Family Buying Me Cellphone Without My Consent

2017-11-16 Thread masonhock

Everyone here is correct that no one has the right to force you to do  
anything. That said, I know that it is hard not to let that happen in certain  
relationships. While I've started using JMP recently, I still have a cell  
phone that I leave at home but use to communicate with my family. I keep  
putting off telling them because my views on software freedom are relatively  
recent and I'm uncomfortable with people I've known for a long time realizing  
I've changed.


Your situation is a little different, in that you have been getting along  
fine without a phone and people are used to you not having one. Using one  
would be a step backward. I would suggest getting rid of it or not using it,  
and explaining to your family why you are uncomfortable using it. Hopefully  
they will come to accept your decision, even if they don't understand it  
right now.


That said, you know your family and I don't. If you really feel that your  
relationship with them would seriously suffer from not taking the phone out  
of the box, perhaps you could try doing what I do with friends who still try  
to call or text my cell phone. They know that I can only check my JMP  
messages when I am connected to WiFi, so they'll sometimes try to contact me  
through my phone hoping I'll respond faster. I intentionally only check my  
phone once a day, and when I respond I will do so through JMP.


It might also help to make sure that you don't allow yourself to be held  
responsible for the "inconvenience" caused by not having a cell phone. If  
someone plans to meet you somewhere, you show up on time, and they can't  
contact you to change plans because you aren't carrying a cell phone, you are  
not the one who is being irresponsible. If they express worry over the fact  
that you can't call 911 with JMP, point out that the FCC recommends using a  
landline or payphone to call 911 because cell phones do not precisely provide  
your location to the dispatcher, making it difficult for emergency services  
to respond in time. It's true that landlines and payphones are becoming less  
common now, but cellphones are the cause, not the solution. Allowing cell  
phones to become so ubiquitous that they are they only way to get emergency  
assistance is the greater danger.


That's only if you really feel that you must take the phone out of the box. I  
would suggest that you first refuse to touch the thing all, but family is  
complicated, I can't know your situation, and I won't tell you what to do.  
Just remember that no matter how much you are pressured, your principles and  
desire to be free are not the problem. Don't let anyone make you feel like  
you are the one being stubborn or difficult.

Re: [Trisquel-users] We need a simple YouTube solution


Yes, gtk-youtube-viewer can load comments.

Re: [Trisquel-users] We need a simple YouTube solution

Yes, that works great for downloading. As far as I know it can't stream or do  
most of the other features you suggest in your initial post. My usage of it  
is limited, though, so I could easily be wrong.


Guix does have a package called youtube-dl-gui. I haven't tried it but it  
might be worth checking out.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Are there any famous celebrities that advocate Free Software?

2017-11-16 Thread masonhock


That made me feel good. Thank you.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Trisquel 8 release countdown clock


> Why do you think that I am mocking the people?

Don't act obtuse, and lose the feigned interest and concern. You are mocking  
the only path to freedom for the majority of desktop users. You are  
attempting to undermine morale in a community. You are doing it for fun. You  
know it.


When I'm bored, I remember that there is an emacs implementation of 2048.

https://github.com/dryman/emacs-2048

I wouldn't suggest this for the other threads about Trisquel 8 because it  
would create the appearance of censorship, but this one should be moved to  
the troll lounge.

Re: [Trisquel-users] trouble installing 32-bit Flidas


Thanks, ADEFNO.

I actually manged to get it to work by using$ sudo dd if=/path/to/image.iso  
of=/dev/sdX bs=8M;sync instead of Startup Disc Creator. I meant to update  
this thread but forgot.

Re: [Trisquel-users] I'd like to start volunteering my time to help Trisquel. What can I do to help?


You could download Trisquel 8 alpha and help test it,

http://jenkins.trisquel.info/makeiso/iso/

reporting any bugs you encounter here:

https://trisquel.info/en/project/issues

I've been using it as my main OS for about a week and it's pretty great so  
far. I had a little trouble installing it at first, there are some missing  
(nonessential) packages, and I've found some minor bugs, but nothing that has  
affected usability.


Welcome!

Re: [Trisquel-users] Guix on Trisquel

2017-11-12 Thread masonhock

Sorry, once you start paying attention to a thread it's tempting to ask Guix  
questions there. I'll repost to help-guix where it belongs. Thanks.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Guix on Trisquel

2017-11-12 Thread masonhock

Guix seems to be building everything from source, which can take a while. As  
per these instructions I tried# cd [prefix]/share/guix/hydra.gnu.org.pub

# guix archive --authorize < hydra.gnu.org.puband got

guile: warning: failed to install locale
warning: failed to install locale: Invalid argument

with no other output. I get that error almost every time I try to do  
something with Guix and it usually works anyway. Since I got no other errors  
I just kept going with$ guix build emacs --dry-run and got "The following  
derivations would be built:" so apparently it did not work.


During an installation I do see a lot of "updating list of substitutes"  
messages, but I also frequently see the word "build" and a lot of .c and .h  
files go by, which combined with the long installation time makes me doubt  
that it is actually downloading binaries from the substitutes and installing  
them.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Either the rating system goes, or I will

2017-11-17 Thread masonhock

> As a result, you feel as if the whole community is just shouting "shut up!"  
right into your face, while actually three votes are not representative at  
all.


Exactly. It's because the voting system is stupid that it isn't worth taking  
personally. I find this community to be a generally positive, and you're a  
part of that. It would be a shame if you left over this.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Deb DFSG: Just an open source and permissisve license like BSD?

2017-11-06 Thread masonhock

I believe that you are being sincere in your posts on this forum and  
genuinely care about software freedom. It also seems like English is not your  
first language, in which case miscommunications are very understandable.  
However, I agree with onpon4 that many of your posts make assumptions based  
on misinformation. You might get more out of this forum and contribute more  
valuable threads if you ask more questions about the topics you are learning  
about.

Re: [Trisquel-users] any FOSS alternatives to raspberry pi?

2017-11-02 Thread masonhock

I attempted to liberate the CHIP (which is only $9) a while back. I got stuck
due to my lack of knowledge of compiling a kernel, but maybe you can get
further with that than I did. You’ll need

- the CHIP
https://nextthing.co/pages/chip
- a USB WiFi adapter
https://www.thinkpenguin.com/gnu-linux/penguin-wireless-n-usb-adapter-gnu-linux-tpe-n150usb
- a paperclip

(1) Replace the CHIP’s default OS with vanilla Debian. I can confirm that
the Ubuntu instructions work for Trisquel 7, so you don’t need to use the
evil Chrome thing they recommend.

https://docs.getchip.com/chip.html#setup-ubuntu-for-flashing
https://docs.getchip.com/chip.html#flash-chip-firmware

(2) Build open-ath9k-htc-firmware so that your USB WiFi adapter will work.
https://wiki.debian.org/ath9k_htc/open_firmware

(3) Replace NextThingCo’s kernel. I was able to deblob it using FSFLA’s
linux-libre scripts

https://github.com/mason-hock/CHIP-linux-libre
but I could not figure out how to compile it for armhf and get it working on
the CHIP. If you can manage that, all you’ll need to do next is

(4) remove the non-free WiFi firmware, GPU firmware, and kernel via $ sudo
apt-get remove chip-mali-modules-4.4.13-ntc-mlc chip-mali-userspace
rtl8723bs-bt rtl8723bs-bt-mp-driver-common
rtl8723bs-bt-mp-driver-modules-4.4.13-ntc-mlc
rtl8723bs-mp-driver-modules-4.4.13-ntc-mlc linux-image-4.4.13-ntc-mlc The
other packages from NTC’s repository that are installed by default are all
GPL or another libre license. I didn’t investigate the ones that aren’t
installed by default.

Re: [Trisquel-users] entries in "Add/Remove Applications"

> Actually we have official variants beyond Gnome with LXDE, Openbox,and  
Sugar.


Whoops, you're totally right and I totally knew that. I wasn't thinking.

What you're describing would be great for people who already know what they  
want. People who are migrating from a Micro$oft or crApple OS have no context  
for making those decisions and first need an easy way of trying out different  
options. Hell, they need to get used to the idea of *having* options.

[Trisquel-users] entries in "Add/Remove Applications"

Trisquel is almost entirely usable without a terminal or other tool with  
which beginners would be uncomfortable, which is why it is the ideal distro  
for ordinary desktop users. However, I've noticed in Belenos that some useful  
programs do not appear in "Add/Remove Applications" such as IceCat and  
alternate desktop environments. They can be accessed through Synaptic, but  
Synaptic includes applications alongside libraries and dependencies, making  
it unsuitable for beginners. It would be great if Flidas had a more complete  
list of programs in "Add/Remove Applications."


Not being a developer, I don't know how difficult this would be. However, I  
would expect that it consists of adding entries alongside the existing ones,  
which probably contain the application name, an icon, a description, and the  
package(s) to be installed via apt. If adding such entries is just tedious  
work that does not require any particularly advanced knowledge, I'd be happy  
to help with it. If it requires intermediate knowledge I wouldn't mind  
learning something new.


Can anyone provide information on this?

Re: [Trisquel-users] Problems creating USB installed using Trisquel 7


Thanks for this post. Your solution resolved the issue I was having.

Re: [Trisquel-users] We need a simple YouTube solution

What's wrong with SMTube? (That's not a rhetorical question. I actually don't  
understand the issue well enough to know if there is something wrong with  
SMTube.)

Re: [Trisquel-users] We need a simple YouTube solution


Try smplayer.

Re: [Trisquel-users] We need a simple YouTube solution

Okay, I think I screwed up and accidentally recommended proprietary software.  
I should have looked at it more closely before suggesting it. I'll see  
tomorrow if I can find a libre replacement but for now ignore everything I've  
said.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Where is and when trisquel 8 will be released?

2017-11-09 Thread masonhock

How did you burn the ISO? I had the same issue (Uruk 2.0 Beta worked on my  
Thinkpad x60 but Flidas wouldn't) when I used Startup Disc Creator, but it  
worked after using $ sudo dd if=/path/to/image.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=8M;sync  
where sdX is the USB drive.

Re: [Trisquel-users] We need a simple YouTube solution

2017-11-08 Thread masonhock

SMTube is in Debian main (as of Jessie), but Parabola finds it non-free and  
it seems like Trisquel does too. I trust their judgment over Debian's so I  
have stopped using it.


I just tried gtk-youtube-viewer in Flidas and it does almost everything you  
describe in your initial post. The only thing missing is the ability to click  
on a YouTube link in-browser and have it open in the player.


I think that this Firefox add-on is intended to achieve that. The license is  
not GPL-compatible but it is libre. However, I could not get it to work with  
youtube-viewer. It seems like it was primarily intended for you with  
Minitube.


I also tried to get Minitube working in Flidas. Unfortunately the version in  
the repository does not work. You get an error about missing Google API key.  
It looks like Minitube has to be built with such a key. You can't get a key  
from Google unless you have a Google account and enable non-free JS. The key  
also presumably identifies you to Google each time you watch a video. There's  
a deb file available from the official site. I was unable to test it in  
Flidas because it's only available in 64-bit and I'm running Flidas on a  
32-bit machine. However, I assume it was compiled with the developer's key.  
If so it should work, and while YouTube can probably tell that you are using  
Minitube it won't necessarily be able to tell you apart from other Minitube  
users.

Re: [Trisquel-users] entries in "Add/Remove Applications"

2017-11-08 Thread masonhock

I agree that beginners shouldn't be overwhelmed with options. The distinction  
between the DE and the OS needs to be presented in the simplest terms  
possible, or they will judge the distro (and GNU/Linux in general) by the  
first screenshot they see. When I show Belenos to someone used to/by the Mac  
interface, they take one look at the default GNOME configuration, see that  
there's no search bar or dock, assume that only macOS can have those  
features, and get all "Apple's products are superior because they have such  
great interfaces and are so in touch with their users and treat us like  
friends and Apple Store and Geniuses blah blah blah."

Re: [Trisquel-users] entries in "Add/Remove Applications"

Yes, there are really two separate issues here. I feel like including  
something like Icecat is pretty clearly a good idea, but including DEs is  
less obvious. However, I do think that it is important for beginners to be  
able to easily try out different DEs.


It doesn't surprise me that Ubuntu doesn't do so, as they have their  
different *buntu "flavors" with different default DEs. Since Trisquel doesn't  
do that (with the exception of Triskel which I think can only be installed  
via the text insaller and confusingly retains Ubuntu's branding) it might  
make sense to faciliate switching DEs within Trisquel. I think this would be  
a better approach anyway, as Ubuntu's approach obfuscates the distinction  
between the OS and the DE.


I don't find it too hard to get Trisquel to appeal to Windows useds because  
its default GNOME configuration has a very similar layout to Windows 7.  
However, MacOS useds are immediately turned off because they don't see any of  
the features they are familiar with, and Apple has done a very good job of  
conflating their DE with their OS and creating the misconception that the  
features of their interface are unique to their OS. When I show MacOS useds  
screenshots of KDE or Enlightenment/EFL they are more receptive, but most of  
them would not be able to figure out how to try out these or other DEs on  
their own.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Deb DFSG: Just an open source and permissisve license like BSD?

I hope that this thread hasn't left you feeling rejected by this community. I  
would not have the courage to attempt to communicate publicly in a language  
other than English, and it is unfortunate that none of the forums here are in  
your native language. That said, there have been some great suggestions here  
about more productive ways for you to use your own knowledge and experiences  
to advocate software freedom.


In particular, onpon4's suggestion to translate  
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html into Cantonese is a great idea.  
The information on that page is vital to understanding free software, and  
there are millions of people who cannot read that page now but will be able  
to with a good translation. That's assuming they find the page, of course, so  
also keep spreading the message and directing people to resources like these.

Re: [Trisquel-users] trisquel 8

> Could you suggest to me a system I could use to track and understand my own  
thought processes?


You're in luck! With the new Amazon Mind(tm) service you can store all of  
your thoughts and memories in the cloud, to be streamed back at your  
convenience! Get ready for more relevant ads and a better user experience!

Re: [Trisquel-users] Any libre + uncensored 18+ tubes or forums?

I've seen several blank posts from you lately. Did you post this from the  
mailing list? Maybe there's a problem with the mirroring between the mailing  
list and the forum.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Libreboot X200 returns on Minifree

The NSA is just as capable of intercepting a shipment from Technoethical. If  
you believe that you are a target of the NSA, you should be the laptop in  
person or at minimum have it shipped to a location outside the States.


Technoethical and Minifree are both reliable vendors who respect your  
freedom. Please don't spread nonsense that could cause this thread to  
escalate into an argument.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Libreboot X200 returns on Minifree

Good to know. Thanks Leah. I look forward to buying from you when my X60  
finally dies. X60's seem to be immortal though.


Libreboot is working on the X220, right? Is there an ETA for that?

Re: [Trisquel-users] Problems creating USB installed using Trisquel 7

2017-12-02 Thread masonhock

I only had this problem with Trisquel. Uruk Beta 2 worked fine on my x60 with  
Startup Disk Creator.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Any libre + uncensored 18+ tubes or forums?

2017-12-06 Thread masonhock


Yes, that's why I suspect it came from the mailing list.

Re: [Trisquel-users] uruk gnu/linux 2.0

2017-12-06 Thread masonhock

I used Startup Disk Creator. DD seems to work better, but I wanted to see if  
SDC worked as well, which it does.


With Trisquel 7, Trisquel 8, and Uruk, my ThinkPad X60 has had trouble making  
it through the installation without freezing when I use the graphical  
installer. It may have something to do with overheating, as the fan is always  
on high when it happens. Trisquel has a text installer that works much  
better. However, it only took a few tries to make it through the Uruk  
installation. I didn't do anything differently the last time. My machine  
doesn't have UEFI, so I don't know if that would make a difference.


Trisquel 8 doesn't have firmware-ath9k-htc packaged yet, so Uruk doesn't  
either. You can build it or install via the deb file from  
https://packages.debian.org/sid/firmware-ath9k-htc


If you don't have access to ethernet, you could download the source or deb  
file on another computer and transfer it over.

Re: [Trisquel-users] uruk gnu/linux 2.0

Installation took multiple tries (as has Trisquel's graphical installer on my  
machine. A text installer like Trisquel has would be great.) but worked in  
the end. The screen reader was enabled by default as in Flidas, but was  
easily removed from startup applications. During # ~/Desktop/Guix-install.sh  
I got


mv: invalid option -- 'r'
Try 'mv --help' for more information.
cp: cannot stat '/root/.guix-profile/lib/systemd/system/guix-daemon.service':  
No such file or directory

Failed to start guix-daemon.service: Unit guix-daemon.service not found.

after which $ guix package -i hello givesbash: guix: command not foundso that  
script did not successfully install GUIX.


Apart from that everything looks great so far.

Re: [Trisquel-users] uruk gnu/linux 2.0

But the CIA has confirmed that Uruk's repository contains Weapons of Mass  
Destruction(tm)! MSNBC told me!

Re: [Trisquel-users] Libreboot X200 returns on Minifree

Intel is certainly bad and buying from them is not ideal. It's unfortunate  
that there are so few options for libre hardware that as of now it is  
difficult to avoid using their hardware. I hope that this changes. I'm  
optimistic about EOMA68.

[Trisquel-users] libre lowlatency kernel

linux-lowlatency can't be installed in Flidas because it depends on  
linux-image-lowlatency which depends on linux-firmware and linux-firmware  
isn't in the repository. If I understand correctly, linux-firmware is not  
included because some of its code is proprietary. Is there a way of  
installing a lowlatency kernel without non-free firmware? I tried jxself's  
repository but it appears to include only the deblobbed generic kernel.

Re: [Trisquel-users] Upgrading to Trisquel 8

2017-12-06 Thread masonhock


> I installed the full version and then changed to LXDE from Gnome

LXDE doesn't work in Trisquel 8 yet. It still has some missing/broken  
dependencies. Did you have any other DEs or WMs installed alongside LXDE?

Re: [Trisquel-users] libre lowlatency kernel

2017-12-09 Thread masonhock


That worked. Thanks!

Re: [Trisquel-users] libre lowlatency kernel