Table of Contents

Welcome From The Chief Editor

1. DNF Package Manager, An Overview

2. PCLinuxOS Recipe Corner: Instant Pot Shredded Beef Tacos

3. ICYMI: Farmer's Insurance Data Breach Impacts Over One Million Individuals

4. Inkscape Tutorial: Arrows!

5. Just How Prevalent Is Linux? (The Answer May Surprise You)

6. Tip Top Tips: Install Resynthesizer Plugin For GIMP3

7. Good Words, Good Deeds, Good News

8. Wiki Pick: Backing Up Your /home Directory

9. PCLinuxOS Recipe Corner Bonus: Steak and Shrimp Alfredo

10. PCLinuxOS Puzzled Partitions

11. Screenshot Showcase

From The Chief Editor's Desk...

My mind sometimes wanders in strange directions. I guess that’s human nature, to wonder about complex issues in an attempt to gain a greater understanding.

Lately, I’ve been pondering how profound of an effect of where you live and grow up has on an individual’s life. There are so many factors involved, and it becomes easy to go down any number of “rabbit holes.”

The common “answer” to how many countries there are in the world (today) is 195. But, that number also depends on how you define a country. By other estimates, there may be as many as 200 separate countries, depending on how you tweak/define that “country” definition. Still, that’s a lot.

Within each country, its people share a mostly common and unique cultural identity. Within that cultural identity are many factors which have a profound effect on the course a person’s life takes. Some of those factors are pretty universal, regardless of which culture you’re looking at. Things like social status and economic status definitely have a profound effect, regardless of the culture. And, in many ways, those two are inextricably intertwined.

Most commonly, those of lower social status also have a lower economic status. Just those two factors alone can cause great influence on the course of a person’s life. Those with lower social status and those with lower economic status may not be able to afford to go to college for a higher education. There’s little argument that social status and economic status can go a long way towards dictating whether a person can even gain admission to an institution of higher learning. Of course, attending college doesn’t mean you’ll be successful in life, but it can have a major impact. After all, we still need plumbers, electricians, ditch diggers, road workers, construction workers, food preparers, and many other trades that don’t necessarily require a college degree.

Also, within that cultural identity are other factors, such as local customs, morals, and belief systems. Those can also have a huge influence on the course of an individual’s life. Most people will be bound by that moral code and local customs, and going against those can ostracize an individual from mainstream society, potentially forcing them even further downward in the cultural “pecking order.” The prevalent belief systems can also hamper an individual’s ability to rise up through the “ranks” of society and economic status.

Certainly, all of these factors will ultimately have a bearing on opportunities and success, speaking in a general sense. Of course, there are other factors involved. The state of the educational system in an individual’s native country is going to play a role. Opportunities for those just struggling to maintain their daily existence aren’t as prevalent as for those who live their lives on a higher rung of the socioeconomic ladder. The old adage “pick yourself up by your bootstraps” doesn’t have as much meaning for those on the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder, when all of your daily efforts are spent just trying to survive and keep your head above water. Lather, rinse, repeat.

It leaves you to wonder how many people who would or could have had a significant impact on the world never get their chance to do so, simply because they didn’t have the opportunity because of the effects of these various factors on the course of their lives.

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This month’s cover was created by Meemaw. She took an image from Pixabay artist Gerd Altmann as her background, and placed the Linux mascot Tux making “leaf angels” in the leaves. It’s a fitting image for the onset of Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.

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Until next month, I bid you peace, happiness, serenity, prosperity, and continued good health!

DNF Package Manager, An Overview

by David Pardue (kalwisti)

Longtime PCLinuxOS users are probably aware that our distribution uses RPM packages but employs its own package management system called apt-rpm, which is a version of apt (Advanced Packaging Tool) modified to work with the RPM package manager. apt-rpm also integrates well with the Synaptic front end.

Since apt is no longer actively maintained, Texstar and the development team have discussed the possibility of DNF replacing apt (and its GUI front end, Synaptic). Although nothing official has been announced yet — and there is no time frame for when this change might occur — PCLinuxOS is gradually moving towards DNF as the package manager.

As part of this transition, Upgreyed and Texstar have developed a homegrown PCLinuxOS program: the DNF Package Manager. This new program is now included with all of the official 2025.08 ISOs — KDE Plasma, Xfce, and MATE — as the default package manager (rather than Synaptic). I wrote this article to provide an overview of DNF Package Manager, in case you would like to experiment with it.

Background on DNF

DNF (Dandified YUM) is a package manager used in Fedora, CentOS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and other RPM-based distributions. DNF is the successor to YUM (Yellowdog Updater Modified). The term "Dandified" suggests that it is a more refined, sophisticated version of YUM. "Yellowdog" refers to Yellow Dog Linux, a discontinued distro (1999–2012) that was tailored to Apple Macintosh PowerPC-based computers. DNF5 is the latest version of DNF; it was designed to offer improved performance, security, and flexibility.

If you are cautious by nature, I recommend installing one of the new 2025.08 releases in a virtual machine and exploring the DNF Package Manager there. (On my 2025.08 Plasma 6 system, I also installed Synaptic. Although I have been primarily using DNF Package Manager, I use Synaptic on occasion and have not experienced any problems/conflicts between the two programs.)

Don't panic!

The demise of Synaptic is not imminent. Texstar wrote in the forum that "apt/Synaptic will eventually be retired someday, but not soon." So, for the moment, no one is being forced to migrate to the DNF Package Manager against their will. PCLinuxOS users now have the opportunity to try DNF and become familiar with it, if they are interested.

Description of DNF Package Manager

Although DNF5 can be used from the command line, PCLinuxOS favors GUI-based tools because it has always focused on ease of use. The DNF Package Manager is a simple, graphical front end for DNF5; its front end is based on Python 3. At the time I wrote this, the program's current version is 1.13.

Upgreyed built the DNF Package Manager within the MATE DE, and it was tested for KDE Plasma by Texstar. It should work in other non-KDE flavors of PCLinuxOS — with a couple of caveats (discussed in the final section of my article).

During my testing, I found the interface to be fairly intuitive. I had no major problems updating, installing or removing software on my KDE Plasma 2025.08 system.

User Interface

To launch the DNF Package Manager, click on its icon and type in the root password to authenticate.

When DNF Package Manager opens, you will see that its user interface has several elements. In the screenshot below I outlined those elements in different colors. (Note: The terminology is mine, not the developers').

Update Your System

To retrieve a list of upgradable packages and update your system, follow these steps:

Press the Refresh button to get a list of upgradable packages. If there are any upgrade candidates, they will appear in the workspace under the Upgradable tab:

Click on the Select All button. The upgradable packages will be selected and will receive a check mark/tick beside their name.

Press the Update button.

A confirmation dialog box will appear:

Click on the OK button to continue. The upgrade transaction will be executed. Afterwards, a Success dialog box will be displayed:

Click on the Close button.

When you are finished using DNF Package Manager, click on the Close button in the app's title bar (upper right corner).

Manage Repository Mirror(s)

By default, DNF Package Manager is configured to use PCLinuxOS's public master repository: the NLUUG server (in the Netherlands). Depending on your location, you may get faster download speeds from a repository mirror which is closer to you geographically.

To change to a different repository mirror, follow these steps:

- Press the Repositories button in Toolbar 1: Global actions

- A dialog box will open. Click on the Change button (in lower left corner):

Related Tip: In the main body of the Repositories dialog box (window #1), notice that there are different sections enabled — such as kde6, mate, xfce4, etc. These are the equivalent of the "Section(s):" field in Synaptic's repository information. [Each section has a corresponding directory in the repository, which contains the actual RPM packages.]

Next, a "Select Repository" popup box will open (as shown above in window #2)

It indicates the current/active mirror with "Current: ..."

Click on the drop-down menu and select your preferred repository mirror.

Click on the Select button. The popup box (window #2) will close.

In window #1, to refresh the Sections listing of your newly chosen mirror, press the Refresh button:

To finalize your mirror change, click on the Save button (in window #1). The window will then close.

Afterwards, it is a good idea to press the Refresh button in Toolbar 1: Global actions:

If you wish to verify your repository mirror choice, click on the Repositories button again > click on the Change button > then double-check that the "Current: ..." setting is as you intended.

Installed [Packages] Tab

Under the Installed tab of the Workspace, you can view a list of packages that are installed on your system.

Note: To perform an action — such as Remove, Reinstall or view a package Description — on a specific package, you must first check/tick the box in the Select column (to the left of the package name).

The buttons in Toolbar 2 remain grayed out until you actually select a package(s). After you make a selection, the appropriate buttons will become active.

The screenshot above illustrates that since AbiWord is already installed on my system, I have the option to Remove it, Reinstall it or view its Description (below).

Available [Packages] Tab

Under the Available tab of the Workspace, you can view a list of packages that are not installed/available for installation.

Note: To install a specific package, you must first check/tick the box in the Select column (to the left of the package name). The buttons in Toolbar 2 remain grayed out until you actually select a package(s). After you make a selection, the appropriate buttons will become active. In the screenshot below, I selected the Sigil package; I have the option to Install it and/or view its package Description (second screenshot below).

Other Features

Preferences menu

The Preferences menu gives you access to some of the program's options:

History menu

The History menu displays a log of the DNF transaction history. Such logs can help you identify problems related to software conflicts and/or failed package installations.

Pin/Unpin Button

This feature is best left to advanced users (in my opinion). The Pin/Unpin button allows you to pin a package, i.e., lock it at a specific version and thereby prevent it from being updated. However, you should only lock packages as a last resort because pinning can cause the update process to fail in the future (if the locked package(s) have forward or reverse dependencies).

Using DNF Package Manager in Non-KDE Environments

To install DNF Package Manager in a non-KDE desktop environment (MATE, Xfce, Openbox), open Synaptic and install the dnf-package-manager package. That will install approximately 20 additional packages as dependencies. Currently, both Synaptic and DNF Package Manager are working in parallel, so PCLinuxOS users can choose which app to use.

You may use DNF Package Manager within other DEs, provided that you do not disable any of the default Section settings in the repository.

Under Repositories > if your Section settings look like the screen below, do not disable the kde6 Section and do not select/tick kde5 to activate it. (KDE 5 is no longer supported, so the kde5 Section of the repository no longer exists.)

Tip: During my virtual tests of the Xfce 2025.08 and MATE 2025.08 ISOs, I observed that following the procedure outlined above in "Manage Repository Mirror(s)" will eliminate the kde5 Section.

When you reach the step of pressing the Refresh button, the Section listing will be updated and kde5 will disappear (as shown in the screenshot below):

Although the apt package manager (with Synaptic as its graphical front end) has worked reliably for many years, it is no longer maintained and may not meet PCLinuxOS's future needs. As our distribution gradually transitions to DNF as the package manager, I believe it is worthwhile to spend some time with DNF Package Manager and become comfortable using it.

Many thanks to Upgreyed and Texstar for their hard work and resilience!

PCLinuxOS Recipe Corner: Instant Pot Shredded Beef Tacos

Instant Pot Shredded Beef Tacos

Serves: 12

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 lb. chuck roast cut into 2 inch pieces

1 Tbsp chili powder

1½ tsp sea salt

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup onion diced

2 Tbsp tomato paste

6 garlic cloves diced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

½ cup picante sauce salsa

1 cup beef broth

cilantro for garnish

limes to squeeze over top

DIRECTIONS:

In a bowl, combine cubed meat with chili powder and salt. Toss to coat

Press the “Saute” button on the Instant Pot and add the olive oil

Add in onions and saute until softened

Add in tomato paste, garlic, cumin and Mexican oregano. Stir for about a minute. Add in seasoned meat

Pour in salsa and beef broth

Cover and lock the lid. Press “Keep Warm/Cancel” on the Instant Pot and then press the “Meat/Stew” button to switch it to the pressure cooking mode. Set cooking time to 35 minutes

Let the pressure release naturally

Unlock the lid and remove meat. Shred with two forks. Use leftover liquid as a gravy if desired

Add any additional salt and pepper if needed

Top with chopped cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice

Brown meat before placing in slow cooker

Place meat and all ingredients except cilantro and limes into a slow cooker. Cook 4-5 hours on high or 6-7 on low in a slow cooker

Use left over liquid from cooking for homemade tortilla soup

This Instant Pot Shredded Beef Taco meat is quick, easy and delicious! It can be used in tacos, enchiladas, taquitos, burritos, etc.

NUTRITION:

Calories: 231    Carbs: 3g    Sodium: 566mg     Fiber: 1.2g    Protein: 22g

ICYMI: Farmer's Insurance Data Breach Impacts Over One Million Individuals

by Paul Arnote (parnote)

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Wired and Business Insider have removed news features written by a freelance journalist after concerns they are likely AI-generated works of fiction, according to an article from the Press Gazette in the UK. Freedom of expression non-profit Index on Censorship is also in the process of taking down a magazine article by the same author after concerns were raised by the Press Gazette. The publisher has concluded that it “appears to have been written by AI”. Several other UK and US online publications have published questionable articles by the same person, going by the name of Margaux Blanchard, since April. Most of the published stories contained case studies of named people whose details the Press Gazette was unable to verify online, casting doubt on whether any of the quotes or facts contained in the articles are real.

Astronomers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a newfound moon orbiting icy Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun, according to an article from Space.com. The moon, known as S/2025 U1, is just 6 miles (10 kilometers) or so in diameter, which made it invisible to NASA's Voyager 2 probe during its 1986 flyby of the planet, as well as rendering it undetectable by other telescopes. But then came the powerful James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). A team led by scientists at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Colorado made 10 different 40-minute exposures of Uranus using JWST's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) in order to find the small moon. Its discovery brings the total number of known Uranian moons to 29.

Threat actors are leveraging a Unicode character to make phishing links appear like legitimate Booking.com links in a new campaign distributing malware, according to an article from BleepingComputer. The attack makes use of the Japanese hiragana character, , which can, on some systems, appear as a forward slash and make a phishing URL appear realistic to a person at a casual glance. BleepingComputer has further come across an Intuit phishing campaign using a lookalike domain using the letter L instead of 'i' in Intuit.

Image by Darwin Laganzon from Pixabay

Farmers Insurance disclosed a data breach impacting the personal information of more than one million individuals, according to an article from Security Week. According to its website, Farmers Insurance serves roughly 10 million households (19 million insurance policies) across the entire United States, offering car, property, life, commercial and other types of insurance. The notification samples submitted to state authorities are redacted, but a security incident notice posted on the Farmers Insurance website reveals that the compromised data includes names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and last four digits of Social Security numbers.

On the morning of August 19, 2025, residents of Middletown, Ohio, a quiet Midwestern city of 50,000 people, arrived at City Hall expecting business as usual, according to an article from Forbes. Instead, they walked into a surreal and almost dystopian scene. A father hoping to secure a birth certificate for his newborn son was turned away at the health department window. Citizens lining up to pay taxes or utility bills were told the systems were down. Even the police department’s non-emergency line went silent. “Man, everything closed down,” one resident said. In that moment the routines of Middle America collided with the dark reality of modern cybercrime. This was not a global capital or a Wall Street bank. It was a community in the heartland suddenly brought to its knees by a cyberattack that crippled essential municipal services, a scenario more fitting for a thriller like Leave the World Behind than for an Ohio city on a summer morning. City leaders called it a “cybersecurity incident.” Residents called it chaos.

Virtually EVERYONE is jumping on the AI bandwagon (most of it needlessly). If you doubt that statement, you must have been hiding under a very large rock for the past couple of years. But, according to an article from Lifehacker, you should probably be careful about asking AI to help find a phone number. The article details how scammers have leveraged AI to lure you into a trap. Keeping in mind that AI pilfers scrapes much of its data from the web, it’s super easy to create a fake website with phone numbers connecting unsuspecting users directly to the scammers … scammers who are all too happy to “take” your personal/private information, credit card numbers, bank account information, and anything else you’re willing to provide them. While you may think that you’re talking to the “real” people asking for your information, there’s also a good chance that you’re talking directly to a scammer. Given AI’s penchant for misleading users, misdirecting users, lying to users, and just plain making up data on the fly, you might want to approach asking AI for something as simple as a phone number with a high degree of skepticism.

Partial screenshot from my own Google Pixel 8

Whoa! Say what?! Android now allows users to access a full-fledged Linux terminal! It’s fairly common knowledge that Android runs on a Linux kernel. Now, Google has made it possible to run a bona fide Linux terminal on your Android device. In fact, an article from ZDNet details the steps to installing, launching, and using the Linux terminal on your Android device. Please, be careful. This definitely isn’t for those who normally avoid the Linux command line. But, if you’re comfortable with the Linux command line, still be careful. Still, this “new ability” opens up accessibility to a LOT of additional powerful tools for you to use on your Android device(s). If you’re interested, check out the steps outlined in the article. Keep in mind that this new feature is still considered “experimental,” however.

Consumer credit reporting giant TransUnion warns it suffered a data breach exposing the personal information of over 4.4 million people in the United States in late July, according to an article from BleepingComputer. BleepingComputer learned the data was stolen from its Salesforce account. TransUnion is one of the three major credit bureaus in the United States, alongside Equifax and Experian. It operates in 30 countries, employs 13,000 staff, and has an annual revenue of $3 billion. It collects and maintains credit information on over 1 billion consumers worldwide, with approximately 200 million of those based in the U.S. This information is shared with 65,000 businesses, including lenders, insurers, and employers. These attacks have been conducted by the Shiny Hunters extortion group, and more recently, by a cluster tracked as UNC6395. After publishing this story, BleepingComputer confirmed with two sources, including ShinyHunters, that TransUnion's data breach is linked to these Salesforce attacks.

Google revealed that a cybercriminal group known as the ShinyHunters hacked a database of their accounts through the cloud-based software provider Salesforce, exposing the roughly 2.5 billion Gmail and Google Cloud users worldwide to possible breaches, according to an article from Yahoo! News. Google’s Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) said it first discovered a breach in June and, by August, became aware of bad actors using “overlapping tactics, techniques, and procedures” to access networks and accounts. Those tactics include social engineering, such as impersonating IT support reps in phone conversations, primarily targeting English-speaking users at multinational companies. GTIG said the data obtained was “basic and largely publicly available business information” but warned that ShinyHunters “may be preparing to escalate their extortion tactics by launching a data leak site … likely intended to increase pressure on victims.”

Open-source developer Josh Ellithorpe announced the creation of a new GIMP plug-in dubbed "Dream Prompter" for bringing the power of Google's Gemini 2.5 Flash Image Preview model to this open-source photo/image editing software, according to an article from Phoronix. Google recently announced Gemini 2.5 Flash Image (Nano Banana) as their latest efforts for an AI image editing model. The Dream Prompter plug-in for GIMP brings the power of that Gemini model to this open-source app that is a popular free software alternative to Adobe Photoshop. Coincidentally, the GIMP plug-in itself was created with the help of the Claude AI model. The Dream Prompter allows easily providing an AI prompt within GIMP and enjoying the fruits of that AI generated work instantly within GIMP, either as a new image or modifying an existing image. A Google Gemini API key is required for use.

The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids, according to an article from Business Insider. Tin Can is a kid-friendly WiFi phone that replicates an old-fashioned landline. It's aimed at parents who want to delay giving their kids a cellphone. "It's important for kids to have social autonomy," the cofounder tells Business Insider. Tin Can is a phone that runs off your home's WiFi. It's similar to a regular VoIP phone, except that it has parental controls so that only approved contacts can call, and only during approved hours. There's also a free plan where Tin Can users can call only other Tin Can users.

Threat actors are once again using Meta's advertising platform to distribute malware, according to an article from Lifehacker. This time, it's a form of Android spyware known as Brokewell, and it's spreading through a malvertising campaign on Facebook. According to researchers at Bitdefender, cybercriminals are running ads that promise free access to TradingView Premium, a market tracking and investment app, for Android mobile users. Clicking on the fraudulent ads, which use TradingView's branding and, in some cases, images of Labubus, leads to users downloading and installing malware on their devices.

A federal jury on August 1 found that Meta violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act, the state's wiretap law, by collecting data from a period-tracker app without user consent, according to an article from Ars Technica. Plaintiffs in a class-action case proved by a preponderance of evidence that Meta intentionally eavesdropped on and/or recorded conversations using an electronic device, said a verdict form released yesterday in US District Court for the Northern District of California. Plaintiffs also proved that they had a reasonable expectation of privacy and that Meta did not have consent from all parties to eavesdrop on and/or record the conversations, the jury found. The lawsuit was filed in 2021 against Flo Health, maker of an app for tracking periods, ovulation, and pregnancy. Facebook owner Meta, Google, and app analytics company Flurry were added as defendants later. The plaintiffs settled with Flo Health, Google, and Flurry before the trial, leaving Meta as the only remaining defendant.

Scammers are once again impersonating PayPal and trying to trick users into handing over access to their accounts and their cash, according to an article from Lifehacker. The latest email campaign alerts recipients to a new (fake) transaction and payment profile and urges them to take action to set up their account. This scam has some convincing elements and several red flags. At first glance, this email seems like it really does come from PayPal: The sender address is service[at]paypal[dot]com, a legitimate PayPal domain, and paypal.com is listed in the signed-by field. However, scammers are able to spoof the email in the "From" field to make it look legitimate when it isn't. The layout looks relatively similar to other PayPal emails, including the company's branding and footer. If you hover over the links, including the call-to-action button to "set up your profile," they appear to go to a real PayPal site.

A commonly prescribed antidepressant may also strengthen the body’s defenses against cancer, according to new research from UCLA, according to an article from SciTechDaily. The study, published in Cell, showed that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) improved the cancer-fighting ability of T cells and reduced tumor growth in several types of cancers across both mouse and human tumor models. Medications such as Prozac and Celexa raise serotonin levels — often referred to as the brain’s “happiness hormone” — by blocking the action of a protein called the serotonin transporter (SERT). Although serotonin is most often linked to mood regulation, it also influences many processes throughout the body, including digestion, metabolism, and immune system function.

Sucralose is a popular sugar substitute for people who are cutting calories or managing blood sugar levels, but new research by the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center suggests that the artificial sweetener may not be the best choice for patients undergoing cancer immunotherapy, according to an article from ScienceDaily. Publishing recently in Cancer Discovery, a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, the study found that patients with melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer who consumed high levels of sucralose had worse response to immunotherapy and poorer survival than those with diets low in the artificial sweetener. Strikingly, supplements that boosted levels of the amino acid arginine mitigated the negative effects of sucralose on immunotherapy in mice, an approach that could now be tested in clinical trials.

The European Commission announced in the first week of September that it’s fining Google €2.95 billion (just under $3.5 billion), according to an article from TechCrunch. The commission found that Google had violated European Union antitrust rules by favoring its own advertising services. Specifically, the commission said Google “abused” its “dominant positions” by favoring its ad exchange AdX in both its publisher ad server and in its ad-buying tools. The commission also said Google has 60 days to “bring these self-preferencing practices to an end” and “to implement measures to cease its inherent conflicts of interest along the adtech supply chain.”

Social media (as we know it) is withering and dying, according to an article from NOEMA Magazine. Social media was built on the romance of authenticity. Early platforms sold themselves as conduits for genuine connection: stuff you wanted to see, like your friend’s wedding and your cousin’s dog. Even influencer culture, for all its artifice, promised that behind the ring–light stood an actual person. But the attention economy, and more recently, the generative AI-fueled late attention economy, have broken whatever social contract underpinned that illusion. The feed no longer feels crowded with people but crowded with content. At this point, it has far less to do with people than with consumers and consumption. In recent years, Facebook and other platforms that facilitate billions of daily interactions have slowly morphed into the internet’s largest repositories of AI–generated spam. Research has found what users plainly see: tens of thousands of machine–written posts now flood public groups — pushing scams, chasing clicks — with clickbait headlines, half‑coherent listicles and hazy lifestyle images stitched together in AI tools like Midjourney. It’s all just vapid, empty shiitake mushrooms produced for engagement’s sake. Facebook is “sloshing” in low-effort AI-generated posts, as Arwa Mahdawi notes in The Guardian; some even bolstered by algorithmic boosts, like “Shrimp Jesus.” The difference between human and synthetic content is becoming increasingly indistinguishable, and platforms seem unable, or uninterested, in trying to police it. Earlier this year, CEO Steve Huffman pledged to “keep Reddit human,” a tacit admission that floodwaters were already lapping at the last high ground. TikTok, meanwhile, swarms with AI narrators presenting concocted news reports and “what–if” histories. A few creators do append labels disclaiming that their videos depict “no real events,” but many creators don’t bother, and many consumers don’t seem to care.

Image by Michael Heck from Pixabay

A few years after the first Earth Day in 1970, several bird species that once thrived in my region were nowhere to be found, according to an article from The Conversation. Some, like the passenger pigeon, were extinct. Others had retreated to more remote, wild areas of North America. In many cases, humans had destroyed their habitat by cutting down forests, draining wetlands and converting grasslands to agriculture. Pesticides such as DDT, air and water pollution, and the shooting of birds added to the drop in numbers. Birds are still declining across the continent. A recent study of 529 species found their numbers fell nearly 30% from 1970 to 2017. In 2025, nearly one-third of all North American bird species are declining; 112 bird species have lost more than half their population in the past 50 years. Yet, half a century after I started birding, I am starting to see a few long-missing species reappear as I ride my bike from my home through the village and surrounding farmland in rural New York.

According to an article from Reuters, a sample obtained by NASA's Perseverance rover of reddish rock formed billions of years ago from sediment on the bottom of a lake contains potential signs of ancient microbial life on Mars, according to scientists, though the minerals spotted in the sample also can form through nonbiological processes. The discovery by the six-wheeled rover in Jezero Crater represents one of the best pieces of evidence to date about the possibility that Earth's planetary neighbor once harbored life. NASA released an image of the rock — a very fine-grained, rusty-red mudstone — bearing ring-shaped features resembling leopard spots and dark marks resembling poppy seeds. Those features may have been produced when the rock was forming by chemical reactions involving microbes, according to the researchers.

Although metformin has been the go-to medication to manage type 2 diabetes for more than 60 years, researchers still do not have a complete picture of how it works, according to an article from ScienceDaily. Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine and international collaborators have discovered a previously unrecognized new player mediating clinically relevant effects of metformin: the brain. By uncovering a brain pathway involved in metformin's anti-diabetic action, researchers have discovered new possibilities for treating diabetes more effectively and precisely.

ESA

Liquid water flowed across the surface of the asteroid that birthed the near-Earth object (NEO) Ryugu much later than scientists had thought possible, a new study finds, according to an article from Space.com. The discovery that water existed in liquid form a billion years after the parent body of Ryugu formed came from the study of rock samples collected from the NEO by Japan's Hayabusa2 probe between 2018 and 2019, and returned to Earth on Dec. 5, 2020. Carbonaceous asteroids like the spinning-top-shaped Ryugu have long been known to form from ice and dust in the outer solar system as the planets were forming around the infant sun around 4.6 billion years ago. Thus, objects like Ryugu are thought to contain a "fossil record" of unspoiled material from the dawn of our planetary system. However, before this research, scientists had thought that asteroid water activity only lasted for the earliest moments of solar system history.

Lossless audio has been one of the most anticipated features on Spotify and now, finally, it’s started rolling out to Premium listeners in select markets, says a news release from Spotify. Premium subscribers will receive a notification in Spotify once Lossless becomes available to them. Whether you’re diving into a new album or revisiting old favorites, lossless delivers the highest music audio quality on Spotify. Lossless is part of our commitment to continually improve Spotify Premium, so fans can discover and enjoy the music they love. This highly requested feature takes your Premium experience to the next level. Together with popular features like DJ, Jam, AI Playlist, brand-new Mix, and daylist, as well as playlists curated by our leading global music editorial team, the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service continues to get better. With Lossless, you can now stream tracks in up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC, unlocking greater detail across nearly every song available on Spotify. So you can enjoy new releases and your favorite tracks, in the highest quality, while being immersed in the music.

A former WhatsApp executive has filed a lawsuit against Meta, alleging the company ignored serious security flaws that put billions of users at risk, according to an article from TechRepublic. The case, lodged in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, was brought by Attaullah Baig, who served as WhatsApp’s head of security from 2021 until earlier this year. Baig alleges that thousands of Meta and WhatsApp employees could access sensitive user data — including profile pictures, contact lists, and location details — without proper oversight. He also claims the company turned a blind eye to large-scale account hacking, which he says reached more than 100,000 accounts a day. According to the complaint, Baig repeatedly warned senior leaders, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, about the risks. Instead of addressing his concerns, the company allegedly retaliated by issuing negative performance reviews and ultimately fired him in February.

NASA has responded to claims – popularized by Harvard professor Avi Loeb – that the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is a spacecraft sent to the Solar System by an advanced alien civilization, according to an article from IFL Science. On July 1, 2025, astronomers spotted an object moving through the Solar System at nearly twice the velocity of previous interstellar visitors ‘Oumuamua and Comet Borisov. The object, which was confirmed to be an interstellar comet with its own dusty coma, is far larger than the previous two, with an estimated nucleus (the rocky part of the comet, excluding its coma) of around 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles). Early work showed that it is of huge interest to scientists, beyond being the third confirmed interstellar visitor. For a start, it may have come from a different region of our galaxy altogether, and may be far older than any of the known bodies in our Solar System.

A recent analysis of the Sapphire Canyon mudstone core, drilled by NASA’s Perseverance rover in July 2024, adds new and convincing evidence to the ongoing search for life on Mars, according to an article from Earth.com. The study describes minerals and textures that – on Earth – are often linked to microbial activity. At the same time, the authors stress that some unknown, nonbiological chemistry could also explain the signals. “This finding by Perseverance is the closest we have ever come to discovering life on Mars. The identification of a potential biosignature on the Red Planet is a groundbreaking discovery, and one that will advance our understanding of Mars,” said acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy. “NASA’s commitment to conducting Gold Standard Science will continue as we pursue our goal of putting American boots on Mars’ rocky soil.” The core was taken from a rock named “Chevaya Falls” in Neretva Vallis, an ancient river channel about a quarter mile wide that once fed Jezero Crater’s lake. After drilling, Perseverance sealed the sample for possible return to Earth, where laboratory instruments can perform tests far beyond the rover’s onboard capabilities.

Parkinson's disease is associated with toxic clumps of the alpha-synuclein protein in the brain, which disrupt healthy cell communication, according to an article from ScienceAlert. Now, a new study shows another way this protein may damage brain cells. Researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark examined alpha-synuclein oligomers, smaller molecules that also accompany Parkinson's. Using a lab-made cell model, they found these oligomers can open up tiny pores in cell membranes. These breaches allow molecules to leak in and out of cells, potentially leading to chemical imbalances that may be a significant driver in the progression of the disease.

NASA/JPL

Mars’s atmosphere may have once been hundreds of times thicker than it is today, acting as a blanket that protected it from frequent asteroids that ravaged other planets, according to an article from New Scientist. While the sun and most planets were still forming around 4 million years after the origin of the solar system, Mars was already almost complete. At this time, the planets existed in a vast ball of hot gas and dust that swirled around the young sun, called the solar nebula, which some planets would have temporarily absorbed into their atmospheres. However, once the solar nebula receded, it was thought that the planets would quickly have lost this gas, reducing the densities of their atmospheres. Now, Sarah Joiret at Collège de France in Paris and her colleagues think that Mars may have clung on to its gas for longer, forming a soupy primordial atmosphere that persisted. Shortly after the nebula receded, astronomers think the orbits of giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn shifted, which had the knock-on effect of disturbing the orbits of comets and asteroids, sending them hurtling towards the inner solar system where they bombarded the rocky planets.

Trekkers rejoice! We told you last month about wishes among various filmmakers to make a new Star Trek series, called Star Trek: Year One. Well, it seems like it’s gaining traction. Since the fifth season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was announced to be the last in June, the showrunners have been suggesting a follow-up series, according to an article from TrekMovie.com. At Comic-Con they got more explicit, revealing “Star Trek: Year One” as the name for the potential show that would pick up after the final episode of Strange New Worlds, which they say will show James T. Kirk’s first day in command of the USS Enterprise. TrekMovie spoke to SNW executive producer and co-creator Akiva Goldsman to get an update on the pitch for this show, which would feature members of the SNW cast led by Paul Wesley as Kirk and Ethan Peck as Spock.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed on September 15th that a “framework deal” had been reached involving TikTok, according to an article from CNBC. Under the national security law, which would have come into effect on Wednesday, app store operators like Apple and Google and internet service providers would be penalized for providing services to TikTok’s U.S. operations if a deal was not reached. Under the framework deal, about 80% of TikTok’s U.S. business would be owned by an investor consortium that includes Oracle, Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz, the Wall Street Journal reported. As part of the arrangement, existing U.S. users would need to shift to a new app, according to the report.

Image by Teri Comroe from Pixabay

Google and Apple’s app stores both have a reputation for being pretty trustworthy these days. It’s easy to assume that if an app is in either the iPhone App Store or the Google Play Store, it’s safe to download. But a new Google crackdown this week reminds us that this isn’t so clear-cut, according to an article from Lifehacker. Yesterday, a third-party security report revealed that Google had recently removed 224 malicious apps from the Android Play Store. Dubbed “SlopAds” apps by security company Human, which discovered the apps and wrote the report, these apps evaded Google’s usual security procedures and instead used a clever workaround to secretly install malware on users’ devices, even when downloaded straight from Google’s servers. The way these apps worked was that, if you downloaded them by searching for them through the Google Play Store, they would work as advertised with no malware dragging them down. Generally, these apps were pitched as simple utilities, or attempted to pass themselves off as more popular programs like ChatGPT, to try to trick users into downloading them. Not the best tools, certainly, but if accessed directly through Google, they wouldn’t hurt you. But the trick is that, if you downloaded one of these apps after arriving at the Play Store via one of SlopAds ad campaigns, it would also secretly download an encrypted configuration file that, after a few post-download checks, would install malware on your device. Once a device was infected, the app would then steal its information, and start using it to generate fake ad impressions on sites run by the scammers, maximizing profit.

A new study points to a key bone-strengthening mechanism at work in the body, which could be targeted to treat the bone-weakening disease, osteoporosis, according to an article from Science Alert. The study, led by researchers from the University of Leipzig in Germany and Shandong University in China, identified the cell receptor GPR133 (also known as ADGRD1) as being crucial to bone density, via bone-building cells called osteoblasts. Variations in the GPR133 gene had previously been linked to bone density, leading researchers to turn their attention to the protein it encoded.

Deep below the seabed, 80 miles off the coast of Yorkshire, is a remarkable crater that has divided scientists – was it, thrillingly, created by an asteroid crash? Or more mundanely, was it the result of geological salt movements? Today, the decades-long scientific debate can be settled. The Silverpit crater 700 metres below the seabed under the North Sea was in all likelihood created by a direct hit from an asteroid or comet about the size of York Minster that hurtled towards the Earth more than 43m years ago, according to an article from The Guardian. The 160-metre-wide asteroid smashed into the sea, causing a 100-metre-high tsunami, say scientists. It was probably a very bad day for any early mammals in the area – but not as bad as the consequences of the asteroid smash that wiped out the dinosaurs 66m years ago. The Silverpit crater is nowhere near the scale of the Chicxulub crater in Mexico, when an asteroid about 6 to 9 miles wide struck Earth, resulting in a mass extinction of 75% of plant and animal species. But it is still interesting and, as the only impact crater near what is now the UK, extremely important, experts say.

Google’s Gemini AI seems to be everywhere these days. It’s in your Gmail, it’s on your phone, and soon, it’ll be in your browser. While Google’s AI browser integration was already live for Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers, it's now rolling out to everyone — and getting a bunch of new features, too, according to an article from Lifehacker. If you’re suddenly seeing a new Gemini button in the top right of your Chrome browser (in the same pane as your tabs), then you’ve already been hit with the update. If not, you may need to use the three-dots button in the top right corner and select Gemini in Chrome to turn it on, assuming you want to. If you're a bit skeptical about Gemini in Chrome, you can turn it off. Simply navigate to Settings > AI Innovations, and you’ll be able to turn off the Gemini button, as well as disable its keyboard shortcut. You can also restrict its permissions: Set everything to off, and it’ll be like it was never installed in the first place.

Creatine. It's arguably one of the world's most researched supplements. Thousands of studies have been carried out over the past few decades evaluating its ability to increase muscle mass and overall strength. Creatine is a naturally occurring compound which is stored in our muscles, and helps our cells produce energy. It is a vital component in the ATP-CP system, the fastest, most powerful energy system in our bodies. Away from the gym, there is a growing, but still relatively limited, body of evidence to suggest it can also help with our short-term memory, mood and focus, according to an article from the BBC.

TikTok, that worldwide popular app from ByteDance with strong ties to the Chinese communist government, has a new “owner” in the U.S., according to an article from Reuters. ByteDance will own less than 20% while TikTok US will be controlled by a mix of its existing U.S. and global firms as well as a significant number of new investors who have no affiliation with ByteDance, an official said. Investors will include Oracle and private equity firm Silver Lake.

Inkscape Tutorial: Arrows!

by Meemaw

Those of us who write articles for the PCLinuxOS Magazine use all sorts of ways to illustrate our articles. Generally, we include some sort of image with a box, circle or arrow drawn around or near the item we want to emphasize. Last month, kalwisti gave us a really good article about drawing arrows in GIMP. I have used GIMP to draw arrows, but I’ve also used the photo viewer XnViewMP. I started thinking that there should be a way to draw arrows in Inkscape as well, so I looked it up. There is, indeed, a very easy way to draw arrows in Inkscape.

Inkscape will import nearly anything you want (except for WebP images), so most images can be imported for the arrow to be added. This image is from a performance of Disney on Ice, which I attended last year. This part of the show was portion of the movie Moana.

I want to draw an arrow that points to the boat. In Inkscape, you can lock the selected item or create a new layer and lock the lower one. I chose to lock the image by right-clicking the image, and choosing Lock Selected Objects. That way, it doesn’t move around while I’m working. I chose the Bezier line tool, and drew the line from left to right, so the part of the line nearest the boat is the last part I drew, but you can do it either way.

Open the Fill & Stroke window and choose the Stroke Style tab.

See the line that says Markers? I’ll choose the third one over, which will affect the right end of the line I just drew. It looks like this (you may have to widen your window).

The first line in this window is items I’ve already chosen, but below that are all the possible choices. For my arrow, I selected the one furthest to the right on the first row. It will automatically appear on the end of the line I drew, and even though the node is still at the end of the line, I can see the arrow point under it.

You’ll see towards the bottom of the window that there are settings for size and orientation. I haven’t messed with orientation yet, but you can size the point as big as you want it. As you can also see above, there are many other items you can use on your line. You can choose something for the other end of the line as well, to make the arrow with a tail as well as a head. Also included is a checkbox that says Scale with stroke. If your arrow is too long, you can shorten it, but if that box is checked, your resize will resize everything.

If for some reason you want a curved arrow, change to the nodes tool and curve the line like you normally do, and your arrow will be curved.

The center marker is a little different. The Markers tool basically puts the object of your choice on the node of your choice. If you drew a single line with a node at each end, the middle marker dropdown won't place anything, since there are no nodes in the center of the line. If you have a line that has several nodes, the markers will be put on each node.

If you want to change the location of the markers, go to the bottom of the window, and change the Offset. Changing Offset X moves the markers away from the nodes, but they stay on the line (right, top).

Offset Y moves the markers above or below the line, depending on whether your offset is positive or negative.

As I stated above, there are many other things you can use besides an arrow. The window has different arrow heads and tails, squares and triangles, scissors, a pencil, and a pin like the one that shows up on a map. There’s even a head and legs to make a stick figure.

The marker setting on the left is where you started your line, and the one on the right is where you ended your line (the little cartoon guy’s head and feet are on the bottom row).

I’m sure with these items, you can design just the right arrow (or whatever you need) very quickly!

Just How Prevalent Is Linux? (The Answer May Surprise You)

by Paul Arnote (parnote)

One thing that binds us all is our love for Linux. Last month, I lamented the “Linux Tribalism” in my “From The Chief Editor’s Desk” column. That got me thinking … just how prevalent is Linux in our daily lives?

Believe it or not, Linux is gaining in popularity. Probably one of the biggest reasons is the ever-increasing hardware demands that accompany every new version of Windows. In fact, that very reason was what drove me from Windows to Linux many moons ago.

Way back in 2006, rumors were circulating about Windows XP’s replacement. Yes, I’m talking about Windows Vista. Among those rumors was the news that this wasn’t going to be an update many users could follow along with without purchasing a new computer. I was among those users who had just recently purchased not one, but two new computers. And neither of those two computers I had purchased would be able to run Windows Vista, due to Vista’s increased hardware requirements. It started me on a quest to find something other than Windows that would run reliably on my newish hardware. Naturally, that led me to Linux, and I never looked back.

Of course, like any noob, I did my fair share of “distro-hopping” as I tried out various Linux distros. I tried Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, OpenSuse, Puppy, and several others that have faded from my memory. And then, I found PCLinuxOS. My quest had finally ended, and I’ve stayed with PCLinuxOS ever since. And, that was way back in 2007.

Market Share

When I first started with Linux, the operating system’s market share was reported to be somewhere in the neighborhood of one or two percent (depending on who was reporting the numbers). Some reports had Linux’s market share at under one percent, but those were mostly from sources that were “Windows evangelists,” presumably to “protect” their hallowed ground.

I can remember talking to people about Linux. It was common for them to have never ever heard of Linux. In fact, their ignorance about Linux was almost universal.

Today, Linux is reported to have a market share of just over six percent. This market share number is just the number of people who have Linux as their operating system on their personal computers.

But, Linux’s reach is far greater than that.

You Use Linux Every Single Day

Whether you believe it or not, most people use Linux in some form or fashion every single day. Yep, even the Windows fanbois. And, you might be somewhat surprised by all of the places where Linux is powering the devices we use.

So, let’s take a look at all of the places where Linux is quietly powering the devices and services you depend on daily.

Android. Probably one of the better known devices that’s powered by Linux is your Android smartphone. Don’t believe me? You can check for yourself. On my Google Pixel 8 smartphone, I’m running Android 16. The kernel is listed as 6.1.124-android14-11-g8d713f9e8e7b-ab13202960#1, with a build date/time of Wed Mar 12 13:40:07 UTC 2025. On my Pixel 8, I go to Settings > About Phone > Android version. The exact location on your phone may differ slightly, depending on who made your phone.

Super Computers. Every. Single. One. of the world's top 500 super computers runs Linux.

NASA. NASA uses Linux A LOT, thanks to its versatility, adaptability, and stability of its kernel, as well as its related software ecosystem. They use it for many things, like storing data from satellites and telescopes, to crunching data for research institutions and the greater public to use. It was even reported several years ago that Linux runs on computers on the ISS for mission-critical systems.

Robots. The first humanoid robot in space, Robonaut 2, runs on Linux. At this very moment, it’s orbiting over your head on the ISS. NASA has no plans to “return” Robonaut 2 to Earth.

Game Consoles. Steam led (and continues to lead) Linux to the spotlight, at least for gaming, with their SteamOS and Steam Machines. Sure, Android, cloud gaming, and retro-styled handhelds count, but the path forward was really blazed by Steam.

Large Hadron Collider. At the world’s largest and most expensive research facility, the Large Hadron Collider uses Linux to handle, process, store and distribute the massive amounts of data it garners from its experiments.

Streaming Boxes. Chromecast. Fire TV. Roku. They are all powered by Linux.

Smart TVs. Most of the leading manufacturers of “Smart TVs” rely on Linux for their capabilities and user interfaces. LG, Samsung, Sharp, HiSense, Phillips, Panasonic, Vizio … the list goes on and on and on.

Personal Digital Video Recorders. Also known as DVRs (such as Tivo), these mysterious boxes run an embedded Linux-based operating system. That OS is responsible for the recording, playback and management of your favorite shows.

Smart Watches. It’s not just your mobile devices (tablets and phones) that run with Linux at their core. That smart watch on your wrist (other than an Apple Watch)? It most likely runs Linux. Most of the non-Apple smart watches on the market run with an embedded Linux OS controlling things.

Ebook Readers. Led by the perennial giant in the ebook reader market, the Amazon Kindle, most of the ebook readers on the market run on an embedded Linux OS (including the Kindle). Those ebook readers use Linux to store, sort, manage and display the titles in your ebook collection.

Car “Infotainment” Systems. That “infotainment” system in your vehicle most likely uses Linux as its foundation. Going all the way back to the 2013 Cadillac XTS, and up through the infotainment systems in Tesla automobiles, they are all powered by Linux. As far as I know, Ford does not use Linux for their infotainment systems (they rely mostly on an embedded Windows system, the best I can tell, evidenced by their reliance on Microsoft’s Sync™ technology).

In-Flight Entertainment. The next time you’re on an airplane, pay attention to the screen for the in-flight entertainment. Chances are high that it’s powered by Linux.

Digital Signage. From advertising screens to train station terminals, Linux is used in a variety of kiosk and signage situations around the world.

Self-Driving Cars. Many of the self-driving cars run on Linux, including Google’s autonomous cars, as well as self-driving vehicles from Volkswagen and GM.

Washing Machines. Many of the “fancy” (translate to expensive) washing machines run on Linux. Their functions include load-sensitive scales that adjust the amount of water needed, to programmable washes that kick in at a certain time.

Air Traffic Control. The next time you “take to the skies,” keep in mind that Linux runs the computers that run the custom software that tracks your plane and helps keep airline passengers safe in their travels. The FAA switched to using Linux way back in 2006.

New York Stock Exchange. The world’s financial exchanges have long been fans of Linux and open source software. They like Linux’s ability to perform, transact and analyze calculations, quotes, prices, and messages at lightning fast speeds.

U.S. Department of Defense. Want to guess who is the biggest customer of Red Hat Linux? Yep. It’s the U.S. Department of Defense. Linux allows the military’s “command and control” system to work efficiently and quickly.

Nuclear Submarines. Thanks to Lockheed Martin, the sonar systems on U.S. nuclear submarines are powered by Linux (specifically, Red Hat Linux). And who knows what else is run by Linux on the nuclear submarines. I’m sure it’s “classified.”

Internet Hosting. More than 70% of internet hosting providers are Linux based. While the exact number is difficult (at best) to estimate, it’s felt that this number is a fairly accurate “rough estimate.”

Movies. A *lot* of movie studios use Linux. The Oscar-winning movies Titanic and Avatar were edited and graphics created using only Linux. Pixar, one of Disney’s leading animation studios, uses a farm of around 2,000 computers (up to 24,000 processing cores), and relies heavily on Linux, with most of its computers running on Linux.

Networking. This probably is not much of a surprise, since Linux and networking go hand-in-hand. The networking giant, Cisco, is completely Linux based.

Some Of The World’s Biggest Companies. Many of the world’s largest companies rely on Linux to run and manage their business interests. Among those are McDonald's, Google, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and IBM. There are many others, and the list is too long to show here.

Finally, there’s your own desktop computer. Each of us has our own reasons for running Linux as the “daily driver” on our computers, but one thing that’s common is being refugees from Windows. We Linux users prefer the freedom that Linux provides, as well as the stability. Relative freedom from viruses is also a common thread among Linux users.

See? Linux is much more pervasive and relevant than you thought!

Tip Top Tips: Install Resynthesizer Plugin For GIMP3

Editor’s Note: Tip Top Tips is a semi-monthly column in The PCLinuxOS Magazine. Periodically, we will feature – and possibly even expand upon – one tip from the PCLinuxOS forum. The magazine will not accept independent tip submissions specifically intended for inclusion in the Tip Top Tips column. Rather, if you have a tip, share it in the PCLinuxOS forum’s “Tips & Tricks” section. Occasionally, we may run a “tip” posted elsewhere in the PCLinuxOS forum. Either way, share your tip in the forum, and it just may be selected for publication in The PCLinuxOS Magazine.

This month’s tip was shared by SemperOSS.

I think I have seen someone writing about how the Resynthesizer installation is done but could not find it when I wanted to do it myself, so here goes my version for installing it as an ordinary user.

First of all, install “flatpak” and “gimp” (make sure GIMP is version 3 or later) with Synaptic.

On a command line, run “flatpak install Resynthesizer” and give the answers (first “2” + Enter, then “3” + Enter) as shown in the output below:

Looking for matches… Remotes found with refs similar to ‘Resynthesizer’:

1) ‘flathub’ (system)

2) ‘flathub’ (user)

Which do you want to use (0 to abort)? [0-2]: 2

Similar refs found for ‘Resynthesizer’ in remote ‘flathub’ (user):

1) runtime/org.gimp.GIMP.Plugin.Resynthesizer/x86_64/2-40

2) runtime/org.gimp.GIMP.Plugin.Resynthesizer/x86_64/2-3.36

3) runtime/org.gimp.GIMP.Plugin.Resynthesizer/x86_64/3

Which do you want to use (0 to abort)? [0-3]: 3

ID Branch Op Remote Download

1. [✓] org.gimp.GIMP.Plugin.Resynthesizer 3 i flathub 54.1 kB / 61.9 kB

Installation complete.

Now run the command "ln -s ~/.local/share/flatpak/runtime/org.gimp.GIMP.Plugin.Resynthesizer/x86_64/3/active/files/plug-ins/* ~/.config/GIMP/3.0/plug-ins/".

If you get the error message "'~/.config/GIMP/3.0/plug-ins/': No such file or directory", run the command "mkdir -p ~/.config/GIMP/3.0/plug-ins/" and try again.

You can now start GIMP and see that the following new filters are available:

- Filters → Enhance → Heal Selection…

- Filters → Enhance → Heal Transparency…

- Filters → Enhance → Uncrop…

- Filters → Map → Resynthesize…

- Filters → Map → Style…

- Filters → Render → Texture…

Here’s an example of the use of the Enhance → Heal Selection… filter, from Meemaw’s GIMP article from July 2023:

Before                        After

Here’s an example of the Filters → Enhance → Heal Transparency… filter. It will fill up a transparent spot with the pixels around it. Suppose you had a photo that you felt needed more background around the main subject (in this case, green background around flowers), you can use this filter.

Before                        After

You MUST make sure you add an alpha channel. I merged the photo with the background and made sure the whole thing had an alpha channel. This filter is kind of contrary, and you may get a GIMP error before things work. Experiment with the settings. If you have a transparent spot in the center, it will heal that too.

The Filters → Enhance → Uncrop… filter is supposed to add transparency around the outside of your canvas (a percentage you choose) and heal the transparent part (as if you had cropped your photo and are putting it back. I can get it to add the percentage around the outside, but in my trials, it hasn’t healed anything.

The Filters → Map → Resynthesize… filter is the “control panel” of the group. If you have a design to use as a source, it can make some pretty weird things. You can fill up a white background with a lot of things. This employed the flowers used earlier. There are more settings in this one. Feel free to play with them, and see what you like best.

The Filters → Map → Style… filter lets you use the style of another image in the one you’re creating. It’s kind of a “paint” thing. I used the before photo below, and mapped the style of the flowers above to it to get the “After”.

Before                        After

The Filters → Render → Texture… filter, you can create a new image having a texture from another image. I used another flower, and created a texture.

Before                        After

Not the best texture, but it’s quick, and if you check the box that says “Make new image edges suitable for seamless tiling” you will have a texture you can tile in another project.

Meemaw found a Quick User’s Guide to the Resynthesizer GIMP plugin, which may be handy and beneficial for future reference.

Good Words, Good Deeds, Good News

compiled by Meemaw

World’s Most Premature Baby Turns One!

Nash was born on July 5, 2024, at 21 weeks gestation, 133 days early, and weighing just 10 ounces. He was immediately put into a NICU incubator, where staff has taken very good care of him. The neonatal care team at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital is credited with keeping him alive. The title World’s Most Premature Baby is in the Guinness Book of World Records.

(According to the Mayo Clinic’s website, a typical pregnancy for a woman lasts about 40 weeks.)

His mother said, “Nash isn’t just a record breaker — he’s a heart-stealer. From the very beginning, our family and friends rallied behind him, and as his story spread, so did the love.”

Eleven-Year-old Saves 5 Year-old From Well

Juliana heard Jack’s mother screaming when he fell in a well, and ran to help. She dialed 911, then grabbed a ladder, and put it down into the well. He had fallen 20 feet onto a concrete pad, but he couldn’t get out. Juliana’s father helped her hold the ladder steady, so Jack could climb out.

When speaking of her son and his rescuer, the relieved mother said, “He was really brave, and I’m so thankful for Juliana. It was a very good feeling when he got out of the well.”

Jack was checked out at the hospital, and other than a few scratches and bruises, he’s fine. The well has since been covered with a metal plate and bricks.

Twins & Maintenance Man Were In The “Right Place At The Right Time”

Twins Ava and Addison were visiting their grandmother at her apartment and went down to the pool. One of the girls noticed a child at the bottom of the pool. Ava pulled the girl to the surface and Addison went for help. Cody, the maintenance man pulled her out of the water and started CPR.

Cody recalled, “She was totally blue, not breathing. When you see a kid in that stress, you kind of think about your own kid in that situation. If it turns bad, it can turn south really quick. I’m just glad I was in the right place at the right time.”

The girl was rushed to the ER where she was treated. Her father is grateful that everyone worked so hard to save his daughter. The twins and Cody were honored with Civilian Citation Awards during a city council meeting soon after.

Homeless Man Rescues Autistic Girl From Busy Street

Faith has 4 special needs children. She was moving to a new apartment when her 6-year-old girl Honoretta took off, into a busy street. She’s done it before — just taking off, as if it’s a game — but this time it was into traffic. The grandmother, helping the daughter move, took off after Honoretta, but she was already half a block away. She cried for help as she ran, and then she saw a man go into the street and stopped traffic to keep Honoretta from harm.

She praised the man, later identified as Weldon Tucker, for “selflessly risk[ing] his life.” Grandma said she tried to repay Tucker for his good deed, but he would not accept any money.“He was just like, ‘Happy to help. Happy I was there.’ And I’m like, ‘Let me pay you, let me do something,’ and he was like, ‘No, I don’t want anything. I was just happy to help,’” (Grandma) said.

They later found out he is homeless and receiving assistance from a local shelter.

Video Of 66-Year-old In Band Goes Viral

The first time Kent watched the LSU band, he was 9. He always wanted to join the band, but his life went in a different direction. Now, at age 66 and a retired accountant, he has joined the band as an LSU student. He played the tuba in the first game. The event has since gone viral.

“Now, the first time he watched LSU inside Tiger Stadium, he was just nine years old,” ESPN announcers said on the broadcast. “Life took him another way — a career, raising a family. But he had a dream: of joining the Golden Band from Tigerland. And five years ago, Kent picked up the tuba, he practiced, he trained, and yes, he enrolled in LSU, auditioned — he made the band!

“Tonight, nearly six decades later… Kent, a 66-year-old freshman. Kent making his dream come true. He took the field at half-time with the Golden Band From Tigerland. How great is that?”

Kent said his wife encouraged him to enroll at LSU and join the band. The band director says that, yes, you have to try out for the band, and Kent made it. He added that there are no allowances made for Kent’s age. He must do the same routine as everyone else. The next oldest member of the LSU band is 25 years old.

Wiki Pick: Backing Up Your /home Directory

by davecs

On your PCLinuxOS computer, the folder /home will have a subfolder for every user on the system. If you have a large external drive (and they can be bought cheap these days, though those can be slow), you can back up the /home system onto it easily, using a program called rsync. I've also got an extra subfolder in /home, called /home/storage, where I keep stuff safe, like extra fonts, my own wallpaper collection, drivers for my printer/scanner, copies of a few scripts that I like to install when my system needs re-installing, and so on. Of course the main / (root) folder, apart from /home, is installed when I re-install Linux, and if it gets broken somehow, it's probably best to re-install from a more recent ISO. Your /home folder stores the personal stuff that you, and everyone else who uses your computer, can't put back from your PCLinuxOS ISO.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

What I have done is to format my external drive to ext4, and give it the Volume name “DataBackup”. When I plug it to the computer via USB, it gets mounted at /media/DataBackup. I have rsync installed, and I have written a little script called “backup”, made it executable and put it in /usr/local/bin/, to do the job for me as follows (it needs to be run as root):

#!/bin/bash

START=`date +%T`

rsync -aP --exclude-from=/home/storage/rsync-homedir-excludes/rsync-homedir-excludes.txt /home/ /media/DataBackup/home

END=`date +%T`

echo Backup started: $START

echo Backup ended: $END

Note that from rsync to /media/DataBackup/home is all one line.

You get the file rsync-homedir-excludes.txt from this page. In my case, as I use the Vivaldi browser, and Vivaldi uses the same architecture as Google Chrome. I have copied the lines relating to Chrome and changed them for Vivaldi as follows:

#Vivaldi:

.config/vivaldi/ShaderCache

.config/vivaldi/*/Local Storage

.config/vivaldi/*/Session Storage

.config/vivaldi/*/Application Cache

.config/vivaldi/*/History Index *

.config/vivaldi/*/Service Worker/CacheStorage

rsync in this case will only write files that either were not on the last backup, or have been updated since the last backup. So the more frequently you run the script, the less time it will take. It will also, during backup, delete files from the last backup that you have since deleted from your computer. So it's quite a clever program. If you tried to do this either from a file manager using its copy command, or from a terminal using “cp”, the outcome would be a total mess.

Finally, I suggest that you also copy the backup script to /home/storage so that you will have a copy of it should your computer have an accident wiping your data.

NOTE: You can also use Grsync, which is the graphical front end for the rsync command. Grsync can be installed using the Synaptic package manager. View this PCLinuxOS Wiki Knowledgebase article here.

PCLinuxOS Recipe Corner Bonus: Steak and Shrimp Alfredo

Steak and Shrimp Alfredo

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:

Steak:

2 Whole Ribeyes cubed

2 tbsp Cajun Seasoning Melted Beef Tallow as needed

Shrimp:

1 lbs Shrimp peeled, de-veined and no tail

2 tbsp Cajun Seasoning

Melted Beef Tallow as needed

Alfredo Pasta:

16 oz Penne Pasta cooked

½ cup Unsalted Butter room temp

½ cup Romano Cheese grated

½ cup Parmesan Cheese grated

Chopped Chives for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

In a bowl, add your cubed steak with beef tallow and Cajun seasoning. Mix thoroughly

Add the shrimp to another bowl with beef tallow and Cajun seasoning and mix thoroughly as well

Preheat your grill to high heat (about 400F/205C)

Add your cubed steak to cook for 3-4 minutes, flipping as needed. Once the steaks are done to your liking, pull off and let cool

Add a cast iron skillet with beef tallow to preheat over the fire. Add the shrimp to cook for 1-2 minutes until fully cooked, then pull off and keep warm

Follow the instructions on your pasta to cook until al dente. Make sure to save 2 oz of pasta water for the sauce. Once the pasta is done, strain and set to the side

Add your room temperature butter into the middle of your pasta serving plate/bowl and flatten it

Top with the warm cooked pasta and mix around in the butter

Add your grated Romano & Parmesan cheese along with 2 oz of your pasta water. Mix together until silky and creamy

Top the pasta with the steak and shrimp. Garnish with chopped chives if you desire, serve and enjoy!

NOTES:

Make-Your-Own Cajun Seasoning:

No Cajun seasoning in the spice cabinet? No worries! Just combine 1 tablespoon paprika, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper in a small bowl and then store it in an airtight container for up to a year. Yes, a year!

It'll be ready whenever your next steak and shrimp alfredo craving hits. If you want the seasoning mix to be milder, dial back the cayenne. If you want to bring the heat, you can bump up the cayenne pepper to 1 teaspoon and even add ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes.

NUTRITION:

Calories: 1073    Carbs: 89g    Sodium: 559mg     Fiber: 6g    Protein: 70g

PCLinuxOS Puzzled Partitions

Sudoku

Download Puzzle Solutions Here

Scrappler

Download Puzzle Solutions Here

October 2025 Word Find

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

Download Puzzle Solutions Here

October 2025 Crossword

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

Download Puzzle Solutions Here

Mixed-Up-Meme Scrambler

Download Puzzle Solutions Here

Screenshot Showcase

Posted by astronaut on September 12, 2025, on Openbox

Posted by francescoinblack September 14, 2025, on IceWM

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Posted by luikki on September 9, 2025, on KDE

Posted by Meemaw on September 21, 2025, on XFCE

Posted by mutse on September 28, 2025, on Maté

Posted by parnote on September 9, 2025, on XFCE

Posted by tbs on September 9, 2025, on KDE

Posted by texstar on September 9, 2025, on KDE

Posted by yogi on September 13, 2025, on LXDE

Table of Contents

1. Table of Contents

2. From The Chief Editor's Desk...

3. DNF Package Manager, An Overview

4. PCLinuxOS Recipe Corner: Instant Pot Shredded Beef Tacos

5. ICYMI: Farmer's Insurance Data Breach Impacts Over One Million Individuals

6. Inkscape Tutorial: Arrows!

7. Just How Prevalent Is Linux? (The Answer May Surprise You)

8. Tip Top Tips: Install Resynthesizer Plugin For GIMP3

9. Good Words, Good Deeds, Good News

10. Wiki Pick: Backing Up Your /home Directory

11. PCLinuxOS Recipe Corner Bonus: Steak and Shrimp Alfredo

12. PCLinuxOS Puzzled Partitions

13. Screenshot Showcase

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

From The Chief Editor's Desk...

DNF Package Manager, An Overview

PCLinuxOS Recipe Corner: Instant Pot Shredded Beef Tacos

ICYMI: Farmer's Insurance Data Breach Impacts Over One Million Individuals

Inkscape Tutorial: Arrows!

Just How Prevalent Is Linux? (The Answer May Surprise You)

Tip Top Tips: Install Resynthesizer Plugin For GIMP3

Good Words, Good Deeds, Good News

Wiki Pick: Backing Up Your /home Directory

PCLinuxOS Recipe Corner Bonus: Steak and Shrimp Alfredo

PCLinuxOS Puzzled Partitions

Screenshot Showcase