Stephan Sokolow @ssokolow@qoto.org

Since the Thunderbird people just duped bug 1947722 (support for disabling hiding the Quick Filter bar on Esc keypresses) against bug 1922924 (disable Esc when filter settings are pinned), here's a little python-xlib hack for the ACTUALLY desired functionality by filtering events.

https://gist.github.com/ssokolow/74c8bda3dafc133e615e3152b815196f

Wayland users will have to force their Thunderbird to run as an X11 app via XWayland or Wayland's security model will prevent this from working.

#linux #bsd #x11 #xlib #python #thunderbird

Tip: If your Blue Yeti doesn't show up in *buntu 24.04 and was working fine in *buntu 22.04, it's probably a bug related to the switch to Pipewire where the wireplumber state can get messed up.

Check that it's present in `arecord -L` and then run `rm -rf ~/.local/state/wireplumber; pkill pipewire` to reset things. Once pipewire restarts, the Yeti should pop into your `pavucontrol` or KDE System Settings Audio panel like normal.

#linux #audio #linuxaudio #pipewire #wireplumber #kubuntu

Turns out I'm not the only one who thought generative AI looks suspiciously like a procedurally generated gacha game:

https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/06/05/generative-ai-runs-on-gambling-addiction-just-one-more-prompt-bro/

I just discovered that the instructions that turn up for opening a Mac Mini G4 are unnecessarily brutal and prone to gouging or cracking plastic. Instead of prying anything, here's the technique I intuited and used:

1. Use one hand to apply pressure between the back I/O shield and the outer frame (like tensioning the cylinder, if you watch lockpicking videos)

2. With a THIN metal spudger/pry tool, work your way around the edge starting at the back, pressing each clip just enough to release it.

How many people who were online in the 90s remember the LiveUpdate Crescendo MIDI player plugin? In case anyone wants it, I finally got around to sharing what I have, including the Windows Netscape variant of version 5 from one of my CD-Rs which seems to be missing from the Wayback Machine. → https://archive.org/details/liveupdate_crescendo

#retro #web #midi #90s

Does anyone know anything that can be done about the Internet Archive being sued by the RIAA beyond this petition? →https://chng.it/K4wzhBHyLF

I don't exactly have money and I doubt the RIAA will notice or care if I start a boycott like the one that had me become a cultural hermit for the entirety of my 20s by neither paying for nor pirating films over the MPAA's "lost sales" nonsense and attempts to 1984 the Internet.

Huh. So the fr-ca (eg. Quebecois) listing for support files for this >10-year-old hand-me-down HP Pavilion is still up and in search results, despite the HP site refusing to let me into an English listing because it's "too far out of support".

...the newest UEFI they offer still doesn't fix the refusal to POST with GeForce cards new enough to be UEFI GOP-native (i.e. 7xx-series and above), but at least now I know .

For anyone who upgraded their non-GNOME *buntu and discovered that one of their scripts suddenly has a very out-of-place libadwaita-style Zenity dialog popping up, `yad` is in the package repository and only differs by the --info/--question/--warning/--error arguments according to their compatibility wrapper at https://github.com/v1cont/yad/blob/master/data/misc/zenity.sh #linux #scripting

@brauner @Conan_Kudo No, actually. hfsfuse explicitly says they don't support the non-plus variant (common for mac-only or hybrid CDs) and I can vouch for the hfsutils package they point to being buggy and under-documented and, because it predates FUSE, it's built around an annoying CLI FTP client-esque uncanny valley reinvention of your usual suite of shell commands.