Playing DVDs on Android from a PC with and without ripping in 2026 ►
◄ Critical cPanel vulnerability affecting many sites including here
This entry is part of my Project Zebra series covering migration to Linux for personal computing use.
Title reference: Emily Dickinson, 1896. Those university American Studies modules weren't entirely wasted. I still can't find the short story I've been trying to locate for years which was, IIRC, about a ship yard or railway or dock worker who meets every challenge until injured doing so. Might have been a lecture or seminar handout rather than in the Heath anthologies of the time.
More than usual this is a links dump. Not feeling great, so let's clear down a month or so of notes.
Glad to no longer be using Ubuntu, reading things like this:
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/the-future-of-ai-in-ubuntu/81130
Filezilla concerns due to adware, Windows only and not affecting Debian repos?
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46073279
Online discussion about an unofficial (vibe-coded) port of Notepad++ to Mac pointed me towards this established existing port to Linux which isn't complete (the Encoding menu has one item which just reads 'This is not currently implemented' for example) but it looks promising - https://github.com/dail8859/NotepadNext - if it used a better substitute regex implementation - https://github.com/dail8859/NotepadNext/issues/951
LFTP is a nifty command line secure FTP client that can be scripted to sync folders in a way most GUI clients don't seem to. FileZilla Pro is one I'm aware does, and I've tried, but since the only thing I want to do it with usually is a library of music onto a tablet, the terminal or a bash script is fine. I suspect FreeFileSync either the free or donation version can do it too, which I've also got if needed.
Another reminder to not buy books from Amazon, as more older Amazon Kindle e-readers are being prevented from being used with content 'bought' from Amazon
https://m.slashdot.org/story/453926
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2026/04/older-kindles-amazon-support
The BBC reckons there are 2 million older Kindles out there? That's a lot of e-waste if people don't realise they can still use them, and Amazon should be ashamed. And fined, to be honest. And pay taxes. Etc.
https://firefox-source-docs.mozilla.org/mobile/android/fenix/Secret-settings-debug-menu-instructions.html
Turn off some of the crap that gets added to Firefox, for a while at least
DeaDBeeF media library shows MP3 tag titles by default, but you can create custom queries, for example instead of
%folder_tree%
[%tracknumber%. ]%title%
you can use
%folder_tree%
%filename%
Which is preferable personally as I have some MP3s from years ago that are partially tagged and I don't want to strip the metadata from them. There was a bug in 1.10 with the %filename% sorting but it's fixed in 1.10.1 onwards, so rock on. I've also submitted a feature request and hopefully at some point the filter box will apply to the full query (i.e. the full path not just filename, since filenames don't necessarily contain an album title).
VirtualBox + Wayland + full screen = app unresponsive to mouse input?
https://github.com/VirtualBox/virtualbox/issues/4
Things I've done that seem to offer a reliable workaround:
1. go to "File > Preferences > Expert > Input" and uncheck "Auto Capture Keyboard".
2. disable minitoolbar (VM settings interface page)
3. set pointing device to USB tablet
Removing all of the libreoffice-l10n prefixed packages installed by Debian, apart from the en-gb ones, frees up over a gigabyte and removes locale specific help files in the process too. Meaning quicker updates.
GTK4 has separate settings for "recent files" history:
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.privacy remember-recent-files false
gsettings set org.gtk.Settings.FileChooser startup-mode 'cwd'
rm ~/.local/share/recently-used.xbel
mkdir ~/.local/share/recently-used.xbel
With the GTK3 settings being a case of checking and if necessary setting:
cat ~/.config/gtk-3.0/settings.ini
echo "gtk-recent-files-enabled=0" >> ~/.config/gtk-3.0/settings.ini
Google is allegedly leaving a one step unverified apps install toggle after backlash, though with a 24hr delay before it taking effect - https://m.slashdot.org/story/453430
As comments make the point, Sameer Samat seems to be entirely talking out of his arse about safety given that the Play Store allows duplicate app names, plus Android doesn't allow granular control of app permissions without rooting.
Google is also possibly helping itself to gigabytes of your storage for AI shite
https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/05/07/chrome-silently-installs-a-4-gb-local-llm-on-your-computer/5230893
Microsoft is acting to kill off Veracrypt on Windows, in a massive conflict of interest
https://m.slashdot.org/story/453920
https://www.theregister.com/2026/04/09/microsoft_dev_account_deactivations/
Tapo plugs seem to be defective due to prematurely expiring resistors, except they also seem to be able to fail in a potentially dangerous way by rapidly power cycling, something I can sort of attest to as some of the ones I bought have now failed despite only having low load devices plugged into them.
https://community.tp-link.com/en/smart-home/forum/topic/594886
Over in MS land, Windows 11 to reimplement taskbar positioning
https://m.slashdot.org/story/453460
https://m135.e-mails.microsoft.com/rest/head/mirrorPage/@Bzb1dZA3t5JH6FnvgPs_KMb3adEH-XEshRfnypmfricgTQKr-zhu8fG46AL5AP6TKVvUZ-vc9HHQKq12RSzsurBbXZNSd3O1SErPWkOnVv_QN85X.html
"More taskbar customization, including vertical and top positions
Repositioning the taskbar is one of the top asks we’ve heard from you. We are introducing the ability to reposition it to the top or sides of your screen, making it easier to personalize your workspace."
"Expanded taskbar personalization options, including alternate taskbar positions and a smaller taskbar, giving you greater control over how this core surface fits your workflow"
What MS apparently doesn't recognise, doesn't want to acknowledge or doesn't give a shit about (I've had something lodged with their enterprise disability team for over a year, and am sure I'm not alone from the number of complaints online) is that the position of on-screen elements is as much about accessibility as preference. There's about 12" difference between the top and bottom of a 24" monitor, and that matters with back/neck injuries. Oh well, might not need RetroBar eventually.
According to that email update there are also moves afoot to take into account other backlashes: "You will see us be more intentional about how and where Copilot integrates across Windows, focusing on experiences that are genuinely useful and well‑crafted. As part of this, we are reducing unnecessary Copilot entry points, starting with apps like Snipping Tool, Photos, Widgets and Notepad."
And then there's the sanity stuff... "Less disruption from Windows Update, moving devices to a single monthly reboot, [...] More direct control over updates, including the ability to pause updates for as long as you need and restart or shut down without being forced to install them" as if forcing users (with limited exceptions in a work environment) is ever acceptable.
PowerShell notation for not spawning windows
PowerShell.exe -WindowStyle hidden -File x:\directory\script.ps1
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