Recent posts

#61

Linux Applications & Android apps / Handbrake for making a MP4 dig...

Last post by ssfc72 - July 17, 2025, 08:53:58 PM

I have used Handbrake, quite awhile ago, to convert one of my bought DVD movies to an MP4 movie file, so that I can watch the movie from a thumb drive, plugged into my smart TV.

You also have to install on your Distro the libdvdcss files, to allow Handbrake to decode the movie dvd.

Today, I tried to use Handbrake to make an MP4 movie file, from a movie DVD, but Handbrake would not work.
The notebook computer I am using has the Mint Distro, but the version I am using is no longer supported, so maybe that may be the problem?

However, I then went to my other notebook which is running an up to date version of MXLinux, and I ran into the same problem of Handbrake not being able to decode the movie DVD.

I went and re-installed the libdvdcss file and then Handbrake worked, decoding the movie dvd and creating an mp4 movie file. :-)

Strange, that I had to re install the libdvdcss on an MXLinux, that was fully updated.

Link to libdvdcss           https://www.videolan.org/developers/libdvdcss.html

#62

General Discussion / Re: The Really Unpleasant Comp...

Last post by buster - July 17, 2025, 06:05:09 PM

Our whole economy seems to be built on waste and expansion. Well the apocalypse should solve much of this.

This type of exploitation would be much easier to comprehend if we all lived on one small island. The earth is an island of course. And we can't simply pack up and move somewhere else.

#63

Distributions / Re: CachyOS ranked 2nd on Dist...

Last post by ssfc72 - July 17, 2025, 04:07:42 AM

The Distrowatch website is my daily goto to get the latest info on Linux Distros.

I know the page hit Rankings are not directly a list of the most used Distros but it still gives a very good indication, since The big boys, Mint, Ubuntu etc, are all at the top of the list.

#64

General Discussion / Re: The Really Unpleasant Comp...

Last post by ssfc72 - July 17, 2025, 04:00:42 AM

Sort of reminds me of the ominous Skynet from the Terminator movies.

All these bots on the present day internet, wasting enormous amounts of electricity doing useless searches.
These wasteful useless searches are requiring huge server farms which are wasting huge amounts of electricity to run the servers and water, to cool and get rid of the heat the server farms generate.

#65

Meetings / Re: PLUG regular meetings?

Last post by Paul Kneeland - July 17, 2025, 03:57:32 AM

I would attend a meeting, circumstances permitting.

[2018]

#66

General Discussion / Re: The Really Unpleasant Comp...

Last post by buster - July 16, 2025, 12:32:51 PM

Well, the story is receiving views at the rate of approximately 1,000 per day. There is no way these are humans. The whole site is being hammered, and I suspect it's AI bots. That seems the easiest explanation. Here's why I think this is algorithm driven and not human driven.

2018: This year we more than doubled our views to over 700,000.

2019: Here we crossed the million view mark with over 1,300,000 views.

2024: We suddenly got to 13 or 14 times the number of the previous year 2023. Suddenly and unexpectedly, we had reached, unbelievably, over 25 million views for the year.

2025: We are getting over 3,000 million views per month.

This is not readers curling up with a good story.

https://plugintolinux.ca/forum/index.php?action=stats

#67

Distributions / Re: CachyOS ranked 2nd on Dist...

Last post by Jason - July 14, 2025, 07:55:53 PM

Intriguing. It explains the distro name, too. Initially, I read it as CaTchy Linux, which would be an outstanding name for a distro! If I were investigating gaming on Linux, its performance refinements could be beneficial.

I would recommend anyone watching the video speed it up. His speaking style is sluggish. But that could be my ADHD surfacing.

Thanks for sharing, Bill.

#68

Meetings / Re: PLUG regular meetings?

Last post by Jason - July 14, 2025, 07:26:22 PM

So far, we know that at least 3 people would attend a formal meeting with a presentation like the ole' days.

Sometimes I can't believe it's been over 5 years since the pandemic started. It doesn't feel like it! I expect most people felt like the 2-3 years of the pandemic crawled along.

#69

Meetings / Re: PLUG regular meetings?

Last post by Jason - July 14, 2025, 07:22:47 PM

Jason, you have upgraded your Win10 to Win11 without incident, even though Microsoft didn't suggest you do.

Is that even possible? Seems like Windows 10 has been nagging people for years to upgrade. I thought it pushed me into it, but when I found my machine wasn't compatible, I bought a new one that was. I upgraded my wife's Windows 10 computer, but I did that right away. It's not officially compatible, but there are workarounds.

You could explain what the problem appears to be in many cases, and how this can be worked around relatively safely, maybe cloning the Win10 drive for safekeeping.

Maybe the compatibility issue was what you're talking about. There are many ways to move to Windows 11, although I think only one works now, which is the one I used. It's pretty easy and involves using a program that creates a custom image you install/upgrade from (like Etcher). It uses Rufus:

https://www.tomsguide.com/computing/your-unsupported-pc-can-still-run-windows-11-in-2025-heres-how

I don't think there's enough there for an in-person meeting like we used to have. Not sure I'd do it anyway. I'd have to take a shower afterward.

Seriously, though, the method above did work for me when I used it, but that was about 1.6 years ago. And even if it does now, no guarantee Microsoft will continue providing updates for it. And Microsoft may remove the free-upgrade option when Windows 10 goes defunct so don't wait too long!

Does your TV computer need to connect to the Internet? If not, you might save yourself the trouble and stay on Windows 10. The main problem with using an EOL (End-of-Life) version of a product is that it may not receive any security updates. But that really only matters if you're connecting that PC to the Internet.

#70

Distributions / Re: CachyOS ranked 2nd on Dist...

Last post by Jason - July 14, 2025, 06:55:38 PM

Remember that the Distrowatch list is not a guide to the number of users, but the number of people looking up information on the distro. I never click Mint on the list, and I suspect Mike doesn't click Ubuntu on that list. I do poke about sometime when I see something new that looks interesting. Arch doesn't interest me, or something based on Arch.

I remember telling you that years ago, Buster, when you used to talk about their rankings all the time. Well done, young Padawan.