cyberwolfie

I'm running Jellyfin on a Debian-server in my home, and I have the associated media folders set up as samba shares so that I can transfer any new media from my laptop to the server through Dolphin (KDE file manager).

This has for the most part worked very well (except slow speeds), but I've had an issue recently where the files are not copied over properly. This resulted in glitches in for example music files that would stop playback. I checked the checksums of some of these files, and they were different from source. Seems like the glitchy files are missing some data, but at no point were I notified about this. It works fine after I removed the files and transferred again, and now the checksums match.

Is this a common issue with samba, or could it be a sign that my HDD is acting up?

I am contemplating buying one of the Seagate OneTouch Hub external hard drives as a backup for my media that's currently stored on some other external hard drives connected to my home server since they are always spinning.

My local retailers don't give me many options as far as large storage storage solution goes, and the only other viable option now is a WD My BOOK 14 TB.

However, the retailer I will be buying it from goes out of its way to state that Windows or macOS is required. Is there any reason I should believe that I will run into troubles under Linux? I've had no issues whatsoever with some other Seagate hard drives (Expansion 5 TB), which I just instantly reformat to ext4 and use as normal. My guess is that this is just for the included software? I just want to make sure before I order.

(More long term I will set up a NAS, but for now time to learn and configure is more scarce than money, so I just want a solution that will prevent me from losing my data)

EDIT: For anyone coming to this later wondering the same thing, I can confirm that it works just fine. It is just the included backup software that is not compatible. I've formatted it to ext4 and currently using rsync to backup my media.

I want to mirgrate my Nextcloud instance from a VPS to server in my home. I run the Nextcloud AIO Docker container, which uses Borg backup. The backup repo is about ~70 GB.

How would I best go about transferring it? Is using scp a good solution here (in combination with nohup so that I don't have to keep my ssh session active)? Or is there some other best practice way of doing this?

I switched to Linux about 1.5 years ago now when replacing my old Macbook Pro with a Tuxedo Infinity Book. I am super happy with the transition, and for the most part my digital life has severely improved as a result of it. There's one thing in particular though that I haven't fully grasped or understood despite all the talk about it, and that really has mostly caused confusion on my part, and that is Xorg/X11 (I don't know the difference...) vs. Wayland.

I started out with Tuxedo OS 1 and 2 running KDE Plasma 5.x.x, and thus have been on X11 for the most part since switching to Linux. I never dared switching to Wayland myself. However, they somewhat recently started offering optional upgrades to Tuxedo OS 3 running KDE Plasma 6 where Wayland is the default, and I took the plunge. The only real difference I noticed was small annoyances that I had to fix. Glitching windows running on XWayland and having to configure some .desktop-files to force apps to launch natively in Wayland. Apps not showing the correct desktop icons but the generic Wayland logo instead, making Alt+Tabbing a bit more difficult because it is harder to tell applications apart. Annoying smooth scrolling (I don't want scrolling to have as much friction as polished ice) activated in all kinds of applications that I seem to have to turn off individually. Nothing breaking (though I haven't dared booting with my Nvidia dGPU yet in fear of breaking something irreversibly...), but I haven't noticed any improvements either, and I find it a bit frustrating not knowing where to make the necessary changes and always having to search for it seemingly on a case by case basis.

Now for instance I was updating FreeTube to a new version, and the flags I previously added to the ́.desktop'-file suddenly doesn't work anymore (--enable-features=UseOzonePlatform,WaylandWindowDecorations --ozone-platform-hint=auto). The application won't launch unless I remove them, but then it launches under XWayland instead. Not that I have any issues so far running it like that, but I guess I would prefer to run everything natively in Wayland if I can.

I am currently in the process of finally getting rid of my Meta-account. In the process I have requested data extraction. The media stuff was made available pretty quickly, but the data logs are still being processed. Does anyone know what data they actually contain, and whether there's any point in waiting for it?

The reason I ask is that I also recently got a notification saying that will soon train their AI-model on my data which they will use the "legitimate interest" bullshit to do. I want to have my account deleted by the time this will be phased in (towards the end of June).

So now I am in the dilemma of waiting for the data logs to complete (which I don't know how long will take) or just delete my account in hopes that it will be purged before the AI-stuff goes into effect. I am unable to find out exactly what these data logs consists of and whether there is any point in keeping onto them for whatever reason.

Now, whether I can trust that they actually delete the data is another matter, but at least I would've done what I can, and they would break the law if the retain the data after my deletion request (under GDPR).

I've been having some issues with my network card on my new Minisforum UM690S. The issue is related to both WiFi and Bluetooth, but seeing as I have now a cabled connection for internet (and it will stay that way), I am really just in need of solving this for the Bluetooth-issue. I've been trying to figure out how to solve this using iwconfig and hciconfig, but so far I am coming up empty with a concrete solution.

The problem: The Bluetooth signal strength seems to be very poor. The computer is in a cupboard under my TV, with a wooden panel blocking the line of sight (this will need to stay closed). I use a Bluetooth keyboard with mousepad, and otherwise I connect game controllers when I want to play games. If I am close enough to the machine, especially the controllers work just fine while the keyboard is a bit wonky, but when I am in my couch (about 3 m / 10 ft away), the keyboard stops working and the game controllers are behaving mad. There will be many lines in dmesg reporting from the controller that says something like "compensating for 27 dropped IMU reports". This is a big problem for me, because the computer's main function is as an entertainment station where I will spend 99% of my time using the computer in the couch.

The keyboard has been used with no problems with a previous computer at the same distance, never had any issues with it then. I also had a similar issue with my WiFi - when the computer was temporarily placed in a room further from my WiFi hotspot, the dl/ul speeds were extremely slow. Moving the computer much closer to the hotspot fixed this issue.

I suspect the root of the issue is the low transmitting power, which for WiFi is reported to be 3 dBm (output from iwconfig). My laptop outputs 22 dBm, and the previous computer would output the same (if not 20 dBm). I don't understand the output that hciconfig inqtpl yields, but the number following "TX bytes" is significantly lower than on my laptop. I think I need to change this, but I am not entirely sure how and to what, and if it is even a good idea to mess around with this.

Some relevant (?) output: Let me know if there are other output that can be helpful in diagnosing / fixing the problem.

$ inxi -Fxpmrz
...
Network:  
    Device-2: MEDIATEK MT7921 802.11ax PCI Express Wireless Network Adapter.
        driver: mt7921e v: kernel bus-ID: 03:00.0
...
Bluetooth:
    Device-1: MediaTek Wireless_Device type: USB driver: btusb v: 0.8
        bus-ID: 5-3:2
    Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 0 state: up address: <filter>
        bt-v: 3.0 lmp-v: 5.2

$ hciconfig inqtpl
hci0:        Type: Primary    Bus: USB
             BD Address: XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX    ACL MTU: 1021:6    SCO MTU:  240:8
             UP RUNNING PSCAN
             RX bytes:12353226  acl:217808  sco:0  events:496   errors:0
             TX bytes:10815  acl:145   sco:0    commands:193  errors.0

$ iwconfig
wlan0            IEEE 802.11   ESSID:"MyNetwork"
                 Mode:Managed    Frequency: 5.5 GHz   Access Point: XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
                 Bit Rate=780 Mb/s   Tx-Power=3 dBm
                 Retry short limit:7    RTS thr:off      Fragment thr:off 
                 Power Management:off
                 Link Quality=70/70    Signal level=-32 dBm
                 Rx invalid nwid:0   Rx invalid crypt:0    Rx invalid frag:0
                 Tx excessive retries:0     Invalid misc:0       Missed beacon:0

I am trying to set up KDE Connect between a machine running Linux Mint and my Android-device. It does not show up, and it turns out I don't receive any response if I ping it, and I have the same issue trying to ping the machine from my Android device (from Termux). I've tried two different Android devices, but no luck.

This is not an issue with two other machines I have. Both have KDE Connect setup and I can ping the phone just fine, and I can also ping from the phone. They're all connected to the same VLAN. I can also ping from this machine to the other machines. ufw is disabled.

What could be the issue here?

EDIT: Connection established suddenly after installing and running iptraf.

I'm trying to connect my Wiimote via Bluetooth to a new Minisforum UM690S running Linux Mint 21.3. I'm using this post from the ArchWiki as a reference, and I am fully able to do this successfully on my laptop (running Tuxedo OS 2) and another mini-PC running Pop_OS!

I use the Bluetooth Devices-menu in Linux Mint to do this. The Wiimote is discoverable, and I get a message saying it is connected. However, the four, blue LEDs keep flashing (although they keep doing so which indicates that there is some kind of connection), and it does not show up in the device list in e.g. Dolphin Emulator. I've installed xwiimote, but it is not listed when running xwiishow list. On my other machines, it instantly shows up here. I have tried this both with or without running sudo modprobe hid-wiimote prior to connection attempt.

On my other machines, it is paired immediately after trying to connect. Then only the first light is turned on, and is permanent. If I try to right-click and click "Pair", I sometimes get a prompt to authorize the device with a PIN. This results in a line in the dmesg-output that reads Bluetooth: hci0: ACL packet for unknown connection handle 3837. The ArchWiki-article says that this would indicate that the wiimote-plugin is not included in BlueZ, but I have confirmed that it is by running grep wiimote /usr/lib/bluetooth/bluetoothd which yields the output grep: /usr/lib/bluetooth/bluetoothd: binary file matches.

I am not sure where to continue troubleshooting now. Any ideas?

I have a Python-package that calls Inkscape as part of a conversion process. I have it installed, but through Flatpak. This means that calling inkscape does not work in the terminal, but rather flatpak run org.inkscape.Inkscape. I need the package to be able to call it as inkscape.

What is the best way to go about this?

I am still very much a novice in the self-hosting space, Linux etc. having fairly recently switched from using macOS as my daily driver and not tinkering much at all.

One of the things that often confuses me is networking and making sure my setup is secure. This is currently holding me back from hosting more stuff locally that I would require access to from outside my home, as I am afraid I am doing something that could severely compromise my data. It can sometimes be difficult to follow explanations from more advanced users due to the many different components of networking and security, and different layers of abstraction, which prevents me from following completely. I might understand one particular case, but then be unable to make connections to another one. So I would want to research this more intensively, and ideally I would end up being able to easily understand the data flows - the paths the data takes (e.g. I make a HTTPS request to some server from my laptop, how is that traffic routed correctly through my local area network and later the wide area network), in what forms (i.e. different protocols, encryption layers etc.).

In communities like this, I see there are a lot of very knowledgeable people who maybe could recommended any resources that cover this from the basics and onto more advanced stuff? Maybe a textbook from a university course on ICT that is considered particularly good? A YouTube channel with great explanations and visualizations? I am looking both at home LAN and internet in general. Enterprise level networks are not very interesting to me (at the moment).

I've been using a sound bar from Sonos with my TV for several years now, but in an effort to ditch the last appliances that unnecessarily require accounts and internet access, I am looking to ditch it in favor of something that is entirely contained within my own network.

What I think are my requirements:

• No microphone
• Ability to directly play audio from my Android (running Calyx OS), something I cannot do with the Sonos.
• HDMI ARC-connection to TV so that it can be controlled by my remote
• Sound must not be abysmal, but I am no audiophile. Preferably stand-alone without subwoofer
• Maximum 90 cm in length so that it fits under my TV, preferably in black / dark grey with a clean look

So far I've found something like this, which I believe gives me enough flexibility with HDMI ARC, Bluetooth and 3.5mm, even though it comes with a subwoofer: https://www.tcl.com/eu/en/soundbar/p733w

In terms of software, I have long been considering something like balenaSound to replace the Sonos functionality, but I'll soon be setting up Home Assistant to run my lights, and I see that there is a Snapcast integration that might work for me here?

Are there anyone here who have done something similar and have found setups that work well or that I should stay away from?

I am using ProtonVPN, and have (or so I thought) set up qBittorrent to bind to the network interface that ProtonVPN is using (tun0). The connection symbol turns red if I turn off the VPN, and downloads will stop. However, when checking the torrent address on ipleak.net, it seems that this bind is not working properly - my real IP shows up after I have disconnected my VPN. I thought that there shouldn't be any connections made when traffic is not via the tun0 interface, so that my real IP should never be known by the detection tool. Am I wrong?

I have not configured the kill switch, but perhaps I should do so?