Veronica Explains

A new iPod has entered my life, and I'm excited to start using it with Rhythmbox. But first, I need to clean it up and install this awesome DosLab solid state drive and new Atomic Purple front panel.

Veronica Explains isn't funded by anyone other than you. Monthly supporters on Ko-Fi and Patreon get a weekly newsletter and other fun perks:

• https://ko-fi.com/VeronicaExplains
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Links referenced in the video (no affiliate links):

• Free Geek Twin Cities (where I got the iPod): https://www.freegeektwincities.org/
• Elite Obsolete (where I got much of the supplies): https://eoe.works/
• Elite Obsolete's 4th gen logic board: https://eoe.works/collections/ipod-monochrome-4th-generation-parts/products/tarkan-iflash-ata1-sd-card-ide-44-pin-adapter-for-apple-ipod-classic-3rd-4th-monochrome-photo-brand-new?variant=39264123322505
• Screen on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ENE6MY2/
• DosLab electronics (where I got the solid state ZIF replacement drive): https://doslabelectronics.com/shop
• iFixit's guides on this model iPod: https://www.ifixit.com/Device/iPod_5th_Generation_%28Video%29

Chapters: 0:00 I like iPods, maybe you should too 1:27 About this iPod and its future components 5:15 Separating the old iPod front panel from the back case 7:23 Removing the hard drive and front panel from the logic board 10:20 Replacing the broken iPod screen 11:43 Replacing the click wheel 13:54 New front panel! 15:57 Front panel is reassembled, now let's install a battery 17:10 Correctly installing the battery and headphone cable, Incorrectly installing the DosLab drive 18:29 First function test- no good! 19:31 Installing Rhythmbox on Fedora, trying the iPod, failing 20:48 Veronica. Her eyes uncovered! (I fixed the drive) 21:53 Trying (and failing) to initialize the iPod with Rhythmbox on Fedora 22:31 Initializing the iPod with a Windows machine 24:37 Administering the iPod with Rhythmbox on Fedora 26:50 Testing the iPod

Welcome to another Mint-tastic episode of Veronica Explains!

Today, I'm talking about Linux Mint, and Linux Mint Debian Edition, or LMDE. I used both Linux Mint versions for the last few weeks on my everyday laptop. Both are great, for sure. So why is LMDE positioned as an "alternative" to the Ubuntu-based "flagship" edition in the first place?

Let's talk about how these two distros work, and I'll share my thoughts.

Links you might like (not affiliate links or anything like that, I just think they're neat):

• Linux Mint in general: https://linuxmint.com
• Linux Mint talking about their stance on snaps specifically: https://linuxmint-user-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/snap.html
• Linux Mint introducing the Cinnamon desktop project way back when: https://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=1910
• @LonSeidman talking about PeerTube on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rbA4Se4-z8
• Lon.tv's same video, but over on PeerTube: https://peertube.lon.tv/w/9BrrK2kR7jFdtLwTdUtqEf
• The 6502 shirt from @TaylorAmyShow (what I'm wearing): https://thetaylorandamyshow.myspreadshop.com/6502?idea=64c2a5659515e23cf872c9e7
• My own PeerTube (another place to watch these videos): https://tinkerbetter.tube

And lastly, my self promotion, which pays the bills for Veronica Explains:

• Patreon: https://patreon.com/VeronicaExplains
• Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/VeronicaExplains

Chapters: 0:00 I say "greetings" and introduce today's Minty Madness 1:20 What's LMDE about, anyway? 3:51 Why make a Linux Mint Debian Edition in the first place? 4:56 Mint vs LMDE- head to head 8:25 Veronica "games" 9:19 I just think LMDE is neat 15:45 What I'm watching- Lon.tv talking about PeerTube!

#linux #linuxmint #debian

OpenSSH's ssh-keygen command just got a great upgrade.

In today's episode, I cover how Ed25519 keys are now the default, and how it probably doesn't impact your workflow. I'll briefly cover how the whole thing works, in an under 10 minute video. As per the custom in these parts, there's a few vintage computing goodies peppered throughout the episode.

🫶 Support (how this channel makes money) 🫶

This episode of Veronica Explains isn't sponsored by anyone other than you. Your support makes this show possible, and I appreciate your consideration. Supporters at the $2/mo level get a weekly newsletter from me.

https://patreon.com/VeronicaExplains https://ko-fi.com/VeronicaExplains

You can also buy nerdy shirts from my web store (it's not sponsorship, I literally host and maintain the web store myself, and my family designs the merch): https://vkc.sh/merch.

🤩 What I'm Watching! 🤩

Macintosh Librarian put out a great video about a Power Computing Macintosh clone recently that really caught my eye. I find the history of Apple, and Apple-adjacent technology fascinating, and if that's something you're into as well, Macintosh Librarian is worth your attention.

Her recent video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK-BkdnEF-8 Her channel (which you should subscribe to): https://youtube.com/MacintoshLibrarian

🖥️ Commands used during the making of this video 🖥️ ssh-keygen by itself: creates a default key in the default location (usually the .ssh folder inside the home directory).

With options, it gets more features. The -t option specifies the key type: -- ssh-keygen -t rsa generates an rsa key -- ssh-keygen -t ed25519 generates an ed25519 key

You'll see me combine this with the -f option to specify the output file(s). So ssh-keygen -f .ssh/testkeylmde -t ed25519 would create a key pair in the .ssh folder with the filename "testkeylmde" (and "testkeylmde.pub" for the public file).

You can then use ssh-copy-id to transfer and set up the public keyfile on a server, so that your private key will work with it:

ssh-copy-id -i [path-to-public-key] [user][at][server]

As I mentioned a few times, I have a more thorough OpenSSH video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FKsdbjzBcc

And for further reading about cryptography in general, here's some Wikipedia I referenced in the video:

• RSA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSA_(cryptosystem)
• Curve25519 (where ed25519 gets its mathy bits from): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curve25519
• The Twisted Edwards curve: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twisted_Edwards_curve
• EdDSA (the section on Ed25519): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EdDSA#Ed25519

📖 Chapters 📖 0:00 News about OpenSSH! 1:48 The basics of OpenSSH and ssh-keygen 4:27 How does this change impact you? 7:34 Now's a good time to prune your keys 9:04 What I'm Watching: Macintosh Librarian

Ever want to eject a flash drive but you can't because the device claims that it's "busy"?

In today's Lil' Linux Lesson, we dive into the fuser command! The fuser command is one of those Linux utilities that you don't realize you need, but once you learn it, you'll find you're using it all of the time.

My channel's not sponsored by anyone other than you. To help me keep it that way, please support if you can. Thank you so much!

🖖 Support the channel: https://patreon.com/VeronicaExplains ☕ ...or via Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/VeronicaExplains 👕 ...or buy a shirt from my website: https://vkc.sh/merch

📑 Common UNIX Specification: https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009639599/toc.pdf 📺 The recent @LearnLinuxTV video on the lsof command: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9nZ1ellaV0

Chapters and such: 0:00 What is the fuser command? 1:07 Examples of the fuser command 1:46 Basic usage of fuser in Linux 2:58 Using the info from the fuser command 4:15 Working with mount points or block devices with fuser 4:51 Working with TCP ports with fuser 5:46 Learning more about fuser (and about Linux) 6:20 "What I'm Watching": LearnLinuxTV's lsof video

You asked for it, you got it. Here's what I think of Red Hat.

Sorry this video took a bit longer than I'd like, since I'm working on finishing my basement (future recording space) at the moment.

Anyway, I'm not planning on dwelling much on Red Hat beyond this- my plan is to move forward with community-driven distros in mind, and recommend those to customers in the months and years ahead. I hope Red Hat gets to a good place again. We'll see.

Supporters make this possible. Seriously, nobody's sponsoring this video except you!

• Patreon: https://patreon.com/VeronicaExplains
• Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/VeronicaExplains
• Buy my shirt: https://vkc.sh/merch

Important Red Hat links referenced in today's video:

• Their June 21, 2023 blog: https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/furthering-evolution-centos-stream
• Red Hat doubles down on June 26, 2023: https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/red-hats-commitment-open-source-response-gitcentosorg-changes
• "Our origin story" page on their website: https://www.redhat.com/en/about/why-we-choose-open-source
• The "Appendix 1" PDF containing license details: https://www.redhat.com/licenses/Appendix_1_Global_English_20230309.pdf
• "Our Code is Open" marketing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj_tLugpz8g
• Guide for CentOS project code: https://developers.redhat.com/blog/2021/02/03/a-guide-for-using-centos-project-code
• Embracing CentOS: https://www.redhat.com/en/about/press-releases/red-hat-and-centos-join-forces
• Extending CentOS: https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/transforming-development-experience-within-centos
• Extinguishing CentOS: https://blog.centos.org/2020/12/future-is-centos-stream/
• CentOS Stream website: https://centos.org/centos-stream
• Red Hat saying CentOS Stream is not for production: https://www.redhat.com/en/resources/centos-stream-checklist
• IBM Q1 2023 results: https://newsroom.ibm.com/2023-04-19-IBM-RELEASES-FIRST-QUARTER-RESULTS

Other important links referenced in the video:

• Rocky's plan: https://rockylinux.org/news/keeping-open-source-open/
• Debian's "who we are" page: https://www.debian.org/intro/people
• Debian's "who can contribute" page: https://www.debian.org/intro/help
• LWN.net's Kernel 6.1 stats page: https://lwn.net/Articles/915435/

#linux #opensource #redhat

Chapters: 0:00 Brought to you by corporate greed 1:02 #YARDE (Yet Another RHEL Drama Explanation) 3:08 Scars from CentOS 5:08 So what's next? 6:48 Why am I going all in on Debian? 8:11 The "culture" is the culprit 9:43 What about Pop!_OS? 11:13 Don't tell me what to do, Veronica

My channel's not sponsored by anyone other than you. To help me keep it that way, please support if you can. Thank you so much!

https://patreon.com/VeronicaExplains https://ko-fi.com/VeronicaExplains

In today's very fun and very improvised video, I'm going to install GrapheneOS on a brand new Pixel 7. I haven't changed an OS on an Android phone in years, so this will be exciting. And messy!

Resources (these are not affiliate links): 📖 Companion blog post: https://vkc.sh/how-i-use-a-smartphone/ 📱 GrapheneOS website: https://grapheneOS.org 🤖 F-Droid project: https://f-droid.org/ 🌃 AuroraOSS website I visited briefly, I hope it's legit: https://auroraoss.com/

I also reference two videos from other YouTubers: I have not watched these in their entirety and am merely providing these as information which you may want to consider (I am not endorsing any views here): Louis Rossmann video referenced: • Why I deleted Gra...
Techlore video referenced: • GrapheneOS: Docum...

Chapters 'n' stuff: 0:00 This is not a GrapheneOS tutorial 0:51 What is GrapheneOS 2:47 Pixel 7 unboxing 3:51 Starting to install GrapheneOS but oops I need to update first 6:13 Actually installing GrapheneOS 11:46 Booting GrapheneOS for the first time 13:36 The great "app installation" saga of 2023 20:30 Should I use the Aurora Store, maybe? 23:30 Immediate conclusions about the initial install and configuration 25:03 Conclusions after a few weeks with GrapheneOS

The "cd" command, "change directory", is a critical part of navigating in a Linux or UNIX based system.

In today's Lil' Linux Lesson, we'll dive into the cd command, some intermediate usage bits, and then speculate about some POSIX reasons why certain choices were made. We'll span the gamut from beginner to advanced in one video. I hope you enjoy!

This video was not sponsored - if you want to help me do more videos like this one, please help support the channel!

Buy my shirt directly from my merch store: https://vkc.sh/merch Become a member and support the channel: https://support.linux.mom

Chapters and whatnot: 0:00 How well do YOU know the cd command? 0:14 What does the cd command actually do? 0:51 Basic usage of the cd command on Linux 2:01 Going up the directory tree with the cd command 2:34 Going to a previous directory with the cd command 2:51 Navigating back to the home directory using cd 3:05 Navigating to absolute paths with the cd command 3:31 Want to know more about the cd command? Use the man builtins page! 3:42 Why isn't there a manpage for cd?

I found a Bondi Blue iMac G3 lying in the street!

In today's Mac-tastic episode of Veronica Explains, I try and get this trashed roadside iMac G3 from 1998 working again. I'll go through all of the steps I took, and we'll see if we can get this classic 90s computer working again.

Huge shout-out to Bryce from Midnight Notion (@MidnightNotion on YouTube) for helping me find this beast!

Also, credit is owed to @ActionRetro and @MacintoshLibrarian from YouTube for having awesome 90s-friendly websites.

Oh, and if you want to help support the channel, please check out https://patreon.com/veronicaexplains. I'm not sponsored, so every bit does help. Thank you!

Chapters: 0:00 Let's go #MARCHintosh with this iMac G3 I found in the street! 0:34 Why does the iMac G3 matter? 1:50 How'd I find a Bondi Blue iMac lying in the street? 3:55 Getting the iMac cleaned up and checked 5:00 Inspecting and cleaning the iMac G3 logic board, removing the battery 7:10 Installing an SSD and reassembling the CD-ROM drive in the iMac G3 9:22 Final reassembly and initial testing of the iMac G3 10:25 Moment of truth- does the trashed iMac G3 actually boot up? 11:00 Partitioning and installing Mac OS 8.5.1 on the iMac G3 12:40 Getting the Bondi Blue iMac G3 on the modern internet! 15:02 Cleaning the crud out of the iMac I found in the street

My Patreon: https://patreon.com/VeronicaExplains Buy my Ethernet shirt: https://vkc.sh/merch All other support options: https://support.linux.mom

So YouTube has a comment scamming problem. Lots of creators on this website have talked about it, yet YouTube hasn't fixed the problem.

In today's episode, I'm going to talk about the comment scammers. They've shown up in my comments section, and it has to stop. I have a few ideas about that. I also wanted to show you all what I am currently doing to try and tackle this on my own feed.

Big shoutout to LearnLinuxTV, Crosstalk Solutions , and The Linux Experiment for helping me confirm most YouTubers won't send you WhatsApp messages. :P

0:00 I say "greetings" and tell you about scammers 1:27 No reputable YouTuber will do this! 3:29 What can I, Veronica, do to stop scammers now? 5:19 What can YouTube do? Probably a lot? 7:46 My conclusion- YouTube can fix comment spam, and should.

#YouTube #scammers #comments

New on Veronica Explains - Word of the Week!

This week, we'll be defining "backporting".

Backporting is when an older software package receives an update from a newer version of the same software.

Software developers frequently backport important fixes from new to old versions of their work- it's vital to understand for any Linux sysadmin!

Oh, and if you want to help me make more videos, please check out https://support.linux.mom. Thank you!

#linux #sysadmin #homelab

Mastodon is all the rage among the cool kids, and is growing in popularity among folks who've left Twitter.

It's easily self-hostable, too, which is awesome! So, should you stand up your own server? I'm not recommending it to most folks, and this video explains why. TLDR- build communities and not silos.

Links to support Veronica Explains: 🅿️ Patreon/memberships: https://support.linux.mom 👚 Get the shirt: https://vkc.sh/merch

0:00 I say "greetings" and tell you what Mastodon is 3:11 Should you spin up your own Mastodon server? 5:40 Why you might want to spin one up anyway 6:27 Mastodon is exciting, and we should use it responsibly

#mastodon #twitter #selfhosted

👕 Buy the shirt: https://vkc.sh/merch ❤️ Support the channel: https://support.linux.mom

No video game is more iconic than Super Mario Bros. No text editor is more iconic than Vim.

In today's platform-packed episode of Veronica Explains, I try my hand¹ at playing Super Mario Bros, but using Vim controls instead of a controller. I'll also talk briefly about the history of Vim and Vi, and show you how to configure FCEUX to use whatever keys you fancy.

Oh, and before I forget! "Mario" and "Super Mario Bros" are registered trademarks of Nintendo of America.

- ¹ pun intended

0:00 Dreaming and scheming about getting better at Vim 0:24 What is Vim, and why are the arrows like that? 2:15 Why would I want to get better at Vim navigation? 3:21 Setting up Mario on Vim mode 5:55 Actually playing Mario with Vim navigation 19:19 What do I think of Mario with Vim controls? 20:36 Ask Veronica- what's the difference between virtualization and emulation?

Support Veronica Explains: https://support.linux.mom Buy my t-shirt: https://vkc.sh/merch

My new keyboard is nearly as old as I am!

In this exciting episode of Veronica Explains, I share my most recent vintage computing find, an actual factual IBM Model M keyboard!

This keyboard - an IBM Model M 1390131 to be precise - is a legend for excellent feel and longevity- this one is from 1986 and feels (and sounds) like a dream.

It's not just show-and-tell in today's episode, though- I'll be going into how I got it set up with my modern USB-only computer using a Soarer's Computer- an excellent adapter which lets me remap keys, program macros, and other fun stuff.

It's super neat and I hope you enjoy it!

Links referenced in the video:

eBay store where I bought the converter: https://www.ebay.com/str/barcodemaverick Very helpful website which explains how the Soarer's Converter works: https://sharktastica.co.uk/guides/soarers_1 Geekhack with Soarer: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=17458.0 GeekHack wiki bolt mod: https://wiki.geekhack.org/index.php?title=Modifications:IBM_Model_M:Nut_and_Bolt_Mod Sharktastica.co.uk, an awesome keyboard website PJRC's Teensy adapter: https://www.pjrc.com/store/teensy.html PJRC's HID Listen: https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/hid_listen.html Adafruit pinout for AT connector: https://learn.adafruit.com/convert-your-model-m-keyboard-to-bluetooth-with-bluefruit-ez-key-hid/code

Commands:

Packages needed for Linux users: Fedora: sudo dnf install libstdc++.i686 libusb-compat-0.1.i686 Ubuntu: sudo apt install libusb-1.1-4:i386

Soarer's Converter tools format: First, create a binary with ./scas [layout file] [target binary] Second, flash the binary with ./scwr [binary created with scas]

Chapters:

00:00 Introducing my Model M 00:46 History of the Model M 04:34 Price and comparison with Unicomp 05:54 How'd I get my Model M? 09:48 Cleanup Montage 11:12 Why use a Soarer's Converter? 14:41 Remapping keys with the Soarer's Converter 21:06 Is the Soarer's Converter worth it? 22:32 Ask Veronica

#retro #retrocomputing #keyboard

That's right! Now your Commodore 64 can surf the web! Well, kinda.

In today's video, I go over two ways to get the venerable Commodore 64 online. The C64 is one of my favorite retro machines, and I hope you enjoy this trip down (a slightly modernized) memory lane.

Here's a few links to the tools I referenced in today's video, and other things which might be helpful! ⚡ C64 PSU I use: https://www.c64psu.com 📶 Wi-Fi modem: https://retrorewind.ca/c64-wifi-modem 🟧 64nic+: http://www.go4retro.com/products/64nic/ 🖥️ CCGMS Download: https://commodore.software/downloads/download/59-ccgms/15582-ccgms-2021 📌 Particles BBS website: http://particles.org ℹ️ Helpful blog post on troubleshooting the 64nic+: https://color64.com/dialing-out-two-options-for-getting-your-commodore-online/ 🐸 Frogfind and 📰 68k.news - heavily optimized sites with retro computers in mind: http://frogfind.com and http://68k.news (courtesy of the fantastic @Action Retro) ⏩ My favorite Fastloader - the "Epyx Fastload Reloaded" from The Future Was 8-Bit: https://www.thefuturewas8bit.com/shop/commodore/eflr.html 🎮 Evan Amos' book, "The Game Console" (he took many great photos of game systems and put them into the public domain): https://nostarch.com/game-console-20 🚧 Items I 3d printed for this episode:

• Pi1541 case: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4611954
• 64nic+ case: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2909991

Commodore BASIC commands used during the making of this video: LOAD"*",8 - load the first thing (or last opened file during current session) on the Commodore floppy drive RUN - runs the program it just loaded LOAD"$",8 - load the list of files from the Commodore floppy drive LIST - actually list out the list-of-files loaded with the previous command "Esoteric command" that renames the file: OPEN 1,8,15,"R:NETCONF.PRG= NETCONF.PRG":CLOSE 1 LOAD"SETMAC",8 - sets the mac address for your device in Contiki LOAD"CONTIKI",8 - loads the CONTIKI program itself

If you'd like to help support the channel, the best way is to join the Patreon! https://patreon.com/veronicaexplains. And thank you!

Chapters:

00:00 Intro 01:03 What is a Commodore 64? 03:55 "Online" in the 1980s 06:25 Modern modem options for retro computers 07:15 The C64 Wi-Fi Modem from Retro Rewind! 13:47 Contiki and the 64nic+ 18:42 Credit to those keeping retro alive 19:48 Ask Veronica

#retro #retrocomputing #commodore

Ever want to know a little about sudo, the Linux/Unix command to elevate user privileges?

Well, finally, here's a little video for you! This is the first installment in my new series, "Lil' Linux Lessons"! These bite-sized videos are designed to be short introductions to a complex topic for Linux beginners.

And if you want to help me make more Linux content: 🪙 https://patreon.com/VeronicaExplains 👕 https://vkc.sh/merch

Chapters:

00:00 - What is "root" anyway? 01:34 - Introducing sudo! 02:23 - How to use sudo 03:28 - A bit of advanced sudo concepts 04:34 - Sudo Summary

Remmina is a fantastic tool to connect to a remote computer over the network. In this video, I'll show you how to connect to a remote computer using Remmina, via the RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) and VNC (Virtual Network Computing) protocols. You can even share a folder and a clipboard between your machine and the remote device. It's super neat!

Helpful links: Remmina on Flathub: https://www.flathub.org/apps/details/org.remmina.Remmina Evan Amos's book, "The Game Console 2.0" (I used his photo of the NES): https://nostarch.com/game-console-20

Originally uploaded to YouTube: November 28, 2021.

On this episode of Veronica Explains, I explain the absolute basics of hypervisors generally, KVM specifically, and virt-manager graphically.

Distro-specific KVM instructions referenced in the video:

Fedora: https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/quick-docs/getting-started-with-virtualization/ Ubuntu: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/KVM/Installation

In today's episode, I talk about why I just quit my job as a system administrator and COBOL developer.

It's OK to be ready for change.

If you want to help me make that change, please join me on Patreon or Ko-Fi. Members get a weekly newsletter, occasional member-only livestreams, and other ways to connect with a positive community.

https://patreon.com/VeronicaExplains https://ko-fi.com/VeronicaExplains

Also, I used a picture of Miss Frizzle from Magic School Bus, which is owned by Scholastic. I also used a photo of Bill Nye that was posted on his website. Neither endorsed this video nor were consulted.

Chapters: 0:00 I quit 0:43 Career background 1:35 Realizations 3:53 Is COBOL OK? 4:46 What's next for the channel?

#career #technology #linux