GamerOS 17: SteamOS Reborn

I have spend a lot of time testing out a newly discovered distro called GamerOS. This distro gets it's latest packages from Arch and bundles them together into a read-only image which can then be updated atomically. For those with Nvidia graphics cards, GamerOS has the latest 440.82 released April 7th. Those are AMD cards are not left out. AMD works very closely with the Linux kernel and Mesa graphics  people, no need to even worry about proprietary drivers. The same is true for systems with Intel HD graphics too.

So far I'm having pretty good results. The windows games that work- work and the games that don't-don't. It does not get any simpler than that. I think I forgot to mention before that the developers of this particular distro maintain their own whitelist (certified to work games) with small tweaks and quality-of-life enhancements on a per-game basis. 

Here are 4 GamerOS:17 certified games.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War 

I do own Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition on Xbox One. If you've played the original Shadow of Mordor you will be pleased to hear that this is just like it but better... in some aspects. The Shadow of Mordor is a Linux native game, meaning there's no need for proton. Middle-earth : Shadow of War runs as expected.

Yakuza Kiwami

Yakuza Kiwami is an action-adventure video game developed by Sega. I hear a lot of comparisons about Yakuza being Shenmues spiritual successor over the years on YouTube, podcasts and other places across the world wide web. I am a hardcore Shenmue fan. The two games are not similar. Yakuza is a beat-'em-up with an emphasis on combat. Shenmue is a detective-style game with an emphasis on story. Yakuza Kiwami played at a solid 60fps all the way, everything on max settings. 

TEKKEN 7

I don't own this particular game on PC. But the franchise has always been a blast. Marshall Law and Kuma are my favorite characters. The game runs perfectly on  ultra settings 60fps at 1080p out of the box.

F1 2019

F1 2019 is the official video game of the 2019 Formula One and Formula 2 Championships. I'm not much of a racing fan. I can only  tell you the two guys on the cover art  Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. Flawless. No Stutters. No artifacts. High Settings 1080p game play. On a side note, F1 2017 is a Linux native game, no need for proton.

As a reminder here's my test system..

CPU:  Ryzen™ 7 2700
GPU: Powercolor Red Dragon RX 5700
RAM: 16GB (2 x 8GB) (PC4 19200)
MOTHERBOARD: ASRock AB350M Pro4 (BIOS 5.90 2019/7/5) 
STORAGE:  Intel 545s Series 2.5" 256GB +WB Blue 1TB 7200 RPM 

Linux 5.6.3
Mesa 20.0.4
Nvidia 440.82
Steamos-compositor-plus 1.5.1
Steam-tweaks 0.3.2
Steam-buddy 0.4.6

Everybody can find part one and part two of my earlier post here...  ( part one part two )

GamerOS: Fighting Games

I talked about things like combat sports on here a lot. It's an interest I have outside of software and technology. Speaking of software and technology, did you know that a game called Karate Champ popularized combat sports in video games?

In 1984 a little-known game called The Way of the Empty Hand debuted in Japanese arcades. It was developed by Technōs Japan for Data East. We know it in the United States as karate champ. Soon after that another game hit the market place called Yie-Ar Kung Fu, which featured a protagonist who doing  a Bruce Lee-style of Kung Fu. The player faces many types of opponents, each with a unique appearance and fighting style. Both Karate Champ and Yie-Ar Kung Fu established the basis for modern fighting games.

Then in 1987 Capcom a company known for the shooter Vulgus, introduced Street fighter to the world. I remember playing it at a neighborhood convenient store. It was okay but I remember not being all that impressed. In Street fighter you played as martial artist named Ryu, who competed in martial arts tournament spanning five countries and battling against 10 opponents. It was in 1991 when the franchise changed everything with the introduction of Street Fighter II: The World Warrior. Street Fighter II was the first one-on-one fighting game that gave players a choice of what character they wanted to play. It wouldn't be until 1992 when I got the Sega Genesis version of Street Fighter II: Champion Edition which was the first of many updates of Street Fighter II: The World Warrior. They didn't have DLC back then so you had to keep buying the new version of the game. My favorite update was called Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers. I got it on sale at a KB toys for $10 USD

Fast forward to 2020 Street fighter along with other fighting games are still being played  til this day. Unfortunately none of the major fighting games have been ported to GamerOS so we're forced to use proton. For those who don't know, Proton is Valve’s combined solution forked out from Wine with additional patches and libraries like DXVK (DirectX on Vulkan). It makes it possible to run Microsoft’s Windows compatible software on a Linux-based operating system. 

Right now I'm testing out GamerOS which is based on Arch Linux. GamerOS purposefully does not include a desktop because the goal is to replicate a console experience. My original post here.

Test machine:

CPU: Ryzen™ 7 2700 

GPU: Powercolor Red Dragon RX 5700

RAM: 16GB (2 x 8GB) (PC4 19200)

MOTHERBOARD: ASRock AB350M Pro4  (BIOS 5.90 2019/7/5)

STORAGE: Intel 545s Series 2.5" 256GB +WB Blue 1TB 7200 RPM 

I didn't use a keyboard or mouse. I played all my games with the HORI Fighting Commander Xbox One version wired USB controller.

Street Fighter V and Injustice 2 are a no-go in GamerOS.

These are the games I got to work. 

I don't compete online in fighting games. Online modes were never tested. Therefore I don't know how online multiplayer works on under proton. Keep in mind many games do not support multiplayer on GamerOS due to dependency on Windows-specific anti-cheat software, so your mileage will vary from game to game. King of fighters 14 is the only game I personally own. I have played it for more than 30 hours prior to GamerOS. All the other games I've played for around an hour.

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is a compilation that collects the arcade versions of twelve fighting games from the Street Fighter series.

Works out of the box. Tried the mainline Street fighter games along with Alpha 1/2/3 with no issues. 

King of Fighters 14

King of Fighters 14 is packed with content with a massive selection of fighters A total of 50 individual fighters  Most of the men and women in the King of Fighters feel unique. The environments range from an abandoned church to an aircraft carrier to the Great Wall of China. The game runs perfect at a constant 60 frames a second. It is almost perfect under Proton 5.0-5 with no tweaks necessary. Menu and audio, options all worked fine. However the game many times starts minimized.

Ultimate Marvel VS. Capcom 3 

One of my favorite fighting games of time. It is as good as Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes. My only complaint is that some of my favorite characters are missing from Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 because it has a much smaller roster. However you do get Rocket Raccoon, Amaterasu and Francis Algernon "Frank" West. Under proton the game runs smooth at 60fps and it's the exact same game that came out in 2011. It has very basic graphics options.

Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition

The comics that were written about this game are great, and for fans of these iconic characters they will be in heaven. This game is set in an alternate reality, with many plot twists. Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition includes all six of the DLC characters, plus 60 additional S.T.A.R. Labs Missions and 47 DLC skins. I got it working well when using lunch option: PROTON_USE_D9VK=1 %command%

Covid is not the flu. It's not even part of the same family.

In late February, Trump labeled the virus a “hoax” during a South Carolina rally. On March 9, when more than 500 people had been diagnosed with COVID-19, he compared coronavirus to the “common flu.” 

So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!  -March 9th Trump tweet.

Let's keep in mind that a year represents 365 sometimes 366 days. 37,000 people died from influenza last year. The covid-19 death toll by April 1st what's around 5,000. At least 30,000 people died since April 1st and we haven't even reached May yet. 

Why does it seem like I keep hearing the same lie repeated.. the border between the United States and People's Republic of China was never closed. Infected people came in from China after January 31st. The Jan. 31 directive ONLY "banned foreigners" who had been in China in the last 14 days from entering the United States. So thousands of people was traveling back and forth between China and the United States after the mandate. And there was no testing. By January 31st community spread was already underway. 

February 14, 2020,   U.S. Senators drafting a letter about their concerns. On Feb. 18th,  26 Democratic senators sent a letter to Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar and Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Mick Mulvaney.

The letter in part..

"Here in the United States, the total number of infections stands at 15 and the risk to the general public remains low, but public health experts expect additional cases will occur. Just this week, World Health Organization Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the virus is not only a serious emergency for China, but a very grave threat for the rest of the world" wrote the Senators.

"Finally, it is troubling that the President’s newly released Budget proposes to cut public health programs that are critical to preventing and containing the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19, including almost $100 million from crucial CDC global health investments, and $35 million from the CDC’s Infectious Disease Rapid Response Reserve Fund, which has served as the primary source of funding for responding to COVID-19. These budget cuts risk undermining the agency’s ability to access immediately available funding to initiate an early and rapid response to emerging pandemic threats like novel coronavirus when the U.S. is faced with a public health emergency." the letter continued

It seemed a government expert, Nancy Messonnier of the CDC agreed with the senators. 

We can and should be prepared for this new virus to gain a foothold in the U.S. The goal of the measures we have taken to date are to slow the introduction and impact of this disease in the United States, but at some point, we are likely to see community spread in the U.S.” - Feb. 26 Nancy Messonnier centers for disease control.

So how did the administration respond to the concerns of the coming pandemic? They started to label it a hoax. Mulvaneys response to the letter: The reason you’re seeing so much attention to it [coming pandemic] today is they think this is going to be what brings down the president. That’s what this is all about.” Feb 28th White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.

Then later that day, we heard Trump’s infamous comment at the Feb. 28th rally where he declared that the Democrats’ concerns and or criticisms from that letter was "their new hoax." Was Nancy Messonnier a part of the new hoax? Is she merely a figment of our imagination that was invented solely to contradict the head of the executive Branch? Many will try to lead you to believe that she too is part of the deep state. 

The senators that signed that letter were right, Trump was wrong. At least 30,000 dead since April 1st. The Democrats’ concerns were no deep state hoax.

GamerOS

Q. Are there any SteamOS-like projects are out there?

A.. GamerOS


A few weeks ago I discovered GamerOS. I honestly had never heard of it before. Like SteamOS before it, GamerOS is a very specific, specialized distro intended for PC hardware that will be used as dedicated game consoles and nothing else. It's very lightweight, and is designed specifically with big-screen TVs in mind. For starters I need to point out, not all games on Steam are compatible with Linux. In fact, the majority of them still aren’t. With the implementation of Proton, SOME windows exclusive games are accessible on the Linux steam client. However games using complex DRM or anti-cheat systems will be difficult, or even impossible to ever get working.

GamerOS is based on Arch Linux. However there is no desktop environment. Gamer OS boots directly into Steam Big Picture mode. There’s no dual booting between Windows or other Linux distros. It is meant for  dedicated gaming PC providing a console-like experience on generic PC hardware. The core of GamerOS outside of Steam  is read-only and uses what’s known as “atomic updates.” It uses frzr  to automatically update the system. Frzr does not make use of Arch Linux's native package manager pacman. Gamer OS is open source, allowing users to build on or adapt the source code, but and the big but, the actual Steam client is closed source.

If you are a fan of proton. GamerOS developers maintain their own whitelist with small tweaks and quality-of-life enhancements for specific games. The system will auto select which version of Proton will work best for a specific title, and custom launch options to optimize the gaming experience. For those who play non-steam games there is Steam Buddy. Steam Buddy is a web-based tool for installing non-Steam software. It wasn't primarily developed for GamerOS.

Every gaming PC you build needs an operating system. OS is a free arch-based Linux distribution. By default, OS installs Steam, and boots into Steam's TV-friendly “Big Picture Mode” interface on startup. Big Picture Mode is an alternative Steam interface, and one you’ll likely become very familiar with if you decide to build a Steam Machine. If you’re curious about it and want to play around with the interface, it’s available on Steam for any computer. Go to the top right corner of your main Steam window, and click the controller icon. Immediately, you’ll launch Big Picture Mode. GamerOS also ships with a few tweaks, including proprietary drivers to improve game performance. the greatest drawback of OS is the limited game library. Because the OS is based on Linux, you will mostly only have access to the Linux game library. However, you can still play some games using proton.

ProtonDB is a great resource to see just how games perform on GamerOS. The unofficial ProtonDB website claims more than 6,000 games that work when Steam Play is manually enabled; The Witcher 3, Metro Exodus, Darksouls 3, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice are all reported to work well across a wide range of PCs. It's as simple as downloading the game to GamerOS through Steam and clicking play. Playing most games on Linux used to require difficult workarounds and annoyingly specific hardware. That started to change after Steam officially became available for Linux in 2012. As of 2020 there Linux native games: Dreamfall Chapters, Life is strange 2, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided,Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, to name a few.

Test System

• CPU:  Ryzen™ 7 2700
• GPU: Powercolor Red Dragon RX 5700
• RAM: 16GB (2 x 8GB) (PC4 19200)
• MOTHERBOARD: ASRock AB350M Pro4  (BIOS 5.90 2019/7/5)
• STORAGE:  Intel 545s Series 2.5" 256GB +WB Blue 1TB 7200 RPM

•     21.5" Acer Nitro IPS LED Monitor (VG220Q)
•     Xbox One S controller  (Wired via USB)
•     HORI Fighting Commander Wired controller (For Xbox One)
•     Logitech - Prodigy G213 Wired key Keyboard
•     Zelotes T-90 Wired mouse

My experience with GamerOS

 

Insulation on my system was flawless but that could be due to the fact that I have older hardware. Again there is no dual booting between Windows or other GNU-Linux distros. Once I booted into Big Picture Mode, everything was in a controller-friendly format. It’s also easy to navigate using a keyboard and mouse, but it’s definitely designed for game controllers. It has some elements that feel reminiscent of the a video game consul GUI. GamerOS automatically handles game downloads and installation, putting local game files in its Steamapps folder and getting them organized in the background. Big games can take a while to download even over fast connections, so prepared for a long wait if you plan to download the 40 GB Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition. In the past, I always leaned toward Nvidia-based video cards for Linux machines. Nvidia has always done will with pushing out official drivers. There was a time when AMD/ATI had poor proprietary drivers and nvidas were faster. Now its a totally different situation. AMD video cards are also well-supported out of the the box . If you're and Open-source purists AMD cards on your Linux box is a good option. GamerOS also ships with RetroArch and a ton of retro console emulators working out of the box. More on RetroArch in a different post

Native Linux Games tested

• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
• Dota 2
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Payday 2
• Dreamfall Chapters
• Life is strange
• Life is strange 2
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
• Hatred
• Witcher 2
• Total War: Three Kingdoms
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
• Alien isolation
• Dust
• Atari vault

All of these games worked like you would expected them to...

My next posted will focus more on Window games under Proton...

Hand socks: Hand wraps

One thing I forgot to really talk about extensively in my last post was about hand wraps. I know everybody will mainly talk about hand wraps for protecting your hands. If your hands are wrapped properly  they will allow you to punch with full force and not feel it in the bones and joints of your hand.

If you wear boxing gloves  for any extended period of time while punching on something you will notice that your hands will start to get really hot. Like feet, hands also sweat profusely within the first half-hour of any intense training session. Not only do a good quality pair of hand wraps protect your hands but they also absorb moisture and prevent the rubbing of the inner gloves on your knuckles. Wraps help to soak up a lot of that sweat and are much easier to wash than gloves. Keep in mind, hand wraps can eliminate smells from bacteria, but that doesn’t mean your wraps can’t harbor odors themselves. 

Most popular types of Boxing Hand Wraps.

Traditional

Traditional hand wraps are made from a fabric weave and don’t stretch. Traditional can be quite pricey but last a much longer when compared to cotton-poly and cotton-spandex blends. Also, cotton wraps are way easier to mend in case of a rip. However, a lot of people say that this in-elasticity makes them a tad hard to wrap around especially when alone.

Mexican

Mexican hand wraps utilize a stretchy semi-elastic material, more comfortable to wear. These are a hybrid between the traditional cotton wraps and gauze style wraps that are common with professionals. What has made these wraps so popular in the recent years is their elasticity. Many users who have used cotton wraps also say that Mexican style are much more comfortable and don’t tend to cut off the blood supply.

Personally I have worn both the traditional and Mexican style hand wraps. Both types have their plus and minuses. But I will say personally my favorite has been the Maxx MMA  Bamboo Fabric 180 hand wraps. They are the softest hand wraps I ever used. The fabric is also highly breathable and has the best sweet absorbency than any cotton-spandex types I have ever used. They don't stretch it all. I don't have issues wrapping my own hands with traditional hand wraps.

Conclusion

• Boxing hand gear can be expensive. And you want to keep them in good shape for as long as possible. Once your gloves get stinky it is hard to go back. 
• The  sweat from your hands is the biggest contributor to smell because gloves provides a great environment for bacteria to breed. So make hand wraps are the central fighting accessory.
• Make sure to wash your hand wraps after every training session. If you're using a washing machine of some type, buy a small mesh bag. The bag will allow the wraps to get fully cleaned without getting tangled up with the rest of the clothes. Like socks for your feet you should purchase multiple pairs of hand wraps so that you can have a fresh pair every-time you put gloves on your hands.

Note: If you are washing wraps with laundry make sure you are aware that often times newer wraps leak a lot of excess dye when washed.

• Avoid leaving gloves in a regular gym bag after use, as the sweat you built up from the workout will allow bacteria to grow. Don't leave them in the trunk of your car. Invest in a good mesh bag. And you got to get those gloves dried out as soon as possible,  preferably in front of a fan.

Update for RIVAL RFX-GUERRERO-V BAG GLOVES - HDE-F

No I still haven't purchased a pair but I've had more time to use the ones I borrowed. My first impression  a few weeks back.

Update...

For those who don't know Guerrero bag gloves are a traditional “Mexican-Style” pro boxing glove which Rivel has adapted for bag use. Rivels Guerrero competition gloves have been used in many world championship fights like  Ruiz vs Joshua 2 and has been endorsed by some of boxing’s best like Vasyl Lomachenko. 

As stated before the Wrist-Lock 2 straps are outstanding; far better than any other velcros to the point of being as good as laces (okay almost as good). You get a solid, rigid lock on your wrists extending up to your lower palm and down the wrist.  I definitely recommend Wrist-Lock 2 for anyone with bad wrists or heavy punchers who need extra wrist support. The hand compartment is snug and very comfortable. I can make a very good fist with these gloves. 

Two things that would make these gloves perfect for me. One if they could come in metallic colors. Maybe some people think metallic colors are too flashy. But sometimes in the dimly-lit gym a little flash just brightens everything up. The second thing is, I wish they had a synthetic leather option. Now I do understand that in some circles synthetic leather on a boxers fist is a cardinal sin. I know many people prefer real leather for that 'vintage' feel, but the synthetic needs virtually no maintenance unlike real leather. Plus rivals  “microfiber” seems more durable than leather. I’ve yet to hear of high end Rival microfiber boxing gloves tearing quickly. My RS100s still look new. 

Home workout.

In this age of social distancing solo work is a must to avoid getting sick. I can definitely say the Guerrero bag gloves has a nice impact feedback on the Maxx mma double end bag.

On a side note the MaxxMMA Double End Striking Punching Bag Kit is a good economic option for people who have small spaces and very little money. It's easy to set up even in a small apartment. You can take it down and put it in the closet when you're done. The kit includes base (you can fill with water or sand), one pair of mitts, pump and door frame fixer. Now keep in mind it's not gym quality (but then we're not in the gym are we ).  However you're supposed to be working on timing speed and accuracy. Not power. Every boxing drill needs  double end bag training, but for some reason, it is only the pros that really give it focus. You can have all the punching power in the world but if your fists cannot reach the intended target on time, it is not going to help you. Just remember speed leads to accuracy, which also leads to power.

Conclusion.

So far they seem to be holding up real good. I have been using these for the double end bag, as well as an aqua heavy bag. I cannot comment on using these on a traditional heavy bags. I used the on a sand filled traditional heavy bag only once. Wrap up well if that is what you intend on using them for.  I predict that the wear and tear on these rivels would probably be a lot higher using them on a traditional heavy bag, but since I am using on water bags, I think they are going to last much longer.

 

Note: Rival RFX-Guerrero-V Bag Gloves can never be used for sparring or hitting another person. The layered foam padding is way too hard. They are for bag, punch mitt, or air use only.

 

Chromebook

A Chromebook is a laptop or tablet running the Linux-based Chrome OS as its operating system. The devices are primarily used to perform a variety of tasks using the Google Chrome browser, with most applications and data residing in the cloud rather than on the machine itself. All Chromebooks released since late 2017 can also run Android apps. Many Chromebooks can run GNU/Linux apps.

Dell Inspiron Chromebook 14 (7486)

Processor     8th-gen Intel Core i3-8130U (2 Cores/4 Threads, 2.20GHz base clock)
Graphics     Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display     14" 1920 x 1080 LED IPS screen with stylus support
RAM     4GB DDR4
Storage     128GB eMMC
Ports     2x USB 3.0 Type-C, 1x USB 3.0 Type A, microSD card reader, headphone/microphone combo jack
Battery     56 WHr, "up to 15 hours"
Dimensions     H/W/D: 16.8 –17.7 x 328.88 x 230.07 mm / 0.66" –0.70" x 12.95" x 9.06"
Weight     3.99 lb (1.81 kg)
Software     Chrome OS

ASUS Chromebook Flip C434

Processor     Intel Core m3-8100Y 1.1GHz (Turbo up to 3.4GHz)
Graphics     Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display     14 inch touchscreen Full HD 1920x1080
RAM     4GB LPDDR3 (On Board)
Storage     64GB eMMC
Ports      1x Headphone-out & Audio-in Combo Jack; 1x USB3.1 Type A (Gen1); 2x USB3.1 Type C (Gen 1)
Battery     48WHrs, 3S1P, 3-cell Li-ion
Dimensions     12.6" x 8.0" x 0.6"
Weight     (3.3 lbs) all-aluminum metal body
Software     Chrome OS

Lenovo C340 Chromebook

Processor     Intel® Pentium® Gold 4417U (2.30GHz, 2MB Cache)
Graphics     Integrated Intel® HD Graphics 610
Display     15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS, touchscreen, anti-glare,
RAM      4GB DDR4 2133MHz (Soldered)
Storage     32GB eMMC
Ports      2 x USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 1 x USB-A 3.1 Gen 1 MicroSD card reader Headphone/mic combo
Battery      4 Cell 56Whr internal battery
Dimensions      14.23” x 9.8” x 0.74”
Weight 4.37 lbs
Software     Chrome OS

DeepinOS v.20. beta

The V20 version of the Linux-based Deepin OS, which is expected to be released in January, was postponed because  of the covid-19 epidemic that affected the development progress. Bad luck would have that Deepin OS which is developed by Wuhan Deepin Technology Co., Ltd is based in Wuhan,  the epicenter of covid 19.

Deepin provides users with a number of applications built via Deepin Tool Kit, which is based on C++ and Qt. It come pre-installed with many open-source and proprietary programs such as Google Chrome, and Steam. It also includes a software suite of applications developed by Deepin Technology like Deepin Music and Deepin Movie. Now if you don't want to use Steam, Google chrome or any proprietary program DeepinOS may have pre-installed, you can uninstall them without a problem.

From what I can tell Deepin 20 will have the Debian 10 Stable repository as a base. The built-in kernel is upgraded to 5.3 which might fix some of the issues I was having with my Walmart Motile M142.

I won't be installing the beta. I will just wait for the general release. I have the current version 15.11 on my Dell Optiplex 9020. Since Deepin is a rolling release I have been just upgrading my install since Deepin 15.4. back in 2017. Version 15.7 was a game changer with its optimizations in memory usage. In version 15.6 the boot memory was like 1.2 GB. When I upgraded to 15.7 it dropped to 800 MB. Maybe when the operating system goes to version v.20 I can see memory usage in the 400s.

Is this a pandemic or new hoax?

Donald Trump Holds a Political Rally in North Charleston, South Carolina - February 28, 2020

At the rally, Trump said, “They tried the impeachment hoax. That was on a perfect conversation. They tried anything, they tried it over and over, they’ve been doing it since he got in. It’s all turning, they lost. It’s all turning, think of it, think of it. And this is their new hoax.”

"Nobody. And it doesn't mean we won't and we are totally prepared. It doesn't mean we won't. But think of it, you hear 35 and 40,000 people and we've lost nobody. You wonder if the press is in hysteria mode. CNN, fake news and the camera just went off. The camera just went off. Turn it back on. Hey, by the way, hold it. Look."

So what exactly were Democrats saying in the days and weeks leading up to Feb. 28 that Trump would dub a “hoax”? 

Well on February 14, 2020 U.S. Senators Durbin, Duckworth, and Murray in the letter  wrote about their concerns. The letter was also sighed by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jack Reed (D-RI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Robert Menendez (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Doug Jones (D-AL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Bob Casey (D-PA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) 

The letter was sent to Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar and Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Mick Mulvaney expressing their concern over the Trump Administration’s failure so far to outline what additional resources it needs to respond to the rapidly developing coronavirus outbreak. The Senators were concerned that the administration was not prepared for the coming pandemic and needed more money to fight it, as Trump was underplaying the threat of the virus. 

"Based on the global escalation of cases and the increasing demands on federal, state and local public health agencies, we are concerned that HHS has not requested additional resources. We have heard the growing concerns from states and local public health departments about their escalating costs associated with travel screening, isolation and quarantine, staffing, contracts, goods and services, and equipment for the response… We strongly urge the Administration to transmit an emergency supplemental request that ensures it can and will fully reimburse states for the costs they are incurring as part of this response – including costs associated with the enactment of travel screening and quarantine policies laid out by the Federal government,” wrote the Senators.

"It is clear from previous global infectious disease outbreaks that they require aggressive, coordinated responses across the federal government. In fact, in a briefing for Senators on February 12th, Administration officials stated that we must be prepared for a very large and lengthy public health response to this virus given how easily it appears to be transmitted" the letter continued.

Then Trump  stated at a press conference about the virus, "I think that's a problem that's going to go away. “We're very close to a vaccine." -Feb 25

Chuck Schumer, later said, citing Trump's lie about a vaccine, "They don't have their hands around this—they're just sort of freelancing because they were caught by surprise."

Then Trump's chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow went on CNBC and said administration had the virus threat “contained."

"It is being contained...do you not think it's being contained in this country?" - Fox New Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway

So in essence on February 28, 2020, in front of a nationwide audience. The president of the United States referred to the concerns of millions about the coming pandemic, as "their new hoax.”  So I am not suggesting he called the virus itself  a hoax, but words matter. He said what he said and his allies said what they said. You can't make all the videos of that speech disappear.  

"But as of right now and yesterday, anybody that needs a test — that’s the important thing — and the tests are all perfect, like the letter was perfect. The transcription was perfect, right? This was not as perfect as that, but pretty good," -Trump speaks during a visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, March 6, 2020

As April 15 I still can't get tested where I live..

"We closed it down to China, the source, very, very early. Very, very early. Far earlier than even the great professionals wanted to do. And I think, in the end, that’s going to be — that will have saved a tremendous number of lives."March 17 Trump coronavirus task force briefing.

The first confirmed infection in the USA was January. He had symptoms dating back to January 14. Trumps “ban” was on a small subset of local nationals, over 400,000 people have came into the country from China after he "closed it down to China." China announced publicly in December they had the unidentified virus is causing pneumonia.

He downplayed the coming crisis. He referred to our concerns of the coming pandemic as the new hoax.

The Age of COVID-19: Re-thinking COBOL

Lately I been playing around GNU/Linux distro called GamerOS. GamerOS is based on Arch Linux. However no Arch Linux knowledge is required to install or run GamerOS. It dose one thing very well: play pc games. In fact, that is all it does. There is no desktop environment only Steam Big Picture mode. GamerOS shows a lot of potential and takes over where SteamOS left off. More on that another time.

 

I don't know much about infectious diseases outbreaks, contagions or pandemics. But I do know about computer infrastructures. And I have talked about before about federal and state governments holding on to these old ideas when it comes to computing. This pandemic surprisingly has exposed a lot of cracks in our infrastructure to the general public. Sure most people knew about the lack of a government insurance that has led to many people being more susceptible to covid-19. However did you know that the reason why some claims are taking as long as 3 weeks to process is because of a mainframe computer that runs on a 60-year-old programming language called COBOL?

COBOL is mainly used in business, finance, and administrative systems for companies and governments. To my dismay it is still widely used in legacy applications deployed on mainframe computers. I'm not a COBOL expert so I could not really discuss at length how it works. But here's what I do know with my limited knowledge. The way COBOL code is written also makes it hard to update. That is the main reason why I've always felt it should just be done away with. It's like that old revolutionary war era rifle, they are still capable of killing even today. However the weapons today will turn even a twelve-year-old into an efficient killing machine. 

For those who don't know this is how modern computing works: Today's computing languages break programs into chunks, each with a specific purpose. COBOL programmers often weaved everything together, which means code changes can damage or disable other parts of the program. So in other words it is unstructured and difficult-to-maintain source code. Plus COBOL was not designed for the internet. As recent as 2019 the U.S. Government Accountability Office  urged multiple agencies to modernize their technology. It's not just the COBOL code that needs updating, but also the mainframe systems that run the applications. To take on all this extra load the mainframe needs to be upgraded for more processor speed, more main memory and faster peripheral storage systems. And besides the average COBOL programmer is like 70, right?

I mean we wouldn't have games today like Xonotic, SuperTuxKart or left 4 Dead 2, if we were all still gaming on the nearly 50 year old, Magnavox Odyssey.

Age of COVID-19: How could they not know?

A New, Unidentified Virus Is Causing Pneumonia Outbreak in China. That's the news headline I saw on TV back in before Christmas. By the middle of January I was reading that the world health organization said a mysterious illness in China was likely being caused by a new virus. On Jan. 29, Peter Kent Navarro (White House trade advisor) warned his people at the White House that if the Trump administration  did not "mount an aggressive containment strategy" for the coronavirus, it could kill more than half a million Americans and cost the country nearly $6 trillion. On January 30th the outbreak was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization, as the outbreak continued to spread outside China,  marching across the world like a conquering army.

"Nobody knew there would be a pandemic or epidemic of this proportion"

Trump has repeatedly expressed his shock at the scale of  covid 19 as it moved across the US of A like a well oiled machine. In a separate briefing, Trump said: 

"Nobody knew there would be a pandemic or epidemic of this proportion.”

Yeah China did downplay the covid-19 problem in the early days and did not inform the world of person-to-person transmission until Jan. 20. I hear Trump watches TV all the time. Didn't he see like the rest of us that in Wuhan, Chinese workers constructed (from scratch)  two buildings to hold  around 2,600 hospital beds in a matter of days? People around here were in awe. I mean, you had construction workers, working all night. There's no doubt the Trump administration took notice of that.It was history repeating itself. During the  SARS outbreak, China built a hospital in seven days with 7,000 people working day and night.

So to be clear..Trump was aware of the person to person transmission of this disease.

“We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China. We have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.” — Jan 22 Trump in a CNBC interview.

Later that week the Trump administration did impose travel restrictions between China and the U.S. but the restrictions was full of loopholes. The administration only actually  restricted travel for “foreign nationals" who had been in China in the last 14 days. Now in that the CNBC interview he acknowledged that a single  person coming in from China could could infect people.  Americans had a free pass to travel between China and the United States unintentionally infecting fellow Americans.  So daily flights between China and the U.S. continued. 

“The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!” — Feb 24 Trump in a tweet.

Trump has a long history of belittling the threat of the coronavirus. He called it a "hoax". To be clear, Trump did not suggest that the virus itself was a hoax but the opposition party complaining about the coming pandemic. The threat of the pandemic was the hoax. Like the Chinese government before him. Trump thought he could cover up the threat of covid 19 and the stock market wouldn't notice a higher-than-normal volume of  body bags being purchased. 

“And I’ve gotten to know these professionals. They’re incredible. And everything is under control. I mean, they’re very, very cool. They’ve done it, and they’ve done it well. Everything is really under control.” — Feb 29 Trump in a speech at the CPAC conference outside Washington, D.C.

We now understand that in Trump administration didn't have it under control. 

"I don’t take responsibility at all" -Mar 13 Trump in the Rose Garden. 

In fact according to him more people will be killed by the economy...

“You have suicides over things like this when you have terrible economies. You have death. Probably — and I mean definitely — would be in far greater numbers than the numbers that we’re talking about with regard to the virus.” Mar 23rd Trump

"You’re going to lose more people by putting a country into a massive recession or depression.” Mar 24th Trump

 

 

Missouri once again is a laughing stock

Missouri has been making national headlines over the last week, and not the kind we should be proud of. 

“You also have to look and see, as the governor, look at all counties across the state. It was less than a week ago there was probably 90-some counties out there that had three cases or less within their counties. And still, 40 counties that probably don’t have any.” 

-Gov. Mike Parson

There's limited testing "Mike" 

From the very beginning I've been saying that Missouri leadership has their head in the stand. See guys like Mike Parson handed their backbones to a false prophet.

Beta: Ubuntu DDE Remix

Pros:

Ubuntu 20.04 LTS based.

Deepin Desktop Environment DDE 5.0.0.

Beautiful Wallpapers.

Ubuntu Software and Repositories.

Supports Ubuntu PPAs.

Beautiful Desktop Experience.

Cons:

No first party deepen applications installed by default.

Only a fraction of the Deepen OS specific applications are available in repositories. 

A bad experience for virtual machine testers.

 

UbuntuDDE 20.04 Beta

If you haven’t been paying attention to a little GNU+ Linux desktop distribution called Ubuntu DDE, it’s time to take notice. Ubuntu DDE is a Ubuntu base opensource operating system.

Note: UbuntuDDE is not an official flavor of Ubuntu. UbuntuDDE developers are not associated with the Ubuntu team. UbuntuDDE is currently a Remix distribution and is aiming for getting recognized as Ubuntu’s official flavor in future releases.

Note: UbuntuDDE is a new under development. Don't use as main system. If you want to try it on a spare system.

The Deepin desktop environment  is popular because of it's user interface takes the best ideas from other operating systems. It has a dock, launchpad and file browser that are similar to those in macOS. It also has Android-style notifications and control panels. Last but not least it includes a Windows-style start button. The Deepin Desktop also has a slide-out control panel that makes finding settings effortless. It uses a dock bar instead of a traditional panel at the bottom of the screen. Deepin DE or DDE for short, is written in Qt. 

Deepin-specific applications are not installed by default on Ubuntu DDE. The developer of DeepinOS  has an impressive inventory of in-house generated applications. Unfortunately only a fraction of the deepen specific applications are available within the Ubuntu 20.04 LTS repositories. So in other words this distro relies on Ubuntu’s software repositories and not Deepin’s.

Available first party DeepinOS software in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS repositories

Deepin Package Manager

Deepin Picker

Deepin Screen Recorder

Deepin Voice Recorder

Deepin Screenshot

Deepin Terminal

Deepin Image Viewer

Deepin Movie

Deepin Music

Deepin Calendar

Deepin Calculator

I have said for years that Gnu+Linux is the true grassrootsos. No single official Gnu+Linux desktop exists. As of 2020, dozens of  Linux distributions are actively developed, with about a dozen distributions being most popular with regular users. I will definitely be keeping an I on a newer Linux distro known as gamer OS. GamerOS is an Arch Linux-based operating system that’s focused on do one thing very well. Running Steam Big Picture mode. There is no desktop environment. Only Steam Big Picture. Think of it is as better version of Valve's SteamOS.

Conclusion

I'm not sure when we will see DeepinOS v.20. I can say I'm definitely looking forward to it when it does. This new Ubuntu DDE remix looks like it will one day become a great Ubuntu derivative. However I can't see it ever surpassing the features and immigration that is DeepinOS. You can download the current beta build of UbuntuDDE 20.04 here

The Age of Convid 19: A partisan pandemic

Who do you trust?

Dems:

CDC 87%

Your governor 75%

National media 72%

Friends/family 72%

Religious leaders 44%

Trump 14%

Republicans:

Trump 90%

CDC 84%

Friends/family 81%

Religious leaders 71%

You governor 65%

National media 13%

-CBS/YouGov

As we Americans watch this pandemic play out the cross the world. It seems clear that Trumper's, never Trumper's and none Trumper's seem to occupy entirely different planes of existence, employing different strategies for the same pandemic. Trumper's are part of a dangerous and massive cult. And Trump, the cult leader, knows exactly how to wield his power over his sheep in order to retain his position. 

Once again because of a Trumper  governor, Missouri is made to look like a fool across the nation. Yes Parson issued a stay-at-home order, but his order will allow businesses deemed "non-essential" to remain open as long as they adhere to social distancing requirements. Just like his master/daddy out in DC, it's markets over people. Parson kept insisting that urban and rural areas must be treated differently for "economic reasons". So in another words:  Convid 19 must belong to the cult of Trump as it will only rage war in Democratic areas leaving the Republican areas untouched. The truth is the people in Missouri are all at risk regardless of where they live. Additionally, non-essential businesses can seek a waiver from social distance restrictions through the Missouri Department of Economic Development. Not any type of Missouri "Health department".  "Economic"

A word from his leader..

"We have to open our country again. We don't want to be doing this for months and months and months."

"Because you know, at a certain point, you'll lose more people this way [because of social distancing]  through all of the problems caused, than you will with what we're doing right now [social distancing]. What we're doing right now, I think is going to be very successful, but you know what? I don't know. We have a big decision to make at a certain point. OK? We have a big decision to make. We went this extra period of time, but I said it from the beginning, the cure cannot be worse than the problem itself." -Apr 4th. Trump White House coronavirus task force.

 

Trump is more angry about the stringent social distancing measures , which has sent the economy spiraling rapidly downward, then lost lives. See the message is, if we can just get the stock market up to 30,000, the curve will be flattened and lives will be saved. So yes Michael Parson, got the message loud and clear: Listen to economic experts over scientific experts and downplay the threat.