@jimsalter@fosstodon.org
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

jimsalter

@jimsalter@fosstodon.org

Hi! I'm Jim Salter, aka mercenary_sysadmin, aka "the biggest ZFS stan on the planet."

I am not Jim Salter, the Associated Press reporter based in Missouri. That's a different guy, and he hides from the Internet.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

yakkoj, to random
@yakkoj@fosstodon.org avatar

I should have done this registry hack about 5 seconds after my employer pushed Windows 11 to my computer.

I didn't realize my user pretty much owns the HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry hive, so I can go into there without admin access and set the proper key to stop the context menu madness!

There are other things I want to fix, but I think those need access to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, which typically requires admin.

https://www.howtogeek.com/759449/how-to-get-full-context-menus-in-windows-11s-file-explorer/

jimsalter,
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

@yakkoj when I get forced to use a Windows desktop on a contract, first thing I do (of it hasn't been specifically forbidden by policy) is install WSL2. Then I just do everything from WSL--including graphical apps like Firefox. 🤠

There are a ton of papercuts that way also. But I feel a lot better NOT exposing any more of Windows to the Internet than I need to, and similarly, about firewalling any of my own resources and credentials away from the contract employer's infra.

JoeRess, to random
@JoeRess@fosstodon.org avatar

What's the best Christmas song?

jimsalter,
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

@JoeRess die hard

(PLR)

JoeRess, to random
@JoeRess@fosstodon.org avatar

Let's see what this thing's capable of then.

Raspberry Pi 5 in a rainbow case

jimsalter,
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

@JoeRess @stdevel I've really got to fire up my risc-v SBC...

JoeRess, to random
@JoeRess@fosstodon.org avatar

I've only just caught up with @killyourfm's new release. If you like rock music with raw and emotional lyrics, you'll love it! Check it out on pretty much any platform you can think of, linked from here:

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/hurricaneblonde/story-of-the-century

One of these days I'll get round to writing some more music...

jimsalter,
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

@JoeRess @killyourfm probably about time to rebrand to "kill your iHeartRadio" or something, the FM is already pretty fucking dead 🙃

LateNightLinux, to random
@LateNightLinux@mastodon.cloud avatar

We imagine a scenario where we aren’t allowed to use Linux, try to decide what we’d use instead, and realise how much we actually appreciate it. Plus mixed news in the RISC-V world, a glimmer of hope for desktop Linux on Arm, YouTube’s adblock tracking might be against the GDPR, and a micro KDE Korner.

https://latenightlinux.com/late-night-linux-episode-254/

jimsalter, (edited )
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

@JoeRess @free_amproot @LateNightLinux sure, you can, but the context (right) button will still be fucking useless, so what's the point?

jimsalter,
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

@JoeRess @free_amproot @LateNightLinux post screenshot of right mouse button doing something useful in macOS. Not in an app, mind you, in the OS itself.

"Command-left-click" in macOS does roughly the same thing as right-click in any other OS I've used. Right-click on macOS does nothing useful by default. Maybe you've forgotten manually mapping your right mouse button TO something useful?

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/right-click-mh35853/mac

jimsalter, to random
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

You can give a Microsoft person a main ballroom to speak in, and they can give an excellent talk on ... But you can't get many of the Linux conference attendees to show up for it. ☹️

A selfie showing Jim sitting at the front of a nearly empty ballroom

jimsalter,
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

@jpmens you're not wrong. I'm guessing some bigwig couldn't stand the idea of Linux "coming first" ahead of Windows in the name, and stubborned up until he got his way. 😂

jimsalter, to random
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

Confession: I still browse r/zfs on Reddit every few days. I try never to respond there anymore, because principles are principles, but it's HARD seeing people's questions go either unanswered or--worse, and all too frequently--very, very badly mis-answered.

It feels like extremely bad form to continue to advertise Practical ZFS there on Reddit, but please... if you have ZFS questions, go to https://discourse.practicalzfs.com/ for answers. Reddit is a festering corpse.

JoeRess, to random
@JoeRess@fosstodon.org avatar

Clear as day.

jimsalter,
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

@JoeRess I've seen worse installation instructions on packages in some very popular software repositories, if we're being honest about it.

jimsalter, to random
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

I bought a 200W charger last week which puts my Galaxy tablet in "Super Fast Charging" mode when plugged in... which, I discovered, has a different sound effect.

"Super Fast" charging mode has essentially the same sound effect as regular charging, but with a ton of lilting reverb added. It makes the tablet sound excited to get plugged in, which is a little weird.

Anthropomorphization, away!

jimsalter, to random
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

Ars Technica's Ron Amadeo reports in depth on the bug we brought up in this week's @25admins : people with multiple user profiles on Android 14 devices are being locked out of their main profile.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/10/android-14s-ransomware-data-storage-bug-locks-out-users-remains-unfixed/

25admins, (edited ) to random
@25admins@fosstodon.org avatar

2.5 Admins 166: 20 Second Cheque

What Google should do to prevent malware sites in their ads, why you might want to avoid using multiple profiles on Android devices, a speculative execution vulnerability in Apple Silicon, and the pros and cons of TP-Link Omada and Ubiquiti Unifi.

https://2.5admins.com/2-5-admins-166/

jimsalter,
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

@25admins Ars Technica's Ron Amadeo reports in some more depth on the Google bug: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/10/android-14s-ransomware-data-storage-bug-locks-out-users-remains-unfixed/

ned, (edited ) to accessibility
@ned@mstdn.ca avatar

Why is this not a thing always?

"Japanese brewers include braille on their beer cans to prevent the blind from mistaking alcohol for soft drinks."

jimsalter,
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

@ned I hope it actually says what's in the can, not just "alcohol" or "not alcohol."

25admins, to random
@25admins@fosstodon.org avatar

2.5 Admins 163: Two Factors One SPOF

A network breach teaches us all a valuable lesson about threat models, Allan and Jim’s TV setups, and picking the right external storage solution.

https://2.5admins.com/2-5-admins-163-two-factors-one-spof/

jimsalter,
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

@25admins so, I just got done "proof-listening" this episode, and holy crap do I sound like a dick at the end, when I said I "gave Allan more credit than he deserved!"

I consider Allan and Joe to be two of my best friends, and it's easy sometimes to forget that not everyone has all the context when I start teasing. That super-dickish comment was intended to be a lighthearted tease, because Allan records the show from a Windows laptop, and ABSOLUTELY nothing more than that.

Sorry Allan!

JoeRess, to random
@JoeRess@fosstodon.org avatar

Anyone involved in crypto is either a grifter, a victim, or both.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/02/ftx-customers-who-lost-fortune-are-doubling-down-on-crypto-.html

jimsalter,
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

@JoeRess a disturbing number of the people who fall for a simple Spanish Prisoner (better known in recent years as the Nigerian prince) also fall for the same con more than once.

jimsalter, to random
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

Adventures in a long-untended facility network with no administrator-level access continue. Progress is made! Terrible over-bent optic patch cables are replaced! Network latency is down... WAY down!

If you're interested in the details--or would just enjoy a good sea story--I wrote them up here: https://jrs-s.net/2023/09/30/adventures-in-network-repair/

image/jpeg

jimsalter, to random
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

Y'all, I don't know what we said to give everyone the impression that Allan and I didn't know that hard drives (like floppies) originally had larger platters, but I promise, we knew.

The first hard drives I used were Winchester style 5MiB drives the size of small office copiers, attached to TRS-80 Model II business machines.

The heads rode on air cushions, and if somebody bumped the table, the head would plow into the platter. That's where "drive crash" comes from.

@25admins

jimsalter, to random
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

Once again, my childhood home state is determined to make me embarrassed for having ever had anything to do with it.

jimsalter, to random
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

Your brain is a pattern recognition engine, and it just recognized a pattern that it likes.

JoeRess, to random
@JoeRess@fosstodon.org avatar

Sorting Python imports, searching open tabs and history etc in Firefox, configuring proprietary headsets on the command line, Fedora on an M1 Mac, digital archaeology, Slackware on easy mode, Félim fails at Linux, and loads more.

https://latenightlinux.com/late-night-linux-episode-247/

jimsalter,
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

@JoeRess "Félim fails at Linux" you put that in there specifically to get me to jump this one to the top of my queue, didn't you? 😂

rottedmood, to random

@jimsalter @JoeRess in one of the recent 2.5 admins you all discussed impact of turning computers on and off on HDs. I have to admit, Im one of the dirty people who typically turns their desktop off when they are done using it. Not my homelab equipment, just my desktop. So recently i have started using suspend. Does suspend have less impact on internal parts then a full shutdown and power on? I suspect the system is sending power to internal parts in suspend and doesnt give such a jolt on wake?

jimsalter,
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

@rottedmood @JoeRess nope, sorry. HDDs are spun down in suspend, as are fans. You get the same startup current on wake as you would from a full power down.

jimsalter, to random
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

I'm probably never going to write the actual article I'd originally intended these charts for. But if you want to see the difference between latencies between and on an eight-drive system that's creating and replicating automated snapshots regularly, here ya go.

We're looking at fio random access, limited to (simultaneous) 8MiB/sec read and 23.0MiB/sec write. The system has eight 12TB Ironwolf rust drives, in four ZFS mirrors vs one eight-wide btrfs-raid1.

image/png

jimsalter,
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

@ojs so, let's say a graph like this showed two overlapping lines, but from 0%<x<5%, one line was higher. That would mean the two systems perform equivalently 95% of the time, but one block out of 20 is faster for the lower line... which probably doesn't much matter, since those are the fastest results anyway.

If you see the same at 95%<x<100%, that means one system is slower than the other on the worst-case 5%. This is more likely to be significant since the difference is where the pain lives.

jimsalter,
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

@ojs what we're seeing here is much worse than either of those cases. These are log-scale graphs, meaning each major line on the Y axis represents an increase of 10x.

Take the read latency chart: for roughly 40% of the ENTIRE range, btrfs is 10x OR MORE slower to return each block than ZFS is. This is not a minor issue, it shows you a massive degradation that you will experience constantly with a similar workload.

jimsalter,
@jimsalter@fosstodon.org avatar

@ojs moving on, because this is a rate-limited workload, that means we're not seeing how each system performs under the worst possible conditions on an unreasonably heavy workload: we're seeing how it operates with a REASONABLE workload that the hardware is more than capable of sustaining.

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