Linux, Open Source & Unrelated Topics by Paul Barker

Professional Software Engineer, Embedded Linux expert & Open Source enthusiast.

Amateur wildlife photographer, rambler and craft beer/whisky appreciator.


Posts

The Open Source Initiative have published a release candidate version of their Open Source AI Definition and I expect that a version 1.0 release will be published soon.

Unfortunately, I don't think that this is a good definition in its current form. By requiring "data information" instead of the complete corresponding training data, the definition cannot achieve its stated goals. This choice also calls into question the purpose of the definition, and may lead to a loss of respect for the existing Open Source definition.

If the Open Source Initiative insists on releasing an Open Source AI definition, the definition must require Open Source AI Systems to include the release of complete corresponding training data under an open license.



A quick bash/zsh tip

Published:
Tags: linux, bash

! is a valid character you can use in a bash/zsh alias. And as a bonus, it's not used in the name of any common commands!


Website Refresh

Published:
Tags: meta

Today I've deployed the new design for this website, built using Pelican and Tailwind CSS. After the changes I've made, I'm really pleased with the new design!


It's time for a year end review of meta-linux-mainline, a Yocto Project layer which contains recipes for all currently supported Linux kernel release series and the latest mainline kernel. This year the project has seen various improvements as well as the regular flow of new Linux kernel & Yocto Project releases. The layer is now updated most weeks, more closely tracking the kernel release cycle but there's still more we can do with additional resources.




Thoughts on PyPI, PGP and Sigstore

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Tags: python, pgp

A recent grumble about PGP signatures on PyPI has quickly led to PyPI dropping support for PGP. While I agree that there are major issues with PGP, I don't agree that its use in PyPI is "worse than useless" and I'm disappointed to see support dropped before a replacement has been deployed. Sigstore seems to be a promising replacement, but I think further work is needed before this can become a key pillar for securing the open source ecosystem.