欧州自転車レース追っかけ日記

Ubuntu 25.04 kernel version 6.14.0.11
Is "Ubuntu 25.04 kernel version 6.14.0.11" a land mine that I just stepped on?

I found out that it was a GRUB issue that had been causing me a woe but maybe the update kernel itself. I tried and solved the issue and I was a bit proud of myself. I have been using Linux since mid 1990's.

This time I came back to Ubuntu. The last time I used Ubuntu was probably around 2007 or 2008. After that I switched to Lubuntu, a lighter version of Ubuntu. I kept using cheaper and less powerful PCs and I saw it fit.
I always installed the Japanese Input system to write in Japanese. This is not about reading Japanese. Any modern OS will let you read almost any languages (and their characters in almost any direction like Arabic or Hebrew). Writing in some character sets is another story, you know. Japanese language uses more than a couple of thousand letters (or characters) and we have only so many keys on our normal keyboard, there has to be some clever system to bridge the gap. I know and seen an Arabic typewriter. So I know and think writing in Arabic will be much easier than writing in Japanese.

I have been doing this (installing some Input system on a Linux system) for a long time. I have struggled many times and always solved the problem. So I was confident that I could do it this time with Ubuntu 25.04.

I have done it on a Haiku system and this was much much easier.

Usually what it takes is opening the app download source (many names but like Apple's App Store) and search using the words like mozc, Japanese or Input, IBUS or others. For the last, say, 10 years it was always mozc. Please search "mozc" if you are curious.

I did it with Ubuntu's App Center but I got a surprise response. There were none. Wow! It could not be true.

I searched again with a bit different filter but the response was the same.

I did not think that mozc went away.

So I thought it would be a different way to install mozc on this Ubuntu desktop. If it (this system in front of me) were a Windows or Mac, I would go to the control panel (or whatever the equivalent) and open something named like "keyboard and language". I don't know why it is named like this but I guess it is because people associate the keyface with the actual letters or characters. Yes, it is true mostly the keyboard and its keys that we use to write but in modern days you can directly dictate into your computer via a microphone. So I think this keyboard thing will go away in near future.

Anyway, I could successfully set up the system to handle Japanese. Now I can write in Japanese. It took me around 15 minutes to set it up without referring to anything at all.

So Ubuntu desktop envirnment designer decided that they should take from a macOS style installation or integration of multiple language writing system.

In fact the App Center feels like that of Apple's now.

Jetboil hanging kit woes
I have owned it for a long period of time like more than 15 years or more. Originally I bought it for my PCS (Personal Cooking System). I have not used it too much (a couple of times only, in fact). Today I put it out and checked it to see it was OK. While the doing it, I experienced a sharp accute pain in my right index finger. A pricky senation! Yes, the thin braided wires that make the hanging kit developed numerous fraying wires. It hurts. It can not be used anymore.

Can I rebuild this hanging kit? I can obtain similar materials and try. What a waste! I used it on only a couple of occasions. That's it. It is not working anymore!

These braided wires went bad not because of normal wear and tear. They had been stored most of the time so they can not have been worn. They must have been just deteriorated. Sad!

Good thing that this hanging kit is not used too often (almost never).


Ubuntu 25.04 SAGA
I realized while installing Ubuntu 25.04 (pre-release version) on a USB connected HDD that I wrote something incorrect about Ubuntu 25.04.

When anyone wants to use Japanese Input System on it, she/he has to proceed like this.

1) Go to the Application launcher by clicking on the Ubuntu logo on the desktop (in the dock).
2) Click on the Language Support.
3) A window opens that let you do something.
4) Here you click on Install/Remove Languages.
5) Obviously here you scroll and choose Japanese.
6) You confirm.
7) The downloading starts and you wait for it to finish.
8) There you have it. You have a new icon on the menu bar.

Here are some clipped screenshots
Language Support looks like this.
(Language Support)

There are some buttons there and you can do some operations.
(Language Support Window)

Applying changes requires downloading additional software packages.
(Applying Changes)

A new installation
I installed it (Ubuntu 25.04) on a USB connected SSD earlier and was using it and even updated it to get the latest 6.14.0.11 (kernel version) on it. After that I ran into a problem that it did not boot anymore. I found out that I could boot the system even if I chose the original 6.14.0.10. I don't know why this happened but I accepted it. I can not use it anymore. (Most likely) The end of the road for it.

This SSD had been inside my MacBook Pro Late2010 for several years before it (the MacBook Pro) broke. I salvaged the SSD and kept it for some use. It is already old and has been used for a long time. I guess it is dying and the EFI partition may have developed some defects.

A New Beginning
Now (March 31st) I wanted to boot Ubuntu 25.04 from this SSD and could not. For some reason, it just gave some error messages that EFI image incorrect or something.

OK, I gave up and I took an unused (actually Haiku OS disk) HDD and decided to install Ubuntu 25.04 on it the same way I did with an old SSD salvaged from my old MacBook Pro 13-inch Late2010.

The installation went well and the network was totally dead at the time of installation so I did it without any Internet connection.

The installation seemed to have gone well and now I am writing this on it and I could boot from this HDD. Thought slow, it seems to work well.

Since the network is out I can not install any additional software, I don't use Japanese or anything. And if I update the system to the latest state, I might run into the same woe as before (described above).


And A New headache
So I reinstalled the Ubuntu 25.04 from scratch and it failed again. The installation went very well on the recycled SSD (completely reformatted and repartitioned). I explicitly refused to use the Internet but kept the Ethernet cable on the end result was a fresh kernel 6.14.0.13 kernel on the SSD and nothing else.

And it did not boot! How wonderful! How magnificient! How rewarding it was to spend an hour or so and get a complete incompetent installation of Utuntu 25.04!

I was trhilled to see the result.

What is going on? I don't understand it.

Weird CPU load / System Monitor
One side note, I was wondering why or whether the system load (like CPU load) shown in "System Monitor" was correct. The CPU load seems too high. All (I have 8-core Xeon and the CPU load shows 16 threads) the colorful lines keep unexpected high loads even though I'm using this System Monitor and this Text Editor.

It is strange. When I switch the tabs (CPU load Resources to Processes), the the CPU load by processes shows really low. In fact, when I switch it back to Resources to see the graph lines, they show that the load was low. What the heck?

To add to it, when I hide the tab totally by flipping this CPU tag, the CPU load is almost nothing. As soon as I see the graph, the load jumps back up.

So the reason of this haywire CPU load is the burden of drawing the graphs of these colorful lines?

From the preferences, I changed the setting to stop smoothing of the graph lines and it seems to help reduce the haywire CPU load a bit. What the heck?

Is drawing those colorful 16 lines such a chore to make the CPU consume so much of its power? It does not make any sense.

If I hide the graphs and let them draw in the background, the CPU load seems to be very quiet. I can only see it when I let it show and watch the load history.

If drawing of just colorful lines make such a big drain of power, how could this System Monitor be useful? Am I only the one who is complaining?

Is my Trash Can running hot under Ubuntu 25.04?
The body feels warmer. The trash can runs cooler under macOS as I use TG Pro and let it blow the heatsink before it gets too warm.

Under Ubuntu, the trash can not have such a precaution behavior. It gets hot and only then the cooling fan may start to blow harder.

I have an additional DC fan on top of the trash can. If I have to, I will manually turn up the fan.

This is how it looks when doing almost nothing. The CPU must be idle except for this very System Monitor.
(CPU load crazy)

When I change the tabs and look at the processes, the CPU load is very low.
(Processes)

As you can see, the CPU load stays relatively high but there are some drops. These drops happen when I don't show the graphs.
(Low load when not seen)

These are the tabs.
(Resources / Processes)

If I close all the tabs (thus no graphs are shown) like this. The CPU load stays very quiet.
(Low load - Totally Background)

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [What am I doing with Ubuntu 25.04 on Mac Pro 2013?]の続きを読む

テーマ:Linux - ジャンル:コンピュータ

1. 2025/04/01(火) 20:20:56|
2. Linux
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Ubuntu 25.04 to come
I'm writing this on Ubuntu 25.04 using Text Editor (its default text editor) on my Mac Pro Late2013. It is working fine. It (this Ubuntu system) fails to boot under some conditions but I now have overcome the obstacles.

For some reason unknown, the latest kernel 6.14.0.11-generic refuses to boot but its predecessor, 6.14.0.10 works fine and that's the one I'm using for the moment.

I can write in Japanese. I can use the speaker(s) on the back of the LCD screen through the HDMI cable, which was not possible with antiX. I'm so far satisfied with this Ubuntu system.

This Text Editor seems to have some weird bug or annoyance with Japanese characters but I can live with it.

Why do I need Ubuntu or generally a Linux system?
I use Macs, one desktop Mac Pro Late2013 and one laptop (or notebook) MacBook Late2009. I use them mainly because I have several Garmin devices like Garmin Camper 660, Edge *** (I forgot its name) and others. I need at least a Mac computer or Windows computer to keep them updated, to maintain them or to use Garmin BaseCamp. If I didn't use these Garmin devices, I would have abandoned macOS. My Garmin devices are the only reason that I use macOS.

Other tasks and things I can do with some capble Linux system such as one of Ubuntu flavors like Lubuntu that I have used for a long time.

And in many ways, a Linux system is more capable than a stock Mac system. For example, a Linux system is capable of reading and WRITING the NT filesystem, which a stock Mac system can not. Only with thrid party software like the one I have on my MacBook, a Mac system can write to the NTFS. This is a huge hindrance and annoyance to me.

Most of my backup disks are in NTFS.

My current macOS version is Monterey and this is the last version that Apple is willing to give to this Mac Pro Late2013. They still give it minor security updates but not major updates. Soon they will stop the updates all together. When it happens, I must be ready. In fact I'm ready and the answer is Linux.

When Mac Pro Late2013 is totally abandoned by Apple, I will keep using it with my Garmin devices as long as I can.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Some odd behavior of Text Editor on Ubuntu 25.04]の続きを読む

テーマ:Linux - ジャンル:コンピュータ

1. 2025/03/27(木) 16:56:43|
2. Linux
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Ubuntu 25.04 Daily Build installation and now
It is still March of 2025 so anything about Ubuntu 25.04 installation is only a preview (pre-release). I'm not complaining that I'm haiving a bit of problem. I'm just enjoying myself. That's all.

So I found some anomalies (maybe) on my Ubuntu 25.04 on my Mac Pro Late2013 (MacPro6,1 A1481 or simply the "Trash Can").

1. Selecting the device to boot by pressing "Option" key (Mac flavor) or "alt" key (Windows' flavor) issue???

I don't think this is any issue at all but I encounter this weird thing.

I have Ubuntu 25.04 on a USB connected SSD (240 GB) that I used for years in my (now broken) MacBook Pro Late2010.

By pressing down the option key for a while after starting the machine, you can invoke this selection menu. In my case (when I attach this USB disk), I get to see three icons because I have Open-Core patcher installed. One Open-Core EFI icon, one SSD icon (representing the internal SSD) and one USB disk (Ubuntu on it) are presented to me.

I can choose one of them by either arrow keys on the keyboard or directly by the mouse. I can confirm the selection by either the enter key or by the mouse click.

When I confirm my choice by the enter key, the booting process seems to hang. Why? I don't know. I don't why but those three icons stay there while the disk access led keeps flashing. I have to force-shutdown by pressing the start button.

2. When I successfully boot Linux (or at this stage GRUB?), I still get something weird

I get the boot menu on the screen.
-------------
*Ubuntu
Advanced options for Ubuntu
Memory test (memtest86+64.efi)
Memory test (memtest86+64.eif, seiral console)
-------------

*Ubuntu - does not work and the reason is obivious (explained below)
Advanced options for Ubuntu - works and I get the next menu

-------------
*Ubuntu, with Linux 6.14.0-11-generic
Ubuntu, with Linux 6.14.0-11-generic (recovery mode)
Ubuntu, with Linux 6.14.0-10-generic
Ubuntu, with Linux 6.14.0-10-generic (recovery mode)
-------------
The default choice *Ubuntu, with ..... does not work. The booting process hangs. This explains the reason for the previously described problem.

The next one also results in a hang.

The third choice works! I haven't tried the fouth one but I can safely assume it does work.

What I can tell now

For some reason, the updated kernel image version 6.14.0.11-generic does not work. The reason I don't know.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Ubuntu 25.04 6.14.0.11 problem?]の続きを読む

テーマ:Linux - ジャンル:コンピュータ

1. 2025/03/26(水) 18:56:33|
2. Linux
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Swiss Toll road pass (vignette) and its e-Version
In many European countries, motorways are not toll-free or simply toll roads.

In Germany motorways, Autobahns, are free.

In France, you have to pay for them as you go. In other words, most of the time the further you go, the more you pay.

In Switzerland, there is only one way to pay for them, a yearly pass, or a vignette. I think the first time I paid for it must be around 2005 or 2006. Since then the basic system has not been changed. You have to purchase the sticker that would go on the inner side of the windshield. It is valid for one year or more precisely within a year plus one month on both ends. In other words, you can buy it in December and it will expire in the second January. For example if you buy it in December 2024 and it will expire at the end of January 2025 (by then you are supposed to get the new vignette).

In Austria as far as I know there were a couple of ways to pay for them (motroways). There were, ten years ago or so, short-term vignettes and long-term vignette.

I am thinking of a short car trip to Zurich (Zoo-rick in English and Choo-ri-he in German), Switzerland toward the end of September. That is when and where the World Championship of road race is held.

I would buy it (vignette) at the border crossing points from the people who were there (border police officers?) on arriving at the border. This time I want to change the way I buy it.

I knew that I could buy it (the vignette sticker) in Luxembourg at the office of ACL (perhaps Auto Club Luxembourg, a variant of AAA in the U.S.). This time I checked its web page and then I learned that I could buy as a non-member I have to pay extra 2.5 euros in addition to the 44 euros (equivalent of 40 Swiss Francs). Adding the required time and fuel, I would end up paying more, I thought.

I checked out the website and learned that there was a brand-new way to purchase it. It is called e-vignette. Unlike its sibling, normal old-school sticker vignette, it does not have a physical presence. It exists in the database kept by the issuing body, a branch of Swiss government, I guess. I have to register my license plate information.

I think all those cameras installed on the Swiss highways pick up the license plates and check if the vehicle have valid vignette if the camera can not make out the physical sticker vignette on the windshield before sending the citation for traffic violation tickets.

If my plans for a small trip (taking some days off) is granted (from my workplace), I would purchase the e-vignette and see what happens at the border crossing point.

antiX (version 23 and updated to the latest) on Mac Pro Late2013 experiencing a problem
I installed antiX on my Mac Pro Late2013 and I was enjoying it. Well I was but now I ran into a problem.

antiX works well generally on my Mac Pro Late2013. I tested the USB memory stick Live environment for several times before deciding to install on a USB connected SSD (formerly used in my MacBook Pro 13-inch Late2010).

I had already tested this Linux distribution on Compaq Presario CQ56 for a while tyring to install Japanese Input System before abandoning it. I knew that I was so close to completing the setup but I had to abandon it. I wanted a revenge. I needed it.

I wanted to install antiX on my Mac Pro for several reasons.

First I wanted to see if antiX was a better choice than Kali Linux or Lubuntu as a daily drive.

Seconly, I wanted to complete the installation of Japanese Input System on antiX. This details will follow in the following paragraphs below.

Thirdly, I think Linux is is very cool. I want to be associated with this coolness.

Some reviews praise the outlook or the appearance of particular distributions. "... looks stunning" or "... beautiful" but every time I see one of those I think to myself that looks are deceiving or the look has nothing to do with what lies inside.

Why do they (those review articles) focus on the appearances? Maybe because they (review writers) spend so much time just enough to touch the surface (appearance) but not enough to see what really lies underneath. Or the review writers do know that the readers can not understand the subtle differences among those Linux distributions but that the readers can only recognize them by their looks. I strongly believe the latter is the case here.

How did it go?

antiX on Mac Pro Late2013
antiX 23 works very well on it. The installation image (Full/64 bit/runit) on the USB memory stick worked fine and still works fine.

I installed it on an SSD connected to one of its USB ports. It worked fine at first but upon updating "Pulse Audio Volume Control" ceased to work.

Since it (Pulse Audio Volume Control) is responsible for selecting the audio stream channels (Mac Pro's inner speakers or monitor's speakers through HDMI cable), now the audio comes out of the inner speaker (or speakers?). I wish future updates solve this problem soon.

Japanese Input Method fcitx5 and mozc combination
For some unknown reasons, antiX has Japanese Input Method as a package (bundled software pieces) ready to be installed. The problem that I found, however, was that it features "anthy" not "mozc". mozc is what I want.

I once installed this "package" on one of the Compaq Presario CQ56 machines and did not like it.

Now I chose "fcitx5" and "mozc" as separate pieces of software and let the installer install "recommended (by those two above" pieces of software.

After the installation, I could now write in Japanese. I was happy. Only a minor piece of annoyance remained then.

fcitx5 does not automatically start. I have to invoke "fcitx5 Configuration" first. This configuration software notices that what it is going to configure (namely the fcitx5) has not been running and then kindly tells me if I want it to run. When I click the button, fcitx5 runs.

How should I make it run automatically? I figured that
Menu -->
Control Center -->
Session -->
startup

I know I am supposed to write something to run fcitx5.

After searching for some information on the Internet and reading something on the Ubuntu forum, I decided to put "fcitx5 -d" and it seemed it worked.

Now I have to find out why so far Geany (or LibreOffice) only can handle Japanse Input but not Leafpad or Featherpad. I can read Japanese in any of these editors but can not write in Japanese in Leafpad or Featherpad.

In Japanese:続きをどうぞ [fcitx5 and mozc and other things]の続きを読む

テーマ:Linux - ジャンル:コンピュータ

1. 2024/08/27(火) 18:42:12|
2. Linux
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How do I make it work?
I am now at a loss a bit. I was trying to make the Japanese input method work on this newly installed antiX Linux system. So far my attempt has failed miserably.

How come? Why does it not work? I think I have installed everything needed.

fcitx (fcitx 5) and mozc are the key components. There is no mistake about it. I have to add small software related to these to make them work together and configure them. I know that. I have some experience with them. Somehow I can not make them work.

I have them working well on my Lubuntu. One think I can do is to see which software components are installed on it and try to make the same installation on this antiX system. For this, I need something like Synaptic or Muon on the Lubuntu system to see the detailed individual components.


Now I can type in Japanese on antiX
After a short while writing the above entry, I could successfully type in Japanese. It was not exactly what I thought I would be doing.

The "Software Intaller" is the name on the antiX system for the application which is responsible installing and removing applications.

It has three tabs (or some kind of repository levels).

The First one "Popular Applications" tab includes categorized and pre-packaged applications. You can check the application check boxes and install them. You don't have to know how many small components of software programs will get installed or which components depend on which ones and so on.

The Second tab "Enabled Repos" (=repositories, I guess) includes (or shows) the small individual components behind those "Popular" or not-so-popular applications. You can pick them up individually. I am not sure if the dependency and conflicts are handled automatically but it seems that they are handled. It is very useful if you know the ropes. The downside is that you may fail to pick up small components to make your wished application work as they are not "packaged".

The third tab "Debian Backports" seems to be the components for Debian but not necessarily for antiX. I don't know for sure as it does not provide any explanations at all.

I was using the second tab "Enabled Repos" and got frustrated as "fcitx and mozc" combination did not work well. I thought there was not pre-packaged fcitx/mozc package. I just assumed so and did not try the first tab so far.

I used the first tab to search for "fcitx" and found four pre-packaged packages. One of them was "Japanese_Input_fcitx Japanese fcitx" to my surprise.

I installed "it" and several or many components were installed as a result.

Then I could use Japanese courtesy of fcitx and anthy.

Anthy? I did not see that coming.

Am I happy? Well, not completely as I have been using "mozc" and used to it. I will keep digging until I can use mozc.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [fcitx and anthy?]の続きを読む

テーマ:Linux - ジャンル:コンピュータ

1. 2024/06/10(月) 10:24:54|
2. Linux
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