Linux news & tips
Think ... Change a 1 to a 0 (/etc/passwd) - NordVPN
Do you see the problem with this image?
I recently migrated my Arch Linux installation from 2011 to my HP Spectre X360 convertible laptop and have been working through customizing things to work with this laptop as they should. One of those things is NordVPN. I tried a few times to login via the command line - required on Linux - and kept getting a permission error. Why? I couldn't think of the reason this would happen and was almost ready to give up and just reinstall Arch.
That is not the Arch way though. Just keep trying I thought.
Fortunately, I have an external USB SSD with the same installation. I booted this up & checked the NordVPN login. I had the exact same permission issue. What could be the issue I kept thinking, searching StartPage, DuckDuckGo, and even Google. No results lead me to a solution. The official NordVPN troubleshooting pages just said to reinstall, which I did 3 times. Still not functional.
This is where thinking comes in.
I sat back and thought where in the file system could such a permission problem originate? Not /usr/bin/nordvpn, not ~/.config/nordvpn files, not the systemd service. I kept thinking and then it occurred to me maybe down in /etc/ somewhere.
I immediately jumped to the /etc/passwd and found the problem. I don't know how long, but I had a different user vs group ID numbers. Both should match on a normal desktop/laptop. I changed that 1010 to a 1000. Simply changing a 1 to a 0. I then tried my login for nordvpn and boom! It worked. I rebooted and all is wll in Arch Linux land again. Additionally, now my Bluetooth pairing works!
I hope this knowledge helps someone else.
ytdownloader
If you don't already know this by now, there's a great Open Source tool called ytdownloader.
ytdownloader is a "GKT3 frontend for yt-dlp (the active branch of youtube-dl) with focus on best audio and video. Uses ffmpeg for joining audio & video."
This tool is based on youtube-dl and will enable downloading videos (or just the audio) from various sites. Sure it's has youtube in the name, but it does loads more. Check the developer's ytdownloader github page here.
Here's a command alias I use to grab videos at a certain resolution along with their description.
alias ytd='yt-dlp -ciw -S res:1080,ext:mp4:m4a -S vcodec:avc1 --write-thumbnail --convert-thumbnails png -o "%
Just add the alias listed below to your ~/.bashrc, ~/.bash_aliases, or ~/.zshrc and either logout or source the file after writing it to use it immediately.
Source the file you ask?
Sure you can use a search engine for that, but here you go.
Open the terminal
Type "source ~/.bashrc"
Press Enter
Then use your new alias
Try it now!
ytd https://youtu.be/J8nGqkUJMxU
And there you go - look at the directory listing for the files:
20140704 - How to use aliases in BASH [J8nGqkUJMxU].mp4
20140704 - How to use aliases in BASH [J8nGqkUJMxU].description
And if you don't like command line tutorials, why are you using Linux? Seriously?
Alas, there is a GUI front-end for yt-dlp called ytdownloader.
Grab from the ArchLinux AUR on Arch Linux based distributions with:
yay -S ytdownloader
paru -S ytdownloader
Enjoy!!
PINEBOOK Pro Linux Laptop
Community price: $219.99
I recommend this excellent lightweight ARM-based laptop for any Linux geek just wanting to have a sharp tool in their backpack. I've had mine since June 2020 and it is still going strong. I ordered the NVME M.2 SATA adapter, but have only installed inside without an NVME drive mainly due to power consumption requirements. This thing runs nearly 9 hours off the mains. It ships with Manjaro Linux (Arch Linux based) right out of the box on the 64GB EMMC. This won't break any speed records, but with a fixed 4GB of memory and the lower-power ARM processor, it really does fill a niche.
Specs:
CPU: 64-Bit Dual-Core ARM 1.8GHz Cortex A72 and Quad-Core ARM 1.4GHz Cortex A53
GPU: Quad-Core MALI T-860
RAM: 4 GB LPDDR4 Dual Channel System DRAM Memory
Flash: 64 GB eMMC 5.0
Wireless: WiFi 802.11AC + Bluetooth 5.0
One USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0 Type-A Host Ports
USB 3.0 Type-C ports with alt-mode display out (DP 1.2) and 15W 5V 3A charge.
MicroSD Card Slot: 1
Headphone Jack: 1
Microphone: Built-in
Keyboard: Full Size ANSI(US) type Keyboard
Touch-pad: Large Multi-Touch Touchpad
Power: Input: 100~240V, Output: 5V3A
Battery: Lithium Polymer Battery (9600mAH)
Display: 14.1″ IPS LCD (1920 x 1080)
Front Camera: 2.0 Megapixels
Power Supply included, comes with both US and EU plugs
Dimension: 329mm x 220mm x 12mm (WxDxH)
Weight: 1.26 kg (2.78 lbs)
Warranty: 30 days