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Blocklist-Update.sh

Blocklist-Update.sh is a script that I wrote to manage blocklists from bluetack etc to be used in conjunction with Transmission torrent downloader in Linux/MacOS. The script can be taylored to work with Qbittorrent as well, but the placement of the blocklists means you'd have to redirect the blocklist to go somewhere locally manageable as Transmission uses its own blocklist directory in .config. I believe there are about 10 lists there now. It works well for my needs. It can be ran weekly using crontab in standard user profile.  To download:  blocklist-update.sh To download the others:  Github
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GNOME AND EPIPHANY(WEB) IMPROVEMENTS

By now, most people have probably read the articles on OMGUbuntu, if you haven’t, go check them out at omgubuntu.co.uk . It talks about 5 big improvements coming to the browser Epiphany that might just make people reconsider it as a daily browser. The browser is based on Webkit or Webkit 2 as it is now known. The rendering engine Webkit is used by Midori and Apple Safari to just name a couple. Webkit is still in development, however, many developers broke off from that years ago to fork it into the now well known Blink engine used in Chrome and many others. QTWebEngine is another fork that is more a fork of the Blink engine than direct fork of Webkit. QTWebEngine does offer more advanced features, however, Webkit has recently been getting better and better at handling newer web standards. The browser itself offers similar look and feel to Safari, also a native integration with Gnome or GTK environments much as Safari integrates with MacOS. Epiphany is a browser based on the Linux platform itself, this makes it desirable, even if it hasn’t been fully capable as of late. The article explains that the browser is getting 5 major improvements, but also goes on to say that that is not all that is in store for the upcoming release. The article also states that of these 5 major improvements, some may not make it to the final release, however, we should be sure that there will be some security and stability improvements in the back end. I have been using the browser more and more recently and it really seems lighter and more efficient lately. Previously, the browser often struggled on media, but this seems to be a thing of the past. While there is obviously still work to be done, the browser is making great strides to listen to users and make improvements along the way as shown by their Roadmap.

Gnome itself is getting some improvements as well. 3.32 should see at least a few performance improvements as well as a possible new theme and icon set. I mention Gnome here as well as the flagship browser because it is important to note that while the browser works in other desktops, it is more closely linked to the Gnome environment and improvements in Gnome could also effect the browser itself or other modules or software that are for that desktop. Most people see Gnome as a resource hog, but the more I use it, the more I am wowed by it! Gnome have really come a long way in the Linux world since the first time I used it, even since the first time it was widely used. Ubuntu based Unity off of it, but at the time, Gnome3 itself wasn’t really Canonical’s cup of tea or so it would have seemed. After Canonical ditched the idea of convergience back in 2017, it was pretty clear they were heading back Gnome. Unity is based on it, Cinnamon is based on it even Budgie is based on Gnome. This can only mean steady improvements from here on.

Some of the improvements to Epiphany(WEB):
  • Reader view improvements, this also includes adding colored CSS and keyboard shortcuts.
  • Native PDF viewing will now allow reading of PDFs in the browser itself.
  • More zoom control which will allow you to increment in smaller steps both up and down.
  • Mouse Gestures which is something that most other browsers already have.
  • Options to reload or reopen closed tabs. This isn’t much when compared to Vivaldi, but it’s a lot for Epiphany.

The article also mentions a new drop down menu that looks nicer than the old one, but I haven’t tested it so that remains to be seen. These are just changes made on the outside of things, the roadmap page tells of more security and or privacy related changes.

As for Gnome, a smaller list is mentioned, but as with Epiphany(web), you can rest assure there is a more complete changelog out there. Changes are mostly involved with Window manager code changes and fixes. These help with graphical resource usages and also may alleviate latency and lagginess overall. Canonical has been working on it as well. For more info, you should really read the articles: https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2019/01/gnome-shell-performance-fixes-coming

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