MOFO Linux 8.4.0 Released!

Greetings to All,

I am pleased to announce the release of MOFO Linux version 8.4.0, bringing updates, tweaks, and an important new feature.

New AI Tools...
With this release, MOFO Linux now carries AI tools, which are a new and prioritized target of the censors in autocratically leaning countries. We are starting small, with the addition of Terminal GPT, which is a terminal interface connecting to the to the Bai Chatbot. Currently, Bai is on GPT 3.5, and worked well with the prompts given to it during testing. What I really like about it is that it may be used anonymously: no API keys, no account, and no need to log in.

I added several bookmarks new to Vivaldi, which connect to various chatbots and AI based services, including ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Midjourney. If you find that these tools are blocked in your country, try circumventing the barriers by using VPNs, ssh tunneling, or Tor. They are being blocked because, like search engines, they will help you find answers to your questions - answers the autocrats may not want you to know. Unlike a search engine, you don't have to dig or beat around the bush. You can enjoy a smooth experience with Google Bard, as I have installed the plugin for it in Vivaldi. With Bard, you do need to log in to Google to get results.

Other than the new AI tools, the updates and tweaks are minor. There was an issue with the DNS-over-HTTPS in Vivaldi, which now works fine. Some minor items affecting Neovim, the code and text editor, and a couple of convenience items for the Bash shell.

Kodi Media Center Plugins
Several Kodi plugins were not working, and I traced the problem to a critical dependency which was no longer being updated. I stripped away all of the plugins and started fresh, installing a number of audio and video plugins which will bring you plenty of content from around the world. As I write, the music playing here is from one of the thousands of internet radio stations available in Kodi. Enjoy!

When the Bad Guys Block Your TLS and DNS...
If you are in a country which is blocking encrypted web browsing (TLS v3 and ESNI), your DNS over HTTPS may not work. Temporarily dropping down to a conventional nameserver, such as 1.1.1.1 or 1.0.0.1 works well enough to enable connecting to a VPN if it is given as a domain name (i.e. chicago.myvpn.com). It is not a problem connecting to services based on IP addresses. Whichever way is necessary, passing DNS queries through the VPN solves the problem. In the past, I have used ssh tunnels based on numeric server addresses and had no problems with DNS after the initial connection is made. Ditto with Tor, either on the local machine or on a distant server.

Cheers,
PC / MOFO Linux