Ernie Smith

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632 Following
18.5K Posts

Editor of Tedium, an offbeat newsletter that’s been rocking since 2015. I complain on the internet a lot, and I accidentally made a search engine.

Support what I do here: https://ko-fi.com/tedium

Interests: #writing #news #history #technology #retrotech #weird #geoworks #freelance

Tediumhttps://tedium.co/
&udm=14https://udm14.com
Portfoliohttps://erniesmith.net/
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New Photoshop competitor for Linux just dropped. (Not FOSS, sadly, but not subscription either.)

https://www.fogpanther.com/

Fog Panther - Professional Image Editor for Linux

Fog Panther is a professional image editor built natively for Linux. Layer-based editing, PSD & RAW support, CMYK color management, and professional brush tools. $69.99 one-time purchase.

“Solitaire is quiet. It’s slow. It wants nothing from me.”

https://tedium.co/2026/04/09/solitaire-card-game-types-history/

Solitaire’s Many Flavors: I Suck At Them. But That’s OK.

A meditation on the game of Solitaire and its endless variations, which go well beyond what you can find in Windows 3.1.

Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet.

Play much solitaire lately? I haven’t, but I hear David Buck has.

https://tedium.co/2026/04/09/solitaire-card-game-types-history/

new @tedium

Solitaire’s Many Flavors: I Suck At Them. But That’s OK.

A meditation on the game of Solitaire and its endless variations, which go well beyond what you can find in Windows 3.1.

Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet.
I can confirm this specific one works. https://share.temu.com/049S3jqUWRC
usb fingerprint key reader u2f biometric mini security - Temu

Find usb fingerprint key reader u2f biometric mini security key dongle anti spoofing matching security touch for pc at Temu, part of our latest to shop online .

temu
I should note: You need to be very careful when buying, as most of the external Windows 11 readers do not support libfprint. If you need something more secure than this a YubiKey is probably a better bet, but this is a great way to avoid having to type in your password dozens of times in a command line. Plus, you can take the fingerprint reader with you, so it works as a second factor.

For folks trying to get a working low-profile external fingerprint reader on Linux: Search for “cs9711” and presume you’re buying from either AliExpress or Temu. Everything else is either huge or not supported.

I just got mine in. Works perfect. Here’s the installer you need.

https://github.com/Ziomal12/libfprint-CS9711

@Vivaldi Life-affirming :)

Pork & Puppetry: What inspired the semi-viral fake GIMP trailer that recently fluttered around FOSS circles? The creator and puppeteer behind Pork Johnson explains.

https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17315642/pork-johnson-gimp-parody-interview

The Puppeteer Behind The Fake GIMP Movie Trailer

What inspired the semi-viral fake GIMP trailer that recently fluttered around FOSS circles? The creator and puppeteer behind Pork Johnson explains.

Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet.

GIMP: The Movie (2026) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs56ILRcYTg

This rules. I would totally watch a feature length version of this (which isn't to give the poor career advice of attempting it)

The interview is also great https://tedium.co/2026/04/07/pork-johnson-gimp-parody-interview/

(By @ernie at @tedium )

GIMP: The Movie (2026) | Official Trailer | Starring Pork Johnson

YouTube
@johnefrancis @tedium It’s a good rabbit hole to be in!