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Kernels 6.6.161 and 6.12.115 compiled

November 02, 2026 — BarryK

I reported recently that EasyOS has a simple mechanism to rollback to an earlier kernel:

I have compiled 6.6.161 and 6.12.115 in woofQ2, and EasyOS could be built now with either of these; however, with Easy 7.5 we have bumped to the 7.2.x kernels. But, with this rollback mechanism, can easily go back to these earlier kernels.

I have made a change to the SFS name; preivously, it was linux-kernel_VERSION_amd64.sfs, but want a name that better indicates the purpose. So, these new SFSs are now named:

linux-kernel-old_6.6.161_amd64.sfs
linux-kernel-old_6.12.115_amd64.sfs

Another change, have built the broadcom wl.ko module into the SFS, so you won't have to install it separately. Let me know if anything special is required in /etc/modules.conf or /etc/modprobe.d to get the wl.ko modules to work properly.

I am going to upload these SFSs; however, when use SFSget, do not install them. Well, you can download them, but do not set to boot one of them. Reason is, the inc/05kernel-change script in the initrd only recognises the SFS file name of linux-kernel_VERSION_amd64.sfs. Please wait until EasyOS 7.5.1 is released, which will fix the initrd.   

Tags: easy

Yradio ripping improvement

November 01, 2026 — BarryK

Yradio streaming radio player, created and maintained by fredx181, has been improved:

https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?p=178830#p178830

Now at version 1.9.5-1, using mpv for stream ripping instead of streamripper. This will be in the next release of EasyOS, expected to be 7.5.1  

Tags: easy

Depth of focus problem with action camera

October 31, 2026 — BarryK

Current plan is to take my DJI Action 4 camera on the upcoming trip to India. There is, however, a problem with a fixed-focus camera compared with variable-focus. Action 4 is the former, Pocket 3 is automatic variable focus. The problem is depth of focus, also known as depth of field.

I posted about these two cameras here:

When vlogging, if want to have oneself in the video, the camera has to be held at arms length. Any closer, and the face becomes blurred. If desired to have a closer head and shoulders video, that's a problem, as the camera has a wide-angle lens -- on the Action 4 it is 155 degrees. Yesterday I recorded a video, and set digital zoom to x1.9, to get a bit closer-in. However, still not satisfactory.

The Pocket 3 handles close-in videos very well, so scores a big tick in that regard. For the Action 4, anything closer than 0.4 meters starts to get out of focus.

Well, I could take both Action 4 and Pocket 3 with me. Main problem with doing that is only taking a carry-on bag, no check-in luggage. Not sure if can fit both.

Did some research; it seems that it might work to attach a lens that moves the depth of focus slightly closer. That will mean that distant objects will become slightly out-of-focus. These guys have tested this solution:

"DJI Action 4 Minimum Focus Distance Fixed"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05prkya08kk

"Add This To Make The DJI Action 4 Or 5 Into A Great Blogging Camera For Close Up Performance"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMsHn1qZpnU

OK, an adapter is required, and there are threaded lenses available, originally designed for use with SLR cameras. One video explained that 49mm lenses are the maximum size that should be used with the Action 4 (so that it will sit flat on a surface). Right, so first, an adapter is required; I have ordered this one:

"ULUZ 49mm Filter Holder For DJI Osmo Action 6 / Action 5 Pro / Action 4 Camera"
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005010693033532.html

img1

Now for a suitable 49mm macro lens. It seems that one has to be careful, as Action 4 macro lenses are designed for very close-up focus, like about 2 - 4 inches. Don't want that type, want a SLR macro lens that will bring the focus a little bit closer; it seems a diopter +2 rating is suitable. I ordered this set:

"Macro Close Up Lens +1+2+4+10 Filter Kit 37/39/40.5/43/49/55/58/67mm For Canon Nikon Sony Cameras"
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007211803311.html

...hopefully, these are ok with the adapter.

This is going to be a very interesting experiment. Hopefully this gear will arrive before leave for India.  

Tags: nomad

EasyOS Excalibur-series version 7.5 released

October 29, 2026 — BarryK

Bumped from 7.4.92 which was announced here:

Here are the highlights since 7.4.92:

Slight changes to the theme:

img1

...the wallpaper is a photo taken at Four Mile Campground, on the south coast of Western Australia, near Hopetoun. Late afternoon, overcast.

Download:

https://distro.ibiblio.org/easyos/amd64/releases/excalibur/2026/7.5/

Found one bug so far:

The desktop icon theme is "treepata-darkgrey", but the "devx" icon is missing. There is a workaround; copy /usr/local/lib/X11/themes/treepata-yellow-blue/devx.sfs to the treepata-darkgrey folder.

Feedback welcome at the forum:

https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=17649

Have fun!   

Tags: easy

DJI mic 2 versus mic mini 2

October 29, 2026 — BarryK

I posted about purchasing a DJI Osmo Pocket 3, then an Action 4:

https://bkhome.org/news/202610/seduced-by-the-camera-hype.html

In that post, commented that can use the external microphone from the Pocket 3 combo, with the Action 4. Hmmm, Google AI reports:

How Noise Cancellation Works on the DJI Mic 2

• Standalone or Receiver Mode:
You can toggle intelligent noise cancellation directly on the transmitter by pressing the power button once (the status indicator LED will turn yellow), or adjust it via the receiver.

• Bluetooth Limitation:
According to DJI Support, connecting the transmitter straight to a smartphone via Bluetooth disables intelligent noise-cancelling and internal recording.

• Workaround:
To use noise cancellation with a camera or phone, you generally need to connect the DJI Mic 2 transmitter through its dedicated receiver rather than a direct Bluetooth pairing.

...so, connecting the Mic 2 to the Action 4, via bluetooth, there is no noise cancelling!!!

But there is! Noise-cancelled audio is recorded internally in the Mic 2, and this audio file has to be downloaded to a computer via usb and merged with the video file. Which is what some people do. This video explains how:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kG4INpMam8

...what a lot of trouble, but many people do post-processing anyway, so perhaps merging an audio file isn't a big deal. Not something that I want to do. Notice in that video, he used the mic 2 receiver to program the mic 2 transmitter (microphone); however, I think the the DJI Mimo phone app will do the same thing.

The mic mini 2, on the other hand, does support noise-canceled video recording transmitted via bluetooth directly to the Action 4. Apparently, have not yet verified. Anyway, DJI documentation confirms, as does Google:

Noise cancellation works on the DJI Mic Mini 2 when using a direct Bluetooth connection, though you can toggle or control it directly on the hardware.

What a run-around I'm having with this gear. Anyway, seem to now have suitable vlogging gear for overseas travel.  

Tags: nomad

Switch to an older kernel

October 28, 2026 — BarryK

Right now I'm running EasyOS version 7.5 (still testing it, not yet uploaded). I have already got 'linux-kernel_6.12.109_amd64.sfs', placed in /mnt/wkg/sfs/easyos/devuan/excalibur; but once 7.5 is uploaded, you will be able to run SFSget (via the desktop "pkg" icon) and download to that location.

SFSget will also offer to install it, and it will only install to the main filesystem, not in a container. In my case, as it is already downloaded, I launched BootManager, via the menu "System -> BootManager configure bootup":

img1

...clicked on the "Load extra SFS files:" button, then:

img2

...ticked the checkbox, clicked "Commit", then rebooted.

Hey presto, EasyOS is now running the 6.12.109 kernel, complete with appropriate modules and firmware for that kernel.

Easy 7.5 has the 7.2.12 kernel, and to revert to it, just untick the checkbox in above image, and reboot.

The kernel switch mechanism was introduced in an earlier blog post:

https://bkhome.org/news/202610/select-alternative-kernel-version.html

It's so simple. Works great.   

Tags: easy

Kernel 7.2.12 compiled

October 27, 2026 — BarryK

The main reason to bump the kernel version is it now compiles the apfs module:

https://bkhome.org/news/202610/apple-filesystem-linux-driver.html

This will be in the next release of EasyOS.   

Tags: easy

Checkbox share mounted partitions in container

October 27, 2026 — BarryK

I posted about this feature in July 2025:

https://bkhome.org/news/202507/easy-containers-has-gone-to-the-next-level.html

The "devx" container has this variable set:

EC_ACCESS_MOUNTED='true'

Having a mounted partition accessible inside a container is very useful, but what was missing is a GUI checkbox to set it for any other container. That checkbox has now been added:

img1

The help window:

img2

I have ShotCut video editor installed in the "x3" container, running as "crippled root". From inside the container, I want the convenience of reading and writing files in a outside partition, not just in /files

You can still do it manually, for example, open /mnt/wkg/containers/x3/configuration and edit EC_ACCESS_MOUNTED='true', or insert that line if it doesn't exist.   

Tags: easy