Honza chodec, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

HowTo export e-book annotations from Kobo eReaders (on Linux)

Reading is one of my big hobbies. And in the meantime, I also read non-fiction and scientific literature on my Kobo eReader. For me, one important part of reading and learning from non-fiction books is to make annotations. Kobo supports making highlights and annotations in ebooks. But the question is now, how to get them from the eReader for further usage or processing (and of course, on a Linux machine)?

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Signal Logo

Update: HowTo build Signal desktop on openSUSE Tumbleweed

This is an update to my previous blog post in 2019. I use, among others, the Signal App as messenger. Of course, I also want to use the advantages of running a client also on my Laptop with my current distribution openSUSE Tumbleweed. However, the Signal foundation does only provide packages for Ubuntu-based systems, so I need to build it by myself. Due to permanent updates of the app, I’ve to rebuild it once in a while…and here is how:

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GRUB boot loader

Manual booting linux with LVM (and fixing grub)

Just a short notice, so that I know it if I need it again…and others could find it. Recently, upgrading a VM to Debian 10 resulted in a broken bootloader. The error message was: symbol ‘grub_calloc’ not found And the grub resuce shell did prompt. Manual boot with an LVM file system The VM was patitioned using a LVM (Locigal Volume Manager) setup. Hence, the default root partition is not just /dev/sda or so.

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RPLS Reverse Engineering

Recover video recordings from Panasonic DVR based on MEIHDFS, BDAV, and RPLS

Therefore, go home to your villages and repair the IT of your families! (Jesus, never) Despite all circumstances, I managed to visit my family this Christmas. And to some extend, it is tradition that I use some of the time at home to repair/update/replace some IT devices of my family. This year however, I had a special challenge: Copy the recordings of the family camcorder, that were transferred to the external HDD of a Panasonic DVR to a usual PC.

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OpenSuse Tumbleweed

HowTo build Displaylink driver for OpenSuse Tumbleweed with latest kernel

New laptop, new dock, latest software…great, isn’t it? I always like those “fresh starts” with new hardware and a new setup. Not only because you have cool new hardware, but also, because it’s a possibility to cut off old pigtails. And, you then have best performance and security with latest software… Well, if there wouldn’t be commercial software for hardware drivers. Preamble / The source of the Problem: DisplayLink With my new ThinkPad, I’m using a USB-C dock and therefore planned to connect my external monitors to this dock.

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Signal Logo

HowTo build Signal Desktop on OpenSuse/Fedora/CentOS

I use, among others, the Signal App as messenger. Of course, I also want to use the advantages of running a client also on my OpenSuse-based Laptop. Sadly, Open Whisper Systems does only provide packages for Ubuntu-based systems…so I need to build it by myself. Following the build instructions for developers, the build will fail due to some incompatibilities in the dependencies (see e.g. here). Due to permanent updates of the app, I’ve to rebuild it once in a while…and here is how:

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LG G4

How to get marshmallow on the LG G4 AND encrypt the device AND root it WITHOUT a factory reset

So, since a few days I’ve a new toy….a LG G4! And, of course, I wanted to get the newest marshmallow android on it, as soon as possible. And - also of course - I wanted to encrypt the /data-partition (called device encryption) and wanted still to become root (I’ve been used to fully control a device - and I wouldn’t change this in android 6.0). So, here is the story I’ve got root on a encrypted LG G4 with marshmallow and WITHOUT a factory reset needed:

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