MX Linux Forum

Can't remove geoclue-2.0 without removing redshift-gtk and redshift yet geoclue in not listed as a dependency of redshift-gtk.
I saw comments regarding making geoclue a dependency of redshift - FYI. Anyway to use redshift-gtk without geoclue-2.0?
I'll check alternatives, saw flux or something. Any suggested alternatives?

IIRC geoclue-2.0 was made a dependency in MXPI as it was not being installed by default as MX doesn't install recommends. People were complaining they couldn't set their location without it. Debian installs recommends by default so geoclue-2.0 is installed automatically as a recommend in Debian.
A workaround may be to completely remove the version you installed from MXPI and install the Debian version with --no-install-recommends .

sunrat wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2020 8:13 pm IIRC geoclue-2.0 was made a dependency in MXPI as it was not being installed by default as MX doesn't install recommends. People were complaining they couldn't set their location without it. Debian installs recommends by default so geoclue-2.0 is installed automatically as a recommend in Debian.
A workaround may be to completely remove the version you installed from MXPI and install the Debian version with --no-install-recommends .

Yes, I saw those comments and yours. That's also why I mentioned: "I saw comments regarding making geoclue a dependency of redshift " and, "yet geoclue is not listed as a dependency of redshift-gtk."; i.e. it was made a dependency, but is not listed as a dependency in Synaptics. I assumed that it probably was a dependency after I saw the that a developer was going to make it one, and it wouldn't uninstall alone - relatively new to linux.

I thought of the workaround but I did like the ability to toggle enable, and suspend for times from the panel.
I would've preferred that they didn't make it a dependency - privacy issues.

Side note, it appears as though "brightness-controller-simple" has changed very recently as before you could save R,G,B settings similar to redshift, in addition to controlling the brightness in the primary and secondary monitor, now it's just brightness, which is simpler, and I kind of like it - pros, cons.
Maybe I'll try redshift or f.lux.

Anyway, thanks.

MXRobo wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2020 11:03 pm Maybe I'll try redshift or f.lux.

redshift is the backend package for redshift-gtk; you need both for a GUI. You can install redshift by itself and configure it via a fairly simple text file.
f.lux is a port from Windows land afaik, and is less reliable in Linux judging by the number of support questions I've seen for it. I never tried it as Redshift works perfectly for me.

Does geoclue-2.0 phone home with the location like Windows and Google or does it only provide it internally like a GPS?

If it is only internal and can be made secure I do not see a problem with it.

That's been asked before: https://askubuntu.com/questions/142581/ ... r-tracking

Just in case someone wants to use f.lux instead of redshift and use either of the brightness controllers -which are handy for an external monitor.
Fluxgui disables both <brightness-controller-simple> and <brightness-controller>, so I placed these in Settings>Keyboard>Application Shortcuts and it seems to be working fine.

COMMAND followed by SHORTCUT as examples

sh -c "pkill fluxgui ; brightness-controller"

Shift+control+B

sh -c "pkill fluxgui ; brightness-controller-simple"

alt+B

sh -c "pkill brightness-controller-simple || pkill brightness-controller ; fluxgui"

alt+F

Seems to, I just now added it.

i give up, this is one too many.

I think I remember the thread discussion about this before.

I think we are running into the problem of "six of one, half a dozen of the other" here. One minute its remove things like geoclue from a being dependency, the next its to add it back.

We all have to be sensible and educated about what a application or API does and does not do.

I think all the discussions and user awareness about privacy and security is very very good.

But worrying about every and any application is going to drive people to insanity, you won't win. And right now someone is hardening the heck out of Firefox, iptables, etc, etc. But not enabling tcpwrappers, not hardening avahi, and has an ancient version of Smoothwall running on a 15yr old wifi router that has known hardware vulnerabilities, adding software from random tutorials on the web, and they are downloading or streaming from nefarious places, blah, blah, blah.

Remember at the end of the day MX is not OpenBSD, Tails, Fails, or whatever... while we don't leave the baby lying in the street, its a designed for daily use, so we can't button down the hatches too much.

There were lots of complaints that Redshift didn't work OOTB due to needing either geoclue2 or a config file to be manually created and populated so redshift would know your latitude and longitude so it could determine your local sunrise and sunset times. Geoclue was a recommend for redshift not a depend so it didn't get installed along with redshift. In those days MX Package Installer didn't have an option to also install recommends like it does now so people had to manually go and install geoclue as a separate package. People being as they are wouldn't read or search the forum, they just posted and wanted help on an individual basis so there were lots of topics about this, with lots of repetition telling them they needed geoclue of a config file that they'd have to make themselves. Finally it was decided to make geoclue a depend instead of a recommend so it would automatically be installed along with redshift which would then "just work", and most of the redshift help requests stopped after that. Now people are asking for redshift as a stand-alone package again, without geoclue out of some sort of security concern or something. You can't win for losing.

(@SwampRabbit: it's "batten down the hatches" BTW )

JayM wrote: ↑Sat May 23, 2020 12:18 am (@SwampRabbit: it's "batten down the hatches" BTW )

Well that's what I get for opening my virtual mouth this early/late in the morning, let me batten my lip then.