06.29.08

Links 29/06/2008: Sugar as a Desktop Environment, Free Codecs Praised

Posted in News Roundup at 5:11 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

• Pardus 2008 : A testdrive
  

  Pardus surprised me. Today it is listed as nr 49 on Distrowatch, but it deserves a place near or in the top-ten. It is a distro that has everything to become a major newcomer-friendly distro.

• Ubuntu [Instead of Vista]
  

  I must thank Andrew Cullison for introducing me to Ubuntu (“Linux for Human Beings”) last month.

  [....]

  One big plus for me was that my old OS (Windows Vista Home Edition) didn’t have networking capabilities. Once I switched to Ubuntu, I could log on to the Princeton network and create my university webpage from my laptop. Very convenient.

• Ubuntu Hardy gets Sweeter with Sugar!
  

  Wow, what a nice surprise! (This has actually been in development since December of last year :o) The OLPC Sugar desktop environment is available in the Ubuntu Hardy repository! You can use the emulator to run it in a window or login as a full blown desktop through GDM (the default login screen for (X)Ubuntu users)!

• Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) Alpha 1 Screenshots
• Top 10 Linux financial tools
  

  Many people don’t realize the wealth of applications available for Linux — and that includes financial software. Jack Wallen introduces 10 Linux apps that will meet your financial needs, whether you just want a digital replacement for your checkbook or you’re looking for a full-blown accounting package for your organization.

F/OSS

• Free as in Beer!
• Phoronix Test Suite 1.0.2 Released
• Intel Driver Gets XvMC Improvements
• Packing It In: The Evolution of Online Video and Audio Tech, Part 2
  

  Some in the open source community are fighting vendor lock-in by creating superior formats. Now, if only users would adopt them.

• The first European Opensource Lawyers Event
• VivaKi, dude, where is my code?

Leftovers

• Ethiopia: OLPC donates 5,000 laptops worth 940,000 USD
• Gates chose the right time to leave Microsoft
  

  I can remember reporting on a leaked internal memo that Bill Gates issued to Microsoft staff in 1995 which was a literal call to arms to fight both Netscape (not mentioned by name) and the onset of the Internet. It was obvious to Gates that the cards were on the table and the Internet was holding all the Aces.

  [...]

  Gates also watched as Microsoft’s last great Wintel project Vista turned into a disappointing flop, with many users and pundits believing that it offered no significant improvements over Windows XP. Similar things could said for Office 2007.

Direct link

Permalink Comments off      Send this to a friend

Links 29/06/2008: Grou.ps Adopts AGPL; Blizzard Experiments with GNU/Linux

Posted in News Roundup at 4:15 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

• NETGEAR Launches Open Source WGR614L Wireless-G Router
• A Red Hat Packed With Dynamite
• Linux Mint 5
  

  Some of my clients are non-profit companies that don’t have a lot of extra funds or could use existing funds in a different way instead of spending it on software licensing.

  So, how does Mint answer those questions? Extremely well, actually.

• The state of WoW on Linux
  

  During the dev panel a few minutes ago, Tom Chilton told us something interesting about playing World of Warcraft on the Linux platform — Blizzard has actually had it working. For “compatibility purposes,” they apparently had an internal build of the game that worked on Linux.

• [Linux] 2.6.26: almost there

Ubuntu

• Adios, Windows XP!
  

  Ladies and gentleman, Windows XP is dead.

  Say goodbye to annoying pop up balloons, and say hello to Ubuntu!

  Sure, I am sad about the departure of Windows XP, but this just gives me more reason to transition to Linux.

• Ubuntu 8.10 “Intrepid Ibex” Alpha 1 [Screenshots]
  

  One of the first things to notice about Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 1 is its new theme. Originally, Ubuntu 8.04 was supposed to introduce a (much-anticipated) new default theme for Ubuntu, but that was pushed back into Intrepid Ibex.

• Ubuntu Linux
• Best. Linux Distro. Ever? Ubuntu Studio 8.04
• Biggest Contender In Mobile Space: Ubuntu MID
  

  Ubuntu MID is finger friendly, with no stylus needed. You drive Ubuntu MID with touch. Simply tap the screen or drag a finger to make gestures for intuitive navigation and control. All you will need is to tap an application with your finger to launch it, and tap menus and buttons to use them or swipe a Web page to pan up, down or sideways. Playing on a mobile device was never that much fun as here you can also swipe a video, photo, song or thumbnail page to move to the next or the previous one.

F/OSS

• Using Tux Typing with my Vietnamese students
• Packing It In: The Evolution of Online Video and Audio Tech, Part 1
• Grou.ps Raises $1.1 Million And Goes Open Source
  

  Grou.ps has also announced that it is open sourcing a restricted version of its code under the Affero Public License.

• Open-Source Reshaping the Software Industry
• Developing an open-source platform

Security

• Researchers Warn of IE6 Hole
• Do Smartphone Viruses Threaten Networks?

Permalink A Single Comment      Send this to a friend

Intellectual Monopolies Roundup

Posted in Interoperability, Patents, SUN at 3:41 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Software patents and other dubious nonsense

Those who are no friends of software patents and other intellectual monopolies may wish to have a look at the following set of posts:

• Sun picks away at NetApp’s patent claims

The war-of-words between Sun Microsystems and NetApp over patent infringement claims wages on, while legal means to settle the matter have failed.

The two companies tried to sit down this week for a settlement conference, but judging by Sun’s response of publicly boasting that it has removed at least one of NetApp’s patents from the litigation and declaring the legal scuffle a war between ideologies — we’d say the mediation wasn’t entirely a success.

• Book Review: Markman at the Beach

The book is a real treat for those who like intellectual property (despite the anti-patent message of the book) and may offer something for the generalist reader who likes to get lost in a legal thriller while basking in the summer sun.

• Back-Door Maximalist Intellectual Monopolies

Patents would be turned into a customs issue (whaaat?), and there would be no need actually to show that an infringement happened in order to start a “procedure”…. In other words, this SECURE (and for the name, see here) is about extending the RIAA’s intimidatory tactics to the whole of intellectual monopolies, and globally.

• Blogging at LegalTech: West Coast Style

nteroperability continues to be a major issue. New systems are built on proprietary standards, increasing the cost of installation, while an older but effective system loses support when its maker merges with another vendor and decides to let that product fade into history.

We’ll be back to posting at the regular high pace tomorrow. █

Permalink Comments off      Send this to a friend