Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 02/03/2009: New GNU/Linux Releases and Android Threat to Windows



GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux

  • 10 Bits of Wisdom for PCWorld's New Blog: LinuxLink


    PCWorld announces new blog: LinuxLink. Wow, it's only taken PCWorld a mere 10 years to come up with this fantastic brainchild. I'm impressed. There's nothing quite like being on the leading edge of technological advances like Linux. I hope their rapid move in this obtuse new direction doesn't singe their nose hairs or scare off readers.


  • EA Linux Support


    Although he ignores openGL as an alternative to Direct3D it does not make his point void. EA have numerous products that are heavily invested in DirectX, porting those products to OpenGL wouldn't be of significant benefit in their eyes. One should also recognise the fact that most games are built upon old code, so in most cases you're starting with a DirectX code base from a previous game.


  • LM_Sensors 3.1.0 Released, Plenty Of New Work


    As we shared would be coming soon, LM_Sensors 3.1.0 was just released by Jean Delvare. This significant update to the LM_Sensors 3 code-base has a significantly reworked sensors-detect utility, various improvements to the LM_Sensors library (libsensors), a new /etc/sysconfig/lm_sensors format, and a new default sensors.conf configuration file.


  • K Desktop Environment

    • How services change the application landscape


      The part of getting the data from server, protocol differences, local storage and caching is taken care of by the Akonadi framework.

      Spezialized Akonadi clients, called resources, will take care of transferring data from servers and local storage. The Akonadi service will take care of caching and uniquely identifying data items and their core properties such as MIME type.




  • Distributions

    • 5 Minutes of Slackware 12.2


      As expected all devices are detected. Slackware is fast and responsive. Boots to command line - boy does that take me back... Fortunately I haven't forgotten how to type "startx".




    • New Releases



    • Red Hat

      • Fedora 10


        Congratulations to the programmers at Red Hat/Fedora.

        I've been using Ubuntu at work, still, but Fedora is an excellent alternative. Thus far, I can recommend it.


      • SCALE 7x: Clint Savage of the Fedora Project on Spinning Your Own Linux LiveCD


        Clint Savage, West Regional Ambassador for North America, joined the FedoraProject.org, gave a talk at SCALE this year on how to spin your own custom version of Fedora and create a livecd or bootable USB image using open source tools.

        Here is an excerpt from the original abstract from Clint’s SCALE Speaker Web Page:

        Fedora offers a complete set of tools for generating your own customized distribution. The output format can be installable CDs or DVDs, or Live images suitable for CD/DVD or USB keys. These tools allow sub-communities to consume and contribute to FOSS using a platform that is geared toward their specific needs.






    • Ubuntu

      • Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter Issue 131


        Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #131 for the week February 22nd - February 28th, 2009. In this issue we cover: Jaunty Alpha 5 Released, Needed: Countdown to Jaunty Banners, Ubuntu Global Bug Jam Success, Voting for New MOTU Council seats, Ubuntu Server: Call for testing, Next Ubuntu Hug Day, Developer News: Issue #2, LoCo Team Meeting, Philadelphia Bug Jam, Chicago Bug Jam, Arizona team has new website, Launchpad Performance Week Roundup, Launchpad 2.2.2 released, Meet the Devs, Ubuntu podcast #20, Full Circle Magazine #22, UK government backs open source, Random Ubuntu Sightings, Feburary Team Meeting Summaries, Team of the Week(Ubuntu New Mexico), and much much more!


      • Ubuntu Minimal Desktop
      • The Official Ubuntu Book, 3e: Using Kubuntu
      • Dell & Ubuntu's mighty Mini 9


        I have a few quibbles, but that's really all they are. For example, this Ubuntu comes with OpenOffice 2.4, instead of the newer and faster OpenOffice 3.0. I can live with that though. It's still more than fast enough on this portable powerhouse.

        Oh and the best part? All of this computing goodness came to me with a $289 price-tag. Now, this, this is my kind of computer.


      • GOS 3.1 Review!


        So the rating is going to be high for this great OS: 4/5. It has a great GUI, great speed, and great applications that it has picked has worked out to be an advantage for this OS.






  • Devices/Embedded



    • Sub-notebooks

      • Google-Microsoft Next Skirmish: Netbooks?


        But now, online news sites are talking about the possibility of a Google Netbook mini-computer that runs on the Android operating system. Would this be a big threat to Microsoft -- or Apple -- or any company using Linux on small computers?


      • Netbooks a nail in Microsoft's coffin?


        Microsoft's announcement last month of relatively poor financial performance, together with news of the first job cuts in its 34-year history has added to the gloom already felt on Wall Street.


      • Review: Netbooks go mainstream


        Also watch out for operating systems. Linux is the free operating system that can be found on the cheapest models.


      • Android the real Linux desktop threat to Windows


        Microsoft got things seriously wrong when it released Vista and the company knows it. In the past, the absolute market dominance of Windows on the desktop has allowed Redmond to get away with such mistakes. That may no longer be the case now that Google has entered the operating system market with its Linux-based Android platform.


      • Simple and Useful Ways to Optimize GNOME for Netbook Displays


        GNOME is highly customizable and can be tweaked to suit every user’s needs. That’s why I think its versatility makes it a perfect desktop environment for Linux netbooks.

        Since netbook displays are small, desktop space should not be wasted. I have here some tips that I hope you will find useful on how you can optimize GNOME for your netbook’s diminutive desktop area.








Audio



Free Software/Open Source

  • 6 of the Best Free Linux eCommerce Software


    Online shopping is the activity that consumers engage in when purchasing products or services over the internet. This activity has many distinct advantages over 'traditional shopping' for both consumers and the businesses.


  • See you at CeBIT?


    This year for the first time they have an open source sub-conference hiding pretty much unadvertised inside the event and I'll be speaking there on Wednesday March 4th at 3:15pm. I'll also be presenting one of the open source awards on March 5th in the evening.


  • SourceForge Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2009 Financial Results


    Up 9% Year-Over-Year Media Revenue Increase 4% -- E-Commerce Revenue Increase 10%

    MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, Feb 26, 2009 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- SourceForge, Inc. (NASDAQ: LNUX), the leader in IT community-driven media and e-commerce, today announced financial results for its second quarter of fiscal 2009, which ended January 31, 2009.




Leftovers

  • Tomorrow is Britain's nationwide "Convention on Modern Liberty"


    Tomorrow marks the first ever British Convention on Modern Liberty, co-sponsored by The Guardian, OpenDemocracy, and Liberty. It's a daylong, nationwide forum on the erosion of liberty, privacy and civil rights in Britain. Boing Boing is a proud sponsor of the event, and I'll be speaking at the closing plenary with Billy Bragg tomorrow afternoon in London.


  • British 'careless' with liberties


  • Censorship

    • Browser plugin detects and reports net-censorship


      David sez, "On a decentralized network it's much harder to map blockages than to create them. Herdict.org takes a crowdsourcing approach. Install the add-on and click the button when you encounter a site that's down..."






  • Copyrights

    • French Net black-out against "graduated response"


      Opposing the stubborn and ridiculous will of the French governement to disconnect whole families from the Internet without real proof or trial, La Quadrature du Net issues a call to all freedom-cherishing citizens to a "black-out" of their sites, blogs, profiles, avatars,... As has been done in New Zealand, the only other country with France where the "graduated response" would have been imposed by law, and was finally pushed back: to protest against this stupid law and its "white list" of authorized websites, the French Web must act and dress in black.


    • Music industry's Irish ISP shakedown letter leaked


      An internet hosting company has published a copy of the nasty-gram Ireland's music industry lawyers bulk-mailed to that country's internet service providers, demanding they begin blocking access to any website accused of piracy or else.








Digital Tipping Point: Clip of the Day



Gabriella Coleman, an anthropologist, explains Free Software culture 01 (2004)

Ogg Theora





Digital Tipping Point is a Free software-like project where the raw videos are code. You can assist by participating.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Investigative Journalism Protects Society From Corruption, Crimes Against Women, Assaults on Civil Society
"what is the point of men doing military practice to defend a system that is so rotten?"
Swiss pimp usurping reputation of legendary Tissot boss Francois Thiébaud from France (BaselWorld, SWATCH Group SA)
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Paris 'Love Nest' & Debian Outreachy: from Lycée Lakanal to ENS Cachan, Cr@ns, nepotism
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Richard Stallman to Give Public Talk in 3 Hours, Then in the Technical University of Munich (Germany) Next Week
Richard Stallman at TUM on 21.10.2025 18:00, MW2001
Leaks and Whistleblowers: Our Plan for Today
Society simply cannot advance when too many people self-censor
 
The EPO's War on Techrights Was a Massive Mistake
The EPO started the SLAPPs after we had published a few hundreds of articles; we've since then published close to 6,000 because the attacks on us emboldened insiders to help us
General-Purpose Computers to Become Growing Area of Coverage
Without them, we have little left for controlling our lives
"They missed a great opportunity to shut up." -Jacques Chirac
Brett Wilson LLP has been trying to cheat the legal system many times
Harassment evidence: Switzerland, overcrowded fitness and yoga centers, incompetence and racism in accident response
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Vincent Danjean & Debian NXIVM collateral, blackmail risks
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
In Sweden This Past Friday Richard Stallman Explained Why Copyleft is Important
And he didn't have to 'bash' BSDs, either
Dystopian Trends in Technology Make Richard Stallman More Relevant Than Ever
It's good to see him attracting vast audiences
IBM Layoffs Due to a Lack of Money and Company Debt Rising by Almost 10 Billion Dollars in 6 Months
IBM didn't buy Red Hat for any ideological reasons; it was a fast "cash grab" for revenue
Forbes Already Stopped Being a News Sites. Now It's a Spam and Propaganda Platform for "Paying Partners" (Companies).
news from Forbes became very scarce
Is the Second-Largest Institution in Europe (EPO) Gradually Becoming More Like a Sweatshop?
Underpaid, unqualified, inexperienced and incompatible people are already recruited to replace veteran examiners
The Register MS Has No FOSS Coverage Anymore
The Editor in Chief is like a Microsoft plant
Links 13/10/2025: "Toasty Subwoofer" and WiFi Speakers "Are About To Go Dumb"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/10/2025: iNaturalist and Tove Jansson’s Moominpappa at Sea
Links for the day
Microsoft Does Not Deny That Large Retailers Like Walmart, Costco and Target Are Giving Up on XBox (and Not Stocking It)
No doubt XBox is in trouble and rumours suggest that more mass layoffs are imminent
We'll Encourage Richard Stallman to Talk About Software Patents at the EPO Next Week When He Visits Munich (EPO Headquarters)
Go listen to Richard Stahlmann
Arnaud Parreaux lost case defending rogue employer
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Mathieu Elias Parreaux declared bankrupt in Switzerland
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Breakdown of the Rule of Law and Patent Law in the European Union (EU)
The EPO cannot recruit suitably qualified patent examiners this way, let alone retain them
Gemini Links 13/10/2025: Good Films, Wizard of Earthsea, Upgrading the Steam Controller's Stick
Links for the day
It's Not Justice When One Side Denies the Other Side the Ability to Even Speak
At this stage, Brett Wilson LLP is in my humble opinion acting in contempt of the Court
Links 13/10/2025: Australian Catholic University Uses Slop to Libel Students, Canada Threatens to Kill Beluga Whales
Links for the day
How Not to Silence Tux Machines (It'll Only Backfire, Badly)
defending Microsoft while attacking this site
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT and Google News
It seems abundantly clear that Google News and Google in general participates in the slop epidemic
Vincent Danjean (not INTERPOL), Claire Bardel & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Christmas lynchings: Martin Krafft (madduck), Penny Leach (mjollnir) & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 13/10/2025: Birthdays and "Committee Unable to Contact Nobel Prize Winner"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, October 12, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, October 12, 2025
The Same People Who Attacked Richard Stallman (RMS) Are Attacking Daniel Pocock to Discourage People From Listening to His Information
Pocock is being demonised for the same reasons and by the same people who attack RMS
Your Typical Anti-Richard Stallman (RMS) Cancellist
"About the RMS cancellation"
Richard Stallman (RMS) Has Announced His Talk in Rome Less Than 20 Hours in Advance (and on a Sunday)
Why did he wait until the night before?
We Are Safe in a Modern "Tech" Society, Right?
People are safer if they control their own computing
GNU Tools Cauldron Event in Portugal: Videos Now Available via Invidious
Go have a look
The Way Things Are Going, They May Soon Stop Saying "Web Address" and Instead Say "Chrome Address"
The Web isn't built or based around open Web standards anymore. It's centered around user-agent.
Microsoft as a Golden Cage
"I was laid off by Microsoft and can't find a job. I'm weeks away from giving up my apartment and moving across the country to live with family."
Weekend Discussion About How IBM's Bluewashing of Red Hat Will Cause "Enshittification" for Users
"I worked at a software company that was acquired by IBM so I knew it was game over for RedHat the day they were acquired"
Brett Wilson LLP Getting Sued by Its Very Own Clients, a Legal Story That Has Made the Mainstream News (Law360)
Law360 or Law.com are about as mainstream as one can get in that "sector" (litigation 'industry')
Slopwatch: GNU/Linux Sites That Became Slopfarms and Spamfarms
The Web is a mess and "Linux" or "Ubuntu" sites became part of the problem
Richard Stallman's Talk 25 Hours Away, Aula Magna Palazzo del Rettorato (CU001), Sapienza Università di Roma (Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5)
The talk is 25 hours away and we see some QR code for it
Gemini Links 12/10/2025: Watches, the Depression of 2026, Gamboling with Odds
Links for the day
Links 12/10/2025: 'False' DMCA Claims and Slop Facing Perils Again (the Hype Wears Off)
Links for the day
Microsoft Has Just Lost Privacy Case in Austria and Its Latest Moves Make a Complete Ban Seem Imperative
Microsoft is not a software company, it's a spying agency that uses software to collect data
The Register MS: Microsoft is the Security Expert, Not the Prime Culprit, So Buy More Microsoft
This front page feature is devoid of any actual substance, it's just Microsoft copypasta
Stefano Zacchiroli (Zack) & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Lucas Nussbaum & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 12/10/2025: "Palm Computering", Further Exploration of Slide Rules, and Key Takeaways from The Well-Grounded Rubyist
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 11, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, October 11, 2025
Tomorrow: Founder of the Free Software Foundation and of GNU/Linux, Richard Stallman, Speaks in Roma (Rome), Italy at 4PM
GNU/Linux is more important than ever in this dystopian world
Microsoft and Apple Are Rare Topics in Geminispace
in Geminispace it's rather safe to assume everyone is into BSD, GNU/Linux, and sometimes retro
Qualcomm and Manchester United Appear to Have Dumped Microsoft (Qualcomm Now Invests More in Linux, Apparently)
It's a relief to no longer see Microsoft logos and brands on a local football club's gear (I'm not a Manchester United fan, but not a foe either)
As Guest of Honour in Rome, Founder of the Free Software Foundation to Speak ("Distinguished Lecture") After Introduction by Leonardo Querzoni
Happy hacking...
All Things Open is Proprietary
The OSI has become a front group of proprietary software openwashers, led and sponsored by proprietary giants
When Microsoft Lays Off Lots of Workers They Say It "Invests in AI" (a Lie), Now It's "Reshuffles" or "Microsoft Tightens"
Microsoft "news" by bots
"I saw Richard Stallman give a talk in the mid 80s, which began my fear and loathing of software patents" and "Richard Stallman was always right."
"By betraying the legacy of our ancestors, we’ve set ourselves on a path toward self-destruction — moral, intellectual, economic, and ultimately biological."
There Were Several Waves of Microsoft Shanghai Layoffs in 2025, Western Media Continues to Turn a Blind Eye to Chinese Layoffs of an Epic Scale
Sometimes select Taiwanese news sites (published in English) or automated translations are all we have
Brett Wilson LLP Spreads Trumpism to the United Kingdom, Looking to Profit From 'Legal Colonialism' (Overriding Sovereignty)
There's growing recognition of this conundrum worldwide
The Demise of Shopping in Person
In a world like this, how valued is the customer?
This Past Friday, "Nearly 700 People Came to Listen to RMS!" (Richard Stallman)
"Nearly 700 people came to listen to RMS!"
Distinguished Lecture by Richard Stallman This Coming Monday in Rome
After "Free software, Crucial for Freedom in a Digital World"
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT Churning Out Plagiarism and the Slopfarm LinuxSecurity Turns to Pseudonyms
Our hunch is, UbuntuPIT will sooner or later realise that this toxic approach is just harming UbuntuPIT and tainting the reputation of past articles
The Lawsuit by Clients of Brett Wilson LLP Against Brett Wilson LLP is Officially On, It is Progressing, The 'Experts' Pick Outside Law Firms (RPC and Mills & Reeve) to Spare Them From Litigants in Person
So it is probably quite potent
Gemini Links 11/10/2025: Nyctography, Gerrymandering, and Lurking
Links for the day
The 'Culture Wars' in Free Software Have Gone Out of Control
Social control media amplifies such utterly infantile discourse
Teaser: To Compensate for the Fact Our Clients Are Terrible Human Beings Who Strangle Women (While on Microsoft's Payroll) and We Get Paid by Mystery Parties We Bombard You and Your Wife With Almost 10 Kilograms of Legal Papers
If you can't win an argument, then drown the other side with papers?
Links 11/10/2025: World Mental Health Day 2025, Another European Legal Defeat for Microsoft 360
Links for the day
MIT Technology Review is Part-Time SPAMfarm of Billionaires and Mega-Corporations
Does MIT operate its own "b2b" SPAMfarm?
Open Source Initiative Executive Director Leaves, Replacement Sought by Monopolists, Not the Community or OSI Members
Serves to show who runs this show...
Links 11/10/2025: China-US Tensions Grow Again, "Hey Hi" More Widely Recognised as Bubble Made of Capital That Doesn't Exist
Links for the day
Now Confirmed in Western Media: Microsoft Azure Layoffs This Month
Affirmed by more sources moments ago
Peter O'Callaghan QC represented grandparents, Westernport Hotel, at Liquor Royal Commission
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Either The Register MS Divests From FOSS Coverage or Liam Proven is on Long Holiday
Publishers perish when their audience loses trust in them
Microsoft Cancelling Another Datacentre is a Sign of Financial Trouble and Lack of Growth
The debt continues to grow
Gemini Links 11/10/2025: An Evening at the Fair and Fast Fourier Friday
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 10, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, October 10, 2025