Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 14/04/2009: State of Illinois Supports ODF, Firefox Extensions Extravaganza



GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux

  • He's a Mac, he's a PC, but we're Linux
    Earlier this year the Linux Foundation launched a competition for budding writers, film makers and just general Linux enthusiasts to make their own grassroots advertisement to compete with Apple’s highly-successful “I’m a Mac” series of adverts. The winner has now been announced.


  • Linux For Absolute Beginners: 3 Easy Ways to Test-Drive Linux
    The computing marketplace is nearly unique in its lack of customer choice. In most other industries we have many good choices. If you don't like your Ford, you can buy a Toyota, Saab, Chevrolet, Audi, Dodge, or any of several other good brands. If you don't like Pepsi you can try Coke, Shasta, Western Family, RC. Ever notice how particular some people are about pens? There are dozens, if not hundreds of different styles and brands of pens. Milk comes from cows that are all pretty much the same, but you still have a choice of brands. Ever count how many different brands of tortilla chips are on your store's shelves?


  • How to end the Fail Whales? With Blue Whales.
    Before I joined IBM in September of 2007, I had just completed a project for a large government agency that needed a system that could accomplish approximately 5,500 database row inserts and reads per second, or approximately 18 million transactions per week. And as a customer requirement, we had to do it with COMMODITY HARDWARE. Read as, Intel Chips and Linux.


  • Windows dedicated site to try Linux!
    Neowin, the site which for the most part is Microsoft dedicated has just announced another revelation. Its editor Marshalus is trying out Ubuntu 9.04 beta.


  • Psystar Intros Core i7-Based PC with No Mac OS X Support
    Featuring your choice of Vista or Linux, the Open7 has enough configuration options to custom tailor this computer to meet your needs. Add up to three video cards with support for triple NVIDIA SLI for maximum performance.


  • [James Love on Apple]
    @cshirky notes Apple Works insists on proprietary file formats, and won't save to ODF. IMO, Apple sees Linux as desktop threat.


  • [But... But...]


  • Expanding Linux desktop market
    Making simple, big-button distros with lots of truly great commercial games, instant access to every conceivable media, dedicated support and brand-name endorsement by the titans like Dell or Google - it must work and it will.


  • What Price Cool? Mac vs. PC
    There are two major platforms: Apple and Windows, and Macs generally cost more than PCs. Thus ends the latest propagandistic report. But what about Linux?

    [...]

    This is not particularly earth-shattering news. Linux is never mentioned, of course, and some might argue that this report is a smokescreen to keep people from looking at the third alternative. And since this report emphasizes both short- and long-term costs and expenses, Linux is actually the elephant (or the jaunty jackalope) in the room.




  • K Desktop Environment

    • system trays
      A current assessment of KNotificationAreaIcon is that it's a really long name but it works right out of the box, including with xembed-only system tray environments, with only a few minor (though quite fixable) caveats at the moment. It needs some tweaking and polishing, but it should be in great order before 4.3.0 given it's current state.


    • improving freedesktop.org specs








  • Distributions

    • Distro Review - Arch Linux 2009.02
      After many broken promises and much procrastination, I finally made it onto Arch Linux and that’s where I’ve been for the past couple of weeks now. I had a failed attempt at Arch last year when my hard drive died; not Arch’s fault in any way, but since then I haven’t really had a chance to get back to it. It’s a distro a lot of people tell me about. The Arch fans are always really passionate and enthusiastic in describing it to me; so I figured it was high time I found out for myself what all this fuss was about…


    • My PCLinuxOS 2009.1 Desktop
      The installed KDE apps work perfectly in my PCLOS 2009 Gnome system. Great performance, no stability issues and now I have what I consider to be the best of both worlds working in harmony.


    • Enter gNewSense - the free Ubuntu
      By using gNewSense you can show that the freedom of the software you use is truly important to you. Hardware manufacturers can thereby be motivated to provide free drivers and firmware for their products and to allow transparency and innovation in this area of software production in the process. In addition, you can show the mother projects of gNewSense, Debian and Ubuntu, that you want to stick to principles and contracts consistently and are not content with phony exceptions.




    • Red Hat

      • Wake County Economic Development Launches New Video Series “Raleigh-Wake County Business Showcase”
        The first video profile for WCED will feature the Raleigh-based company Red Hat, Inc. Founded in 1993, Red Hat (www.redhat.com) is the world's leading provider of open source solutions and is one of the most recognized open source brands. Headquartered in Raleigh and with more than 65 offices across the globe, Red Hat serves global enterprises with open source technology and services. Solutions include Red Hat Enterprise Linux, JBoss Enterprise Middleware and a range of related management tools. Red Hat also offers support, training and consulting services to its customers worldwide.












  • Devices/Embedded

    • Review: Sandisk Sansa Clip
      I have always wanted a good quality audio player that works well with Linux and plays Ogg Vorbis files. Even though the Sansa Clip was originally released in 2007, I somehow missed it.

      [...]

      I give the Sansa Clip two thumbs up. It is affordable, it has a lot of features, it is durable... the software works well and it sounds great. It works great with Linux.


    • Will Linux overtake Windows on netbooks?
      ABI Research predicts that Linux and "alternative operating systems" (OSes) will overtake Windows XP in netbook sales by 2012. Reasons cited by ABI include the arrival of low-end ARM-based netbooks, as well as mobile stacks such as the Linux-based Android that are suited for these platforms.








Free Software/Open Source

  • Firefox

    • Install Firefox 3.6 alpha1pre Minefield in Ubuntu (from repository)


    • Firefox New Tab: Visual Update
      All has been quiet on the new tab front for the last couple of weeks. We’ve been up to two things in the process of getting the new tab ready for potential uplift into Firefox.


    • Browser wars 2009: Firefox, Chrome, & Internet Explorer
      So, while Chrome is faster and more secure and IE 8 is vastly improved over IE 7 and 6, the bottom line is that Firefox and its friends still give me a better over-all Web experience. And, when you're like me and you need to find information quickly on the Web all day long, that's no small thing.


    • Lifehacker's Favorite Firefox Extensions--Plus a Few of Our Own
      As most people who use Firefox know, its hugest advantage over other browsers is the powerful galaxy of extensions available for it. Lifehacker's top 10 list includes a few extensions that I don't use but will have to try out. In particular, I like the idea of AutoCopy, which lets you copy text online by simply selecting it, and fixes long and unweildy URLs. For anyone who writes online, it sounds like a time-saver.


    • Firefox Extensions Guide: Extend Your Experience
      If you are using Firefox and haven't yet gotten down to trying any add-ons, then hopefully this guide will help get acquainted. Sure it may seem daunting at first for the neophyte - but with a little bit of practice, you'll soon be zipping along like a pro and enjoying the experience to boot. For those of who haven't yet tried Firefox, this guide will surely help you open your horizon on what the competition offers.


    • Top 10 Must-Have Firefox Extensions, 2009 Edition
      Our new list keeps some, tosses others, and remains our go-to, Grandmaster list of the best Firefox add-ons.


    • 15 Firefox add-ons for Web developers
      They've made my work a lot easier, and they all can be downloaded in just a few seconds.








  • Licensing





  • ODF

    • Other Local Government Statistics
      Documents are available in Excel (.XLS) and OpenDocument(.ODS) formats. Before viewing the OpenDocument format you may need to download the free OpenOffice software.


    • PEAR Site Has OpenDocument Project For PHP
      This is the description of a project on the PHP PEAR site. I have to say that it looks abandoned, but that could be a false impression. Here's hoping that work continues on this. This could give every PHP developer the potential to import or export ODF documents within his project.








Leftovers

  • OneWebDay Founder Tapped By Obama
    Internet law expert Susan Crawford has joined President Barack Obama's lineup of tech policy experts at the White House, according to several sources. She will likely hold the title of special assistant to the president for science, technology, and innovation policy, they said. Crawford, who was most recently a visiting professor at the University of Michigan and at Yale Law School, was tapped by Obama's transition team in November to co-chair its FCC review process with University of Pennsylvania professor Kevin Werbach.


  • MPAA's hacking history bites it in the Aris
    THE MPAA has found that its nasty habit of paying hackers to steal emails from TorrentSpy and the Pirate Bay has ended it up in court again.


  • Obama Taps 5th RIAA Lawyer to Justice Dept.
    President Barack Obama is tapping another RIAA attorney into the Justice Department.

    Monday's naming of Ian Gershengorn, to become the department's deputy assistant attorney of the Civil Division, comes more than a week after nearly two-dozen public interest groups, trade pacts and library coalitions urged the new president to quit filling his administration with lawyers plucked from the Recording Industry Association of America.

    The move makes it five RIAA lawyers Obama has appointed to the Justice Department.






Digital Tipping Point: Clip of the Day



Nelson Pavlosky, Co-founder of Free Culture.org 07 (2005)

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

IBM's Press Release About Results Mentions "AI" 10 Times, "Quantum" 4 Times
Blah blah blah AI"
Things We Could Do More Than Half a Century Ago But Can No Longer Accomplish
Newer is not always better
Linux Foundation an Enemy of the Planet, Proponent of Pollution and Global Heating
"could the "polluters pay" model be extended to the computing environment and used to take on Microsoft and Microsofters?"
 
Gemini Links 23/07/2026: SharePoint Rants and “Junk DNA” in Commented-Out Code
Links for the day
Links 23/07/2026: RIP John C. Dvorak, Organisation Weaponised Against J.K. Rowling
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 22, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Freexian & Debian: antitrust, unfair competition against joint authors and volunteers
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
IBM in the Red After Bad Results (Shares Down in After Hours)
Will the CEO step down, retire, of what else?
Gemini Links 22/07/2026: Fault Lines, the Dark Web and Beyond, and Why Substack is Awful
Links for the day
Insult and Injury: Getting Banned, Not Just Sacked, by Microsoft
A former insider spoke about this in public 5 hours ago
Links 22/07/2026: "Dumb Phones" Not Enough to Tackle Harmful Addition, "MPEG-4 Visual's Road to Being [Software] Patent-Free"
Links for the day
Top secret: Cults inquiry submission concealed from public
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
An Hour Ahead of Alleged 'Results' (Amid Investigation Into Fraud) IBM Falls Back to New Lows
Only cents away from a 52-week low
IBM Headed for Lowest "Value" in 2 Years
In a nutshell, Krishna "can't keep it up" and IBM is now investigated for fraud
Investigation Progressing
There is nothing "funny" about receiving mortal threats for merely reporting information in a civilised country
Anupa Ann Joseph & Debian defamation gang
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
State of the Invidious Project
Never forget how hostile Google can be towards freedom
Prioritising the Safety of Women is the Best Approach to Foster Diversity in Technical Communities
Debian was never "normative", but that does not mean Debian should have such low standards
IBM Will Report 'Results' Tonight (CET), It's Already Investigated for Securities Fraud
"Five of the biggest US tech giants are carrying $1.65 trillion in debt that does not show up on their balance sheets"
Hardware Has Gotten a Lot Worse, Not Just Far More Expensive
prices go up fast
Amid Claims of Microsoft Bing Layoffs It Seems Like Bing Cannot Even Hold on to Second Place
Yandex is sometimes bigger than Bing
Wikileaks Does Not Publish New Material Anymore, But Wikileaks Still Changes the World
Wikileaks has a legacy that will soon turn 20
Links 22/07/2026: Postal IRCs, PlayStation Kills Discs, Union Action Against Microsoft, "Judge Considers Tossing Databricks Patent Suit Under California anti-SLAPP Law"
Links for the day
Same 'Journalists' Who Published Fake News for IBM (Pump and Dump) Now Write Puff Pieces About the Stock Falling
the media is so compromised
They Called It "Social" and "Media", But It Turned Out to be Slop and Child Porn
Why do any sane people still use social control media?
Age of consent: DebConf26 registered sex offender in Argentina?
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: In the Pole Position Despite a Dismal Track Record
António Campinos is an old hand when it comes to such high-level institutional intrigue
Site a Bit Slower Due to Visitors' Load
We'll try to work out better speeds
Gemini Links 22/07/2026: Emacs, Astrology Clock, Arduino, and Rogallo v1.0.0
Links for the day
After Involvement by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) LibreTech and Quibble Gain More Participants
RMS expressed gratitude for people who worked on Quibble and improved LibreJS after many years of inactivity
The Lessons From the Assange Saga
This will not end well
Apple Will Increase Surveillance of Customers, Record Verbal Communications Under the Guise of "Hey Hi"
Apple now drinks that same Kool-Aid
Dave Winer, Blogging Pioneer, Sells Out, Spews Out LLM Slop to Readers
Another one bites the dust [...] Now it's a slopfarm of sorts
Not Everything Can be Automated
not a new thing
GNU/Linux OS in ComorOS
Now, as in recent years or the last year, the GNU/Linux "signal" is growing significantly
Microsoft Redefines "Layoffs" to Give Smaller Tallies
It's not just calling them "buyouts" or saying people are merely "leaving" or "retiring"
IBM is Not Done Destroying Red Hat, Wait Till October 1st 2026 (More Layoffs and Bluewashing)
It's not bluewashing 'til it's 100% done
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 21, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 21, 2026
"LF Sex", Nothing to Do With Linux
a lot of explaining to do this week
Gemini Links 21/07/2026: Nostalgia, Shogi, and New Gemlog System
Links for the day
Guyana: GNU/Linux Rises to New High, 7%
Guyana is part of the trend
Oman: GNU/Linux Up to 7%
It was 5% last year
The Solution is Never 'Free Hosting' in Proprietary GitHub (Microsoft), the Solution is Self-Hosting
Third parties never care about your projects as much as you (yourself) care about them
Only a Matter of Time Before IBM Drops to $199 or a Lot Lower Than That
How long can IBM overload empty shells?
From GAFAM's Perspective, Jeremy Bicha Did Nothing Wrong
All is OK as long as he does not criticise monopolists and billionaires
Bluesky Was Such an Utter Failure That After 18 Months Mozilla Goes Hug a Nazi Platform That Produces Child Porn
What compels Mozilla to come back there? The child pornography scandal? The adorable leader?
GNU/Linux at Grenada Measured at 14% This Month
GNU/Linux was stuck at 0% for a long time
In WordPress, Newer is Not Better (Maybe Better Off With No WordPress at All)
To Hell with bloat and feature churn
As Slop Bubble Implodes (Inevitable), the Dishonest, Corrupt, Compromised Media Tries to Blame "China" Again (Like it Did With "DeepSeek" in Past Years)
Here we go again. We've been there before. Same spin, this time not "DeepSeek" though.
Lots of Microsoft Just Loses Money, Not Earning Money
Due to profitability challenges it's hard to believe Microsoft will ever find a buyer for XBox
Red Hat (IBM) Has Long 'Reassigned' (Bluewashed) Red Hat Staff to Ruin Fedora, Now It Does the Same to GNOME
What next from IBM's Krishna?
Links 21/07/2026: Google Stagnating, Slop 'Apps' Are "Flooding Apple’s App Store"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/07/2026: OPNSense Upgrade Problems, Zilog Z80 at 50, and Lessons From Terminator
Links for the day
IBM Lawsuits Over Alleged Fraud Are Piling Up
We'll keep an eye on the lawsuits
Arianna Taite on Odds of Australian (Daniel Pocock) Winning Clacton By-Election
His detractors somehow try to twist or frame him (Pocock) as an impediment to women while the exact opposite is true
This Coming Weekend Marks 4 Years Since We Dumped Content Management Systems (CMSs) in Favour of Static Site Generators (SSGs)
the first page dated July 25
Slop's Latest Casualty: The Credibility of Linus Torvalds
If you care about millionaires and billionaires, follow Torvalds (he is already in that "club")
Techrights Will Become More Productive (More Output) Over Time
Big stories about to land
Touch Grass
Happiness involves what humans have evolved to appreciate, not what humans create to sedate the mind (like skinnerboxes)
The Cyber Show on Technology Having Become a Tool of Mass Psychosis, Not Enablement or Emancipation
Technology as mass psychosis
The Rumour Said That a Second Wave of Microsoft Layoffs Would Come This Week (Ahead of Fake 'Results'), Maybe Tomorrow
Let's wait and see how "MSM" unfold
To Wikipedia, "Notability" is Just an Excuse to Hail People Who Serve Billionaires While Marginalising or Defaming the Rest
Wikipedia is an advertising space
Our Series About Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and SLAPPs Will Resume Soon
Originally, in 2025, we gave ourselves 6 years (until 2031) to cover these issues, but we've seen since extended that to 10 years (until 2036) because of the amount of material we have
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: The EPO Transparency Gap
Despite the "European" tag in the organisation's name, the European Union has no jurisdiction over the European Patent Organisation
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 20, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, July 20, 2026
Links 20/07/2026: Lashes for Songs in Iran, Kurdish Language at Risk
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/07/2026: The Boss Baby (2017) and 2026 Old Computer Challenge Epilogue
Links for the day