10.11.09

Contents

• GNU/Linux
  • Distributions
  • Devices/Embedded
• Free Software/Open Source
• Leftovers
• LPC 2009: Evaluating Linux storage APIs for use in QEMU/KVM

GNU/Linux

• Young Developers Get Old Mainframers’ Jobs

  Last spring one of my co-workers went to college campuses to recruit prospective “young mainframers.”

  Young mainframers? Isn’t that an oxymoron?

  My co-worker, Tim, explained that our company, a major software vendor, is seeing its mainframe workforce rapidly approaching the age of retirement. Tim said IBM and most other firms whose businesses depend on mainframes are also dealing with this industry-wide problem.

• Kernel Space

  • Nouveau Developments: KMS, Suspend & Resume

    Since the release of Fedora 11 (early June), the Nouveau driver has matured with its kernel mode-setting, support for G80 series kernel mode-setting, improvements to its NVIDIA video BIOS reading abilities, a new method for submitting commands to the display engine (display push buffer), tiled scan-out, and suspend-and-resume support with Nouveau KMS. Kernel mode-setting for NVIDIA hardware with the Nouveau driver will be the default in Fedora 12.

  • ATI R300-R500 Gallium3D Driver Is “Mostly” Done

    According to this update, the status of Gallium3D on ATI R300 through R500 hardware has changed from “TODO” and “WIP” to being “DONE” for the Softpipe pass-through and being “MOSTLY” for the core driver.

  • Getting Stanford’s “Karel the Robot” to Run in Debian’s Eclipse

    I’m taking Stanford’s Open Courseware “Programming Methodology” this semester, but I got stumped early on by the problem of setting up the special Stanford class libraries in my Debian-standard Eclipse installation.

• Applications

  • Play games installed on other computers with StreamMyGame

    StreamMyGame Server enables PC games to be played remotely by converting the game’s video and audio into a Game Stream and sending it over a home network to a second computer where you can view and play the game with the free StreamMyGame Player. The second computer can be a PC, laptop, PS3 or Linux device. The game can be played on the second computer without any lag

  • 25 Awesome GIMP Brush Sets (Download 1000+ FREE Brushes)

    To help you further enhance the functionality of GIMP, I have here a huge collection of awesome, high-quality brushes that can be utilized for whatever projects you may have. But before that, let me show you how you can install these brushes on Linux.

  • Windows – Linux

    • 5 Useful Tools to Access Linux Partition from Windows

      If you currently have Windows OS running and you need some files for your work which you have stored on the Linux installation, you no longer have to shut down Windows and boot Linux!

    • How to to run a remote desktop from Linux

      There are several ways to run a remote desktop from Linux. The X server itself was designed to run remotely, and you can still forward windows from a local server to a remote one with relative ease, especially if you use SSH.

      But the X protocol is inefficient, and only fast enough for general use if you’re connected to the same network as the server.

      A far better alternative is FreeNX. This breaks window and cursor movement up into a series of commands that can be transferred much more efficiently than X, and the remote desktop is much more responsive as a result.

    • Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Windows and Linux review

      Overall, PD4 fails to live up to its price tag. Most of its touted features work only on Windows guests, and you can get the bulk of them with cheaper alternatives.

• Desktop Environments

  • Gnome 3.0 Reviews – Coming on Ubuntu 10.04, Fedora 13

    Gnome 3, which will be available to install in Ubuntu 10.04, Fedora 13 will mark the first radical change to the Gnome Desktop since it’s inception, thanks to it’s “new” interface ‘Gnome-Shell’.

• Distributions

  • Tiny Core Linux 2.4 released

    Tiny Core lead developer Robert Shingledecker has announced the availability of version 2.4 of Tiny Core Linux. Tiny Core is a minimal Linux distribution that’s only about 10 MB in size and is based on the 2.6 Linux kernel. The maintenance release includes several changes, updates and bug fixes.

  • Mandriva

    • 2010.0 RC 2

    • Mandriva Linux 2010 RC2 is available now for tests

      These isos are hybrid isos which means you can dump it on an USB key to install it. Use Mandriva-seed available in isos repository, it’s as easy as a click!

    • Evaluating the PCLinuxOS operating system

      Let me preface this by saying that I do not usually have good experiences with Mandriva based releases. Knowing PCLinuxOS is based on Mandriva, and knowing that it was supposed to be a live CD release, I booted up my VirtualBoxOSE and set about running and possibly installing PCLinuxOS.

      I noticed quickly that it seems to be running KDE 3.5 as the desktop environment. This is a good thing because KDE is a very new-user friendly environment and looks a lot like what people would expect from a more familiar environment.

  • Gentoo

    • Gentoo Linux @10 still compiling

      Instead of being binary based (like nearly every other distro), Gentoo’s history is in the source. The benefits are that users get to actually compile applications (and the operating system itself) on their own machines.

    • F.B.I. Forensic Field Kit

      Additional programs on Boot DVD:
      Gentoo Linux 2.6 Kernel – Opyimized for Forensics Use
      XFCE – GUI
      Apache2 – Server

    • Gentoo release statistics as of 2009/10/09 23h59 UTC

      solar was asking about release statistics, so I grabbed the current data from Bouncer. The nearly 34k releases for 10.0 is just in the 5 days that it’s been out. I included the various architetures that were part of each released ‘product’, to make some degree of comparision possible.

  • Red Hat Family

    • Red Hat sets stage for open source virtualization

      Messer said this opens up more customers to adopt virtualization solutions of their choice, including Red Hat’s four main offerings for businesses: the Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualizaton Manager for Servers, the Red Hat Virtualization Manager for Desktops, and the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Hypervisor.

  • Debian Family

    • Robot Submarine Wins with Debian

      A robotic submarine driven by Debian has won first place in the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) competition run at a U.S. Naval facility. The Debian project lauds the participating undergrads from Cornell University.

• Devices/Embedded

  • Developing for Mobile Internet Devices: Part 1

    Although you could do the development work on either a Windows- or Linux-based computer, it really makes the most sense to use a Linux system for a number of reasons. The build-test-build cycle goes more quickly when you run on the same operating system. The only exception might be when using a language like Python that doesn’t really require compilation. In addition, Linux target device emulation has the best support from the Linux operating system.

    Choosing a stable, popular distribution like Ubuntu makes it easier to get the tools you need up and running quickly. It also increases your chances of finding help for problems you might run into, as more often than not, someone else has already found a solution. Ubuntu is also one of the distributions — along with Fedora 9 — directly supported by the Moblin project. We chose Ubuntu 8.10 to use on our development system for this project.

  • Intel Releases New Moblin 2.1 Preview

    Last month from the Intel Developer Forum a preview copy of Moblin 2.1 was released, which introduces the Moblin Garage and other new capabilities to this mobile Linux operating system that is targeting Intel Atom netbooks and nettops but will be moving to smaller devices too. The first preview spin of the next Moblin release was nice, but this week Intel has put out a new build of Moblin 2.1. Of course, we fired up this new release for a look.

  • Phones

    • Android gaining momentum in smart phone race

      After a slow start, the open-source software platform has lined up a host of hardware partners including HTC, Samsung, LG and Motorola, the beleaguered American handset maker that is betting its future on Android.

    • Android on a Hot Streak

      Autumn is shaping up to be quite a good time for Android, the open source mobile operating system from the Google-led Open Handset Alliance.

    • Google releases Android-specific Quick Search Box

      Yet another feature which helps the open-source Google Android Phone score a notable edge over the other smartphones including Apple’s iPhone, is Google’s newly-released Android- specific Quick Search Box (QSB), which essentially combines the users’ web search with search inside the Android Phone.

Free Software/Open Source

• Open Source Business Models and Strategies

• Asterisk celebrates a decade of open source VoIP

  Asterisk is one of the most popular open source VoIP PBX applications out there and it is now celebrating its 10th anniversary.

• AstriCon 2009: Asterisk, What’s in a Name?

  Much of what goes into partner and user group events focuses on use cases and technology innovation, after all, that represents the market success and development of any product. The same trend will be true at AstriCon 2009, when Asterisk (News – Alert) users and developers from around the globe congregate in Glendale, Arizona to discuss how they are leveraging the Digium-driven Asterisk open source software and their latest innovations around Asterisk.

• Open source network management and monitoring system NetXMS

  NetXMS is an enterprise grade multi-platform open source network management and monitoring system. It provides event management, performance monitoring, alerting, reporting and graphing for all layers of IT infrastructure — from network devices to business application layer.

• Vote for the Best Open Source CMS

  Everybody likes award ceremonies, especially those in which regular people vote for the winner. Maybe this is the reason why the Packt Open Source CMS Award has managed to consolidate itself as a realistic and meaningful prize for the best open source CMSs around. After a month-long open nomination process, voting has started for the greatest open source CMS of 2009.

• Gear6 Does Memcached Right

  First introduced by Djanga Interactive almost six years ago to scale out LiveJournal, Memcached is easily among the most popular open-source software projects in use today. And its use has been organic and widespread for so-called LAMP, or Linux/Apache/MySQL/Perl/PHP/Python sites.

• Global Open Source Collaboration Software Provider eXo Platform Expands to North America with First U.S. Office

• Interop Mumbai 2009: Open Source Is The Way Forward

  Professor Rahul De, Hewlett-Packard Chair Professor for Sustainable Economic Development, IIM Bangalore presented his detailed report on economic impact of using open source. “India can save potentially Rs 10,000 crore by adopting open source technologies,” he said. “Government must consider educating public about virtues of free and open source software, and help reduce costs.”

• Playdar Can Save Music Services Cash, Enable P2P Streaming

  Playdar is an open-source software platform that knows the location of all the music on your computer and home network. This doesn’t sound impressive on its own, but Playdar grows in power when combined with services and plug-ins through its open architecture, enabling music services to save money and increase their revenue, among other things.

• SMEs lead in adoption of open software

  THERE is growing interest in open source software (OSS) in Singapore, led by demand from small and medium enterprises. And this trend is likely to continue over the next 18 months, according to a study by IT research agency IDC.

  Speaking to BizIT, IDC’s Ridhi Sawhney said verticals such as manufacturing, government, telecommunications and financial services are also either adopting or evaluating OSS in Singapore and elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific.

• Open source ‘ready to go’ for business applications

  With open source already mainstream, companies are now arriving at the point where they are prepared to invest in this area for business applications.

  So claims the chairman of the recent Open World Forum and chief executive of Wallix Jean-Noel de Galzain, in a recent interview.

  Galzain said that open source was a mainstream part of IT, found in internet infrastructure and high-performance computing, and would offer opportunities in cloud computing and network technologies.

• Zimbra appoints Habl as VAR

  Habl Consultancy, an Open Source IT solutions provider headquartered in Dubai Silicon Oasis has been appointed as a Value Added Reseller (VAR) for the Middle East, by Zimbra, a business unit of Yahoo, and Opennet MEA, Zimbra’s distributor in the Middle East.

• Licensing

  • Netgear responds to open source concerns for WNR3500L router

    “With respect to the default firmware, we have used our best efforts to comply with and believe we have complied with the applicable GPL requirements,” he said. “Nevertheless, we understand that the open source community generally takes exception when factory loaded firmware written in Linux that is placed on routers or other hardware includes binary only kernel.”

  • WNR3500L – The debate on Open Source

    We recently launched our 802.11n open source platform, the WNR3500L. Many of the feature requirements of the powerful 802.11n open source platform came from this online community and forum members as we learned and fine tuned the WNR3500L. Many of you contributed heavily to the DD-WRT, OpenWRT and Tomato builds and patches and have already started custom building applications on WNR3500L via the Development Partner program.

  • Game Editor goes Open Source

    Multiplatform game creation tool is now Open Source! Game Editor is a powerful game creation application that lets you design and create exciting, interactive games for the Windows, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile, Smartphone, GP2X and Linux markets.

• Openness

  • 10/8: All Your Stitches Are Belong To Us: Open Source Embroidery

    GRANNY’S GONE GEEK: You’ve seen the complex and beautiful inside of a computer, but can you sew it? The Museum of Craft and Folk Art’s latest exhibit, Open Source Embroidery,

  • Students experiment with open source journalism

    This transparency not only makes the inclusion of the community simple, it makes the process of doing the story simple. No passwords, no central command-and-control. Instead we are creating an organic and open story development process that engages a community of people who can act as evangelists for our work. In the world of the social web that creates an expanding virtuous circle of network links and reposts that gives us access to expertise we would otherwise have missed.

  • Free Education — Sustaining Open-Source Curriculum?

    The open education movement is a new and exciting way to promote access to high quality educational content and to better engage teachers in using and developing curriculum. Truly, the movement has the potential to be a disruptive change to education and publishing. Yet when it comes to sustaining the movement, creative and as-yet unproven business models must be evolved and refined to keep the momentum going.

    Yes, FREE and open is inevitable. How exactly FREE navigates the highly governed, deeply entrenched waters of education is a journey just starting to unfold.

  • Science 2.0 – Time to Move Forward

    So why is that? It is often the job of service providers and manufacturers of scientific computing systems and applications to allow some user control over their systems. Or in the case of open source, to provide code access to developers. Open source is also one of the key success factors of web 2.0. How about if the users themselves customize scientific software architectures and built-in features to suite their specific needs? Or even better, design their own user interface for any given informatics and analytical applications. For example, creating their own functions, toolbars, data types and resource management tools. In other words, users utilize such applications to create their own applications.

Leftovers

• AstroTurf

  • Where’s Wendell, TIME’s ‘Ideal Whistleblower’ ?

    A business news website notes, “Since early summer Wendell Potter, a former public relations executive for the health insurer CIGNA, has testified before Congress, given speeches and granted interviews aimed at boosting the cause of health care reform and especially a strong public alternative to private industry. He’s done it with the backing of Center for Media and Democracy, a progressive-leaning watchdog that seeks to expose and counteract business and government PR campaigns. Since CMD appointed him Senior Fellow on Health Care earlier this year, Potter has been busy.

  • Civilian Contractor Toll in Iraq and Afghanistan Ignored by Defense Dept.

    As the war in Afghanistan entered its ninth year, the Labor Department recently released new figures for the number of civilian contract workers who have died in war zones since 9/11. Although acknowledged as incomplete, the figures show that at least 1,688 civilians have died and more than 37,000 have reported injuries while working for U.S. contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.

• Censorship/Web Abuse

  • Senate Panel Approves Extension of Patriot Act

    The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted to extend the controversial Patriot Act, an antiterrorism law passed shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.

    Supporters of the Patriot Act say it gives law enforcement important powers to track down and investigate terrorists. Without the Patriot Act, U.S. law enforcement efforts to find terrorists would be significantly harmed, members of former President George Bush’s administration argued.

• Intellectual Monopolies

  • Newspaper trademark bid challenged by U.S. Olympic Committee

    The U.S. Olympic Committee is protesting an effort by the parent company of The Olympian to trademark the newspaper’s name.

  • Anti-Pirates Try to Nail The Pirate Bay with Faked Evidence

    In August, Dutch anti-piracy outfit BREIN won its case against The Pirate Bay, and the court ordered the defendants to block access to Dutch visitors. The case was appealed today and rightly so. It appears that the evidence presented by BREIN was faked in an attempt to mislead the court.

  • Peter Sunde Brings Criminal Charges Against BREIN, Claims They Falsified Documents Against The Pirate Bay