Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 8/6/2010: Ubuntu Limits Hardware Support, NPR Liberates Android App



GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux

  • Mobile Linux Gets Support From Chip Vendors
    The development of Linux on mobile devices may be poised to get a boost thanks to the formation of a new industry group called Linaro, backed by a consortium of chip vendors including ARM, Freescale, Texas Instruments, Samsung and ST-Ericsson.

    The goal of Linaro is to enable development of Linux on embedded System-on-Chips (SoC) including ARM-based processors. The effort will also leverage engineering help and resources from Ubuntu Linux vendor Canonical.


  • TUL shows off DIY AIO PC at Pre-Computex event
    Powered by AMD and Ubuntu


  • The road forward for systemd
    So it is not clear that any distribution will make the jump to systemd. But, then, even the above is a fair amount of attention for a project which has been public for less than one month. This program has reopened the discussion on how our systems should initialize themselves, and things may go on from there: there is talk of using systemd to take over the tasks of processes like cron and gnome-session. Regardless of who ends up running systemd, the ideas it expresses are likely to influence development for some time.


  • TurnKey Linux launches private beta of TurnKey Hub, a new simplified cloud deployment service




  • Desktop







  • Applications

    • 6 of the Best Free Linux Application Launchers
      Application launchers play an integral part in making the Linux desktop a more productive environment to work and play. They represent small utilities which offers the desktop user a convenient access point for application software and can make a real boost to users' efficiency.

      An application launcher helps to reduce start up times for applications by indexing shortcuts in the menu. Furthermore, this type of software allows users to search for documents and other files quicker by indexing different file formats. This makes them useful for launching almost anything on a computer including multimedia files, games, and the internet. Application launchers often support plug-ins, adding to their versatility.




    • Instructionals







    • Games

      • Megadrive emulators in Ubuntu 10.04
        Here I tested 4 Linux MegaDrive emulators: dgen, gens, xe and rgen. Four classic MegaDrive games were used with each, including Sonic 3, Road Rash 3, Streets of Rage 2 and Zero Wing.












  • GNOME Desktop







  • Red Hat Family





  • Canonical/Ubuntu

    • Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat Won't Run On Processors Below i686
      If you're planning on using Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat on a computer with a processor older than i686, well... you can't.


    • Ubuntu to decommission SPARC port, IA64 port in jeopardy


    • Canonical Rolling Out Ubuntu Advantage for Enterprise Linux OS
      Ubuntu Advantage customers will also receive the assurance of indemnification from Canonical protecting them against any potential legal issues. The legal indemnification is the same that Canonical had previously been making available to its paying support customers. Rival Linux distributions Red Hat and Novell also both provide their enterprise customers with legal indemnifications.




    • Flavours and Variants

      • Peppermint Team – Q&A with OpenBytes
        Peppermint, like many distro’s do need your help and support, whether its reporting bugs, telling people about your good experiences with the distro, making a donation or visiting the Peppermint store….it all helps to support and enables the development of excellent projects like this.


      • Linux Mint 9 review
        Mint 9, aka Isadora, is the latest update to the desktop-focused, Linux distribution based on Ubuntu (10.04). It is one of the more exciting desktop distributions, with a nice selection of custom-developed graphical management utilities.


      • Vinux - A talking linux distro for blind and visually impaired users
        Vinux is a remastered version of the popular Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx distribution optimised for the needs of blind and partially sighted users.. It provides three screen readers, two full-screen magnifiers, global font-size and colour changing facilities, and out-of-the-box support for USB Braille displays. The Vinux live CD boots into the Orca screen reader which makes it easy to navigate the graphical GNOME desktop using keybindings. For those who prefer to work in a simple text-based console there is the Speakup


      • [Reviews]: Qimo 2.0 Review Great Linux Distribution For Kids
        Overall it’s a really good distribution for kids, it’s a really good choice to install it on your machine for your kid.










  • Devices/Embedded



    • Phones

      • Mobile OS guide
        Android, Symbian, Bada, WebOS. The list goes on. The list of smartphone operating systems is growing by the day. Many are open source, a good number are proprietary and some are barely out of beta.




      • Android

        • NPR to open source its Android app
          National Public Radio (NPR), a non-profit membership organisation, has announced that it plans to open source its NPR Android application. Created in 1970, NPR is a privately and publicly funded US media organisation that produces and distributes news, talk and entertainment programming. The NPR app for Android devices was created by Google developer Michael Frederick in his spare time. With the application, users can read, listen or create playlists of NPR stories, share them with friends and live stream audio from hundreds of NPR radio stations.










    • Sub-notebooks/Tablets

      • Six Different Linux Distributions, one HP 2133 Mini-Note Netbook
        My HP 2133 Mini-Note with WSVGA (1024x600) display has been out on loan for several months. It came back a week or so ago, and as it had missed the latest wave of Linux distribution updates, I decided to reload it from scratch. It originally came with SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 (SLED 10), and NO WINDOWS (Hooray!). I had preserved SLED 10 in a small partition "just in case", but it is now so old that it would not be of any use whatever may happen, so I wiped it as well, and started from a completely clean disk.


      • 2 screen Linux tablet/e-reader to replace textbooks
        This is the prototype of the Kno a Linux based dual screen textbook replacement shown by californian startup Kakai at at the 8th Annual Conference of D: All Things Digital, otherwise known as D8












Free Software/Open Source

  • AfricanFOSS foundation looking to boost ranks
    Looking for a job and a way to promote free and open source software? The Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA) is looking to hire a project manager.


  • Rockbox 3.6 released
    On behalf of the Rockbox developers, I'm very pleased to announce that Rockbox 3.6 has just been released!


  • Malta: Open source preferred
    The Government of Malta has issued a new directivePDF instructing all of its agencies to give preference to the use of open source software (OSS) throughout government. According to the directive, Malta will adopt free software using the definition set by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and it says that, "Where it is not possible to make use of OSS in the implementation of solutions, appropriate evidence shall be made available."


  • Qi Hardware Launches Open-Source Computer
    It's difficult to envision a computer that's completely open-source—and I mean completely, right down to the software on its drives, the drivers for its components, and the circuit boards for its construction. However, Linux News has gotten its hands on one such device, Qi Hardware's "Ben NanoNote," and it's one of the few massive hardware projects in existence that runs on completely copyleft hardware.




Leftovers

  • 9th Circuit Affirms Rejection of Data Breach Claims Against Gap -- Ruiz v. Gap
    In a decision that does not bode well for plaintiffs bringing privacy-based claims against Facebook in California, the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the trial court's rejection of data breach claims against Gap.




  • Security/Aggression





  • Censorship/Privacy/Civil Rights

    • Sender Who E-Mailed Links to Blog Post Open to Defamation Claim, Federal Court Rules
      A federal bankruptcy court ruled that sending an e-mail message with a hyperlink to a defamatory blog post can be considered a publication for the purposes of a libel claim.

      While the case before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas revolved around William Perry's bankruptcy proceedings, the court relied on Texas law to determine that e-mail messages Perry sent linking to websites that made false and defamatory statements about Sugar Land, Texas, mayor David Wallace met the "actual malice" standard a public official needs to bring a defamation claim, according to the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press.








  • Intellectual Monopolies

    • Bulgarian organizers take Chessbase to court
      The Bulgarian organizers of the Anand-Topalov World Championship match take Chessbase to court for “violating copyright rules”. Chessbase transmitted the moves of the match live on their Playchess server, against the will of the Bulgarians.




    • Copyrights

      • RIAA asks court to close down LimeWire
        The music industry has asked a federal court in New York to order a shutdown of the LimeWire service, according to documents obtained by CNET.


      • Pubs can start claiming PPL refunds
        Licensees can now start claiming for refunds from music royalties collection firm, Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL), to get a share of €£20m owed to pubs, hotels and restaurants, following a legal battle.


      • Defining Success: Were The RIAA's Lawsuits A Success Or Not?
        The fact that lots of people paid up to settle extortion-like fees didn't stop people from using file sharing networks to access unauthorized materials. It didn't get more people to buy. It didn't help the bottom line. It hasn't helped the record labels sell more product. It certainly hasn't helped the big labels stay in business. Hell, it hasn't even helped the RIAA. Towards the end of the legal campaign, the RIAA ended up having massive layoffs of its own staff. And, let's not even get into discussing what the average music fan thinks of the RIAA and the big labels these days...














Clip of the Day



NASA Connect - HT - Archaeologists (5/19/2005)

[an error occurred while processing this directive]



Recent Techrights' Posts

Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXIX - Undermining US Election While Engaging in Lawfare in England (BBC) Against Publishers That Cover Anti-Election Violence
The elephant in the room is back doors in voting machines
The Tower of Babel
More is not better
When Large American "Tech" Companies Can No Longer Complete Payroll
In spite of several very large waves of Dell layoffs, which the media reported on, it seems like they are still experienceng payroll problems, maybe that's why money is being borrowed
Writing for Good
The Web has an abundance of junk
 
Mass Layoffs at SUSE, Over 10% of Staff Gone
Ignore their excuses
When You're a Software Developer and They Tell You That Your Occupation is Dead or Dying in Order to Sell Dysfunctional Offerings Based on Hype (and Plagiarism)
Disbelief is a strength when companies borrow trillions of dollars to sell a dud and construct a pyramid scheme
Links 03/11/2026: Slop-Tied Debt is Becoming a Crisis (Lenders Panic), "Ukrainian Journalists Urge Global Media Not to Look Away From Russian Aggression"
Links for the day
Malaysia Seems to be Exploring Digital Independence With GNU/Linux and More
not too bad
Microsoft Windows is Crashing in Republic of South Korea
Like in Japan, they seem to be shutting the lid on decades of Microsoft-isms
Think Less, Aim for Less (When It Comes to Hardware)
An abundance of hardware being wasted on a pyramid scheme will become a cautionary tale one day
Gemini Links 03/11/2026: Stargazing, Linux-Powered Prism "Ambient Computer", and Abandoning Streaming Disservices
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Made Big Strides in Portugal This Year
Microsoft had many layoffs in Portugal in recent years
GNU/Linux in Argentina Now Measured at 8% "Market Share"
Argentina is known for exporting skilled footballers, not advanced technology, but it has a large population, which we can hope will dump Windows
Microsoft is Borrowing Loads of Money While Telling 60,000 Workers to Take the "Offer" and Leave, Microsoft Wants Bailouts From the Dictator
Vote in elections and also vote with your wallet
Microsoft and Spoilt Food
Some whistleblowers may be needed here
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, November 02, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, November 02, 2026
Links 02/11/2026: Bracing for US Election and New Zealand Has November 7 Election
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/11/2026: Beginning With Gemini Protocol, Looking for CoCs, and Slop for Local Data
Links for the day
NDA-Compatible PIPs and RAs at IBM Red Hat
We welcome Red Hat whistleblowers who can share with us the NDA/s passed their way
GNU/Linux Rises in African's Largest Population
15% in Nigeria [...] A country with over 200 million people
The Register MS Has Just Published a Fake Article With "AI" 28 Times in the Page (Communist Party of China Entity Paid for That)
In IRC, someone has just pointed out that an article at The Register MS repeats Microsoft's lies about its financial situation
Windows Down to All-Time Low, Says statCounter, While Microsoft Tells 60,000 Workers They're No Longer Necessary
Microsoft must be feeling "salty" right now
A British Uphill Battle to Eliminate Microsoft and Its American Back Doors
There are places of work and homes where GNU/Linux is installed and regularly used, not as a mere hobby but as a hyper-productive, practical tool
Technical Coverage of US Elections
When elections are done by computers and decided by computers it becomes a tech issue
By Killing the "Linux News Section" in Softpedia (the Most Popular Section, Based on Its Editor) Softpedia Killed Itself
Enjoy Ballmer
Linkspam in "It's FOSS" Today (and It's Not Even FOSS)
free-to-access ad for some dodgy companies and the URLs are 'tampered' for cashback
Links 02/11/2026: Slop Destroying Mathematics and "Democracy is Not on the Ballot" (in US)
Links for the day
Celebrating Photography, Celebrating Life, Celebrating Magnificent Humanity, Not Plagiarism Disservices
Any time we adopt or spread slop imagery we are participating in the problem
Year-Long Celebration Starts on Saturday
This coming Saturday we turn 20
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXVIII - Microsoft Doesn't Want People to Speak About Microsoft-Controlled Restricted ('Secure') Boot, a Silent Injustice and Back Door/Kill Switch
Can we please stop treating this as normal or acceptable?
On Desktops/Laptops, Clownflare Sees Windows at Under 60% and GNU/Linux at 15% This Past Weekend
Impressive if accurate
Microsoft Lunduke is Slop
Microsoft Lunduke is just trying to stir up hatred
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXVII - Shooting the Messengers (People Who Oppose Microsoft Back Doors), Even Across the Atlantic
Keep this in mind later this week when a dictator either discredits the voting or covertly tampers with the voting process
Microsoft Wants 60,000 Employees Gone (One Way or Another)
At IBM, 15% of staff got marked as candidates for removal; at Microsoft it's almost 30%
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, November 01, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, November 01, 2026
Jean-Claude Van Linus
Claude talking?
Gemini Links 01/11/2026: OpenBSD, Broken MicroHDMI, Nextcloud, and More
Links for the day
IBM Vapourware on a Budget (to Grab Bailouts From US Taxpayers)
Anderon is the sort of thing that makes IBMers uncomfortable
Links 01/11/2026: Digital Minimalism and "Palantir Cofounder Announces Cruel Plan to Breed Thousands of Lab Monkeys for Medical Experiments"
Links for the day
Microsoft Accenture in Trouble, Accenture’s Debt Skyrockets
Seeing a wave of adoption of Free software in Europe, it's not exactly shocking that "consultants" from Microsoft Accenture are no longer in demand
Microsoft Says Its "Goodwill" Value Has Been Declining for Years, But It Also Claimed That Doubled in One Year
Wall Street deserves far more criticism or scepticism (at the very least)
SkyChatz: From Nothing to #2 in IRC (in Less Than a Year)
Second only to Libera.Chat
Making Up Words or Inventing a Vocabulary
Or why Large Language Models are useless
Assange on What Lula Means to Free Press
Here in the UK we've also found our 'Lulas'
GNU/Linux is No Underdog (But There Are Attempts to Put It "To Sleep")
There's a moral imperative
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXVI - The "Law and Order" Candidate Who Crushes Both Law and Order and Even Rejects Election Outcomes (Insurrection Follows)
A world without real technical security is a world void of democracy, justice, and human rights
Links 01/11/2026: Malaysian Media Perishing, France Belatedly Identifies Social Control Media as Weaponised Yellow Press
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/11/2026: "Trick-or-Treating seems to be dead, at least in our neighborhood"; BaseFree Numerical System and Human Emacs
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 31, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, October 31, 2026