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06.13.10

Links 13/6/2010: Linux 2.6.35 RC3, Sugar on a Stick Version 3.0

Posted in News Roundup at 3:16 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNOME bluefish

Contents

GNU/Linux

  • German LinuxTag exhibition questions impact of mergers on future of Linux

    Targeted at professional users, decision makers, developers, beginners and the Linux community in general, the event’s panel discussion is said to feature a topical discussion on whether recent mergers threaten innovative small and medium sized Linux businesses.

  • LPI and Ma3bar host Open Source ‘Train-the-Trainer’ workshops for Middle East

    The workshops are the first in a series of events to develop a network of Arab GNU/Linux trainers throughout the Middle East.

  • LinuxCertified Announces its next Embedded and Real-Time Linux Development Training course.
  • LinuxCertified Announces its Next Linux Fundamentals course W/free Linux Laptop!
  • “Is Linux Secure?” at Southeast LinuxFest

    I’m at Southeast LinuxFest right now, listening to Daniel Chen’s Linux audio talk. A bit over an hour ago, I finished my presentation on the Linux security myth. It’s meant to be accessible to normal users or to geeks needing to explain to normal users. I was asked afterward why I didn’t talk about buffer overflows. That’s easy: normal users can’t do anything about them.

  • Res publica non dominetur

    The others may or may not speak directly to the FOSS paradigm and philosophy, with the remote exception of Muhammad Ali’s chiling yet inspiring two sentences: “Speak your mind. Don’t back down.” I’m trying to find where the guitar player, the soccer player, the astronomer and the pilot fit in, but nevertheless, it seems that seven years ago, IBM did the Free/Open Source Software community a huge favor by producing this ad.

  • Desktop

    • Repeat Customers

      I have been in this community long enough I am beginning to get repeat customers. The young lady with the Acer Aspire One now running Debian GNU/Linux dropped by. Her machine had been run by her pre-schooler and was missing a few keys… GNU/Linux was doing well. She had actually installed some packages and asked me to get the wireless working. It turned out that the driver had some problems and everyone was having problems with the wireless switch on that model.

    • Idiotic Plan for IT in Education

      Providing wireless in each classroom and using open standards would get them a lot more IT for less. My thesis for many years has been that more IT is good for education and the lowest cost option does it best, GNU/Linux.

    • POLL: What’s in your 2014 Linux desktop?

      It got me thinking about what kinds of things I would like to see in my Linux desktop in a number of years and now I want to know your thoughts as well. I have created a Poll, which you can see on the right, and the question is:

      If you could manage development efforts for the Linux desktop, what would your Linux desktop have in four years time?

    • 5 Things New Linux Converts Should Know

      If you’ve recently converted to Linux from Windows, or if you’re just giving Linux a shot, there are a few things you need to know right off the bat about how Linux works and where the major differences are when compared to Windows. Some of the fundamental components are different between the two operating systems, and the way things are done can be drastically different; you need to learn these differences to be able to use Linux effectively, and to avoid trying to force Windows metaphors onto a Linux system that doesn’t accept them.

    • Creative Ways to Make Money Using GNU/Linux

      A German CAD (Computer Aided Design) company, CAD Schroer, has come up with a novel way to use no-cost software on GNU/Linux to make money. Their product, Medusa4 Personal, runs on that other OS, too, but they see a large and growing market of use on GNU/Linux (152 countries – a third are on GNU/Linux). The idea is to provide the use of professional-quality software to SMB (Small and Medium sized Business) free of charge. By making it available on GNU/Linux, they make the cost of entry even less.

  • Server

  • Audiocasts

    • Linux Outlaws 155 – There is No Fabian Stable

      This week on the show: WebM license conflict resolved, Linaro initiative announced, Google drops Windows company-wide, Apple drops the ball on the new iPhone, Fab tests MeeGo and much more…

    • CAOS Theory Podcast 2010.06.11

      Topics for this podcast:

      *Linaro reinforces traction for mobile and embedded Linux
      *Open source strategy spotlights: Novell, HP
      *Riptano makes commercial play with Apache Cassandra
      *Linux still tops in Top500 Supercomputers

    • Podcast Season 2 Episode 10

      In this episode: Fedora 13 is out. Google drops the Windows option for new staff and yet Windows is still doing well as a server. Discover how we fared with a minority distribution and we tout our ideas on how Linux devices can beat Apple’s iPad.

  • Google

    • The coming Linux shakeout
    • Google updates Chrome, Chromium and Frame

      Google has fixed a number of serious bugs in its Chrome browser, and has released new versions of the Chrome developer version and Chrome Frame, a plug-in that allows Microsoft’s Internet Explorer to access websites using the Chrome rendering engine.

    • Google Chrome Frame Now in Beta
    • Chrome Frame beta boosts security, browser integration

      Google says that several major websites, including WordPress and Meebo, have already adopted the technology and use the markup that enables Chrome Frame. This allows them to provide a better experience for users who have the plugin installed.

    • Chromoting: ChromeOS to run traditional applications?

      Another interesting option may come from some where like Codeweavers who run Windows applications in a Linux (ChromeOS is a Linux variant) environment. That wouldn’t necessarily be “inside the browser” but there is always wiggle room in defining the browser when it is the whole OS.

    • Chrome OS to run legacy PC applications remotely using Chromoting

      Google Chrome OS will be with us before the end of 2010. You will be able to buy a new netbook running it instead of Windows. But what if you are worried about being able to use some apps that currently run on Windows after the switch? Apparently Google has you covered with something being referred to as Chromoting.

    • Google Chrome OS to Be Able to Run ‘Remote’ Native Apps

      Google has bold plans for Chrome OS: it wants to build an operating system that relies solely on web applications. This strict requirement means that the only native app in Chrome OS is the Chrome browser itself. Even things like printing will be handled in the cloud. Still, there are plenty of desktop apps today that don’t have an equivalent in the cloud. It now looks like Google has an answer to that issue as well through a technology dubbed tentatively “chromoting.”

  • Ballnux

  • Kernel Space

    • Datalight Flash File System Supports Linux Kernel Version 2.6.34
    • Guest Blog: Rares Aioanei – Weekly Kernel Review (openSUSE Flavor)

      This week sees the launch of 2.6.35-rc2, plus other goodies, so let’s dive into it!

    • Linux 2.6.35-rc3

      So I’ve been hardnosed now for a week – perhaps overly so – and hopefully that means that 2.6.35-rc3 will be better than -rc2 was. Not only do we have a number of regressions handled, we don’t have that silly memory corruptor that bit so many people with -rc2 and confused people with its many varied forms of bugs it seemed to take, depending on just what random memory it happened to corrupt.

    • 2.6.34 is Out; Let’s Review

      NILFS2 is a different type of file system which is termed a log-structured file system. You can read a summary of it here. Rather than write to a tree structure such as a b-tree or an h-tree, either with or without a journal, a log-structured file system writes all data and metadata sequentially in a continuous stream that is called a log (actually it is a circular log). Because of this design it is very easy for NILFS2 to create snapshots and mount them along side the file system itself. But one of the more desirable features of NILFS2 is performance.

    • Next3: Ext3 with snapshots

      Snapshots are stored in special, filesystem-sized sparse files and are created by moving deleted or overwritten data blocks into the sparse file. When accessing the sparse file, all files are available in the version they were in when the snapshot was created – any holes in the snapshot file will automatically be filled in with the unchanged data in the original filesystem. Find more details about Next3 in an article at LWN and a paper released by the developersPDF. Next3 is available under the GPL 2.

    • The story of Next3® and Thin-Provisioned Snapshots

      Today we’re announcing Next3, a file system developed here at CTERA to provide efficient snapshot capabilities on our Cloud Attached Storage appliances. I wanted to elaborate a little on how and why this came to be, and what our considerations were in developing this.

    • CTERA Adds Data Protection to Linux File Systems

      CTERA Networks is giving the Linux Ext3 file system additional data protection in the form of new snapshot capabilities.

    • Graphics Stack

  • Applications

  • Desktop Environments

    • LinuxTag: Mobile version of KDE PIM suite introduced

      Those who decide to test the Kontact suite can find details about how to integrate the repository and install the software on the project page.

    • KDE: Join the Game or Watch the Game?

      There’s a lot of community energy at a show like LinuxTag, which is why KDE e.V, the foundation dedicated to supporting the KDE interface, probably chose LinuxTag as the platform from which to launch their latest community membership drive.

      Under the name “Join the Game,” KDE e.V. is inviting new individual supporting members to join the organization for 100 Euro/year, to help support their ongoing and expanding programs.

  • Distributions

    • Kiddix

      Dear Friends, Child advocates, and Free / Open Source Software enthusiasts,

      Four years ago I founded Kiddix Computing, a company dedicated to building safe and friendly computing environments for children. This mission has been embodied in our core product Kiddix, a family-friendly operating system and software stack for children. Since our 1.0 release of Kiddix three years ago we have gained users from all over the world, but have been developing inside a closed environment. This will now be changing…

    • Red Hat Family

      • Red Hat takes enterprise virtualization a notch up

        Red Hat, a leading distributor of the free Linux operating system, is now pushing virtualization to another level.

      • time for IBM to buy RHAT
      • There Will Be Multi-Billion Dollar Open Source Companies

        With Benchmark’s backing, Red Hat actually did have about a $5 billion market capitalization upon its IPO, and then that valuation settled down along with the rest of the market for technology companies. There will be open source-focused companies with multi-billion dollar market caps. There will be better times for technology companies. There will be inflated perceptions of technology stocks again. These things go in cycles, and my bet is that Whitehurst knows that his company stands a great chance of becoming a multi-billion dollar, public open source-focused leader.

    • Canonical/Ubuntu

      • A UX Designer in Every Upstream?
      • Lucid Lynx – Ubuntu Comes Out Of The Closet

        Ubuntu 10.4 LTS, Lucid Lynx, builds on the major improvements introduced in last year’s breakthrough 9.10 Karmic Koala release (improved boot time, optimized kernel for better desktop performance, Grub2 bootloader and ext4 filesystem). New features therefore center mainly on two areas – a long overdue facelift and an assortment of new cloud-facing applications and features.

      • Humanities: Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat To Get New Icons? [Screenshots And PPA]
      • Ubuntu Growing Enormously In The Corporate UK

        Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, and the Ubuntu UK Community are jointly hosting an event aimed at introducing Ubuntu direct to UK businesses.

      • Ubuntu guns for the iPad

        Canonical has a comparatively good track record with herding the user interface to suck less than most other Linux distributions. They take existing technology, and tweak it to make it less painful than Linux has traditionally been. I’m curious to see how well this Ubuntu Light will work, and exactly what hardware it will support.

      • Ubuntu, Unity and Ubuntu Light under Development for Varied Forms
      • Canonical Changes Ubuntu Certification Programme

        “As Ubuntu is increasingly becoming an option for many OEMs on many devices, we have been very pleased to extend the programme to better suit their growing requirements” said Chris Kenyon, VP OEM Services & Alliances, at Canonical. “The programme is simplified and will be more easily understood by the industry as they look to embrace and profit from Ubuntu as part of their product range”.

      • Flavours and Variants

        • Zorin OS 3 Is Based on Ubuntu 10.04

          Zorin OS is an Ubuntu-based Linux OS aimed at novice users who may be taking their first steps into the Linux world after having employed Windows all their lives. The latest release, Zorin OS 3, is the most polished version yet and comes with some interesting, new features. Top among these is the Zorin Look Changer, a tool that enables one to customize the way their desktop looks and acts depending on their preferences or what they’re used to.

        • Lubuntu 10.04

          Summary: Lubuntu 10.04 provides a functional, fast desktop environment. It eschews glitz and eye-candy bloat in favor of speed and low use of system resources.
          Rating: 4/5

  • Devices/Embedded

    • Tilera Says Low-power Server with 512 Cores Coming

      Tilera’s chips have the attributes of a general-purpose CPU, as they run the Linux OS and other applications commonly used to serve Web data. The chips are designed to run applications scalable across a large number of cores. Certain common Linux applications, such as the Apache Web server, MySQL database and Memcached caching software have been ported for use on Tilera’s chips.

    • Linpus shows off Tegra powered Linux TV

      YOU MIGHT VERY well have used one of Linpus’ Linux distributions without even knowing about it, as the company specializes in custom Linux installations for a wide range of solutions, least not netbooks. The company has also made some customized versions of Moblin, but its latest project is something that looks extremely interesting, a version of Linux for ARM based PCTVs.

    • What Happened to IBM’s Linux Wristwatch?

      As reported by FreeOS.com, the Linux watch was conceived at IBM’s T. J. Watson research center where different groups of researchers are continually exploring the numerous challenges that emerge in the field of user interface design, power management, input devices, wireless communication, sensors and models for co-existences for pervasive devices and wearables. A team of researchers with skills in hardware design, Operating Systems, displays, electronic and mechanical packaging, industrial design and user interface design, which was spread across multiple research IBM sites worked together to develop the wrist watch that would eventually run Linux and X11. They were led by Chandra Narayanaswami and worked persistently for about 18 months to achieve this feat.

    • Wind River revs test management framework

      The Linux-ready testing framework combines a scalable test execution engine, an embedded device virtual lab manager, and dynamic software instrumentation technology, says Wind River. The software can be deployed as a stand-alone system or can be integrated via open interfaces with commercial tools, such as Wind River Linux, or with internally developed test environments, says the Intel subsidiary.

    • Popcorn Hour C-200 review
    • Edge the first foldable dual screen ebook reader/netbook

      If you are looking for a dual screen ebook reader/netbook which is available now, the enTourage eDge may be exactly what you need.

    • Phones

      • Linux guru: Microsoft an “also-ran” in mobile market

        Microsoft has fallen by the wayside in the mobile market, leaving Linux the main challenger to Apple, according to one open-source leader.

      • Nokia

        • MeeGo 1.0
        • Nokia’s 16 model house reveals a smokin’ S series, N9 MeeGo?

          Lovely home except for those pesky leaks. This Nokia house built (circa 2010) upon on a foundation of Symbian with a MeeGo roof is also sporting an interesting looking S-series smokestack. Most of the building blocks we’ve already seen including the flagship N8. The N9 is almost certainly Nokia’s followup to the N900 and Espoo’s first handset to feature its new MeeGo OS.

        • Nokia clarifies Qt release roadmap, launches Qt SDK 1.0RC

          Nokia has issued a release candidate for version 1.0 of the Qt SDK and has published some details about the release roadmap. The SDK will be released with Qt Creator 2.0 and Qt 4.6.3.

          Qt is an open source development toolkit that simplifies cross-platform application development. After obtaining Qt in a 2008 acquisition of Trolltech, Nokia relicensed the toolkit under the LPGL so that it could be used to develop proprietary applications at no cost. Nokia has largely focused on improving the toolkit’s suitability for rapid mobile development. It can be used to build applications that will run across all three major desktop operating systems and several mobile platforms, including Symbian and MeeGo.

        • Netbook MeeGo a NoGo – Review

          Now I am all for trying new distros and netbooks are a place where I feel Linux truly outshines all other operating systems, so when a new netbook focused distro comes to maturity I always like to take it for a test drive. MeeGo, the joint operating system between Nokia’s Maemo and Intel’s Moblin, has been getting alot of hype recently in the Linux community and the world at large. I can understand why, personally I was very excited when MeeGo was first announced. Nokia and Intel are both very large names that bring substantial financial backing to the table, beyond this they are also allowing the Linux Foundation to manage the MeeGo project.

        • Nokia N900 Just Awesome

          Nokia known to make phones with the very popular symbian operating system tried to take another road with the new phone n900. The phone is the successor of the of the not so popolar nokia internet tablet n810. The phone runs the same OS as the nokia n810 i.e. the linux based OS maemo.

        • N900 Opera Mobile – Review

      • Android

        • Android 2.2 review

          The latest Android 2.2 update, codenamed Froyo, brings a number of new features, but a couple of them stand head and shoulders above the rest. While the latest version of Google’s open-source mobile operating system isn’t widely available on handsets at present, we’ve been testing it on a Nexus One, Google’s own brand smartphone.

        • android spy apps

          There are applications available that turn your android (or your Iphone) into a spying device, these apps upload phone data to a central server without the user noticing it.

        • BD remote for android available soon

          Sony did a press release about 3D tv’s and blue ray players and they anncounced a android BD remote app.I know not everybody is to happy with Sony but this is a nice movement. I would like many more manufacturers to release remote control apps for my favorite device.

        • Droid Xtreme Officially Becomes Droid X?

          How many times is this damn device going to change names? The guys over at Phandroid just got a hold of some shots from what appears to be a Verizon marketing system. The shots all clearly state that our pal the Droid Xtreme, is actually the Droid X by Motorola.

        • Upcoming Android Smart Phones from Sony Ericsson

          It seems that Sony Ericsson is really showing some Android love these days. According to various rumors, three new handsets from the famous manufacturer will be using Google’s open source operating system.

        • Android Phones Selling Faster Than They Can Be Built

          Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha revealed to Reuters today that the company’s Android-powered mobile devices are selling faster than they can be manufactured. Verizon has had similar experiences with the Droid Incredible from HTC, an Android phone whose biggest problem has been that demand outstrips current supply.

        • INQ goes all Android

          The firm which specialises in making “socially aware” mobile phones told Gigaom that it was moving away from Qualcomm’s operating system and going to join the ranks of HTC, Motorola, Samsung, LG and SonyEricsson and load Google’s open source Android operating system on its devices.

        • Android app controls Arduino devices via Bluetooth

          Arduino boards don’t run embedded Linux or any other operating system directly, but are available with Arduino libraries for desktop Linux. The libraries enable developers to control the devices and integrate other applications and devices. (See farther below for more on Arduino.)

        • Acer spins Android dual-boot netbook and Ferrari phone

          Acer is readying the Acer Aspire One D260, a dual-boot netbook running Windows 7 and Android on an Intel Atom N450 or new DDR3-ready N455, with a claimed eight hours of battery life. Acer also formally introduced its high-end Acer Liquid E Ferrari Special Edition, a smartphone that runs Android 2.1 on a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, offers a 3.5-inch screen, and — of course — is colored Ferrari F1 red.

        • 2GHz Android phone coming, Motorola chief says

          Motorola co-CEO Sanjay Jha announced that his company will release an Android smartphone equipped with a 2GHz processor by the end of the year, say industry reports. Also this week, Apple announced the iPhone 4, Sprint amended its sales estimate for the launch of the HTC Evo 4G, and the Samsung Galaxy S debuted in Asia, says eWEEK.

    • Sub-notebooks

      • Lucky Number Seven (7th Linux Distribution on an HP 2133)

        Following my recent post about Six Linux Distributions on an HP 2133, I saw a comment saying that I had not tried Jolicloud.

        [...]

        After the installation completes and you reboot, everything works. Everything. The big difference here from Ubuntu and Linux Mint is that rather than tell you that proprietary Broadcom WiFi drivers are available and prompt you to install them, Jolicloud installs them automatically, and then just notifies you after boot that new proprietary drivers are in use. The display resolution is correct for both the WSVGA (1024×600) and WXGA (1280×768) models. Sound, wired networking, and CPU speed stepping all work.

      • OLPC

        • Sugar on a Stick OS v3.0 released

          Powered by Fedora 13, this latest version (codename Mirabelle) of Sugar Labs’ sweet and compact OS features improved stability and simplified customization, comes in 32-bit and 64-bit versions, and is available both as a standalone download or within the Sugar Creation Kit, a DVD containing documentation and a library of Sugar Activities, fun and engaging programs for children taken from the Sugar Activity Library .

        • Sugar Labs Announces New Version of Sugar on a Stick, Educational Software for Children

          Sugar Labs(R), nonprofit provider of the Sugar Learning Platform to over one and a half million children worldwide, has released Mirabelle, the third version of Sugar on a Stick, a collaborative learning environment that can be loaded onto any ordinary USB thumbdrive and used with a PC, netbook or Mac without touching the hard disk. It is available free for download at http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Sugar_on_a_Stick. Sugar runs natively on major GNU/Linux distributions and can also run in virtualization under Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X.

    • Tablets

      • $88 Android 5-Inch Tablet. Seriously.

        There is not much information about this unit as far as specs go, we know from watching the video that it is running Android 1.5, but according to the rep it is going to be updated soon. The unit is the same size as the dell streak, so if you are looking for an idea of the size of that unit, make sure to check the video out.

      • Linux tablets incoming
      • Canonical wants to put Ubuntu Linux on tablets

        The last time that Canonical developed an edition of Ubuntu for mobile devices was in 2008 for mobile Internet devices, but it failed to take off. The version that’s being looked at for tablets is Ubuntu 10.04 for servers, PCs and netbooks.

      • Ubuntu Tablet OS Coming from Canonical

        Ubuntu developer Canonical is currently working on a tablet-specific Ubuntu OS for future devices. The tablet operating system will feature a touch-friendly UI and will be built from a lightweight version of Linux, possible Ubuntu’s upcoming 10.10 version, which the company calls “Maverick Meerkat.”

Free Software/Open Source

Leftovers

  • Science

    • Suspended-animation cold sleep achieved in lab

      Top boffins in the States believe that they may be on the track of a way to place living human beings into suspended animation, allowing them to survive long periods effectively frozen before being “reanimated” with no ill effects.

      Dr Mark Roth, based at a Seattle cancer laboratory, got interested in suspended animation after looking at several cases where this has occurred spontaneously in humans.

      One well-known case is that of Canadian toddler Erica Nordby, who wandered outside in the winter of 2001 wearing only her nappy. In the bitter cold her heart stopped beating for two hours and her body temperature plunged to just 16°C* before she was rescued, warmed – and came miraculously back to life, despite having literally frozen to death.

    • Eyeborg Bionic Eye Camera Shows Winks and All

      Spence loves to ham it up as Eyeborg, installing a red, laser-like LED light in one version of the prototype and pulling on a 1970s track suit to become Steve Austin (see the video below). But he’s serious about using his camera eye to get Internet users to view the world through his eye, and is developing an Eyeborg app that may feature augmented reality functions.

  • Security/Aggression

  • Environment

    • Teenagers force apology from police over Kingsnorth stop and searches

      A legal campaign by a pair of 13-year-old twins has forced police chiefs to admit carrying out unlawful stop and searches on thousands of climate change protesters.

      The twins won a high court battle against the police after one of them was left “crying and shaking” and fearing that he would go to prison for having a sticker in his bag.

    • BP oil leak aftermath: Slow-motion tragedy unfolds for marine life

      The smell of the oil on the beach is so strong it burns your nostrils, and leaves you feeling dizzy and headachey even after a few minutes away from it.

    • Reporters suffer oil spill harassment

      In a posting two weeks ago, US coast guards harass journalists covering BP’s oil spill, I detailed claims that reporters were being prevented freely from the beaches and in the air in the Gulf of Mexico.

    • Gulf Oil Spill: Relief Wells Are Risky, Could Actually Make Spill Worse

      In the wake of every failed attempt to stem the gush of oil spewing from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, the one option that is almost unanimously recommended is the use of relief wells. But such a procedure has its own safety risks and has the potential to actually increase the impact of the spill, say scientists and researchers.

    • Obama hasn’t learned lessons of Bhopal

      While Barack Obama is lambasting BP for spreading muck in the Gulf of Mexico, he should perhaps pencil in a date with the people of Bhopal when he visits India later this year. While 11 men lost their lives on BP’s watch and the shrimps get coated with black stuff, the chemicals that killed thousands of people in Bhopal in 1984 are still leaching into the ground water a quarter of a century after a poisonous, milky-white cloud settled over the city.

    • Briefing: oil workers strike in Casanare, Colombia

      Since BP began oil exploration and production in Casanare Colombia in the early 1990s, six thousand people have been assassinated and three thousand people disappeared. Every time there have been complaints or protests in opposition to BP’s interests, the community leaders concerned have been killed. This indicates an elimination strategy of violent social control. The agents have been the military and paramilitary groups, but BP as a corporation hás itself been complicit in the human rights violations.

    • GE Alfalfa Before the Supreme Court

      The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this morning in Monsanto vs. Geertson Seed Farms, the first case involving GE crops to reach the high court. The case is not so much about the safety of the crop as it is about the legal merits of the injunction in place — which is keeping GE alfalfa seed on shelves and out of soil — while USDA completes its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

      Although the case doesn’t dispute the previous ruling that USDA violated environmental laws, the decision could have far-reaching effects for future cases involving environmental protection since the justices are analyzing a lower court’s authority to issue an injunction under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The case has therefore attracted a lot of interest from environmental and consumer groups with no history of working on GE crop issues. If the ban on planting GE alfalfa is overturned, the precedent is almost certain to weaken NEPA. Farmers, food businesses, legal scholars, scientists,farm associations, environmental organizations, and three state attorneys general are represented in seven briefs filed in opposition to Monsanto’s case.

    • Asia’s silent victims of pollution and emissions

      The Asian Brown Cloud also contributes to localised climate changes by reducing photosynthesis, drastically effecting food production for Asia’s expanding populations. Recent studies indicate that stormwater run off from roads carries toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from truck and car exhausts, as well as heavy metals such as lead and zinc into waterways. Up to 4kg of zinc can be found in large truck tyres – and released when friction hits the road. Runoff finds it way into water courses and contaminates fish. In Asia, the poor are dependent on fish as the primary source of dietary protein. The implications should be apparent.

Clip of the Day

Mat Grove on User Mode Linux (2007)


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  20. Facebook and Microsoft Get Closer, Now Reaching Their Relationship's Peak as Facebook Declines

    Facebook starts leaning on Microsoft for help now that its users (products) no longer log in and give data (content) to consume advertisements (Facebook's real clients) as much as they used to

  21. Dr. Ravitch: Gates Foundation Underwrites Almost Every Organisation in its Quest to Control American Education

    More complaints about yet more rogue influence that is masqueraded as "public interest" or "for education" (whilst in fact having the opposite effect)

  22. Formerly Microsoft, But New FUD

    Microsoft FUD by proxy; or, how the old claims that FOSS is complex and dangerous are now coming from firms created by people from Microsoft Corp.

  23. Matt Asay is Wrong, Microsoft Does Sue (SLAPP Action), Doesn't Just Threaten

    Misleading article helps portray the aggressor as a negotiator, using patently false claims that are easily disprovable

  24. Todd Simpson From Mozilla Joined an Angry Patent Troll, IBM Tries to Warp Debate About Software Patents to Focus Just on Trolls

    Revisiting the stance of FOSS proponents on software patents and patent trolls; Mozilla, IBM, Red Hat, and Nokia (also before Microsoft takeover) discussed

  25. Unitary Patent Impediments Covertly Addressed by EU Member Governments

    The UK is modifying its law to accommodate takeover of national interests by foreign interests which may usher in software patents among other nasty elements of protectionism (primarily exported by multinational corporations from across the Atlantic ocean)

  26. Software Patents May Have Just Died in the United States, According to Some Pundits and Experts

    The collection of opinions from notable figures and sources that analysed the CAFC decision regarding a software patent in the US

  27. People Power Works in India, Microsoft Deal Partly Crushed After AICTE Comes Under Fire

    Weakening of a Microsoft pact after intervention by freedom-respecting software advocates in India and abroad

  28. IRC Proceedings: May 5th, 2013-May 11th, 2013

    IRC logs for May 5th, 2013 (and subsequent days until May 11th, 2013)

  29. IRC Proceedings: April 28th, 2013-May 4th, 2013

    IRC logs for April 28th, 2013 (and subsequent days until May 4th, 2013)

  30. IRC Proceedings: April 21st, 2013-April 27th, 2013

    IRC logs for April 21st, 2013 (and subsequent days until April 27th, 2013)

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