Links: GNU/Linux in China, India, Many Other Places
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2010-07-24 16:40:14 UTC
- Modified: 2010-07-24 16:40:14 UTC
Summary: Some catch-up with news from the past week or two
GNU/Linux
I've posted many times over that I used to be an avid Windows and Microsoft supporter, mainly around the Windows 95/98 days. However, after being introduced to Linux, I soon realized that Linux surpasses Windows in many ways, especially system reliability.
Learners with very little prior computer exposure were taught programming languages in a primarily Linux environment at the Centre for High Performance Computing in Cape Town and the course organisers feel that they will have the tools to begin further studies in computer programming.
[...]
He explained the choice to teach using the Linux platform.
"Linux is a free OS (Operating System) and is also virtually virus free. Unlike Windows, it comes with a variety of useful applications which are also free and all the PCs the kids have has (Linux) Ubuntu installed," he said.
- Linux users: Many have used Windows and Linux at some point. Windows/DOS was around before Linux, so there are even some that used Microsoft's earlier products. But for some reason they have chosen to dump Windows and stick with Linux. I know very few within the past 3-4 years or so, that know Linux in and out, and have chosen to use Windows as their primary operating system. I would be happy to hear from somebody that has done this, to find out why they took the path they did. Personally, I made this move myself in 2002 (about 8 years ago) when I attempted to migrate to Linux from Windows for my personal workstation, and I ended up back on Windows XP. I didn't like Windows, but there were too many things that didn't work in Linux at the time. However, within the past 3-4 years, things have changed significantly; Linux is now capable of handling Windows software with ease, as well as its own catalog of software growing exponentially. In 2008 I finally made my migration from Windows XP to Fedora Linux on my personal PC plus two other PCs in our home used by my family, and I will never use Windows as my primary operating system again.
-
Low-cost Computing
Nonprofit organization One Laptop Per Child on Thursday said it is adding a multitouch screen to the upcoming XO-1.75 laptop and is modifying software to take advantage of the new hardware.
-
India
On July 22 a $35 (or 1500 INR) hand-held Linux computing device was unveiled by Shri Kapil Sibal, the Union Minister for Human Resource Development of India. The goal of the project is to lower the price to around $20 in time and eventually reaching the amazing price of $10.
In a tablet form-factor and using an unspecified variant of Linux (that some have said might be Android), the cost should remain low while offering a wide range of functionality. The Sakshat descendant is said to be capable of supporting video conferencing, viewing a wide selection of video and image files, word processing, de/compressing files, printing with CUPS, full Internet browsing with Javascript and Flash, wireless communications, and remote device management.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi doesn’t mind following the Marxists when it comes to providing cheaper IT education in schools. On learning that the Kerala government used the open-source free software, Linux, for its schools, he has decided to do the same in 3,650 schools in his state. Though his babus objected, Modi saw he could save Rs 100 crore by installing Linux in schools. Before opting for Linux, his aides tried to negotiate to install the Microsoft Windows operating system at a cheaper rate. But the talks failed.
-
China
So three years later, Taobao, a user of Linux and FOSS, sets a precedent by not only admitting to be using Linux (OMG!) but also launching their own open source repositories, hosting their own projects and sharing them with the world--yes, the world! Its objectives are for the message not to only be constrained within the Chinese borders but as with any other corporation, to extend across the globe. Here's the blog post announcement from a member of the Taobao Technical Committee, Coly Li.
Muller calls this “a dream come true for those of us who have been advocating openness and contribution from those Chinese companies using FOSS.” His hope is that other companies will join the effort, and “admit” to using open source. He thinks it could boost the quality of open source worldwide.
Which is the important point. Taobao isn’t doing this out of the goodness of its heart, although the company may have a very good heart indeed. But companies create forges and open their code to scrutiny to improve it, and in hopes a community will form they can benefit from.
-
Server
IBM's zEnterprise server pushes mainframe performance on, and converges mainframe technology with blade servers
Vietnam Joint Stock Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank), one of the largest banking institutions in Vietnam, has selected an IBM System z10 mainframe to support the expansion of its banking businesses.
This is important to counter the entire "2.0" stupidity and media brainwashing. Linux runs the internet. Almost totally. There are several factors in play, not the least of which are security, lack of viruses on linux, useability, accessibility, and cost. All these factors weigh heavily in favor of non-Microsoft products. It costs anywhere from TEN to a HUNDRED times less to operate an internet service using Linux. Why? Support is cheaper, the initial software is FREE, and there are no licensing or patent issues to fight over!
According to the launch announcement, key to The Planet’s server cloud is transparency into the systems running behind the interface. The offering is built on high-end physical infrastructure, from Dell, Intel, Juniper, Cisco and Sun, along with the Canonical Ubuntu Linux OS and virtualization using Kernel-based Virtual Machine.
Cutting Edge Networked Storage (www.cuttedge.com) and Esri (www.Esri.com) are pleased to announce new Linux Server Solutions with ArcGIS Server Enterprise 10 preinstalled to the U.S. Geographic Information Systems community. Esri has selected Cutting Edge Networked Storage to manufacture and deliver the new Linux Servers with ArcGIS Server 10 based on the popular Redhat Enterprise operating system to its customer base.
-
VoIP
Linux-based VoIP for Intel architectures
Alternatively, many Linux aficionados have taken the Asterisk freeware to create a Linux PBX appliance with excellent results.
Teo Technologies today announced a unified communications (UC) platform that relies on a Linux-based server to provide multiple applications, including voice mail, across a variety of devices.
Teo’s system relies on a single Linux server, a single administrator's portal, and a single user interface to track calls, emails, and voice mails. The company claims that the Teo UC could cost customers 30% less than conventional approaches, which tend to rely on multiple servers, each supporting a different communications function.
-
Kernel Space
Happen Business' technical director, Paul Berger, has had a fairly meaty history in IT. Entering the industry with an electronic background, he is responsible for building a popular kit computer in the mid-1980s - the Applix 1616 - and the partner he built it with is now a co-maintainer of both the ext3 file system and the Linux kernel.
I'm willing to try my solution, some others on the linux-arm-kernel lists considered it worth trying, too.
-
Applications
-
Proprietary
Supports Linux-based Vms and reduces the size of thin provisioned VMs Vizioncore, a provider of virtualisation data protection and management offerings, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Quest Software, has released new version of vOptimizer Pro that provides greater benefits and additional value from their virtual infrastructure.
-
Chrome
Google announced today via the Chromium Blog that it plans to release new stable versions of Chrome every six weeks. Though the team has managed to ship five major revisions in less than two years, the new accelerated pace means we could see Chrome 9.0 by the end of this year.
Google said that it is planning on releasing a new stable version of Chrome every six weeks, which is about twice as fast as the release pace today. The goal is to make new features available when they are done and to make Chrome releases more predictable. Has anyone complained that there were too few new Chrome releases?
-
Instructionals
PulseAudio is a Linux sound server that, through abstraction layers, promises a myriad of flexible audio features: combining multiple sound cards into a single, multi-channel device, changing output devices on the fly for running applications, even redirecting input and output between machines over the network. Sadly, though, it is usually used just as a bare-bones drop-in replacement for older, buggier sound servers like ESD -- because that is the most common use case, and because the PulseAudio documentation and tools aren't caught up to the same level as the underlying library. Full PulseAudio nirvana entails digging into the project in depth, but you can at least get your feet wet over the weekend, directing and even multicasting audio between Linux machines on your local network.
-
Games
For those of you who have not heard of Nexuiz, it is a free open-source first person shooter developed by the folks over at IllFonic that was released in 2005 for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
-
-
Specialised
A new flavor of the Linux Operating System is now available that might prove to be one of the strongest defenses put up against malware. The new Operating System is called Qubes, and it is a combination of Linux with the Xen Virtual machine. Qubes is the invention of Joanna Rutkowska, a Polish researcher of malware and exploits. Rutkowska is famous for a paper she authored and presented at a Black Hat conference in 2006 that described a technique called ‘Blue Pill’ for moving a running OS into a virtual machine using hardware virtualization.
The new functionality enables Fuscan Linux Cloud based web hosts to better control the load-balanced and High Availability services on the Cloud.
Although SystemRescueCD offers a desktop, it can be complicated to use and requires a some basic computer knowledge. However, it doesn't require much Linux specific knowledge to operate most of the tools, so I would be happy to recommend it to a Windows guru. Besides, people who don't understand the basics shouldn't be operating partition managers and file recovery utilities anyway.
-
Reviews
It has been many years since I spent much time with Mandriva. I did try the last release for a bit when writing up the Linux.com 2010 Distro Scorecard, but haven't used Mandriva as a primary distro in many years. Actually, it might be more accurate to say that I've never used Mandriva as a primary distro. The last time I used the distro consistently, it was called Mandrake.
I still prefer the old name, but I like Mandriva 2010.1 much more than I liked the last Mandrake release I used. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Mandriva 2010.1 to any user looking for a solid, user-friendly Linux desktop. It's not the only distro that I'd recommend, but it'd be one of a handful that I'd be comfortable recommending.
-
New Releases
SystemRescueCd has been updated bringing newer Linux kernels and a newer GParted. With SystemRescueCd 1.5.8, both kernel lines offered have been updated to Linux kernel 2.6.32.16 and Linux kernels 2.6.34.1 respectively. A newer version of GParted, the graphical partitioning tool, has been included which fixes a couple of critical bugs from the previous release.
A reputed security expert named Lenny Zeltser, who specializes in reverse-engineering malicious software has put together a special Linux distribution tailored to the specific needs of malware researchers. Called REMnux, the distro contains a wide variety of tools for analyzing malicious traffic and inspecting various threats.
The Zencafe developers have released version 2.2 of their Linux distribution designed specifically for internet cafés. Zencafe includes a built-in, "Deep Freeze like" auto-recovery tool and various specialised internet café applications, such as software for billing and system management.
-
PCLinuxOS/Mandrake/Mandriva Family
Russia-backed fund NGI acquired a stake in Mandriva, a French maker of software based on the Linux operating system, as part of a program to develop a Russian operating system, Kommersant reported Thursday.
-
Red Hat Family
The new CEO of a Moore County company that makes touch-screen kiosks is a former top executive at Linux software company Red Hat.
HP (NYSE: HPQ) and Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT), the world’s leading provider of open source solutions, today announced joint consulting services to help clients more effectively migrate to a Red Hat open source platform on an HP infrastructure.
-
Debian Family
This operating system that we have been creating is called Debian GNU/Linux, or simply Debian for short. Every year, DebConf allows new and existing Debian project participants from around the world to assemble, share knowledge and ideas, make collaborative contributions to Debian, build tighter community bonds and improve communication within the project.
-
Canonical/Ubuntu
-
Google's biggest search rival in China - homegrown market leader Baidu, is to develop a Linux-based smartphone to rival the Californian search giant's Android-based devices.
-
ARM
ARM has solidified its position today as master of the mobile processor universe, announcing a deal with TSMC that will take smartphone chips all the way down to a 20nm process. That means: faster, better, more efficient.
A group of hardware companies that produce ARM-powered mobile devices have gotten together to create a consortium called Linaro. ARM produces ultra-low-power consumption chips for mobile devices, like for the iPhone, and is available at a relatively low unit price. ARM has been successfully attacking the low end of the chip, a game-plan similar to Intel’s from a couple of decades back, and now ARM is capturing market share that would normally have belonged to Intel. About 98 percent of mobile phones use ARM chips and the chips are also used heavily in other consumer electronic products. It is expected that Linaro should help speed the time to market for new mobile devices.
-
Wind River (Intel)
-
Caanoo
GamePark is not quite dead just yet, as the company recently unveiled a spanking new Linux-powered portable gaming handheld known as the Caanoo. While it ships with a similar 533MHz ARM9 processor as its predecessor, the built-in memory has been doubled to 128MB (rather measly in this day and age, we might add), not to mention the presence of a dedicated 3D GPU to make full use of its 3.5" touchscreen display. In order to further keep up with the times, it will come with a built-in accelerometer and vibration functions for added immersion when playing.
-
iRiver
The Linux-based device now supports WiFi (802.11b/g), which allows the Story to connect to and download ebooks from the WHSmith online book store.
You can download books and comics wirelessly and read them on the move on iriver's latest Linux-based ebook reader.
It is built on Linux so clever programmers are sure to have their wicked way with it and add new functions to the operating system.
-
Nokia/MeeGo
Members of Stanford University, Nokia and other partners have surfaced with an interesting offering that grew from the Camera 2.0 project. Stanford University has collaborated with Nokia to create FCam which is an open-source digital photography platform for the company’s Linux based N900 handset.
-
Android
As the sole arbiter of Android's dominant application delivery channel, Google has enormous control over the platform and how it is used. This is an extremely effective tool for preventing platform-level fragmentation and discouraging vendors from building forks that deviate from upstream Android in ways that might diminish application compatibility across devices.
Hardcore Android fans have been leery of the Motorola Droid X because of the chip and bootloader combination in the device that could potentially brick it if custom versions of the Android operating system are loaded on it.
The Droid 2's been leaking out all over the place in the past few weeks, but it looks like it'll be another month before it officially hits shelves -- we just got these shots from a packaging facility that's handling the phone, which puts it right on schedule for that rumored August 23rd launch. We're also told that the phone will definitely ship with an 8GB microSD card, and that pricing appears to be $199 on contract and $599 standalone, although those numbers could change. Just a few short weeks left, we suppose -- although give the rate at which this thing is leaking, we're thinking Motorola and Verizon might do well to push that date up a couple weeks. We'll see.
Google's launched a new software tool that it says allows anybody to become an Android developer.
Google has released App Inventor for Android, a new Java development environment aimed at the recently oft-targeted non-coder developer who wants to build an app for the Android operating system.
-
WebOS
The United States Patent and Trademark Office granted Hewlett-Packard a trademark for the term "PalmPad" late last week.
HP hasn't released specific details on what it plans to do with the trademark; however, the application form confirms that HP will limit its use to "Computers, computer hardware, computer software, computer peripherals, portable computers, handheld and mobile computers, PDAs, electronic notepads, mobile digital electronic devices."
According to reports, a PalmPad is on its way -- at least is in consideration. HP has been granted a trademark for name 'PalmPad' by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
In its bid to take on Apple and Google in smartphones, Hewlett-Packard won't use Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 software.
-
Tablets
Lenovo is launching its own tablet to debut in China by the end of this year.
Dubbed "LePad," the tablet will run Google's Android operating system, according to comments made by Liu Jun, senior vice president for Lenovo Group, as reported by TradingMarkets.com and other sources. Details are few so far, and there's no word from Lenovo or other sources on whether the tablet will venture abroad after its initial debut in China.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- Backlash and Negative Press After Microsoft Tells Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) People to DIE
- Follow-up stories
- Censorship as Signal of Opportunity for Reform
- It remains sad and ironic that Wikileaks outsourced so much of its official communications to Twitter (now X)
- The World Wide Web Has Been Rotting for Years (Quality, Accuracy, and Depth Consistently Decreasing)
- In the past people said that the Web had both "good" and "bad" and that the good outweighed the bad
- Comoros: Windows Plunges to Record Low of About 6% in Country of a Million People (in 2010 Windows Was 100%)
- Many of these people earn a few dollars a day; they don't care for Microsoft's "Hey Hi PC" hype
- The Mail (MX) Server Survey for July 2024 Shows Microsoft Collapsing to Only 689 Servers or 0.17% of the Whole (It Used to be About 25%)
- Microsoft became so insignificant and the most astounding thing is how the media deliberate ignores it or refuses to cover it
- Windows Down From 98.5% to 22.9% in Hungary
- Android is up because more people buy smaller mobile devices than laptops
- Microsoft Windows in Algeria: From 100% to Less Than 15%
- Notice that not too long ago Windows was measured at 100%. Now? Not even 15%.
- Microsoft Windows "Market Share" in New Zealand Plunges to 25%
- Android rising
- SUSE Goes Aryan: You May Not Use the Germanic Brand Anymore (It's Monopolised by the Corporation)
- Worse than grammar Nazis
- Gratis But Not Free as in Freedom: How Let's Encrypt is Dying in Geminispace
- Let's Encrypt is somewhat of a dying breed where the misguided CA model is shunned
-
- UEFI 'Secure Boot' Once Again Bricking PCs and Fake Security Models Are Perishing in Geminispace
- Let's Encrypt has just fallen again
- Links 17/07/2024: New Attacks on the Press, European Patents Squashed Even at Kangaroo Court (UPC)
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 17/07/2024: Proponents of Censorship and New Arrivals at Gemini
- Links for the day
- Links 17/07/2024: School Budget Meltdown and Modern Cars as Tracking Nightmares
- Links for the day
- This Should Certainly be Illegal, But the Person Who Helped Microsoft Do This is Still Attacking the Critics of It
- perhaps time for an "I told you so post"
- [Meme] A Computer With an Extra Key on the Keyboard Isn't Everyone's Priority
- (so your telling me meme)
- Africa as an Important Reminder That Eradicating Microsoft Doesn't Go Far Enough
- Ideally, if our top goal is bigger than "get rid of Microsoft", we need to teach people to choose and use devices that obey them, not GAFAM
- Billions of Computers Run Linux and Many Use Debian (or a Derivative of It)
- many devices never get updated or even communicate with the Net, so exhaustive tallies are infeasible
- [Meme] Microsoft is Firing
- Don't worry, Microsoft will have some new vapourware coming soon
- More DEI (or Similar) Layoffs on the Way, According to Microsoft Team Leader
- What happened shortly before Independence Day wasn't the end of it, apparently
- [Meme] Many Volunteers Now Realise the "Open" in "OpenSUSE" or "openSUSE" Was Labour-Mining
- Back to coding, packaging and testing, slaves
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 16, 2024
- IRC logs for Tuesday, July 16, 2024
- [Meme] Ein Factory
- A choice between "masters" (or "master race") is a false choice that results in mass exploitation and ultimately eradication (when there's little left to exploit)
- Links 17/07/2024: Open Source Initiative Lies and Dark Net Thoughts
- Links for the day
- Media Distorting Truth to Promote Ignorance
- online media is rapidly collapsing
- Android Rises to New Highs of Almost 80% in Cameroon
- How many dozens of nations will see Windows at under 10% this coming winter?
- Links 16/07/2024: TikTok Ban in Europe and Yandex Split
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 16/07/2024: On Packrafting and on Trump Shot
- Links for the day
- [Meme] Firefox Users Who Think They Know Better Than Mozilla
- Enjoy Firebook
- Firefox Used to Have About Half the Market in Switzerland, But It Doesn't Stand a Chance Anymore (Chrome Surging This Summer)
- Mozilla has managed to alienate some of the biggest fans of Firefox
- Microsoft's Biggest Losses Are in Europe This Summer
- Microsoft's ability to milk a relatively rich Europe is fast diminishing
- How to Make Software Suck and Discriminate Against People at the Same Time
- ageism glorified
- Bing Was at 2.6% in Russia When LLM Hype Started. Now It's Down to 0.8% (for 3 Months in a Row Already)
- The sharp fall of Bing may mean that exiting the Russian market won't matter to anybody
- [Meme] Microsoft Seems to be Failing to Comply With WARN Act (by Refusing to Announce Mass Layoffs as They Happen)
- since when does Microsoft obey the law anyway?
- Microsoft Layoffs Are Still Too Frequent to Keep Abreast of and Properly (or Exhaustively) Classify
- The "HR" department knows what's happening, but whistleblowers from there are rare
- Bahamas Joined the "5% Windows" Club
- statCounter only traces back about 1 in 20 Web requests to Windows
- Links 16/07/2024: Salesforce Layoffs and Microsoft's DMARC Fail
- Links for the day
- Antenna Abuse and Gemini Abuse (Self-hosting Perils)
- Perhaps all this junk is a sign of Gemini growing up
- Possibly Worse Than Bribes: US Politicians and Lawmakers Who Are Microsoft Shareholders
- They will keep bailing out Microsoft to bail themselves out
- The Software Freedom Conservancy Folks Don't Even Believe in Free Speech and They Act As Imposters (Also in the Trademark Arena/Sense)
- Software Freedom Conservancy was already establishing a reputation for itself as a G(I)AFAM censor/gatekeeper
- Djibouti Enters the Windows "10% Club" (Windows Was 99% in 2010)
- In Africa in general Microsoft lost control
- GNU/Linux Share Doubled in the United States of America (USA) in the Past 12 Months
- Or so says statCounter
- Even in North Korea (Democratic People's Republic Of Korea) Google Said to Dominate, Microsoft Around 1%
- Google at 93.26%
- [Meme] The Red Bait (Embrace... Extinguish)
- They set centos on fire, then offer a (de facto) proprietary substitute for a fee
- Shooting the Messenger to Spite the Message
- segment of a Noam Chomsky talk
- [Video] Boston Area Assange Defense (Yesterday)
- It was published only hours ago
- Guinea: Windows Down From 99.3% to 2.7% 'Market Share'
- Guinea is not a small country
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 15, 2024
- IRC logs for Monday, July 15, 2024
- What's Meant by "Antenna Abuse" (Gemini)
- syndication is not a monopoly in Gemini and if one doesn't condone political censorship, then one can create one's own syndication service/capsule
- Microsoft Layoffs and Entire Unit Termination: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- What an announcement to make just before Independence Day
- Links 16/07/2024: Old Computer Challenge and One Page Dungeon Contest
- Links for the day
- Microsoft Falls Further and Closer Towards 10% (Windows "Market Share") in Kuwait
- more countries entering the "single-digit Windows" (under 10%) club
- Gemini Links 15/07/2024: Antenna's Pro-Hamas Bias Revisited and Old Computer Challenge
- Links for the day
- [Video] Julian Assange, Over One Decade Ago, Cautioning About What the Internet Had Truly Become
- video is not new
- Homage to Malta
- Malta is probably easy for Microsoft to bribe
- IRC at 16
- Logging has been used for us and against us
- In Malta, Android/Linux Has Overtaken Microsoft Windows (According to statCounter)
- statCounter milestone?
- Links 15/07/2024: China’s Economic Problems, Boeing Under Fire
- Links for the day
- 500 Days' Uptime Very Soon
- Good luck doing that with Windows...
- Windows Falls Below 20% in Tunisia
- A month ago we wrote about GNU/Linux in Tunisia
- Links 15/07/2024: Google Wants Wiz and Why "Sports Ruin Everything"
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 15/07/2024: Old Computer Challenge and Sending Files via NNCP
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 14, 2024
- IRC logs for Sunday, July 14, 2024