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Links 23/2/2011: Intrinsyc Becomes Linux Foundation Member, Dries Buytaert Defends Free Software



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Contents





GNU/Linux

  • Year of Linux (Unix)
    Today, I will dare say that it is the year of Linux (and Unix, for that matter).


  • Desktop



  • Server

    • Can you run your own SOHO E-Mail Server?
      I’ve been running my own e-mail servers for decades. After all, back in the 80s I was helping run NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s e-mail systems and let me tell you in those days it wasn’t easy! Today, thanks to easy e-mail servers such as CapeSoft Email Server, hMailServer, and Zimbra pretty much any tech savvy user can run an e-mail server. Heck, if you’re a step above a power user you can even run OpenExchange and fully support Outlook users without breaking a sweat. If, that is, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) will let you do it.


    • The meaning of Watson
      But Watson can't really play Jeopardy! -not without a human puppeteer pulling strings behind the scenes. Even if we say that Watson knows how to talk (it's a stretch), Watson doesn't know when to talk. An operator is placed offstage, playing the crucial role of sending commands that prompt Watson when to speak, when to answer, when to choose a category or clue, and when to place a bet. It is the human puppeteer who, with our imaginative co-operation, creates the illusion that Watson is playing a game with humans. Without the subterfuge of human intervention, Watson remains a computational instrument -not a Jeopardy! contestant.


    • Still Think Linux Is Just for Start-Ups?
      Start-ups very rarely build themselves supercomputers, and certainly not the sorts of heavy duty number-crunching machines that make it on to the TOP500 list. But a quick glance at the latest list, from November 2010, shows that well over 80 percent of the fastest 500 machines in the world use a Linux server operating system. There's a few UNIX machines in there too, and an handful of Windows HPC boxes -- if one can call a supercomputer a box -- but by and large it's all Linux, Linux, Linux.


    • When in doubt, reboot? Not Unix boxes
      Rebooting Windows boxes is a way of life, but rebooting by default can you get you nowhere fast when running Unix






  • Kernel Space

    • Intrinsyc Joins Linux Foundation
      The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced that Intrinsyc is its newest member.

      Intrinsyc provides software design and services that help its customers compete in today’s high-stakes device market. Core to its strategy is the development of high-quality software while accelerating time-to-market for the world’s leading device makers. Intrinsyc achieved notable success with the development of the first Android-based e-reader and has followed up with several software and services agreements to support Android mobile device development.


    • Intrinsyc becomes Linux Foundation member
      The foundation has seen a steady growth in company membership of the non-profit organisation with several other companies having joined this year.




  • Applications



  • Desktop Environments



    • GNOME Desktop

      • Try This Great Looking Conky Lua Configuration For Ubuntu, Fedora Or Linux Mint
        Despot77 posted a great looking Conky Lua configuration at Gnome-Look that displays some beautiful rings for the cpu, clock, ram, swap, disk, net and also comes with an easy way to display the weather that doesn't involve you register to any website, work with API keys and so on. Another thing I like about this configuration is that it comes with various color themes and distribution logos: Fedora, Linux Mint and Ubuntu (update: the package also provides Debian and openSUSE configurations).


      • I thought we had deprecated regedit
        Why TF is regedit still used in Gnome? I’d switch to KDE, if only I wasn’t so lazy.






  • Distributions



    • Debian Family

      • Introducing Debian GNU/Linux 6.0, the Universal Operating System for your Computer.
        Debian and I have an unusual relationship -- I respect the work the Debian team does, I admire the huge amount of packages, infrastructure, coordination and testing which goes into the project. Quite often I find myself using the children or grandchildren of Debian for work and on my home machines.


      • Canonical/Ubuntu

        • Car computer runs Ubuntu 10.10, offers GPS and HSDPA
          Vic has begun selling an Ubuntu Linux-based, double-DIN car computer with GPS and 3G HSDPA for approximately $410. Based on an Intel Celeron M processor with 2GB of DDR2 memory, the NaviSurfer II Ubu-3G offers a 250GB hard disk drive, a seven-inch, 800 x 480 touchscreen, and extensive connectivity including multiple camera inputs, says the company.


        • Flavours and Variants









  • Devices/Embedded

    • Review: Boxee Box
      Shawn reviews the Boxee Box from D-Link. Oddly enough, it's not really box shaped.


    • 10 Cool Hacks For Your NookColor
      If Android doesn't do it for you, how about Ubuntu Linux? Inspired by similar Ubuntu-on-a-smartphone hacks, an XDA Developers member managed to install Ubuntu on the e-reader. There are still a few bugs and lag when using Ubuntu, but there is plenty of input into the hack's coding currently to change that.


    • Phones



      • Nokia/MeeGo/Maemo



      • Android

        • All about Android


          The Android software has all the basics of an operating system, and developers can use a supplied "software development kit" to build applications that draw on any of the phone or tablet's core functions, such as the ability to take photos, make calls and send texts.


        • 10 Android Apps for Linux Server Admins
          The Linux server admin on the go needs a good remote administration toolkit. Here are 10 useful remote administration apps for Android devices.


        • The Most Important Women in Mobile Tech 2011
          Before Google’s mobile operating system came along, Motorola aggressively pursued Mobile Linux on phones. But once Android entered the public’s consciousness, Wyatt spearheaded a change in course.






    • Tablets







Free Software/Open Source



  • The-M-Project: new HTML5 Framework for Mobile Apps
    The M Project is a new open source HTML5 JavaScript framework. With The-M-Project, M-Way Solutions – a specialist in mobile enterprise software – has provided developers with a means to write cross-platform HTML5 applications for almost all smartphone platforms. So far iOS, Android, Palm webOS and BlackBerry OS are the operating systems supported.


  • OpenGeo and Farallon Geographics Announce Partnership to Offer Open Source Geospatial Solutions
    Farallon Geographics, a San Francisco GIS services firm and OpenGeo, a global leader in open source geospatial solutions, announced that Farallon Geographics has added the OpenGeo Suite Enterprise Edition to its product offerings and now provides support to local OpenGeo Suite users.


  • Brandon Regional Health Authority Partners with ByWater Solutions for Koha Implementation
    ByWater Solutions, an open source community supporter and official Koha support company, announced today that the Brandon Regional Health Authority, of Brandon, Manitoba, has partnered with them for their implementation and support of the Koha ILS.


  • Mentor builds its open source tool support with UVM
    Mentor Graphics continues to regcoginse the growing importance of open source software in the design industry.

    It has now announced support for Accellera's Universal Verification Methodology (UVM) across many of its design tools.


  • Qualys Launches Open Source Web App Firewall Project
    Qualys last week unveiled IronBee, a new open source Web application firewall (WAF) project. The goal of the project is to leverage the open source community to build a high performance WAF that can protect users against the latest security threats to Web applications. The software will feature a liberal license, and will be free to anybody.


  • SaaS

    • Yahoo building cloud-serving engine for internal use, plans to use open source
      Yahoo intends to release the code that the company is currently developing as part of its internal cloud-serving engine. Todd Papaioannou, Yahoo's vice president of cloud architecture described Yahoo's cloud capabilities as akin to Amazon's well-known EC2 platform, but with a higher level of abstraction for ease of development. Written in Java and C++, Yahoo's cloud-serving engine is based on the LAMP and Java stack, and will support PHP and JavaScript on the front-end. Other languages could conceivably be deployed on top of it.




  • CMS

    • One on One with Dries Buytaert of Acquia
      DB: Yes, I think the open source label still matters. Organizations need a technology that provides the flexibility and freedom to customize it to their individual needs. Proprietary solutions can be customized but with a high price tag and long lag time. In the open source world, more often than not, plug-ins or customizations you need to build have already been created and are available for use. This is community-powered innovation, something that Drupal is great at and that provides a real benefit compared to proprietary solutions.




  • Healthcare

    • Open source and standards encouraged in the NHS
      Chelsom claims that the National Health Service Programme for IT (NPfIT), has wasted a decade in the development of its clinical information systems, and says that his paper is in response to the NHS itself seeking opinions about how it can move away from the centralised approach to IT development. He makes the case that the earlier use of open source software in the NHS was not successful because of certain perceptions: "the myth that it’s mainly programmed by hackers; the legal implications of its licensing models; and the degree to which open source implementations can be supported and maintained."


    • An open source approach to Veterans Affairs medical info
      For years, the VA has run the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA), which is their Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. Turns out it was written by clinicians themselves, and has served well over years. However, the VA believes it might be time to use open source methods in a kind of public/private partnership.




  • Business



  • Funding



  • Government

    • The government gets really serious about open source
      My favourite announcement of the day is the Government skunkworks project, where reusable solutions will be built from Open Source components. It's live now, and headed by the CIO of the DCLG and DCMS. This time it's serious...

      The move to Open Source is being driven both from No 10, and from the Chancellor of the Exchequer. You will hear the Prime Minister talking about Open Government quite a bit over the next few weeks. Open Government consciously includes Open Source as well as Open Standards and Open Data, and this is being driven directly from the top of the Coalition Government.

      Sirius will continue to bring Open Source Software to the UK Public Sector... We challenge the big SIs to join us and help reduce the UK's IT bill...


    • Clicking Through Drupal 7's Features
      When looking for examples of enterprise applications where open source products have competed effectively against expensive and complex commercial products, a good place to start is content management.


    • Review: Drupal 7 Simplifies Web Content Management




  • Openness/Sharing

    • “Open Source” at Carroll Square Gallery


    • Open Data

      • Reactions to the Nationwide Broadband Map


      • Gavin Newsom
        As former mayor of San Francisco, Newsom ignited transparency efforts with open source platform site DataSF.org, a clearinghouse of city and county data sets that residents can use to create innovative applications.




    • Open Access/Content

      • [Canada] Spectrum Consultation Could Form Cornerstone of Digital Policy for Next Decade
        Third, the government asks if it should establish “open access” requirements, mandating certain openness standards in the use of this spectrum. For consumers tired of the “walled garden” approach of current providers that use both contracts and technology to lock-in consumers, open spectrum policies would spur new innovation and heightened competition by facilitating greater consumer mobility and promote the introduction of new services not tied to a single wireless provider.




    • Open Hardware

      • Solid state drives refuse to delete data
        The first time I was briefed on developments that would lead to solid-state hard drives for laptops I thought it was such a great idea I couldn't wait to get one. Improve speed, extend battery life and eliminate all that complaining when I close the lid and sling the laptop around before the disk stops spinning? Oh yeah.

        Unfortunately former colleague Galen Gruman was in the same meeting, and managed to shoot the idea into my "maybe someday" file before I got back to my desk. (Galen is wildly enthusiastic about technology himself, but has annoyingly accurate reasons for it when his enthusiasms conflict with mine.)






  • Standards/Consortia

    • Sencha Labs releases open source framework for WebGL development
      Sencha Labs has announced the availability of a new open source framework for WebGL development. The framework, which is called PhiloGL, makes it easier for developers to adopt WebGL and integrate its functionality in Web applications. The framework is distributed under the permissive MIT license.






Leftovers

  • Pa. judge guilty of racketeering in kickback case
    A former juvenile court judge defiantly insisted he never accepted money for sending large numbers of children to detention centers even after he was convicted of racketeering for taking a $1 million kickback from the builder of the for-profit lockups.


  • Judge Convicted in Pennsylvania Kids-for-Cash Scheme, Faces Long Prison Term and Class Action Lawsuit
    A federal jury has found a former Pennsylvania judge guilty of participating in a so-called "kids for cash" scheme, in which he received money in exchange for sending juvenile offenders to for-profit youth jails over the years.


  • Hardware



  • Security





  • Defence/Police/Aggression



    • [Old:] Colonel Qaddafi—A Life in Fashion


    • Right-left symmetry photos of Qaddafi


    • Monopoly and Tyranny: Two Faces of Evil
      Libya earns $billions from oil and their few million citizens earn an average of a few dollars per day. All the wealth goes to the few and the rest are slaves, working cheaply.


    • Libya prepares for the last battle in Tripoli


    • Gaddafi family values
      As Libya spiraled further out of control today, WikiLeaks posted two new cables from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli detailing the family squabbles of strongman Muammar al-Gaddafi's family. Both are from March 2009, and both are signed by U.S. Ambassador Gene Cretz, the United States' first ambassador in Libya since 1972, who lost his job last month following the release of the infamous "voluptuous blonde" cable (and/or other more serious dispatches) he had signed.

      The cables date from an eventful period in the life of the Gaddafi family. The previous July, Hannibal al-Gaddafi, the Gaddafi son best known for getting in trouble in Europe on a semi-regular basis, had been arrested in Switzerland for beating his servants at a Geneva hotel. Meanwhile, Saif al-Islam, Muammar's heir-apparent and the best-regarded Gaddafi outside of Libya, was fuming over the growing closeness between his father and his brother Muatassim (above, with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in April 2009), the elder Gaddafi's national security adviser and Saif al-Islam's only real competition for the family business. According to the cable, "Saif reportedly bridled at the fact that Muatassim accompanied Muammar al-Qadhafi on the latter's visit to Moscow, Minsk and Kiev last year..., and played a key role in negotiating potential weapons contracts."




  • Cablegate

    • Ellsberg: WikiLeaks Helped Topple Despots
      WikiLeaks revelations helped topple despotic regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg told Newsmax.TV. The former Marine and Pentagon employee also characterized WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as principled, idealistic, and a friend.






  • Finance

    • JPMorgan Grants Stock Bonus To CEO James Dimon
      JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM: News ) has granted restricted stock units and stock appreciation rights worth $17 million to its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James Dimon, just a month after the New York-based financial services giant reported higher fourth-quarter earnings.


    • Sure It’s Legal… But Is It RIGHT?
      Now, THE largest expense for any financial company is SALARIES. So when banks and financial companies lobbied to have their leverage limits increased (or any number of other changes that were made in the ‘90s and ‘00s), they did it for one reason: to collect HUGE payouts.

      These folks were driven by greed and nothing more. They didn’t want more people to own homes. They didn’t care if folks lost money buying the AAA rated garbage they pawned off on pension funds and the like. They didn’t care if their OWN balance sheets were cesspools of crap loans no one would ever pay back. Heck, they weren’t even looking after their shareholders (leverage of 50-to-1 makes it extremely likely you’ll end up wiping out ALL equity sooner rather than later).


    • Goldman Sachs-Robbing and Thieving The American Sucker-AGAIN




  • Intellectual Monopolies

    • Expert: Copyright bigger threat than patents to OpenSim


      After ReactionGrid announced plans to patent a process for deploying and managing OpenSim earlier this month, the open source community responded with dismay.

      In comments on the initial announcement, and in ReactionGrid’s follow-up clarification, and in the OpenSim discussion list, open source advocates worried that patenting processes might hurt the development of OpenSim.


    • Copyrights

      • Presumed Guilty
        The argument is so strange it is hard to know where to begin. The problem is not simply that Shakespeare flourished without copyright protection for his work. It is that he made liberal use of the work of others in his own plays in ways that would today almost certainly generate a lawsuit. Like many readers, I found myself wondering whether Shakespeare would have survived copyright, never mind the web. Certainly, the dense interplay of unidentified quotation, paraphrase and plot lifting that characterizes much of Elizabethan theatre would have been very different; imagine what jazz would sound like if musicians had to pay for every fragment of another tune they work into a solo.










Clip of the Day



Deepak Chopra answers a question.



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