04.22.11

Links 22/4/2011: Linux References in Portal 2, Preview of Fedora 15

Posted in News Roundup at 3:26 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux
- Distributions
- Devices/Embedded
Free Software/Open Source
Leftovers
Clip of the Day

GNU/Linux

Linux Doesn’t Need To Kiss Anyone’s Ass

I’m tired of everybody cringing in the corner apologizing for GNU/Linux and FOSS. I’m tired of these submissive little floor-kissers scurrying around to rush to the frat-hazing list of demands presented by the troll community. I’m tired of Linux being the only platform that is always under attack.
Server
- System z Gets Extra Linux Support, Customer Win
  
  IBM continued to build momentum around its mainframe hardware, as Novell introduced extended Linux support for the big iron platform while Big Blue itself said it had snagged a significant competitive win for System z from Hewlett-Packard and Oracle.
  
  Novell said it would for the first time add SUSE Linux on System z to its Long Term Service Pack Support program. Under LTSS, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server customers get three years of additional support, mostly covering access to new service and security packs, in addition to seven years of general support.
Google
- Exclusive: Chrome notebooks confirmed to be released June/July
  
  You may or may not have seen the news about the Google Chrome production notebooks floating around the web today. Ariotech reports that “Google product manager Sundar Pichai said, Google were still fixing some bugs and improving compatibility with devices such as digital cameras on Chrome OS.” and that they expected the company to release the devices during “Summer 2011.”
Kernel Space
- Linux Foundation Is Celebrating 20 Years Of Linux – Are you ?
- Kernel Log: native KVM tool, new kernels galore
  
  Dissatisfied with the Qemu code, the developers have created a simple emulation tool for KVM. The latest drivers for Intel graphics chips improve the kernel’s support for the video components of various current processors; a wealth of new long-term and stable kernels fix bugs and security holes.
Applications
- Instructionals/Technical
- Games
  - Top 5 Paid Games for Linux
    
    With Linux matching Windows and Mac head-to-head in almost every field, indie developers are ensuring that gaming on Linux doesn’t get left behind. We’ve covered various types of games that are available for Linux, from the best MMORPGs to the top action-packed First Person Shooters. While most of these games are free, there are a few paid games that have come out for Linux.
    
    [...]
    
    In the free world of Linux and Open-source, many people argue that if everything is ‘free’, why should I pay for a game? Of course, the Linux world is free but free doesn’t mean free as in ‘free beer’, the word free implies freedom. Most of the popular games for Windows, now come with SecuROM and other such DRM restrictions that restrict one’s fair-use rights. This means that the user will only be able to use the software on one machine, sometimes requiring constant activations.
    
    Games and other software developed in the FOSS world don’t have such absurd restrictions. Users are free to use and distribute the game, and yes there’s none of that activation or cd-key nonsense. While these games respect the user’s freedom, keeping them free (as in free beer) is not a viable option because developers have to devote a lot of time and money in making these games. So, shelling out a few dollars for these games will help the indie developers pay their rent as well as come up with many new games for this emerging gaming platform.
  - Helena The 3rd Update
  - Yes, There Are Portal 2 Linux References
    
    I’m only mentioning this so readers will hopefully stop emailing me regarding the references that have been discovered within Valve’s Mac OS X launcher to their new Portal 2 game regarding Linux support.
    
    It’s already been mentioned on the Phoronix Forums, Valve Forums, and elsewhere, but I’ve now received at a dozen or two e-mails, Facebook messages, etc of readers informing me about the Linux checks within Valve’s Mac OS X Portal 2 client. They keep flowing in and in hopes of them stopping, I’m posting this message now.
  - Portal 2 Review
    
    To help kick off what’s sure to be one of our smallest game reviews ever, allow me to ask two simple questions. First, has Valve ever released a less-than-stellar game title? And second, could Portal 2 really be the one to stray from the pack? On second thought… don’t answer those. It’d totally negate the need for a review, wouldn’t it?
Desktop Environments
- A Gnome Refugee’s Guide to Enlightenment
  
  The third major installment of the Gnome desktop released earlier this month and I am sure many users found themselves shell shocked with more than a few of the changes. Some will adjust, some will stick with Gnome 2 (or the classic desktop), and I am sure more than a few will go looking for something else to use as their desktop of choice. Bruce Byfield recently did an overview of seven alternatives to the Gnome 3 desktop and the second one he lists is the Enlightenment desktop.
- A failure of logic
  
  Unity, KDE 4.6, Gnome 3 … are they all improvements, if they’re requiring the same amount of time, but more powerful hardware?
- K Desktop Environment/KDE SC)
  - Active Edge Screen Actions in KDE 4.6
    
    What actions can be configured? Any of the following:
    
    * No Action.
    * Show Dashboard.
    * Show Desktop.
    * Lock Screen.
    * Prevent Screen Locking.
    * Present Windows — All Desktops.
    * Present Windows — Current Desktop.
    * Desktop Grid.
    * Desktop Cube.
    * Desktop Cylinder.
    * Desktop Sphere.
    * Flip Switch — All Desktops.
    * Flip Switch — Current Desktop.
- GNOME Desktop
  - GNOME 3
    
    I have been using Fedora 15 for several weeks now and while I normally use Xmonad as my main desktop environment I have been using GNOME 3 so that I can work on Fedora Docs with a better understanding of the new system.
Distributions
- Red Hat Family
  - Scientific Linux 6 – Another great distro, but
    
    There are several critical questions we need to answer now. Is Scientific Linux any good? Yes, it is. It is a very robust, very decent, very capable desktop distro, with lots of great things. However, it requires some extra work to get fully configured.
  - Fedora
    - Preview of Fedora 15
      
      I haven’t had time to poke around with all the new features yet. I’ve only been running the Beta for a few hours. I don’t have any complaints so far.
- Debian Family
  - Canonical/Ubuntu
    - Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty) Beta 2 Review
      
      Ubuntu Natty Beta 2 is out and this is the last Ubuntu Natty beta before the official release on April 28th. So what’s new in this beta? Well compared to the previous beta 1 there aren’t many visible changes except for lots of bug fixes and improvement in the stability of unity.
    - If You Are Going To Try Natty, Go All The Way. Otherwise Don’t Even Start
      
      Moving to Natty is not mere upgrading some code or some software packages. Moving to Natty needs us to change, to learn and to de-learn. You can’t move to Natty unless and until you ‘quit’ the Ubuntu you knew. Otherwise you will continue to struggle with trying to drag and drop applications on the top menu. Quit Ubuntu, if you want to move to Natty! Like it or not, that’s true.
    - Canonical confirms Apr. 28 release for Ubuntu 11.04, online trial version
      
      Canonical confirmed that it will ship Ubuntu 11.04 (“Natty Narwhal”) on April 28, and announced a new online trial version of the Linux operating system. The U.K.-based company also announced some new details of its server edition, including easier provisioning and a fully certified J2EE stack.
    - Ubuntu Linux 11.04′s Target Audience: Casual Windows Users
      
      Do you use Windows not because you like it or there’s some specific Windows-only application that you must use but because it’s what came on your PC? If that’s you, Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, wants you to try their soon to be out Ubuntu 11.04 Linux desktop.
      
      When I talked with Canonical marketing manager Gerry Carr, I hadn’t expected him to say that. Over the last few years, Linux desktop vendors haven’t really tried to take on Windows head-on. Oh, to be certain, I think the Linux desktop is great. I’m writing this story on Mint 10, an Ubuntu variant, and I use openSUSE 11.4, Fedora 14, and MEPIS 8.0 on other PCs and laptops. But, I know most people are content to use Windows because that’s what comes on their PCs. Carr thinks though that with Ubuntu 11.04’s new desktop interface and a few other tricks up Canonical’s sleeve, Ubuntu can win over “casual Windows users.”
    - Not Loch Ness, But An Ubuntu Sighting in Scotland
      
      I just returned from a trip to the Scottish Highlands in search of the Loch Ness Monster and the Bonnie Prince. While I’m sad to report that both remain elusive, I did spot Ubuntu in use by a small business where I least expected it. Here are the details.
      
      I took advantage of a few free days after a conference in London last week to travel up to Scotland, a gorgeous country which I’d never seen. After stops in different parts of the Lowlands, I made my way to Inverness, the rugged Highlands’ only real city. It’s a short drive from Loch Ness, which needs no introduction, and from Culloden, where the last attempt of the lawful sovereigns of Great Britain to recapture the throne from usurping foreigners ended in disaster in 1746.
    - Ubuntu Server 11.04: Fully baked in 7 days
      
      If you have nothing better to do next Thursday after stuffing yourself full of Easter lamb or ham on Sunday, you might want to wander over to Canonical, get a slice of “Natty Narwhal”, and chew on a bit of Ubuntu Server 11.04.
      
      The Natty Narwhal release is based on the Linux 2.6.38 kernel, which came out in mid-March with lots of interesting performance enhancements. One of the important ones is transparent huge pages (THPs), which boost the memory page size from 4KB to 2MB and considerably speed up database, virtual machine hypervisor, and guest operating system performance.
    - Meet Ubuntu 11.04 ‘Natty Narwhal’… Linux just got cool
      
      When Canonical releases the latest version of its Ubuntu Linux operating system on 28 April, it’s ready to take on Windows. At least that’s what Director of Communications Gerry Carr told PC Advisor in an exclusive interview to promote Ubuntu 11.04 ‘Natty Narwhal’.
    - Ubuntu 11.04 ‘Natty Narwhal’: A First Look at the OS
      
      The April 28 release of the open-source operating system update may be the most exciting yet for Ubuntu Linux. Here’s an advance tour of the features, including the Unity desktop and the Compiz window manager.
    - Ubuntu Transforms Your PC Experience
    - Ubuntu 11.04 Beta 2 Natty Narwhal Quick Look | Screenshots
    - Ubuntu 11.04 Doesn’t Play With Nouveau Gallium3D
    - Ubuntu 11.04: The desktop Linux you’ve been waiting for?
      
      Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu version of Linux, is making a new push for a larger slice of the PC market with a series of changes in the next version of the operating system, scheduled for release next week. The upgrade, Ubuntu 11.04, comes with a new interface that takes its cues from the worlds of smartphones and web search.
      
      The company plans seize the opportunity to promote Ubuntu 11.04 as a viable alternative for existing Windows PC users. PCWorld calls it “perhaps the most widely anticipated Linux release ever.”
Devices/Embedded
- Linux-based FROG-I robot thinks its a dinosaur
  
  The Chinese Academy of Sciences demonstrated a quadruped robot intended to test gait control and locomotion — and eventually mimic the movement of a triceratops. The flexibly jointed, 3.1-foot FROG-I robot runs Linux on an Intel Xscale PXA270 processor, communicating via Wi-Fi with a host computer, while lower-level functions are controlled by two Texas Instruments DSPs.
- Enea integrates Timesys’ LinuxLink in new multicore dev platform
  
  Enea announced a major upgrade to its embedded Linux development environment, incorporating Timesys’ LinuxLink development software. The newly renamed Enea Linux PlatformBuilder is initially available in a “ELPB-NE” version for NetLogic Microsystems’ MIPS-based multicore XLP, XLR, and XLS processors and combines Enea’s former Eclipse-based framework with the LinuxLink configuration and build system, says the company.
- Desktop Computing with ARM
  
  So, I don’t see any problem with small, cheap computers running Linux and ARM moving into the desktop space. Maybe it won’t be a tidal wave this year, but next year when Cortex A15 is out, watch out!
- Tablets
  - Toshiba launches Regza AT300 into uncertain Honeycomb tablet market
    
    Toshiba announced that its 10.1-inch Android 3.0 tablet will ship in Japan in June for $723 under the name “Regza AT300.” But despite rosy long-term projections for Android tablets, early problems — high cost requirements, an unstable Android 3.0, and Japanese component shortages — some vendors are delaying or sticking with with Android 2.x, say industry reports.

Free Software/Open Source

Events
- Better Software 2011, Florence 27-28 June 2011
  
  The conference will bring together experts in the fields of agile project management, open source, web2.0, and all the elements which contribute to the production of a stable and marketable product.
Web Browsers
- Mozilla
  - Firefox developer to open San Francisco office
    
    Mozilla, the developer of the popular Firefox web browser, will open its first San Francisco office this summer, bolstering the city’s growing renown as a technology hub.
    
    Mayor Edwin Lee will announce this afternoon that the Mountain View nonprofit has signed a 15,000-square-foot lease at 2 Harrison St. in the South of Market district, providing space for up to 125 staff members and volunteers.
Oracle/Java/LibreOffice
- Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office and OpenOffice compared
  
  Kaminsky and Dormann only offer conservative interpretations of their results. Kaminsky says that, in his view, the situation has improved considerably. Neither of the researchers makes a statement about the potential reasons for their findings. With Microsoft, the introduction of the Software Development Lifecycle is likely to have played a major role, as the vendor has established specific processes and tools for increasing its product security in this context.
- The Document Foundation is open for members
  
  With the last months the community around LibreOffice and The Document Foundation worked hard to establish policies, processes, infrastructure and all the things you need to deliver a high quality software. One of our basic principles is that we will acknowledge this merit and allow all the contributors to become official members of our community. All members will have the right to run for a seat in the Foundation’s Board of Directors, elect the board and drive the future of our projects.
Government
- Alternative, open source mail server improves MEPs’ email access
  
  Policy staffers at the Greens/European Free Alliance are offering MEPs and their staff better access to their email, using a server built with free and open source software. The staffers want the EP to increase its use of free and open source software solutions, saying the EP should rid itself of vendor lock-in.
  
  The alternative server synchronises with the proprietary system currently in use at the EP, yet allows MEPs to access their email using more than a single proprietary email client, more than just one proprietary web browser and access their email using more than one proprietary smart phone system.
Openness/Sharing
- Open Data
  - Google Invites You to Edit the U.S. Map
    
    Google has invited “citizen cartographers” to refine the U.S. map for Google Maps and Google Earth.
  - Geek of the Week: Yaw Anokwa: UW Ph.D. student, Open Data Kit and Change
    
    One of the goals of GeekWire’s “Geek of the Week” feature is to shine a light on extraordinary people in the Pacific Northwest technology community. Yaw Anokwa, a Ph.D. candidate in computer science at the University of Washington, certainly fits that profile — from his Open Data Kit research project to his work as a co-founder of the group Change at the UW.
    
    Continue reading for more details through his answers to our questionnaire — including some great advice for better efficiency in work and life, and a particularly interesting answer to the question of what he would do if someone gave him $1 million to launch a startup.
Programming
- Rails To Support HTTP Streaming
  
  The Rails project has announced that Rails 3.1 is going to support HTTP streaming, aka chunked responses. fxn has posted a detailed blog about this. fx starts off with explaining what is HTTP streaming, which you can read here.

Leftovers

Finance
- FEC Probes Obama’s 2008 Campaign Finances
  
  Barack Obama raised a record-shattering $750 million on his way to winning the 2008 presidential election. But that stunning flood of cash has triggered an investigation by the Federal Election Commission, which is taking a detailed look at the campaign’s records and transactions.
- FEC Launches Audit of Obama’s 2008 Campaign
- Startup America: New Commitments Fueling America’s Entrepreneurs
  
  This afternoon at Facebook headquarters in Silicon Valley, following the President’s national town hall on Shared Responsibility and Shared Prosperity, I’ll join a group of entrepreneurs for a livestreamed panel on Startup America, the White House-led initiative to encourage and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship across the country.
  
  This initiative is a top priority for President Obama. Entrepreneurship is a key ingredient to economic growth. Startups all across the country play a crucial role in job creation, since these companies generate the lion’s share of net new jobs. Startups are also responsible for developing breakthroughs in industries such as information technology, biotechnology, and clean energy that will allow the United States to compete and win in the global economy.
Censorship
- Freedom on the Net 2011
  
  Freedom House’s Sanjay Kelly and Sarah Cook just released a new report: Freedom on the Net 2011: A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media. According to the report, two electoral democracies – Turkey and South Korea – engage in substantial political censorship.
DRM
- PS3 hack case: graf_chokolo closes blog after threats from Sony
  
  PS3Crunch, which apparently has ties to Egorenkov, detailed the page’s closure: “If you are wondering why some of the pages have been removed at grafchokolo.com, then you need to know how Sony Computer Entertainment Europe are forcing us to remove them or graf_chokolo will be fined 250,000 Euros or worse, 6 months time in prison.”
  
  The closure extended to all development blogging, documentation and Git repositories, though the site maintains they hold back-ups to everything. The only thing still live is Egorenkov’s legal donation page, which was set up in March.
Intellectual Monopolies
- Mattel Loses in Bratz Spat
- Copyrights
  - Cheapest E-Books Upend the Charts
    
    The nation’s largest book publishers are facing increasing pricing pressure on the digital front as the number of cheap, self-published digital titles gain popularity with readers seeking budget-minded entertainment.