06.12.11

Links 12/6/2011: Chromebooks Coming, New Pidgin

Posted in News Roundup at 11:35 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

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

GNU/Linux

The Linux desktop experience is killing Linux on the desktop
Pogo Linux Launches New Storage Division, Pogo Storage

Pogo Linux today announced that it has launched a separate storage division, Pogo Storage. Pogo Storage expands the company’s storage offerings with cost-efficient, entry-level to mid-range enterprise solutions. The new division is dedicated to helping small- & mid-sized organizations implement emerging storage technologies and get the most from their storage budget.
Desktop
- 10 reasons why Chromebooks will be a huge success
  
  As June 15th nears, the folks at Google must be busy biting their nails off. This is the big G’s first step into the world of operating systems, and they want everything to go just right. With the release of Chromebook, they will be competing with 3 operating systems which have been around for a very long time. Whether Google will manage to topple them or not, only time can tell; however, there are a few reasons that this might work out pretty well for them. Here are ten such reasons why Chromebooks will be a huge hit.
- Serving a Printer to Google Cloud Print from Linux
  
  Been waiting for Google Cloud Print to finally come to linux?
  
  The wait is over!
  
  For now, Google has only released the ability to serve up a printer to the Google cloud via Windows while explicitly noting that the capability to do so in Linux is on the way. However, the entire ‘Cloud Aware’ printer scheme has seemed to always been referred to as coming-soon and that is probably a ways off yet. So I remain skeptical as to when we will actually see this ability. [update: There are some out there now and reviews are trickling in.]
  
  Luckily, Armooo posted a python script that you can run on Linux (and I assume *BSD, but haven’t tested just yet) to serve up your local CUPS printer to the Google Cloud.
  
  The script can be found here at his Github page and uses Python and PyCups to serve up your CUPS-enabled printer to the Google Cloud.
- Savvy Senior: Tips on easy-to-use computers for seniors
  
  And since it runs on Linux software instead of the standard Windows or Mac OS, it’s a virus-free computer too.
Server
- Time to say goodbye to Risc / Itanium Unix?
  
  Orange Business Solo – 450 mins, 250 texts, 50MB email and a new phone
  
  Twenty years ago open systems was the battle cry that shook the absurdly profitable proprietary mainframe and minicomputer markets.
  
  The proliferation of powerful and less costly x64-based systems that can run Solaris, Linux or Windows is making more than a few Unix shops think the unthinkable: migrating away from Unix for their mission-critical workloads.
Kernel Space
- The coming big 3.0 Kernel – First Impressions
  
  After running the 3.0-rc2 for a few days I can say that I notice a higher responsiveness.
Applications
- Krusader The Ultimate Two Panel File Manager
  
  If you are looking for a fast, effective, and powerful file manager that is loaded with features, Krusader might be the right choice for you. Krusader is a twin panel file manager that will work on most Linux desktops, Krusader will also help you preform many daily tasks. You can also create your own customized user menu for functions you use most often. Krusader can even function with an optional terminal emulator below the main window. You can connect to remote file systems, work with archives, and much more.
- 12 killer apps for linux
  
  mplayer is a light weight, full featured media player. In fact it’s so light weight, it doesn’t even bother with a gui. Just run it from a terminal, and up pops a simple window showing the video and the video only. Manipulating the video (fast forward, pause, toggling subtitles, volume controls etc) is done through keyboard commands, which quickly become second nature. Mplayer plays any video or audio codec/container you can name and supports a number of display drivers, including displaying video on a terminal using ascii.
- BlueProximity : Awesome application to lock screen as you leave Computer
  
  I spend most of my time in Embedded Systems and Wireless Sensor Network lab of the university where I am studying, there are many research engineers as well as Phd students there who work there, as well as assistant, it is a collaborative environment and frequently I move in and out of the lab and for privacy I keep my screen locked when I leave desk. This sometimes gets very irritating, having to lock screen, type in password to unlock as you come back to terminal, I often thought tool like the ones we use to change presentation could be very useful to lock/unlock screen remotely as you leave Desk.
- Cryptkeeper – system tray applet to Manage encrypted folders in Ubuntu
- Gnac – Audio Conversion App That Can Also Extract Audio from Video[Ubuntu PPA]
- 11 of the Best Free Linux Chemistry Tools
  
  Chemistry is the study of matter and the changes it undergoes. It is an extremely vivacious science which deals with a molecular scale and atomic interpretation of the world we live in, helping us to understand that world. Chemistry is regarded as the central science, given its close links with physics and engineering, with biology and medicine, and with geology and earth science.
  
  There are a number of different branches of chemistry. These include organic chemistry which studies the structure, properties, reactions, and composition of carbon-based compounds, and inorganic chemistry which deals with non-carbon compounds. Another important subdiscipline is physical chemistry which deals with the relations between the physical properties of substances and their chemical formations studying, in particular, atomic, subatomic, macroscopic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems.
- Monit – your best employee
- Proprietary
  - WebKit-based version of NetFront browser aims at IPTVs, STBs
    
    Access launched a new Android- and Linux-ready version of its mobile browser, based for the first time on the open source WebKit engine.
- Instructionals/Technical
- Wine
  - Wineskin Pro 2.3 released
- Games
  - A New Trailer Of Unigine’s OilRush Linux Game
    
    Just in time for the weekend, the Russian developers at Unigine Corp have released a new (and impressive) trailer of their OilRush game with native clients for Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows.
  - Minecraft Server on Ubuntu
  - Irukandji and Bullet Candy Perfect, Two Fun Arcade Shooters Now Available in Ubuntu Software Center
    
    Charlie, an Indie game developer from UK, makes fun score oriented arcade shooters. Under the name of Charlie’s Games, he has released some nice games for Linux, two of them are now available in software center – Irukandji and Bullet Candy Perfect.
  - Megaglest: 3D real time strategy game
Desktop Environments
- K Desktop Environment/KDE SC)
  - Dolphin Review – Kubuntu’s Counterpart to Nautilus
    
    Those of you who are using Kubuntu are already familiar with Dolphin, the default file manager shipped in most KDE distributions. There are several very good file managers for KDE, and I must include here Konqueror or Krusader, however Dolphin’s goal is to offer as much as possible functionality while also keeping lightweight and fast. And yes, it does it perfectly well, offering powerful features and a clean interface at the same time.
Distributions
- New Releases
  - [Toorox] 06.2011 “GNOME”
  - Macpup 525
    
    Macpup 525 is the latest and is based on Puppy Linux 5.2.5 ,”Lucid Puppy”, An official woof build of puppy Linux that is binary-compatible with Ubuntu Lucid Lynx packages. This contains all the apps from Lucid puppy with the addition of Firefox 4.0.1. Extra apps like Opera or Gimp are available for easy download from the Quickpet App on the ibar or the Puppy Package Manager. This version also includes the Enlightenment E17 window manager. The EFL libraries version 1.0.999 and E17 version 59456 where compiled and installed from source.
  - Imagineos 20110605
  - ALT 6.0.0-20110611
- Gentoo Family
  - Pardus and Xfce: a bright and powerful parade
    
    Pardus has been around for years, and occupies a luxury-car niche in the Linux world: easy to install and configure, extremely stable, very friendly, and very KDE-centric. I would say it’s comparable to Mepis in some ways. There are differences, of course. Pardus is a government-sponsored project, and it exists for the benefit of Turkish universities and research centers. The main support board is in Turkish, and the independent international one is hosted in Germany.
    
    Most of the current code has been developed from the ground up, and it is considered an independent distribution. As far as I know, it has no derivatives, either, and no spins. In the Linux family tree, it is the sharp-dressed uncle you saw at funerals and liked, but whenever you suggested visiting him your parents suggested that he was probably out of town.
- Debian Family
  - Exclusive Interview With Debian Leader Stefano Zacchiroli
    
    Stefano: I use the GNOME Desktop Environment with Awesome as a window manager.
  - Derivatives
    - Canonical/Ubuntu
      - Ubuntu Light | Access the web within 7 seconds after booting.
        
        Yep it is not a dream, now you can boot your computer in one-third the time it normally takes and connect to web in less than 7 seconds.
      - Landing with tarmac
      - Fedora 15 Released and First Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelet Build Now Available
Devices/Embedded
- Tiny CompactFlash computer gains USB carrier board
  
  C Data Solutions announced a carrier board for its tiny CompactFlash-based Compact Computer (CoCo) that enables expansion via third party USB devices. The CoCo carrier board adds dual USB host ports to the uClinux-based CoCo, which offers a 500MHz Blackfin processor with 32MB SDRAM, 8MB flash, and an FPGA, and enables rapid prototyping of devices with a mix of CompactFlash peripherals.
- Embedded Linux Skills Are Hot: Use Summertime to Sharpen Up
- MontaVista, Rightware to build in-car infotainment using embedded Linux
  
  MontaVista and Finland’s Rightware Oy are developing a GENIVI-compliant in-car infotainment platform that uses the Linux operating system.
  
  The two companies said in a press release that the product uses Rightware’s 3d user interface product, which is called Kanzi, on top of a GENIVI compliant MontaVista Linux.
- Phones
  - Android
    - Has the Time Come for an Android Market Drug Test?
    - Android Market Webstore adds compatibility alerts
      
      Google upgraded its Android Market Webstore to inform users whether a given app is compatible with their Android devices. Meanwhile Google Maps has been updated with live tracking of public transportation in six cities in the U.S. and Europe, and Microsoft is trying to lure Android developers with new resources including an “Android to Windows Phone 7 API mapping tool” website.
    - 4.5-inch Samsung Infuse 4G is zippy fun, says review
      
      Samsung’s Infuse 4G on AT&T is a speedy Android 2.2 “Froyo” smartphone that offers a lot for its $200 price, including a 1.2GHz Hummingbird processor, an eight-megapixel camera, and a big 4.5-inch screen with Super AMOLED Plus display technology. The Infuse 4G’s delights make it clear why Samsung is quickly dominating the Android smartphone market, this eWEEK review says.
    - Mot spins dual-core Photon 4G and 4.1-inch prepaid Triumph
      
      Motorola Mobility and Sprint announced a Photon 4G smartphone that runs Android 2.3 on a 1GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, offers a 4.3-inch qHD display, and has an optional, Atrix-like “laptop dock.” Motorola also announced that its 4.1-inch Triumph, running Android 2.2 on a 1GHz processor, will be exclusively available from Sprint’s Virgin Mobile USA prepaid service.
    - New multi-threading multicore architecture targets Android tablets
      
      A fabless startup called ICube announced a new multicore processor architecture aimed at Android tablets, claimed to be the first to handle both CPU logic and graphics processing in a “truly integrated” single core. The Harmony Unified Processor Technology architecture offers up to four processing threads per core, and will first appear later this year in a 65nm, dual-core IC1 SoC, says ICube.
    - Save Time with Android’s Hardware Keyboard Shortcuts

Free Software/Open Source

Open Source Hackfest Benefits WMF, Community

On May 24th and 25th, the Wikimedia Foundation hosted a CiviCRM coding sprint in our San Francisco office. CiviCRM is the premier open source constituent relationship manager; WMF uses it to store donor and contribution information. Our CiviCRM database contains more than a million contact records and a million contribution records.
NetRexx is now open source

NetRexx, a variant of the Rexx script language, developed by IBM, has been made open source software under the aegis of the Rexx Language Association (RexxLA). The first indication that the language was to be made open source came in February, but now the process has been completed.
Events
- Linux Foundation charters bus for road trip from Corvallis to LinuxCon
  
  The Linux Foundation is hosting a “Linux Learners’ Student Day” on August 16, the day before the full convention gets under way. It’s partnering with the Oregon State University Open Source Lab to host the student day, and is chartering a bus to take students from Corvallis and Portland up to Vancouver.
Web Browsers
- Mozilla
  - Home Tab and New Tab Conceptual Mockups
    
    -Creating an interface that is unique to Firefox in a browser market headed towards commoditization (back+ forward+fast!)
    -Ambient application-level notification
    -Introducing the concept of tab browsing to users of the home button
    -Building up the user’s mental model of the features that will also be available on other platforms, like the iOS application Firefox Home
  - Firefox 5 release: new speed, same illness (quick review)
    
    Firefox 5 started without any issues this time. First of all, it checked compatibility of installed plugins. Unsurprisingly, nothing was found. I did not install any plugins in Firefox, because I do not use this browser.
    Once started, I could measure memory usage for cold-started Firefox 5 and Chrome 12. I closed all additional processes opened by installed Chrome Extensions via Chrome Task Manager for clearness of experiment .
  - Mozilla releases SeaMonkey 2.1
    
    Mozilla and the SeaMonkey Project developers have released version 2.1 of their “all-in-one internet application suite”. SeaMonkey, formerly known as the Mozilla Application Suite, is the successor to Netscape Communicator and includes a web browser with advanced email and newsgroup support, an IRC chat client and HTML editing support.
CMS
- Joomla Quietly Crosses 23 Million Downloads, Now Powering Over 2,600 Government Sites
  
  According to BuiltWith, of the top million websites using content management systems (or CMSes), three systems own more than 75 percent of the total market share: WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. (All of which are open source, by the way.) Many are likely most familiar with WordPress, which TechCrunch has covered quite a bit (and uses to power most its sites, for full disclosure). WordPress is the most popular CMS on the Web, running 62 percent of the top million websites that use a CMS, according to BuiltWith, with Joomla now ranking second at 10 percent.
Project Releases
- Pidgin IM client updated to 2.8.0
  
  The Pidgin development team has announced the release of version 2.8.0 of its open source instant messenger application. Pidgin 2.8.0 implements basic silence suppression for voice calls to prevent wasting bandwidth for silent periods during a call, and adds the DigiCert High Assurance CA-3 intermediate CA certificate which is needed for validation of the Facebook XMPP interface’s certificate.
Licensing
- Open Source Has Nothing To Do With Filtering Apps!
  
  Now, Having explained so much about Free Software will Mr Mike Isaac of Wired explain how Google’s banning an app violates the ‘license’ or philosophy of Open Source or Free Software?
  
  Isaac wrote, “The word open speaks directly to the hacker ethos — open source software is made to be shared, pored over and freely distributed. Open networks were made to be entered, explored and (occasionally) exploited. Open markets, self-governed. For better or for worse, it’s pure libertarianism at its finest.”
  
  The word ‘Open’ has been exploited by greedy corporates more than ever which leads to confusion and FUD. That’s why we recommend using the word Free Software to be clear of what you are talking about when you refer to THE open-source movement. You can see what kind of confusion is there even among writers. Greg Crowe of GCN writes,
Openness/Sharing
- Project London: Filmmaking goes open-source
  
  In 2009, the live-action sequences were shot for “almost nothing” by Hubert and executive producers Ian and Phil McCoy. Thousands of hours of postproduction followed and, as the film developed, so did the Blender Community. Artists gained skills and their portfolios grew — one used his Project London work to get a job with the US government creating 3D military models. “It’s really what we want, that the volunteers will be able to get something out of it too,” says Hubert. As the team hit the software’s limitations, they simply amended its code. “Nathan Vegdahl [a key contributor] made something that would auto matically scan a folder for new submissions, start the render, and organise all the resulting frames,” says the director. “It saved us a ton of time.”
- Open Hardware
  - HexBright is the first open source flashlight
    
    The HexBright Flex, which is slightly longer than the Prime model at 5.25 inches, offers a light intensity of up to 500 lumens which is five times greater than that of conventional LED flashlights. It is fully rechargeable through its micro-USB port thanks to its 18650 lithium-ion battery which is easily replaced. The Flex will ship with four default modes including hi, medium, low and flash, but one thing that differentiates it from other flashlights, besides its brightness, is that it can be re-programmed via USB. This allows the flashlight’s microprocessor firmware to be re-flashed when connected to a PC.
Programming
- The New C++: Lay down your guns, knives, and clubs
  
  And while new languages have since been born, C++ has endured. Java is the only one to have outpaced it in popularity, according to the TIOBE Index. PHP, Ruby, and JavaScript? Sure, some might claim that they are the future, but C++ is the past, the present, and the future.
- Free ALM Platform Adds Subversion Binaries
  
  The uberSVN application lifecycle management (ALM) platform, part of WANdisco’s Apache Subversion-based software and services, now incorporates the latest certified Subversion 1.6.17 binaries.
- Git, Hudson/Jenkins and modeling on the rise among Eclipse users
- Jenkins Continuous Integration Server: An Essential Software Development Tool
- A Look at Student Mentoring and Linux Learners Student Day
Standards/Consortia
- Interoperability and Open Standards: Help Make It Happen
  
  In a previous column, I mentioned that I was invited to talk at a meeting at the European Parliament about innovation prizes last week. That’s not something that often happens, and I frequently get to hear about meetings only after the event, when it’s too late, which is very frustrating. But happily here’s one on the 16th June entitled “Interoperability and standards: making it happen“ that I’ve come across in time…

Leftovers

PR/AstroTurf/Lobbying
- Can it be that Rupert Murdoch really is above the law now?
  
  Rupert Murdoch’s influence is so strong that even in parliament the phone-hacking scandal has been barely talked about