Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 24/8/2011: Fedora 16 Alpha, South Korean Government Wants Own Free/Libre OS



GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux

  • DELL D620 power usage (Win 7 vs Mint 11)
    I recently bought a JOEL Wattforbrugsmåler.

    My laptop, a Dell D620, has both Windows and Linux (Dualboot). I was curious to see whether there was any difference in power consumption during idle, so I decided to put my new device to use!

    I removed the battery from the laptop and plugged the charger into my power measuring device before I made sure Windows 7 was running up-to-date drivers, while Linux ran the default drivers. I then disabled all non-default services and removed any third-party programs from the startup. I booted into each os, let it run for some time (to make sure it was indeed idle) before turning on the clock.


  • Why have you switched to GNU/Linux?
    A long time ago when I was using Windows I realized that many applications were trying to constrain me from doing certain tasks. I was unable to play a certain format or had to install applications that I did not want on my system. I started to think critically as to why I am using Windows and if there is some kind of alternative that I could use instead. Prior to this, I used Mac OS but I knew that both operating systems are proprietary and want to limit the end user. I got tired of being manipulated to use a particular application and having bloatware already pre-installed on my computer. After searching the Internet for alternatives to Mac OS and Windows I found this really cool operating system that is called GNU/Linux.




  • Kernel Space



  • Applications



  • Desktop Environments

    • What GNOME Can Learn from KDE's Recovery
      When users complain about GNOME 3, inevitably they compare its release to KDE 4.0's. One KDE developer has told me that he dislikes the comparison, but, in the absence of other parallels, it continues to be made.

      However, one part of the analogy that hasn't been explored is KDE's recovery from its user revolt, and whether GNOME is in any position to emulate that as well.

      KDE's recovery has not received much notice. It hasn't been covered by the free software media. Often, too, it is overshadowed by those still loyal to the KDE 3 series, who continue to express their dissatisfaction at every opportunity.


    • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC)

      • Say No to Big Oil
        A 1,700-mile pipeline called the Keystone XL would carry crude oil from Canada's Alberta tar sands to the Texas Gulf Coast. Calling it "a bad deal for America," Sen. Bernie Sanders urged the Obama administration to reject the proposal. "Why in the world would we ever consider approving a new Big Oil pipeline to carry dirty fuel and keep America addicted to oil, when we could save money, create jobs, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil by moving to stronger fuel economy standards?" Sanders asked. He made the case against the pipeline in a video for Tar Sands Action, an organization headed by Vermont environmentalist Bill McKibben. "The State Department will decide whether to approve or reject the pipeline by the end of the year," The New York Times said in an editorial published on Monday. "It should acknowledge the environmental risk of the pipeline and the larger damage caused by tar sands production and block the Keystone XL."






  • Distributions

    • First Look at Poseidon Linux, the Linux For Scientists
      Poseidon Linux is designed for the international scientific community, bundling a big batch of science-oriented software into a single live DVD, plus a batch of desktop productivity and multimedia applications. Poseidon 4.0 was just released with significant changes, so let's take it for a test drive.


    • New Releases



    • Red Hat Family

      • Red Hat considering NoSQL/Hadoop acquisition
        The article adds that Whitehurst would not specifically state whether Red Hat will or will not actually acquire anyone, as is to be expected, but the comments are the clearest indication yet that Red Hat sees value in a potential NoSQL acquisition.

        This is something that we have seen for some time, pointing out in May 2010 that “We have consistently noted that the database remains a missing layer in Red Hat’s software stack… and would see advantages in adding an open source NoSQL database to its portfolio to target MySQL users.”


      • Is Red Hat Interested in the Database Market?
        Red Hat (NYSE:RHT) is perhaps best known as the leading enterprise Linux vendor. While Linux is the core of Red Hat's business, their JBoss middleware business is also a critical component of Red Hat's overall platform play. As Red Hat gears up for its next era of growth, the most often asked question is: Where does Red Hat needs to go next? One potential area of expansion for Red Hat could be the database market.

        "If you think about what makes up a platform, what you're seeing is that more and more components of functionality are getting sucked in," Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst told InternetNews.com. "We basically have our data services layer. which tries to do some degree of data federation. Will there be more stuff around that? Certainly there will be."


      • Fedora





    • Debian Family



      • Derivatives



        • Canonical/Ubuntu



          • Flavours and Variants

            • Linux Mint 11 LXDE review
              Linux Mint is a desktop-centric distribution based on Ubuntu Desktop, and Linux Mint LXDE is the edition that uses the Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment (LXDE). The latest release, Linux Mint 11 LXDE, was released August 16, 2011. This article presents a review, the first for an LXDE-based Linux Mint edition on this website.


            • Zorin OS 3.1, the First Update for the LTS Distro, Is Here












  • Devices/Embedded



    • Phones



    • Sub-notebooks/Tablets

      • Top Business-Minded Tablet? The Toshiba Thrive or the Apple iPad 2?
        However, the recently released Toshiba Thrive Tablet PC line is slowly beginning to make inroads into the business tablet application niche. With a “strictly business” approach to most of its features, and a huge focus on business apps, more businesses are turning to the Thrive as opposed to the iPad 2 or any other tablet for their business plans. The Thrive offers five separate home screens, one of which is loaded with Google contacts, LogMeIn remote access, the Google calendar, QuickOffice for business file access and Toshiba’s PrinterShare and FileManager apps. This is a perfect business suite of apps all in one place.

        The native file management Toshiba provides in the Toshiba Thrive tablet is also another business advantage. And though Toshiba’s App Place (apps store) does provide entertainment and gaming apps, it is definitely heavily slanted towards business-oriented apps and software, from enterprise-oriented apps developers such as Central Desktop.


      • Why The iPad 3 Is Irrelevant
        Apple’s success with the iPad 1 and 2 doesn’t guarantee success for the third. But this shouldn't deter long term investors. Apple's greatest capability is its unstoppable innovation force - the release of new product lines that overshadow the previous.


      • The Asus Transformer Is Now Available For $349 At Walmart
        Remember when the Asus Eee Pad Transformer was the hottest thing since Laserdisc? Remember when it was hailed as an iPad killer with its fancy IPS screen, low price and sweet name. Autobots, unite! Well, Walmart is currently selling it for $350, which puts it at the low-end of the Honeycomb tab price scale. Jokes aside, it’s actually a great deal for an Android tablet.








Free Software/Open Source



Leftovers

  • Lenovo Reinforces Strong Market Growth in Light of HP Woes
    Lenovo isn’t kicking HP while it’s down, but the company is taking this opportunity to let everyone know it’s doing just awesome, thanks very much. Lenovo released a statement regarding its status amid the uncertainty in the PC and tablet world. Here’s a brief highlight on the PC manufacturer’s status …


  • Cablegate

    • Audio: rare interview with Wikileaks' Julian Assange
      In the interview, he spoke at length about information's role in democracy, and how government censorship is sometimes an opportunity. "Censorship is a signal that an organization or a government is fearful about reform effects of information release," he said.






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