Links 23/3/2012: Commodore Linux, Iceland Moves to Free Software
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2012-03-23 09:21:20 UTC
- Modified: 2012-03-23 09:21:20 UTC
Contents
-
Commodore USA has released the new AMIGA mini and the VIC mini, two small form factor PCs with a bit of retro styling, but very new and powerful guts
-
Kernel Space
-
Graphics Stack
-
The Gallium3D compute infrastructure, which is the underlying work for supporting OpenCL over this open-source graphics driver architecture, is on approach for landing in the very near future. This has been one damn good day for open-source Linux graphics drivers following the earlier Nouveau surprise announcements.
-
Soon, the kernel will support several AMD graphics cores that are used in recent Radeon graphics cards and in various upcoming processors. In systems with Intel graphics, using hibernation can cause memory corruption. The development of Linux 3.4 has started.
-
Applications
-
Instructionals/Technical
-
Wine
-
Desktop Environments
-
K Desktop Environment/KDE SC)
-
Jonathan Riddell, the KDE developer, recently announced that Canonical stopping funding the Kubuntu project and reassigning him in a new role. Looking at Canonical's focus on Unity, that's not a surprising move. I don't know how Canonical works, but looking at the new challenges they set for themselves with every release, I do think they need all the hands they can get. The result of that hard work is evident - Unity is shaping up really well.
-
-
Have an old computer lying around that you’d like to use for some light web surfing, document editing, and other tasks? I mean like a PC with a 1999-era Intel Pentium III processor? It turns out there’s an OS for that… and it’s not Windows 98.
-
In my last blog about Linux Live Environments, I mentioned REMnux, an environment specifically built for malware analysis. I'd spent a little time with REMnux when it first came out, but decided to take the latest version (3.0) for a test drive.
-
New Releases
-
Debian Family
-
Derivatives
-
Canonical/Ubuntu
-
Canonical’s next long-term support release of its flagship Linux distribution, Ubuntu 12.04 is in late beta. This next release, due out on April 26th, is in beta now. I’ve been using it for several weeks now and so far, so good.
Indeed, the new Ubuntu is good enough already that I’ve it on my default Ubuntu system: a 2009-era Gateway DX4710. This PC is powered by a 2.5-GHz Intel Core 2 Quad processor and has 6GBs of RAM and an Intel GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator) 3100 for graphics. No, it’s not fast, but unlike Windows 8’s beta, you don’t need a fast computer for Ubuntu.
-
From a pool of thousands, 15 photographic wallpapers have been chosen for inclusion in Ubuntu 12.04.
-
With Ubuntu remaining uninterested in systemd, the Upstart init system continues to be developed. Released today was Upstart 1.5 with a few new features.
-
-
However, while that beefed up version may be available at some point, costs and demand will likely hold it off for a while, the popular mini-computer's designer said.
-
Phones
-
Android
-
NASA has made great efforts to get the public interested in their various projects and avenues of research using tools such as social media networks and their suite of mobile applications. Unfortunately, those applications have almost exclusively been iPhone exclusive. Of the over 20 mobile applications NASA has released, only a scant have made it over to everyone’s favorite open source mobile operating system.
-
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Android is open source and built on Linux. Fortunately for Android enthusiasts and independent developers, however, Sony has made life a little easier by releasing the open source archive for the Xperia S device. Of course, there are some catches. Read on for what this announcement means for the juncture of Android and free software.
-
Sub-notebooks/Tablets
-
Oracle/Java/LibreOffice
-
The Document Foundation (TDF), which produces the leading open source office software suite LibreOffice, is on schedule for the release of a cloud version of its software next month.
The team released the last update to its 3.4 build on Thursday and is now focused on developing version 3.5 further, but the group is now also ready to go live for cloud services in April. That said, the team reserves the right to hold off on launch until the last few software fixes come in, TDF spokesman Italo Vignoli told The Register.
-
Project Releases
-
Public Services/Government
-
OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE is finding favour on the Icelandic government scene with the announcement that all of its public administration organisations will adopt it.
-
Iceland's push to move its public sector to open-source software has made some headway, with most of the shift seeing Windows swapped for Linux.
-
Security
-
Some words just seem to go together: "bread" and "butter"; "trial" and "error"; "Microsoft" and "security breach." The MS12-020 Remote Desktop Protocol vulnerability revealed last week shows once again that when it comes to data security, Microsoft is its own worst enemy and any "secure" system can be compromised.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- Links 10/01/2026: "Abolish ICE or GTFO", Calls to Ban X/Twitter From Apple/Google App Stores (or Implement National Blocks) Over MElon Turning It Into Non-consensual Deepfake Porn Site
- Links for the day
- EPO People Power - Part XXX - New Year Starts, Cocainegate Still Discussed a Lot, António Campinos Desperate for Distraction From It
- Why the sudden change or 'generosity'? [...] Actual cocaine addicts caused nervous breakdowns among sober people
- IBM and Microsoft Hiding Layoffs in Similar, Overlapping Ways
- Performance Improvement Plans aplenty
- IBM is a Cancer That Attaches Itself to Everything
- Red Hat should have remained an independent company
- Plot Twist: Microsoft MSN Relays Articles Hinting at or Pointing to Mass Layoffs Soon, Other Gossip
- the narrative from Microsoft's "PR bunny" (Shaw) is showing mold already
- 'Vibe Coding' is Not "AI", It's a Sewer, It is Junk
- Linus Torvalds was wrong. 'Vibe coding' isn't good for anything.
- GNU/Linux May be Approaching 10% "Market Share" in Montenegro
- The surge started around 2021
-
- GNU/Linux and Chromebooks Rose to Almost 10% in Haiti
- What's noteworthy is that this month GNU/Linux is measured at around 8% and ChromeOS at about 2%
- 2026 Might be the Year Microsoft Replaces Layoffs With Mass Firings (No Severance Payments to Dismissed Staff)
- It's hard to "see" PIPs unless insiders blow the whistle
- Links 10/01/2026: STV Layoffs (Scottish TV), “CBS Evening News” in Chaos (Culls and Censorship by the US Regime)
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Friday, January 09, 2026
- IRC logs for Friday, January 09, 2026
- Gemini Links 10/01/2026: Blackout, E-Waste, and Secondary Smartphone
- Links for the day
- Links 09/01/2026: Google and Character.AI Implicitly Accept Chatbots Kill Kids and GLP-1 ‘Slimming Pens’ Turn Out to be a Lot Worse Than Advertised
- Links for the day
- At IBM, "Employee Reviews" (or Appraisals in the UK) Are a "Trojan Horse" for RAs (Mass Layoffs), a Waste of Time
- comments from IBMer serve to suggest that appraisals can be precursors
- Links 09/01/2026: Technical Blogging Lessons Learned and Google's Gmail Getting a Lot Worse
- Links for the day
- More IBM Layoffs in India
- If IBM cannot afford to retain workers in India, then something is truly "out of control" at IBM
- Escaping GAFAM Colonialism Requires Homegrown Free Software
- GNU/Linux now measured at 3% in Zambia
- Dr. Richard Stallman Has Done No Harm to the GNU Project or the FSF (He Had Benefited Both, Always, Even After the Attacks on Him Began)
- Some people try to prevent Dr. Stallman from speaking or having a platform where many people can hear him
- GNU/Linux at 4% in Saudi Arabia, Says statCounter
- Some years ago Windows fell to a "market share" of just 11% there
- Microsoft Isn't Denying the Mass Layoffs
- Still silence from Microsoft
- In Western Africa GNU/Linux Flirts With 5% Market Share
- there's a gradual increase in GNU/Linux usage there
- Gemini Links 09/01/2026: Pro1 X Repair and the Mercury Protocol
- Links for the day
- Links 09/01/2026: Cambodia and China Extradition, "NATO’s High-risk Patrols Near Ukraine"
- Links for the day
- No, Microsoft Did Not Deny the Q1 Mass Layoffs (Microsoft Can Delay These)
- Maybe they disperse or delay the layoffs (changing plans), but the layoffs are going to happen
- Only One Person in Charge of Fedora is Not IBM Staff
- This is not a community project, it's just a way for IBM to onboard unpaid volunteers
- This Is Not a Drill, GNU/Linux is Really Going 'Mainstream' on Laptops (and Desktops)
- It is important to explain to people software freedom
- IBM Albany Layoffs
- not only did many in the site lose their job; there's more to come "and likely another one in February" (weeks from now)
- EPO Workers' Industrial Action to Include Many Strikes, to Last Several Months
- In some ways, The Hague and Bavaria are becoming almost indistinguishable from Moscow
- EPO People Power - Part XXIX - Getting DER SPIEGEL, FAZ, Deutschlandfunk and Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) to Cover EPO Scandals
- We kindly ask our readers to contact their local media and urge it to cover the scandals
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Thursday, January 08, 2026
- IRC logs for Thursday, January 08, 2026
- Gemini Links 08/01/2026: "New Year, Old Plans" and Alex's "Butlerian Jihad"
- Links for the day
- LLM Slop About "Linux" Scarce and of Very Low Quality
- At this rate, we reckon there may be one (or zero) per day by year's end
- IBM's "Forever Layoffs" (to Bypass Warnings or Notices as Required by WARN Act)
- There is a bunch of speculations about when the next "major round" of RAs will be
- Attempts to Undermine This Site's Latest Series Using Intimidation, Threats, and Presumptuous Accusations
- threatening language is less effective when everyone is an alibi
- Links 08/01/2026: "Golden Smartphone" Scam and Riseup Account Issues
- Links for the day
- Links 08/01/2026: Possible "Collapse of NATO Over Greenland"; Journalistic Malpractice and "US Voters Hate Slop"
- Links for the day
- EPO People Power - Part XXVIII - A Sensitive Issue for Germany and The Netherlands
- If Germans who read this series can communicate this to public officials or to their media, maybe they can strike a nerve and get the ball rolling
- Age Discrimination at IBM Discussed Amid Mass Layoffs (Especially in the United States)
- Workers are anxious. Are they next to face the axe?
- Gemini Links 08/01/2026: Potentiometer Calculator, Power Outages, Why You Should Abandon Discord for IRC (e.g. Ergo), and Formatting Gopher Posts
- Links for the day
- Links 08/01/2026: More Software Patents Squashed, White House Repeats Misinformation From the Kremlin
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, January 07, 2026
- IRC logs for Wednesday, January 07, 2026