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
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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
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Kernel Space
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Graphics Stack
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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.
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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.
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Applications
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Instructionals/Technical
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Wine
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Desktop Environments
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K Desktop Environment/KDE SC)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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New Releases
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Debian Family
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Derivatives
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Canonical/Ubuntu
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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.
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From a pool of thousands, 15 photographic wallpapers have been chosen for inclusion in Ubuntu 12.04.
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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.
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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.
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Phones
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Android
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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.
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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.
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Sub-notebooks/Tablets
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Oracle/Java/LibreOffice
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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.
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Project Releases
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Public Services/Government
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OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE is finding favour on the Icelandic government scene with the announcement that all of its public administration organisations will adopt it.
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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.
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Security
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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
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 194 Out of 200: The Court Needs to Also Look Into Microsoft-Controlled Restricted Boot Advanced by An American (Garrett) to Promote Monopoly and Back Doors Everywhere
- Kill switch sold as 'security' is like euthanasia sold as a cure
- Linux Kernel Becoming a Slopfest - Part 7 - Infested With or Plagued by Bot-Generated Slop, Committed by Microsofters
- Slop is a security threat; even the person committing slop to Linux might not be aware that there's a back/bug door in the code
- Edward Snowden Lost His Voice, Then His Leaks Lost Exposure (Access Denied)
- When states want to deny people access to some information they have many tools at hand
- Things Will Only Get Better (as We Go Backwards)
- It only gets better. If you go back in time.
- UK High Court Shows SRA is Totally Useless in Curbing SLAPPs, This Has Impact on Our Reporting on the SRA Next Week
- We'll carry on our coverage and soon finish the current series that so we can get on with more time-sensitive ones
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- Germany, Like Switzerland, Will Dump Microsoft's Proprietary Software and Disservices, Then Dump Windows for GNU/Linux
- This impacts not only the Windows revenue; this corrodes any "rents" Microsoft was getting from "subscriptions"
- Microsoft Shuts Down More Studios, Morale Low, More Mass Layoffs Ahead of Reports
- They pretend it's not happening or that it's a lot smaller than it actually is
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, September 22, 2026
- IRC logs for Tuesday, September 22, 2026
- Gemini Links 23/09/2026: Ljubljana, Poetry, and FORTRAN
- Links for the day
- The EPO's Central Staff Committee (CSC) Shows Job Insecurity at Europe's Second-Largest Institution
- Who would want to join a company with such low job security?
- There Are Thousands More Microsoft Layoffs (Including Silent Layoffs), Not Hundreds
- Microsoft does have layoffs and today is no exception (except Microsoft talks about it)
- Gemini Links 22/09/2026: Disability Studies, Slop Boosters, and TkInter
- Links for the day
- Links 22/09/2026: Flock is Collapsing Amid Mass Backlash and Internet Society Collaborates With the 'Epstein Class' (Trafficking of Women)
- Links for the day
- Raspberry Pi Has Microsoft Secrets Inside, Now DRM
- now we deal with SBCs that have DRM in them, put there for commercial reasons
- 2 Hours Ago The Register MS Published a Page That Says "AI" 42 Times Because It Was Paid to Do So
- Still inflating the bubble for money
- Gemini Links 22/09/2026: Scout Night, Cybernetic Capitalism, and Thoughts on Companies Forcing People to Adopt Plagiarism Engines
- Links for the day
- Links 22/09/2026: "An Arsenal of Surveillance" and Slop Bots Suggest Starting Wars
- Links for the day
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 193 Out of 200: Breaks GNU and Linux, Tries to Silence Critics, Loses All Money, Looks for Microsoft Allies and Sponsors
- The latest emotional knee-jerk reactions serve to confirm what we have long said
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 21, 2026
- IRC logs for Monday, September 21, 2026
- Links 21/09/2026: "Lies of the Hey Hi (AI) Industry" and Solar Power Is Getting Cheap
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 21/09/2026: Equinox and Beginner's Guide to Gemini
- Links for the day
- Links 21/09/2026: "Back On My Bicycle" and American Regime's War on Media Escalates Further
- Links for the day
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 192 Out of 200: The Hired Guns of Garrett and Graveley Sent Us USB Sticks (One to Me, One to My Wife) Showing Lozza Talking to Garrett About Censoring/Deplatforming Techrights the Same Time Graveley Was Copy-Pasting Garrett's Lawsuit
- Next year we plan to bring this matter to the Court of Appeal
- Linux Kernel Becoming a Slopfest - Part 6 - Seeing Who Contaminates Linux With Slop (And Also Admits It)
- Today we begin looking at some culprits
- 2026: The Year Galleries Realised the Need to Flag or Cull Slop Images
- Society needs to shun slopfarms, people who use LLM slop (for anything at all), companies that use bots (which they dub "agents"), and so-called 'coders' who volley garbage into project and software hubs
- Software Freedom Day Celebrated in 5 or 6 Continent
- Software Freedom Day (SFD) 2026 was big this year
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 191 Out of 200: Garrett, Graveley and Lozza
- They talk to and coordinate with one another
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 20, 2026
- IRC logs for Sunday, September 20, 2026
- Gemini Links 21/09/2026: Digital Hoarder, GTD, Minimalism vs Digital Minimalism, Rejection of LLMs
- Links for the day