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Links 8/6/2014: Valve Funds Mesa Development, SQLite 3.8.5 Released





GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux





  • Kernel Space



  • Applications



  • Desktop Environments/WMs



    • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt



      • Diving into FOSS
        Before sometime I got in touch with KDE community and was overwhelmed by it. Then I became a member of this community and started exploring about open source environment. The most fascinating thing about KDE community members is how committed they are to open source technology. Through IRC I would be able to contact with genius coders all over the globe. It’s been quite a time that I am using open source software. It is very much important to aware people about open source. We can have access to all robust and efficient soft wares for free. After being a part of KDE it interested me to use open source systems and I am really enjoying this.


      • Plasma Active on Qt5/KF5: Wallpapers and Activities Configuration


      • The future of activity switching
        The new pretty thing that is taking away my time is the activity switcher which got a rather big revamp for the next release of Plasma.


      • Plasma mediacenter 1.3 beta on Arch User Repository
        As you already know, Plasma mediacenter 1.3 beta is released on 3rd June.

        Many distros like Fedora, openSUSE, KUbuntu have already packaged this beta in their repositories

        So to make life of Archers easier, I have uploaded PKGBUILD for Plasma mediacenter 1.3 beta on AUR.


      • GSoC 2014: KDE Games
        I am Anuj Pahuja(alasin), a Computer Science undergraduate from BITS Pilani, India. It is my first GSoC and I can’t thank KDE Community enough for accepting me as a student.




    • GNOME Desktop/GTK



      • Get Your Ubuntu to Look like Mac OS X with a Simple Theme
        Most of the themes that can pull this Mac OS X transformation work on desktop environments like GNOME, MATE, Xfce, and so on, but not all of them work in Unity. The designer of this particular version made it compatible with GTK 3.10 and it works in Ubuntu as well.

        “The goal is to keep it as close as possible to ambiance on the code base with the same look as the original cupertino. If that isn’t possible for an element I will prefer the look of cupertino,” said the designer on gnome-look.org.






  • Distributions



    • New Releases



      • Release Announcement: LinuxBBQ "Cream"


      • GParted Live 0.19.0 Beta 1 Gets New Debian Base Update
        GParted Live 0.19.0 Beta 1, a small bootable GNU/Linux distribution for x86-based computers that can be used for creating, reorganizing, and deleting disk partitions with the help of tools that allow managing filesystems, has been released and is now available for download.


      • Robolinux 7.5.3 OS Wants to Keep You Safe from NSA
        Robolinux 7.5.3 is a fast and easy to use Linux distribution based on Debian, and its developer thinks that it can be the solution for people who look to protect their privacy.

        If you remember from previous releases of Robolinux, the developer of this particular distribution came up with a working idea on how to move people from the Windows platform to Linux without them having to give up their favorite applications.


      • SparkyLinux 3.4 LXDE, e17, and Razor-Qt Distros Are Based on Debian Jessie
        SparkyLinux 3.4, a lightweight, fast, and simple Linux distribution designed for both old and new computers featuring customized LXDE, e17, and Razor-Qt desktops is now available for download.

        The SparkyLinux 3.34 "Annagerman" system is built on Debian GNU/Linux "Jessie" and is not all that different from the previous versions in the series, at least not in this particular aspect.




    • Screenshots



    • PCLinuxOS/Mageia/Mandrake/Mandriva Family



      • OpenMandriva Lx 2014 review
        OpenMandriva Lx 2014 is the latest edition of OpenMandriva, a desktop Linux distribution derived from Mandriva Linux. It is one of the distributions that rose out of the ashes of Mandriva Linux; the other being Mageia, and, to some extent, ROSA Desktop.




    • Red Hat Family



      • Apple Copies Ubuntu, Pimping Scientific, and 500 Steam Games


      • The ultimate Scientific Linux pimping guide
        Several weeks back, we reviewed Scientific Linux 6.5, a rather spartan incarnation of the legendary RHEL 6, which might be considered too boring and outdated for modern home use. Well, not so. Once long ago, I showed you how to transform CentOS into a home use beast.

        Today, we will do it again, with the most comprehensive guide on Scientific Linux pimping ever made on Planet Earth. Here, you get a bit of everything, and then so. Best of all? This guide is also relevant for CentOS and even Fedora, so make sure you keep it close to your heart. Let's go.


      • Fedora



        • Public Fedora Board Meeting — Monday June 9th 2014
          Matthew Miller just announced that fortnightly public Fedora Board meetings are starting up again. The first meeting will be on Monday the 9th of June at 17:00 UTC time. (Matthew notes in the email to fedora-announce that the command date -d ’2014-06-09 17:00 UTC’ is an easy way to convert this into the timezone on your Fedora machine.)


        • More fedora.next branding ideas
          We previously posted about some of the logo design ideas that Máirín Duffy was working on for the 3 products of fedora.next (Cloud, Server, and Workstation). Since that post, Máirín has also posted a bunch of other iterations, and I also entered the fray with a few ideas of my own. Now, Máirín has done another round of design ideas. Check them out, and join the discussion over on her blog.






    • Debian Family



      • Elive 2.2.6 beta released


      • Derivatives



        • Canonical/Ubuntu



          • Apple introduces Unity Scopes-like search and no one cries foul
            This week, Apple announced the new OS X Yosemite, and Linux users across the Linux-verse stood up and proclaimed "Oooo, I'd like to lay my hands on the lily-livered swab is writ that forgery!" Why so up in arms? Because Apple has done what Apple does -- riff on features from other platforms and claim they've recreated a wheel that will make your life far easier. What did they do this time? Let's chat.

            One of the big features of OS X Yosemite is included in the Spotlight tool. For those who don't know, Spotlight is the OS X search tool that, up until Yosemite, searched the local drive. As of Yosemite, anyone who has touched the Ubuntu Unity Dash will notice something very similar to Scopes.

            [...]

            When Ubuntu released Unity Scopes, a very large and very vocal group from the Linux community cried foul, that Scopes was an invasion of privacy, was insecure, and would probably steal their identity...

            ...maybe not that last bit. But there was plenty of backlash from the community (many of whom didn't even use Ubuntu).

            How will the Apple community react when they start using the Scopes-like feature in Yosemite? They'll love it. They'll realize how convenient it is to be able to, from one location, search their local drive, Wikipedia, Amazon.com, and countless other sources.


          • Ubuntu 14.04 - There has never been a better time to switch to Linux
            You would think that writing about the latest version of Ubuntu 14.04 would be easy but it is hard to write about one of the biggest Linux distributions without repeating everyone else's sentiments or covering the same ground that was covered with Ubuntu 13.10.

            With that in mind please don't be disappointed that much of what I will be writing here has been written before.

            There is nothing revolutionary about Ubuntu 14.04, especially if you have already tried Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 12.10 and Ubuntu 12.04. The improvements to Ubuntu have been slow and steady.


          • Meizu Will Present A Meizu MX3 Phone Running Ubuntu Touch, At The Mobile Asia Expo 2014
            Earlier this year, at the Mobile World Congress (MWC 2014) in Barcelona, Canonical has announced the first two phone manufacturers that will create Ubuntu Touch-based smartphones: Meizu and Bq.


          • More OpenSSL Vulnerabilities Found, Ubuntu OSes Get Patched


          • Flavours and Variants



            • An Ubuntu MATE Desktop Spin Might Still Materialize
              There's been much talk in the past about creating a spin/derivative of Ubuntu Linux using the MATE Desktop Environment fork of GNOME2. While no spin materialized for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, talk of developing a new spin is again happening.


            • Ubuntu Might Get An Official Ubuntu MATE Flavor Soon


            • Linux Mint 17 Qiana MATE : Video Review and Screenshot Tour
              Linux Mint 17 Qiana is the latest version of linux mint that based on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, it was released and announced by Linux Mint Developer a few days ago. Linux Mint 17 is a long-term support release which will be supported until 2019. In addition, The Linux Mint developers plan to use this package base until 2016.

              Linux Mint usually comes with four desktop editions: Cinnamon Desktop Environment, MATE Desktop Environment, KDE and XFCE, although currently, only Cinnamon and MATE editions are available, XFCE and KDE edition should arrive shortly.












  • Devices/Embedded



    • Phones



      • Your Android phone, now with NSA-grade security
        NSA-grade security is now coming to an Android device near you.


      • Tizen-powered Samsung Z smartphone with open source mobile OS
        The Samsung Z looks and feels very much like Samsung's Android smartphones. There's the tiles section at the top of the home screen, with some app icons at the botton, and there's the pull-down notifications and settings tray at the very top. You also get the hardware Back and Menu buttons, in addition to the main Home button. The Settings app looks almost identical to Samsung's Android version.








Free Software/Open Source



  • Open Source Lightweight Directory Access Protocol Solutions
    LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is an application protocol for accessing directory services. It runs on a layer above the TCP/IP stack incorporating simplified encoding methods, and offers a convenient way to connect to, search, and modify Internet directories, specifically X.500-based directory services. It is an open, vendor-neutral, industry standard application protocol. LDAP utilizes a client-server model.


  • Nine Advantages of Open Source Software
    While it initially seemed revolutionary, open source software is actually rooted in traditional IT processes. Technology, after all, has always been about collaboration and continuous improvement. (In the early days of the ARPANET, for example, researchers established a "request for comments" procedure to improve the project.) Of course, there have been trepidations raised about open source. But the always-active open source communities are more than happy to address any concerns. As a result, more than one-half of the software acquired over the next several years will be open source, according to industry research.


  • SaaS/Big Data



  • Databases



    • SQLite 3.8.5 Arrives with New Features
      SQLite 3.8.5, an in-process library that implements a self-contained, serverless, zero-configuration, transactional SQL database engine, has been released with an impressive list of changes and improvements.

      Most of the SQLite releases are maintenance ones, but from time to time the developers make some important changes. The current update features a few new options, so an update is recommended.




  • BSD



    • FreeBSD 9.3 Beta 2 Is Now Available
      One week after FreeBSD 9.3 went into beta, the second beta update is now available.

      FreeBSD 9.3 is the next major FreeBSD 9 update due out that brings down some features from FreeBSD 10.0 like the Radeon KMS/DRM driver support, Xen HVM support, Apple MacBook trackpad support, disables hardware random number generators by default, and has a ton of other changes.

      FreeBSD enthusiasts can find out more about the forthcoming 9.3 update via the tentative release notes. FreeBSD 9.3 is expected to be officially released in mid-July.




  • FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC



    • GNUstep's position on Swift
      I wanted to make this post to make it clear to the community regarding GNUstep's position on the new Swift language. If the language is released as open source then GNUstep will fully support it. If it is, however, not released as open source then we will either take steps to create an implementation ourselves or provide any assistance needed to a group of people other than ourselves who are willing to take that on.


    • We're glad you liked Email Self-Defense. Let's take it even farther.
      Yesterday was a big day for defending our freedom and privacy on the Internet. The FSF and its supporters joined the ranks of thousands for Reset the Net, the biggest-ever day of action against bulk surveillance.


    • Theming and Style in GNUstep
      Not only the pixmaps and colours can be changed, also the style of the interface. This include the menu style (vertical, in-window or Mac OS style), the scrollbar position (right or left), the behaviour of contextual menus, popup list and pulldown list (so these can have similar behaviour of the gtk components). The Silver theme include an style that let users run GNUstep’s apps on, for example, Gnome without problems.


    • GNU remotecontrol: Newsletter – June 2014
      GNU remotecontrol relies on OS file access restrictions, Apache authentication, MySQL authentication, and SSL encryption to secure your data. Talk to us you want to find out how you can further strengthen the security of your system, or you have suggestions for improving the security of our current system architecture.


    • GNU Nettle 3.0 Cryptographics Library Released
      The developers behind the Nettle project are out with a new major update to their dual-licensed GPLv2 and LGPLv3+ cryptographics library.






Leftovers



Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM's Kyndryl Down Almost 20% in 5 Days, IBM Down 35% in About 6 Months, Further 'Staff Reductions' at Red Hat (Problems Paying Salaries!)
Will this year's festivities be Krishna's last?
More Mass Layoffs at Microsoft, Only Weeks After the "Buyout" Nonsense (Glorified Severance to Highest-Paid American Staff)
Next up it is LinkedIn
IBM Lost Nearly 33% in "Value" in 3 Months (Shares Down $100), But Nobody Held Accountable
This is a truly dysfunctional company
 
Links 13/05/2026: Sudan War Enters Fourth Year and Strait of Hormuz Leaves Safe Passage a Gamble
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/05/2026: Useless Protests and Foofaraw on Geminispace
Links for the day
Mainstream Media: Microsoft Says No Layoffs. Microsoft: OK, There Are Layoffs.
Where is Waggener Edstrom/Frank Shaw now?
IBM is in a Freefall, When Will IBM's CEO Fall on His Sword?
Since he controls the Board, is anyone in a position to fire him?
At GitLab, "AI" is "All India"
It says "as much as 30%," but they also hire and it's clear what demography is targeted
Verified Accounts of Microsoft Offering 'Retirement' (Layoffs) to People in Their 40s, Over Two Decades Earlier Than Retirement Age
It's not even about performance, it's about age (or "cost" as well as location; they cheapen the labour)
Links 13/05/2026: Slop Turns Into 2008-Style Subprime Bubble, Mass Layoffs at Starbucks
Links for the day
They Don't Like the Layoffs, So They Are Rebranding Them
Layoffs are layoffs
IBM Downgraded as the Shares Sink to New Lows
The current strategy of IBM is financial engineering, wage reductions, and mass layoffs that the corporate media refuses to even write about
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, May 12, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Gemini Links 13/05/2026: TUIs and Internet Radio
Links for the day
How the European Patent Office Became a Crime and Corruption Hub, One of Europe's Biggest
incomplete outline
Techrights at 19.5 (We Started in 2006, Days After the Microsoft/Novell Deal)
When Novell bought Ximian (run by the "best friend" of Graveley) it brought trouble to all of us, not just to Novell
In Croatia, Microsoft Windows Share Sank From 98% to All-Time Low of 67% (or 28% If One Counts Android)
statements made last week (and last month) by Microsoft's CEO confirm that Windows is rapidly losing users
SLAPP Censorship - Part 75 Out of 200: All True, All Verifiable, Unlike Garrett and Graveley Lying to at Least Three High Court Judges About What They Did
A lot of what I said a year ago not only turned out to be correct; it was moreover affirmed by Garrett after he had sworn on the Bible and put himself at risk to his liberty
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part XXI - EPO President Campinos Bribing to Buy His Seat, But Cautions Staff Against Bribery
This isn't a democratic institution
Gemini Links 12/05/2026: Spring Cleaning and New GemText Software
Links for the day
Links 12/05/2026: Samsung Sued by Dua Lipa (Publicity Rights), ‘Savage Love’ Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
Links for the day
IBM Falls to One-year Low
At one point or threshold does the Board (controlled by the CEO) sack the CEO?
Gemini Links 12/05/2026: On Astronomy and Stargazing, Coyote Time, and Freenom
Links for the day
Links 12/05/2026: Data Centres Destroying Neighbourhoods, "Care Workers Are Saying No to 24-Hour Workdays"
Links for the day
Richard Stallman to Give Public Talk in Erlangen, Germany (Next European Tour)
Seems like a large room
Google "Hey Hi" (Slop) Having a Stroke, Thinks I am Married to the Grandmother of My Grandfather
Seriously!
If IBM Suddenly Vanished in the 1980s, There Would be Chaos. Not Anymore.
IBM's management has rendered IBM more irrelevant than ever before
Beehiiv and Substack Are Platform Lock-in (Similar to Vendor Lock-in), Don't Use Beehiiv and Substack (and the Likes of These)
Proprietary platforms are a problem. Some people "get it" sooner than others.
Gitlab is in Trouble and Its Shares Have Collapsed
Down almost 80% since it began [...] The real issue has nothing to do with slop, it is a lack/loss of customers and erosion of the company's theoretical "value"
Microsoft: Mass Layoffs Are "Offers" (Like "Job Offers"), Culling Experienced and Highly-Paid Staff is "Softer Workforce-reduction Strategy"
Media sites that play along with those lies don't do journalism, they're in the PR industry
Under IBM, Mass Layoffs at Red Hat No Better Than Oracle Under Larry Ellison (Treating Workers Like Disposables - Even Enemies - Overnight)
under IBM the respect for the worker (or peer) does not exist
The Slop-Amplified Fear of Privilege Escalation (Local, Not Remote) in Linux, the Kernel
we are meant to assume this is no better and no worse than Microsoft intentionally putting back doors in everything, even encryption
Jim Zemlin/Linux Foundation Selling Anthropic Slop After Getting Bribed for Slop Marketing ('Linux' Foundation is a Pay-to-Say For-Profit Marketing Company That Buys and Manipulates the Media Based on False Pretences)
Look what they've done to Steven Vaughan-Nichols (SJVN)
GitLab the Latest Company to Do Mass Layoffs and Use Slop as the Go-to Excuse (GitLab Users Should Worry Too)
This round of layoffs (disguised as something else) has nothing to do with slop ("hey hi"). It's about commercial problems.
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part XX - EPO Management's Unified (One) Voice or Policy is, Doing Cocaine is OK When You're a Friend and/or Family of President Campinos
The management needs to resign to save the Office
Technology Not Meant to Last
A society apathetic towards declining production (or manufacturing) standards will end up ripped off
statCounter Cannot 'See' Chinese Operating Systems That Gain Many Millions of Users Per Month
There is no way for statCounter to recognise or show the market share of HarmonyOS
SLAPP Censorship - Part 74 Out of 200: The Basis of My Lawsuit Against Alex Graveley, Who Helps Garrett Stack the Docket in Another Continent
claim against the Serial Strangler from Microsoft
Update on Slop About "Linux"
"Linux" is a term many people are interested it, so it's not shocking that slopfarms target it
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, May 11, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, May 11, 2026
GAFAM (Microsoft) "Cloud Computing" Means Another Country's Military Accesses All Your Data
reminder that confidentiality and Clown Computing are complete opposites
Another Discrimination Lawsuit Against IBM and Workers Say IBM Culls Older Workers (Just Like Microsoft)
If IBM fails to retain some of the smartest people, then what is the future of IBM?
Gemini Links 12/05/2026: Android Nostalgia and Switching to Guix
Links for the day
Links 11/05/2026: Another Oracle Setback and Mass Layoffs in Iran
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/05/2026: Older Can Be Faster and Textmode Workflow
Links for the day
Links 11/05/2026: The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Admits It Only Reacts When It's Too Late (Damage Already Done), Ombudsman’s Animal Cruelty HK Report
Links for the day
If It Takes You a Second to Serve (or Receive) a Page, That's Definitely Too Slow
For speeds at milliseconds (e.g. for pages to fully load in a tenth of a second) the pages must be ready to be sent as soon as they're requested
It's Not About Speed, It is About Patience and Adherence to Truth, Principles, Scientific Integrity
attacks on us only ever made us stronger - a lesson that our adversaries have learned the hard way
Cyber Show Does it Like Techrights: Static and Gemini Protocol as 'First-Class Citizen'
HTML and GemText (over Gemini Protocol) would be rendered in tandem
Libya's Share on the Web: 5.2% GNU/Linux
GNU/Linux has hit an all-time high there
SLAPP Censorship - Part 73 Out of 200: Microsoft's Graveley and Garrett Remain Closely Connected in May 2026 ("Tag-Teaming" Against Bloggers in Another Continent)
The phrase "judge a person by their friends" seems applicable here
Codecs and Software Patents - Part VI - The European Patent Office, Nokia, Microsoft, Sisvel, and More
Whatever Nokia used to be, it's certainly not an ally and a lot of the turmoil at the EPO is the fault of companies like Nokia
Discussions About When the Axe Falls at IBM/Kyndryl (11,000 Layoffs Estimated)
"Kyndryl restructuring should reduce overhead functions and reduce the number of managers that lack technical knowledge"
A World After Microsoft (and GAFAM) and After GitHub Shuts Down
the only growth area is debt
Fake News, Propaganda, and Misinformation: Microsoft Investing Money It Does Not Have in "Hey Hi" (for "Entertainment Purposes" Only)
This will not end well
Today the Whole European Patent Office (EPO) is on Strike and Next Monday an Even Bigger Strike
the media refuses to cover these and is thus complicit
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part IXX - EPO Management Speaks of Reputation and Integrity While Putting Cocaine Addicts in Management
If the EPO values its "reputation", then it needs to start by ousting the management
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, May 10, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, May 10, 2026
Links 11/05/2026: Security Breaches, Politics, and Energy Crunch
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/05/2026: "Accidental Cameras" and "Addictive" Interfaces in Social Control Media
Links for the day