Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 26/05/2009: Nokia N900, X Server 1.7 and X.Org 7.5 Coming



GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux

  • Justice Rules Police Can't Steal Other Kid's Toys
    According to the police, who couldn't even identify Windows, much less Linux, calling it "not the regular B.C. operating system," Calixte was suspected of — as are all citizens being smacked around with the CFAA — "obtaining computer services by fraud or misrepresentation" and obtaining "unauthorized access to a computer system," because the emails — if they were from him — were sent anonymously.


  • Search engine for Debian sources
    Peter De Wachter has created a Debian source code search engine for developers. It lets them find out quickly what files contain, for example, the usb_device structure required for accessing USB devices.


  • Start-up built on free software
    Open source programs, which started to gain currency around the dot-com boom in the late 1990s, initially had difficulty attracting mainstream users because volunteer-maintained software was thought to be less reliable and less secure than products from blue chip technology providers like IBM and Microsoft. But over the past 10 years, as such open source programs as Apache, Linux, and MySql have been integrated into mainstream corporate technology settings, acceptance has steadily increased.




  • IBM

    • Linux desktops easier to install than expected
      LAST WEEK, IBM released research which showed that Linux desktops were easier to implement than IT staff expected

      That said, however, techies had to target the "right groups" of users, such as those who have moderate and predictable use of e-mail and office tools


    • IBM to invest in Vietnam
      And where better than to make your dent in a newly developing economy than in its universities? IBM is doing just that by teaming up with the University of Technology in Ho Chi Minh City and the College of Technology in Hanoi, to tap young minds for free on subjects from cloud computing to service science research. The firm says university students can also help develop a local language version of IBM's Developerworks technical resource site while they're at it.






  • Kernel Space

    • Ubuntu Picks Up X Input 2 Support In PPA
      With the release of X Server 1.7 as part of X.Org 7.5 hopefully coming in July, X Input 2 will finally be entering the limelight after being long in development. This updated X Input Extension is critical in allowing Multi-Pointer X support in this next X Server release.






  • Applications

    • 9 of the Best Free Linux BitTorrent Clients
      BitTorrent is an open source peer-to-peer file protocol for sharing large software and media files. It is a well established protocol which accounts for a significant proportion of internet traffic.


    • Linux backup and recovery tools roundup
      Linux data backup products are adding new capabilities and becoming even more mainstream. Today most major storage management vendors such as Hewlett-Packard (HP) Co. and Symantec Corp. have Linux versions of their storage management tools. In some Linux data backup software, vendors are offering the ability to back up to the cloud, handle virtualized systems and deduplicate data. Clearly there are more choices, and more sophisticated capabilities for users looking to back up their Linux systems.


    • Qt vs. GTK: Kopete, KMess, Pidgin and Emesene
      A clear win for GTK and Emesene here, because of its simplicity, speed and looks. KMess is a close second though, and even in beta looks like a better, easier chat client than the dinosaur Kopete.


    • Linux data backup and recovery strategies
      As cloud backups are becoming more popular, Linux backup vendors such as Zmanda are adding Linux cloud backup to their repertoires. In Zmanda's case, its Zmanda Enterprise backup product allows backing up to Amazon's S3 (Simple Storage Service) cloud from Linux devices.








  • Distributions

    • Do we need our own Linux?
      These are tough but fair questions to ask. It’s great that we already have a national Linux distribution. It would be greater still if a thriving community of developers and end-users formed around that distribution. After all, that’s what the concept of bayanihan, the spirit of communal unity, is all about.






  • Devices/Embedded

    • SOFTWARE TOOLS: Ultra-tiny embedded-Linux RTOSes open Renesas MCUs to Linux and POSIX compatible development
      RoweBots Research, Inc., has launched two ultra-tiny embedded-Linux compatible RTOSes that for the first time enable Linux and POSIX compatible development of Renesas' R8C, M16C and R32C/100 microcontroller (MCU) families.


    • Is the Nokia N900 Internet Tablet really coming to T-Mobile USA
      I enjoy using the Nokia N810 device from time to time to surf, use some old Palm apps with GarnetVM, and watch movies. I do find it to be a bit laggy at times though so it isn’t always with me. MobileCrunch posted some rumored news on the next Nokia Internet Tablet referred to as the N900, Rover, and Maemo Flagship. It is very similar to the Nokia N97, but with a higher resolution display and Maemo OS rather than S60.


    • Nokia Internet Tablet: More Power Than Smartphone, Less Weight Than Netbook
      Nokia's going to re-invigorate some life into its Internet Tablet market after a pretty successful stint with the N810. A successor is being planned to give the new Internet Tablet some new features, a more polished OS and it might actually become affordable.


    • Infiniband Strikes Back with Help from Linux
      Ethernet has emerged over the last decade as the dominant fabric for networking communication, but it's not the only one. Infiniband, a technology that offers the promise of lower latency for high speed computing applications is making inroads according to analyst reports and the Infiniband Trade Association (IBTA).




    • Phones

      • The Android Momentum Continues
        In recent weeks, the Android operating system has seen tremendous, encouraging momentum. After the Mobile World Congress show took place earlier this year, with very little Android news of any kind there, some speculated that the open source operating system might be an outright failure. Now, though, there are signs of interest in Android from the number two personal computer manufacturer in the world, new forks of the operating system arriving, and lots of new Android smartphones on deck. GigaOm has a summary of the past week's important Android headlines, including the possibility of a new Android tablet device, and we've been on the Android watch as well.


      • O2 inked as UK's official Pré distributor
        An unnamed source has told The Guardian that the network operator fought off fierce competition from the likes of Vodafone and Orange, and that the Pré will arrive here in time for Christmas.






    • Sub-notebooks

      • Moblin netbook Linux preview
        Once up, the desktop felt incredibly fast. If I didn't know I was running it on 1.6GHz Aton equipped netbooks with 512MBs to 1 GB of RAM, I never would have guessed I was running it on such low-end hardware. Moblin is the anti-Vista. It runs great on minimal equipment instead of requiring the fastest possible hardware and still running at a snail's pace.










Free Software/Open Source

  • Announcing first Africa Open Source Fellowship in memory of Guido Sohne
    Launched on the eve of his birthday, the Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA) and the Advanced Information Technology Institute of the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Center for Excellence in ICT (AITI-KACE), have decided to join forces with the Sohne family to establish a Fellowship in memory and honour of the great work that Guido accomplished. So I was not worried to make the 15-hour road trip to get to Accra to be part of the event.


  • Harvard using Drupal
    I recently learned about the fact that the Berkman Center for Internet and Society is using Drupal.




  • Openness

    • Wired For War or How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Let Dystopian SF Movies Inspire our Military Bots
      PWS: The way I think about it is this -- just like software, warfare is going open source. That is, we're starting to use more and more systems that are commercial, off-the-shelf -- some of it is even DIY. You can build your own version of the Raven drone, which is a widely used military drone, for about $1,000 dollars. So we have a flattening of the landscape of war and technology that is just like what happened in software. A wide variety of actors can utilize these systems.


    • RMS and His Magic Bread
      Imagine that you are in a world where people are starving. Imagine you have some bread, and you were confronted with starving people: most would feel a compulsion to share that bread. But imagine now that you had RMS's special kind of bread that could be eaten once or a million times: how much greater would the duty to share that bread with the hungry be? And how much more despicable would the person who refused to share that bread be?

      Translate this now to the realm of ideas. We are surrounded by people hungry for knowledge, and we do possess that magic bread - digital copies of knowledge that can be shared infinitely without diminishing it. Do we not have a similar moral duty to share that magic bread of digital knowledge with all those that hunger for it?








  • Programming







Digital Tipping Point: Clip of the Day



Kendall Dawson, Linspire Community Liaison 03 (2005)

Ogg Theora





Digital Tipping Point is a Free software-like project where the raw videos are code. You can assist by participating.

Recent Techrights' Posts

'Dark Patterns' or a Trap at the European Patent Office (EPO)
insincere if not malicious E-mail from the EPO's dictators
There's an Abundance of Articles About the New Release of Kali Linux, But This One is a Fake
It can add nothing except casual misinformation (fed back into the model to reinforce lies)
IBM's Leadership Ruining Lives of People Who Thought Working for IBM Would be OK
Nobody gets fire-lined for buying IBM?
The United States' Authorities Ought to Become Enforcers of the General Public License (GPL) for National Security's Sake
US federal agencies ought to pursue availability of code and GPL compliance (copyleft), not bans
The Problem of Microsoft Security Problems is Microsoft (the Solution is to Quit Microsoft) and "Salt Typhoon" Coverage Must Name CALEA Back Doors
Name the holes, not those who exploit them.
A "Year of Efficiency"
No, we don't mean layoffs
15 Countries Where Yandex is Already Seen to be Bigger Than Microsoft (in Search)
Georgia, Syrian Arab Republic, Cyprus, Moldova, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Turkey, and Russia
 
Gemini Links 19/12/2024: Fast Year Passes and Advent of Code Ongoing
Links for the day
Twitter is Going to Fall Out of Top 100 Domains as Clownflare (DNS MitM) Sees It
evidence of Twitter's (X's) collapse
[Meme] Making Choices at the EPO
Decisions, decisions...
Large and Significant Error Correction in South America?
Windows now has less than half what Android achieved in terms of "market share"
Links 19/12/2024: Astronaut Record and Observer Absorbed
Links for the day
Links 19/12/2024: Seven Dirty Words and Isle Release v0.0.3 (Alpha)
Links for the day
Links 19/12/2024: Nurses Besieged by "Apps", More Harms of Social Control Media Illuminated
Links for the day
Links 19/12/2024: Magnitude 7.3 Earthquake and Privacy Camp
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/12/2024: Port Of Miami Explosion, TurboQOA, Gnus
Links for the day
Fake Articles About 'Linux'
Dated yesterday
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, December 18, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, December 18, 2024
FSF Has Made It Halfway to Its Target (Funding Goal) a Week Before Christmas Day
$400,000 definitely seems reachable now, especially if they extend the "deadline"
[Meme] The Master Churnalist
Speaking of press releases being passed off as "journalism"
Spamnil's TFiR: Still Pretending Press Releases Are 'Articles' (TFiR 'Originals' as Plagiarism or Fluff)
Same as last year
Links 18/12/2024: Zakir Hussain Dies, TuneIn Layoffs
Links for the day
Links 18/12/2024: Karate Love and Advent of Code
Links for the day
Windows (or Microsoft) Has Become the "One Percent" (Market Share) in Chad
How long before it falls below 1%?
Arvind Krishna, IBM's CEO, Will Eventually Suck Up to Donald Trump Like His Predecessor Did or the Watson Family Did With Adolf Hitler
Literally Hitler
Being a Geek Need Not Mean Being Sedentary
"In the past 18 months," Berkholz writes, "I’ve lost 75 pounds and gone from completely sedentary to fit, while minimizing the effort to do so (but needing a whole lot of persistence and grit)."
GAFAM Kissing the Ring of the Mafia Don
"resistance" to dictatorship and defenders of democracy?
Slop Spaghetti From the Chef, Second Time Today
Fresh slop ready out the oven!
IBM - Like Microsoft - Lies About the Number of People It's Laying Off (Several Tens of Thousands, Not Counting R.T.O. "Silent" Layoffs and Contractors/Perma-Temps)
How many waves of silent layoffs have we seen so far at IBM this year?
Links 18/12/2024: EU Launches Probe Into TikTok (At Last!)
Links for the day
Links 18/12/2024: Doha/Qatar Trafficking, Bloat Comfort Zone, and Advent of Code 2024
Links for the day
Saving What's Left of Decent and Independent Journalism on the Web
We increasingly (over time) try to make local copies (hosted on our server) of important documents; it's hard to rely on third parties
[Meme] Microsoft's Latest Marketing Pitch
"Stop Being Poor; buy a new PC with TPMs"
In South Africa, a Very Large Nation, Web Developers Can Already Ignore Microsoft Browsers (Edge Measured Below 3% in 55 Nations)
The dumb assumption you must naively test with Microsoft browsers is no longer applicable in a lot of places
Open Source Initiative (OSI) is the Voice of Bill Gates and Satya Nadella
Not hard to see what they've done with the money
Microsoft Boasts That Its (Microsoft-Sponsored) "Open Source AI" Propaganda Got Cited in Media (That's Just What the Money Did)
This is a grotesque openwashing campaign
In Many Places Around the World, Perhaps as Expected, Yandex is Nearly Bigger Than Microsoft (Like in Several African Countries)
Microsoft may soon fall to "third place" in search
Keeping Productive This Christmas
We've (pre)paid for hosting till almost January 2026 and fully back on the saddle
IBM and Canonical Leave Money on the Table Because Microsoft Pays Them Not to Compete and Instead Market Windows, WSL, Microsoft 'Clown Computing', and TPMs
Where are the regulators?
Other Editors Who Agree "Hey Hi" (AI) is Just Hype But Won't Say So Publicly as It Might Upset Key Sponsors
Some media would gladly participate in a scam to make money
Brian Fagioli's Latest "Linux" Article Appears to be Fake
Another form of plagiarism/ripoff using bots?
IBM (and Red Hat) is a Patent Troll, Still Leveraging Software Patents to Extract Money Out of Other Companies by Suing Them
Basically, when it comes to patents, IBM is demonstrably part of the problem, not the solution
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, December 17, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, December 17, 2024
[Meme] When the People Who Falsely Accuse You of Pedophilia Turn Out to be Projecting
When you attack something or someone using falsehoods, as happens a lot to Richard Stallman (RMS), there's risk that the attacks will backfire, badly
In Some Countries, Such as Greece, Almost 80% of Windows Users Are on Vista 10 and About 85% Need to Move to GNU/Linux for Security Patches
Vista 11 was a failure
[Meme] They Don't Want the Public to Know What "Responsible Encryption" Really Means
They also blame "China" for their own back doors (because China learned how to exploit those)
The Linux Foundation's Certificate Authority (CA) Significantly and Suspiciously Raises the Number of Certificates It Issues (Quantity Increase/Inflation) by Lessening Their Lifetime in the Name of 'Security' (That Barely Makes Sense!)
LE made 3 months the "standard" for most, soon to become just 6 days instead of 6 months?
Why I Continue to Believe That at the End Software Freedom Will Win
a short and incomplete list of factors which I believe contribute to the sentiment that we can - and will - win the battles over hearts and minds in the "Tech" realm
Links 17/12/2024: More China Sanctions, GOP Scheming to Prop Up Fentanylware (TikTok)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/12/2024: The Streisand Effect and Productivity-systems Desiderata
Links for the day
Technology: rights or responsibilities? - Part X
By Dr. Andy Farnell
Links 17/12/2024: More "Tesla Autopilot" and "Hey Hi" (AI) Blunders
Links for the day
Instead of Promoting GNU/Linux (or Ubuntu) Ahead of Vista 10's EoL Canonical is Marketing Microsoft's Proprietary Software
It's like Canonical employs people who work for Microsoft, not for Canonical
Links 17/12/2024: Many Abuses by Microsoft and War Updates From Ukraine
Links for the day
Content Management Systems (CMS) Bloat/ Static Site Generators (SSG) Trouble
some Web site management stories
DEI Room at fedoraproject.org Pretty Much Dead
We're not against diversity but against its weaponisation by greedy people who do not value diversity at all
The "Latest Technology News" at BetaNews is Slop About Slop
This is at the very top of the "news" (front page) at the moment
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, December 16, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, December 16, 2024