Bonum Certa Men Certa

Novell News Summary - Part I: HackWeek, SUSE Studio, and OpenSUSE 11.2 Milestone 4

Chameleon



HackWeek



THE very latest HackWeek has quietly passed by (no press coverage) and over the past week or so people wrote about noticeable output. There are some less enthusiastic participants:

Hackweek Fail



Failure IS an option for hackweek ;). While things looked fairly optimistic on the icon theme/font front, the actual results don’t look so good.




Progress on SELinux in the latest build of OpenSUSE:

This week was HackWeek, unfortunately I didn't had the time for hacking something because SELinux does not work in Milestone 4.


There are many more reports not only about SUSE but also about cross-platform applications. Here is Kohei Yoshida on OfficeOffice.org at HackWeek and another summary from Henne Vogelsang.

The latest Weekly News accumulation has some more bits about HackWeek.

Issue #80 of openSUSE Weekly News is now out!

In this week’s issue:

* Call for openSUSE Core Test Team * Hackweek IV

[...]


Appliances



Some days ago we argued that Novell lied about its appliance programme because it was not quite a first of its kind.

SUSE Studio is something that we wrote about last week and it is related to appliances. Zonker even connects the two:

One of the great things about Linux is that it’s possible to do almost anything with the OS – scale it up, scale it down, customize it to suit your needs. But it’s much easier said than done. Creating your own Linux-based OS is no small feat. Or wasn’t. Using SUSE Studio, creating a custom Linux distro is so easy even I can do it.

[...]

Check out the list of appliances on the openSUSE wiki so far. I expect to see quite a few more by the end of the week.


From the OpenSUSE Web site:

Today the SUSE Appliance program was launched by Novell. The interesting part for openSUSE is the launch of SUSE Studio. SUSE Studio is a web-based tool to build complete software appliances based on SUSE Linux Enterprise and also openSUSE. A software appliance is a ready-to run image that you can copy on your harddisk and start directly - or it comes packaged as a virtual image that you can boot using e.g. Xen. Normally software appliances are custom made for a specific purpose, e.g. a database server.


This received coverage from many other places, including Novell employees like Miguel de Icaza and Nat Friedman, who was close to the project. He explained it in a lot more depth.

I’ve removed all of the pages that don’t contain step-by-step technical instructions, so what’s left are 68 pages that the poor IT guy has to read.

The first 55 pages of “preinstallation” are the things that you have to do to make sure the operating system is ready to install the application. That’s 55 pages, before you even touch the application!


Interestingly enough, Novell could not help connecting appliances with Microsoft's Visual Studio.

Novell has released SUSE Studio, a tool used for creating Linux appliances. Related to that, the Mono team has created a plug-in to generate such SUSE powered appliances from within Visual Studio.


It's because of the Mono developers again. To be fair, efforts are being made to offer people Mono-free equivalents of Ubuntu.

Mono developer Jo Shields has created a couple of Mono-free Ubuntu remixes. Here are the torrent links for i386 and amd64 architectures. There is talk of maintaining a regular Ubuntu edition sans Mono over on the Mono-Nono site. It’s a little unfair to expect Jo to do it all by himself, and it’s a good chance for people suspicious of Mono to do something about it rather than simply grumble about the whole thing. The Ubuntu Technical Board have made it clear that they don’t see inclusion of Mono-stuff in Ubuntu to be that much of a problem, so rather than start another flame war, head on over to Dan Serban’s proposal on the Mono-Nono site and volunteer to help out.


More Mono in the news:

The UseNeXT software is available for Windows and Macintosh. Both require the Microsoft .NET framework, and in the case of the Mac OS, you'll need to install a free open-source version courtesy of Novell, namely the Mono project.


Lots of Mono dependencies are gradually made out there and Ubuntu has a potentially new patent policy. Going back to the original points, Novell's appliance programme was covered in many more sites that either copied the press release, offered a translation, used it to advance SUSE, or offered rather superficial coverage that adds little information. Here is one interesting factoid:

Currently available through the programme is SUSE Studio Online, as well as SUSE Linux Enterprise Just Enough Operating System. Full support for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 is also offered and will be deployed through the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud.


Also noteworthy:

Note: To clarify, Novell defines an ‘appliance’ as, “A pre-configured combination of an application, middleware and operating system integrated into a single image and tailored to run on industry-standard hardware.”


even a new press release from BitRock mentioned it:

"We are delighted to see leading companies such as BitRock choose openSUSE and SUSE Linux Enterprise to transform the way they package and distribute their software offerings," said Kevin Pereau, director, ISV Ecosystems, Novell. "Their support for the SUSE Appliance Program from Novell is a smart example of how ISVs can quickly deliver existing applications to physical, virtual and cloud computing environments; reduce sales cycles and pursue new business opportunities."


OpenSUSE 11.2 Milestone 4



When it comes to OpenSUSE development, the release of 11.2 Milestone 4 made some impact on Zonker and other SUSE people. Here is the direct link. Some people already dabble in it.

Misc.



This nice new page contains a curious "world map showing client distribution of accesses to an openSUSE mirror in Germany."

Zonker wrote a widely-syndicated post about OpenSUSE's rather unique policy on desktop environments. They remain true to choice and offer similar treatment to KDE and GNOME. A few other vendors do this, but the level of parity in attention varies.

For me, our selling point is choice: Come for GNOME, come for KDE, we have both, plus Xfce, and a whole slew of other great software (like YaST, Zypper, etc.) and project tools (the openSUSE Build Service).


Here is a post about Smolt (from a SUSE person) and another about Apache and OpenSUSE 11.1. On OpenSUSE visual effects:

The installation went smooth without any error. I found that the compiz-fusion features offer more choice of effects compared to it's sibling compiz. And the thing that I am really impressed after read the glxgears, I am getting constantly rate whooping up to 1200+ fps compare to the previous at 140 fps!


OpenSUSE Education also received a quick mention this week.

This week, I've been going over some options students have for setting up a computer with educational software and applications. Monday, I gave readers an overview of Edubuntu, an education edition of the popular Linux distribution Ubuntu. Today, let's take a look at openSUSE Education, a community-driven project backed by Novell.


All in all, not a bad week for OpenSUSE.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Wayland Pushers Lose the Argument, Use LLM Slop and Chatbots to Make Up Arguments for IBM
Another new low and low blow
What is "MATA"?
Think of it as GAFAM or "Meta"
WebProNews is a Slopfarm
Please avoid linking to WebProNews
Another "Told You So!": XBox Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (Many Recent Reports Were Chaff and Spin), Many Other Divisions Affected
With mass layoffs at Microsoft the world would be much better
 
Links 25/06/2025: Elon Musk’s Lawyers Caught Lying, WhatsApp Faces More Bans
Links for the day
Brian Fagioli Created Another Slopfarm Targeting "Linux" After BetaNews Became a Slopfarm of Phantom Accounts and Pseudonyms
Mr. Fagioli even had slop about a dead Torvalds (hypothetical) as clickbait
Wayland is Perfect, Nobody Can Escape Its Perfection! (Or Not)
Do not form on opinion on Wayland based on politics
Moral Duty for "Linux Sites" to Speak Out Against LLM Slop
My wife has long complained about "Linux bloggers" keeping quiet and thus passive about a growing problem: slop
In Recent Hours Google News Promoted at Least 3 Slopfarms That Relayed Linux Foundation Propaganda Made by Bots or LLM "Bullshit Generators" (as Dr. Stallman Dubbed Them)
Google is circling down the drain and Google News too is hopeless
Linux Journal is a Slopfarm, It's Experimenting With LLM 'Authors'
Is Slashdot next?
Microsoft LinkedIn is Dying and Many More Layoffs Are on the Way
LinkedIn is just a failed acquisition of Microsoft. It causes losses and debt.
Gemini Links 25/06/2025: Combinatorial Music and Self Hosting
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Coming Back to Europe This Autumn to Give More Talks
His last talk in Europe attracted about 400-450 people
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 24, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Social Control Media, Technology & Catholicism: Synod on Synodality review and feedback
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
How Many More Women Will Managers at Microsoft Strangle and Tell to Kill Themselves (or Try to Kill)?
The world needs to know what happened
The New BetaNews: 7 New 'Articles', All of Them LLM Slop
BetaNews is basically defunct. Nobody writes there anymore.
statCounter Estimates Only 1 in 300 Iranians Would Use Microsoft for Search
Iranians don't quite trust Microsoft
Gemini Links 24/06/2025: ftpd on FreeBSD and Online Small Web Magazine
Links for the day
Google News Does Great Harm by Promoting Slopfarms as Legitimate News Sites
Slopfarms are sites which are 100% LLM slop
Links 24/06/2025: Trouble at "Open" "AI" and ‘Siarhei is Free’
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/06/2025: Stimulants and Subscription Costs for DRM
Links for the day
When the Microsoft Aggressors Rely on Several Law Firms ('Attack Dogs', 'Guns for Hire'), Not Just One, Lawyering Up Against Techrights (Acting on Behalf of Americans Against UK Publishers)
From serving customers at some restaurant he has moved on to bullying people with demand letters
Links 24/06/2025: OpenAI [sic] May Soon Die (Too Much Debt) and Social Control Media Accused of Being Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda Amplifier
Links for the day
Nirbheek Chauhan in Planet GNOME Explains Why Wayland Pushers Are Losing
"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."
Polygamy, from Catholic Synod on Synodality to Social Control Media & Debian CyberPolygamy
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Only a Third of or 1 in 3 Web-Connected Devices is a Desktop or Laptop, According to statCounter
we can expect Android to widen its lead
The Days Are Getting Shorter, the First Half of 2025 is Almost Over
We're gratified to see significant increase in traffic and also positive feedback on the work we do
Turning GNU/Linux Into a Political Football
X (not the site) is Free software
X Server Still Works for Many People
A lot of people will grow suspicious of Wayland boosters/pushers if they persist and insist on using these tactics
Exactly a Week Ago "BetaNews Staff" Said "Betanews Is Growing Alongside You". Since Then Every Article (All by "Camila Nogueira") Has Been LLM Slop.
BetaNews is basically a slopfarm
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 23, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 23, 2025
The "Tarzan Effect" in Compilers and Software
What happens when you forcibly make things 'work', either by hacks or by disregarding warnings (like those that compilers tend to issue)?
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: Mass Tourism, Hair Love, and Google Gemini as a Googlebomb
Links for the day
Law Firm Burgess Mee Does Not Fully Deny Participating in Abusive Litigation for Serial Strangler From Microsoft
I am not unfamiliar with these tactics
The Modus Operandi of Wayland Pushers: Make It Political
do what I say or you're a nazi...
Links 23/06/2025: RFE/RL Contributor Vladyslav Yesypenko Released, Recording Industry Cutbacks
Links for the day
Brett Wilson LLP Solicitors (M): Over 99.9% of Our E-mail is Self-Marketing, We Send You 3.5MB E-mails for Less Than 1KB of Text
Why would tech people entrust legal matters to such people?
Peter Moon's (Computerworld) Interview With Richard Stallman
Stallman: If you want freedom don't follow Linus Torvalds
At What Point Does Outsourcing Constitute Malpractice?
Brett Wilson LLP's new staff page is misleading
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sailing to GNU/Linux, According to statCounter
countries in that region will quickly learn the price of neglecting digital sovereignty
From Do Your Own Research to Do Your Own Search
The Web is full of garbage; search engines amplify this garbage
More People Moving to Geminispace?
at age 6+ Gemini Protocol seems to have gained some maturity and it seems like more people use it
Permutation in LLMs Does, Inevitably, Change Meanings and Therefore LLMs Cannot Properly Rephrase or Summarise Texts
LLMs lack actual grasp or comprehension of what they spew out
Links 23/06/2025: Many Security Breaches, Population Declines
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: "America at the Crossroads" and OpenWRT Surgery
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 22, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 22, 2025
Pure Dove
Different means different, and sometimes those who "deviate" from "the norm" have a point
Censorship is a Sign of Weakness Which Invites More Censorship Attempts
revolutionaries don't succumb to pressure from bullies
Why It's Unlikely That LLM Slop Will Dominate the Web in the Long Run
Slopfarms will eventually perish (they have no actual value) and "survivors" on the Web will be sites that never depended on search engines and social control media
GNU/Linux in Argentina Now Measured Near 5%
Like in central Europe, they must be seeing an increasingly hostile US
BetaNews is Fake News, Composed by LLM Slop
nothing in BetaNews is written by humans anymore