Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 16/09/2009: New Unbreakable, Berkeley DB



GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux

  • Switching to Linux: A Windows developer’s view
    Summary: In this particular case, the switch to Linux took me just a few hours, while the benefit for me was rather big: Improved performance, and less hassle with dependencies. The drawbacks — getting used to Linux, different tools — are out weighted by the advantages for me; and that’s the main point of this blog post. I was surprised how easy it was to switch from Windows to Linux completely on this project; as I expected a lot of problems (like for instance, not being able to get the stuff running at all!)


  • Shh!!! HP sneaks Linux in on new laptops
    Except for Dell, the major PC vendors are reluctant to admit they actually sell and support Linux. For instance, HP supports Linux quite well on its servers but is very reluctant to support it on its desktops. They have trouble even admitting that they're now shipping DeviceVM's instant-on Splashtop Linux on their new notebook lines.


  • Open Source Should Be Open To All
    Often the way is baby steps. If today you can convince someone to use some Open-Source software package – a document creator, a presentation tool, a web browser, or even a web server – you give yourself the wedge to start pushing for an Open Source operating system.


  • LCA2010 Schedule is now available!
    LCA2010 Organisers are proud to announce the schedule of talks for linux.conf.au 2010!

    A full schedule of talks is now available for LCA2010. The conference brings together speakers from around the world presenting a variety of topics; from the strongly technical such as Linux kernel development, to social interaction within communities and issues relating to diverse and minority groups. linux.conf.au 2010 runs for a full week starting Monday 18th January, with more than 65 talk sessions, together with a number of Keynote presentations and 14 Miniconfs.


  • Dreaming Again with One Laptop Per Child
    Predicting that a dream will vanish is cheap, getting consideration for what replaced the dream is priceless. OLPC is changing the world in ways that where not predictable when the dream started. So let's first admit a few facts, then tackle the errors and misunderstandings of UNdispatch's article.




  • Desktop

    • Run Evernote in Ubuntu Linux with Wine
      I may even try running some other Windows programs in Wine at some point. Maybe. But there are so many excellent native Linux apps, I may not need to.


    • The State Of Linux Desktop Functionality
      The State Of Linux Desktop Functionality


    • 10 Reasons to use Linux for Enterprise Business
      For a year now the information technology sector has been suffering under the global economic recession. At this juncture, setting up a network system for any organization could be highly expensive. Linux is an open source OS and edges over it arch rival Windows in several instances when it comes to business. Apart from the fact that they are generally free, Linux is more secure, reliable and customizable than other proprietary counterparts. Some of the most renowned companies in the world, including the bigshots like Amazon, Google, and Yahoo, run their servers with Linux rather than Windows.






  • Server

    • A Skeptical Look At The Linux Server Botnet
      When The Register ran news of a "Linux botnet" out in the wild, the bloviation did fly: See? Linux really isn't that secure! But odds are this has nothing to do with Linux security per se, and everything to do with the biggest and most notorious security hole of all: bad system administration.








  • Kernel Space

    • Torvalds on EFI
      Insightful quote of the day:
      Not that I’d ever claim that the BIOS is wonderful either, but at least everybody knows that the BIOS is just a bootloader, and doesn’t try to make it anything else. – Linus Torvalds (in reference to EFI)








  • Distributions

    • LFS, Gentoo or XYZ distribution. Which one for you?
      Finally, if you really, really want to learn exactly how a Linux system is created. There are a couple of methods which I know of that compile a complete Linux system from nothing. In other words you start off with an empty partition and end up with a working Linux system. The most famous one is the Linux From Scratch book which is an online (downloadable) book for compiling a Linux system from, er, scratch. Another, from a thunder down under, is DIY Linux (Do It Yourself Linux). This is not for the faint of heart and only those with a technical bent and some knowledge of Linux can work on this. There is no package management and every single aspect of your Linux system is under your control. As an added bonus you will be able to understand and work on any Linux system with ease.


    • The Netbook World Summit, a major IT event
      The Netbook World Summit 2009 will be held on the 8th of December 2009 in Paris.

      ABI’s Research forecasts worldwide shipments of nearly 35 million netbooks in 2009, rising to an estimated 139 million in 2013.




    • Red Hat Family

      • Trademarks - The dinosaur in the room
        Branding is just as vital to the success of FOSS projects as it is to proprietary software. This article explores the importance of trademarks for open source.




      • Oracle

        • Oracle Enterprise Linux updated
          Oracle has updated its Linux distribution for enterprise deployment. Oracle Enterprise Linux Release 5 Update 4 is now in step with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 which was released earlier this month.


        • Oracle updates Berkeley DB


        • Oracle *could* kill off MySQL as a commercial product, but probably won’t
          Before I even start this post I am going to repeat our view that Oracle is well aware that it has little to gain from killing off MySQL and that we expect MySQL to become the scale-out database for non-transactional web applications and to compete with SQL Server in departmental deployments.

          [...]

          Q. This is all very theoretical.

          A. Yes it is, but it highlights the importance of thinking through the long-term implications of licensing and copyright assignment. If you don’t want to end up in the situation faced by Monty Program, don’t go GPL with full copyright assignment.











    • Debian Family

      • 5 Exciting 2D Graphics Design tools for Ubuntu Linux
        Ubuntu linux is rich with exciting graphics utilities, Here you can see simple but very useful 2D Graphics Design tools for Ubuntu Linux. Yes welcome to the fantastic world of ubuntu graphics.


      • Launchpad Bug Filing Changes for Ubuntu
        As a part of the Increase Apport Adoption specification we are going to kick off an experiment and redirect all of Ubuntu’s /+filebug links in Launchpad to https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs. This change has been tested on staging.launchpad.net already and will be landing shortly on edge.launchpad.net (There will be a +filebug?no-redirect if you really really need it).


      • Ubuntu Artwork team starts delivering - Four cool themes and two icon sets to start with!
        Ubuntu Artwork team finally starts delivering. Although Ubuntu have been the most popular distro for a pretty long time now, it really need to put in a lot of work on enhancing look and feel. Though a number of high quality third party themes are available like the bisigi-project, one thing where Ubuntu lacked was the absence of good quality themes by default. That is all going to change now.


      • Ubuntu 9.10 Home Encryption Performance
        There is certainly a performance cost to having the home directory encrypted along with the SWAP partition, as you can see from these results. Though a normal user not running disk benchmarks all day will not notice as severe of a change, depending upon the task it may be apparent. Is encrypting the data on your netbook worth it? Well, yours truly will not even travel without a netbook that has a fully encrypted disk running Ubuntu. What we had not compared in this article was how the home encryption performance change compared to Ubuntu 9.04 (without an encrypted SWAP and with an EXT3 file-system) or how it compares on Ubuntu 9.04 to a disk with a fully encrypted LVM, but we may have those results in a future article.


      • Ubuntu help: Finding answers fast
        Just before I finish I will mention a few paper resources: The Official Ubuntu Book, of which I am a co-author, or the Official Ubuntu Server Book are just two of dozens of books about Ubuntu on the market. You can also purchase paper copies of the official help at Lulu.com. Hopefully I have given you some good information about where to find help. Good luck and have fun with Ubuntu.












  • Devices/Embedded

    • Linux-ready mini-PC powers up
      Linutop announced the third generation of its compact Linux-based PC. Larger and with twice the memory of previous models, the Linutop 3 has a 1GHz Via C7 CPU, gigabit Ethernet, dual SATA ports, and PCIe expansion, the company says.


    • Android 1.6 is out
      GOOGLE HAS RELEASED the next version of its Android operating system for mobile phones, "Donut".

      Having a look at the promo video, Android 1.6 brings support for CDMA phones, more screen resolutions, more APIs, better camera software and improved search.


    • CrunchEee — the bad-ass netbook Linux for snobs that doesn’t give a rat’s ass whether you like it or not.
      CrunchEee is based on the Ubuntu 8.10 kernel — there’s a new version of CrunchBang, with 9.04 but without the Array.org customization for my Eee’s WiFi needs. I tried to install the Array.org kernel myself once and it didn’t take. I guess I’m still a Linux n00b after all… Just don’t tell anyone, okay?








Free Software/Open Source



Leftovers

  • Dell Settles New York Fraud Case For $4 Million
    New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has announced that Dell and its subsidiary, Dell Financial Services (DFS), have agreed to pay his office $4 million in restitution, penalties and costs to settle charges of fraudulent and deceptive business practices that scammed consumers in the state.


  • Denmark pulls 'promiscuous' video
    The three-minute clip shows a young blonde woman, trying to find a man whom she had a one night stand with, who fathered her child "August".




  • Intellectual Monopolies

    • Taiwan government aims at 80% global market share for Taiwan-made e-book readers in 2013
      Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) will be implementing a 5-year project with a total budget of NT$2.134 billion (US$65 million) to boost development of digital publication industries in Taiwan, with the goal being to make Taiwan-produced e-book readers reach a global market share of 80% with sales of NT$50 billion in 2013, according to the agency.


    • Cracks show in music industry over P2P enforcement
      Divisions inside the music business have prompted its umbrella trade organisation to issue a statement today denying any serious rift, while dodging the issue of whether it will urge the government to cut off persistent pirates from the net.

      The ructions were provoked by last week's statement from the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), a group of managers and big-selling artists including Radiohead, Billy Bragg and davefromblur. The FAC was sharply critical of Lord Mandelson's proposed anti-copyright infringement measures, especially suspension of internet access.


    • Stunned film, music sectors react to Veoh decision
      In the cafes along Sunset Boulevard and the high-rises on Fifth Avenue, executives and lawyers at powerful entertainment conglomerates were talking about Veoh on Tuesday morning.

      They were not joyful discussions. Copyright owners in the film and music sectors were stunned Monday by the news that U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz ruled that Veoh, an online-video service, is protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's safe-harbor provision and cannot be held liable for acts of copyright infringement committed by users. This was the most significant court victory that the tech sector has won against copyright owners in some time.


    • WIPO Once Again Sides With Trademark Holder Over Common Sense
      The phrase "ta ta" is a well known way of saying goodbye. So, it was a cute idea for an Indian online travel site to use the domain name OkTaTaByeBye.com.










Digital Tipping Point: Clip of the Day



Jim Hogg teaches GNU Linux to high school kids 06 (2008)

[an error occurred while processing this directive]



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

Recent Techrights' Posts

Using SLAPPs to Cover Up Sexual Abuse and Strangulation
The exact same legal team of the Serial Strangler from Microsoft and Garrett already has a history fighting against "metoo"
Adding the Voice of Writers to UK SLAPP Reform
The journey to repair antiquated (monarchy era) laws will likely be long
Slopwatch: A Cause for Hope, the Hype is Dying
For about a month we showed that becoming a slopfarm - for several weeks - resulted in utter failure and ruin for BetaNews
 
If Only Everything Was Rewritten in Rust, We'd Have No More Security Issues?
Nope.
Links 12/07/2025: Birdwatching and Fake/Misleading Wall Street 'Valuation' Figures
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/07/2025: How to Avoid Writing, Apps for Android
Links for the day
EPO Staff Committee on Harassment in the Workplace
slides
EPO Takes More Money From Staff for Speculation (Pensions), Actuarial Study Explains the Impact
"The key change in this year’s Actuarial Study, due to cascading the new “risk appetite” from the financial study, is a significant increase of the total pension contribution rate of 5.7 percentage points, up to a total of 37.8%. This is driven by an unprecedented decrease in the discount rate of 105 bps down to 2.2%."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 11, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, July 11, 2025
Microsoft - Like IBM - Does the "Relocation" Tricks (Start Over Elsewhere, Then Get Sacked by Microsoft)
It is a "low blow" or a "dick move"
After the Free Software Foundation's Campaign to Raise Money Let's See Campaigns to Finish Off Microsoft (Vista 11, GitHub etc.)
Microsoft is in effect collapsing
Your Publications Have No Major Impact Unless or Until You "Get Some Heat"
we're on the right track
Links 11/07/2025: Censorship Worsening, 3D Printing Success Stories, UK and France Unite Around Nukes
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/07/2025: Zorin OS and Scriptonite Updates
Links for the day
Links 11/07/2025: Hardware, Russia, and China
Links for the day
Links 11/07/2025: Intel Collapsing and Microsoft Resorts to Bribery to Push Slop Via Obligatory Education
Links for the day
The EFF Sided With the Team That Strangles Women and Tells Women to Kill Themselves
They say that apathy and inaction are a form of a "stance"
"Nat [Friedman] and [the Serial Strangler From Microsoft] Were Always Exceptionally Close," Says Former Housemate and Colleague
Now Alex (hiding behind another name when that suits him) not only attacks women but also people who merely report what he did to women
Exemplary List of Things That Are Not Artificial Intelligence or Even Intelligence
The "age of AI" or "era of AI" or "AI revolution" mostly boils down to rebranding, just like "the cloud"
New Letter From the European Patent Office Explains How the Office Plots to Grant Many Illegal Patents, a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of 'Growth'
Open letter to Mr Rowan (VP1) and Mr Aledo Lopez (COO)
Abuse of Process
5RB is employing people who help violent men
What Microsoft's Nat Friedman and Microsoft Lunduke Have in Common
"Get in da car; No time to explain, loser"
Microsoft and IBM Don't Have Much of a Future (They Mostly Pretend at This Point)
IBM and Microsoft are in some ways alike but in many ways different
It's Not Just Twitter (or X.com) That's Dying, Microsoft's Equivalent is Dying Also
Unable to find a business model
GitHub Copilot Can Cause the Bankruptcy of GitHub to Come Sooner and GitHub to be Shut Down Just Like Skype
Some publicly available information suggests that even for each paid subscriber for plagiarism (LLM 'coding') GitHub Copilot still loses more money than it makes
Wayland is Bad for the Planet
If you use Wayland, it'll take you longer to accomplish tasks and you will consume more energy (or battery life)
Legitimising Those Who Sabotage You
Microsoft is a very malicious company
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 10, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, July 10, 2025
On Microsoft Layoffs
we might be looking at about 60,000 Microsoft layoffs since 2023
EPO Management Already Breaks Its Own Promise (Lie) on "Bringing Teams Together"
This gut-punching move happened just 2 days ago
Gemini Links 11/07/2025: Occupation of 2025 and "Old Man Yells At Soundcloud"
Links for the day
Our Lawsuits Against the 'Cancel Mob' (Ringleaders) Helped Reduce Anti-Free Software Online Abuse
That's not to say that lawsuits are the best way to handle terrible people. But that can help.
Tomorrow is the Last Day of the Fund-Raising Campaign of the Free Software Foundation (FSF)
They will probably extend the date, as usual
Fixing Patents in Europe, Little by Little (by Transparency and Reporting of Suppressed Facts)
Tomorrow and throughout the weekend we shall focus some more on the EPO
The Two Lies Microsoft is Telling in "the News" This Week (to Distract From Layoffs and Decreased Interest in Slop/Chaff)
Microsoft is run by liars and frauds who SLAPP critics
Tux Machines Already Destroyed SLAPPs
Attacks on the mere publication of GNU/Linux news won't be tolerated
PCLinuxOS is Available for Download Again
PCLinuxOS is important to us also because its founder, back then the partner of Susan, helped create Tux Machines more than 21 years ago
Links 10/07/2025: Microsoft E-mail 'Services' Collapse Again, "Yet Another Strava Privacy Leak"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/07/2025: Automating Git Repo Updates and Small Web 'Zine'
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Leftovers
mostly Linux stuff
Audiocasts/Shows: Going Linux, FLOSS Weekly, and RHEL Clones
3 new picks
We Are Already Fighting - With Considerable Success - SLAPPs in the UK
we intend to tell the full story
Bullies With Pens and Papers (or Apple Macs With Templates)
Not all barristers are evil, but there are perhaps "rotten apples"
Slopwatch: webpronews.com, linuxsecurity.com, linuxjournal.com
a pile of trash disguised as 'articles'
Links 10/07/2025: Linda Yaccarino Divorces MElonazi Site, Wildfires Hit Syria
Links for the day
The History and the Policy of the EPO's Stance on Breastfeeding (Corporate Monopolies Versus Babies' Health)
"The Case for Introducing a Breastfeeding Policy at the EPO"
Gemini Links 10/07/2025: Inventing Chords and "Nightmare Boss"
Links for the day
Igor Ljubuncic Once Again Shows That for Technical Reasons Wayland Still Sucks, Performs Considerably Worse Than What Existed for Decades
That is aside from compatibility factors and other crucial factors
Links 10/07/2025: "Apple Vs The Law" and Twitter Became Full Nazi Bar
Links for the day
Unable to Find Anyone to Work as Their Media Lawyer, Brett Wilson LLP Will Continue Losing Female Staff
What sort of sick person would wish to join Brett Wilson LLP to carry this baton?
Microsoft-Sponsored Propaganda Site Has Removed False 'Hit Piece' About Dr. Stallman (With Fake and Misrepresented Imagery) But Only After 4 Years
So they only removed that page some time around 2025, i.e. about 4 years after it had been published
Always Check Your Inputs
Garbage in, garbage out. Or wrong assumptions, wrong corollary.
Dan Neidle Said That Tax Evasion Facilitator Mr Zahawi (Working to Silence Bloggers Through Brett Wilson LLP) Targeted Not Only Him (But The Others Kept Quiet)
"Mr Neidle said after repelling Mr Zahawi he was contacted by bloggers and tweeters who had received similar threats. They deleted their work “and in most cases never commented publicly on anything again”."
SLAPP Funding Transparency Urgently Needed in the UK and Elsewhere (in Practice, Not Just in Theory)
Writing about crime - including Microsoft crime - is not a crime
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 09, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 09, 2025
Elodie Bergot Still Doing Illegal Things at the EPO, Based on the Local Staff Committee Munich
They keep taking away from the staff while compelling the staff to do illegal things