Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 18/09/2009: Palm Dumps Windows Mobile for Linux, Moblin 2 is Coming



GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux

  • Cool things with SELinux... Introducing sandbox -X
    One of the downsides of working in security is that we seldom get to do cool things. The desktop engineers, VM engineers, even kernel engineers get to show off cool stuff. But security guys usually only ever get to show how we broke something, if that. Sometimes all we can do is say "trust us, it's working." But I think I have something cool to show off which I'm calling sandbox -X.


  • Hewlett Packard’s Linux Systems
    On one of their web pages they did something that will disturb many of the Microsoft Sheep out there, they referred to the Linux system they are offering as being user friendly


  • Mainframe shops gush over big iron
    What can be said is that by corralling some mainframe engines, slashing their prices, and letting them run Linux instances or speed up Java or DB2 workloads, IBM has been able to keep the installed base of mainframe processing power, as measured in MIPS, growing - even as it has its ups and downs each quarter. And the downs have been especially sharp since the economic meltdown kicked in a year ago.


  • My preference for cross-platform applications leads me to Scribus for desktop publishing
    So the bottom line is that I hope Scribus does as well as some are claiming, because having a free, open-source application for creating high-quality printed documents, and having that application run on just about every computer out there is just what I'm looking for.




  • KDE

    • Indicators, notifications and co
      What is the difference between the “Indicator Display” plasmoid and the “Incoming Message” plasmoid from kdeplasma-addons? Both plasmoids have the same goal, but the “Incoming Message” plasmoid tries to implement this goal with application-specific code: it has specific code for Evolution, KMail, Pidgin, Kopete and XChat.


    • Amarok 2.2 Beta 2 "Red Dawn" released
      The Amarok team is pleased to release the second beta version of Amarok 2.2. For a list of the most important changes and fixes see the changelog below.

      As always please help us by testing, reporting bugs, sending patches and most importantly by enjoying discovering music. Thanks to everyone who already helped us this way. We are especially looking for help with podcasting support.






  • Distributions

    • GENTOO MAINTENANCE
      This tutorial is going to focus on two main aspects of working with a system...




    • Ubuntu

      • Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala" Alpha 6 Released
        If the traditional Ubuntu with GNOME on the desktop is not your thing, 9.10 Alpha 6 spins are already available for Kubuntu, Ubuntu Server EC2/UEC, Ubuntu ARM, Xubuntu, Ubuntu Studio, Mythbuntu, and Edubuntu. More information on this release is available from its Ubuntu Testing Page.


      • Ubuntu 9.10 Alpha 6 Has Ubuntu Software Store
        A few minutes ago, the Ubuntu development team unleashed the sixth and last alpha version of the upcoming Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) operating system, due for release in late October this year. As usual, we've downloaded a copy of it in order to keep you up-to-date with the latest changes in the Ubuntu 9.10 development.


      • Ubuntu releases last 9.10 Alpha


      • My thoughts on Ubuntu
        Ubuntu will be staying here, on my laptop, for the foreseeable future. I like Ubuntu, as I’ve discovered. And, since I’ve started recommending it to others, people for whom I provide ongoing computer support, I now need Ubuntu as well.


      • ...and now using Ubuntu! :P
        So well, I've decided to stick to Ubuntu, Synaptic, and to my very own surprise, even GNOME. I am liking it thus far. Synaptic "just works", and GNOME gives timely responses to my keyboard commands and mouse gestures.












  • Devices/Embedded

    • PowerPC SoC family gains multi-core members
      Freescale Semiconductor has announced a quad-core "P4040" version of its eight-core QorIQ P4080 system-on-chip (SoC), aimed at networking, military, and industrial applications. The company also announced a new power-efficient dual-core "P1022" member of its Linux-ready, PowerPC-based QorIQ family.


    • Rugged CompactPCI SBC runs Linux
      Aitech Defense Systems has released a rugged 3U single-slot CompactPCI single-board computer (SBC). Targeting embedded and harsh environment applications, the Linux-compatible C800 SBC offers an Intel Core 2 Duo clocked at up to 2.2GHz, 8GB of SATA flash, plus dual gigabit Ethernet and serial ports, says the company.


    • Pico-ITX board boasts 1080p video




    • Phones

      • Palm Pre beats expectations, drops WiMo to focus on WebOS
        Part of that strategy involves dumping any distractions, including both the company’s original Palm OS and the Windows Mobile partnership that Palm forged with Microsoft in 2006, a year before Rubinstein arrived. Palm’s support for Windows Mobile helped nearly double Microsoft’s market share at the time.


      • Palm dumps Windows Mobile
        PALM HAS SAID that it will be dropping the Windows Mobile operating system in favour of its own webOS platform.






    • Sub-notebooks

      • First Moblin v2 netbook launches
        The first netbook preinstalled with Moblin v2 for Netbooks will likely launch next week, possibly at Intel's Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco. Following that, the Moblin Project will release the first milestone release of the Moblin v2 Linux distribution, which began beta testing in May.












Free Software/Open Source

  • Version 4.2 of OSGi Java component technology available
    Popular open source implementations of the specification are Apache Felix and Eclipse Equinox; almost all enterprise application vendors use OSGi to provide modularised Java software.


  • Q&A: Visa dips a toe into the Hadoop pool
    Hadoop effectively gives enterprises the power of Google or Yahoo Web indexing for free, or for the cost of a CloudEra subscription if you want to involve Hadoop's core developers in your rollout. Credit card giant Visa is an early corporate adopter of Hadoop, and points to a bright future for the open-source project.


  • DragonFly BSD 2.4 released
    Developer Matthew Dillon has announced the release of version 2.4 of DragonFly BSD, originally created as a fork from FreeBSD 4.x. The major release includes several bug fixes, performance improvements and a new 64-bit port.




Leftovers

  • The 10 biggest moments in IT history
    It’s unlikely that everyone will ever agree on the most important dates in the history of IT. I know my IT timeline has a personal and professional bias. But I’ve tried to be objective in examining the events that have served to shape the current landscape of the modern computing industry.




  • Censorship/Web Abuse

    • Ex-BT tech chief quits Phorm
      Stratis Scleparis, the former BT Retail chief technology officer who joined Phorm after overseeing secret trials of its web monitoring and profiling system, has quit the firm.


    • Cable: Let us lock down your TV (we'll offer movies sooner)
      Top reps from Time Warner Cable and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association have met with the FCC to back the MPAA's bid for selectable output control. It's a sure sign that Big Content is still big on this proposal, despite tons of opposition from device makers and public interest groups.


    • FCC To Further Investigate Janet Jackson Super Bowl Reveal
      The FCC has reasserted its power to regulate fleeting nudity and says it wants to further investigate "whether CBS' indecency violation [in the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake Super Bowl reveal] was willful."








  • Intellectual Monopolies

    • Back to school with RIAA-funded copyright curriculum
      School kids in American could certainly stand to learn about copyright in the classroom—it's a fascinating topic that increasingly impacts the life of every "digital native" and intersects with law, history, art, and technology. But should they be exposed to industry-funded materials meant to teach kids:

      That taking music without paying for it ("songlifting") is illegal and unfair to others (RIAA) Why illegally downloading music hurts more people than they think (ASCAP) How the DVD-sniffing dogs, Lucky and Flo, help uncover film piracy (MPAA) To use problem-solving approaches to investigate and understand film piracy (The Film Foundation) The importance of using legal software as well as the meaning of copyright laws and why it's essential to protect copyrighted works such as software (Business Software Alliance)


    • Michael Robertson Wants To Crowdsource Proof Of EMI's Lies: You Lie EMI Bookmarklet Available
      EMI has been involved in a lawsuit with MP3Tunes for a while now. The whole lawsuit seems weird, since MP3Tunes is about creating a storage locker for the songs you already have. But one of the points that MP3Tunes made in response to EMI's claims is that EMI was lying in saying that it has never authorized MP3s to be available online.


    • Smashing Pumpkins Like Free Online Music Concept
      Billy Corgan Plans on Making Money From Real Fans

      Offering your album online for free seems to becoming quite a trend these days. The concept was pioneered by acts like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, and the latest group to jump on the bandwagon is Smashing Pumpkins.


    • Smashing Pumpkins Latest To Embrace Free Music... With A Reason To Buy


    • New Smashing Pumpkins album


    • UK Music Pretends That Musicians Aren't Against Kicking People Off The Internet
      There were rumors that following this little dustup, that the UK music industry would drop its support for three strikes. Instead, Feargal Sharkey, the head of the UK Music lobbying group, has come out with a totally meaningless statement that basically says that the industry supports the government's plan and there's nothing to see here in terms of a rift in the views of the UK music industry.

      That's not very believable. More and more musicians have realized that a proposal to kick people off the internet does nothing to promote better business models and does a lot to create significantly more ill will with fans.


    • ASCAP, BMI Demanding Payment For 30 Second Previews At Web Stores
      It's been really stunning to see just how little dignity groups like ASCAP and BMI have in trying to suck every last penny out of any kind of musical usage, without ever once considering the damage they're actually doing to songwriters. It's as if the folks who run these groups have no concept of the actual impact of their crazy demands.


    • I'm Sorry, But It Was Never Just About The Music
      Frank Sinatra made movies to reach a bigger fan base. Elvis's hips and haircut were as much a part of his success as his recordings were. David Bowie learned that image and imagery could propel him to greater heights. After Saturday Night Fever, dance steps helped propel many live shows and for a time MTV made being visual an important component of success.


    • Britain's postal-code database online at Wikileaks: produced at public expense, not owned by the public
      Wikileaks is hosting a copy of the "1,841,177 post codes together with precise geographic coordinates and other information" for the UK.










Digital Tipping Point: Clip of the Day



Jim Hogg teaches GNU Linux to high school kids 08 (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

SUEPO Munich Informs/Contacts the German Government About the Situation at the European Patent Office (EPO)
Salary Erosion Procedure: Two letters to Germany
 
The "Official" Numbers That Say "Microsoft Layoffs" Will be Misleading
The scale of the layoffs in gaming will be unprecedented
SLAPP Censorship - Part 109 Out of 200: When You Drag Family Members Into a Case Unrelated to Them Because Their Relative Published Something
This did not exactly surprise us given what we had already encountered
Gemini Links 17/06/2026: Feeling "Useful"; PISA Pen-and-Paper Cipher
Links for the day
Trajectory of O'Reilly: From Publisher of Books to Microsoft Advertiser
The state of the media is not good and when prolific book publishers start running ads as 'articles' or videos (never mind the disclosure) it is rather tasteless
Links 17/06/2026: Slop's “Crack Cocaine” Approach to Pricing, Microsoft's Rapid Shrinking of Gaming Business
Links for the day
Links 17/06/2026: "How Developers React to Slop-Scented Blog Posts", Police Caught Fabricating Evidence Using Slop
Links for the day
More Than 90% in European Patent Office (EPO) Ballot Vote for Continuation of Industrial Actions/Strikes, About Half Wish to Further Intensify These
Ballot results on intensification of actions
If Not Now, Then When?
If you are not part of the solution/s, then you're merely a vessel or passive participant
Microsoft Offers People 'Retirements' (Again) to Fake (Artificially Lower) Number of Layoffs, Those People Are Nowhere Near Retirement Age
Microsoft implicitly affirms huge cuts are coming
Gemini Links 17/06/2026: 10 Years in Canada, Wild Flower Explorations, and Microslop
Links for the day
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: The Portuguese Prodigy
In this part we will present some additional background information about Mendonça's activities before he joined the EPO
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 16, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Microsoft Will "DOOM" id Software and Others, Claim Observers
As the worst predictions trickle in and out Microsoft loses control of the narrative
Austria Shows Rapid Demise of Windows in the EU
Expect many Microsoft layoffs soon, and not just in XBox/gaming
Links 16/06/2026: Mainstream Media Affirms Microsoft Studio Closures Planned, Anthropic’s Latest Marketing Hype Debunked by Experts
Links for the day
This Morning The Register MS Published Page With "AI" 42 Times in It. It Was Paid SPAM.
The Register MS is propping up a pyramid scheme
Microsoft XBox is Having Its 1990s Apple Moment (Near Bankruptcy), Says Respected Insider
Microsoft's CEO has already admitted that XBox is having serious financial problems [...] They already try to reuse the brand "XBox" to refer to Vista 11
OECD Carries Water for Microsoft, Targets Schools and Children With Slop Agenda
Peel off a layer or two to find GAFAM
Microsoft "Xbox braces for sweeping studio closures before June 30."
Microsoft's control of the damage-limiting narrative has clearly slipped
In Africa's Largest Nation Windows Has Fallen From 100% to a Lot Less, Now All-Time Lows
Let's see what happens or will happen in Algeria in 2027
Richard Stallman's Talk Due in One Hour, Here's What People Say
To Stallman, what matters is control by users and collective control
SLAPP Censorship - Part 108 Out of 200: Moving On and Moving Up
an explanation of our rich history and commitment to courageous whistleblowers
Links 16/06/2026: UK to Restrict Access to Social Control Media; The FCC Wants to Eliminate Burner Phones
Links for the day
Why We Call Him Dr. Stallman
He got at least 15 such titles
United States of America: GNU/Linux Hovering Around 5% (It Started There)
GNU/Linux is turning 43 this year (in a few months), Linux will turn 35
Microsoft Promises Made to be Broken
It's a real problem and it is not limited to XBox
IBM Down $61 in Two Weeks, The Lies About Quantum Computers Didn't Last Long
IBM is an unsafe employer, not a good place to work
You Probably Don't Want to "Go Viral" in Toxic Social Control Media
Good news sites do not strive to go "viral" but to be consistently good, irrespective of "traffic"
New 'Article' in The Register MS Has Mentioned "AI" 44 Times. The Register MS Got Paid to Publish It.
Bear this in mind when seeing "hey hi" all over the news
18-Year Anniversary of Our IRC Community
As noted some months ago, trolling and abuse in our IRC network is very rare these days
Microsoft - Like IBM - is Leaving a Legacy is Emptied/Abandoned Buildings
Microsoft's LinkedIn had many layoffs recently
Richard Stallman's (RMS) Speaking Tour in Europe Coincides With Abandonment of Microsoft Windows
The message applies to all governments
Gemini Links 16/06/2026: Nazi Law of Mental Abuse and Lewis Aburrow's 3D-Printed Slider
Links for the day
Links 16/06/2026: Windows TCO and Fedora Finding Serious 20-Year-Old Holes in Microsoft Outlook
Links for the day
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: An Advisor to the President
he had recently advanced to membership of the "inner circle" of Team Campinos.
Two Weeks Ahead of July Three Studios Microsoft Plans to Shut Down Already Named
This is what happens when companies try to establish themselves on a mountain of promises and false assumptions, kicking the can down the road until payroll becomes hard to complete
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 15, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, June 15, 2026
IBM Works for Microsoft
Hours ago in IBM.com
Microsoft May Already Be Shutting Down More Gaming Studios
the writings are on the wall: XBox is in disarray.
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: The EPO's Brussels Liaison Officer
It would appear that in January 2020, Pellegrino was induced by Campinos to jump ship from the EUIPO and take up his current position as Brussels Liaison Officer for the EPO
European Patent Office (EPO) Receiving Section (RS) and Elimination of Many Roles
Open letter to Mr Rowan (VP1) and Mr Aledo Lopez (COO) [...] Does the EU leadership intend to tolerate this?
Microsoft's XBox is Disintegrating, Executives Are Quitting
We're basically witnessing the slow-motion "end of XBox"
Gemini Links 15/06/2026: Slop Code Benchmarked, Wireguard on NixOS and Guix
Links for the day
Links 15/06/2026: More Own Goals for the Slop Industry, Palantir Trouble in UK
Links for the day
Apple Wants Everybody to Forget About "Vision Pro" Because It Was a Giant Flop
worthless gadgets with no obvious use case/s
The Cyber Show is Adopting 'Book Form' (or Long Form Publications)
Andy and Helen nowadays invest more time in making their site faster
Richard Stallman's Software Freedom/Digital Sovereignty Tour in Europe
As things stand at present, the vast majority of people have their interactions controlled/policed by GAFAM
Estimates of Scale of Microsoft Layoffs, Will Likely Happen "in Batches"
"Heard 10 to 15 percent eventually but idk date."
IBM Has Put Red Hat on a Poor Diet of Slop, Now Fedora and Red Hat Suffocate or Choke on It
Over the weekend we saw more people leaving the company
Estimates of Microsoft Layoffs: 3,000 Staff to be Culled Just in Gaming, How Many in Other Divisions?
Now the XBox division has its own "fall guy", but it is a woman
Straw Man Arguments Against Rust
If anything, it teaches the importance of auditing packages
Tesla Debt Rose Sharply, Sales Declined, Wall Street's Claim of Tesla "Value" is Merely a Fairytale (and Not Just Tesla)
We would gladly sell land on Mars to anyone who honestly believes a company that loses money is somehow "worth" trillions in Wall Street
Stop Calling Losses "Investment"
XBox is losing money, it is a sinkhole
For Justice We Need More Speech, Not Less Speech
When you attack something you are just giving that something a bigger platform
SLAPP Censorship - Part 107 Out of 200: Keeping Law Accessible to Everybody
We'll have stories related to this in the future
Links 15/06/2026: Slop "Beg Bounties", Wall Street Fakes 'Worth', and Arkansans Saved PBS
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/06/2026: Dating Oaks, Simulation, and Theremin
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 14, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, June 14, 2026