Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 19/09/2009: Ubuntu 10.04 to be Called Lucid Lynx





GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux

  • Interview: Martin Maurer from Proxmox
    I've been aware of Proxmox VE for a couple of years now. I've installed it a few times and tested it out. I have recommended it to others and know a few local people using it in production (at MSU-Bozeman and Rocky Mountain College for example). Since I'm involved in the OpenVZ community I've also noticed some of the contributions to OpenVZ that have come from Proxmox VE (vzdump for example) and have run into Martin Maurer in the comments section of this site. I asked him if he would be interested in doing an interview and he accepted. I hope to add a picture of Martin to this interview in the near future.


  • It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's A...Mouse?
    What Hillcrest Labs announced yesterday is about more than just Linux compatibility. Hillcrest is the company behind Freespace, a "complete solution for the creation of in-air pointing and motion control devices for a broad range of applications including pointing remote controls, hybrid 2D/3D mice and motion-sensing game controllers." Companies can license Freespace to develop precision devices for all manner of tasks, from presentation pointers to medical monitoring gear.


  • Top 12 Linux & FLOSS advertisements & videos
    Surfing the net all this time on topics related to GNU/Linux, Free and Open Source Software, I came across various interesting, imaginative and some times funny videos and advertisements.




  • Distributions







Free Software/Open Source

  • 12 Excellent Free and Open Source Graphics Apps
    The worlds of open source and freeware both include many outstanding applications for working with graphics and photos. These include standard fare such as image editors, but it's also worth looking into free desktop publishers, web design templates, and quirky graphics tools. Whether you want to produce splashy graphical documents, enhance graphics on a blog or web site, create eye-catching logos, or more, check out our newly updated collection of 12 applications and resources here.


  • FOSS v Proprietary? – A debate between two geeks?
    In regards to my comment to him “championing the Mac” I use the word champion to describe something any user has settled on as a result of their own research and needs. I champion Linux since I have chosen it above alternatives as its best for me. Throttlemeister has done so with Mac on the same basis.

    Throttlemeister makes reference to the needs of work and MS Office. I think this highlights perfectly that far from Microsoft being “standards compat” and as some would like you to believe [1] entering into a brave new world of cooperation and interoperability with FOSS. The fact remain that intentional or not, there are barriers for people wanting freedom of choice in their software solutions and its not a fault of FOSS.


  • Mozilla Firefox Cleared of U.S Export Rules
    Vendors with normal software containing encryption are required to file for a license exception, but that regulation offers an exemption to open source vendors.

    However, that exemption is nullified if the source code is distributed to any of the countries on the U.S embargo list, such as Cuba, Iran or North Korea. Under the open source export exemption, the project isn't supposed to have knowledge of distribution to any of the embargoed countries, Anderson said.


  • Mozilla Firefox Not In Violation of US Export Rules
    "While the internet may know no borders, the US government does. There are a number of rules that affect software vendors, including encryption export regulations from the US Department of Commerce and export sanctions by the Department of Treasury. But what do you do when your application is open source and freely available to anyone in the world? Do the same the rules apply? It's a question that Mozilla asked the US government about. The answer they received could have profound implications not just for Firefox but for all open source software vendors. 'We really couldn't accept the notion that these government rules could jeopardize the participatory nature of an open source project, so we sought to challenge it,' Harvey Anderson, VP and General Counsel of Mozilla, told InternetNews.com. 'We argued that First Amendment free speech rights would prevail in this scenario. The government took our filing and then we got back a no-violation letter, which is fantastic.'"




  • Software Freedom Day

    • Software Freedom Day 2009


    • Promoting the free software
      A special talk by the founder of the free software movement, Richard Stallman, will lead the list of special programmes put together by the IT@School on the VICTERS channel on the occasion of the Software Freedom Day (SFD) on September 19.


    • Welcome to Freedom Movement
      For those uninitiated to this concept -- a full-fledged philosophy for many -- applying something as lofty as freedom to the world of bits and bytes may seem a tad misplaced. However, advocates of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) will tell you that ‘freedom’ is as critical in the digital world, especially in one that is largely controlled by proprietary (and market) forces.

      Richard Stallman, the foremost torchbearer of the Free Software Movement, points out ‘Free’ is a matter of liberty, not price: “‘Free’ as in ‘free speech,’ not as in ‘free beer’,” he distinguishes. In simple terms, the user is free to run, copy, modify and distribute software, and this, enabled by the fact that its source code (a set of instructions that calls the shots) is freely available.


    • City wants software freedom for all
      This year September 19, is software freedom day (SFD), a global celebration of free and open source software.

      There are three types of software, you can buy and use it, you can download and use for free and the third is where you could dowload it, modify the code and upload it for others to use.

      [...]

      Announcing programs for SFD, Lokayat on Friday issued a roadmap for countering monopoly of big companies.

      They will mark this day by not using softwares like Windows, Adobe Photoshop etc. Rishikesh Yewalekar, Neeraj Jain and Vaibhav Gupta of the organisation said, “SFD is a worldwide celebration of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). The goal is to educate the public about ethical reasons and benefits of using high quality FOSS.








  • Programming







Leftovers

  • Five ways that Apps.gov is a trendsetter
    I'm one of many who believe this week's announcement of Apps.gov--a portal targeted at reducing the cost and effort for public agencies to acquire cloud services--is forcing all of IT to face the economics of cloud computing.




  • AstroTurf

    • Federal Appeals Court Voids Campaign Finance Reform Rules
      "The First Amendment, as the Court has construed it, safeguards the right of citizens to band together and pool their resources . . . to express their views about policy issues and candidates for public office," Kavanaugh wrote in his 44-page opinion.

      A FEC spokeswoman, Judith Ingram, said officials were reviewing the opinion.

      The challenge by Emily's List is just one of several assaults on campaign finance laws and regulations in the courts. Last week, in a case with high stakes for campaign finance advocates, the Supreme Court heard arguments in an appeal that seeks to strip decades of restrictions on corporate support of candidates.

      "We in the reform community are seeking attacks on all fronts of campaign finance laws," said Tara Malloy, associate counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit group that supports campaign finance reform.

      Friday's ruling will be felt next year and in 2012, the experts said.








  • Censorship/Web Abuse

    • FCC To Introduce Net Neutrality Rule
      Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, plans to propose a new so-called net neutrality rule Monday that could prevent telecommunications, cable and wireless companies from blocking Internet applications, according to sources at the agency.


    • Save the BBC from Draconian Restrictions Management
      Either I am licensed to view BBC content, or I am not. If I am, then it should be none of the BBC's concern what method I use to view that content. If I wish to use equipment officially "endorsed" by the BBC, or if I wish to use a self-built PVR running my own choice of software, I should be able to do so without the BBC imposing restrictions on my activities, but their proposed DRM system will indeed impose such a restriction.

      This restriction will also compel me to purchase equipment manufactured only by certain companies, which I feel is also in violation of the spirit of the BBC's charter of impartiality. Is it right that the BBC should essentially endorse products in this way?






  • Intellectual Monopolies

    • Wait, Was That An RIAA Education Campaign... Or Is It About Turning Schoolkids Into Unpaid Shills?
      Of course, since we were suggesting more reasonable responses to the RIAA's proposals, why not have those same kids do a class project where they talk about artists who have embraced what their fans want, and have showed that it's possible to do quite well with models that don't involve going to war with your best fans.


    • RIAA Asks Schoolkids To Assist With Propaganda
      We wrote about Music-Rules! and similar industry propaganda efforts in May, outlining some of their falsehoods and biases. For instance, the RIAA tells kids, "Never copy someone else's creative work without permission from the copyright holder" — omitting the important right to make creative fair use of existing content. It also coins a misleading term, "songlifting," (which the curriculum says is "just as bad as shoplifting"). Perhaps most disturbing of all given that the curriculum is supposed to be adopted by schools, it teaches kids bad math as part of its lessons on peer to peer file-sharing.


    • Cable Lobbyists Side With MPAA On Getting Permission To Break Your TV
      The MPAA and cable companies could offer up movies whenever they want. They just don't want people to record them, because they want to introduce yet another annoying window. So, they declare that they need to break your TV and DVR from recording.


    • Oregon: You Have To Pay Us To Explain The Laws To You
      However, Oregon is back in the news on a similar issue, as Slashdot points us to the news that a professor is challenging the state's attorney general to sue him after he scanned and posted a state-produced guide to using public-records laws. You would think, again, that the state would want such a document spread as widely as possible, as it would better help Oregonians understand the law. But the state claims it needs to sell the book for $25 to cover production costs.


    • Linden Lab Sued Over Copied Virtual Goods
      Way back in 2003, when Linden Lab announced that individuals owned the real world copyright on virtual trinkets they made in the game, we noted that this was a bad idea that would lead to problems. It was, in effect, taking bad real world laws and bringing them into a virtual world. It was even worse, because it was taking real world laws that were designed for a world of scarcity, and bringing them into a world of abundance -- and effectively allowing the laws to reach from the real world into the virtual world. That's a recipe for trouble.


    • Post-Medium Publishing
      Almost every form of publishing has been organized as if the medium was what they were selling, and the content was irrelevant. Book publishers, for example, set prices based on the cost of producing and distributing books. They treat the words printed in the book the same way a textile manufacturer treats the patterns printed on its fabrics.

      Economically, the print media are in the business of marking up paper. We can all imagine an old-style editor getting a scoop and saying "this will sell a lot of papers!" Cross out that final S and you're describing their business model. The reason they make less money now is that people don't need as much paper.


    • The Great Debate on Micropayments and Paid Content, Part 1


    • The Great Debate on Micropayments and Paid Content, Part 2








Digital Tipping Point: Clip of the Day



Jim Hogg teaches GNU Linux to high school kids 10 (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

Lacking Business Model, Bluesky Has Become Slop and Gravitates Towards Plagiarism, Bots
LLM slop/plagiarism under the guise of "Artificial Intelligence" (AI)
 
Gemini Links 31/03/2026: Five Years on Gemini (Rob's Gemini Capsule), OFFLIFIRSOCH 2026, and More
Links for the day
Slopfarms Persist, But Google Seems to Have Delisted Many
We are still checking
Links 31/03/2026: More Energy Shortages Noted, Taylor Swift Faces Trademark Infringement Suit
Links for the day
Chaff, Slop and Spam Help Distract From Parallel Crises at IBM
IBM seems very eager to undermine discussion about what goes on inside
IBM-Spawned Lexmark Sold, Then Came Mass Layoffs, Now the CEO Who Did This is Leaving
IBM is really not a magnet for talent at this point
Not April Fools But April First: Red Hat Staff Becoming "IBM"
claims of mass layoffs set to kick off at IBM some time soon
Gemini Links 31/03/2026: Antenna Packed Up, AuraGem and AuraSearch Maintenance
Links for the day
Links 31/03/2026: More Social Control Media Bans, BBC Now Run by GAFAM (US) Executive
Links for the day
'Broligarchs' Don't Want Science, They Want Entertainers to Entertain Them (and Make Them Richer)
Of course this will result in things getting worse in the sciences and everyone who relies on the sciences
When Republics Turn From Democratic Governments Into Imperialistic Dictatorships
What goes on in the US would require talking about politics
Companies That Have Nothing Except Buzzwords and Promises Will Perish
Dishonest media will perish along with the companies it is covering up for
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to be Grilled in Two Weeks' Time by the British Government for "Recent Regulatory Failures"
we escalated to our politicians
GNU/Linux Will Thrive as Long as It's Modular, Not Monolithic
To IBM, it's all about money. Nothing else matters.
EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part X - People Are Leaving
"I was happy to be at the EPO in the beginning, but since I realized it's all a big mafia"
IBM's 33 Years as a "Financial Engineering" (Accounting Tricks) Company
In relation to Red Hat, this "financial engineering" involves culling many workers and trying to replace them with slop
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 30, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, March 30, 2026
Links 31/03/2026: Rising Costs, Cyberattacks, Novo Patent Expiry
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/03/2026: American Spring, Distributed Systems Simulator, and Calculus for Electronics
Links for the day
SUEPO Central Made a Strike (or Striking) Success
Europe has more than enough qualified patent officials
IBM Layoffs and Their Expected Scope in April 2026
Such layoffs impact not only IBM "proper"
SLAPP Censorship - Part 28 Out of 200: Facing Consequences for Impersonation and Worse
It's not "funny". It is moreover libellous.
Links 30/03/2026: South Korea Next to Curb Social Control Media Addiction and Manipulation, Notorious Patents in the US Challenged
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/03/2026: Going Back to Wrist Watches and Why LLMs in Programming Suck
Links for the day
Did IBM Pay thestreet.com for Puff Pieces? (Like It Did With Forbes)
If so, there is no disclosure
Wikipedia - Funded by Slop-pushing Companies and 'Broligarchs' - Gave Benefit of the Doubt to Slop, Then Regretted It
Wikipedia sucks. Without slop it'll suck a little less.
Payoffs of Lifelong Commitments
"The Lifelong Activist"
Links 30/03/2026: "We Can’t Income-Tax Ultra-Elites"; "The Pirate Bay’s Oldest Torrent Turned 22"
Links for the day
Today, Europe's Second-Largest Institution (EPO) Goes on Strike That Can Last Until 2027. Nobody in the Media Covers This!
"We stand with the protesters"
When the Cost (or Time) of Maintenance Exceeds the Value
In recent years it seems like more people learn to remove things from their lives, not add more things
Passage of Wealth Upwards, Blaming the Victims
Tim Sweeney's net worth is 5.1 billion USD according to Forbes
More Media Needs to Tell the Public Slop is a Giant Bubble, It Should Stop Taking "Sponsorship" Money to Inflate This Bubble
If enough of (what's left of) the media changes its tune and quits being a parrot of GAFAM, then we can debate slop like grown-ups
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 29, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, March 29, 2026
Trying to Hide One's Abuses by Imposing Silence on Critics ("My Profile Was Private")
With enough daylight, sooner or later everyone knows you are a vampire
Fedora Badges System Shows the Demise of Fedora Under IBM
IBM isn't good at keeping what it buys
IBM is Sunsetting Red Hat, It Only Uses the Brand and the Shell
IBM buys or spins off companies as containers for "toxic assets" and debt
Cisco Systems is a Still Weak Spot With Bug Doors
nothing to offer except storytelling
EPO Strike Begins Today and It's the Longest One Yet (Can Last a Year)
Where's the media?
Gemini Links 30/03/2026: Approaching April and Arvelie Calendar
Links for the day
No Daylight Saved
Is there still any practical reason for this ritual?
Microsoft Azure Does Not Have "Hiring Freezes", It Has Had Mass Layoffs Every Year Since 2020
Things are always a lot worse than Microsoft formally or publicly acknowledges
SLAPP Censorship - Part 27 Out of 200: Using the Tor Network to Hide From Consequences
Only 1-2 weeks after the countersuit the Canadian attempted to deplatform several Web sites
The Limits of Inclusion
Inclusion with caution isn't "opinionated"; it's a defence mechanism, sometimes a survival instinct
Almost 20 Years After Microsoft/Novell
The mission has not changed, but the priorities evolve all the time
People Discuss Rumours of Mass Layoffs at IBM Becoming Public in 1-2 Weeks
IBM is killing its brand or its "goodwill"
LLM Slop Kills Sites, as Sites That Adopt Slop Are Doomed
People won't subscribe to such sites and visit them if they recognise it's just slop
Links 29/03/2026: Indonesia Cracks Down on Social Control Media Addiction, China Becomes World’s Scientific Superpower
Links for the day
Fedora at the Mercy of Microsoft Because of Back-Doored Kick-Switch Boot
We'll soon revisit the defamation attacks on Torvalds
Links 29/03/2026: Water Shortages and No Kings Rallies
Links for the day
The Old Days
In the early days of this site (2006) it was mostly just a couple of people, plus comments
Gemini Links 29/03/2026: Return to Gopherspace, "Zen of Marking Playing Cards"
Links for the day
The Real XBox is Dead, So Microsoft is Calling Everything "XBox" Now
It even wanted to run a campaign to convince everybody that XBox is not actually a console
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 28, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, March 28, 2026