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Links 15/5/2010: Haiku OS Second Alpha; Ubuntu 10.10 Plans



GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux



  • Desktop

    • Printing via Bluetooth - Linux vs. Windows
      So, there's another example. If kicking a dead whale down the beach is your thing, then just keep on using Windows, and fighting it at every turn. But if real, continuing, useful development is more what you are interested in, and if you want every new release to be really better than the previous one, not just arbitrarily different from the previous one, then you really need to be using Linux.


    • Frustrations of supporting Windows
      So I am seriously contemplating migrating other relatives to Linux as well. There is the initial learning curve, but I think most users will adapt and find their way. Linux (Gnome desktop environment; I haven't touched KDE in years) is laid out in a very logical manner. And, the reduction in support calls to me adds the winning touch. One of the more aggravating things is the time wasted not only on their end, waiting while their computer is down and being fixed, but my time that is flushed down the drain fixing these constant problems.






  • Server

    • CloudLinux: Catching On With Hosting Partners?
      First, the hard news: Canadian Web Hosting, in business since 1998, has embraced CloudLinux as one of the hosting company’s standard Linux platform offerings. The reason apparently involves Cloud Linux Inc.’s Lightweight Virtual Environment (LVE) technology.

      [...]

      Can CloudLinux carve out its own niche among hosting providers? Canadian Web Hosting sure seems to think so.








  • Audiocasts







  • Ballnux

    • Verizon launches LG's first U.S.-bound Android phone
      Verizon Wireless and LG Electronics MobileComm U.S.A. have launched the first U.S.-destined Android smartphone from LG, previously promoted with the movie "Iron Man 2." The mid-range LG Ally offers a 3.2-inch touchscreen, slider QWERTY keyboard, 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, S-GPS, and a 3.2-megapixel camera, says Verizon.








  • Kernel Space







  • Applications







  • Desktop Environments

    • Open Letter: The issues with client-side-window-decorations




    • K Desktop Environment (KDE SC)

      • Akademy 2010 Conference Program Available
        This year's Akademy conference program includes many exciting talks regarding the KDE community, development, applications, platforms, mobile computing, and cloud computing. The conference will open on day 1 with a keynote from Valtteri Halla (Nokia) who will speak about MeeGo redefining the Linux desktop landscape. On day 2, long-time KDE contributor and visionary Aaron Seigo will give the midday keynote and discuss the future of Free Software and the KDE community.


      • Javascript animations
        We're now into the complete-and-stabilize phase of the 4.5 development cycle, so things are settling in a bit more and blogging about some of the features becomes easier. I'm writing an article for publication on TheDot about the new activities features that we're working on, but I also wanted to say something about another feature set that's not quite so user-visible: using Javascript for animations.


      • Some Issues I found with Dual Monitors in KDE












  • Distributions

    • Slackage Management, Baby!
      There are those who say that Slackware Linux doesn’t really have a package manager. BAH! I say. It has two package management systems, actually.


    • An afternoon in Tiny Core
      The developers of Tiny Core are clearly doing a very good, innovative thing here. I've met Robert Shingledecker at a couple of SCALE shows in L.A., and I'm glad to see him working on this project and being able to do it the way he wants.


    • My PCLinuxOS Snapshot.
      this my pclinuxos 2010 operating system. on TOshiba satellite a100




    • Debian Family

      • Debian Repository List




      • Ubuntu

        • Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx - Job very well done
          I'm utterly pleased with Lucid Lynx. It is a professional, commercial-grade Linux distribution on par with anything Microsoft and Apple can offer, except it comes for free, a huge bonus.

          Lucid Lynx has been done with style, grace and care, and it shows in every little detail. Hardware support and compatibility are phenomenal. Performance has been improved compared to previous version and there are no stability issues. Furthermore, Ubuntu 10.04 sports beautiful new looks that make it a daring rival to Mac's poshness and leaves the Windows baby-blue sickness a light year behind.

          Lucid Lynx offers three years of support for desktop, which means that you can install now and think about upgrading only in 2013. This is extremely important for more conservative users, like myself.

          This is by far the best Ubuntu release since I started taking interest in the distribution, way back with Dapper in June 2006. While you do not get everything out of the box as some other distributions like Mint or PCLinuxOS offer, the overall quality and integration surpasses the slight inconvenience of the extra few minutes of downloads and configurations. And you still have a better, faster, more secure system than other market rivals, for absolute zero cost.

          My RD510 laptop currently sports three Jaunty installations. I will soon be phasing them out and have them replaced with Lucid. The long wait for perfect Ubuntu has been worth waiting. Lucid Lynx is that Ubuntu.


        • Ubuntu Learns New Tricks, Forgets Some Old Ones With Lucid Lynx Upgrade


        • Ubuntu Linux is Prime Time for your Business Desktop and Notebook Computing Environment
          As a business consultant, web designer and photographer my technical know-how around doing system administration on my Microsoft desktop is limited and sometimes I do require the assistant of my computer engineering son to get it right. In a Microsoft Environment, keeping updated with respect to potential security breaches and patches is a constant vigil. The rigor of keeping current with OS updates, Norton updates and Spyware updates is time consuming. Valuable business hours each week are spend and lost on this task of self-administration dictated by the Microsoft Operating Environment.

          [...]

          Now the Linux called Ubuntu is installed on my notebook. Ubuntu by Canonical is a full Open Source Linux based on Debian Linux. Ubuntu is now available on Dell systems and Federal Governments are adding this Linux operating environment to their list of standard available OS’s for all desktop and notebook computers.


        • Ubuntu Lucid checkup — my now-healthy desktop


        • Social From the Start




        • Ubuntu 10.10

          • Making 10.10 a perfect 10/10 - Evolution


          • The X.Org, Mesa Plans For Ubuntu 10.10
            The talk at the Ubuntu Developer Summit surrounding the X.Org plans for Ubuntu 10.10 just wrapped up. Compared to the Ubuntu 10.04 LTS release, Ubuntu 10.10 should provide a much more recent and up-to-date graphics experience.


          • Rekonq to be Kubuntu 10.10's default browser
            We're hearing that Kubuntu 10.10 will see Rekonq installed as the default browser.


          • Btrfs May Be The Default File-System In Ubuntu 10.10
            Earlier this week we reported that Ubuntu has plans for the Btrfs file-system in 2011 and 2012 by providing support for installing Ubuntu Linux to a Btrfs file-system. This information was based upon documents coming out of the Ubuntu Developer Summit in Brussels, but it turns out that Canonical may actually deploy Btrfs this year. Not only to provide an installation option within the installer for Btrfs, but to make it the default file-system.






        • Variants

          • Peppermint OS Puts Its Pedal to the Metal
            Peppermint OS, a lightweight distro based on Ubuntu, launched on Monday. "The decision was to concentrate on speed over everything else," said Kendall Weaver, lead developer for Peppermint OS. Toward that end, the development team preintegrated the major Web apps and got permission from Seesmic to integrate its Web app as a Twitter client.




















  • Devices/Embedded

    • VXL fires thin client fusillade
      All seven of the thin clients are also available in similar versions that run Windows CE 6.0, Windows XP Embedded, or Windows Embedded Standard, says the company. The Linux thin clients run a Linux GIO2 distribution based on Linux 2.6, which appears to be a VXL creation.


    • Network video recorder, powered by Linux, ultra stable and loaded with features
      QNAP VS-5020 VioStor NVR (Network Video Recorder) is a high performance network video surveillance system for high-end IP-based real-time monitoring and video recording. Powered by Intel 1.6GHz CPU and 1GB DDRII memory, the Linux-embedded NVR supports 20-channel H.264, MxPEG, MPEG-4 and M-JPEG recording


    • Linux-ready 32-core SoCs offer real-time power optimization
      Linux development partners include Wind River, and Cavium's own subsidiary, MontaVista Software, LLC. The latter announced specific support in MontaVista Carrier Grade Edition (CGE) Linux for the new processors.




    • Nokia

      • Intel gives first look at MeeGo interface
        MeeGo has been given its first proper outing at Intel's Developer Forum in Beijing.

        While Nokia and Intel announced the merger of Moblin and Maemo back at Mobile World Congress in February, there were no demos at the event and only minimal details.


      • Workshops tackle Qt, Linux, and i.MX development
        Future Electronics and Nokia will host six full-day, hands-on workshops across the North America on using Linux and Nokia's Qt development framework to develop user interfaces (UIs) for Freescale's ARM-based i.MX system-on-chips (SoCs). Starting in Boston on May 18, the workshops will use the Freescale i.MX23 SoC as its sample platform.


      • The Qt Virtual Framebuffer








    • Android





    • Sub-notebooks

      • Linux Netbook Operating systems – A list
        It is a proven fact that most Linux operating systems, if not all run like a duck soup on the netbooks now. That is why, it makes perfect sense to install them as a secondary operating system. We have compiled a list of compatible distros for the netbooks which support the hardware of the netbooks; are easy to install and run at acceptable speed.


      • Acer to "launch Chrome netbook next month"
        Acer is preparing to launch devices based on Google's Chrome OS at next month's Computex trade show, according to reports.

        The VentureBeat website claims it's been told by "multiple sources" that Acer plans to unveil the Chrome devices at the Taipei show, which runs from 1 to 5 June.


      • South African netbook runs Ubuntu Linux
        South Africa-based mobile provider Vodacom has begun selling an Ubuntu Linux based netbook. The Linkbook, which was developed by a South African company of the same name, is equipped with 16GB of flash storage, HSDPA, WiFi, two USB ports, and an 8.9-inch display, says Vodacom.










Free Software/Open Source



Leftovers

  • Haiku OS Makes Way With Second Alpha


  • BeOS successor Haiku now in R1/Alpha 2




  • Science

    • NASA Planning Robotic Landing In 2014
      Managers at NASA headquarters are “pursuing” a robotic landing on the Moon or “other planetary body” within about four years to test precision landing and perhaps other technologies that will be needed to enable deep space exploration under the Obama administration’s emerging space policy.








  • Security/Aggression

    • EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW: Ex-CIA Official Reveals New Details About Torture, Plame Leak
      In a wide-ranging video interview with Truthout, former CIA counterterrorism official John Kiriakou reveals new information about the capture and torture of "high-value" detainee Abu Zubaydah and discloses, for the first time, his role in the events that led to the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame.


    • Ukrainian arrested in India on TJX data-theft charges
      A Ukrainian national has been arrested in India in connection with the most notorious hacking incident in U.S. history.

      Sergey Valeryevich Storchark was one of 11 men charged in August 2008 with hacking into nine U.S. retailers and selling tens of millions of credit card numbers. He was arrested in India earlier this week, according to a spokesman with India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).


    • U.S. Not Winning Cyber War
      The United States is losing enough data in cyber attacks to fill the Library of Congress many times over, and authorities have failed to stay ahead of the threat, a U.S. defense official said on Wednesday.

      More than 100 foreign spy agencies were working to gain access to U.S. computer systems, as were criminal organizations, said James Miller, principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy.

      Terrorist groups also had cyber attack capabilities.

      [...]

      Miller took an example from the Cold War playbook to explain how the United States military would need to prepare for fallout from a cyber attack, which could leave cities in the dark or disrupt communications.








  • Environment

    • Bursting in Bhutan: A Small Country Adapts to Global Warming
      I’m going to bet you’ve never heard of a GLOF. I hadn’t, until last week, when I was introduced to the idea of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods, a direct impact of climate change in the Himalayas, and specifically in the tiny kingdom of Bhutan.

      If you’ve heard of Bhutan, it’s probably because the country measures the health of its society by Gross National Happiness rather than by Gross National Product. More interesting to me is how the Bhutanese people are attempting to manage some of the near term dangers from climate change, specifically those caused by glacial lakes bursting their natural dams. It’s a poignant example of how short term adaptation is the only path available to countries and people already feeling the pain of climate change.


    • BP boss admits job on the line over Gulf oil spill
      Tony Hayward, the beleaguered chief executive of BP, has claimed its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is "relatively tiny" compared with the "very big ocean".


    • Gulf oil spill: firms ignored warning signs before blast, inquiry hears
      Documents suggest BP, Transocean and Halliburton ignored tests indicating faulty safety equipment, says committee


    • A volcano of oil erupting
      New video showing largest hole from pipe 5 feet in diameter spewing oil and natural gas at ~4 barrels per second, along with analysis of the amount of oil on the surface, supports the estimates closer to 1 million barrels per day erupting from this hole BP popped in the ocean floor that contains trillions of barrels of oil and natural gas.








  • Monsanto

    • Scientists call for GM review after surge in pests around cotton farms in China
      Farmland struck by infestations of bugs following widespread adoption of Bt cotton made by biotech giant Monsanto


    • Weed resistance could mean herbicide is futile
      THE world's most popular herbicide is losing its knockout punch. More and more weeds are evolving resistance to glyphosate - originally marketed by Monsanto as Roundup - but the problem could have been forestalled by farming practices enriched by a better understanding of evolution.

      This is a serious problem. "Glyphosate is as important to world food production as penicillin is to human health," says Stephen Powles, a plant scientist at the University of Western Australia in Perth.








  • Finance

    • President Obama rips, raises cash from Wall St.
      President Barack Obama Wednesday went from his White House to Main Street tour of Buffalo to raising money for Democrats from Wall Street executives in Manhattan, even as he continued to blame them for the economic crisis and to seek sweeping industry reforms in Congress.

      “We’re engaged in a debate right now about common-sense Wall Street reform,” Obama said at the $15,000-a-person fundraiser Thursday night. “I was in Wall Street just a few weeks ago, and I said I believe in the power of the free market. … But when these institutions operate irresponsibly, they … threaten the entire economy, along with the dreams of millions of Americans who worked so hard to make a life for themselves.”


    • Senate passes amendment on debit and credit card swipe fees


    • CEOs from far and wide band against financial bill provision


    • Time for Regulators to Impose Order in the Markets
      The regulators are still trying to figure out just what set off the crazy trading a week ago Thursday, but some facts are obvious. If a stock goes from $40 to one cent to $40 within a few minutes, somebody messed up.


    • With Banks Under Fire, Some Expect a Settlement
      It is starting to feel as if everyone on Wall Street is under investigation by someone for something.


    • N.Y. Attorney General Cuomo opens probe to learn if 8 banks misled credit raters
      New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo has launched a probe into eight large banks to determine whether they provided misleading information to credit-rating agencies, according to sources with knowledge of the investigation.


    • The do-nothing (but politics) House
      Democrats say they’re just waiting for the Senate to start moving the pile of legislation that’s stacked up on its doorstep, and, with little of substance left on the agenda, they’re letting their members go home to prepare for the November election.


    • Companies Dodge $60 Billion in Taxes Even Tea Party Condemns
      Tyler Hurst swiped his debit card at a Walgreens pharmacy in central Phoenix and kicked off an international odyssey of corporate tax avoidance.

      Hurst went home with an amber bottle of Lexapro, the world’s third-best selling antidepressant. The profits from his $99 purchase began a 9,400-mile journey that would lead across the Atlantic Ocean and more than halfway back again, to a grassy industrial park in Dublin, a glass skyscraper in Amsterdam and a law office in Bermuda surrounded by palm trees.


    • Tax bills in 2009 at lowest level since 1950
      Amid complaints about high taxes and calls for a smaller government, Americans paid their lowest level of taxes last year since Harry Truman's presidency, a USA TODAY analysis of federal data found.


    • Employee Poaching Returns to Wall Street
      Nearly three-quarters of Wall Street employees say they have been approached at least once by headhunters since the beginning of the year, according to a survey from eFinancialCareers, a recruitment Web site. Also, 44% of respondents said the number of calls they have received is up from last year.


    • Half of America Hates Goldman Sachs


    • King World News
      There is one other flaw in the EU plan. In 1992, when George Soros attacked the Bank of England, he did so by selling Sterling and buying dollars. This forced the Bank of England to do the opposite which was to buy Sterling and sell dollars. Since the Bank of England had a finite amount of dollars to sell, Soros knew he could beat them by buying more than they had. However, he needed real money to do this and he was perhaps the only speculator in the world at that time with that much money. Today you do not need money to destroy national finances, you can do this by the creation of synthetic short positions in Euros through the use of credit default swaps (CDS) and other derivative instruments. Goldman Sachs are experts at this. And they can create CDS in potentially infinite amounts since there is no regulation and no margin requirements. In effect, Goldman could create a short position equal to ten times the amount of Euros in the guarantee fund. Goldman can create synthetic short positions faster than the ECB can print money. Therefore, the ECB's plan is doomed to fail because they cannot beat the speculators who can use CDS instead of real money.


    • Shiller: "The Real Worry Is That We'll Grow Slowly Until We Run Into The Next Recession."
      Yale Professor Robert J. Shiller spoke to the National Economists Club at lunch today in Washington, D.C. He expressed concern of slow growth until the next recession, his definition of a double-dip. His 20-city Case-Shiller real home price index declined 35% from its 2006 peak until early 2009, when Fed mortgage backed securities purchases and the homebuyer tax credit pushed it back up just over half as much, but he expects further housing price declines with the expiration of those government interventions on March 31 and April 30 respectively.


    • Portugal Follows Spain on Austerity Cuts
      To help restore investor confidence, José Sócrates, the Socialist prime minister, will rely on tax increases and cuts in wages and corporate subsidies to erase an additional €2.1 billion, or $2.7 billion, from the deficit. “These measures are necessary to obtain what’s essential, the financing of the Portuguese economy, but also to defend the euro,” Mr. Sócrates said.






  • Censorship/Privacy/Civil Rights

    • EU Is The Latest To Criticize Facebook’s Privacy Changes
      From the group’s press release: “The Working Party emphasised the need for a default setting in which access to the profile information and information about the connections of a user is limited to self-selected contacts. Any further access, such as by search engines, should be an explicit choice of the user.” Unclear what steps the Article 29 Working Party could take next; the group has also criticized Google (NSDQ: GOOG) over Street View and has taken a hard look at behavioral ad targeting practices.


    • Facebook: Privacy, the exodus, and Diaspora


    • Diaspora about to hit $100,000 in donations


    • Diaspora, The Open Facebook Alternative, Soars Past $50,000 In Micro-Funding [Update: Now Past $100,000]


    • Open Facebook Alternatives Gain Momentum, $115K


    • Internet connection (finally) restored in Xinjiang
      After 312 days of life under the murky veil of heavily restricted (and mostly non-existent) Internet, Xinjiang is plugged back into the world wide web. The local government announced today that Internet connection was restored to “meet the needs of maintaining stability, boosting social and economic development and the calls from all ethnic groups."


    • Will UK civil service scupper civil liberties reform?
      Google, Facebook and the pressure group Privacy International this week welcomed the raft of civil liberties measures announced by the UK's incoming Conservative-Liberal coalition government. But some of the plans could founder on the rocks of what Privacy International calls the "real opposition": not the Labour party, but an intransigent, security-obsessed civil service.


    • Mordechai Vanunu Jailed Again
      The British government, mainstream parties and the mainstream media never mention Israel's nuclear weapons, even when pontificating about the effect of potential Iranian nuclear weapons on the balance of power in the Middle East.

      Consistent with that, no amount of googling brings up any British mainstream media mention of the fact that whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu has just been jailed again in Israel. This is for breaching the terms of a military edict - not a court order - restricting his movements and contacts.








  • Intellectual Monopolies

    • What Jon Stewart Said, I Say Too. A lot.
      DMCA, Patriot Act, ACTA, and other attacks on free speech and fair use; the RIAA gets away with statutory damage claims of $750 per "pirated" song and never have to prove actual harm; patents and "intellectual property" double-talk swallowed and regurgitated whole by a gullible, uncaring tech press; the MPAA/RIAA (MAFIAA for short) get to order the makers of DVD-players and home theater systems to cripple functionality; kids perpetrating unimportant cracks get felony convictions, while it's OK for Sony to install rootkits--twice--Amazon can reach into your Kindle and pluck your books back out; we can't buy the most trivial item without it being plastered with safety warning stickers, while Microsoft and the "security" industry continue to get a free pass for their corrupt symbiosis; Sony can remove features from PS3s years after they have been sold, Apple has an elite taxpayer-funded police force for their personal use. Facebook, Google, and hordes of marketing companies get away with outrageous invasions and abuses of our personal data and privacies... And on and on...


    • Should We Allow Copies of Analogue Objects?
      The parallel between digital content and software is obvious enough, which makes it relatively easy to see how media companies might function against a background of unrestricted sharing. But we are fast approaching the point where it is possible to make copies of *analogue* objects, using 3D printers like the open source RepRap system. This raises some interesting questions about what might be permitted in that situation if businesses are still to thrive.


    • Real Copyright Law And File Sharing Copyright Law
      We already wrote about the Limewire decision, which didn't seem particularly surprising at all, given that LimeWire was basically doing the exact same things as Grokster. However, some people are noticing a few problematic parts to the ruling. While these parts alone certainly won't change the ruling, it's still worth noting what the judge said and questioning whether or not they're proper. As Eric Goldman notes, he tells his students that when it comes to copyright law there's normal copyright law, and then there's "P2P file sharing" copyright law "and it's a mistake to think those two legal doctrines are closely related."

      [...]

      The second big problem is that the court says part of the reason it found inducement was because LimeWire didn't put in place filters. But that would mean the court's interpretation of the DMCA means that the law requires user-generated websites to install filters. The law says no such thing.


    • Argentinian Politician's Proposal For New Anti-Plagiarism Law Plagiarizes Wikipedia
      Britxardo alerts us to an amazingly ironic story coming out of Argentina. It seems that an elected politician there, Gerónimo Vargas Aignasse, has introduced some new legislation against plagiarism (Google translation of the original). It seems odd enough that he would be outlawing plagiarism (here in the US plagiarism is socially shunned, and could cost you your job, but isn't against the law unless it also reaches the point of copyright infringement, which is different), and it's made even worse by the fact that it looks like he's confusing plagiarism with copyright infringement -- noting in the explanation of the bill that "plagiarism" is harming the recording industry.




    • Drugs

      • Spain confronts big pharma on drug prices
        The Spanish Government has challenged the price of patented medicines as it has taken a number of major steps announced this week to reduce the pharmaceutical expenditure of the public health system (23%). The new measures together with Spanish regional policies announced last March will mean savings of between 4 and 5 billion euros and a major reduction in the Spanish public debt that has been an important factor in shaking the confidence of world financial markets. Last Tuesday President Obama personally called Spanish President Zapatero to request major austerity measures in Spain in order to avoid a domino effect of the Greek debt crisis. The Spanish budget cuts have also been a condition demanded by the European Union.


      • KEI statement on possible WTO disputes against the EU seizures of goods in transit
        The EU seizures of medicines in transit from India to countries in Latin America and Africa were made under the European Union's rules regarding customs measures. We are deeply concerned that these rules, and many other rules being proposed in a plethora of new trade agreements, do not protect legitimate sellers and buyers of generic medicines, when those goods move in global trade.








    • Copyrights

      • ASMP and Lessig
        That being said, I am extremely concerned about ASMP’s recent interactions with Lawrence Lessig. He was one of the speakers at the recent Copyright Symposium and, although I can understand giving “the other side” a voice, I think he needs to be ignored/silenced as much as possible. Mr. Lessig is a brilliant man, but he has done more harm to small creative businesses than any other single human in the US, in my opinion. And he continues to be dangerous.

        [...]

        Recently, however, Mr. Lessig has (sort of) changed his tune. He is now claiming that he was trying to get the idea of licensing to the masses and that his intention was to fight against the big business corporate “abuse” of copyright. I’m skeptical. While he may be anti-corporatism (a good thing in my book), I think he still does not see the needs of the little guy and, thus, his idea of balance is off.

        [...]

        I hope, most sincerely, that Mr. Lessig has indeed seen the errors of his ways and that he will now contribute to improving the lives of creative professionals. He owes it to them after the damage he has caused via CC, etc. But he has not fundamentally changed his tune, just his spin. And until he proves himself no longer a real enemy to the best interests of photographers and other small creative businesspeople (and I do not use the word “enemy” lightly!), we should not entrust him to be anything other than that which he has proven to be.


      • Usenet Community Banned From Publishing Filenames
        A court in The Netherlands has banned a Usenet community from publishing the names of files which allegedly infringe copyright. According to the judges who handled the case, Dutch site FTD – who weren’t even present at the hearing – must stop publishing the names and Usenet locations of files connected to a particular movie or face penalties of 10,000 euros per day.








    • ACTA

      • WTO responds to concerns of the European Parliament on ACTA
        In a letter dated 4 May 2010, the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Pascal Lamy has responded to questions and concerns of the European Parliament regarding the Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Several MEPs had written to the WTO Director General on April 15 requesting the "World Trade Organization (WTO) to provide an expert assessment and analysis of the current provisions of ACTA from your institutional viewpoint as one the two specialised organisations entrusted with the issue of norm-setting in the field of intellectual property rights and related issues."






    • Digital Economy Bill

      • Liberal Democrats take on challenge of UK 3-strikes policy
        The Digital Economy Bill will provide an immediate test for the UK's new coalition government. Will the LibDems keep their pledge to repeal it?

        Vince Cable, Liberal Democrat economic spokesman, has been made Secretary of State for Business under the new conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in the UK.


      • Digital Economy Act: Some Unfinished Business
        Remember the Digital Economy Act? Yes, I thought you might. It's still there, hanging like a proverbial sword of Damocles over our digital heads. But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum, er, Houses of Parliament: that nice Mr Clegg found himself catapulted to a position of some power.














Clip of the Day



NASA Connect - FOFE - Designing Aircraft (1/11/2001)

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One thing to "like" (or dislike) about LLMs is how they're falsely marketed using various buzzwords
Geminispace Promises Simplicity But Also Provides a "bunch of forums that get flood-filled by agitation against the very essence of Gemini itself"
claims of stagnation in Geminispace started because of a person who spent a long time agitating against GNU/Linux as well
Zimbabweans Aren't Into Windows or Microsoft
This cannot be good news for GAFAM
Microsoft's Washington Layoffs Aren't Everything, They're Definitely Not Happening in Just One State in the US
Washington is just more strict with WARN notices
Gemini Links 05/08/2025: Lagrange v1.18.6, No Stagnation in Geminispace, and Fake Coding (Slop)
Links for the day
The Register's Editor in Chief (Who Left for Google) Told Me "AI" Was a Bubble, But Now The Register Gets Paid to Participate in Inflating This Bubble
A lot of the online media is a scam
Introducing Mission:Libre and FreeXR (and BreakXR)
efforts that accompany the foundations put there by the Free Software Foundation in 1985
Slopwatch: WebProNews, LinuxSecurity, and Some Success Stories
Google News still has a slopfarm issue
Links 05/08/2025: Hey Hi (AI) Passing Fads and GAFAM "Embracing the Military"
Links for the day
Links 05/08/2025: Samsung and Microsoft Layoffs
Links for the day
Rumours of Mass Layoffs at Red Hat Next Week (August 11th, 2025)
The eleventh means next Monday
IBM is Shutting Down (Piecewise)
IBM is basically being liquidated
The Debian Language Police Department (PD)
"there has never been complaints about anyone that was offended by this -off package"
Tesla's Debt More Than Doubled in 2 Years and the Company Will Operate in the Red (at a Loss) Quite Soon
If your first-quarter net income is $409 million and you borrow billions from banks, plus interest to pay on those loans, then you're not far from returning to losses
When The Register MS Says "Linux Backdoor" It Actually Talks About Malware
The leading story in The Register US/MS this morning is Microsoft
Microsoft Windows Fell to 19% "Market Share" in Montenegro
Microsoft must be well aware of this trend
Why We Also Include Gopher Links in Our Gemini (Protocol) Links
There are still many people who use Gopher to relay their messages (like blog posts). They're mostly technical people.
Shouting is an Indication of a Lack of Convincing Argument
Beware what they are attempting to distract from
Mongolia: Microsoft Windows at All-Time Low
in 2009 when Windows was at 99.45% in Mongolia the company was "worth" less than 200 billion dollars
About a Quarter of Today's "linux" News in Google News Came From One Domain and It's a Slopfarm
Not kidding!
Gemini Links 05/08/2025: Zombie Threat and Switching to NixOS
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, August 04, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, August 04, 2025
ChatGPT in Trouble
Watch out for the newer buzzwords
The Register MS Links to the Wrong statCounter Page
They link to older data
Dr. Andy Farnell Explains How Google Turned From "Librarian" Into "Oracle", Telling Us What to Think Instead of Where to Look
Google was always a lousy librarian
Microsoft Layoffs Continue in August 2025
If Microsoft is doing so well, how come about 10 rounds of layoffs in about 7 months in 2025?
Microsoft and Windows Have Many Back Doors, But LLM Slop Keep Claiming That Linux Has "Backdoor"
It's another example of LLM slop as FUD amplifier, via slopfarms as well
In Many Countries Vista 11 Adoption Stalled or Became Negative
Not just because people move to GNU/Linux
Microsofters' Lawyers Are Name-calling and Insulting Microsoft Critics, Even Their Spouses
How not to win arguments
Flagging or Tagging Slop That We Find Online
Right now we use ImageMagick
Links 04/08/2025: Very Bad Weather and Travel Restrictions in China
Links for the day
Gemini Links 04/08/2025: Misiamisia and Mobile Linux
Links for the day
Microsoft's Stock is Like a Religion, Microsoft Goes Into 'Hiding' (From Shareholders)
like a religious person or devout believer, the media just parrot anything Microsoft says
Links 04/08/2025: 80 Years Since Last Nuclear War, IPv6 in China
Links for the day
Groklaw Static Site Relaunches With New Theme, But Many Pages and All the Comments Are Missing
We suppose that's still a lot better than the site being offline, as it was for several months
"For Five decades; For freedoms; For all users" (Original EMACS Turns 50 Next Year)
Linus Benedict Torvalds was only 6 when EMACS started
In Spain, Microsoft's Search Engine Market Share Fell to 2%
16 years have passed since Bing was introduced
Protecting GNU/Linux-Centric Journalism From Serial Sloppers
Unoriginal slop is taking away traffic from the people who did all the real work
It Looks Like Managers at Oracle Now Use LLM Slop to Write Blog Posts
Did he cheat by prompting LLMs for mindless text "filler"?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, August 03, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, August 03, 2025
Gemini Links 04/08/2025: Qubes OS and Curious crypto case of certificates (CCCC)
Links for the day