Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 31/7/2010: Dell's Many Mysteries and Wine Development Release 1.3.0



GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux



  • Desktop

    • Simmtronics Rolls Out Slim Desktop PCs
      Simmtronics SDC 2711S comes preloaded with Ubuntu.


    • Where are Dell's Ubuntu PCs?
      Back in February, I covered Gripe Line reader Cal's complaint that Dell seemed to have stopped carrying Ubuntu machines. At the time, I spoke to Anne Camden at Dell, who assured me that the company would be refreshing its Ubuntu line "in several weeks." Thus, I was surprised to hear from Gripe Line reader Ken recently, who has been watching the Dell/Ubuntu situation closely because he is in the market for a Ubuntu desktop.

      "I just want you to know," Ken writes, "that Dell still isn't offering any new Ubuntu machines." Instead, the company is carrying only one laptop and a netbook.


    • Dell release OpenManage Server Administrator for Ubuntu
      Dell has announced the release of its proprietary OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) 6.3 for Ubuntu 9.10 or later. OMSA is a web browser or command line driven system administration tool for servers. The .deb packaged and community supported release was completed with a "generous donation" of several weeks of engineering time by Canonical, which allowed the Dell Linux team to become better acquainted with .deb packaging.


    • Dell Adds Linux Desktop PCs, But Stops Web Sales of Linux Laptops
      In a reversal of its long-time approach to Linux, Dell has now added a desktop PC pre-loaded with Ubuntu Linux to its Web site, while halting online sales of Linux-based netbooks and notebook PCs.

      Dell started selling the Studio XPS 7100 with Ubuntu on its Web site earlier this week at pricing of $459.99 without monitor. The price includes a one-year basic service plan.








  • Applications





    • Instructionals







    • Wine

      • Wine Announcement
        The Wine development release 1.3.0 is now available.

        What's new in this release (see below for details): - Beginnings of a user interface for the builtin Internet Explorer. - Support for cross-process OLE drag & drop. - New builtin wscript.exe (Windows Script Host) program. - Open/save dialogs remember the last used directory. - Translation updates. - Various bug fixes.







    • Games

      • Open games with closed content
        Some Linux users have at least a general familiarity familiar with RMS's four freedoms and the GPL. Some of the games mentioned in this column, in the past as well as in the future, are licensed such that the game itself is under the GPL or a similarly free license, but the content is not. That is, you are free to do whatever you want with the game engine itself, but don't mess with the content.

        For example, let us consider the game Sauerbraten. Now, the Cube2 engine that is the heart and soul of Sauerbraten is totally copylefted. You can distribute it, modify it, and even rub it in your belly, if you so desire. However, the data files that are associated with Sauerbraten is not free. While you can run Sauerbraten with the associated data files that compose the actual content of Sauerbraten, you are not permitted to include the data files along with any changes you make to the Cube2 engine itself. If you want to modify the game engine and release your own modified version of the game called Schnitzel, for example, then you need to create your own maps, textures, skins, and music to go with Schnitzel.












  • Desktop Environments





    • GNOME Desktop

      • GNOME Census report now available as free download
        I was delighted to see that the GNOME Census presentation I gave yesterday at GUADEC has gotten a lot of attention. And I’m pleased to announce a change of plan from what I presented yesterday: The report is now available under a Creative Commons license.












  • Devices/Embedded

    • New controller chip sets stage for color e-readers
      Monochrome electrophorescent (EPD) displays sourced from E Ink Corporation have been used in the majority of e-readers to date. Examples include Amazon's market-leading, Linux-based Kindle -- updated today to become smaller and lighter.








Free Software/Open Source



  • Lockheed Goes Open Source. Blankenhorn Hates It.
    Wait, what? Open source advocates have, for years, been trying to encourage more code to come out from behind corporate skirts. Where companies can build business models around governing and supporting open source projects, we want them to take the plunge. If more code is open, that makes everyone smarter. And that, my friends, is exactly what Lockheed Martin did today. Someone who probably never contributed code in their lives just gave the community a project they’ve been working on for months, or even years. I think that’s amazing. In return, this brave developer gets painted as a nefarious secret agent out to steal our thoughts and bug our laptops. Or whatever.




  • FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC

    • Presentations at Debconf in NYC
      The first is "FSF's Campaigns for Freedom" on Sunday, August 1st, from 14:00 to 15:00 in 414 Schapiro. I'll give an overview of some of the current FSF campaigns, like the GNU Project, Working Together for Free Software, Defective by Design, PlayOgg, Windows 7 Sins, and the High Priority Projects List; and resources like the Licensing & Compliance Lab, Free Software Jobs page, Hardware Directory, and the Free Software Directory. But I'm going to save plenty of time to talk with the room about things the FSF should or could be doing.


    • Pictures from the GNU Hackers Meeting in the Hague (July 2010)
      The European GNU Hackers meeting took place this weekend in the Hague. Two days of talks about GNU projects, nearly 50 hackers, prodigiuous amounts of coffee, and exotic food. All followed by two days of coding for those who stayed on Monday and Tuesday.








Leftovers





  • Science

    • Mars site may hold 'buried life'
      Researchers have identified rocks that they say could contain the fossilised remains of life on early Mars.

      The team made their discovery in the ancient rocks of Nili Fossae.

      Their work has revealed that this trench on Mars is a "dead ringer" for a region in Australia where some of the earliest evidence of life on Earth has been buried and preserved in mineral form.








  • Environment/Wildlife

    • Saudia Arabia and Russia
      As I have discussed previously, without Russia the world of Non-OPEC supply would have fallen down into a hole shortly after 2003. Indeed, without Russia Non-OPEC production (Non-OPEC ex-Russia) would have fallen every year from 2004 through the present day. What’s been a surprise is that Russia has been able to sustain its current ~9.5 mbpd for over four years now.








  • Finance

    • High-Frequency Programmers Revolt Over Pay
      Last year Gomberg and a fellow programmer quit their jobs and cut a deal with HTG Capital Partners of Chicago, whose programmers typically trade on regulated futures exchanges. HTG supplies office space, technology and access to exchanges. Gomberg keeps 40% to 80% of net profits, with the percentage rising as his profits do. More importantly, says Gomberg, the programmers retain ownership of the code they write.








  • Censorship/Privacy/Civil Rights

    • Google Search Engine Is Blocked in China
      Google said that the search engine was functioning normally in China. “It’s possible that our machines could overestimate the level of blockage. That seems to be what happened last night, when there was a relatively small blockage,” said Jill Hazelbaker, a Google spokeswoman.








  • Internet/Net Neutrality/DRM

    • Google adds 'phone home' DRM to Android Market
      Google has added a licensing server to the Android Marketplace which will allow an app to verify whether the user has purchased it or not before opening.


    • Internet 'Key Holders' Are Insurance Against Cyber Attack
      In a move that seems inspired by "The Lord of the Rings," seven "keys" have been handed out to a trusted circle of people who might get called upon to "save" the Internet in the aftermath of a cyber attack. But contrary to other news reports, the seven key holders have not been vested with the power to resurrect the entire Internet should it be sabotaged by hackers.








  • Intellectual Monopolies







Clip of the Day



Copyright vs Community 2009



[an error occurred while processing this directive]



Recent Techrights' Posts

Gemini Links 10/04/2025: "Secret of Happiness" and Overthinking POSSE
Links for the day
Microsoft's "Linux" Foundation Pays Writers to Publish Propaganda and Then LLM Slop Sites (Slopfarms) Repeat the Propaganda, Using Microsoft LLMs
consider the latest LLM slop
Alleged Layoffs at IBM Consulting in Australia
IBM loses many government contracts these days
The Rumours Were Likely True: Sixth Wave of Microsoft Mass Layoffs in 2025 (Days After "50" Anniversary and About 5,000 Layoffs)
5 hours ago, by Ashley Stewart
 
Slopwatch: A Sea of LLM Slop About SparkyLinux, Kubernetes, Ubuntu, and Linux Kernel
Welcome to the future? The future of the Web?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 10, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 10, 2025
Links 10/04/2025: NNCPNET Email Network, RSS Readers, and IRS as 'Immigration Enforcer'
Links for the day
IBM Layoffs in Markham (Canada) Apparently Still Happening
"Still going on... Got laid off today. TEL Canada, Band 9, 19 years with IBM."
Links 10/04/2025: Fentanylware (TikTok) Perils and Internet Shutdown
Links for the day
Once You Slop You Can't Stop and If You're a Serial Slopper Nobody Will Believe You Really Wrote an Article (Even If You Did)
It's a lot like, "if you're a serial liar people won't believe you even when you say some truth" (or "once a cheater, always a cheater")
Pressing Against SLAPPs (From Americans Who Strangle Women While Microsoft Pays Their Salaries) is a High Priority for Us
We also need to ensure that greedy firms/people that facilitate the SLAPPs get "disbarred" or "struck off"
Mozilla Firefox Already Down to 1% in Brazil
Don't people crave the surveillance and the slop?
Links 10/04/2025: Hardware, Politics, and Internet
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/04/2025: Creativity and Agitation, Life in the USA, CSS Naked Day 2025
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 09, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 09, 2025
Malware in Proprietary Software - Latest Additions
Original by Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Links 09/04/2025: More Trade Wars and Wars, Chinese Army Troops Found Fighting in Ukraine
Links for the day
Linux Clickbait by Slop
Give it up for Brian Fagioli, the Serial Slopper
IBM and MCC: Layoffs Coming Again to Metro Connect Company Limited (MCC) as Tariffs Bite and IBM's Shares Fall
Blacklists applicable to Chinese suppliers also mean that IBM can no longer cooperate with key partners in Asia
Microsoft's Entire Premise for Its Future Existence Goes Up in Flames
32 minutes ago
GNU/Linux on a High in Colombia
Stereotypes much?
Go Static
Please don't Go(lang) or JavaScript or PHP or...
Techrights Be Like...
K.I.S.S.
Gemini Links 09/04/2025: Autism, Cybersecurity, and LLMs Attacking Services Online
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Would be Measured at Over 5% Globally (by statCounter) Had the Data in India Not Been Changed
GNU/Linux grew a lot in many countries and has expanded since then
Keeping Track of Microsoft Layoffs in 2025
So here's a quick roundup of 2025
The Sixth Anniversary of the Lightweight Alternative to the Web (Gemini Protocol)
Now 11 short of 3,000 active capsules. 65 short of 4,500 total.
Links 09/04/2025: Quartz Fires All Writers (Shutdown, LLM Slop or Slopfarm Instead), "Bitcoin Is Crashing Hard"
Links for the day
People Are Sick of LLM Slop. Offer Them Alternatives.
We never used LLM slop for anything and we never will
Web Surveyor statCounter Sees Apple's macOS Falling From 5.6% to 3.6% in Two Months, It Might Soon be Smaller Than GNU/Linux
Apple's "value" (faked, exaggerated) is back to "pandemic times"
UK House of Lords Recognises the SLAPP Issue in the UK and EFF Pursues "Bill (That) Could Put A Stop To Censorship By Lawsuit" in the US
"A House of Lords inquiry into how the news industry can survive into the future has accused the government of “failing to prioritise” action on strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs)."
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: Seeking Class Action Against the OSI
"LETTER SEEKING CLASS ACTION REPRESENTATION"
The Value of Slop, by Alexandre Oliva
Original by Alexandre Oliva
Gemini Links 09/04/2025: Neocities, Tinylogs, and Inter-community Protocols
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 08, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 08, 2025
You Can Be an A--hole to Women (Even Strangle Women) as Long as You Work for Microsoft
Recalling the Mark Shuttleworth origin story
Canonical is a Proprietary Software Reseller With a 'Debian Base'
"Canonical Ubuntu" is just Debian with some proprietary things sold on top of it