Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 27/10/2011: Chrome 15 is Out, Mozilla Sells Out to Microsoft





GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux

  • Frozen In One Place While Everything Moves Forward
    He was basically telling me that I, or people in my age group, had become old, and stuck in one place. Not an insult either, but a clear fact. If you remember back when you were younger you should remember when things changed all the time in your life and you easily accepted it. Not just accepted it, enjoyed it and looked towards tomorrow for more. Sure, this isn’t everyone, but the majority.


  • Desktop





  • Kernel Space



  • Applications



  • Desktop Environments

    • Some Attractive Wallpapers For Your Linux Desktop
      Here are a few great wallpapers available for download at GnomeLook.org. First and foremost is the debian chick, this gorgeous babe is the perfect addition to any desktop. Unfortunatelty those curves may cause you to miss a project deadline or two.


    • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC)

      • KDE Password And User Account Settings


      • Calligra 2.4 Beta
        The Calligra team is proud and excited to release the third beta version of the Calligra Suite. Since the start of the Calligra effort, we have had a long and very productive development phase. In the mean time we have released four snapshot versions, also known as alphas, to give the users a chance to see what we are doing.





    • GNOME Desktop







  • Distributions





    • New Releases



    • Red Hat Family

      • Red Hat Is Red Hot Right Now
        Red Hat posted a surge of 28% in quarterly revenues over the past year, which drove net income up a whopping 69%. This staggering growth was mainly because of enormous demand for its open-source solutions everywhere, especially in the financial services sector and local, state, and federal governments. Moreover, Red Hat's customers have been looking to modernize their data center infrastructure. This helped in growing revenues and highlighted customer loyalty. High demand for Red Hat's services, low service charges, and excellent reliability drove revenue growth.


      • The Perfect Server - CentOS 5.7 x86_64 [ISPConfig 2]


      • Red Hat talks ahead of Linuxcon keynote
        Tim Burke is the VP of Linux technology development at Red Hat. He spoke to us about the power of free software, what he thinks is the best thing about Linux and what it might be used for in the future.


      • Fedora

        • Secondary Fedora is hiring
          Red Hat is hiring a Fedora release engineer with primary focus on the PowerPC platform, where he/she will prepare the testing and final releases, work on the build system infrastructure, work with architecture maintainers on package build failures and much more.






    • Debian Family

      • m23 rock 11.4 is ready!
        We've done it! m23 rock 11.4 is ready - and now Debian Squeeze is available as an additional client distribution and TDE (which can be seen as a continuation of KDE3) was added to the list of desktop interfaces to choose from.




      • Derivatives



        • Canonical/Ubuntu

          • Ubuntu 11.10 Experience on Dell D610
            First off, I would like to congratulate Ubuntu team for releasing another milestone of a good Linux distribution. It is such a big project which requires great balance between schedule, functionality, level of polish and quality.

            On the polish, I really like the new theme, it fits well to my taste.


          • Planning Ubuntu 12.04
            I love planning a new Ubuntu release. It’s a great experience to take a few steps back and look at the biggest challenges and opportunities in your area of interest and try to identify the most promising.


          • Disunited
            If you want a shiny barely-customizable straitjacket as a desktop environment, go buy a Mac. Please stop wrecking Ubuntu.


          • Ubuntu 11.10 review
            At the end of the upgrade process, I had changed an existing installation of Ubuntu 11.04 with a core of Linux kernel 2.6.38 to one running Ubuntu 11.10 with a core of Linux kernel 3.0.0, with no loss of existing data. Very nice. Though I did not backup my data because there was no useful data on the system, it is always a good idea to keep a backup of your data before an upgrade. You just never know.


          • White Screen of Death
            Remember the good old days when Windows had problems with the “Blue Screen of Death.” Years later, XBox followed with its “Red Ring of Death.” Now, it’s Ubuntu turn, what others are coining as the “White Screen of Death.”

            Yesterday, I upgraded to Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot. Prior to the upgrade, I was using Ubuntu 11.04 and the Gnome desktop (not Unity). Somehow, for some reason, when I upgraded to Ubuntu 11.10, it wiped out my Gnome default environment and switched me back to Unity. Argh!


          • United for Unity alternatives
            Having said this, allow me a Captain Obvious moment to say that folks have different tastes, likes and dislikes, which in the final analysis boils down to a subjective smorgasbord of opinion rather than any resemblance to objective fist-bearing, knuckle-bashing fact.

            I loathe Unity with a heat of a nova, but some people absolutely love it to the ends of the earth. And that’s great, but it’s not for everyone. What about those Ubuntu users who don’t like Unity because it’s a brain-numbing, unintuitive desktop environment that’s has a my-way-or-highway range of tweakability (or do I overstate it?), or what about an Ubuntu user who can’t use it because they’re using older hardware?


          • Canonical upping desktop support for its next Ubuntu LTS to 5 years
            Ever since Ubuntu shipped its first long-term-support release, the 6.06 Dapper Drake (one of my all-time favorites by the way), the distro's LTS editions have enjoyed three years of support on the desktop and five years on the server.










  • Devices/Embedded



    • Phones



      • Android

        • DROID RAZR Pre-Orders Start Tomorrow at 8AM, Will Ship “No Later” Than November 10
          Verizon pinged us this morning with a reminder that the pre-order period for the DROID RAZR starts tomorrow at 8AM, giving potential owners a chance to jump on the device early for $299 on contract. Up until now though, we had no idea when you would expect to see that order since Big Red and Motorola decided not to give us an actual release date last week at the RAZR event. According to this reminder email, it looks like November 10 is the latest you will see it.










Free Software/Open Source



  • Events



  • Web Browsers



    • Chrome

      • Chrome 15 released with... improved start page
        Google has rolled out version 15 of Chrome to its "stable" channel. The update brings some minor cosmetic changes, including a slightly cleaner new tab page, and Google has also redesigned the Chrome Web Store with a simpler layout.


      • Google Releases Chrome 15 Stable for Linux
        The Google Chrome developers at Google proudly announced last night, October 25th, the immediate availability for download of the stable and final release of the Google Chrome 15 web browser for Linux platforms.




    • Mozilla





  • Licensing

    • GPL or BSD License: Confusion Galore
      I started with the notion that GPL should always be used in open source software. I also thought that releasing software under BSD license was letting others take advantage of your hard work without giving anything in return; a highly unfair practice. My thoughts have changed a bit. You can read all about the regurgitated pros and cons all over the Internet. I’m looking to introduce a new perspective, if I can.




  • Programming





Leftovers



  • Security





  • Finance

    • Wall St. Giants Seek a Piece of Nigeria’s Sovereign Fund
      Nigeria, the West African nation that has gained notoriety for the illicit e-mail spammers aiming for Western bank accounts, is attracting attention for legitimate financial opportunities — investing its own savings.

      In an effort to preserve and increase its oil revenue, the country recently established a so-called sovereign wealth fund, following the path of many resource-rich countries. Now, Wall Street titans like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase are courting top government officials, aiming to grab a piece of a portfolio that could eventually be worth tens of billions of dollars.




  • PR/AstroTurf/Lobbying

    • Herman Cain's New Internet Campaign Ad Promotes Smoking
      Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain's new internet ad features a tight head shot of his campaign's "chief of staff," Mark Block, telling viewers how great Cain will be for the country and how much confidence he has in Cain.






Recent Techrights' Posts

Big Blue's Quiet Axe - Poem Regarding IBM "RAs"
No idea who posted this, but it is profound
Growing Proportion of Linux Commits Being Made by LLMs Not a Sign of LLMs Working, It's a Sign of Linux Development Being Shifted From Community to GAFAM and Other Slop Pushers
antagonist became apologist
Worse Than "Taking Your Job", the Slop Pyramid Scheme Will "Take Your Pension"
This will not end well
Rumours of Further IBM Shutdowns
IBM is going out of existence
Many Anniversaries
Many anniversaries in quick succession
 
Links 04/08/2026: GAFAM Expressing Concerns About Dangerous Disinformation by Slop, Bill Epsteingate-Connected Litigation Firm Salivating Over Europe
Links for the day
Gemini Links 04/08/2026: Root Shell and "Duty of Care"
Links for the day
Alternate Data (Not IBM's Headcount) to Show Mass Layoffs' Effect at IBM (Despite Many Acquired Workers Via M&A)
mass layoffs at Hashicorp and at Confluent this year (media did not cover either).
Abundance of Fake (Sometimes Paid-for) 'News' About IBM Will Discredit the Media as a Whole
In 'the news' today
Microsoft is Trying Vapourware Again (to Keep Developers and Gamers From Fleeing)
For XBox, the main thing over the horizon is additional layoffs
statCounter Reckons 12.33% of Web Traffic in Gambia Can be Attributed to GNU/Linux, Even 15% If Adding ChromeOS
Will this be sustainable?
Reminder: The Pedophilia Problem Comes From the Accusers
Attacks on Richard Stallman are a distraction; his accusers are themselves the culprits
SLAPP Censorship - Part 139 Out of 200: Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Needs More Public Scrutiny (New Management Changed Nothing, It's Costing a Lot of Taxpayers' Money)
millions or maybe billions of pounds wasted
Brigading Against Women - Part II - Threatening Women Using the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) and Then False Threats Miscarrying the Name of a Court
In this series we intend to show the threats, the outcomes of those threats, the response to those threats
Collapse of MElon Companies a Taste of What's to Come for Slop Bubble and GAFAM (Trillions in Debt, Justified as Slop "Investments")
One good example of this was SpaceX
The 'Hyperinflation' in Hardware Dooms Video Hosting (Very Large Files)
a terabyte of video files would be expensive
Rumours of Silent Layoffs in Microsoft This Month (August 2026), PIPs and Global Voluntary Separation Agreement (GVSA), aka "Buyouts"
Will any investigative journalism follow or just shallow puff pieces and LLM trash from slopfarms?
Links 04/08/2026: "Framework for Musician Burnout" and Alexa+ "is a Buggy Embarrassment"
Links for the day
Signs That XBox as a Console is Coming to an End, Windows Gaming Will be Called "XBox"
"XBox" is the next "Surface"
Microsoft's Share in Search Falls Sharply in Europe
The layoffs at Microsoft's Bing will carry on
Romania: GNU/Linux Reaches 4% (Less Than EU Average)
We expect this same upward trend to carry on
Microsoft Sites or Sites Sponsored by Microsoft Angry That GNU/Linux is Gaining
The Microsofters cannot easily dismiss reports of GNU/Linux growth as "bots" or just allege that statCounter alone is wrong
Ableism in the Free Software Movement Typically Comes From GAFAM Operatives and Proprietary Software Apologists
And their hired guns
Afghanistan: GNU/Linux Steadily Rises to 9%
Windows is steadily declining
IBM Innovation: It Has Invented New Methods of Silent Layoffs or Secret RAs
How IBM disguises mass layoffs now
LLM Slop Won't Replace People and Jobs (in the Long Run)
At the end of the day, people who know their job offer more useful information, whereas LLMs waste people's time (typically an 'externality' to the entity deploying chatbots)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, August 03, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, August 03, 2026
Over 3,500 Known Gemini Capsules Accessible and Active According to Lupa
It finally happened this morning
Gemini Links 04/08/2026: Library Cards, Dead Ends in Software Development, and DOS on USB Key
Links for the day
IBM Has Embraced and Rewarded Liars
The IBM culture vanished
statCounter Estimates GNU/Linux at 5.32% in Kuwait, Years Ago It Was Near 0%
Kuwait rose to fame in the 1990s because of a war
Swatting People Who Write About Corruption, Misogyny, Criminal Misuse of Funds
we've given ourselves a decade to cover all those stories
GNU/Linux Rises Above 6% in Colombia
In Colombia, which is a large south American country, GNU/Linux has risen steadily in recent years
SLAPP Censorship - Part 138 Out of 200: Garrett Has Basically "Lost" and It is "Embarrassing" to Them
they just wound up costing hundreds of thousands of pounds
Gemini Links 03/08/2026: Great Exodus, xkcd as Text, and Dead Ends
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Has Surged to 6.3% in Madagascar
Madagascar's adoption of Free software is a subject we covered a lot in past years
Microsoft's Slop Bet is Killing the XBox Even Faster
LLMs destroy almost anything they touch
The Cyber Show on "Weaponised Antisocial Technology"
by Andy
Alexandre Oliva on Slippery Slop (LLMs)
By Alexandre Oliva
RMS Won the Argument and Now GNU Wins Over Computer Users
He can look back at nearly 43 years of GNU and say, "I was right..."
statCounter Corrects GNU/Linux Estimates, Now Measured at 9% Worldwide
Windows has sunk like a rock
GNU/Linux-Centric Blogs Belatedly Pick Up News About GNU/Linux Gains: 4-8% Depending on the Surveyor
more people will get curious and give it a go
Links 03/08/2026: Strike By Flight Attendants (WestJet) and Greedflation
Links for the day
Links 03/08/2026: EU Curtailed Slop, Frank Zappa Recalled
Links for the day
Daniel Pocock on Sky News This Morning
No harm done
Morten Linderud Has Helped Microsoft Put Locks (and Kill Switches) on the PCs of Arch Linux Users
"the first rule of "secure boot" is to disable "secure boot"
In Poor Peru, GNU/Linux Surges From 1% to 5% in a Few Years
Windows is dying
All Social Control Media is a Weapon (Against Its Users, Serving the Real Owners)
That social control networks are weaponised isn't a new concept
Fanning the Flames of Journalism
This week we have several surprises coming
Forcing the Slop Bubble to Implode Fully to Save the Economy From an Even Greater Collapse and Societal Harm
Let's blow up the bubble. The sooner, the better
GNU/Linux at 8% in Croatia
somewhat of a GNU/Linux adoption hotbed
It's Easy to Predict Microsoft Layoffs for October 2026 Because of the Financial 'Results' That Month (More Faking, More Secret Debt and Buzzwords to Perfume This Debt as "Investment")
From what we've read, Microsoft is silently laying off people this month based on LITE, which leads to PIPs
Not Hard to Guess Who Will Pay for IBM's Collapse (Due to False Statements Made to Shareholders), Red Hat May Disappear
IBM's leadership is never being punished for its failures
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, August 02, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, August 02, 2026
Gemini Links 03/08/2026: Collectibles, Cities of the Red Night, and Lali Lambda
Links for the day
IBM's August 2026 Promotions (Annual Ritual) Can Turn Into a "Bloodbath" (RAs, Layoffs)
IBM Common Stock is set to open in the red (minus) on Monday
Microsoft Culture Explained by People Who Work at Microsoft
"Be ready for politicking and working over time and weekends."
Codes of Conduct Attract Hoarders and Sociopaths, They Are Intolerant Towards Good People
Codes of Conduct (CoCs) are also promoted using violence
XBox is in Trouble, Sunday News Shows How Serious a Problem It Now Faces
it seems impossible to resuscitate at this point
statCounter Observes GNU/Linux at 10% in Libya
this month statCounter finally sees GNU/Linux approaching "double-figures" there
Thailand: GNU/Linux Approaching 15%, Windows in a Freefall
It makes perfect sense for Thailand to adopt GNU/Linux for technical reasons, not just political reasons
GNU/Linux in Bulgaria Back Up
part of a trend in Europe
Cuba Sees Leap in GNU/Linux Usage, as Reported by statCounter
For the ordinary Cuban it makes sense to reduce a dependence on GAFAM
Gemini Links 02/08/2026: Drift, Crawlers in Gopher Space, Purpose, and Python
Links for the day
Links 02/08/2026: Some Large Slop Investors "Crumbling", Russia Intensifies Bombing of Kiev
Links for the day
IBMers Discuss Who Killed IBM (It Impacts Red Hat)
Fedora is fast becoming like another CentOS
GNU/Linux Rises to 6% in Mexico
Did the soccer (football) matches have some impact or just the "unknowns" being deciphered (or omitted) by statCounter?
GNU/Linux Leaps to 8% in Asia
In Asia, is it a bit higher because of GAFAM distrust? Maybe some other factor/s?
Clownflare Web Usage Survey: About 10% in North America Use GNU/Linux, Worldwide 6.7%
surveyors that showed GNU/Linux growth
SLAPP Censorship - Part 137 Out of 200: Discovering That Spending a Million British Pounds (1,348,250.01 United States Dollars) on Lawyers Cannot Take Down One's Critics
just outright bullying and criminality
Steam Survey, analytics.usa.gov, and statCounter All Point to GNU/Linux Gains (Again)
This must be very annoying to Microsoft
GNU/Linux Exceeds 6% in Spain
In recent years the "market share" steadily grew from 3% to over 6%
Brazil: GNU/Linux Record High, 5%
On average, GNU/Linux has evidence of growth in many countries this summer
Amid 2026 Bing Layoffs Microsoft Share in Search Collapses
How much longer before Microsoft throws in the towel or rebrands again?
United Kingdom: GNU/Linux up to 7%, ChromeOS Another 5% (Total 12%)
further significant gains for GNU/Linux this month
Links 02/08/2026: Cheeto "Blurted Out Vile Plot to Censor ABC"; New York Times Fights 'Intimidation'
Links for the day
Why Techrights Will Still be Active a Decade From Now
Techrights will carry on for many years to come
We Are Witnessing the End of IBM
IBM cannot find growth by moving downwards, by lowering standards
The Slop Presumption Rule
Tainting oneself can take one day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, August 01, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, August 01, 2026
Gemini Links 02/08/2026: Older Books, Esperanto Music History, and Slop Making Things Worse
Links for the day