Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 29/2/2012: Fedora 17 Alpha, MINIX 3.2.0





GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux



Free Software/Open Source



  • Open source teaches people how to fish
    One of the things I love most about the open source communities I’m a part of is that when I ask a question, I just don’t get the answer, I get taught how to find the answer.


  • It’s scary to join an open source project


  • HP culls nearly half remaining webOS team


  • Web Browsers



  • Education

    • Musings of a dark overlord: Leveraging 21st-century education with open source
      When I first went to the dark side, I lamented that I was trading my noble teaching role for that of a dark overlord administrator. Much of the time, this characterization remains true. But as I mature as an educational leader, I find that I am in a more complicated teaching role--not only retaining my former group of students, but also expanding my responsibilities to include teaching teachers.




  • Project Releases



  • Openness/Sharing

    • LocalWiki project spawns open source communities
      Who says open source is all about code and hackathons have to stick to computer hacking? Code Across America is a different kind of open source community, and it came together on February 25, 2012. This effort was part of civic innovation week (February 24-March 4), where over a dozen cities in the United States have citizens organizing to improve their cities and communities. Simultaneous events included hackathons, unconferences, meet-ups, and Code for America ’brigades’ deploying existing open source applications. This is a story about building community knowledge the open source way, using the open source platform LocalWiki.


    • Foundation Formed to Marry Open Principles with Job Search Tools
      With economic problems lingering, many people remain in need of employment and that's true across the technology sector. Now, a group called DirectEmployers Association has announced a new foundation--DirectEmployers Foundation--that will purportedly leverage open source principles and technology to deliver improved job search and career marketing tools. In addition to standalone tools, the foundation will also focus on APIs and components that can be shared, delivering job search tools and listing to many online sites.


    • Open Hardware

      • Facebook plans open-source storage hardware
        The designs should become available in May via Facebook-spinoff the Open Compute Project, the company confirmed to ZDNet UK on Friday. The move will come a year after it started publishing the design specifications of its own ultra-efficient servers.






  • Programming





Leftovers

  • Genode OS Framework 12.02 Released
    At the beginning of the year I wrote about how Genode OS had an ambitious road-map for this year after coming up with plans for their own general purpose operating system. Today marks the first release since that point with the release of Genode OS Framework 12.02.

    One of the fundamental shifts in Genode's development that happened this cycle is moving to an open development cycle rather than within the confines of Genode Labs. Genode is now being developed in the open on GitHub.


  • Security



    • Your Exim is Vulnerable, No its Not, Well We Say it is!


    • A New Dawn of Energy Security for the West? A Non-OPEC Update
      OPEC currently supplies the world with 32% of its oil. The rest is supplied by Non-OPEC producers. One of the most important distinctions between the two is that OPEC oil largely comes from state-run oil companies. Saudi Aramco in Saudi Arabia, PDVSA in Venezuela, and the National Oil Company of Iran, for example. Meanwhile, in Non-OPEC, production flows from countries mostly through private enterprise: United States, Canada, UK, for example. What has surprised the global oil market over the past 7 years is that this majority segment of world oil production has also remained trapped below a ceiling, despite the price revolution which took oil from under $40 to above $100 a barrel. Free markets are supposed to create more supply, when price rises. New supply has indeed come online in Non-OPEC over the past decade. However, geology has trumped investment. It is geology that determines flow rates.






  • Finance

    • Goldman Sachs Workers Unionize In Japan: Report
      Wall Street workers and union hands may seem like total opposites, but employees at an iconic investment bank are countering those preconceived notions.

      That's right, some Goldman Sachs workers in Japan are unionizing, according to the Japan Times (h/t Dealbook). The workers made the decision after the bank allegedly attempted to convince certain employees to voluntarily resign in order to get around Japanese labor laws that make laying off workers difficult.




  • Privacy



  • Intellectual Monopolies

    • Public Knowledge
      John Bennett draws our attention to Public Knowledge (.org). They "preserve... the openness of the Internet and the public's access to knowledge; promote... creativity through balanced copyright; and uphold.. and protect... the rights of consumers to use innovative technology lawfully". In the wake of SOPA/PIPA they have started the internet blueprint an effort to crowdsource legislative proposals to protect internet freedoms.


    • Copyrights



      • ACTA

        • A Vibrant Political Debate on ACTA Sparks at the EU Parliament
          The European Parliament may be adopting a strong political line on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), despite the EU Commission's attempt to buy time and defuse the debate. Due to the referral of ACTA to the EU Court of Justice, the final vote paving the way for its ratification will be delayed. This will give the EU Parliament time to build up a clear stance on the issues raised by this dangerous trade agreement, do in-depth research and impact assessments, and hopefully define guidelines for a better and fair copyright regime. Citizens must remain mobilized, as they will have many opportunities to weigh in this open process.


        • ICC BASCAP on ACTA
          A lobby group pushing for ACTA is ICC BASCAP. I remember Cecile Arns(?) as a representative at the first stakeholder meeting, in particular because of her arguing style. That’s my point of interest here. They are kind of hammering these short emotive phrases, you always find a little lighthouse in a sentence. Very professional from a midterm lobbying perspective.


        • EU Trade Negotiators trash Europarl role at WTO
          He previously mentioned Pedro Velasco-Martins was leading the WTO TRIPS Council delegation. He is the current Mr. ACTA at the Commission. Arrogance is part of their administrative culture at DG Trade.

          At the European Parliament STOA meeting for instance he spoke of China as a “very old, traditional country” while MEP Ruebig was spreading stupid nonsense. They are professional trade negotiators. Skilled persons which get screwed and screw other nations up. You cannot expect them to respond to “suggestions” from Parliament as it would be usual. More than 50 written questions from Parliament to the Commission. Any other Commission initiative would be dead and gone by then.










Recent Techrights' Posts

Joel Espy Klecker, unpaid, terminally ill youth labor & Debian knew it
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Non-Tech Enshittification: Post Office Perils and the Czech is in the Mail
We still hope that the parcel will be recovered (maybe at customs) or will be sent back some day
 
Linux Foundation is Rebuilding the Berlin Wall (to Keep Russians Out of Linux)
So the Linux Foundation is basically acting a bit like oppressive Soviets
Linux Foundation is a Scam Like 'Crypto' (So is the Company of Jim Zemlin's Wife, Bakkt)
To us, the Linux Foundation is just a massive scam
Remembering and Respecting Fallen Ones by Avoiding or Stopping Wars (and Boycotting Companies That Want Wars)
The people who die tend to be the least privileged and connected
EPO is Blasting Its Own Foot (There Will be No EPO Left)
If the EPO carries on shooting its own foot, there will be nothing left of it
There's Always a Way to Improve
Self-improvement is a perpetual task
List of Debian lies and deception
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 09/11/2024: More Mass Layoffs and Concerns About Musk Working Like Trump Aide
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Gemini Links 09/11/2024: Operating the Temple System and SeaweedFS
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Why Brown CIT Oughtn't Be Named After Thomas J. Watson (Like Many Faculties Ought Not be Named After Bill Gates)
In their own words
Reminder That Mass Layoffs Are Going on All Month This Month at IBM
The "silent" layoffs continue until the end of this month if not longer
[Meme] Just Blame Whoever Takes Advantage of Your Back Doors
The media will even sympathise with malicious and/or incompetent companies if they blame "Russia"
This Remembrance Sunday We Must Also Remember That Some 'Security Companies' Want More Cyberwar
Some companies profit from the cyberwar; hence, their objective is not to end the war
[Meme] Don't Try This at Home (But a Datacentre Might be OK)
Quit outsourcing to Social Control Media
There's No Free Lunch in Video Hosting
they say there's no free lunch; if you aren't paying for hosting and serving of "your" videos, you're not the customer and those videos, once uploaded, aren't quite yours anymore
Parroting Microsoft Talking Points About Computer Security
This past summer Richard M. Stallman (RMS) openly complained in a public event that the term "security" had come to mean all sorts of ridiculous things, including the very oppose of real security
Visits to OpenAI's Site Plunged by More Than 67% in the Past Half a Year Alone
'autocorrect on steroids' is mostly worthless
Pocock Running for Office Again
Pocock dealt with all sorts of 'politics' in Free software and, unlike many politicians, he has a background in science and technology
[Meme] Turning the EPO Into a Speculation Bank, Monetising It by Breaking the Law, Playing Real Estate (and Mortgage) Financial Games
travesty
Real Estate and Workplace Problems at the European Patent Office, Which Grants Fake Patents Under the Guise of "Law"
Report on the 54th meeting of the Munich LOHSEC of 20 June 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, November 08, 2024
IRC logs for Friday, November 08, 2024
Links 09/11/2024: Politics, Climate, and Why Physical Cash is Crucial
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/11/2024: Minerals, Rants, and Maintaining Planetary Balance
Links for the day
Plagiarism by Bots: Guardian Digital, Inc (linuxsecurity.com) Still Creates Fake Articles About "Linux"
100% fake
[Teaser] [Meme] New Ways to Impoverish Patent Examiners (Entrusted to Block Unjust Monopolies or Monopoly Applications)
Coming tomorrow!
Apple Tax funds: railways, defective concrete blocks in Ireland's North and West
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Daniel Pocock, Nomination for Ireland, Dublin Bay South, General Election 2024
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 08/11/2024: TikTok Bans and Clownflare Issues/Perils
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Gemini Links 08/11/2024: RPS, O.D.I.N., and RSS in Yahoo News
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Donald Trump as Censor in Chief Can Now Leverage Censorship Companies and Fake Protection Disguised as 'Security'
Centralised CAs were trouble all along
Technology: rights or responsibilities? - Part VI
By Dr. Andy Farnell
A Death of a News Industry
A theme we explored thrice today
Deciphering Centralised CAs and Why Their Demise Should be a Goal
Encryption in transmission is good; but who controls the key exchange and certification/authentication/validation?
Links 08/11/2024: Strikes, Recessions, and Slowdowns
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"Many Applications Labelled as "Cybersecurity" and Given a Veneer of Legitimacy Are Really "Weaponised" and Abusive Code"
New from Dr. Andy Farnell
[Teaster] [Meme] New Ways of Wrecking (NWoW)
The EPO
Gateway for News and Blogs
In the long run, this site and its sister site (less overlap between them now) should hopefully become a popular destination for people who look for information, not chaff
Going Even Faster
We hope the site will be faster soon
Psychopaths Who Reaffirm Our Work's Value
Psychopaths and sociopaths lack empathy, so they're willing to go very far and stoop as low as they deem necessary
[Meme] How Low Can You Go at the European Patent Office?
Not just in terms of patent quality
More Cuts/End to Benefits for EPO Workers (Europe's Working Conditions Incompatible With the European Patent Convention)
"The Office is now reviving it but plans to introduce new cuts on benefits"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, November 07, 2024
IRC logs for Thursday, November 07, 2024
Security Advisory: Debian falls for social engineering hacks
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 08/11/2024: US Election, RetroChallenge 2024, and More
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[Meme] Questioning Proprietary Software? Not OK...
A disaster long in the making
Links 07/11/2024: HTTP/3, Health Research, and Punditry
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Gemini Links 07/11/2024: On Writing Publicly and Record Player Table
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Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) Hosted SOSS as Microsoft Propaganda Platform With Microsoft Front Group OSI
They essentially promote what they're attacking under false pretences [...] OSI is deeply corrupt. It's more toxic than arsenic.
Anti-Linux FUD, Now in LLM Form, Thanks to Brittany Day
They attack Linux with chatbots
[Meme] When You Discredit People Who Discredit Secret Code
proprietary systems with hundreds of millions of transistors (and hundreds of millions of lines of code)
The High Cost of Making Scepticism of Proprietary Voting Machines a "Trump" and "Conspiracy Theory" Territory
Time to get back to paper? Or read an old paper?
Links 07/11/2024: Online Manipulation in Social Control Media, Election Deniers, and More
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Gemini Links 07/11/2024: emacs-guix and File Hoarding
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[Meme] Election Day at the European Patent Office
Less than 60 minutes left to cast your vote
Staff Union of the European Patent Office (SUEPO) Election Ending Today
In one hour
[Meme] When the Patent Office Does Illegal Things and Staff Speaks Out
many leaks received today
Today We Got an Early Birthday Gift
Exciting times
[Meme] Going Too Far to the Left Can Breed Militant Ideology
Some people can never be appeased because they prefer not to be appeased
Apple's Debt Has Skyrocketed While Gimmicks Like Vision Pro Failed
In Apple's case, the debt is almost double the "Cash on Hand", which isn't even cash
FSF Expressed No Preference Regarding Presidential Candidates (Its Founder Did)
Because he is a principled person, he does not prioritise loyalty to customers or employers (money)
A President Trump is Excellent News to Microsoft
His racist policies gave lots of contracts to Microsoft
Who Next on the Linux Foundation's 'Kill List'?
Remember that only about 2% of the "Linux" Foundation's budget goes to Linux
Links 07/11/2024: Facebook Scams, Journalists on Strike
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Over at Tux Machines...
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IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, November 06, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, November 06, 2024
Microsoft-Connected Publishers Want Us to Think That Linux is Some Sort of a Virus and a "Backdoor"
"The problem is with windows and the attack vector is via Windows"
We've Made it to 18! Here's to Another 18!
Going on for another 18 years means until some time at the end of 2042
Links 07/11/2024: Political Angst and Laptop Issues
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