Links 23/3/2012: Commodore Linux, Iceland Moves to Free Software
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2012-03-23 09:21:20 UTC
- Modified: 2012-03-23 09:21:20 UTC
Contents
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Commodore USA has released the new AMIGA mini and the VIC mini, two small form factor PCs with a bit of retro styling, but very new and powerful guts
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Kernel Space
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Graphics Stack
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The Gallium3D compute infrastructure, which is the underlying work for supporting OpenCL over this open-source graphics driver architecture, is on approach for landing in the very near future. This has been one damn good day for open-source Linux graphics drivers following the earlier Nouveau surprise announcements.
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Soon, the kernel will support several AMD graphics cores that are used in recent Radeon graphics cards and in various upcoming processors. In systems with Intel graphics, using hibernation can cause memory corruption. The development of Linux 3.4 has started.
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Applications
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Instructionals/Technical
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Wine
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Desktop Environments
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K Desktop Environment/KDE SC)
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Jonathan Riddell, the KDE developer, recently announced that Canonical stopping funding the Kubuntu project and reassigning him in a new role. Looking at Canonical's focus on Unity, that's not a surprising move. I don't know how Canonical works, but looking at the new challenges they set for themselves with every release, I do think they need all the hands they can get. The result of that hard work is evident - Unity is shaping up really well.
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Have an old computer lying around that you’d like to use for some light web surfing, document editing, and other tasks? I mean like a PC with a 1999-era Intel Pentium III processor? It turns out there’s an OS for that… and it’s not Windows 98.
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In my last blog about Linux Live Environments, I mentioned REMnux, an environment specifically built for malware analysis. I'd spent a little time with REMnux when it first came out, but decided to take the latest version (3.0) for a test drive.
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New Releases
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Debian Family
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Derivatives
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Canonical/Ubuntu
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Canonical’s next long-term support release of its flagship Linux distribution, Ubuntu 12.04 is in late beta. This next release, due out on April 26th, is in beta now. I’ve been using it for several weeks now and so far, so good.
Indeed, the new Ubuntu is good enough already that I’ve it on my default Ubuntu system: a 2009-era Gateway DX4710. This PC is powered by a 2.5-GHz Intel Core 2 Quad processor and has 6GBs of RAM and an Intel GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator) 3100 for graphics. No, it’s not fast, but unlike Windows 8’s beta, you don’t need a fast computer for Ubuntu.
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From a pool of thousands, 15 photographic wallpapers have been chosen for inclusion in Ubuntu 12.04.
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With Ubuntu remaining uninterested in systemd, the Upstart init system continues to be developed. Released today was Upstart 1.5 with a few new features.
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However, while that beefed up version may be available at some point, costs and demand will likely hold it off for a while, the popular mini-computer's designer said.
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Phones
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Android
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NASA has made great efforts to get the public interested in their various projects and avenues of research using tools such as social media networks and their suite of mobile applications. Unfortunately, those applications have almost exclusively been iPhone exclusive. Of the over 20 mobile applications NASA has released, only a scant have made it over to everyone’s favorite open source mobile operating system.
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Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Android is open source and built on Linux. Fortunately for Android enthusiasts and independent developers, however, Sony has made life a little easier by releasing the open source archive for the Xperia S device. Of course, there are some catches. Read on for what this announcement means for the juncture of Android and free software.
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Sub-notebooks/Tablets
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Oracle/Java/LibreOffice
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The Document Foundation (TDF), which produces the leading open source office software suite LibreOffice, is on schedule for the release of a cloud version of its software next month.
The team released the last update to its 3.4 build on Thursday and is now focused on developing version 3.5 further, but the group is now also ready to go live for cloud services in April. That said, the team reserves the right to hold off on launch until the last few software fixes come in, TDF spokesman Italo Vignoli told The Register.
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Project Releases
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Public Services/Government
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OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE is finding favour on the Icelandic government scene with the announcement that all of its public administration organisations will adopt it.
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Iceland's push to move its public sector to open-source software has made some headway, with most of the shift seeing Windows swapped for Linux.
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Security
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Some words just seem to go together: "bread" and "butter"; "trial" and "error"; "Microsoft" and "security breach." The MS12-020 Remote Desktop Protocol vulnerability revealed last week shows once again that when it comes to data security, Microsoft is its own worst enemy and any "secure" system can be compromised.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- Televisions Have Become Billboards
- Bottom line: you get what you pay for
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- Windows Down to New Lows as Switzerland's Federal Government Abandons Microsoft (Where Feasible for Now)
- That's how it starts...
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 12, 2026
- IRC logs for Saturday, September 12, 2026
- Mass Layoffs at Microsoft as "Voluntary Separation Agreement" (or PIP)
- the man who kept lying about the layoffs has just left the company
- The Cyber Show on Media Clickbait About Slop as 'Existential Threat' and Derek Thompson's Response to That
- Ignore the hype, focus on real news
- Links 12/09/2026: "Revolt Is Here" Against Slop and "Top Chinese Court" Cracks Down on Slop That's Fake/Misleading
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 12/09/2026: Rants About Slop, Switching From QWERTY, and Why TVs Are 'Cheap'
- Links for the day
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 180 Out of 200: A Third Act, (Mis)Using Your Client's Application to the Court for Your Own Purposes as a Law Firm (Reputation Management and Censorship)
- How much can a lawfare firm get away with?
- Canonical Has Withdrawn Ubuntu 24.04.5 Installer Due to a Critical Bug Connected to Microsoft-Controlled Restricted Boot and TPM
- already breaking systems running GNU/Linux [...] Who asked for TPM in Linux?
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 179 Out of 200: Using One's Clients to Save Face at Their Expense
- Who's being served really?
- Switzerland's Software Freedom/Digital Sovereignty is Improving as People Move to GNU/Linux
- Well done to them
- Links 12/09/2026: "U.S. Debt Surpasses $40 Trillion" and "Trump Wants to [Illegally] Bribe Voters."
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 12/09/2026: Readjusting, Fighting Sleep, and FreeBSD bhyve
- Links for the day
- Matt Mullenweg Got the 'Linus Treatment' or 'RMS Treatment'
- "back, but not in charge any more..."
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 11, 2026
- IRC logs for Friday, September 11, 2026
- Earlier This Year Microsoft's Chief Liar Frank Shaw Lied About the Layoffs. Now He's Leaving.
- he's nowhere near retirement age
- Gemini Links 11/09/2026: Small Things and "Hitching Your Wagon"
- Links for the day
- Links 11/09/2026: Tristan Buckmaster Ripped Off by Slop, Social Control Media Spreads Hatred for Profit
- Links for the day
- Animals Smarter Than Chatbots
- Quack quack goes the chatbot
- Why Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) Won't Work
- American companies don't follow laws, they work around them
- IBM Isn't Reporting Layoffs, But It Removes Tens of Thousands of People From Its Workforce
- Red Hat and IBM already mark people for removal
- "A Tale of Two Antónios" Will Resume Soon
- In November the site turns 20
- Links 11/09/2026: Cyberattack in Berlin (Windows/Microsoft TCO) and Hype About Slop as 'Existential' Something; Scam Altman et al Caught Stealing/Plagiarising "Mathematical Breakthrough"
- Links for the day
- Microsoft/GNOME 9/11
- Garrett and Graveley (Microsoft/GNOME) will have a lot to explain
- Net Gain of 50 Gemini Capsules in Just One Month
- a big jump in just one month
- Keeping Linux Reliable
- If Linux becomes a lot more reliable in the future, it'll be an "hey hi" miracle. If Linux becomes a lot less reliable in the future, we'll know why and who is responsible for it.
- 9/11 Was a National Event, Not an International Event
- They insist that back doors will "save lives"
- Very Sloppy PR From a Dying IBM, Company in Disarray and in Need of Distractions
- IBM could really use distractions right now
- Cyber Show on the Fallacy of Salary/Ego as a Function of Wisdom in the Era of Pyramid Schemes (Cheating People Using Buzzwords and Complicit Media)
- "the remuneration fallacy and the role of reluctance as a negative feedback force."
- What a Price-Fixing Cartel Can Look Like
- If your prices increase five-fold or ten-fold and so do your revenues/income, what does that tell us?
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 178 Out of 200: Explaining to Your American Clients That Spending 130,000+ United States Dollars on a Single Hearing in Another Continent Means the UK's National Archives Will Retain in Perpetuity What Your Spouse or Girlfriend Said
- Balabhadra (Alex) Graveley should ask Garrett how much money he has lost so far
- EPO's Local Staff Committee Munich Organises General Assembly Next Week, the Goal is to Oust the Corrupt President and Derail His Unlawful Agenda
- They're aiming to show Campinos the door
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 10, 2026
- IRC logs for Thursday, September 10, 2026
- Latest IBM Gossip is, Over 25,000 People to be PIPed (by Year's End)
- That figure, 10%, is different from 15% (what we saw a lot). 10% is over 25,000 staff.
- Solidarity at EPO
- "Many colleagues have made personal and professional sacrifices by participating in the ongoing strike and work-to-rule action"
- Gemini Links 11/09/2026: Culture Stuck, Robot Symphony, and Back to Geminispace
- Links for the day