Programming News Picks: Focus on Free Software
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2014-02-16 23:26:19 UTC
- Modified: 2014-02-16 23:26:19 UTC
Summary: 2014 news picks that focus on programming and development, especially of Free software or using Free software tools
Demise of Proprietary
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HTML5 developers queried recently by tools vendor Sencha remain dedicated to building apps via Web technologies, even as doubts have been cast on how effective HTML5 is vis à vis native development. Many of those same developers, however, have dropped support for the classic Microsoft Windows platform.
Surveying 2,128 business application developers from the HTML5 development community, including users of its own tools, Sencha found that 70-plus percent of developers planned to do more with HTML5 in the 2013 timeframe than they had done the previous year. And 75 percent will work further with HTML5 in 2014. More than 60 percent of developers have migrated to HTML5 and hybrid development for primary applications. For the coming year, just 4 percent of HTML5 developers plan to cut back on HTML5.
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I still remember IBM's provocative announcement in 2001 that it was putting $1 billion toward the development and promotion of Linux. While such billion-dollar commitments from IBM are now so routine as to be unremarkable, back then a billion dollars meant a lot. I was working for an embedded Linux vendor at the time, and most of our sales cycle was spent explaining why GPL-licensed Linux wasn't the technology equivalent of terminal cancer. (Thanks in part to Microsoft's contribution.)
Google
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The second video features Jason Hibbets's full interview with Chris DiBona Open Source Director at Google. Find out how DiBona measures his performance, why he once called open source "brutal," and more on working for Google and the future of open source.
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Over 280 attendees representing 177 mentoring organizations gathered for a two-day, code-munity extravaganza celebrating the conclusion of Google Summer of Code with the annual Mentor Summit held at Google in Mountain View, California.
GitHub
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GitHub's position as the repository of choice for open source community projects is today one of dominance, most would argue.
Officially often referred to as a "web-based revision control service" (rather than simply a software code repository), this classification is an obvious nod to the site's inherent level of active community involvement as open projects are continuously developed, refined and augmented.
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So, what’s the problem? Well, that’s simple. It seems that Fox News’ technology department –run by a motley crew of half-witted quick-study-types– failed to explain GitHub, and also disregarded both spelling and punctuation in favor of adopting what I would describe as a rogue journalistic style; a style that exists far beyond the confines of traditional English language rules. It is now with great pleasure that I flog the holy-hell out of the following screen capture in an attempt to make them cry.
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I have an open source script for a specific site (I'm trying not to call anything by name here) that a few other developers and I recently moved to GitHub. We've been joined by several new developers since we moved to the new system, including one very active one in particular. However, this active one has started changing a lot of the project.
First of all, he deleted our versioning system (not like Git, but like that—we called it versions v4.1.16) and said it would be better to simply push the code to the site when we think it's ready. Now there's no centralized place to put release notes, which has become annoying.
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GitHub has become the de facto repository for open source projects. So, we were excited for the opportunity to sit down with GitHub's co-founder and CIO Scott Chacon during the All Things Open Conference in Raleigh, NC.
Python
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One year ago the Puerto Rico Python Interest Group (prPIG) was founded on one purpose; to create a sustainable user community based on software development in Puerto Rico. On February 20, 2014 we will celebrate our first anniversary with an open format meeting with lightning talks from the community.
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Programming languages are crucial to a programmer as they boosts their productivity. Keeping in mind the fact that programmers may not be comfortable with all the coding languages around, we thought of compiling a list of programming languages set to make it big in 2014.
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Python community, friends, fellow developers, we need to talk. On December 3rd, 2008 Python 3.0 was first released. At the time it was widely said that Python 3 adoption was going to be a long process, it was referred to as a five year process. We've just passed the five year mark.
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In an article entitled “Python Displacing R As The Programming Language For Data Science,” MongoDB’s Matt Asay made an argument that has been circulating for some time now. As Python has steadily improved its data science credentials, from Numpy to Pandas, with even R’s dominant ggplot2 charting library having been ported, its viability as a real data science platform improves daily. More than any other language in fact, save perhaps Java, Python is rapidly becoming a lingua franca, with footholds in every technology arena from the desktop to the server.
Git
LLVM
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It looks like there's finally going to be stable point releases of the LLVM compiler infrastructure for pushing out bug-fixes quicker, whether you're using the Clang C/C++ compiler or depending upon LLVM for your GPU driver compiler back-end.
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It's nearly one month late but the LLVM 3.4 compiler infrastructure is now available with the updated Clang C/C++ compiler front-end, the usual LLVM sub-projects, and also some new compiler tools.
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The release of LLVM 3.4 is imminent and with the major compiler infrastructure upgrade comes update to the Clang C/C++ compiler front-end, LLDB debugger, and other LLVM sub-projects. LLVM 3.4 is a very righteous release and in celebration of its forthcoming release, it's back into compiler benchmarking season at Phoronix.
Ruby
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Ruby 2.1 has many improvements including speedup without severe incompatibilities.
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The Ruby project has done a new major release on Christmas for their popular programming language. Ruby offers performance speed-ups but without severe incompatibilities, according to the release announcement.
Misc.
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Regular readers of this column won't be surprised to hear that I love both Ruby on Rails and PostgreSQL. Rails has been my primary server-side Web development framework for about eight years, and it has managed to provide solutions for a large number of consulting and personal projects. As for PostgreSQL, I've been using it for about 15 years, and I continue to be amazed by the functionality it has gained in that time. PostgreSQL is no longer just a relational database. It's also a platform supporting the storage and retrieval of many types of data, built on a rock-solid, ACID-compliant, transactional core.
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In the sometimes dark and mysterious world of computers, I see open source programming and community around it as a force of good. Open source sparks and kindles a connection between people that I think is hard to find elsewhere in programming. Working with open source, a programmer builds important and powerful collaboration skills. This is significant because many of us (programmers and self-proclaimed nerds) are rather antisocial. Open source programming helps us cultivate social behaviors like sharing, improved communication, and collaborating towards a common goal.
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So by the mid-1980s, programming in schools was surging...
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The Checkpoint-Restore Tool has reached version 1.0 as part of the CRIU project. Checkpoint/Restore In Userspace allows for users to freeze running applications and checkpoint it to the hard drive as a file and that checkpoint can then be restored to a running process later on. CRIU is different from suspend-and-resume with the Linux kernel in that this is a tool for handling individual programs and it is implemented in user-space.
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The development team behind the Clutter software, a library for creating compelling, portable, dynamic and fast graphical user interfaces (GUI), has announced a few days ago that the second maintenance release of the stable Clutter 1.16 branch is available for download.
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Jim Kukunas of Intel OTC published the set of 13 patches on Monday that include medium and quick deflate strategies, a faster hash function with SSE 4.2 support, PCLMULQDQ-optimized CRC folding, SSE2 hash shifting, and other changes/tuning.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- Former Debian Project Leader Branden Robinson Cautions Against Cover-up and Censorship in Debian
- Debian drama. Again.
- It's Friday Again and Many People Leave IBM for Good (IBM Should be Reported for Illegal NDAs That Hide Layoffs)
- we very seldom see anyone deviating a lot from the "template-like" narrative, let alone mentioning "layoffs" or "RA" or some other term that implies non-consensual departure
- What Do People Ever Buy From Microsoft Anyway (Not PCs)?
- Microsoft sells two things these days: 1) vapourware/promises. 2) its stock.
- Gemini Links 20/02/2026: "Mainstream Unix, Underground Unix", Slop Staging DDoS Attacks Against Small Sites
- Links for the day
- IBM Inclusivity: Red Hat Summit is for Rich Sponsors Like Microsoft and Rich Guests Who Pay $500 a Day
- Nothing signals societal tolerance more than paying a large military contractor
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- Like a Shell
- Overreactions can backfire
- Not Only Leaders of XBox Got Sacked (Layoffs)
- Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond got laid off
- 9PM on a Friday Night: Microsoft Says the Layoffs Are Not Layoffs
- We've said for a long time that XBox is doomed this year
- Gemini Links 20/02/2026: Misfin Server and Magic in Programming
- Links for the day
- analytics.usa.gov Reckons Windows "Market Share" Fell to Just 38%, Vista 11 Not Even a Third of Windows Users
- This coming summer Vista 11 turns 5
- The New Digg.com is Slop
- Slop "summaries" and Serial Sloppers are drowning out the site with fake 'articles' (plagiarism)
- Linus Torvalds: Bill Epsteingate Good Enough for Me to Wine and Dine With
- Torvalds is more connected to Jeffrey Epstein than Richard Stallman ever was
- Our Uptimes Are Always Better Than Any Site That Uses Clownflare
- Clownflare as a company operates like a cult
- GNU/Linux Apparently Rose to 6% in Uzbekistan
- If accurate, this represents a new problem for Microsoft and a big win for Software Freedom
- Sponsored Videos and 'Articles' in The Register MS, Stenography as a Service/Product
- They should more accurately label these actors
- The Little Clique of Sloppers/Spammers About "Linux" Got Even Smaller
- Thankfully there are still genuine and legit GNU/Linux sites out there
- Links 20/02/2026: Microsoft Intentionally Kills Older Hardware, "The Story of XBox" Shows How Defective Microsoft Hardware Really Was
- Links for the day
- Turkmenistan One of Many Countries Where Microsoft Fell to Distant Third in Search
- We expect many layoffs in Bing some time soon
- Don't Wait for "Red Hat Layoffs" Because After Bluewashing They're IBM RAs and Don't Wait for "IBM Layoffs" Because They're Perpetual
- IBM layoffs are silent and "forever" (small trickle that never ends and is widespread - after all IBM is a very global and ubiquitous firm)
- Links 20/02/2026: Standards, Science, and Politics
- Links for the day
- GNU/Linux Adoption is Higher in Richer Countries
- Is it because freedom is actually expensive - something that only privileged people can pursue?
- Links 20/02/2026: Windows TCO Versus Deutsche Bahn, Europe Seeks More Independent Digital Future
- Links for the day
- IBM, Red Hat and Fedora: Don't Say "Master", It Offends People. Also IBM, Red Hat and Fedora: "Master Podman".
- The hypocrisy at Red Hat and Fedora shows no boundaries
- IBM Layoffs Aren't Just in IBM 'Proper'
- Who is still using Lotus after the HCL move?
- The Register MS Gets Paid by Gartner to Promote a Ponzi Scheme for Gartner, Microsoft, and Others
- The credibility of that site will suffer because it tries to sell a major scam to its audience
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Thursday, February 19, 2026
- IRC logs for Thursday, February 19, 2026
- Gemini Links 19/02/2026: "Towards a Gemini Famicom Resource" and Dumping Microsoft
- Links for the day
- IBM Behaves Like a Company Looking for Loose Change Between Sofa Cushions
- Chasing laid-off workers for dollars and even pennies, making excuses and devising loopholes (such as PIPs) to flout severance obligations
- Microsoft Found Another Bailout Opportunity: Killing People
- Good thing that Nadella is not racist!
- No "Smart Mobs" (Social Control Media) in BRIC?
- It looks like the "Social" "Media" sites tracked by statCounter see little from (or of) BRIC, and moreover it is declining fast
- The Few Slopfarms We Saw Today
- The sentiment has changed a lot
- Links 19/02/2026: Protecting Framework Laptop 13, Hardware Drive Shortages
- Links for the day
- In Africa's Second-Largest Nation, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Opera 10 Times Bigger Than Firefox (and GNU/Linux Now at 5%)
- This will become an accessibility problem
- Links 19/02/2026: "A.I.pocalypse" Inevitable and "Butlers to LLMs"
- Links for the day
- An Inherently Royal (Monarchs') Legal System Where Size Matters (Big Capital Eats the Small)
- This reinforces the notion that justice is only for those who can afford it
- These Statistics Should Keep Microsoft Shareholders Awake at Night
- Windows is, in general (all versions collectively), declining over time
- Economic Failure and Other Harsh Realities Have Nothing to Do With Slop 'Innovation'
- Advanced propaganda, not advanced 'AI' [...] They attack workers while insulting their intelligence
- Spaniards Shutting Down MElon's Digital Weapon of "Smart Mobs"
- Are the Spanish people already acting based on gut feeling and shunning/shutting out the provocation vector?
- Bitcoin: government engagement contradictions
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Richard Stallman in the United States - Part II - "Haters Gonna Hate"
- we shall carry on with this series at the right pace
- Typical! Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Tells Victims of Fraud to Wait 10 Weeks
- justice delayed is justice denied
- EPO Union Leaders in Rijswijk Explain Where EPO Strikes Stand and How to Prepare for Next Week's
- We have some revelations to share in a few days
- statCounter: Only One in 350 Iranians Would Use Microsoft for Web Search
- Microsoft is trying to fake "demand"
- Slides Shown a Week Ago by the EPO's Staff Committee Ahead of the Second Very Large Strike
- This coming weekend we'll drop a 'bombshell' of sorts
- EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part II - Illegal Drug Addicts Mobbing the Wrong People, This Will Definitely Backfire
- This year may well be the last year of Team Campinos. Nobody will hire them after that.
- Mass Layoffs (But Silent Layoffs) Still Happening in IBM, You Need Only Look Closely (There Are NDAs, PIPs, 'Early Retirement' Sweeteners and IBM - Like Microsoft - Skirts the WARN Act)
- the layoffs are definitely happening
- Microsoft's "AI CEO" (Slop Propagandist) is Projecting, Many Microsoft "Jobs to be Replaced With All-Indian Low-Paid Staff in 12 Months"
- Windows is perishing
- Very Little Slop
- We are not finding much slop anymore
- Links 19/02/2026: Illegal Kangaroo Court for Patents Attracts Aggressive Firms, Public Domain Review Grows
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 19/02/2026: Taxing the Rich, Raspberry Pi 4 Tinkering
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, February 18, 2026
- IRC logs for Wednesday, February 18, 2026
- Links 18/02/2026: DMCA Weakened, Anna’s Archive Still Thriving
- Links for the day
- Links 18/02/2026: Gig 'Economy' Condemned, Microsoft Insulting/Stressing People With False Slop Predictions
- Links for the day
- Twitter Falling to 1% in Africa's Largest Nation (Algeria)
- About 15 years ago the regime in Egypt got toppled (and others had been too) partly because of social control media such as Twitter
- "How Many Friends Do You Have?"
- "Do bots count?" "Friends in Facebook?" "Does a girlfriend chatbot count as a friend?"
- Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Responds to Crises Only After It's Way Too Late
- The SRA does not do its job. The new chief's job is face-saving PR in the media.
- The Techrights Team Makes the Platform Faster
- The infrastructure is already fast
- Mozilla Firefox Died in Afghanistan
- Mozilla has been a complete disaster
- Gemini Links 18/02/2026: Astronomy and Texinfo
- Links for the day
- Are IBM CEO and IBM CFO Ready for Financial Audit That Topples the Shares by 50% in One Day?
- The same "chefs" that cooked up Kyndryl Holdings Inc are still in charge of the IBM kitchen
- France Does Not Need Digital Weapons Disguised as Social and as Media
- French people lost interest in Social Control 'Media' (or Networks)
- "Senior AI Reporter" at Slop Technica/Ars Sloppica Has Written Nothing in Nearly a Week, Did Conde Nast Suspend Him for Fake Articles With Fake Quotes?
- Slop Technica/Ars Sloppica is having a serious credibility issue right now
- Linux Foundation Puts Slop Images, Not Just Slop Text, in Linux.com
- More of the same then
- The Register MS Paid-for 'Articles' (Ads) Seem to be LLM Slop Again
- If it's true that The Register MS is resorting to these marketing tactics, will they later delete the evidence (as they did months ago)?
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, February 17, 2026
- IRC logs for Tuesday, February 17, 2026