Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 2/10/2015: Qubes 3.0, Linux.Wifatch





GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux



  • Desktop



    • Why your Linux PC isn't vulnerable to the devastating XOR DDoS malware
      Linux isn’t perfectly secure, but there’s no big Linux exploit story here. The real problem is how many poorly configured Linux systems exist in the real world. Linux isn’t a magic bullet that will make a system secure—it has to be locked down properly, too.


    • Google Chromebooks: The most popular classroom computing device
      In Apple's place, Google with its Chromebooks have stepped in. Chromebooks are cheaper, easier to manage, and easy to share between students. The low upfront price is a big factor, but there's far more.

      For example, Google offers programs just for schools, Google Apps for Education Suite; class-specific ChromeOS and Android apps, and Google Play for Education. Chromebooks that come with Google Play for Education range at prices from $199 to $227.


    • Kali Linux: Why Aren’t We Arguing More about Mr Robot?
      In episode 0 of Mr Robot, we’re introduced to our hiro protagonist [Elliot], played by [Rami Malek], a tech at the security firm AllSafe. We are also introduced to the show’s Macbeth, [Tyrell Wellick], played by Martin Wallström]. When these characters are introduced to each other, [Tyrell] notices [Elliot] is using the Gnome desktop on his work computer while [Tyrell] says he’s, “actually on KDE myself. I know [Gnome] is supposed to be better, but you know what they say, old habits, they die hard.”




  • Server



    • Google and NASA are getting a new quantum computer
      The famous Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab is getting some powerful new hardware. A joint project between Google, NASA, and the Universities Space Research Association, the Quantum AI Lab today announced a multiyear agreement to install a D-Wave 2X, a state-of-the-art quantum processor released earlier this year. With over 1,000 qubits, the machine is the most powerful computer of its kind, and will be put to work tackling difficult optimization problems for both Google and NASA.




  • Kernel Space



  • Applications



  • Desktop Environments/WMs



    • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt



      • Kubuntu: Plasma 5.4.2 Ready testing! Come join the fun.
        Today we have the latest Plasma 5.4.2 ready for Wily (backports will not be made until this one has been tested and released)


      • The Future of Kontact
        Supplemental to what we reported previously about the work in Randa [1, 2] there was a session on the future of Kontact, KDE’s personal information manager (PIM). Over the years this tool has evolved into a monster making both development as well as usage sometimes tricky. It’s time to cut hydra’s arms.






  • Distributions



  • Devices/Embedded



    • Compact, low power IoT gateway runs Linux on i.MX6
      VIA’s 30mm tall “Artigo A820” IoT gateway runs Linux on an i.MX6 DualLite, and offers optional WiFi and 3G in addition to Fast and GbE Ethernet ports.

      Like last year’s Artigo A900 mini-PC, the Artigo A820 runs Linux on a dual-core, 1GHz Cortex-A9 SoC. This time, however, VIA Technologies has turned to Freescale’s i.MX6 DualLite SoC instead of its own Via Elite E1000.


    • Phones



      • Fairphone launches v2 of it conflict-free, upgradeable smartphone


        There's a company offering a repairable and upgradable smartphone out there and Jack Wallen believe it is just what the world needs. Read on to see if you agree.


      • Android

        • Facebook gives Android a kick in the byte code
          To improve the mobile performance of its social network, Facebook is enhancing Java bytecode on the Android platform with its Redex project, providing a pipeline for optimizing Android DEX (Dalvik Executable) files.


        • 13 of the best Android apps from September
          Coming off the back of the summer holidays always make September a busy month and this year it was no different.

          From useful spam fighting options arriving for Gmail to movie tracking and the launch of a huge repository of online tutorials across a range of subjects.

          We’ve sorted the wheat from the chaff and what follows is the best new and updated apps from September.

          All you need to do is clear a few minutes in your schedule and click your way through the list.


        • Google reveals new Chromecast and Chromecast Audio devices
          Google's Chromecast streaming media player has proven to be a popular item on Amazon, getting four star ratings and lots of positive comments from Amazon customers. Now Google has announced a brand new Chromecast, and also the new Chromecast Audio device.


        • Hands on: Google Pixel C convertible tablet
          It’s difficult to tell if the new Google Pixel C is a great idea, or an awful one. It feels like a greatest hits list of Windows 8 convertible failures. It’s a clamshell, and the tablet is connected to the keyboard via magnets. But to open it or close it, you have to pull it apart and reconnect it. You can also flip the tablet upright and stick the keyboard to the back of it, though it makes the tablet thicker and heavier than you may like. The entire converting process is messy. Google tries to cover it all up with a beautiful aluminum design and smooth hinges that adjust angle easily. But will it be fun to use every day? I’m not so sure.


        • Google announces the LG Nexus 5X and Huawei Nexus 6P; pre-orders start today
          Google has officially taken the wraps off its new flagship smartphone lineup. In keeping with the current smartphone release trends, Google is announcing two devices today: the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P. The 5X is made by LG, and the 6P is made by Huawei. The Nexus 5X starts at $379, and the 6P starts at $499, and both phones will ship later this month. Pricing for other territories is starting to dribble in—the Nexus 5X and 6P will begin at €£339 and €£449 respectively in the UK—but we'll update the article with more complete information as it's made available.


        • Google announces the new Chromecast and Chromecast Audio
          The new Chromecast has a disk-like design, a departure from the original's dongle construction. Its improved internals should also make streaming easier and faster. Now featuring three antennas, it supports 5GHz 802.11ac Wi-Fi for faster connectivity and heavier formats like 1080p. While the new Chromecast handles video and game streaming, the Chromecast Audio device will handle streaming music or podcasts. The new Chromecast plugs into a device with HDMI; Audio uses both optical and headphone jacks to plug into speakers.


        • Huawei’s first Android Wear watch is a beautiful yet basic timepiece
          Huawei isn't exactly the first company that comes to mind when you think of stylish connected devices. The Chinese manufacturer has delved into wearables with its TalkBand series, but those were slow to come to the US and their fitness tracker-meets-Bluetooth-headset capabilities were peculiar. Now Huawei wants to test the waters of Google's wearable OS with its new smartwatch, simply dubbed the Huawei Watch, and it's a solid first attempt at Android Wear.










Free Software/Open Source



  • Apache Foundation retains informal vibe to manage $1m of open-source projects
    The Apache open-source community gathered at its annual conference in Europe this week to collaborate on new projects to drive the future of the web and cloud ecosystems, with a handful of new projects under incubation.


  • Seize the opportunity to explain open source
    Kids have an insatiable appetite for knowledge. I would estimate that all of us with children have had them go through a phase of asking "Why?" constantly. In truth, it often comes at the most inconvenient moment for a parent; like when the world is literally going to explode unless your child puts down the green marker pen, and instead of doing it, they just look up at you and ask "Why?" I was no different. I went through the "Why?" phase. My daughter has been through it and my nephew is going through it right now.


  • AWS launches a managed Elasticsearch service
  • Amazon launches managed Elasticsearch service
  • AWS debuts Elasticsearch Search, its distributed search and analytics engine
  • Amazon flings open source Elasticsearch at Big Data's cloud
  • New Amazon Elasticsearch service eases setup, with exceptions


  • Amazon Adds Open Source Elasticsearch Platform to AWS Cloud
    Elasticsearch is a Java-based open source framework for searching textual documents on a massive scale. It is designed to be highly scalable and compatible with cluster-based distributed-computing infrastructure.


  • IBM and EMC team up: There’s no “I” in open source
    Sometimes when you are distracting the signal from the noise, you get an exclusive. Today theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, got the full story on the EMC and IBM partnership to work in an open-source environment to make Hadoop more accessible to the enterprise.


  • Web Browsers



    • Mozilla



      • Firefox Is Much Better than Any Other Browser and Here's Why
        We often read about comparative tests between browsers and we see that Google Chrome or Opera are extremely fast, or that some other browser gets really good scores in rendering, and so on. The truth is that none of that really matters when you are using browsers in the real world, and in the real world Firefox shines and it's head and shoulders above everything else.






  • SaaS/Big Data



    • The return of TryStack, life as a PTL, and more OpenStack news
      Interested in keeping track of what's happening in the open source cloud?


    • A Brief Comparison of Mesos and Kubernetes
      The recent announcement of Mesos on Windows means developers and organizations that work between Linux and Windows platforms may use their own tools without requiring heavy resource management. Those working with the Google Cloud Engine may prefer working with Kubernetes, while people accustomed to Microsoft Azure may enjoy the Mesosphere workflow pipeline. Each has their own strengths and shortcomings, though the gap between stack management services lessens as more technology is brought to other platforms.


    • MapR Technologies Unveils In-Hadoop Document Database
      MapR integrates Web-scale enterprise storage and real-time database management and adds native JSON support to MapR-DB, its NoSQL database.




  • Databases



    • Pivotal Aims at Oracle Database Business with Open Source Tech
      Software company Pivotal is taking on Oracle’s traditional database business with its latest effort to advance open source. The company is contributing both HAWQ advanced SQL on Hortonworks’ Hadoop analytics and MADlib machine learning technologies to The Apache Software Foundation (ASF).




  • Oracle/Java/LibreOffice



  • CMS



    • If Drupal were a band it would be Rush
      Getting my clients' developers and sysadmins to stick to all of the documented processes I've set up for them.

      I have years of experience implementing Drupal-based solutions, so I have a rather solid understanding of what works and what doesn't. But some folks without any experience with Drupal try to shoehorn it into incompatible environments. I do my best to explain all of this and why to ensure that, when I'm gone, folks can take all of my wiki documentation and run with it (use it and update it as necessary).




  • Business





    • Semi-Open Source





  • BSD



  • FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC



    • What do you have to say? Share it at LibrePlanet 2016
      LibrePlanet 2016 is coming! Next year's conference will be held **March 19-20, 2016 in the Boston area**. The call for proposals is open now, until November 16th. General registration and exhibitor registration will open later in October.


    • Chicago GNU/Linux talk on Guix retrospective
      Friends... friends! I gave a talk on Guix last night in Chicago, and it went amazingly well. That feels like an undersell actually; it went remarkably well. There were 25 people, and apparently there was quite the waitlist, but I was really happy with the set of people who were in the room. I haven't talked about Guix in front of an audience before and I was afraid it would be a dud, but it's hard to explain the reaction I got. It felt like there was a general consensus in the room: Guix is taking the right approach to things.




  • Public Services/Government



    • EC to increase open source for software development
      The European Commission aims to primarily use open source tools for developing software that is distributed publicly, shows an overview on open source adoption that was presented last week by the EC’s Directorate General of Informatics (DIGIT) at a conference in Tampere (Finland). Already much of the EC’s own software is developed using open source. However, over the next 3 years, DIGIT will push to make ‘open source first’ the target for all the new EC software development projects.




  • Openness/Sharing



  • Programming



    • Most Popular Programming Languages In The IT industry
      Programmers are always in high demand these days for jobs, especially if they have fluency in coding language. Learning programming in various languages for engineers is a no-brainer, but some basic understanding of the languages can be invaluable to anyone, even if you’re not looking forward to becoming a master coder.


    • PHPUnit 5.0


    • PHP version 5.5.30 and 5.6.14
      RPM of PHP version 5.6.14 are available in remi repository for Fedora ≥ 21 and remi-php56 repository for Fedora ≤ 20 and Enterprise Linux (RHEL, CentOS).






Leftovers



Recent Techrights' Posts

In Techrights, Gemini and HTTP/HTML Are Very Different
Those were never equivalents or mirrors, those are two things that are inherently different and are maintained by different teams
"The War on Children" Explained by The Cyber Show
Consumer protection and the war on children
In statCounter, a Lot of "Unknown" Turns Out to be GNU/Linux
GNU/Linux has more than doubled
 
IBMers on PIPs and the Age (or Cost) Factor
People in their 50s seem to be targeted as they are considered "expensive"
Sad State of Troll-Feeding British Media (Establishment Channels Promoting Total Idiots)
Breeding ignorance means people will assume they have a choice between two pieces of trash: "Nige" or a literal trash can
Links 27/07/2026: Sleepless Japan PM Takaichi Becomes Unpopular and Data Centre Magnate Confiscate Land Without Consent
Links for the day
A Few Hours Ago The Register MS Published an 'Article' With "AI" 32 Times in It, Including First Word in Headline and Summary. It Was Paid SPAM "Sponsored by Hammerspace".
The lost media is engaging in self-harm
Microsoft is Down
This relates in a timely fashion to what we published yesterday
Gemini Links 27/07/2026: Gemified Internet RFCs, “Junk DNA” Is Commented-Out Code, and More
Links for the day
The Techrights Gemini Capsule Was Never a Mirror
Techrights has long taken accessibility quite seriously
Americans Are Not Our Masters
If you are subjected to online abuse, don't give up
Daniel Pocock Campaigns Around "Safety of Children Online" and "Cybersecurity"
There seems to be a growing 'coalition' in the UK based around important issues which impact the entire planet
XBox the Console is Practically Finished (Unofficially), Even the Streaming ("Live") or DRM Service is Dead
XBox has never been closer to profitability
Many CEOs Are Just Glorified Scammers With Suits and Ties
Economies cannot function when few people abuse them for self-enrichment
After statCounter Figures Out Many "Unknowns" Were in Fact GNU/Linux the "Market Share" Estimate in China More Than Doubles
Japan is the same for similar reasons
peppe8o - a Site About Raspberry Pi, Arduino and Electronics - Has Turned Into a Slopfarm
We won't be linking to it anymore
Feeding 'the Children'
Maybe some time soon we'll do a fund-raiser to help feed the birds
Japan: GNU/Linux Crosses the 5% Threshold, Two Years Ago It Was Only 1%
Now it's at over 5%
We Need More Transparency
Our heads of state are very much aware of and concerned about SLAPPs and censorship
EPO Cocainegate and Current EPO/EU Series to Carry on for Months to Come
Another week has begun
When IBM "Managers Have to Mark 15% of Their Teams as Low Performers" a PIP Means Likely Layoffs (Disguised as a Performance Issue)
"IBM is a Law firm with an I/T department."
Links 27/07/2026: Chatbots Lead to Suicides, Social Control Media Intentionally Designed for Addiction
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 26, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, July 26, 2026
Daniel Pocock in Mainstream Media Again
AFR wrote an article today. It is about Pocock and another contender.
Millions of Daily Requests
4.5+ million requests in 4 days
3,500 Active Gemini Capsules Soon
How much longer before 3,500+ active? A month?
Gemini Links 26/07/2026: European Eclipse, Writing About Writing, and Comments on Formatting Gopher Posts
Links for the day
Stigma of Being Laid Off by Microsoft
One might call this the "curse" of having worked for Microsoft
Silent Layoffs (PIPs) Have Allegedly Accelerated Since IBM's Stock Cratered
"IBM is Managing Decline, Not Building Growth"
Non-Techs Using Slop Run Fedora and It's Turning Out to be a Total Disaster
RIP, Fedora?
Gemini Links 26/07/2026: Beach Day, CAs, and Plaintext
Links for the day
Sweden Needs GNU/Linux and Free Software, Not GAFAM
home of IKEA and ABBA
Being Pro-Slop is Death Knell to One's Credibility
It's not hard to see Ubuntu users resisting and antagonising this
Maintenance Today
Preparing for more mass-publication activities
Links 26/07/2026: "Zelenskyy Says Russia Wants To Bring North Korean Troops Into Ukraine", Muslim Van Ramming Attack on Berlin Pride
Links for the day
Centrica fraud exposed: worse than Palestine Action 'terrorists' with cardboard placards
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 26/07/2026: "Nate Silver Discovers the Educated Poor" and "India’s “Cockroach” Protest Movement Faces State Repression"
Links for the day
The Slop Bubble is Killing the Planet, Not Just the Economy
The chatbot/LLM speculation bubble not only causes a health crisis, a mental health epidemic, and climate change; it's also crashing the economy on several levels
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 25, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, July 25, 2026
IBM Hammers a CoI Into a CoCed Fedora, RIP Fedora?
Also in the "Fedora is dead" dept. today
Gemini Links 25/07/2026: Zoo, MUD, Literature, EMF Camp, and e-ID
Links for the day
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: The Solution of No Choice: A Shortlist of One
deployment of the "shortlist of one" by Campinos
Wife of Dan Williams Has Explained Mental Factors Leading to His Death
"We need to be open and honest about mental health," his wife pleads
Several New Series Coming Soon
we'll publish 8 series in tandem, in parallel
Insolvency as the New Norm in the United States' Economy
this is vastly worse than then 2008 subprime mortgage crisis
IBM's CEO Might 'Retire' or 'Step Down' by Christmas
PIP the CEO
Misleading Articles About YouTube and Google Financial Performance
The future of Google is self-serving monopolisation and destruction of the Web
Microsoft Cannot Survive the Fall of Windows
It has amassed way too much debt
Links 25/07/2026: Hong Kong Squashing Criticism/Dissent, Mirror Caught Breaking Into Voicemail
Links for the day
PIPs Are Shrinking IBM and "IBM is Managing Decline, Not Building Growth"
IBM is going down the drain
IBM is Killing the Fedora Community, Replacing It With LLM Slop From IBM Staff
Krishna buys companies only to gut them. They've all learned this from experience.
Give Me Your "Dumbest" (Devices)
Why can't people accept that a "modern "smart" "phone" isn't necessary to check the time (overkill) and playing social control media "on the go" is far from necessary?
Earlier This Year Dan Williams Prepared for Scenario Where Linus Torvalds Dies
He had only just started a job at NVIDIA
Links 25/07/2026: Data Breaches Abundant and Attribution Imperiled in the Age of Slop Hype
Links for the day
Gemini Links 25/07/2026: Poetry and Plaintext Pages
Links for the day
What is Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
In many cases, the acronym became a misnomer
IBM PIPs Continue Until Morale Improves, Silent or Quiet Firings at IBM Explained
IBM is a dying company
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 24, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, July 24, 2026