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01.24.11

Links 24/1/2011: MEPIS 11 is Near, NVIDIA 260.19.36 Driver Release, LCA Opens

Posted in News Roundup at 11:06 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNOME bluefish

Contents

GNU/Linux

Free Software/Open Source

  • Music on Ubuntu

    It’s a dirty secret that as a lawyer who specialises in (and loves) free and open source software, one of my favourite pieces of software is Reason (and its snappily-named stablemate “Record”) from Propellerheads in Sweden.

    It’s professional music making software (which is not to say that I can make professional music with it) and runs on Windows and Mac. It is also about as un-free as any software can get: although it does have some capability for interfacing with other programmes through the ReWire API.

  • Events

    • Against the odds, Linux.conf.au 2011 kicks off in Brisbane

      During this morning’s keynote, a Loongson MIPS-based mini computer was given away to someone in the audience.

      There is also a rumour that Linus Torvalds himself, a frequent LCA visitor, will also come to Brisbane this week, but nothing has been confirmed by the organisers.

      The first two days of LCA is usually devoted to specialist “miniconfs” of varying topics. This year miniconf topics include business, cloud computing, mobile, government, graphics and even rocketry.

      On Tuesday, Google vice president and chief Internet evangelist Vint Cerf will deliver the keynote address before the main conference programme starts on Wednesday.

  • Oracle

  • CMS

    • Five WordPress Plugins to Make You a Better Blogger

      Open source blogging platform WordPress is popular with millions of bloggers worldwide for its versatility and ease of use. One of the best things about self-hosting a WordPress blog on your own server is its nearly infinite tweakablilty. Post-deployment plugins turn a standard blog into a useful interactive and engaging site for readers. Here are five plugins to make your great blog even better.

  • Openness/Sharing

    • Open Hardware

      • Arduino The Documentary. How open source hardware became cheap and fun

        Open source software has had a major impact on the applications and platforms we all use today. Linux is now a very viable alternative to Windows and Mac OS even for beginner PC users. The Android operating system looks set to dominate on mobile hardware, and more and more software applications are being released for free as open source projects by anyone who can learn to program.

Leftovers

  • 5 Operating Systems Starting 2011 With a Bang
  • Max Mosley Fights for Right to Be Told About Nazi-Orgy News Stories in Advance

    Max Mosley, former head of international motorsports organization FIA, has been fighting with British tabloid News of the World for almost three years. In 2008, News of the World published a story about Mosley’s raunchy role-playing rendezvous with five sex workers, in which they played prison guards to his naughty prisoner. One of the sex workers had a camera supplied by the tabloid, so the story had a graphic video component. The News of the World focused on the fact that the sex workers spoke German throughout the role-playing, and thus described it as a “Nazi orgy.”

  • Weak Commitment to Human Rights Factors into Boston Common’s Decision to Divest of Cisco Systems

    Boston Common Asset Management, LLC has divested of its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc. stock (NYSE: CSCO) due in part to the company’s weak human rights risk management and poor response to investor concerns. Cisco’s deceptive announcement of vote results on proxy items at the 2010 annual shareholder meeting has raised further alarm about the company’s commitment to transparency.

  • Argentina: agribusinesses accused of enslaving workers

    Labor ministry inspectors from the Argentine national government and the Buenos Aires provincial government said they found 199 farm workers in conditions close to slavery during raids carried out at the end of December and the beginning of January on estates in the area of San Pedro, about 100 kilometers west of the national capital. The inspectors said 130 of the laborers, including some 30 children and adolescents, were producing for the Dutch-based multinational Nidera, and 69 were producing for the Argentine company Southern Seeds Production SA; the workers appear to have been subcontracted through temporary agencies.

  • Health/Nutrition

    • Oregon sues Johnson & Johnson for leaving flawed Motrin on store shelves

      Lynn Walther was bothered by his instructions to secretly buy up faulty pain relievers from Salem-area stores.

      So in June 2009, he faxed his employer’s orders to Oregon pharmacy regulators. “Something was wrong,” Walther said.

    • Sick Gulf Residents Beg Officials for Help

      However, most of the 250 people at the meeting here focused on the health crisis that has exploded in the wake of the April 2010 disaster, leaving former BP clean-up workers and Gulf residents alike suffering from ailments they attribute to chemicals in BP’s oil and the toxic dispersants used to sink it.

      Dr. Rodney Soto, a medical doctor in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, has been testing and treating patients with high levels of oil-related chemicals in their bloodstream.

      These are commonly referred to as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Anthropogenic VOCs from BP’s oil disaster are toxic and have negative chronic health effects.

    • NHS bans on operations gamble with patients’ health, senior surgeon warns

      The NHS is gambling with patients’ health by increasingly banning operations for hernias, cataracts and arthritic joints to save money, one of the UK’s most senior medical figures said .

      John Black, the president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, accused NHS primary care trusts (PCTs) of pursuing a “dangerous” course by refusing treatment to patients, who will then suffer unnecessary pain and have less chance of recovering fully.

  • Security

  • Defence/Police/Aggression

    • Cyberwar Is Harder Than It Looks

      Modern life is made possible by sets of tightly interconnected systems, supplying us with electricity, water, natural gas, automobile fuels, sewage treatment, food, telecommunications, finance, and emergency response. In wartime, combatants have traditionally sought to disrupt their enemies’ supply systems, generally by blowing them up. Nowadays, many of these systems are increasingly directed and monitored through the Internet. Would it be possible for our enemies to disrupt these vital systems by “blowing up” the Internet?

    • Cancer survivor demands investigation after Calgary airport screening

      After spending the Christmas holiday with family in Calgary, Elizabeth Strecker, 82, was flying back to her home in Abbotsford on Jan. 4 when she was selected for further screening by security officials and told to go through the full body scanner.

    • Leahy to Review Use of ‘Invasive’ Scanners at Airports

      Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., plans to review the use of full-body scanning machines at the nation’s airports, calling them “invasive” and one of a handful of “emerging privacy issues” for his panel’s oversight agenda.

      The Transportation Security Administration has installed about 500 full-body scanning machines at airports across the country, with plans to buy and operate about 500 more this year. The agency first began deploying the machines in 2007, but it significantly ramped up their use last year after a Nigerian man unsuccessfully tried to blow up an airliner over Detroit using explosives material sown into his underwear.

    • Israel demolishes homes and classroom in West Bank village

      In a bleak but beautiful landscape of undulating stony hills I watched a group of Palestinian schoolchildren take their lessons yesterday in the open air next to a heap of rubble that, until this week, was their classroom.

    • Shot in the Head

      Several years ago, I was researching the cause of death of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces during the first months of the Second Intifadah, the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. As I counted up the numbers, I was chilled to discover that the single most frequent cause of death in those beginning months was “gunfire to the head.”

      In the past 10 years Israeli forces have killed at least 255 Palestinian minors by fire to the head, and the number may actually be greater, since in many instances the specific bodily location of the lethal trauma is unlisted. In addition, this statistic does not include the many more Palestinian youngsters shot in the head by Israeli soldiers who survived, in one form or another.

    • Thousands of Israelis rally in defence of human and civil rights

      Thousands of Israelis marched in Tel Aviv at the weekend in the biggest demonstration for years to protest against a series of attacks on civil and human rights organisations and a rise in anti-Arab sentiment.

      Under the banner of the “Democratic Camp”, a coalition of organisations and prominent individuals, the marchers heard speakers lambast the Israeli government, singling out the rightwing foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, who is seen as threatening Israel’s democracy.

    • Barack Obama acts to ease US embargo on Cuba

      Barack Obama has eased America’s long-standing embargo on Cuba, allowing many Americans to travel there for the first time and increasing the amounts that they can invest in the island.

      Other changes announced by the president will allow all US international airports to accept flights to and from Cuba; at present, chartered flights are restricted to Miami and a handful of other airports. The moves represent an important step to rapprochement between the US and Cuba.

    • How Many Gitmo Alumni Take Up Arms?

      Almost a decade after the first detainees accused of terrorism were sent to the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and almost two years after U.S. President Barack Obama promised to close the prison within a year, more than 170 of Guantánamo’s prisoners remain in custody.

    • Iran opposition says rulers ‘totalitarian’

      Iran’s opposition leader on Wednesday denounced the country’s ruling system for being ‘totalitarian’ like the old Nazi and Soviet regimes, with lying to its people being its defining characteristic.

      Mir Hossein Mousavi statement comes as reaction to a stepped up campaign by the ruling system to discredit opposition leaders, calling them traitors that would ultimately be prosecuted.

    • Attack of the drones

      There is a second-and-a-half delay between the RAF operator pressing his button and the Hellfire rocket erupting from the aircraft he is controlling, circling in the sky above Afghanistan.

      That’s a long time in modern warfare, but the plane is an unmanned “drone” and its two-strong crew are 8,000 miles away at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. Right now, the Reaper is being commanded from a console with twin video screens shaped to resemble a plane’s cockpit.

      The UK has five Reapers like this one operating in Afghanistan. With a wingspan of 66ft, they are 36ft long, reach a top speed of 250 knots and usually carry four Hellfire rockets and two laser-guided bombs. These Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) – which rely on fibre optic cables, European “upstations” and satellite links – are part of an international trend towards remote combat. RAF-controlled Reapers used their weapons in Afghanistan 123 times in the first 10 months of 2010.

    • Confusion, fear and horror in Tunisia as old regime’s militia carries on the fight

      Confusion, fear and horror in Tunisia as old regime’s militia carries on the fight

    • Tunisia forms unity government in effort to quell unrest
    • UK linked to notorious Bangladesh torture centre

      UK authorities passed information about British nationals to notorious Bangladeshi intelligence agencies and police units, then pressed for information while the men were being held at a secret interrogation centre where inmates are known to have died under torture.

      A Guardian investigation into counter-terrorism co-operation between the UK and Bangladesh has revealed a detailed picture of the last Labour government’s reliance on overseas intelligence agencies that were known to use torture.

    • Analysis: No more Iraq mistreatment inquiries (for now at least)

      The High Court has dismissed a challenge to the government’s decision to ‘wait and see’ if another public inquiry into abuse of Iraqi detainees is necessary, pending the outcome of internal Ministry of Defence investigations. The court looked in detail at the obligation on states under Article 3 to conduct an independent and effective investigation into allegations of torture, before concluding that what is required by Article 3 essentially depends on the facts of any given case.

  • Cablegate

  • Environment/Energy/Wildlife

    • Last refuge of rare fish threatened by Yangtze dam plans

      The alarm was raised after the authorities in Chongqing quietly moved to redraw the boundaries of a crucial freshwater reserve on the Yangtze, which was supposed to have been the bottom line for nature conservation in one of the world’s most important centres of biodiversity.

    • Who are the biggest electric car liars – the BBC, or Tesla Motors?

      In a world-gone-topsy-turvy moment, the BBC has been accused of virulent anti-green bias by advocates of electric motoring, including Kryten from Red Dwarf and – of course – famous battery-car manufacturer Tesla, maker of the iconic Roadster.

    • Undercover police officer ‘could be prosecuted in Germany’

      Green party MP calls for government to reveal whether Mark Kennedy committed criminal offences in Germany

    • Police climate spies can’t break us

      Planting police spies among green activists was an attempt to derail a growing social movement – and it has failed

    • Mark Kennedy ‘took part in attack on Irish police officers at EU summit’

      The undercover policeman Mark Kennedy was in the vanguard of militant anti-capitalist protesters who attacked Irish police officers at an EU summit in Dublin marking the accession of eastern European states to the union, Irish anarchists have told the Guardian.

    • Eco-terrorism: the non-existent threat we spend millions policing

      Spying on environmental activists serves no one’s interests except for big corporations. Let’s end this insult to democracy

    • Mark Kennedy accuses senior officers of suppressing vital evidence

      The undercover policeman at the centre of the storm over infiltration of the environmental protest movement today insisted that all his actions had been sanctioned by his superiors and accused senior officers of deliberately suppressing evidence that would have exonerated six activists facing criminal charges.

      Mark Kennedy, whose seven-year career as an undercover officer in the protest movement was detailed by the Guardian last week, broke his silence in a newspaper interview in which he rejected claims he had acted as an agent provocateur by orchestrating and financing protests. He also said he knew of 15 other undercover officers who had infiltrated green protest groups in the past decade, and of four who remained undercover.

  • Finance

    • Nick Clegg signals support for banks breakup

      Nick Clegg today indicated the government would back a breakup of the banks to “make them safe” and protect the British economy from having to bail them out again.

      The deputy prime minister said there was a “very strong case” for separating high-risk “casino” banking from low-risk high street banking to ensure banks were no longer “too big to fail”.

    • Racism, Materialism and Militarism in the US

      Here are some of the facts about racism, materialism and militarism in the US which we should reflect on as we decide how best to carry on the radical struggle for justice of Dr. King. (For each fact, I provide a brief cite to the sources which are listed at the end of the article).

      Let us renew our commitment to the radical revolution of values for which Dr. King gave his life as we turn to the realities of current life.

      [...]

      Even with similar qualities (credit profiles, down payment ratios, personal characteristics, and residential locations) African Americans were more likely to receive subprime loans. Similarly blacks and Hispanics were significantly more likely than whites to receive loans with unfavorable terms such as prepayment penalties. The result: from 1993 to 2000, the share of subprime mortgages going to households in minority neighborhoods rose from 2 to 18 per cent.

    • The myth of Japan’s lost decade

      Growth rates that take demographics into account show Japan has done better than most of Europe over the past 10 years

    • The ‘new normal’ of unemployment

      The American Economics Association held its annual meeting in Denver last weekend. Most attendees appeared to be in a very forgiving mood. While the economists in Denver recognised the severity of the economic slump hitting the United States and much of the world, there were few who seemed to view this as a serious failure of the economics profession.

      The fact that the overwhelming majority of economists in policy positions failed to see the signs of this disaster coming, and supported the policies that brought it on, did not seem to be a major concern for most of the economists at the convention. Instead, they seemed more intent on finding ways in which they could get ordinary workers to accept lower pay and reduced public benefits in the years ahead. This would lead to better outcomes in their models.

    • Yes, bonuses do work – but for fruit-pickers, not City bankers

      Open the business pages at this time of year, and a whole bunch of telephone numbers come tumbling out. An average payout of £233,000 for the investment bankers at JP Morgan. A £9.7bn pot for the swots at Goldman Sachs. And a £2m kiss goodbye for the boss of Lloyds, Eric Daniels, presumably as thanks for bungling the high-street bank’s affairs so badly that it now relies on cash from the British taxpayer.

  • PR/AstroTurf/Lobbying

    • DC Public Affairs Firm Dumped Tunisia Last Week

      A week before the Tunisian government collapsed on Friday, with its longtime dictator fleeing the country in the face of massive popular protests, a Washington, DC public relations firm that had been hired by the government abruptly severed its relationship the North African nation.

    • 2011 Census press and social media “incident” media spin preparations

      The 2011 Census is rapidly approaching on Sunday 27th March 2011 and the Government bureaucracy is preparing its media spin and propaganda campaign…

    • [People for the American Way]

      Unfortunately, politicians and pundits on the Right are now responding the same way they always respond to criticism: deflection and denial. They are angry that they would be held accountable and are showing bitter defensiveness by going on the offense against anyone who raises uncomfortable truths like Sheriff Dupnik and some in the media. And they’ve childishly resorted to their own irrational finger pointing. Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Tea Party leaders and others on the Right are now claiming that the Tucson shooter Jared Loughner is a liberal because he listed Marx’s Communist Manifesto among his favorite books (a ridiculous stretch since he also listed Mein Kampf and an Ayn Rand book). Rush Limbaugh said that the gunman has the “full support” of the Democratic Party. And Republicans from Lamar Alexander to Sarah Palin are pushing the message that merely discussing examples of the violent rhetoric which has come to define our political discourse is tantamount to contributing to the ongoing rancor.

  • Censorship

    • Customs Chief Defends Seizure Of Domain Names

      The head of the Homeland Security Department’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency Tuesday defended his agency’s aggressive efforts to combat online piracy and counterfeiting by seizing Internet domain names.

      During a speech at the annual State of the Net conference, ICE Director John Morton defended the agency’s “Operation In Our Sites” actions that involved the issuance of warrants in June to seize nine Internet domain names engaged in piracy of copyrighted content. A second operation carried out in November involved the seizure of 82 domain names of commercial websites that the agency said were illegally selling and distributing counterfeit goods and copyrighted works.

      [...]

      Computer and Communications Industry Association President Ed Black questioned Morton on whether the seizure of domain names sets a precedent that will allow less Democratic governments around the world such as China or Iran to seize domain names in the name of intellectual property protection but are really aimed at shutting down political speech they oppose.

    • EC Survey Finds Cracks In Online Filtering Tools

      The European Commission Thursday released the results of a survey it conducted that found while most software programs it tested do a good job of blocking kids from accessing certain websites, they are less effective at blocking access to social networking sites and blogs.

    • Hate Speech and Free Speech

      What Lerner is urging, in modern form, is the revival of laws against sedition. The “protected values” (or in modern legal lingo, the “cognized groups”) may be different but the principle is the same: words which have a “tendency” to incite violence and/or threaten the security or wellbeing of … [insert your cherished value-of-choice here]… need to be outlawed and criminally punished.

      Whether enacted in 1789, 1918 or 2011, laws against sedition are inimicable to a free society; and no amount of spurious sociological “impact studies” (so-called) can change that constitutional fact.

  • Civil Rights

    • Homeland Security’s laptop seizures: Interview with Rep. Sanchez

      Worse, all of this is done not only without a warrant, probable cause or any oversight, but even without reasonable suspicion that the person is involved in any crime. It’s completely standard-less, arbitrary, and unconstrained. There’s no law authorizing this power nor any judicial or Congressional body overseeing or regulating what DHS is doing. And the citizens to whom this is done have no recourse — not even to have their property returned to them.

    • “No Touching” at High School? A Student Protests!

      Dear Free-Range Kids: I am a senior at a a small New England high school. A few days ago, the administration implemented a new rule: No physical contact at any time. The only appropriate touch, we are told, is a handshake. Presumably, this is to thin out the kissing couples who clog up the halls. I have no problem with that. But am I wrong in thinking that banning all touch goes too far? This morning I was in the library and saw a boy and girl studying at a nearby table. She had her arm around his shoulders. A librarian rushed over and loudly harangued them. They were forced to sit two feet apart for the remainder of the period.

  • Intellectual Monopolies

    • Sequel to Catcher in the Rye ‘banned in US’

      But a US judge blocked its publication in North America, saying it mirrored Salinger’s original too closely.

    • Third Parties Increasingly Targeted In Infringement Cases

      This is unfortunate, but not a surprise. We’ve been warning for the better part of a decade the problems with third party liability. Those who benefit from it will always push to stretch it to dump liability on third parties who had absolutely nothing to do with the actual infringement, and often had no idea that any infringement was going on. These payment companies, ad networks and registrars are quite far removed from any actual infringement. As noted above, they’re barely “third parties” at all, as they’re really fourth or fifth parties, so far removed from the actual infringement as to make these legal actions really quite questionable. It’s hard to see how anyone can reasonably argue that a registrar or a payment processor or an ad network should somehow be liable for actions done by the users of a site that they work with. If this continues it will severely stifle many of these activities, as payment providers and ad networks won’t do business with all sorts of perfectly legitimate sites, just to avoid the liability of being blamed for the actions of someone two steps removed.

    • Senator who opposes antipiracy bill under pressure?

      Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, was instrumental in blocking the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) late last year. COICA was introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and passed in that committee unanimously. But it was derailed when Wyden opposed it. Individual senators can place holds on pending legislation.

      Since the legislation was introduced very late in the prior congressional session, Wyden’s opposition forced supporters to wait until Congress reconvened. Now that Congress is back to work, Leahy has said he will again try to get COICA passed. The bill already has the backing of the major Hollywood film studios and record labels, but a mostly new group of supporters sent a letter today to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, praising him for past antipiracy efforts and asking for his support in getting COICA passed.

    • Copyrights

      • RIAA threatens ICANN over new TLDs

        The RIAA, no stranger to playing the bogeyman when it comes to technological change, is concerned that .music, for example, could be used to encourage copyright infringement.

      • MegaUpload joins the fight against MPAA and RIAA propaganda

        After a flood of piracy allegations, the file locker site MegaUpload has stood up against the music and movie industry. In an interview for TorrentFreak the company says RIAA and MPAA are directing them with some “grotesquely overblown allegations”.
        Just a couple days ago Anti-fraud firm MarkMonitor claimed that upload sites are “on a par with peer-to-peer sites when it comes to piracy.” MarkMonitor’s stats say that RapidShare, Megaupload and Megavideo alone account for more than 21 billions visits to illegal files per year.

      • Canadian-Uploaded YouTube Video Doesn’t Infringe in US–Shropshire v. Canning

        This lawsuit relates to the Christmas novelty song, “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer,” a song I listened to far too many times while preparing this blog post. I won’t dignify the song with a link. Just know that it was initially released in 1979 (not known as a good year, or era, in music) and co-performed by a guy named Elmo Shropshire. Need I say more?

      • No, Just Because A Site Contains ‘Academic’ ‘Advantage’ & ‘Scam’ On The Same Page, It Is Not Defamation Against Academic Advantage

        I would love to see this law firm go to court and try to defend the claim that the post on BoingBoing (which is actually quite interesting) was designed to do nothing more than damage Academic Advantage when absolutely nothing in the post or the comments is about the company Academic Advantage.

Clip of the Day

Duke Nukem Forever First look 2010 Live Demo


Credit: TinyOgg

Links 24/1/2011: Linux 2.6.38 RC2, Alienware Survey About Linux

Posted in News Roundup at 6:47 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNOME bluefish

Contents

GNU/Linux

  • Audiocasts/Shows

    • Linux Outlaws 187 – Let Me URL-Shorten That for You

      On this episode: L33tm33t at FOSDEM, Pirate Party member becomes Tunisian government minister, the FSF joins Google in fight for open video on the web, Sony tries to sue PS3 hacker Geohot, Ballmer fires another top Microsoft executive, Jobs on another medical leave and Arnie says bullshit!

  • Google

    • [Marc Fleury:] ChromeOS and Android: there can be only one

      Since I dived into Android and started thinking about ‘what it could be’, it is obvious that a lot of what android does is supposed to be delivered by ChromeOS.

      First, I had to freshen up on ChromeOS. The Google OS that is supposed to be a windows killer is a web-browser centric view of the world has ‘cloud’ written all over it. The net-centric PC has been in the making for 15 years. There is nothing earth-shattering in there but yet another Linux kernel. Of course, where google could really kill it, is if they replicated the success of MacOSX. After all the rebirth of apple included “leveraging” open source and providing a closed source UI on top it. And what a great job they have done at it. A part of me hopes Goog will deliver on the UI front. It could be enough for me to try it.

  • Kernel Space

    • That Was Quick: Here’s Linux 2.6.38-rc2 Kernel

      The Linux 2.6.38 kernel is shaping up to be very exciting even though it’s first release candidate arrived just four days ago. Tonight, however, the Linux 2.6.38-rc1 kernel has already been superseded by the Linux 2.6.38-rc2 release.

    • Linux 2.6.38-rc2
    • Kernel prepatch 2.6.38-rc2

    • Graphics Stack

      • An Open-Source GLES Driver For Samsung’s Galaxy GPU

        Embedded Linux GPU driver support is a great big mess. There’s no doubt about it. There’s some partial open-source driver code, but nothing that’s been quite popular or welcomed for integration into the mainline Linux kernel. There might be an open-source PowerVR SGX driver later in the year, but that’s still months out. However, with more mobile Linux devices emerging that utilize these closed-up ARM GPUs, clean-room reverse engineering to write open-source drivers is going to be inevitable unless the vendors step up their Linux support game.

  • Applications

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • Remove old mails automatically in Thunderbird
      • Five tips for migrating from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice

        Many small businesses are migrating from Microsoft Office to alternative solutions to save money and sidestep the Ribbon interface that arrived with Office 2007. There are plenty of alternatives, but none of them stacks up to Microsoft Office as well as LibreOffice.

      • Support the newbies: A very important initiative

        In this weekend, I planned to write some lines to Neutrino Project, because there’s to much job to be done, and so little time. But one thing have changed my plans completely: a user requested me help to install Fedora in his PC, and remove Windows. He wanted some light.

        The doubts wich he had, were the same wich many of us had in the beginning: he wanted proprietary codecs installation, Nvidia’s 3D driver installation, wanted to know how to configure his 3G network and if he’ll need to run text mode commands to all these things. I answered all his questions, and the installation and configuration of Fedora was complete sucessfuly.

    • Games

      • Alienware conducting a survey about linux systems

        Alienware is conducting a survey about the possibility to sell their system with Linux preinstalled, the more manufacturers that embrace Linux, the more popular it becomes and the better hardware support we all get, so why not help out?

  • Desktop Environments

    • GNOME Desktop

      • Orta 1.4.0 Released – The Best GTK Theme for Ubuntu Just Got Better

        We have discussed about Orta GTK theme in length before and also about the impressive Orta GTK theme + Faenza icon theme combination, which in my view is the best theme I have used with Ubuntu in a long time. Its so simple and eye-pleasing at the same time. The recent release of Orta 1.4.0 version brings in a number of important changes.

  • Distributions

    • Pardus 2011: KDE SC 4.5.5 With A Pinch Of GNOME In One Of The Best KDE-Based Linux Distros

      Pardus is a Linux distribution funded by the Scientific & Technological Research Council of Turkey. Even though it uses KDE, Pardus tries to make every user – including those who come from a GNOME Linux distribution – feel like home and in which the user is in control of how his desktop looks like right from the start.

    • New Releases

      • The Gentoo-Based Calculate Linux 11 Has Arrived

        Version 11.0 of Calculate Linux has been released. This release of the Gentoo-based operating system, which we benchmarked last August, brings many improvements to this promising distribution that — like Sabayon and others — makes it easier to run Gentoo on desktops and servers.

    • Debian Family

      • Debian frees up the kernel again

        The Debian project has now announced that from the release of Squeeze (Debian 6.0) their GNU/Linux kernels will be available without the non-free blobs.

      • Living on the edge with the Liquorix kernel, which offers out-of-the-box sound fix for Lenovo G555 (Conexant 5069)

        I’ve been good. I’ve been running the 2.6.32 kernel that powers Debian Squeeze since I did the installation in November.

      • Canonical/Ubuntu

        • The Dash Has Landed

          User visible changes to Unity have slowed down quite a bit until this week. There have been things like bug fixes landing, and the nm-applet getting indicatorized, and then that getting fixed up. But essentially, Unity has been just the launcher and the panel with indicators for weeks.

        • WebUpd8 PPAs Updates: Jupiter 0.0.48, Haguichi 1.0.4

          Jupiter is an applet which allows you to switch between maximum and high performance and power saving mode, change the resolution and orientation, enable or disable the bluetooth, touchpad, WiFi and so on. But most importantly it allows your Eeepc netbook to take advantage of SHE (Super Hybrid Engine).

        • Other ways to integrate with web apps
        • Notify-OSD on scroll wheel volume change [Video]

          Volume in Ubuntu; always one of the first things I hammer my keyboard volume keys to reduce after a fresh install. It’s so loud!

          Notify OSD, also know as Ubuntu’s pretty pop-up bubbles, helpfully appear the second I hit my volume keys, allowing me the chance to gauge the level of audial change without the need to open the Sound Menu itself

        • Will The Catalyst Driver Work On Ubuntu 11.04 At Launch?

          For the past few years there’s been a tradition where AMD supplies Canonical with an early snapshot of their very latest Catalyst driver prior to the next Ubuntu release. This hasn’t been done to ensure Ubuntu ships with any magical graphics driver features (in some cases though it can provide a glimpse of what’s to come), but rather is provided so that there is actually a Catalyst driver that works on the given Ubuntu Linux release. There’s an unfortunate tradition where by the time the next Ubuntu release rolls out that the latest publicly available Catalyst driver does not support either the latest Linux kernel and/or the X.Org Server used by that release. The Catalyst snapshot provides that belated support.

        • Ubuntu 11.10 naming

          Is it possible to make proposals for the Natty+1 Ubuntu codename ?

          If so, I propose Ozzy Osbourne.

  • Devices/Embedded

    • Phones

      • Android

        • T-Mobile’s Galaxy S Vibrant Getting Froyo Now

          While Nexus One users are busy trying to get their hands on Gingerbread, there are an awful lot of people still waiting for upgrades to previous versions of Android. However, it seems Galaxy S Vibrant users are about to join the steadily increasing number of Froyo users.

    • Tablets

Free Software/Open Source

  • [Gimp-developer] GIMP icon “stolen” by commercial Symbian software on sale at Nokia app store

  • Oracle

    • LibreOffice To Be Released On January 25th

      The Document Foundation will release the first stable release of LibreOffice on January 25, 2011.

      In an exclusive interview with Muktware Italo Vignoli of TDF had told us that the first stable release of the office suite should be made available by the end of November 2010.

  • Healthcare

  • Business

    • OpenERP vs Lotus Domino

      I spent last week out in Belgium, the home of fine chocolates, waffles and Open Source Enterprise Resource Planning applications. I was lucky enough to sample all three as I was on a training course in the OpenERP head office. OpenERP 6 has just been released and it is an amazing thing to have a full ERP system that is Free Software and has Ubuntu as the preferred platform (we were all given an Ubuntu VMware/Virtualbox virtual machine for the training course).

  • FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC

    • Fellowship interview with Anne Østergaard

      Anne Østergaard is a veteran of the Free Software community, and attended the first Open Source Days, back in 1998. She holds a Law Degree from The University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and after a decade in government service, international organisations, and private enterprise, she has become a devoted Free Software advocate. Her interests lie in the long-term strategic issues of Free Software; in the social, legal, research, and economic areas of our global society. A former Vice Chairman at GNOME, she’s heavily involved in political lobbying, and has been fighting for changes in software patents and copyright for a number of years.

  • Project Releases

    • Fragmentarium: a new GPU-side generative art tool

      Mikael Hvidtfeldt Christensen released first version of Fragmentarium — his new cross-platform IDE for exploring pixel based graphics on the GPU which, we have no doubts on that, many people interested in generative art will fall in love with.

  • Standards/Consortia

    • W3C Launches RDF Working Group

      W3C today launches the RDF Working Group, whose mission is to update the cornerstone standard for the Semantic Web: the Resource Description Framework (RDF).

    • Google submits documentation for VP8 video codec to the IETF

      Shortly before announcing its decision to remove H.264 support for HTML5 video from Chrome, Google’s codec developers submitted an Internet Draft (I-D) of its VP8 Data Format and Decoding Guide to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) with a request for comments. The document provides a detailed description of the bitstream format and the decoding mechanism used for the VP8 video codec, developed by On2 Technologies. Google took over the codec-lab just under a year ago and released the codec under an open source license as part of its Web Open Media Project (WebM) shortly thereafter.

    • Anniversaries & Ideologies

      The IETF · That stands for Internet Engineering Task Force. I’ve been to some meetings and co-chaired a working group and written text that’s ended up in this RFC and that.

Leftovers

  • BBC anonymous briefing on Surveillance Orders planned replacement for Control Orders

    The phrases “the BBC learns” or “the BBC understands that” or “Whitehall sources” etc. are euphemisms for an “off the record” a “leak” / briefing by a Whitehall spin doctor, not for revelations by a worried whistleblower.

    The BBC and other mainstream media should refuse to publish such anonymous briefings about changes to Government policy. There should be a named official Government spokesman and Minister who takes the credit or blame for the policy announcement. If the final details of Government policy have not yet been decided, then they should say so and invite comment and advice from the public and outside experts, who know at least as much as they do about the issues.

  • Tribe’s $500M Fall River casino plan dead

    Mayor William Flanagan, who last year touted the site as the perfect location for a $500 million resort-style casino, has told the tribe that the city will stick with the original plan for a biotechnology park on the land.

  • Tunisia’s Inner Workings Emerge on Twitter

    “The first conflict with the old RCD-ists,” Mr. Amamou, 33, told his 10,000 Twitter followers from the closed-door cabinet meeting, along with the rest of the fly-on-the-wall details reported above. “I like the minister of Justice,” he wrote on Twitter a few days later. “I am going to wear a tie just to please him.”

  • Silvio Berlusconi’s party gaining support despite scandals

    It has shocked and titillated newspaper readers the world over, but it would seem that the latest scandal over Silvio Berlusconi’s riotous private life has done nothing to undermine his supporters’ faith in him.

  • AOL Is In Talks To Acquire Outside.In, Save It From Near Certain Death

    AOL is talking to local news aggregator Outside.in about a possible acquisition, we’ve heard from multiple sources.

    One source close to the deal told us that it would be “premature” to report that AOL has acquired Outside.in, and that another party may be involved in the negotiations.

  • Bring me the head of Eric Schmidt!

    No, Eric Schmidt didn’t step down from being CEO of Google to take Steve Jobs’s position at Apple. I’m fairly certain Schmidt was demoted. Or if he wasn’t, then he should have been.

  • Science

    • Insert <discovery> here: the role of placeholders in science

      The comments appear like clockwork every time there’s a discussion of the Universe’s dark side, for both dark matter and dark energy. At least some readers seem positively incensed by the idea that scientists can happily accept the existence of a particle (or particles) that have never been observed and a mysterious repulsive force. “They’re just there to make the equations work!” goes a typical complaint.

    • Quantum Entanglement Could Stretch Across Time

      In the weird world of quantum physics, two linked particles can share a single fate, even when they’re miles apart.

      Now, two physicists have mathematically described how this spooky effect, called entanglement, could also bind particles across time.

      If their proposal can be tested, it could help process information in quantum computers and test physicists’ basic understanding of the universe.

    • Danger: America Is Losing Its Edge In Innovation

      I’ve visited more than 100 countries in the past several years, meeting people from all walks of life, from impoverished children in India to heads of state. Almost every adult I’ve talked with in these countries shares a belief that the path to success is paved with science and engineering.

      In fact, scientists and engineers are celebrities in most countries. They’re not seen as geeks or misfits, as they too often are in the U.S., but rather as society’s leaders and innovators. In China, eight of the top nine political posts are held by engineers. In the U.S., almost no engineers or scientists are engaged in high-level politics, and there is a virtual absence of engineers in our public policy debates.

      Why does this matter? Because if American students have a negative impression – or no impression at all – of science and engineering, then they’re hardly likely to choose them as professions. Already, 70% of engineers with PhD’s who graduate from U.S. universities are foreign-born. Increasingly, these talented individuals are not staying in the U.S – instead, they’re returning home, where they find greater opportunities.

    • My Experiences as a Female Software Engineer

      It’s no secret that females in Computer Science, both in academia and industry, are scarce. While the percentage of females in other male-dominated fields has been on the rise, that of females majoring in computer science has been on a downward spiral in the past few decades, currently sitting at about 12% to 20%. When I was at Princeton, it was on the lower end, with the class of 2007 having 2 women out of about 20, and the class of 2008 having about 5 out of 50. I don’t claim to know why the numbers are so low, though I think much of it has to do with the culture of Computer Science and the type of people that go into the field. I thought I’d share some of my experiences both in school and in industry.

      In high school, I took two computer science courses– Intro to Computer Science using C++, and AP Computer Science. Had it not been for these courses and the confidence they instilled in me (due largely in part to my excellent teachers), I doubt I would have had the guts to major in Computer Science in college. I had some female friends that took the standard intro course in college, and liked programming, but never really considered majoring in it. I can understand why–if you’ve never programmed before, that course is really very difficult. It is also very intimidating to take classes where it seems like most people know all the material already and have been programming since middle school or earlier, especially when they are very vocal about their technical knowledge.

  • Health/Nutrition

    • Parents who won’t vaccinate their kids should pay higher insurance premiums

      Writing on CNN, pediatrician Rahul K. Parikh suggests that parents who allow the irresponsible lies of publicity-mongers like Jenny McCarthy to scare them into not vaccinating their kids should have to pay higher insurance premiums.

      I think this sounds like a good start, but I’d go further: I think that kids should have to show a certificate of vaccination to use public schools — because vaccinations don’t confer resistance on all people, we have to rely on “herd immunity” (that is, a preponderance of people taking vaccination) to keep all of us safe.

    • Portugal: 10 years of decriminalized drugs

      Here’s a good Boston Globe report on the first decade of Portugal’s bold experiment with drug decriminalization and increased treatment. Ten years ago, Portugal — whose drug problem had been spiraling out of control — decided to treat drug addiction as a public health matter, not as a criminal matter. They decriminalized possession of drugs, and increased treatment available to addicts, and experienced an immediate, dramatic and sustained drop in negative effects from drug use — though the use of some drugs went up.

    • Who is to blame for the dioxin scandal in Germany?

      The recent scandal was uncovered one day before Christmas, when one feed producer informed the authorities that he found dioxin in his feed. Six days later a feed production site in northern Germany was closed and at beginning of January dioxin was found in eggs and later in pigs. Almost 5,000 farms in Germany were closed down for precautionary reasons.

  • Security

  • Defence/Police/Aggression

    • New Navy Jammer Could Invade Networks, Nuke Sites

      When China’s stealth-fighter prototype took to the air two weeks ago, it intensified what was already a heated debate in Washington over which, and how many, new fighter planes to buy.

      Lost in all this noise was the U.S. Navy’s real plan for winning any future air war with China or another big baddie. Rather than going toe-to-toe with J-20s and other enemy jets, the Navy is planning to attack its rivals where they’re most vulnerable: in the electromagnetic spectrum.

    • Peace Corps Gang Rape: Volunteer Says U.S. Agency Ignored Warnings

      More than 1,000 young American women have been raped or sexually assaulted in the last decade while serving as Peace Corps volunteers in foreign countries, an ABC News 20/20 investigation has found.

    • The BBC’s Nick Robinson can’t spell dictatorship (nor can Coulson, Cameron etc)

      Over on his blog the BBC’s chief political correspondent Nick Robinson posts a revealing PS about Blair’s second appearance before the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war.

      [...]

      This is appalling. The word for government being one man’s judgement is dictatorship. This is not a mere “clash of cultures” (as in ‘do you prefer a sofa to a table?’). And Blair has made it clear it is not a matter of judgement. Judgement demands a larger process such as the assessment of evidence and a demand for different options. What Blair has always fallen back on is the sincerity of his belief or gut instinct; again an attribute of dictatorship.

    • The aforementioned diatribe..

      3) The sad state of affairs we regressed to during the G20 summit in June of 2010. There are still hearings and things dragging on regarding abuses of powers and denials of civil rights during the event. Recently, this story went to the figurative presses of the interweb. I dont rightly know if it made it to paper copy, but my lovely friend Andrea’s facebook post was kind enough to direct me to the webpage. To summarize, a video surfaced of police telling protesters that they must surrender their backpacks for search, blocks from the protected ‘Redzone’. When one of the protesters quipped back that they were in Canada, he wasnt breaking any law, and had the right to deny unreasonable search and seizure, the officer replied that “this ain’t Canada right now”.

    • Interview: ‘Authoritarian Governments Have Immensely Benefited From The Web,’ Author Says

      Evgeny Morozov, a noted specialist on the use of new communications technologies to promote democratic values, has a new book titled “The Net Delusion: The Dark Side Of Internet Freedom.” In it, he argues that hype about “Twitter revolutions” and the enormous potential of the Internet to promote open societies and roll back authoritarianism is naive and overblown.

      What’s more, Morozov warns, authoritarian regimes such as Russia, China, and Iran have adapted quickly to devise new ways — often modeled on commercial Internet-monitoring tools used by Western corporations — to track and neutralize Internet activism.

    • [Satire] Congress Honors 9/11 First Capitalizers

      In an act that many are calling long overdue, Congress passed legislation this week to honor those Americans who were first on the scene to profit from the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001.

    • The Shawna Forde trial: Will the mainstream media bother to notice?

      There’s another infamous shooting of a nine-year-old girl that is making headlines this week in Tucson. This time, we wonder if the rest of the media will bother to cover it.

    • Intelligence agencies go to supreme court over ruling on secret evidence

      MI5 and MI6 will argue in a test case before the supreme court tomorrow that in future no intelligence gathered abroad, even if initially obtained through torture, should ever be disclosed in a British court.

      Last year an appeal court dismissed what it described as an attempt to undermine a fundamental principle of common law: that a litigant must see and hear the evidence used against him or her.

    • Police State Watch Canada

      Let’s consider the case of Alex Hundert, which I first heard of yesterday. I’d heard of Byron Sonne, who is also being held, but I hadn’t heard of Alex, who by the descriptions may have been railroaded.

      Who else is still in jail? Who else is being penalized for what the Ontario Ombudsman André Marin has declared the greatest mass violation of rights during peacetime.

  • Cablegate

    • Activists Trying to Visit Bradley Manning Detained by Military Police

      Earlier today David House and FireDogLake publisher Jane Hamsher were detained at Quantico when they tried to check on Bradley Manning and deliver a 42,000 signature petition demanding an end to the inhumane conditions of his arrest. Manning remains locked up in solitary confinement, despite claims that his brutal treatment — 23 hours a day in a cell, no exercise, no pillow or comfortable blanket — has led to his physical and mental deterioration.

    • Lawyer for Bradley Manning, Army figure in WikiLeaks case, alleges prison mistreatment

      The lawyer for alleged government secrets leaker Bradley Manning is accusing military authorities of using punitive measures against Manning at the Marine Corps jail in Quantico, Va.

      Manning, a 23-year-old Army private suspected of passing thousands of classified documents to the online site WikiLeaks, was placed on suicide watch for two days this week – against the recommendation of the jail’s forensic psychiatrist, attorney David E. Coombs said.

    • BREAKING: Military Harassing David House, Jane Hamsher for Visiting Bradley Manning

      Jane Hamsher is with David House who is trying to visit Pvt. Bradley Manning at Quantico today while carrying a petition with 42,000 signatures requesting humane treatment for Manning. The military isn’t making it easy at all and detained Jane and David for two hours.

    • Breaking news: Manning Supporters Detained by Quantico

      Beaking news: David House, supporter and personal friend of Bradley Manning, traveled to Quantico with journalist Jane Hamsher to visit Manning earlier today. Though House is an approved visitor, he was prevented from seeing Manning. They were detained for over 40 minutes. House and Hamsher communicated their detainment via Twitter status updates.In addition to visiting Manning, House was planning to deliver a petition with 42,000 signatures calling for the humane treatment of Bradley Manning. Military officials demanded Hamsher’s Social Security number and prevented her from leaving the base. Their car was then searched and impounded. House was unable to visit Manning.

    • Activists delivering Bradley Manning petition held at Quantico

      Activist reporters who tried to deliver a petition protesting Bradley Manning’s treatment by the US military were blocked from seeing Manning and held against their will at Quantico on Sunday, while their cars were towed on seemingly flimsy pretenses, the reporters say.

      FireDogLake blogger Jane Hamsher told her Twitter followers that she was detained at the gate to the US Marine base at Quantico when she showed up to deliver a petition signed by 42,000 people, demanding that the US military take Bradley Manning — the alleged source of the State Department cables released by WikiLeaks — out of solitary confinement.

    • WikiLeaks lawyer vows to prosecute Palin if she goes to Australia

      In a Facebook post in December, Sarah Palin wrote that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be “pursued with the same urgency as al-Qaida and Taliban leaders.” Robert Stary, an Australian lawyer for Assange, tells National Public Radio he’ll pursue a “private prosecution” of Palin if she ever sets foot on Aussie soil. Her remark is essentially a call for Assange’s execution, Stary says.

    • So Much For The NYT Investigation Of Bradley Manning’s Confinement Conditions

      I guess we should be glad The New York Times is checking up on Bradley Manning at all. Between August 9 and December 16 they published exactly zero articles about the man Julian Assange called “the world’s pre-eminent prisoner of conscience.” Meanwhile Bradley has been in the brig at Quantico Marine Corps Base since July. Supporters have become increasingly concerned that he is being mistreated, perhaps to pressure him to testify against Mr. Assange.

      The Times piece begins with the obligatory caricature of the Wikileaks founder. Although Assange has about 90% name recognition, it felt nonetheless compelled to remind readers that he is the “flamboyant founder of WikiLeaks, [who] is living on a supporter’s 600-acre estate outside London, where he has negotiated $1.7 million in book deals.”

    • WikiLeaks founder Assange slams Swiss banker arrest

      The founder of whistleblower site WikiLeaks attacked Switzerland on Sunday for arresting a Swiss banker on suspicion of breaching banking secrecy instead of investigating the tax evasion he said he had uncovered.

      In an interview published in the Swiss weekly Der Sonntag, Julian Assange, whose website has angered Washington by releasing confidential U.S. diplomatic cables, said Switzerland’s actions were drawing renewed international attention to its controversial banking practices.

    • streisand.me

      This is how it works: A known phenomena on the interwebs is the Streisand effect. Whenever something important or popular gets blocked, withdrawn or censored, the internet finds a way of keeping it online. This is because of the fact that the internet consists of humans that refuse to keep their mouths shut just because some authority tells them to. Which often results in a fast propagation regionally or even globally and a wide spreading of the surpressed information in digital form on the internets.

  • Environment/Energy/Wildlife

    • Oil drilling is getting even more extreme and dangerous

      You’d think that blowback from the Deepwater oil disaster would make companies more cautious about drilling deep into the Earth in search of black gold. But a terrific article by Discover’s Mac Margolis reveals drilling is only getting more extreme.

    • Britain Ignores Tyndall Centre Report Urging Shale Gas Moratorium At Its Own Peril

      Despite the evidence of significant potential risks presented in a recent report by the Tyndall Centre, the British government says it will forge ahead with plans for shale gas development in the UK. The Tyndall Centre’s study, “Shale gas: a provisional assessment of climate change and environmental impacts” [PDF], urged the UK to place a moratorium on shale gas in light of serious risks associated with shale gas development, including the contamination of ground and surface waters, the expected net increase of CO2 emissions, and substantial monetary costs which could delay major investments in clean energy technologies.

    • Canadian Government Wasting Taxpayers Money On The Oil Sands

      We’ve seen a lot of gasoline filling stations close over the last 40 years, as the old companies have tried to maximize profits. Fewer stations mean less costs to them, both operating, and delivering fuel.

      Now assume I’m right, and that 50% of the vehicles sold in the 2015 model year are electric. Typically older vehicles are driven less. People who put high yearly mileages on their vehicles usually try to drive newer vehicles for reliability reasons. Most owners of vehicles that are five years old or older, use the vehicles as second cars.

    • Last chance to see? Bearing witness.

      Bearing witness is one of the founding principles of Greenpeace, up there with Direct Action. Unlike direct action however it doesn’t rely on directly stopping something bad from happening. Its power comes from the story it tells, and poignantly for me, the empowerment it brings to those who see the story and then feel compelled to act. So while it doesn’t offer the instant gratification for the activist chained to the bulldozer – its affect can be broader, quicker and more powerful – inspiring millions of people who simply look at a photo and are awakened to something that they didn’t necessarily know even existed. Once they know they usually act and often in numbers.

    • Is breaking the law always illegal?

      Early in the morning of 17 December 2001, a group of intruders penetrated the area inside the perimeter fence surrounding the Lucas Heights nuclear plant, Australia’s only reactor.

  • Finance

    • Senior MEP warns of ‘scam’ targeting EU businesses

      Senior MEP Malcolm Harbour has alerted European businesses to be on their guard against a “scam” thought to involve hundreds of thousands of euros a year.

      Under the “deal” businesses receive an invitation to appear in a “business directory” for free.

    • Facebook Completes $1.5 Billion Fund-Raising Round

      The investments include $500 million from Goldman Sachs and the Russian investment firm Digital Sky Technologies, as well as $1 billion from wealthy Goldman clients based overseas.

    • Goldman Sachs Changes Its Facebook Deal To Avoid Scrutiny

      Looking to side step scrutiny, Goldman Sachs is changing the terms of its recent transaction with Facebook. Under the initial deal, Goldman Sachs created a “special purpose vehicle” to allow many of its high-end clients to invest up to $1.5 billion in the social network and still be treated as one shareholder. That, however, drew broad accusations that the company was trying to do an end-run under SEC regulations that mandate that private companies with more than 500 investors have to disclose their finances.

    • The NYT’s Hallucinations of a Business Investment Led Recovery

      The New York Times was touting the prospect of renewed spending by business leading the recovery. There are two major problems with this story. First investment in equipment and software has already been growing rapidly. Over the last four quarters it has grown at almost a 20 percent annual rate. People who have access to the Commerce Department’s data on GDP (a group that apparently excludes employees of the NYT) are aware of this fact.

    • S.E.C. Study Recommends More Oversight of Brokers

      Investment advisers and stockbrokers should be subject to the same fiduciary standard of conduct — putting a customer’s interests above their own — rather than the different governance regimes that currently apply to the two groups, the Securities and Exchange Commission recommended on Saturday.

      In a report closely watched by Wall Street, the commission’s staff said retail investors “generally are not aware” that stockbrokers and their firms are subject to a lesser legal standard, one that requires brokers to make sure the products that they sell are suitable for their clients. Investment advisers are already subject to the higher fiduciary standard.

    • Jerry Brown takes a big risk

      After spending nearly 20 years working his way back to the pinnacle of California politics, Jerry Brown is risking it all with an opening gambit that will either lead his distressed state to solvency or leave him in political ruin.

      Brown’s bet is that the fear over California’s enormous $25 billion budget hole will give him a six-month window to unite the state’s many powerful warring factions for the greater good – even as each of them takes a major hit.

    • California treasurer warns of IOUs, if no cuts

      State Treasurer Bill Lockyer says California could be forced to issue IOUs as early as April or May if state lawmakers don’t cut state spending soon.

      Lockyer, a Democrat, said Saturday that California could run short of cash as it faces a $25.4 billion deficit through the end of June 2012, including an $8.2 billion gap in the fiscal year that ends in July.

    • Foreclose on the Foreclosure Fraudsters, Part 1: Put Bank of America in Receivership

      After a quick review of its procedures, Bank of America this week announced that it will resume its foreclosures in 23 lucky states next Monday. While the evidence is overwhelming that the entire foreclosure process is riddled with fraud, President Obama refuses to support a national moratorium. Indeed, his spokesmen on the issue told reporters three key things.

    • How Goldman Sachs Helps Keep the Economy in Limbo

      Accounting practices should be cleaned up rather than permitted to exist in order to hide huge losses. Is the Federal Reserve promoting such accounting? The banks helped destroy the financial system and are now being supported by the political system and the highest reaches of the financial system.

  • PR/AstroTurf/Lobbying

    • Jeremy Hunt announces review of 2003 Communications Act

      The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt, has announced a review of the 2003 Communications Act.

      The Act was responsible for replacing Oftel with communications regulator Ofcom and setting up a regulatory framework for ISPs, telecoms and television.

  • Censorship

    • A misguided approach

      EU measures to block access to websites which host indecent child images threatens both our freedom and privacy, and is not the most effective way to combat child abuse

  • Privacy

    • Census 2011 press release on Lockheed Martin – ONS still pretending that they will not hand over your Sensitive Personal Data to anyone else

      There are only 69 days left before the mandatory United Kingdom Census on Sunday 27th March 2011

      The Office for National Statistics has issued a misleading Press Release which seeks to allay the understandable public fears about what the risks are to their Sensitive Personal Data in regard to the involvement of he massive United States defence contractor Lockheed Martin.

    • Facebook Agrees to Change ‘Friend Finder’ Feature

      Under pressure from the German government, the social networking site Facebook has agreed to make a major concession due to privacy concerns. The company says it will no longer automatically e-mail invitations to join the site through services like Google Mail when a person uses the controversial “Friend Finder” feature.

    • TalkTalk or StalkStalk?

      TalkTalk’s trial took place in secret, reminding many people of the controversy caused by BT when they trialled the now-abandoned Phorm advertising system, also based on interception of their cusomers’ communications.

  • Civil Rights

    • Early Lessons from the Tunisian Revolution

      Last week’s post about the increasingly draconian and desperate measures the Tunisian government was taking to censor bloggers, journalists, and activists online was rapidly made irrelevant by subsequent events. Over the next few days, Tunisian dictator El Abidine Ben Ali promised not to run for re-election in 2014, then offered widespread reforms, including freedom of expression on the Internet, and finally stepped down from power and fled the country. The steps that EFF called on Facebook, Google, and Yahoo to take in order to protect the privacy and safety of their Tunisian users soon lost their urgency. For now, Tunisians are experiencing unprecedented freedom online after years of extensive government filtering and censorship of websites.

      [...]

      Even so, Zuckerman credits social media with giving Tunisians a view of the protests that they did not get through heavily-censored government television, radio, and newspapers.

    • Reversing the Erosion of Civil Liberties

      As many Americans embraced the illusion of “perfect security” – even at the cost of their freedoms – government agencies stepped in with ambitious “counterterrorism” programs that soon were targeting innocent citizens, a problem that former FBI officer Coleen Rowley says must now be addressed:

      Who has not yet awoken to the fact that we have been sailing since the 9/11 attacks into a perfect storm? Here are just some of the turbulent winds blowing and pushing officials in the wrong direction…

  • Internet/Net Neutrality

    • The end of the net as we know it

      ISPs are threatening to cripple websites that don’t pay them first. Barry Collins fears a disastrous end to net neutrality

      You flip open your laptop, click on the BBC iPlayer bookmark and press Play on the latest episode of QI. But instead of that tedious, plinky-plonky theme tune droning out of your laptop’s speakers, you’re left staring at the whirring, circular icon as the video buffers and buffers and buffers…

    • Public and Political Concern Over Usage Based Billing Gathers Steam

      The increasing use of bandwidth caps and usage based billing models among Canadian ISPs may enjoy support from the CRTC, but the practice has begun to attract increasing critical attention in both the media and at the political level. Yesterday, the NDP issued a release lamenting that “Canada is already falling behind other countries in terms of choice, accessibility and pricing for the Internet.” NDP MP Charlie Angus, who will be appearing at a net neutrality town hall on the weekend, noted that UBB could be used to limit third-party services such as Netflix.

  • Intellectual Monopolies

    • Gibson Can’t Resist, Sues Another Video Game For Infringement, Despite Being Smacked Down By Court Last Time
    • The Times thinks piracy is our big trade problem!!

      Finally he totally ignores the effect of China’s intervention to weaken its currency, in leading other big Asian exporters to keep their currencies low. The list of such countries includes Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, all of which add to the US trade deficit.

      The response to a drop in foreign currencies will not be instantaneous, because it will take time for US producers to expand output. Thus, it is unlikely to have a rapid impact on current unemployment, but our exchange rate is important in our current large job losses and in worsening our income distribution.

    • Copyrights

      • Lies, damn lies, stats, and newspaper stories

        The entertainment cartels regularly and routinely hijack local governments and media to present their specious ‘file sharing’ and ‘copyright violation’ statements.

        Then, national and international print and electronic outlets jump right to it, either ignoring, or misrepresenting, what’s happening, publishing unbalanced and completely inaccurate reports as though they’re based on factual information, coming from credible and reliable sources

        In Canada, the Globe and Mail in particular consistently carries not only biased, but incorrect, reports on the war between ‘consumers’, as they’re called disdainfully, and the corporate music and movie cartels, which are using legislation originally drawn up to protect citizens, to attack them in the name of the bottom line.

      • Francis Ford Coppola On Art, Copying And File Sharing: We Want You To Take From Us

        He’s saying it shouldn’t be presumed that they automatically must make money — or that if they are to make money, that it needs to come from the film directly.

      • How YouTube became the place to go for music on the Web

        One of the more interesting trends to emerge in the world of digital music in recent times has been that of YouTube seemingly becoming one of the most popular, perhaps even the most popular, means of experiencing music online.

      • Belgian and Israeli Courts Grant Remedies to CC Licensors

        In the Belgian case, Lichôdmapwa v. L’asbl Festival de Theatre de Spa, a theater company used 20 seconds of the song “Abatchouck” in an advertisement. The song had been released by the Belgian band Lichôdmapwa under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND (Attribution, NonCommerical, NoDerivatives) license. Lichôdmapwa brought suit, claiming the theater company violated all three license conditions when it failed to provide attribution, used the song in a commercial advertisement, and used only a segment of the song.

      • Russian Music Uploader Faces Criminal Copyright Charges

        Russian prosecutors have filed criminal online copyright infringement charges against a 26-year-old accused of posting 18 tracks on Russian social network Vkontakte, Agence France-Presse reported.

        [...]

        If convicted, the accused uploader faces up to six years in prison, and copyright infringement damages in the amount of $3,600.

      • today in school, I learned that I’m an “extortionist”

        Why would CAUT publish such a one-sided, unbalanced non-review promoting a highly politicized view of copyright reform? Do they have a stated position on copyright reform in Canada?

      • The Music Bay: Pirate Bay Crew Instill More Fear Into The Music Industry

        For years The Pirate Bay has been a thorn in the side of the music industry, but things could be about to take a turn for the worse. Over the past days rumors of a new project titled “The Music Bay” have been circling, and now a Pirate Bay insider has just confirmed to TorrentFreak that the major record labels have good reason to be afraid, very afraid.

      • The Best Music Infographics

        Infographics, Venn diagrams, and flowcharts: They are hard to avoid these days and data visualization is a hot topic. Therefore, HaveYouHeard.It did some research for you and selected the best music related infographics. Enjoy!

      • CRTC asks the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council to review decision to ban Dire Straits song

        The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission today wrote to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) asking it to review its determination that the unedited version of the song “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits was inappropriate for Canadian radio. On January 12, 2011, the CBSC’s Atlantic Regional Panel found that the use of a derogatory word in the song breached broadcast codes.

      • Reading between the Lines of Bill C-32
      • So-called ‘sequel’ to ‘Catcher in the Rye’ effectively banned in the U.S. as part of copyright lawsuit settlement agreement.

        The unauthorized ‘sequel’/commentary on J.D. Salinger’s Catcher In The Rye can be published and sold around the world, EXCEPT for the U.S. and Canada.

      • ACTA

        • Ad hoc meeting – Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)

          DG Trade is organising a meeting to inform and consult civil society about the plurilateral Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

          [...]

          Ms Ancel-La Santos Quintano, European Patent Office

        • ACTA Inconsistent With European Law, Legal Experts Say

          The recently completed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is not fully consistent with European Union law and goes beyond international law in some of its aspects, concluded a group of intellectual property law experts from universities in Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France and Spain.

          In an open declaration, they point, for example, to criminal law sanctions not yet harmonised in EU law, but also to border measures extended to simple trademark infringements “based on mere similarity of signs, risk of confusion and even the protection for well-known trademarks against dilution.”

Clip of the Day

Police in Hungary Tracy Chapman : Last Night (Behind the Wall)


Credit: TinyOgg

ES: Grupos de Presión por Patentes en Europa

Posted in Europe, Patents at 1:17 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Orbán and Bush

(ODF | PDF | English/original)

Resumen: Cuando los funcionarios públicos y los supuestos “activistas” en realidad sólo sirven a los intereses corporativos

NNo es ningún secreto que hay un intenso lobbyism -cabildeo- en Europa, incluyendo algunos promoviendo las patentes de software[http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Software_Patents_in_Europe].

Algo de el cabildeo -lobbyism- pro-patentes de software viene de Microsoft Florian[http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Florian_M%C3%BCller], que se está extendiendo Android FUD desde hace algún tiempo, desde la segunda mitad del año pasado. Él está propagando MENTIRAS, pero estas mentiras son suficientes para que los refuerzos de Microsoft promuevan en sus blogs o en lo que sea, con la esperanza de que estas mentiras se propaguen [1[http://techrights.org/2011/01/22/boosting-vista-phony-7-with-lies/], 2[http://techrights.org/2011/01/23/distorting-google-truths/]].

“Es como el caso de SCO de nuevo, esta vez con Dalvik/Android como objetivo en lugar de Linux.”Fab de Linux Outlaw dice que parece “como que @Thurrott [de Microsoft refuerzo Paul Thurrott [1[http://techrights.org/2010/11/16/big-lie-regarding-swpats/], 2[http://techrights.org/2011/01/23/distorting-google-truths/]]] esta un poco atrasado en noticias tecnológicas en estos días: http://outl.ws/hsB6RE que debería haber leído http://outl.ws/harXBr ”

Para aclarar los puntos Fab que Thurrott emite FUD como “Fuente: Más Robo de código en Google Android”, mientras que “Florian Mueller emite anti-Androdid Miedo, Incertidumbre y Duda, FUD [que resultó simplemente FALSO]“. Así que aquí tenemos refuerzos de Microsoft citando otros refuerzos de Microsoft/apologistas/grupos de presión que acusó (calumnió) a Google de “robo de código”. Es como el caso de SCO nuevamente, esta vez con Dalvik/Android como objetivo en lugar de Linux. No es de extrañar el juez de la Corte Superior de Justicia Jackson llamó ejecutivos de Microsoft “pandilleros” en su época. Esa es sólo la forma en que -Microsoft- opera. Después de desacreditar de algunos de estas mentiras que todavía se encuentran reproducidas, The Inquirer dice [http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1939165/mueller-forced-android-copyright-infringement-claims] que “Mueller se ve obligado a retractarse respecto a las demandas de infracción de derechos de autor de parte de Google/Android”:

Si ese sentimiento suena algo familiar, transporte su mente de nuevo a agosto de 2010, cuando Microsoft afirmó que Android no es gratuito para los fabricantes de teléfonos inteligentes que decidan instalar el sistema operativo. Al mes siguiente, Tivanka Ellawala, una directora financiera de Microsoft, hizo lo que ahora puede ser visto como un precursor a los comentarios de Mueller, diciendo: “Si viola en un montón de patentes, y hay un costo asociado con eso.” Eso no era más que bravatas de Microsoft, por supuesto, porque no se identificó ninguna patente para apoyar esas afirmación amenazantes.

Mueller agregó, “Estoy seguro de que esas empresas no tenían la intención de atentar contra los derechos de Oracle. Ellos probablemente se basarón en la legalidad de la presunta base de código de Android. “Pero él no fué específico.

Wayne dice que el Inquirers estuvo en lo correcto en este caso. “The Inquirer dice Florian Müller,” NO ES COMPETENTE”, el mundo se ríe, ADTI se encoge”, escribió poco después.

Mientras tanto, Andre de la FFII ha estado tratando de apoderarse de los documentos oficiales que nuestro lector Satipera cree estar relacionado con el tema de “patentes” y “unitarypatent”. Para recitar [http://arebentisch.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/legal-advice-on-enhanced-cooperation-kept-secret/] un artículo que citó el otro día:

El Consejo Europeo tiene algunas dificultades para aplicar la sentencia del EJC TURCO que claramente manda la divulgación de los dictámenes jurídicos no relacionados con los procedimientos judiciales. Ellos piensan que el asesoramiento jurídico relativo a la cooperación reforzada con una patente unitaria, les permita mantener su carácter confidencial. Lo dudo mucho.

Algo raro está pasando en Europa y la Comisión también está jugando un papel en él[http://techrights.org/2011/01/21/european-commission-disappoints-regarding-free-software-and-patents/]. Satipera ha descubierto y compartido con sus seguidores algunas nuevas lobbying cifras de Microsoft, el monopolista es el NUMERO UNO para el cabildeo, pero aún no se sabe exactamente a quién contratan para hacer su oferta. █

Many thanks to Eduardo Landaveri of the Spanish portal of Techrights.

ES: El Sistema de Patentes – USPTO en Particular – Bajo Fuego

Posted in Patents at 1:11 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

David Kappos

(ODF | PDF | English/original)

Resumen: La USPTO debe cambiar a fin de restablecer la aprobación de los ciudadanos a los que supuestamente sirve

¿Cuánto la USPTO quiere ser odiada? Cada vez más personas hablan en contra de ella en estos días, simplemente porque no puede hacer un caso en su defensa cuando los que se benefician de ella no son los científicos, pero los abogados y sus franquicias. Hace poco, Techdirt – desde hace mucho tiempo un crítico de las patentes – hizo un trabajo decente de investigación [http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110114/22252012690/still-trying-to-track-down-who-controls-patent-used-against-reddit-digg-fark-slashdot-techcrunch.shtml]para demostrar un encadenamiento contemporánea de los trolls de patentes, que trabajan a petición de alguien es una gran parte del tiempo (Nathan Myhrvold utiliza este truco ampliamente). Para citar a las partes posteriores del análisis detallado:

Por desgracia, eso es cuando el sabueso se agota … y realmente no nos dice mucho. Ya sabíamos que Vértigo era la sociedad matriz, y quien posee/es dueño de Vértigo es secreto. Nos enteramos que otra empresa propiedad de Vértigo esta usando más patentes de los mismos inventores demandando a más compañías, pero eso es todo. De cualquier manera, como un ejercicio básico, sin duda te enseña bastante sobre el carácter escurridizo y oculto y de cómo los trolls de patentes operan, con capa sobre capa de empresas ficticias, cambiando las asignaciones de patentes y licencias, todo lo cual oculta quien esta en realidad tirando de la cadenas. Realmente hace que te preguntes cómo este tipo de cosas hace absolutamente nada para mejorar la innovación.

Michael Trick escribe sobre[http://mat.tepper.cmu.edu/blog/?p=1236] la “locura de patentes”, poniendo adelante un ejemplo de algo que fue patentado mucho después de que había sido realmente inventado!:

La discrepancia de búsqueda limitada ha estado aquí desde alrededor desde 1995 y se repite a menudo en la investigación (Google scholar está mostrando 465 referencias). Es una idea muy simple: si usted está haciendo una búsqueda de los árboles y tiene una buena idea que, por ejemplo, todas las variables deben ser de 1 (pero no podría estar en la solución óptima), busca primero el “todo uno” lado de las ramas, a continuación, intentas el “todo uno, excepto uno”, entonces a continuación, “todos los 1, excepto dos” y así sucesivamente. Llámalo veinte líneas de código para controlar el árbol de búsqueda de esta manera. Parece un planteamiento razonable, pero patentable? Tienes que estar bromeando!

[...]

Patentes (y las empresas tratando de hacerlas cumplir) hacen la creación de software de código abierto mucho, mucho más difícil. Como muchos desarrolladores saben que si se incorpora un método de un documento de 1995 en el software, usted puede ir en contra de una reivindicación de patente?

Las patentes existen para fomentar la innovación. El sistema actual, con tonterías como ésta, sólo sirve para reprimir.

“Nogloriosas Patentes de Software” es otro buen post[http://nathanmarz.com/blog/inglourious-software-patents.html] nuevo que gira alrededor de la Web en este momento. Ha dicho:

El sistema de patentes existe para proporcionar un incentivo para la innovación donde ese incentivo no habrían existido de otra manera.

Imagínese que usted es una persona que vive en el siglo 19. Digamos que el sistema de patentes no existe y usted tiene una idea para hacer un tipo radicalmente mejor de la máquina de coser. Si usted invierte el tiempo para desarrollar su idea en una invención de trabajo, la actual empresa de las máquinas de costura de acaba de robar su diseño y aplastarte en el mercado. Ellos tienen una distribución masiva y las ventajas de producción con las que usted no sería capaz de competir. Usted no sería capaz de rentabilizar la inversión inicial que hizo en el desarrollo de esa invención. Por lo tanto, usted no habría inventado la máquina de coser radicalmente mejor en el primer lugar.

Desde esta perspectiva, las patentes son en realidad un truco bastante inteligente a la sociedad para fomentar la innovación. Al excluir a otros del uso de su invención por un periodo fijo de tiempo, se obtiene un monopolio temporal sobre su invención. Esto le permite obtener beneficios económicos de su invención que hace que valga la pena su inversión inicial. Esto a su vez beneficia a la sociedad en su conjunto, por que ahora la sociedad tiene invenciones que no habría tenido de otra manera.

[...]

Todo lo contrario. Las nuevas empresas de software están prosperando hoy en día a pesar de las patentes de software en lugar de a causa de ellos. En lugar de ayudar a startups a despegar, las patentes son un costo. Nuevas empresas deben construir “las carteras de patentes defensivas” y preocuparse por ser demandado por los trolls de patentes o de empresas que tratan de consolidar su posición. En lugar de las patentes de ser un escudo protector para un inicio, son más bien un arma que causa pérdidas económicas.

Vivek Wadhwa, consistente en un crítico de las patentes de software a pesar de haber tenido algunas de las que ahora se arrepiente [1[http://techrights.org/2010/08/06/facebook-and-apple-as-hoarders/], 2[http://techrights.org/2010/08/08/microsoft-transition-to-bully-mode/], 3[http://techrights.org/2010/08/16/software-patents-offence-scoracle/], 4[http://techrights.org/2010/08/29/sanyo-zio-tax/], 5[http://techrights.org/2011/01/18/techcrunch-gets-attacked/]] informa a China no competir sobre la base de las patentes[http://blogs.berkeley.edu/2011/01/21/message-to-china-let%E2%80%99s-compete-on-innovation-not-patents/]:

El Times cita a David J. Kappos, director de la Oficina de Patentes y Marcas USPTO, como diciendo que el liderazgo en China “sabe que la innovación es su futuro, la clave para mejores niveles de vida y el crecimiento a largo plazo. Ellos están haciendo todo lo posible para impulsar la innovación y la estrategia de patentes de China es parte de ese plan más amplio “. Kappos parece creer que, con las patentes, China está desatando una edad de oro de la innovación.

Kappos está mal.

La realidad, como expliqué en mi columna de BusinessWeek China podría jugar el Juego de los EE.UU. en propiedad intelectual, es que las patentes no harán que China sea más innovadora, ni beneficiar a la economía mundial. Al igual que la gran mayoría de los trabajos académicos de China son plagiados o irrelevantes, también lo hará sus patentes patrocinados por su gobierno estan contaminadas. En contraste con la pequeña proporción de chinos documentos académicos que sirven para ampliar la base mundial de conocimientos, sin embargo, las patentes de China servirán como minas terrestres para las empresas extranjeras. Que permitirá a China a demandar los derechos de licencia de las compañías que hacen negocios allí o para cerrarlas por completo. (Y esto hará daño a los propios nuevas empresas de China.)

Kappos no trajo el cambio que había esperado [1[http://techrights.org/2010/03/06/uspto-makes-things-worse/], 2[http://techrights.org/2009/08/02/adding-another-kappos-praise/], 3[http://techrights.org/2010/08/24/head-of-uspto-on-jobs/]]. Las personas que realmente hacen los productos tienen la esperanza del cambio … un cambio real. ¿Existe la posibilidad de In Re Bilski [http://mrpogson.com/2011/01/21/scotus-bilski-revisited-recusal/]haga una reaparición a la luz de los conflictos de interés?

Al parecer dos de los jueces de la Corte Suprema de los Estados Unidos, SCOTUS, Scalia y Thomas, han estado profundamente implicados en el aspecto “conservador” (no está seguro de lo que es la conservación, pero no es la justicia imparcial) de los acontecimientos políticos. Que trae a la mente la forma en que falló a Bilski. ¿Estos dos magistrados tienen una agenda oculta y en caso de que se abstuvieron de participar o en caso de ser sometidos a juicio político?

Es muy fácil de encontrar algunas de las razones para despedir un juez SCOTUS (por ejemplo, Kagan por supuestamente ser gay[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbc2NaLuv1A]). El problema es probable que la USPTO, que sigue siendo dirigida por personas que simplemente la tratan como negocio frente a un establecimiento dedicado a la innovación cuyo objetivo es mejorar. El sistema de patentes ha sido hackeado. Es vulnerable y anticuado. █

“La gente ingenuamente me dice,” ¿Si su programa es innovativo, no conseguiriás la patente? “Esta pregunta presupone que un producto sale con una patente.” -Richard Stallman

Many thanks to Eduardo Landaveri of the Spanish portal of Techrights.

ES: Microsoft Ataca a Google y Android: Ben Edelman, “La Redirección Flagrante”, y Más

Posted in FUD, GNU/Linux, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Patents at 1:00 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

No tener en cuenta la verdad por razones financieras.

(ODF | PDF | English/original)

Gretchen CarlsonResumen: Ben Edelman es acusado de trabajar en nombre de Microsoft y Florian Microsoft también parece servir -esta sirviendo- la misma agenda, evidenciado por que ambos distorsionan la verdad

GOOGLE está bajo ataque. Techrights no es un defensor de Google (de hecho, hemos desafiado a Google a cambiar para mejor y para abolir las patentes de software [http://techrights.org/2011/01/21/protect-company-from-swpats/]), pero cuando los ataques de Google afectan al Software Libre, entonces todos en la comunidad deben considerar estos ataques como algo personal.

En 2010 escribimos mucho acerca Edelman[http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Edelman] respaldado “perro guardián del consumidor [http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Consumer_Watchdog]” atacar a Google, probablemente a instancias de alguien (Microsoft es un cliente importante de Edelman) y la semana pasada también mostramos Microsoft Florian [http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Florian_M%C3%BCller]difamando Google como parte de una serie de sus repugnantes ataques contra Android/Linux. Hemos estado siguiendo muchos de ellos y también analizamos las mentiras que contienen. Vamos a hacerlo de nuevo en un momento.

En primer lugar, queremos llamar la atención sobre este artículo de la MSBBC [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12241395](que todo el mundo debería saber es sesgada a favor de Microsoft, debido al compadrazgo). Se dice que un tal Ben Edelman ha puesto en marcha una campaña de desprestigio en contra de Google y Google dice que -Endelman- está trabajando para Microsoft. Sí, hemos visto esto antes y el MSBBC insiste en negarlo. Se escribe:

La compañía californiana respondió sugiriendo que él estaba trabajando en nombre de su rival, Microsoft.

Pero el señor Edelman dijo a la BBC que Google estaba lanzando “ataques personales” para distraer a la gente de su propio comportamiento.

Y, sin embargo, no niega el pago de Microsoft. Tenga en cuenta que Microsoft ha hecho antes, incluso recientemente en la LSE [1[http://techrights.org/2011/01/19/professors-sponsored-by-microsoft/], 2[http://techrights.org/2011/01/18/controlling-minds/], 3[http://techrights.org/2011/01/20/factual-errors-and-microsoft-funded/]]. No es raro que los empleados de Microsoft en la nómina a tiempo completo hagan esto también[http://techrights.org/2010/03/15/sxsw-google-fud-danah-boyd/]. Muchos de ellos se disfrazan de “investigadores”.

Microsoft no es capaz de alcanzar a Google, por lo que en su estrategia pasó a caracterizar a Google como un imperio del mal. No hay nada nuevo en esta estrategia y hemos reunido decenas de ejemplos.

“No hay duda de que ese es el objetivo de” partidarios de código cerrado “por todas las reflexiones de los últimos anti-Android en la prensa.”
      –Pamela Jones, GroklawLa segunda persona que está atacando a Google en estos días (en materia de patentes, codecs, Android, etc) es el “código cerrado partidistas” Microsoft Florian, que es lo que The Inquirer lo llama[http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1938858/comments-android-code-hurt-googles-battle-oracle]. No es tan fácil de engañar por el nombre de “las patentes del software libre”, entonces, ¿eh? “No hay duda de que es el objetivo de “partidarios del código cerrado” por todas las reflexiones de los últimos anti-Android en la prensa”, escribió Groklaw. “Este es mi consejo: consideren la fuente, y presten atención.”

Supongamos que es un caso como TurboHercules, que resultó ser en parte propiedad de Microsoft. Fue lo mismo con T3 y con SCO, que luego resultaron haber sido pagados por Microsoft también. Volviendo a Microsoft Florian y el análisis de la noticia, antes de que su último trabajo fuese expuesto[http://techrights.org/2011/01/22/boosting-vista-phony-7-with-lies/] (que ayuda a lanzar otro SCO mientras se comunica con las personas que ayudaron de la SCO en la misma forma), Groklaw escribió: “Amigos, como ya he dicho, estad atentos. Nadie puede saber hasta el descubrimiento se haga y los expertos hayann presentado todo. Esta perspicaz comentario de Slashdot que muestra por qué usted no debe suponer, pero necesitan el seguimiento del código y las licencias con más cuidado de lo que algunos están haciendo. Este caso no es como el de SCO cuando una parte se hablaba regularmente con la prensa. Así que podemos confiar en los documentos presentados, no sobre los que puede o no tener órdenes del día y que pueden o no ser de todas formas confiables.”

Aquí está una de las réplicas más conocidas de las mentiras de Microsoft Florian. Se pone muy bien cuando dice[http://m.zdnet.com/blog/burnette/oops-no-copied-java-code-or-weapons-of-mass-destruction-found-in-android/2162]:

Florian Mueller, que por cierto NO ES ni un abogado ni un desarrollador (developer) a pesar de que se HACE PASAR por uno uno en la TV.

Otros mobbyists y/o grupos de presión, que también trabajan para Microsoft, se parecen más a actores que a técnicos. Jonathan Zuck viene a la mente[http://techrights.org/2010/08/04/jonathan-zuck-poses/]. PRETENDER es parte del trabajo y secuaces Microsoft jugarán con el guión. ¿Sabes qué? Tal como se esperaba, el refuerzo de Microsoft Matt Rosoff [1[http://techrights.org/2010/08/04/jonathan-zuck-poses/], 2[http://techrights.org/2010/10/12/msft-october-disaster/], 3[http://techrights.org/2010/10/12/msft-october-disaster/], 4[http://techrights.org/2010/11/03/pile-of-dead-microsoft-products/]] continúa su campaña de Miedo, Incertidumber y Duda FUD de la nueva plataforma, escribe FALSEDADES como el “abogado de propiedad intelectual MS Florian” que es la DESINFORMACION total. Groklaw escribió al respecto: “En primer lugar todo el mundo lo llamó un activista del software libre. Ahora le llaman abogado. Él NO es nínguno de los dos. ¿Cómo pueden los periodistas a repetir su obra sin hacer ninguna comprobación de los hechos, es una habilidad, sin duda. ¿Cuál sería la palabra que usariamos para esa habilidad?: D ”

“En primer lugar todo el mundo lo llamó un activista de software libre. Ahora le llaman abogado. Él NO es nínguno de los dos.”
      –Pamela Jones, GroklawWell, es lo mismo que Estadounidenses por Tecnología “Competitiva” ACT están haciendo. Pretenden estan trabajando a favor de las pequeñas empresas cuando en realidad hace exactamente lo contrario. Son pagados por Microsoft por hacer esto. El correo masivo a periodistas y engañarlos es parte de esta campaña de presión, el relleno de los paneles en algunas ocasiones.

Groklaw tiene esta réplica muy amplia a la FUD de Microsoft Florian[http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20110122054409107]. Por lo general es ignorado allí, e incluso evitado. Bárbara lo puso muy bien en su comentario en el que llamó Microsoft Florian F [redactado] M[redacted]%20[M[redacted]&type=article&order=&hideanonymous=0&pid=897184#c897392]] M [redactado[http://www.groklaw.net/comment.php?mode=display&sid=20110120171030983&title=More%20F[redacted]%20[M[redacted]&type=article&order=&hideanonymous=0&pid=897184#c897392]] por las consecuencias obvias:

Hay dos maneras de lidiar con los mentiros trolls como F [redactado] M [redactado].

1. No haga caso de ellos.
2. Exponerlos.

Para este sitio (Groklaw), ignorar al “Sr.” Flagrante Misdirección es la mejor política,
desde que * quiere * su nombre sea mencionado en sitios de buena reputación de alto perfil. Como uno
estafador, dijo, cualquier cosa que le pone un rango de búsqueda de mayor vale la pena.

Es por eso que no vamos a publicar su nombre aquí, y eso alentaría a otros a hacer lo mismo.
Otros pseudo-Nyms, si no les gusta el especial a través del “Redacted” entre paréntesis:

Fantástica Mula

Florian Sockpuppet

F M ****** ******

“El FMTroll” (va bien con “El MoGTroll”)

Las personas que lo conocen sabrán que te refieres, sin dar a Florescente Mulehead google-jugo.

“Más gente se da cuenta que F [redactado] M [redactado] no puede ser sólo filtrado”, escribió gnufreex en el IRC hace unas horas, señalando a este comentario LWN [http://lwn.net/Articles/424270/] que dice: “El problema con el MF es el hecho de que él empuja sus “noticias” a la prensa no-geek por lo que no puedes ignorarlo. Podemos ignorar sus comentarios (esto es una gran característica tener y es implementado en LWN), pero no podemos ignorar como el MF-empujó artículos en la prensa mainstream! No sé si él empuja el programa de Microsoft para la baja razón llamada “dinero” o por alguna razón superior, pero la realidad de la materia es: lo hace con regularidad y muy eficientemente. Por lo tanto debemos mantener la atención sobre lo que está haciendo … Pera filtrarlo es tan peligroso como para filtrar las noticias relacionados con Oracle o Microsoft relacionados en general: a poca gente le gusta más de esta noticia, pero no podemos ignorarlos “.

Charles LibreOffice-H. Schulz, me escribió: “¿crees que Florian Mueller ha conseguido un nuevo cliente? # ORCL ”

Wayne Boreal escribió una post rápido al respecto ayer por la noche[http://madhatter.ca/2011/01/22/does-florian-muller-work-for-the-alexis-de-tocqueville-institution/]:

OK, así que Florian alega que Google violó los derechos de autor de Oracle, y que ha escrito una enorme explicación de lo que ha encontrado. Pero él NO ES un programador. En otras palabras, el probablemente no tiene las habilidades para evaluar lo que está viendo.

Curiosamente sus argumentos suenan como los argumentos de Ken Brown, de la Institución Alexis de Tocqueville hizo en Samizdat, su hasta ahora prueba inédita que Linus Torvalds no es responsable por el Kernel de Linux. Sólo que con seis años de retraso.

Aquí Slashdot deja constancia de los hechos[http://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/01/22/1754257/Google-Didnt-Ship-Relicensed-Java-Code-After-All]. Jan Wildeboer, que conoce personalmente a Microsoft Florian , dice que “Microsoft ve a Android conquistando el mercado móvil. Florian Mueller produce “pruebas” en Android y Oracle. Coincidencia? ”

Muchas de las tonterías germina/originan en la “siembra” de la FUD en Engadget por Microsoft Florian, que a su vez avergonzado por difundir esta información falsa[http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/21/oops-android-contains-directly-copied-java-code-strengthening/] que viene de este montón de tonterías[http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-evidence-supports-oracles-case.html], que es una estafa de la investigación que Microsoft Florian se apropió. En lugar de disculparse por su error, Engadget agregó más ruido[http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/21/android-source-code-java-and-copyright-infringement-whats-go/] y que sólo muestra lo los bajos estándares de Engadget realmente tiene. Para aquellos que no pueden recordar, Engadget también da espacio a ex empleados de Microsoft que atacan a Android [http://techrights.org/2010/03/14/microsoft-mole-in-engadget/]. Es nombrado y avergonzado aquí[http://www.muktware.com/b/35/344/22/2011/700], con referencia específica a el escritor Nilay Patel:

No sé las credenciales del Sr. Mueller, pero el nombre del blog de software libre de patentes es irónico como la Free Software Foundation ha estado luchando contra las “patentes de software en general.

[...]

Al parecer, los resultados de Mueller en ninguna parte ‘ayudan’ a Oracle extorsionar a Google sobre Java. Como la compañía de bases de datos, que ha sido demandado por el gobierno para la sobrecarga de precios, Oracle ha dado un giro de su posición en Java, lo que resultó en la renuncia de Apache al Comité de Java. La Free Software Foundation también criticó las acusaciones de Oracle Java y salió al apoyo de Google.

Popular blogsite Engadget publicó un blog rechazando tales afirmaciones. Nilay Patel escribió nada nuevo, pero REPITIO lo que Müller escribió en su blog. Lo peor de blog Patel era “sin relación” mencionan a Prystar vs el caso de Apple. Prystar estaba vendiendo hardware con Mac OS instalado en él. Si este es el mejor ejemplo con que Patel pudo salir, no puedo hacer nada más que suspirar.

[...]

En la cobertura de hoy, especialmente por los blogs a favor de Apple, lo veo como nada más que crear FUD para asustar a los desarrolladores y usuarios, sobre todo cuando la batalla está lejos de terminar.

El nombre de Engadget ha sido perjudicado por toda esta rutina/truco de Microsoft Florian. La reputación de Android también se ha perjudicado, no importa cuantas correcciones serán publicados. El retorno de la inversión en los grupos de presión/lobbysts es muy alta y esta saga entera apenas lo demuestra. █

Many thanks to Eduardo Landaveri of the Spanish portal of Techrights.

ES: Las Tácticas de SCO de Nuevo: Descubren a Microsoft Florian Mintiendo

Posted in FUD, GNU/Linux, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Patents at 12:38 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Windows Phone 7 Series

(ODF | PDF | English/original)

Resumen: La esperanza de Microsoft de impulsar Vista Phony 7 [sic] se sigue basando en mentiras sobre Android y muchos leguleyadas, Microsoft Florian juega un papel fundamental, aunque sólo sigue MINTIENDO.

OTRO semana, otro ataque contra GNU/Linux, por cortesía, por supuesto, de Microsoft Florian[http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Florian_M%C3%BCller], que está tratando de ser otro Enderle/O’Gara (quienes atacan Android como estos atacan a la gente de Linux). Los grandes mentiras y acusaciones sin respaldo siguen volando, como las reclamaciones que hizo para TurboHercules (así es como comenzó la lucha de los grupos de presión contra Linux hace un año) antes de que resultara que TurboHercules es en parte propiedad de Microsoft. Para los no iniciados, la estrategia de Microsoft de Florian implica inundar los foros con mensajes repetidos (siempre niega los comentarios en su blog después la gente lo expone allí mismo en su propia plataforma) y que inunda a los periodistas con correo masivo con los pedacitos que quiere que se inserten en forma de artículos, que se le atribuyen por supuesto. Los periodistas deben aprender a ignorar mobbyists (Florian personaliza sus mensajes ligeramente, para que no se vea como e-mail en masa), especialmente los que no niegan una conexión a Microsoft y tiene un historial probado de ser pagados para hacer lobby para Microsoft. Microsoft Florian no puede negar esto. Es un mobbyist con experiencia y su táctica descarada (como abusar de los periodistas por correo y charlatanearlos) están bien documentados en Techrights.

Florian acaba de ser descubierto mintiendo de nuevo, pero la gran mayoría de la prensa no parece haber alcanzado a ella -la mentira- todavía. Un foro que Microsoft Florian regularmente trollea (insertar callos anti-Linux a un foro a favor de Linux es considerado Internet trolling ) esta ahora golpeando a Microsoft Florian [http://lwn.net/Articles/424107/], mientras que el enlace de este informe [http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2011/01/new-alleged-evidence-of-android-infringement-isnt-a-smoking-gun.ars], que dice:

Una mirada cercana a los archivos reales y la documentación adjunta, sin embargo, sugieren que no es un simple caso de copiar y pegar (copy & paste). Los archivos infractores se encuentran en un archivo comprimido en un componente de terceros suministrados por SONiVOX, miembro de la Alianza Abierta de Google Teléfono (OHA). SONiVOX, que antes se llamaba Sonic, desarrolla una síntesis de audio integrado (EAS) y el marco de acompañamiento envoltorios API de Java que comercializa como audioINSIDE.

“Más pruebas Florian Mueller es un troll pagado Microsoft”, lo llamó uno de nuestros lectores (IRC registros a aparecer en breve) y “Florian en realidad copió esta investigación[http://weblogs.java.net/blog/cayhorstmann/archive/2010/11/15/mystery-policynodeimpl-class]“, afirma otro. Hay una más en los registros del IRC (yo estaba fuera todo el tiempo que se discutió, la grabación TechBytes, después de irme a dormir).

“Tuve un deja vu lectura FM” análisis “,” escribió un lector, “porque lo he visto antes. Esto lo que hace Florian Miedo Incertidumbre y Duda-FUD vago. Puede ser probado o refutado. Es sólo Miedo Incertidumbre y Duda FUD a las personas … Para que los fabricantes piensen en WP”.

También hay un patético control de daños de las personas que odian a Linux y el ataque mientras haciendo como que no pasó nada. Los secuaces que luchan contra el Software Libre implican [http://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/f6kpd/oracle_vs_google_its_not_looking_good_for_android/] que todos los que no está de acuerdo con Microsoft Florian es su servidor, a pesar de que nunca he tenido ninguna cuenta en Reddit. Eso es difamación. Como gnufreex dijo, “los compinches de Microsoft en Reddit me dicen que yo soy tú … :-) De hecho, se lo dicen que a todos los que señalan que Florian Mueller MINTIO acerca de Android”

Aquí está uno de los análisis fundamentales que desmienten todo el FUD de Microsoft Florian [http://www.zdnet.com/blog/burnette/oops-no-copied-java-code-or-weapons-of-mass-destruction-found-in-android/2162]:

A veces la maldad pura de lo que se publica en la web nos deja sin palabras. Especialmente cuando se levantó y repitió como un evangelio por sitios de renombre como Engadget. “Google copia el código de Oracle Java, pegó una nueva licencia, y lo envió”, informaron esta mañana.

Lo sentimos, pero eso no es cierto.

[...]

Lamentablemente, mientras que los artículos sensacionalistas como Engadget y Mueller recibirá un salpicón por toda la web y dejará miles de puntos de vista y cientos de comentarios, la aburrida verdad no atraerá tanta atención.

Exactamente.

“Código no fue copiado en la fuente de Android, después de todo [http://www.androidcentral.com/copied-code-not-android-source-after-all],” dice el titular de Android Central.

Los otros 37 ficheros existen también, pero está dentro de un archivo zip en una zona del árbol de las fuentes utilizadas para un conjunto de chips de audio en particular. Estos archivos parecen haber sido subidos por error, y tampoco fueron utilizados para construir Android o enviarlos con todos los dispositivos Android. Estos probablemente sólo se suprimiran del árbol, ya que no hacen nada.

Una historia más anti-Android demostrada falsa y nos trasladamos a los pastos. Vamos a prepararnos para la siguiente, porque todo el mundo quiere ver a algunos de esos verdes hermosos Android dólares. [ZDNet]

“Si yo fuera Google,” escribió gnufreex, “ya estaría demandando a Florian Mueller por difamación. Era evidente que trata de crear FUD para que los fabricantes de dispositivos se deshagan de Android y miren a WP7 ”

También ligado a este FUD de Microsoft Nick [http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/236580.asp], alegando que el artículo “es muyyy incorrecto … Schmidt partió de Novell hacia Google en 2001. Eso fue antes de que Novell compre SUSE y Ximian. Y, sin embargo, que el artículo afirma que fue Schmidt, quien inició esos.”

Todos estos ataques en contra Google a menudo resultan estar CONECTADOS a Microsoft. ¿Hay alguien sorprendido? █

Many thanks to Eduardo Landaveri of the Spanish portal of Techrights.

IRC Proceedings: January 23rd, 2011

Posted in IRC Logs at 12:20 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNOME Gedit

GNOME Gedit

GNOME Gedit

#techrights log

#boycottnovell log

#boycottnovell-social log

Enter the IRC channels now

IRC Proceedings: January 22nd, 2011

Posted in IRC Logs at 12:13 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNOME Gedit

GNOME Gedit

GNOME Gedit

#techrights log

#boycottnovell log

#boycottnovell-social log

Enter the IRC channels now

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