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08.03.13

Links 3/8/2013: Calligra Suite 2.7, New Benghazi Leaks

Posted in News Roundup at 11:27 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNOME bluefish

Contents

GNU/Linux

  • Server

  • Audiocasts/Shows

  • Applications

  • Desktop Environments/WMs

    • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

      • Microsoft Office alternative Calligra Suite 2.7 released

        There are many free and open source alternatives of Microsoft Office including LibreOffice and Calligra Suite. The Calligra team has announced the release of version 2.7 of the Calligra Suite, Calligra active and the Calligra Office Engine.

      • New KDE Media Center Inches Closer

        A new media center for KDE 5 / Plasma 2 has been in the works for a while and today Sinny Kumari posted some tangible details. With the release of a new beta, users can try it out too. Of course, it has that “smartphone” look, but it still works as a desktop application. Plasma Media Center 1.1 Beta introduces several cool new features besides a ton of bug fixes.

      • Now Open for Donations

        We’ve been asked many times how to contribute to Kubuntu financially so we are now open for donations. Your donations will help finance project expenses such as hardware, travel and cloud computing.

      • In Conversation with Andreas Raninger

        I’m living in Sweden.I’m currently working as a IT-Technician in a company called IT-Hantverkarna. Painting in my free time.

      • Calligra and Krita Release 2.7

        Maria Far today announced the release of Krita 2.7 with “a lot of cool new features, bug fixes and improvements. Soon to come to a Linux distribution near you.” The transform tool was rewritten and said to be “hugely improved.” A new line smoothing ink function was highlighted, as well as “greyscale masks and selections.”

      • Call for Recordings: American(US) English.

        Hey everyone! As we, the Artikulate team, are targeting to release Artikulate this fall, we would like to invite more and more contributors to come help us with the project (which is aimed at helping users with their language learning/pronunciation skills). :-)

      • KDAB at Qt Contributor Summit

        The program of the Qt Contributor Summit was mostly determined by who was attending and what the important topics at the time were. KDAB attended the summit with strength, and participated in many relevant discussions.

      • AudioCD. Week 6.
      • Okteta ported to Qt5/KF5
      • Project Neon 5 daily builds, Ubiquity Wireless Setup

        Project Neon is a fantastic resource for KDE developers giving daily builds for KDE software. It’s maintained by the lovely Kubuntu community on the lovely Launchpad infrastructure. KDE developers can install the various bits they need to develop their part of KDE without having to worry about compiling everything themselves. It installs everything into /opt so it doesn’t touch your normal software installation.

    • GNOME Desktop/GTK

      • GUADEC 2013, Day 1

        GUADEC 2013, GNOME’s annual European Conference, kicked off today in a warm and sunny Brno (Czech Republic). This is the main GNOME event of the year, and there are hundreds of contributors here for 8 days of talks and working events.

      • New Wikis for Ubuntu GNOME!

        Ali Linx (almost Linux ;)) from Lubuntu is the new Head of QA in Ubuntu GNOME (UG) and he is asking for your help to test 13.10 release. Furthermore the cool guys from UG community have some new wikis!

  • Distributions

    • What was your first Linux distro?

      Foss Force has the results of a poll of their readers that asked about their first Linux distro. Wow. Talk about taking me back a long, long time! I haven’t thought about how I got started with Linux for ages.

    • Parted Magic 2013.08.01 Features More Than 100 Application Updates

      Parted Magic, an operating system that employs core programs of GParted and Parted to handle partitioning tasks with ease, while featuring other useful software, is now at version 2013.08.01.

      Parted Magic 2013.08.01 integrates a large number of updates, but the developers also chose to fix some old problems and add some new features.

    • And Your First Linux Distro Was…

      Back on June 23, when we asked you to name the first Linux distro you ever used, we pretty much knew that the choice “Other” would take the day.

      That’s because we wanted to be completely neutral, so the ten choices we offered besides “Other” were just the top ten distros from the Distrowatch “Page Hit Ranking,” which meant that those who started their Linux life with something other than Debian or SUSE in the pre-Ubuntu era were not represented.

    • Zorin OS 7 “Lite” Review: Beautiful and functional LXDE operating system

      Zorin has a history of creating pretty refined Ubuntu spins specifically targeted to newcomers. Their recent release Zorin OS 7 is based on Ubuntu 13.04 and it has 6 months of support. I earlier reviewed the Zorin OS 7 Core (with GNOME desktop) and found it to be very good in terms of functionality, stability and aesthetics. Zorin, as a tradition, first releases the core or GNOME distro and follows it up with “Lite” and “Educational Lite”, two lightweight Zorin OS variants with LXDE desktop. Both are actually Lubuntu 13.04 spins. I, myself, am a big fan of LXDE desktop as it is possibly the most efficient of all fully featured DEs. However, LXDE requires the users to have a little bit of expertise in Linux; simple things such as autologin, adding programs to start up, setting up compositing manager, etc. are easier in other desktop environments (DEs) like XFCE, KDE & GNOME. However, of late, I saw LXDE control center in PCLinuxOS and ROSA which actually makes these things easier for the users.

    • New Releases

    • Gentoo Family

      • Sabayon is So Pretty and Fast

        I’ve been seriously slacking on the Sabayon stuff, but been hanging with the community on the Official Sabayon Facebook page and watched a thread on a background image erupt into a mountain. It really is amazing at how a small change to a GUI send people running for their pitchforks and torches. I’ve been guilty of this in the past myself and probably will be in the future too. The GUI is very important to us and it’s drastic unchangeable changes really ticks a guy off. Gnome and KDE both felt the feedback when they revamped their GUIs. I abandoned Gnome cause of the gnome shell. Some love the gnome-shell and brag it up and down. Gnome maybe pays them to do it….

    • Red Hat Family

      • This month (July) in Red Hat KDE

        After a couple of really hot days I’m back with a short overview of what kept us[1] busy while working on KDE in Red Hat this month.

      • Fedora

        • Fedora 17 “Beefy Miracle” Is Officially Dead

          The Fedora 17 operating system, otherwise known under the name of Beefy Miracle, is now officially dead.

          It’s not uncommon for the developers to stop supporting various operating systems and now the time has come for Fedora 17 (Beefy Miracle), an OS launched a little over a year ago, on May 29, 2012.

    • Debian Family

  • Devices/Embedded

    • Quadruped Linux robot feels its way over obstacles

      The Italian Institute of Technology gave its first public demonstration of a Linux-based quadruped robot for navigating rough terrain. Meanwhile, a new version of the Hydraulic Quadruped (Hyq) robot is under development that can “feel” and step over obstacles using a step reflex algorithm, letting the robot navigate more easily in low-visibility environments.

      Linux-based robots come in all shapes and sizes, from Biorob’s ankle-high Cheetah-cub Robot to the knee-high models that can be built from the Lego Mindstorms EV3 robot kit to NASA’s full-scale humanoid Robonaut 2. In the heavyweight class, we’ve seen Micromagic Systems’ 2.8-meter, 1800-Kilogram Mantis Hexapod Walking Machine. Now, the Department of Advanced Robotics at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italian Institute of Technology, or IIT), has developed another heavyweight contender in the Hydrolic Quadruped (Hyq) robot.

    • Top 10 BeagleBoard Projects

      Since BeagleBoard was born five years ago, the four open-source BeagleBoard.org platforms (BeagleBoard, BeagleBoard-xM, BeagleBone, and, most recently, BeagleBone Black) have made a deep impact on the open-source world. They have enabled fun and functional projects, including superhero costumes, robots, and home automation gadgets.

    • MinnowBoard: First open-source PC with x86 processor

      The PC, called the MinnowBoard, is basically a motherboard with no casing around it. It was codeveloped by Intel and CircuitCo Electronics, a company that specializes in open-source motherboards, and went on sale this month for US$199 from a handful of retailers.

    • Tiny rugged mini-PC runs Linux on dual-core 1.6GHz Atom

      Aaeon announced the availability of a rugged, Linux-compatible embedded controller computer that measures only 4.9 x 3.0 x 0.73 inches. The AEC-6401 Compact Embedded Controller runs on a dual-core, 1.6GHz Intel Atom N2600 processor, offers an SSD bay, provides gigabit Ethernet, USB, HDMI and serial connectivity, and supports -20 to 40°C fanless operation.

    • Phones

      • Android

        • Zeebox Serves as Tonto to Second-Screen Lone Rangers

          Zeebox pitches itself as a “TV sidekick” that helps you discover new shows and learn more about shows you’re already familiar with. I found the experience similar to that obtained in a Twitter session with a Twitter hashtag, where you follow based on hashtag as the show plays out. One difference with Zeebox is that it has a built-in schedule — you can see upcoming shows without leaving the app.

        • Samsung at work on dual-screen ‘Galaxy Folder’ — report

          The Folder is a flip phone that comes with a dual-sided touch screen, according to a manual discovered on Samsung’s site.

        • Android-Ubuntu Edge Superphone: What’s Canonical’s End Game?

          Is the Ubuntu Edge, the Linux-powered “superphone” that Canonical hopes to develop through a crowdsourced funding campaign, a dying prospect? Maybe. But that doesn’t mean the project hasn’t already succeeded in significantly advancing Canonical’s goals in the smartphone and mobile-device market. Here’s why.

        • Cheaper Moto X in the works says Motorola CEO, will it be Moto X Mini?

          According to the current industry trend, smartphone makers are releasing a cheaper, ‘Mini’ version of their flagship devices. We had HTC One Mini and Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, now Motorola is said to be making a cheaper version of the Moto X that was released yesterday, will it be the Moto X Mini?

        • Say hello to PiCast, the open source solution to Chromecast using a Raspberry Pi

          There is a lot to love about the Chromecast. It lets you stream your browser, your desktop, and a number of apps directly to your TV with little more than a $35 dongle that plugs into HDMI on your TV. However, lately, a few problems have arisen. For one, it’s really difficult to find one unless you’re willing to wait weeks for the next stock to come in. Additionally, the root method that was discovered over at XDA has since been patched. So Google isn’t letting everyone play fast and loose with their new dongle. It’s still a great device, but it’s not perfect and now there is an alternative called PiCast.

        • Moto X on AT&T and Verizon will have locked boot loader

          If you were planning to get a wooden phone, whole boot loader you can unlock without using an axe, you are going to get very very disappointed.

        • Nvidia Shield: shipped, praised, critiqued, dissected

          Nvidia began shipping its Nvidia Shield handheld gaming console, which runs Android 4.2.1 on a 1.9GHz Tegra 4 SoC, for $300. Early reviews praised the device on just about every level except for its weight and price, and the lack of decent Tegra-optimized Android games, while an iFixit teardown found an internal design unlike anything it had ever seen.

        • Android’s seven best new security features and one lingering security problem

          Android 4.3 added significant new security features, and Google has also added two other new security features to older versions of Android. Now, if only the carriers and OEMs would patch the Bluebox security hole every Android user would be happier.

        • Facebook Brings Home’s Lockscreen Replacement To Their Main Android App — A Bad Sign For Home?

          Four months after the launch of Facebook Home, which aimed to turn every Android phone into the long-rumored Facebook Phone, the company is starting to bring certain Home features into their primary app with an update today. In other words, bits and pieces of Home are coming to the main app… without requiring anyone to actually download Home.

        • Black Hat: Android Master Key Vulnerability Makes Us Safer

          Today at the Black Hat Security conference, Forristal delivered a talk that detailed precisely what the Android master key vulnerability is all about. As Forristal explained, Google’s Android had multiple vulnerabilities in how the operating system verifies JAR/ZIP/APK files, which run on Android devices.

        • The new Moto X is ‘always listening’ – and so is the NSA!

          New phone, new spy-software

    • Sub-notebooks/Tablets

Free Software/Open Source

Leftovers

UEFI a Complication That Almost Nobody Needs

Posted in Antitrust, GNU/Linux, Hardware, Microsoft at 7:35 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Adding a monopoly layer that nobody asked for

EFI

Summary: Another reason to boycott UEFI, which is a headache to many and benefit to almost nobody except Intel and Microsoft

As regular critics of UEFI, especially for its ‘secure’ boot enablement of Microsoft antitrust abuses, it seemed reasonable for us to point out this rant from a UEFI proponent, Dr. Garrett.

“Enable freedom, not lockdown.”“32-bit UEFI,” he rants “Just say what on earth were you thinking, please, no, can’t you find a solution that doesn’t involve me getting tetanus jabs.”

The rant is about shipping of inadequate UEFI implementations, which cause unnecessary problems. Why use UEFI anyway? What are the benefits to most users? Remote network booting? No. It’s just unwanted complications marketed as progress. To most users, less is more. Use Coreboot. Enable freedom, not lockdown. When I pointed this out to the President of the UEFI Forum he did not really have a counterpoint.

Given Microsoft’s strong relationship with the NSA we now know that the NSA can brick hardware with UEFI. Remotely even, provided it also runs Windows. That is a massive risk to tolerate. Boycott UEFI. █

PRISM Edition
Found circulating in JoinDiaspora

Who Focuses on Patent Trolls and Who Targets Real Reform or Advocates Elimination of Software Patents?

Posted in Google, Patents, Red Hat at 7:19 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Red Hat and Google continue to be among those who disappoint by losing focus

Glass-Steagall
Sen. Carter Glass (D—Va.) and Rep. Henry B. Steagall (D—Ala.-3), the co-sponsors of the Glass–Steagall Act which brought real reform after the Wall Street collapse

Summary: Distinguishing between those who say they want “patent progress” and those who actually want and pursue proper progress

“Good” patent lawyers are as few as “good” software patents (we wrote about this quite recently); there’s none. Lawyers are devouring companies and organisations that oppose software patents and then hire the wrong people to help out. Those people profit from the mess and they protect their new job by never resolving the mess. There is some new EFF initiative called Trolling Effects, which is being used to focus attention on patent trolls. As one site, Patent Progress, put it:

Many a small business has been there. In the owner’s hands a letter filled with tons of legalese that makes little sense. They stare at the letter shocked, trying to figure out what the hell they are being accused of doing and how it means they might be liable for millions of dollars. It is becoming too real a story in America today – the plight of the patent demand letter recipient.

Here’s more on this initiative, which the EFF is behind. To quote: “Wednesday also brought the launch of EFF’s Trolling Effects, a crowd-sourced database of patent demand letters, to bring transparency and attention to that troubling practice. And yesterday Matt Levy also pointed out that comedian Marc Maron (who was sued by Personal Audio, the infamous podcast patent troll) gave a great explanation and framing of the patent troll issue in a recent interview.”

The EFF’s approach towards patents as been somewhat ambivalent. Some lawyers there target just patent trolls, whereas others address (or claims to address) issues of scope. Patent Progress merely reports about the EFF, but it too seems to have lost focus on scope. As this site points out, “Comedian Marc Maron Gets That Patent Trolls Are Failed Inventors Trying to Hit the Lottery” (here is a famous example), but why focus so much on trolls? Another new post from this site says:

Yesterday, I attended a panel sponsored by the American Constitution Society, “Patent Assertion Entities: Helping or Hurting Innovation?” It was a great panel discussion, but, of course, there wasn’t time to respond to some points that needed responding to.

Rob Tiller too focuses on trolls. In Red Hat’s platform he points out:

Patent reform is hot! The momentum seems to be building in Congress for patent reform to address the problem of nefarious patent exploiters (also known as non-practicing entities, patent assertion entities, and, less politely, trolls). As previously noted here, there are a number of serious legislative proposals circulating, and the President is pressing for new legislation.

Why doesn’t Tiller ever target software patents properly? We highlighted this recurring pattern before (his tune three or four years ago was different]). Doesn’t Red Hat want them over with? Maybe its own lawyers are creating a self-feeding mechanism which keeps them necessary? This sure seems to have happened in Google, as we noted several times before. The EFF too seems to have hired too many lawyers. The real problem is patent scope and as the new article “Broward firm ordered to pay $8.1 million for software patent violations” helps show, the problem is software patents, not just those which trolls are using. Becker gets it and even some writers at the Washington Post get it (citing him), motivating posts like this new one that says:

Dislike of software patents is no longer confined to wild-eyed Redditors and Mark Cuban. The Washington Post points us to two Nobel Prize-winning economists who have recently come out against the very idea of software patents and have said that their existence is actually inhibiting innovation more than helping. Economist Gary Becker, for one, acknowledges that some software developers will lose their incentive to create software if they aren’t guaranteed intellectual property protections. However, he thinks this is an acceptable price to pay if it means freeing other software developers from the burden of high legal expenses.

Patrick Hall, who recently criticised software patents, is being slammed by patent lawyers who complain that Wired dared to give one single columns to a non-lawyer. Meanwhile, reminding us that not just trolls are a pain, Motorola gets another day in court after Microsoft sued:

This was the hearing on their RAND dispute building up to the second part of the trial in this litigation which is set to begin on August 26th, and, as is typical before a trial, both sides brought motions for summary judgment or partial summary judgment. There was a trial already, part one, with the judge only, no jury, and he set a RAND rate Microsoft should pay to Motorola, a very low rate. But there is a second trial coming up in August, this time with a jury, on whether or not Motorola breached its RAND obligations, which is what Microsoft claims, and if so, whether Microsoft should receive damages and attorneys fees. Motorola filed a motion for partial summary judgment [PDF] on those issues. Here’s Microsoft’s opposition [PDF].

FRAND is about patent cartels, not trolls, and these too are a problem. Let’s remember to focus on the real issue and not a red herring. █

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