12.17.10

New Details Surface About Novell/Microsoft/AttachMSFT [sic] Deal

Posted in Apple, Deals, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle, Patents at 2:47 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

V for vendetta

Summary: The real face of CPTN, the entity which got Novell’s software patents; more revelations about how Novell’s deal came about

WE HAVE written over 20 posts about the subject since Novell was sold (despite impending litigation) and it was never known to the full extent just what Novell did and where assets were being passed. First there was turmoil over the assumption that Microsoft may have acquired UNIX from Novell. Shortly after Novell was publicly flogged for it the CMO of the company came out with an important statement denying this claim (AttachMSFT [sic] might still sell UNIX though). It was still assumed at the time that CPTN was merely a Microsoft shell [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] as no company other than Microsoft was named as a member. Well, none until now anyway. A group of Microsoft proponents [1, 2] says that Apple, Oracle and EMC are also part of CPTN (not principal ones though) and Groklaw theorises that it’s ill-intended and dangerous to Linux. From its new post on the subject:

So what’s the common interest? “Let’s all kill Android”? There’s a limit on that, in that Google is also an Open Invention Network member, so it has a license to these Novell patents already. Of course there could be more than one theme, virtualization, office suites.

Don’t forget that if you sign up with Open Invention Network before this deal closes, you will have a license in perpetuity to all those patents, and more, and these Machiavellian dudes won’t be able to mess with you. Here’s the article that provides information on where to sign up and who qualifies and what is required.

By the way, Oracle is a member of OIN, so it knows how it works. If it wanted to prevent patent litigation, all it had to do was buy all the patents. So I will assume they plan to use these patents, claiming they belong to the consortium and are therefore not donated to the OIN pool. Alternatively, looking at matters more positively, perhaps it wished to exercise some control over what Microsoft does with the patents.

Groklaw also thinks it’s an anti-Android plot despite the fact that VMware recently released software for Android and all we know about Oracle-Apple is not a sufficiently strong link [1, 2, 3, 4]. Moreover, Oracle has too much to lose if it harms Linux (Solaris notwithstanding). Groklaw is very familiar with the SCOracle [sic] case, which it has been tracking quite closely so far, so Groklaw’s opinion is nothing to sneeze at. From the latest status report at Groklaw:

The Oracle v. Google Java litigation now begins in earnest, with each side offering a proposed protective order, along with a handy table of the disputed provisions. Say, I think Groklaw has a claim for prior art on that kind of table.

Could some rival of Android have motivated Oracle to sue? It’s not possible to tell with any conviction at this moment. The same goes for the Traul Allen case from Interval — a case that was dismissed [1, 2] but Groklaw declared the end of it before it was over for good. By the way, the MSBBC’s coverage of this dismissal was atrocious, as expected. It even glamourised Traul Allen for this pathological, irrational, antisocial behaviour.

In addition to the news about CPTN, there is also news from the VAR Guy, who sheds lights on what exactly was going on behind the scenes when Novell looked for buyers:

Overall, Novell representatives contacted 52 potential buyers. Roughly nine official bidders emerged. So how did Attachmate wind up buying the bulk of Novell’s assets? And what happened to rumored SUSE Linux bids from VMware? In a preliminary proxy statement dated December 14, Novell offers an extensive time line describing how the company’s board of directors, executive team, and external financial advisors pursued potential buyers for the company. The filing is more than 100 pages. Here are some of the highlights, paraphrased by The VAR Guy. Please note:

* The vast majority of the info below is based on information within Novell’s SEC filing.
* Novell protects the names of several bidders, referring to them as Party A through Party E. In some cases, The VAR Guy makes some educated guesses about the actual identity of each company. But The VAR Guy’s educated guesses could be wrong.

Regarding anti-Android lawsuits, Mac Asay [sic] wrote this new article where he claims the lawsuit are evidence of Linux and open source success (it is embedded in almost everything).

Google came up with two on its own – Android and Chrome OS – to cover its bases on encouraging geeks to contribute to Google’s total world domination. And while Chrome OS never quite got out the gate in 2010, despite assurances that it would ship in late fall, Android more than made up for Chrome OS’ delays, with Google’s Andy Rubin tweeting: “There are over 300,000 Android phones activated each day.”

That’s a heck of a lot of phones running open source. Even more than Apple ships.

Apple, of course, didn’t let this open-source momentum go unnoticed, and launched a lawsuit against Google’s Android through its licensee, HTC. Not to be outdone, Microsoft and Oracle also sent lawyers to the Googleplex. About the only company that didn’t is Research in Motion. Nice Canadians.

Not only Linux is a target of such mobile phone lawsuits. There are more new lawsuits right now and they come from Symbian giant Nokia to apply pressure on Apple:

Nokia has just released a press release announcing that it has filed claims in the UK, Germany and Holland, alleging that Apple has infringed on Nokia products sold in those respective countries in regards to technologies used it the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

In response, writes Rupert Goodwins (UK-based journalist): “I find this profoundly depressing. Does history mean nothing in the face of short-term reactive capitalism?

The patent lawyers are watching this carefully (still afraid of losing software patents) and TechDirt jokes that creating flight plans on the Internet is now patented. Hilarious! Sane judges can view this as further evidence of BM/SW patents needing abolition.

Thanks to Kiran Lightpaw for alerting us to yet another example of patents being used to stifle innovation, rather than enable it. It involves a company called FlightPrep, that secured a patent (7,640,098) a year ago, covering generating a flight plan online and filing it online. Basically, it’s one of your typical “just add online and patent it!” patents that never should have been granted. In fact, the patent, which was first applied for in 2001 was rejected repeatedly, and many adjustments had to be made before the patent examiner finally gave them the patent.

Once they got the patent, they apparently started hitting up all sorts of online flightplan services for licenses — even ones that appear to have been online predating some of the claims in their patent. Nelson Minar, who knows more than a little bit about software development, does a nice job highlighting that there appears to be a fair bit of prior art to the claims that were actually approved.

Free software would have won far more easily if there were no software patents, which cannot be justified on economic grounds anyway. Everyone needs to demand elimination of software patents to hasten development and research efforts. Patents help society as much as Wall Street does. █

UNIX Battles Carry on Whilst OpenSUSE is Being Lost

Posted in GNU/Linux, Novell, OpenSUSE, SCO, UNIX at 2:00 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Wind catcher

Summary: Novell’s assets are being blown in the wind amid transition into new hands and accordingly new priorities

Groklaw continues to cover the SCO case, still neglecting to mention the possibility that — just like Novell sold its patents — AttachMSFT [sic] will sell UNIX, which was worth a lot of money to Novell (that’s why it fought against SCO, for shareholders). Pamela Jones recalls the early days of this case when she writes:

We also have transcripts of all the pre-trial hearings going back to 2003 in all the various SCO litigations, SCO v. IBM, SCO v. AutoZone, SCO v. Daimler-Chrysler, the SCO bankruptcy, and Red Hat v. SCO, all on that same page, as well as in SCO v. Novell, so you can deep-dive if you’d like to and follow the thread from the beginning to the end. Both sections have links to PDFs, text versions, and Groklaw’s reports from the courts. I hope you find it useful. I’m positive it will be useful for historians and law professors wanting to use the SCO saga to teach their students to have it all organized in one easier-to-find place. We’re still working on an Exhibits section, which we’ll add when it’s done, listing all the exhibits used at trial that we can identify from the transcripts and showing when they were introduced.

Novell’s new press release speaks about SUSE only in the context of appliances and Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols talks about it too. A few weeks ago we wrote about Novell throwing out there all that’s left in the pipeline before AttachMSFT [sic] takes over, probably as it may axe some of this portfolio. It’s a rocky and uncertain time for Novell employees. Therefore, the timing of this press release makes strategic sense. It helps hide reality by quantifying the wrong items, easily neglecting for example the declining impact of OpenSUSE, which may or may not qualify as a product (spin versus reality).

According to OpenSUSE’s community manager Jos Poortvliet and the OpenSUSE Web site, Alan Clark replaces the recently-departing Michael Löffler [1, 2] as OpenSUSE Board Chairman:

As you know, Michael Loeffler has left the openSUSE Board to pursue new opportunities, we are sad to see him go and wish him well. With his departure and with the upcoming Board elections, we have a desire to see a new Chairperson selected. The election rules state that the Chairperson be appointed by Novell and yesterday Markus Rex, General Manager of Novells Open Platform Solutions, presented Alan Clark to us as the new Chairperson.

Susan Linton continues to write about OpenSUSE, which other than those posts of hers hardly receives any press coverage. Linton claims:

Ubuntu takes a lot of punches from time to time for its marketing and even its interface. Some feel Ubuntu is dumbed down and oversimplified, while many others think it’s innovative and user-friendly. Where ever you fall in the debate, one developer thinks some elements of Ubuntu should land into openSUSE. In fact, he has packaged up and pushed them to openSUSE:Contrib.

Stephan Kulow explains how the project uses power, having previously encountered issues of neglect from Novell. These good folks should just fork it and move away from AttachMSFT [sic], which is likely to do to OpenSUSE what SCOracle [sic] did to OpenSolaris and now appears to be doing to OpenOffice. █

Microsoft Outlook is a Wiretapping Device, Just Like Hotmail and Hotmail 2.0 (Facebook)

Posted in Mail, Microsoft at 11:49 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Looking through the tube

Summary: Microsoft Outlook, an Office component, does what it says on the tin by providing an outlook on users

Wiretapping on Windows users is trivial due to irresponsible disclosure of source code and owing to FBI malware/backdoor-ware like CIPAV*. But what about Microsoft Office? Based on this new report from Ars Technica, “[u]sing Outlook’s mail rules can make you a wiretapper”:

Reading your boss’ e-mail account isn’t just a bad idea—it could also get you hauled in federal court on wiretapping charges. David Szymuszkiewicz, an Internal Revenue Service worker in Wisconsin, found this out the hard way after using an Outlook mail rule to copy his supervisor’s messages over to his own account for a full three years.

[...]

Easterbrook and two fellow judges agreed on appeal; this was wiretapping. There was no direct evidence that Szymuszkiewicz had set up the rule. No one had seen him do it, but he had the means, motive, and access to Infusino’s computer. In addition, Szymuszkiewicz’s own Outlook account showed that he had received the Infusino e-mails and then copied them into a personal folder, “which is not what would have happened had all of Szymuszkiewicz’s access been legitimate.”

Hotmail too is sensitive to eavesdropping even by the US government, reveals Cablegate (yes, snooping is part of the plan). Phil Shapiro has just published this complaint about Hotmail letting down Haiti relief volunteers. From the closing parts:

Here’s a solution to the problem. Microsoft, and all other free e-mail service providers, should provide some fee-based service for people to recover their password if their account has been compromised. The community member I’m helping, Jean Louis Jean Presnel, would gladly pay $25 to speak to someone on the phone about having his Hotmail password reset. Considering that it would take no more than 10 minutes for such a phone call to take place, Microsoft ought to provide this service. If they don’t voluntarily provide such a fee-based password recovery service, then maybe legislation is needed to require them to do so.

Add to this the observation that Facebook is eerily close to Microsoft. Moments ago someone told us in an IRC channel that this pair had just taken it another step further and Facebook is like Hotmail 2.0 in some ways. For privacy, always stay away from proprietary software. █
____
* In addition, Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols wrote a few days ago that “Windows is insecure by design” and the context was as follows:

Windows is insecure by design and used by hundreds of millions and many of those users wouldn’t know an anti-virus program from Angry Birds. Millions of Windows computers, including maybe yours, are slave labor in one of the various botnets. Since we’re not going to be rid of Windows anytime soon and it’s not going to get any safer, the reality is that botnet-powered, brute-force DDoS attacks are only going to continue.

Actually, that’s not true. I think DDoS attacks are actually going more and more often. Here are some ways to mitigate them.

Microsoft — Like Monsanto — is Trying to Stuff Its Competition/Forced ‘Clients’ With Patent Traps

Posted in Europe, Free/Libre Software, Microsoft, Patents, RAND at 11:25 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Dionaea

Summary: Microsoft turns to mischief in Vista 7 [sic], which puts RAND traps inside Mozilla Firefox

MICROSOFT HAS been aggressively pushing for contamination of the Web with MPEG patents (held by a patent troll, Mr. Horn), whereas Mozilla consistently pushed it back [1, 2, 3]. Firefox and Mozilla don’t mix with MPEG-LA, so Ogg and WebM are advocated by its executives and developers. For some more context and background regarding MPEG-LA see:

According to CNET, Microsoft now uses Vista 7 to push MPEG-LA patent traps into Firefox, which is not even Microsoft’s own software (this would not be the first time that Microsoft injects blobs of self interest into software that’s not its own, despite the user providing no consent either). Here is the Slashdot discussion regarding this acceptable behaviour from Microsoft and some of the article from CNET:

Mozilla is outspoken in its dislike of the patent-encumbered video technology called H.264, but Microsoft, an H.264 fan, is providing a plug-in that will let Windows 7 users use it anyway.

[...]

Mozilla is working to try to establish WebM as a required codec for HTML5, a specification standardized by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

As Glyn Moody put it, Microsoft is “desperate to stuff #swpats [software patents] down the poor beast’s gullet” (shame on Microsoft seems to be a consensus).

Microsoft’s patent ‘contamination’ strategy is similar to the scam chosen by Monsanto, which uses patents to force farmers to pay it a tax (won’t matter if they are clients of Monsanto, they can be ‘accidental’ clients too due to litigation). As we explained many times before, the Gates Foundation and Monsanto think alike and they are very close, unsurprisingly. There is this new article in French about it and Moody remarks on it by writing that “monopoly-lovers meet”.

“The likes of MPEG-LA would only be part of such a strategy, so it’s important to abolish H.264 and perhaps file a formal complaint against Microsoft for pushing MPEG-LA patents into its rival, Firefox (without permission).”Meanwhile, the eternally-vigilant Benjamin Henrion (FFII president) wrote to tell us that the “European Commission says Free Software can pay royalties” based on this EIF document [PDF]. He quotes from it: “Intellectual property rights related to the specification are licensed on FRAND terms or on a royalty-free basis in a way that allows implementation in both proprietary and open source software.”

One must not forget who is promoting RAND in Europe (see our RAND category), even based on lies about Free/libre software. That would be well-paid Microsoft lobbyists. The likes of MPEG-LA would only be part of such a strategy, so it’s important to abolish H.264 and perhaps file a formal complaint against Microsoft for pushing MPEG-LA patents into its rival, Firefox (without permission). As our reader “twitter” put it 2 hours ago, Microsoft’s motto is, “What’s ours is ours and what’s yours is ours.” █

Accuracy in Techrights

Posted in Site News at 10:45 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Supreme Court in New York

Summary: Quick response to Internet trolls and other detractors who attack the platform and the messenger rather than tackle the message

TECHRIGHTS contains over 12,000 blog posts and 53,400 pages from the site are said to be contained in Google at this moment. With sheer volume comes greater risk of error but not greater frequency or likelihood of error. We always correct errors when they are found. Back around 2007 we rebutted claims challenging the integrity of this site, but the process is time consuming and it plays right into the hands of those who try to smear the messenger and the messenger’s platform, as opposed to the actual message. Even right now we are finding false claims made against the site, we are seeing fabricated (para)quotes, and there is insistence that certain truisms claimed in this Web site are in fact false. We cannot reply to each false claim from a detractor, especially due to the volume of complains arriving from all the usual suspects, whose vested interests are simply under threat by this Web site. Some of them are currently flaming me in Twitter and Indenti.ca. When I politely pointed this out a conversation started that contained yet more lies about me, which only proved my point. If those lies are challenged, the trolls will just carry on and on ad infinitum, so it’s a battle that cannot be won. If they are ignored, they herald victory, but at least no time is wasted on them. I spoke about this problem in last night's show and it’s simply more of a distraction which detracts from the real topics that we ought to cover (we fell behind over a month ago). Wayne and others who support our site have responded to some of the trolls (accounts whose sole purpose is to heckle Techrights and berate me). Wayne has attempted to summarised some key points later on. I think he raised some important points, e.g.:

There wasn’t very much, so I read the whole works. Apparently @rclayton pops up every couple of months, makes a series of attacks, and then disappears. Whoever it is sends fake replies to other users, to make it appear like the other user is in agreement.

[...]

I did hear about Jason Melton’s article Mono Criticism == Uninformed Hatred, though until I read it a few moments ago, I didn’t know it was a discussion of Guy van Sanden’s Get the Facts on Mono, which drew 58 comments, some of them rather vitriolic, for a straight forward, unemotional discussion of the disadvantages of Mono. Guy followed up with Cleaning Mono from your system, which drew a another slew of comments, including the mention of the Ubuntu Saner Defaults Remix, which I’m downloading now, that will be what, maybe thirty distros that I haven’t had time to try yet?

Jason then followed up with Banshee, Mono, and Reddit, which covers the issue of Banshee using items that are not covered by Microsoft’s Community Promise, at least not in the version available for download from the Banshee page. He then followed it up with Mono: Unsafe At Any Speed, where he takes five popular Mono applications, and evaluates them to see if they are using the ‘safe bits’ (ECMA) of Mono. None of the five applications tested (Banshee, Tomboy, F-Spot, Do, and GBrainy) are using only the safe bits, all work outside the ECMA specifications.

So there are some rumblings. I think I’ll add to them. Throwing gasoline on fire is one of those innocent pleasures…

Be sceptical of claims you find about Techrights because people don’t take criticism too well and rather than debunk true claims which they are not comfortable with they decide to attack the messenger and/or the platform. Even worse tactics are later being used and it includes legal threats that we don’t comment on publicly. █

“In my role as Wikileaks editor, I’ve been involved in fighting off many legal attacks. To do that, and keep our sources safe, we have had to spread assets, encrypt everything, and move telecommunications and people around the world to activate protective laws in different national jurisdictions.”

–Julian Assange

IRC Proceedings: December 16th, 2010

Posted in IRC Logs at 10:00 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNOME Gedit

GNOME Gedit

GNOME Gedit

#techrights log

#boycottnovell log

#boycottnovell-social log

Enter the IRC channels now

Links 17/12/2010: Mentor Graphics Joins Linux Foundation, Linux 2.6.37 Imminent

Posted in News Roundup at 9:40 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNOME bluefish

Contents

GNU/Linux

  • Have yourself a very Linux Christmas

    Whether you cut your teeth downloading Linux 0.x source code or you want to give Linux a try for the first time, we’ve got presents for you.

    What do you get for the Linux lover in your life? Or, for that matter, a would-be Linux user or someone you want to talk into giving Linux a try? Well, here are some of my suggestions. Got some of your own? Share them in the comments.

  • Best Gifts For the Linux Geek, Make Your Own Railgun, and More

    Tis the season! Linux is the gift that keeps on giving; here is a roundup of my suggestions for treating yourself, your loved ones, or other people with Linux and geeky goodness.

  • How’d Ya Do That?

    Since moving over to Linux, I’ve been using the graphics applications the come with this wonderful OS. And I use them exclusively to produce all my cartoon features. The Gimp (photo editing) and Scribus (Desktop publishing), especially, do a great job in helping me create my cartoon features for newspapers and other print publications.

  • Free Software turns DisplayLink docking stations into Linux client PCs

    DisplayLink, maker of graphics-over-USB solutions, has partnered with Canadian company Userful to turn Displaylink-powered docking stations into Linux-driven CPU-less client PCs.

  • Experiences with (very) rare Linux crashing, upgrades

    The CentOS upgrade process refreshed all of the binaries on the system including the kernel and the system booted up and was up and running in no time. No tweaking or adjustments were needed at all. This is one of the most amazing things about Linux is that the upgrade process can be so straightforward and so effective. Great great stuff here. I am so used to seeing upgrades in Windows and other software fail miserably.

  • Desktop

    • A Windows User Installs Ubuntu Linux

      Maybe I’ll look back and wonder why I didn’t try Ubuntu sooner. So far, it appears to be a great solution for older computers.

    • Serious games, KDE and Co

      I have lost count of the number of times I have heard people say that they would use Linux if only it had xxx programs. I have also lost count of the number of times I have heard vendors say that it is not economically viable to produce programs for such a small user base. Both parties have a valid point but no solution. The solution is easy to say but hard to implement.

      The solution is. Either the user base must increase and kick start the vendors or the vendors must build up the user base with the offering of so called “killer apps”. Theoretically, either one of those solutions could work. The hard part is doing what is needed to make one of those choices a reality.

    • Windows 7 and the Linux desktop (PART 1)

      Anyways, as I am sure you know by now, I choose Linux Mint 10 and the Linux desktop in general over Windows 7, and it certainly is not just because I expected better from the latter.

    • The Next New Year of Linux on the Desktop: 2011?

      Those of us who have been part of the FOSS community for more than, oh, say 10 minutes, are no doubt already familiar with the recurring “Year of Linux on the Desktop” debate.

      It’s a topic that comes up again and again in the Linux blogosphere, typically fueled by some new success or promising advance in our favorite desktop operating system.

      The question — or questions, really — center on whether Linux has “arrived” on the desktop already, whether it’s on the verge of doing so, whether it might possibility get there at some point in the undefined future, and so on. You get the idea.

      Well, guess what? It’s baaa-ack.

    • AUSkey finally gets open source support

      Starting today, Linux users will be able to take advantage of the government’s AUSkey authentication software after months of waiting.

  • Audiocasts/Shows

  • Google

    • Nothing but ‘Net: hands-on with the Cr-48 Chrome OS laptop

      Google’s ‘Net-centric Chrome OS platform challenges conventional notions about what constitutes an operating system. It puts the cloud front and center, eschewing the familiar desktop paradigm and native applications in favor of a browser-only environment. It’s an audacious and intriguing experiment, but it’s not clear yet if it will resonate with a mainstream audience.

      To get a feel for how Google’s new platform works in the field, we spent a few days testing the Cr-48, an experimental laptop prototype that runs an early version of Chrome OS. Although the software is still under development and not yet mature enough to support an authoritative conclusion about the platform’s potential, we have assembled some observations based on our experiences.

  • Kernel Space

    • Official open source driver for Kinect
    • Mentor Graphics Joins Linux Foundation

      The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced that Mentor Graphics (NASDAQ: MENT) is its newest member.

      Mentor Graphics was founded nearly 30 years ago and today is a leading supplier of products and services that assist in the embedded design of chips and boards, as well as embedded operating systems, applications and drivers.

    • Kernel Log: Coming in 2.6.37 (Part 3) – Network and storage hardware

      Numerous changes to the network and storage code are to increase processing speed and improve the system’s hardware support. Among the new additions are a PPTP stack, various drivers for Wi-Fi hardware by Atheros, Broadcom and Realtek, and code for hard disks with a logical sector size of 4 Kbytes.

    • The Linux 2.6.37 Kernel Nears Completion

      With it being just over a week since the release of Linux 2.6.37-rc5, Linus Torvalds has this evening put out Linux 2.6.37-rc6. This seventh release candidate to the Linux 2.6.37 kernel is just packing regression fixes as it nears completion

  • Applications

  • Desktop Environments

    • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC)

    • GNOME Desktop

      • Support GNOME by shopping at Amazon this Xmas

        With Xmas almost here you’re likely to find yourself edging near the starting line titled ‘the mad rush for last-minute gifts‘.

        If you’re going to be busy on Amazon over the festive period don’t forget to use the GNOME referral links. Using these cost you nothing and they work just like normal amazon links, but instead of the shopping giant getting every cent of your cash a small slice goes to help keep the wonderful folks at GNOME all warm and fuzzy.

  • Distributions

    • Sabayon on a Acer Aspire Netbook

      I just bought an Acer Aspire One D255 Netbook with the intention of testing out Sabayon, and seeing how our distro stacks up against Win7 and other Linux distributions geared towards netbooks.

      I intentionally bought a lightweight, cheap netbook so I could gauge the experience other people might have if they decide to experiment with their netbooks. The crippled Windows 7 Starter edition that ships on many of these less expensive netbooks may prompt people to check out alternatives.

    • Easy Linux for Your Grandparents

      In the January 2011 Computer Power User magazine there is a review of a new Ubuntu derivative designed for novice computer users to run Linux on their desktop, Pinguy OS.

      [...]

      Of course, I do have to question the basic concept behind this new distribution – Who is it really for? As the developer states, the idea was to build a simple to use operating system with everything a typical user would want built-in. Is the typical user someone who already runs Linux and likes the simplicity of not having to do all the legwork to get the OS up and running or is this the answer to the desktop Linux question; can my grandma use this?

    • Top 10 Distribution Developments in 2010

      Millions of Linux-based ARM client computers have shipped this year in the form of Android phones and tablets, and Canonical and other companies have seen the wisdom in supporting ARM for netbooks. You won’t find a lot of netbooks or desktop-type systems with ARM on the shelves right now, but I suspect 2011 will change that.

    • Interview with Doudoulinux’s creator.

      A: DoudouLinux is a young project that was launched this summer after 2-3 years of experiments. We want to provide a child OS for standard computers and our model for ease of use is gaming consoles. Indeed gaming consoles are just computers so why should standard computers be much more complicated to use? Additionally as it is based on Linux, DoudouLinux is not this kind of empty OS that are sold in supermarkets neither. Some people would have advertised for DoudouLinux as “The kid OS for human beings” [NDR Ubuntu like] but I chose “The computer they prefer” ;) .

    • Bodhi 0.1.3 Released

      This 0.1.3 release is a bit larger than previous versions, coming in at 385 megs (still under our 400 meg goal).

    • Reviews

      • Pardus Corporate 2 beta

        Pardus Corporate 2 is the corporate (professional) edition of Pardus, the Linux distribution developed and maintained by the National Research Institute of Electronics and Cryptology (UEKAE), Turkey. This is the first beta, released on December 13. The final release will be made available on February 16, 2011 (see the release schedule). This article presents a cursory review of this beta release, and because the re-designed management tools in Pardus Corporate will also feature on Pardus 2011, this (review) will also give you a pretty good idea of what to expect on Pardus 2011, which is slated to be released on January 20, 2011.

        [...]

        The final stable release of Pardus Corporate is at least two months away, and I think that is time enough for the developers to add the following features:

        * Full disk encryption support in YALI, similar to Fedora’s implementation. By the way, the next snapshot release of PC-BSD 9, will feature disk encryption support in the installer in a similar fashion.
        * The firewall rule creation process could use a few more options
        * Ability to search across tabs in the Package Manager.

    • PCLinuxOS/Mageia/Mandrake/Mandriva Family

      • Mandriva Flash 2010 Christmas Sale

        Now here’s a special Christmas present for all of you Linux enthusiasts out there, as Mandriva announced the availability of its portable USB Mandriva Flash Drive. It is based on the KDE4 Edition of the Mandriva Linux 2010 distribution (released on July 8th, 2010) and it’s available as an 8GB USB flash drive.

    • Red Hat Family

      • Red Hat to pay $20 million

        Software company Red Hat has agreed to pay $20 million to settle a 6-year-old class action suit that accused it of deceiving investors by falsifying its finances.

      • Red Hat’s New Strategies For Enterprise And SMB

        Red Hat has devised a two pronged channel strategy to address customers in the enterprise and the SMB segments in India. The strategy is essentially a part of Red Hat’s plans for RHEL 6 that was released last month.

        To target the large enterprise, the vendor is expanding partnerships with its advanced business partners (ABPs).

      • Serious games, KDE and Co

      • Fedora

        • [opinion] Fedora needs an architect

          I read yet another thread about Fedora randomly changing the way UNIX has done things forever (the specific thread was on /dev/shm mount options) and it reminded me that I’ve been saying for a while that Fedora urgently needs an architect. FESCo should appoint a person as their technical representative who speaks for overall system architecture concerns. The person in this role should actively seek out compatibility or integration problems but should also be a “go to” person for concerns that arise in the interests of distribution cohesion. Sure, they should be accountable, etc. but the idea that everything should be filed in some ticket and wait a week for FESCo to debate it is both the reason these things don’t get filed (because you can’t file every tiny annoyance) and also the reason why we have these long mailing list threads in the interim.

        • Fedora 14 KDE

          Pros: Comes with KDE 4.5; good selection of software.

          Cons: Install routine is a bit odd and could use a tweak or two; software management is good but not quite as good as Linux Mint’s or the Ubuntu Software Center.

          Suitable For: Intermediate and advanced Linux users, particularly those who prefer or require the KDE desktop.

          Summary: Fedora 14 KDE is a good choice for experienced Linux users that prefer the KDE desktop environment.

          Rating: 3.5/5

        • Red Hat Dictates Fedora 15 Wallpaper

          The whole purpose of using the upstream GNOME 3 wallpaper for Fedora 15 was because Fedora 15 will be the first distribution to feature GNOME 3 in its entirety as default. But as the conversation continued it came out that there is still a slight chance it would not ready for Fedora 15. In any case, GNOME 2 would be provided as a choice and fallback for those without sufficient hardware. So do they use the GNOME 3 wallpaper for GNOME 2 too?

          From there the conversation was joined by other team members very much against having to use the GNOME 3 wallpaper either as a basis for all the artwork or just as the GNOME 3 background because it breaks consistency. Alternative choices and default for other spins were also discussed.

        • Fedora Board Meeting, 13 December 2010

    • Debian Family

      • Debian Squeeze Kernel to be Completely Free

        Debian developers have been working overtime to remove any of the proprietary drivers from their kernel that shipped with 4.0 and 5.0. Many users appreciate this firmware to convert bricks to useful hardware, but the Debian project strives to remain committed to their guidelines. One states that any code used must allow redistribution of it and its source code. Another says that any code must allow modification. Most closed-source code restricts or prohibits both of these. The press release said, “We hereby reaffirm Free Software as one of our priorities, as documented in the Debian Social Contract.”

      • Canonical/Ubuntu

        • Changing how we track Launchpad’s bugs, questions and blueprints

          From today, all Launchpad bugs, code, questions and blueprints are tracked under the one launchpad project.

          We’ve already moved everything from the individual projects over to the parent launchpad project. All you need do differently is search/file bugs, questions and blueprints under that parent Launchpad project, rather than Rosetta, for example.

        • The future of Ubuntu

          Traditionally Ubuntu has been known for providing the world with a stable, friendly and usable GNU/Linux desktop while Fedora has been known for launching cutting edge technologies which might not be very mature at the point of release. Hence hardcore hackers swear by the likes of Fedora and Debian while casual users loved Ubuntu.

        • Ubuntu as Intended. My Experience Of Using the ‘Default’ Ubuntu

          Like many so-called “power users”, the first thing I do after installing Linux is customize it. I set it to my preferred desktop settings, applications and configuration because I know what I like, and I normally go to great lengths to get it just right. Recently, after setting up a new Ubuntu Maverick install for my wife, I began to wonder what it would be like to run a system on the defaults. To try things their way – to use Ubuntu’s desktop settings, Ubuntu’s preferred applications and configuration. This meant I could not install any of my favorite applications (Chrome, VLC, Exaile…) if Ubuntu already provided an equivalent (Firefox, Totem, Rhythmbox…). How did it turn out? Frustrating, but with some surprising results. (Note: This is not your usual Ubuntu review, but my miscellaneous ramblings, and some praises. Read on for details.)

        • Ubuntu Up and Running Book Review

          With all that said, I would stay give this a book a “would recommend” as it is very detailed, and can go a long way in taking the interested reader from being interested in Ubuntu, to reasonably well versed in Ubuntu.
          The chapter covering the command line is thorough and clear. In fact, I learned a few things that I didn’t about using some CLI tools installed in Ubuntu.
          I look forward to future versions of this book covering newer versions of Ubuntu, and hopefully, through the Blogger Review program, is touched up in some of its rough edges.

        • Bored of your homepage? Try this bright Ubuntu-ized one instead

          Created by spideofdesign on deviant art the theme is bold, minimal and works just like a regular google search page – just a bit prettier.

        • It’s Been a Crazy Year

          So here I am, the official manager of the Canonical Ubuntu Server team (and acting manager of Foundations and Security)…..wow….up ’til now, I’ve been pretty client focused…..now I have to switch gears to the server workspace?…..backfill two positions?…..figure out our cloud infrastructure stack?….hell, figure out cloud!……what the %$#! did I just get myself into!!!!

        • Myth Busted #6: Ubuntu is only for n00bs and not for serious linux users ( n00buntu )

          Ubuntu is n00b friendly, yes. We work to help new and non-technical users going with Ubuntu, yes. We like n00bs, yes.

          However, we’re just as much complected GNU/Linux as anyone else, if you want it to be. In fact, tons of Ubuntu Developers love using tweeked systems, and we’d never “disable” that for ourselves!

          This myth is mostly false, and I say mostly, because we try to not let anyone act like they’re better then anyone else for using our distro.

  • Devices/Embedded

    • Phones

      • Android

        • World’s first dual-core smartphone debuts in Korea

          LG Electronics announced an Android 2.2-powered handset claimed to be the world’s first dual-core smartphone, due for a release in Korea next month. The Optimus 2X is built around a 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, and offers a four-inch WVGA display, an eight-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.3-megapixel webcam facing front, says the company.

Free Software/Open Source

  • Google Donates Java Tools Source Code

    Google on Wednesday plans to make a substantial contribution to the open source community: It’s giving over $5 million worth of code and intellectual property associated with two Java Eclipse products, WindowsBuilder and Code Pro Profiler, to the Eclipse Foundation.

    The company acquired WindowsBuilder, a Java GUI design program for Eclipse, and Code Pro Profiler, a Java performance analysis tool, when it purchased Java development tool maker Instantiations in August. After offering Instantiations software for free in September, Google received many requests from Java developers to “take it to the next level,” said Eric Clayberg, software engineering manager for Google Developer Tools and former co-founder and VP of product development at Instantiations.

  • Vietnam slow in applying open source software

    Vietnam has been developing open source software for the last 10 years, but it has witnessed no considerable progress so far, according to the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC).

  • Web Browsers

  • Oracle

    • Oracle releases Open Office 3.3 and MySQL 5.5

      Since taking over Sun Microsystems, Oracle’s posturing has led many to believe that the open source projects MySQL and Open Office are set for the closed source scrapheap. Both MySQL 5.5 and Open Office 3.3 are the first major releases since the takeover. Somewhat surprisingly, Oracle is stressing the continuing free software character and free availability of both of these important open source products.

      Oracle’s Cloud Office mirrors moves by Microsoft and Google, both of which offer cloud based office suites. Cloud Office is essentially a web based office suite, offering users the opportunity to work on documents using their web browser. Oracle cites interoperability between Microsoft Office and Open Office, though anyone with experience will know that the difference between such claims and reality can be large.

  • CMS

    • Drupal 6.20 released

      Drupal 6.20, a maintenance release fixing issues reported through the bug tracking system, is now available for download. There are no security fixes in this release. Upgrading your existing Drupal 6 sites is recommended.

  • BSD

    • PC-BSD 9 installer preview

      KDE 4 will still be the default desktop environment, but you will be able to choose from GNOME, LXDE, Xfce.

    • OpenBSD backdoor claims denied

      The claims were made by Gregory Perry, a former OpenBSD developer who now heads a company in Florida named GoVirtual Education; it offers VMWare training.

      In an email to the head of the OpenBSD project, Theo de Raadt, Perry accused a couple of people by name of implementing the backdoors.

    • OpenBSD backdoor claims: bugs found during code audit

      De Raadt decided to go public with the mail, posting it to the openbsd-tech mailing list, along with his own comments.

      In that post, among other statements, he said: “The mail came in privately from a person I have not talked to for nearly 10 years. I refuse to become part of such a conspiracy, and will not be talking to Gregory Perry about this. Therefore I am making it public so that (a) those who use the code can audit it for these problems, (b) those that are angry at the story can take other actions, (c) if it is not true, those who are being accused can defend themselves.”

  • Project Releases

    • Paludis 0.56.1 Released

      Paludis 0.56.1 has been released:

      * We now show the number of skipped and failed packages in “x of y” output.
      * We now run pkg_pretend even if certain confirmations are required.
      * Various minor bug fixes and documentation tweaks.

  • Government

    • EU group to map advantages of public administrations using open source

      A consortium of public administrations in eleven EU member states, IT innovation centres, and the university of Sheffield have started a project to increase awareness on the advantages of free and open source software. It specifically wants to provide guidelines to those administrations that are less familiar with this type of software.

    • Is 2011 the year of open source in the public sector?

      Speaking shortly before Christmas, cabinet office minister Francis Maude reiterated the importance of open source software for future government contracts. Speaking to a delegation of large IT suppliers, including BT, Cap Gemini, Hewlett Packard and IBM, Maude pulled no punches, stating:

      “The days of the mega IT contracts are over, we will need you to rethink the way you approach projects, making them smaller, off the shelf and open source where possible.”

      The speech, at a supplier summit in London, broke no new ground, but it is the clearest indication yet that the coalition government is committed to pre-election pledges from both parties to level the playing field for both open source and smaller IT suppliers in providing IT goods and services to the public sector.

    • European Citizen Initiative powered by Open Source software

      The European Parliament wants to ensure that software used for the European Citizen’s Initiative (1 mio signatures for initialising European laws) is open source, adopted today…

  • Programming

    • Git Joins the Software Freedom Conservancy

      Today, the Software Freedom Conservancy welcomes Git as its newest member. Git joins twenty-three other Conservancy members, who receive the benefit of aggregated non-profit status available to all Conservancy member projects.

Leftovers

  • 5 Best Websites With Awesome Christmas Wallpaper For Your Desktop

    It’s that time of the year again. There’s snow on the ground, you’ve got your holiday shopping done (right?), and everybody’s in a festive mood. Personally, I’m looking forward to kicking back with the family and watching Christmas Vacation, as well as catching some holiday bowl games.

  • Science

    • Periodic table to get atomic weight update

      The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry’s Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights will update the atomic weights for 10 elements on the periodic table.

  • Cablegate

    • Julian Assange has committed no crime in Australia: AFP

      Neither WikiLeaks not its founder Julian Assange has committed any crime in Australia over the leaking of official United States government documents, the Australian Federal Police announced this afternoon.

      This comes despite Prime Minister Julia Gillard labelling the actions of the group “illegal” two weeks ago.

    • Dear Government of Sweden …

      So imagine our surprise when all of a sudden you decided to go after one Julian Assange on sexual assault charges. Well, sort of: first you charged him. Then after investigating it, you dropped the most serious charges and rescinded the arrest warrant.

      Then a conservative MP put pressure on you and, lo and behold, you did a 180 and reopened the Assange investigation. Except you still didn’t charge him with anything. You just wanted him for “questioning.” So you — you who have sat by and let thousands of Swedish women be raped while letting their rapists go scott-free — you decided it was now time to crack down on one man — the one man the American government wants arrested, jailed or (depending on which politician or pundit you listen to) executed. You just happened to go after him, on one possible “count of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation and one count of rape (third degree).” And while thousands of Swedish rapists roam free, you instigated a huge international manhunt on Interpol for this Julian Assange!

      What anti-rape crusaders you’ve become, Swedish government! Women in Sweden must suddenly feel safer?

    • Crime and Punishment

      “The lawyer said the only correspondence his client had received was a note telling him that a copy of Time magazine sent to him had been destroyed because the cover bore his photograph.”

    • EC’s IT chief hits out at open source hypocrisy claims

Clip of the Day

Athlete Robot: Sprint Running (1st video)


Credit: TinyOgg

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