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Links 16/12/2012: Humble Indie Bundle 7 Rants, ownCloud KDE Client



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Contents





GNU/Linux

  • Measuring Linux’s Success in 2012
    With barely two weeks left in 2012, the inundation of “year-in-review” blog posts, podcasts, videos and–if we’re really lucky–songs has begun. This week, the Linux Foundation did its part by releasing a video celebrating major accomplishments over the last year in the Linux channel. What did the Foundation think were the most important developments? Read on for a look.


  • Readers' Choice Awards 2012


  • 2012 Linux Retrospectives Highlight a Remarkable Year
    Linux Rising. As The Linux Foundation's Amanda McPherson notes, this was the year that Red Hat achieved $1 billion in revenues, and Android adoption outpaced the iPhone. You can watch The Linux Foundation's "What a Year for Linux" video here.

    Top Linux Trends. Datamation has a good look back at some of the top trends in Linux for 2012. These included the rise of crowdsourcing, diversity in desktop environments, Ubuntu's "Corporation vs. Community" schizophrenia, and interfaces that adjusted for multiple device form factors.


  • How Last Year's Linux Events Played Out This Year
    With the year coming to an end, here's a look again at the prominent Linux news from last year (2011) and whether the milestones reached then still have an impact today.

    Effectively this comes down to a redux of the most popular Linux news from last year and an update on each of the topics as it stands today. The most popular Linux stories on Phoronix from 2012 will be shared at the end of December.

    The two most popular Phoronix news stories last year came down to the same topic: ending of the Linux 2.6 kernel and moving to Linux 3.0 (Say Hello To Linux 3.0; Linus Just Tagged 3.0-rc1 and Linus Talks Of Linux 2.8 Or Linux 3.0; Ending Linux 2.6). Well, there isn't too much to add to this particular topic for 2012. Linus Torvalds continues releasing new Linux 3.x major kernel releases and after enough of them in a few years time he'll move to Linux 4.x. This is just much cleaner than sticking to Linux 2.6.x as was done for so many years.


  • Server

    • MICROSOFT RULES? Unless YOU know better…
      Microsoft haters, Apple haters, Linux Haters, time for you to put all this nonsense to end once and for all with regards the real world of business!!

      So, here’s the scenario, and it’s up to YOU to provide the solution… if you can of course…..

      A small office, with 5 computers all running the same desktop operating system.




  • Audiocasts/Shows





  • Kernel Space



  • Applications



  • Desktop Environments

    • New E17 Release: LUCKY
      This beta release of E17, LUCKY RUBBER DUCKY, has a much better name than what was originally proposed.


    • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

      • Amarok 2.7 Beta Available For Testing
        Amarok team has released the beta version of Amarok 2.7 which is available for testing. The team has invited all users to test this beta so the final release should be available before 25th December. With this version Amarok is introducing two brand new features.


      • Kids' size KDE
        More than a year ago I started an experiment: to bring KDE Education to the kids in Kindergarten.

        Now my son was starting exactly at the same time his own adventure in Kindergarten, so I jump at the opportunity and suggest to the educators to have a period of testing. They accepted and I installed a Kubuntu 11.10 on an old PC, the Kindergarten bought a 22" Touchscreen, and I also installed the first alfa version of Pairs (selfcompiled) that I was working on.


      • ownCloud KDE Client Coming Soon
        ownCloud, the free and open source cloud solution, will be getting a client especially for the KDE Plasma Desktop soon. Sebastian Kügler, one of the KDE developers, announced the development of the KDE client on his blog recently.


      • An ownCloud Client for KDE Plasma






  • Distributions

    • Weekend Project: Linux Distros You Never Heard Of
      Ubuntu this, Fedora that, Mint the newest Linux darling-- it's as though all those other hundreds of Linux distributions don't exist. Let's throw caution to the winds and seek out new distros, and boldly go where we have not gone before. Here are three I'm thinking of installing on my test machine and torture-testing this weekend.


    • After three years, Slax Linux is reborn with version 7.0
      There's no denying 2012 has been a fruitful year for Linux distributions in general, but something about it has also seemed to favor the rebirth of distros we hadn't heard from in years.


    • PCLinuxOS/Mageia/Mandrake/Mandriva Family

      • PCLinuxOS 2012.08 review - A thing of the past
        Deep down, I was hoping that PCLinuxOS 2012.08 might rise again...


      • Sneak Peek at Mandriva Business Server
        Ever since the month of September, Mandriva is renewing its entire products and solutions portfolio. The next product to be unveiled this month is the Mandriva Business Server. A few words were hinted in the press as well as to our strategic partners and customers.

        Today we would like to lift the curtain on some aspects of the upcoming Mandriva Business Server. In a few words, Mandriva Business Server is complete Linux-based server platform aimed primarily at the SMB and public sector market. Mandriva Business Server is however not just another Linux server distribution. From the first moment in the installation to the regular maintenance and management tasks Mandriva Business Server offers its users with easy and beautiful management interfaces allowing them to configure and deploy services from the Mandriva Business Server in a seamless and fast way.


      • Mageia 3 beta 1: release hell strikes again!




    • Debian Family



      • Derivatives



        • Canonical/Ubuntu

          • Canonical adds photo functions to Ubuntu One
            Canonical has added new photo functions to its Ubuntu One cloud storage service. After users log in, the Ubuntu One web site now automatically displays thumbnails of all photos found in their cloud storage in a new "Photos" section. Users can browse the photos or display them as a slideshow.


          • Creating An Awesome LoCo Support Community
            Our LoCo Teams are a wonderful part of the Ubuntu community. They provide a fantastic place for Ubuntu users to meet other users locally and enjoy Ubuntu together either online or in person.


          • Ubuntu's Frequently Asked Questions


          • Friends To Replace Gwibber In Raring
            Ubuntu 13.04, scheduled to be released April next year is in high pace of development currently. While a alpha release has been published for most other Ubuntu based distros, Ubuntu will only release a single beta before the final release.

            This release is targeted to improve integration in various mobile devices and will also run on some tablets like Nexus 7. Also, for developers, this will be the first release that will be shipped with an Ubuntu SDK.


          • E-book: Crunch time on the Enterprise desktop
            The enterprise desktop is ripe for change. With support for Windows XP coming to an end, it’s time to find a better way.

            This ebook is about that better way. It’s a short, easy-to-read guide to why Ubuntu is a better choice than Windows for the majority of enterprise desktops today.


          • Canonical Hunting Users of XP










  • Devices/Embedded





Free Software/Open Source



  • Year 2012 in Review
    Munich finally migrated its 12000th PC. We are so relieved that the trolls no longer pronounce Limux a failure and there’s a little matter of profit, besides.

    Dell has expanded its relationship with Canonical selling GNU/Linux in more than 1000 stores in China and India and Walmart in Brazil sells more GNU/Linux desktop PCs than that other OS.


  • Wait, what's that rumble in the storage jungle? Yes, it's Ceph


  • Open source
    The pursuit of business sustainability and innovative change does not have to originate from any one, single source. It can generate from within your own company at the ground level, from the customers you service to your suppliers. Often the least recognized resources can be the greatest source of information, which can make a significant difference.

    [...]

    Evidence supports the need for executives to step outside the confines of traditional business methods and leverage the creativity of its key business stakeholders. Supporting an open innovation approach to business sustainability offers stakeholders the opportunity to become engaged in the future of a business. By recognizing that key stakeholders have a vested interest the success of the company, sustainable leadership can create openness to new ideas that promote business success and innovative ideas.


  • The Elgg API: Getting Social Using an Open Source Network


  • Obituary: Raj Mathur
    One of the pillars of the Indian FOSS Community passed away this week. Known for his humor, his uncompromising honesty and his generosity in sharing FOSS knowledge with like-minded individuals. His sudden passing after a massive heart attack has shocked and saddened his friends across the FOSS World.


  • Events



  • Web Browsers



  • SaaS

    • OpenStack Set to Tackle Open Source Federated Identity in the Cloud
      The OpenStack open source cloud platform started out with only two components: Nova Compute and Swift Storage. Nova originally came from NASA and Swift came from Rackspace.

      Over the course of the last two years, OpenStack has expanded beyond NASA and Rackspace and has been embraced by many large tech vendors, including IBM, HP, Dell, AT&T, Cisco and Intel among others. As OpenStack participation has grown, new capabilities have been added, including most recently the Cinder block storage project and the Quantum networking project. Cinder and Quantum both debuted in the recent Folsom release.




  • Databases

    • The MariaDB Foundation: A turning point for MySQL
      Back when Sun Microsystems was setting, some of the programmers who had been involved with the popular and well-known open source MySQL database started a fork of the project called MariaDB.

      The new project was led and named by Michael "Monty" Widenius, the original developer of MySQL and one of the founders of the eponymous company that Sun acquired. After leaving Sun, he formed a company in his native Finland -- Monty Program AB -- to host development of MariaDB and made an open offer of employment to any MySQL committer. As a result, a formidable corps of developers gathered at Monty Program.


    • MariaDB Foundation


    • Open Source Couchbase 2.0 NoSQL Database Released
      Couchbase has been working on a new type of NoSQL database the melds both key-value and document data models.

      It's an effort that began with the merger of CouchOne and Membase back in 2011 as the two companies combined to build a new joint product. Couchbase has since moved beyond its core Apache CouchDB roots though it still benefits from them.




  • FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC

    • Support the FSF: Turn your dollars into decibels
      Make a one-time donation to help us make your voice for software freedom heard. Please support us at whatever amount feels right to you. Every dollar helps us raise your voices one more decibel.




  • Project Releases



  • Programming





Leftovers



Recent Techrights' Posts

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Advocacy of Software Freedom Changed, LUGs Became Less Relevant
The way we see it, support groups like LUGs sort of outlived their usefulness when it became easier to install GNU/Linux
 
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The Fortieth Birthday of the FSF Made Us Extremely Happy
It feels like the 'hacker community' is regrouping to discuss things and prepare for the next Big Challenge
Chat Control 2 Them, Not 2 U
Follow the advice of Dr. Patrick Breyer
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This is heading in a bad direction
Controlling Our Computing for Another Forty Years
40 years of freedom
Motivational Small Place to Run Large Sites
We deem this scenery motivational and inspiring
Techrights' Text Version (Daily Bulletin) Turns Five This Month
our plain-text bulletins are turning 5 this month
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Nothing that Microsoft Lunduke claims or says can be trusted
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Maybe we'll get back to statCounter when its data becomes more "stable" again
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software patents are loathed also by proprietary software developers
"Just a Little Bit of Meat..."
Free software "absolutism" is not a radical stance, more so if the only "radical" belief the user possesses is that he or she must be in control of his or her software, and by extension his or her computer
Compromised by NVIDIA Proprietary Library
Meanwhile in Boston there are "[r]oundtable talk with FSF volunteers (both in-person and online)"
Red Hat is Ignoring the Free Software Community, It's a "Fortune 1000" Vendor
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Free Software Foundation Party Has Begun
We shall be focusing a lot on software patents today
Former Head of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Lina Khan Knows Whatever Microsoft Touches Will Die
Just like Skype (as recently as months ago) [...] When Microsoft grabs things, or when it buys things, it almost never ends well
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very short
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How Software Patents Were Viewed or Their General Status Changed Over Time
A rough summary
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Garmin Uses Linux for Some of the Garmin Products, Now It's Sued by Strava Using Software Patents
Software patents should never have been granted in the first place
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FSF Turns 40
We'll be focusing on patent-related topics this weekend
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IRC logs for Friday, October 03, 2025
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For our anniversary next month we still have no concrete plans
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Had they gone ahead with an SSG, they'd become a lot more future-proof
USPTO Patent Bubble Already Imploding, After Decades of Artificial Inflation, Entire Offices Close for Good
we can deduce that financial pressures (lack of "demand" for monopolies) play a role
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Imposing terrible tech "religion" on people is not helping them
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For an advocacy group, uptime is important (for its message to remain accessible)
Slopwatch: Google News as a Firehose of LLM Slop About "Linux"
Google News is really bad
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