11.18.13

Fedora 20 Reaches Beta, New Screenshots Published

Posted in GNU/Linux, Red Hat at 9:59 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

The KDE version back in Fedora 18 days (a year ago)

Summary: Fedora 20 is almost ready and Techrights members who use Fedora say that it is good and rather polished

RED HAT has become very serious about OpenStack and all that Fog Computing hype, arguing that it’ll mature just like Linux [1]. Red Hat is still a servers company, not a desktop company, even though the company is fostering the desktop side through projects like Fedora.

Fedora is a very important project and it is said to be improving polish-wise [2] and performance-wise [3]. The next release (20) is now in beta [4,5,6] and there are already screenshots of its KDE ‘flavour’ [7], which I last used in 2011. Some people on the Web have told us (e.g. in IRC) that Fedora is no longer plagued by bugs and usability wrinkles, so maybe it’s time to give Fedora a try. The final release is imminent. █

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. Red Hat CFO: OpenStack is where Linux was 10 years ago

   Charlie Peters, CFO of Red Hat, says to expect a big bounce in service revenues in 2014 on the strength of the company’s OpenStack push.

2. Don’t Expect Major Bugs In Fedora 20 Heisenbug Beta

   Heisenbug is just a name: Red Hat’s Robyn Bergeron tells Sean Michael Kerner about the new Fedora’s SDN and storage improvements

3. Fedora 19 vs. Fedora 20 Beta Benchmarks

   Due to Fedora 20 development releases shipping with debug symbols and other non-release-ready code, the tests today were limited to just giving a quick overview of the performance differences between Fedora 20 Beta and Fedora 19. Fedora 19 was tested in both its stock configuration and then installing all available updates. For ruling out some of the performance issues on Fedora 20 Beta due to the debug state, “slub_debug=-” was set as one of the kernel command-line parameters.

4. Fedora 20 Beta Brings the Heisenbug to Linux

5. Fedora 20 beta released

6. Fedora 20 “Heisenbug” goes beta

   First things first, what the heck is a Heisenbug? It’s not a made-up word. It’s programmers’ jargon, spun off from Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, for “A bug that disappears or alters its behavior when one attempts to probe or isolate it.” For Linux users it’s also Red Hat’s next community Linux, Fedora 20.

7. Fedora 20 Beta KDE [screenshots]

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Links 18/11/2013: Linux (Kernel) News Roundup

Posted in News Roundup at 9:37 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

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Android’s GNU/Linux-based Rivals Are Doing Pretty Well

Posted in GNU/Linux, Google at 8:53 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Tizen still a contender

Summary: Mobile contenders such as Ubuntu, Firefox, and Tizen are still in the game, chasing Android and sometimes scoring hardware (preinstallation) deals

THE GROWTH of Android is almost inarguably fantastic (from zero percent to 80% in just a few years), but Android is not the only game in town as far as ‘small’ distributions of */Linux are concerned. Sailfish OS, which comes from Nokia (former staff), is looking increasingly mature [1] and smartphones running this operating system are expected to come out this month [2]. Pessimists don’t think that non-Android Linux tablets can do well [3], but when it comes to smartphones there are several challengers and they include Ubuntu, Firefox, and Tizen.

Samsung, a leading user of Android, actually uses Tizen for cameras [4-6] — not smartphones [7] — leaving the ‘alternative’ smartphones field (Linux-based but not Android) open for MeeGo refugee from Nokia/Jolla. It is worth noting that many of these systems are inter-connected in the code sense, and not just owing to Linux. Since they are abundantly free/libre, there is room for sharing. Modularity in smartphones [8] goes a long way in ensuring innovation. In a sense, this involves as much collaboration as competition. Apple can’t compete with that. █

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. [Exclusive Interview + Forum Opening] Sailfish OS Design Talk with Jaakko Roppola

   …we have found out about the mapping system on Sailfish OS made by the Swedish company called Appello based on HERE maps material.

2. Jolla’s Android-aping Sailfish OS smartphones to land in November

   Finnish startup Jolla has revealed when the first batch of its Sailfish OS–based smartphones will be available to customers, along with new information about what software will be on offer when the devices ship.

   On Thursday, the company announced via Twitter that the handsets will go on sale in Finland first, thanks to Jolla’s partnership with local carrier DNA. The devices will hit retail shelves in Helsinki on November 27, with a price tag of €399.

3. Is All Hope Lost For Non-Android Linux Tablets?

   Canonical with their Ubuntu Touch initiative isn’t the only project that’s failed to deliver as of yet with a successful non-Android Linux tablet.

   While there’s arguably still hope left for Ubuntu Touch to become a commercial success, there’s been more Linux tablet projects that have faded away.

4. Tizen phone a no show as Samsung seeks more devs

5. Tizen camera debuted, Lite tipped, phone delayed

   There was Tizen news aplenty at the Tizen Developer Summit including a Tizen 2.2.1 release, new details on Tizen 3.0, a Tizen-based Samsung NX300M camera, and an upcoming Tizen Mobile Lite version for low-end phones. Yet, there was no sign of the Tizen phone, and a Samsung executive was quoted as saying that the first Tizen phone would be delayed until 2014.

6. Samsung debuts its spanking new Tizen OS-for-mobes …. in a camera

   While lawyers pettifog their patent arguments in the Apple-Samsung World Series, the South Korean has been quietly recruiting partners and developers to Tizen, and has launched its first Tizen-based product – a camera, not a phone.

   While the South Korean company is acting as evangelist-in-chief for the Tizen operating system, the project itself has a couple of years of history behind it, having been established in 2011 by the Linux Foundation.

   It’s been a bit of a slog: back in May, the project still expected its first smartphones to land by the end of this year, something that’s proved unachievable.

7. Chances for a Tizen Smartphone Entry

   Tizen is a fresh new project, but it has roots in several pre-existing platforms including the distributions Moblin, MeeGo and LiMo. According to the Tizen Association, “The mobile marketplace has undergone extensive change over the past few years. New platforms have emerged, new revenue models have been enabled, and innovations continue to emerge rapidly from all corners of the industry. Tizen is an open-source solution that provides an innovative platform offering a high level of flexibility in service selection and deployment.”

8. Ode to Project Ara

   Modularity in smartphones could “go a long way to overcoming whatever inflexibility is left in the system of small, cheap computers,” blogger Robert Pogson suggested. “Rather than just tweaking software, the end user or retailer can mix and match bits of the hardware, too.

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GNU/Linux is Taking Over Everything and the Code is Freely Shared

Posted in GNU/Linux, Google at 8:25 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

The operating system part of the stack is growingly free, like an open book

Summary: How Linux (often with GNU as a core system) is taking root in everything, from micro to macro

LITTLE by little, Linux spreads all over Earth and beyond. It is constantly growing on the desktop (even in space [1]) and on the ‘cloud’ (server). Mr. Pogson takes note of the growth of GNU/Linux at Microsoft’s expense [3,4], demonstrating with numbers that “Linux Did Well In 2013″ (as in previous years). Android plays a significant role here.

Consider some of the latest claims from Linux foes Gartner and IDC. Gartner cannot deny Android’s growth [5] and neither can IDC, which reported on it through IDG [6] (conflict of interest) and other venues [7,8]. It is good not just for Google because Android can be forked and it is already being forked by at least three notable efforts (2 of which are freedom-oriented). CyanogenMod is the most notable alternative/branch/fork, which even Google Play Store is willing to foster [9,10] as a new version, Android 4.4 KitKat, comes out [11-14].

Apple’s co-founder (the one who is still alive) suggests that Apple should turn to Android [15], which is better for developers [16,17] and for users that receive more and more features, as well as cutting-edge software [18,19]. Android is rapidly going upwards (ascending from 80% market share and perhaps reaching 90%), but this doesn’t mean that there are no Linux-powered challengers (Android independent, but sharing some code like Linux), as we shall show in a moment. This will be the subject of our next post. █

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. In space, no one can hear you scream at Windows XP (anymore)

   I’m a little late in my reporting, but this year, in May, the International Space Station (ISS) dumped the last of its laptop installations of the Windows XP operating system to go all Linux.

   Furthermore, it dropped Red Hat Linux in favour of Debian 6, according to the Linux Foundation, which provided two training courses geared specifically for the USA/NASA team’s needs.

2. Why the Linux mainframe is the cloud datacentre

   Linux on the server has been respected and regarded in technology circles for many years now.

   One of the main reasons for this is that Linux is argued to be especially competent at handling “many processes at once”, something Windows has traditionally not done quite so well.

3. */Linux Did Well In 2013

   Even StatCounter, which undercounts */Linux severely, shows the trends…

4. M$’s House Is Afire

   The leader of the CEO hopefuls wants to port M$’s office suite to other platforms to sell more. There goes lock-in for the client OS.
   He also wants to shutdown/sell Xbox and Bing to get back to core businesses and shed employees.
   Two zero-day flaws are being exploited in the wild and M$ can’t do anything about it…
   M$ can’t add and doesn’t even try (more on this).
   M$ is still losing share in client OS even on legacy PCs.

5. Gartner: 456M Phones Sold In Q3, 55% Of Them Smartphones; Android At 82% Share, Samsung A Flat Leader

6. Android market share moves past 80%

7. Android Blows Past 80 Percent Market Share

8. Android Pushes Past 80% Market Share

   Google’s Android operating system reached a new milestone during the third quarter of 2013 (3Q13), according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. With a total base of 211.6 million smartphone units shipped during the quarter, Android accounted for 81.0% of all smartphone shipments, marking the first time that Android topped 80% in its short history. Despite high saturation rates in a number of mature markets, the overall smartphone space grew 39.9% year-over-year in the third quarter.

9. CyanogenMod installer now available on Google Play Store

10. CyanogenMod publishes new Installer app on Google Play

    Cyanogen Inc., the newly created company that produces the popular custom Android ROM CyanogenMod, published a new app called CyanogenMod Installer which will unlock the user’s boot loader, root their device, and flash CyanogenMod to their phone with minimal extra effort. The free app is available over Google Play, and when it’s paired with equally free desktop software, this can replace a phone’s operating system with Cyanogen Inc.’s highly customizable version of Android.

11. Download The Android 4.4 KitKat Quick Start Guide for Free

    Google’s latest mobile operating system, Android 4.4 KitKat, is out and it comes pre-installed on Nexus 5. Android enthusiasts and developers were very excited for this new smartphone as well as the new operating system. But now that KitKat is available for Nexus 5, we can get our hands on this new OS. If you’ve got any Nexus or Google Play edition devices, then you too may be getting Android 4.4 KitKat in the near future. Unfortunately, Galaxy Nexus users won’t get this new update.

12. Android 4.4 KitKat, thoroughly reviewed

    After three Jelly Bean releases in a row, Google has unleashed a major revision to the world’s most widely used operating system. With the Nexus 5 comes Android 4.4 “KitKat.” KitKat brings a ton of enhancements: support for hidden system and status bars, printer support, and lower memory usage. It also has a number of user-level improvements, including a new dialer, a Google-infused home screen, and a whole pile of UI refinements.

13. Android KitKat aims at a broader range of devices

14. Steve Wozniak: Apple Should Work With Google and Samsung

    Wozniak told the BBC that Apple would be more powerful if it had a good professional relationship with Google. Apple would be able to improve services such as voice-assistant software Siri (thanks to Google’s search-engine ties) and even develop better wearable tech, such as smartwatches and augmented-reality glasses, Wozniak said.

15. Google’s App Translation Service now live for all developers

    Heads up, Android devs: it’s now easier than ever to localize your app, thanks to the newly launched App Translation Service from Google.

16. How Configure an Android Development Environment on Linux

17. Google Debuts Nexus 5, KitKat Combo

18. Android Candy: Flickr Uploader

19. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft to hit Android in 2014

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Privacy-Oriented GNU/Linux Advocacy a Priority

Posted in GNU/Linux, Site News at 7:40 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: Why privacy is becoming a matter of priority in this Web site

TechRadar has a new article [1] about best GNU/Linux desktops, but it also started a wider discussion [2] about which distro is best for protecting the users’ privacy [3]. The author’s selections are IprediaOS, Liberté, Privatix, Tails, and Whonix. Most desktop users are still stuck with Windows, which is developed by the NSA and its partner Microsoft (both are involved in development), so there is a huge audience to whom we can advocate privacy-respecting operating systems. Techrights‘ in-progress redesign is emphasising privacy, not corruption from the likes of Novell or Microsoft. Software patents are also taking lower priority for the time being as it’s expected that more people will discover software freedom owing to privacy scandals, not outrageous patent policy or competitive abuses (which unlike privacy don’t affect them directly). █

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. Best Linux desktop: which is ideal for you

   Linux is about choice, or so the popular mantra goes, and nothing represents this more than the plethora of desktop environments on offer. Most distros have at least five graphical environments in their repositories, and some offer double-digit numbers of choice. But why? What’s the point of all this? Surely it’s not a question of having a lot of desktop environments, but of having a single one that works properly. Well, maybe.

2. Best Linux distro for privacy protection?

   Privacy is in the news right now, with many people concerned about the NSA spying scandal, identity theft and hacker intrusion into their computers. TechRadar has an overview of the best Linux distros for protecting your privacy.

3. Which Linux distro is best for protecting your privacy?

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Supporting Supporters of GNU/Linux, Not Just Giant Corporations

Posted in GNU/Linux at 7:22 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: Regaining community control of the development, communication, and distribution of GNU/Linux

“Linux Voice”, a promising new magazine which we mentioned the other day, is managing to raise a lot of funds after some initial coverage in the big media [1], leading to more such coverage in other news sites [2,3] and FOSS-centric news sites [4]. As “Linux Voice” is funded by people — not advertisers — it will not need to publish things which are friendly to companies. It can blast the NSA and the CIA, or even accuse certain companies of corruption. That’s just what we need. This magazine may also involve some multimedia/audiocasts — something which is sorely needed these days because FOSS-centric audiocasts are growing fewer (although they exist [5,6]). About 5 years ago there was far more hype driving demand for GNU/Linux on the desktop. Pre-loaded Linux was really needed at the time (GNU/Linux was harder to install/set up and it is still not so trivial [7]) and when Dell finally budged many of us celebrated with caution. Dell is now dominated by Microsoft and we should expect its GNU/Linux-powered machines to have Microsoft ‘patent tax’ [8,9,10]. If people want to buy a machine that has GNU/Linux preinstalled (no spyware like Ubuntu and no Microsoft tax), then Chromebook, which is also spyware, is one affordable option [11] although it would be best to support the small players — those to whom GNU/Linux is a matter of strategy and priority. See the Pre-Installed Linux Vendor Database for options near you. Even if those options are relatively expensive, these at least go a long way in supporting those who support GNU/Linux. The cost of free (as as in freedom) press can be high and the same goes for Free software. Freedom is no self-funding; usually the opposite is true. █

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. Linux Format staff who quit plan to launch rival Linux Voice

   A group of staff who walked out a month ago from the computing magazine Linux Format are hoping to launch a rival monthly magazine of their own called Linux Voice.

   They have launched a crowdfunding campaign in the hope of raising £90,000 to get their project off the ground – in print and in a digital format – by February next year.

2. When three Linux journos go crowdfunding

3. New crowd-funded Linux magazine, half of profits to FOSS

4. Linux Format staff to launch Linux Voice magazine

5. mintCast 183 – Python, Twitter, and Pi

6. RDO

7. Pre-loaded Linux: The solution to a mass of problems

   Recently, I’ve been looking to purchase a new machine. This all started with the problems I experienced with a new Lenovo desktop machine and PulseAudio (I’ve been going on about this for a while now). That same machine, which is less than a year old, has now started to display a newer, more frustrating issue of randomly powering off. Sure, there are a litany of possible reasons for this, including:
   Bad power supply (haven’t checked this)
   Bad CPU fan (not the issue)
   Bad RAM (all RAM passes Memtest86+)
   Bad hard drive(s) (both drives passed e2fsck)

8. Acer models its latest $199.99 Chromebook after the impressive C720

9. Dell, Ubuntu Linux OS, Haswell processor, touchscreen unite in Sputnik 3 laptop

10. Dell’s Sputnik 3 touchscreen laptop has Ubuntu Linux, Intel’s Haswell

11. Dell orbits Linux a third time with revamped Sputnik notebooks

    Dell has shipped a second update to its Ubuntu-powered Project Sputnik developer laptop, and its engineers have begun testing other Dell portables with an eye to offering an even more powerful Linux workstation.

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Interventionism Brings Blowback

Posted in America at 6:34 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: Foreign policy in the news and what can be learned from the current strategies

IF WE are going to believe Fox, CNN, Sky and other corporate news channels, the world is a horribly dangerous place and it’s all because of some people who envy the West for infinite liberty and lots of inexpensive junk food. The reality is a lot more complicated than this; in order to understand the full story we must go back and revisit a history of foreign policy that’s designed to exploit and to annul the liberty of people abroad. We needn’t go so far back in time. Our former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, made a killing by helping to start a war [1], which the UK continues to defend on behalf of the US [2]. This war is said to have needlessly killed half a million people and displaced many more.

Domestically, the panic isn’t any better. Even in Western nations the spooks are trying to create new enemies, giving fake bombs to people and then heralding the threat of terrorism at home. Scahill recently said that “the FBI has a PhD in breaking up its own terror plots.” [3] Scahill has been a notable activist/author against drone strikes, which create hatred [4] and help radicalise people (which makes terrorism a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts). Obama himself takes great pleasure in assassinating people without trial [5,6], which would only contribute to more such hatred and put to end any moral high ground [7]. In Egypt, terror charges were recently filed against Obama [8] and given what he did in Syria (arming so-called ‘rebels’ through Benghazi [9] to induce so-called ‘change’ [10,11]) he oughtn’t be shocked by blowback [12]. It is believed that the strategy of assassination has been practised far too much recently (not just by the US [13]) and all it can ever do is create more of the phenomenon you purport to be destroying. Forceful intervention is hardly ever the solution. We need understanding and cooperation instead, building bridges after all the violence. █

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. Tony Blair: never in the field of human history has one man earned so much from the deaths of so many

   Just as we learned that the US and UK governments were conspiring to stop us learning the truth of the Bush-Blair Iraq conspiracy, Tony Blair picked up £150,000 for an hour-long speech in Dubai

2. Exclusive: US blocks publication of Chilcot’s report on how Britain went to war with Iraq

   Department of State’s objection to release of key evidence may prevent inquiry’s conclusions from ever being published, except in heavily redacted form

3. Jeremy Scahill with Tom Engelhardt, Conversation, 30 October 2013

4. U.S. Drone Program Needs to Be Accompanied by Hard Facts on Civilian Deaths

   Pakistan’s waffling on the number of civilians killed in U.S. drone strikes underscores the need for more transparency.

5. Obama brag, in new book: I’m ‘really good at killing people’ with drones

6. ‘I’m really good at killing people’ – book claims Obama told aides

   It seems that President Obama is very much aware of the effects of his drone campaign, as he reportedly told aides he’s “really good at killing people.”

   The quote comes from a new book called “Double Down,” by journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, which chronicles the inside story of the 2012 election. The Washington Post was the first outlet to expose the quote in its review of the book.

7. Does America have a “Licence to Kill”? US Drone War on Yemen Violates International Law

   Since 2009, the United States have regularly bombed Yemen. These aerial attacks have occurred in almost all of the country’s provinces. More recently, drone strikes have multiplied, and the infrastructure required for these types of attacks have been expanded, not only in Yemen, but also in Saudi Arabia and Djibouti. Since the beginning of strikes in November 2002 to the writing of this report in July 2013, the United States have carried out between 134 and 234 military operations in Yemen. This includes strikes carried out by aircraft and drones as well as missiles launched from warships located in the Gulf of Aden. According to various sources, the number of people killed range from 1000 to 2000. However, to this day, neither the Yemeni or American authorities have put forward official statistics on the number of casualties.

8. Criminal terror charges filed against Obama

   Several prominent media sources in Egypt are now reporting that Egyptian lawyers have filed criminal terrorism charges in the International Criminal Court against President Obama in addition to the criminal terrorism charges previously filed in Egyptian courts against the president’s half-brother Malik Obama.

9. Benghazi Survivors Given NDAs at CIA Memorial Service for Woods, Doherty

   Two former CIA officials who fought in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, were asked to sign additional nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) more than six months after those attacks. The two officials, who will testify Thursday before a subcommittee of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, were presented the nondisclosure agreements during a memorial service in May at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, honoring Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, two of the CIA-affiliated personnel who died during those attacks.

10. Coup intelligence says relations with CIA now restored

    The Director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, Mohamed Farid Tuhami, disclosed that the cooperation between Egypt’s two intelligence services and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has now been restored to the same level as during the rule of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, back when General Omar Suleiman managed the Egyptian intelligence services. Tuhami, known as General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s mentor, is now in charge of military intelligence. Ousted President Mohammed Morsi had dismissed him from his former position over corruption charges; however, the coup leaders reinstated him.

11. Syria has Changed

    The media coverage of the war in Syria examines only military, diplomatic and humanitarian action. It ignores profound transformation. However, one does not survive a sea of ​​violence without changing profoundly. From Damascus, where he has lived for two years, Thierry Meyssan describes this evolution.

12. Barack Obama’s Twitter, Facebook, Campaign website and Email Accounts hacked by Syrian Electronic Army

    ‘Syrian Electronic Army is an organized hacking group loyal to the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and known for their high profile cyber attacks. This year they were able to disrupt the New York Times web page multiple times, Twitter, CNN, the Huffington Post and Global Post and many more targets.

    The SEA website launched in May 2011 stating the group’s mission: to attack the enemies of the Syrian government, mainly those who fabricated stories about the Syrian civil war.

13. Yasser Arafat may have been poisoned with polonium, tests show

    Swiss scientists find levels of polonium 18 times higher than normal in first forensic tests on former Palestinian leader’s body

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Links 18/11/2013: Applications and Instructionals

Posted in News Roundup at 5:59 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

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