Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 02/03/2009: New GNU/Linux Releases and Android Threat to Windows



GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux

  • 10 Bits of Wisdom for PCWorld's New Blog: LinuxLink


    PCWorld announces new blog: LinuxLink. Wow, it's only taken PCWorld a mere 10 years to come up with this fantastic brainchild. I'm impressed. There's nothing quite like being on the leading edge of technological advances like Linux. I hope their rapid move in this obtuse new direction doesn't singe their nose hairs or scare off readers.


  • EA Linux Support


    Although he ignores openGL as an alternative to Direct3D it does not make his point void. EA have numerous products that are heavily invested in DirectX, porting those products to OpenGL wouldn't be of significant benefit in their eyes. One should also recognise the fact that most games are built upon old code, so in most cases you're starting with a DirectX code base from a previous game.


  • LM_Sensors 3.1.0 Released, Plenty Of New Work


    As we shared would be coming soon, LM_Sensors 3.1.0 was just released by Jean Delvare. This significant update to the LM_Sensors 3 code-base has a significantly reworked sensors-detect utility, various improvements to the LM_Sensors library (libsensors), a new /etc/sysconfig/lm_sensors format, and a new default sensors.conf configuration file.


  • K Desktop Environment

    • How services change the application landscape


      The part of getting the data from server, protocol differences, local storage and caching is taken care of by the Akonadi framework.

      Spezialized Akonadi clients, called resources, will take care of transferring data from servers and local storage. The Akonadi service will take care of caching and uniquely identifying data items and their core properties such as MIME type.




  • Distributions

    • 5 Minutes of Slackware 12.2


      As expected all devices are detected. Slackware is fast and responsive. Boots to command line - boy does that take me back... Fortunately I haven't forgotten how to type "startx".




    • New Releases



    • Red Hat

      • Fedora 10


        Congratulations to the programmers at Red Hat/Fedora.

        I've been using Ubuntu at work, still, but Fedora is an excellent alternative. Thus far, I can recommend it.


      • SCALE 7x: Clint Savage of the Fedora Project on Spinning Your Own Linux LiveCD


        Clint Savage, West Regional Ambassador for North America, joined the FedoraProject.org, gave a talk at SCALE this year on how to spin your own custom version of Fedora and create a livecd or bootable USB image using open source tools.

        Here is an excerpt from the original abstract from Clint’s SCALE Speaker Web Page:

        Fedora offers a complete set of tools for generating your own customized distribution. The output format can be installable CDs or DVDs, or Live images suitable for CD/DVD or USB keys. These tools allow sub-communities to consume and contribute to FOSS using a platform that is geared toward their specific needs.






    • Ubuntu

      • Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter Issue 131


        Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #131 for the week February 22nd - February 28th, 2009. In this issue we cover: Jaunty Alpha 5 Released, Needed: Countdown to Jaunty Banners, Ubuntu Global Bug Jam Success, Voting for New MOTU Council seats, Ubuntu Server: Call for testing, Next Ubuntu Hug Day, Developer News: Issue #2, LoCo Team Meeting, Philadelphia Bug Jam, Chicago Bug Jam, Arizona team has new website, Launchpad Performance Week Roundup, Launchpad 2.2.2 released, Meet the Devs, Ubuntu podcast #20, Full Circle Magazine #22, UK government backs open source, Random Ubuntu Sightings, Feburary Team Meeting Summaries, Team of the Week(Ubuntu New Mexico), and much much more!


      • Ubuntu Minimal Desktop
      • The Official Ubuntu Book, 3e: Using Kubuntu
      • Dell & Ubuntu's mighty Mini 9


        I have a few quibbles, but that's really all they are. For example, this Ubuntu comes with OpenOffice 2.4, instead of the newer and faster OpenOffice 3.0. I can live with that though. It's still more than fast enough on this portable powerhouse.

        Oh and the best part? All of this computing goodness came to me with a $289 price-tag. Now, this, this is my kind of computer.


      • GOS 3.1 Review!


        So the rating is going to be high for this great OS: 4/5. It has a great GUI, great speed, and great applications that it has picked has worked out to be an advantage for this OS.






  • Devices/Embedded



    • Sub-notebooks

      • Google-Microsoft Next Skirmish: Netbooks?


        But now, online news sites are talking about the possibility of a Google Netbook mini-computer that runs on the Android operating system. Would this be a big threat to Microsoft -- or Apple -- or any company using Linux on small computers?


      • Netbooks a nail in Microsoft's coffin?


        Microsoft's announcement last month of relatively poor financial performance, together with news of the first job cuts in its 34-year history has added to the gloom already felt on Wall Street.


      • Review: Netbooks go mainstream


        Also watch out for operating systems. Linux is the free operating system that can be found on the cheapest models.


      • Android the real Linux desktop threat to Windows


        Microsoft got things seriously wrong when it released Vista and the company knows it. In the past, the absolute market dominance of Windows on the desktop has allowed Redmond to get away with such mistakes. That may no longer be the case now that Google has entered the operating system market with its Linux-based Android platform.


      • Simple and Useful Ways to Optimize GNOME for Netbook Displays


        GNOME is highly customizable and can be tweaked to suit every user’s needs. That’s why I think its versatility makes it a perfect desktop environment for Linux netbooks.

        Since netbook displays are small, desktop space should not be wasted. I have here some tips that I hope you will find useful on how you can optimize GNOME for your netbook’s diminutive desktop area.








Audio



Free Software/Open Source

  • 6 of the Best Free Linux eCommerce Software


    Online shopping is the activity that consumers engage in when purchasing products or services over the internet. This activity has many distinct advantages over 'traditional shopping' for both consumers and the businesses.


  • See you at CeBIT?


    This year for the first time they have an open source sub-conference hiding pretty much unadvertised inside the event and I'll be speaking there on Wednesday March 4th at 3:15pm. I'll also be presenting one of the open source awards on March 5th in the evening.


  • SourceForge Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2009 Financial Results


    Up 9% Year-Over-Year Media Revenue Increase 4% -- E-Commerce Revenue Increase 10%

    MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, Feb 26, 2009 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- SourceForge, Inc. (NASDAQ: LNUX), the leader in IT community-driven media and e-commerce, today announced financial results for its second quarter of fiscal 2009, which ended January 31, 2009.




Leftovers

  • Tomorrow is Britain's nationwide "Convention on Modern Liberty"


    Tomorrow marks the first ever British Convention on Modern Liberty, co-sponsored by The Guardian, OpenDemocracy, and Liberty. It's a daylong, nationwide forum on the erosion of liberty, privacy and civil rights in Britain. Boing Boing is a proud sponsor of the event, and I'll be speaking at the closing plenary with Billy Bragg tomorrow afternoon in London.


  • British 'careless' with liberties


  • Censorship

    • Browser plugin detects and reports net-censorship


      David sez, "On a decentralized network it's much harder to map blockages than to create them. Herdict.org takes a crowdsourcing approach. Install the add-on and click the button when you encounter a site that's down..."






  • Copyrights

    • French Net black-out against "graduated response"


      Opposing the stubborn and ridiculous will of the French governement to disconnect whole families from the Internet without real proof or trial, La Quadrature du Net issues a call to all freedom-cherishing citizens to a "black-out" of their sites, blogs, profiles, avatars,... As has been done in New Zealand, the only other country with France where the "graduated response" would have been imposed by law, and was finally pushed back: to protest against this stupid law and its "white list" of authorized websites, the French Web must act and dress in black.


    • Music industry's Irish ISP shakedown letter leaked


      An internet hosting company has published a copy of the nasty-gram Ireland's music industry lawyers bulk-mailed to that country's internet service providers, demanding they begin blocking access to any website accused of piracy or else.








Digital Tipping Point: Clip of the Day



Gabriella Coleman, an anthropologist, explains Free Software culture 01 (2004)

Ogg Theora





Digital Tipping Point is a Free software-like project where the raw videos are code. You can assist by participating.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Oligarchs and States Always Attempted to Obstruct Efforts to Expose Their Corruption
We commend the administrator who consistently and adamantly defend the freedom of speech
GNU/Linux Exceeding 5% in Guadeloupe According to statCounter
GNU/Linux "share" estimates in Guadeloupe
EPO People Power - Part XXXII - Little Hope That European Press Will Attempt to Expose Drug Abuse in Europe's Second-Largest Organisation
What does this tell us about the press in Europe?
IBM SkillsBuild as Microsoft Training, Microsoft Vendor Lock-in, Microsoft Surveillance
Microsoft benefits from IBM's "training"
 
Links 12/01/2026: Brussels Plotting Exit From GAFAM (US), Carole Cadwalladr Explains "Peter Thiel's New Model Army"
Links for the day
Scheduled Maintenance Between 15th of January and Days to Follow, Free Software Foundation (FSF) Looking to Add 43 More Members by 16th of January
People who value Software Freedom should consider joining to support the FSF
Bracing for Microsoft Layoffs, Tired of Microsoft Lies, Microsoft Staff Wants Transparency, Not Face-Saving Coverup From Frank Shaw
totally made up stock price
GNU/Linux Estimated at Around 5% in Montserrat
another country where the "share" of GNU/Linux is now measured at 5%
Dr. Richard Stallman @ Georgia Tech Next Week
More Than One Week From Now
Three most controversial Australian authors linked to St Paul's, Coburg
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 11/01/2026: Data Breaches and Recent (Early 2026) Political Developments
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/01/2026: Insomniacs After School and Boycotting Amazon
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, January 11, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, January 11, 2026
Brett Wilson LLP 'Dropping' the LLP, Is This Rebranding?
It's not a coincidence or a glitch, there was a formal change somewhere in the system
Can IBM Still Control the Narrative?
We'll see what comes out through the grapevine later this week
EPO People Power - Part XXXI - Almost No Crime is Possible Without Enablers and Complicit Colleagues
By the middle of January 2026 we'll have taken things up another gear
Aruba's GNU/Linux Adoption Seems to Have Reach All-Time High This Year
ChromeOS rose by a lot too
After the LLM Slop Frenzy...
In every way, slop is no better than spam
Links 11/01/2026: 'Nothing to Lose' in Iran and Kyiv Restores Electricity
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/01/2026: "Late To The Party" and "Thinking About Software Licences"
Links for the day
Links 11/01/2026: Bob Weir and Stewart Cheifet Perish
Links for the day
Higher Adoption Rates of GNU/Linux in Cyprus in Recent Years
there are some Cypriots who are championing Free software
Microsoft's linkedin.com is Shrinking, Expect LinkedIn Layoffs to Carry on in 2026
Expect the mass layoffs and office closures to carry on there, maybe as early as next week
Gemini Links 11/01/2026: Scott Morgan and 'The Unix Way'
Links for the day
IBM to Be 'Reorganised'
The rich look for ways to 'monetise' what's left IBM
Dr. Andy Farnell Explains Why He'll Stop Sending E-mail to Microsoft and Gmail Users
The article is long and well worth reading
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, January 10, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, January 10, 2026
Monday, January 12, Red Hat Layoffs Allegedly Planned
We'll update this post or follow up if or when we get more information
Slop Still Becoming Rare as Another Week Ends
Generally speaking, calm and quiet is desirable, it's what we hope for (an absence of slop, a lack of need to keep abreast of it, ultimately)
Links 10/01/2026: Iran Offline, Venezuelans Decry Civilian Casualties
Links for the day
GAFAM Wants War
Go war! Go bailouts! Go debt! Go Wall Street!
GNOME Foundation's Microsoft Developer Account
"Lately they're teaming up with Mozilla to eliminate middle click paste - something which I use continuously."
GNU/Linux and Chromebooks Rose to Almost 10% in Haiti
What's noteworthy is that this month GNU/Linux is measured at around 8% and ChromeOS at about 2%
Links 10/01/2026: "Abolish ICE or GTFO", Calls to Ban X/Twitter From Apple/Google App Stores (or Implement National Blocks) Over MElon Turning It Into Non-consensual Deepfake Porn Site
Links for the day
EPO People Power - Part XXX - New Year Starts, Cocainegate Still Discussed a Lot, António Campinos Desperate for Distraction From It
Why the sudden change or 'generosity'? [...] Actual cocaine addicts caused nervous breakdowns among sober people
2026 Might be the Year Microsoft Replaces Layoffs With Mass Firings (No Severance Payments to Dismissed Staff)
It's hard to "see" PIPs unless insiders blow the whistle
IBM and Microsoft Hiding Layoffs in Similar, Overlapping Ways
Performance Improvement Plans aplenty
IBM is a Cancer That Attaches Itself to Everything
Red Hat should have remained an independent company
Links 10/01/2026: STV Layoffs (Scottish TV), “CBS Evening News” in Chaos (Culls and Censorship by the US Regime)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, January 09, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, January 09, 2026
Gemini Links 10/01/2026: Blackout, E-Waste, and Secondary Smartphone
Links for the day