Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 06/05/2009: KDE4 Developments, Internet Censorship Advances



GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux

  • How many desktop Linux users?
    Web site surveys are all well and good, but they only tell part of the story. And, as the numbers I cite above shows, Web site numbers show an enormous range. Some of that may represent bias. The Boycott Novell Web site, for example, recently proclaims that Net Applications' operating system numbers are a "Big Lie" and pointed out that Microsoft was one of Net Applications' biggest customers. My own site focuses a lot on Linux, so it's no surprise that I have a high percentage of Linux-using visitors.


  • Are there too few people who understand desktop Linux ?
    the Enterprise distributions. And I have nothing against the Fedora/Ubuntu/OpenSUSE/whatnot distributions of today, they are very needed for driving progress and for fostering the Open Source community. But please, not at the expense of the non-technical end-user.


  • Zfone: Secure Cross-Platform Voice Communication for Linux
    A.Lizard recommends Zfone as one way to secure your Internet voice communications. This article provides details on how to get and use Zfone for Ubuntu or Debian Linux.


  • Vertica Adds Speed, Views to Analytic Database
    The Vertica database is Linux based and runs on clusters of commodity servers, rather than requiring a large hunk of specialized hardware. It uses a columnar format and compression, and thereby can reduce database storage requirements.




  • Server

    • IBM Builds Out Express Advantage Line
      Topping the list of the new products are the BladeCenter JS23 and JS43 Express servers, which are based on the Power6 processor technology and run on AIX, IBM i and Linux operating systems. IBM said the servers are ideal for midsize organizations undergoing infrastructure consolidation or running applications that require scalable performance and high memory capacity.


    • hi5 Launches Instant Messaging Service
      The social networking site operates on Linux servers and uses Open Social to support development of applications.


    • Ultra-lightweight Server Software Stacks Built With FastScale Stack Manager Now Available for Free Download
      In April, FastScale announced the beta release of FastScale Stack Manager Workstation Edition, a product that enables individual system administrators, developers, and software appliance builders to easily create and manage optimized CentOS or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 or 5 server software stacks for Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud or VMware Infrastructure.








  • Firefox

    • Firefox hits 270 million users, without Linux
      The open source Firefox web browser from Mozilla now has some 270 million users. That's the figure that Mozilla staffer Aza Dotzler is now claiming, and it's not an easy number to calculate.

      How do you count users for an open source application that does not require registrations? Downloads aren't accurate, since downloads include the same users that could have updated and/or downloaded revisions.


    • about:mozilla - Mozilla Service Week, poetry + pragmatics, Spread Firefox, AMO, Creative Collective, Personas, and more…
      In this issue…

      * Mozilla Service Week: Be the difference! * John Lilly on poetry and pragmatics * A new look for the Spread Firefox project * Creative Collective and building social capital * Geolocation in Firefox 3.5 and Fennec * Improvements to Firefox.com * Creative Collective site design: round 1 * Mozilla.org redesign: round 3


    • Mozilla confirms geolocation for Firefox 3.5 and Fennec
      Mozilla’s Doug Turner has officially announced geolocation as a newly integrated feature in the upcoming Firefox 3.5 and its mobile variant, currently code-named Fennec. The new opt-in feature allows users to share their location with websites through both browsers.


    • Beyond Firefox: 10 Other Great Linux Browsers
      Firefox has been a reliable browser for me for many years and it still continues to be so to a certain extent. However, over the last few releases Firefox has become bloated and slow in performance that same way IE used to be before we switched to Firefox. The only thing that is stopping me from switching to another browser, is the large number of extensions available for Firefox. Specifically firebug. Since I spend most of my time on a Linux system, over the last few days I have been looking for an alternative Linux browser. Here are 10 of the best Linux browsers out there that can be a decent alternative to Firefox...


    • Thinking about Refreshing the Firefox Icon
      As we get closer to releasing Shiretoko (Firefox 3.5) we are considering that this might be a good time to update and evolve the Firefox application icon. We will likely be leveraging some conceptual work created by Jon Hicks during the development of Firefox 3, but otherwise we are just now getting started.








  • Kernel Space

    • Universal BIOS Flash programmer for Linux, BSD and more
      The developers of the CoreBoot project have released version 0.9,0 of FlashROM, which is able to read, delete, rewrite and verify the flash chips which store a systems BIOS. FlashROM runs on Linux and UNIX derivatives such as FreeBSD,






  • Applications

    • Shuttleworth Foundation announces open source school admin app
      The Shuttleworth Foundation has announced the release of SchoolTool 1.0, a web-based open source student information system and calendar server for primary and secondary schools around the world.


    • Songbird in Linux
      If you remember my last media entry, The best Linux media players, you’ll remember I left out one very important entry - Songbird. At the time I really hadn’t given this relatively new entry to the media players a try. But recent “upgrades” to Rhythmbox and Banshee which left either 1) much to be desired or 2) the application unusable made me take a look at Songbird.








  • Desktop Environments



    • KDE

      • Systray finally in action
        As Aaron noted, the client library for the new system tray specification has finally landed in kdelibs, as "experimental" (i.e. it will probably still see some refactoring for 4.4, assuring is as good as possible)


      • Interview with Kubuntu developer Jonathan Thomas
        Once again kubuntu-de.org interviewed a developer. This time we talked with Jonathan (JontheEchidna) Thomas. The Kubuntu developer and Ninja reported about the development cycle of Kubuntu "Jaunty Jackalope", which has been released today. Further he gave a little insight on "Karmic Koala", the future release of Kubuntu, which is announced for this year's october.


      • KDE 4.3: First Widget for Social Desktop
        A widget has been included in KDE 4.3 as the first implementation of the „Social Desktop“ which allows the user to view other KDE users in his or her city or region.


      • Planet gets boring on feature freeze
        I’ve had a few busy days closing Lancelot bug reports. There is only one left that is relevant for KDE 4.3, that is only one that is confirmed and not a feature request.








    • GNOME

      • 9 Great Gnome Themes with Ubuntu Repositories
        François Vogelweith is the author of zgegblog, a site that maintains a collection of great GNOME themes (you can see screenshots of the themes and some more info but in French, on his website). Balanzan (translated: Balance) is one of its most popular creations, a very comprehensive theme based on Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope, which contains a wallpaper, logon theme, Emerald theme, controls and icons.


      • A Few Of The Changes For GNOME 2.27.1
        The first development release of GNOME 2.28 was supposed to be out at the end of April per its release schedule, but it's now slowly coming together. There are many bug-fixes and translation updates in the packages checked in so far for this first GNOME 2.28 development release (a.k.a. GNOME 2.27.1), but there are a few items worth pointing out.










  • Distributions

    • Debian changes from GLIBC to EGLIBC
      With a short message on his blog, Debian developer and maintainer Auréllian Jarno has announced a fundamental change in future Debian releases. The EGLIBC (Embedded GNU C Library), originally developed for embedded systems, is to replace GLIBC (GNU C Library).


    • Linux Mint 7 Release Candidate Is Here
      Clement Lefebvre and the community behind the Linux Mint project proudly announced last night on the official blog the immediate availability of the first release candidate of Linux Mint 7 (Gloria) operating system. This first RC is based on the recently released Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) and it is powered by Linux kernel 2.6.28. The good news is that the 7th release of Linux Mint will include a brand new artwork, updated applications and many, many new breathtaking features. Don't forget to check out, later tonight, our first look at the new Linux Mint 7 operating system.




    • Ubuntu

      • ImageMagick and Ubuntu 9.04
        Using a command line tool like ImageMagick for image processing may sound a really counter-intuitive thing to do but there’s no need to do everything on a case by case interactive basis. Image resizing and format conversion come to mind here. Helper programs are used behind the scenes too with Ghostscript being used to create Postscript files, for example.


      • Literal Ubuntu "Desktop" Wallpaper
        It's essentially a table top wallpaper with "desk" type accessories for you to place screenlets on.


      • Installing Ubuntu 9.04
        Step-by-step installation guide with screenshots












  • Devices/Embedded

    • Linux SOHO NAS offers iSCSI
      Qnap Systems announced a network-attached storage (NAS) device, aimed at SMB/SOHO users, that supports two 2TB hard drives. The Linux-based TS-239 Pro Turbo NAS is notable for its iSCSI (Internet SCSI) target service, enabling the NAS to be configured for expansion or backup for other servers.


    • Military-grade workstation braves the elements
      Intergraph announced a Linux-compatible workstation designed to withstand punishing environmental conditions for military, industrial, and marine applications. The sealed, solid-state TD-R 7X11R-S series rack-mount workstation supports an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and up to 4GB of DDR2 memory, and offers dual gigabit Ethernet ports.




    • Phones

      • This Android is a chameleon
        Canadian software house Intrinsyc has teamed up with Femtocell developer Ubiquisys to create an Android application that completely changes the user interface when the phone moves from a public mobile network area into a home or other location covered by a femtocell.








    • Sub-notebooks

      • Ubuntu 9.04 UNR on Asus Eee PC 901: good and fast
        At this point I gave up. When you have 10 applications open at the same time and you're still using less than 50% of the available RAM (994 MB), you know something is going well.

        The final result is a fast booting, good looking Netbook. Thanks Canonical!










Free Software/Open Source

  • Over 35 Free, Essential Open Source Resources and Apps
    Every so often, we here at OStatic like to round up our ongoing collections of open source resources, tutorials, reviews and project tours. These educational tools are a central part of the learning mission we try to preserve at the site. We regularly round up the best Firefox extensions, free online books on open source topics, free tools for developers, resources for working with and enjoying online video and audio, Linux tutorials, and much more. In this post, you'll find more than 35 collections and resources. Hopefully, you'll find something to learn from here, and the good news is that everything found in this collection is free.


  • How to be a free software business trainer
    The Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa and the Germany-based InWent project have launched a programme to develop trainers in East and Southern Africa capable of teaching others to build free software-based businesses.

    The project aims to both create businesses opportunities for trainers wanting to expand their businesses to include free software training as well as teaching the skills required to run successful FOSS businesses.


  • Libre.fm Is Gathering Speed
    Libre.fm is a free network service aimed at replacing Last.fm initially but also going beyond that to develop unique features of it’s own. The service is still in alpha at the moment but it’s developing really quickly. I’ve been impressed by it’s progress and the developer mailing list is packed with action every day. There seems to be a real appetite for an AGPL web service of this kind.


  • The Open-Source Market - Limitless and Forever expanding?
    In my original post about the practicality of open source business models, I talked about the differences in Kaizen and Kakushin, how they were used, their benefits and disadvantages, and how each could be used to our benefit. In this post, I have decided to go a bit back into basics, take a broader look at things, and actually consider the nature of open-source compared to other models. I left the ending of the last post asking several questions - I will not answer those questions right now, but hopefully the stuff I consider in this post should help understand what solutions are practical and what aren’t.




  • Business

    • Sour Grapes
      At OpenNMS, we are replacing products from HP and IBM at some of the largest companies in the world. We have another client who is going to imbed OpenNMS in their management offering. We’ve been profitable since Day One and we continue to grow year after year. This was due to a lot of hard work on our part, but we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for our community. It’s not hype - it’s just a fact.


    • 'Long Tail' Guru: 'Free' Not a Four-Letter-Word
      Advocates of free content have long rallied around the slogan that "information wants to be free." But to author and Wired editor Chris Anderson, content is only the tip of the free iceberg.

      "With the Internet, we created the most competitive market the world has ever seen," he during his keynote here today at the SIIA-sponsored Software Summit. "What it says is that everything on the Internet will be available in a free version. You will compete with free or be free."






  • Funding

    • FOSS: Project Busking, Funding Software Development
      Instead of busking, I’d like to see projects organise rock concerts. Lots of projects are awesome enough and selling tickets for real development shouldn’t be as hard as we might think. I noticed the Creative Commons project for Peach and “Yo! Franky” were set up like this, perhaps they have some advice when it comes to organising such a project?








Leftovers

  • Bill Would Declare Your Blog a Weapon
    Law prof Eugene Volokh blogs about a US House of Representatives bill proposed by Rep. Linda T. Sanchez and 14 others that could make it a federal felony to use your blog, social media like MySpace and Facebook, or any other Web media 'to cause substantial emotional distress through "severe, repeated, and hostile" speech.' Rep. Sanchez and colleagues want to make it easier to prosecute any objectionable speech through a breathtakingly broad bill that would criminalize a wide range of speech protected by the First Amendment. The bill is called The Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act, and if passed into law (and if it survives constitutional challenge) it looks almost certain to be misused.


  • Net neutrality and bandwidth caps don't matter
    If it isn't about bandwidth, then what are all these quotas about? Keeping the cable TV monopoly a monopoly. No, really, it is. The set up goes like this. Cable companies whine about bandwidth, then trial all sorts of silly anti-consumer and illegal measures like DPI to fire people up. Angry consumers respond and say that they will not tolerate those measures. Eventually, even paid for politicians will chime in around election season, and these 'alternate' measures will be shot down. DPI and packet classification will be effectively outlawed. That is OK though, they were straw men.

    From there, cable companies will keep whining about bandwidth overuse, and the 'few' who 'abuse' the system. This is also a straw man, but they will claim usage quotas are necessary to keep the 'abusers' from hurting others, keep piracy down, keep their routers from melting, allowing them to make enough to pay for upgrades, or whatever is the current problem in the headlines. Think of it like The War on Communism/Drugs/Terror/Free Thought, the enemy is out there and undefinable, so don't question our motives.






Digital Tipping Point: Clip of the Day



Steve Weber, creator of the phrase "anti-rival goods" 03 (2005)

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

Wayland is About Less Choice, About Removing Choices, It's Not About Freedom
IBM insists that it cares about "diversity"
Keeping Things Accessible
Gemini Protocol seems to be growing
Not Much Better Than LLM Slop: Linux Foundation-Funded 'News' Site Writes Linux Foundation 'News', Composed by Linux Foundation Operative, Quoting Linux Foundation Staff
...they get paid (sponsored) to produce this spam. Then they call it "journalism".
Annual Southern California Linux Expo (SCALE 22x) 'Bought' by Microsoft and Microsoft Exceeded Sponsorship Limits by Giving Double the Maximum Permitted Amount
When people get bribed they tend to forget how to utter a simple word: "No."
EPO Examiners Point Out to the Heads of Delegations in the Administrative Council of the EPO That the "AI Policy" of the Office is Illegal
"the Central Staff Committee (CSC) asks the Administrative Council to exert its supervisory role and instruct EPO management to enter into genuine dialogue with the staff representation on the AI Policy, to revise the “Leverage AI” target of 90% AI-automated classification in the SP2028 and to put in place the measures supported by staff in the resolution."
French Cities Dumping Microsoft Because They Recognise Software Freedom, Open Standards, GNU/Linux Autonomy
We hope that more French cities - maybe Paris - will follow Lyon.
 
Links 27/06/2025: Journalists Under Fire and Microsoft Has Serious Slop Problems
Links for the day
X is Dying, But Not XServer/X11. Twitter X.com is Dying.
People or businesses or government officials (and departments) that still rely on Social Control Media are playing Russian Roulette with their future online
Escaping Colonialism (or 'Hegemony') Requires Abandoning GAFAM, Microsoft in Particular
Europe is already in the process of abandoning Microsoft
Microsoft Will Shut Down More Studios This Week, Its Media Operatives Will Tell Lies About the Magnitude of the Shutdowns and Layoffs (They Always Do)
Many people who get counted as "workforce" are "temps" or similar
What Linux Foundation 'Research' is: Paid Marketing
What is Linux Foundation 'Research'?
No, IBM Does Not Care About People With Disabilities
"Aktion T4" did not seem to bother Watson
Microsoft's Financial Problems Mean Shutdowns, Not Just Mass Layoffs
If the original rumour is true, then expect almost 30,000 Microsoft workers to be let go this year
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, June 26, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, June 26, 2025
The Netherlands: GNU/Linux Measured at All-Time High
Are any Dutch cities going to announce dumping Microsoft?
Gemini Links 27/06/2025: "Interstitial Existence" and Autocorrect
Links for the day
Technical People Need Technical Lawyers
Technical Litigants in Person (LIPs) have many real and concrete advantages
10,000+ Articles in About 20 Months (and How We Got Here)
More bloat does not beget efficiency and "bells and whistles" tend to have a hidden cost
Links 26/06/2025: Illegal Kangaroo Court (UPC) Failing Scandinavia, K-Pop Agencies Abuse People
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/06/2025: AuraGem Twitch Proxy is Back and UI Sluggishness
Links for the day
LWN is a Voice of GAFAM (Through Linux Foundation, Their Front Group or Occupying Force Inside Linux)
remember who the chief editor works for and who sponsors many of the articles
Links 26/06/2025: Noise Pollution Considered High in Europe, Mass Layoffs Next Week in Microsoft Confirmed, Very Large in Scale and Scope
Links for the day
The 'Case' of the Serial Strangler From Microsoft is a Lot of Copypasta (Maybe Also LLM Slop) From the Matthew Garrett 'Case'
5RB deserves to know and the matter shall be properly reported in due course (when the time is right)
EPO Squeezing the Staff - Part II - Office Breaks Rules, Ignores Courts, Defies Justice
False promises everywhere
No, I Don't Want Your Latest XYZ, ThankYouVeryMuch...
Wayland is finally ready?
China Keeps Breaking Into Microsoft Systems, So for True Sovereignty, Nations Wary of China Need to Dump Microsoft
Looking at data from Taiwan (not China) and Maharlika (not Philippines, the king is dead and Spain is out), there are encouraging signs
Linux Journal Wants Ads on Its LLM Slop or Ads as 'Articles'
it's basically another BetaNews
How to Kill a Monopoly
in 10 simple steps
IBM - Like Microsoft - is a Dying Company and Perishing Brand ("AI" is a Lie and Decoy)
"Arvind is cutting costs (layoffs, PIPs, forced RTO, etc...) like crazy. IBM offices are closing all over the place in the US."
"Code of Conduct" Invoked When Fedora and Red Hat Users (Since the 1990s) Don't Want to Use Wayland
That is IBM "DEI"
Mozambique: GNU/Linux Rose From 0.5% Last Year to 3% This Year
what (or how) statCounter is measuring
Microsoft Layoffs Next Week: About 10% to be Laid Off in Microsoft Gaming (2 Days Before Independence Day), About 20%+ of XBox Staff
Microsoft is rapidly collapsing
Next Month Marks 11 Years Since Our In-Depth EPO Coverage
The same is happening to Microsoft right now
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Campaigns Against Vista 11, Adds 4 New Associate Members Per Day
If more people understood the underlying principles, more of them would flock to Free software overnight
Canonical Seems to Have Culled Some Sources of LLM Slop From Planet Ubuntu
It's like "junk food", it's not information
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 25, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, June 25, 2025
On "Weak Claims"
For the record, they sent me unjustified threats, repeatedly tried injunctions (censorship)
EPO Squeezing the Staff - Part I - Burnout and Family Health
more exceptional circumstances
This Month's Mail (MX) Server Survey Shows Microsoft at 0.20% "Market Share"
We need to remind people that desktops and laptops decline (in proportion to other client devices) and at the "back end" GNU/Linux is already dominant and has long been dominant
Links 26/06/2025: Filespooler Guide and Learning to Code
Links for the day
Why Techrights Cannot be Vilified (and Instead It Gets SLAPPed Repeatedly by Microsoft People)
Attack dogs are all "bark"; because they have no actual "bite"
Austrian GNU/Linux Usage Up to About 5% as More of Europe Abandons Microsoft
Since inauguration day the Austrian people have adopted more and more of GNU/Linux
Why the "Wayland People" and "Rust People" Will Lose Hearts and Minds (Same Reasons)
Wayland pushers are fast becoming like "Rust People"
5,600 Pages/Articles Per Year
So far this year we've kept all the promises
BetaNews Beginning to Show What Its True Goals Are
The 'new' BetaNews won't be about journalism. It's trying to sell things.
Microsoft Has Lost "The War"
We'll soon see the 9th or 10th wave of Microsoft layoffs in 2025 alone
Slopwatch: A Wreck and a Dreck, "Flooding the Zone With Dreck" or Flooding the Web With Junk
"Slopwatch" continues today because we have many new examples
Links 25/06/2025: Thwarting More Software Patents, Overlap Grows Between EPO Corruption and Illegal Kangaroo Patent Courts in EU
Links for the day
Links 25/06/2025: Elon Musk’s Lawyers Caught Lying, WhatsApp Faces More Bans
Links for the day
Wayland Pushers Lose the Argument, Use LLM Slop and Chatbots to Make Up Arguments for IBM
Another new low and low blow
Brian Fagioli Created Another Slopfarm Targeting "Linux" After BetaNews Became a Slopfarm of Phantom Accounts and Pseudonyms
Mr. Fagioli even had slop about a dead Torvalds (hypothetical) as clickbait
Wayland is Perfect, Nobody Can Escape Its Perfection! (Or Not)
Do not form on opinion on Wayland based on politics
What is "MATA"?
Think of it as GAFAM or "Meta"
Moral Duty for "Linux Sites" to Speak Out Against LLM Slop
My wife has long complained about "Linux bloggers" keeping quiet and thus passive about a growing problem: slop
In Recent Hours Google News Promoted at Least 3 Slopfarms That Relayed Linux Foundation Propaganda Made by Bots or LLM "Bullshit Generators" (as Dr. Stallman Dubbed Them)
Google is circling down the drain and Google News too is hopeless
Linux Journal is a Slopfarm, It's Experimenting With LLM 'Authors'
Is Slashdot next?
WebProNews is a Slopfarm
Please avoid linking to WebProNews
Microsoft LinkedIn is Dying and Many More Layoffs Are on the Way
LinkedIn is just a failed acquisition of Microsoft. It causes losses and debt.
Gemini Links 25/06/2025: Combinatorial Music and Self Hosting
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Coming Back to Europe This Autumn to Give More Talks
His last talk in Europe attracted about 400-450 people
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 24, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Social Control Media, Technology & Catholicism: Synod on Synodality review and feedback
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
How Many More Women Will Managers at Microsoft Strangle and Tell to Kill Themselves (or Try to Kill)?
The world needs to know what happened
The New BetaNews: 7 New 'Articles', All of Them LLM Slop
BetaNews is basically defunct. Nobody writes there anymore.
Another "Told You So!": XBox Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (Many Recent Reports Were Chaff and Spin), Many Other Divisions Affected
With mass layoffs at Microsoft the world would be much better