Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 9/9/2010: PlayStation 3 Shuts Again





GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux



Free Software/Open Source



  • Airbus Joins Open Source Think Tank Paris
    Olliance Group and DLA Piper are proud to announce that Airbus, a European consortium producing the Airbus family of passenger aircraft will present a business case with the support of the Eclipse Foundation at the Think Tank Sept 28 & 29. Among the topics to be addressed are; long-term community support models, shared innovation between industry, vendors and the community, and open source in supply chain management. With more than five years of strategic use of open source, Airbus will present sophisticated questions for the Think Tank audience to deliberate.


  • Events

    • A Tentative Schedule For XDS 2010
      For those interested in the X Developers' Summit (XDS) that is taking place next week at a tobacco factory in France, a tentative schedule has now been published by Matthieu Herrb for the 50 or so people that will be participating in the summit.




  • Oracle



  • CMS

    • Drupal featured on TV quiz
      According to Jo Wouters, Drupal was just featured on "De Canvascrack", a quiz on Belgian television. I know it is a quiz, but I don't think Drupal has ever been featured on television in such a mainstream way. Cool!




  • FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC



  • Government

    • UK.gov finally pulls plug on National Programme for IT
      The ailing National Programme for IT has been cancelled, although most of its multi-billion pound spending will go ahead.

      A statement from the Department of Health said a shift to more local procurement would work better, "whilst continuing with national applications already procured".


    • Barroso’s State of the Union
      The Europe Union institutions copy more elements from the United States than I believe suit the dignity of the European Union. Even the “e pluribus unum“, you may also find that on the US seal, though the current US motto is “In God we trust”, ironically the EU started a competition to come up with a translation of the Latin phrase in its 27 member languages, and even reverse-translated it to Latin, in an odd fashion “In varietate concordia”.




  • Licensing

    • Linux Foundation Simplifies FOSS License Management
      The Linux Foundation used this year’s LinuxCon in Boston to launch its new Open Compliance Program, aimed at making it easier for companies that are new to using Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) to ensure that their products comply with open source licensing.






Leftovers

  • Ikea to sell second-hand furniture online


  • Science

    • Mars organics get new lease on life
      Martian soil could contain the building blocks of carbon-based life after all, a new study suggests, despite the negative results of an analysis performed by the Viking missions 34 years ago.

      When the Viking landers touched down on Mars in 1976 and scooped up soil samples, scientists were surprised that the two craft failed to unearth evidence that the Red Planet contained any organic compounds. The apparent lack of organic molecules — a basic requirement for carbon-based organisms — helped to cement the notion of Mars as an entity that would not easily support life.




  • Environment/Energy/Wildlife

    • Climate: New study slashes estimate of icecap loss
      Estimates of the rate of ice loss from Greenland and West Antarctica, one of the most worrying questions in the global warming debate, should be halved, according to Dutch and US scientists.


    • Land of Gas
      At issue now, however, are the steep decline rates observed from shale natural gas wells. Don’t these decline curves imply, axiomatically, that the new miracle of shale natural gas production is doomed?






  • Finance

    • Italian school lunches go organic, low-cost, local
      Rome school district with its 150,000 children, and a cafeteria budget of 140 million euros (or $180.5 million), has already pushed the boundary of healthy food to even greater heights.

      If there is one city that has done the most to shape the Ministry’s guidelines, it is Rome. The city served its first organic menu in late 2007.




  • Censorship/Privacy/Civil Rights

    • Breaking News on EFF Location Privacy Win: Courts May Require Search Warrants for Cell Phone Location Records
      This morning, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia issued its highly anticipated ruling in a hotly contested cell phone location privacy case. EFF filed a friend-of-the-court brief and participated at oral argument in the case, arguing that federal electronic privacy law gives judges the discretion to deny government requests for cell phone location data when the government fails to show probable cause that a crime has been committed.


    • Online Ads, Privacy Remain in FTC Crosshairs
      A senior official at the Federal Trade Commission hinted on Wednesday that the agency is planning to prod online advertisers and Web companies to adopt new education tools and data-collection restrictions in an effort to protect consumer privacy.

      "Right now the consumers really don't understand what's going on. So I think that is the real issue that needs to be addressed," Loretta Garrison, a senior attorney at the FTC, said here at the O'Reilly Media Gov 2.0 Summit. "We think they sort of know they're being tracked, but they don't really understand the wealth of information that's being collected and the many different parties that are involved and the various ways in which [information] is being used."




  • Intellectual Monopolies



    • Copyrights

      • Film industry hires cyber hitmen to take down internet pirates
        The film industry is using pirate tactics to beat the pirates – by employing “cyber hitmen” to launch attacks that take out websites hosting illegal movies.


      • How an Anti-Piracy Firm Became Banned In Its Own Country
        A notorious Switzerland-based anti-piracy tracking company has to stop harvesting the IP addresses of citizens using P2P networks. The Swiss High Court ruled that IP addresses constitute personal information and when Logistep collected them without the owner’s knowledge, that amounted to a breach of privacy laws. From its eDonkey Razorback beginnings, via France through to yesterday’s conclusion, here is the full story.










Clip of the Day



The First Official Interactive Unboxing Of The Nokia N8 -- Call Quality



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Credit: TinyOgg

Recent Techrights' Posts

We Need Less Gadgets, More Humanity
If people are being honest with themselves, many of the gadgets they claim they "cannot live without" are just excesses and distractions they could definitely leave behind
Daniel Pocock in The Guardian This Morning
There is an opportunity here to spread a message, even if Pocock won't win a seat
 
What a Difference Six Years Make...
We are also beta-testing a new feature for the site; we plan to announce it some time soon
When It Comes to Slop, Richard Stallman is Opposite of Linus Torvalds
When it comes to computing, Dr. Stallman has long been a voice of reason
Daniel Pocock is in Mainstream Media This Week
Pocock's haters will absolutely hate this
In His Departure Post, Poul-Henning Kamp (phk) Explains Why Linus Torvalds is Full of "Hot Air" and Slop Bubbles
Having lived through previous bubbles as a UNIX geek, phk cannot be ignored
Whistleblowers Keep Flowing
Later today a police investigator should phone us regarding death threats we've received
Technology and Gadgets Got Obese, Just Like Their Users
They now sell us so-called 'phones' for slop
"Samsung Recently Projected a 19-fold Surge in Second-Quarter Operating Profit", Now There Are Mass Layoffs
In a 9-month period Samsung's debt rose by about 80%
Gemini Links 20/07/2026: Dungeon Meshi/Undertale Crossover, "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Dark Web and Beyond"
Links for the day
IBM's Control of the Media "Just Showed What Taking Accountability Does Not Look Like"
It is no secret that IBM pays the media
Microsoft Loses XBox Lawsuit, But There Are More
The collapse of studios continues
GNU/Linux Approaching International Average in Djibouti
One can envisage further gains for GNU/Linux, seeing Microsoft is in such a bad shape
Daniel Pocock "[t]he Australian Taking on Nigel Farage — from Down Under"
This can help raise awareness of some issues
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 19, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, July 19, 2026
Misleading Coverage in Slashdot Promotes and Openwashes Slop
Piggybacking RMS for the headline seems like a PR stunt of sorts
As Envisioned, a Rebellion and Many Whistleblowers at Microsoft
Whistleblowers ensure Microsoft has totally lost control of the "narrative" (face-saving PR)
Microsoft is a Right-Wing Company
Just remember that when people call Microsoft "woke"
GNU/Linux "Market Share" Rises to About a Quarter in Sudan
Can anyone explain to us why?
Gemini Links 19/07/2026: Visiting Ethiopia, Two Dreams, and Price of Skinnerboxes
Links for the day
Tears in IBM, Company Falls Apart While Management Fakes "Performance" to Take Bonuses
Wall Street is a naked emperor
Telling Our Story
In the coming years we'll have some high-impact stories to share and generally tell without fear of reprisal
Microsoft XBox Studio Leaders Upset at What the New CEO Did
From what we can gather, in 2024 XBox was already entering what's known as a "death spiral". Now it's literally moving down the drain/pipe.
IRC Started in Finland, GNU/Linux Did Not
History is like that
GNU/Linux Rises to 8% in Bhutan, Same as the International Average
Taking note of estimated GNU/Linux share in that country, we see it hovering around the international median/average this month
Links 19/07/2026: "The Voice of Google" and "Chinese Surveillance Tech a Threat to Privacy"
Links for the day
Keep Both Eyes on the Ball
At the moment we have six series running in parallel; two of them concern the EPO
'Journalists' Who Help IBM Cover Up Fraud
Journalistic malpractice
The "Modern Linux" Song
Join us now, make the kernel
XBox Layoffs Vastly Bigger Than Microsoft Told the Press, Microsoft Keeps Trying to Change the Subject
Many so-called "XBox fans" are no more
Microsoft Lost 1,200 Billion Dollars in "Market Value", Take a Look at What Happened to Windows
while Windows continues to fall unstoppably GNU/Linux is surging
Links 19/07/2026: People in China Are Buying Feelings and 404 Media Has Third Anniversary
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/07/2026: Camping, Health, and Hardware
Links for the day
The State of Slopfarms
Slopfarms or LLM slopfarms are a menace and a problem on the Web
GNU/Linux Rising to 6% in Brunei
seventh in the world for GDP (PPP) per capita
Free Software is Like an 'Activist Movement'
People who argue strongly in favour of something (even very good things) will attract the wrath of those whom they oppose
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 18, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, July 18, 2026
UKIP TV (GBNoise) Covers Challengers to UKIP Nigel, Daniel Pocock Mentioned
Way to get noticed
Links 18/07/2026: Chinese State Media Depicting Neighbours as Monkeys, US "Stocks Sink on Anxiety About Tech and Hey Hi (AI) Spending"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/07/2026: "Business Idiots Everywhere", "The Siren Song of DePIN", and Entering Geminispace
Links for the day
GNU/Linux in Lithuanian Desktops/Laptops Climbs to 8%, the Global Average
For its own national security it would be wise to abandon Windows
This Bubble is Bursting, Piecewise
It's nice to see Wall Street getting some reality checks
It's Not About XBox, Microsoft is Already Firing Hundreds of People Who Do "Security [sic] Engineering" [sic]
The official reason/excuse/lie told is something about slop, but no sane person would buy it (not even insiders who are impacted)
Can We Finally All Agree That UEFI 'Secure Boot' is a Sham That Harms Security and Gives Microsoft Remote Control Over All PCs and Servers (Even Those That Don't Run Any Microsoft Software)?
Cui bono?
Bolivian People Adopt GNU/Linux (They Have a Domestic Distro Too, PluriOS)
Notice Windows falling to an all-time low
No Technical People Write About UK Parliamentary Elections
Almost none of them work in the media, which seems to favour parrots, slop, or parrots that use slop
"But Stallman is Scaring Away Women..."
Such dishonest projections (projection tactics) needs to be called out and refuted
First Female Debian Project Leader (DPL) Affirms Low Profile and Inferior Status of Women in GAFAM
3 months ago Sruthi Chandran was elected as Debian Project Leader (DPL) for a period of 12 months
After 5 Years Vista 11 Still Adopted Less Than Its Predecessor (Orphaned, End of Life Since Last Year)
Notice Windows going down to 40%
We Don't Depend on Google (or Search Engines in General)
there's a lesson here and it extends beyond sites
Only "Torvaldos" (Linus Torvalds) Can Use the F-Word, CoC Does Not Apply to the Enforcer, and Richard Stallman Punished for Using the Other F-Word ("Freedom")
"Linus Torvalds tells AI haters to fork off"
Explaining the Culture of Bulletin Board-Style Chat
Only desperate detractors would try to present something (cherry-picked) from IRC as some sort of official statement for Techrights
Independent, But Not Fringe
"Daniel Pocock is an Independent Candidate."
In Free Software, Nobody Gets Fired
Way to own one's code and project
PIP-Styled Mass Layoffs Allegedly Coming to Microsoft by 12 August 2026
Microsoft has been doing "silent layoffs" (PIPs and more) for quite some time
Daniel Pocock's Candidacy (Election of Member of Parliament) Mentioned in BBC and Over a Dozen News Sites Since Yesterday
Funnily enough, albeit not surprisingly, the same people who attack Pocock also attack us
Links 18/07/2026: Spotify Uses Slop Song Descriptions, "San Francisco Demands Removal of Nudify Apps"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 17, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, July 17, 2026
Gemini Links 18/07/2026: A Manifesto by The Dissident, Shokz Headphones, and Gemini Tinylog Reader (GTL)
Links for the day