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Links 31/3/2012: Wine 1.5.1, Valve for Linux





GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux



  • Audiocasts/Shows





  • Kernel Space

    • Qualcomm Clarifies Killing Proprietary Drivers
      Qualcomm has clarified their views today regarding the presentation of two of their Atheros developers proposing that all proprietary drivers be killed for good across all platforms and replaced with open-source drivers.


    • Btrfs In Linux 3.4 Kernel Has Big Changes
      As the latest work queued up for merging in the Linux 3.4 kernel is the Btrfs file-system pull, which Chris Mason describes as "pretty big, picking up patches that have been under development for some time."


    • Intel DN2800MT CedarView Atom mini-ITX board power draw testing with Linux and Windows 7
      This board is certainly capable of single digit power draw, at least with certain specific setups. With Linux, running the latest kernel (at least 3.3.0) is recommended to achieve lower power consumption. MeeGo with it's included proprietary xorg driver for CedarView Atoms shows that Linux can achieve similarly low power draw as Windows 7 with an optimized graphics driver. What remains to be seen is if the Linux kernel developers will have access to enough information about the PowerVR SGX 545 GPU core to enable them to incorporate all power saving features of this GPU into the Linux kernel DRM driver.




  • Applications



  • Desktop Environments



    • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC)

      • Using KDE-Telepathy
        A few months ago I took a look at KDE-Telepathy from within Fedora Rawhide. I said I would check it out after upgrading to Fedora 16 and then I got busy getting ready for the arrival of my daughter. (my first kid) So I just kept using Kopete for my multi-protocol IM needs. It’s the only way I keep up with anyone on Gchat or Facebook chat because I refuse to have to keep any specific tab open on my web browser for chatting. Also, it tends to be more annoying to chat – instead of chatting in a small window that I can put off to the corner of whatever virtual desktop or activity I’m in, I’d need my entire web browser.

        But recently I came across this blog post in planet KDE that talks about what’s coming in KDE-Telepathy 0.4. I really like logging for my chats because it can be very useful to go back and look for a reference or a URL that someone mentions. So, even though there isn’t an easy way to view the logs right now, the fact that the logs are being saved was enough to allow me to over to KDE-Telepathy. I’m also really excited for the Gchat-like interface coming in 0.4. It’s mentioned in that previous link as well as here.




    • GNOME Desktop





  • Distributions

    • Linux Tycoon: Design and Manage Your Own Distribution
      There's a new simulation game in town and this one is aimed straight for the Linux user. With Linux Tycoon, you can design, build, and manage your very own Linux distribution and compete with other distros for users. "Basically take all the fun parts of building your own Linux Distro... and take out all the work. Bam! Instant entertainment!"


    • ShilaOS Screenshots


    • Red Hat Family



    • Debian Family

      • The Debian Project joins the OSI
        The Debian Project is pleased to announce that it is joining the Open Source Initiative ("OSI") as an affiliate. The OSI was founded in 1998 by Eric S. Raymond and Bruce Perens, with the aim of explaining, advocating, and protecting the term "open source". Debian shares the OSI's desire to encourage Free Software. Debian's Social Contract commits it to producing a system which is 100% free.


      • Derivatives



        • Canonical/Ubuntu

          • Linux Format now available on Ubuntu’s Software Centre
            A quick update: we’ve uploaded digital versions of the latest issue and our previous issue to Ubuntu’s Software Centre, and we’ll try to do the same for future issues as well.


          • Linux Format 157 On Sale Today - Linux Wins!


          • Best & Worst Case Power Usage On Ubuntu 12.04
            Depending upon your hardware, the power consumption when running Ubuntu 12.04 LTS can either be at its best or worst. Here's a look at the two power consumption extremes of the Precise Pangolin.


          • Unity
            I’ve been an Xfce user since 2004, this post from last year documents my UI adventures. It’s been my Desktop Environment of choice for my whole professional career as a systems administrator and I’m very set in my ways configuration-wise at work. These days I help out with the Xubuntu team on marketing, website, release notes and testing. I really love Xfce and I’ll continue to use it and contribute to Xubuntu (we had our beta2 today too, and formal release of our new branding!).


          • Full Circle #59 is here for the taking!


          • Development Update


          • Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Precise Pangolin Beta 2 Released | What’s New
            Almost there! Day by day we are getting closer to the final stable release of Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin the long term support release. Today the second beta release is available to download for the testing purposes. So, let’s check the recent changes to Ubuntu Precise Pangolin highlights.










  • Devices/Embedded

    • Ninja Blocks available for pre-order, Kickstarter orders shipping now
      The Ninja Block not only runs on open software, but it itself is open hardware, with designs available under Creative Commons. It also includes a 3D printed case. Prices start at $155 AUD ($160 USD, €£100 GBP) for the basic device, with external sensors costing more. You can pre-order from the Ninja Blocks website.


    • Phones



    • Sub-notebooks/Tablets

      • Report: Google May Have Ambitious Android Tablet Plans
        According to a report in The Wall Street Journal citing "people familiar with the matter," Google intends to go head-to-head with Apple's iPad by selling co-branded Android tablets. Google, of course, has its hands tied with regard to its lofty goals to become a big player on the hardware scene, as it waits for its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility to be approved. Is Google biting off more than it can chew with its smartphone and tablet plans?








Free Software/Open Source



  • Apache Lifts Rave Mashup Engine to Top-Level Project
    The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) announced that Apache Rave, the organization’s open-source mashup platform, has graduated from the incubator to become a top-level project.

    The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) announced that Apache Rave, the organization's open-source mashup engine, has graduated from the Apache Incubator to become a top-level project (TLP).


  • Archiving Images with an Open Source Scanning Robot


  • Web Browsers



    • Mozilla

      • Firefox 11 review: Firefox has jumped the shark
        Ever wonder where the phrase “jump the shark” came from? It’s dates back to the once wildly popular TV show Happy Days. It’s widely accepted that the show lost its way, and its audience, in an episode where the lovable hero “Fonzie” jumps a shark on water skis in a pathetic attempt to keep the audience’s attention. I wonder how if Firefox jumped the shark when its parent company Mozilla decided to put Firefox on a hyper-accelerated release schedule last summer. Today, five releases later, Firefox keeps falling farther behind Google’s Chrome in popularity, it’s not very stable, and it can’t keep up with Chrome in speed.


      • Reasons Why Firefox Could Become a Top Browser Again






  • Public Services/Government

    • United States and India launch open government platform on Web
      The United States and India jointly launched a new Web portal to distribute an open source software applications to help governments manage and release their data to the public, according to an announcement on March 30.

      The “Open Government Platform” website will make available code, tools and processes to government agencies and to developers, analysts, media, academia and the public to make government data more transparent and useful, officials said in the news releases.




  • Openness/Sharing





Recent Techrights' Posts

Windows Has Now Fallen to Rather Ridiculous 3% "Market Share" in Iraq (Windows Was Measured at 100% Back in 2010)
Iraq is not a place where Windows can make a comeback
New USPTO Memo Makes Fighting Patent Trolls Even Harder
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) just made a move that will protect bad patents at the expense of everyone else
An "EU OS" Would Need European Components
There are many European (or Europe-led) distros of GNU/Linux. EU OS developers ought to look at those.
 
Cellphones (Mobile Phones) in Classrooms
A recent study confirmed that people's intelligence has dropped in recent years/decades
Is the FSF Being 'Trolled' by Microsofters Pushing C# (Microsoft)?
Who stands to benefit from training people to use and spread Microsoft?
Matthew J. Garrett is "Former Microsoft Researcher", According to Microsoft's Serial Strangler
Their argument is something along the lines of, "what Roy published damaged my career prospects, so I want Roy to pay me...
Links 24/03/2025: Political Catchup and Environmental Concerns
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IRC logs for Sunday, March 23, 2025
Critics of IBM's Strategy Aren't Racists, But...
the situation is saddening as it serves to obscure the severity of the problem
Mauritania: Windows Falls to All-Time Low of 6% (It Used to be Over 99%)
Windows is 0% in mobile
Outline of Open Source Initiative Coverage to Come (Now That Consensus is Changing)
Policing Wikipedia and attacking critics is not a sustainable strategy
Gemini Links 23/03/2025: "Connor of the Cats" and CSS Naked Day
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Links 22/03/2025: Science and Antoine Beaupré on "Losing the War for the Free Internet"
Links for the day
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Many of these requests probably came from bots, but it's hard to distinguish (to block them) ... This coming summer Gemini Protocol will turn 6
Just Because Microsoft Resents Techrights Doesn't Mean SLAPPs Will Silence Techrights
To confront lies the best solution is to speak truth
Windows at New Low Levels in Madagascar (Population About 33 Million)
Madagascar does not need Microsoft
Slop Images Are Bad Optics, Including for Perl.org
Slop devalues one's genuine work
What Happened to the Open Source Initiative (OSI) Elections: Proprietary Software Companies in Control, the Scandals Cannot be Hidden Anymore
We'll talk about it later this month and next month
Slopwatch: Fake News About Security Using LLMs That Make Fake 'Articles' About "Linux" (With Slop for Images)
This cannot end well
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IRC logs for Saturday, March 22, 2025
Gemini Links 22/03/2025: "Ukay Ukay", Microplastics in Tea, Jujutsu, and More
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Links 22/03/2025: Johor Flooded, Ador Traps Young Musicians With Contract
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[Video] Richard Stallman on What Patents Would Have Done to Music (Covered by Copyrights)
Our WebM version can be played using Free software, independently of the availability of Invidious mirrors
Our IRC Community Turns 17 Very Shortly
A few years from now our IRC community will turn 20
Microsoft Destroys and Exploits, It Does Not Create
A race to nowhere
Linux Foundation Buys Misleading Puff Pieces About Itself, Earns Some LLM Slop to Accompany the PR (Openwashing and Propaganda as a Service, With the Brand "Linux" Needlessly Borrowed)
Isn't it funny that after the "LF" (misusing the brand "Linux") flooded the Web with press releases and fake articles (that it had paid for) it now gets some LLM slop doing the same?
It's About So Much More Than 2 Microsofters, It's About Freedom to Speak About Crimes at Microsoft
Suffice to say, if some people related to our professional field attack women and get arrested for it, then there's nothing immoral about relaying this information
Links 22/03/2025: Social Security Attacks and More Attacks on the Press
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Gemini Links 22/03/2025: INTERPOL, DDoS by "Hey Hi" Hype, and RSS/Feed Readers
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Links 22/03/2025: Alzheimer Research and Mega-breaches in the US
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IRC logs for Friday, March 21, 2025