• Distributions
• Devices/Embedded

The Linux Labs – how it was done

Earlier this year we launched an appeal. We wanted you to help us with our Linux Labs. We didn’t want you to answer a few multiple choice questions; we didn’t want plain numbers. We wanted you to help us write the reviews themselves.

So, via the medium of The big PC Pro Linux Labs wiki, hosted by our friends over at Memset, we set about building a collaborative Labs of the likes never seen before in the pages of the magazine.

TLWIR 46: Limerick Loves LibreOffice

We Invite You to Share the World’s Most Inspiring Linux Stories

Linux inspires. It is enabling nearly every technology innovation of the 21st century and is supporting the growth of numerous industries from mobile to the cloud. And, its reach goes far beyond these markets to also enable scientific discovery, smart cities, new companies and young students.

Desktop

• A California School District Is the Latest to Adopt Chromebooks

  Slowly but surely, Google is getting traction for Chromebooks–portable computers running the Chrome OS operating system–in schools. In the latest example of a school system standardizing on Chromebooks, California’s Milpitas Unified School District has put Chromebooks in the hands of more than 1,000 students. It’s only the latest example of Google’s global efforts to woo schools and educators over to its concept of cloud computing and what a modern operating system should do.

• Chromebooks allow students to navigate online learning

• Windows 8 vs Ubuntu: battle of the operating systems

  When Windows 8 is released on 26 October, it will be the third straight time a major Windows version is launched close to the release of arguably the world’s most popular Linux distro – Ubuntu.

• Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook: Day one

  After a full day of using the latest Chromebook from Samsung it’s clear the Chrome OS has evolved to be a powerful platform. It handles my work so perfectly it is like an OS made just for me.

Server

• Video: Puppet Labs – Making System Administrators More Productive

• SAP HANA Comes to Cisco and HP

  SAP HANA runs on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and is a core component of SAP’s overall application delivery approach. It’s an approach that the big server vendors want to enhance with their own respective hardware offerings.

• Here Comes Parallella : A $99 Open Supercomputer For Everyone

  Adapteva, a semi-condutor startup company has announced a credit card sized, open $99 supercomputer that everyone can use. The board is expected to have over 50 times more power than its counterparts like Raspberry Pi. This is achieved by Adapteva’s 16-core and 64-core Epiphany microprocessor chips that lead the world in processor energy efficiency.

Kernel Space

• Linux Kernel Support For The Loongson-3

  Lemote has published new Linux kernel patches for enabling the Loongson-3 processor support plus Loongson-3 based systems.

  The Loongson-3, which is codenamed Goson-3, is a quad-core MIPS64-compatible CPU that runs at around 1.0GHz. The Loongson-3 is manufactured on a 65nm process and has a sub-15 Watt TDP. Eight and sixteen core versions of the Loongson-3 are also expected to be released in the future.

• Linux 3.6 Debuts with 5 Major Advances

  Late last month Linux creator Linus Torvalds had been considering publishing an eighth release candidate of the Linux 3.6 kernel, but on Sunday Torvalds decided to skip that step and launch the final version instead.

• One Kernel Can Now Handle Multiple ARM Platforms

• Intel SMAP Comes To Try To Better Secure Linux

  The Supervisor Mode Access Prevention feature is an instruction set extension whereby the kernel cannot access pages that are user-space. However, when the need comes about for the kernel to access a user-space page, an override is available. This work from Intel was originally published last month and has now been merged into the mainline kernel for Linux 3.7.

• 30 Linux Kernel Developers in 30 Weeks: Jiri Slaby

  Welcome to week 16 in our 30-week series that profiles the world’s leading Linux kernel developers. This week we talk to Jiří Slabý, a young developer who tells us why he likes working on the Linux kernel: “Because no one can really understand the kernel fully. It is a constantly changing ecosystem and one still has to learn something new. And, it is also the people. They taught me real programming.”

• Linux on ARM breakthrough to take away Torvalds’ arse pain

  A single Linux kernel build that can run on various ARM-powered kit from competing manufacturers has come closer to reality, much to Linus Torvalds’ relief.

• Fluendo Advances Multimedia for Linux

  The Linux Foundation in March announced that Fluendo was becoming a member. The company has been at the forefront of building legal multimedia solutions for open environments and works very closely with the Gstreamer community. In this exclusive Q&A with Fluendo’s VP of Business Development Michael Pizzoli we get to learn more about the company’s work and perspective on the Linux desktop, embedded Linux and infotainment for cars.

• AMD Turbo Core Performance Under Linux

  As the latest AMD A10-5800K Trinity APU benchmarks under Linux, here’s a quick look at the impact that Turbo Core Technology has under Linux.

  AMD Turbo Core is the technology that’s been around for about two years going back to the AMD Phenom II CPUs that automatically shift the CPU frequency to a higher state when greater performance is desirable. Similar to Intel’s Turbo Boost, it’s basically the reverse of Cool ‘n’ Quiet and Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology.

• Xen For ARM Is Set For The Linux 3.7 Kernel

• ARM64/AArch64 Support Going Into Linux 3.7 Kernel

• Linus Torvalds Compares Hard Disks to Satan

  In a chat with tech lovers at Slashdot on Thursday, Torvalds compared the hard drive to Satan. Yes, Satan — as in “Get thee behind me, Satan.”

• Linus Torvalds interviewed by Slashdot readers

  Slashdot, the 15-year old popular technology discussion site, recently had their readers come up with a list of their top questions to ask Linus Torvalds, Linux’s creator. The results were interesting.

  For example, the first question presumed that Torvalds was anti-patent and copyright. Eh… no, he’s never really been either. As Torvalds explained, “I like copyrights, and even on patents I’m not necessarily in the ‘Patents are completely evil. camp. When I rant about patents or copyrights, I rant against the *excesses* and the bad policies, not about them existing in the first place.”

• 64-bit ARM support merged into Linux kernel

• Yocto-Compliant Enea Linux Reaches Version 2.0

  The past year or so has seen a number of new technologies emerge based on The Linux Foundation’s Yocto Project, including several that have gone on to be certified as officially Yocto-compatible through the project’s new Compliance Program.

• Linaro Introduces “Boottime” For Linux Kernel

  Up to this point if you have wanted to monitor the start-up/boot performance of a Linux system, namely how long it takes the Linux kernel to boot, you have had to use an independent utility like Bootchart. Now with work done by the Linaro project, there is an in-kernel measurement capabilities via a new “Boottime” patch.

• Graphics Stack

  • The DRM Graphics Pull Goes In For Linux 3.7 Kernel

    Part 1 of the Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) pull for the Linux 3.7 kernel was merged this morning.

  • Wayland prototype for rendering software that runs remotely

    Wayland chief developer Kristian Høgsberg has presented an extension for the Weston compositor for Wayland that allows a local version of Weston to display individual windows of a Weston instance that is running on another system. Within the Wayland display server architecture, such tasks are handled by the compositor, which functions as a display server because Wayland itself offers no rendering API and mainly focuses on bitmap rendering features. Therefore, the remote display solution for Weston doesn’t require any remote drawing commands to be transferred through the network; instead, the system transmits complete images together with any updated image areas, and the local Weston simply displays them.

  • AMD Catalyst 12.9 Beta Linux Driver Released

    AMD has released a beta proprietary Linux driver for Catalyst 12.9.

  • wlterm: the native Wayland terminal emulator

  • ATI Rage Driver With EXA Support Released

Applications

• PowerTOP Finds Power Hogs on Your Linux PC

• Best Free Linux Cad Software & Their Features

  Forget about Windows, the Linux OS provides amazing opportunities for creativity when it comes to computer aided designs applications and implementations. But, as a designer trying to experiment with ideas or striving to come out with a unique result, you are tempted to try out free CAD software which you can easily download and start making use of. But there are many of this software all over the places, many of which are not very easy to understand. To make things easier for you, here are six of the very best free CAD programs that are Linux based.

• Instructionals/Technical

  • Building a Private Cloud with Open Source Ganeti: Pros and Cons

  • Y PPA Manager – Manage your PPAs efficiently in Ubuntu

  • Virtualization With KVM On A Fedora 17 Server

  • Virtualization With KVM On A Fedora 17 Server

  • How to Reset Unity in Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal

  • How to Installing CMS Joomla 3.0 on Ubuntu Server 12.04

  • How To Make Movies in Linux With OpenShot

  • Basics of GCC compilation process

  • Ubuntu – WUBI Installs vs Virtual Box

  • Virtual Hosting With vsftpd And MySQL On Ubuntu 12.04

  • Virtual Hosting With vsftpd And MySQL On Ubuntu 12.04

  • Install additional drivers in Ubuntu 12.10

  • Neo4j 1.8 adds creation to Cypher query language

  • How to Make Your Boss Angry — Bad Linux Sysadmin Practices

    “You’re fired!” yells a red-headed, more or less bald guy in a suit. You’ll probably recognize this from any of a dozen comedy series. Would you like to play the role of the employee in such a scene, in real life? If you happen to be a Linux sysadmin, it’s your lucky day! We’ve got just the right tips for you. Read on for a comprehensive list of ways to make your boss hit the roof and bounce back again.

• Wine

  • Wine 1.5.15 Now Fully Supports Layered Windows

    A new update is available for Wine and this time, it will fully support layered windows. This update also fixes over 86 bugs and comes with a new version of Gecko engine compatible with Firefox 16.

• Games

  • 3D Space Combat Game ‘Salvation Prophecy’ Coming to Linux

    Salvation Prophecy is a space combat and exploration game where Human, mutant, and robotic factions are at war for galactic domination.

  • FTL: Faster Than Light Review (PC/Mac/Linux)

    “So what’s this FTL game you guys have been raving about?” I asked my friend, attempting a more gentle phrasing of “what’s this thing you won’t shut up about?”

  • An Attempt To Push Ubuntu As A Gaming Platform

    At the Ubuntu Developer Summit later this month in Copenhagen, a number of gaming-related development sessions are scheduled as Ubuntu developers try to push their Linux distribution as a first-rate gaming platform.

  • Kickstarters Dangling the Linux Carrot

    Linux gaming is seeing some much needed attention of late, and a lot of this seems to come from Kickstarter projects. There are some trends however that raise a few questions for me, and perhaps a gripe or two.

Desktop Environments

• K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

  • Update to Trinity KDE 3.5 fork brings improvements

    Trinity, the fork of the classic version of the KDE desktop which appeared in wake of the backlash against KDE 4.0, is still being developed and, after a year of work, a new stable release, version 3.5.13.1, of the desktop environment is now available. Trinity is a fork that continues development of the old 3.x branch of the KDE desktop and which has been enhanced with additional features but is also designed to be both compatible with newer hardware and responsive on older systems.

  • 2012 Randa Report

    In September, several teams met in Randa, Switzerland for the fourth such Sprint Intensive. As expected, there was substantial progress as the teams worked on their individual projects and across projects. The work done at the Randa meetings involves both future-oriented discussions and detailed bug fixing and coding, all done ultimately to delight KDE users.

    Each of the project teams—Accessibility (a11y), Plasma, KDE Edu and Multimedia—have provided a synopsis of their accomplishments below. The actual results of their work will appear in future versions of KDE software.

  • KDE Plasma, Applications and Platform 4.9.2

    Packages for the release of KDE SC 4.9.2 are available for Kubuntu 12.04.1 LTS releases. You can get them from the Kubuntu Backports PPA. They are also in our 12.10 development release.

  • KDE celebrates 59 successful Summer of Code projects

    The KDE project has announced the outcome of its participation as a mentoring organisation in the Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2012. According to the announcement, KDE was the biggest participating organisation in the event and 59 out of the 60 different projects it mentored were successful. Under the project’s stewardship, students worked on a diverse range of KDE sub-projects from core libraries to entertainment and multimedia applications.

• GNOME Desktop

  • New versions of GTK+, GLib and Clutter

    Theming support for CSS animations and blur shadows are just two of the new features in the recently released GTK+ 3.6. Also new are the GtkMenuButton widget, which generates a button for a pop-up menu, GtkSearchEntry, an entry field with added “search” icon and “clear” button, and GtkLevelBar, which can be used to display Wi-Fi signal strengths or other levels.

Distributions

• Which Distros Would Obama and Romney Use?

  With fewer than 30 days remaining until the U.S. presidential election, it’s become more or less impossible to hear ourselves think here in the Linux blogosphere, so loud is the din emanating from the land of stars and stripes.

  Of course, misery loves company, as the old saying goes, which probably explains why there’s nary an unoccupied barstool to be found lately in any of the blogosphere’s many bars and saloons.

• LIF by numbers

  A couple of days ago I wrote my impressions after the Linux Install Fest, but didn’t have exact numbers to back my impressions. Now the organizers published the stats, I can see the numbers and play with them.

• CAINE 3.0 Screenshots

• SimpleWelcome gets a new look, and goes social

  The second alpha version of what will become ROSA Desktop 2012 was released yesterday. It is a showcase of the very bright future ahead for this Russian distribution.

• Zenwalk 7.2 has been launched

  We are happy to release Zenwalk 7.2. After several months of rescheduling we think it’s time to let this new jet fly. Zenwalk 7.2 is loyal to it’s design : providing 1 application per task, everything needed to work / play / code / create, in a single 700MB ISO image, through a 10 minutes automatic install process on any recent computer. Zenwalk is aimed to be really fast in the club of “modern desktop” Linux systems, due to many optimizations at different levels : kernel, applications, desktop. The challenge that we faced, and made them delay the 7.2 release date, was to achieve 100% Slackware Linux compatibility while keeping most of the optimizations that were introduced during the last years of development, started in 2004. Zenwalk 7.2 runs on kernel 3.4.8 with BFS scheduler. The Zenwalk desktop is based on the XFCE 4.10 / GTK 2.24.10/3.4.4 team, with unique look and feel and perfect ergonomic integration of the application set : Libreoffice 3.6.2, Firefox/Thunderbird 15.0.1, Gimp 2.8.2 and much more… The Netpkg package manager has been improved with multiple mirrors support and better performance.

• Qubes 1.0 Review – Absolute Security

  Don’t you trust the websites you’re visiting? Thanks to Qubes, you can visit them in disposable virtual machines and isolate many other applications from each other

• New Releases

  • Parted Magic 2012_10_10

  • Blender 2.64 improves green screen and compositing

  • Snowlinux 3.1 Has Been Officially Released

    Lars Torben Kremer proudly announced yesterday, October 10th, the immediate availability for download of the stable release of the Snowlinux 3.1 operating system.

  • Zenwalk 7.2, Now Compatible with Slackware

    Zenwalk Linux 7.2 was released today with “many optimizations at different levels.” Zenwalk is based on Slackware Linux, but aims to be faster, easier, and smaller. It’s been a long time coming, but Jean-Philippe Guillemin says they’ve finally achieved 100% compatibility with Slackware.

  • Tiny Core Linux: A Barebone Linux Distro That Boots Very Fast

    Lightweight Linux distro usually comes in the file size ranging from 20MB to 50MB and they are best suited to use on a old computer. Recently, I come across this tiny Linux distro that weighs only 12MB and it boots up really fast. I am referring to Tiny Core Linux.

  • Absolute Linux 14.0 – Still Needs Refinement

    As expected Absolute Linux 14.0 is not radically different from 13.1, details of which you can read here. Besides the usual package updates that Slackware itself has undergone as well there isn’t a lot to tell on the surface. Underneath Slackware is now using kmod to load modules but that is pretty irrelevant to the desktop user experience. Absolute is still centered around IceWM which is why it was tailored in the first place but also offers Fluxbox as another light weight alternative. It is still 32-bit for the i686 architecture only, in keeping with its target market of older but not too old PC’s, i.e. no 486 processors any longer. It is fully compatible with SlackBuilds and Slackware repositories. Like other derivatives it also still uses a slightly modified version of that old ncurses installer, only in gray.

• PCLinuxOS/Mageia/Mandrake/Mandriva Family

  • A few thoughts on cloud computing

    The problem with cloud computing is it creates situations that were unknown before and therefore new, unforeseen problems may arise. We at Mandriva have been thinking for quite a while about this, and we feel we owe our customers and the market in general a few clear and simple answers on our vision of what cloud computing should be :

    * It should work well : if you can’t make it work and provide the right, efficient service to your customers then it’s not worth it.

    * It should be open : your data should not go into a black box, and more often than not, the cloud stack should be based on standards.

• Red Hat Family

  • Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2.2 brings Deltacloud support

  • Red Hat Delivers New Beta Version 5.9 of RHEL

  • JBoss seeks new name for community edition

    Red Hat is seeking a new name for its JBoss Application Server project (JBossAS). This is the upstream project that Red Hat uses as the foundation for its commercial product JBoss Enterprise Application Platform. “We believe that the time has come to change the name of our project to better reflect the changes we’ve seen in its reason for existence so far, but also for what’s to come in the future,” said JBoss technical leader Mark Little.

  • Red Hat announces six appointments across Asia Pacific

    Red Hat, Inc. has recently announced six key appointments across the Asia Pacific in line with its expansion in the region.

  • Fedora

    • Fedora is retiring Smolt hardware census

• Debian Family

  • Debian Project News – October 1st, 2012

  • Derivatives

    • Canonical/Ubuntu

      • Unity 6.6 arrives, is headed for Ubuntu 12.10

        Canonical’s Unity desktop has been updated to version 6.6 and includes several improvements in the functionality of its lenses as well as better windows and work space management. While the current beta of Ubuntu 12.10 “Quantal Quetzal” is shipping with Unity 6.4, the second beta, which is supposed to arrive on 27 September, is expected to include the new version of the desktop environment.

      • Intel Atom D525: Ubuntu 10.10 To 12.10

      • The Quantal Quetzal takes flight

      • Here Comes The Unity Unzipper Lens

        We deal with archives and compressed files everyday. As most open-source projects are distributed in some sort of archive format, users need an unzip utility installed in their computer. The good news is a developer has created a Unity lens that allows you to view the contents of an archive right from the Unity dash.

      • Further Online Dash Clarifications

        Recently there has been some concerns in our community about the online dash search feature, and these concerns have been orientated around the privacy of your data, the legal requirements for how this data is handled, and the effectiveness of the search.

      • Mac users get Ubuntu One beta as partial iCloud rival

      • Searching in the Dash in Ubuntu 12.10 – an Update

      • Monetising Ubuntu

        Ubuntu is one of if not the most popular Linux-based operating systems aimed at the desktop market. Ubuntu’s development is primarily sponsored by Canonical, a UK-based company founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. Shuttleworth funded the launch of both Canonical and Ubuntu from his personal fortune, raised from the sale of his company Thawte Consulting to VeriSign in 1999. Since then, he’s continued to provide financial support for the project, and retained his position as the project’s “Self-Appointed Benevolent Dictator For Life“.

      • Ubuntu To Consider Ridding GNOME Fallback Code

        Later this month in Copenhagen at the developer summit for Ubuntu 13.04, getting rid of the GNOME fallback code is a likely discussion item.

        The Ubuntu Unity desktop currently relies upon the GNOME 3′s “fallback” code for items like the Bluetooth indicator, Keyboard indicator, and the GNOME fallback session code is also used for dealing with disk mounting in Unity.

      • 10 Things To Do After Installing Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal

      • Hello Planet Ubuntu, the Hundred Papercuts project needs your help

      • Preview Of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS vs. Ubuntu 12.10 Performance

        When Ubuntu 12.10 “Quantal Quetzal” is officially released there will be more Ubuntu 12.10 performance figures to publish beyond what’s already been benchmarked. In this article are a preview of some Intel performance figures comparing an updated Ubuntu 12.04.1 LTS installation to Ubuntu 12.10 with its near-final packages as of this week.

      • Ubuntu Add Legal Disclaimer to Unity Dash

      • Ubuntu to allow users to decide where donations go

        LINUX DISTRIBUTION Ubuntu has introduced a donation method in which money can be given to specific parts of the project.

        Canonical, which is Ubuntu’s primary sponsor, has been looking to make money out of the operating system by offering support contracts to large businesses, however the project still gently reminds users that it could do with a bit of extra cash to keep the lights on. Ubuntu’s website now has a form in which donations can be directed to specific branches of the project, providing some level of control over how donations are spent.

      • Ubuntu Download Now Comes With Optional Donation Selection Page, Give It Money

      • Richard Stallman: Canonical will be forced to hand over data to various governments

        I have exchanged e-mails and been having chats with people about the new Amazon Product Results in the Ubuntu 12.10 Unity Dash one of those people I reached out to was Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation a visionary who I have much respect for after all he pioneered much of the foundation and principles that guide much of the Open Source Community.

      • Canonical Will Be Forced To Hand Over Data To Various Governments, Richard Stallman

      • Ubuntu Multi-Monitor Tweaks (Full Screen Flash Fixes, Span Wallpaper Across Monitors, More)

        Ubuntu (with Compiz/Unity) lets you move a window to a specific virtual desktop using keyboard shortcuts, but by default, this doesn’t work if you want to move a window to a specific monitor.

      • Early Boot Speed Results For Ubuntu 12.10

        Here’s an early look at some Bootchart numbers for two systems running Ubuntu 12.10 development snapshots compared to earlier releases.

      • Amazon Lens Privacy Issue Taken ‘Very Seriously’ Inside Canonical, Jono Bacon

Devices/Embedded

• Texas Instruments wants to ditch smartphones, switch focus to embedded processors

• Linux-Based Servergy Advances Data Center Efficiency

  Energy efficiency has been a hot topic in the cloud computing world recently following the publication of a New York Times story last weekend entitled, “Power, Pollution and the Internet.”

• SmartSim: GPL-ed digital logic circuit design and simulation package
  for Linux and Raspberry Pi

  If the name is new to you, SmartSim is a digital logic circuit design and simulation package that lets you “create your own custom components and including them in other circuits, as if they were any other built-in component. These larger circuits can then also be included in other designs as sub-components.”

• Raspberry Pi: Broadcom teaches kids coding in an hour

  This week, the network and communications giant gave the popular Linux computer to middle-school students — most with no background in programming, understandably — and taught them how to program.

• So You Want to Be an Embedded Linux Developer

  Android smartphones and tablets represent only the most visible part of a larger embedded Linux ecosystem that extends throughout industries like consumer electronics, telecom, manufacturing, and transportation. As device requirements call for more intelligence and networking savvy, Linux has become the oft-hidden secret sauce in everything from set-top boxes to home automation systems to rugged field handhelds.

• Phones

  • Android

    • Google, LG to debut Android 4.2 next month, report says

    • This Giant Cluster Simulates 300,000 Androids to Check They Play Nice

    • Parrot adds three more Android-powered Asteroids to its belt

      Parrot releases the details surrounding the upcoming Asteroid Smart, Tablet, and Mini: three car stereos based on the popular Android operating system.

    • ROM Toolbox Pro’s Pretty Nifty for Rooting Around in Your Phone

    • Microsoft Office coming to Android and Apple devices in early 2013

      A Microsoft executive let slip in the Czech Republic that the long-rumored Microsoft Office for Android smartphones and tablets and Apple iPad and iPhones will be arriving in early 2013. Microsoft now denies that their executive was speaking accurately.

    • Smartphone shipment to reach 1.7B in 2017

      Worldwide smartphone shipment will reach 1.7 billion units in 2017, driven by growth from emerging markets especially China.

      In a statement Monday, analyst firm Ovum said emerging markets last year accounted for 160 million of 450 million smartphones sold worldwide. China accounted for about 66 percent of smartphones sold in developing markets, it added.

    • Motorola not developing Webtop on future devices

      Motorola has confirmed that its Webtop technology is no longer going to be included in future Android-based smartphones. An official announcement from the hardware maker advises that even though there was a good level of interest and community support, the ends do not justify the means. To that end, Motorola will cease developing handsets with Webtop capability.

    • Android-based Nikon S800C now shipping

    • This $50 Stick Turns Any HDTV Into an Android-Powered Smart TV

    • CyanogenMod resurrects OTA updates for latest CM10 nightly builds

      CyanogenMod ROMs give Android users the latest Ice Cream Sandwich or Jelly Bean treats to their otherwise-neglected smartphones, and it’s mostly open-source except for one piece: the boarded-off ROM Manager.

    • Clash Of The Titans: Samsung Galaxy S3 vs iPhone5 vs Galaxy S3 Mini

      Both Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini and Apple iPhone5 features 4-inch screen, contrary to the 4.8-inch one of the S III. While iPhone5 comes with 4 inch IPS LCD and has Apple’s very own retina display, on the other hand Samsung Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S3 Mini features Super Amoled technology. Apple iPhone5 comes with a pixel density of 326ppi whereas Galaxy S3 Mini and Galaxy S3 has got 223ppi and 306ppi respectively. Samsung Galaxy S3 has upped the bar larger screen resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels over iPhone5 which has 1136 x 640 pixels. While little brother Galaxy Mini has 480 x 800 pixel screen resolution.

    • Apple vs. Google is the Most Important Battle in Tech

      In the 1990s, Microsoft Internet Explorer battled Netscape Navigator in the great Web browser wars. In the 2000s, Google and Yahoo locked horns over Internet search — and we know how that turned out. Today, the latest high-stakes tech conflict is between Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android mobile operating system for supremacy in the smart phone market.

      Each of these clashes defined an era of Internet history. Apple vs. Android is no different. Everyone agrees that the struggle for Internet advantage is shifting to the mobile realm, and iPhone and Android have surged to the front of the pack with diametrically opposed business models. Neither of these players will be vanquished anytime soon — these battles take years to play out — but the company that gains the upper-hand will be best-positioned to take advantage of the massive structural shift from desktop PCs to smart phones and tablets.

    • New DROID RAZR Smartphones Available Oct. 18

    • Google posts Android 4.1.2 factory images for Nexus 7 and Galaxy Nexus

      Google released factory images for Android 4.1 Jelly Bean about a month after announcing the mobile operating system during its developer conference in June. But the Mountain View, Calif.-based corporation only waited two days after releasing the Android 4.1.2 update to post Google Nexus 7 and Galaxy Nexus factory images.

• Sub-notebooks/Tablets

  • Nook HD Tablets Take On Fire HD, Go Where Amazon Can’t: Walmart

  • Best Buy’s Insignia brand Moving into Android Tablets

    Best Buy’s Insignia brand is moving into Android Tablets. They have put a teaser and a pic of the new Tablet, the Insignia Flex, on their Facebook page, with a release date of a month from now.

  • HTC bids farewell to tablets in United States

mod_pagespeed Out Of Beta, Helps Developers Boost Page Speed Significantly

When it comes to developing a complete website, page speed is one of the key factors to make a site successful. For this reason, Google, along with a community of developers had created a new Apache module called mod_pagespeed back in 2010. The good news is, this module is now out of beta and can be used in enterprise and business environments.

Google’s Latest Web Speedup Strategy Aims at Apache

There Must Be 50 Ways To Profit From FLOSS

The old school types constantly complain that FLOSS and */Linux cannot possibly succeed because there’s no profit to be made selling software licences. That argument is irrational because it assumes selling licence is the only way to make money from software.

I have made part of my living just using FLOSS. That’s huge. There are lots of businesses making money other ways:

* selling support for FREE software like RedHat,
* selling hardware that uses FLOSS, like most OEMs lots of specialists, and
* selling some other good or service with FLOSS in the mix somewhere.

Quantcast Open Sources Hadoop Distributed File System Alternative

Quantcast, an internet audience measurement and ad targeting service, processes over 20 petabytes of data per day using Apache Hadoop and its own custom file system called Quantcast File System (QFS). Today, it’s making that technology available to as open source under an Apache license. You can now find it on GitHub.

SOFA Statistics: An Interview with developer Dr. Grant Paton-Simpson

I have been a data analyst and researcher since the mid 90s, mainly in the health sector. Was an SPSS user from about 1989. Discovered that most analysis in many sectors is very rudimentary (simple descriptive tables, maybe a barchart, possibly a t-test). Thought there would be a gap for a program that makes the 20% of functionality used 80% of the time very easy to use. I have four children but still find enough peace and quiet to think and program. Badminton makes a nice change from sitting in front of a keyboard.

It’s official: Open source is an engine for growth

When I wrote about open source as a stealth stimulus package this summer, some readers expressed skepticism. But two reports from Europe today support the growing hypothesis that open source provides an excellent monetary bundle for economies that embrace it. More than that, it can be a springboard for businesses that engage it on the basis of delivering flexibility rather than restricting their vision to cost savings.

Open source software helps artists create music

TruthLogik, a New York based hip hop artist, says that in a million years he could not have imagined he would be recording an album using entirely free software. When he first stumbled on open source music-making tools, he thought about the computer classes he took in school. He had never been exposed to the idea that free software could be so well-made and uniquely useful.

Events

• Linux Event TV: One-on-One with Open Source Visionaries

  Linux Foundation events are studded with Linux and open source community leaders, as well as some eccentric personalities. What better place than one of these events to sit down and talk to the people who are making innovation happen in software development and cloud computing?

Web Browsers

• Mozilla

  • Sites can slurp browser history right out of Firefox 16

  • Make your own political campaign ad

    Mozilla and PBS Newshour launch innovative new election video tool — starring YOU

  • Mozilla Firefox 17 Gets Social

    Firefox 16.01 (updated today) is out the door and that means Firefox 17 is now in Beta (those trains move fast!).

    This release like the the last half dozen before it – adds new developer goodness – but this time it’s more sociable than just CSS3 support.

    Firefox 17 includes the new SocialAPI , which is described as an attempt to integrate social content (i.e Facebook) into the browser.

SaaS

• OwnCloud: Build your own or manage your public cloud storage services

• Latest Version Of ownCloud Released

• OwnCloud 4.5 Mounts Open Source Storage Alongside Amazon, Dropbox

• OpenStack’s Folsom released

  OpenStack has released Folsom 2012.2, the organisation’s sixth release of its Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) cloud platform. The enhancements in Folsom come from over 330 contributors. The organisation is dedicated to creating software for public and private cloud systems and has nearly 200 member companies from across the industry, including AMD, AT&T, Cisco, Dell, HP, IBM, Intel, Red Hat and VMware. It recently became a foundation with founder Rackspace handing control over to the newly independent group.

• OpenNebula survey shows industry use dominating

  OpenNebula, the infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) cloud project, sees the majority of its deployment in industry, according to C12G’s latest Cloud Architecture Survey. The survey, conducted by the commercial company behind OpenNebula over the second and third quarters of 2012, polled 2,500 users of OpenNebula and only analyses the responses from the 820 who reported having OpenNebula up and running.

Databases

• SkySQL launches Cloud SQL Suite and Enterprise Suite

  SkySQL has announced a beta release of Cloud Data Suite, a platform for deploying high availability MariaDB databases to Amazon’s EC2, and, Enterprise Data Suite, comprising a carrier grade database, a high availability tool and analytics applications. The Cloud Data Suite is free to use and includes open source components, while the Enterprise Data Suite is designed to be part of the company’s commercial service and support subscription model.

• What is NoSQL, and why do you need it?

  Imagine that you have coupons that you wanted to push to mobile customers that purchase a specific item. This is a customer facing system of engagement requires location data, purchase data, wallet data, and so on. You want to engage the mobile customer in real-time.

• Is Oracle squeezing the MySQL lemon too hard?

  Despite what many feared, Oracle has not abandoned development of MySQL. Indeed, as announced at Oracle OpenWorld this week, Oracle just released MySQL Release Candidate 5.6 with a host of new features.

Oracle/Java/LibreOffice

• LibreOffice Writer now supports first page header/footer

• LibreOffice vs. OpenOffice Part 2: All Bugs Are Shallow When Blogged to a Linux News Feed

  In my prior blog post, my intended lessons for OpenOffice vs. LibreOffice were 1. Try both. 2. Use both. 3. Use what works best for particular cases. 4. Where there is no problems with either, prefer LibreOffice for its community support. 5. I had a specific important case for my usage where I had to use OpenOffice. Now it appears my options will expand in a month.

• Review: Free, open source VirtualBox lags behind VMware and Parallels

  Our Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion shootout took a deep dive into the two most successful commercial virtualization products for the Mac, but many of you had questions about VirtualBox, the free and open source desktop virtualization software currently offered by Oracle. Both Parallels and VMware offer plenty of features for home and business users, but is VirtualBox an acceptable alternative for the cash-strapped?

Funding

• Hardware startup creates open source Kickstarter alternative

  After having their project rejected by Kickstarter, the designers of the wireless lock system Lockitron went away and wrote their own crowdfunding platform, which they have now open sourced. Apigy Inc’s Selfstarter enables companies to set up their own crowdfunding site, similar to Kickstarter, to host financing campaigns for their products. The very successful funding drive for Lockitron is already being run using the software.

FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC

• FSF rallies support for GNU MediaGoblin to make media publishing free “as in freedom”

  BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA — Thursday, October 11th, 2012 — Today the Free Software Foundation (FSF) announced its support for the GNU MediaGoblin project’s fundraiser at http://mediagoblin.org/pages/campaign.html. MediaGoblin is community-developed free “as in freedom” software that enables users to share their experiences through photos, videos, and audio, in a decentralized way that sidesteps current media-publishing gatekeepers.

• GnuTLS 3.1.3

Project Releases

• Calibre 0.9.0 released

• Git 1.8 Is Being Readied With New Features

  Version 1.8.0 of the popular Git revision control system is nearing. With this version bump also comes new features to this popular open-source project started by Linus Torvalds.

Public Services/Government

• Leipzig on course with free office package

  The Münchner IT-Blog, the IT blog of Munich city council in Germany, reports that its fellow council in Leipzig started a migration to the free open source office suite OpenOffice earlier this year.

• Romanian animal monitoring program proves open source’s reliability

  Romania’s for the past seven years has been using open source for all servers, PCs and laptops for its country-wide farm animal monitoring program. It proofs the reliability and sustainability of this type of software, says Teodorescu Constantin, the project’s IT manager. “We chose Linux and other open source solutions because we wanted trouble-free workstations.”

Licensing

• Choosing a license for your work

Openness/Sharing

• Clay Shirky on how the Internet will one day transform government

  Clay Shirky has done it again. In a fascinating TED Talk, Shirky examines the impact that collaboration tools developed for and by open source communities will have on the way citizens participate in public life and how they can steer the political processes.

• Open Access/Content

  • Research Intelligence – Unbound possibilities

    Non-profit, scholar-run publisher impresses with its open-access monograph list. Paul Jump reports

• Open Hardware

  • Inside Facebook’s lab: A mission to make hardware open source

    A look behind the scenes of Facebook’s hardware lab, the spiritual home of the Open Compute datacentre hardware movement, which may radically change the type of IT enterprises use, and who they buy it from.

  • Build Your Own Arduino Powered Automatic Blinds

    Build Your Own Arduino Powered Automatic BlindsOne of the easiest tricks to keeping a house warm (or cool), is to open and close the blinds in time with the sun. Of course, that’s only helpful if you’re home all the time to do that. Instructables user FreedomToCreate has made an Arduino powered system that opens and closes the blinds on a schedule, based on room temperature, or outdoor light.

  • Open-Source Kits Put Robots in Many Hands

    I recently received an interesting press release about Multiplo, a four-person startup seeking venture funds in small amounts to create and manufacture kits for anyone interested in robotics.

    The company has used Kickstarter, a Web-based business that helps connect sponsors with small groups that want to pursue a specific project. The Kickstarter approach lets people involved with a project — which must have a specific goal — solicit funds and offer “rewards” to people who contribute funds.

Programming

• Google launches its third junior Code-in event

• Perforce Aims to Bring Git to the Enterprise

  It’s no surprise that the pace of technological innovation in the startup and web development world greatly eclipses the pace of technology adoption at most enterprise organizations. Enterprises are generally slow, risk averse, and demand long-term support for products in which they invest. Startups, web development shops, and open source enthusiasts move at a significantly faster pace. While some enterprises are just now moving from the venerable CVS version control system to something like Subversion, the bulk of today’s generation of developers are using git (and GitHub).

Standards/Consortia

• Using the HTML5 Fullscreen API for Phishing Attacks

Finance

• Q & A with Journalist & Author of “Bet the Farm” Frederick Kaufman

  What would be a significant first step in reducing hunger in America?

  A: Hunger in America isn’t about not having enough food; it’s about not being able to afford food. One proven remedy has been the availability of food stamps, which depends on the fate of the next Farm Bill. Many would like to cut programs that make food available to children in schools, and adults in need, a “reform” that would bring this country a step closer to food insecurity. In this country, not having the money to purchase food also translates into obesity, as cheap calories generally come with too much fat, sugar, and boatloads of artificial everything. In order to consume better calories at lower prices, Americans need to learn about nutrition and home food preparation. Education can help, along with support for purveyors of produce in urban food deserts. Above all, we need jobs for Americans. Food often accounts for 12-15 percent of a weekly paycheck, but first Americans need the paycheck.

Censorship

• Internet censorship: Let it rot in walled gardens

  John Gilmore, an internet activist who was also one of the co-founders of both the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the first free software company, Cygnus Solutions, once wrote that “the net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it”.

Privacy

• Party conferences and the Comms Data Bill

  The usefulness of data comes in part from its intrusiveness. So the collection and access to communications information is balanced against the fundamental right to privacy. As a start, many politicians accept that the police should have access to communications traffic data. Of course, sometimes law enforcement have had access to this data, as with phone bills.

Civil Rights

• Snooper’s Charter: 19,000 Emails Against, 0 In Favour

  Back in August, I urged people to respond to the consultation on the truly dreadful Draft Communications Bill, aka Snooper’s Charter. Obviously, I wasn’t alone in doing that: many organisations concerned about the impact on civil liberties in this country have done the same. For example, both 38 Degrees and Open Rights Group (ORG) provided suggested texts and asked people to contact the Joint Parliamentary Committee that has been considering the Bill – and doing rather a good job of it, I must say.

DRM

• Txtr Beagle – Concern to Amazon? – No.

  I’m looking at the Guardian today for the purposes of this article which is reporting a new e-ink, ebook reader which they write about under the title of “Kindle under fire from low-cost ‘txtr beagle’ e-reader” – A dramatic and wholly inacurate headline in my view, but then this is the Guardian so I don’t expect either Guardian staff or its readerbase will see any problem with that. Reported at being available for around £8 this twin AAA powered device with significantly less storage capacity, a slightly smaller screen, no WIFI or 3G and having to be loaded with ebooks via Bluetooth on an Android or iPhone, is going in some way to disturb Amazon or indeed any of the other great e-ink devices.

• Kindle Owners’ Lending Library Coming to the UK, Germany and France

  Amazon is bringing the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library to the UK, Germany and France later this month, giving European Kindle owners (with Prime membership) the choice of over 200,000 books to borrow for free as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates.

Intellectual Monopolies

• Copyrights

  • DEAct: Concerns about copyright infringement evidence gathering

    Consumer Focus have today written to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) about the way the MPAA collect evidence of copyright infringement by individuals on P2P networks. The letter relates to a presentation the MPAA gave to Consumer Focus and security expert Dr Richard Clayton (also a member of Open Rights Group’s advisory council), about the process they will be using for the US’ ‘six strike’ copyright infringement process. In his analysis, Dr Clayton found a number of issues that could lead to errors in the gathering of evidence of infringement.

  • ACTA

    • CETA: Governments Must Protect our Freedoms!

      La Quadrature du Net publishes a letter sent to French ministers in charge of negociating CETA, the Canada – UE Trade Agreement, and calls them to act to protect our freedoms, in accordance with previous commitments.

• Distributions
• Devices/Embedded

How to Watch HDTV from Internet on your TV with Linux PC (Legally)

Hooray! The Airbus finally brought me to the land where law is taken slightly more seriously than in Russia. With great responsibility, however, usually comes great power, and a lot of absolutely legal video streaming services are available in the U.S. Moreover, my corporate-sponsored temporary apartment has a large, like, 30-inch TV, and it would be a sin to just let it collect dust in silence.

No, I couldn’t just watch cable TV! The very idea that I watch something on a predefined schedule is not appealing to me. I’d have to spend money on a TiVo or something that records TV shows anyway. And what about DVDs and feature movies? TV shows isn’t the only thing I watch, by the way. And what about shows that are not airing? how to watch older seasons? No, TV is for the weak.

Coming To A Car Near You: Linux Goes Automotive, Signs Up Harman, Intel, Toyota, Samsung’s Tizen, More

If, one day, we really are all going to be carted around in driverless cars from the likes of Google and others, then we may as well have some apps on board to keep us occupied. Today, the Linux Foundation announced that it was throwing its hat into the car-apps ring, with the creation of the Automotive Grade Linux Workgroup. Early sign-ups among car companies include Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and Toyota. Tech companies include Harman, Intel, NEC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Texas Instruments, along with Tizen, the Linux-based platform backed by Samsung and Intel.

The Linux Foundation is not exactly an early mover here. We’ve already seen “car of the future” odes from the likes of Ford and Honda – not to mention Google — even some suggestions that Apple is working on concepts, too. The point with the Linux news, it seems, is to try to keep it relevant in that wider picture of development, and to try impart some standards in the process.

Open source’s secret ally: Moore’s Law

Linux went from being a cool personal hack in a bedroom to software that would eventually change world just over 21 years ago when Linus sent out his famous “Hello everybody out there using minix” message that invited people to join in. As I noted last month, that open, collaborative approach was really quite new and proved key to the uptake and development of Linux.

That was possible because the internet was sufficiently widely available for enough people to join Linus’ distributed team of volunteers. In other words, the rise of free software is intimately bound up with the internet. Indeed, the rapid take-off of Linux compared with the rather slower progress of the GNU Project is probably due, at least in part, to the fact that the latter could not take global connectivity for granted. It was thanks to this that Richard Stallman was able to live off the sales of GNU Emacs, which he sent out on tapes.

Top 5 security Myths about Linux; and their realities

Linux, unfortunately has been long surrounded by myths. Despite the speedy adoption of Linux as mainstream operating systems for enterprises particularly, the common misconceptions about Linux seem to continue. The post enlists five traditional myths about Linux Security and attempts to debunk each; discussing real facts.

There exist mainly two schools of thoughts regarding security of Linux. One group that assumes ‘ Linux is Virus Proof’ and the other, advocating a completely contrary thought i.e. ‘Linux is more insecure (when compared to contenders), as it makes source code available to everyone’. Let’s investigate in detail.

Desktop

• Desktop Linux: Diversity is the New Reality

  Everyone agrees that desktop Linux has become more diverse in the last couple of years. But how diverse? And how are the dethroned dominant environments responding?

  Those are questions that nobody is asking — although they probably should.

  So far, 2012 has yet to see one of those magazine polls that are our main — although imperfect — indications of what desktop environments users prefer. However, with a little digging, a few indicators can be unearthed.

  Several indicators are available from Distrowatch, the site that attempts to track distributions.

• Linux and Windows: Peaceful Coexistence

  Like an evangelist, I frequently tell people about a free Windows-like alternative that is faster and more secure than Microsoft’s OS. The most common response I get is, “Linux, what’s that?”

  Often I also hear, “I can’t switch systems. I am too busy to start from scratch with all my files.” Or, “I’m too busy to go back and forth between two sets of files, one on my Windows computer and the other in my new Linux set up.”

• 2012 Desktop Shootout

  I didn’t blog yesterday. I’m sorry. I know the internets were in a frenzy arguing over whether I quit or gave up or what have you, but I didn’t. I was just busy doing boring stuff that wasn’t worth blogging about.

• CAINE 3.0 review

  CAINE, acronym for Computer Aided INvestigative Environment, is a Linux distribution specially crafted for performing computer (digital) forensics. It started life as the graduate thesis of Giancarlo Giustini at the Information Engineering Department of the University of Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy. It is now a project of Digital Forensics for Inter-department Center for Research on Security (CRIS) at the same university.

Server

• IBM Rolls Out New PureSystems Data Servers

  IBM is expanding its portfolio of PureSystems today with new offerings for transactions, analytics and operational analytics.

Audiocasts/Shows

• Podcast Season 4 Episode 19

  In this episode: More jury confusion on the Apple vs. Samsung case. Blue Systems sponsors KWin. Linux kernel 3.6 is out, and 3.7 is going to be ARM-unified. You can now shutdown Gnome 3.6 and the French adore le logiciel libre. Plus, hear our discoveries, our rants and raves, and your own opinions in the Open Ballot.

Kernel Space

• Linux 3.8 Kernel May Have Better Nouveau Re-Clocking

  While it will still be a while before the Linux 3.7 kernel is even released, the Linux 3.8 kernel may end up having better Nouveau driver re-clocking support for the common “NV50″ NVIDIA GPU family.

  In the forum discussion surrounding the significant underlying Nouveau driver changes found in Linux 3.7, Nouveau’s Martin Peres wrote, “No luck for this kernel, but I think I’m not that far from delivering good reclocking support for the nv50 family. Maybe next kernel?” His comments were in response to a Phoronix reader asking about dynamic re-clocking and voltage changes.

• How To Boot Linux In Under One Second

• 30 Linux Kernel Developers in 30 Weeks: Mauro Carvalho Chehab

• Korea Linux Forum Hosts Kernel Collaboration Gangnam Style

  This week The Linux Foundation is hosting its first-ever event in South Korea, the Korea Linux Forum in the Gangnam District. This was planned long before PSY’s Gangnam-style videowent viral but who are we not to do our part in contributing to this craze and honoring our host location?

• Graphics Stack

  • Nouveau Re-Clocking, NVIDIA vs. Nouveau Drivers

  • Early Benchmarks Of The Linux 3.7 Kernel

    While the Linux 3.7-rc1 kernel has not even been released yet, most of the feature pulls have now made their way into the mainline Linux kernel tree. Here are some of the first benchmarks of the Linux 3.7 kernel to see if anything has changed for the Intel x86_64 Linux performance with this very exciting kernel.

Applications

• Let your creativity explode with MyPaint!

  MyPaint is an easy to use open source digital painting application that also works with Wacom tablets supporting pressure susceptibility.

  The application is designed with simplicity in mind, while also ensuring a seamless and undistracted drawing experience for the artist. It is all about you and the canvas, with the interface showing only when needed.

• Your Top Three Unix Tools

• Password Tools

• Console Based Applications

  Modern operating systems lay so much emphasis on perfecting the desktop environment. Both Windows and OS X incorporate the desktop environment directly into the operating system. Windows 8 extends this further by adding touch technologies to the desktop environment. Apple has spent 12 years enhancing Aqua, the graphical user interface and visual theme of Mac OS X.

• Linux-Native Task Management? Check.

  Task management programs are commonplace in our busy lives, but it seems that every system lacks something. Google Tasks is nice, but it lacks the features of a more robust task management system. Remember the Milk is nice, but it charges for some of its features. Many standalone task management programs are great, but they don’t sync between devices.

• Instructionals/Technical

  • Build a file server with the Raspberry Pi

  • Inkscape Tutorial: Traced Path Pentagram

  • Quickly setup rvm, Ruby, RubyGems and Apache with Passenger in aws ec2 ubuntu instance

  • Creating Virtual RedHat/CentOS/Scientific Linux/Fedora Appliances For KVM With BoxGrinder (Fedora 17)

  • An outrageously simple note taking android app made even more better

  • Explore Python, machine learning, and the NLTK library

  • Save a CD/DVD – Use a USB flash drive and dd

  • Keep Your Desktop Fresh With Variety Wallpaper Changer

  • Overclock a Raspberry Pi without Voiding Your Warranty

  • Blender 2.64 and Your Guide to Making Movies with It

  • 1366×768 is not allowed in the EDID block. Here’s how to write your XOrg modeline.

  • Linux strace command – A magnificent troubleshooter

  • Creating Virtual RedHat/CentOS/Scientific Linux/Fedora Appliances For KVM With BoxGrinder (Fedora 17)

  • Cool tips to change Ubuntu command line prompt colour

  • How To Synchronize Dropbox and ownCloud on Linux

• Games

  • Compete in Rigs of Rods Multiplayer!

    Rigs of Rods is one of the most amazing open source simulation projects that we reviewed a while ago. It is distinguished for its vehicle plethora and the realism of the vehicles body movement and damage.

  • Humble eBook Bundle – Yet again, Linux users are spending more money than Windows.

    The Humble Indi Bundle has released it’s new offering – a bundle of ebooks where the customer pays what they want. It’s an an idea that has proved successful in the past and also highlighted that far from being “freetards” as some Microsoft Advocates would suggest, Linux users are willing to spend more money than Windows.

  • Four Games to Increase Your Vocabulary and General Knowledge

    Sometimes, in our busy lives, it is necessary to cut ourselves a little slack and play a quick game just for fun. After all, we cannot procrastinate for a long time!

    Sometimes, our gaming needs are not very demanding: we don’t want great graphics, involving plots, or adrenaline-releasing games…especially when we can barely spare from five to ten minutes to gaming.

  • Major Unvanquished update (Alpha 8)

    Yesterday (following their monthly release cycle) a new alpha from Unvanqished was released. For those with bad short term memory: Unvanquished is trying to revitalize the RTS/FPS hybrid Tremulous.

  • 5 New RPG games for Linux

    In this post I’ll show you 4 NEW RPG games, they are all developed from the scratch to run on our beloved Penguin: Questverse, Hale, Dawn, Flare and Arakion

Desktop Environments

• Snowlinux 3.1 GNOME 2 & XFCE 4.8 & E17 released!

  Snowlinux 3.1 is a bug fix release for GNOME, XFCE and E17. It solves many bugs and it also brings many features to the users. CTRL_ALT_Backspace restarts the x-server if it has hung up. Click on tap was activated and lots of bugs were solved.

• K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

  • KDE’s KWin Gears Up To Advance At Faster Pace

    With the push towards Wayland and other various advancements being desired out of KDE’s compositing window manager, Martin Gräßlin is joining Blue Systems to further work on KWin.

    Beginning a new blog post by Martin, “Very soon after joining the KWin development team almost five years ago, I realized that KWin would need at least one full time developer. It is one of the most important parts for the user experience of the KDE Plasma Workspaces and we have seen quite often that important changes for the user experience could not be implemented due to lack of manpower.”

  • KWin maintainer to join Blue Systems

    KDE developer Martin Gräßlin has announced that he will be joining Blue Systems to continue his work on KWin window manager for the KDE Plasma Desktop full time. The developer says that soon after joining the KWin development team nearly five years ago, he realised that the project would eventually need at least one full time developer. “With the upcoming required changes like Qt 5 and Wayland the need for developers is increasing,” noted Gräßlin.

  • Possibility to use KLook from File->Open/Save dialogs

  • KDE Publishes Its Manifesto

    Citing the benefits of a KDE project the site says: Being part of the international KDE community conveys certain benefits and rights.

  • KDE Pens Manifesto

  • KDE Commit-Digest for 5th August 2012

  • Roktober 2012

  • Amarok Celebrates 10 Years

    Amarok, popular KDE music manager, is turning 10 years old this month and the project is taking this opportunity to review the last year and look head to the future. Amarok 3 will debut at FOSDEM next February, and planning has already begun. So, it’s time for the team to raise some money.

  • KDE Commit-Digest for 12th August 2012

  • KDE Commit-Digest for 19th August 2012

  • KDE4 Plasma Active

    I’ve recently replaced Unity, on the little MSI Netbook, that I wrote about recently after installing Ubuntu/Unity on it.

Distributions

• Review: Cinnarch 2012.10.01

  I haven’t gotten the chance to do a review in a while. It’s a long weekend, so I finally do have some more free time now, and I need to take a break from the otherwise endless stream of work, so I’m taking a look at Cinnarch now.

  Cinnarch is a relatively new distribution on the scene. True to its name, it is based on Arch Linux and uses GNOME 3/Cinnamon as its primary DE. At first I figured that the packaging would be fairly stock, but as it turns out (and as you will see later in this post), there are a few other mild customizations present as well.

• Zorin Linux Is Heavy on the Windows Dressing

  For many newcomers to Linux, Zorin has a deal maker that is unmatched in any other Linux distribution. It comes with several integrated tools that let you modify Zorin’s appearance. Look Changer lets you decide how the desktop looks and acts. You can tweak the look and feel even more with Splash Screen Manager, Internet Browser Manager and Background Plus.

• OS4 13 Screenshots

• New Releases

  • GeeXboX 3.0 released

  • Zentyal 3.0 integrates Samba 4

    Version 3.0 of the Zentyal small business server is now available; the new version upgrades the underlying operating system and integrates Samba 4. Aimed at small and medium businesses (SMBs), Zentyal is a Linux-based server distribution that can act as a Gateway, Unified Threat Manager, Office Server, Infrastructure Manager, or Unified Communications Server, or as a combination of these. The system can also be extended using over 30 modules, such as HTTP Proxy, firewall and the Zarafa collaboration platform.

• Gentoo Family

  • Sabayon 10 introduces MATE edition

    Sabayon 10, the latest release of the Gentoo-derived Linux distribution, introduces a new edition of the operating system with version 1.4.1 of the MATE desktop, a fork of the older 2.x branch of GNOME. For the first time, Sabayon also provides Amazon Machine Images (AMI) to deploy the distribution on Amazon’s EC2 cloud platform.

• Red Hat Family

  • Red Hat Expands OpenShift Ecosystem with Zend Partnership

    Red Hat has expanded its OpenShift Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) ecosystem by collaborating with Zend, the PHP Company.

    The new Zend Server for Red Hat OpenShift gives professional-grade PHP development and runtime environment, alongside the benefits of the OpenShift PaaS. PHP applications deployed to Zend Server for OpenShift can access built-in debugging, monitoring and application performance tuning capabilities, making application development and management easier.

  • Red Hatters seal chumship with Zend on OpenShift PHP cloud

    Red Hat is still only previewing its OpenShift platform cloud, and one of the reasons why is because it had not yet inked a deal with Zend Technologies, the commercial entity that is to the PHP programming language as Linux Torvalds and Red Hat together are to the Linux operating system.

  • Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst to Discuss the Information Revolution at TEDx Raleigh

  • Red Hat makes APAC appointments

    Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT), the world’s leading provider of open source solutions, today announced six appointments across the Asia Pacific region to support market interest in open source technologies and the company‘s growth plans across the region.

  • Fedora

    • Fedora 18 To Be Delayed By Another Week

      Fedora 18 Beta codenamed Beefy Miracle is going to be delayed by another week. This is mainly because of unfinished/non-testable nature of its build. The decision was taken in Fedora 18 Beta Change Deadline readiness meeting and its expected that this delay will make the beta release possible soon.

    • Name Suggestions For Fedora 19 Now Open

      Naming suggestions are now open for Fedora 19, which is scheduled to be released sometime next year. The upcoming release, Fedora 18 Beefy Miracle is going to release end November 2012. Fedora maintains a 6 month release cycle while older releases get unsupported after a period of 1.5 years.

    • Is that Fedora running on a Raspberry Pi?

      That was a popular exchange at the Fedora booth during this year’s Ohio LinuxFest. The iconic Model B Raspberry Pi, running Fedora Remix and proudly displaying the Beefy Miracle fireworks on a XFCE desktop, was drawing lots of attention.

• Debian Family

  • CrunchBang ‘Waldorf’ – Second Time Lucky

    As we all know ‘Waldorf’ is the testing branch of CrunchBang Linux based on the upcoming Debian ‘Wheezy’. Two weeks ago I wrote a shortish post about how the latest testing image failed to install, and promptly an update got released with the release announcement pointing to a known bug in the Debian installer. So, time to try again now that we’re back home.

  • Derivatives

    • Canonical/Ubuntu

      • Ubuntu Tweak 0.8.0: The Apps Generation

        It’s almost half year since the last major release of Ubuntu Tweak. In 0.7.x release, I polished the UI of Ubuntu Tweak, and also brought back the App Center & Source Center that you miss.

      • Canonical Opens Up Donations For Ubuntu

        Canonical has opened up donations for the Ubuntu project and users who do not have much time to contribute to the project in kind, now can help it in cash. The donation mechanism is similar to the Humble Bundle, where users will be able to select the exact usage of the donations.

      • Ubuntu Linux: Donationware?

      • Easier Financial Contributions To Ubuntu

      • Upgrading to Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Server

      • Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter Issue 286

      • The Ubuntu architect: why it’s important to attract all users

        Allison Randal is such a brilliant speaker that she could keep us interested in anything, for hours.

        Fortunately, when our sister title Linux Format met her she was talking about the best ways to engage the next wave of Ubuntu users to join in and become good citizens.

        As technical architect of Ubuntu, it’s her job to, as she puts it: “champion the community’s vision for Ubuntu; to facilitate conversations as we integrate multiple perspectives and balance multiple needs; to ask good questions that help us find better solutions.”

      • Ubuntu Made Easy: Interview With The Authors

        A couple weeks ago, I reviewed the book Ubuntu Made Easy, and a few days after that, I thought “why not do an interview to the authors”? So, here it is. Rickford Grant and Phil Bull both agreed on making it. I also got a few questions from you on Reddit, which got asked here.

      • Ubuntu’s Jono Bacon Talks Open-Source Community Management

        Jono Bacon, the community manager for Canonical’s Ubuntu Linux, believes in open-source software, but even more, he believes in the ability of open-source communities to help move code forward to drive success for enterprises. By getting their developers more involved in open-source communities, Bacon believes that enterprises will reap far more than they sow by benefiting from better code that helps solve their business challenges. That’s why, he argues, more enterprises today are correctly hiring community managers to nurture and grow such efforts. Bacon was in San Francisco Oct. 8 to speak on the subject at the Liferay Symposium. There he sat down with eWEEK’s Todd R. Weiss to answer questions about the state of open- source software in 2012 and why participation in open-source communities should be taken even more seriously by enterprises. Bacon authored a book on the topic, “The Art of Community,” which was updated in a second edition this past May by O’Reilly Media, and is the founder of the Community Leadership Summit. Begun in 2009, it’s been held each year in Portland, Ore., just before the O’Reilly Open Source Conference (OSCON).

      • Ubuntu’s Shopping Lens Might Be Illegal in Europe

        The new Shopping lens that received so much publicity in the last month, both positive and negative, could be illegal in Europe.

      • Ubuntu 12.10 ‘Quantal Quetzal’: Beta 2 Sneak Peek

        Ubuntu 12.10 ‘Quantal Quetzal’ is due for release in approximately one week. But before we start preparing a full review of the new version, we thought we’d give Unixmen readers a small preview of what we should all expect from the ‘Quantal Quetzal’.

        I’ve spent some time with the latest Beta 2 in the last few days. And I must admit, the past few releases of Ubuntu I have found to be rather uninspiring and I think there are much better Linux based operating systems currently available. Yet, I think 12.10 could be the version that gets back my respect for Ubuntu.

      • DVDs For Approved LoCo Teams

      • Ubuntu Prompts For Donations When Downloading

        Just a few weeks after Canonical integrated Amazon product results into Unity’s Dash in an effort to generate more money through affiliate/referral revenue, they have taken another step today to try to increase their cash flow.

        Ubuntu has long accepted donations for the project, but now they have made it more apparent with changes to the Ubuntu web-site.

      • Install Ubuntu and contribute to Canonical

        Ubuntu is a free operating system, free as in speech and free as in beer. And Canonical are keen to reinforce this Richard Stallman ethos as they announce a new way for users to optionally contribute to Canonical before they download the desktop version of Ubuntu.

      • How Ubuntu Intel Graphics Changed In One Month

        Here’s a look at how the open-source Intel Linux graphics performance has changed in Ubuntu 12.10 when comparing benchmarks results of Ubuntu Quantal development snapshots from the end of August to the beginning of October.

      • Flavours and Variants

        • Bodhi Linux 2.1.0 arrives with new file manager

          With the 2.1.0 update release, the developers of the minimal desktop distribution Bodhi Linux have introduced a new file manager, improved the login manager and given users four new themes for their desktop. Bodhi Linux is based on the Enlightenment E17 desktop and the latest version drops the PCManFM file manager in favour of the desktop’s own alternative called Enlightenment File Manager (EFM).

        • AriOS 4.0 Review: Polished, attractive and functional Ubuntu 12.04LTS

          Debian gave birth to Ubuntu and Ubuntu, in turn, gave birth to hundreds of other distros like Linux Mint, Pinguy OS, Zorin, Crunchbang, Pear OS, Luninux, OS4, Super OS, Ultimate OS, Kiwi, etc. to name a few apart from the usual Kubuntu, Xubuntu and Lubuntu. When I read the release news of AriOS 4.0 on distrowatch, I was expecting something in the similar lines – just another remix of Ubuntu with plenty of necessary and unnecessary applications and other stuff! Needless to say, once you have a Linux Mint, do you really need any other Ubuntu derivative? These days, Linux Mint is my benchmark after my experiment with 20 odd Linux distros and I start comparing any distro I test with Linux Mint. If Linux Mint is 100, where do others lie?

Devices/Embedded

• Two developer contests from Qualcomm

  The open source AllJoyn framework is designed to enable peer-to-peer communication between mobile devices without the need for servers to be involved in the process. The Apache 2.0 licensed framework supports near field communication (NFC), Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and can be used for a variety of tasks. Accordingly, there are several different application technologies for the Peer-2-Peer App Challenge, including Best Gaming App, Best Educational App, Best Social App and others. Qualcomm is providing prizes with a total value of $170,000. The application deadline is 27 December.

• The Raspberry Pi gets a turbo mode

  The Raspberry Pi Foundation has performed testing on the effects of overclocking and overvolting, and is now providing what it calls a “turbo mode” for the Raspberry Pi mini-computer. While the Foundation has always supported these kinds of modifications, they have in the past voided the customer’s warranty for the product – a sticky bit in the BCM2835 chip makes sure this operation cannot be performed undetected. The turbo mode option enables users to get more performance out of their Raspberry Pis without having to be afraid of affecting their warranty.

• Phones

  • Meg Whitman says HP has to ‘offer a smartphone’

    HP bet big on the smartphone world when it purchased Palm, but the company fell flat on its face and webOS failed to take off. The reasons for the failure are numerous, but the new CEO Meg Whitman is smart enough to realize it can’t simply abandon the market entirely. In an interview with Fox Business, she said that HP “ultimately has to offer a smartphone.”

  • Android

    • LG Nexus 4 To Release On October 29

      French publication “Le Figaro “says that LG Nexus 4 is scheduled for a worldwide release on October 29. With Nexus rumors at its peak, this news has certainly been the most delighting of all for all the Nexus fans.

    • Razr i Boasts 2GHz Intel Atom, Respectable Battery Life

      More significantly, the battery is claimed to last much longer than on earlier phones featuring Medfield chips. Battery life has long been a challenge for Atom-based mobile devices, but if Motorola’s claims are true, the issue may be moot. The Razr i and its 2000mAh battery is claimed to offer up to 20 hours of use — almost as long as the long-lasting Razr Maxx and 40 percent longer than the iPhone 4S.

    • Affordability is the key factor in Android adoption

      Apple iPhones aren’t seeing the uptake in some markets due to price. Android devices are more affordable and therefore more accessible.

    • HTC Flyer 2 coming with an extremely slim anodized aluminum body, Snapdragon S4 chip

      HTC will not be making a Windows 8/RT-based tablet, but that might turn out to be a good thing for competition as now more details surface about an upcoming HTC Flyer 2, the second generation of HTC’s 7-inch Android tablet.

      The second-gen Flyer is said to feature a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1280 x 768 pixels and the same gorgeous anodized aluminum body like the HTC One S, according to a source in the know

    • Eric Schmidt talks up new Android numbers

      According to him, Android is now at 480 million install base and is growing at a rate of 1.3 million per day.

    • Tablet shipments now expected to hit 117 million this year

    • MOGA Mobile Gaming System Coming To 7,000 US Stores

      MOGA, the first complete mobile gaming system for Android devices, will be available in more than 7,000 stores in the U.S. starting on October 21, 2012.

    • Hopes For The Aakash Android 4.0 Being Released On Nov 11

      Telecom minister Kapil Sibal hopes that the Aakash tablet will be launched on 11th November. Speaking at the Economic Editor’s Conference, he said, “Hopefully on November 11, you will see the President talking to 20,000 students across the nation who will have their hands on Aakash”.

    • Sprint Announces Four New 4G LTE Android Devices

      Sprint is lining up four new 4G LTE Android phones – Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, LG Optimus G, LG Mach and Sprint Plug-in-Connect Tri-mode USB. The company is holding back on pricing and availability for the moment.

      Features to attract your interest include, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 is the first tablet to combine the benefits of Sprint 3G and 4G LTEand comes with a 10.1-inch touchscreen display, Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich and a 1.5GHz dual-core processor.

    • Android 4.1.2 AOSP Update Released for Nexus 7

      The release of Android 4.1.2 to AOSP was announced by Jean-Baptiste Queru, (Technical Lead, Android Open Source Project, Google) today via Android Building Group. This will just be an incremental update over Android 4.1.1, as stated by the update notification “improves performance and stability and fixes bugs.” Nexus 7 tablets will be the first to receive these updatess.

    • Landscape mode comes to Nexus 7

    • New Linux and Android Game Platforms Gaining Momentum

      Things are heating up on the open source gaming front. The buzz continues over the open source Ouya gaming platform. A Los Angeles-based project, Ouya is billed as “a new kind of video game console” and famously pulled down millions in funding on Kickstarter. As Ouya’s plans ramp up, there are also new details emerging about Steam for Linux, which looks like it may include many more advanced games than previously thought.

    • MetroPCS adds $150 Coolpad Quattro 4G to lineup

      MetroPCS today announced yet another affordable 4G LTE Android with the debut of the Coolpad Quattro 4G. As the second smartphone of its kind to cost less that $150, the handset runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread and features a 1GHz processor. Additional details include a 4-inch touch display, a 3.2-megapixel camera, front-facing VGA camera, and your standard fare of connectivities.

    • Archos debuts 7-inch Android-powered GamePad

    • Huawei Launches the Ascend G600 Smartphone – More Visual Clarity, More Speed and More Power

    • Huawei intros ‘fashion forward’ MediaPad 7 Lite

      Huawei announced at IFA that they’ve got a 7-inch tablet for those of you with eye for both fashion and function. Called the MediaPad 7 Lite, the device runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and features a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a 7-inch 1024×600 IPS display, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, and pair (3.2-megapixel rear, .3-megapixel front-facing) of cameras.

    • Motorola unveils its first Intel-powered smartphone: Razr i

• Sub-notebooks/Tablets

  • Children, beware! This monster came for you!

    Today, I discovered that the Quiros-Tanzi Foundation, the NGO that handles the XO computers of OLPC, launched its first TV campaign to promote the goal of distributing the inexpensive computers. The TV ad features a simple concept: children are afraid of a hideous creature called “The Browser,” who can find them anywhere. The point of the ad is that children should not see technology as a monster. Interestingly, this 2009 video proves that even adults ignore what a browser is!

  • Acer outs £180 Iconia Tab A110 Android tablet

    The new tablet, which has disadvantages and advantages when compared with the Google Nexus 7, is clearly priced as a reaction to that and other recent devices – the last Acer seven-incher launched at £300.

  • PCs hit a high for customer satisfaction — boosted by tablets

    Labeling desktops, laptops, and tablets all as personal computers, the ACSI gave the category a grade of 80 out of 100. That proved a 2.6 percent gain over the 78 score earned last year and in 2010. Though some may disagree with the tagging of tablets as PCs, the iPad and its brethren were partly responsible for the bump in satisfaction among computer buyers.

  • Source: Barnes & Noble prepping Nook Tablet followup with ‘incredible display’ for fall release

    This week may belong to Amazon and whatever information the mega-retailer decides to drop on our heads tomorrow at its press conference in Santa Monica, but Barnes & Noble’s apparently won’t be letting the Kindle maker hog the spotlight for too long.

  • Sony Xperia Tablet S now available in the USA

  • Google to Partner with Samsung For Nexus 10

    A 10 inch tablet from Google is on its way, presumably the Nexus 10. CNET has learned from Ricard Shim (analyst at NPD DisplayDearch), that Google will partner with Samsung to produce this device and it is going to be a high end device compared to the $199 Nexus 7 or rumored $99 Nexus tablet.

  • Nexus 7 Wins T3 Gadget Of Year

    The blockbuster Android Tablet, Nexus 7 from Google has added another jewel to its crown. Nexus 7 by Asus has won the T3 Gadget Awards for “Tablet of the Year” as well as the “Gadget of the Year.

  • This is the new Amazon Kindle Fire

    The Verge has obtained images of what appears to be the next version of the Kindle Fire, Amazon’s Android-based tablet that’s expected to be announced next week, following news that the current model is “sold out.” We’re being told that a “pair” of Fires is likely — a 7- and a 10-incher — though it remains unclear whether both models will be introduced at the same time. We’re not sure which model we’re looking at here, but the scale of the keyboard suggests that seven inches is more likely.

  • Oregon Scientific debuts $150 MEEP! Tablet for kids

  • Top 10 Android Tablets Shipping Today

Synnex Partners Discover Open Source for Business

At Synnex National Conference, scores of VARs last week discovered open source business solutions from Digium, Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) and Open-Xchange. Many of those channel partners investigated Asterisk (an IP PBX), unified communications, virtualization and cloud-based email solutions that leverage open source at the core. This certainly is not Synnex’s (NYSE: SNX) first move to promote open source business partners. But it may be the most successful effort yet. Here’s why.

Server-side enhancements for OpenGeo Suite 3.0

The developers at OpenGeo worked on improving the server side of their geodata platform in version 3.0 of the OpenGeo Suite to make it a more comprehensive platform for processing spatial data on the web. Features include a OGC Web Processing Service (WPS) which allows geospatial processing to be run against the GeoServer, rendering transformations for cartography and support for serverside scripting in Python and JavaScript.

Open source computing started with the bicycle

Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst used his company’s Boston user summit this June to explain the core concept behind open source innovation and Computer Weekly reported on the former Delta Airlines chief’s comments at that time.

Whitehurst reminded us that it was only 100 years between the invention of the ‘autolathe’ machine to manufacture “standard components parts” in physical engineering such as the standard screw and, then, subsequently, the invention of the combustion engine and the jet plane.

NoteCase Is Back in Pro Form – but There’s a Hitch

NoteCase Pro’s forte is organizing notes in a sensible, tree-like system. Note-taking is not confined to data you manually enter. Rather, it stores scanned images and customizable text formatting for fonts. These include bold, italic, strike-through, text and background color. One of the most useful features is the ability to embed pictures in the text note.

Open vs. Closed: The Cloud Wars

For all the freedom promised by cloud computing, businesses may be really looking at less choice and more constraint than ever before. Whether that happens is the technology industry’s next great battleground.

On one side are large incumbent tech providers like Oracle and Hewlett-Packard, who already have broad portfolios of technology and deep corporate relationships after years of selling products. On the other are younger companies, whose products and services were built for cloud computing and thus may offer more innovative approaches.

Events

• Registrations Now Open For FOSS.IN 2012

  Registrations are now open for India’s one of the largest conferences on free software and open source. The normal entry fee is Rs 2500, but you can get it at early bird discount of Rs 1500 till October 21st.

  The event will be held in Bangalore, India from November 29th to December first. If you are looking to attend this event, this will be a good time to purchase your tickets and save a lot.

• Open Forges Summit 2012: 11th October, Paris (OWF)

Web Browsers

• Mozilla

  • Firefox 16 Released With An Amazing Developer Toolbar

    The Mozilla Foundation has released a new version of the popular and free web browser, Firefox. This version comes with a developer toolbar that will make web developer’s life even easier.

    Firefox makes developing for the Web faster and easier with a unique Developer Command Line. The new tool provides easy keyboard control over Firefox Developer Tools and is intuitive, completing commands and parameters for you.

  • Firefox 16 Available in Stable Channel

  • Firefox Debuts New Developer Toolbar

  • Mozilla Firefox 16 Delivers More Dev Tools. Hello Browser IDE

    Mozilla’s Firefox 16 open source web browser is now generally available and with it comes more goodies for developers.

    That’s right. While Firefox has long positioned itself as browser for users, the focus since moving to the rapid release train cycle has clearly shifted – towards developers. I personally think that’s a good thing because it’s not something that any other major browser vendor does.

    The Mozilla focus on developers means that developers will use Firefox more than other browsers. If developers use it more, I suppose that the prevailing notion is that they will also be more prone to recommend it to others, thus feeding a virtuous cycle of referrals and future adoption.

  • Download Mozilla Firefox 16.0 for Linux

    Mozilla has uploaded a few minutes ago, October 9th, the final packages of the Mozilla Firefox 16.0 web browser for all supported platforms, including Linux, Mac OS X and Windows.

  • Firefox 16.0 Officially Lands in Ubuntu

  • Firefox 16, a treat for developers

SaaS

• OpenStack Summit Approaching, Stacked with Good Sessions

Oracle/Java/LibreOffice

• Two Years Later: A Report Card On Oracle’s Ownership of Java

  After a bumpy start, Oracle’s stewardship of Java has steadily improved, except for the Google mess and a feckless JCP.

CMS

• Joomla 3.0 optimized for mobile devices

  The recently released Joomla 3.0 upgrade will be a treat for web content producers that want to improve the functionality for mobile users.

  Most notably, version 3.0 leverages Bootstrap, Twitters’ tool collection for creating websites and web applications, for ntaively optimizing how content is displayed on smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices.

Education

• Zimbabwe pushes for open education despite oppression

  Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. For many years, it was regarded as the breadbasket of Africa. But since Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in 1980, Robert Mugabe has been the leader, and the fate of the country has largely been tied to him and his policies.

BSD

• A Significant Release Of DragonFlyBSD Coming Up

  A new version of DragonFlyBSD 3.2 is expected by month’s end and it will possess several new features.

  DragonFlyBSD 3.2 was branched this morning as the developers of this BSD operating system prepare to release the new version on the 22nd of October. The branching announcement was made by Justin Sherrill today on the project’s mailing list.

FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC

• GNU Xnee 3.14 (‘Lord Pi’) released

  We are pleased to announce the availability of GNU Xnee 3.14

• FSF Launches Hardware Certification Program

  Software freedom is not just about software, it’s also about the hardware it runs on. The Free Software Foundation has launched the “Respects Your Freedom” computer hardware product certification program to encourage the production of hardware which respects user’s freedom.

Project Releases

• Suricata 1.4beta2 Available for testing!

  The OISF development team is proud to announce Suricata 1.4beta2. This is the second beta release for the upcoming 1.4 version.

• Xen 4.2 brings new default tool stack

• Cinnamon 1.6 released with workspace improvements

Public Services/Government

• Malaysia Saves Big $ Using FLOSS

  Malaysia continues to promote and to implement FLOSS in government. Adoptions of FLOSS on servers is widespread. Adoptions of FLOSS on the desktop are ramping up. The latest figures show 33872 seats of OpenOffice.org.

• Portuguese Vieira do Minho profits from a decade of open source

  For twelve years now, the administration of Vieira do Minho, a municipality in the north of Portugal, is using open source wherever possible. “These IT solutions are flexible, easy to study, test and switch”, says António Rebelo, head of the IT department. “It keeps us free from IT vendors and, because of the lower costs, results in a more sustainable IT infrastructure.”

Openness/Sharing

• Here Comes The First Humble Ebook Bundle

  The Humble Bundle Project is now limited to games alone. While the Humble Bundle 6 finished successfully with raising over $ 2 million, the Humble Bundle team has released another Humble Bundle, but this time, with digital ebooks.

• Beat Making Lab assembling development team

  Our Beat Making Lab is applying for an Open Art grant, which would allow us to start development on our dream: open source beat making software we are calling PAMOJA, which means oneness or solidarity.

Programming

• Open Source Lives in Polyglot Programming

  The prominence and pervasiveness of open source software in cloud computing is something I’ve researched and written about quite a bit. I’ve also discussed how open source software is a key component and catalyst for the devops trend that blends application development and deployment via IT operations. Now I’m seeing the same effect from open source software yet again in a disruptive trend: polyglot programming.

• Simple trick that lets you code twice as fast

Standards/Consortia

• W3C documents the web with Web Platform Docs

  The W3C has announced the alpha release of Web Platform Docs (docs.webplatform.org), a new site which it hopes will become a comprehensive and authoritative source for web developer documentation. Such documentation has been been available, but scattered over many sites, some of which have been less up to date or less informative than they should be over how elements of HTML5 and CSS work across browsers, operating systems and devices.

• Apple, Microsoft, Google, Others Join Hands to Form WebPlatform.org

  Tech heavyweights Apple, Adobe, Google, HP, Microsoft and many others have joined forces and launched a new resource – the Web Platform in a bid to create a “definitive resource” for all open Web technologies.

The Philippines’ Awful New ‘Cybercrime’ Law Put On Hold — For Now

Last week Tim Cushing wrote about the hugely-worrying new “cybercrime” law passed in the Philippines that seemed likely to criminalize all kinds of everyday online activities. As an article on Radio Australia’s site reports, the Philippines’ highest court has now stepped in after being petitioned to block the legislation…

Hiring trends: Which tech skills are most in demand

Privacy

• Neelie Kroes is right to demand DNT action

  Jim Killock, who is an invited expert on the W3C panel for Do Not Track (DNT), welcomed Neelie Kroes’ demands for DNT to be rich and meaningful.

Civil Rights

• The Supreme Court Isn’t Bothered By the NSA’s Warrantless Wiretapping

  The Supreme Court refused to hear a case on Tuesday that holds telecom companies accountable for letting the National Security Agency spy on unknowing Americans without a warrant. Dating back to 2006 when the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation first filed the class-action lawsuit, the case accuses AT&T of providing the NSA with customers’ personal information — phone calls, emails and web browsing history — without seeking a court order. Verizon and Sprint are also mentioned. The plaintiff, former AT&T technician Mark Klein, even provided internal documentation that showed evidence of the NSA surveilling Americans’ Internet traffic from a secret room in San Francisco. That case, Hepting v. AT&T, has now been thrown out, and the Supreme Court didn’t even comment on why.

  This sound very important! After all, doesn’t the Constitution protect American citizens from being spied on by their government without their knowledge or consent? Well, yes and no. Warrantless wiretapping sounds invasive and terrible, sure, but it’s actually technically legal under a 2008 law that retroactively granted immunity to all of the telecom companies that were spying on Americans at the government’s behest. Unsurprisingly, the practice can be traced back to President George W. Bush’s anti-terrorism program following the 2001 World Trade Center attacks. Once things calmed down and people actually started suing the government for eavesdropping on everyday Americans, Congress passed the FISA Amendements Act. (FISA stands for the original law, the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act.) That law is currently up for renewal in Congress.

Internet/Net Neutrality

• Google, Facebook, Amazon lead new tech lobby group

  The Internet Association, a lobbying group made up of some of the Web’s most powerful companies, has officially launched.

  The organization today announced that it’s now operating in Washington, D.C. under the leadership of president and CEO Michael Beckerman. First announced earlier this year, the Internet Association is backed by 14 giants of the Web, including Amazon, AOL, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and others. The companies hope to have their voices heard in Washington, Beckerman says.

Copyrights

• ACTA

  • Confirmed ACTA-like Outrageous Criminal Sanctions in CETA!

    Brussels, 10 October 2012 – The EU Commission has confirmed that ACTA-like criminal sanctions are currently present in CETA, the Canada-EU Trade Agreement. This attempt by the EU executive to impose repression of online communications through the backdoor is unacceptable. La Quadrature du Net calls on EU citizens to demand their governments remove copyright provisions from CETA during the upcoming round of negotiations1; failing to do so, the final text would have to be opposed as a whole.

• Distributions
• Devices/Embedded

Report on LiMux to Munich City Council 2012-03-21

Linux Top 3: Arch, ARM and LibreOffice

Torvalds merged code in last week that will fundamentally change the way ARM is handled in Linux.

The true legal vulnerability of Linux

A recent focus on the problem of software patents raises the question: could Linux be sued off the face of the Earth?

The not-so-random thought came up this weekend when I read the New York Time’s special report, “The Patent, Used as Sword.” This article, which I highly recommend you read when you get a chance, comprehensively examines the broad landscape of software patents without really coming down too hard on one side or the other. It does, I should add, leave you with the sense that something is wonky with this whole idea that billions can be spent and companies can go down just because one side’s lawyers are quicker on the draw than others.

Desktop

• Explosion of Interest in GNU/Linux at Distrowatch.com

  he last week saw the number of distros with 1000 or more hits per day increase from 9 to 15 compared to the last month. What happened is that the total hits/day for the top 100 distros increased 9%, but the hits/day for the top 15 increased 20%. This means the world is becoming more focussed on the popular distros. A consolidation of distros is happening.

• Compare different cloud-oriented Linux-based Operating Systems

  The new form of personal computing sits in the cloud. As computer users rely more and more on Internet services, and spend most of their computing time working online, it makes sense that operating systems would begin to focus usability around the Internet browser. We see that this exactly the case with Chrome OS as they have built an entire operating system platform and corresponding hardware systems around the Google’s Chrome browser. The XPUD operating system is actually designed to run completely within the browser. The Peppermint distro is a sleek, streamlined system that relies completely on cloud based apps and web services while maintaining something of a traditional desktop look and feel.

Kernel Space

• One Linux for all ARM systems

  ARM processors and Linux have been married for years. You name an ARM-based device—smartphones, Raspberry Pi, tablets—and you’ll find Linux running beside it. It’s not been a happy marriage though. For every ARM system on a chip (SoC) there had to be a different Linux spin. With the forthcoming Linux 3.7 kernel we’re on our way to seeing all ARM processors working with a single Linux kernel.

• Stable kernel 3.2.29

• Linux Kernel Whackos: Drop Everything But ARM

  It’s not even Friday yet, but there’s more awkward entertainment today at the expense of Linux kernel trolls. The latest in the series of weird messages hitting the Linux kernel mailing list is a proposal to drop support for all CPU architectures but ARM and a new “invisible” file-system feature.

  There’s been a string of messages on the kernel mailing list lately from alleged trolls requesting various functionality be removed from the mainline kernel or other weird changes that don’t make too much common sense: Linux doesn’t need x86 32-bit support, Linux doesn’t need keyboard support, and then last Friday was Linux doesn’t need multi-monitor, multi-user, Ethernet, and optical drive support.

• Arch Linux Switches To Systemd

• Arch Linux switches to systemd

  A new installation image for Arch Linux is now available that sees the distribution’s default boot process switch from the previous System V implementation to systemd for booting the live system. Because of the change, initscripts are no longer available on the live system. However, the developers note that they are still installed by default, but this “is likely to change in the near future”.

• Samsung contributes F2FS NAND filesystem to Linux

• Linux Support For HDMI CEC Still In Development

  A brief status report was shared concerning supporting the Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) feature of HDMI under Linux.

  Back at the Linux Plumbers Conference in August, the Linux developers meeting in San Diego decided to create a CEC bus with CEC clients that is independent of the Video 4 Linux 2 and DRM APIs, so that both those sub-systems along with other “clients” could use this HDMI feature.

• Graphics Stack

  • OMAP DDX Driver Sees Improvements

  • The Second DRM Pull For The Linux 3.7 Kernel

    The second DRM pull request was submitted and subsequently pulled for the Linux 3.7 kernel.

  • Unvanquished Pushes Its OpenGL 3 GLSL Renderer

    The eighth alpha release of Unvanquished was released this weekend with some major changes to its graphics renderer.

    This open-source first person shooter that is a very promising non-commercial title with impressive graphics (similar to Xonotic) continues to see new alpha releases on a monthly basis.

  • Mesa 9.0 develops OpenGL 3.1 support

    Mesa 9.0 is the latest development version of the open source implementation of OpenGL’s specification for rendering interactive 3D graphics. The new release sets out to implement version 3.1 of the OpenGL API for selected hardware; the developers do note that the software reported version will vary dependant upon what is supported by the hardware and drivers.

Applications

• Instructionals/Technical

  • How To Set Up nginx As A Reverse Proxy For Apache2 On Ubuntu 12.04

  • Install Latest Rhythmbox 2.98 In Ubuntu

  • Now You Will Be Able To Disable Amazon Search Results In Unity

  • Install Blender 2.64 In Ubuntu Using PPA

  • Install Openshot 1.4.3 In Ubuntu Using PPA

  • Serving CGI Scripts With Nginx On CentOS 6.3

  • Using Fail2ban To Block Wrong ISPConfig Logins

  • Script of the Day: Random Wallpaper Setter

  • Book Review – Artist’s Guide to GIMP, 2nd Edition

  • GlassFish monitoring and troubleshooting tips

• Games

  • World Of Goo, Trine 2 And Serious Sam 3 In The List Of First Linux Steam Games

    Steam for Linux has already entered beta phase and soon, users will be able to evaluate it on their computers. Its time more and more games are getting ported to Linux, along with Left For The Dead. Among in the list are some popular titles like World of Goo, Trine 2 and Serious Sam 3.

  • Steam has 15 Linux-compatible games so far

    Valve has promised to launch Steam for Linux before the end of 2012, and last month it was confirmed that an external beta would be happening in October. It’s limited to 1,000 people, but the point is Valve seems to be on track to meet the release target of this year.

Desktop Environments

• K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

  • Rekonq 2 Web Browser Enters Development For KDE

    Work on version 2 of Rekonq, the popular QtWebKit-based web-browser focusing upon the KDE desktop, is now underway.

  • Video Editing on GNU/Linux: It’s Easy with Kdenlive

    I wrote a quickie on Kdenlive last time and wanted to do a more thorough job this month because this is one killer video editor. If you like to make movies and show them to your friends, or even need software for a presentation, Kdenlive is your candidate. If you want to create something that looks professional, I can tell you that while it may not stand as tall as Final Cut Pro, Kdenlive comes quite close to Sony Vegas Pro or Adobe Premiere.

    It doesn’t matter if you have a Web cam, a mobile phone camera or a high-definition camera; Kdenlive is ready with all the punches. The software supports so many formats that it’s not possible for me to give the list without missing out something (for the full list, visit kdenlive.org/about-kdenlive/audio-and-video-formats).

  • Here Comes A Plasmoid For Apper Software Updates

    KDE users love Plasmoids, the small little widgets that you can put in your desktop or system tray. Well the default KDE comes with Plasmoids for RSS Feed, System monitor, comic strip reader to even a web browser! So why not a plasmoid for Apper updates?

  • The KDE Manifesto

    Since it began more than 15 years ago, the international KDE community has grown bigger and more diverse than could have been imagined at the beginning. These forces created a need for clarity about what pulls us together as a community. Over the last six months or so, we have examined this critical issue, moving beyond assumptions and what has been taken for granted. In a rigorous project led by Kévin Ottens, many thoughts were distilled down to essentials. Today, we present the result of that effort: the KDE Manifesto.

• GNOME Desktop

  • List Of New Apps Shipping With Gnome 3.8

    Gnome 3.6 has been released, and developers are now busy with the next Gnome release, Gnome 3.8. We have compiled a list of new apps that may ship with the next Gnome release, along with some handy screenshot for each. For time to time, we will keep you updated about development of these apps, most of which are currently in design phase.

  • Gnome Online Accounts To Support OwnCloud

    Gnome developers are working to integrate the web services in your desktop, and Google, Facebook and Windows Live! have already been tightly integrated. This means you can access your Google and Windows Live! mails, documents, photos and more right from default Gnome apps. This makes working easier, specially if you use cloud services more than desktop ones.

  • Gnome Reads To Make Ebook Reading A Breeze

    Newer Gnome apps are set to make our lives even easier. Earlier we covered a few apps that will debut in Gnome 3.8. Gnome Reads is another new app that is being designed to make ebook reading easier, both online and offline.

Distributions

• ODROID-X – a call to ARMs

• AriOS 4.0 – Persian Perfection!

  When a woGue reader sent an email to us suggesting that we should try AriOS I wasn’t very optimistic. The description was showing the same trodden approach that we saw in so many other projects that is “an Ubuntu based distribution that offers a more ready to use Ubuntu”

  AriOS is really not just simply one of those distributions… It is a truly carefully tailored operating system that offers exactly everything you need, combined with elegance and a sense of opulence!

• Two Slackware Derivatives Still Alive

  Two Slackware derivates recently made it known that they are still alive and developing. One released their first new work in over three years. The other is an update to a release now a year old. AgiliaLinux is known to release once a year, but most thought Draco was pushing up daisies.

• Three Linux distros get key updates, plus one fades away

  With so many Linux distributions out there, it can be difficult to keep tabs on all the updates that come out over the course of an average week or month.

  I’ve featured a few key arrivals over the past few months–including PCLinuxOS 2012.08, OpenSUSE 12.2, the Ubuntu 12.10 Beta 1, and Sabayon 10–but several others have appeared in short order as well, making the challenge more difficult than ever.

• Cinnarch – Where Arch meets Cinnamon

  Arch Linux is now one of the most popular Linux distributions out there and that is for a good reason. It is the distribution with the largest number of available packages, the most recent/up-to-date packages, the rolling release nature, one of the most complete and comprehensive documentations and one of the biggest userbases out there (that is certainly the most knowledgeable too).

• Solus Eveline 1.2: good for newbies

  I am new to Linux and about 3 months ago tried Zorin 5.2 Core. I was very impressed with a Linux based operating system and decided to make my laptop a dual boot with Win7. I wanted a very stable Debian distro. I found Solus OS which seemed to have what I was looking for in a distro.

• New Releases

  • [Arch Linux] Install medium 2012.10.06 introduces systemd

  • Linux Distribution Updates: 6 New Releases, Plus a World of Choice

  • Webconverger 15

  • Parted Magic update includes GParted LVM support

    Parted Magic lead developer Patrick Verner has released an update to his specialist Linux distribution for hard disk partitioning and duplication that includes a new version of the Gnome PARTition EDitor (GParted) with LVM support. Newly supported LVM features include the ability to create, check, move and delete physical volumes; resizing is currently only partially supported.

  • New distro Cinnarch released

    Want to use Cinnamon on Arch Linux? Then you might be interested in the latest Arch spin-off, Cinnarch

• Red Hat Family

  • Red Hat Expands OpenShift Ecosystem with Zend Partnership to Offer Professional-Grade Environment for PHP Developers

    The new Zend Server for Red Hat OpenShift offering provides a professional-grade PHP development and runtime environment, delivered with the benefits of the OpenShift PaaS. PHP applications deployed to Zend Server for OpenShift can access built-in debugging, monitoring and application performance tuning capabilities, making application development and management easier.

  • Jim Whitehurst’s big idea: Effective leaders must operate as catalysts

    Every year, Marbles in downtown Raleigh holds their annual Big Idea Forum. The lunchtime discussion aims to highlight ways corporate and community leaders shape organizations and people through inspiration and innovation.

    Jim Whitehurst, President & CEO of Red Hat, Inc., opened up to Ron Wilder, a business author and executive coach, this past Wednesday, October 3rd, to talk about his big idea.

  • Fedora

    • There’s Still Interest In A Fedora Software Center

      It’s a topic that has been brought up before, but there’s still a number of users and developers interested in seeing a “Software Center” / “App Store” for Fedora Linux.

• Debian Family

  • Derivatives

    • Canonical/Ubuntu

      • Unity 6.8 Doesn’t Change Much For Performance

        While LLVMpipe may be a different story, when using hardware-accelerated graphics drivers with the recently released Unity 6.8 desktop, the performance doesn’t change much. For at least one driver, there’s even a new OpenGL performance regression under certain workloads. Here’s some test results of Unity 6.6 vs. Unity 6.8 on the Radeon and Nouveau drivers.

      • 23 Brand New Features in Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal [Screenshots Tour]

        The Ubuntu juggernaut is moving ahead and huge improvements and brand new features keeps pouring in. Every new Ubuntu release cycle gives you the impression that, things have really been improved and enough features have been added, until you start seeing the changes being done in the next release cycle. Case in point is the latest Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal Beta 1 and Beta 2 releases. Lets see what makes Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal one of our favorite releases till date. 23 things new in Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal.

      • Pre-Order Ubuntu 12.10 DVD Now

        Guess what? Two weeks ahead of the final release of Ubuntu 12.10, Canonical decided to open up their shop with DVDs for the next major release of Ubuntu.

      • Here Comes The GitHub Unity Lens

        Customizing Unity is easy and fun, specially because of its ever growing set of lenses, with new ones coming out almost everyday. Previously we had featured a Python Doc search lens for developers, and this time, Unity GitHub lens will also come handy for devs to search GitHub repos and users.

      • Ubuntu 12.10 DVDs Now Available For Pre-Order

        Ubuntu 12.10 release is coming closer and Canonical has just opened up a new section in its store for Ubuntu 12.10 DVDs. While you can download the .iso file for free and burn it into a disk, it becomes handy to keep a DVD with you, specially if you want to install it on multiple computers and show it off to your friends.

      • Canonical Releases Updated Enterprise Management Solution for Ubuntu Linux

      • Amazon and Ubuntu: A match made for profit?

        A few of the new features will be in the installer (see the state of manual LVM and full disk encryption configuration in Ubuntu’s Ubiquity), while most will be on the running desktop environment itself. If you have been following the development of this next edition of Ubuntu, especially via the blog of Jono Bacon (see On The Recent Dash Improvements), I am sure you must be familiar with the issue surrounding the search results that the system throws in front of you when you use the Dash to search for content.

      • Ubuntu: Breaking the Industry Barriers

        Canonical has come under some heavy criticism in the past couple of weeks with its controversial decision to include Amazon shopping results in the Ubuntu Dash search results. I have to admit, when I first read of the news I was also enraged with a certain amount of anger and honestly couldn’t believe that our beloved Ubuntu had fallen victim to the commercial trap. The more I thought about the issue the more accepting I become of the concept. Allow me to delve a little deeper in to my thoughts and explain to you what I mean.

      • Access Ubuntu Software Center with any Distro!

        Ubuntu Software Center (USC) other than making software installation easy, it is more important because it helps us to discover Apps and the see their ratings and comments from people that they already have used them.

        Unfortunately USC is only available in Ubuntu and Ubuntu spins and derivatives, but apparently it seems there is a web-interface (somewhere hidden) that everyone can access no matter the distro. Even with Windows and Mac.

      • Ubuntu Tweak 0.8 Comes With Integrated Apps Store

        Ubuntu Tweak is a open-source teaking tool for Ubuntu that allows you to customize your Ubuntu desktop the way you like. Apart from regular tweaks, the updated version Ubuntu Tweak 0.8.0 comes with a native app store.

      • Efficiently Using the Launcher

        Learning some basic methods to navigate and customize the launcher can make it an efficient tool that is used to complete daily tasks. With several icons located in the launcher, reordering the applications may reduce your time searching for your desired program to execute.

      • Canonical Responds to Complaints Over Amazon Search

        In an effort to appease users, Canonical has pushed out some updates to its Unity interface in the upcoming Ubuntu 12.10 release that include a simple turn-off function for the controversial Amazon.com “lens” feature. But will this be enough to calm an unruly community in near revolt over the company’s original plans to push this functionality on users?

        The “fix” for the much-berated Amazon feature comes among a slew of updates, most of them simple bug fixes, that landed with version 6.8 of Unity. It was uploaded into the development version of Ubuntu 12.10 Oct. 5.

      • Is Ubuntu Shutting Out Old PCs?

        Looking back at the progress of Ubuntu over the years, including the various off-shoot distributions based on it, I cannot help but be amazed. I find myself amazed at the improvements made to the desktop, both in usability and new features.

        But sadly, some of these improvements mean that slower performing PCs will be left out in the cold.

        In this article, I’ll discuss what Ubuntu is doing to make using the Unity desktop more difficult for older PCs, examine whether or not this matters and talk about options are for all of us going forward.

Devices/Embedded

• FXI Cstick Cotton Candy Now Available

  FXI has announced that the Cstick Cotton Candy any screen microcomputer development platform has passed CE and FCC certification and is now available. It allows any Intel processor based laptop or PC with a USB connection to be used as a thin client to the Android or Linux Ubuntu operating systems running on the Cotton Candy.

• Raspberry Pi Starts Brewing Beer!

  Raspberry Pi, a $25 hackable credit card sized computer, is taking leaps in development and is becoming a hot bed for experimentation. Earlier, we had seen people using Raspberry Pi for different innovations such as shooting photos from space or for controlling home equipment, but this time, a hacker has used a Raspberry Pi to make a perfect beer brewing controller.

  A few small commercial breweries were already using Raspberry Pi for automation, but Elco (creator of BrewPi) has open sourced the code and has made it available for the community. The BrewPi website has detailed instructions that will allow you to set you your own cheap brewery at home.

• Phones

  • Jolla To Unveil New MeeGo User Interface

  • Jolla Handset Poll: QWERTY Seems Popular In MeeGo World

    Jolla Tides, a Jolla blog posted a poll on October 1 asking the users which kind of device they like and going by the results till now it seems MeeGo users want a QWERTY keyboard instead of a full Touchscreen only device. Till now 46.73 % respondents voted for QWERTY design whereas only 29.79% want full Touchscreen.

  • Ballnux

    • The HTC One X+ and HTC One VX Coming Soon

      HTC and AT&T’s have announced two new smartphones – the HTC One X+ and HTC One VX. The HTC One X+ is the first smartphone in the U.S. running HTC Sense 4+ on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), while the HTC One VX will be running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

    • Rumored LG Optimus G Nexus

    • LG Optimus G Coming To America

    • LG And T-Mobile Announce LG Optimus L9

  • Android

    • Motorola’s Broken Upgrade Promise Gives Android a Bad Rap

      It’s no secret the biggest downside to Android is fragmentation, the dirty F-word that comes with the territory of playing in Google’s open source playground. Fortunately for Android fans, Google’s mobile platform has tremendous upside, but it doesn’t help when handset makers highlight the negatives, as Motorola recently did by reneging on a promise to update all devices to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS).

    • ViewSonic launches 22-inch Android Smart Display

    • Samsung Galaxy S III to get Jelly Bean upgrade in October

    • Samsung: Galaxy S3 sales to surpass 30 million this year

    • Motorola Droid RAZR M Review: A Very Good ICS Handset in a Small, Kevlar-Wrapped Package

      Family trees are monstrous wonders of genetic distillation, alternately yielding grotesque and delightful offspring. And, as is nature’s wont, it’s within the strongest of these “carriers” that dominant traits are passed on, ensuring a continued legacy for a specific branch marked by beauty, brains or beastliness. And so the same rings true for the RAZR lineage: a once forgotten, but now revived brand that’s helping to define the new Motorola (as experienced through Verizon). Tucked safely under the protective wing of Google’s guardianship, the manufacturer’s embarking on a wireless renaissance and soldering that second chance at relevance to the Kevlar back of its latest Droid progeny. But as with all litters, there’s bound to be one runt and here that distinction belongs to the Droid RAZR M.

    • An outrageously simple note taking android app made better

    • Customization Centre, Project Roadrunner For Android 4.2

      Apart from reports about new soon to be released Nexus device(s), there are lot of speculations and rumors about new flavor of Android that might be running on it, that is Android 4.2

      A source tipped Android and Me regarding the new features that may be expected coming with Android 4.2.

    • New Google Nexus Program

      It seems Google is having some big plans with its Nexus Brand. A source has tipped Android and Me that Google is planning to launch a new Nexus Program. With this program, they want to lure as many manufacturers as they can to make “Nexus” devices. The new devices may not be exactly Nexus “Branded” but more like “Nexus” Certified and will enjoy the “Nexus” benefits.

    • i-Buddy 7.2 An Android 4.0 Tablet From Intex Available At Snapdeal.com

    • Evidences Suggest Android 4.2 Jelly Bean Motorola RAZR Nexus phone

      We can sense that something big is coming from the world of Google, Android and Nexus. The rumor mill and clue hunting has marked the beginning of Nexus Fever. Recent evidences suggest that Android 4.2 on a Motorola Nexus phone and tablet may be on the cards. People behind Android Police have done some “Sherlock Holmes” stuff and extracted some pretty interesting information from server logs.

    • Intel ports Android Jelly Bean to x86 phones, but no rollout date set

    • Motorola whacks laptop-like phone dock

      No one wants laptop-style keyboard accessories for their phones. Or, rather, no one wants Motorola Mobility’s version. The Google-owned handset maker last week admitted it had canned the product.

    • 5 Ways To Manage App Development On The Android Platform Without Going Nuts

• Sub-notebooks/Tablets

  • Does 32GB Nexus 7 Exist? May Start Shipping On Oct 24 [Rumor]

    I love my Nexus 7, just wish it had more space as my 16GB is full after I downloaded 5-6 HD games which consume around 2GB each. If there was a 64GB model I would have bought that one, alas 16GB was the most I could get at that time. Now, the rumors have it that there may exist a 32GB Nexus 7. According to Droid-Life ‘Carephone Warehouse’s internal systems revealed the possibility of a 32GB Nexus 7′.

  • Sony Pulls “Water Resistant” Xperia Tablet off the Market Due to Water Damage Concerns

  • Motorola Webtop Concept Discontinued

    Do you remember WebTop from Motorola? For people who don’t have any clue what I am talking about, the WebTop concept was introduced by Motorola with Atrix 4G which allowed the phone to be docked into a special laptop accessory, activate a custom version of Linux to act as the brain of the laptop. It can be easily guessed the device was a commercial failure and Motorola is against devoting any more resources towards its development.

  • Motorola Refuses Android 4.0 Update To Atrix, Electrify And Photon

  • An outrageously simple note taking android app made even better

Bluelight Powering Auroville With OpenSource

Few weeks back I visited Auroville to meet my friends from BlueLight. BlueLight is a non for profit shop which does all the consulting related to IT and Open Source software. They manage infrastructure for many organizations inside Auroville. They have a diverse team with people from Russia, Gemany, India, France and other countries. They manage a Cyber Cafe which is running on Ubuntu and I was surprised to see the internet savvy users had no issue in using Linux.

Open source hobbyists now in high demand

It struck me this morning when I was reading up about this cool little open source operating system called Contiki, a very lightweight embedded OS designed to work well with the Internet of Things.

My colleague Rohan Pearce has a great write-up about Contiki over on Techworld Australia, detailing what Contiki and the Internet of Things are and how they work. But the passage that struck me was this one:

Catalyst notes shift in open source attitude

The Hong Kong newspaper, which has 1.3 million page views and about 500,000 people visiting the website each week, approached Catalyst originally as one of four companies it had selected worldwide to invite to tender.

Which freaking PaaS should I use?

Most of the buzz around the cloud has centered on infrastructure as a service (IaaS). However, IaaS is no longer good enough. Sure, you can forgo buying servers and run everything virtually on Amazon’s EC2 server farm. So what? You still have to manage it, and to do that you’ll have a growing IT bureaucracy. Companies that want to focus on writing their code and not have to think about application servers at all are now looking to platform as a service (PaaS).

Events

• Never too early for SCALE

  Now that Ohio Linux Fest is in the books and now that the only thing really left on the Linux horizon is LISA in San Diego just after Thanksgiving — but then, LISA is not for us mere mortals, but for the hallowed and revered system administrators. So we get to set our sights on Linux/FOSS events for next year.

Web Browsers

• Chrome

  • Reditr Comes To Linux, Thanks To Google Chrome

    Reditr is to Reddit what Tweetdeck is to Twitter. And now you can experience it under any GNU/Linux based system thanks to Google Chrome. Today Reditr has made its desktop app available for download. At the moment the app is available for Mac, Windows and Ubuntu. It’s may be disappointing for some users as the app is not yet available for rpm based systems such as Fedora, openSUSE or Mandriva.

  • New Version Of Google Chrome Released With Updated Flash And Better Audio Support

    A new stable release of the Google Chrome browser is now available. This version, 22.0.1229.92 fixes a number of stability issues and security venerabilities and also features an updated version of Flash. Google Chrome, and Chromium browser features inbuilt support for flash from version 20.

• Mozilla

  • Firefox 16.0 What’s New

    Mozilla is in the process of updating all Firefox channels in the coming ways. Firefox 15.0.1 will be updated tomorrow to version 16.0, followed by updates for the browser’s beta, aurora and nightly channels bringing the respective versions of the browser to 17, 18 and 19.

Databases

• MariaDB Now Uses New Project And Bug Tracking Tool – JIRA

Oracle/Java/LibreOffice

• LibreOffice 3.6.2 Released, Comes With Over 90 Bug Fixes

• LibreOffice vs. OpenOffice, Part Deux

  “I use LibreOffice, and will no longer use OpenOffice,” said Google+ blogger Linux Rants. “Oracle’s heavy-handed attempt at taking it over soured me to the entire project. I realize at this point that it’s been given back to the community, but the damage has been done for me. I moved to LibreOffice as soon as it was available, and have no plans on returning to OpenOffice.”

• Why Is Google Not Supporting The Open Document Formats?

  For ages I have been convincing people to switch from close source to open source, from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice. I have been telling people to ditch the controversial docx format and adopt .odt only to find myself in an embarrassing situation, thanks to Google.

CMS

• Best Free Content Management Systems 2012

  “A content management system (CMS) is a computer program that allows publishing, editing and modifying content on a web site as well as maintenance from a central page. It provides procedures to manage workflow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual steps or automated cascade. The core function of Content Management Systems is to present information on web sites. CMS features vary widely from system to system. Simple systems showcase a handful of features, while other releases, notably enterprise systems, offer more complex and powerful functions.”

• Brain Drain Holding Back Mainstream Adaptation Of Drupal – Doug Vann

  Drupal is one of the most powerful open-source CMS platform available currently, but in spite its power and flexibilty, the software suffers from contributor crisis and unpopularity. In a recent interview to opensource.com, Doug Vann, a training consultant at Drupal community cited brain drain as the main reason preventing widespread adaptation of Drupal.

BSD

• FreeBSD On ARM Is Still In Severed State

  Following the recent Phoronix news articles about an easy way to try out FreeBSD 10 in its current development state along with Clang becoming the default compiler, there’s been questions raised by Phoronix readers about the FreeBSD ARM support. Simply put, at the moment it’s not in as good of shape as it is for Linux. ARM is considered a “Tier 2″ architecture of FreeBSAD with no official releases or pre-built packages being made by the project.

FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC

• Optionally Free Is Not Enough

  There are distros we decline to recommend that offer the user the option of installing only free software. Given that option, a user who values freedom strongly enough, and thinks about the issue, can make those distros respecting her freedom.

  A distro that offers that option is clearly better than one that fails to offer that option. But that option does not make the distro ok to recommend in general. After all, most people in our community are not conscious of this issue. We cannot expect most of them to reject nonfree software just because the distro offers a way to do so.

• GNU patch version 2.7 released

Openness/Sharing

• Open Data

  • EnterpriseDB – competing with giants

    From time to time, I have the opportunity to speak with someone from EnterpriseDB, a company devoted to bringing the open source PostgreSQL database to organizations of all sizes. The propose of the call was introducing EnterpriseDB’s new Multi-Master Replication (MMR) capability. The conversation then went on to focus on how EnterpriseDB was trying to compete with giants, such as Oracle, to win over decision-makers and database architects.

• Open Hardware

  • A New Open Source Robot Wows with Its Soccer Skills

    For the last several years, some of the more interesting work in the field of robotics has been driven by open source efforts. In fact, an Open Source Robotics Foundation is now driving many global efforts to produce next-generation robots and share source code for them. Now, a brand new open source hardware platform created by the University of Bonn’s Team NimbRo performs many specialized functions and can even play soccer.

  • The open GSM future arrives

    In previous articles, we’ve looked at the question of how free are the phones that people use every day, and looked at the theory behind building your own GSM phone network using open source software. Now, in this article we take a look at the sysmoBTS, a small form-factor GSM Base Transceiver Station (BTS) built around these principles and the steps required to configure it to provide a standalone mobile telephone network that is useful for research, development and testing purposes.

Programming

• Scratch, a programming language for kids

Standards/Consortia

• Standards and the Status Quo

  Standards do anything but drive the status quo – they enable new devices and networks to become possible that never did before the standards were agreed upon.

Amazon Opens Portal for Mobile App Distribution in Japan

Amazon has announced that developers can now submit apps for distribution later this year in Japan. It’s all part of their plan for developers looking to build, market, and monetize their apps and games.

Security

• CloudStack Configuration Vulnerability Discovered

Finance

• Goldman Sachs: “Robbing the Poor and Giving to the Rich”

• STREET MOVES:Goldman Hires Ex-SEC Investment Management Director

  Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) hired Andrew J. Donohue as managing director in its legal department, deputy general counsel of its asset management division and general counsel of its investment companies group.

  Mr. Donohue, who goes by the nickname Buddy, served as director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Investment Management from 2006 to 2010. Most recently, he was a partner at the law firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP.

Censorship

• Don’t make me laugh

  Yesterday Matthew Woods was given 12 weeks in a youth offenders institution for posting jokes about the missing 5 year old girl April Jones (see Padraig Reidy’s write up of this yesterday on the Index on Censorship blog). Today Azhar Ahmed was given a community order for posting some very stupid and offensive comments about soliders.

• Distributions
• Devices/Embedded

Linux: The big misconceptions

There are two misconceptions about Linux that have plagued the open source platform from the very beginning. Jack Wallen tries to assuage the doubts of those hesitant to learn something new, user-friendly, and powerful.

Linux certificate program launches in North America

There’s no doubt that demand for IT professionals with Linux skills is growing rapidly, and earlier this year I wrote about a brand-new certification program targeting newcomers to the open source operating system.

Linus Updates Linux, Slackware 14 Debuts and Red Hat MRG 2.2

This week’s Linux Top 3 strikes right at the core of Linux with a kernel update, a new release of the world’s first Linux distro and a milestone update of Red Hat MRG.

ALS: Automotive Grade Linux

Desktop

• Is Linux Market Growth Stagnated (At Least)?

• Linux on the Desktop Dead? More Alive then Never – 750 Desktops at Portugal

• The Linux Setup – Terry Hancock, Journalist/Producer

  I came across Terry through a Linux.com feature that mentioned him as a Linux hero. I was also familiar with his work for Free Software Magazine, so he seemed like a great subject.

Audiocasts/Shows

• The Linux Link Tech Show Episode 473

• Going Linux Oct 5 #186

• HPCC Systems

Kernel Space

• Four key new features in Linux 3.6

  Just a little more than two months after the release of version 3.5, Linux creator Linus Torvalds on Sunday unleashed the next new version of the Linux kernel.

  Perhaps most notable among several key new features in Linux 3.6 is “hybrid sleep,” a capability much like one that has long been offered by Microsoft’s Windows.

• Leikr Watch Runs Linux

  Have you ever wanted a watch running Linux? If the answer is yes, then you might want to know that the guys from Leikr have made this a real possibility.

• The Staging Pull Goes In For Linux 3.7 Kernel

  Greg Kroah-Hartman has already sent in the Linux kernel staging driver changes for the Linux 3.7 kernel.

  There’s 662 source files changed this time around and more code was added then removed. Highlights for the Linux 3.7 kernel staging area include continued work on xgifb (the frame-buffer driver for XGI graphics cards), minor work and clean-ups on various Android components, Ramster is still being touched, a new Silicom Bypass driver, lots of work on the Comedi Linux driver, work on Ipack, lots of IIO activity, and various other work scattered throughout the kernel’s staging area.

• Perf Sees Big Changes With Linux 3.7 Kernel

  The perf performance counters sub-system and utility are seeing some mighty improvements with the Linux 3.7 kernel.

  Ingo Molnar writes in the merge, “Lots of changes in this cycle as well, with hundreds of commits from over 30 contributors. Most of the activity was on the tooling side.”

• The Kernel Column with Jon Masters

  Jon Masters summarises the latest goings-on in the Linux kernel community, including the 2012 Kernel Summit and the closing of the 3.6 merge window

• Linux 3.6 Brings Hybrid Sleep, All Rejoice

  Linux 3.6 has been officially released, and from most angles it appears to be a lack-luster one, bringing only what Linus calls “solid progress”. Of course like any major kernel release, Kernel 3.6 comes with a bevy of new drivers, optimizations and more. But one features stands out above all the rest, and it’s really a big deal.

• Linux Now Supports Oracle’s SPARC-T4

  With the Linux 3.7 kernel there is now support for the SPARC-T4 processor that Oracle introduced last year.

• JFS File-System Can Now Handle SSD TRIM Discard

• Linux Kernel 3.7 Will Support All ARM Platforms

  Great news, guys, it was just announced that the upcoming Linux 3.7 kernel will incorporate support for multiple ARM System on Chips (SoCs) platforms.

• Next Linux kernel release supports more ARMs with less code

• Samsung Introduces New Linux File-System: F2FS

  Announced this morning on the kernel mailing list was F2FS, a new open-source Linux file-system that comes courtesy of Samsung.

• EXT4 In Linux 3.7 Improves Online Resizing

  The pull request for the EXT4 file-system updates targeting the Linux 3.7 kernel were sent in on Friday afternoon by Theodore Ts’o.

• Graphics Stack

  • NVIDIA To Maintain Drivers For GeForce 6 and 7 Series Till 2017

  • Linux 3.7 May Help Radeon Users With Power

    While the main DRM pull request for the Linux 3.7 kernel has yet to be submitted to Linus Torvalds, the Radeon DRM pull for the Linux 3.7 was just sent into David Airlie as the DRM sub-system maintainer.

  • New & Updated Linux Benchmarks

  • Passing File Descriptors Over The X Protocol Socket

  • Linux strace command – A magnificent troubleshooter

    While Linux 3.7-rc1 hasn’t even been released yet as the merge window is still open, the Linux 3.7 kernel is exciting and users of the open-source Nouveau driver will be greeted by the Nouveau DRM driver rewrite / code restructuring. Due to the invasive Nouveau work, some early Nouveau tests under the Linux 3.7 kernel were carried out. The 3.7 results were then compared to the earlier Linux 3.4, 3.5, and 3.6 kernel releases.

Applications

• A Quick Look at Gimp3 (2.99) ..Yeap, 3

  What’s Gimp3? Simply the port of Gimp 2.8 in GTK 3, or if you prefer the version after the 2.10 version. The look was quick indeed, because Gimp was consuming 100% CPU so I couldn’t check it at all.

  I guess that this bug had to do with my compiling and it isn’t a real bug, but it isn’t really matter because all I wanted to see was the theme, which by the way was -by default- the impressive dark Adwaita!

• GIMP Magazine Released

  The most awaited GIMP Magazine has been released. This first issue contains over 40 pages of tutorials, personal experiences, reviews and photos edited with GIMP and is available for free download. Users can also submit their own photos and tutorials. The magazine will release once every three months.

• 10 obscure Linux apps you should know about

  If you’ve ever taken the time to dig through the vast collection of Linux software titles, you know it’s easy to get lost among them. And with so many pieces of software available, it’s hard to know which ones are worth trying. So to help you out, I created a list of 10 of my favorite lesser-known (but very useful) tools available free for the Linux platform.

• Epiphany 3.8 gets integrated AdBlock!

• Best Ways to Read E-books on Ubuntu

  With the advent of Kindle, Nook, and the Apple iPad, many bibliophiles are slowly moving away from paperbacks and hardbound books. Earlier a book lover used to spend hours looking for that perfect book in a rustic library, now they just search for their favorite title on Amazon.com and they can start reading in minutes. Of course, not all are happy with this e-book market, and many authors — though e-books being an established platform– often sneer at this surging new medium of publishing.

• 5 Useful Console Based Network ‘top’ Tools

  Out of the myriad of utilities that are available for Linux, top is a troubleshooting tool that often comes up in conversation. With good reason, top is a tool that many users frequently turn to. It is is a small open source utility that offers a dynamic real-time view of a running system, allowing users to monitor the processes that are running on a system, and to identify which applications are consuming more resources than they should. Whilst top (and other alternatives) are useful tools to monitor the running processes on a system, functionality does not extend to network activity.

• Lightworks May Arrive In Linux This October

• 5 Top Console Linux File Managers

• Recover Your GPG Passphrase using ‘John the Ripper’

  John the Ripper is a free and Open Source password cracker. Its primary purpose is to detect weak Unix passwords and It is one of the most popular password testing and breaking programs. It combines a number of password crackers into one package, autodetects password hash types, and includes a customizable cracker. JTR is available in official Ubuntu repositories.

• Instructionals/Technical

  • How to Change GRUB Splash Image, Background, Font Color on Your Linux

  • Using wview to monitor the weather on your own weather station

  • Publish a book with LyX

  • Replace Lilo Splash with Mayan Slackware 14.0

  • Joomla 3.0 Installation Tutorial

  • Tutorial: The best tips & tricks for bash, explained

  • Introduction to Linux IPtables

  • How to Install Yii Framework in XAMPP on Ubuntu/Linux

  • Take your project management application open source with ProjectLibre

  • Manage and Edit your photographs with Fotoxx

  • Unix / Linux: Maximum Character Length of Arguments In a Shell Command

  • GIMP Image Editor – Part I (Basic Editing Tools)

  • Speed Up apt-get Downloads With apt-fast [Ubuntu PPA]

  • Install Latest VirtualBox 4.1.22 In Ubuntu

  • Install Latest Enlightenment Desktop In Ubuntu

  • Installing Lighttpd With PHP5 (PHP-FPM) And MySQL Support On OpenSUSE 12.2

  • C-ing a Flashing Light

  • How to Install and Configure SWAT (Samba Web Administration Tool) In Ubuntu Server 12.04

  • How To Reset Compiz And Unity In Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal [Quick Tip]

  • Android development using IntelliJ part 1

  • ed cheatsheet

  • Debian Server Setup for Beginners

  • How to Secure Your System

  • Make Browsers Cache Static Files On nginx

  • Managing A Headless VirtualBox Installation With phpvirtualbox (OpenSUSE 12.2)

  • How to check if your Android phone is vulnerable to the Remote Wipe Hack and protect against it

  • Use NitroShare To Transfer Files Fast And Easy In Your Network

  • Customize GRUB Entries With Graphical Tool Grub Customizer

  • Debian-Powered Drupal Configuration Policy

  • Intrusion detection system – Part I (The basics)

  • Speed Up apt-get Downloads With apt-fast [Ubuntu PPA]

  • A Herd of Excellent Free Web Testers for Linux Webmasters

  • Linux strace command – A magnificent troubleshooter

• Games

  • Open-Source Game Advancing Its GL3 Renderer

    Unvanquished is based upon the open-source id Tech 3 engine with the XReaL rendering improvements to form what they call the OpenWolf engine. There’s a GL3 renderer with this work and they have been working to improve it as of late.

  • Valve’s Steam Begins Selling More Than Games

    We have known about Valve’s plans to make Steam more than just about gaming and beginning today you can buy some non-gaming software from the digital distribution client.

  • Could gog.com be close to supporting Linux?

  • Open-Source Game Advancing Its GL3 Renderer

    Developers working on the Unvanquished open-source game as a visually impressive project have been advancing their OpenGL 3.x renderer.

    Unvanquished is based upon the open-source id Tech 3 engine with the XReaL rendering improvements to form what they call the OpenWolf engine. There’s a GL3 renderer with this work and they have been working to improve it as of late.

  • 0 A. D. Alpha 11 Kronos Released

Desktop Environments

• Xfce 4.12 To Be Out On March, May Skip GTK3

  Xfce is a lightweight and distraction free desktop environment with hight customizability and stability. The next major release of Xfce, Xfce is scheduled to happen next March. The previous edition of Xfce used GTK 2, and it was expected that the next major version will use GTK 3. But some of the Xfce developers are not convinced about switching to GTK 3.

• K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

  • KDE 4.9.2 Released: Brings October’s Bugfixes And Features

    For some, the 1st of the month is something to rejoice about, but unlike checks from the Department of Welfare, KDE brings nothing but good tidings and cheer with this latest series of updates, one day later.

  • KDE 4.9.2 Has Been Officially Released

• GNOME Desktop

  • Second Beta Of Gnome 3.5.91 Released

    The Gnome foundation has announced the second beta release of the Gnome 3.5.91 desktop environment. This codebase will be merge into Gnome 3.6 that is scheduled to be released soon.

  • An interview with Allan Day

    A few days ago I had the great pleasure to interview Allan Day, GNOME designer and enthusiastic contributor.

  • GNOME 3.6 Review – Against the Grain

    The latest version of the GNOME Shell is here, has it addressed the concerns of users, or gone further down the path of simplification?

  • Every detail matters – Round 2

    Every Detail Matters is an initiative that aims to focus attention on improving specific parts of Gnome 3 that would make a real difference in the user experience.

    Designers work alongside developers to identify the bugs that need to be fixed to improve the UX in that area and then assist volunteers in resolving them.

  • Every detail matters – Round 2

    Every Detail Matters is an initiative that aims to focus attention on improving specific parts of Gnome 3 that would make a real difference in the user experience.

    Designers work alongside developers to identify the bugs that need to be fixed to improve the UX in that area and then assist volunteers in resolving them.

  • First Look At Gnome Notes

    Gnome development is moving forward with leaps and bounds and the developers are trying to create a complete desktop environment to cater every needs of the user. Some new apps that have hit the spotlight are a new software installer for Gnome, Gnome Clocks, Boxes, Calender etc. Among this, developers are working on an app that will allow you to take quick notes and memos – Gnome Notes.

  • InSync Beta 4 Released. Support For Gnome Shell And Cinnamon Added

    InSync is a Google Drive client for Linux PCs. Currently its in beta stage but works quite well. InSync previously supported integration with Unity desktop via Ubuntu app indicator, but with this release, it is tightly integrated with Gnome shell and other desktops like KDE and Cinnamon too.

  • Customize Your GTK Themes With GTK Theme Preferences

    Gnome 2 had some wonderful tools that allowed you to change and customize the desktop themes the way you like. With the arrival of Gnome 3, among with other killer features, theme customizations was gone. If some user needed to customize his/her desktop theme, he would need to edit the configuration files which is out of capability of most users.

Distributions

• Dreamlinux is no more

  Dreamlinux has been added to the sad list of the dead distributions today. The Brazilian distribution had released version 1.0 in 2006 and version 5.0 that was released this January was apparently the last one to exist.

• Chakra 2012.08 review

  Chakra 2012.08 review, code-named Claire, is the latest stable release of Chakra Linux, a semi-rolling release, desktop-centric, Linux distribution forked from Arch Linux.

  Chakra uses the K Desktop Environment (KDE) exclusively, so it is no surprise then that Chakra 2012.08 was named after Claire Lotion, a popular figure in the KDE community who passed away recently.

• Video Review: Chakra 2012.09

• Zorin OS 6 Lite – The Lite Fantastic

  I have written before about Zorin OS 6 (http://www.everydaylinuxuser.com/2012/07/zorin-6-best-operating-system-i-have.html) which is the main Zorin operating system for general everyday use.

• Brasillinux SL Screenshots

• Galsoft 1.1 Screenshots

• New Releases

  • AriOS 4 Final is Out!

    I’m happy to announce AriOS 4.0 Final has been released. Built upon the solid base of ubuntu 12.04 LTS, AriOS comes with GNOME Shell as the default desktop, carefully modified and enhanced using a number of extensions to offer a better and more familiar user experience.

  • Blender 2.64 Brings Lots of New Features

    The Blender Foundation and its online community of developers were proud to announce earlier today, October 3rd, the immediate availability for download of Blender 2.64.

    As stated in the release schedule for the 2.6x branch of the software, this version focuses on making a complete and functional VFX Pipeline, which incorporates a better motion tracking, green screen keying, title-based compositing, better color management, and much more.

• PCLinuxOS/Mageia/Mandrake/Mandriva Family

  • The October 2012 Issue of the PCLinuxOS Magazine

    The PCLinuxOS Magazine staff is pleased to announce the release of the October 2012 issue of the PCLinuxOS Magazine.

• Red Hat Family

  • Oracle Linux honcho ‘personally hurt’ by Red Hat clone claims

  • JBoss seeks new name for community edition

    Red Hat is seeking a new name for its JBoss Application Server project (JBossAS). This is the upstream project that Red Hat uses as the foundation for its commercial product JBoss Enterprise Application Platform. “We believe that the time has come to change the name of our project to better reflect the changes we’ve seen in its reason for existence so far, but also for what’s to come in the future,” said JBoss technical leader Mark Little.

  • Red Hat launches community contest to rename JBoss

    Red Hat says its JBoss Enterprise Application Platform has evolved to embrace far more than just Java, and to reflect this, it has launched a contest to rename the JBoss Application Server (JBossAS) to something more in line with its current vision of multi-language programming.

    In a blog post on Monday, Red Hat Senior Director of Middleware Engineering Mark Little explained that JBossAS is a very different project than what it was when it launched as an open source Java EE application server.

• Debian Family

  • Derivatives

    • Canonical/Ubuntu

      • Linux Ubuntu 12.10 review: finally growing up

        After reviewing the last version of Ubuntu 12 a few months ago I wasn’t too impressed with the OS in general. Ubuntu kept loyal to its obscure following by not dipping its toes into the real reason Windows and OSX are popular. And I’m happy to say that it has finally broken out of that mold with Linux Ubuntu 12.10.

      • 10 Things To Look For In Ubuntu 12.10

      • Top 10 Paid Apps on Ubuntu Software Center for September

      • Unity 6.8.0 Arrives in Ubuntu 12.10 with Performance Fixes

      • Ubuntu Adds ‘Amazon Results’ Off Switch, Fixes NSFW Issues

      • Ubuntu 12.10 Gets Option To Disable Online Search Results In Dash [Unity 6.8.0]

      • Ubuntu 12.10 Adds an Option to Disable Amazon Search Results

      • 220,000 School PCs In Spain Switch To Ubuntu

      • Gnome Clocks Now Available In Ubuntu Quantal

        Gnome Clocks is the first Gnome 3 application for clock, world clock, alarm and stopwatch. It was developed in Google Summer of Code this year and we have covered a lot of articles on its development. The good news is its finally available in Ubuntu 12.10 and users can have a taste of it right away.

      • Unity Photos Lens Lands Up In Ubuntu 12.10

      • Attending The Next UDS Remotely

      • Ubuntu One Music Store Goes Online: Free Access For 6 Months

      • Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and 12.10 beta 2 on Intel Ivy Bridge-powered computer

        There have been reports of display issues concerning Linux distributions and Intel’s third generation processors. Codenamed Ivy Bridge, these processors were launched this year, so they are brand new to the market.

        Like their predecessors, they come with Intel HD Graphics (integrated graphics), and there have been reports of freezing and lines on the screen (mostly freezing) when running many Linux distributions.

      • Flavours and Variants

        • Peppermint 3 Review

          Peppermint three is the third major release of Peppermint OS, a lightweight LXDE-based web-oriented Linux distribution built on Ubuntu’s LTS release. The focus of Peppermint are simplicity, stability, elegance, and web integration. In this review I will give my experiences with Peppermint on my netbook, having used it as my sole Linux distribution for the past few months:

        • Pear Linux 6 Alpha 4 Features New Dock

          David Tavares has announced a few days ago that the fourth Alpha version of the upcoming Pear Linux 6 operating system is now available for download and testing.

Devices/Embedded

• My Raspberry Pi Adventure

  Last Christmas, my friend Norman Robinson gave me a BeagleBoard-xM computer to play with. The BeagleBoard is a small, single-board, ARM-based computer. As I started to work with it I was impressed with its relative performance and low-power consumption. However, due to its price (approx. $150), I didn’t think it represented a tremendous value. After all, I only paid $199 for by HP Mini netbook at my local computer store and the netbook comes with a case and a keyboard!

• Linux Does Beer: Raspberry Pi Moonlights as Dutch Brewmeister

  Beer is as old as civilization itself, but beer brewers are still finding new ways of improving the way the stuff is made. Case in point: BrewPi, a fermentation temperature control system powered by the tiny Rapsberry Pi computer that’s taking the tech world by storm.

• Pear Linux 6 Alpha 4 Features New Dock

  With the recent announcement of their Enterprise Pentesting Appliance (EPA), Pwnie Express has once again leveraged the power of open source and the Linux operating system to deliver a world-class security testing platform. Taking all of the software advancements developed on their “Plug” line of devices and combining it with the raw horsepower of a modern x86 computer, the EPA looks like it will make a formidable testing and research platform for serious security analysts.

• Phones

  • Intel: Samsung Clobbering Others With Tizen

    There’s a bit of a spat that started between Intel and Samsung developers working on the Tizen operating system.

    This latest corporate food fight started when Intel’s Arjan van de Ven noticed that the modern C-based Bootchart tool was replaced by a 2005 Java-version of Bootchart that is quite old and carries less features. The commit swapping out the modern Bootchart for the legacy Java Bootchart can be found here and happened back in August. The change was by Samsung’s Kim Kibum.

  • Source code for Open webOS Galaxy Nexus port goes public

    When it comes to Open webOS on Android, things seem to progressing rather quickly. Open webOS isn’t even a week old yet, but within a few hours after HP released it, it was already booting on the Galaxy Nexus. Just a couple of days later we saw it booting on the Transformer Prime, and today, the source code for the Galaxy Nexus port has been posted online, so the open source community can officially go nuts.

  • HP webOS: Open Source Software Reaches 1.0, Marks New Life

    As webOS failed to become a competitive mobile operating system, HP acquired now defunct-developer Palm. The former recently announced that webOS would become open source, and the first release of the new software is available.

  • HP Hiring 50+ Engineers To Work Directly On WebOS

  • Fulfilling Open Source Promise – HP Is Hiring 50+ Developers For WebOS

  • Let’s go MeeGo: open-source OS is on track for its comeback *updated*

    Jolla, the company resurrecting the MeeGo mobile OS, has announced $260 million in funding and plans to reveal its first phone soon.

  • Android

    • Android 4.1 ‘Jelly Bean’ reaches 1.8 percent market share

      While the aging Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” operating system continues to be the most popular version, Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean” finally has the 2 percent market share milestone in its sights.

    • 10 Android Tablet Apps for IT Pros on the Go

    • 45 Free Android Apps for Productivity

      Clearly, free Android apps can be part of highly productive tablet use.

      Okay, sure, maybe you’re not meant to use a tablet for productivity. Tablets are supposed to be for consuming content, for texting, email, and web browsing rather than creating content – or so some people think.

      But if you hang out at coffee shops or pass through airports, you only have to count the tablets to know that people are using these devices for serious work, and in growing numbers.

    • 300,000 Android ‘Phones’ Roam a Virtual Town

      A small team of cybersecurity researchers have lashed the computers together to form a homebrew computing cluster. They are stacked five levels high, braced in impromptu fashion with metal girders in the event of earthquakes, and woven together with colorful Ethernet cables. They serve as a cyber-Potemkin village — a distributed software simulation that is intended to mimic the behavior of an entire city’s worth of Android smartphones.

    • TomTom launches Android app that doesn’t work with top devices

    • Google readying Android 4.2 for November debut on LG Optimus G Nexus

    • An outrageously simple note taking android app

    • PhoneSuit Lightplay Media Projector with Android OS

      PhoneSuit has introduced a pico projector named “Light Play”. Now you would ask so what is so great about this device? Well, for starters it’s an Android Powered device. If you are still not impressed, then it comes bundled with a keyboard with motion control, which serves as the interface of the device, a tripod and also access to Google Play store, and all that for $500.

      When compared to something similar yet different, Samsung Galaxy Beam and its 15 lumen bulb, Light Play seems more practical with its 50 lumens. This device is specifically designed to be projector and therefore looks like one, even though it runs (now old) Android Gingerbread with a custom UI.

• Sub-notebooks/Tablets

  • Will Android Tablets Take Over The iPad?

    As Tablets become cheaper more Americans are buying, with an increase from 11% to 18% in just 7 months, and it’s mainly Android Tablets, dominated largely by the Kindle Fire. Two in ten, 21%, own a Kindle Fire, 8% the Samsung Galaxy, and the rest, a mix of others.

    There has been a drop of 29% in one year of people buying an iPad as the realization hits that Android is more open, competitively priced and doesn’t involve selling your soul to the devil.

  • 8 Reasons I Won’t Buy Amazon Kindle Fire HD; It’s Not Real Android

Open source equals software freedom, not free software

An Open Source Dyslexic Font

Programmers seem to be prone to dyslexia, or is it that dyslexics are prone to programming? Whatever the cause, an open source dyslexic font is welcome news.

Yes reader, I am dyslexic and I am a programmer – and yes it makes things difficult, especially when I get an attack in the middle of a published article, and variable names are often more variable than they are supposed to be.

Graduate students in Finland solve real problems beyond the classroom

The School of Business and Information Management at Oulu University of Applied Sciences (OUAS) created an open source project management software named OpixProject. The objective was not to create something that would compete with the current project management software, but to place students in realistic problem-solving environments in order to reduce the gap between the concepts covered in the classroom and real-world experiences.

Copenhagen Suborbitals Release Snowmix, an Open Source Video Mixer

Juju Has Charms Included

So how many of you ever thought of installing/configuring an application like WordPress/Drupal and compact Big Data mammoth like Hadoop in less than few clicks?

I am sure everyone of you. A system admin loves automating his work and getting his/her most of the deployments done with some magic scripts. We all are living in the cloud world, its not a buzzword anymore, people are leveraging on it. So I will ask again how will you automate/autoscale/load-balance your entire application ?

Open source release for Google reranking technology

Google has released a general purpose framework for reranking problems, ReFr (Reranker Framework), as open source. Reranking is a technique that is used when there is a model that can offer several scored hypothesised outputs; rerankers can reorder the ranked outputs based on information not available to the original model.

Web Browsers

• Mozilla

  • Firefox Is Back on Top of Chrome

    Looks like we weren’t the only Internet users that got fed up with Chrome’s constant crashes, as the latest numbers show its popularity has been waning a smidge. The chart above shows worldwide mobile browser market share over the last 12 months. Back in May Chrome’s adoption numbers just about matched Firefox’s. And, at the end of last year, after a year of huge growth, different numbers found the Google made browser surpassed Firefox as the number two most popular browser, just behind Internet Explorer. But since then—perhaps because of the constant flash crashes, or that hip Internet Explorer campaign—Firefox has regained the No. 2 spot, according to numbers from Net Marketshare. Another way to spin the numbers is that Firefox’s sped up six-week new release schedule attracted more users.

  • Mozilla Firefox OS Features And Expectations

    Mozilla, the organization behind one of the most popular browsers in the world, is busy developing a new mobile operating system of its own. Competing head-on with biggies like Android and iOS, the fledgling smartphone OS attempts to create its own niche by seamlessly blending the power of the web and the mobility of smartphones together. Codenamed Boot to Gecko (or B2G), the open-source project will include applications that will be written in HTML5. These apps can then use the device’s API to run natively with the help of JavaScript.

  • Firefox 19: new tab strip design incoming

    Australis is the name of the new default Firefox theme that Mozilla has been working on for quite some time. The decision was made to release the update gradually, with some updates already in the browser, while others still waiting to be delivered to it. One of the next Australis-related updates comes in Firefox 19. You may have already seen how the new tab bar will look like in mock-ups that Mozilla designer Stephen Horlander released a while ago.

  • Firefox quit warning message bug

SaaS

• OpenStack Tops IT Wish List, But Concerns Remain

  OpenStack. CloudStack. Eucalyptus. There are many open source platforms for building Amazon-like cloud services in your own data center, and they’ve all received an awful lot of attention in recent years. But are real companies actually ready to use them?

• RackSpace announces OpenStack training and certification program

Databases

• Oracle Pushes both MySQL 5.6 and Oracle Database 12c Forward

  Oracle is making waves this week in the database world with not one, but two separate pieces of major database development release news.

  On the one hand, Oracle issued an open source MySQL 5.6 release candidate. On the other, the company detailed its plans for the commercial Oracle 12c cloud database.

• PostgreSQL 9.2 Released, Smarter, Faster, Better

Oracle/Java/LibreOffice

• Open-source development: The history of OpenOffice shows why licensing matters

  The course of open-source software does not always run smoothly, especially when the development of software becomes entangled with broader corporate strategies.

• NetBeans 7.3′s HTML5 App Dev features go into beta

  Java developers are not left out though, with improvements such as a new-style breadcrumb navigation bar, new member and hierarchy views, updated hints and refactorings, filtering for “Find Usages” and an “effective” POM editor tab for pom.xml files. Java EE developers will find a JPQL testing tool and enhancements to the REST service development features. FXML and the SceneBuilder are better supported in 7.3 Beta’s JavaFX handling, which is also compatible with JDK 7u6 on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

CMS

• Open Source CMS MODX Launches Cloud Service

  Today open source content management company MODX is launching a hosted cloud service to commercialize the product, much as Acquia and WordPress.com have done for Drupal and WordPress.

BSD

• An Easy Way To Try Out FreeBSD 10

  If you have been wanting to try out the FreeBSD 10-CURRENT operating system that’s presently under development, there’s now an easier way.

  Rather than needing to install a current FreeBSD release and then upgrade to the “-CURRENT” packages from there, a FreeBSD developer has finally started offering snapshot images of the FreeBSD 10-CURRENT and 9-STABLE versions. Yes, finally ISO snapshots to make it easier to try out the current development state from a clean install.

Project Releases

• Avidemux Reaches Version 2.6

  Cross platform video editor Avidemux 2.6 has been released and it features a ton of changes to make the video editing easier and better. All the video editor internals have been rewritten and user will able to experience improved performance in editing and encoding tasks.

• OpenShot Video Editor 1.4.3 Packs New Features

  There’s a new release of OpenShot, one of the popular open-source non-linear video editing applications.

• OpenShot 1.4.3 Coming Soon With Cool And Exciting Features

• The First Release Of AppStream-Core

  The first release of AppStream-Core is now available, which provides support for creating the AppStream database and accessing it via a GObject-based interface. This basically comes down to the simple creation of “Software Centers” for Linux.

• Calibre 0.8.67 Released, Supports Enhanced Image View

Public Services/Government

• DARPA launches first phase of “open source” vehicle design challenge

Openness/Sharing

• Open Data

  • OpenStreetMap makes first open map of the world

• Open Access/Content

  • California passes groundbreaking open textbook legislation

    It’s official. In California, Governor Jerry Brown has signed two bills (SB 1052 and SB 1053) that will provide for the creation of free, openly licensed digital textbooks for the 50 most popular lower-division college courses offered by California colleges. The legislation was introduced by Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and passed by the California Senate and Assembly in late August.

• Open Hardware

  • The Open Hardware Summit: The Future of Manufacturing is Sharing

  • HexBright, the Programmable Open Source Flashlight

  • Arduino Uno open-source prototyping board comes to market

    A starter kit for the Arduino Uno open-source prototyping board which can be used by professional embedded system engineers and students is available from RS Components, writes Richard Wilson.

    The kit contains the components required to start programming with the Arduino Uno board along with a guidebook featuring 15 different projects. There is a definite mechatronics flavour to the kit which includes a motor, servomotor and driver.

  • Open Hardware Summit open to hybrid models

    If there was an overarching message from the speakers at last week’s Open Hardware Summit, particularly those in the first morning block, it’s that openness isn’t that critical. It sounds strange coming from a conference whose name starts with “open,” but speaker after speaker talked about hybrids and doing whatever worked, not just doing what was open.

    That’s not to say they don’t believe in the power of openness. The first words of Wired magazine editor-in-chief Chris Anderson’s opening keynote were the very foundation of open source: “Everything I’ve learned as I built my own business is because people shared what they knew.”

Programming

• New in Subversion 1.7: svnrdump and improved diffs

Health/Nutrition

• Superweeds, Superpests: The Legacy of Pesticides

  The rapid adoption of a single weed-killer for the vast majority of crops harvested in the United States has given rise to superweeds and greater pesticide use, a new study suggests. And while crops engineered to manufacture an insect-killing toxin have reduced the use of pesticides in those fields, the emergence of newly resistant insects now threatens to reverse that trend.

  Farmers spray the herbicide glyphosate, widely sold under the Monsanto brand Roundup, on fields planted with seeds that are genetically engineered to tolerate the chemical. Found in 1.37 billion acres of corn, soybeans, and cotton planted from 1996 through 2011, this “Roundup Ready” gene was supposed to reduce or eliminate the need to till fields or apply harsher chemicals, making weed control simple, flexible, cheap, and less environmentally taxing.

Finance

• 2nd Circuit remakes MBS class action rules in Goldman ruling

  Now they tell us? More than four years after investors in mortgage-backed securities began filing class actions accusing MBS issuers of deceiving them in offering documents — and at least three years after federal judges began tossing class claims because name plaintiffs didn’t have the requisite standing — the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has redefined standing in MBS class actions. In a 38-page opinion that revives a class action against Goldman Sachs, the appeals court rejected what had been conventional wisdom, finding that a union healthcare fund represented by Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd isn’t limited to claims based on specific offerings it invested in. Instead, wrote Judge Barrington Parker for a panel that also included judges Reena Raggi and Raymond Lohier, the union fund has standing to assert claims related to every certificate backed by mortgages originated by the same lenders that originated the loans backing the notes purchased by the fund.

• The War Between Credit and Resources

  Such a policy, which received wider attention during Ben Bernanke’s Congressional questioning last year and was also highlighted this year in a paper delivered at the Jackson Hole conference (Woodford, opens to PDF), has not caught any visible traction with Washington policy makers possibly because it’s seen as either too radical, or simply too new.

• Distributions
• Devices/Embedded

Five Reasons to prove Linux is Secure than Windows

Desktop

• The Chromebook 2012 Gallery

• Will a Chromebook be your next PC?

  Sure, you could keep using Windows, although Windows 8 looks worse every time you look at it; or you could buy a Mac for big bucks; or you could buy a Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook starting at $449 and have a great Linux-based desktop that you already know how to use.

Kernel Space

• Linux 3.6 Delivers Solid Progress

  Linux creator Linus Torvalds released the fifth new major Linux kernel release of 2012 late Sunday. The new kernel provides incremental improvements to multiple aspects of the open source operating system.

• 30 Linux Kernel Developers in 30 Weeks: Ben Hutchings

• Greg KH: 5 Open Source Projects That Need Developers

• Attention CEO’s: You Are in the Software Business. Now What?

  Companies will spend $1.4 trillion this year on global R&D to design and build their core products. They don’t have the time or dollars to build the software from scratch that runs in those products. So, they’re turning to Linux and open development. Once upon a time just an operating system for servers, mobile devices and supercomputers, Linux is giving companies $10B in R&D that they can pull from and run with to build everything from cars to custom devices, and much more.

• Top Five Tech Jobs Point to Opportunity for Linux Pro’s

  There is good news being reported today throughout online, print and broadcast newsrooms: The U.S. unemployment rate has dipped to a four-year low to 7.8 percent, and staffing and consulting firm Robert Half International released its 2013 Salary Guide showing technology jobs will see the highest salary increases of any sector in the year ahead.

• Samsung Creates New File System F2FS For Linux, Good News For Android

  Greg KH, the lead Linux kernel developer applauded the file system on his Google+ page, “Sweet, a new Linux file system from Samsung that is faster than existing ones when running on flash storage devices, submitted in a clean, easy-to-apply manner. This will be great for Android-based systems.”

Applications

• Here Comes Calibre 0.8.69 With Customizable Themes

  Ebook Managent Application Calibre has been updated to version 0.8.69 and this version comes with better support for Mathematical formulas and custom themes. Users will have the ability to create their own themes (visual styles) and read ebooks according their choice.

• Instructionals/Technical

  • Slider Spliner

  • Lost Ubuntu Password Recovery

  • Hack a Kindle Into a Minimal Computer with a Raspberry Pi

  • Install Latest Cinnamon Desktop In Ubuntu

  • Book Review: Inkscape Beginner’s Guide

  • Run a Python “pipe” incrementally with PipeController

• Games

  • Linux Game Faster Than Light Released

Desktop Environments

• First Look: Elementary OS Window Manager Gala

• K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

  • WebAccounts To Arrive In KDE

    The above screenshot shows its current status. The developers are also planning to support other services like Twitter, Identi.ca etc.

  • Compiling KDE Kontact from Source

  • Calligra Productivity Suite: Too Much Trouble

    In theory Calligra presents an alternative to the LibreOffice and OpenOffice suites. It goes far beyond the usefulness of lightweight word processors such as Abiword and Kword. In practice Calligra has so much going for it that few things work impressively well. Needed functions were difficult to locate, and the suite has a steep learning curve.

  • KDE Ships October Updates to Plasma Workspaces, Applications and Platform

    These updates are the second in a series of monthly stabilization updates to the 4.9 series. 4.9.2 updates bring many bugfixes and translation updates on top of the latest edition in the 4.9 series and are recommended updates for everyone running 4.9.1 or earlier versions. As the release only contains bugfixes and translation updates, it will be a safe and pleasant update for everyone. KDE’s software is already translated into more than 55 languages, with more to come.

  • KDE Celebrates 2012 Google Summer of Code Success

  • KDE Commit-Digest for 29th July 2012

  • KDE at LinuxCon 2012 North America

    KDE had a visible presence at LinuxCon 2012 in San Diego, California, August 29-31. Thanks to the Linux Foundation for donating an exhibit space to KDE.

• GNOME Desktop

  • Introducing Intelligent Search For Gnome Shell

    Gnome Shell, a desktop environment based on top of Gnome 3, will soon have some intelligent search features integrated with it. Current search function in Gnome shell allows one to search for apps and files, however, in future, it may do more. Like a single search can fetch things from your empathy chat log, photos, documents and more.

  • Cinnamon 1.6.1 Released

    The Linux Mint team has announced an updated version of the Cinnamon desktop. This is the first update in Cinnamon 1.6 series. Along with bug fixes, this release also includes some stability enhancements and extension updates. Detailed updates have been given below:

  • Taste Gnome 3.6 By Live Booting

  • 7 Things About Gnome 3.6 That You Will Love

  • A Preview Of Upcoming Gnome Calender

    Gnome developers are working to make a Calender app integrated with the Gnome desktop. Note, the Evolution software suite also features a Calender app, but this software will be separate. This app will also allow you to integrate online calenders like Google, Facebook etc in your desktop. Some screenshots:

  • Gnome Software – A Software Center For Gnome

    The Gnome foundation had earlier announced plans to develop a Software Center like app for the desktop that will allow easier installation and updates of apps. While the PackageKit is pushed to the back, here are some design ideas put forward in Gnome Live.

  • Search, Manage, And Install Apps From PPAs Using PPA Software Center

  • Gnome Web Browser Now Even Better

    While Linux has tons of web browsers to choose from, little is heard from Gnome’s own web browser – Web. While Gnome 3.6 is going to be released soon and developers pledging to make it the best release ever, its not surprising that this web browser has got tons of changes and more integration with the overall desktop environment.

Distributions

• From Noobs to Experts: Is There an ABC for Linux Distros?

  Do Linux bloggers enjoy extolling the virtues of their favorite distros? Let’s just say there aren’t superlatives superlative enough for some.

• Thinking Small With Tiny Core Linux

  I recently had the need to build a virtual appliance, a small Linux server that did one thing, and required no interaction. And by small, I mean really small, tiny. After considering the options and searching around a bit, I found the Tiny Core Linux, and when they say tiny, they mean it. The Tiny Core download is only 12MB.

• This Week in Linux: Mageia, openSUSE, Dreamlinux

• New Releases

  • Clonezilla 2.0.0-25

  • CAINE 3.0 – QUASAR is out!

  • Cinnarch 2012.10.01

• PCLinuxOS/Mageia/Mandrake/Mandriva Family

  • Wow! Where did the time go? We’re 2!

    Back in September 2010, when Mageia was born, we had big dreams for our baby distro. It’s great to be able to say: our dreams are coming true!

• Red Hat Family

  • Exclusive Interview: DeLisa Alexander Of Red Hat

    We recently started a section in Muktware called Woman Force In Open Source where we interview female executives and developers playing an important role in the Open Source world. This week we are interviewing DeLisa Alexander, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer of Red Hat.

  • Red Hat Enters Next Phase of Its Application Server Technology Strategy

  • Here’s How Red Hat Is Making You So Much Cash

    Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company’s economic output. That’s because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls.

  • Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC) Honors Red Hat for Fourth Consecutive Year

  • TBJ Flash: 2012 Best Places To Work Awards

    Held at the Embassy Suites in Cary, the event recognized dozens of companies for their best practices when it comes to keeping employees happy at work. Those honored included the local offices of Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT), Rex Healthcare, EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC), NetApp (Nasdaq: NTAP), and Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT).

• Debian Family

  • Derivatives

    • Canonical/Ubuntu

      • Crash course: Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud

        You may be weary of all the cloud computing hype, but behind the hype is considerable substance. Cloud technologies are complex, versatile, and revolutionizing the data center. Canonical’s Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC) revolutionizes setting up your own cloud infrastructure, bundling everything you need in a sleek integrated package for free.

      • Ubuntu Server 12.10: What to Expect

        From standard feature upgrades to controversial integration with Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), we’ve already surveyed the highlights of the desktop version of the upcoming Ubuntu 12.10 release. But what do Ubuntu server users have to look forward to Oct. 18? Read on for a round up of the new bells and whistles set to make their debut in the backroom version of one of the world’s most popular open source operating systems.

      • [Video] Evolution Of Ubuntu From 4.10 To 12.10

        Here is an interesting video which shows the evolution of Ubuntu operating system from version 4.10 to 12.10.

      • Ubuntu Accomplishments Helps You To Learn Ubuntu And Engage With The Community

        Linux is about people and communities. Much of the development is done by the community itself and most of the support we get is from forums and social sites where people thrive. After a point of using Linux, most of the users like to give something back to the community, though this is not mandatory. Unfortunately, people don’t know where to start and what to do to make themselves a part of this revolution.

      • Ubuntu Accomplishments 0.3 Released!

        It has been a little while since I last talked about Ubuntu Accomplishments, but there has been ferocious work going on in the project. The new release includes a number of important features and refinements.

        The goal of the 0.3 has been to focus on quality. Our intention here was to raise the reliability and quality of the core system and provide another good solid iteration towards a 1.0 release. As such many of the features in this release are not particularly visible, but you can really feel the improvement in quality.

      • Ubuntu Gnome 12.10 Beta Released, Impressive Gnome Flavour

        Jeremy Bicha announced the second beta of Ubuntu Gnome Remix 12.10 yesterday. This release is another step towards bringing the pure Gnome experience to Ubuntu. This beta will definitely please the long time Gnome-Ubuntu users who felt left out when Ubuntu switched to Unity. Now Gnome users have more choices, they can use Ubuntu, openSUSE or Fedora for pure Gnome experience; those who want a tweaked version of Gnome Shell can always try Cinnamon on Linux Mint.

      • Be a Good Person. Give Me Money.

        The other day I announced our 24-hour horsemen marathon. In a nutshell, we in the Canonical Community Team are going to work for a continuous 24-hour session on Thursday next week. Each of us has picked a charity that we are going to support and I wanted to share some words on why I picked mine…Homeless International.

      • Online Dash Search Update

      • Ubuntu’s New DNS: Unknown Host

        If you’re the type of person who installs Ubuntu’s server edition, you’re also likely the sort of person who knows how to configure network settings. For most distributions, especially those based on Debian, the process is a bit strange, but familiar.

      • The Canonical Community Team and 13.04

      • How fuzzy matching is transforming interfaces

        It is the grooviest thing. For example, I simply type in “fuzzy m”, and magically the first search result is Fuzzy matching – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Likewise, with the Sublime Text editor, I type Shift + Cmd + P and up pops the Command Palette, with the next command only a keystroke or two away. And ditto Ubuntu’s Unity desktop, with the Intent Driven Interface aka Heads-Up Display — now with added advertising.

Devices/Embedded

• Micromax Launches Funbook Infinity P275 For Indian Market At INR 6,699

  Micromax has launched yet another tablet to there existing lineup of Funbook family Infinity P275. Priced at INR 6,699 Infinity P275 features 7-inch display. The tablet is running on top of Android 4.0.4, and is powered by 1.2GHz Cortex A8 processor. Infinity P275 comes with a back up of 6hrs which is backed by 4000 mAh battery.

• Meet BrewPi: A Raspberry Pi-based Fermentation Controller

  Now here’s a sudsy open source idea. You’ve heard all about the Raspberry Pi–the diminutive Linux-based $25/$35 computer that is being welcomed by hackers everywhere. The tiny devices have already drawn interest from educational system and technology industry leaders. But now there is BrewPi, an open source fermentation controller that runs on Arduino open source hardware and a Raspberry Pi. This device joins the Lego-based Raspberry Pi supercomputer as one of the best Pi devices yet.

• Phones

  • Jolla Mobile Forms Alliance For MeeGo Ecosystem

    Jolla Mobile is setting up a new ecosystem by forming an alliance in Hong Kong together with the leading players in the industry. The new fully mobile operating system, based on MeeGo and codenamed “Sailfish”, will be ready for licensing by other device manufacturers, design houses and service companies in spring 2013.

  • Jolla Mobile, MeeGo Powered Smartphone To Come By Year End : Jussi Hurmola

    Jolla Mobile a Helsiki-based startup plans to release their first handset by the end of this year which will be running on MeeGo OS. This piece of news comes from Jolla Mobile CEO Jussi Hurmola during an interview with GigaOM.

  • Jolla nabs €200m funding, preps MeeGo OS for licensing in mid-2013

    The funding will come from a number of partners in Jolla’s newly established ecosystem alliance, the company announced on Tuesday. While Jolla is yet to name the partners in question, it has said they will include chipset vendors, OEMs, ODMs, operators and retailers and that the alliance will be based in Hong Kong. Jolla itself will contribute €10m to the funding pot, Jolla’s chief Jussi Hurmola told the Wall Street Journal.

  • Jolla’s MeeGo revival plans shape up with $260m ecosystem alliance

  • MeeGo to return next month with Jolla phone launch

    The Finnish startup Jolla Ltd says that it has raised €200 million from a number of, currently unnamed, telecommunications companies and that it will be unveiling a MeeGo-based device next month. The funding consortium is reported to include at least one telecom operator, a chipset maker, and device and component manufacturers. Reports in the Wall Street Journal say that the company is well advanced with its plans and will show the first version of its MeeGo-based system, “Sailfish”, next month.

  • Android

    • AT&T Bringing Three New Android Smartphones And One Tablet From Samsung

    • Google Celebrates 25 Billion Android App Downloads

    • Use Android Devices As PS3 Netflix Remote

      The launch of the new Netfilx UI interface was a highly publicized stuff, but the hidden feature that was added with the update failed to see the lime light. It is discovered that the new Netflix app now allows you to use your Android device as a remote control for Netflix on your PS3 as long as both are on the same local network.

    • After delay, Jelly Bean update arrives for ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity

    • Google: Android eclipses half billion activated devices

      Google has officially seen 500 million Android devices activated since the release of the G1 back in fall 2008.

    • Make a Handy Little Android PC for Light Lifting

      A mini Android PC won’t let you perform molecular modeling or quantum physics. However, it could be perfect for kids’ homework, kitchen counter-top menu research, workshop manuals display and such — in fact, anywhere you need light word processing, Web and video. Plus, you get all of the Ice Cream Sandwich apps you want from the Google Play store.

    • The HTC One X+ With Android Jelly Bean

      HTC has unveiled the HTC One X+, a refreshed version of its HTC One X smartphone, running the HTC Sense 4+ experience on Android Jelly Bean. It is claimed to be 67% faster than the equivalent One X and up to 27% faster than the HTC One X.

• Sub-notebooks/Tablets

  • Is $99 Nexus 7 Coming?

    The $199 Google Nexus 7 might already be the most affordable and probably the best Android tablet available in the market currently. However, Google might try to take things one step further with a cheaper $99 Nexus tablet. According to DigiTimes and its industry sources, Google may launch a $99 Nexus Tablet by the end of 2012 along with a new model of the existing Nexus 7 tablet.

    Both the new models of the Nexus tablet shall use Twisted Nematic (TN) display panel manufactured by HannStar Display of Taiwan, which is the same company that is in the Apple’s portfolio of vendors.

  • Barnes & Noble Hits Amazon With Ads Free Nook Tablets, Challenges iPad

  • Google to launch the next Nexus device in 30 days?

  • Samsung says Galaxy Note II sales could top 20 million, launch set for October

    Samsung’s (005930) Galaxy Note “phablet” was a huge success, with cumulative sales having recently topped 10 million units. Though T-Mobile USA just got around to launching the supersized smartphone last month, the sequel has already been unveiled and Samsung has high hopes for it. Speaking with reporters on Friday, Samsung mobile boss JK Shin said sales of the upcoming Galaxy Note II could top 20 million units. ”Sales may grow more than two-fold (compared with the previous model),” Shin said according to Yonhap News Agency. The Samsung executive also reportedly said that the Galaxy Note II will launch some time in October.

  • Five great Android tablets you can buy today instead of waiting for the iPad Mini

    I like iPads. I own one and often use it. That said, I never cared for its size; Apple’s locked-in, proprietary software ecosystem; and lately Apple’s iOS updates have been including a lot of sloppy mistakes. So it is that more often than not I’ve been using a variety of 7″ Android-powered tablets instead of my iPad. And, you know what? Just because it seems almost certain there will soon be an iPad Mini, I don’t see any reason to be rushing out to buy one.

  • US data show slump in Apple tablet share

    It’s no great surprise, perhaps, that Google’s Android is taking tablet share from Apple, but new figures suggest the rate of catch-up has accelerated this year.

  • Tablet Powered By Ice Cream Sandwich For Kids

    Keeping kids in mind, Oregon Scientific has launched MEEP tablet running on top of Android Ice Cream Sandwich. Tablet features a 7 inch screen. Meep is powered by 1GHZ cortex A8 processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, HDMI output, Wi-Fi, and a 0.3 MP front-facing camera.

Open Source Fear Mongering Is Ridiculous With The Advent Of Open APIs

Open source fear mongering is still a reality. But in today’s world, it is nuanced with the belief that an open enterprise means open APIs.

They are not the same and should not be confused.

The issue surfaces more now that RESTful APIs have become the chosen way to exchange information through applications. They turn the enterprise metaphor on its head. It’s no longer a fortress surrounded by four walls. Instead, the enterprise walls are porous with data flowing in and out like never before.

Piwik, An Open Source Alternative To Google Analytics

Piwik is a free and open source web analytics tool which is highly customizable. It is a great open source alternative to the widely used Google Analytics. Piwik provides users with full control of their data. Eliminating the risk of sharing unwanted information with advertising companies that is faced while using Google Analytics.

Events

• Bringing the Open Cloud to Las Vegas: The CloudStack Collaboration Conference

Web Browsers

• Chrome

  • Firefox Tops Chrome’s Market Share, But Chrome Is Winning at Speed Tests

  • Chrome OS: Ready for Round Two?

    Here at OStatic, we’re big fans of real-time reports on full immersion trials of open source platforms. On ZDNet, James Kendrick is reporting on his real-time immersion with a Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook, running Google’s Chrome OS. His early reaction to the system shows that Google may be fixing some of the problems with its operating system, and could win over more users with it.

• Mozilla

  • Video Demo Of Firefox OS Released

  • Firefox and Iceweasel can ‘mailto’ with Sylpheed and Claws Mail

SaaS

• Open Cloud Means APIs, Data and Code, Says Mickos

  Finland native, LinuxCon Europe keynoter and Eucalyptus Systems CEO Marten Mickos took a few minutes to share his latest thoughts on what open cloud really means and what role Linux and open source software are meant to play in the technology shift being prompted by cloud computing. LinuxCon Europe takes place November 5-7, 2012 in Barcelona.

• Not Everyone Is So Smitten with OpenStack

• Rackspace Adds Certification to its OpenStack Training Arsenal

• Survey Shows That Concerns Remain in the Open Source Cloud

Oracle/Java/LibreOffice

• OpenWorld 2012: What’s in store

  With each year, Oracle becomes a bigger company and in turn, so does its annual OpenWorld conference, which kicks off Sunday in San Francisco.

  In fact, Oracle’s long run of acquisitions, spanning from applications to middleware to hardware, has resulted in so many partner and customer constituencies that it’s now co-locating a number of additional shows, including MySQL Connect and JavaOne, along with the main OpenWorld program.

• Oracle Cloud Partner Program and PaaS: No MySQL Plans

  Even as Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) launches a MySQL 5.6 Release Candidate, there are no plans to offer MySQL as a PaaS platform within the new Oracle Cloud Partner Program. But Channel Chief Judson Althoff, speaking at Oracle OpenWorld 2012, described numerous other ways that Oracle is enhancing and promoting MySQL to partners and customers.

• The Fox in the FOSS Henhouse

  Oracle’s proprietary posture may have soiled the welcome mat and vilified its good standing in the FOSS community as CEO Larry Ellison has pushed the balance point between servicing his customers and nickel-and-diming them to turn a higher profit. Clearly, since Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems — and with it OpenOffice and Java — the company has not acted very neighborly with open source developers.

• LibreOffice Updated to 3.6.2

  The Document Foundation today announced the latest stable release of popular free office suite, LibreOffice 3.6.2. This release bring lots of bug and regression fixes. Yeah, the changelog is long and boring, but it adds up to improved stability for LibreOfffice users – which is always a good thing.

• The Document Foundation announces LibreOffice 3.6.2

CMS

• Drupal Special Edition

  As Linux Journal’s resident Drupal nerd, I could not be more pleased to bring you this special Drupal issue. Drupal really is everywhere these days, and it’s available in more “flavors” than most people in the Open Source community are aware of. So in the interest of spreading awareness about my favorite and ever-growing open-source project, we hope you’ll find this special issue both informative and inspiring.

FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC

• Grub Customizer 3.0.1 Released

  If you often need to customize GRUB entries, the usual way we do this is to edit the configuration files by hand. With GRUB 2.00 arriving, this has become more complicated as GRUB entries do not reside on a single file. However, GRUB Customizer is a nice app that allows you to view, edit and manage GRUB entries in a simpler way.

• Hampshire College distributes free software bundle to all incoming students

  Hampshire student and FSF campaigns organizer Kira shares the success of their ambitious project to help fellow students get started with free software. The achievements of Kira’s organization, LibrePlanet/Students for Free Culture, is exciting and replicable outside of Hampshire. Kira provides suggestions to help other students realize the same changes at their schools.

Project Releases

• First and last BETA before 4.0

  As you might have guessed, Ekiga 4.0 is on its way. It will be the latest release to be based on GTK2 technologies.

• FreeIPMI 1.2.2 Released

• Blender 2.64 released

• Open Recall: WordPress, SugarCon, Etherpad, Ubuntu 13.04

Public Services/Government

• Over two hundred Belgian political candidates support free software

  A grass roots campaign has managed to get 278 candidates for the upcoming Belgian communal and provincial elections to pledge their support for free and open source software. “And, so-far, three political parties, the Socialist Party, Ecolo and Mouvement Réformateur, have promised me their general support”, says Nicolas Pettiaux, one of two volunteers contacting politicians.

• City of Arles pleased by savings open source enterprise software

  The French city of Arles is content with the savings that it made by switching to free and open source enterprise applications. The city’s 2006 migration plan, however, proved too optimistic: the switch took not three but six years, and it resulted in savings worth 450,000 euro, instead of the estimated 780,000.

Programming

• Open Source Python 3.3 Boosts Virtualization

A new Apple iOS Wi-Fi problem has popped up while others remain unfixed

Some Apple iPhone and iPad users are facing a major new problem with Wi-Fi/cellular data use while others are still dealing with earlier, unresolved iOS 6 Wi-Fi problems.

The latest annoyance is a real pain-in-the-rump. It turns out that while some of you have been watching videos, playing a game, whatever, on what you thought was a Wi-Fi network, you were actually running up your giant 3G data bill. Apple hasn’t commented on this, but on September 30th, Apple quietly released a bug fix for the problem for its Verizon customers.

Microsoft Surface midnight release – Seriously?

My sceptical mind has me thinking that people turning up to this midnight launch of Microsoft’s, will certainly be more than just “average consumers” but for the camera, I’m sure they will be hyperactive, happy, Microsoft consumers. Lets hope if Microsoft is making a PR stunt of sorts out of this that they fair far better than when they tried it with the “iPhone funeral” stunt.

MEPs must be ready to reject an ACTA-like Canada/EU Trade Agreement

Ahead of the next round of negotiations of CETA, the Canada/EU Trade Agreement1, La Quadrature du Net publishes its dedicated web-dossier. The citizen organization urges the Members of the European Parliament to demand full transparency and be ready to reject CETA as they did with ACTA, if any of the anti-Internet, anti-citizens’ freedoms provisions remain in the final agreement.

Finance

• In Goldman Programmer Case, a Way Around Double Jeopardy

  The legal odyssey of Sergey Aleynikov, a former Goldman Sachs computer programmer, has been so complex that it’s like the Grateful Dead’s lyrics “what a long, strange trip it’s been.”

  He was convicted in federal court of stealing computer code from Goldman, only to have the conviction reversed on appeal, which resulted in his release after spending a year in prison. A few months later, the Manhattan district attorney charged him with essentially the same violations, which led Mr. Aleynikov to file a lawsuit against Goldman to force the firm to pay for his lawyer.

• Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. : CFTC’s Gensler to push on with position limits

• Goldman Sachs Ripped by Critics for History of Putting Profits Over Clients

  HighTower’s Weissbluth faults bank brokerage business model; derivatives expert Tavakoli says Goldman’s misbehavior well documented

Censorship

• Google Rejects White House Censorship Request, Blocks Innocence Of Muslims In India, Indonesia

  The US government recently asked Google to remove the controversial YouTube movie which triggered the anti-US protest in the Middle East.

  Google has however restricted access to the movie in sensational areas such as India and Indonesia to avoid any communal conflict. Google maintained that the restriction has been imposed to comply with the local laws and not due to some political pressure.

Internet/Net Neutrality

• Digital Martial Law: 10 scary things about the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012

  Cyberspace has become the platform of the best and worst things that people can come up with when they’re online. While it’s a hotbed of game-changing ideas and artistic expression, it has also turned into a breeding ground for trolls and cyberthugs. That being said, well-meaning Pinoy lawmakers thought it best to pass Republic Act No. 10175 or The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. But, wait! There’s a catch. This very same law that professes to protect us from those who would do us wrong via digital means also threatens to take away our freedom to say what we want.

Intellectual Monopolies

• Copyrights

  • European Parliament Committee Calls For Creation Without Copyright To Become EU Policy

    The European Union’s governmental machine is a complicated beast, with its intertwining of supra-national, national and party-political levels (if you’re interested in understanding how it works, the digital rights organization EDRI has put together a useful introduction (pdf).) That makes it quite hard to tell what is going on behind the scenes with this new Opinion of the International Trade Committee on a Digital Freedom Strategy in EU Foreign Policy (pdf.)

  • Digital Economy Act: Costs Order debate pulled

    Open Rights Group has just learnt that the debate in the Lords scheduled for Monday, in the Moses Room, to discuss the DEA Costs Order has been pulled.

    We do not know the reasons why, but there are some very serious concerns with the order. The order had previously been withdrawn due to drafting errors.

    Firstly, Ofcom ran a consultation at the same time as DCMS laid the Order before Parliament. This seems pretty odd.

• Distributions
• Devices/Embedded

Advice the Government of Canada Gives About GNU/Linux

I think this shows the Government of Canada is a little behind the curve in GNU/Linux and needs to open up to the standards of some European governments like Germany. Germany created their own GNU/Linux desktop for government use back in 2006. Germany isn’t spreading FUD about security of GNU/Linux. TFA from Canada was produced in 2010 using M$’s office suite and Adobe’s Distiller on that other OS.

We Invite You to Share the World’s Most Inspiring Linux Stories

How To DJ A Wedding With Linux: A Review Of Mixxx DJ Software

First off, I had never planned to do a review of any DJ software. I’ve never been a DJ, nor have I ever had the desire to be a DJ. But you know what they say; Never say never. So, how did I come to learn about Mixx, and how did I end up with a real use for it? I’ll tell you.

It all started when my wife’s co-worker decided to get married. There was a little drama surrounding the entire ordeal and long story short, the bride had lost a bridesmaid. Though the bride only knew my wife for a short time, she thought she would ask her to fulfill those needs and balance the wedding party. My wife graciously accepted.

Server

• How Watson Won at Jeopardy

  While IBM’s Watson expert system isn’t ready to take over the world ala Skynet, it’s certainly “smart” enough to beat the world’s best two Jeopardy players. The company isn’t treating this as a trivial exercise; they’re also hard at work turning Watson technology into medical expert systems for cancer research and treatment, as they explained at LinuxCon 2012 in San Diego last month.

Kernel Space

• A set of stable kernel updates

• 30 Linux Kernel Developers in 30 Weeks: Martin Petersen

  This week is the annual migration of Linux kernel developers from all over the world to the Linux Kernel Summit, which is taking place in San Diego and is co-located with LinuxCon and CloudOpen. This group of developers are among the very best in the world, and we’re excited to bring you a profile this week that introduces you to another participant in and contributor to the world’s largest collaborative development project. Martin Petersen is profiled in this week’s 30 Linux Developers in 30 Weeks series.

• 30 Linux Kernel Developers in 30 Weeks: Julia Lawall

• Linux 3.6

• Linux kernel 3.6 released

  Linus Torvalds has released version 3.6 of the Linux kernel. A major new feature for desktops and laptops is hybrid sleep, long supported by both Mac OS X and Windows. This involves writing the contents of the RAM to the hard drive prior to suspending to RAM, thus ensuring that the system is able to awake from suspend in the event of a power interruption.

• 30 Linux Kernel Developers in 30 Weeks: Laurent Pinchart

  Laurent Pinchart, a.k.a. The Media Controller Guy, is a Linux kernel developer working on video capture and display. Here he tells us about the lucky introduction that got him involved in Linux and recalls the time a Taiwanese company tried to pay him $50,000 for the free software he developed. As are many of the developers we’ve profiled in our 30 Linux Kernel Developers in 30 Weeks series, Pinchart is motivated to work on Linux by more than money.

• The Kernel Column with Jon Masters

  Jon Masters summarises the latest goings-on in the Linux kernel community, including the 2012 Kernel Summit and the closing of the 3.6 merge window

• How Does Linux Inspire?

• ARM64/AArch64 Support Going Into Linux 3.7 Kernel

  The Linux 3.7 kernel will feature support for the ARM 64-bit architecture (ARM64), which is officially known as AArch64.

  The Linux 3.6 kernel is one day old but there’s already lots of interesting ARM work happening for 3.7. ARM Xen virtualization support is going into the Linux 3.7 kernel, per the pull request this morning that Konrad has accepted as the Xen kernel maintainer, and now we have AArch64.

• Graphics Stack

  • X Server 1.13 has better hybrid graphics support

    X Server 1.13 has been released by the X.Org project with improved support for hot-pluggable, hybrid graphics hardware. This includes DisplayLink hardware which is connected using USB, and hybrid graphics technologies such as NVIDIA’s Optimus, a feature that is primarily used in notebooks. Optimus enables the dedicated GeForce GPU on demand and works with the GPU in the CPU.

Applications

• Slidewall Uses Your Photos or Images from the Web to Keep Your Linux Wallpaper Fresh

  Slidewall is a free utility for Linux systems that will rotate your desktop background at an interval you set, and choose from a folder full of images or from Wallbase when siwtching your wallpaper for something new

• Best Linux Applications For Learning Foreign Languages

  If you’re learning a foreign language, there is always the need to go beyond the standard textbooks and listening materials. Resources like CDs,DVDs, and even movies in that particular language help you become a good listener and communicator. Also, these days, there are plenty of software available that help you learn better and faster. On Linux too, there are many such applications that can push you further in your linguistic endeavors without you having to pay a single penny. Here is a list of the best ones.

• Multilib packages for Slackware 14

• Top Business Intelligence Software for Linux

  Business intelligence tools comprise the important software that helps in the strategic planning process of a corporation. Using them, you can gather, store, access, and analyze corporate data. The data collected by corporations are huge and to keep track of them, you need business intelligence software. You can use these tools in customer profiling, customer support, market research, product profitability, market segmentation, statistical analysis, and more.

• Instructionals/Technical

  • Installing The PHP WebDAV Extension On Debian Squeeze

  • Hardware Hacks: Learning the Pi, DSLR hacking and the Cubieboard

  • Free Resources for Picking Up Programming and Development Savvy

  • Build custom embedded Linux distributions with the Yocto Project

  • Postfix: SMTP Options with Webmin

  • Sage, A Great Mathematical Tool For Linux

  • Virtualization With Xen On CentOS 6.3 (x86_64) (Paravirtualization & Hardware Virtualization)

  • Using mod_spdy With Apache2 On OpenSUSE 12.2 (x86_64)

  • Installing Oracle JDK on Ububtu 12.04 and openSuse 12.2

  • To understand the command line…

  • Lost Ubuntu Password Recovery

  • Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter Issue 285

  • Ubuntu ‘Won’t Fix’ NSFW Content in Amazon Unity Results

  • Why Ubuntu Amazon Integration Is A Great Move

  • Installing mod_geoip for Apache2 On Ubuntu 12.04

  • View Your Raspberry Pi’s Stats with the Raspberry Pi Sysinfo Script

  • Setting up MySQL on Sabayon Linux

  • Getting rid of a Dropbox error message on a Linux-powered PC

  • How to install .tar.gz and other tarball files in Linux

  • nvidia cards on gentoo

  • RKHunter: checking for Root Kits and Intrusions on Linux

  • out of disk storage space, but there is still free space!!

  • Vim: The Hidden Power of Customization

  • How to Install Thunderbird Beta on Ubuntu Linux

  • How to Fix Wrong Youtube Tint

  • How to Enable USB Support in VirtualBox

  • Rhythmbox 2.98 Released, Install It In Ubuntu

  • Android development using jEdit part 2

• Wine

  • CrossOver – Will you make me convert?

    Running Windows programs on Linux is largely a myth. No matter how much we geeks may try to portray the transition between Windows and Linux to be a painless procedure, it is far from being anything simple or smooth. Now and then, programs come to life that try to dispel this myth. One of them is CrossOver by Codeweavers.

  • Wine 1.5.4 Released With Improved Shader Compiler, GIF And JavaScript Support

    A new development branch of Wine has been released that features improved support for Shader Compiler, GIF and JavaScript. Also, it includes better handling of URL cache and usual set of bug fixes.

  • Installing WINE, Winetricks And Playonlinux On Ubuntu

    It may occur that the user needs to run a Windows application or game in Ubuntu and it finds that it cannot install windows programs.

• Games

  • Linux’s Brilliant New Gaming Career

    Will gaming prove to be a key to increased usage for Linux? Valve’s decision to cater its gaming platform to the OS could be a step in that direction. “Linux-based games consoles are clearing the way to push Linux gaming into the mainstream,” said Hyperlogos blogger Martin Espinoza.

  • What to Expect from Steam on Linux

    When Valve announced to the world that the Steam Linux client for its digital distribution service was in the works, everybody rejoiced. But what can we realistically expect from a Linux client launched so late in the game?

  • Steam for Linux a Bad Idea? – This Week in Linux Gaming

  • ‘Hostile Takeover’ Alpha Released for Linux [Fallout Inspired Action Game]

  • S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky – Late Verdict

    Last year I wrote an article very much extolling what a great game the last in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series ‘Call of Pripyat’ was. Balanced, well-thought out game play, great graphics and so on. Like so many teenage and not any longer so teenage boys I absolutely love post-apocalyptic games and movies and this series falls right in there.

  • Five Games to Show off Your Android Tablet

    Whether you’ve been an Android tablet user since the days of Honeycomb on the Motorola XOOM, or you just opened up your brand new Nexus 7, one thing is for sure: you’ve been looking for software which really shows off what your tablet is capable of.

  • OpenMW is Getting Better with Every Release

Desktop Environments

• Xfce 4.10, the Sane Linux Desktop

  Xfce 4.10 is the latest release of the excellent Xfce desktop, full of useful incremental improvements and no shocking surprises.

  Workflow and efficiency are everything. I want my Linux graphical environment to be the way I like it, and not an obese system hog. I have a lot of favorite Linux desktop environments (Fluxbox, KDE4, Ratpoison, E17, Razor-qt) and Xfce is always near the top.

• Features vs. Benefits

  The other day, I received an announcement about a new distribution. That’s not unusual; I receive announcements about new software each week. But what struck me about this one was that, while the announcement mentioned a few new features, it gave no reason why I should care about them as either a reviewer or a user. As a result, it failed to interest me in the distribution, and the sender of the announcement might have saved his efforts.

• K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

  • Heartbroken app-maker Qt sneaks into Android’s bed

    The effort towards a Qt library for Android is progressing, with a fourth and final alpha release being sent out the door – despite confidence in the platform having steadily eroded since Nokia dumped it.

    Qt is a library of cross-platform APIs which enables even complicated apps, such as VLC’s VideoLAN, to run across operating systems. Nokia bought the owning company, Trolltech, back in 2008, then dumped the technology earlier this month. The move left Qt with an uncertain future, but seemingly a future which includes Android.

  • Android rules the roost in EU, U.S.

  • KDE KWin Now Handles OpenGL Over EGL

    With GLX set to be deprecated in the not too distant future and EGL being in use with OpenGL ES on mobile platforms, KDE’s KWin compositing window manager now has support for using desktop OpenGL over EGL instead of GLX.

  • Who needs GLX? KWin does not

  • Display Management in KDE

    As some of you might have noticed, display management in KDE is not really something we could be proud of. It does not work as expected, it lacks some features and it’s not really maintained. Time to change it, don’t you think? Smilie:

• GNOME Desktop

  • GNOME: Firefox extensions and wider availability

    With the recent release of GNOME 3.6, developers and distributions are making updated versions of their packages available and applications such as Firefox are getting improved integration into the GNOME desktop.

  • Gnome 3.8 Features: Integrated Application Search

    Integrated Application Search inside Gnome Shell is one more exciting feature we will see in Gnome next release in March, 27. The work has started from 3.5 cycle and Gnome Shell can already search for our cloud files (ie G. Docs).

  • 9 potentially New Gnome Apps!

  • Manage Photos with gThumb

    gThumb may look like yet another image viewer, but behind its unassuming appearance hides a rather capable application that can help you to manage photos efficiently.

  • Nemo, Cinnamon 1.6 and MATE 1.4

    I’m taking this opportunity to relay two pieces of Cinnamon news to the Linux Mint community.

  • Deception | Part I. Gnome Core Libs Progress

  • Time for a clean up with BleachBit!

    BleachBit is a general purpose cleaning application that covers almost every application or component of your system that stores any kind of data, taking hard disk space and risking the unintended sharing of personal data over the internet.

    The application is unfortunately still using gtk2, but other than that it is completely simple to understand and use in daily basis.

  • Gnome Music Player Rhythmbox 2.98 Out

    Rythmbox is a free and open source Gnome music player that features a simple UI and fast playback. With Ubuntu One Music integration, you can also buy and download new tracks in Ubuntu.

  • Gnome Music – First Look

  • Ubuntu Gnome beta is out ..and is ready for (ab)use!

  • What users like (according to User Observation)

    The user observation hackfest was an attempt from the part of Gnome developers to learn more about what users want.

  • Getting Gnome 3.6 Live Image!

    We are not used to such surprises! Same day with the release of Gnome 3.6,we also get a Live Media to try it out! The image is based as always in the next Fedora release -Spherical Cow.

  • What’s new in Linux 3.6

  • 7 Things About Gnome 3.6 That You Will Love

    We tested Gnome 3.6 by downloading the live image and here are a list of changes we loved, and hopefully, you will love too.

    First and foremost, the Activities overview, looks more cleaner and the space for workspaces has been reduced

Distributions

• In search of the best Linux distro of 2012: My Experiments

  I recall in 2009, I had only a desktop for all my computing needs – a desktop bought in 2003 and post SP3 update, struggled to run Windows XP, plagued with virus problems, slowness and often crashing. Every 2 months, I had to re-install Windows XP! I still persisted with XP, thinking Linux was for the geeks and not my cup of tea. Finally, in 2010 I gathered courage to try out Ubuntu 10.04 LTS and I was amazed by the speed and stability it rendered to my old computer. After that there was no looking back! I installed Ubuntu 11.04 “Natty” thereafter which performed amazingly well on it. Now all the four systems that I have, run on Linux only!

• Quick Video Review: Hanthana Linux 17 LXDE

  Today I am doing a quick video review of Hanthana Linux 17 “LXDE”. Hanthana is a Linux based operating system and a Fedora remix suitable for desktop and laptop users. Hanthana comes to you in the form of a LiveDVD for regular PC (i686 & x86_64 architectures) systems. You can run Hanthana Operating System directly from the LiveDVD and check out each and every feature before installing it on your hard disk.

• New Releases

  • Qubes 1.0 released

  • Absolute 14.0 released

  • QEMU 1.2.0 improves live migration

    Among the new features of version 1.2.0 of QEMU is support for passing through PCI devices to hardware-virtualised Xen guests. The open source system emulator is used in both the KVM and Xen virtualisation platforms, but can also be used independently. The new release can migrate active guest systems to different hosts (live migration) even if the guests use USB storage media and pass-through devices. In addition, live migration is said to be more reliable for guest systems that use large amounts of RAM.

  • QEMU 1.2 released

    Version 1.2 of the QEMU processor emulator has been released. “Even though this was the shortest release cycle in QEMU’s history, it contains an impressive 1400 changesets from 180 unique authors.”

  • Fuduntu Gets New Release

    Fuduntu, the distro with a pun for a name, has released its latest quarterly update. Version 2012.4 was released today with the usual “small incremental distribution improvements” including “several changes, new features, and improvements.”

• Red Hat Family

  • Red Hat adds BPM to JBoss with Polymita buy

  • JBoss changes coming soon

    As JavaOne 2012 gets started this week, Red Hat is using the occasion to announce some shake ups for its venerable Java-based JBoss product line.

    There’s a lot of yummy sauce, but it’s a little hard to find the actual meat of the news buried within the commercial Linux vendor’s announcement today. Here’s what we do know.

    Probably the biggest potential news is the intent to “increase access and availability to JBoss for developers,” according to Stephen Yi, Director, Strategy & Product Management at Red Hat. Specifically, Yi is referring to the JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP), which currently is under the GNU Lesser GPL for development, but requires a Red Hat support subscription for production use.

  • Infor gets into bed with Red Hat

  • Fedora

    • New Security Feature in Fedora 18 Part 2: Mutual Trusts with Active Directory domains

      FreeIPA has a couple of new features that are showing up in Fedora 18. Support for SELinux Confined User labelling will be covered in a future blog… In this blog I will be talking about better integration with Windows environments.

• Debian Family

  • Updated Debian 6.0: 6.0.6 released

    The Debian project is pleased to announce the sixth update of its stable distribution Debian 6.0 (codename “squeeze”). This update mainly adds corrections for security problems to the stable release, along with a few adjustments for serious problems. Security advisories were already published separately and are referenced where available.

  • OS4 OpenDesktop 13 released

    Today we are pleased to announce the arrival of the next generation of desktop operating systems, OS4 OpenDesktop 13. With this release we bring a lot of new functionality and bug fixes to the OS4 family. OS4 OpenDesktop 13 is the most capable Linux desktop featuring an easy to use interface and including a vast array of hardware support, wifi support along with all the multimedia codecs, Blu Ray and DVD Playback. OS4 OpenDesktop 13 is the premier Linux distribution for the home or business user. Our unprecedented commitment to cloud computing and internet technologies makes OS4 OpenDesktop 13 the best platform for consumption of cloud services.

  • Debian Edu interview: Giorgio Pioda

    Many. First of all there is a strong and living community that is very generous for help and hints. Chat help is crucial, together with the mailing list. Second. With Skolelinux you get an already well engineered platform and you don’t have to start to build up your PDC and your clients from GNU/scratch; I’ve already done this once and I can tell it, it is hard. Third, since Skolelinux is a standard platform, it is way easier to educate other IT people and even if the head IT is sick another one could pick up the task without too much hassle.

  • Debian Project News – October 1st, 2012

  • Debian relicenses its logo

  • Derivatives

    • Canonical/Ubuntu

      • Working Ubuntu 13.04 Release Date Announced

        A tentative launch date for Ubuntu 13.04 has already appeared on the “R” schedule, just weeks before Ubuntu 12.01 “Quantal Quetzal” becomes a proper release on October 18. Naturally dates are subject to change, and so far Ubuntu 13.04 has yet to be named.

      • Introducing Ubuntu Photo Lens for Unity

      • Ubuntu and Amazon Make Uneasy Bedfellows

        “Making money on the consumer desktop as an open source vendor is hard, as Canonical is finding out,” offered Chris Travers, a blogger who works on the LedgerSMB project. “This current approach is an attempt to monetize users by collecting Amazon affiliate revenue, making Ubuntu the second-largest adware OS after Android — and even Google has trouble monetizing Android.”

      • Ubuntu 13.04 unlikely in full until next spring

        A tentative launch date for Ubuntu 13.04 has already appeared on the “R” schedule, just weeks before Ubuntu 12.01 “Quantal Quetzal” becomes a proper release on October 18. Naturally dates are subject to change, and so far Ubuntu 13.04 has yet to be named.

      • Top Ubuntu Apps Of August – Muktware Ubuntu Manual In Top Ten Free Apps

      • HTTPS Support Arrives In Unity Shopping Lens

      • Fallout from Ubuntu’s New Shopping Lens

        Unless you’ve been living devoid of Internet access recently, chances are good that you’ve heard about the addition of Amazon affiliate links on the Unity Dash in Ubuntu 12.10 beta.

        When Mark Shuttleworth first made the announcement, his goal was clearly to inject new revenue into the Ubuntu project, in a non-intrusive manner. And at its core, the idea was sound: as the Unity Dash is used to search for stuff, the Amazon affiliate links will display with the native results presented.

      • Meet The Ubuntu Women – They’re More Involved Than You Think

        Take a quick look around the Ubuntu forums and IRC channels and you can miss the pattern: it’s mostly men. That is not to say that there is no diversity in the open source community, only that you need to look a little deeper to find it.

        According to a recent survey, only 12% of professionals in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are women. So I felt especially lucky to “sit-down” with Ubuntu Women members Elizabeth “Lyz” Krumbach and Cheri Francis over a Google+ hangout to discuss the work they are doing with the organization.

      • Ubuntu 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal) Beta 2 Released!

      • Ubuntu 12.10 Beta 2 Screenshots

      • Unity 6.6: Still Regressing On Performance?

        With the recent release of the Unity 6.6 desktop for Ubuntu 12.10 Beta 2, benchmarks were done to see how the OpenGL gaming performance compares to that of Unity 6.4 from the earlier beta state of the Quantal Quetzal, plus the respective Compiz versions. At least for Intel Ivy Bridge graphics under some workloads, it looks like the Unity/Compiz updates are slowing down the GL performance even further.

      • Ubuntu has a bigger problem than its Amazon blunder

        There are many things that comprise a successful Linux distribution, but there may be none more important than trust. Before you build a production Linux system, you have to trust that the distribution isn’t going to contain malicious code or back doors or any number of other potentially major problems. Since the advent of Linux, this really hasn’t been an issue.

      • Ubuntu 12.10: More to Um Bongo Linux than Amazon ads

        Ubuntu 12.10: More to Um Bongo Linux than Amazon ads
        A new Lens in the Unity Dash will poll Amazon to find results relevant to your search terms. And yes, if you click the link and buy the item Ubuntu-maker Canonical gets a small percentage of the income, much like Mozilla makes a bit of money for allowing you to search Google from Firefox. Here’s what the new Lens looks like:

      • Flavours and Variants

        • wattOS R6 Review – Go green with Linux

          An Ubuntu based distro, wattOS uses Openbox and is optimised to be lightweight, low-power, and able to run on older machines

        • Better-late-than-never review: The ZaReason Limbo 6000A desktop computer running Linux Mint 12

Devices/Embedded

• Fritzing, the Hot New Electronics Designer for Real People

  This is the best time to get into electronics because we have an abundance of high-quality hardware for cheap and great software for free. Arduino, Beagleboard, and Raspberry Pi give us hundreds of inexpensive hardware components to play with. On the software side check out the new Fritzing project. Fritzing lets inexperienced electronics noobs make great-looking schematics and circuit diagrams, and even design and build their own printed circuit boards.

• Phones

  • The China-U.S. Smartphone Gap Grows Larger

    Smartphones are so popular here that it’s difficult to avoid seeing one, and in China, these devices are poised to become even more widespread.

    This year, China will account for 26.5 percent of all smartphone shipments, compared to 17.8 percent in the United States, according to a forecast by the International Data Corporation, a research firm.

    China has surpassed the United States in smartphone sales in the past. However, only in the first quarter of this year did it become clear that the smartphone gap between China and the United States would become a “long-lasting gulf that won’t be bridged,” said Kevin Restivo, a senior research analyst with IDC.

  • Verizon CEO: Samsung may be ‘dark horse’ with own mobile OS

    Verizon’s Lowell McAdam believes Samsung has the capability to create a successful third mobile operating system.

  • Android

    • Android better market share but iPhone apps preferred

      Today we have news for you of a really interesting insight about Android and iPhone apps that comes from a tech enthusiast and Android user. Despite the fact that Android smartphones have a bigger share of the market, with recent statistics showing Android at 52.2% and Apple’s iOS at 33.4%, this particular Android device owner is honest enough to say that he prefers iPhone apps. Taking in mind the usual Android vs. iOS debate and the fierce loyalty it evokes in many people, that’s quite an admission.

    • CyanogenMod OTA Updater Now Available

      When CyanogenMod team had announced that their new OTA update system would be available “soon”, they really meant it. The feature is already available in all the nightly builds since 30th September. The new option has been added in the settings menu as CM Updater. It will automatically check for updates and install them, similar to over the air updates that are received from carriers and manufacturers.

    • CyanogenMod is getting its own OTA update manager

    • CyanogenMod Drops ROM Manager, Will Offer OTA Update Solution

      There’s some great news for CyanogenMod fans. The CM team has decided to drop ROM manager which was the de facto standard of getting CyanogenMod updates. Now you must be wondering how CyanogenMod will be updated then. Fear not, the CM team is going to build its own updating method.

    • Samsung goes big with 5.8-inch Galaxy Player

      Ahead of the IFA show, the company upsizes its Android device for playing music, video, and games. It’s edging closer toward Nexus 7 mini-tablet territory.

    • Sony Upgrading Xperia To Android 4.0

    • X-Plane Is Now Available For Free

      X-Plane 9 is claimed to be the best flight simulator available on Android and now you can enjoy the experience for free, after it dropped the $2.99 price tag. The app is available on a freemium model, you will initially get 10 different types of aircraft with the free download but there are in-app purchases available for 43 more planes.

    • Samsung announces Drive Link, a car-friendly app with MirrorLink integration

      Until self-driving cars become mainstream, it’s best to keep eyes on roads and hands off phones. With this in mind, Samsung’s debuting Drive Link, an app that balances in-car essentials with driver safety, complete with approval from the no-nonsense Japanese Automotive Manufacturers Association. It’s all about the bare essentials — navigation, hands-free calling and audiotainment from your phone-based files or TuneIn.

    • NFC token for Android smartphones

      The YubiKey Neo hardware token represents an interesting new concept for one-time passwords on NFC-capable Android smartphones. Rather than typing them in, the token uses the near field communication (NFC) standard to send generated one-time passwords to a smartphone. To unlock items such as the password safe application LastPass, the YubiKey key fob token is simply brushed across the back of the phone after logging in.

    • The Nexus 7’s Single Biggest Advantage

      Google’s Nexus 7 tablet has a killer spec sheet, an enviable operating system, and cutthroat price. But all of those combined can’t do for the tiny champ what Google’s actions today will. And that might just be enough to help it beat back the rumored iPad Mini.

      Google takes great pride in maintaining the sanctity of its homepage. It’s a pristine white canvas, a zen garden of searching calm. Because of that cache—and the extraordinary number of visitors it draws—its value to advertisers is literally priceless. As in, Google has never sold it to an advertiser.

    • Sony Mobile Tries Open Path to Android Success

    • Huawei shows off early version of Emotion UI for Android, packs a ‘stock’ skin too (hands-on)

    • The Pocket TV: Makes any TV a Smart TV

      The Pocket TV is a thumb-size micro-computer that connects to the HDMI port of any TV and converts it into an Android Smart TV

    • AV test lab examines Android security programs

      The AV-Comparatives test lab has examinedPDF 13 security programs for Android smartphones. The study found that all of the test candidates offer reliable protection against 75 virus families; detection rates were always at least 93 per cent. In total, the experts unleashed more than 18,000 infected apps on the test devices. None of the security programs produced any false alarms; however, testing involved only 200 widely used benign apps.

    • Gingerbread still dominant with 57.5 percent Android ownership

      Ice Cream Sandwich is now running on 20.9 percent of all Android-based devices, according to new data from Google.

    • Kobo announces smallest eReader in Kobo Mini, Kobo Glo, and Kobo Arc 7 inch Android tablet

      I am a big fan of the Kobo eReader Touch and use it as my primary eInk device because the form factor is so compelling and I can read all of my EPUB content on it. With Amazon’s Kindle press event, I am not sure that Kobo’s announcedment today of several new devices was timed well. However, it is likely that I will preorder one of them. They announced the new Kobo Mini, Kobo Glo, and Kobo Arc with preorders available now.

    • Reasons Why Samsung Should NOT Produce Nexus This Year

      You must be wondering that Samsung has been at the forefront of Android smartphone market, with its highly successful devices which have even surpassed iPhone’s sales figure, then why am I going against Samsung Manufacturing the next Nexus device, like the last two years. Well here are my points:

• Sub-notebooks/Tablets

  • Even Toys”R”Us Has a Tablet Now

    Toys”R”Us has taken a good long look at the increasingly crowded Android tablet market and decided it wants a minuscule sliver too. So starting October 1st, every child’s favorite store will start selling a seven-inch, $150 Android device called the Tabeo (Tabby-oh? Tabe-e-oh?) targeted at younger users.

  • MIPS aims challenge at ARM tablet dominance

    Displaying a new processor design, MIPS Technologies hopes to challenge ARM’s reach in the high-end mobile device market.

  • Zareason Introduces Open And Hackable $349 Android Tablet

    Zareason technologies have launched a new open and hackable Android tablet – ZaTab. The tablet costs $349 and is a beast in sheer power and performance.

  • ScreenShare, Android App that Puts Your Mobile Phone Apps on Tablet Screen

  • Acer IconiaA110 7-inch tablet launched in UK

    The 7 inch tablet segment is a hotly contested market and now Acer has joined the race with its Iconia A110 tablet which has been released in UK. The tablet looks similar to the very popular flagship model from Google the Nexus 7. In fact, it carries specs similar to the Google offering.

  • New activation numbers show Android tablets catching up to iPad

    This number doesn’t appear to count any non-Google Android tablets like the Kindle Fire, B&N Nook, or any of the other Android tablets that don’t come with Google Apps (and thus are not activated through Google).

Apache Wicket bounces to a 6

With today’s announcement, the Apache Wicket project has jumped from version 1.5.8 to version 6.0 for the latest release of its web framework for Java. The version number change is due to a switch to semantic versioning and because there are changes to the Wicket API. One of the headline changes is that Wicket now requires Java 6 at a minimum, so updaters may have to look at upgrading their Java runtimes.

Disney and FOSS: Fun and FUD in the Magic Kingdom?

“Did you use open source code to save time and the virus was hidden in it?” one character asked another on a recent episode of the Disney show “Shake It Up.” Was it the work of an uninformed children’s show screenwriter who simply tried to make up a line that would sound vaguely like high-level techno-talk? Or is Disney really anti-FOSS?

Microsoft will be saved by open-source

There you go. You won’t find a more truthful article anywhere. Now, I am aware this lovely essay will be buried deep in the search annals because it is not politically correct or written to cater to pseudo-journalistic websites that have to mind what they say lest they lose sponsorships and suchlike. I cannot possibly change the world on my own, but at the very least, I can share truth with my users, and hope they will carry it around, so the truth is known.

As much as I’m good with words, I am somewhat at loss in expressing my absolute disdain, loathing and dislike for the forced plastic cultural phenomena imposed on the world by those who shout the stupidest and loudest. Even if Microsoft products merit attention, and some definitely do, like EMET, the quality of technology is drowned in the diarrhea-like dross of marketing religion and exaggeration. I am most offended by the fact people silently accept this instead of going This Is Sparta against all this bullcrap.

Web Browsers

• Browsers Growth Analysis 2010-2012 [Infograph]

• Chrome

  • Introducing Chrome’s next-generation Linux sandbox

    We are using a new facility, introduced in Linux 3.5 and developed by Will Drewry called Seccomp-BPF.

• Mozilla

  • Firefox 18 Posts Speed Gains Over Chrome, Mozilla Says

    Mozilla’s Mark Côté has reminded us that the arewefastyet page, which the browser maker launched prior to the introduction of Firefox 4, is still alive and is now tracking the progress of Mozilla IonMonkey JIT.

SaaS

• ownCloud: The cloud sharing service you control

  ownCloud was launched at Camp KDE in January 2010 by its founder, Frank Karlitschek. (Mr. Karlitschek is now the CTO of ownCloud, Inc.) The goals of ownCloud, as laid out at the KDE conference, are ambitious: easy cloud setup and management, and ubiquitous access to your data from multiple devices wherever that data may be — on local storage, hosted storage, or even on social networks. ownCloud also wants to give us the ability to mash up and connect data from different providers, while maintaining privacy and security. While they’re at it, I’d like them to provide pink unicorns and rainbows too, which seem about as probable as everything else ownCloud is promising.

• nginx’s rise within the cloud

  nginx is still neck-and-neck with Microsoft’s IIS on global surveys of web servers, but it’s racking up significant wins in the cloud along the way.

  Back in April, nginx looked ready to take the number two web-server spot in market share for top servers across all domains, according to the April Netcraft Web Server Survey. That was supposed to happen last month, actually. But that trend has apparently stalled, according to the latest Netcraft survey, as IIS remains in the number two spot with a recent climb in use that nginx was unable to pass.

Databases

• Hipsters hacking on PostgreSQL

  With the rise of NoSQL, it’s easy to assume that old-school relational databases are simply living out their dinosaur dreams for legacy applications. But a funny thing happened on the way to the SQL cemetery: PostgreSQL became cool again. Yes, PostegreSQL.

• MariaDB gets alpha of Galera clustering

  Monty Program’s MariaDB team has announced the first availability of MariaDB Galera, a clustering solution that is the result of a partnership between the MariaDB team and Codership. The alpha release, which should not be used for production systems, includes a merge of MariaDB 5.5.25 with Galera Cluster from Codership in a combination that is said to offer a read/write scalable system, synchronous multi-master replication and guaranteed data consistency.

• Release candidate for MySQL 5.6 available

  At the MySQL Connect conference in San Francisco, Oracle has presented the release candidate for the next version of its open source relational database, MySQL. For MySQL 5.6, the developers have focused on adding features to InnoDB, for example, implementing full-text searches that were previously only available in the non-transactional MyISAM, and on improving server performance by improving database’s optimiser.

• PostgreSQL 9.2 released

  The PostgreSQL Global Development Group announces PostgreSQL 9.2, the latest release of the leader in open source databases. Since the beta release was announced in May, developers and vendors have praised it as a leap forward in performance, scalability and flexibility. Users are expected to switch to this version in record numbers.

• MySQL Cluster plugs into Node.js

Oracle/Java/LibreOffice

• Oracle debuts MySQL 5.6 RC at inaugural MySQL Connect

  Oracle, claiming to be intent on shining more attention on MySQL, announced at its annual conference this weekend the first release candidate of MySQL 5.6.

  The database giant seems to be taking its time on moving the open source database forward. The first preview of MySQL 5.6 was made available in July of 2011.

• Java SE/EE/ME committee merger approved

  The proposal, as part of JSR 355, to combine the previously separate Executive Committee (EC) for Java SE (Standard Edition) and Java EE (Enterprise Edition) and the Java ME (Micro Edition) Committee has now received the approval of the Java Community Process.

• Help Make LibreOffice Even Better – Take the Test

• Oracle Cloud Partner Program and PaaS: No MySQL Plans

• LibreOffice vs. OpenOffice, Not Always Simple

  If you are like me, you prefer LibreOffice over (Apache) OpenOffice because (1) It has a better open source license. (2) It has more community support. (3) It is more rapidly developing and releasing updates.

CMS

• What’s holding back mainstream Drupal adoption?

  Word on the street is, Drupal is hiring. Well, Drupal shops to be exact. But the lack of experienced Drupal developers and themers is hurting the ecosystem.

  Chances are, you’ve recently visited a website running Drupal. (This is one of them.) How many projects out there want to be using Drupal but don’t have the in-house talent? Or they’ve contacted a Drupal shop and found out they’re all booked up with other projects for the next for weeks and even months!

• Version 3.0 of Joomla CMS Makes Mobile Administration Easy

  The Joomla community has released version 3.0 of the popular Content Management System (CMS), and the big news is that Joomla now optimizes content created in it for mobile platforms. This represents the new frontier for all CMS systems, and there are many other new additions in Joomla 3.0.

• Joomla 3.0 – What’s New

FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC

• Hampshire College distributes free software bundle to all incoming students

  Hampshire student and FSF campaigns organizer Kira shares the success of their ambitious project to help fellow students get started with free software. The achievements of Kira’s organization, LibrePlanet/Students for Free Culture, is exciting and replicable outside of Hampshire. Kira provides suggestions to help other students realize the same changes at their schools.

• Free Software – Students Foment Change in College

• AutoFDO Optimizations For The GCC Compiler

  A patch has emerged that provides “AutoFDO” support for the GCC compiler for automated feedback-directed optimizations.

Project Releases

• FreedomBox 0.1 released

  The very first release of the FreedomBox software has been announced. “This 0.1 version is primarily a developer release, which means that it focuses on architecture and infrastructure rather than finish work. The exception to this is privoxy-freedombox, the web proxy discussed in previous updates, which people can begin using right now to make their web browsing more secure and private and which will very soon be available on non-FreedomBox systems.”

• Codethink Releases Baserock 1.1

  Codethink announces version 1.1 (aka Secret Volcano) of its Baserock Embedded Linux software. Baserock is a Linux build system for the development of embedded, industrial or bare-metal, server-based Linux systems.

• FFmpeg Reaches Version 1.0

  While we have been looking towards an FFmpeg 1.0 release for nearly one year, the version 1.0 release of the popular FFmpeg library was finally tagged after being in development for more than one decade.

Openness/Sharing

• How to use Inkscape to print 3D

  Inkscape is a magnificent open source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format.

• Openness is Alive and Well (and Living in Europe)

• Open Access/Content

  • California’s Open Source Textbooks to Ease Students’ Money Woes

    We’ve written before about companies that help get digital textbooks into the hands of students, and efforts to bring low-cost textbooks into K-12 classrooms. Now, California, one of the largest economies in the world, has signed a new bill to provide versions of popular textbooks to college students for free. This move is effectively like open sourcing popular textbooks, and is a progressive step from a state that is well-known for its broken university system.

  • California passes groundbreaking open textbook legislation

• Open Hardware

  • Pulling back from open source hardware, MakerBot angers some adherents

    What happens when a prime example of the open-source hardware movement locks down its products?

Programming

• ProjectLibre: October 2012 Project of the Month

• Python 3.3.0 released

  The latest version of the Python language, Python 3.3.0, has arrived. This is the first major version to have language changes since the language moratorium expired, and as such brings new syntax to the language in the form of “yield from” which allows developers to delegate work to a sub-generator (PEP 380). The changes also bring back the Python 2 style Unicode literal syntax for strings, which will make more code from Python 2 valid in Python 3 (PEP 393).

• Eclipse Juno gets first service release

  The Eclipse Foundation has quietly made the first service release (SR1) for Eclipse 4.2 Juno available. The publication saw no apparent announcement or release notes from the Eclipse Foundation, although it was planned to ship at the end of September. The SR1 release is designed to fix serious problems with the June release of Eclipse 4.2. The J-Development blog noted that around 80 bugs had been fixed in the release.

Standards/Consortia

• Why HTML5 is in trouble on the mobile front

  HTML5 promises great things for smartphone developers, but is yet to deliver in full. That leaves developers with a tricky choice: to build for openness or go with what works now.

Security

• White House confirms cyberattack

  The White House confirmed but sought to downplay a report by a conservative website on Sunday that it had been the victim of a cyberattack, volunteering to POLITICO that no harm had been done.

  The Washington Free Beacon reported that Chinese hackers had attacked a computer system in the White House Military Office.

Finance

• Feast of fools

  The ritual performance of the legend of democracy in the autumn of 2012 promises the conspicuous consumption of $5.8 billion, enough money, thank God, to prove that our flag is still there. Forbidden the use of words apt to depress a Q Score or disturb a Gallup poll, the candidates stand as product placements meant to be seen instead of heard, their quality to be inferred from the cost of their manufacture. The sponsors of the event, generous to a fault but careful to remain anonymous, dress it up with the bursting in air of star-spangled photo ops, abundant assortments of multiflavoured sound bites, and the candidates so well-contrived that they can be played for jokes, presented as game-show contestants, or posed as noble knights-at-arms setting forth on vision quests, enduring the trials by klieg light, until on election night they come to judgment before the throne of cameras by whom and for whom they were produced.

Internet/Net Neutrality

• TPP Creates Legal Incentives For ISPs To Police The Internet. What Is At Risk? Your Rights.

  The draft chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement on Intellectual Property—as of its current leaked version [PDF], article 16—insists that signatories provide legal incentives for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to privately enforce copyright protection rules. The TPP wants service providers to undertake the financial and administrative burdens of becoming copyright cops, serving a copyright maximalist agenda while disregarding the consequences for Internet freedom and innovation.

• Insecure WIFI – Not negligent – But it will be.

  I’ve often written in regards to the open-wifi defence. No more so when it pertains to allegations of filesharing when infringing material is being shared. I am fully expecting the UK to push through a law (“unthrottled” of course because the Government will give in to Hollywood et al and their pressure).

  I am awaiting the day when we see the creation of an offence “Failure to take reasonable steps to secure your WIFI”. We already have a semi-similar law in the UK that says if you leave your keys in the car with the engine running, you commit an offence, so legislating against WIFI and insecurity would not be such a surprising move. Of course it will be win-win for government who will scoure the streets locating connections and sending out penalty notices for “offenders”. I am convinced this is coming.

• Distributions
• Devices/Embedded

How to Use Linux to Rejuvenate Old Computers

The Linux Professional Job Quest: 4 Real-Life Tales

Their tales are as varied as the ways in which their systems are used, but the common thread among Linux professionals’ career arcs is that they took matters into their own hands and made things happen. Here are their roll-up-your-sleeves stories.

10 things the “Average Joe” won’t know about Linux

Desktop

• A Rare Look at Why the Government Won’t Fight Wall Street

• Zorin OS 6 Educational: the operating system for students’ and pupils’ home computers

  Just a few days ago I wrote about Edubuntu, the Ubuntu-based Linux distribution targeted to the “market” of teachers, students, pupils and everyone in the industry of education.

  You can install this operating system on a Linux Desktop or Laptop, which you bought for your child or yourself.

• Why Linux Desktop is still not dead ?

• Linux on the Desktop: New Opportunities

  I have written about why I believe Linux remains under 10% of the desktop market: the lack of preloaded systems available in stores and the slow uptake of Linux on the enterprise desktop. The enterprise desktop is critical if Linux is to make progress on the consumer desktop without a presence in big box stores. People use what they know and like. If they use and like Linux at work they may well want to use it at home as well.

• A Murder Is Announced, but No Corpse Can Be Found

  “I don’t think Apple killed anything,” said consultant and Slashdot blogger Gerhard Mack. “‘Killed’ implies a permanent state, and I don’t think it’s actually permanent — I’m seeing more interest from my non-techie friends, and announcements such as the porting of Steam to Linux give me hope for the future.”

• A Few Thoughts on Why Businesses Resist Migration to Linux

  Despite being an open source system, Linux received less support from users as it is known to be harder to navigate than Windows. It gained popularity only with developers and computer geeks because they had the freedom to tweak the code to suit their preference. But Linux has made great strides over the years. Where Linux was previously limited only to servers and supercomputers, now more users are daring to use the system in their laptops and desktops. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said in the business environment. Why are businesses resisting the change?

• Why the Linux desktop has not gained traction

  For a long time, the co-founder of the GNOME desktop project, Miguel de Icaza, has not been heard of in the media. A few days back he surfaced, claiming to know why the Linux desktop has made little or no gain among computer users.

Server

• Engineers build Raspberry Pi supercomputer

  (Phys.org)—Computational Engineers at the University of Southampton have built a supercomputer from 64 Raspberry Pi computers and Lego.

Kernel Space

• Do We Need More Linux Kernel Developers? Oracle Thinks So [VIDEO]

• Kernel Log: New tools and drivers

  The tool collection util-linux has been extended to include resizepart, a utility that is useful when repartitioning. Some X.org graphics drivers now support hybrid graphics. The infrastructure to support UEFI Secure Boot is maturing

• Kernel Log – Coming in 3.6 (Part 2): Networking

  Smaller buffers are designed to help avoid bufferbloat. “TCP Fast Open” promises to speed up HTTP connections. The netfilter infrastructure can now use userspace programs to help with connection tracking.

• Kernel Comment: Release early, release often!

  “Release early, release often” is a popular mantra in the open source world. Unfortunately, some developers don’t pay enough attention to it – and contribute to the reputation that Linux offers bad support for current hardware.

• Linux kernel to reach 4.0 in three to four years

  According to a blog posting by Sean Michael Kerner, Linus Torvalds has declared his intention to jump the version number of the Linux kernel up to 4.0 when the second version number of the current branch gets close to reaching “the 30s”. At the current kernel development speed, Linux 3.29 would be released in the autumn of 2016.

• Linux Kernel 3.5.3 Is Available for Download

  Greg Kroah-Hartman announced a couple of days ago, August 25th, the immediate availability for download of the third maintenance release for the stable Linux 3.5 kernel series.

Applications

• 9 Great Free Linux Audio Players

  Computers have been a popular medium for playing music for decades. Most computers are not silent and may therefore be discounted as an ideal platform for audiophiles. Nevertheless, for the vast majority of music listeners, fan noise is a minor annoyance. The benefits offered by computers cannot be ignored allowing music lovers to enjoy music without needing a standalone music player. The ability to play a wide range of formats, manage large music collections, and access a huge raft of music available over the internet are just a few examples of the benefits offered by audio players.

• 6 Great Linux Statistical Analysis Tools

  Science is the effort of seeking to comprehend how the physical world works. From observation and experimentation, science uses physical evidence of natural phenomena to compile data and analyze the collated information.

  In modern research it is essential for scientists to keep abreast of the latest statistical software. Just like the fast moving world of research, developments in statistical software and methods continue to abound. Making full use of the improvements in computer software helps to advance the pace of research.

• Raise ‘em with PokerTH!

  Playing poker under Gnome is a relatively hard situation. There are almost no GTK poker clients, and those who are lack many things. The good news is that we can use the Qt based PokerTH just fine!

  PokerTH has been around for 6 years now making it a mature application that keeps the poker linux fans amuzed. It offers both a local game mode and the ability to play with others over the internet. You can also connect and play with someone else using the IP.

• Tiny Tiny RSS – The best Free and Open Source alternative to Google Reader

• Top Configuration Management Databases

  A configuration management database (CMDB) is a repository of information related to the various components of an information system detailing an organisation’s IT services and the relationships between those components. The purpose of a CMDB is to catalog and track all of the information that an IT department needs to keep.

• Quickly Open Large PDF Files Even On Slow Machines With MuPDF

• Blender Graphics Editor Slices, Dices and Amazes

  Blender is a 3D content creation suite available for all major operating systems under the GNU General Public License. It is a fast and versatile design tool that excels in modeling, UV unwrapping, texturing and rigging. You can use it to create water, particle and other simulations. It’s also great for non-linear editing, compositing and creating interactive 3D applications.

• Proprietary

  • How About an Official Twitter Client for Linux?

    A few hours ago, on August 28th, The Linux Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, proudly announced that Inktank, Servergy and Twitter joined the organization.

    Putting Inktank and Servergy aside, some of you already knew that Twitter was about to join The Linux Foundation on Tuesday, thanks to the media coverage from the past week.

• Instructionals/Technical

  • Virtualization With KVM On A CentOS 6.3 Server

  • What is Ansible

  • Immature Optimization

  • Vi : Guides for Beginners

  • You know your Linux installation is getting a bit old and crusty when …

  • MailScanner Ubuntu and Debian packages

  • Audiobooks as Easy as ABC

  • 7 tips for dual-booting Linux distributions and Windows

  • Get Going Quickly with the Powerful Audacity Audio Platform

  • What to prepare before installing Arch Linux the first time

  • Using Clonezilla: beginner and advanced approaches

  • Another way to re-run the previous command

  • Book Review: Ubuntu Made Easy

  • GIMP – Create Glass Reflection Effect

  • Creating Advanced MySQL-Based Virtual Hosts On Lighttpd (Ubuntu 12.04)

  • Split audio files with Mp3splt!

  • Chrooting Apache2 With mod_chroot On Debian Squeeze

  • Introducing Spring Roo, Part 7: Develop Spring MongoDB applications using Spring Roo

  • Use head and tail to read text files

  • How To Make Chromium Use Flash Player `Pepper` From Google Chrome

  • Serving CGI Scripts With Nginx On Ubuntu 12.04

  • Gnome 3.8 features: Automatic Extension Updates

  • Creating Simple Virtual Hosts With mod_mysql_vhost On Lighttpd (Ubuntu 12.04)

  • How to develop your own Raspberry Pi operating system

  • How to Encrypt Ubuntu Home Folder After Installation

  • Full disk encryption and LVM configuration in Ubuntu’s graphical installer

  • Running New Shopware Version 4.0.x On Nginx (LEMP) On Ubuntu 12.04

  • Surfraw – Surf the web from the CLI

  • How to create a simple text image with Imagemagick

  • How to install NSD Instead of BIND as name server on Linux to save Memory

  • IPSEC split tunneling VPN with Mac OSX and Strongswan 5 on Centos/RHEL 6

  • Install ADB And Fastboot Android Tools In Ubuntu Via PPA

  • Download and Install Insync on Ubuntu/Linux Mint

  • Linux Screen Tutorial and How To

  • Installing mod_geoip for Apache2 On Debian Squeeze

  • Installing Lighttpd With PHP5 (PHP-FPM) And MySQL Support On Fedora 17

  • ZX Spectrum Emulation on Linux Mint

  • Understanding the Top command on Linux

  • nginx: How To Block Visitors By Country With The GeoIP Module (Debian/Ubuntu)

  • The Sysadmin’s Toolbox: sar

  • How To Set Up Apache2 With mod_fcgid And PHP5 On Ubuntu 12.04

• Wine

  • Wine 1.5.12 Support Disabling Joystick Controllers and Bring XRandR Improvements

  • Wine 1.5.12 released

  • Wine 1.5.12 Brings D3DX9 and XRandR Improvements

  • CodeWeavers releases CrossOver 11.2.1 and gives it away for free

• Games

  • 3 Tower defense games for Linux

  • Linux Game Publishing releases Games in the Ubuntu Software Center and on Desura

  • Battlestar Galactica Game ‘Diaspora: Shattered Armistice’ Finally Released

  • ‘Euro Truck Simulator 2′ will have a Native Linux Version

    Good news for fans of truck simulator games. Euro Truck Simulator 2 will have a native Linux version.

    Euro Truck Simulator 2 is developed by SCS Software. The game is still in development and it will have following features:

  • Linux Platform Option Appears on Steam Website

    Linux platform has made its first appearance on Steam website. Few days back, Valve added a zombie Tux to Left4Dead 2 website announcing that it well head to Linux soon and now a Linux platform filter has been added to Steam Greenlight.

    Steam Greenlight is a new initiative by Valve where community votes for games submitted by developers. If Valve finds that a game has generated lots of interest, then it gets included in Steam game library.

  • Let’s Play: Runaway – A Road Adventure

  • Torque 3D game engine to be open sourced

  • PC Strikes Back

    Yesterday the public beta of Steam Big Picture Mode was started. With the optimization for using with TV and with a sophisticated control system, Steam and thus the PC platform enters to compete with game consoles. Of course, all games out of the Steam library can be used in the Big Picture Mode and it is still possible to use mouse and keyboard controllers. Have not we been waiting for a PC-console for years? Now it’s here:

  • 5 New Unity 4 Games Will Come to Linux

    We’ve announced a couple of weeks ago that with the release of the Unity 4.0 game engine more games will be published on Linux, especially on the Ubuntu platform, via Ubuntu Software Center.

    In the last days, more game studios have announced that their “still in development” games will have native support for the Linux platform.

  • Cross-Platform RTS Game 0 A.D. Hits Alpha 11

  • 0 A.D. Alpha 11 ‘Kronos’ Released

  • Steam Linux Beta Build Surfaces In Steam’s Database

    For those of you who are chomping at the bit, biting your nails and ruthlessly washing your cars over and over again in anxious anticipation of Steam for Linux, we’ve got good news for you.

  • Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition May Be Linux Bound

Desktop Environments

• Xfce 4.12 Will Be Released on March 10th, 2013

  The Xfce Project has published earlier today, September 9th, the release schedule for the upcoming Xfce 4.12 desktop environment.

• K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

  • Kubuntu 12.10 beta 1 screen shots

  • Desktop Linux Revolt: How KDE Survived Its User Backlash

    Desktop Linux has had four years of upheaval. Since 2008, KDE, GNOME, and Unity have all faced vocal criticism from users, creating an opportunity for other desktops like Xfce, LXDE, Mate and Cinnamon to gain popularity.

    But, in all the discussion, one question has never been discussed: how did KDE, the first desktop environment to suffer a revolt, manage to live through the experience and continue to prosper?

    The question is not just one of historical interest. Because KDE’s revolt was the first in desktop Linux, it is further along than those that GNOME and Unity continue to face. Mostly, criticism of KDE has faded to a matter of personal choice, and the project enjoys almost the same popularity that it did before the revolt.

  • Taming of (open)mamba – part 1

  • Taming of (open)mamba – part 2

• GNOME Desktop

  • Taking GNOME 3 to the next level

    I’m more excited about this release than any since 3.0. The list of major updates is impressive: new message tray, updated Activities Overview, lock screen, integrated input sources, accessibility on by default, new Nautilus. Then there are all the small changes: new style modal dialogs, bags of improvements to System Settings, a new Empathy buddy list, SkyDrive support, natural scrolling, new backgrounds, an overhauled Baobab… the list goes on and on.

  • HomeBank 4.5 beta is out!

    The first beta version of the upcoming 4.5 release for the popular personal accounting software has been released a few hours ago and it comes with many additions and improvements!

    HomeBank has been under development for over 14 years now so it is naturally a very mature, internationalized project that uses the GTK 2 toolkit on 6 different operating system platforms.

  • Beth Hadley and the summer of GCompris!

    Beth Hadley is one of the 29 students that worked for Gnome components on this year’s Google Summer of Code. She did a great job in adding a set of music learning activities that enrich the magnificent GCompris children education and playing software even further.

  • Would you pay 40$ a month to play Gnome Mines Online?

  • Improved WinThumbnails Dock Extension for Gnome Shell

  • More power to you with Gnome MPlayer!

    Gnome MPlayer is a GTK2/GTK3 interface for one of the most popular media players on Linux. This easy to use interface gives you the ability to configure the powerful MPlayer in whatever way you like and get the desired results as easy as possible.

  • Playing with Gnome Boxes Beta in Mageia Alpha!

    Mageia Foundation released the first Alpha version towards to Mageia 3 (March 2013) three days ago, with UsrMove! If I am not wrong Mageia is just the second popular distro (after Fedora) that migrates to UsrMove, and that shows that the people there, chancing the optimal solutions.

    Speaking of popularity, Mageia’s market trend grows rapidly and by taking into consideration that Mageia 3 is a huge improvement from version 2, it won’t be long till Mageia will look Ubuntu in the eyes.

  • Customize GTK3 / GTK2 Theme Colors Using `GTK Theme Preferences`

  • Gnome Calendar latest Mockups!

  • Customizing GTK themes just got easier!

    You may think or imagine that customizing GTK themes requires special knowledge and a lot of time, but with my new tool it just got easier than ever!

  • Cinnamon Goes 2D, Diminishes Mate’s Relevance

  • Cinnamon 1.6 Will Bring Cinnamon 2D

    Clement Lefebvre, father of a lot of Linux technologies used in many of today’s distributions, including Linux Mint, has announced earlier today, September 4th, the features of the upcoming Cinnamon 1.6 desktop environment.

  • Epiphany gets a speed dial overview!

Distributions

• Linux-based Qubes OS sandboxes VMs for added security

  Last week saw the release of Qubes, a Linux-based operating system that’s aiming to make a virtue of sandboxed security.

• Emmabuntus 2: an All-Inclusive French Resort

  I will be honest: I had never heard of this distribution until I received an e-mail 2 weeks ago. That was a request to review the Emmabuntus 2 Linux distribution from its developers’ team.

• BlankOn 8.0 Screenshots

• 6 Linux Distros Worth Checking Out

  One of the best things about Linux is that its distributions come in all shapes and sizes. There’s a distro for every taste and skill level.

• ExTiX-the ultimate Linux distribution?

• Descent 3.0 Screenshots

• Liberte 2012.3 Screenshots

• New Releases

  • Hanthana 17 (LXDE)

  • Three LXDE-based distributions: race them face-to-face

    I am in a very interesting situation. Some time ago, I promised myself to stay away from LXDE-based distributions. At the same time, I wrote about three of them in the last 6 weeks.

  • Deli(cate) Linux

  • SimplyMEPIS 12.0 Alpha 2 Is Available for Testing

  • Manjaro 0.8.0 Screenshots

  • OS4 1.0 Screenshots

  • Informika 6.0 School is released

    State Institute of Information Technologies and Telecommunications (Informika) and JSC ALT Linux have developed and released a set of distributions Informika 6.0 School that includes:

    * Informika 6.0 School Server
    * Informika 6.0 School Teacher
    * Informika 6.0 School Junior
    * Informika 6.0 School Master

  • Facebook Linux, What Distro is it?

    What I didn’t know until very recently was which Linux distribution Facebook was using. I caught up with Amir Michael, Server system lead at Facebook the other week at LinuxCon and I asked him.

  • Chakra GNU/Linux 2012.09 Has KDE 4.9.1

    The Chakra Development Team, through Anke Boersma, proudly announced last evening, September 8th, the immediate availability for download of the Chakra GNU/Linux 2012.09 operating system.

    Chakra GNU/Linux 2012.09 is dubbed Clair, and it is dedicated to the memory of Claire Lotion, a KDE contributor. This release includes the latest KDE 4.9.1 desktop environment, as well as the latest LibreOffice and Calligra office suites.

  • Every distribution should have its own Kapudan

  • Announcement: RapidDisk (rxdsk) 2.5 Stable release

• PCLinuxOS/Mageia/Mandrake/Mandriva Family

  • First Alpha of Mageia 3 Comes with KDE 4.9

    Anne Nicolas has announced earlier today, September 7th, that the first Alpha version of the upcoming Mageia 3 Linux operating system is now available for download and testing.

  • 22 questions to the chairperson of Mageia.org association

    Mageia is my favourite operating system. I have never hidden this fact. It became #1 in my personal rating soon after the release of their version 1 in June 2011, and was the sole holder of that place until about November 2011. Although it shares the first place now with Xubuntu, I currently run version 2 and still like it a lot.

• Red Hat Family

  • RHEV 3.1 Beta offers Storage Live Migration

    Storage Live Migration is one of the major improvements that Red Hat has introduced with the first beta of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (RHEV) 3.1, which is now available for testing. The feature allows administrators to migrate virtual machine (VM) disk images between storage arrays without having to shut them down first.

  • Scientific Linux 6.3 Live CD/DVD Has Been Released

    Urs Beyerle announced last evening, August 26th, that the final version of the Scientific Linux 6.3 Live CD/DVD operating system is now available for download on mirrors worldwide.

    Scientific Linux 6.3 is now based on Red Had Enterprise Linux 6.3, powered by Linux kernel 2.6.32, and features XOrg Server 1.7.7, IceWM 1.2.37, GNOME 2.28, Firefox 10.0.6, Thunderbird 10.0.6, LibreOffice 3.4.5.2 and KDE Software Compilation 4.3.4.

  • Fedora

    • Fedora Project Manages Test Day With Google+

      Those of us that follow +Fedora on Google Plus got a handy dandy invitation to Fedora 18 Test Day – Power Management. On October 11th, those who have accepted this invitation are invited to use there laptops and report their experiences back to the Fedora team directly in an attempt to socially corral bugs and improve the Fedora experience.

    • Fuduntu: Volunteers Needed

      Fuduntu Linux has been around since November 2010 and was initially a Fedora remix distribution. In November 2011, however, the codebase was forked and is now an independent distribution. Overall, there are over 30,000 users accessing the repositories. While any distribution takes work and a dedicated team, an independent distribution takes even more work than a remix.

• Debian Family

  • JonDo 0.9.28.1 Screenshots

  • KNOPPIX 7.0.4 Screenshots

  • KNOPPIX 7.0.4 Is Now Available for Download

    Klaus Knopper announced a few days ago, on August 26th, the immediate availability for download of the KNOPPIX 7.0.4 operating system.

    KNOPPIX 7.0.4 brings lots of new features and updated packages, such as LibreOffice 3.5.4, Chromium 21.0.1180.75, KDE Software Compilation 4.7.4, GNOME 3.4, Wine 1.5.10, VirtualBox 4.1.18, qemu-kvm 1.0, and much more.

  • Derivatives

    • Canonical/Ubuntu

      • My impressions of Ubuntu/Unity – Ubuntu 12.04

      • Accepting Canonical’s Ubuntu Unity

      • Ubuntu Alternate CDs Could Be Dropped For 12.10

      • Top 10 Ubuntu App Downloads for August 2012

        Canonical published a few minutes ago, September 12th, the top 10 app downloads for August 2012, from Ubuntu Software Center.

        On the paid apps chart, it looks like last month’s first place Braid game has been dethroned by a new tool, MC-Launcher, a Minecraft mod installator launcher, followed closely by some of the best games from the Humble Indie Bundle V, Bastion and Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

      • The Default Wallpaper of Ubuntu 12.10

      • Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal Community Wallpapers Revealed

      • Ubuntu 12.10 beta 1 screen shots

      • The state of manual LVM and full disk encryption configuration in Ubuntu’s Ubiquity

      • Ubuntu 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal): What to Expect

        Slowly but steadily, Ubuntu is catching up with its competitors. The Canonical-made distro is getting better and better with every release. Ubuntu 12.04 “Precise Pangolin” managed to silence some of the Unity critics to a large extent. And though, work still needs to be done to take on the mighty warriors at Redmond, it seems that Shuttleworth’s untiring endeavors have started coming to fruition. Ubuntu 12.10 recently baptized as Quantal Quetzal is already looking promising.

      • Canonical should sell hardware to ship Ubuntu for Android

        Ubuntu for Android (UfA) is a special form of the popular Ubuntu operating system which runs on top of Android so the user can run Anrdoid apps and desktop Linux applications at the same time. It blends desktop Linux with Android in the perfect manner so both touch-oriented and mouse-and-keyboard applications can be used perfectly and in their natural environment.

      • Ubuntu 12.10 Adds Encrypted Installation

      • Ubuntu – All other versions of LINUX aspire to be this successful

        Ubuntu is innovative, forward thinking and the most likely LINUX distribution to have any hope of taking on Windows, MacOS and ChromeOS on the desktop. Ubuntu also has aspirations of taking on the mobile and tablet market dominated by Apple and Google.

        So many other distributions are derived from UBUNTU including the distribution that is competing for the honour of top dog in the LINUX world, MINT.

      • Flavours and Variants

        • Pear Linux 6 Alpha 1 Is Now Available for Testing

          David Tavares, the developer of Pear Linux, has announced yesterday, September 13th, on Twitter, that the first Alpha version of the upcoming Pear Linux 6 operating system is now available for download and testing.

        • Bodhi Linux 2.1.0 Released

        • Peppermint 3 – A cloudy future?

          Before I start I would like to point out that this is not another review of Peppermint Linux 3 because I have already reviewed Peppermint Linux 3 (http://www.everydaylinuxuser.com/2012/08/peppermint-linux-3-mint-with-no-holes.html).

          Peppermint Linux 3 has introduced the concept of the “Site Specific Browser” (SSB). This enables you to run web applications as if they are normal desktop applications. To turn a web application into a desktop application simply run the ICE program and enter the web address and the name of the web application and choose a suitable icon and application menu to hang the application from.

        • Kiwi 12.08 Screenshots

        • Linux Mint 13 leaves sour aftertaste

          With Ubuntu 12.04 LTS as its underpinnings, Linux Mint 13 (Maya) was recently released in three versions, KDE (new), Xfce, and Gnome-Cinnamon. We tested each version separately and while we still like Mint, we’re accumulating a nagging list of bugs — some of which are the fault of Ubuntu, and some are the twists that Linux Mint takes on its own.

        • A quick look at Gnomebuntu 12.10 Alpha!

Devices/Embedded

• Immature Optimization

  That’s Raspberry Pis — no “e.” If you can build a supercomputer with raspberry pies, do let us know. We mean those super-small Linux PCs cooked up by some brainy researchers in Britain. Yes, you’ll need Legos too — and maybe some help from the closest 6-year-old.

  That’s how Simon Cox and a team of engineers at Britain’s University of Southampton built their supercomputer, and they’ve the published instructions so that you can build one too. The total cost was about £2,500 — or $4,031 U.S. — not including network gear, but you can build a smaller version with four Raspberry Pis for just a few hundred dollars.

• Cubieboard: Raspberry Pi competitor with SATA port

• Two more tiny, sub-$100 Linux PCs join the fray

  There seems to be no end in sight to the march of the tiny, sub-$100 Linux PCs arriving on the market this year, and recently two more contenders were added to the mix.

• SmartSim: GPL-ed digital logic circuit design and simulation package for Linux and Raspberry Pi

• Phones

  • Android

    • Android Climbs Into Cloud-Based Desktop Computer

      The Cloud Broadband is a hybrid device — part tablet, part all-in-one desktop and part HD television. It’s being tested in China and there are no plans as of yet to introduce the device or something like it in the United States. Still, the thing — whatever it is — is generating a good deal of interest.

    • Can this Android desktop replace your PC?

      Motorola has rolled out an Android-powered desktop in China – complete with an 18.5-inch LED touchscreen (1366×768 @ 60Hz, 16:9), keyboard and mouse.

    • Meet the first announced Ubuntu for Android product: NexPhone

      The NexPhone is an Ubuntu for Android powered smartphone that connects to tablet, laptop, and PC docks so that you can have all your data in one device wherever you go

    • Motorola Goes for Bleeding Edge With New RAZR Line

      Now an official division of Google, Motorola has introduced the three newest entries in its RAZR line of smartphones. Far from the flip-style RAZRs of times past, these handsets boast large screens and a multitude of Google services, running the Chrome browser and Google Maps under the Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android.

    • Legitimizing Android ROMs with Over the Air Updates

• Sub-notebooks/Tablets

  • Tabeo vs Nexus 7

    Toys”R”Us, the toys retailing giant, just announced a tablet computer for kids that will go on sale on October 21 (2012). I did not pay too much attention to the announcement until I began to wonder what a tablet computer for kids that will cost USD $149.99 has to offer?

    Based on its specs, plenty, if you consider that Tabeo is designed for kids ages 5 and up. For one, it has a few features that Google did not even consider for the Nexus 7. The “few features” I am referring to are an HDMI port and a microSD slot.

  • Nexus 7 – First Look

    I had the opportunity to test drive a friend’s Asus (Google) Nexus 7, the latest entry into the tablet space. It has an attractive price point, a clear display and most of the tools that you would expect from a tablet. But despite this, there are some serious limitations that might have you think twice about adopting this device as your go to tablet. But like most devices, one man’s limitations are another man’s benefits. So let me lay out for you what I liked and did not like and we can take it from there.

The State of Open Source Spectrometry

For those of you that slept through chemistry in high school, spectrometry (also known as spectroscopy) is the process of measuring the spectrum of light that either passes through, or is reflected off, of an object. As different chemicals and compounds have different spectral emission patterns, the wavelength of the light entering the spectrometer can be used to determine the makeup of the substance being tested.

Learning from Diaspora

As the remaining founders of Diaspora hand the project over to the community, Glyn Moody asks what lessons we can learn from the success and failure of a free software project and considers the importance of thinking about what happens next.

FXPAL open source’s DisplayCast

Building Blocks for the Modern Web Application

Planning on building the next Twitter, Facebook, or Flickr? Forget what you know about the LAMP stack, SQL-based databases, and web hosting. The building blocks for the modern web app are independent, shared-nothing, infinitely scaleable, and cloud ready. This is no longer the way of the future, it’s the way of right now.

Events

• LinuxCon Europe 2012 schedule announced

• SCALE 11x Call for Papers begins

• LinuxCon and CloudOpen Day 1 – The news so far

Web Browsers

• Chrome

  • New Chromium Stable And Development PPAs For Ubuntu 12.04

  • Chrome 21 update closes high-risk security holes

• Mozilla

  • Mozilla Accelerates Firefox 18 with IonMonkey

    For better or for worse, the modern web relies on JavaScript. That’s why JavaScript engines are critically important in modern web browsers. For years, browser vendors have competed on JavaScript benchmarks (originally just SunSpider) and apparently they will for years to come.

  • Mozillux 12.09.1 Screenshots

  • Firefox OS Video Demo Released

    Firefox OS is put through its paces in this video showing off browsing the web and photos, as well as phone functionality and other features

  • Mozilla Lays Out Firefox Enterprise 17 Release Plans

    Enterprise users were never really fans of Mozilla’s insanely rapid release cycle for the open source Firefox web browser. So, in order to help out enterprise users, Mozilla launched the ESR (Extended Supported Release) with Firefox 10. That ESR is still maintained with security updates as Mozilla updates the mainline branch currently at Firefox 15.

    Mozilla developer Alex Keybl has now detailed the plans for how Firefox ESR 10 users will migrate (or not) to the next ESR release. The plan is for the next ESR to be based on Firefox 17 which should be out around November 20th.

  • Mozilla Firefox 15 Key Features | Download Firefox For Desktop And Mobile

    The final stable release of Mozilla desktop and Mobile browser version 15 is now available to download. Mozilla Firefox 15 brings several improvements for the desktop and mobile, which will allow you to have a better web browsing experience in desktop and mobile as well. Check the key features and installation instructions of Mozilla Firefox 15 down below.

  • Mozilla previews “command line” in Firefox 16 Beta

    Web developers will be able to drive Firefox from the command line thanks to one of the new features that has appeared in Firefox 16, which has just arrived in the Firefox Beta channel. The Developer Toolbar sits at the bottom of the browser’s window and provides quick, keyboard-driven access to many of the developer features in Firefox.

  • Mozilla Thunderbird 15 Officially Lands in Ubuntu

  • Firefox 15 Officially Lands in Ubuntu

  • Firefox 15 Goes on a Memory Diet

    Although Firefox has managed to stake out a sizable chunk of Web browser market share, it’s long been regarded by many users as something of a memory hog. Firefox aims to put those gluttonous ways behind it in the browser’s latest version. Firefox 15 includes a new memory management system, along with several other new features.

SaaS

• VMware now an OpenStack Foundation member

Databases

• PostgreSQL 9.2 works faster and smarter

  The new release of PostgreSQL, version 9.2, has arrived, four months after the appearance of the first beta version. The new release includes read and write performance boosts, index-only scanning, new web-oriented functionality, and support for range data types. As shown in the beta, the new version promises to be much faster than its predecessor primarily thanks to index-only scanning, which allows searches to avoid reading the underlying tables and instead search only indexes. This new feature is used automatically, though there are caveats as to how effective it can be all situations, but where the required data is already indexed, for example in “big data” scenarios, the boost in performance can be huge.

• Commercial multi-master replication for PostgreSQL

Oracle/Java/LibreOffice

• VirtualBox Finds the Meaning of Open Source Life with Version 4.2

  In the spirit of full-disclosure, let me first tell you that I love VirtualBox. I use it every day and it is a core component of my workflow and my digital life.

  The new VirtualBox 4.2 release out today is now going to make my life, a bit easier. The new release enables the grouping of VMs, which is a simple, yet great idea. So now on my test box I can group multiple versions of a given Linux distro together for example, instead of scrolling through a (massive) list.

• Journeying Itinerants Hijack Open Office For Profit

• Openness is Alive and Well (and Living in Europe)

  The first quarter/half of 2013 will be the most exciting period for Linux Desktop – ever(!?) so far. This has to do mostly because many major distros are going to drop XServer for the shake of Wayland.

  While GTK3 port in Wayland is expected to be complete and stable by 3.8 around in March, some popular applications like Gimp, Libre Office, Firefox, VLC isn’t sure if they make it.

• Whither now, OpenIndiana?

  Alasdair Lumsden, the project lead of OpenIndiana (OI), resigned from the project a few days ago. Following proper protocol, he announced his resignation in an email to the OI developer mailing list.

  If you do not know what OI is, it is a desktop-cum-server fork of OpenSolaris, which itself is an open source fork of Solaris. For a time, the guts of OpenIndiana was based on that of OpenSolaris, then it was recently changed to that of illumos. And, of course, illumos is a fork of OpenSolaris. Ok, this is the last use of the word fork in this paragraph, hopefully in this article.

CMS

• Badgeville brings gamification to Drupal

  This week, Badgeville announced a partnership with Acquia, the enterprise Drupal integrator, to bring Badgeville gamification to Drupal installations.

  Badgeville uses gaming principles to drive positive user behavior. Peter Guagenti, vice president of products at Acquia, sees this as a logical partnership for his company. “Badgeville’s gamification platform is a natural extension of our Drupal Commons social business software, or any web experience built in Drupal,” he said.

Healthcare

• Moorfields NHS trust deploys open source clinical modules

  ICT team at NHS trust roll out next phase of open source patient record system developed in-house

  Moorfields eye hospital NHS foundation trust has said that it has added three new modules for prescribing, operations notes and correspondence to OpenEyes, its open source (OS) e-patient record system.

  OpenEyes was developed by an in-house team, led by consultation surgeon and former medical director at Moorfields, Bill Aylward. He told Government Computing that the trust needed to replace its existing e-patient record system and decided to develop new software itself because of the lack of a suitable commercial system.

Funding

• Google donates to an Eclipse performance test lab – update

  Google has contributed $20,000 to the Eclipse Foundation for hardware to assist in the task of performance testing the foundation’s integrated development environment (IDE). The extra contribution from Google’s Open Source Programs Office is over and above Google’s membership, and comes after the Eclipse community raised concerns about the faltering performance of Eclipse 4.2 especially when compared to Eclipse 3.8.

• Google Donates $20,000 to Eclipse Foundation

FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC

• Accounting on Linux: why GNUCash might make sense for your home or business

  Linux has come on leaps and bounds in recent years. Many companies are now thinking about making the move to Linux, but the lack of compatible software is still proving a barrier. But is it really all that difficult? For example, what kinds of solutions exist for accounting on Linux?

• Let it roll with GNU Backgammon!

Project Releases

• First release candidate for Samba 4 is available

  The Samba developers are moving forward with their plans to deliver the next version of the Windows file, print and directory server and have announced that the first release candidate for Samba 4 is now ready. Version 4 of the free Windows services server has been in development for some time, and now includes a directory service that is compatible with Microsoft’s Active Directory. The developers point out that this version continues to be unsuitable for production use, but that it can now be tested by interested Samba users.

• Apache Foundation announces first release of OpenMeetings – Web-Conferencing

• Lazarus 1.0 release available for download

Licensing

• Do We Need an Affero Cloud? Nah.

  Donnie Berkholz of RedMonk has argued that the “infrastructure stack” needs an Affero LGPL to prevent the dreaded fragmentation. Do we? I’m not convinced that it’s necessary, desirable, or likely to catch on at all.

  Donnie’s argument is that an Affero LGPL (as opposed to AGPL) would be workable because it would allow businesses add proprietary bits that link to the stack, but be forced to open up their changes to the actual infrastructure stack itself.

• jQuery dropping GPL from licence

• Addressing license and source code concerns

  I will not change the license of Mayan EDMS. I will also continue to work on the software as scheduled. There were never plans for Mayan to go closed source or to stop being released under the GPL. Still, I gave the benefit of the doubt regarding the license choice and the opinion of the community echoes mine. My only concerns were for those that were not following the terms of the GPL license and that were infringing on my copyrights. I was not insinuating any type of adverse action against those complying with the GPL license. I understand your concerns regarding Mayan EDMS, and appreciate the fervor with which you have defended it. Rest assured knowing that Mayan EDMS is and will continue to be released under the GPL.

• Mayan GPL Dispute Examined

  It’s been an interesting few days for the Mayan Electronic Document Management System (EDMS). Mayan’s developer, Roberto Rosario, made quite a stir when he spoke out against forks of his software which he believed to be violating the GPL. Reactions over Roberto’s claims and his resulting actions have been varied, and give interesting insight on the application of the GPL in the real world.

Openness/Sharing

• Openness is Alive and Well (and Living in Europe)

  Last week I took something of a trip back through time. The transition began somewhere over the dark Atlantic, on my way to Brussels via Heathrow, when the person sitting next to me struck up a conversation. Improbably, I found myself discussing ODF – the OpenDocument Format – with a former Sun engineer who had followed the ODF–OOXML contest with great interest back in 2005 – 2007. I was sorry to tell him, and he was sorry to hear, that things had not gone so well in the years that followed, and that many of the bright hopes of those that had supported ODF remained to be realized.

• Digital IPA: The QR-Packing Open Source Beer

  If you’re reading this site, we can safely assume you’re a supporter and user of open source software. If you’re a serious about it, you may even drive an open source car. But are you hardcore enough to drink open source beer?

Programming

• Author Interview: Jan Erik Solem Programming Computer Vision with Python

• Crack 0.7 Released

  After the release of version 0.6.1 early this year, we were hoping that our next release would be 1.0. Unfortunately, implementing compiled module caching (a featured we deemed critical for 1.0) proved to be more difficult than expected, and we’ve ended up doing several big coding sprints interspersed with lots of other smaller scale improvements without ever quite making it happen.

• A Brief Tour of the Go Standard Library

• Python 3.3.0 Released 130

• Review: Manjaro Linux 0.8.0 Xfce

  I was busy at home for the last two weeks with many people coming and going; plus, I never had any other reason to post much else. Well, now I’m into the last few days of my break at home before getting back on campus and there haven’t been as many people coming and going, so I’ve gotten some time to do a review. On DistroWatch, I read of the release of Manjaro Linux 0.8.0, and while I initially didn’t think about it further, I saw quite a few articles reviewing it and other press about it, which convinced me that I should review it as well. That is what I’m doing now.

Standards/Consortia

• HTML5 UI editor Maqetta gets a visual makeover

  The Maqetta HTML5 user interface (UI) designer has been given a visual styling makeover for the new Release 7. The Dojo Foundation-hosted project offers an IDE-styled environment for the creation of HTML5 UIs, whether for the desktop or for mobile devices. Release 7′s makeover also includes new collapsible palettes of elements on the left and right side of the in-work user interface design, a streamlined HTML file creation interface and redesigned toolbar. The update comes with a number of performance improvements in both the page editor and the preview-in-browser mode, which now incorporates Dojo’s Zazl for server-side rendering.

• The Document Foundation joins OASIS standards organisation

  The Document Foundation (TDF) has announced that it has joined OASIS (Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards), the international standards development consortium which focusses on ebusiness and web service standards, as a Contributor. According to Document Foundation director Italo Vignoli, TDF will primarily focus its efforts on the Technical Committees for the Open Document Format (ODF), representing the open source productivity suite LibreOffice which it sponsors and governs.

60% of the apps on the Apple App Store have never been downloaded

Looking at the Apple iPhone App Store, if I spend 30 seconds reading about each App to decide whether I wanted it or not, it would take me 150,000 minutes, or 2,500 hours or 104.17 days to go through them all.

Finance

• A Rare Look at Why the Government Won’t Fight Wall Street

  The great mystery story in American politics these days is why, over the course of two presidential administrations (one from each party), there’s been no serious federal criminal investigation of Wall Street during a period of what appears to be epic corruption. People on the outside have speculated and come up with dozens of possible reasons, some plausible, some tending toward the conspiratorial – but there have been very few who’ve come at the issue from the inside.

Censorship

• Apple Feels Reporting Drone Strikes ‘Objectionable And Crude’ And Rejects App

  It seems that today you can’t spit in the wind without hitting a story about some US drone killing a bunch of people in a country somewhere overseas. Every known drone strike is accompanied by news reports of the location and the number of people killed. Yet, even with all these stories about drone strikes, it can a daunting task for those interested in following them to keep up with them all. So what is a drone enthusiast, or someone just appalled by the frequency of the strikes, to do?

Copyrights

• Former Copyright Boss: New Technology Should Be Presumed Illegal Until Congress Says Otherwise

  One of the reasons why we live in such an innovative society is that we’ve (for the most part) enabled a permissionless innovation society — one in which innovators no longer have to go through gatekeepers in order to bring innovation to market. This is a hugely valuable thing, and it’s why we get concerned about laws that further extend permission culture. However, according to the former Register of Copyrights, Ralph Oman, under copyright law, any new technology should have to apply to Congress for approval and a review to make sure they don’t upset the apple cart of copyright, before they’re allowed to exist. I’m not joking. Mr. Oman, who was the Register of Copyright from 1985 to 1993 and was heavily involved in a variety of copyright issues, has filed an amicus brief in the Aereo case (pdf).

• Feds Charge Activist with 13 Felonies for Rogue Downloading of Academic Articles

  Federal prosectors added nine new felony counts against well-known coder and activist Aaron Swartz, who was charged last year for allegedly breaching hacking laws by downloading millions of academic articles from a subscription database via an open connection at MIT.

  Swartz, the 25-year-old executive director of Demand Progress, has a history of downloading massive data sets, both to use in research and to release public domain documents from behind paywalls. He surrendered in July 2011, remains free on bond and faces dozens of years in prison and a $1 million fine if convicted.

• Letting the baby dance

  WHEN Stephanie Lenz in Pennsylvania put a video on YouTube of her 18-month-old son bopping to Prince’s song “Let’s Go Crazy” she did not expect a lawsuit. But four months and 28 views later, the musician’s recording company, Universal, howled that the 29-second “performance” infringed its copyright and demanded that YouTube take it down.

  That was in 2007. Since then computers, smartphones and the internet have made copyright law look even more obsolete. But the response so far has been not to update the laws but to widen their scope and stiffen the penalties. In January websites including Wikipedia briefly shut down in protest against tough anti-piracy laws promoted by the entertainment industry in America and elsewhere.

• Why Johnny can’t stream: How video copyright went insane

  Suppose I could offer you a choice of two technologies for watching TV online. Behind Door Number One sits a free-to-watch service that uses off-the-shelf technology and that buffers just enough of each show to put the live stream on the Internet. Behind Door Number Two lies a subscription service that requires custom-designed hardware and makes dozens of copies of each show. Which sounds easier to build—and to use? More importantly, which is more likely to be legal?

• Distributions
• Devices/Embedded

9 things to consider while migrating from Windows to Linux

1. Linux is not windows

Linux Event TV: One-on-One with Open Source Visionaries

Linux Foundation events are studded with Linux and open source community leaders, as well as some eccentric personalities. What better place than one of these events to sit down and talk to the people who are making innovation happen in software development and cloud computing?

We took advantage of this unique opportunity at LinuxCon North America where we were able to talk to folks like Amir Michael of Facebook and the OpenCompute project; Josh Berkus with PostgreSQL; Sam Ramji, former Microsoft executive and today VP at Apigee; Erica Brescia, CEO at BitRock; and Joe “Zonker” Brockmeier of CloudStack, among others. We asked each of these insightful people what they’re working on, what inspires them about Linux and open source software, and to which technologies or trends they’re paying particular attention.

The Linux Setup – Emmanuel Revah, Systems Administrator/Web Developer

Poll: Which Linux board would you use to create your next project?

Recently, we compared Raspberry Pi, Allwinner and CuBox Linux hardware boards. Then, some folks from our open source community shared with us their experiences with Raspberry Pi and Makey Makey. There is much enthusiasm over turning ordinary items into new inventions and doing mundane tasks in completely new ways.

$99 Parallella supercomputer appears on Kickstarter

The launch of the Raspberry Pi has been a huge success story, and promises to get cheap computers into the hands of kids and hobbyists around the world. But it has also had another effect–it has inspired others to look into alternative methods of developing cheap computing platforms.

One company taking inspiration from the Raspberry Pi Foundation is Adapteva, which focuses on semiconductor technology and has developed a very efficient multicore microprocessor architecture. Now they intend to use that architecture to offer up a $99 supercomputer with the help of Kickstarter.

Parallella, A $99 Supercomputer Running Ubuntu

The Parallella is a new pocket sized computer based on the Epiphany multicore chips developed by semiconductor start-up Adapteva.

The automotive industry accelerates its Linux commitment

The automotive industry took a major step forward in its commitment to open source yesterday, as announced by the Linux Foundation. The Automotive Grade Linux Workgroup (AGL) is a new group that will facilitate industry collaboration for Linux development.

Major automotive companies like Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and Toyota are some of the first carmakers to participate in AGL. Other members include Aisin AW, DENSO Corporation, Feuerlabs, Fujitsu, HARMAN, Intel, NEC, NVIDIA, Reaktor, Renesas, Samsung, Symbio, Texas Instruments Incorporated, and Tieto.

Linux Nonsense

To sound this clever yourself, check out the aptly named nonsense. In essence, nonsense is a clever generator of, well, nonsense. Just extract the archive bundle into a directory of your choosing and you are ready to go. No compiling and no nonsense (pardon the circular reference). Nonsense is a Perl script that works with a collection of templates. If you look in the directory you just created, you’ll see an executable file called nonsense and a number of data files as well as a few HTML templates.

Desktop

• Chrome OS Linux Is Now Known as Cr OS Linux

  The Cr OS developers announced on September 14th, that the Chrome OS Linux has changed its name and it will be known as Cr OS Linux from now on.

Audiocasts/Shows

• The Linux Link Tech Show Episode 472

• Podcast Season 4 Episode 18

Kernel Space

• Reiser4 File-System Comes To Linux 3.5 Kernel

  While Reiser4 isn’t mainline in the Linux kernel tree, it can at least now be patched to work on the Linux 3.5 kernel. Previously this controversial file-system would work on the Linux 2.6.39 kernel, then ported to Linux 3.2, and now it’s wound up compatible with the Linux 3.5 kernel

• Kernel Log – Coming in 3.6 (Part 3): Architecture

  Linux 3.6 can cut off the power to PCIe chips and ATA ports. A new userspace driver framework is designed to provide faster access to individual PCI/PCIe devices for virtualised systems.

• Linux Kernel 3.5.4 Is Available for Download

  Greg Kroah-Hartman announced last night, September 14, the immediate availability for download of the fourth maintenance release for the stable Linux 3.5 kernel series.

• Graphics Stack

  • OpenGL Profiling Improvements With APITrace

    There’s new improvements within the wonderful open-source APITrace utility for better profiling OpenGL games/applications.

  • AMD CodeXL For Heterogeneous Compute

  • Intel planning Clover Trail variant for Linux

    According to reports from ITworld and ZDNet, Intel has said that it is now planning a variant of the Atom Z2760 (code-named Clover Trail) System-on-Chip (SoC) that will run Linux or Android-based operating systems. The chip was originally designed specifically for Windows 8 tablets. However, the company hasn’t provided any further product details or intended target markets.

  • Kernel Log – Coming in 3.6 (Part 4): Drivers

  • Linux on Clover Trail: Much Ado About Nothing

Applications

• Cuckoo Alarm Clock

• 5 Useful Alternatives to the Top Utility

  The top utility will need little introduction to seasoned Linux users. top is a small utility that offers a dynamic real-time view of a running system. It allows users to monitor the processes that are running on a system. top has two main sections, with the first showing general system information such as the amount of time the system has been up, load averages, the number of running and sleeping tasks, as well as information on memory and swap usage. The second main section displays an ordered list of processes and their process ID number, the user who owns the process, the amount of resources the process is consuming (processor and memory), as well as the running time of that process. Some versions of top offer extensive customization of the display, such as choice of columns or sorting method.

• 9 Great Free Linux Foreign Language Tools

  Learning a new language can provide life changing opportunities and enjoyment. There are so many reasons to learn a foreign language whatever your nationality, to improve employment potential, intellectual curiosity, make travel more enjoyable, sharpen cognitive and life skills, make lifelong friends, and many more. Whilst it is widely acknowledged that it is easier to begin learning a second language at a tender age, starting a new language at any age is eminently worthwhile.

• Instructionals/Technical

  • Fix “Improved” Saving Functionality in GIMP 2.8

  • Parse options in your bash script with getopt

  • Mac OSX IPSEC VPN via command line using builtin Racoon client

  • Ensure a resilient virtual server

  • What is the best backup tool for 2012? What else, Virtual Box!

  • Creating the OsciPrime: Interview with Manuel Di Cerbo

  • How to Start Empathy Hidden

  • Ubuntu 12.10 Simplifies GRUB Boot Menu

  • Raspberry Pi Media Centre Tutorial

  • The 5 best sources of support for Linux

• Wine

  • Wine 1.5.13 released

• Games

  • Left 4 Dead 2 Linux Google Plus Giveaway

  • Top 10 Games for Linux in 2012

  • Source – Not Just A Game Engine

    Most of you probably think about Source as only a game engine – but Chris Smith is actually working on a web series called “Aura” that is made with Source SDK and other tools such as Faceposer – which is used for the lip syncing onto character models, Garry’s mod – for backgrounds and Sony Vegas for editing.

  • 4 games added to the Humble Indie Bundle 6

    Hey! Great news! 4 games have been added to the Humble Indie Bundle 6! As always, if you already bought the bundle, you can download those new games immediately! Some of those games have already been included into previous bundles. Let’s take a look at these “new” games!

  • Linux Games on Steam Greenlight

  • Creating better art for open source games

  • Time to grab Humble Indie Bundle Six’s $86 worth of games

  • Steam for Linux Enters Internal Beta in October

  • Gamer contest hosted by Mozilla, Creative Commons, and others

  • The Humble Indie Bundle 6

  • Humble Indie Bundle 6 Comes to Linux

  • Announcing The Sound Update

    Listen as your minions clash with the heroes in the fight between Good and Evil.

    Orcs are grunting. Villagers are screaming. Slimes are…sliming.

    The biggest change is the addition of sound, which brings the real-time battles to life. Every clink of treasure collected, every clash of a knight’s swords, and every cry of anguish from your vanquished foes no longer requires your imagination. And with catchy music by the talented William Riordan, this easy-to-play strategy game is even more enjoyable.

  • Latest Linux Games on Desura

  • Much Awaited Linux Game ‘Faster Than Light’ Released

    Faster Than Light (FTL) is a spaceship simulation and roguelike game. The player have to manage a spaceship, survive and explore vast galaxies.

    FTL was on Kickstarter and it raised more than $200k back in April. The actual target was mere $10k but the level of interest was so much that they manged to get about 2000% funding.

Desktop Environments

• I still need Xfce’s Gigolo, even in GNOME

  I get why they called it Gigolo. It’s the Xfce utility that “mounts anything without complaining.”

  The things it mounts include ftp and sftp over the network, WebDAV and Windows shares. I’d rather not use it at all, but in Xfce’s Thunar file manager, you still need Gigolo to access these remote filesystems.

• GNOME Desktop

  • First Look: GNOME 3.6

    As part of a facelift, the Nautilus file manager has gained and lost a number of features. The Boxes VM tool and the GNOME Disks utility, which are also of interest for Cinnamon and Unity, have matured. The account manager now allows programs to access Facebook friends and Microsoft’s SkyDrive.

  • What users like (according to User Observation)

    The user observation hackfest was an attempt from the part of Gnome developers to learn more about what users want.

  • The best 5 new features in Gnome Files 3.6!

Distributions

• Hanthana 17 Screenshots

• blackPanther OS – A nice-looking distribution

  This distribution we chose to show you today sure is an interesting combination. According to their Distrowatch page, it’s a combination of features from Mandriva, on which is based, Fedora and Ubuntu, and can be used at school, work or home. Are these rather bold statements true? Stay tuned to find out. You don’t need to have any special knowledge, just 10 minutes of your time is all we’re asking. If you have questions on how to try blackPanther or you already tried it and have an opinion, please visit our linux forums and share!

• Video Review: Voyager 12.04

  After reading a comprehensive review at dedoimedo.com on the latest release of Voyager 12.04 I decided to do a short video review of this Linux OS Distribution. I chose to install this distribution to my hard drive. I have always been a great fan of Xubuntu, so I was excited to see what Voyager would look like and compare it’s performance to Xubuntu.

• Finnix Linux 105 Review – Command Line to the Rescue

  Finnix is a live CD rescue distro, and it’s one for the CLI-junkies because it doesn’t come equipped with a desktop.

• 5 highly rated Linux OS distributions

  First released in 1991 by Linus Torvalds, Linux is an open-source operating system derived from the UNIX OS. The philosophy of such open-source operating systems is that they are community-driven; Linux evolves to meet the demands and wishes of its users. There are many great Linux distributions to choose from, each boasting their own advantages and niches. Some designed to be very user-friendly, others intended to give power users greater control over their systems. Here are five of the most highly rated Linux distributions on offer today.

• Epidemic 4.0 Screenshots

• New Releases

  • Slackware 14.0 is Finally Here

    Slackware 14.0 is has been released. A post on slackware.com said, “the long wait is finally over and a new stable release of Slackware has arrived!” The official announcement said, “We are sure you’ll enjoy the many improvements.”

  • Superb Mini Server 2.0.0 Is Based on Slackware 14

    The developers behind the Superb Mini Server (SMS) Linux server operating system proudly announced earlier today, September 18th, the immediate availability for download of the Superb Mini Server 2.0.0 release.

• Gentoo Family

  • Sabayon 10 Screenshots

• Red Hat Family

  • Fedora

    • Multiseat computing can feed a multitude

      The ancient alchemists tried to turn iron into gold. While they didn’t succeed, they did leave us with a wonderful metaphor. Last week I experienced something akin to alchemy when I installed Fedora 17 onto a donated Dell Dimension 3000 tower computer.

      I then created two extra users for this computer, grabbed some spare USB keyboards and USB mice, and plugged an extra keyboard and mouse into each of two Plugable multiseat devices (which sell for $65 each). With bated breath, I plugged each Plugable device into a USB port on that free computer. Voila! Like magic, a computer that had no value to someone else suddenly turned into a fully-functioning three-seat computer.

    • Fedora 18 Alpha out now!

      Get your first taste of the Spherical Cow, and help test the new features expected to come to Fedora 18, such as a new Hot Spot feature and updated Samba

    • Fedora 18 Alpha KDE Live CD Screenshot Tour

      The Alpha release of the upcoming Fedora 18 (Spherical Cow) Linux operating system has been announced earlier today, September 18th, featuring KDE 4.9.

• Debian Family

  • My Raspberry Pi experience with Debian-based Linux distribution Occidentalis

    It’s an ominous name for an ominous fruit: the black raspberry. As the owner of a new Raspberry Pi, I realized that I was going to have to, at some point, open the box and do something with it.

  • Derivatives

    • Canonical/Ubuntu

      • Ubuntu Open Week 2012: 24th – 26th October

        Canonical announced today, September 18th, that the Ubuntu Open Week for Ubuntu 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal) will take place between 24th and 26th October, 2012, on the usual Ubuntu IRC channel, #ubuntu-classroom.

      • Canonical Ties Ubuntu Server Development to OpenStack

        Along with RedHat, Rackspace and many others, Canonical has been steadily marrying its cloud strategy to the open source OpenStack platform. In February of last year, we discussed how Canonical was deepening its relationship with OpenStack, and it has kept doing so. Now, in a new blog post, Canonical’s Mark Baker notes that Canonical has released the Cloud Archive for Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Server, an online software repository from which administrators can download the latest versions of OpenStack, for use with the latest long-term support (LTS) release of Ubuntu.

      • Everpad Integrates Evernote With Ubuntu Unity (AppIndicator, Lens)

      • New Cinnamon 1.6 Release Adds 2D Session, New Applets And More Customization Options

        Cinnamon, the GNOME Shell fork used by default in Linux Mint 13 (Cinnamon Edition), has reached version 1.6, getting many new features: a new 2D session, workspace OSD, new applets and lots more!

      • Multi-Tasking in Ubuntu

        Ubuntu 12.04 includes a desktop interface that is a strong departure from previous versions. One of the most striking differences upon logging into the system is the launcher. The launcher is a vertical bar that, by default, resides along the left side of the screen. It is similar to the dock in Mac OS X and aims to make your user experience more efficient and intuitive.

      • Ubuntu 11.04 reaching end of life

        Canonical has reminded folks that Ubuntu 11.04 will no longer be supported after October 28th, 18 months after its launch

      • Goodbye Ubuntu 11.04

        Dear Ubuntu users, the time has come to say goodbye to the Natty Narwhal release of the popular Ubuntu operating system, Ubuntu 11.04, as on October 28th it will reach end of life.

      • Flavours and Variants

        • Bodhi 2.1.0 Screenshots

        • Pear Linux 5 review

          Pear Linux is a desktop distribution based on Ubuntu, but unlike its parent distribution, which uses the Unity desktop interface, Pear Linux features a modified GNOME Shell called Pear Shell decked out to look like a MacOS X desktop. Not that it is a succeeded, but it is good attempt. Apple has nothing to worry about. The latest edition is Pear Linux 5. Code-named Sunsprite, it is based on Ubuntu 12.04, using (Linux) kernel 3.2.

Devices/Embedded

• Adapteva announces Raspberry Pi competitor

  Semiconductor start-up Adapteva has announced plans to create an open-source experimentation board with a massive amount of parallel processing power, and it’s found a novel way to raise the funds it needs: Kickstarter.

• Phones

  • Open webOS 1.0 lands 28

    Following the roadmap laid out back in January, HP has delivered Open webOS 1.0 to the masses as planned. Last month saw the release of two betas, one for desktop Linux and the other for assorted devices thanks to OpenEmbedded integration, and today we’re seeing the finalized versions of each. Improving on the last go around, the OpenEmbedded version (Open webOS OE) now has a user interface to match the the Linux-style Open webOS Desktop, which itself has the same user interface as webOS 3.0 on the HP TouchPad.

  • Tizen 2.0 Alpha SDK With Source-Code Released

    An alpha release of the Tizen 2.0 SDK with source-code was released this week.

  • Android

    • 10 Best Android apps this week

      The flow of notable new Android apps quietened down a bit on the Google Play store this week, which is why this post has dropped down to a list of 10 rather than 20 – see the note at the bottom for a bit more on that.

    • Android control code issue affects almost all manufacturers

      An Android control code vulnerability originally reported as a Samsung problem in fact appears to affect most smartphones and UMTS tablets running Ice Cream Sandwich (version 4.0.x) or earlier versions of Android. Google updated the dialling software code in version 4.1.1 so that control codes are no longer executed automatically.

    • Hacking for Fun: Programming a Wearable Android Device

      A look at Recon Instruments’ MOD Live Heads-Up Display and the ease of creating and programming useful, on-person computing devices.

      If you had the chance to watch (or were even one of the lucky attendees at) the Google I/O 2012 opening keynote, you may recall the exciting moment when Sergey Brin proclaimed the arrival of the Google Glass prototypes to the attendees. Alas, Glass prototype pre-orders cost a cool $1,500 for some future delivery date. This led many developers, including me, to reassess their desire to build an Android-centric, HUD-based application.

    • Apple’s Wozniak Hopes IPhone Photos Beat His Samsung Galaxy’s

    • Android Powered Desktop Announced By Motorola Mobility

      Motorola Mobility has just launched a fairly interesting Android powered computer over in China that hosts a ton of different home entertainment options. The “HMC3260″ boasts of a 18.5 inch LED touchscreen that will be able to play TV shows, movies, games, browse the web, and with it being powered by Android, it will be able to run Android apps as well. Motorola had apparently partnered up with a cloud service provider called WASU to load the Android computer up with content.

The new software hygiene: Declare a license or risk losing participation

I had the privilege of working with David Tilbrook almost 25 years ago. He was the first person with whom I ever worked that clearly articulated proper software construction discipline for collaborative endeavours and captured a summary of it under the title, Washing Behind Your Ears: Principles of Software Hygiene.

David articulated these practices pre-World Wide Web. We weren’t yet living in a world where the Web had so completely removed the friction of time and space from sharing and collaborating on software that even the early Internet enabled.

FTL Debuts on Linux, Joins Diaspora In Top-Tier Space Sims

Events

• POSSE 2012: Where true open source project problems and solutions arise

Web Browsers

• Mozilla

  • Firefox’s birthday present to us: Teaching tech titans about DIY upstarts

    As mainstream users came to equate Internet Explorer’s logo with the Web, Microsoft worked to lock in its advantage with increasingly proprietary technology like ActiveX. It surely would have done so, too, but for the seemingly futile Mozilla browser, née Firefox. Born in the ashes of Netscape’s failed browser business 10 years ago this month as Phoenix, Firefox 1.0 is arguably the most important technology developed in the last 50 years.

  • Introducing the 2012 Mozilla Festival: making, freedom and the web

    This year’s Mozilla Festival will gather more than 800 passionate people with diverse backgrounds and skill-sets. The goal: push the frontiers of the open web, learn together, and make things that can change the world.

Databases

• Now is a good time to be part of the future of MariaDB

  The new MariaDB release numbers are explained in this article.

Oracle/Java/LibreOffice

• Outlining in LibreOffice Writer

• The Document Foundation and Open Source LibreOffice Enter Year Three

  Some forks die off quickly. Other linger and a precious few actually prosper and excel beyond their origins. I personally would put the LibreOffice project and its masters in the Document Foundation in the latter category.

• Two Years

• Apache OpenOffice, LibreOffice aim for Office 2013, cloud support in ’13, ’14

  The two key developers of OpenOffice — Apache OpenOffice and LibreOffice — are opening up a wee bit about their next versions. And yes, Office 2013, the cloud, social networks and tablets are on the minds of the open source office suite developers.

  Apache OpenOffice 3.5, slated for delivery in the first quarter of 2013, will offer better interoperability with Microsoft Office 2007-2013 XML formats, as well as enhanced performance, stability, usability and more language support, according to the OpenOffice.org blog.

• MartUX: OpenIndiana Reviving Sun SPARC Hardware

  MartUX is a new OpenIndiana/Illumos-based Solaris distribution for reviving SPARC hardware support.

CMS

• Joomla 3.0: Major version jump for the open source CMS

  The Joomla developers have released version 3.0 of their open source CMS. The major version jump is justified as Joomla 3.0 offers many new features along with standard templates for the web site and administration interface that comply with the responsive web design guidelines, producing good results on large screens as well as on mobile devices. The basic Joomla platform was updated to version 12.2 and the web-based install has been reduced to three steps and is now simpler to use. It also includes several sets of sample data that are now available during installation.

Healthcare

• Kickstarter doesn’t do healthcare, MedStartr seizes opportunity

• Improving healthcare innovation with MedStartr

Business

• Semi-Open Source

  • 70,000 Transactions Per Second With NGINX

    It is good to have your architectural decisions validated by someone else, even better when that validation blows you out of the water. If you’ve chosen to go with NGINX for your load balancing needs, give yourself a pat on the back. WordPress.com made the same decision, and is now pushing 70,000 transactions per second and over 15 GBs through their NGINX load balancers, as explained by a guest post on High Scalability by Barry Abrahamson from Automattic.

FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC

• GNU Spotlight with Karl Berry (September 2012)

  To get announcements of most new GNU releases, subscribe to the info-gnu mailing list: http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/info-gnu. Nearly all GNU software is available from http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/, or preferably one of its mirrors (http://www.gnu.org/prep/ftp.html). You can use the url http://ftpmirror.gnu.org/ to be automatically redirected to a (hopefully) nearby and up-to-date mirror.

Project Releases

• PHPUnit 3.7 and related tools arrive

  Developer Sebastian Bergmann has released new versions of his PHPUnit utility and related tools. The open source unit testing framework for PHP has been updated to version 3.7.0, while the PHP_CodeCoverage, PHPUnit_MockObject and DbUnit components were made available as version 1.2.0.

• Xen 4.2 Releases

Public Services/Government

• ‘Move to open source not feasible without political support’

  The move to free and open source in public administrations requires political support, a committee from the German Parliament was told last Friday. Peter Hofmann, project leader of the move to free software by the city of Munich, said politicians need to be aware of the benefits of this type of software. He and other experts called for a national policy favouring its use.

• LimuxWatch Gives Up. Munich and GNU/Linux Win

• FOMCA’s project to encourage PC vendors to distribute a usable free operating system

  This project aimed to encourage the distribution of Ubuntu Linux instead of FreeDOS on new low-cost computers in order to provide consumers with free and open source software and thereby also reduce piracy. Many low cost computers that do not include Microsoft Windows are instead distributed with an operating system that is called FreeDOS which is free clone of the 30+ year old pre-Windows operating system, MSDOS.

• The latest White House moves on open source: Connecting citizen developers to tools

• Upcoming global discussion on open government, big data, and innovation

  The Gigabit City Summit is set to host a diverse, dynamic range of speakers on the topics of open government, big data, and innovation on Tuesday, September 25, 2012 from 7:00 am to 9:00 am CDT.

  Co-chairs for this session are Jay Nath, Chief Innovation Officer for the City of San Francisco, and Nigel Jacob, from Boston’s Office of New Urban Mechanics.

• One year later, delivering on the commitments of the open government partnership

• How far does openness in government trickle down?

  What’s it like to work for your state government? What kinds of software are approved for use? How far do you think openness in government trickles down?

  I’ve been asked questions likes these as a Geographic Information Systems Technician with the State Department of Health and Human Services in North Carolina, where I spend most of my day looking at maps. And currently, open source solutions are not approved for use in my department, but there does appear to openness in my midst.

• Beth Noveck predicts two phases of open government in TED Talk

• Government support of open source falls short

  Two news items over the last week signalled to me that the benefits of open source, open data, and other artifacts of the meshed Internet society are making it through to policy makers. A new section of the White House website and a speech by a European Commission political prove that progress is under way. But when it comes to legal support, both stop short of advocating real open innovation.

Openness/Sharing

• Tears of Steel: Fourth Official Blender Movie Released!

  Blender movies have always amazed us all with its interesting little stories and sophisticated visual graphics. While Elephants Dream was of sci-fi kind with mind-bending ideas and graphics, Bug Buck Bunny was a light-hearted comedy. The third one, Sintel, also had splendid graphics to back-up its unique storyline (watch all the official Blender movies till date). Tears of Steel is different though. It is not a full-fledged end-to-end animation movie per se like its predecessors. Tears of Steel is more like a normal movie with impressive visual effects.

• Coding for good: Highlights from the open source humanitarian movement

• World’s first Arduino flashlight ships soon

  Following a highly successful Kickstarter project and over a year of development, HexBright, billed by its creator as the “world’s first open source Arduino flashlight,” is now in production with initial shipments planned for December.

• Using open source for disaster response planning

  Peak hurricane season is always a reminder that natural disasters are never easy to handle. If there’s anything we can take away from them it’s that planning and preparedness can save the lives of those risk. The World Bank and OpenGeo find themselves at the unique cross section of disaster management and enabling technology. OpenGeo’s software is built to share information on on the web, which is a critical component of any disaster management plan. Various implementations of our software have been used to facilitate strategic disaster management planning.

• Creative Commons applied to government, business, and journalism

  For people wanting to learn about Creative Commons and its application in different sectors, there is a sea of materials available online. In particular, Creative Commons international affiliates create a huge number of educational resources that cross language and cultural boundaries.

  A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about my work sorting through some of these resources to identify some of the best, focusing on Creative Commons license use for public sector information, for publishing content on a variety of digital platforms, and for generating revenue. As promised, today I’ll highlight some of the resources I’ve discovered.

• Free books and reports on open innovation, co-creation, and crowdsourcing

• Coding for good: Highlights from the open source humanitarian movement

  HFOSS, Humanitarian Free and Open Source Software, is a movement inspired first by the December 2004 Asian tsunami, and then by other humanitarian needs in the health, civic, finance and academic sectors (especially for women and people of color).

• Open Data

  • Open source music-making lab resonates in the Congo

    In July this year, two UNC-Chapel Hill professors trained 16 motivated Congolese students in the art of beat making. They called their group The Congo Beat Making Lab and collaborated with Yole!Africa to strengthen a larger goal they all share: to connect people (including musicians) around the world.

    Apple Juice Kid (professor, producer, DJ, and drummer) and Pierce Freelon (professor and MC), developed the Beat Making Lab curriculum at UNC-Chapel Hill to connect students with music and students with students. They took this curriculum to Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo and the results were remarkable—this short documentary features a full song and video the group produced using free, open source music-making software.

  • Open data: Is there a business case?

    It’s very easy to ascertain that ‘open is good’, but is there a clear business case for opening up your data? That’s been a key question at the Open Knowledge Festival in Helsinki, and not one with easy answers.

  • Humble Indie Bundle 6 Brings Torchlight To Linux, Ubuntu

  • Humble Indie Bundle 6 has been presented

• Open Hardware

  • LinuxCon: Open hardware for open hardware

    Open hardware platforms like the Arduino have turned device development into a hobbyist enterprise in recent years, but the $20 price tag of a microcontroller board seems a lot less tantalizing when one adds in the costs of testing and debugging it. At LinuxCon 2012 in San Diego, David Anders addressed this issue and offered some guidance on finding and selecting tools for open hardware development, the majority of which are open hardware themselves.

Programming

• Announcing My New Powered-by-Perl Projects

  While Onyx Neon still occupies a lot of my attention, I’ve been working with a local company called Big Blue Marble to develop small web-based businesses. This has taken me through a crash course in things like search engine optimization and statistics that I hadn’t figured I’d ever need to know.

  (Half the fun of small business is realizing that there’s something you should have started doing months ago, that no one available has any experience with it, and that one of you has a week to get to a basic level of competence with it before you move on to the next crisis. The other half is realizing that the next time you tackle a problem like this, you’ll be that much better at it.)

• JSR 310′s Date and Time API added to JDK 8

  JSR 310, the long-running Java Specification Request for a date and time API to replace the existing complex and hard to work with date and time support, has been added to the feature list for OpenJDK 8 and Java 8. Expected to arrived in January 2013′s milestone 6 release, the inclusion of JSR310 in Java 8 is the result of work done over the summer to simplify and refine the API so that it could be included.

• Slashdot, SourceForge, FreeCode sold to jobs site company

  Slashdot has been sold again. Dice Holdings, the company behind the Dice.com career site, announced today that it had purchased Slashdot, as well as the SourceForge and FreeCode websites, from Geeknet for $20 million in cash. According to a statement from Geeknet—the company formerly known as SourceForge, VA Software, and VA Linux—the sale price was approximately equal to what the three sites have brought in over the last year.

Standards/Consortia

• Five major stardards organizations speak out

  Earlier this month, the IEEE, Internet Architecture Board (IAB), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), Internet Society, and World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) signed a joint agreement to affirm and adhere to a set of principles that establish what they call The Modern Paradigm for Standards.

  For those who have lived in the technical standards world, you will find nothing overtly revolutionary in the Paradigm affirmed by these leading standards development organizations (SDOs). Indeed, the principles appear almost boilerplate from prior descriptions of voluntary, industry standards.

• W3C presents draft of browser Web Cryptography API

  The W3C web standards consortium has presented a first Public Working Draft for integrating a Web Cryptography API into browsers. The JavaScript API will provide features such as hashing, key generation and verification, as well as encryption and decryption. For example, it will enable web applications to check a user’s identity in more secure ways than are currently possible between browsers and HTTP servers.

Buford Krispy Kreme to Celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Shiver me timbers! If it be doughnuts ye be craving, head to yon Buford Krispy Kreme on Sept. 19 and jabber like a pirate.
Krispy Kreme is celebrating the international Talk Like a Pirate Day by giving away a free doughnut to anyone who comes into the store and talks like a pirate. Anyone who dresses in full pirate regalia will get a dozen free doughnuts.

Finance

• Still No Position Limits on Speculation for Goldman Sachs

  Two Associations (the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association) sued the CFTC stating that position limits on the number of contracts would damage their business. A federal judge ruled against the CFTC.

  It is passing strange that those who brought down the financial system in 2008 still cannot see why they should be regulated so that another crisis will be averted.

Censorship

• Google drops Pirate Bay from Autocomplete results

  Google’s added The Pirate Bay to its Instant and Autocomplete search blacklist, meaning that users need to type the words out in full before the search engine lists the site.

Privacy

• Looking inside your screenshots

Civil Rights

• Patdown Assault Trauma Syndrome: fear, shaking, sleeplessness, nightmares, and flashbacks

  As one reads the letters from victims of TSA patdowns released last week, strong patterns emerge. Nearly every letter uses one of these turns of phrase: demeaning, degrading, dehumanizing, humiliating, violated, traumatized, sexually assaulted.

• Don’t Think Different: Apple Adds Straitjacket Mode to iOS

  Business iPad users beware. Your halcyon days of loading whatever the heck you want onto your tablet may be coming to an end.

  Apple is set to introduce a couple of new features that will give corporate IT new ways to lock down the iOS 6 operating system, which powers the iPad and the iPhone, according to Zenprise, a mobile device management company that was briefed on the features by Apple.