12.09.13
Posted in Europe, Patents at 3:34 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Photo by Agência Brasil
Summary: Formally, or at least publicly, European regulars say that they are aware of what Microsoft/Nokia is up to and they’re not going to tolerate it
AS we predicted right from the very start (Elop joining Nokia and later binding it to Microsoft), it was all about patents. Microsoft left the patents in Nokia’s hands because it needs a proxy; it wants to dodge potential antitrust action. But regulators are not as dumb as Microsoft wishes them to be. In fact, Nokia is widely known as a Microsoft proxy right now and Elop is perhaps the world’s most famous mole. The European population is very much aware of what’s going on.
The EU Commission has just made it clear that it too know what’s going on. To quote one source: “In his discussion with reporters, Almunia said that he’s concerned Nokia might “behave like a patent troll or, to use a more polite phrase, a patent assertion entity,” according to the Associated Press. He also warned Nokia that if it attempts to use its patents like a troll, he’ll waste no time launching an antitrust case.”
Another news site says: “Nokia, by which we mean the parts of the Finnish phone maker that Microsoft hasn’t absorbed into its mobile business, has been warned off using its leftover patents to become a troll. According to the AP, EU Commissioner VP Joaquin Almunia said he’d keep an eye on Nokia in case it attempted to “extract higher returns” from its well-stocked patent portfolio. While it has successfully negotiated patent deals in the past and has licensed its intellectual property to Microsoft as part of the takeover, the Commission is likely focusing on Nokia’s standard essential mobile patents. Unlike the recent injunction on UK HTC One Mini sales, Nokia could choose to get litigious with its FRAND patents instead of fairly licensing them, giving it an “illegal advantage” over its rivals.”
Almunia should go after the Mafia, Microsoft, not its victim, which is now run by a Microsoft mole. Microsoft only changed for the worse over the years, choosing racketeering as its primary strategy. For racketeering there’s no antitrust action, there are jail sentences. Catch Ballmer before he runs away from justice. █
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Posted in GNU/Linux, Kernel at 3:21 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: The ‘security’ boasted by restricted boot is shown to be a sham; other booting systems ought to be promoted at UEFI’s expense
THE malicious thing which is UEFI (with or without restricted boot) has been covered here a lot. It needs to be shunned and those behind it should be investigated for collusion. It’s not secure, as Torvalds predicted (with strong words at times).
As part of his ongoing investigation of UEFI, Dr. Garrett found serious flaws in restricted boot. As Phoronix put it the other day, “Matthew Garrett has written an insightful blog post about security issues pertaining to the Linux kernel’s kexec functionality that could defeat any security benefits provided by Secure Boot. Using kexec could even allow you to boot a Windows kernel.”
UEFI is a sham that hardly offers any benefits to ordinary users; all it does in practice is harm. We need to embrace something like Coreboot [1] instead. The “UEFI” label (which computer makers don’t even make visible) should be read as “defective out of the box”. █
Related/contextual items from the news:
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After landing hardware support improvements last week for Coreboot, the open-source BIOS firmware replacement now has another new feature: ACPI power limiting and it’s been implemented for Intel Haswell CPUs.
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12.08.13
Posted in GNOME, GNU/Linux at 12:18 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: The power of deviation as demonstrated by Linux Mint and Linux Deepin, two of the more widely used derivatives of Ubuntu
Linux Mint 16 OEM is finally out [1,2] and it also takes Cinnamon further [3]. Following this celebrated release [4,5] it has been dissected [6] and reviewed [7], sometimes in conjunction with other distributions [8].
“Linux Deepin has something called the Depth Desktop Environment, yet another alteration of GNOME.”Little is being said about Linux Deepin, which is a Chinese derivative of Ubuntu with a lot of potential. Now that China is moving towards independence from Microsoft and other US companies complicit in NSA surveillance we should really pay a lot more attention to Linux Deepin, which is also being dissected [9] and its community expanded on the face of it [10]. Linux Deepin has something called the Depth Desktop Environment (or Deepin Desktop Environment), yet another alteration of GNOME.
Of course there are other independent derivatives of Ubuntu — ones that use Enlightenment, KDE, etc. Those too are needed to ensure diversity and suitability to more potential audiences. █
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In recent years, the Linux Mint open-source operating system has emerged to become one of the most popular Linux distributions. Linux Mint was founded by developer Clement Lefebvre in 2006, with the goal of being a user-friendly desktop version of Linux. Lefebvre officially released Linux Mint 16, code-named Petra, Nov. 30 with the goal of improving the Linux desktop experience. Linux Mint 16 is based on the Ubuntu 13.10 Linux distribution at its core, with a number of key additions and improvements. While Ubuntu has focused on the development of its own Unity desktop Linux environment, Linux Mint has its own desktop creation, known as Cinnamon. Among the highlights of the Linux Mint 16 release is the latest generation of the Cinnamon desktop. Linux Mint is also available with other desktop environments, including MATE, which is a fork of the GNOME 2.x desktop. The new desktop environments included in Linux Mint 16 aim to offer improved performance and usability to Linux users. Among the new features that Linux Mint 16 provides are new USB formatting and imaging tools that enable users to easily create bootable USB sticks. In this slide show, eWEEK takes a look at some of the new features in Linux Mint 16.
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Clement Lefebvre proudly announced a few minutes ago that the final bits of the highly anticipated Linux Mint 16 operating system were available for download.
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Linux Mint 16 “Petra”, based on Ubuntu 13.10, was released recently and is available as usual in two editions: MATE and Cinnamon. Let’s take a look at what’s new.
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This past week the final release candidate (RC) for Linux Min 16 debuted, with both Cinnamon and MATE desktop editions.
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Linux Deepin 2013 has been released with various improvements and enhancements as well as two new applications: Deepin Terminal and Deepin Game Center.
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It is a Chinese distribution and one of the very few Linux distributions that’s actually bringing something new to the table: From custom apps to a new desktop environment built atop GNOME 3 technologies called the Depth Desktop Environment.
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Posted in GNU/Linux at 11:56 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: How distributions which were largely forgotten some years ago are making a comeback and spawning new derivatives
FOR A LONG period of time it seemed like GNU/Linux was a one-horse race led by Ubuntu and its derivatives; but Ubuntu is rapidly losing momentum [1] and the need for diversity is realised.
The Gentoo Monthly Newsletter is now back [2] and Pentoo resurfaces also [2], promising that Gentoo isn’t going away [3] as some haters of ‘l33t’ users once hoped (as well as Miguel de Icaza, who publicly bashed Gentoo).
We also have Slackware derivatives making a comeback, with Zenwalk back on course [4], not to mention new Slackware derivatives like MLED [5,6].
OpenMandriva is anything but vapourware now [7] and PCLinuxOS has a new magazine issue [8] (whereas Mandriva hardly has presence [9]). Continuity through derivatives and forks is essential.
The way to support lesser-known distribution is merely to use them and to spread the message about them. The more, the merrier. █
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Pentoo Linux is a Linux distribution based upon Gentoo Linux. Pentoo can be used as Live CD or Live USB image and the distribution aims at penetration testing. It is nothing but Gentoo with Pentoo Overlay. The newly released distribution is available for both 32 bit as well as 64 bit architecture.
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Hyperion made the official announcement of Zenwalk 7.4 beta 1…
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The Microlinux Enterprise Desktop is a full-blown production desktop based on the latest stable Slackware Linux release, starting with 14.0. It is currently used by various small town halls, public libraries, schools and local radio stations in South France.
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Curiously, I did not experience the live session that installs itself, reported here. I could navigate the live session before deciding to install without any problem.
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The PCLinuxOS Magazine is a product of the PCLinuxOS community, published by volunteers from the community. The magazine is lead by Paul Arnote, Chief Editor, and Assistant Editor Meemaw. The PCLinuxOS Magazine is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share-Alike 3.0 Unported license, and some rights are reserved.
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Posted in GNU/Linux, Hardware at 11:38 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: GNU/Linux as the operating system of gaming consoles no longer a far-fetched dream; companies other than Valve explore these possibilities
TECHRIGHTS is happy to write about the rise of GNU/Linux as a gaming platform, even though much of the gaming layer is proprietary. It is probably better that proprietary games are running on GNU/Linux; if they run on Windows or Mac OS, then they only help Microsoft’s and Apple’s position.
The latest news is very encouraging, still. The site Gaming on Linux wrote quite a lot about games that were coming to GNU/Linux [1-7], Humble Jumbo Bundle was covered by Steam for Linux [8], there were big names like Broken Sword in the headlines [9,10], and even news from Ioquake3 [11].
What stood out, however, were hardware efforts. First, there was GCW-ZERO, the open source gaming console [12]. Then there was Piixl Jetpack [13-19] and the $499 Steam Machine we alluded to before [20].
As the official announcement about Valve’s own hardware project was brewing (running GNU/Linux of course) there was also news about Valve joining the Linux Foundation. This was massive in the news. Headlines said that “Valve Furthers Linux Commitment, Officially Joins Linux Foundation” [21], “Valve renews Linux commitment, Microsoft and Sony should worry” [22], “Valve solidifies platform preference, joins The Linux Foundation” [23], and “As Valve Joins The Linux Foundation, Start Taking Linux Gaming Seriously” [24]. These were just four headlines among many more [25-42] — a lot more than we can list exhaustively.
Good times for GNU/Linux. It’s only getting better. █
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Portable gaming consoles remain within the domain of Nintendo and Sony, with their Nintendo 3DS as well as PS Vita, respectively, but their territory have been encroached upon by other forms of mobile gaming, no thanks to the huge popularity of tablets as well as smartphones. Well, here is another player that intends to bite off a chunk of this lucrative market – the $149.99 GCW-ZERO, which happens to be an open source gaming console. With the GCW-ZERO, you know for sure that you have something good going on here, especially when it has been built by gamers for gamers.
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Powered by Linux, it already comes with a slew of open source software that is ready to rock and roll.
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In a rather unconventional approach to PC design, British manufacturer Piixl has created a SteamOS computer that attaches to the back of your television set. According to Pocket-lint, the Piixl Jetpack is an open hardware platform that is fully customizable to fit a user’s gaming hardware needs.
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Valve has joined the Linux Foundation, making Steam Machine prototypes looking more and more like serious competition for Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4.
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Posted in News Roundup at 11:15 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
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12.06.13
Posted in Database, Free/Libre Software at 12:28 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Databases which are Free/Open Source software (FOSS) are becoming less liberal/freedom-respecting while deceiving labels hide it
PostgreSQL, which is the principal challenger to Oracle in the enterprise, was never copyleft. Copyleft would need to be something like the GPL, which MySQL became famous and hugely popular for (the de facto database for almost every FOSS CMS). Right now, under Oracle's FOSS-hostile management, MySQL’s FOSS identity is at risk and it can ultimately destroy the project [1,2]. Some large companies already move to MariaDB. Apart from those two databases there are some Microsoft partners [3] pretending to embrace ‘open’ databases and some ‘mixed’ or ‘semi’ FOSS database providers [4]. Facebook, the Microsoft-backed surveillance company, claims to be using ‘open’ databases [5-9] and InfiniSQL, yet another contender, does not even call itself Open Source, just “open-source” [10-12]. There has been a real problem in recent years because in the area of databases many companies pretend to be FOSS but are definitely not. This dilutes the “Open Source” brand and confuses many people. It’s a very limiting and restricting trend. The “Big Data” hype has a lot to do with it. █
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Four out of five developers plan to migrate if MySQL becomes closed source
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Netflix has made available as open source many of its internally developed infrastructure management products. These include facilities for automatically scaling a service’s hardware footprint and resources, as well as software for monitoring and maintaining the resiliency of all the supporting infrastructure.
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There is lots of interest in NoSQL these days — at the very least from venture capital firms that are throwing money at the potential leaders in the market like MongoDB, Couchbase and DataStax.
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Continuing its practice of sharing internally developed software, Facebook has released as open source RocksDB, the embedded data store the company developed to serve content to its 1.2 billion users.
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Some investors love backing ideas that could be the next big thing. Consider, for example, the rise of NoSQL databases such as MongoDB, which some market as something that scales easier than traditional relational (SQL) databases.
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InfiniSQL is a massively scalable relational database system (RDBMS), composed entirely from scratch (not built upon some other technology). There is reproducible benchmark data described on InfiniSQL’s blog proving that it can perform over 500,000 complex, multi-node transactions per second with over 100,000 simultaneous transactions—all on only 12 small server nodes.
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Posted in Intellectual Monopoly at 12:09 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: The Church which claims to have 1.2 billion members is expressing dissatisfaction and opposition to TPP and TAFTA/TTIP
GLYN Moody has been keeping an eye on TPP for quite some time (we too covered it). Yesterday he noted that even the Holy See (the Pope) is now weighing in, antagonising TPP and the likes of it. It is common to find opposition to TPP from Australian [2] and European [3] people’s groups (ACTA booster Karel de Gucht is at it again), unlike from big business groups, so the involvement by the Roman Catholic Church is unusual. Since the Catholic Church cab mobilise many people, perhaps this — unlike activism from us geeks — can assure that people will be up in arms in the streets (like in the days of ACTA, just before it got defeated). █
Related/contextual items from the news:
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The statement then goes on to criticize the move away from multilateral trade agreements of the kind traditionally drawn up at the WTO, to new-style “mega-regional trade agreements”, routinely negotiated in secret:
Currently there is a clear tendency to further enlarge these RTAs [Regional Trade Agreements] to form mega-regional trade agreements such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Certainly, the enlargement of regional trade agreements is a step towards further trade liberalization but we have to bear in mind that these agreements inevitably threaten the desirability to reach an agreement on a truly multilateral basis. In fact, by entering a regional trade agreement a country reduces the incentives to extend its efforts on trade liberalization at a multilateral level.
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Australian consumer advocate, CHOICE, will be running a newspaper ad campaign slamming the secret TPP trade treaty that some say threatens to trade Australians’ rights away in favour of US corporate interests.
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European Union Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht today (27 November) defended the inclusion of an investor-state dispute settlement provision in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). De Gucht argued the out-of-court settlements allowing private sector to sue governments were necessary because the TTIP would not per se give EU companies a standing in US courts.
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De Gucht assured the INTA Committee in today’s session that the Parliament would enjoy the same transparency as the Council of Ministers of the EU, yet the US was concerned about potential leaks of papers. Asked if there had been pressure to not share US negotiating positions with member states, de Gucht answered evasively.
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