● 02.05.09

● Links 05/02/2009: Fedora 11 Alpha; Vodafone and Moto for Linux

Posted in News Roundup at 11:12 pm by Dr. Roy SchestowitzGNU/Linux

• We are delighted to announce a new addition to our stable of blogs on ElectronicsWeekly.com – one that addresses an increasingly important area.

• The new Open Source Engineering blog features the use of Linux and GNU software in industrial, embedded and mobile applications. We hope it provides useful, informative and entertaining content, and please feel free to contribute with your own comments on the posts.

• Following up on his “State of the Penguin” report, Helios’ Ken Starks issued a new blog entry on the state of Linux in business, and it still isn’t great. Until Linux and open source software can overcome the perceptions of CEOs who think that “you get what you pay for,” Linux will remain a second-class citizen, he writes.

• Linux is steeped in myths. And like most technologies that offer an alternative to a de facto standard, these myths keep many business owners leery of moving from Windows to Linux. Busting some of these myths may change your mind.

• If you’re in the business of myth-making, the IT world is a good place to make your fortune. And few technologies are as steeped in myths as Linux. Myths are great entertainment, but if you run a small or midsize business and need to make sound IT decisions, they’re confusing. And sooner or later, that confusion will cost you time, trouble, and money.

• Userful, ThinNetworks, and Positivo announced that they had been selected to supply 324,000 virtualised desktops to schools in all of Brazil’s 5,560 municipalities.

• This initiative would provide computer access to millions of children throughout Brazil. It is a historical achievement being: the world’s largest ever virtual desktop deployment; the world’s largest ever desktop Linux deployment; and a new record low-cost for PCs with the PC sharing hardware and software costing less than $50 per seat.

• ParaScale is about to release new software that lets customers create “storage clouds” using commodity Linux servers. The economics are such that the cost of a petabyte of storage, once the domain of only the largest organizations, is coming within reach of more companies.

• Based in Cupertino, Calif., and founded in 2004, ParaScale’s cloud storage software runs on Linux OS, the Linux XFS file system, and IP networking. The platform is designed for unlimited scalability, though in its first iteration it has been tested to 100 nodes. ParaScale describes its software as an object file system that’s “largely self-managing.”

• These geeks decided to show their appreciation towards Unix using their vehicle license plates. My favorite from this list is rm -rf *. Imagine someone who has no clue about Unix seeing this car on the road and trying to figure out what “rm -rf *” means.

• Out of these 12 awesome Unix related license plates, which one do you like the most? Have you seen any Unix related license plates that I’ve missed in this list?

• There is no way I can touch in one article how many ways Europe impacts Linux in a positive way. I also don’t want to give the impression that only Europe has been a supporter and benefactor to Linux as a whole. This one article is just to give proper credit where it is due.

• Times are tough in the banking industry. According to the AP, 100,000 bank employees have been laid off over the past two years. Overall, banking industry unemployment has almost tripled and bank stocks have cratered. Even with astronomical bailout money becoming available, banks are looking for ways to consolidate.

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• In this environment, Linux provides a distinct competitive advantage. Linux has zero licensing fees, so pure cost is a key benefit. Linux support can be found at almost any level; from free e-mail and bulletin boards to 24/7 mission critical support via enterprise subscriptions. Banks that are running Linux have an operating system with support for the greatest number of chip architectures, hardware platforms and forms of computing (blades to mainframe).

Graphics

• For years, linux.conf.au has been one of the best places to go to catch up with the state of the X Window System; the 2009 event was no exception. There was a big difference this time around, though. X talks have typically been all about the great changes which are coming in the near future. This time, the X developers had a different story: most of those great changes are done and will soon be heading toward a distribution near you.

• The Compiz 0.8.0 release will be the first release to include what was formerly known as Compiz Fusion.

• A complete feature and string freeze for Compiz 0.8 is in effect from Friday 5th of February, 23:59 GMT. I urge anyone with patches to submit them ASAP, regardless of their state.

KDE

• The day started a bit late, but Guillermo Amaral really made up for it by providing us with a funny and interesting talk about the opportunities for the Business use of KDE in Mexico. He pointed out how important it is to handle cultural differences well, continuing the theme set by Pradeepto Adriaan and Till.

• Last week, the KDE 4.2 release was not only received well in several reviews, but also celebrated by contributors and users on a global scale. A number of release parties were organised by enthusiasts, often with surprisingly high numbers of participants.

• KDE developer Marijn Kruisselbrink has released packages of KDE 4.2 and KOffice 2.0 beta 6 for Maemo, the Linux-based software platform that powers Nokia’s Internet Tablet devices.

• For many of us, I suspect that KDE on Windows is something that we will try for a brief afternoon before scuttling back to GNU/Linux. But, if you have to use Windows, then maybe KDE on Windows will soon be able to relieve much of your pain.

GNOME/GTK

• This is the sixth development release, and the first beta, towards our 2.26 release that will happen in March 2009. By now most things are in place, and your mission is easy: Go download it. Go compile it. Go test it. And go hack on it, document it, translate it, fix it.

• A GTK+ hackfest in Dublin later this month will start work on prototyping next-generation theming capabilities of the open source toolkit.

Old PCs

• A lot of us have old PCs stuck in the corners of classrooms, machines we just can’t afford to replace and whose owners just can’t do without. At the same time, a lot of us are acquiring netbooks and inexpensive hardware instead of investing in the latest and greatest “Vista-capable” computers. Normally for FOSS people like me its a YEHEY think to put in Linux in those running Boxes.

• In the end, we settled on CentOS, which is directly derived from RedHat’s Enterprise Linux (RHEL). We note Scientific Linux is another good choice, but we were more familiar with CentOS. Every derivative of RHEL is well supported by a handful of third-party repositories.

Red Hat

• Linux vendor Red Hat (NYSE:RHT) is out today with its newest Real Time Linux platform, MRG 1.1 boasting new performance, messaging and grid computing (cloud) capabilities.

• The new MRG 1.1 platform marks the debut of Red Hat’s commercially-supported grid technology, which helps users create their own enterprise clouds as well as leverage the power of Amazon’s EC2 service.

• Starting with the installation, Fedora 11 is now using the EXT4 file-system by default but there is support built into the Anaconda installer for Btrfs, which recently entered the mainline Linux kernel.

• Well, I took my first trip to the USA, ever, this week and it was down to Raleigh, NC, for orientation with Red Hat. I’d like to say it was an experience (meaning the trip), but it wasn’t… I was mostly fighting too hard to stay awake so it all really seems like a haze already. =) I guess only getting 1.5hrs of sleep the first night, and only 5 the second, will do that to you.

Ubuntu

• When you think Ubuntu, you probably think of an outstanding, easy-to-use desktop Linux. You probably don’t think of Ubuntu as a server operating system. Maybe you should.

• The fourth alpha version of the upcoming Ubuntu 9.04 (codename Jaunty Jackalope) was uploaded a few minutes ago on the official mirrors. As usual, we’ve downloaded a copy of it in order to keep you up to date with the latest changes in the Ubuntu 9.04 development.

• What’s new in Ubuntu 9.04 Alpha 4? Well, the big news is that Nvidia and AMD have finally released some new and improved video drivers for Linux systems, in order to keep up with the latest technologies. Therefore, starting with this alpha, the Nvidia proprietary video driver has been added and it supports the latest X.Org server, version 1.6 (see screenshots three and four on the first row). ATI users will have to wait a little bit longer, as the fglrx proprietary video driver is not yet supported (it will be fixed until the Beta release arrives).

• Not only did Fedora 11 Alpha make it out the door today, but so did the fourth alpha release for Ubuntu 9.04 (the Jaunty Jackalope). Ubuntu 9.04 Alpha 4 continues to build upon a bleeding-edge set of Linux packages (though still tracking the Linux 2.6.28 kernel) and has installation support for the EXT4 file-system and new notification capabilities.

Devices/Embedded

• Altera announced two new FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), and has upgraded its Linux-compatible FPGA design toolkit. The Quartus II 9.0 toolsuite adds support for the new Stratix IV GT and Arria II GX FPGAs, adds an SSN analyzer tool, and debuts a ModelSim Altera Starter Edition simulation engine.

• Genesi and Freescale are offering free systems with Linux board support packages (BSPs) to developers with innovative proposals for developing on Freescale’s new netbook-oriented i.MX515 system-on-chip (SoC). The i.MX515 Developer Program is now open for proposal submissions for developing on the ARM Cortex-A8-based platform.

• For the Treo Pro, we know that the target in-stock date corresponds with the launch of 2/15. This could indeed put the Pre launch on or around 3/15, but we wouldn’t bet on it. Sprint wants to move their stock of Treo 755Ps before they get to the Pre, and if we were a betting bunch, we’d peg the Pre release closer to May/Early June than Mid-March.

Phones

• French mobile stack developer and LiMo (Linux Mobile) Foundation member Purple Labs announced 2H 2008 revenues of 11 million Euros (~$14.1M), quadruple its revenue in the first half of 2008. The company also said it raised series-B funding of 22 million Euros (~$22.8M) during the half.

• Vodafone (VOD.L) has picked U.S. software firm Azingo to develop Linux-based applications, the latest sign the world’s largest wireless operator by sales is keeping Linux operating system LiMo as one of its key choices.

• Privately held Azingo unveiled the deal on Thursday.

• Vodafone, one of the founding members of mobile Linux foundation LiMo, has stressed the importance of cutting the number of different operating systems, raising some media speculation it could dump LiMo support.

• The Linux Mobile Foundation (LiMo) got a huge boost today, when global carrier Vodafone, world’s largest wireless operator (by sales), tapped U.S. software firm Azingo to develop Linux-based mobile applications. Reuters called the news “the latest sign (Vodafone) is keeping Linux operating system LiMo as one of its key choices.”

• Handset maker Motorola has revealed plans to scale back its commitment to Windows Mobile as it continues to increase its investment in Google’s open source Android mobile platform.

• To do that, Motorola will draw on its experience tinkering with the same Linux-Java software used in Android to make what it hopes are compelling tools and other applications. Social-networking apps, for example, are one area of focus for the Android phones. Jha says in an interview that Motorola engineers are working closely with Google to develop appealing apps.

• Personal navigation device (PND) vendor Garmin and consumer electronics manufacturer AsusTek (Asus) have merged their smartphone development efforts. The “Garmin-Asus Nuvifone G60″ (pictured) will ship in the first half of this year, say the companies, and may run Linux, Android, or Windows Mobile.

• Garmin and Asus, best-known for GPS devices and PC components respectively, announced an alliance on Wednesday to produce co-branded smart phones. In a conference call, Garmin execs hinted strongly that they wanted to bring the devices to the U.S. for an “attractive” price.

• [...]

• The line will begin with Garmin-Asus’s Nuvifone G60, a Linux-based GPS smartphone that the company announced in January 2008, but that they never brought to market. The Nuvifone G60 will come to shelves in the first half of 2009, Pemble said. Another model will be announced at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Feb. 15 or 16, and “we look forward to introducing additional Nuvifone models during the course of 2009 and beyond,” Pemble said.

• Asustek has been making mobile phones since 2001 and has launched several smartphones, mainly with Linux or Microsoft Windows OSs.

Sub-notebooks

• My surprise was total this morning when the FedEx guy rang my bell and handed me a very small box. That box had a brand new HP Mini 1000 MI netbook to evaluate from HP. The MI (or Mini Me) is the Linux-based model with HP’s home-grown UI shell they call MI for Mobile Internet. I haven’t been playing with the 1000 very long but keep reading after the jump for my first impressions and photos of the Mini 1000.

• [...]

• This interface works very well and I found that I was getting things done in mere minutes after firing the Mini 1000 up for the first time. The web browser is a Firefox variant that works as expected and I added the Foxmarks add-on right away. A minute after adding Foxmarks all my bookmarks and page passwords had been synced with the server and my browsing environment was like it is on all machines I use. I was up and running at that point.

• HP has revealed that their Mini 1000 Mi Edition netbook will have Ubuntu OS pre-loaded. To make things interesting, HP revealed a new custom Ubuntu Linux user interface for their Mini 1000 Mi Edition netbooks. The price of the HP Mini 1000 Mobile Internet (Mi) netbooks starts from $380 (Rs. 18, 000).

Free Software/Open Source

• Ubuntu – Although we have been using Debian for years on our client servers (as well as virtualization) I wanted something on my desktop that was easy to use. Ubuntu with KDE (I install kde from source, but you can get KDE on Ubuntu by downloading Kubuntu) is a great combination. You can make your desktop OS your own through customization. Ubuntu doesn’t use as many hardware resources as Windows and it’s free.

• As of this writing, $20 billion of that amount is included in the current House draft of the Economic Stimulus bill called for by the new administration. The full cost of EHR implementation, including private expenditures, has been estimated to be $156 billion over five years, not including $20 billion in operational costs. With such a price tag, the promise of EHRs had best be realized, or the new administration will have some significant explaining to do.

• There are a lot of music jukeboxes out there that aren’t iTunes but still work with iPods. Freeware Floola for Windows, Mac, and Linux is one of the few, if only, portable music players that not only works with your iPod, it will work from your iPod, too. The program’s fully compatible with your desktop iTunes installation, but can be run from the iPod itself.

• Ubiquity is an experimental Firefox extension developed by Mozilla Labs that extends the browser user interface with a context-sensitive command system. The latest version of the extension already includes a lot of really useful capabilities, but we could see some even more impressive features arrive soon.

• In a blog entry today, Mozilla’s Aza Raskin revealed plans for building a lightweight browser-based photo editor that will be accessible through Ubiquity. Jacob Seidelin, the developer behind the Pixastic JavaScript image processing library, will be leading the effort. He plans to begin work on the project next month.

National

• A good news for the open source scene. Two great events are running -or going to run- this month in the Arab region. The first one it’s called the iFoss09 and it’s currently going on in Damascus, Syria at the SCS Center, Tishreen Park in Omaween Square.

• The Canadian government is looking to shave costs wherever it can and is now eyeing open source software as one way to accomplish that goal.

Business

• Zenoss Inc., a leading provider of commercial open source IT systems and network monitoring software, today announced its first Zenoss Community Day will take place February 20, 2009, in Los Angeles. The daylong event is a precursor to the 7th annual Southern California Linux Expo (SCaLE 7x), where Zenoss is a silver sponsor and exhibitor.

FSF

• Boston, Massachusetts, USA–Thursday, February 5, 2009–The Free Software Foundation has announced LibrePlanet 2009, an expansion of its traditional annual meeting to a two-day event. The event will be held in Cambridge, MA, on March 21st and March 22nd, 2009, and in addition to presentations from FSF staff and board members will include a full “unconference” day of work oriented toward progressing free network services and other areas important to the free software community as outlined on the FSF’s High Priority Projects list.

Leftovers

• Yeah, Intel won the PS4 GPU, no shock considering how much they needed a console win to get people coding for Larrabee

• [...]

• Given that, and MS’s inclination toward x86 software, that would seem a natural path for them to follow as well, if for no other reason than to protect the living room from the ARM scourge running Linux.

• “Fueled by tax-deductible donations and an explosion in philanthropic assets, think tanks have dramatically grown in size and influence during the past 100 years,” writes J.H. Snider, himself a think tank fellow.

• It is clear that the scope of this treaty is far reaching: indeed, there is a clear attempt to use it to slip in very powerful clauses that would over-ride national and international legislation. This is simply unacceptable. Moreover, if it turns out that the EU is *not* fighting the above moves, it is nothing short of scandalous that it should be acting in such a duplicitous fashion over ACTA – in which case, those responsible for following this course should be called on to resign.

• A draft ISP Copyright Code of Practice, aimed at clarifying sanctions against illicit downloaders of copyright works, has been released for public comment — and internet industry sources are already critical of the effort.

• The 29-page document (with a further four pages of suggested alternative wording on procedures for disputing an accusation) was drawn up by the Telecommunications Carriers Forum in consultation with internet service providers and organisations representing copyright owners.

• A YEAR after it was ordered to pay the MPAA more than $100 million for assisting pirating, TorrentSpy is launching an appeal.

• Just last week, we wrote about the question of whether or not the iconic image used on Obama posters that was created by street artist Shepard Fairey was copyright infringement. For a while, no one (including Fairey) could figure out what photo was the basis for the image. But a photojournalist tracked it down, and discovered it was by a photojournalist named Mannie Garcia, who was doing work for the Associated Press at the time. Garcia didn’t mind at all, but as we noted in our post, the AP might take a different view on things, since it’s so aggressive with copyright. However, even we thought the AP wouldn’t be so stupid as to actually demand payment for the use of the image… but we were wrong.

• Some European countries have been moving towards a so-called three strikes model to disconnect repeat P2P infringers from the Internet, but Germany’s not having it. The German Department of Justice recently met up with leading ISPs for a confidential consultation to discuss the music industry’s new favored strategy against piracy.

• The NY Times is running an article entitled “Digital Pirates Winning Battle With Studios.” From the title, it’s pretty obvious what it’s about — but the article seems to take a lot of talking points from the movie studios. It’s not hard to figure out the main source of the article: NBC Universal’s Rick Cotton is quoted throughout. Cotton is a lawyer who has proven time and time again that he’s a bit clueless when it comes to business. It’s unclear why NBC keeps having him comment publicly about business issues. Every time he does, it just gives people more reason to realize how poorly NBC Universal is managed.

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