● 01.08.10

● Links 8/1/2010: KDE Software Compilation 4.4 RC1

Posted in News Roundup at 9:53 pm by Dr. Roy SchestowitzContentsGNU/LinuxGNU/Linux

• Linux is still a strong player in the little laptop market. MSI has announced that Novell’s new mashup of Moblin and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop will be available as an option on the upcoming 10-inch MSI U135 netbook. Smartbooks have finally arrived and are making a big splash at CES. HP has an Android-based smartbook with a 10-inch resistive touchscreen, and Lenovo announced its slim Skylight with a Web-oriented Linux OS. Both products ship with the 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon ARM processor.

• I use my Lenovo T400 Thinkpad as a work laptop but also as an experimental machine on which I put and delete various Linux distributions and software. At various times I’ve had Ubuntu, Fedora, and openSUSE on the computer, though most often Ubuntu, and that’s what is there now.

• What are the ten characteristics of a Linux Guru?

• 1. Knowledgeable in all major Linux distributions. 2. Configures Samba, DNS, Sendmail and Apache with no Googling. 3. Helps others solve their problems with Linux. 4. Blogs or writes about personal experiences with Linux. 5. Donates time and resources to at least one Linux project. 6. Uses Linux on a variety of computing hardware. 7. Hacks Linux-based devices for fun and/or profit. 8. Finds innovative ways to use Linux at work. 9. Is a Linux Evangelist. 10. Has a collection of very early (Kernel 1.x or older) Linux CDs.

• Linux 91% (210 votes)

Kernel Space

• Linux 2.6.33 will have new and improved drivers for Wi-Fi chips by Intel, Ralink and Realtek. Several drivers for old Wi-Fi hardware have been moved to the staging area and will probably soon be discarded. New additions include various LAN chip drivers and several improvements to the network stack.

• It retails at USD99 (GBP62) and includes a CD containing example programs and installation software for both Windows and Linux operating systems.

Graphics Stack

• Version 1.7.4 of the X.Org Server has been released this morning. This point release continues to bring new bug-fixes to the X Server 1.7 series branch since its release last year. All major development work continues to be focused on X Server 1.8, which is expected for release in March.

• There’s just one month left until the Free and Open-source Software Developers’ European Meeting (FOSDEM) takes place once again in Brussels, Belgium. Like in past years, there will be an X.Org development room where various talks about X will be held, but this year it has turned into a one-day affair. Even with having half the time as past years to talk about X, the schedule is not even full at this point.

Applications

• Even though in the world of Twitter there are a lot of fantastic, feature-full programs for the Twitter power user, that’s not exactly what I, a simple Twitter user, is looking for.

• Opera is aiming for broader adoption on Linux set-top boxes with some new features in its Web Widgets system, which has been enhanced on Linux to support interaction from TV remote control devices. The Linux SDK also supports hardware accelerated rendering and DirectFB.

• Atom Developers’ Program — a way for developers to adapt old applications to take advantage of the netbook explosion. Consumers will be given beta to first storefront of AppUp Center, one-stop shop for users to find netbook apps for Windows and Linux.

• Intel is taking the same approach with netbooks, most of which are powered by its Atom processors. AppUp, which was launched here at CES 2010, has a number of different applications, and more will be added every day. The AppUp software will now be installed on every Atom-equipped netbook, and for those who already have an Eee PC or Wind, you can download the software for Windows or Linux.

Instructionals

Desktop Environments

K Desktop Environment (KDE SC)

• Today, KDE has released the first release candidate of the next version of the KDE Software Compilation (KDE SC). KDE SC 4.4 Release Candidate 1 provides a testing base for identifying bugs in the upcoming KDE Software Compilation 4.4, with its components the KDE Plasma Workspaces, the Applications powered by KDE, and the KDE Development Platform.

• So, I needed an application that could load a couple of pictures, showing two pictures side-by-side for visual comparison and at the same time presenting the more important meta-data attributes such as focal length, exposure time, ISO and aperture.

• I’m Mathias, a new contributor to KDE Games. During the last year I spent some time to code on Granatier, a new game which will be released with KDE SC 4.4 and I would like to give a short introduction.

GNOME Desktop

• Contributors to the WebKitGTK+ project recently gathered for a hackfest to improve the open source HTML renderer’s integration with the GTK+ toolkit. They added some cache control APIs, improved support for HTML5 video, form persistence, and other features.

Distributions

• some guys over at TechCrunch UK (or something like that) made a review of 8 linux distributions which ships KDE as their default graphical desktop.

• the first one? Slackware…

New Releases

• The Elive team announced today another unstable release of their Elive Live CD Linux distribution, now at version 1.9.56. Being powered by Debian, the Enlightenment E17 desktop environment and Linux kernel 2.6.30, the new development version of Elive brings support for 3G phones, the latest version of Adobe’s Flash Player and installer fixes. Without any further ado, let’s take a closer look at the changes brought by Elive 1.9.56:

• · Updated Linux kernel packages to version 2.6.30; · Added 300 new operators in order to support more 3G phones; · Automatic connection of a 3G phone, at boot;

Red Hat Family

• The project chair has appointed Red Hat employee Colin Walters to the board. John Poelstra begins the year with open feedback to the board’s work.

• With Red Hat developer Colin Walters, the last open position on the Fedora board has been filled. John Poelstra, who was appointed to the board by chair Paul Frields in June of 2009, nevertheless regretted in his blog the less than enthusiastic participation of the board. Halfway through his term, he writes, he wanted to evaluate its accomplishments. The two big themes were the Fedora trademark (as we reported) and the question of Fedora’s mission, vision and target audience. Poelstra opened the discussion on the board mailing list in October 2009 after the issues apparently emerged in a board meeting shortly before.

Debian Family

• Social media and social networking are huge now-a-days, with Twitter, Facebook and the like being hugely successful at keeping friends and family in touch. Now only that, but social networks are huge for charities, with many causes being supported and heavily promoted via social networking. Corporations and business use social networking too to promote their products and services to users in a manner which is so relevant that they tend not to annoy as is generally the case with more corporate advertising.

Devices/Embedded

• To that end, Wind River has duly launched VxWorks 6.8. VxWorks is Wind River’s home-grown real-time operating system. It stands beside Wind River Linux 3.0, the company’s real-time Linux variant, and the new commercialized variant of the Android Linux-for-handsets that Wind River announced a month ago.

• At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Sony has introduced its new dash “personal application viewer” featuring built in Wi-Fi, stereo speakers, a USB port and a 7-inch touch screen. According to Engadget, the Dash runs the Chumby OS, an open source Linux-based operating system.

• Sony says the Linux-based wireless device will have access to over 1,000 applications including YouTube and other social apps – it also seems the company is intending to open app development up, too.

• EMC subsidiary Iomega is readying a WiFi-enabled, Linux-based network-attached storage (NAS) device that costs $100. The Iomega iConnect Wireless Data Station has no storage of its own, but acts as a wireless hub that shares data stored on devices hooked up to its four USB 2.0 ports.

• As such, Skiff showed us a total of four different devices accessing its content: a color e-reader prototype as well as Skiff apps running on a Palm Pre, Viliv MID, and of course the Linux-based black and white e-reader launching sometime this year.

• Texas Instruments (TI) announced an e-book reader development platform for Linux and Android, based on its OMAP3621 system-on-chip. The eBook Development Platform is equipped with an E Ink electrophoretic EPD display, TI’s new TPS6518x EPD power management IC, plus an integrated WiLink chip (WiFi, Bluetooth, and FM) and 3G support.

• The GENIVI alliance, of which Visteon is a part, aims to provide a standard Linux automotive infotainment platform, so developers can easily build for multiple cars. Visteon showed off a GENIVI system running off an Intel ARM processor, and powering four different LCDs, an instrument cluster, navigation, and two rear seat monitors, simultaneously.

• Korenix Unveils JetBox 3300 series Compact Embedded Linux Computers with DIO, Isolated Serial Ports and -40~80oC wide operating temp. for Front-End Controller Applications in Severe Industrial Environments!

• By contrast, the Picowatt lets individuals set up a home energy monitoring themselves. The smart plugs, which fit over existing outlets, are essentially mini Wi-Fi routers running Linux, each capable of gathering data and controlling devices. People can view data, such as historical energy usage, from a Wi-Fi-enabled PC or through a Facebook application that can be operated from a smart phone.

• The Rochester, New York start-up says the smart plug, about the size of an Apple AirPort, will be available in April of this year for $79 and will be sold directly to consumers. The smart plugs fit over existing outlets, act as tiny Wi-Fi routers running Linux.

Phones

• While the Edelweiss didn’t find a “suitor” and just faded into the night without any success, the Monolith has some promise. Especially now that it is being exhibited at CES under the name “Else Emblaze”, or “Else Intuition”. It was built by Sharp and has a Linux-based touchscreen OS licensed by Access, and offers quite a few respectable features, not to mention adding in the uniqueness factor.

• The Maemo 5 OS experience to me is no longer a minimalist thing, but is rather a clear canvas to paint your entire digital lifestyle.

Android

• The new Nexus One is a sleek, awesome handset, but the most important ingredient in touchscreen smartphones is software. The screen is just a canvas that software paints on, and Android 2.1 is a work of art.

• Lenovo unveiled a Qualcomm Snapdragon-based Android smartphone aimed for a 1H 2010 release in China, says eWEEK. Meanwhile, Dell officially announced a version of the Mini 3 Android smartphone aimed at AT&T’s U.S. network, and showed off a MID-like Android “slate” prototype.

Sub-notebooks

• The way the company both hits the $99 price point and makes a little profit at the same time is to a) ship with free, open-source Linux and b) offer minimum specs but actually build the laptops with whatever the cheapest components are at any given time.

• Over the last 12 months, netbook and mobile Linux has made massive advances in features and install base. This is primarily thanks to two netbook distributions – Moblin and Canonical’s Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR).

• All laptop users have something in common: we want our device’s batteries to last longer. Whether it’s for the daily commute or a long flight, an extra 30 minutes of power means an extra 30 minutes of entertainment.

• If you’re running a Linux-based distribution on your netbook, there’s a lot you can do to squeeze every last negatively charged ion from your power source. Here we’re going to cover the best techniques that we’ve discovered.

• In terms of overall performance, I am intensely happy with Ubuntu on this machine. I was worried about the Atom CPUs being sluggish, but I’ve had no problems whatsoever. Having 2 gigabytes of memory probably helps, but this netbook can even run Windows XP in VirtualBox without flinching. That’s a lot more than I can say for the circa-2004 Pentium IV Inspiron laptop that my Latitude is replacing.

• In its laptop incarnation, the device behaves as a conventional PC running Windows 7, the particular flavor of which (Home, Professional, or Ultimate) was not specified. But the entire viewiing screen can be completely detached from the keyboard base – smoothly, by hand, no tools required! – and restarted in a Linux-quick 3 seconds. It is then an independent touch-screen tablet operating on the Skylight OS, with the laptop base as a wi-fi hotspot.

• This is certainly a spectacular way to bring new meaning to the term “dual boot,” but I’d like to suggest it’s a whole lot more than that. Lenovo is an independent manufacturer now, but it was not long ago that it was simply the PC hardware arm of IBM, presumably fully ordained as an OEM for Microsoft Windows.

• The Linux user interface looks a bit like Google Android thanks to the widgets that pop up on your desktop. But the Freescale tablet is designed to be used with a stylus, not a fingertip.

Free Software/Open Source

• No self-respecting geek enjoys dealing with closed-standard Word documents or Exchange servers. What kind of bizarro world is this where engineers are not only going crazy over Microsoft’s latest proprietary API, but actively denouncing its open-standard competitor?

• VMWare appears to be positioning itself to provide the virtualized or cloud-based alternative to Oracle, Microsoft and IBM. This is a very interesting approach, and it will be interesting to see it play out over time. With Oracle and IBM taking a more systems-centric approach, meaning they are both providing the storage, computing and software stacks in the form of a system, this leaves Oracle’s traditional hardware partners out in the cold (HP, Dell, EMC, Netapp, etc.) along with budding potential partner Cisco. VMWare may envision themselves providing the Linux-based alternative to Microsoft in this game of strategic positioning.

• EtherPad is a collaborative in-browser text editor. AppJet launched the product in the fall of 2008 with both commercial and free (limited to eight concurrent editors) versions, and it quickly gained popularity in the first half of 2009. When Google unveiled its own real-time collaboration system Wave in June, comparisons were inevitable. Many users found EtherPad’s interface simpler to use and easier to understand, however, so it was no great surprise when Google announced that it had purchased AppJet and EtherPad on December 4. The AppJet engineers would work on Wave, ostensibly making it as easy to use as EtherPad itself.

• It’s my pleasure to introduce to you the single greatest Launchpad planning achievement for 2010: the roadmap.

• For the last few months we’ve been working on bridging the gap between the Ubuntu distribution and the upstreams that it’s made from: making it easier for patches, translations, and bug reports to flow between Ubuntu users, Ubuntu developers, and upstream developers.

• We’ve been asking users what they want and trying really hard to listen to them. And, of course, since we’re Free Software now, all of our discussion, development and planning is out in the open.

Fog Computing

• I have a feeling that the desktop operating system as we know it is on its last leg. The reason I make such a bold statement is that cloud computing will replace our fat, bloated, virus-riddled, failure-prone desktop with something far more agile and elegant: A lightweight browser-based system. This sounds like good news to me. I’ve waited for a server-centric world for several years now and the time is almost upon us. In this brave new cloud world, you’ll have access to all of your documents, music, data, pictures and applications regardless of the device in your hands.

• An open-source Web-based operating system called eyeOS is getting a big boost from IBM. The computer giant has begun selling high-end mainframe servers with eyeOS pre-installed, hoping the operating system will entice customers who are hesitant about using cloud computing.

Mozilla

• This add-on allows you to edit text from any “textarea” on a Web page in an external editor. Once it’s installed, you can configure the extension to use whatever your favorite editor happens to be. In my case Vim (GVIM, in this case), but you could also use Gedit, Kate, or any other editor that you prefer.

• Want to help the Mozilla Project produce the best Firefox possible, but have no developer skills at all? Can you point? Click? Read instructions? Then you’re ready to suit up as a Firefox Test Pilot. Crashes not required.

• If you’ve ever felt like you want to give back to the Firefox project, or if you feel like Firefox needs improvement, the Test Pilot project is the the easiest way to provide useful feedback to Mozilla and put those browsing hours to work.

• For the last few years, Firefox has been the alternative browser of choice. But could it be running out of steam, wonders Simon Brew…

• 2009 wraps up another year of terrific Firefox growth! Roughly keeping pace with previous years, Firefox grew 40% worldwide. Two regions in particular continued adopting Firefox at a breakneck pace — South America (64%) and Asia (73%).

Databases

• As you can see, he believes the GPL is sufficient, that the community can develop powerful programs with the license, and that there is an important difference between the GPL plus exceptions and changing to an Apache license, which is what Monty has been suggesting. So if you see further FUD from Monty about the GPL or how rms allegedly agrees that the GPL is insufficient, here is your rebuttal.

• I trust Monty will remove or rewrite the misrepresentation on the Save MySQL page, so people are not misled into signing this petition due to the false belief that Mr. Stallman supports the campaign.

• Some of you may have signed that petition thinking Mr. Stallman wanted you to do so. A lot of people would sign a petition if they thought Mr. Stallman wanted them to. If so, you may wish to let Monty know you have changed your mind and wish to remove your name. You may also wish to let the EU Commission know about the change.

• This tweet from former MySQL AB CEO Mårten Mickos caught my eye. It shows a trend of increased demand for MySQL and PostgresSQL expertise while job postings on job websites for those with Oracle and Ingres expertise declined.

Leftovers

• The new year has barely started, but it’s already become apparent that at least one dire prediction about 2010 isn’t going to come to pass.

• IPv4 address space will not be exhausted in 2010 as the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) had once forecast. But that doesn’t mean that network managers or even consumer electronics vendors should sit on the sidelines. This week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the American Registry for Internet Names (ARIN) is advocating that vendors start making the move to IPv6 now.

Security

• A TSA agent was arrested on January 3rd in Terminal One at LAX, a source told NBCLA. He had just gotten off duty and was behaving erratically, saying, “I am god, I’m in charge.”

• If you’re wondering who the strange looking fella’ to the right is; he is the new face of/logo for the Identity and Passport Service’s latest ID card marketing campaign.

• The fact that he appears to be a fingerprint leaves Big Brother Watch in the strange position of not being sure whether to laugh or cry.

• Yet another domino in the RSA encryption scheme has fallen with the announcement Thursday that cryptographers have broken 768-bit keys using the widely used public-key algorithm.

• Heartland Payment Systems will pay up to US$60 million to issuers of Visa credit and debit cards for losses they incurred from a 2008 data breach at the large payment processor.

Environment

• This year will be one of the top five warmest years globally since records began 150 years ago, according to figures compiled by the Met Office.

Finance

• The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, during its $180 billion bailout of American International Group, Inc., instructed AIG to omit details of its purchase of certain toxic assets from a December 24, 2008, Securities and Exchange Commission filing, according to e-mails between the company and the Fed released Thursday.

• Using bailout money provided by the Fed, AIG paid a number of banks 100 percent of the face value of credit-default swaps, contracts tied to subprime home loans, at a time when other institutions were negotiating deep discounts for the paper. The names of the banks were also omitted from the SEC filing.

• The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, then led by Timothy Geithner, told American International Group Inc. to withhold details from the public about the bailed-out insurer’s payments to banks during the depths of the financial crisis, e-mails between the company and its regulator show.

• The problem with such a game is that non-cash “earnings” aren’t money and while they look good on the balance sheet if they don’t materialize later on you’re sunk! My call at the time was that they wouldn’t materialize and WaMu would indeed be sunk, and it was.

• This is a bit different, in that nobody is (yet) claiming that Goldman doesn’t have the money. What’s being alleged here is that they have effectively pilfered the public Treasury and then paid that out as bonuses, rather than doing with it as Treasury intended and their shareholders were entitled to, which is to use the capital to rebuild the firm’s foundation and strengthen it against future potential losses.

PR/AstroTurf

• Glaxo says they won’t have control over the content of the film and won’t even be pushing to make sure Alli gets mentioned.

Censorship/Civil Rights

• The body responsible for the .uk internet addresses disconnected over 1,200 websites without any oversight from a court. The much-publicised action last month was based only on police assertions about criminal activity on the sites.

• Two Nominet executives have told technology law podcast OUT-LAW Radio that it severed the connection between 1,219 domain names and the sites that lay behind them without the kind of court order that web hosting companies would usually demand.

• Yeah. Like that will work. Trying to suppress information online doesn’t work, no matter what law you put in place. I’m reminded of the convicted German murderer, who is demanding that information on his conviction be removed from Wikipedia under a similar type of law. All that did was call a lot more attention to the story.

• Last year, we wrote about the rather troubling situation in Chicago, involving prosecutors who were given information from the famed Medill Innocence Project (which consist of journalism students who examine potential wrongful conviction cases) indicating a wrongful conviction. Rather than use the new evidence, the prosecutors began a campaign against the Innocence Project subpoenaing a ton of information that has no bearing on the case whatsoever, but seem designed to intimidate the journalism students.

Intellectual Monopolies/Copyrights

• Generally speaking, the subject of a photograph does not have copyrights therein. These accrue to the photographer, unless there is a contract to the contrary.

• Actress Vanessa Hudgens has apparently been shocked to find full frontal, nude images of herself on the Internet, specifically on the site of moejackson.com, but as tends to happen with such things, the images are already available more widely.

• That a U.S. senator must ask a federal agency to share information regarding a proposed and “classified” international anti-counterfeiting accord the government has already disclosed is alarming. Especially when the info has been given to Hollywood, the recording industry, software makers and even some digital-rights groups.

• During the last two decades, the Swedish band Rednex have sold more than 10 million records, with number one hits in eight countries including Germany and the UK. Today the band, known by most people for the single “Cotton Eye Joe,” released their first single in 18 months. They chose to share it via The Pirate Bay.

• [...]

• The Pirate Bay is currently promoting the new Rednex single on its frontpage, which guarantees exposure to millions of downloaders. Rednex believes that new forms of distribution will eventually make the record labels redundant.

• “We think that this is undoubtedly the future method of releasing music. Within 12 years all the record companies will be extinct and the copy-free system will rule, no matter what anyone tries to do about it. It is inevitable and we are simply adapting to the coming reality. We admire the file-sharing communities and the unrestricted spread of information, as this will ultimately lead to great all-round benefits,” they add.

• According to TorrentFreak, last summer’s Star Trek movie was the “most pirated movie of 2009.” So it seems that Paramount Pictures was prescient when it gave testimony before the FCC that used Star Trek as an illustrative example of how “Internet piracy” is poised to devastate Hollywood and (though the nexus here is less than clear) undermine residential broadband in America.

• Buskers at SkyTrain stations in Vancouver are about to get an Olympic-sized price hike as TransLink negotiates a deal with the Society of Composers, Music Publishers and Authors of Canada – the Canadian body that collects licensing fees on copyrighted music.

• The arrangement, set to be finalized by Feb. 1, will cost the transit service $880 per station per year and the hefty price hike will almost certainly result in higher licensing fees for buskers. Right now, TransLink buskers pay an annual licence fee of $75.

Digital Tipping Point: Clip of the DayDwayne Bailey, Founder and Managing Director of Translate.org.za (2004)Digital Tipping Point is a Free software-like project where the raw videos are code. You can assist by participating. Share in other sites/networks: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. Permalink  Send this to a friend

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