● 08.16.11

● Links 16/8/2011: Linux Mint 11 LXDE, Peter Brown and Stormy Peters in Software Freedom Conservancy

Posted in News Roundup at 6:38 pm by Dr. Roy SchestowitzContentsGNU/LinuxGNU/Linux

• MacDonald was previously the lead system and network administrator at a small hosting company based in Michigan. However, he is best known for his contributions to the Linux open source community. MacDonald has written and continues to maintain a number of popular software applications used by web hosts including Linux Malware Detect (LMD), Advanced Policy Firewall (APF), Brute Force Detection (BFD), System Integrity Monitor (SIM), and a half dozen other applications through his website, R-fx Networks (rfxn.com).

Desktop

• I’m not saying that Linux will be number one next year or anything. However, I am saying that Linux is just as capable of taking on Microsoft as it has ever been. Probably fifty times more capable, and I don’t see it weakening one bit.

Server

• IPedge accommodates multiple unified communications EP via a single Linux server. The new EP version is designed for SMBs, supporting 40 users per server.

Kernel Space

• The 2.6.32.45, 2.6.33.18, and 3.0.2 stable updates are now available. They contain the usual pile of fixes. All three updates also include a change how TCP sequence numbers are generated; a (relatively) insecure 24-bit MD4 algorithm has been replaced by 32-bit MD5.

Applications

• We have recently started bringing out more eyecandy stuff as we really think that Linux has to shed its “old command only interface for geeks” image to make it appealing to more people and as you know there is strength in numbers. Yeah we know Ubuntu has changed that a lot!! but hey allow us to speed up the process. Here is our take on some of the most appealing themes to juice up your Mplayer experience.

Instructionals/Technical

• Whether you have a black screen, a flashing screen, just can’t get past the login screen or you’re stuck in the command-line, you’re about to learn a few tricks that will help you get your desktop back to full working order. You will even learn how to open multiple virtual desktops.

Games

• It’s lunch time, and you have 5 minutes to chill out and forget about those reports due by the end of the week. You could play some solitaire, but why limit yourself to the same old dull card games? Some of my favorite games were made for the Commodare 64, and to this day still provide a quick and enjoyable distraction for those otherwise dull desk based lunch breaks.

• On one of the slowest news days of the year came the welcomed announcement of Ultimate Edition 3.0 “Gamers.” The Ultimate Edition, once dubbed Ubuntu Ultimate, is based or derived from Lubuntu, but the “Gamers” Edition takes it to another level by offering an environment suitable for gaming as well as dozens of pre-installed games and emulators.

Desktop Environments

• Shell says there have been two leaks at the Gannet Alpha platform, just over 100 miles east of Aberdeen. The first was discovered on 10 August, and has already spilled about 1,300 barrels of oil into the sea – more than the amount spilled across the whole of 2009. It claims that the first leak is ‘pretty much dead’ and the second is minor

K Desktop Environment/KDE SC)

• During the Desktop Summit in Berlin, we had a session in which we had a good look at how KDE’s release team performs, which points we can improve on, how, and who will implement these changes.

• One of the highlights of the conference was the panel discussion about copyright assignment. It’s a complex topic, but the panelists brought up good arguments and lot of food for thought. Mark spoiled his argumentation a bit at the end by introducing his generosity concept. This certainly has its place when talking about motivation in a community, but in the context of legal agreements with companies it’s very questionable, if generosity should be a dominant concept. My takeaway from the panel and some other discussions I had at the summit is that KDE e.V. is in a very good position here with the Fiduciary License Agreement, we optionally provide for KDE contributors. This provides a good balance of the different interests and adds safety for contributors and community.

• If you own an ExoPC, and you’re eager to know how to get Plasma Active, our new workspace and set of applications for consumer devices to run on it, this blog article will help you get going.

Distributions

Debian Family

Derivatives

• So bodhi is a Pali/Sanskrit work that loosely translates to “enlightenment”. They seem to make heavy reference to this lineage in their artwork and as well as their naming. For example, they have two recommended software sets: Nikhila (meaning entire/all in Hindi) – their full featured software collection Pratibha (meaning light in Hindi) – their lightweight software collection

• Bodhi Linux itself is very new (first release, 1.0.0, was out March 2011). Version 1.0.0 was based off of Ubuntu 10.04LTS as was their update 1.1.0, which was released in May, but with the 2.6.39 kernel and Midori 0.3.6. According to their website, they are targeting only the LTS (long term support) Ubuntu versions, which come out every 2 years. They will have quarterly updates to keep their software fresh in between. I don’t have much interest in bleeding edge, but 2 year release cycles are a bit much. I haven’t even gotten anywhere yet and I’m already questioning my decision.

Canonical/Ubuntu

Flavours and Variants

• Linux Mint 11 LXDE has been released, offering a number of improvements in the UI, a faster update manager, better overlay scrollbars and more. The release comes just under three months after the release of the main version of Linux Mint 11. In the LXDE version, Mint 11′s Software Manager has been made more visually attractive with larger icons and a better layout and the Mint-X theme works better with more applications. What’s New in Linux Mint 11 has screenshots and details of these and other changes in the Ubuntu-based distribution.

Devices/Embedded

• The GENIVI Alliance, an automotive and consumer electronics industry association driving the development and adoption of an open In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) reference platform, today announced that the Linux Foundation’s MeeGo IVI Project has been approved as GENIVI compliant.

Phones

Android

• Hot on the heels of news that it will be acquired by Google, Motorola Mobility announced a 1GHz, Android 2.3-ready “plus” version of a rugged phone it first released last year. The 3.7-inch Defy+ will go head to head with a 3.6-inch Samsung Xcover announced last week in Germany, since both handsets are said to offer IP67-rated resistance to water, dust, and scratches.

• Fusion Garage announced a 10.1-inch tablet and four-inch smartphone, both running an “Grid OS” operating system that’s based on Android — and said to run its apps — but adds predictive features and a grid-like UI. Available for purchase now, the Grid-10 tablet features an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor and 1366 x 768-pixel screen resolution, while the Grid-4 smartphone due later this year offers a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.

• One thing that’s clear is that Google will obtain an impressive patent arsenal if its acquisition of Motorola goes through. Among the many things that aren’t so clear, though, is what the deal could mean for the development of the Android platform. Will Google maintain a distance from Motorola operations? Or will it use the company’s assets to closely supervise the design of an uber Android handset?

Free Software/Open Source

Web Browsers

Mozilla

• Not only is Firefox 6.0 complete, but Mozilla’s new public license may also be ready. Mozilla has made available its release candidate of the Mozilla Public License 2.0.

• Mozilla has made a “release candidate” of the Mozilla Public Licence (MPL) 2.0 available and, if no significant problems are found with this version, it plans to make it the released version of the MPL 2.0.

FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC

• Today, the Software Freedom Conservancy announces the appointment of two new members on its Board of Directors. The new directors, Peter Brown and Stormy Peters, bring even more excellent expertise to Conservancy’s Directorship, which includes many substantially experienced non-profit and Open Source and Free Software project leaders.

Openness/Sharing

• The likes of Linux, Mozilla, Google, Amazon, Netflix and eBay all grew up in an online world, and with a majority of Gen Y employees. As a result, they are managed in much more enlightened way than their traditional competitors. And this provides inspiration to others.

Programming

• Friend: Free software doesn’t cost anything, so they call it “free” Programmer: You’re wrong, young padawan… Programmer: Free as in freedom, not as in “Free beer”… But most people usually misunderstand… Programmer: For example, I did a freelance job in January, but I think they thought that was a “free”lance like “free beer”, because they haven’t paid me yet…

Leftovers

• Two men have been jailed for four years for using Facebook to incite disorder.

• Jordan Blackshaw, 20, from Marston near Northwich, and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, 22, from Warrington, appeared at Chester crown court on Tuesday. They were arrested last week following incidents of violent disorder in London and other cities across the UK.

• Neither of their Facebook posts resulted in a riot-related event.

• During the sentencing, the recorder of Chester, Elgin Edwards, praised the swift actions of Cheshire police and said he hoped the sentences would act as a deterrent to others.

Security

Defence/Police/Aggression

• In a sweeping speech Monday, Prime Minister David Cameron said mending England’s “broken society” was his priority and he called the four days of riots “a wake-up call.”

Finance

• One of the much touted advantages of Bitcoin is its anonymity. The full record of all transactions is by the very nature of Bitcoin completely public. However, transactions move coins between a set of incoming addresses and a set of outgoing addresses, and the addresses are not tied to any particular entity; an address may belong to anyone and Bitcoin includes no way to tell.

Internet/Net Neutrality

• Does your Internet Service Provider (ISP) give you the kind of performance that it advertises? The FCC has just completed a year-long study that found that many ISPs don’t do so. The study involved tests performed on both download and upload speeds from many top providers. According to the Hot Hardware blog: “Most of the ISPs hit 90 percent of their advertised upload speeds, which is good, except that the reason that the upload speeds of broadband providers are always significantly lower than their download speeds is because most people are much more concerned with how long it takes for something to download than it does to upload.”

DRM

Intellectual Monopolies

Copyrights

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