February 2012
26 posts
### Updates on the Spark tablet ###
The Spark Open Source tablet was announced just about one month ago [1]. It will be shipped with the KDE Plasma Active Interface running on top of Mer (MeeGo reconstructed).
In several new posts, Aseigo, one of the major developers involved in the Spark tablet, gives an update on the situation around the tablet.
The pre-order registration [2] is already over,...
### RHEL 5.8 released ###
Last week, RedHat released the eight major updated to version 5 of the RedHat Enterprise Linux distribution.
RHEL 5.8 brings a number of improvements over the older 5.X releases, including some major changes to the 2.6.18 based Kernel. In version 5.8, the modified Kernel supports PCI-Express 3.0 and includes a number of improvements to both Xen and KVM virtualization,...
The H online: Kernel Log: Coming in 3.3 (Part 2) - Filesystems and storage http://www.h-online.com/open/features/Kernel-Log-Coming-in-3-3-Part-2-Filesystems-and-storage-1440033.html
Linux 3.3 will bring some major improvements for several Linux file systems and the softraid system.
As always, the H Kernel Log presents these changes in an easy-to-understand manner and points out the most...
### DragonFlyBSD 3.0 ###
Version 3.0 of the DragonFlyBSD is now available. Major changes include the removal of “the giant kernel lock” which makes the new version of DragonFlyBSD perform much better on systems with large number of CPUs and improved Hammer FS performance.
A full list of changes and improvements can be found on the release page:...
### Mesa 8.0 brings OpenGL 3.0 to Linux ###
Mesa 3D is the interface that sits between applications and the Open Source graphics drivers in the Linux Kernel. This makes it a crucial part for 3D rendering in Linux.
Version 8.0 of Mesa is the first one to bring full OpenGL 3.0 support. This makes the Linux 3D rendering much more competitive and interesting.
You can find details about the release...
### Update on Greg Kroah Hartman ###
Greg Kroah Hartman (Greg K. H.) is one of the best known Linux Kernel hackers. He maintains the USB subsystem, the driver core subsystem, invented and maintains the staging area and maintains the stable kernel releases. Besides that he wrote a number of texts to help new people getting involved in Kernel development. Until now, Greg K. H. has been working for...
### First beta version of Gnome 3.4 ###
GNOME released version 3.3.90 of their popular desktop environment for Unix like Operating Systems. Version 3.3.90 is the first beta version for the upcoming 3.4 release and is still considered unstable and not for day-to-day use. The announcement-email links to text files with more details of what exactly has changed in Gnome since the 3.2 release:...
### BTRFS won’t be standard FS in Fedora - again ###
Like in the last few releases too, BTRFS was planned to become the standard filesystem for Fedora 17 and like in the last few releases, this won’t become true and just like in the last few releases, this is mainly due to the new and improved BTRFS fsck still not being released. Another problem that was mentioned is that Anaconda,...
### Cyannogenmod’s new build infrastructure ###
With the release of both, Cyannogenmod 7.2 and the all new, Android 4.0 based, Cyannogenmod 9.0 coming very soon, the project needs a new build infrastrucutre. To provide over 50 builds a day, the project had a cluster to perform the task of building and bundling the software. For some time now, the cluster was unavailable though. This is a...
### VLC 2.0 ###
VLC Media Player, the Video Lan Client Media Player, got released in version 2.0. Except for the MAC OS X release, the new version doesn’t look much different. Apparently, the biggest changes were made to the license. A lot of the code is now licensed under the LGPL, making it easier to bring VLC to the Apple Appstore and Google Marketplace for mobile devices.
source:...
### Cinnamon 1.3 ###
The main developer of Linux Mint announced the release of version 1.3 of the Cinnamon Desktop. This is the first major update to Cinnamon after the 1.2 version. This version brings more consistency to the panel and the elements in it. In this version, all components, including the “start menu” and the tasklist are applets that can be moved around via...
### Tiny Core 4.3 release ###
TinyCore Linux distribtuion got an update to version 4.3. This update contains many bugfixes and secuirty patches, but also some new features for the SCM package management.
source: http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php/topic,12596.0.html
#release #Linux #TinyCore #MicroCore
### The Economics of the Spark Tablet ###
Aseigo, a KDE developer who is heavily involved in the development of the coming Spark tablet, has released some information on the Economics of the tablet. This includes descriptions where the money will go, what the ideals behind the project are and how the production will be payed for:...
### First Wayland release 0.85 ###
The Wayland project has announced the first releas release of Wayland. A final (stable) version is planned for the end of 2012.
Much like X11/X.org X Server, Wayland describes the protocol, which is implemented by Weston 0.85 which ships bundled in this Wayland release.
Wayland is aiming to become an alternative to the now abotu 30 years old X11 concepts for a...
### Scientific Linux 6.2 released ###
The Scientific Linux distribution was released in version 6.2 at the end of last week. Only shortly after the initial release, a live-CD version was released too.
Much like CentOS and Oracle unbreakable Linux, SL is based on the RHEL (RedHat Enterprise Linux). Unlike CentOS however SL’s aim is not to be 100% RHEL compatible.
Scientific Linux 6.2 is...
### Spark Tablet Pre-order Registration opened ###
Aseigo just announced on his blog, that the Pre-order Registration for the Spark tablet is now open.
The pre-order registration will give them an idea of about how many tablets they’re gonna need.
The registration site - http://makeplaylive.com/ - contains details on the devices hard- and software.
source:...
### LibreOffice 3.5 brings a lot of improvements ###
Today, The Document Foundation announced the release of version 3.5 of LibreOffice. This latest version of the free Office Suite brings a large number of improvements to all components of the suite.
The Writer component has a new gramatic-checker supporting several languages and new GUI for headers/footers and page breaks.
Calc, the...
### No more Boxee for desktop Computer ###
Boxee version 1.5 is the last release of the multimedia/TV software that comes in a version for Windows/Mac OS X/Linux for desktop computers.
Future versions will only be released to devices such as the Boxee Box. http://blog.boxee.tv/2011/12/26/boxee-1-5-fall-software-update/
#Boxee #BoxeeBox
### Ubuntu Business Desktop Remix ###
Canonical has introduced the Ubuntu Business Desktop Remix. It’s essentially a version of Ubuntu that includes most of the changes that corporations make to Ubuntu when they roll it out. The Business Desktop remix comes without games and with less administration tools, instead it includes Adobe Flash and some VMWare packages.
The Business Desktop...
### ASPM Linux Power regression fixed ###
The recently released updates to the currently supported Linux versions (3.0.20 and 3.2.5) include a patch that solves the ASPM power regression that was introduced last summer and affects many notebooks.
I explained the problem and the solution in its detail here: https://joindiaspora.com/posts/836681
The changes from Matthew Garret have now been...
### No more official support for Kubuntu after 12.04 ###
Jonathan Riddell, who has been paid by Canonical to develop Kubuntu announced that he won’t do that job for any longer. Canonical has decided to no longer officially support the KDE version of their popular Linux distribution. Instead it will become a community maintained version of Ubuntu after the 12.04 release. Jonathan Riddle will...
### GTA04 available for OpenMoko phones ###
Golden Delicious, a German company, is now listing the GTA04 motherboard for Open Source phones in their online store, about one year after presenting it on last years FOSDEM.
The GTA04 features modern phone hardware for the older Openmoko Neo 1973 and Freerunner phones. The new board comes with many modern phone components, including a GPS receiver,...
### Sabayon 8 released ###
Sabayon Linux has released the eight version of their distribution.
This latest version of Gentoo based Sabayon comes with Linux 3.2 and features the latest versions of KDE Gnome, XFCE and even the Cynnamon desktop. There is a separate server build available that comes with an optimized Kernel.
Even though it’s Gentoo based, Sabayon is known for its user...
### HP TouchPad drivers released under the GPL ###
When HP decided to abandone WebOS, they sold off all the HP Touchpad tablets for only $100/piece. This increased the demand and in the rush, some of the tablets were shipped with Android instead of WebOS.
This Android version came with custom drivers for the hardware which stand under the GPL license as they were either built into, or linked...
### Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 end of life ###
Three years after the initial release, Debian GNU/Linux 5.0, aka Lenny, has reached its end of life. This happens, as scheduled, one year after the release of the new version 6.0 (Squeeze).
Debian 5.0 will no longer be supported, nor get any security updates or bug fixes. All users that are still on 5.0 are recommended to upgrade with the aptitude tool.
...
### Open Source drivers for popular ARM GPUs ###
Drivers for the GPUs (Graphics Processing Unit) of ARM SOCs (System On a Chip) have traditionally all been closed source, even when they were used on something like Android.
This makes it difficult to develop Android and Linux in general for ARM devices.
Recently, there has been some talk and coding to write Open Source ARM GPU drivers. The lima...
January 2012
21 posts
### Debian 6.0.4 update ###
The Debian project has released the fourth update to the 6.0 version of their GNU/Linux distribution. Debian GNU/Linux 6.0.4 contains all the updates, bugfixes and security fixes released until mid-January.
People who upgrade their Debian System with the package management have most of the packages included in 6.0.4 already installed....
### Status update on Mandriva’s financial situation ###
About three weeks ago, Mandriva announced that they had financial troubles again [1]. They scheduled a date to announce Bankruptcy. This date was delayed twice over the past few weeks.
Now they wanted to sell the company to an external entity, but one of the minor shareholder prevented this solution.
On their blog, Mandriva announced...
### GhostBSD 2.5 ###
Based up on FreeBSD, yet another BSD version has come out lately. Being based on FreeBSD 9.0, GhostBSD brings all the according changes. It is now available with either Gnome or LXDE. http://ghostbsd.org/2012/news/ghostbsd-2-5/
You can find more details about the release at The H Online:...
### OwnCloud 3 released ### ownCloud web services announced the release of version 3 of their software.
The latest version of OwnCloud includes a lot of code contributed by community members and brings a lot of new features.
It is now possible to edit text files in the browser. The editor supports more than 30 programming languages, syntax highlighting, indentation and code folding. Support to...
### Ubuntu Head-Up Display ###
In their quest to make the Linux desktop more end-user-friendly and to unify the desktop experience, Canonical has created yet another Unity-specific feature - the Ubuntu Head-Up Display.
The Head up display is a completely different...
### KDE SC 4.8 released ###
KDE released version 4.8 of the KDE Software Compilation. KDE SC 4.8 brings many improvements to the Plasma Desktop and many of the Applications shipped with KDE.
* The window-switcher now offers six different layouts
* The powermanagement has three predefined profiles “On AC Power”, “On Battery” and “On low Battery”. It can now...
### The H online, Kernel Log, What’s new in 3.3 Part 1 ###
The merging window for Linux 3.3 has closed and thus most of the major changes for the next Linux Kernel have now been integrated.
In consequence, The H online has released the first part of their 3.3 series of the kernel Log. This first part explains the most important network changes in Linux 3.3....
### FFMPEG 0.10 released ###
FFMPEG has announced the availability of version 0.10 of their Video/Audio library. The new version brings support for several new media codecs such as XWD and v308 Quicktime Uncompressed. FFMPEG 0.10 also comes with a GSM audio parser and it automatically adjusts the number of parallel threads based on the number of detected CPU cores.
FFMPEG is a very powerful...
House Kills SOPA - Denver Computers | Examiner.com - http://www.examiner.com/computers-in-denver/house-kills-sopa
I know this is not at all Linux related, but in the end, the impact of SOPA and PIPA is so big that this affects everyone using the internet.
This is definitely good news, but we must not forget that PIPA is still out there and is very dangerous too.
#PIPA #SOPA #STOPPIPA...
### Cyanogenmod exceeds 1000000 users ###
Cyanogenmod developer Koushik Dutta announced on Google+ that Cyanogenmod now exceeds one million users. This number comes from the CMStats website which collects data from an opt-in program that comes with the Cyanogenmod ROM. http://stats.cyanogenmod.com/
CyanogenMod is an OpenSource modified Android ROM that’s available for a broad variety of...
### RaspberryPi started manufacturing ###
RaspberryPi, the UK charity that is working on a $25 ARM based computer, has announced that the production of their first 10’000 piece batch has recently started.
For now, only the $35 Model Bs are produced, but the cheaper Model As will come shortly afterwards.
The posting mentions that they have not yet decided if they will sell the devices as...
## FreeBSD 9.0 ##
Two years after version 8.0, the FreeBSD Engineering team released version 9.0 of their BSD version.
Version 9.0 of FreeBSD brings many changes and improvements:
* ZFS, the Zettabyte Filesystem, is now at version 28, supports Deduplication and Raidz3. Deduplication means that data that is already stored on the harddisk will be recognized on an attempt to write the same data...
### Microsoft clarifies UEFI Secure Boot requirements ###
In a document titled “Windows Hardware Certification Requirements”, Microsoft lists the requirements that a device has to meet to become Microsoft Windows 8 certified. http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/D/F/ADF5BEDE-C0FB-4CC0-A3E1-B38093F50BA1/windows8-hardware-cert-requirements-system.pdf
For Linux users, it has good...
### LTS kernels in Ubuntu ###
Today, Greg Kroah Hartman annouced, that the longterm Kernel 2.6.32 will soon be at the end of its official support period and that Linux 3.0 will be the new longterm kernel [1]. Both of this is a problem for Canonical, because they use 2.6.32 in their 10.04 LTS version and they will have to support the 10.04 server version for another few years.
Also, Ubuntu 12.04...
Phoronix: Intel Ivy Bridge Linux Support Clarification - http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTA0MDM
#Phoronix #Linux #Intel #IvyBridge
### Cinnamon: Linux Mint forks the Gnome Shell ###
In their latest release, Linux Mint added the MGSE (Mint Gnome Shell Extension), to make Gnome Shell look and behave more similar to the Gnome 2.X releases and provide users with a more familiar interface.
The other option they offer is the MATE desktop, a fork from Gnome 2.32 which wants to keep the older interface alive.
Wildfire games, a game studio formed by an international group of developers, announced the release of the eight Alpha version of their Open Source realtime strategy game 0 A.D.
Alpha 8 of 0 A.D. brings a lot of improvements and some very important new features as well...
Red Hat’s quarterly results show continued growth - The H Open Source: News and Features - http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Red-Hat-s-quarterly-results-show-continued-growth-1399607.html
#RedHat #Linux
### QA/BugHunting Session 3.5.0.-1 ### - The Document Foundation Wiki - http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/QA/BugHunting_Session_3.5.0.-1
Description from the wiki: “The LibreOffice community is preparing the release of 3.5.0 There is a load of good new stuff prepared (more below…) and we want to make sure that it is well tested. You can now help to make version 3.5.0 a great one! At...