Linux News for Nov 24, 2009

• Firefox hopes to one-up IE with fast graphics (Nov 24, 2009, 23:32)
  DeepTech: "Last week, Microsoft showed off some browser technology that could help Internet Explorer leapfrog the competition. But if Mozilla succeeds in its hope, Microsoft could be playing catch-up instead."


• Linux Got Game: Blob Wars ( Blob And Conquer) (Nov 24, 2009, 23:02)
  Tech Source From Bohol: "Blob And Conquer is the latest version of Blob Wars and is a sequel to Metal Blob Solid. It is interesting to note that the new version is a 3D action adventure game while the old one is a 2D platform game."


• Exhibits to Microsoft's Cross Motion for Summary Judgment in Novell WordPerfect Case (Nov 24, 2009, 22:32)
  Groklaw: "We finally find out what Microsoft paid Caldera to settle the DrDOS litigation back in 2000: $280 million. We even get to read the settlement agreement. It's attached as an exhibit. Can you imagine? I'm so surprised."


• The open road (Nov 24, 2009, 22:02)
  Telecoms: "At the recent Symbian Exchange and Expo (SEE) held in London, telecoms.com talked to John Forsyth, leadership team, Symbian Foundation, about the organisation’s new direction and the threat from Linux and Android."


• Five reasons Google Chrome OS Security Wins (Nov 24, 2009, 21:32)
  Sure, it's Secure!: "Chrome OS' reliance on a password is a major security problem, but in other ways it has great security. Here's why."


• How to Install KDE in Windows (Nov 24, 2009, 21:02)
  MakeTechEasier: "With the coming of KDE 4, developers promised native KDE applications running on Windows. While the current release is still not ready for production, as of KDE 4.3.3, it is coming closer and worth trying. What follows is a brief guide to getting KDE running on Windows."


• FSF works with PayPal to the benefit of the free software community (Nov 24, 2009, 20:32)
  FSF.org: "Usually when you hear good news about licensing from the Free Software Foundation (FSF), it's because some noteworthy software has become free software or GPL-compatible when it wasn't before. Today's news is a little unorthodox because it doesn't fit that description--but it will still be a big help to free software developers."


• Information sources for documenting free software (Nov 24, 2009, 20:02)
  Off the Beat: "Last week, I wrote about the problems of writing documentation for free software. This week, I'd like to write about the practical challenges -- specifically, what knowledge you need to write free software documentation, and the available sources of information."


• What lessons can be learned from the iPhone worms? (Nov 24, 2009, 19:32)
  LWN.net: "The events are notable, however, because they only affect jailbroken iPhones, raising questions over whether the iPhone jailbreaking community behaves responsibly when it frees the devices from Apple's factory restrictions."


• Walk-through installation of OpenSuSE 11.2 (Nov 24, 2009, 19:02)
  Ghacks: "Another distribution to release recently is OpenSuSE 11.2. OpenSuSE serves as the base for Novell's SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop. In some ways, it's to SuSE what Fedora is to Red Hat. But unlike Fedora, OpenSuSE doesn't live on the bleeding edge."


• Toward a smarter OOM killer (Nov 24, 2009, 18:32)
  LWN.net: "The Linux memory management code does its best to ensure that memory will always be available when some part of the system needs it. That effort notwithstanding, it is still possible for a system to reach a point where no memory is available."


• Would You Accept Google's Free Netbook? (Nov 24, 2009, 18:02)
  Linux Journal: "But might Google be aiming much, much higher – and planning to turn the personal computing sector on its head by offering computers that cost nothing?"


• Microsoft and News Corp.'s Deal With the Devil (Nov 24, 2009, 17:32)
  PC Magazine: "It's an ugly rumor. There's no way Microsoft would resort to bribing Web sites to get delisted from Google, is there?"


• Update on the Windows 7 USB/DVD Tool (Delay in releasing GPL code) (Nov 24, 2009, 17:02)
  Port 25: "As you know, Microsoft recently committed to making the source code as well as binaries for the Windows 7 USB/DVD Tool available this week.."


• How to Enable Photoshop Save For Web Feature in GIMP (Nov 24, 2009, 16:32)
  MakeTechEasier: "However, as good as it can get, there are several handy and useful features Photoshop that are not available in GIMP and one of them is the Save For Web feature...Luckily, GIMP supports plugins and there is this plugin available for this purpose."


• FSF Gains Freedom, Britain Throws it Away (Nov 24, 2009, 16:08)
  Here a couple of stories that caught my attention today:

  FSF works with PayPal to the benefit of the free software community

  "However, FSF recently discovered that PayPal had added a proprietary software license to its User Agreement. FSF license compliance engineer Brett Smith explained, "Of course, the FSF couldn't agree to those terms, so as soon as we learned about them, we contacted PayPal to see if we could make other arrangements. The company listened to our concerns, and specifically excepted us from these conditions. But not only that: next year, PayPal is also updating its user agreement to ensure that the free software community can continue to receive and make payments without having to accept a proprietary software license.""

  A pretty good deal all around, I think. Good for PayPal and its customers, good for the FSF for one more gain towards freedoms that benefit real people.

  On the other side of the pond, Britain seems to be caught in the thralls of an insane tyranny:

  Britain's new Internet law -- as bad as everyone's been saying, and worse. Much, much worse.

  "So it's bad. £50,000 fines if someone in your house is accused of filesharing. A duty on ISPs to spy on all their customers in case they find something that would help the record or film industry sue them (ISPs who refuse to cooperate can be fined £250,000).

  "But that's just for starters. The real meat is in the story we broke yesterday: Peter Mandelson, the unelected Business Secretary, would have to power to make up as many new penalties and enforcement systems as he likes. "



• Enabling Compiz Fusion On An Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop (NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200) (Nov 24, 2009, 16:02)
  Howtoforge: "This tutorial shows how you can enable Compiz Fusion on an Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) desktop (the system must have a 3D-capable graphics card - I'm using an NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 here). With Compiz Fusion you can use beautiful 3D effects like wobbly windows or a desktop cube on your desktop."


• Nmap 5.10BETA1 released (Nov 24, 2009, 15:32)
  Nmap: "Hi folks. I'm happy to announce our first post-5.00 release! It contains the results of a full five months of work, since the 5.00 release candidate was branched off in June. Good work, everybody!"


• Ubuntu LAMP Server MySQL Database Configuration (Nov 24, 2009, 15:02)
  BeginLinux: "The previous article on the LAMP Server enables you to get started but you will need to do some configuration with MySQL before you go to far. This article and the next several articles will help you create a database and learn how to monitor it as well as backup and restore."


• Patents Roundup: Bilski, USPTO and Justice for the Rich Only; "Community" Patent (Nov 24, 2009, 14:32)
  Boycott Novell: "Summary: A large number of reports on the subject which affects Free software at a legal level"


• What is ChromeOS. Really. (Nov 24, 2009, 14:02)
  Always Right: "All this fuss about Google ChromeOS. Is it a threat to Microsoft ? Is it a threat to the Ubuntu ? (funny nobody wonders if that’s a threat to Apple...)"


• 5 open source VoIP softphones to watch (Nov 24, 2009, 13:32)
  CIO: "Open source softphones can be deployed on as many devices as required throughout the enterprise -- without additional licence fees."


• Dell Shows Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx Some Love (Nov 24, 2009, 13:02)
  WorksWithU: "As Canonical prepares to launch Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) in April 2010, there are signs Dell will show considerable love to the Long Term Support (LTS) release. Here are some preliminary details about Dell’s look at Ubuntu 10.04."


• More Fun With Bash Quoting (Nov 24, 2009, 12:32)
  Linux Journal: "I've written about bash quoting before, and yes, it's about as exciting as watching paint dry or listening to the corn grow. It can also be extremely frustrating when it doesn't do what you want..."


• External Linux Monitor Adventures (Nov 24, 2009, 12:02)
  Linux.com: "I'm a notebook kind of guy and haven't used a traditional desktop machine in the last 13 years. I do occasionally hook my notebook or Netbook up to an external monitor or projector."


• Insurer slashes $1m from costs with move to Linux (Nov 24, 2009, 09:02)
  The Australian: "INSURANCE giant Allianz Australia expects to save more than $1 million by switching from Microsoft Windows to Red Hat Linux for key applications."


• The market has rejected Linux desktops. Get over it. (Nov 24, 2009, 07:32)
  Tech Sanity Check: "Linux has failed to win either mind share or market share on the desktop. Google’s Chrome OS will do little to change that. Learn why."


• Who’s afraid of Ubuntu Women? (Nov 24, 2009, 06:02)
  We'll see: "The focus seemed to be on reviewing the group’s objectives and agreeing who would take the next steps. The objectives were as follows: Clarify the purpose of the #ubuntu-women channel"


• Review: Kahel OS (Nov 24, 2009, 04:32)
  Raiden's Realm: "To start off, Kahel OS is based on Arch Linux. Therefore, Kahel OS embodies most of the ideals that Arch Linux has. On top of that, Kahel OS does simplify the installation process that may stumble new Linux users."


• Up Close and Personal with LXDE (Nov 24, 2009, 03:02)
  The Linux Critic: "After evaluating several environments and window managers, the testers and I agreed that LXDE provided the best balance between responsiveness and usability for the non-technical user."


• Polygon Modeling of a Handgun using Blender 3D 2.49 (Nov 24, 2009, 01:32)
  Packt: "This article by Allan Brito guides you through the first steps of the modeling by using concept drawings to create a base model in Blender. The base model is very important to add details and upgrade the first flat surfaces into something more complex."


• Where Google Chrome security fails: the password (Nov 24, 2009, 00:02)
  Sure, It's Secure: "Google promises that Chrome will be a much more secure than Windows. Well, yes, but it also has one big problem as well."