Linux News for Feb 24, 2010

• In-depth documentation of openQRM available (Feb 24, 2010, 23:32)
  LinuxPR: In-depth documentation of openQRM available A complete technical documentation about the concepts, architecture and internals of openQRM including use-cases is now available.


• Use open source? Then you're a pirate! (Feb 24, 2010, 23:03)
  Computerworld UK: "This year the Special 301 watchlist targets governments that use open source"


• Why I Will Not Sign the Public Domain Manifesto (Feb 24, 2010, 22:33)
  FSF.org: "The Public Domain Manifesto (http://www.publicdomainmanifesto.org/node/8) has its heart in the right place as it objects to some of the unjust extensions of copyright power, so I wish I could support it. However, it falls far short of what is needed."


• Microsoft Plays Catch-up -- Sub-$70 Linux Virtual Desktop (Feb 24, 2010, 22:03)
  Userful: "Microsoft recently announced it's own multi-seat solution, Microsoft Windows MultiPoint Server 2010, seven years after Userful pioneered the technology on Linux back in 2002. Another classic case of Linux vs Windows, only this time Linux has the upper hand with Userful having already sold 750,000 seats."


• Open Source vs. the White Supremacists (Feb 24, 2010, 21:33)
  Linux Today Blog: "A man who claims to be the head of the Aryan Nations says he wants to move their national headquarters into my little hometown in Eastern Oregon...But even though we are a rural area that has been especially hard-hit by the recession, we have some powerful tools that our predecessors did not have. Like Facebook."


• John Carmack Gets Lifetime Achievement Award (Feb 24, 2010, 21:03)
  Tom's Hardware: "John Carmack, one of the geniuses in 3D gaming technology will be recognized in March at 2010 Game Developers Choice Awards for his lifetime of achievement."


• A preview of Ubuntu 10.04 (Feb 24, 2010, 20:33)
  PC Report: "Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) is only in the Alpha stage of testing at this moment. It doesn’t look extremely different from the current version of Ubuntu but there are a few noticeable differences."


• Sens. Push for Government Cybersecurity Authority (Feb 24, 2010, 20:03)
  eSecurity Planet: "The senators backing sweeping and controversial legislation to overhaul U.S. cybersecurity policy pressed their cause Tuesday, signaling in a hearing that they have no intention of backing down from a dramatic expansion of executive authority to respond to an attack on the nation's digital infrastructure."


• Getting to Gno GNU Utilities (Feb 24, 2010, 19:33)
  Linux.com: "In this tutorial, I'll cover a few of the utilities that you can use to measure file system usage, verify the size of files, and take a peek into larger text files like Apache logs."


• 7 of the Best Free Linux Configuration Management Tools (Feb 24, 2010, 19:03)
  LinuxLinks: "In a nutshell, Configuration Management software enables administrators to automatically manage the entire configuration of one or multiple computers."


• HTC Hero Review (Feb 24, 2010, 18:33)
  Raiden's Realm: "I have a HTC Hero since it was launched, and I have been satisfied with it, and think it can fill most people's needs. However, this phone also has a lot of faults, especially hardware-wise. But the android operating system makes this phone a great one, and the sense UI from HTC makes it even better!"


• World's Funniest Computer Pictures (Feb 24, 2010, 18:03)
  Tech Source: "I would expect that some of you may have already seen a few of these images, but I still hope that you'll have a good time. Without any more delay, here are some of the world's funniest computer pictures:"


• 10 Ways to Prevent or Mitigate SQL Injection Attacks (Feb 24, 2010, 17:33)
  Enterprise Networking Planet: ""Failure to Preserve SQL Query Structure (aka 'SQL Injection')" appears at number 2 in the CWE/SANS TOP 25 Most Dangerous Programming Errors list published on February 16. And for good reason: SQL injection attacks pose a massive potential threat to your organization."


• My Dinner With Bill (Gates, That is) (Feb 24, 2010, 17:03)
  Skeptic blog: "...listening to Bill Gates hold forth on matters of business, economics, finance, world health, education, and nutrition and physical fitness in a dinner arranged by John Brockman’s Edge.org during last week’s TED gathering in Long Beach was a memorable experience nonetheless."


• Seeking the One True Linux: Is Linux Distro-hopping a Thing of the Past? (Feb 24, 2010, 16:33)
  Linux Planet: "Haven't most Linux distributions reached a state of polish that makes distro-hopping unnecessary? Brian Proffitt wonders if distro-hopping shouldn't be discouraged."


• Top 15 Wallpapers for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid from Ubuntu Artwork Pool (Feb 24, 2010, 16:03)
  Tech Drive-In: "This is a collection of 15 beautiful wallpapers for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx from Ubuntu Artwork Pool."


• Mandriva Joins ARM Connected Community (Feb 24, 2010, 15:33)
  Mandriva press release: Mandriva, Europe's leading Linux publisher, today announced it is a new member in the ARM® Connected Community, the industry's largest ecosystem of ARM technology-based products and services.


• The Spy at Harriton High (Feb 24, 2010, 15:03)
  Stryde Hax: "This investigation into the remote spying allegedly being conducted against students at Lower Merion represents an attempt to find proof of spying and a look into the toolchain used to accomplish spying."


• 10 Best Minimal / Low-Footprint Linux distros (Feb 24, 2010, 14:33)
  Simple Thoughts: "With the emergence of netbooks there is an increasing demand for lightweight and faster OS with minimal/low-footprint. Google promises Chrome OS for netbook to be a fastest and lighweight. But, as Bill Gates suggested it's just another Linux."


• Judge Stewart Denies Novell Motion in Limine No. 7 - More Orders Put SCO in a Real Pickle (Feb 24, 2010, 14:03)
  Groklaw: "So, what I'm saying is, that as far as I can determine, Novell just got told no, period, final answer. It's up to the jury now."


• Federal judge orders Pa. schools to stop laptop spying (Feb 24, 2010, 13:33)
  Computerworld: "A federal judge yesterday ordered the Pennsylvania school district accused of spying on its students to stop activating the cameras in school-issued MacBook laptops."


• When using open source makes you an enemy of the state (Feb 24, 2010, 13:03)
  Guardian: "The US copyright lobby has long argued against open source software - now Indonesia's in the firing line for encouraging the idea in government departments."


• Open Source vs. the White Supremacists (Feb 24, 2010, 12:55)
  A man who claims to be the head of the Aryan Nations says he wants to move their national headquarters into my little hometown in Eastern Oregon. This is alarming news, because we don't care to have organized crime, hatred, and intolerance invade our little community. He thinks we share his values and won't mind.

  The Aryan Nations and related groups have been chronic thorns in the sides of the residents of Northern Idaho for decades. Oregon's own history is scarred by these groups; for one example, back in the 1920s the Ku Klux Klan had great influence in the state legislature, and to this day we're still finding their messes and cleaning them up.

  But even though we are a rural area that has been especially hard-hit by the recession, we have some powerful tools that our predecessors did not have. Like Facebook.



• OpenSUSE 11.3 hits second milestone, features KDE 4.4 desktop (Feb 24, 2010, 12:33)
  Desktop Linux: "OpenSUSE 11.3 Milestone 2 also debuts the new KDE 4.4 desktop, which adds a netbook interface, plus new tabbing and social networking features."


• SCaLE 8x Report (Feb 24, 2010, 12:03)
  Linux Journal: "After a long weekend at SCaLE 8x with some of my favorite people, Linux Journal's Kyle Rankin, Bill Childers and Shawn Powers, I have officially become a huge fan of the annual Southern California Linux Expo."


• Will open source ever be completely free? (Feb 24, 2010, 11:03)
  The Open Road: "In various markets, open source has relentlessly driven prices down while boosting performance and customer value, as detailed by The 451 Group. Even as traditional vendors have struggled with a tight economy, open-source vendors have thrived."


• LXDE: Smaller, Faster than KDE or GNOME (Feb 24, 2010, 09:03)
  Datamation: "Three years ago, the Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment (LXDE) was a faltering project -- so much so that, when I wrote about it, one commenter questioned whether the project was still alive. However, since then, accounts of LXDE's death have proved greatly exaggerated, and the project is once again flourishing."


• Update on Controlling Konsole via DBUS (Feb 24, 2010, 07:03)
  Linux Journal: "As I've begun to use that script for setting up my konsoles I, like others, have discovered that the tab title that you set with dbus doesn't stick. This short note shows you a workaround to make your tab titles stay put."


• Linux Partitioning Explained (Feb 24, 2010, 05:03)
  Geekride: "You got a new hard drive and attach it to your laptop/desktop but before you can use it, you need to partition and format the hard drive. This can be done with a series of easy steps. This is a small and easy tutorial which will show you how to use fdisk, one of very famous utility for disk partitioning."


• VeriSign Debuts New Online Trust Seal (Feb 24, 2010, 03:03)
  eSecurity Planet: "How do you know that the site you're visiting isn't infected with malware? VeriSign is trying to make the answer easier for users to know with the introduction of its new VeriSign Trust Seal."


• Of the powers we choose to lose (Feb 24, 2010, 01:33)
  Libervis: "I used to be what is sometimes called a "Free Software purist". "Free" here refers to "free as in freedom" according to Richard Stallman's Free Software Philosophy. As such I was opposed to all proprietary software licensing."


• Laptop launched to aid computer novices (Feb 24, 2010, 00:03)
  BBC News: "People confused and frustrated by computers can now turn to a laptop called Alex built just for them."