Linux News for Jan 27, 2011

• 1.8-inch hard disks offer more room, smaller footprint (Jan 27, 2011, 23:33)
  LinuxDevices: "Toshiba announced three new 1.8-inch hard disk drives intended to save space in embedded applications. Featuring special connectors and a footprint that's ten percent smaller than before, the three MK2x39GSL drives are available in capacities of 160GB, 200GB, and 220GB"


• LCA 2011: How to catch FOSS infringers out (Jan 27, 2011, 23:03)
  IT Wire: "The phenomenal growth in the use of Linux in the embedded market means that many people use and sell the kernel without knowing they are doing so. Others are aware, but choose to stay quiet, knowing that they are, in one way or another, not keeping to the terms of the licence under which Linux is published."


• Scan Tailor: A Fussy Yet Effective Scan Scrubber (Jan 27, 2011, 22:33)
  LinuxInsider: "It seems that no matter how many times you wipe down the glass on a scanner, the resulting image still has specs, flecks and imperfections galore."


• Five things I love about LibreOffice 3.3 (Jan 27, 2011, 22:03)
  Network World: "The 3.3 release isn't a huge leap away from OpenOffice.org, but it does have some features that make it worth the switch. There's a long list of new features for the 3.3 release, but a couple stand out above the rest for me."


• LG shows Android's low-end smartphone promis (Jan 27, 2011, 21:33)
  ZDNet: "My test of an LG Optimus One smartphone began inauspiciously with a combination of consternation and revulsion at its keyboard. But after two months using it as my primary phone, I wound up with a much more favorable impression of it and the prospects for Android on lower-end phones."


• UK Police Nab 5 Members of 'Anonymous' Pro-WikiLeaks Hacker Ring (Jan 27, 2011, 21:03)
  eSecurity Planet: "British authorities have arrest five suspects allegedly connected to the hacking group "Anonymous," a loosely organized network that most recently grabbed headlines for bringing denial-of-service attacks against companies that severed ties with WikiLeaks."


• WebM vs. H.264: Google Bets Big on Itself (Jan 27, 2011, 20:33)
  Linux Insider: "Chrome will soon turn its back on the H.264 codec in favor of Google's own WebM technology. It's risky to ditch a working standard such as H.264 for one under development, but there are potential benefits for both Google and anyone now paying licensing fees."


• Tiny Linux Plug Computers: Wall Wart Linux Servers (Jan 27, 2011, 20:03)
  Linux Planet: "Little bitty wall-wart size Linux servers are handy for all kinds of kinds of lightweight deployments; Akkana Peck shows us what to look for and how to get connected"


• Review: The Linux Programming Interface (Jan 27, 2011, 19:33)
  LWN.net: "Michael Kerrisk's (relatively) new book, The Linux Programming Interface (TLPI), is targeted at Linux system programmers, but it is not just those folks who will find it useful. While it is a hefty tome ("thick enough to stun an ox" as Laurie Anderson might say), it is eminently readable"


• OpenOffice.org 3.3 Released to Deaf Ears (Jan 27, 2011, 19:03)
  OStatic: "One day after the announcement of LibreOffice 3.3, Oracle released the free version of OpenOffice.org. Perhaps it was due to the lack of fanfare, but it seems this release was met with a collective indifference."


• Privacy Superhero Reveals Her Plan (Jan 27, 2011, 18:33)
  The Tyee: "By virtually every measure, 2010 was a remarkably successful year for Canadian privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart. Riding the wave of high profile investigations into the privacy practices of Internet giants Facebook and Google"


• Samsung Unveils 4 New Galaxy Android Smartphones (Jan 27, 2011, 18:17)
  Enterprise Mobile Today: "Samsung today announced four new smartphones from its Galaxy line as the electronics giant looks to capitalize on consumers' infatuation with Android-powered devices in markets far and wide."


• LCA 2011: Students espouse the virtues of FOSS (Jan 27, 2011, 18:03)
  IT Wire: "Shane Geddes and his mates from the Albany High School in Auckland - the first school in New Zealand that uses only free and open source software - were back at the Australian national Linux conference in Brisbane today."


• Popular Free *BSDs in Full Development (Jan 27, 2011, 17:03)
  Linux Journal: "Three well-known BSD clones are in their latest developmental cycles and have recently released test versions. FreeBSD is closing in on version 7.4 with a RC2, GhostBSD just released their 2.0 Beta 2, and PC-BSD 8.2 has seen its second release candidate as well."


• Google has forked Android (Jan 27, 2011, 16:33)
  ZDNet: "The last thing I wanted to see was Android to split into two "official" versions. Well, guess what, for all intents and purposes that's what's happened. Ack!"


• Ten More ERP Trends: Open Source and Pricing Pressures (Jan 27, 2011, 16:03)
  eCRM Guide: "Last month, eCRM Guide wrote an article on the top ERP trends. As it turns out, there's a lot more going on in this vibrant $20 billion market than could be squeezed into one article. So here are 10 more major trends in enterprise resource planning (ERP)."


• KDE Puts You In Control with New Workspaces, Applications and Platform (Jan 27, 2011, 15:33)
  KDE.news: "KDE is delighted to announce its latest set of releases, providing major updates to the KDE Plasma workspaces, KDE Applications and KDE Platform. These releases, versioned 4.6, provide many new features in each of KDE's three product lines."


• Should We Abolish User Access to rm? (Jan 27, 2011, 15:03)
  Linux Magazine: "A wild idea I've heard to solve the problem is getting rid of user access to the rm command. Is this truly a crazy idea?"


• Proprietary Linux software: A big dilemma for many Linux users (Jan 27, 2011, 14:33)
  TechRadar: "Jack Wallen re-visits a very touchy topic among Linux users - open vs. closed source. It's always been a hot debate and he wants to know the opinion of the TechRepublic community."


• Google Cloud Print comes to Android, iPhone (Jan 27, 2011, 14:03)
  LinuxDevices: "Developed initially for Google's Linux-based Chrome OS as way to print remotely or locally without using drivers, the current mobile version requires the printer to be connected to -- a Windows PC."


• LCA 2011: Travelling far and wide to spread the Debian gospel (Jan 27, 2011, 13:33)
  IT Wire: "It's a long way from the cold boulevards of Paris to the searing heat of Brisbane but Stefano Zacchiroli has spent the 20-odd hours needed to make the trip because he wants to tell people in the FOSS community about the vital role that the Debian GNU/Linux Project still has to play."


• Kernel Log: Coming in 2.6.38 (Part 1) � Graphics (Jan 27, 2011, 13:03)
  The H Open: "Kernel version 2.6.38 supports AMD's new Fusion CPUs and offers 2D and 3D acceleration with many current GeForce and Radeon graphics cards."


• Is Nokia planning to enter the tablet market with MeeGo? (Jan 27, 2011, 12:03)
  IT World: "Over the past few months, there have a lot of potential iPad competitors entering (or preparing to enter) the market. The most common are Android-based tablets running either the current/recent Android releases or models that will ship with Google's tablet-optimized Honeycomb release"


• LinuxFest Northwest 2011: Calls for Exhibits and Presentations (Jan 27, 2011, 10:33)
  Linux Pro Magazine: "LinuxFest Northwest, which will be held in Bellingham, Washington from April 30 through May 1, is calling for exhibit and presentation proposals."


• The World IPv6 Day (Jan 27, 2011, 09:03)
  Distrowatch: "June 8, 2011 has been declared World IPv6 Day. The event, being led by Google, will see a handful of the Internet's large websites enable Internet Protocol version 6."


• House Panel Presses for ISP Data Retention Mandate (Jan 27, 2011, 07:33)
  Datamation: "Members of a House Judiciary subcommittee on crime Tuesday expressed bipartisan support for new rules that would direct Internet service providers to retain information about their users for a set period of time"


• The Audacity of Carla Schroder (Jan 27, 2011, 06:03)
  Linux Pro Magazine: "In this exclusive Linux Pro Magazine interview, tell-it-like-it-is, Linux Today editor Carla Schroder talks about her latest book, The Book of Audacity , shares facts about herself you won't find anywhere else, a peek into her current projects, and offers advice for women on making their own paths, encouraging children, and more."


• Buh Bye SkylineCowboy.com - "This Site Has Been Suspended" (Jan 27, 2011, 04:33)
  Groklaw: "This is for historians, in case any of them wonder who was behind the scurrilous smear campaign that showed up on SkylineCowboy.com: if you visit today, you get redirected to a WebHost4Life message that says the site has been "suspended". I guess somebody didn't pay his bills."


• Bodhi Linux Review - Incredibly Good, Lightweight, Very Minimal Ubuntu Derivative (Jan 27, 2011, 03:03)
  Tech Drive-in: "Bodhi Linux is NOT yet another Ubuntu based Linux distro. Bodhi Linux is among a very few number of Ubuntu based distros that run Enlightenment(E17) window manager instead of the popular alternatives like GNOME or KDE."


• All-in-one PC offers Core 2 Quad CPU (Jan 27, 2011, 01:33)
  LinuxDevices: "Cybernet has released a Linux-ready all-in-one PC that supports Intel Core processors up to and including a Core 2 Quad."


• Linux is a win-win for education (Jan 27, 2011, 00:03)
  ZDNet: "Articles on the use of Linux for educational purposes have come up frequently, some focus on the use of Linux in educational institutions. Often times, these institutions are looking to save as much money as possible, and using Linux can be a good option for just that reason."