Linux News for Apr 01, 2009

• Google bans tethering app from Android Market (2009-04-01 23:31:49)
  Macworld: "A developer is reporting that Google has banned his tethering application from the Android Market, one of the first hints that the store may not be as open as Google has promised."


• 14 Most Popular Text Editors for Linux (2009-04-01 23:01:49)
  TuxArena: "Geany is a text editor with basic IDE capabilities which provides a good alternative to Gedit, the GNOME editor. It supports highlighting for various scripting and programming languages, indentation, and it provides enough options to configure it the way you want. I liked that Geany is well documented (via the Help menu)."


• Arch Linux Dropping i686 support (2009-04-01 22:31:49)
  Arch Linux: "Recently the developers have been discussing the possibility of adding some additional optimizations to our i686 port to improve multimedia support. This would involve reducing the compatibility with older systems. As some of you may have heard ([1], Google translation [2]), this discussion has resulted in the decision to focus exclusively on the x86_64 port."


• How To: Unlock Ubuntu's Little April Fools Joke (2009-04-01 22:01:49)
  Linux Loop: "When it comes to April Fool's day, even, or perhaps especially, the Ubuntu developers have a sense of humor. As a little thank you present to all their users, they've pushed out a little April Fools prank of their own."


• Intel transfers Moblin to the Linux Foundation (2009-04-01 21:31:49)
  Netstat -vat: "I've been writing about Intel's Moblin since 2007. The basic idea is that it's a mobile Linux distribution as well as a community for mobile Linux developers. For Intel, it is a key effort as it works hand in hand with their Atom CPUs. Now after two years of going it on their own, Intel is transferring the effort to the Linux Foundation."


• Wales Shuts Window on Wikia (2009-04-01 21:01:49)
  LinuxInsider: "Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, has said he is closing the door on the Wikia Search project. The search engine allowed users to help decide which pages come up first with various search terms, much unlike the complex algorithms used by mainstream engines like Google and Yahoo. However, its page index was tiny compared to those of its rivals."


• Multi-core Clip Show (2009-04-01 20:31:49)
  Linux Magazine: "I won't mention any names, but some guy with the initials rgb has such a reputation on the Beowulf Mailing list. Don't tell Robert Brown I mentioned his initials. Thanks."


• Microsoft targets Linux with server for very small companies (2009-04-01 20:01:49)
  The Industry Standard: "Microsoft Corp. Wednesday announced the 10th member of its Windows Server 2008 family with a new version of the server operating system aimed at companies with fewer than 15 employees."


• The Cost Savings of FOSS: Business Success for the Wrong Reason (2009-04-01 19:31:49)
  Datamation: "Obviously, no company is going to refuse the chance to save money. However, the focus on this side-benefit is threatening to overshadow the main advantages of FOSS -- and that's true regardless of whether you take an open source or a free software perspective. As I wrote last year, such an emphasis amounts to world domination for the wrong reason."


• TomTom - "Settled, But Not Over Yet" says SFLC - Update (2009-04-01 19:01:49)
  Groklaw: "Red Hat was not a party to this case. Even so, without a judicial decision, the settlement does not demonstrate that the claims of Microsoft were valid."


• What Have You Done For Linux Today? (2009-04-01 18:31:49)
  Daileymuse: "Over the past week I've been blogging about the Linux vs Windows debate, or--more accurately--setting off a firestorm with an article I posted concerning the migration of Microsoft to Linux."


• New security features in Fedora 11 beta (2009-04-01 18:01:49)
  TechWorld: "The latest beta of The Fedora Project's Linux includes new security, desktop and developer features that offer a glimpse of the direction Red Hat could take with its enterprise Linux distribution."


• Microsoft-TomTom settlement is end of a battle, not the war (2009-04-01 17:31:49)
  Computerworld: "In a surprising turn of developments, GPS navigation device vendor TomTom International BV has agreed to pay Microsoft Corp. to settle patent-infringement cases the companies had recently filed against each other."


• How to Distro Hop Without Killing Your Productivity (2009-04-01 17:01:49)
  ProductiveLinux: "A well known phenomenon here in the Linux world is "distro-hopping" or installing distribution after distribution in order to try out the latest and greatest, find out what's cool, and perhaps even discover the next big thing or a hidden gem."


• CentOS 5.3 Is Here, Based on RHEL 5.3 (2009-04-01 16:31:49)
  Softpedia: "The CentOS development team, through Karanbir Singh, announced last evening (March 31st) the immediate release of the CentOS 5.3 Linux distribution. Just like Scientific Linux 5.3, the third maintenance release of CentOS 5 is based on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 operating system."


• New GNOME version brings Linux desktops two steps closer to business (2009-04-01 16:01:49)
  ZDNet UK: "The GNOME project has released version 2.26 of its eponymous open source desktop environment for Linux. It adds support for MAPI to Evolution, the messaging client in GNOME, allowing it to work with all versions of Microsoft's Exchange Server. It also adds the ability to open Outlook mailbox (.pst) files."


• Sun Lays Off 1,500 as IBM Merger Looms (2009-04-01 15:31:49)
  Enterprise Storage Forum: "Sun Microsystems is moving ahead with plans to lay off as much as 18 percent of its workforce, even as rumors persist that the company could be acquired by IBM."


• One giant step closer to the Google Linux desktop (2009-04-01 15:01:49)
  Cyber Cynic: "Google still isn't saying publicly that they're going to deploy Android as a desktop Linux, but HP, ASUS, and other major computer makers are apparently in talks with the company about deploying Android on netbooks."


• Upside-Down-Ternet (Classic Prank and Good Wireless Security) (2009-04-01 14:31:49)
  Upside-Down-Ternet: "My neighbours are stealing my wireless internet access. I could encrypt it or alternately I could have fun."


• How PAM works (2009-04-01 14:01:49)
  TuxRadar: "Take our guided tour of PAM, join our science lab and perform our experiments (no bunsen burner necessary!) and see how PAM gives you fine-grain control over your security policy."


• Puppy 4.2 ScreenShots (2009-04-01 13:31:49)
  Linux Dynasty: "This is the first time I ever used Puppy Linux and the interface is really impressive. The install was not as simple as I expected it to be. ( But then again, the Ubuntu based Distro's have spoiled me, what can i say??? :) ). Also this is the first time I used JWM ( Joe Window manager )."


• Patent filing describes IBM's new offshoring math (2009-04-01 13:01:49)
  Computerworld: "IBM last week filed a patent application for an offshore outsourcing methodology that is intended to help companies minimize the financial risks associated with sending work overseas."


• April Fools' Jokes (2009-04-01 12:31:49)
  OpenOffice.org Ninja: "Say April Fools' with five OpenOffice.org pranks. Open source has a sense of humor too! Pick someone who isn't your boss, and it's best not to pick anyone under pressure such as that of a tight schedule on a big project."


• Which SQL is MySQL? (2009-04-01 12:01:49)
  Cyber Cynic: "I can be an idiot some days. As proof I'll only mention that I thought Sun buying MySQL was a great move. Boy was I wrong."


• Webopedia Term of the Day: 802.11n (2009-04-01 10:31:49)
  Webopedia: "An extension to 802.11 specification developed by the IEEE for wireless LAN (WLAN) technology. 802.11n builds upon previous 802.11 standards by adding multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)."


• Installing VirtualBox 2 On A Debian Lenny Desktop (2009-04-01 09:01:49)
  HowtoForge: "This tutorial shows how you can install Sun xVM VirtualBox 2 on a Debian Lenny desktop. VirtualBox is available as a package from the official Debian Lenny repository, but it's very old (version 1.6.6), therefore I explain how to install the current version (2.1.4 at the time of this writing)."


• TV-Browser - A Digital TV Guide in openSUSE (2009-04-01 07:31:49)
  SUSE & openSUSE: "TV-Browser is a simple Digital TV Guide that supports more than 500 TV channels and 80 Radio stations. TV-Browser collects TV program information from different sources on the internet and presents it neatly as a Digital TV Guide with pictures where there possible"


• Troubleshooting the FreeNAS server (2009-04-01 06:01:49)
  Packt: "The first place to head whenever you have a configuration problem with FreeNAS is to the related configuration section and check that it is configured as expected. If, having double checked the settings, the problem persists, the next port of call is the log and information files in the Diagnostics: section of the web interface."


• Will SLES Make Virtualization Ubiquitous? (2009-04-01 04:31:49)
  ServerWatch: "In fictional realms, change can happen in the flip of a page. In marketing campaigns, a similar paradigm shift is sought. Rarely do events unfold this way in the real world, however. It's often the subtle changes that go unnoticed until we realize in hindsight that they were actually indicative of shifting winds."


• Weekly Ten (3-30-2009): Scratching itches, 'stealth' security for iPhone, Android Smartphones (2009-04-01 03:01:49)
  Tech Source From Bohol: "Infonetics Research released a study that projects that the smartphone market will continue to grow despite an eight percent drop in mobile-phone sales this year."


• EU Losing Patience With Web's 'Wild West' Privacy Practices (2009-04-01 01:31:49)
  LinuxInsider: "The data collected on Facebook, Google and other sites is increasingly being used for commercial purposes, and current standards aren't enough, the EU's consumer rights commissioner said."


• Conficker: Over 300,000 Domains Blocked, Millions Infected (2009-04-01 00:14:55)
  InternetNews: "With just hours to go before the widespread Conficker worm is expected to activate, researchers say they're relying on new efforts to help mitigate the risk and detect the worm itself."