Linux News for Oct 28, 2010

• Why Unity is good for the future ... (Oct 28, 2010, 23:02)
  OpenCEO: "A few month ago I already blogged about "the end of the (Linux) desktop as we know it." I will not blatantly repost this entry but draw some conclusions linked to the recent adoption of Unity for the default Ubuntu desktop."


• Kernel vulnerabilities: old or new? (Oct 28, 2010, 22:32)
  LWN.net: "A quick search of the CVE database turns up 80 CVE numbers related to kernel vulnerabilities so far this year. At one recent conference or another, while talking with a prominent kernel developer, your editor confessed that he found that number to be discouragingly high."


• 6 of the Best Free Linux Server Provisioning Tools (Oct 28, 2010, 22:02)
  LinuxLinks: "Now, let's explore the 6 server provisioning tools at hand. For each title we have compiled its own portal page, a full description with an in-depth analysis of its features, screenshots, together with links to relevant resources and reviews."


• Fixing SSD Performance Degradation, Part 1 (Oct 28, 2010, 21:32)
  Enterprise Storage Forum: "It's a fairly well known fact that solid state disk (SSD) performance can suffer over time. This was quite common in early SSDs, but newer controllers have helped reduce this problem through a variety of techniques."


• 20 Stunning Illustrated Wallpapers: Halloween Edition (Oct 28, 2010, 21:02)
  MakeUseOf: "Seeing a lot of user-submitted artwork and animations via Blender, GIMP, and Inkscape enthusiasts (some of which you can see in 10+ Amazing Short Films Made With Free Software) has made me really appreciate images illustrated by hand, which includes wallpapers."


• Asterisk SCF Goes for Scale in New Open Source VoIP Project (Oct 28, 2010, 20:32)
  VoIP Planet: "The open source Asterisk project started off as an effort to be an on-premise IP-PBX. Over the years, demand for increasingly scalable and modular approaches for voice communications has grown, which is why a new Asterisk project is being announced this week."


• China has the top supercomputer in the world but it still runs Linux (Oct 28, 2010, 20:02)
  Computerworld: "If you want a really, really fast computer, there are all kind of ways to build the hardware architecture, but one thing that almost all of them have in common is that they run Linux."


• It's my Linux. I will distribute it how I want to. (Oct 28, 2010, 19:32)
  Technology and Life Integration: "So what if Ubuntu does not have the user interface you want. You don't have to use it. You can change it. You can do anything you want with it. You can even release your own distribution based on Ubuntu with your changes. Waaaiiit a minute....hasn't that already happened? Something Minty I believe? "


• Strong Android Sales Help Motorola Rediscover Its Mojo (Oct 28, 2010, 19:02)
  Enterprise Mobile Today: "After years of enduring an unfettered free fall, Motorola's mobile device business rallied to deliver a profit in third quarter, the first time that's happened in three years, almost exclusively on the back of strong demand for Android-based smartphones like the Droid X."


• Innovative Nautilus Location Bar Mockup by DanRabbit (Oct 28, 2010, 18:32)
  Tech Drive-in: "Nautilus Elementary simplified Nautilus extensively. If you are wondering how Nautilus can be improved any further, DanRabbit has an answer every single time. Following mockups deals with integrating paths with search/edit entries in the Nautilus location bar."


• Real-time Sunlight Earth Wallpaper for Ubuntu Linux (Oct 28, 2010, 18:02)
  Linux Poison: "Watch the sun rise and set all over the world on this real-time, computer-generated illustration of the earth's patterns of sunlight and darkness on your Ubuntu desktop. The clouds are updated every 3 hours with current weather satellite imagery."


• New Koobface Variant Infects Linux Systems (Oct 28, 2010, 17:32)
  Softpedia: "Security researchers warn that a new drive-by download attack is capable of infecting Windows, Mac OS X and Linux systems with a new variant of the notorious Koobface worm."


• GIMP Tricks for Isolating Parts of Images (Oct 28, 2010, 17:02)
  Linux Planet: "It's one of the most common questions the GIMP community fields -- how do you take one part of a photo and make it ready to paste somewhere else? The answer is, "It depends." There are lots of different methods. Here are four of the most useful I've found."


• DRM Is Toxic To Culture (Oct 28, 2010, 16:32)
  Computerworld: "Digital Restriction Methods (DRM) aren't just a nuisance that treats all customers as if they had stolen what they actually paid for. They also threaten our future cultural heritage."


• Ultimate Edition 2.8: Ubuntu On Steroids (Oct 28, 2010, 16:02)
  Desktop Linux Reviews: "Earlier this week I wrote a quick look over on EOL about Super OS 10.10. Super OS…well…it didn't exactly live up to its name, though it does have its place among the many Ubuntu remasters out there."


• How Google Is 'Closed', Just Like Apple (Oct 28, 2010, 15:32)
  Datamation: "A war of words between the CEOs of Google and Apple makes for great headlines, but does little to illuminate reality."


• System 76 Starling Netbook Review (Oct 28, 2010, 15:02)
  Ghacks: "I've had the pleasure of trying out plenty of netbook hardware. Just about every form factor and operating system combination available. These netbooks range from the hardly usable, to the might-as-well-be-a-laptop, and everything in between."


• Empathy�s Still Around�.A stalemate (Oct 28, 2010, 14:32)
  It's A Binary World 2.0: "At the time I didn't give it a second look because it was still missing a bunch of features. It's been 2 years, or 4 releases of Gnome, since then and the project has come a long way. It now supports all the protocols that Pidgin does (and more) and everyone seemed to think it was doing a better job of listening to users..."


• FTC ends probe into Google's Wi-Fi snooping (Oct 28, 2010, 14:02)
  Computerworld: "The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has closed an investigation into Google Street View cars snooping into open Wi-Fi networks, with the agency declining to take action."


• Asterisk 1.8.0 released (Oct 28, 2010, 13:32)
  LWN.net: "Version 1.8.0 of the Asterisk telephony system has been released; this is a major, long-term-supported release."


• Android e-reader adds color, web browsing, and video (Oct 28, 2010, 13:02)
  LinuxDevices: "Barnes & Noble announced a $249, all-color version of its Android-based Nook e-reader that adds full web browsing and video viewing capabilities."


• Linux and borrowing library ebooks (Oct 28, 2010, 12:32)
  Ontario-geofish: "But you can have your Linux and xp too! Linux has an emulator called Wine. On my 64 bit Athlon x2, it runs faster than xp ever did! Nearly every xp utility runs on it, and only games are a pain, since they always accessed the deep processor instructions."


• Caught on Video: 2 Tools for Linux Screen-Session Recording (Oct 28, 2010, 12:02)
  LinuxInsider: "If creating desktop demos is a common job for you, and if you want a better way to present the information than using a webcam or a cellphone, a screen session recording app is in order."


• Hacking Damn Vulnerable Linux (Oct 28, 2010, 11:02)
  Tech Source: "If you can't exploit it, you can't secure it. I don't know if that quote has been said before, but if you are deeply interested about computer security or ethical hacking, that should be your main mantra."


• Why I Love Unix (Oct 28, 2010, 09:02)
  IT World: "I love Unix because of all the wonderful things that I can do on the command line. When I first used Unix in 1983, it was love on first sight. With a list of the most basic commands by my side, I quickly discovered how much I could accomplish with several command strings strung together."


• openSUSE Conference: A Time for Introspection? (Oct 28, 2010, 07:02)
  IT World: "I don't want to be rude, but could somebody tell me what happened at the openSUSE Conference last week?"


• Linux Foundation Merges with Consumer Electronics Linux Forum (Oct 28, 2010, 05:02)
  Datamation: "Is Linux inside your consumer electronics device? Linux is increasingly becoming the primary embedded operating system for a myriad of consumer electronics devices, including eBook readers, TVs, mobile phone and media players"


• The $100.00 (USD) Coolest Linux Workspace Contest Winner (Oct 28, 2010, 03:02)
  Tech Source: "The month-long voting is over so it is about time to announce the winner of our $100.00 (USD) coolest Linux workspace contest. The people have spoken, and from our five finalists only one has emerged victorious."


• What�s next in GNOME�s future? (Oct 28, 2010, 01:32)
  Stormy's Corner: "Many developers were really disappointed to hear that Unity will be the default shell on Ubuntu. Some are disappointed because they don't like Unity. Others are disappointed because they feel like Canonical is doing its own thing..."


• Weaving the Web -- Wiki engine hands-on test (Oct 28, 2010, 00:02)
  Linux Pro Magazine: "Wiki engines drive patient data stores, repositories for ideas or documentation, and treasure troves of knowledge of all kinds. In this review, we put six of these engines through their paces."