Linux News Now

Previously we looked at the throughput performance of bcache by running IOzone on a common SATA disk, an Intel X25-E SSD, and Bcache using the SSD to cache a single drive. This article explores the IOPS performance of the same configuration hoping to find areas…

Julian Lavergne has announced the availability of the first beta release of Lubuntu 10.10, a lightweight, unofficial variant of Ubuntu featuring the LXDE desktop. What's new? "- New LXAppearance from LXDE git (without Openbox integration); the usual updates from Ubuntu; update notifier was added; Xpad…

Michael Geist writes about: "Three key competition concerns driving CRTC [Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission] Internet provider policy."

[This story continues to unfold -- will keep you posted. - Barbara]

ServerWatch: "This week, I've been experimenting with gnome-do, the Gnome application launcher that also allows you to specify particular actions to take on whatever file or application you've found."

We love feel-good stories about how open source software helps improve living conditions in third-world countries or comes to the rescue in times of crisis, but this one really takes the cake. A Canadian non-profit foundation specializing raising awareness about schizophrenia was saved from going…

Firefox 4.0 Beta 5 has been released...

O'Reilly Broadcast: "There's nothing so absurd that if you repeat it often enough, people will believe it." --William James"

Even the seemingly simple right click menu in Ubuntu Gnome is getting designer's attention. Has anybody noticed that, there are already about 20 or so entries in the right click menu of a folder in Nautilus? Somebody has. Take a look at this 'right click…

There are a lot of WordPress themes out there. Whether you’re looking for a souped up, paid premium template or a free alternative, it seems everyone and their grandma has created a tweak on the basic two-column or three-column WordPress model. While it can be…

Wine-Reviews: "Whats new in this release: * Update of the Gecko engine, now including a 64-bit version. * New implementation of console support on Unix terminals."

Have you been missing your weekly fix of The Alexandria Project? If so, you're in luck. I've been re-working the book in preparation for approaching a literary agent, and figured it needed a quicker, edgier start than the original. What's your opinion?

The GNU Project Debugger release team has published the second point update to version 7.0 of its standard debugger for the GNU software system. The GDB debugger supports a wide variety of programming languages, including Ada, C, C++, Objective-C, FreePascal and Fortran, and, in the…

Linux.com: "Thanks to Compiz you have better, slicker, and more efficient ways to switch from one application to another. Take a look at Compiz Switchers, and you'll never want to go back to the boring old panel buttons!"

Some weeks ago, after reading the Droid X reviews on Ars Technica (here and here), I got myself one. Sure enough, I loved it, and like any good, patriotic smartphone consumer, I started downloading lots of Android apps. How did I find them? I clicked…

UHU-Linux is an independently developed distribution intended primarily for the Hungarian speaking market. Version 2.2, the project's first stable release in 2.5 years, was announced yesterday. Some of the more interesting changes and features in this release include: the DVD image is now a live…

Linux Journal: "Sometimes, a utility or an application that you want to install is impossible to find in the format of your distribution. Alien is a utility that can convert one package type into another."

O2 was all set to release Android 2.2 for the HTC Desire today. Many UK Desire owners were pretty excited, and with good reason. They were finally scheduled to get some Froyo! O2 began to roll it out in stages today, but according to our…

I’ve written software on Linux, compiled kernels, set up servers, and a whole host of other pretty technical feats. Having been a die-hard Linux user for 10 years, I thought I had handled just about every situation a desktop user is likely to encounter. That…

'Attention to detail' or 'enhanced UI experience' are not the kind of terminologies normally used in the Linux world. At least, that is how it used to be. It's all changing now. KDE 4.0 is a typical example. Developers completely revamped KDE from scratch and…

Phoronix: "...for those wishing to live on the bleeding edge of NVIDIA's proprietary Linux driver development, the first beta release in the 260.xx series is now available for testing."

I'm severely disappointed in Verizon and Samsung. The Samsung Fascinate, Big Red's version of the Galaxy S, has been reviewed by the folks over at Engadget. They were quick to point out that the search widget is BING, not Google Search. It does make sense…

We know the Dell Streak is rumored to be getting  Froyo, but for now, Streak users will have to settle for Eclair. The UK  Streak, the one that operates on the O2 network, is in the process of receiving Android 2.1, we're being told. Don't…

Many Linux users use the ‘find’ utility when searching for files using the command line on their system. There are times though where I’m just looking for something and I don’t want to have to wait for the command to scan the entire directory tree…

Computerworld UK: "This might sound far from enterprise open source, but the way the Climate Code Foundation is proceeding shows the connection:"

Making Linux and Windows play nice together isn't easy, but it's essential to the continued growth of Linux in the enterprise, according to Likewise engineer Michael Szymczak. He will discuss that topic at this year's Ohio LinuxFest 2010 September 10-12, 2010 at the Greater Columbus…

Software Latest Releases: "Since its launch in 2008 by Google, Chrome has been making some dent in the market for Internet browsers. With its rapid development and a focus on practicality and lightness of the user experience, Chrome is fast increasing its share of users."

Super OS 10.04, an Ubuntu-based distribution enhanced with various user-friendly features and extra applications, has been released: "Here is the new Super OS 10.04, based on Ubuntu 10.04.1. Details: the much awaited 64-bit edition is now available, and it includes ia32 libraries to improve compatibility…

Python4Kids: "Having gone through some arduous work on the previous tutorial, this one will be a little gentler. The task we've set ourselves this time is to write another game, a trivia game."

Cyber Cynic: "You could argue that Google's Android, so popular on smartphones now, is the most popular Linux of all right now. There's only one little problem with that: Android has continued to be apart from the Linux mainstream."

New typo3-src packages are available for Debian GNU/Linux...

4 new security updates are available for Gentoo Linux - sudo: Privilege Escalation - Clam AntiVirus: Multiple vulnerabilities - Adobe Reader: Multiple vulnerabilities - SARG: User-assisted execut...

GHacks.net shows you how to compile your own Linux kernel...

Howtoforge posted a guide about installing Apache2 with PHP5 and MySQL support on Mandriva 2010.1 Spring (LAMP)...

Linux Journal takes a look at Alien, a utility to convert one package type into another...

Linux User and Developer: "By default, Ubuntu wants to provide just one massive root (/) partition without separate home partitions. This is a mistake, as anyone who's updated or recovered a Linux system should know."

Red Hat has published the following security advisories: - Moderate: rpm security and bug fix update - Important: kernel security update - Important: kernel security update - Moderate: rpm securi...

Previously we looked at the throughput performance of bcache by running IOzone on a common SATA disk, an Intel X25-E SSD, and Bcache using the SSD to cache a single drive. This article explores the IOPS performance of the same configuration hoping to find areas…

Brycsis: "Bricsys is the first to release a .dwg based CAD software for Linux users. Bricsys NV, the developer of Bricscad, announced today that Bricscad V10 for Linux is now available "

We just did a quick look at the calendar for the next few weeks and realized we'll be in attendance for at least four events. If you are planning to attend any of the following shows and festivities, we encourage you to look us up.…

First it gets the axe, then it gets the box.

Samsung has joined NVIDIA, Texas Instruments, and Qualcomm as a company working on dual-core mobile processors. Dubbed the Orion, Samsung's new chipset contains a pair of 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 cores, and is capable of 1080p video playback and recording.

Samsung Announces Dual-Core Orion…

Android lovers who are in the market for a new HD TV might want to hold off just a little bit longer. Samsung, the top TV maker in the U.S. at nearly 20% market share, is considering Android for its line of televisions. Speaking to…

My new favorite Twitter app is my6sense. It's also my new favorite Facebook app. And my new favorite Google Reader app, and my new favorite Google Buzz app. My6sense pulls content from all those streams together, along with other content on topics you choose, and,…

LG and NVIDIA have teamed up to bring you the next generation of super phones.  Based on the new, world first Tegra 2  dual-core CPU, LG's Optimus Series of phones will see a level of performance that today's smart phones can only dream of.  The…

Phoronix takes a look at the OpenCL performance of ATI and NVIDIA on Linux ...

Fedora will be holding a Systemd test day on September 7, 2010. "This week's Test Day, which will take place on Tuesday 2010/09/07 rather than the more usual Thursday, is on systemd, so it's a very important one! It will also serve at least…

The 1.10.0 release of the Cairo graphics library has finally been released. "One of the more interesting departures for cairo for this release is the inclusion of a tracing utility, cairo-trace. cairo-trace generates a human-readable, replayable, compact representation of the sequences of drawing commands…

Version 2.0 of the NoSQL database Redis database has been released with new features including virtual memory support, a hash datatype and publish/subscribe messaing.

The GNU Debugger Project has published the second point update to version 7.0 of its standard debugger for the GNU software system, adding support for the D language and enhancing C++ support...

Starting this fall and stretching into early next year, big-name gadget and PC makers are readying their own touch-screen tablets.

Firefox, Chrome, and other browsers do an acceptable job of downloading a single file of reasonable size. But I don't like to trust a browser to grab ISO images and other files that are hundreds of megabytes, or larger. For that I prefer to…

Oh, sure -- a few people have called Google's Nexus One a "superphone," but suddenly, that nickname has taken on a whole new level of meaning. A team of talent from MIT has put its head down in order to concoct a new Android…

When you're a fan of Linux, any blog post entitled "27 Good Reasons to Love Linux" is going to be impossible to resist. No wonder, then, that a recent post with just that title has created endless fodder for conversation in the Linux blogosphere…

Before heading out to film this story on the Open High School of Utah, I wasn't sure what to expect. I had a lot of the same questions most people would have about an online high school: What kind of students go to high…

It doesn't get much closer than this.  For some reason, Verizon decided to wait until the eleventh hour to make the announcement that their Samsung Galaxy S series phone, the Fascinate, is dropping soon.  Officially confirmed today, the long held rumor was that September 9…

An interesting diversion for the developers of Linux Mint - the usual Ubuntu base has been replaced with Debian's testing branch to create a new, rolling-release edition of Linux Mint. From the announcement: "Today is very important for Linux Mint. It's one day to remember…

OMG! SUSE! takes a look at 10 Awesome Free Games for openSUSE...

The following two updates are available for Gentoo Linux: - wxGTK: User-assisted execution of arbitrary code - Maildrop: privilege escalation...

The following two security updates are available for Debian GNU/Linux: - New smbind packages fix sql injection - New quagga packages fix denial of service...

Alan Baghumian has announced the release of Parsix GNU/Linux 3.6, a desktop distribution with GNOME, based on Debian's testing branch: "We are proud to announce that the final version of Parsix GNU/Linux 3.6 'Vinnie' is available now. Parsix 'Vinnie' package repositories are synchronized with Debian…

Visual Factor, maker of the new iCarpus portable device stand, sent me a demo unit  to review for AndroidGuys.com,  we are going to take a look at the device and see just how functional it is. The basic idea behind the device is fairly easy…

Howtoforge posted a guide about installing vtiger on CentOS 5.x...

Clement Lefebvre has announced the release of Linux Mint 9 "Fluxbox" edition, a lightweight variant of the popular Ubuntu-based distribution with many usability tweaks: "The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 9 'Fluxbox'. Based on Lubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx, Linux 2.6.32,…

Good news for those of you interested in picking up the Galaxy Tab announced last week. According to Samsung product executive Hankil Yoon, the Android 2.2 tablet could sell for between $200 and $300 when it debuts with wireless providers. The final pricing will depend…

It's terribly difficult to get reliable statistics, as numbers tend to vary drastically depending upon whom you ask, but if you're inclined to believe that Android is mopping up Apple and RIM's declining mobile mindshare in the US, you'll find nothing but corroboration from…

A second Python 3.2 alpha brings numerous bug fixes, enhancements and an implementation of PEP 391...

Well, well -- what have we here? Word on the street has it that we're looking at a new, unreleased (officially, anyway) Froyo build for Google's now-tough-to-locate Nexus One. The open source community has yet again uncovered what looks to be a real gem,…

If you are looking for a marble-rolling, maze-traveling game, Lava Ball 3D is the game for you. Please note: you will not be able to run this on 1st generation Android devices. I would only run this game with at least a 1GHz processor. I…

This week in DistroWatch Weekly: Reviews: Peering timidly at AUSTRUMI News: openSUSE launches 11.4 development cycle, Debian publishes 6.0 release update, Fedora announces systemd test day, Ubuntu improves netbook interface Interviews: Dru Lavigne, director of community development for PC-BSD Released last week: Zentyal 2.0, Element…

Ever-changing IP addresses are an annoyance but you can clear up your remote connectivity static with Dynamic DNS services.

Multitasking, app drawer, task manager

Stephen Ewen has announced the release of a lightweight edition of UberStudent, an Ubuntu-based distribution designed for learning and teaching academic computing at higher education and advanced secondary levels: "Like the full edition of UberStudent, the lightweight edition is designed around a 'core skills' approach,…

Try the Maverick Meerkat.

Expect Excellent Turnout of Women Speakers at OLF 2010

Legacy OS is a new name of a distribution formerly known as TEENpup Linux, a Puppy-based operating system for older computers. Version 2010 was released yesterday: "After eight months of development I am proud to offer Legacy OS for download. This release marks the moving…

Robbie Williamson has announced the availability of the beta release of Ubuntu 10.10, code name "Maverick Meerkat": "The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu 10.10 beta." Some of the interesting new desktop features include: "The GNOME base platform has been updated…

This year's theme: "Servers, The Cloud, and Innovation"

Practical advice for rolling out your own community event.

Android 2.2-powered, Flash-enabled, 7-inch touch screen.

The development of openSUSE 11.4, which is expected to ship in March next year, launches today with the first milestone build: "openSUSE 11.4 Milestone 1 is available today for developers, testers and community members to test and participate in the development of openSUSE 11.4. Milestone…

Dell's 17-inch Studio 1747 laptop is a beefy desktop replacement that ships with Windows 7. But how does it fare with Linux instead? A few days hands-on with the laptop shows that the machine is almost perfect, save for one fatal flaw.

You now have until September 8.

Update the Linux kernel without rebooting.

Recent news and product releases could be cause for concern for the future of the open source Oracle/Sun Grid Engine.

Announcement highlights SDK Early Access Program, new features.

Use dynamically registered BroadcastReceivers to create intelligent GUIS for Android

If you use several computers, sharing files between them is a pain but Dropbox takes the pain away--for free.

It's hard to believe that Debian has 17 years under its belt, but the project celebrated its 17th birthday on August 16. Though Debian may not be quite as well hyped as other distros, it's still one of the most important FOSS projects around.

Get your wetsuit on, we're going data diving. Throughput benchmarks using IOzone on a common SATA disk, an Intel X25-E SSD, and Bcache, using the SSD to cache a single drive.

Cell phone processors are getting more powerful. Is a cell phone cluster possible?

Three ways to configure click handlers in Android UI Code

LAMP stands for Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP, which represents a very common configuration for Linux-based web servers. If you’re interested in testing websites, particularly those that involve a server-side scripting language like PHP, you can install a local LAMP server on your own computer.…

Cloud computing may a little over-promised, but it isn’t “worse than stupidity,” as Richard Stallman would say. In fact, it’s really a very positive change in the way we use computers. Not only does it eliminate many of the barriers to using any operating system…

In the future, every wall will be a multi-touce interface, there will be no buttons to confuse our little brains, and everyone’s arms will be sore from holding them out at the wall to type on their computers. We already knew Apple didn’t like buttons,…

This is a post for Blog Action Day 2009, an effort to unite bloggers to discuss one topic for one day from many different perspectives. This year’s topic, chosen by a vote, is climate change. Remember the big push for everyone to switch to compact…

Hulu, a popular website which offers free, ad-supported TV shows (and a few movies) has ported their Hulu Desktop software to Linux. Hulu says that Hulu Desktop for Linux will work on Ubuntu 9.04 and Fedora, althoug it could almost certainly be run on other…

This is the fourth part in a four part series covering remote access to Linux machines using SSH. Part 1 – Installing and configuring SSH Part 2 – Securing SSH and opening up to the outside world Part 3 – Graphical connections Part 4 –…

This is the second part in a four part series covering remote access to Linux machines using SSH. Part 1 – Installing and configuring SSH Part 2 – Securing SSH and opening up to the outside world Part 3 – Graphical connections Part 4 –…

This is the second part in a four part series covering remote access to Linux machines using SSH. (Sorry this one was a little late. I just forgot to publish it. I’ll post the last two sooner.) Part 1 – Installing and configuring SSH Part…

Linux Loop will be participating in Blog Action Day 2009. The goal of Blog Action Day is to unite as many bloggers as possible to focus on one cause. This year’s cause is climate change and the date is October 15th. If your interested in…

This is the first part in a four part series covering remote access to Linux machines using SSH. Part 1 – Installing and configuring SSH Part 2 – Securing SSH and opening up to the outside world Part 3 – Graphical connections Part 4 –…

ServerWatch: "This week, I've been experimenting with gnome-do, the Gnome application launcher that also allows you to specify particular actions to take on whatever file or application you've found."

Recently when benchmarking the Btrfs and EXT4 file-systems we were left surprised that the performance of the next-generation Btrfs file-system had regressed against EXT4 to the point where the evolutionary file-system is measurably faster in a greater number of disk benchmarks. In fact, even with…

There are a lot of WordPress themes out there. Whether you’re looking for a souped up, paid premium template or a free alternative, it seems everyone and their grandma has created a tweak on the basic two-column or three-column WordPress model. While it can be…

Even the seemingly simple right click menu in Ubuntu Gnome is getting designer's attention. Has anybody noticed that, there are already about 20 or so entries in the right click menu of a folder in Nautilus? Somebody has. Take a look at this 'right click…

Autodesk Maya is a software application used for 3D animation, 3D modeling, simulation, visual effects, rendering, match moving, and compositing.Maya is used in the film and TV industry, as well as for computer and video games, architectural visualization and design.

Have you wondered why certain programs are located under /bin, or /sbin, or /usr/bin, or /usr/sbin? For example, less command is located under /usr/bin directory. Why not /bin, or /sbin, or /usr/sbin? What is the different between all these directories? In this article, let us…

Michael Geist writes about: "Three key competition concerns driving CRTC [Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission] Internet provider policy."

[This story continues to unfold -- will keep you posted. - Barbara]

We love feel-good stories about how open source software helps improve living conditions in third-world countries or comes to the rescue in times of crisis, but this one really takes the cake. A Canadian non-profit foundation specializing raising awareness about schizophrenia was saved from going…

• Awesome Right Click Menu Alternative Mockup for Ubuntu
• Asia not ready for key apps to go open source
• PlayStation 3 software update breaks jailbreak
• cross-distro default security protection review
• Firefox 4 Beta With Faster Graphics and New Audio Capabilities
• 5 Extensions To Add Calendar…

• VOIP cordless phone for your home: Siemens Gigaset A580IP

  I have been using Siemens Gigaset A580IP for couple of months now. I find it works well with Nonoh.net, Voipbuster.com and Asterisks based system. Here is my brief review. Excellent voice quality. has both VOIP and land line option. Connects to multiple VOIP service providers…

• Debunking the 1% Myth

  O'Reilly Broadcast: "There's nothing so absurd that if you repeat it often enough, people will believe it." --William James"

• Cloud Linux and Ksplice Launch First Ever Rebootless Linux Distribution for Hosting Service Providers

  Princeton, NJ and Cambridge, MA, September 8, 2010 - Cloud Linux Inc. and Ksplice Inc.