Practical Technology

for practical people.

March 14, 2017
by sjvn01
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Canonical extends Ubuntu 12.04 support for paying customers

I was bemused recently when I wrote a story about essential Linux server commands only to have people complain about my covering older init and run-level technology instead of the controversial but popular systemd. This newer way of booting Linux systems became popular in 2015. Unfortunately, some readers fail to understand that a feature that’s been deployed for two years means nothing for server operating system lifespans.

Take, for example, the five-year-old Ubuntu 12.04. Canonical, Ubuntu’s parent company, has just announced that this version of Ubuntu will be given extended security support.

Canonical extends Ubuntu 12.04 support for paying customers. More>

March 14, 2017
by sjvn01
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The great instant-messaging foul-up

Recently, the open-source multi-instant messaging (IM) program Pidgin was updated to version 2.12.0. That’s the good news. It’s a very useful program if you work with people using multiple IM services. The bad news is that its developers couldn’t add support to newer IM platforms, such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Slack. Additionally, it will no longer support the deprecated Facebook XMPP, MSN, MySpace, Mxit, and Yahoo.

The great instant-messaging foul-up. More>

March 13, 2017
by sjvn01
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Of course your TV’s spying on you

Julian Assange, Wikileaks’ founder and Russian propagandist, must be proud of himself. In his latest “revelation” that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) can hack Apple and Android smartphones, PC operating systems and smart TVs, he has people throwing fits about how awful the CIA is.

Please. Give me a break.

Wikileaks uncovered nothing really new. Zero. Zilch.

Of course your TV’s spying on you. More>

March 12, 2017
by sjvn01
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SUSE acquires HPE’s cloud assets

HPE and SUSE, a top Linux distributor, have a complex relationship. First, HPE spun and merged its non-core software assets with Micro Focus. Micro Focus owns SUSE, a major Linux provider. Now, SUSE has finished acquiring cloud assets of HPE’s OpenStack Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Cloud Foundry Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Stackato, HPE’s Cloud Foundry implementation.

SUSE acquires HPE’s cloud assets. More>

March 10, 2017
by sjvn01
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Why the Bitly link-shortening service went down for some users

We use URL shortening services so often these days we’re seldom even aware of them. Until, that is, one of them fails. Today, one of the most popular of these, Bitly, stopped working for some users.

You may think of URL shorteners as something individuals use for shortening long web URLs. This is true, but companies also use them to promote their webpages on social networks. In addition, Bitly enables business marketing offices to track who’s clicking through on their links. While a Bitly outage is an annoyance for someone sharing LOL cats pics, it’s a major problem for businesses.

Why the Bitly link-shortening service went down for some users. More>

March 10, 2017
by sjvn01
0 comments

New and improved Samba file server released

Do you have a network-attached storage (NAS) device holding your accounts payable, document archives, or just your baby photos? If so, you’re running Samba, the open-source file and print server.

Now, with the Samba 4.6 release, the program has been given a significant upgrade.

New and improved Samba file server released. More>