February 1, 2012
by sjvn01
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Spark: The first free-software, Linux tablet is on its way

Open-source software and Linux, thanks to Android, is well represented on tablets. But, if you didn’t want to deal with proprietary firmware and software, you were out of luck… until now. Aaron Seigo, one of the KDE’s lead developers, and his team are just about ready to roll-out the first tablet based entirely on Linux and free software: The Spark.

For those of you who are a little puzzled right now–”But, isn’t Android based on Linux??” let me start by explaining that yes, Android is Linux and open-source software. But, its implementations on various smartphones and tablets always uses some proprietary software, firmware, and/or shims to combine the code into a working device. Spark is different.

As Seigo explains, “We decided to go with Mer, the community continuation of MeeGo, as our base OSS [open-source software]. With the amazing help of the Mer community, we have been able to bring up a non-Android, built-from-source kernel on the device and even boot into Plasma Active. There is still work left, and we still do have some binary drivers, but this progress is already one massive crowbar that’s prying open the doors that have been shut on the world of ARM based devices.”

Spark: The first free-software, Linux tablet is on its way More >

January 31, 2012
by sjvn01
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Mint’s Cinnamon: The Future of the Linux Desktop? (Review)

Over the last few years, we’ve seen radical changes to the Linux desktop. Some, despite initial opposition, such as the KDE 4.x re-start, took a while to gain favor, but eventually became popular. Others, such as GNOME 3.x have alienated many users and first Ubuntu’s Unity and now it’s Head-Up Display (HUD) have not been greeted with overwhelming approval even by hard-core Ubuntu Linux users. So, Linux Mint’s developers have decided to go back to the past with a GNOME 2.x style desktop: Cinnamon. So, how well have they done? I give them an “A” for effort, but only a “B” for execution.

To put Cinnamon to the test, I used my faithful old Lenovo ThinkPad R61. This 2008-vintage notebook is powered by a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor T7500 and has 2GBs of RAM. I also used it on my Dell Inspiron 530S powered by a 2.2-GHz Intel Pentium E2200 dual-core processor with an 800-MHz front-side bus. This PC has 4GBs of RAM, a 500GB SATA (Serial ATA) drive, and an Integrated Intel 3100 GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator) chip set.

For the operating system, although Cinnamon will run on Ubuntu 11.10, Fedora 16, OpenSUSE 12.1, Arch Linux, and Gentoo, I elected to run it on its “native” Linux Mint 12. Cinnamon runs on top of GNOME 3.2, but its look and feel comes from GNOME 2.x.

Mint’s Cinnamon: The Future of the Linux Desktop? (Review) More >

January 31, 2012
by sjvn01
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Red Hat extends Red Hat Enterprise Linux lifecycle to ten years

I’m a big believer in “It’s not broke, then don’t fix it.” So is leading Linux company, Red Hat. The company has just announced that it is extending the production lifecycle of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5 and 6 from seven to 10 years in response to enterprise customer demand and Red Hat’s hardware original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partners.

For any company, upgrading to a new version of an operating system requires detailed advance planning. Red Hat has extended the Red Hat Enterprise Linux lifecycle so customers can remain on their current version longer. With the new Red Hat Enterprise Linux lifecycle, customers will benefit from continued feature enhancements while Red Hat’s application binary interface (ABI) and application programming interface (API) compatibility for their existing application.

In addition, quite a few RHEL customers have only relatively recently adopted the Linux operating system. For many business users, RHEL 5 was the first Linux product that they had deployed in their infrastructure.

Red Hat extends Red Hat Enterprise Linux lifecycle to ten years More >

January 30, 2012
by sjvn01
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IBM to close down Symphony, its OpenOffice fork

In a brief note, Ed Brill, an IBM product line manager, announced that IBM has likely seen its last release of Symphony, its OpenOffice fork. Later, in the blog’s discussion thread, Eric Otchet, Symphony’s product manager, seemingly confirmed that this was the end of the road for Symphony when he wrote about Apache OpenOffice the IBM Edition as if that would be IBM’s successor to Symphony.

IBM to close down Symphony, its OpenOffice fork More >

January 30, 2012
by sjvn01
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For the good of the nation, broadband for all

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski recently announced a plan that would expand the Universal Service Fund’s Lifeline program to include broadband Internet service.

The concept of universal service dates to the Communications Act of 1934 and was expanded by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Today, the Lifeline program provides land-line telephone service to people who can’t afford it. Those people use it for everything from finding a job to coordinating childcare to calling 911 during an emergency. Isn’t the Internet just as much of a fundamental need?

That might seem crazy, but think it through. Today, when you need to read the news, do you turn to a newspaper? Probably not. Many areas no longer even have a local newspaper. You don’t care about the news? Fine. Then think about how you find a job. You go online, to Craigslist, Dice or LinkedIn, right? What other choice do you have in 2012?

For the good of the nation, broadband for all More >

Practical Technology

for practical people.

Spark: The first free-software, Linux tablet is on its way

Mint’s Cinnamon: The Future of the Linux Desktop? (Review)

Red Hat extends Red Hat Enterprise Linux lifecycle to ten years

IBM to close down Symphony, its OpenOffice fork

For the good of the nation, broadband for all