Practical Technology

for practical people.

February 24, 2011
by sjvn01
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Canonical & Banshee Agree to Disagree

Canonical, Ubuntu’s parent company, has spoken with the developers of Banshee, which is to be the default music player in next version of Ubuntu Linux, and announced a “compromise” on how to handle Banshee’s revenue from its built-in Amazon Store connection. Banshee’s programmers are not happy.

Banshee had been devoting all the funds it made from its Amazon Store connection to the GNOME Foundation. Canonical wanted Banshee to either disable the Amazon Store connection coming on by default, which competed with its own Ubuntu One music store, or take a 75% cut of any revenue from the Banshee/Amazon stream.

So, Canonical started to talk with Banshee about finding a more equitable solution. Well, Canonical did come up with another proposal, but it hasn’t made the Banshee community very happy.

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February 24, 2011
by sjvn01
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My favorite Linux desktop: Mint 10

Over the years, I’ve seen more Linux distributions than anyone this side of the Distrowatch editors. Some end-up staying in my offices. For example, I use openSUSE and CentOS on my servers, and I’ve often used Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, and MEPIS on my desktops and laptops. I’m also constantly looking at new Linux distributions, such as SplashTop and Peppermint on my test boxes or a VirtualBox virtual machine. Now, though, I find myself using Mint 10 as my main Linux desktop.

Why? Because Mint works, really, really well. Simple isn’t it?

I run the mainline Mint distribution. It’s based on the Ubuntu 10.10 with its GNOME 2.32 desktop. I’ve been using it on both my work laptop a Lenovo ThinkPad R61 with its 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor T7500 and has 2GBs of RAM and my workhorse desktops: Dell Inspiron 530S powered by a 2.2-GHz Intel Pentium E2200 dual-core processor with an 800-MHz front-side bus. This box has 4GBs of RAM, a 500GB SATA (Serial ATA) drive, and an Integrated Intel 3100 GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator) chip set. These are in no way, shape, or form leading edge computers. While Windows 7 SP 1 doesn’t show to good advantage on either system, Mint runs quickly and smoothly on them.

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February 23, 2011
by sjvn01
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Loving Ubuntu Linux

My writing compadre Bruce Byfield wrote that while “Ubuntu first appeared, the free and open source software (FOSS) community was delighted. But, “In 2011, that honeymoon is long past. Although Ubuntu remains the dominant distro, criticisms of its relationship with the rest of FOSS seem to be coming every other month.” To which, I can only reply, “So what else is new?”

Ubuntu started as a Debian fork almost seven years ago and I can still find Debian developers who are ticked off about it to this very day. Since then, as Byfield notes, Ubuntu, and its parent company Canonical has gotten into hot-water with one party after the other in open-source circles.

A short list would include Debian’s continued jealousy getting in the way of co-operation between the closely related Linux distributions; countless accusations that Canonical/Ubuntu is all about promoting Ubuntu and not Linux; and that Ubuntu doesn’t contribute its fair share to the Linux kernel and other up-stream open-source programs.

But this, this is all old news. Ubuntu has long endured these criticisms. So have the other Linux distributions.

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February 22, 2011
by sjvn01
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Can you run your own SOHO E-Mail Server?

I’ve been running my own e-mail servers for decades. After all, back in the 80s I was helping run NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s e-mail systems and let me tell you in those days it wasn’t easy! Today, thanks to easy e-mail servers such as CapeSoft Email Server, hMailServer, and Zimbra pretty much any tech savvy user can run an e-mail server. Heck, if you’re a step above a power user you can even run OpenExchange and fully support Outlook users without breaking a sweat. If, that is, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) will let you do it.

As a recent Slashdot reader found out, many ISPs won’t let you run your own mail server. Specifically they block port 25, the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) port, which is used for sending mail. If you can’t send mail, there’s not much point in having a mail server.

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February 22, 2011
by sjvn01
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Novell’s Stockholders approve Attachmate buyout but the Deal’s far from done

Last week, Novell announced that its stockholders have voted to adopt the previously announced merger with Attachmate and Longview Software Acquisition Corp., a special purpose vehicle formed by Attachmate designed to acquire all of Novell’s stock. The deal is still far from done though.

Novell, which as Pamela Jones of Groklaw points out now describes itself as “the leader in intelligent workload management,” instead of the producers of “best engineered, most interoperable Linux platform.,” still faces anti-trust inquires from both the German Federal Cartel Office and the U.S. Department of Justice.

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February 21, 2011
by sjvn01
1 Comment

Android: The Open Mobile Choice

Recently there has been a bit of a hubbub over Microsoft forbidding the use of software using the GPLv3 open-source license and all similar licenses on Windows Phone 7 (WP7). Then, the boys from Redmond realized that by the strict letter of their new rules they had just forbidden the use of some of their own open-source applications on WP7. As Homer Simpson would say, “D’oh!”

Microsoft may be slow, but they get there eventually. Shortly after their error was pointed out, they explained that some other open-source licenses, including their own of course, were actually OK on WP7. And, oh by the way, they might consider opening WP7 up to software under other licenses. That’s big of them. Apple, of course, has long forbidden the use of GPLv2-licensed software.

I was recently asked why Apple and Microsoft was doing this. The answer is quite simple. Apple, and to a lesser degree, Microsoft are all about control. You see when you buy an iPhone, iPad, or a smartphone with WP7, you’re not really buying a device, you’re renting the use of a device.

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